Hunting the Hibiki: Q-Ball (Allies) v Cuttlefish (Japan)

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Can you have transport TF "follow" sub TF?? I wonder if this will help you if he sends a SC TF at you?? At least you might have a chance to hit a BB before it gets you. Our modern USN always has at least one fast attack sub along and I wonder how it could be done in AE.

Haven't tried that......either way, I'll probably just park subs all around Luzon and wait

Burma - I would push down to Moulmein or a little further to allow you to open up supplies to China again. They could use a couple hundred thousand worth of supply.

Good idea, though I have a plan afoot in the China that will solve the supply problem through different means. I have about 500-700K Chinese prepping for Kukong; behind that, there isn't a city until the Chinese coast. I plan a massive "jailbreak" of Chinese formations, to coincide with a US Landing at Amoy or simliar port. I plan to link that up with the Chinese, hand out supplies, and start moving up the coast. That's the plan anyway. That way I can skip an invasion of Taiwan, and with all those Chinese hordes drawing US supplies, I can advance toward Shanghai.

How are Beauforts doing in your game?? I loved them in WITP with their torpedoes. Their range now with P-38s should make a deadly combo.

I have carefully trained all the Australian bomber pilots on NavT, and converted most RAAF bomber units to torp Beauforts. They have only launched once, though; lack of targets! Cuttlefish just hasn't gone close to an established base. I keep moving ahead of my Air HQs.

[Capt. Harlock]

to coincide with a US Landing at Amoy or simliar port. I plan to link that up with the Chinese, hand out supplies, and start moving up the coast. That's the plan anyway. That way I can skip an invasion of Taiwan,

A very interesting plan, with lots of potential. You may want to do those landings before Cuttlefish gets kamikazes, though.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, July 23-30, 1943:

PINNACLE, Invasion of Burma: With all non-restricted units this time, we are making big progress in Burma. I forgot to make a map, but Cuttlefish is in big trouble already. The details:

LASHIO: X and Y Force HQ, plus Indian Troops, a multicultural melting pot, hit a brick wall at Lashio, in the form of 2nd Gds Div, plus 2 Regts. Ouch! A 1-8 attack told me we will make no forward progress here. Does keep some troops busy though.
SHWEBO: The 26th Indian Div ran into 38th Div, plus other troops at Shwebo. We didn't bother to attack; I know how that will turn out
MAGWE: There is a division at Magwe. The 18th UK division plus a Bde have crossed the Irriwaddy below Magwe; the 18th UK is moving north into Magwe, the Bde to the Southeast to cut the Railway. Meanwhile, 17th Indian Div. has crossed the Irriwaddy NORTH of Magwe, and is marching on Myiktinya, which is lightly held. This would cut the troops off in Shwebo and Lashio.
PROME: 2 Indian Tank Bdes, plus 2 British Bdes, came down the trail from Akyab, and took Prome on the first try, sending an Inf Regt, and Nav Gd unit fleeing to Rangoon. Tanks are rolling toward Rangoon.
TAYAUNG GYI: 2 Chindit Bdes dropped on Tayaung Gyi, routing the Infantry Bn. there, and capturing the base

All of this happened in the last 3-4 days, as I sort of had multiple prongs developing at once.

So, the rail line is threatened at several points, especially with Prome and Tayaung Gyi in Allied hands. So far I don't see the Japanese marching, I wonder if they will just stay and get cut-off. Either way, this is big-time trouble for Cuttlefish in Burma.

Phillipines: Otherwise, very little happening. I am piling units into Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, and Busuanga, in preparation for the invasion of Luzon; all have at least 1/2 dozen engineer units to max out the port and airstrips. I swept Manila with P-47s successfully, so we are working on the airpower over Luzon. Combined Fleet sortied from Takao, but turned back after being spotted by Catalinas, and after he spotted my CVs lurking in the South China Sea.

BBs: COLORADO is repaired and heading to the DEI. There she will join my other operational BBs: INDIANA, SOUTH DAKOTA, NORTH CAROLINA, and ROYAL SOVEREIGN. That's it! Everything else is in transit to repair damage (NEVADA, PoW), or in port repairing damage (WASH,WV,TN,MD,ID,MS,NM,). The closest to completion is WEST VIRGINIA, which will be fixed in 12 days at Colombo.

Speaking of damage, an ARD is STILL in transit to the DEI, and is a little more than half-way. At 2 hexes a day from the US West Coast, this voyage is taking awhile.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Combat Report, July 23-30, 1943:

PINNACLE, Invasion of Burma: With all non-restricted units this time, we are making big progress in Burma. I forgot to make a map, but Cuttlefish is in big trouble already. The details:

LASHIO: X and Y Force HQ, plus Indian Troops, a multicultural melting pot, hit a brick wall at Lashio, in the form of 2nd Gds Div, plus 2 Regts. Ouch! A 1-8 attack told me we will make no forward progress here. Does keep some troops busy though.
SHWEBO: The 26th Indian Div ran into 38th Div, plus other troops at Shwebo. We didn't bother to attack; I know how that will turn out
MAGWE: There is a division at Magwe. The 18th UK division plus a Bde have crossed the Irriwaddy below Magwe; the 18th UK is moving north into Magwe, the Bde to the Southeast to cut the Railway. Meanwhile, 17th Indian Div. has crossed the Irriwaddy NORTH of Magwe, and is marching on Myiktinya, which is lightly held. This would cut the troops off in Shwebo and Lashio.
PROME: 2 Indian Tank Bdes, plus 2 British Bdes, came down the trail from Akyab, and took Prome on the first try, sending an Inf Regt, and Nav Gd unit fleeing to Rangoon. Tanks are rolling toward Rangoon.
TAYAUNG GYI: 2 Chindit Bdes dropped on Tayaung Gyi, routing the Infantry Bn. there, and capturing the base

All of this happened in the last 3-4 days, as I sort of had multiple prongs developing at once.

So, the rail line is threatened at several points, especially with Prome and Tayaung Gyi in Allied hands. So far I don't see the Japanese marching, I wonder if they will just stay and get cut-off. Either way, this is big-time trouble for Cuttlefish in Burma.

Phillipines: Otherwise, very little happening. I am piling units into Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, and Busuanga, in preparation for the invasion of Luzon; all have at least 1/2 dozen engineer units to max out the port and airstrips. I swept Manila with P-47s successfully, so we are working on the airpower over Luzon. Combined Fleet sortied from Takao, but turned back after being spotted by Catalinas, and after he spotted my CVs lurking in the South China Sea.

BBs: COLORADO is repaired and heading to the DEI. There she will join my other operational BBs: INDIANA, SOUTH DAKOTA, NORTH CAROLINA, and ROYAL SOVEREIGN. That's it! Everything else is in transit to repair damage (NEVADA, PoW), or in port repairing damage (WASH,WV,TN,MD,ID,MS,NM,). The closest to completion is WEST VIRGINIA, which will be fixed in 12 days at Colombo.

Speaking of damage, an ARD is STILL in transit to the DEI, and is a little more than half-way. At 2 hexes a day from the US West Coast, this voyage is taking awhile.

For my future reference, how many tranport units does it take to drop a chindit brigade in one turn?

[Q-Ball]

I used about 100 C-47s, but they didn't drop 2 whole Bdes. They dropped enough, though. I imagine it's ALOT, but you get a ton of transports in India, because of all the Hump-flying.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, July 30-Aug 1, 1943:

Mostly I'm just posting the map of Burma.

Elsewhere, I hit some transports off Aparri with CVs, and continued sweeps result in more downed Japanese planes.

Oh, and I got careless again: Bettys sank 4 TKs near Lunga. Use Waypoints!

[ny59giants]

How is your supply of sub mines?? I would be mining the river hex just SW of Rangoon, Moulmein, and Tavoy just to help you keep track of any attempts to bring in more supplies and/or troops.

How about an Air HQ at Akyab with Catalina trained to carry torpedoes?? Make sure their leader is cautious so they don't try to push through heavy fighter.

Double check to make sure you have Command HQs at the India/Burma border to pull in more supplies and are prepping for you next objectives. It is easy to overlook the importance of keeping these HQs close to the front lines. I would have at least one Command HQ prepping for your landing sites on Luzon.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

How is your supply of sub mines?? I would be mining the river hex just SW of Rangoon, Moulmein, and Tavoy just to help you keep track of any attempts to bring in more supplies and/or troops.

There are no Japanese ships that I can tell, anywhere south of Taiwan, other than a handful of damaged ones at Singapore. Rangoon has been under airsearch for months, I haven't seen anything. I think the IJN is gone from the Bay of Bengal.

Southeast Asia appears cut-off from external supply sources, including Palembang, though he can still sneak convoys to Haiphong. If that is true, that is a problem for him, because there isn't enough organic supply in SE Asia to sustain a large Japanese army over the long-term.

How about an Air HQ at Akyab with Catalina trained to carry torpedoes?? Make sure their leader is cautious so they don't try to push through heavy fighter.

I have an Air HQ with A Beaufort unit, but they mostly sit around and play cards; no ships to shoot at.

Double check to make sure you have Command HQs at the India/Burma border to pull in more supplies and are prepping for you next objectives. It is easy to overlook the importance of keeping these HQs close to the front lines. I would have at least one Command HQ prepping for your landing sites on Luzon.

Good idea; I have a couple Indian Command HQs at the Burmese border. Southwest Pacific HQ is at Puerto Princesa, but wasn't prepping for Luzon. I have several Corps HQ that are.

[ny59giants]

Most players are good at remembering to use Army HQs, but often become lax in using their Command HQ. In WITP, I would start prepping SE Asia HQ for Mandalay on day 1 before she moved from Columbo to Calcutta. If your not using North Pacific, South Pacific HQs, or any Command HQ not being used. I would ship them to the Philippines and start prepping for future landings.

[JohnDillworth]

Most players are good at remembering to use Army HQs, but often become lax in using their Command HQ. In WITP, I would start prepping SE Asia HQ for Mandalay on day 1 before she moved from Columbo to Calcutta. If your not using North Pacific, South Pacific HQs, or any Command HQ not being used. I would ship them to the Philippines and start prepping for future landings.

Using Luzon as the example how will they be effective for the invasion of the Phippines. I presume they will only be helpful during the "seige" of Luzon. Even the will they have to be in the attacking hex or a hex away? How much more help will hey be for a unit in the same command that is 100% prepped for Luzon vs a a unit in a different command 100 prepped for Luzon?
thanks

[Swenslim]

How is supply situation with all this troops in Burma ?

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: Swenslim

How is supply situation with all this troops in Burma ?

Not sure, but the last turn was not good for Cuttlefish in Burma. I think I will end up surrounding 3 Division+ in the Upper Irriwaddy Valley.

17th Indian Division, plus tanks, are marching on Myiktinya, where there is only 1 unit that appears to be a base force. They routed a tank unit yesterday, pretty much destroying it.

The 18th UK Division arrived at Magwe from the South. Another British Bde is moving on Toungoo, where there is only a airfield company or very small unit.

The tanks and troops moving on Rangoon routed an Infantry Regt two days in a row (1 Tank bde was on PURSUIT), moving right to the gates of Rangoon. A unit at Bassein is retreating into the city.

More troops are moving down from Akyab, including a Cav Regt, 1 more UK Bde, and 11th East African Div.

I don't think I can take Rangoon, but I would like to cut off the entire Northern Burma Army, and destroy them.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, August 2-7, 1943:

Burma: The Japanese position in Burma has become completely unhinged, with the fall of Myiktinya, Toungoo, Prome. Japanese seem to be evacuating Rangoon, with 4 divisions cut-off in Upper Burma, at Mandalay and Lashio. Magwe also fell today to attack.

With the fall of Magwe, the strategic objectives are attained. I will secure Lower Burma, leave enough troops to watch the surrounded units up north, and pull everyone else out for landings on the China coast. I don't see a point to invading Thailand, since the DEI is already cut off; that would be just taking space.

Invasion of Luzon: The massive movement of troops and supplies to bases close to Luzon is not far from completion. I may wait for more CV's or just go ahead, but the ground troops are ready. I have at least 10 divisions collected, plus more than enough support units.

Minor Actions: My CVs have sunk transport TFs around Luzon, nothing important or troop-carrying. CVL INDEPENDENCE ate a torpedo off Australia, en-route to the front. I think she'll make it, but will be under repair for awhile. MUSASHI and friends raiding the port at Iloilo, wasting a TK convoy. Other than that, i am quietly building.....

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, August 8 to 16, 1943:

I haven't done a recent update, because there isn't alot to report.

Luzon Invasion: We are almost ready. I have piles of everything now gathered at Puerto Princesa, Busuanga, Iloilo, all of which are maxed out in Port Size, and almost maxed in Airfield.

The original plan was to land an assault force of 2 ANZAC Divisions (8th Aus, 3rd NZ) at Batangas, the clear hex south of Manila, and a larger US force on Northern Luzon. The Japanese, though, have stationed what appears to be a division right on Batangas! Meanwhile, the landing zone I am prepping for in the north, San Fernando, appears empty. Given this, we will land the Americans first, even though that landing is more exposed to the IJN surface fleet.

The total OOB (from memory); most troops are prepped for landing spots OR Manila, where I expect a siege:
ANZAC: 6th,7th,8th,9th Australian; 3rd NZ
US: 1st and 2nd Marines, Americal,40,41,43rd Infantry. 3 more Divisions on are on the way from the US West Coast.

So, I have about 10 divisions initially. I have reserves if I need more, though I am also have some units (like 2 UK div) start prepping for targets on the China Coast.

Other than that, quiet. A BB force raided Iloilo harbor, sinking a TF of TKs, but that's about it.

Burma: Burma has been busy for us; the Japanese are falling apart there, with about 60K troops cut off in Northern Burma, and lighter forces around Rangoon. It will take a bit to clean it all up, but I expect to have Burma cleared by the New Year.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, Aug 25-27, 1943:

Not much going on other than:

1. Lots of work at work, preventing me from doing alot of turns, and

2. We are starting to load for LUZON!

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, Aug 25,26, 1943:

Invasion of Luzon!: The fleet has sailed; initial assault wave consists of 3 Divisions (Americal, 41st, 1st Marine), plus 3 Tank units and Combat Engineers. The target hex, San Fernando, is still empty. Wave 2, consisting of base troops, Seabees, Air HQs, is loading, and will be followed by 4 more divisions plus more tanks to expand the bridgehead.

I have counted the approximate equivalent of 2 divisions on Luzon, plus various smaller units. Either Cuttlefish is hiding troops in a base I haven't reconned, or my recon sucks, or there aren't alot of guys on Luzon.

Troops are grouped into 3 large Amphib TFs; each TF has at least 1 cruiser embedded. Mostly I use older Dutch/Omahas/RN types for this work. The surface component is 5 BBs in 2 TFs (a "Fast" TF of NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH DAKOTA, INDIANA, and a "slow" TF with COLORADO and ROYAL SOVEREIGN). 2 large CA TFs are also present, and this is escorted/covered by 8 CVEs in a CV TF.

Moving in advance of the main force are my fleet CVs; I have 6 USN CVs, plus 2 CVLs. They are moving close to Taiwan, to intercept IJN surface forces heading to the landing site.

I have been confused as to where the IJN is based; I thought Takao, but recon flights showed only transports in the harbor. Yesterday a Chinese Hudson did a recon flight over Hong Kong...and found alot of warships! That's the spot. Because of this, tommorow we PORT RAID Hong Kong from the CVs, and P-38s from China will Sweep overhead as well.

(BTW, the Chinese get so few Bombers, I trained them all on RECON. This is a much more useful mission for them, one they won't get all killed on quickly)

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, Aug 27,28, 1943:

Luzon: We have landed 4 divisions at San Fernando. I am amazed how quickly those APAs, LCIs, and LSTs unload; everyone is off-ship except for a few supplies.

Tommorow we will "attack" San Fernando and take it. Base Troops should start unloading tommorow. There is nobody there, so safe to say Cuttlefish wasn't expecting a landing at this spot. Lingayen and Vigan are also unoccupied, so we should be able to clear Northern Luzon fairly quickly.

I need to ascertain what the Japanese will do; probably fall back on Clark or Manila, or both. This is developing into a reverse-1942 Luzon campaign, except I need Manila worse than the 1942 Japanese do; I really need a shipyard. Cuttlefish has a CD unit at Bataan, so even if I take Manila, I'll need to clear Bataan out before I can use the harbor.

The Japanese Division at Batangas is moving off, so I'll go ahead and land the ANZACS there as soon as they clear, and threaten Manila from the South.

Burma: Japanese troops re-took Mandalay, and everyone left in Northern Burma seems to be converging there. That's fine by me, having all Japanese there will make it easy to beseige them. I am in no hurry to kill those units actually.

Rangoon should fall in the next couple days. Other than Mandalay, the Japanese have fallen back to Moulmein or beyond.

I have achieved the strategic objectives of this campaign, the capture of Magwe and opening of the Burma Road (well, that will be open shortly). At this point, I could invade Siam, but I don't see a point to that at all. The primary reason to do that is to reach Vietnam and cut shipping in the South China Sea, but there is no shipping in the South China Sea anyway. With Borneo in Allied hands, Southeast Asia does nothing for me.

So, we will probably sealift out most of the troops in Burma, and send them to the Chinese coast. Not sure how the US would feel about British troops landing on the Chinese coast, but there it is.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, August 29, 1943:

Luzon Operations: I had positioned my CVs in advance of the Luzon landings, to be in range of any "set-up points" for BB runs into the landing zone. Today, IJN BBs DID show up; exactly in the spot my CVs were YESTERDAY. Nice try, but I have learned the hard way to keep CVs moving if you don't want surface trouble!

Anyway, Helldivers and Avengers attacked the IJN BBs. Alot of bombs bounced off, but we did some damage. YAMATO took 12 bombs and caught fire, then TBMs put 3 torps into her; "Heavy Fires, Heavy Damage" are reported, so she might be in trouble. NAGATO took 13 bombs and reported "Fires", so she is probably damaged. Other bombs without much effect dropped on MUSASHI and YAMASHIRO. TAKAO took 4 bombs and reported "Heavy Fires, Heavy Damage", and is on the sunk report of the intel screen, for what that is worth.

At this point, the BBs are within 6 hexes of the landing zone; they can withdraw, or they might attack tonight to get their money's worth, though they will be exposed to air attack tommorow morning if they do that. Attacking the landing site is probably a bad idea, and if Cuttlefish does that it would be borderline suicidal. I have 5 BBs in the hex, CVEs and CVs positioned to easily finish off any damaged ships in the day-phase. The likely result would be a possible IJN surface victory, followed by a crushing day defeat.

All the APAs, AKAs, and good assault ships have unloaded and left the landing site; everything left is xAPs, xAKs, and other lower-value ships unloading supplies and odds and ends. So, even if he gets to the transports, I won't lose anything I can't afford to lose.

I should have an airbase up and running at San Fernando tommorow with SBDs and fighters. I have been continuously bombing Clark, Manila, and Aparri, the large IJA airfields on Luzon, and doing enough damage to keep them surpressed, so I have seen little LBA.

So far this has been a pretty bad defeat for Japan, with a landing on Luzon so cheaply, and BBs damaged to boot. It's not over yet, but so far not looking good for the Empire.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Combat Report, August 29, 1943:

Luzon Operations: I had positioned my CVs in advance of the Luzon landings, to be in range of any "set-up points" for BB runs into the landing zone. Today, IJN BBs DID show up; exactly in the spot my CVs were YESTERDAY. Nice try, but I have learned the hard way to keep CVs moving if you don't want surface trouble!

Anyway, Helldivers and Avengers attacked the IJN BBs. Alot of bombs bounced off, but we did some damage. YAMATO took 12 bombs and caught fire, then TBMs put 3 torps into her; "Heavy Fires, Heavy Damage" are reported, so she might be in trouble. NAGATO took 13 bombs and reported "Fires", so she is probably damaged. Other bombs without much effect dropped on MUSASHI and YAMASHIRO. TAKAO took 4 bombs and reported "Heavy Fires, Heavy Damage", and is on the sunk report of the intel screen, for what that is worth.

At this point, the BBs are within 6 hexes of the landing zone; they can withdraw, or they might attack tonight to get their money's worth, though they will be exposed to air attack tommorow morning if they do that. Attacking the landing site is probably a bad idea, and if Cuttlefish does that it would be borderline suicidal. I have 5 BBs in the hex, CVEs and CVs positioned to easily finish off any damaged ships in the day-phase. The likely result would be a possible IJN surface victory, followed by a crushing day defeat.

All the APAs, AKAs, and good assault ships have unloaded and left the landing site; everything left is xAPs, xAKs, and other lower-value ships unloading supplies and odds and ends. So, even if he gets to the transports, I won't lose anything I can't afford to lose.

I should have an airbase up and running at San Fernando tommorow with SBDs and fighters. I have been continuously bombing Clark, Manila, and Aparri, the large IJA airfields on Luzon, and doing enough damage to keep them surpressed, so I have seen little LBA.

So far this has been a pretty bad defeat for Japan, with a landing on Luzon so cheaply, and BBs damaged to boot. It's not over yet, but so far not looking good for the Empire.

Well, this sounds just like the sort of delimma that the Japanese actually were faced with historically. Funny how it worked out. Question is, is he feeling the same sense of desperation that they actually were feeling...? We shall see.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, Aug 30, 1943:

Taiwan Strait: The pounding of the IJN continued via CVs. It was a very ugly day for the Empire, as my CVs rained bombs and torps down.

YAMATO, NAGATO, TAKAO, 3 CLs, and 7 DDs are SUNK. YAMASHIRO appears to be in serious trouble, and if not sunk probably will be tommorow. Add this to the 4 BBs sunk and 2 confirmed damaged recently and non-operational, and that's just about it for the IJN. There are no CVs left, and just a handful of surface combattants.

It can be no fun to play as Japan if you have no toys, and I have asked Cuttlefish if he wants to continue. It promises to be a rough few months here, as I'll probably get close to Japan before he has Kamikazes. With the DEI cut-off, he is already having to economize on plane production, so it's pretty ugly for the Empire.

Luzon: On top of that, we are firmly ashore on Luzon, and marching on Clark with 3 divisions. More are on the way via ship. San Fernando is a operational airbase, and should be a big one fairly shortly. Dougout Doug is on the way from Puerto Princesa, along with a Newsreel team, to make a dramatic return.