Semi noob Battle of the Ages Ketza(Japan) vrs Schwartzkie(Allies)

[Ketza]

I quickly became bored of my AI game on Ironman so I wandered off and found an Allied player for scenario 2. I just could not find the same level of satisfaction that a game against a human being gives. We started with the usual options but no Historical start and only one port attack. Scenario 2 with the extra supplies should give me a chance to learn the Japanese economy and not be overly concerned about wasting some supplies and fuel while doing so.

This is an open AAR so I will not be delving into my strategic thinking (or lack of) just present what has happened in the game and some comments.

The war started with a massive attack on Manila. I always felt as an allied player that I would rather my opponents hit PH then Manila because losing the Submarines in the PI took out a major portion of the USN "sub factor" that was present every turn as opposed to the somewhat rare appearance of the US Battlewagons even when they were healthy. I always attacked Manila in WITP mainly for the fact that I hated it when it was done to me. My biggest dilemma was making the strike against the ports effective while also taking a bite out of the USAFFE pursuit and B-17 squadrons. From my AI practice it was evident the P-40s could be a royal pain in the ass if ignored so I took some precious bombers away from port attack and hit Airfields. I practiced a few strike packages and came up with the following raids:

Clark - 36 Nells bombing and some Zeros strafing the runways
Iba - Lilys and Sallys bombing (the P-40Es there have to be attacked on the ground)
Manila - All Betties on port attack and some Zeros on runway attack.

I kicked around the idea of splitting up KB but you just cant do it without taking out several Japanese CVs from what should be your grand attack becaue the second group loses the move bonus so I sent all of KB in from 2 hexes out Okinawa side of the city so as not to worry about any weird PT boat intercepts turn 2. Some Zeros were sent in to Attack the Runways but every bomber was on Port attack.

Three different strikes went in:

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77 From Formosa

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
G4M1 Betty x 54

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AV Langley, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Skipjack, Bomb hits 1
xAP Neptuna, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Bittern, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
PT-31, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Sturgeon, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Rochambeau, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AS Holland, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77 From KB

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 93
B5N2 Kate x 117
D3A1 Val x 135

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
SS Sailfish, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Seal, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Pope, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Yu Sang, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 1
xAP Rochambeau, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Tarpon, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AS Holland, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AV Langley, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Peary, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Tantalus, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
SS Pike, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
DD Pillsbury, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AM Tanager, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Ethel Edwards, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP President Madison, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
PT Q-112, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS S-40, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Don Jose, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
TK Mindanao, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Stingray, Bomb hits 1
SS Permit, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
AO Pecos, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS Sculpin, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL Bisayas, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Porpoise, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
PT-33, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Sargo, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Swordfish, Bomb hits 1
SS Pickerel, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Shark, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Princess of Negros, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Perch, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Snapper, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Saury, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
PT-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Compagnia Filipinas, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
PG Isabel, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS S-38, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage

Afternoon Air attack on Manila , at 79,77 From KB

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 51 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
B5N2 Kate x 27

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
SS Stingray, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Snapper, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Swordfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Seawolf, Bomb hits 1
AM Whippoorwill, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Sagoland, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS S-38, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Skipjack, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1
PT-34, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Anakan, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

17 Subs sunk and most every other one damaged to some degree. Almost no losses for taking out close to all of the subs in the PI. Several PTs downwed as well which was good. I am very pleased with the results.

Airfields:

Clark

Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
G3M2 Nell x 36

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 2 destroyed on ground
P-35A: 1 destroyed on ground


Airbase hits 33
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 107

Afternoon Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36


Allied aircraft
P-26A x 4
P-40B Warhawk x 1


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-26A: 2 destroyed
P-40B Warhawk: 1 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 4

Iba

Morning Air attack on Iba , at 78,75

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 18
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 27

Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground


Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 58

Manila

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 20
Port hits 10
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 1

Overall very happy with the airfield hits and damage to his planes in the PI. I think there was a good balance struck between the AF damage and the hurting put on the Submarine fleet. Elsewhere in the PI I bombarded Puerto Prince with a CA TF and landed at Vigan. Also bombarded Menado. His MTB units from Hong Kong caused some chaos with my invasion fleets but caused no damage

In Malaya Khota Baru and Alo Star were the main focus of the air strikes. I wanted to be sure there were no closely based torpedo bomber attacks against my BBs which were bombarding Khota Baru. Force Z was not spotted so I am assuming he decided to not commit it yet.

Morning Air attack on Kota Bharu , at 51,75

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 79
Ki-43-Ia Oscar x 24

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 4 destroyed on ground
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed on ground



Airbase hits 20
Airbase supply hits 8
Runway hits 109

Morning Air attack on Alor Star , at 49,73

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 32
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 55


Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 3


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed
Blenheim I: 2 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 103

Thanks to the amount of damage done the British air attack was ineffective:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kota Bharu at 51,75

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 45 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-27b Nate x 29

Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 4
Blenheim IV x 6
Buffalo I x 11
Hudson I x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Buffalo I: 2 destroyed
Hudson I: 3 destroyed

Japanese Ships
DD Hagikaze
BB Kongo

All landings on Malaya were made with no issues. The bases targeted were shut down and the British counter attack was foiled. Another instance of success as far as Japan is concerned. Nothing else to report really. Some Ntaes strafed some MTBs near Hong Kong and the 3 pekt brit DDS survived a maelstrom of naval attacks without a scratch.

[modrow]

Good luck with your game - I guess I'll follow this AAR.

Regards

Hartwig

[Ketza]

Hello Hartwig! I hope all is well with your family and things in Germany are fine!

December 8th and 9th saw much action. The night of the 9th especially as the bulk of the Manila survivors were caught by a CA TF near Jolo.
PI (the hotbed)


Off Vigan there were at least a half dozen encounters bewteen the Allies and the IJN.
Night Time Surface Combat, near Vigan at 80,73, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Yamagumo
DD Tachikaze
APD Shimakaze
APD Nadakaze
TB Chidori
TB Manazuru
TB Hatsukari
TB Tomozuru
DMS W-13, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DMS W-14
PB Aso Maru #3
PB Kiso Maru
PB Nanpo Maru
CM Tsubame
AV Sanuki Maru
xAK Sydney Maru #2
xAKL Kumakawa Maru
xAKL Hakuyo Maru
xAKL Hanakawa Maru

Allied Ships
MTB 7, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
MTB 8
MTB 9

And heres a nice little surprise at Takao:

TF 147 encounters mine field at Takao (84,65)

Allied Ships
MTB 27, Mine hits 1, heavy damage

The Brit DDs make their appearance but its during the day so they are outgunned from a distance:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Laoag at 79,71, Range 30,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Shell hits 1
CA Ashigara
CL Natori
CL Kuma
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki, Shell hits 2
DD Asakaze
DD Matsukaze

Allied Ships
DD Scout, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
DD Thanet, Shell hits 12, and is sunk
DD Thracian, Shell hits 6, and is sunk

Back to Vigan:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Vigan at 80,73, Range 3,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DMS W-15
DMS W-16, Shell hits 5
DMS W-19
PB Kamitsu Maru
PB Taiko Maru
SC Ch 1
SC Ch 2
SC Ch 3
SC Ch 13
SC Ch 14
SC Ch 15
xAK Arizona Maru
xAK Akiura Maru, Shell hits 7, on fire
xAK Kazuura Maru
xAK Keiyo Maru
xAK Matsukawa Maru
xAK Ohio Maru
xAK Yuzan Maru
xAK Anzan Maru #2
xAKL Kurama Maru

Allied Ships
PT-32
PT-35
PT Q-111
PT Q-113

Near Puerto Princ there was a slaughter at sea with some 8 or so Manila survivors hunted down much like this:
Night Time Surface Combat, near Puerto Princesa at 74,85, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai, Shell hits 1
CL Sendai
DD Fubuki
DD Usugumo
DD Shirayuki
DD Hatsuyuki
DD Sagiri

Allied Ships
AM Quail, Shell hits 10, and is sunk

In the air above Luzon I noticed he had quite a few fighters at Manila and Clark so I grounded the bombers for some rest and swept a few bases and bagged a few allied fighters for a 3-1 overall kill ratio. Several sweeps were ineffective however with no losses to either side:
Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 24,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
P-35A x 8
P-40B Warhawk x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 2 destroyed
P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed


I also bombarded Iba the night of the 9th. The bombard TF collided with some Pts but the action did not stop them from going in. Iba is totally shut down from what I can tell:

Naval bombardment of Iba at 78,75

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CA Ashigara
CA Maya
CL Kuma
CL Natori
DD Matsukaze
DD Asakaze
DD Nagatsuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Minazuki


Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 42
Port supply hits 1

Except for the Vigan convoy that keeps turning back the PI operations are going without a hitch with very light air losses which was one of my main goals seeing how dangerous the skys can be without the Zero bonus. I staged the first air units into Vigan on the 9th. I have another CA group and the Ryujo in position to sink any other stragglers from Manila. Puerto Prince is a Seaplane base as it fell to a naval guards unit. By the 10th the noose around the PI will be closed. The KB has already left the area.

DEI - some random Hudson attacks near Menado and thats it.

Borneo/Java - My subs have a field day sinking several targets leaving Borneo and Singapore. One of them gets beat up badly in return. His Dutch subs press many attacks but only get some hits on some AKs but no successful attacks against any larger ships. Nothing else to report in this area.

Submarine attack near Billiton at 52,92

Japanese Ships
SS I-153

Allied Ships
AVP Poolster, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage


AVP Poolster is sighted by SS I-153
SS I-153 launches 8 torpedoes
Submarine attack near Singkawang at 55,87

Japanese Ships
SS I-158

Allied Ships
xAKL Shinai, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

ASW attack near Bintan at 50,85

Japanese Ships
SS I-157, hits 10

Allied Ships
CM Kung Wo, heavy damage
PG Herald

Malaya - large air attacks against Commonwealth bases near Khota Baru and some desperate allied air attacks that are torn to pieces but nothing else to report other then sinking some shipping near Georgetown. Force Z nowhere to be seen. I made the initial Khota assault at 2-1 and took out his forts.

China - I bombarded Hong Kong and evacuated Ichang. The Hong Kong ships are fleeing towards Vietnam and I have hit several of them with Mabels and Sonias. I should bag all of them. The rest of China is just units moving into position.

Central Pacific - Allied cruiser showed up at Tarawa but this funny result happened:
Day Time Surface Combat, near Tarawa at 136,128, Range 30,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
PB Santos Maru
xAKL Toyotsu Maru
xAK Aratama Maru
xAKL Katsura Maru
xAKL Kaito Maru
xAKL Tenposan Maru

Allied Ships
CA Louisville

Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 30,000 yards
Japanese TF attempts to evade combat
Range increases to 30,000 yards...
Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape
Japanese Amphibious TF evades combat

Damn was I lucky! [&o]

[Ketza]

Update to 14 December Not a lot of overly interesting things happening so heres a consolidation of events.

PI - - Landings continue and the 14th army grows in strength. Fernando falls and Legaspi is invaded. His PTs make a few forays but the beach is well covered. Japanese airpower on the island has been quiet as I attrition down his fighters with sweeps with a 4-1 or so kill ratio in my favor. The last of his leaker Manila survivors run into some problems with subs and surface units but I think for the most part I have sunk 80% of the ships in the PI and 85% of the subs. The losses from my small sweep attacks seem to be making an impact as less and less fighters are rising up.

Morning Air attack on Cabanatuan , at 80,76

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 46 NM, estimated altitude 24,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8



Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 1


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Submarine attack near Bandjermasin at 62,102

Japanese Ships
SS I-123

Allied Ships
xAK Ravnaas, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage



xAK Ravnaas is sighted by SS I-123
SS I-123 launches 4 torpedoes at xAK Ravnaas

Night Time Surface Combat, near Jolo at 73,88, Range 6,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
TB Hiyodori
PB Heiei Maru #7

Allied Ships
xAKL Kanlaon II, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage


Allied ground losses:
63 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

DEI - Menado falls and I am building the base up. Ternate will fall soon.

Malaya/Borneo - Not much action other then heavy bombardment with 3rd air division assets on alo star and the Khota Baru survivors as my infantry slowly advances.

Burma/India - Nothing to report. A sweep near Rangoon was ineffective.

Central pacific - Tarawa finally falls after some cat and mouse between 2 iJN DDs and the Loiusville for several nights. Just as some IJN subs arrived on the scene the allied CA was gone. Ocean was taken and Nauru will go soon as well. I also hit Sandiego with 3 midget subs but they all failed.

South Pacific - Kavieng and Admiralty Islands fall. No sighting of the usual allied cruiser activity or any units trying to escape Rabaul. Bettys are bombing it every turn and he has pulled out his air assets.

China - Hong Kong falls after 3 Deliberate attacks. The rest of the theatre is mainly just trying to clean things up and straighten out the front with battles in terain all over thet I am winning.

Progress is slower then what I am used to after several games as Japan in WITP but I am getting the hang of it. I just have to remember to make sure ships fit first before I sail to a port to unload things... And to think I work in Logistics IRL....[8|]

[Ketza]

Progress report up until the morning of December 20th

China - This my first real go at the land war in China. I always somewhat overlooked it in WITP. My main goal early here was to just straighten things out and develop a semblance of a line. I also wanted to secure the coast. So far my opponent has evacuated many places without a fight. As of now I have taken:

Pakhoi,Kwanchan,Kanshien and the French base have fallen. Wenchow/Chusien will fall soon.

I noticed a large buildup on his part in Changsha with signifigant air forces so I orchestrated a large scale attack there after finding out he had the AVG on hand. The result was the biggest air battle in our game to date:

Morning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 44 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 10

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 50 [X(]


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 2 destroyed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 33
G4M1 Betty x 82


Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 48


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 5 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 8 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
H81-A3: 1 destroyed
DB-3M: 1 destroyed on ground
A-29A Hudson: 2 destroyed on ground
SB-III: 1 destroyed on ground


Airbase hits 17
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 106


Morning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15
G3M2 Nell x 29

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
H81-A3: 2 destroyed

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 11

Morning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
H81-A3: 3 destroyed

Morning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 24
Ki-30 Ann x 12

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 8


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed


Runway hits 3

orning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
G4M1 Betty x 29

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 2

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SB-III: 1 destroyed on ground



Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 33

Post raid recon showed the base at 60%. According to plane losses a few turns later he lost 18 AVG planes destroyed. With the slow replacement rate of that model I will take the battle as a win. I lost about the same amount but he pulled out most of his planes after the attack so I have not returned yet. He has 20 units in Changsha so I am keeping an eye out there.

PI - The sweep game continues. I am sweeping all over and catching his bleeders in 8-1 or 8-2 attacks. Overall I am ahead with a 3-1 kill ratio or better. Eventually he will be attritioned enough to send in the bombers unmolested. I have taken the following bases in the Pi:

Jolo,Legaspi,Naga,Alimonon,Purto Princesa,Vigan,San Fernado and Laong. Thats a pretty good clip so far. His PTs are still a pain but overall I am pleased with teh PI operations.

Malaya - The grind down the peninsula begins. Alo Star and Georgetown have fallen. He is beating feet back to Sinapore and I count 29 units there. My KN operating near Kuching accidently sent in a small attack at an AK TF and I lost 11 Kates. I did not want that to happen. I had figured the range wrong thinking WITP ranges instead of AE. Losses showed a lot more Buffalos shot down then the combat report:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Singapore at 50,84

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 10
B5N2 Kate x 35

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 38

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 11 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 4 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK Munlock, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Haraldsvang, Bomb hits 12, and is sunk
xAK Ming Sang, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Nanning, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

Borneo - Kuching and Brunei being invaded with KB in support. Caught some AKS near Singkawang but no resistance.

DEI - Ternate,Menado,Lolobate and Morotai captured. Menado turned into a large base for air support.

South and central Pacific - Bombarded Wake the night of the 19th and sending in the invasion TF on the 20th. Invaded Guam with a small detachment and got a bloody nose [8|] The following bases captured:

Wewak,Madang,Kavieng,Manus,Oceana,Nauru and Tarawa.

Losses so far:

Japanese aircraft all types - 145
Allied aircraft all types - 215

Allied ships-

SS x25
DD x5
AK x24
TK x3
other x5
Mine/Patrol x20

Japanese ships

SS x1
AK x2
Patrol x2

Thats the update! Thanks for reading. [&o]

[krupp_88mm]

looks like your doing very well so far.. so i guess you missed the British  BC and BB? better watch out for them, good thing you have the KB close at hand.. whats your strat in china.. i was reading another AAR looks like the Japanese if they add extra forces to china can really hammer the chinese especially in the north with shock attacks and heavy air support.. theres apparently some oil up there..god knows youll need it.. doesnt sem like your a semi noob seems like your playing really well.. how about posting a few screen shots? when the action heats up a little? thanks for writing the aar

[Ketza]

My opponent is reading this AAR so I cannot devulge too much [;)]

I played a half dozen games of WITP with my longest game against Hartwig lasting until June of 42. Some business stuff came up and with AE being announced the game sorta dropped off as I was enthralled with the thought of AE. The few games I started after that with AE taking longer then initially thought never got past Jan-Feb 42 for various reasons hence I still consider myself a semi noob especially with AE. I have made several big mistakes in this game involving my horrible understanding of Rail movement (fixed now) and loading up a half dozen convoys as transport instead of amphib the first few turns only having them get to where they were going and they could not unload [8|]

I will get some screenies up as soon. Thank you for the feedback.

[Ketza]

Here is the Northern China Situation around the 28th of December. As you can see I have established a semblance of a line and am slowly routing out the pesky guerilla units that just keep retreating so I chose to try and herd them in one direction. I have several options for advance but he has counterattacked just north of Kaifeng with a stack of 12 units so the salient of Chinese bases in the center are heavy with units..

The AVG has been flying recently and interrupting my ground support so I will have to react to the situation by pulling some better fighter units into China.

[Ketza]

South and central China December 28th - As you can see he gave up several cities in the South without a fight. I gave up Ichang and straightened out my lines quite a bit. He has 25+ units in Changsha and 15+ at Ichang. He counterattacked at Kukong last turn and has 7 units there. He counterattacks are usually shock attacks and are brutal typically mauling my brigade level forces as he applies much force at the point of attack.

The main problem with him giving up the cities is the damage that is caused to infrastructure. This scorched earth tactic is fairly devastating.

[Ketza]

Malaya Late December - Typical advance it seems maybe a tad slow because I messed up RR movement early. He has beat feet with everything back to Singapore. This past turn he finally came out to play with his Air Force and bombed my armored spearhead at the closest point of my advance to him. 3rd air division assets are coming into place for support as I build up the bases in the area while creeping forward.

[Ketza]

DEI - I was advancing rapidly through the DEI until I ran into his Banshee squadrons which quickly made mincemeat of 2 small convoys and sunk maybe 8 AKS and an AP. I figured he was going to put up a fight somewhere and sure enough as I got close to Kendari he finally bit back and hit my celebes convoy. He then switched a squadron over to Cagayan and bit my Mindanao convoy. These were just small forces capturing bases that were undefended so its not going to slow things down once the heavy forces arrive. As you can see I have a good foothold in the area for a jumpoff point.



Borneo - Cleared out most of the north coast and staged the 21st flotilla to Sinkawang to begin operations in that area.

[Ketza]

The rest of the theatre is going fairly well. Wake fell but an extra regiment was needed to do it. Even though I had 4 CAs bombarding it I still lost a half dozen AKs and PBs there from the marine guns.

This turn a BB force bombarded Rabaul in prep for the invasion that hits in the morning. Im bring a brigade in and betties have pounded it for a week so it should fall.

The PI has finally seen the collapse of his fighter squadrons and the bombers are starting to drill Clark and Manilla. He has been driven into Bataan, Clark and Manilla at this point. I have a feeling he has been building up at Cagayan and thats where his AF is hiding and rebuilding strength.

My shipping losses went up considerably the last few turns due to some succesfull PT boat strikes and those damn Banshee squadrons. I was getting a little careless because of the rapid fall of allied bases so I am going to ahve to cover things better. I have lost 15+ Aks and and few APs. No real combatants except 2 SS that were both sunk by US submarines. Air losses are acceptable and Zero/Oscar production is starting to kick into higher gears.

More to follow after the next few turns are in the books.

[Ketza]

Sorry for the long Hiatus I started a new job and did not have time for updates. The game is no on January 15th and the game is progressing well.

Here is the Northern China Situation. As you can see a pocket of Chinese forces is slowly developing. He has somewhere in the area of 34 units in the 3 cities in danger of being encircled:



The northern area has a fairly solid line to keep his leakers from poking through. He has sent the AVG into the area and I have to make sure any air attacks are well protected because the AVG pops up now and again. He once surprised me and knocked down some 20+ light bombers.

[Ketza]

South Central China

He evacuated most of southern China. My short term focus is now on Kukong. We had quite a few air battles over the city when I started hitting airfields to stop his fort progression.

[Ketza]

Burma - He totally evacuated Burma. I should have dropped paras sooner but I wasnt sure if FOW was just messing with my head. By the time I dropped them Rangoon was 100% disabled. Since this is scenario 2 Im not concerned about it but in the future I will have a house rule in place preventing that type of behavior. I also dropped paras on the Andaman Islands as it seemed he had withdrawn there as well. For now Im gearing up to clear the Burma plains but for the most part this is a quiet theatre as he pulled a Sir robin here.

Malaya - He withdrew totally to Singapore and I was able to rail skip up the coast with my whole army advancing behind a few tank units. He pulled out the British air units but I am not sure where they went. I had thought maybe he would have sent them to Java but as you will see that was not the case. For now Im resting up and starting air raids on Singapore before we cross the channel.

Borneo - He did not resist any of my invasions coming around the Borneo bend and I was able to set up the 21st air flotilla to support my early invasion of Java. His surface ships typically found in the area have not been spotted.

Java - In my games of WITP as allied I was always able to turn java into a fortress so I decided to hit Java early and very hard. I came around the Borneo bend with a large invasion TF of the 21st and 33rd divisions with a great deal of support to land at the base just below Batavia. The invasion was supported by a large Air Combat TF, 2 Tfs with 5 BBs and 2 TFs including a total of 8 CAs. I think I took him by surprise as this was very early to launc such a move. His air attacks from the Dutch AF were shredded and there was no real resistance except for some Dutch subs. The feared presence of the US Cvs or a concentrated British Air Force did not materialize. The troops landed in good order and are now spreading out across the Island. Air losses from 21st Flotilla are very light and aircrew from the CVs lost maybe 5 planes. I have withdrawn the heavy IJN units for further operations. The toehold on the Island is secured by LBA operating from the captured bases already.

[Ketza]

South Pacific - Some major action in this theatre. I had prepped 2 units in Japan for these ops from turn one. The mixed brigade in Tokyo for Rabaul and the 4th ID for PM. One carrier division and 5 Bbs were commited to the operations that took place within a week of each other.

Once I hit Rabaul the 4th ID invasion squirted past green Island and headed towards the Coral sea. A small TF with a landing group for Woodlark Island blundered into the Aussie CAs with the Pensacola, Loiusville and a few old US DDs in support. The AKs were promptly sunk and the landing force wiped out. Little did he know but the Shokaku, Zuikaku and Soryu were covering and the next morning the allied TF was hit by several airraids. To my disdain the allied ships were not wiped out as my pilots were missing like crazy but 2 ships suffered torpedo hits. The allied TF scooted away but the next morning a RO class sub landed another hit on a US CA. Ship sunk reports indicated Leander and Pensacola sunk. The 4th ID TF continued on and landed but took excessive losses in AKs from shore batteries even with 5 BBs bombarding. Initail goals in Soth pacific were met on time.

[Ketza]

Other theatres:

PI - His air all but gone the air raids pound Clark and Manila daily to keep forts from growing and pound supplies. He is boxed into Clark,Manila and Bataan.

Central Pacific - Not much happening other then a few sub attacks. I have not spotted any CVs or BBs.

DEI - No progression past Menado since I was mauled by Banshees a while back.

Overall I am pleased by progress. The tempo is actually higher then I though it would be but this is partially due to the fact my opponent hasnt really fought anywhere. My only conern is the number of AKS I have lost. They are very fragile and between the Wake Island and PM attacks I lost over 20 from shore guns. I also lost another dozen or so from small tfs ambushed by Banshees. My BB bombardments have not been effective at all in surpressing the guns during invasions.

My air losses remain very light and behind him by about 140 planes.

I will update the game every week or so.