Aussies vs Amis - World Defence(no Joe or Nik)

[jrcar]

Ok the decision has been made, Raheng shall be secured as flank protection, then the main axis will shift to Bangkok.

Cheers

Rob

[jrcar]

24-25 Oct 1942
Subs
Off WAKKANAI in the Northern Japan we hit and almost certainly sink xAK Hiteru Maru.

Off Milne bay we detect and prosceute a sub contact to little effect.

The subs appear to have left teh waters around Milne bay.

Indo China
We halt and rest before moving onto Raheng. New orders to be issued soon.

SWPAC
The usual.

USA
More of the fleet comes out of refit and begins to move to PH. The last few units come out next turn.

Overall a very quiet turn. Next turn will be a long one for us as we plan to reorganise...

Cheers
Rob

[jrcar]

In the Indo China area until now we have largely been reacting to the enemy, and seeking and exploiting opportunities. That phase is now drawing to a close and it is time for some more deliberate and major actions. The problem is we have stuff spread from here to there, so we need to finish what we are doing now and concentrate.

Orders

Burma Command
Mission: Defend Burma and Northern Thailand (Incl RAHENG)
Forces: No change (actually Burma command may loose some arty units - TBA)

Eastern Army
Mission: Seize BANGKOK.

Tasks:
Seize RAHENG.
Build RANGOON as a base of support
Advance on BANKOK via MOULMEIN and RAHENG

Forces:
XVth Corps (still moving into theatre, currently forward elements at MADRAS)
XXXIIIth corps (still moving into theatre, currently forward elements at MADRAS)
2 Direct comd Divisions.
1st Australian Corps
(total around 10-12 Divisions eventually)

IIIrd Indian Corps
Mission: Concentrate MADRAS and RANGOON (less units at Darwin), prepare for amphibious operation no earlier than Jan 1943.

IVth Indian Corps
Mission: Concentrate RANGOON and prepare for amphibious operations no early than Jan 1943
Tasks:
Seize Raheng
Seize Tavoy

The clean up tasks are RAHENG and TAVOY. Port Blair will be left to rot. A base may be built in the Andaman Islands somewhere else...

[jrcar]

Situation 26 Oct

Blue lines indicate the future Eastern Army Axis of advance.

Armour will be used on the flanks to dislocate defensive positions (I.E. the secondary route to BANGKOK).

The airfore will be reorganised to support the tactical ground battle.

[jrcar]

26-27 Oct 1942

Well all the action was over Tavoy this turn. They LRCAPED the airbase from Bankok with at least 6 units of fighters. It is interesting to see the various permutations of our strikes and their defences. All in all I think the losses are about equal.

Here are all the combats:

Morning Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 30,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3



Allied aircraft
P-38E Lightning x 22


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
22 x P-38E Lightning sweeping at 27000 feet

Morning Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 45 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes


Allied aircraft
Wellington Ic x 38
B-17E Fortress x 21


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington Ic: 4 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Runway hits 71

Morning Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 29,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 35
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 12



Allied aircraft
P-38E Lightning x 3


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

Allied aircraft losses
P-38E Lightning: 1 destroyed

Morning Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 41 NM, estimated altitude 31,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 31
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 10



Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 2
P-40K Warhawk x 20


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 2 destroyed

Morning Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 47 NM, estimated altitude 32,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 24
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 8



Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 17


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

Afternoon Air attack on 112th Infantry Regiment, at 54,60 (Tavoy)

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 28 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2



Allied aircraft
Beaufort I x 4
Blenheim IV x 19
DB-7B x 13
P-40K Warhawk x 20


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort I: 1 damaged
Blenheim IV: 1 damaged
DB-7B: 1 damage

Afternoon Air attack on 112th Infantry Regiment, at 54,60 (Tavoy)

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 48 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 8



Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 12
Beaufort VIII x 9


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
Beaufort VIII: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged

Afternoon Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 31,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 1



Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 15


No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Afternoon Air attack on 112th Infantry Regiment, at 54,60 (Tavoy)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 2



Allied aircraft
Beaufort I x 4
Blenheim IV x 8
P-40K Warhawk x 18


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort I: 1 damaged
Blenheim IV: 1 damaged

Afternoon Air attack on 112th Infantry Regiment, at 54,60 (Tavoy)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 9
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 6



Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 12
DB-7B x 13


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
DB-7B: 3 damaged

Afternoon Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 15
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 7



Allied aircraft
Wellington Ic x 8


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington Ic: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged

Afternoon Air attack on Tavoy , at 54,60

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 31,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 6
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5



Allied aircraft
P-38E Lightning x 19


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 3 destroyed
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 2 destroyed

When I get the turn I'll post the exact losses. So far looks like a draw. The biggest issue for us is the loss of Wellingtons. Fighters we have lots of replacements (less P-38) Bombers are critical.

Cheers

Rob

[jrcar]

Finally got the turn, here are the airlosses. The P40K are operating at max range, hence the high ops losses, but we didn't loose as many pilots. With 70 P40K in the pool we can afford to loose some...

The bombers however hurt.

[jrcar]

In Indochina a Japanese TF is sighted in the Andaman sea. It may run in to bombard at Moulmein?

At Moulmein we have 3 bdes, we will bombard this turn.

The forces are halfway to Raheng and are now in combat formation.

Naval forces are gathering at Madras to start transporting new forces into the area (XV and XXXIII Corps) and to start pulling units out for future operations.

[jrcar]

28-29 Oct 1942
Quick update, only Burma really doing anything.

We sweep Tavoy from Moulmein with P40E and K and P38F and bomb with B-17 against significant fighter opposition. The cominations of good aircraft, good to very good pilots (60-80 experiance, and 70-90 air skill) results in a blood bath for the Japanese (Oscar in particular) who are LRcaping Tavoy. Results below.

Next turn our mega stack will arrive at shock attack at Raheng as it crosses the river.

Next turn I may try an attack at Tavoy.

An enemy TF is still in the Andaman sea, it looks to be CV's (CS and BB's detected) probably trying to intercept Rangoon based convoys at long range, or hit any invasion force bound for Port Blair (there isn't one). At the moment thoug it is keeping far enough away that it isn't impacting us. I am concerned though that they will send in a BB TF to hit Tavoy... we can't afford the troop losses, although I have begun moving a Chinese div forward to assist if required...

[jrcar]

Here is the map at 30 Oct. Blue circles indicate points of contact, in particular we have contacted an enemy unit outside Bangkok with the Aus 6th Div Recce, and are in Tavoy waiting to ensure we will get a good attack.

Offshore the Japanese TF is circled in red.

[LoBaron]

jrcar, great your battle continues!
 
One small question: What speaks against cutting off the Rahaeng area by moving to Bangkok directly and blocking the rail to the south
instead of driving the Japanese troops in that direction?

[jrcar]

Thanks LoBaron,

Raheng will be two things for us, flank protection and a forward airfield. We are sending armoured unuts onto the trail to manouvre around them as well.

Cheers
Rob

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

jrcar, great your battle continues!

One small question: What speaks against cutting off the Rahaeng area by moving to Bangkok directly and blocking the rail to the south
instead of driving the Japanese troops in that direction?

[jrcar]

30-31 Oct 1942

Burma
We sweep and bomb Tavoy. Again we come out on top, but we do loose aircraft. Our forces are starting to get tired.

At Raheng we cross on day 2...

Ground combat at Rahaeng (58,56)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 91449 troops, 1460 guns, 1348 vehicles, Assault Value = 2350

Defending force 3243 troops, 131 guns, 76 vehicles, Assault Value = 9

Allied adjusted assault: 2056

Japanese adjusted defense: 19

Allied assault odds: 108 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied forces CAPTURE Rahaeng !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), preparation(-)
morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
691 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 102 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 23 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 38 (34 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 64 (64 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 8
Units destroyed 1


Allied ground losses:
206 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled


Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
21st Australian Brigade
23rd British Brigade
1st Burma Brigade
16th Australian Brigade
6th British Brigade
17th Australian Brigade
18th Australian Brigade
41st Infantry Division
14th British Brigade
26th Indian Brigade
5th British Brigade
19th Australian Brigade
25th Australian Brigade
4th British Brigade
13th Indian Brigade
45th Recce Regiment
35th Light AA Regiment
2/11th Field Regiment
2/9th Field Regiment
IV Indian Corps
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
30th Field Artillery Regiment
XXXIII Indian Corps
2/13th Field Regiment
21st Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
27th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
6th Medium Regiment
25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
8th Medium Regiment
20th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
56th Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
5th Mortar Battalion
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
35th Fld AA Gun Co
25th Army
21st Fld AA Gun Co
5th Field AF Construction Battalion


Raheng will now be secured and the forces in the theatre reorganised. The focus needs to be on Tavoy now.

The Armour is moving south, and the Aussie Corps will probably continue the advance, while forces are pulled back. This will give them a breather, but will also stretch their forces out...

SWPAC
The only thing different here is Betties start bombing the troops at Biak. Need to get an airfield up. Plenty of fighters now at Hollianda, but probably too far to Biak... h'mm maybe the lightnings...

All our CV's are now converging on PH. Almost time for the assualt troops to start loading. The CV's will move west from PH supporting a number of invasions, culminating in one that should split the empire asunder!

Cheers

Rob

[jrcar]

Two infantry units (38th and 5th Div's) got out of Raheng before the attack, and look to have fallen back to the SE at Pisanuluke. They are well trashed. The Imperial Guards are still to the NE as well as around 1 more div. They are sort of trapped... but not yet.

So total estimate of enemy forces in North Thailand is 2 complete div(incl Imperial Guards), 2 trashed divs (5th and 38th), and a stack of trashed support units, including almost all the arty.

Around Bangkok is probably another 2 Divs... at most.

In North Thailand, after we have pulled back forces we should have 3-4 divs for offensive action, 1 Bde to hold Raheng, and a fair bit of armour.

At Tavoy we have a Div, with another on the way.

It is tempting to just push on with this big stack... but we have a bigger plan to execute... I expect they will be rushing forces to this area now, so we are preparing to go elsewhere

The US 10th Airforce is now ready to move forward, 2 units of B-17, 2 of B25 and 3 of B24 (the later not up to strength yet). Raheng is a level 5 airfield and from there we can start to bomb anywhere in Indochina.

Give us a couple of weeks to sort things out...

Cheers

Rob

[jrcar]

30 Oct - 1 Nov 1942

Subs
In the Kuriles we get hit while attacking.

Off Rabaul we continue to chase the last couple of contacts in the area.

Burma
We do pretty good in the air getting 11 Oscar and 2 Tojo for the loss of 2 P40E and 2 P40K.
Raheng is badly damaged, but we are moving out

We are now at Chiang Mai, theer is no opposition and it will fall.

Outside Bangkok we have cut the rail line between Thailand and Malaya. They have moved a unit out to meet our cav, but haven't attacked.

SWPAC
Babar is building nicely and more forces and supplies are landed. A large well protected convoy is now loading at Townsville with a stack of forces, including the 6th RAN BF and a RAAF unit.

Otherwise quiet.

SOPAC
All quiet Kavieng builds to level 5, B-17F will move in here soon and attacks on Ponope will begin, Followed by Truk.

Centpac
Forces are preping to land at Maleope. They will be protected by all the CV's, which will RV at PH in 3-4 days.

Otherwise Quiet

Cheers

Rob

[jrcar]

Score

[jrcar]

02-03 Nov 1943

Very quiet.

In Burma we shoot down 17 Oscar for the loss of 2 P40 (1 E 1 K)

Chaing Mai Falls.

Our forces are pushing out now to cut off the enemy! They should be there next turn, it is a race...

Otherwise everything else is quiet

[anthonykevinluke]

Greetings All,

Rob, in the list of smashed Japs in Burma you forgot the 18th Div, currently providing bombing practice for the Allied Airforces in the swamps west of Rangoon. Thus giving us; three combat trashed Div (one trapped in swamps, and two fleeing to Rangoon), and the Imp Gd Div basically cut off to the NW of Pisanoulke. We think another Div may be in Pisanoulke.... Either way very happy with the Burma Campaign; using dislocation and disruption combined with concentration on the Main Effort we have achieved a significant victory well before time. Note, we were greatly aided by our gallant opponents in their minimal use of their barely touched airpower and their spreading out and piecemeal application of their Gnd combat power.

Regards,

Tony

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: tony luke

...Note, we were greatly aided by our gallant opponents in their minimal use of their barely touched airpower and their spreading out and piecemeal application of their Gnd combat power.

Regards,

Tony

Totally agree.

Your opponents have made a fundamental mistake which Japanese players are prone to do. That is they believe in the concept of "victory disease" and in order to avoid it, voluntarily curtail their offensive operations and far too early transition to a static defensive posture.

There is no such thing as "victory disease". It has unfortunately entered the "historical" lexicon as a shorthand way of presenting the historical result of Midway as being inevitable. That is just sloppy thinking. Midway was a combination of excellent Allied intel work, Allied luck and poor Japanese planning.

WITP:AE is a very assymetrical game. Japan starts off with the odds very much in its favour and must maximise its advantages by continuously maintaining the pressure. For example, it is a totally mistaken Japanese view that it needs to husband its elite at start pilots. No training program will ever re-establish its elite pilots, thus they should be fully used from the beginning in the knowledge that it is a diminishing resource. What Japan must do is ensure that it does not waste such a diminishing resource on pointless missions, but that consideration applies to all actions irrespective of whether the pilots are 90% or 30% experienced.

Proper planning does not guarantee Japan will not suffer a defeat in a particular battle/campaign but it sharpens the Japanese player to not fall into the meaningless mindset of believing in "victory disease".

Alfred

[jrcar]

I'm shocked, Tony posted and I missed it!

He could have posted the combat results... but no. Anyway here it is:

03-04 Nov 1942
Subs
In the Kuriles we hit an xAK, it will sink

Off Rabaul we hit the I-10. It should bugger off home now.

Indo-China
We are moving forward, looks like a lot of units will get away, but they are trashed. We will cross and shock attack next turn.

Off Port Blair a Wellington raid is intercepted by CV based zeros. we loos 14 Wellingtons. This reduces their strength to around 50% The Allied bombers are fragile, we have no Wellington replacements, so these squadrons will have to rest and recover.

We have a Chinese unit moving up to Tavoy, should be there in another 2-3 turns, then we can attack.

Bangkok is shoing a lot of units!

Phillipines
Zamboanga is still holding out. They bomb every day or so, we have almost no supplies, but the troops are holding up OK so far. I have slipped in some supplies via sub...

SWPAC
The usual, but we discover a Guards unit at bypassed Wewak, our planes start ground bombing them, nice experiance.

PH
All the CV's have assembled here now, taking replacements and soon will move off.



Cheers

Rob

[jrcar]

Alfred I agree

Adak was a close run thing though.

Cheers

Rob