Defeating the Devil !!! ( aka Damian )

ny59giants · Post by **ny59giants** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:10 am

I heard you did pretty well in your Psych Warfare classes. [:D]

Capt. Harlock · Post by **Capt. Harlock** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:52 pm

I've recently had a chat with Damian in which I threw out that he was making 500 to 600 Ki-44 IIIs a month and he didn't deny it ( this is based on some B-24 based city attack recon) So, not counting Corsairs I have 52 front-line planes in reserve. Counting Corsairs it is 170. He could break me with just 10 days worth of production (assuming a 1:1 exchange ratio ). OUCH!!! This campaign really is running on propaganda and misdirection alone at this stage.

Remind me never to play poker against you.[:D]
(But thanks for the look behind the scenes.)

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:39 am

Well, another fortnight, another update.
 
I've made my move on Sinyang and north of Nanchang. I have 4,500 AV on the way to the bend in the river ( swamp, defended by 3 divisions ). I'm sure Damian will reinforce it but I've sucked most of his reserves into Nanchang and the southern coastline so the amount of reinforcements available should be pretty low ( 1, perhaps at most 2 divisions ). I'm also moving 3,000 Chinese AV down to Sinyang to try to create an ( illusory ) threat there.
 
Today I set a single DD as LRCAP trap north of Amboina. Damian is keeping 6 hexes from Amboina - forgetting that the P-38s have a range of greater than 6 hexes and can also fly above the ceiling of his Ki-44 IIIs. I have refrained from using that until now but am considering giving him a shock in a few day's time if he keeps this up. The LRCAP trap cost me about 260 fighters but I shot down about 120 Ki-44 IIIs. Many of my LRCAPing fighters were Wildcats, P-40s, P-39s etc but even still I lost a month's worth of Hellcats and CV-Corsairs in return for about a week's worth of Ki-44 IIIs.
 
Now that he thinks my fighters are reduced in strength I expect him to try to:
a) close the airfield with massed bombers raids from Davao ( Ki-264s and twin-engined bombers etc ) on Day 1
 
b) dashing in with CVs and SC TFs to destroy the hordes of shipping I have gathered in the port at Amboina.
 
Of course I have a plan within the plan and while I did appear to put everything into LRCAPing the DD I actually kept a very large portion of my fighter force back at Amboina in order to surprise him with the strength of my defences should he decide to strike.
 
In other news I've decided to gather my LSTs and a few AKs and take Wake/Marcus Islands. These are merely annoyance operations but do provide more stepping stones for my air bridge to China from CONUSA and so fulfill a useful strategic purpose.
 
The main news really is that I do still seem to have convinced Damian that I have very potent fighter forces which can mount sweeps comprising hundreds of fighters at a time. At present my P-51 strength on-map is 27 P-51Xs. Hardly an ueber-force [8D]. Maskirovka rules.

paullus99 · Post by **paullus99** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 12:11 pm

So, when does your aircraft and naval production start to ramp up?

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:01 pm

paullus99, If you check post 379 it explains it pretty well. Basically I get a fair boost in May 1943 but I don't really get a major boost until September 1943.

Realistically though I won't be able to go head to head with my fighter reserves vs his until about early 1944 given that he's making 500 to 600 Ki-44 IIIs per month.

I'm hoping that I can use sneakiness, P-38s and P-40Ns in the ground attack role ( essentially assymetric warfare ) to roll that clock back to September 43 though as that's when I plan to take him on directly again in an effort to break his fighter forces. I'll keep the pressure on in the meantime but September 1943 should, hopefully, see me in Korea and in range to launch massive fighter sweeps and truly wreck his fighter force in a symmetrical force matchup.

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:53 pm

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 04/13/43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Naha [Okinawa] at 54,46

Japanese Ships
DD Tomozuru
DD Hitachi
DD Hato
DD Hakaze
DD Sazanami

Allied Ships
SS SC-743, hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Osaka/Kobe [Honshu] at 63,42

Japanese Ships
MSW Wa 5, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
MSW Wa 12
MSW Wa 7
MSW Wa 6
MSW Wa 4

Allied Ships
SS L-14

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Sasebo [Kyushu] at 58,41

Japanese Ships
AP Yamatsuki Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS SC-631

The renewed submarine offensive is pretty reliably sinking 1 to 2 enemy ships per day at present which isn't half-bad given that I only have about 20 submarines on station at any stage ( the rest are upgrading and repairing in ports as I don't like committing subs unless they are fully repaired.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Naha [Okinawa] at 54,46

Japanese Ships
DD Sazanami
DD Hitachi
DD Hato
DD Tomozuru
DD Hakaze

Allied Ships
SS SC-743

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Akita [Honshu] , at 68,39

Allied aircraft
B-19A x 24

Allied aircraft losses
B-19A: 1 damaged

Oil hits 3 I've been hitting unCAPed bases in Japan for the last 3 or 4 days now. There has been little to no response which leads me to think he must be very low on fighters indeed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Okha [Sakhalin I] , at 76,27

Allied aircraft
IL-2M Shturmovik x 30
MiG-3 x 42
Pe-2 x 26

Allied aircraft losses
Pe-2: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
9 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 64

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Yenan [Cent China] , at 50,28

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Nanchang [C China] , at 48,38

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
Pe-2 x 70

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-II Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Pe-2: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 73

Damian flew fighters into Nanchang in an attempt to LRCAP the forces in the "bend of the river" south of Sinyang. This was my rather unsuccessful attempt to catch a few of them on the ground. No matter, I caught enough in the air later on.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jesselton [BrNBno] , at 35,56

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49 -I Helen x 67

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49 -I Helen: 8 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Runway hits 25

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Amboina [Ambon] , at 40,74

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 32

Allied aircraft
Seafire II x 23
F4U-1 CV Corsair x 15
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
F6F-5 Hellcat x 37
F4U-1 Corsair x 12
P-51B Mustang XP x 10
P-35A Hawk x 20
P-39D Airacobra x 42
P-40E Warhawk x 11
Beaufighter Mk X x 3
Hurricane IIc x 11
Kittyhawk I x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 15 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A Hawk: 1 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 1 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

I think Damian thought that my fighter forces would be utterly worn out after the recent losses LRCAPing my "bait" forces. Fortunately I kept enough back as I figured he'd riposte such losses with an attack of his own. Here is the first raid of the day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Amboina [Ambon] , at 40,74

Japanese aircraft
Ki-264 Behemoth x 49
Ki-49 -I Helen x 113
Ki-264 Angel x 142

And the second. Fully 191 Ki-264s and 113 Ki-49s ranged over Amboina, taking horrific losses from my fighter defences ( which include the fighters which flew off my CVs yesterday prior to their docking at Amboina harbour.

Allied aircraft
Seafire II x 23
F4U-1 CV Corsair x 15
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
F6F-5 Hellcat x 37
F4U-1 Corsair x 12
P-51B Mustang XP x 10
P-35A Hawk x 19
P-39D Airacobra x 42
P-40E Warhawk x 10
Beaufighter Mk X x 3
Hurricane IIc x 11
Kittyhawk I x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-264 Behemoth: 40 destroyed
Ki-49 -I Helen: 40 destroyed, 12 damaged
Ki-264 Angel: 66 destroyed, 10 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Seafire II: 2 destroyed, 11 damaged
F4U-1 CV Corsair: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
F6F-5 Hellcat: 8 destroyed, 21 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
P-51B Mustang XP: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-35A Hawk: 8 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 11 destroyed, 20 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed, 4 damaged
Beaufighter Mk X: 2 destroyed
Hurricane IIc: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged
Kittyhawk I: 3 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 2

Runway hits 3

Only 11 bombers survived to drop their bombs. They caused only minimal damage.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Taytay [Palawan] , at 40,54

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 5
Ki-48-II Lily x 66
Ki-21-II Sally x 9
Ki-49 -I Helen x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 52

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Taytay [Palawan] , at 40,54

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 1
Ki-49 -I Helen x 12

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jolo [Jolo] , at 39,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 20
B5N2 Kate x 3
Ki-21-II Sally x 26
Ki-46III Dinah x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 103
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 3
B4Y1 Jean x 33

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zeke: 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 14

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA 18th Ind Mixed Brigade, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 64
Ki-115 Sabre x 4
Ki-43-II Oscar x 22

Here's the LRCAP over the IJA troops in "the bend". I sent in a sweep of some 200 fighters and, fortunately, it took care of most of them, giving my bombers pretty free rein... which proved instrumental to the success of the ground assault later that day.

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 18
F4U-1 Corsair x 47
P-39Q Airacobra x 13
P-40E Warhawk x 24
Lancer x 3
Spitfire VIII x 3
IL-2 Shturmovik x 238
IL-2M Shturmovik x 118
LaGG-3 x 32
La-5FN x 29
MiG-3 x 63
SB-2M x 5
Yak-3 x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44III Tojo: 65 destroyed
Ki-115 Sabre: 4 destroyed
Ki-43-II Oscar: 23 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 21 destroyed
P-39Q Airacobra: 10 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 21 destroyed
Lancer: 1 destroyed
Spitfire VIII: 1 destroyed
IL-2 Shturmovik: 13 destroyed, 9 damaged
IL-2M Shturmovik: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged
LaGG-3: 19 destroyed
La-5FN: 19 destroyed
MiG-3: 44 destroyed
Yak-3: 13 destroyed, 1 damaged

The 93 Japanese fighters destroyed cost me 149 fighters which means I wouldn't be able to repeat this victory tomorrow. On the other hand it won me control of the air for the crucial day and that allowed me to gain the objective. More and more I find myself having to do this; pick a particular day, throw absolutely everything into the air for that one day, accept massive losses that day and hope that in doing so the bombers get through, attack with ground forces on the same day and hope that the ground assault can gain its objectives in a single day. Its a really tough proposition. The only reason it is working is that I'm keeping Damian off balance with multiple threat axes and he himself admits he is finding it difficult to concentrate on any one axis and wipe it out.

Japanese ground losses:
67 casualties reported
Guns lost 3
Vehicles lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA 18th Ind Mixed Brigade, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 11
Ki-43-II Oscar x 1

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 13
Beaufort VII x 3
TBM-1 Avenger x 6

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
8 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA 116th Division, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 25
Ki-43-II Oscar x 3

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 9
IL-2 Shturmovik x 36
IL-2M Shturmovik x 16

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 2 destroyed
IL-2 Shturmovik: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged
IL-2M Shturmovik: 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA 116th Division, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 11
Ki-43-II Oscar x 1

Allied aircraft
IL-4C x 5

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA 31st Division, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 25
Ki-43-II Oscar x 3

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 22
P-38G Lightning x 3
Beaufort VII x 6
TBM-1 Avenger x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed
TBM-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
12 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA Imperial Guards Division, at 32,36

Allied aircraft
B-26A Marauder x 22
Blenheim IV x 9
Buffalo/F2A x 16
Hudson IV x 7
Hurricane I x 56
Hurricane IIc x 16
Lancer x 105

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
24 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 51,29

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 19
Ki-48-II Lily x 22
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3
Ki-46III Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on ROC 61st Field Army , at 49,33

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 1 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red 15th Guerilla Regiment, at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 42
D3A2 Val x 13
Ki-46III Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Amboina [Ambon] , at 40,74

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 19
G9M1 Marlina x 29

Allied aircraft
Seafire II x 9
F4U-1 CV Corsair x 9
F4F-4 Wildcat x 4
F6F-5 Hellcat x 14
F4U-1 Corsair x 5
P-51B Mustang XP x 7
P-35A Hawk x 15
P-39D Airacobra x 17
P-40E Warhawk x 7
Beaufighter Mk X x 3
Hurricane IIc x 7
Kittyhawk I x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 18 destroyed
G9M1 Marlina: 27 destroyed

A group of Marlinas on Port Attack. Tutt, tutt. That's actually prohibited by our rules. Still, I'm sure its an oversight and hardly worth mentioning under the circumstances.

Allied aircraft losses
Seafire II: 2 damaged
F6F-5 Hellcat: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed
P-51B Mustang XP: 1 damaged
P-35A Hawk: 2 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed
Hurricane IIc: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
Kittyhawk I: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied Ships
AP Chaumont, Bomb hits 1, on fire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Taihoku [Formosa] at 49,44

Allied aircraft
Beaufighter Mk X x 13

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
LCM AG-1771N, Shell hits 4
LCM AG-1701A, Shell hits 4
LCVP AG-1457A, Shell hits 8, on fire, heavy damage
LCM AG-1734A, Shell hits 4, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

These Beaufighters are really beginning to do a good job on the barges.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 39,74

Japanese aircraft
Ki-115 Sabre x 17

Allied aircraft
P-51B Mustang XP x 3
P-35A Hawk x 9
P-39D Airacobra x 9
P-40E Warhawk x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-115 Sabre: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied Ships
LCVP 532K
LCVP 592F, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 25778 troops, 540 guns, 491 vehicles, Assault Value = 976

Defending force 119878 troops, 1819 guns, 52 vehicles, Assault Value = 3287

Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 81830 troops, 1518 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3287

Defending force 65472 troops, 826 guns, 759 vehicles, Assault Value = 976

Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 48,36

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 38714 troops, 339 guns, 1051 vehicles, Assault Value = 2146

Defending force 33982 troops, 537 guns, 85 vehicles, Assault Value = 927

Allied max assault: 3720 - adjusted assault: 3199

Japanese max defense: 508 - adjusted defense: 1171

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
241 casualties reported
Guns lost 11

Allied ground losses:
1411 casualties reported
Guns lost 33
Vehicles lost 12

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Excellent, my forces have made it. This means now that I can send a small force north of the riverbend ( which in conjunction with Chinese Army forces coming south from Honan etc will freeze two hexes of IJA forces) whilst sending the majority of the force ( about 4,500 AV ) directly east threatening to cut his forces at Nanchang off from Shanghai.

My goal here is to force him to retreat along a 300 mile front and turn this into a general retreat and pursuit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 25,44

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4953 troops, 71 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 179

Defending force 6186 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 160

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 32,36

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3635 troops, 173 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 95

Defending force 1046 troops, 0 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported

I haven't seen the turn yet but Damian tells me he is 180 miles north of Amboina with his carriers. With a little luck he'll hang around, send his BBs and CAs in for a bombardment and keep his CVs there for devastating strikes. That's fine, I'll lose more than him, probably by a factor of 2 or 3 to 1 but I can replace what I lose more easily than he can. Here's to a bloodbath tomorrow.[:D]

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:49 am

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 04/14/43

Well, today the IJN CVs are back north of Amboina. It looks like Damian has decided not to push his luck. The main news though is that the ground offensive in China gets off to a smashing success and it looks like the Chinese front may well be blown open.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack at 61,44

Japanese Ships
AP Daitei Maru
DE Nanyo [Job 867]

Allied Ships
SS Argonaut

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Naha [Okinawa] at 54,46

Japanese Ships
DD Hitachi
DD Hato
DD Tomozuru
DD Hakaze
DD Sazanami

Allied Ships
SS SC-743, hits 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Rabaul [New Br] at 62,90

Japanese Ships
AK Nana Maru, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Cisco

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Nanchang [C China] , at 48,38

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 40
Ki-43-II Oscar x 4
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 24

I really wanted these fighters so I sent in whatever I had available. I lose a lot of IL-2s and IL-2Ms but that's fine, I get 15 new ones a day. What really hurts is the loss of almost half a month's worth of Pe-2s.

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 36
F4U-1 Corsair x 15
P-39Q Airacobra x 3
IL-2 Shturmovik x 284
IL-2M Shturmovik x 142
LaGG-3 x 9
La-5FN x 4
MiG-3 x 12
Pe-2 x 86
SB-2M x 5
Yak-3 x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44III Tojo: 23 destroyed
Ki-43-II Oscar: 3 destroyed
Ki-45 KAIb Nick: 13 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-39Q Airacobra: 3 destroyed
IL-2 Shturmovik: 22 destroyed, 11 damaged
IL-2M Shturmovik: 15 destroyed, 3 damaged
LaGG-3: 7 destroyed
MiG-3: 11 destroyed
Pe-2: 14 destroyed, 3 damaged
Yak-3: 6 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 34
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 241

Well, that's that base closed and those ground forces left bereft of air cover. This will either force Damian to withdraw immediately or he'll stand firm and sacrifice this force in order to delay me. It is a lot to sacrifice for a delaying action though. Either way though I must launch a ground attack tomorrow. My ground forces are finally getting resupplied properly again due to the efforts of bombers flying supplies in from India ( I have AKs bringing 110,000 tons of supplies in from India but they're still a fortnight away) and tomorrow I need to strike to either fix the enemy in place OR hope that enough of the enemy are withdrawing to allow me to Shock Attack the rest of them out of Nanchang.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Nanchang [C China] , at 48,38

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 12
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 9

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 49
B-19A x 30
P-38G Lightning x 2
Beaufort VII x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 57

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Nanchang [C China] , at 48,38

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 12
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 9

Allied aircraft
IL-4C x 24

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
IL-4C: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 33

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Morotai [NEI] , at 43,68

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 2
G9M1 Marlina x 43

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported

Port hits 2
Port supply hits 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jolo [Jolo] , at 39,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 25
D3A2 Val x 3
B5N2 Kate x 7
Ki-21-II Sally x 48
Ki-49 -I Helen x 41

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 57

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 100
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 3
B4Y1 Jean x 34

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zeke: 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-II Lily x 34

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-II Lily: 1 damaged

Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 65

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Majuro [Nanyo] , at 84,88

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 22

No Allied losses

Port hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72

Allied aircraft
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 33

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 47

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA 18th Ind Mixed Brigade, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-115 Sabre x 9

Allied aircraft
TBM-1 Avenger x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
TBM-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red Army 120th Division, at 51,29

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6
Ki-48-II Lily x 9
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3
Ki-46III Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
9 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 51,29

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 15
Ki-48-II Lily x 12
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3
Ki-46III Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red 15th Guerilla Regiment, at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 44
D3A2 Val x 13
Ki-46III Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 40,67

Japanese aircraft
F1M2 Pete-FF x 4
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 3
Ki-44III Tojo x 263
Ki-115 Sabre x 18
Ki-43-II Oscar x 54

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 10
P-38G Lightning x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe-FF: 1 destroyed
Ki-44III Tojo: 1 damaged
Ki-43-II Oscar: 12 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged
P-38G Lightning: 8 destroyed

I flew in a squadron of B-17s just to worry Damian a little. They are bombing from extreme altitude so they won't hit anything but it'll annoy and discomfit him and that counts for something.

Japanese Ships
CA Furutaka

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 40,67

Japanese aircraft
F1M2 Pete-FF x 4
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 2
Ki-44III Tojo x 252
Ki-115 Sabre x 18
Ki-43-II Oscar x 24

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 3
P-38G Lightning x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-II Oscar: 6 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged
P-38G Lightning: 5 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 25749 troops, 539 guns, 492 vehicles, Assault Value = 976

Defending force 119839 troops, 1818 guns, 52 vehicles, Assault Value = 3286

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 81827 troops, 1518 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3286

Defending force 65413 troops, 826 guns, 761 vehicles, Assault Value = 976

Japanese ground losses:
9 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 48,36

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 42175 troops, 327 guns, 1459 vehicles, Assault Value = 2663

Defending force 6683 troops, 107 guns, 67 vehicles, Assault Value = 201

Allied max assault: 3304 - adjusted assault: 2222

Japanese max defense: 128 - adjusted defense: 397

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
49 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Allied ground losses:
455 casualties reported
Guns lost 11
Vehicles lost 8

Brilliant, for some reason a Mixed Brigade remained in the river bend today after all of the other units were forced out yesterday. Another Shock Attack took care of that problem though and so the first door eastward is now open.

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 25,44

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4965 troops, 72 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 179

Defending force 6178 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 160

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 32,36

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3631 troops, 173 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 95

Defending force 1070 troops, 0 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Japanese ground losses:
3 casualties reported

I'll post pictures of the situation tomorrow once I know whether Nanchang will fall quickly or whether Damian is going to try to fight and die there as that will determine how things proceed. All in all though it looks as the Chinese gambit will work out which is a relief as I have neither the naval nor aerial strength to beat Damian and must compensate by trying to make as much ground as possible on the ground.

Capt. Harlock · Post by **Capt. Harlock** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 5:18 pm

I have neither the naval nor aerial strength to beat Damian and must compensate by trying to make as much ground as possible on the ground.

After seeing the numbers of Tojo III's on LRCAP I can believe it. I notice that your B-19's only fly intermittently as well. I am impressed, however, by your ability to put together a scratch force of large numbers of different kinds of fighters when the need is there. BTW, if I were Damian I'd pull the Oscar II's off the line and give the pilots some more survivable airframes.

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:03 am

Harlock,

I think that the Oscar II and Ki-115 units are being filled with his low-experience pilots. I would say that his Ki-44 III units are at between 60 and 70 experience ( probably about 10 points below what they were 6 months ago ) while his Oscar II and Ki-115 units are at about 40 to low-60s experience. As such their poor performance is probably a mix of poor pilots and poor airframes.

I think the Oscar IIs on the front are out of Damian's fear of Pe-2s and B-17s. As you know I don't think this fear is justified so I'd pull the Oscar IIs out but Damian certainly fears the Pe-2s and B-17s and thus the Oscars remain at the front. In return for his Oscar losses he knows I am standing my B-17s down and letting them rebuild.

B19s etc. Yes, most of my bombers are stood down in order to build up a reserve, allow appropriate upgrading/downgrading to get the mix of bombers I want and also to await the capture of the appropriate airbases.

Appropriate airbases? Yes, the airbases around Shanghai in China. I want those coastal airbases to base my bombers at for a concentrated bombing campaign of mainland China ( plus to support my amphibious invasion of Korea ) and to tempt the enemy bomber forces into sacrificial raids on my own bases ( I don't have the fighters to go after them on their own home turf ).

So, to explain the picture below basically I have three thrusts running through southern China:
1. Sinyang: This is a thrust by the Northern Area Army comprising some 3,000 AV. The other half of the NAA is west of Kaifeng keeping a watchful eye on the large Japanese army force at Kaifeng. This force will push eastward before turning north to Suchow. As it turns north it will be reinforced by most of the British and Indian Armies ( 4,000 or so AV ) and, later, a significant portion of the Southern Area Army ( 12,000 AV ).

2. Kiukiang: The British and Indian Armies are pushing east from Kiukiang to force the Japanese back into Nanking and Suchow. My goal is to force as many into Soochow as possible so as to keep the forces available to hold me along the Kaifeng/Suchow line to a minimum. I really want to be able to pin the Japanese back into Peking and Tientsien.

3. Nangchang. The Southern Area Army ( SAA) is pursuing the enemy formations eastwards towards Shanghai. Once it invests SHanghai it will be tasked with taking the 4 bases with dark green arrows pointing to them. Why? Well, it'll eliminate enemy forces behind my lines and it'll secure a large number of Level 9 airfields for my bomber forces.

Level 9 airfields in eastern China which I plan to take:
Haichow, Soochow, Hangchow, Wenchow and Tsingtao.

Those 5 bases will allow me to base 300 bombers + 150 fighters at each base and that's more than enough to pound Japan into the dirt. Even twin-engined bombers like the basic B-25 can range all the way to Nagoya from some of these bases. Sure I'll take losses because I can't actually sweep the enemy fighters out of the way but I figure that 1500 bombers appearing over a Japanese city should be able to sweep 50 enemy fighters away and obliterate most of the important economic infrastructure in that city in a single day.

Repeat that 15 times a month for 3 or 4 months and Japan will be in real trouble... I plan to concentrate on removing fighter production in order to maximise the benefits which will accrue from the great increase in fighter numbers from September 1943 and then make a real effort to wrest aerial superiority from the Japanese once and for all.

The Peking/Tsientsien line:
I plan to allow the Japanese to fall back to the Peking/Tsientsien line relatively unhindered before building up Tsingtsao into a major naval and aerial base which I will use to either:
a) land behind the Peking/Tsientsien line somewhere between Peking and Anshaan with a view to dislocating it ( that's really only a small pincer though and really not ambitious or difficult enough to be satisfying )
b) force a landing on the western Korean coast with a view to dislocating both the Peking/Tsientsien line and the line the Manchurian Army is holding against the Soviets. Now THAT is ambitious, difficult and prone to massive failure ---- so, quite fun.

Obviously, while I'll kid myself that I may do the small pincer it is about 99% certain that I'll go for the big pincer into Korea- especially as that'll get me into fighter range of the Home Islands.

So, really, apart from a single 5 hex amphibious invasion ( Tsingtao to Western Korea ) every victory in China etc from Java onward will have been won by a hard ground slog with minimal naval or aerial participation ( which is good cause neither my air force nor my navy can survive when faced with strong Japanese opposition ).

Capt. Harlock · Post by **Capt. Harlock** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:24 pm

The word from Damian is that the game has begun to move forward again. How is the aerial battle holding?

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:00 pm

Yeah I'm back after probably my longest period without checking email etc in over 5 years... Hint to others: If you are going abroad on a holiday try not to get food poisoning followed by cellulitis which had the local doctor in the foreign country insisting you be admitted to the local hospital - resulting in a rather speedier return to one's home country. On the plus side I lost 5 kilos ( 11 lbs ) in just 6 days due to the vomitting and not feeling like eating a damn thing [:D] but I've been feeling pretty crap for the past 3 weeks - hence my disappearance from the face of the earth. I have to trawl through my mail and contact Hartwig next...
 
 
Anyways, onto the game...
Well, the Allied fighters are getting slaughtered by Ki-44IIIs as normal but I just keep tossing them up in the air to keep up the pretence of endless numbers. We've hit 1st May 1943 which means that I now get 29 Corsairs per month for my British CVs ( VERY handy ), 25 P-47Cs per month for my USAAF squadrons, a few more bombers types and, rather importantly, 78 Yak-9Ds per month. That means my first-rate fighter replacements per month just got doubled. Still not enough to keep up with Damian but between the catastrophic ground situation in China and the wear and tear on his CVs from patrolling south of the Phillipines I think he is going to be too busy to really think the implications of the air war through.
 
In other news he seems to be sending a LOT of ships to China. I have torpedoed or aerially bombed about a dozen in just 3 days. I am reading this as an attempt to bolster his defences in China.... AT THE EXPENSE OF JAPAN PROPER !!!!! That's a HUGE mistake... He'll never hold me south of Peking in China and sending troops there from Japan just means that Japan will have less troops to defend it when the time comes. Sure Japan probably still have 3,000+ AV sitting behind Level 9 forts but better 3,000 AV than 5,000 AV [:D]
 
In other news the mass of bombers which began arriving last month is finally having an effect and from a low of less than 100 bombers in reserve I now have almost 300 in reserve. Another month or two of this and I'll have the reserves for a serious strategic bombing campaign ( and the airbases to deliver it from ).
 
Supplies in China are catastrophically low but I have a shuttle of AKs running to Bombay now. The first 110,000 tons of supplies have arrived back to China today with another 100,000 to follow every fortnight. 2 more months and that'll give me some 400,000 tons of supplies into China which ought to be enough to support some major bomber attacks.
 
In terms of the navy. I'm still massively outgunned with many of my squadrons being forced to fly Wildcats due to losses. Still, my CVs are at sea dancing to and fro making it lookd like I'm just dying to find an opening to launch a strike on the IJN. This is having the effect of keeping them back as only a madman would risk a fight with a vastly superior force [:D]

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:54 pm

Well, we've progressed through to almost the end of May. The clearing of south-eastern CHina is continuing apace with large IJA concentrations being lured into forward positions where they can be bypassed and rendered useless for the invasion of Japan.

Examples:
Approximately 6,000 to 8,000 AV of Japanese troops ( about 20 divisions ) are holding the line at Kaifeng, Soochow, Nanking and around Shanghai... Positions which can be easily bypassed on the way to Peking and Tientsin. Obviously I'm sure Damian will extricate a subtantial portion of those forces but doing so will require either:

a) a major committment of his air transport assets ( easy kills and training for my fighter pilots ) or

b) a major committment of his naval transport forces ( which will require coverage by masses of fighters on LRCAP +/- his CVs

The truth is I'm quite happy to let him evacuate. Trapping his forces in China and destroying them here would remove the challenge from invading Japan but while I'll allow him his escape I'm not quite kind-hearted enough to let his escape be costless.

In other news:

1. The main drag on my Chinese operations has been the massive supply requirement of my massed bomber and infantry forces. I have brought an additional 200,000 tons of supply into China and even still several of my bases are short of supply. I am responding by completing the movement of American forces from the Kwajalein region and am about 10 days away from landing 230,000 US and Australian troops and more than 250,000 tons of supplies at Hong Kong.

This ought to give my ground forces sufficient supplies to have full supplies and then I can push hard. If I had the supplies I'd already be pushing hard but the truth is that if his ground forces have full supplies ( as they should have ) then his ground forces in the China region are superior to mine and a ruthless massing of ground forces WOULD be sufficient to push me back. Of course psychologically I've created a situation in which the concept of a ground offensive shouldn't occur to Damian at all until it is far too late.

2. I took Wake with 2 regiments of US infantry after bombing it till it was out of supplies. Next target will be Wake Island which I will, again, bomb into an out-of-supply situation and then manoeuvre against. I have several infantry divisions and hordes of engineers ready for this manoeuvre and, hopefully, within a couple of months I'll have the LSTs and AKs available for this manoeuvre.

Future plans:

1. Fighters:
At present I have 36 Spitfire VIIIs, 49 P51s, 48 P47s and 177 land-based Corsairs. I have another 350 fighters on my CVs. Obviously this isn't very much when Damian can mass 200 Tojo III Demons over any of his bases day after day after day. On the other hand I have enough bombers to fly through what is left after I fling the above fighters at them in a massive sweep and bomb that base into oblivion. That's what I did to Shanghai and what I plan to do to the rest of China and Korea.

2. China and shortening the SLOCs. My over-arching strategic priorities right now are two-fold:

A. Shorten the SLOCs ( Sea Lines of Communication ) such that I have the shortest sea route possible from India to America. I don't want to mess around with hugging the edge of the map. I want to push convoys from CONUS through Pearl Harbour, Midway, Wake, Marcus, the Bonins, Okinawa and into China and vice versa. That will save me over a month's steaming from my current route which runs from CONUSA to Kwajalein then to Noumea, then to Sydney, then up the east coast of Oz and then to Amboina, Soerabaja, Singapore and finally Hong Kong.

Shortening the SLOCs will:
a) allow me to bring forces into action more quickly
b) allow me to free more AKs up for the transport of supplies
c) give me bases on all 4 corners of Japan ( China, Bonins, possibly Korea and the Kuriles )

B. Cutting Japan off from all possible shipping of resources/oil from the Phillipines/DEI. I have left a couple of fast DD TFs in the DEI to harass his forces at Balikpapan and may launch a few costly bomber raids to close Tarakan and Balikpapan but, obviously, it'd be nicer to just concentrate those forces near Japan and just sink the TKs as they pass.

So, that's the basic situation. I'm actually overmatched in the air and on the sea quite severely and my supply situation means the ground forces can't stand and fight BUT so long as I can manoeuvre around I can make myself look a lot more dangerous than I am, keep the initiative and keep Damian responding to me instead of just deciding to crush me like a bug. It's fun to play a game like this when you don't have overwhelming superiority, keeps things interesting.

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:33 pm

Fakery and Mind-games....
 
I've moved the large American fleet ( almost 400 ships ) past western Borneo but doing this leaves me the opportunity to sneak an operation in... I've left Balikpapan alone for a while now but my spidey-sense is all atingle telling me that Damian is going to take the opportunity provided by the removal of those nasty US warships  from the area to sneak a few big tanker convoys in to pull all the remaining OIL out of Balikpapan.
 
So, I've pulled 3 of my 4 SC TFs out of the fleet and am sending them into Balikpapan overnight. That's a total of 75 CAs, CLs and DDs going in tonight to bombard the airfield. Tomorrow during the daytime my P51s ( all two squadrons of them ) and ALL of my CV-based Hellcats are going to sweep the air over Balikpapan before my long-range bombers from Hong Kong fly in to pound the airfield. All of the bombers from Amboina have been assigned to Soerabaja as well as the B-25Js and Hs from China and ALL of them are assigned to fly anti-shipping strikes at 100 feet.
 
I'm quite intrigued at what might happen to tankers loaded with OIL or FUEL if they get hit by the rockets or cannon mounted on the B25Js or Hs. Since getting the experience for the B25J and H models up to close to 80 they are really butchering barges, sinking 3 to 4 barges every day so I expect that if they launch against tankers those tankers are going to get clobbered.
 
 
Upsides to this operation:
1. Keeps his CVs focused on southern Borneo while my major fleet ( which he could easily attack and overwhelm given his huge naval air superiority ) sneaks past and into Hong Kong ( where my land-based fighters can provide the fighter numbers I so desperately need if I'm to survive his CV forces).
 
2. Provides cover for a reinforcement operation which will deliver an aviation regiment ( 270 air support ) to Soerabaja and 4 engineer units to my base on western Borneo just 4 hexes from Balikpapan.
 
3. Sets the groundwork for massed bomber raids on Balikpapan and Tarakan with a view to destroying his OIL production capacity in those two areas.
 
4. By combining 3 naval forces, day fighter sweeps from one base, airfield strikes from Hong Kong and anti-shipping strikes from Soerabaja I'm creating quite a complex operation which, obviously has more failure points than a simple operation but the point with play is to put together challenging operations. No point winning if you never challenged yourself or risked.
 
 
Downside:
1. With only 200 fighters available to cover the airbases and naval forces involved the IJN CVs can easily overwhelm my aerial defences.
 
2. To gather those 200 fighters I have had to strip my transport fleet of most of its fighters and at present it can muster just over 100 fighters for its defence. If he hits it now then it dies. Still, winning when one doesn't risk and just waits for overwhelming superiority would be supremely uninteresting
 
3. Complex operations which seek to achieve a week's worth of steady benefit in a single day of all-out action beget satisfaction when things go well but also allow for the possibility of massive failure.
 
4. There might be nothing there at all in which case I'll have my spidey-sense taken out and shot for treason.... and I won't be able to try the surface raid gambit again at Balikpapan. I'll still close it with airstrikes etc but that won't be as difficult or satisfying as this operation.

Capt. Harlock · Post by **Capt. Harlock** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:51 pm

At present I have 36 Spitfire VIIIs, 49 P51s, 48 P47s and 177 land-based Corsairs.

How about Soviet fighters? (Although they're somewhat harder to bring to bear against various places.)

Kudos for the very insightful AAR. I assume you can't send anything heavier than a CA against Balikpapan because of speed constraints?

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 4:24 pm

Soviet fighters: Well, I don't have the squadron I need to upgrade to the Yak-9D ( which is a superb fighter ) so I'm pretty hamstrung at the moment trying to make do with Yak3s and La5s but I only get about 70 of those per month and the poor Soviet replacement pilot quality is a real problem () Soviet replacements only have an Exp of 40 ) so no matter how good the plane is once you have to take replacements into the squadron losses skyrocket. I've pulled several Soviet fighter units out of the line and am training them before disbanding them back into front-line units. This way I might only be able to maintain 60 Soviet fighters at the front but those fighters will be survivable instead of maintaining 300 but having the potential to lose all 300 in an afternoon due to poor pilot experience.
 
CAs.. Precisely... plus it isn't needed. If the bombers don't close the field then it doesn't matter what ships I send...
 
 
In other news:
 
The raid went well, it would appear I caught a major tanker convoy and managed to sink about a half-dozen of them plus a few patrol craft when the results of my DD strikes and low-level bombing raids were tabulated.
 
My bombers from Hong Kong closed the field at Tarakan and then the next day they levelled the oilfields. Instead of some 300+ OIL centres there are now only 60... and when I free a couple of divisions of Aussie troops I'll take Balikpapan entirely.
 
 
My next target is Tarakan which I'll sweep and bomb tomorrow. I'll close the field and then he'll either have to LRCAP it with fighters from his CVs ( freezing his CVs in place while my shipping makes the dangerous journey from northern Borneo to Hong Kong ) or accept that I'll bomb his OIL centres in Tarakan back into nothingness in two days time.
 
Here's a good example of the subordination of operations to strategic goals. My strategic goal is to allow my greatly inferior fleet to move along the length of the enemy's perimeter whilst creating such trouble at other points of the perimeter that the enemy main fleet doesn't concentrate and crush me. Each of the operations I've launched has the job of:
a) pinning enemy CVs in place or luring them out of position
b) threatening something Damian really must try to defend
c) complicating the enemy tactical and operational picture such that he can't decide on a reaction until I've already moved on ( really I'm just overwhelming his OODA cycle here ).

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:16 am

Khorne demands his sacrifice and by gum he's going to get it....
 
Several enemy CV TFs have been seen transitting the area in between Eastern Borneo and Jolo. It appears clear that the enemy has decided to force action between my CVs and his fleet... Well, my 3 CVs and about 6 CVEs

. I imagine Damian probably has a dozen CVs and a similar number of CVLs and CVEs in these fleets as I count 5 CV TFs in the same hex.
 
My CV airgroups are weakened by recent losses around Balikpapan but I have decided that I need to bar the Japanese fleet from easily destroying the transports. Accordingly, yesterday, I ordered a costly raid on Manilla with the aim of destroying large numbers of Bettys, G9Ms and Ki-264s on the ground there. There weren't many Ki-264 variants on the field but over 100 enemy bombers were destroyed on the ground. Overall losses slightly favoured the ALlies with some 160 Allied planes b eing downed in return for some 260 Japanese planes. Furthermore the airfield was closed forcing a displacement to Clarke field and the disruption of enemy land-based strikes for a day or two.
 
 
Since the enemy land-based air has been disrupted I now have a 2 day window of opportunity and I'm going to take it. My transports are ordered to flee towards Saigon while my BBs and CVs/CVEs block the Japanese path 300 miles south-east of Saigon. I can only put up about 160 Hellcats, 60 Corsairs and 40 or so Seafires so I've flown in about 70 Wildcats ( they'll die quickly but they're better than nothing ) and am transitting large numbers of modern fighters to Saigon. I already have the whole CHinese air force ( flying Lancers but with high experience - most of their pilots are over 70 Exp ) and my entire complement of P-38s ( 96 of them ) at Saigon flying LRCAP over the CVs.
 
I also have hordes of planes which can LRCAP out to 240 miles. WHy notput my CVs at 240 miles then? Well, I believe I have enough strength to hold for the first day with just my CV-based fighters and I really want to goad Damian into following me closer to the shore on Day 2. Why? Well, on Day 1 I can probably destroy 200 to 250 of his planes in return for 300 of mine but on Day 2 when my land-based fighters truly enter the fray I will have P-47s, Spitfire VIIIs, MiGs and suchlike in the air and would be hopeful of destroying another 250 to 300 IJN planes at acceptable cost. Damian can replace 150 fighters and 100 strike planes pretty easily but doubling those losses will really savage his airgroups. So the 2nd day is crucial.
 
 
Of course there will be leakers and I will lose some shipping. Personally I'm quite prepared to lose a CV and CVE + 1 BB. Anything more than that would be disappointing unless I lose them during a 2-day battle in which case killing 500 first-rate pilots will be worth the cost.
 
 
In other news: In 75 days time I will have 3 Essex Class CVs and 4 CVLs available in the Kwajalein area to support my next amphibious invasion. That is one of the reasons I want to savage his CV airpower now. I need to "shape" things so that the Essexes can be decisive in spite of their small numbers. To do that the IJN airgroups need to be savaged such that 3 Essexes can handle triple the number of IJN CVs.
 
So, all in all tomorrow should be as bloody as all hell. I don't mind if I lose my entire CV-based fighter complement so long as not too many CVs and CVEs get hit.... I would also pay good money to see the look on Damian's face when he realises that the force of CVs he's been stalking for months actually comprised two USN CVs, the Illustrious and a whole load of CVEs. I'm sure he thinks it is much, much more formidable than that. 

cantona2 · Post by **cantona2** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:52 am

Khorne! Bah the Emperor of Mankind will destory you Chaos scum!

Capt. Harlock · Post by **Capt. Harlock** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 6:25 pm

There weren't many Ki-264 variants on the field but over 100 enemy bombers were destroyed on the ground. Overall losses slightly favoured the ALlies with some 160 Allied planes b eing downed in return for some 260 Japanese planes.

I don't want to give away too much, but Damian is quoting somewhat different numbers, and he posted a detailed breakdown. Are you sure you did your sums right?

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:36 pm

Ah well I'm not really a detail kind of guy. I have enough in my pools to replace my losses, that's what matters to me. Also I think Damian might be listing only planes destroyed on the ground when quite a few were destroyed in the air.

So, we had our CV battle. It seems like he might have gotten a 250Kg bomb into a CVE but only hit one of my CVs with a 60Kg bomb. So, one CVE will be in dock for ages but about 300 IJN fighters and strike planes have been downed. Tomorrow major fighter LRCAP from Saigon will fully cover the carrier and transport groups and they'll be perfectly safe unless Damian wants to run into the buzzsaw of some 400 Corsairs, Spitfires, MiGs, P38s, P47s etc. I don't think he'll take that risk.

I have enough Hellcats and Corsairs to rebuild the CV airgroups and then I'll move onto Hong Kong. Once at Hong Kong I'll conduct a few repairs and then begin putting into action the long-planned naval offensives around China. This will be a mix of fast transport TFs, a few parachute invasions and one or two slow convoys. I'm also going to try to split Damian's attention between Korea, the Home Islands and the Phillipines. All of this should help him burn more and more fuel which has been one of my goals for months, Right now it seems he is critically short. WHen I told him I would soon have 1 million tons of fuel at Hong Kong he intimated that he had less than that on-map. I'm not sure if I can believe that but I think he must be pretty low.... This augers well for my operations in the Pacific as the fuel cost of intervening with his whole fleet would simply be prohibitive - which is good as I'll only have 3 CVs available to cover these operations.

Logistics, logistics, logistics. It all comes down to logistics.

Nemo121 · Post by **Nemo121** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:20 pm

Well, time for a little update. My CVs and CVEs are limping into Hong Kong. I managed to get all of the transports there without loss except for a single 1,000 ton AK which had slowed to 9 knots and which I detached to deliver supplies to northern Borneo. Mission completed it was sunk by KB.

In other news my USMC F4F4 squadrons continued to do poorly... and by poorly I mean every single F4F4 in the TF was shot down during the battle. About half of the pilots were rescued and now that they've reached Hong Kong I'm rebuilding those F4F4 groups again with a view to providing a bit of bomber defence if his bombers come in without fighter escort in future.

F6F and F4U Corsair numbers were sufficient to allow the rebuilding of the Corsair and Hellcat USN squadrons.

In other news I am choosing the first debarkation points for my USN TFs and with a view to their arrival in the Chinese theatre I began my next offensive by pushing the Japanese army ( some 1200 AV ) out of Hangchow in a single day of heavy fighting. Hangchow has the potential to become a Level 9 port and Level 9 airfield and, as such, I am considering making it my closest fleet base to Japan. Several ARs are already on their way from PH to take up position in Hangchow harbour.

The picture below shows the major Chinese army thrusts in yellow... I intend to add the British Army to the thrust aimed at Peking and will add the US Army to the thrust aimed at Shanghai. When Shanghai falls I will have a total of 5 potential Level 9 airfields within P-51 range of the Japanese mainland west of and including Osaka. This will allow me to mount fighter sweeps over these bases using P-51s and follow these fighter sweeps with bomber raids. Preliminary recon indicates a total of 3000 HI lie in these bases and once I have sufficient P-51s ( by the end of the month I should be able to mount a 100 fighter sweep of these bases ) I should be able to begin seriously hitting these bases.

It'll be costly but significant reductions in HI will draw more and more fighters into defensive postures, force the IJN to base itself farther and farther east out of range of massed port attacks and will reduce the enemy HI. I estimate that Damian has about 13,000 HI at present. Removing 1/4 of this HI should significantly reduce his ability to replace naval and army losses. Planes are, relatively speaking, cheap and I expect he will maintain Ki-44III production at all costs. That's ok though as I have a plan for that also.

In other news:
1. I've identified a significant gap in the enemy defences. Sooner rather than later another pin-prick raid far behind enemy lines can be expected in order to take a position which critically threatens enemy SLOCs. Damian will just bomb it back into the stone age but, again, whenever he has to do this to a base that's another 200 bombers which aren't bombing my front line formations and delaying them. So, it all complicates his strategic position and helps me out.

2. Once Shanghai is taken I am undecided as to how to proceed. I am torn between:
a) landing in southern Korea and securing bases within P47 range of mainland Japan.
b) landing just east of Peking and rupturing the entire Northern China/Manchuria position with a view to bringing the Soviets into the war in a major way or
c) just island hopping from Formosa to Kyushu.

The island hopping campaign is the least risky but also least rewarding. What it will do though is cut the enemy SLOCs to his southern and Phillipine possessions and that's something I'm rather eager to do.

Defeating the Devil !!! ( aka Damian )

RE: String and the games we play.

RE: String and the games we play.

RE: String and the games we play.

RE: String and the games we play.

RE: String and the games we play.

RE: A good day for the Allies

RE: A good day for the Allies

RE: A good day for the Allies

RE: A good day for the Allies

Game Back On

RE: Game Back On

Updates....

RE: Updates....

RE: Updates....

RE: Updates....

Blood for the blood God.

RE: Blood for the blood God.

RE: Blood for the blood God.

RE: Blood for the blood God.

RE: Blood for the blood God.