YAWAWRG (yet another waw revised game)

[82ndtrooper]

Not much to report this turn,my main fleet is taking a med cruise to show the flag.

[DRommel]

WA fleet bombs Tripoly. El Duce damands counter actions. he's asked Germ for assistens.
Wavel begins his offensive from out Egypt. Rommel is leaving for the front.

(how do you get pic in here)

[82ndtrooper]

ORIGINAL: DRommel

WA fleet bombs Tripoly. El Duce damands counter actions. he's asked Germ for assistens.
Wavel begins his offensive from out Egypt. Rommel is leaving for the front.

(how do you get pic in here)

you have to use reply not fast reply. then at the bottom check the box that says "embed picture in post" then click on "click here to upload"

file has to be 500kb or less.

[DRommel]

See That hugh fleet of the coast off Tripoly.

[82ndtrooper]

not much to report here. still building my SEA Fleas and cruising the med.

[Von Dudert]

I thought I'd make another posting as the Japanese.
It's currently March of 1941 and the Empire is continuing to slowly
increase it's strength. I don't want to show any specifics at this time but
I'll list a general outline of my force increases.
1. Infantry.
Japan is required to invade China this coming summer.
Garrison units and reserves are needed to ensure a reduced partisan level.
In addition, Japan will need extra troops to garrison victory points in the Pacific
and in the Dutch East Indies. I'll need to be cautious and keep an eye on my manpower levels, but that shouldn't become a problem till next year.
2. Artillery.
I've decided to invest in guns II. Since the Chinese will be infantry heavy I'm hoping to create a respectable artillery corp to help clear the way for my advances this summer. Guns II also allow me to build immobile flak units which will help counter Allied long range bomber threats as well as give some protection to my fleet units when in port.
3. Naval.
Since we are an island empire and currently have more battleships then we need,
I'm slowly adding to my destroyer and submarine fleets. The destroyers will help
counter Allied submarine threats to my island supply lines, and the submarine
units will act as reconnaissance elements for my fleet as well as giving me the option to try and interdict enemy supply lines.

Speaking of reconnaissance, here's a screen shot of Allied units in the Australian and New Zealand area from last September. The Allies have already built a respectable
SMG infantry force down there!. Some of these units have now been deployed to Port Moresby in south east New Guinea. Additionally fortifications have recently begun to appear south west of Sydney. I suspect that many of the VP locations will soon have garrison units which will make them harder to pick off next winter when the Pacific blitz card is played.

For now I am waiting to see how events play out in Europe. I hope the Germans can cause great grief for the Allies and the Russians. I will plan to be in position to attack China in early summer, before I suffer any penalties from delaying the offensive too long. The Chinese will be strong enough as is without any bonus help from the Americans.

Von Dudert.

[DRommel]

after some recon, I found the WA fleet again.
She's hidding!!!!, off the coast off Creata.
Treadning my Afrikakorps ????

Yougoslavia fell pretty fast, now all of southern Europe is axis.
After installing a garnizon I can turn my full atention to the east.

[82ndtrooper]

I said I was going to try and develop some new strategies with having carrier III so early and this action we see in the Med sea now is the result of one of them.
I felt I had built enough SEA FLEA units in the Atlantic to handle things there so I moved all my main carriers and my full battle line to the MED to try and find the Italin navy and engage and hopefully sink it while assisting in the North Africa Campaign.

My main carriers where carrier II and I had 5 cruiser I so I moved straight to port said and upgraded them too carrier III and cruiser II. I then decided too move west along the coast with my fleet to strike at the Italian units in North Africa while my army moved west also. I did this thinking I might as well do that since I would have to scout around for the Italian navy some to find it.

Imagine my surprise when I reached tobruk and there it was in port with fighter cover and coastal defense guns. DRommel continues to surprise me ,he never seems to do what I expect him too.

[82ndtrooper]

I had subs scattered around the med on anti supply duty and thats what you see with all the blue dots. I pulled them all in to assist with the attack on Tobruk and unfortunately lost all three of them. I hit with my carrier air first since my planes are expendable and lost 10 of them but I did kill 4 of the 5 fighters he had there defending which was my main goal. I had plenty of planes in reserve and was able to replace my loses with veteran units. I also lost 2 CA-II and some destroyers and subs.
see the results below.

[82ndtrooper]

I lost more than he did but I destroyed the key units I wanted to and I was able to replace my air loses which I hope he wont be able to do.
I am somewhat disappointed in my naval attack since the force ratio was huge in my favor with me attacking with 15 BB-I around 10 CA-II and destroyers and subs. Thankfully I only lost 2 CA-II 4 DD-I and 3 Sub-II. all loses I can replace quickly.

Still I feel like I have caught a tiger by the tail and I expect this to result in heavy loses on both sides.
I hope he is starting to feel the loss of supply now and that it will help me in my attacks.

I am also starting to move my land army west to apply pressure as you can just see in the above screen shot.

Realizing that he has caught a Tiger the Admiral in charge sent out a urgent request to the admiralty asking for the SEA FLEAS to come help. Soon all across the free world the message was passed "all available SEA FLEAS to the Med ASAP !!! every SEA FLEA unit nearby immediately changed course and went full speed ahead to lend assistance to their brothers in the MED.

The SEA FLEAS are on the way !!!!

[82ndtrooper]

and in the Pacific they are answering the call !! battle stations and full speed ahead !!!

[ehzorg]

ORIGINAL: DRommel
After installing a garnizon I can turn my full atention to the east.

East!?! The peace loving people of the Soviet Union are concerned at your recent unnecessary buildup of forces on our border.

[82ndtrooper]

On a serious note.

every time I see one of these little sea flea units I am reminded of the real life Battle of Samar where Taffy 3 a small task force almost identical to these sea flea units fought a heroic battle against a vastly superior Japanese force. This battle has been described as the American Navy's finest hour and a battle where Unimaginable bravery turned certain defeat into a legendary victory. If you haven't heard of this battle please look it up and read about it, for me in all of WWII there is nothing else that comes close to being as astounding as this single battle. It truly demonstrates why the generation that won WWII is the greatest generation in history.

here is a link for you all to check out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar
this is taken from the military reports of the battle and some from the board of inquiry for Adm. Halsy. But its actually pretty good.

I will give a brief description of the battle with some quotes from the above link and some from the history channel episodes i have seen and some from the book " the Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers".

here goes,
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. As the only major action in the larger battle where the Americans were largely unprepared against the opposing forces, it has been cited by historians as one of the greatest military mismatches in naval history.

In no engagement of its entire history has the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption than in those two morning hours between 0730 and 0930 off Samar"

"Taffy 3"
6 escort aircraft carriers
3 destroyers
4 Destroyer_escort

Japanese Center Force
4 Battleship
6 Heavy_cruiser
2 Light_cruiser
11 destroyers,
please note that one of the Japanese battle ships was the Yamato the most powerful Battle ship in the world.


In a battle that James D. Hornfischer would call "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", the very powerful force of Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers commanded by Admiral Kurita engaged a US task unit of six escort carriers, three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. The Americans were taken entirely by surprise because the Seventh Fleet had firmly believed that its northern flank was being protected by Admiral Halsey's immensely powerful 3rd Fleet, which consisted of eight fleet carriers and six fast battleships.

Taffy 3 literally looked up and saw the Japanese fleet bearing down on them at full speed, that was all the warning they had. Adm. Sprague ordered Taffy 3 to retreat and they attempted to flee. Most of taffy 3's planes where already airborne on either anti sub patrol or ground support of the landing troops and all where already loaded with either depth charges or anti personal bombs not a single plane had a torpedo or armor piercing bomb. all planes where ordered to engage the enemy and those on the carriers where launched immediately with what they where already armed with. All planes where told to attack then head to an air base on a nearby island because it was feared none of the escort carriers would survive, the enemy was too close.

USS Johnston
Ernest E. Evans, commander of the destroyer Johnston, the closest to the attackers, took the initiative first. Seeing that it was impossible for the escort carriers under his protection to escape he decided to turn and fight to buy precious time for the little carriers. So the USS Johnston turned and charged full speed into the mouth of hell.

alone.

The planes of Taffy 3 had been strafing the Japanese fleet and watching their depth charges and bombs bounce harmlessly off the armored decks of the warships started to break off and head to the nearby airfield to refuel and rearm when they saw the USS Johnston charging all by itself at the enemy. the tiny destroyer had so many shells exploding around it that at times it was blocked completely from view.  Horrified that one of the destroyers was charging with no help the pilots turned and continued to dive and make mock attacks at the enemy ships after they had run out of all ammo just trying to distract the Japanese gunners in an attempt to offer any help they could.

The USS Johnston charged on until it was in torpedo range and launched her torpedoes and by god blew the bow off of the heavy cruiser Kumano, she then circled around for another torpedo run and was hit on her foredeck by a 14" shell so hard that it stopped her dead in the water. from 34 knots to a dead stop in a split second. Witnesses said the tiny ship was lifted clear out of the water it was hit so hard.  repair crews went to work and soon got one engine running and at half speed the Johnston turned and started to withdraw from the battle.

Then three 6 in (152 mm) shells, possibly from Yamato, struck Johnston's bridge, causing numerous casualties and severing fingers of Captain Evans' left hand. The bridge was abandoned and Evans proceeded to steer the ship back towards the fleet, shouting orders from aft down to men manually operating the rudder from aft, when he noticed other destroyers starting their torpedo run.

Emboldened by Johnston's attack, Sprague gave the order "small boys attack", sending the rest of Taffy 3's destroyers and destroyer escorts on the offensive. They attacked the Japanese line, drawing fire and scattering the Japanese formations as ships turned to avoid torpedoes. Despite heavy damage, Evans turned Johnston around and reentered the fight while damage control teams restored power to two of the three aft turrets.
At 0910, a direct hit on one of Johnston's forward turrets knocked it out and set off many of the 5 in (127 mm) shells stored in the turret. Her damaged engines stopped, leaving her dead in the water. As her attackers gathered around the vulnerable ship, they concentrated fire on her rather than the fleeing carriers. Johnston was hit so many times that one survivor recalled "they couldn't patch holes fast enough to keep her afloat."

At 0945, Evans finally gave the order to abandon ship. Johnston sank 25 minutes later with 186 of her crew. Evans abandoned ship with his crew, but was never seen again. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. As a Japanese destroyer cruised slowly by, the survivors saw the enemy standing at attention to salute.

USS Samuel B. Roberts
At 0851, the Japanese landed two hits, the second of which destroyed the aft gun turret. With her remaining 5 in (127 mm) gun, Roberts set the bridge of the cruiser Chikuma afire and destroyed the No. 3 gun turret, before being pierced again by three 14 in (356 mm) shells from Kongō. With a 40 ft (12 m) hole in her side, Roberts took on water, and at 0935, the order was given to abandon ship. The ship sank in 30 minutes, with 89 of her crew. She would go down in history as "the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship".

USS Hoel
Hoel now found herself crippled and surrounded by the enemy. During the next hour, the ship rendered her final service by drawing enemy fire away from the carriers. In the process of fishtailing and chasing salvos, she peppered them with her two remaining guns. Finally at 0830, after withstanding over 40 hits from 5 to 16 inches (127 to 406 mm) guns, an 8 in shell stilled her remaining engine. With her engine room under water, her No. 1 magazine ablaze, and the ship listing heavily to port and settling by the stern, Kintberger ordered his crew to "prepare to abandon ship." The Japanese fire only stopped at 0855 when Hoel rolled over and sank in 8,000 yd (7,300 m) of water, after enduring 90 minutes of punishment after her first hits.


USS Heermann
Heermann sped to the starboard quarter of the carrier formation to lay more concealing smoke and then charged back into the fight a few minutes later, placing herself between the escort carriers and a column of four enemy heavy cruisers. Here she engaged Chikuma in a duel which seriously damaged both ships. A series of 8 in hits flooded the forward part of the US destroyer, pulling her bow down so far that her anchors were dragging in the water, while one of her guns was knocked out.

the Heermann was the only destroyer to survive.


While its true that all the carriers in taffy 1,2 and 3 had a total of 400 airplanes. it was almost 90 mins that the tiny destroyers battled the giants from japan alone. due to the planes from taffy 1 and 2 all being loaded with the wrong things and having to go back to their carriers and rearm and the planes from taffy 3 had to attack with what they had and most of them continued to harass long after they where out of ammo to try and help the destroyers, they only left the battle when they ran out of fuel.

the Japanese where so close to the carriers that the carriers where engaging the enemy with their lone 5inch guns. they where running into and out of smoke screens and rain squalls to survive and their top speed was only 17 knots half that of the slowest Japanese ship.

The only thing between the cargo,supply,troop ships and men on the beaches at Leyte and the huge Japanese fleet was Taffy 3 and Taffy 3 stopped them cold and caused them to withdraw.  Taffy 3 lost over 1000 men.


Casualties and losses
Taffy 3

2 escort carriers
2 destroyers
1 destroyer escort sunk

Japan
3 heavy cruisers sunk
3 heavy cruisers damaged
1 destroyer sunk
1 destroyer damaged
                   







that's a very brief synopsis of the battle  and each destroyers story is worthy of a movie by itself. the whole thing is quite amazing and if you like WWII, I urge you to look into it a little deeper.

[DRommel]

Things are indeed heating up in the Medi sea.
see here my initial vieuw.

[DRommel]

Not a pretty sight, a hugh fleet, blocking Tobrouk, and an army coming from the east.
Should I attack are just wait and defend my position.
I decided to attack, because he had divided his fleet and that gives me perhaps a chance to do some damage.
I would go for the smaller of the two.
First I sent a fresh Jäger-gshwdr to Tobrouk. Now I had to take out some of his Carrier-air.
But not whit a attack on that fleet. The C-air outnumber my fighters and his cruiserII would also help and last but not least, the C-air of that other fleet sourly would intercept me also.
So I decided for a recon mission, next to the small fleet but far enough from the other.
Big surprise, my mission didn’t get any affect.

[DRommel]

Was this because it was over land, and his C-air’s are seaplanes?
So I tried again, but this time over sea just left of the fleet.
And there they came, but unfortunately or my luck, no casualties on both sides.
But his planes did lose some readiness.
Next I called in some u-boots to assist me.

[DRommel]

I decided to go for an all in one attack. Because that fleet had a bit of everything store.
So it had no weakness in some areas. So load the guns and sail into battle.

and see results on following screenshots

[DRommel]

Not to bad, of cours the loss of those two CAII could be a pain, because of his C-air's !!

[krupp_88mm]

hmm not bad, what happens to the carrier air if the cvs are destroyed?

[DRommel]

Last screen shows the last status of the battlefield.
It shows that also the attack of WA army out of Egypt got a bloody nose