The Calimari War - Cuttlefish Gets Charbroiled

[Cuttlefish]

May 21, 1942 – May 22, 1942

Perhaps I should rant more often. The subsequent two turns have been bad ones for the Allies and it seems that in a roundabout way Operation Wood Chipper may yet achieve its goal.

To set the scene a bit more thoroughly than I did in my last entry: on 20 May Japanese forces had just finished their evacuation at Nadi and were heading north, Kido Butai in the van. Meanwhile Charbroiled had taken advantage of my distraction to invade not only Tabiteuea but Tulagi as well. Junyo and Hiyo were approaching the Gilberts from the northwest, while southwest of Tabiteuea Admiral Kurita’s force lurked, along with transports carrying the IJA 20th Division.

What happened to Kurita has already been described. Let’s not go into that again. American carrier planes also sank a couple of 20th Division transports. I ordered my small carrier force to move in from the north and KB to abandon my withdrawing transports and sprint northeast.

Which brings us to 21 May. For starters, the three Allied carriers, last seen halfway between Tabiteuea and Ndeni, completely disappeared. They must have either sprinted back straight east or headed southwest through the New Hebrides. I wish I knew which it was.

Netties out of Rabaul attacked the Tulagi invasion force. Over two days they sank CA Canberra and an AK and probably finished off two or three xAPs. BB Warspite took two torpedoes as well, and then a third from a Japanese submarine as it withdrew across the Coral Sea.

KB was still too far away to make contact but Junyo and Hiyo picked up not only the Tabiteuea invasion force but a small task force en route to capture ungarrisoned Ocean Island. CA Louisville and BB Idaho were both torpedoed and two xAKs and a DMS were sunk. AP President Polk was the only survivor of the Ocean Island invasion force; it took two torpedoes and then hauled itself up on the beach, where it expired. The surviving soldiers leaped ashore and took possession of the island.

Tabiteuea, attacked by a full division, fell after a couple of days. The Tulagi invasion force was forced to withdraw by the Netties and the forces that have landed so far don’t seem to be sufficient to take the base.

On 22 May Junyo and Hiyo cautiously withdraw a bit and had no contact with enemy forces. Kido Butai, however, launched attacks all day long. BB Idaho was sunk, along with six destroyers (Gwin, Grayson, Monsson, Cushing, Perkins, and Litchfield), a DMS, four xAKs, and and xAP. Lots of soldiers went into the drink. These were the confirmed sinkings. Louisville was left a flaming wreck and over a dozen other xAKs and xAPs, along with two more destroyers, were left with heavy fires, damage, or both.

I would love to continue the attacks but KB is out of torpedoes and low on fuel (the replenishment TF was forced to retire northwards when the Allied carriers appeared). In addition, enemy carriers are in the area and I need to get my divisions home safely. For 23 May I have ordered my carriers to the west a bit where they will link up with the transport and SCTF groups (most of which are now fast transport groups).

The current situation:

[FatR]

On supporting invasions by naval bombardment: under the latest patch I find bombardments with anything less than battleships practically ineffective, and battleship bombardments (with good recon and planes from ships involved flying recon to serve as spotters) atomic. Four old Japanese battleships are the best candidates for beach-pounding.

Overall, fortunes of war seems to have turned in your favor. Allies landed too far, too early. It should be possible to blockade and counter-invade Ocean and Tabiteua to destroy their troops.

[witpqs]

The rule of thumb I have discovered is that my opponent's bombardments are effective, mine are ineffective.

[Walloc]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

Perhaps I should rant more often. The subsequent two turns have been bad ones for the Allies and it seems that in a roundabout way Operation Wood Chipper may yet achieve its goal.

It has always worked like that for me![:)]
So yes lesseon learn is rant some more!

Rasmus

[Durbik]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

The rule of thumb I have discovered is that my opponent's bombardments are effective, mine are ineffective.

+1

[CapAndGown]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

The rule of thumb I have discovered is that my opponent's bombardments are effective, mine are ineffective.

That's because I have a special connection to the gods.

I can't give everything away, but part of my method involves this:

[HMS Resolution]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

So here’s the deal. You are IJN Rear Admiral Kurita.

I think I've spotted the problem.

[Capt. Harlock]

Well, given that Kurita is under my command, of course you choose option 2. Oy vay! What did I ever do that caused the gods of AE to turn against me, to decree that in any game where something can go wrong it will always go wrong, and in the worse possible way?

Not that I don't feel your pain (for one thing, I love a good surface scrap), but it's not entirely unrealistic. The actual incidents of the Pacific theater showed Japanese surface admirals turning and running on multiple occasions when they would have done better to stay and fight. (Withdrawal after Savo Island leaving the transports alone, withdrawal during 1st Guadalcanal when only two American ships could fight effectively, withdrawal off Samar, etc.)

If it's any help, think of this as getting the Americans back in the game. Strategically, the Japanese expansion was going rather well up until now.

[erstad]

ORIGINAL: HMS Resolution

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

So here’s the deal. You are IJN Rear Admiral Kurita.

I think I've spotted the problem.

Aggression of 52, give or take.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Not that I don't feel your pain (for one thing, I love a good surface scrap), but it's not entirely unrealistic. The actual incidents of the Pacific theater showed Japanese surface admirals turning and running on multiple occasions when they would have done better to stay and fight. (Withdrawal after Savo Island leaving the transports alone, withdrawal during 1st Guadalcanal when only two American ships could fight effectively, withdrawal off Samar, etc.)

If it's any help, think of this as getting the Americans back in the game. Strategically, the Japanese expansion was going rather well up until now.

Oh, I agree my defeats are realistic, or at least one can construct a plausible chain of events that leads to them. Even those PT boats in the game against Q-Ball, like mice panicking a herd of elephants and sending them stampeding over a cliff.

The philosophical attitude would be that it is actually a credit to the designers of the game. Japan, at least in my hands, actually plays like Japan. We are talking, after all. about a military whose favorite play, in American football terms, was to burst through the line of scrimmage, shake off the secondary, race for the goal, and then cough up an unforced fumble on the ten yard line.

[Cribtop]

To return briefly to the Nadi op, you mentioned being afraid of using KB planes against land targets. I agree wrt Vals, but Kates at 16K seem pretty safe from land based AA in my experience.

[crsutton]

It has been fun to read. You both have had setbacks and got bloody noses. Neither of them fatal. The Allies can lose warships as long as they are not carriers. I think in the end, I would give a slight strategic edge to Charbroiled. The issue is your wrecked divisions. At this stage, Japan can ill afford to have three critical divisions in SoPac off the table for a while.

I am going to pay a lot more attention to my marine defense units. Don't leave home without them.... I notice that eventually the Allied 90 mm AA guns upgrade to dual purpose. I wonder if these will shoot up ships as well or if you really need then in an art or CD unit.

[Capt. Harlock]

The Allies can lose warships as long as they are not carriers.

Actually, after early '43, the Allies can even afford to lose carriers. I think the most painful thing for the IJN is the loss of those three heavy cruisers in Kurita's force. They are the one ship type the Japanese never get any more of.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

The Allies can lose warships as long as they are not carriers.

Actually, after early '43, the Allies can even afford to lose carriers. I think the most painful thing for the IJN is the loss of those three heavy cruisers in Kurita's force. They are the one ship type the Japanese never get any more of.

I completely agree with this. I hate losing heavy cruisers, they are enormously valuable and irreplacable.

[Cuttlefish]

May 23, 1942 – May 27, 1942

In the aftermath of the recent struggles in the Pacific I evaluate my situation and make plans for future operations. The Rising Sun will continue to advance!

Pacific: The Journey Home. My forces have been moving back to Truk, the transports shepherded by my carriers. Some troops have already returned to Truk while others should arrive and unload within the next day or so. As the battles around Nadi and Tabiteuea were going on I was busy moving supplies and fuel into Truk, so there is plenty there of both (150k fuel, 100 k of supplies at present). I am going to have to keep an eye on troop capacity, though, as the base holds 60,000 troops but more than that are inbound.

A fresh division has arrived in the theater from Luzon and has been sent to Rabaul, where it will continue prepping for an attack on Shortlands.

The region has not been entirely quiet. On 26 May submarine RO-34 put a torpedo into Yorktown northeast of Canton Island. There was a fuel storage explosion and fires reported, so the carrier is going to need some yard time (the hit was confirmed by Charbroiled, so it wasn’t FOW). On 27 May more Allied troops landed at Tulagi. Netties out of Rabaul attacked, which triggered a fierce air battle. The escorting Zeros fought the defending fighters, Warhawks and Lightnings, straight up, 16 fighters down on each side. I also lost 16 Netties and sank DMS Long and an AK. Fortunately I only lost 9 pilots KIA.

Once everyone is back at Truk my ships will be rearmed and refueled and I can evaluate the state of my battered divisions. Since striking at the base of the Allied effort in the South Pacific did not work my inclination now is to start at the top and work my way down. Charbroiled has occupied a number of bases in force, including Shortlands, Lunga, Tagula (a few hexes off Milne Bay), and Ndeni. Shortlands and Tagula have about 10,000 troops each and will be easy to isolate and pound with air attacks and bombardments prior to an invasion. Lunga is the big base in the area. Right now Allied bombers there are a pain but again, the base should be easy to suppress. If this all goes smoothly I can evaluate the situation and think about moving further south.

Also on the agenda is recapturing Tabiteuea. He has a US infantry division there but doesn’t have control of the sea in the region, so the plan for the moment is to make sure those troops start to get hungry. It might be a good opportunity to wear down his navy if he fights to try and keep the base supplied.

Java: Hoist the Rising Sun. Java is pretty much all over but the shouting. Batavia and Soerabaja have both been captured and the Dutch presence on the island is down to four bases and some scattered refugees. The six Japanese divisions on the island are wrapping things up and prepping for new targets, mostly in Burma.

All of the facilities at Soerabaja, shipyards, oil, everything, were captured intact. This continues a fortuitous trend. Across the DEI I would say the Dutch gave me their stuff over 99% undamaged. My tankers are busy and oil and fuel levels in the Home Islands are in excellent shape. Tokyo alone has 350k in oil and nearly 1000k in fuel.

Burma: Lurking in the Bay of Bengal. The land war in Burma has been a stalemate for quite some time. That should change soon, with six fresh IJA divisions either en route or soon to head that way. In the meantime mini-KB has passed through the Sunda Strait and headed west into the Bay of Bengal. They have arrived undetected with a SCTF right at the center of the Bay of Bengal and are hanging there now, waiting like a spider in a web for prey to come along.

China: Change of Plan. I have been unable to batter my way to Sian. Since further effort seems unlikely to bring success I am going to change tactics here. Rather than try to occupy ground I am going to make the situation fluid again and go back to doing what I had success doing earlier – mangling Chinese formations. I will wreck as many as I can and cut the Burma road, then see what effect this has on Chinese resiliency. I think I also need to get my air force more involved in this area.

[Q-Ball]

Charbroiled has occupied a number of bases in force, including Shortlands, Lunga, Tagula (a few hexes off Milne Bay), and Ndeni. Shortlands and Tagula have about 10,000 troops each and will be easy to isolate and pound with air attacks and bombardments prior to an invasion. Lunga is the big base in the area. Right now Allied bombers there are a pain but again, the base should be easy to suppress. If this all goes smoothly I can evaluate the situation and think about moving further south.

CF: Since your divisions are unloading at Truk without a mission at present, might I suggest prepping all of those guys for the Solomons?

It's too late to launch a major knock-out offensive against a NZ or OZ or something like that. But it's way too early to cede the initiative, and way too early for the Allied player to be pushing units forward like that. WAY too early. You have an opportunity to capture a big chunk of Allied troops, and hopefully sink some ships as well if he tries to interfere.

I would like to see a map of the area and know what you have available, but I would recommend the following:

1. Landings in the Lower Solomons, perhaps Lunga. Your objective is to secure an airbase, put Bettys there, and wait.
2. Your opponent will then have several thousand troops isolated in the Solomons. He will have two choices:
-Let them starve and die
-Contest IJN air and get ships in

The absolute worst strategic situation is to be tethered to garrisons you feel you need to save, yet having to fight through superior airpower to get there.

You should absolutely be able to assert control of the air over the Solomons, and the seas around it. Once you do that, all those Allied troops will be working on the Burma Railway within 90 days.

Ideally, if he is choosing to fight you with troops he will also choose to fight you with ships, which is a losing proposition at this stage for the Allies, particularly if you can draw on LBA nearby.

In conclusion, I would re-direct on a counterattack in the Solomons, with the objective of drawing the Allies into a fight on turf you ultimately control. The worst that can happen is you capture several thousand US Troops. He is already down a CV, so you can't lose if you keep your forces concentrated, and play your cards right.

[Cribtop]

+1

[ny59giants]

You have probably already done so, but double check to ensure that all possible Zero, Val, and Kate units have been resized to at least 30 planes. The Solomons are a great area to use Vals as only a size 2 AF is needed.

While your at it, look at your FP. I usually use a damaged or non-critical CS to resize early and then train up my pilots.

The Solomons are a good place to use random mining to create some havoc. Some of your 20 knot CM's should be able to get in and out while he looks for KB and/or large SC TF.

[Cuttlefish]

May 28, 1942 – June 2, 1942

Q-Ball and ny59giants, thanks for the suggestions. I agree just about 100% with Q-Ball’s evaluation of the situation.

My opponent has continued to occupy forward bases in the Pacific. I welcome these attacks – my operation at Suva failed to force my opponent to shove his arm further into the wood chipper but in the aftermath he seems intent on doing it on his own.

Pacific: Feast of the Netties. The Allies have occupied Tarawa and Nauru Island now as well. Netties from Roi-Namur and carrier planes from Junyo and Hiyo (who had the fastest turn-around time at Truk) have inflicted losses on both invasion forces. Allied losses include DD King, a DMS, two APs, and AK, and three xAKs.

Junyo and Hiyo are heading back to Truk to rearm. In the meantime Kido Butai has circled north of Kwajalein and is now heading southeast, intending to position itself between Pearl Harbor and the Gilberts, a region my subs indicate is currently heavy with Allied traffic.

All units from the failed Suva operation have safely returned to Truk. There are now 65,000 troops there, with more on the way from Tokyo and Manila. This is 5000 over limit already so at least one division, the 20th, is being shipped out again immediately to Rabaul. With the four divisions ashore it is now possible to really evaluate their losses. Three of them (the 4th, 54th, and 19th) are around half strength. The 20th is at about three-quarters strength and is the one heading for Rabaul, where it will prep to join a fresh division for the attack on Shortlands. That base will be used as a springboard towards Lunga. Japanese battleships are already beginning shuttle bombardment of Shortlands. Yamato, recently arrived in theater, will not join the bombardments, mostly because those 18” shells are hard to replenish. Yamato instead will form the core of an SCTF that will join my carriers in interdicting Allied supplies and reinforcements to their new possessions.

My overall plan for the Pacific is to completely isolate these conquests and other forward bases and then devour them one by one. I think my opponent believes that he can defend them with LBA but my experience in this game tells me that isolated island air bases are easy prey for repeated bombardments and carrier forces. LBA from mutually supporting bases and defended by SCTFs can be lethal; LBA in isolated forward bases are “destroyed on ground” statistics waiting to happen.

Submarine Warfare: Hits and Misses. Japanese submarines sank two ships during this period, an xAK off Ceylon and an AM near Vancouver Island. A Japanese submarine was lost to ASW attack in the Central Pacific. And, in a hair-raising moment, an Allied sub bounced a dud torpedo off of Zuikaku as it departed Truk to head east.

Right now I have my submarines deployed in several major areas. Both sides of the Australian coast are infested, as are the coast of India and the waters around Ceylon. There are several more on the US West Coast and a belt of them between Pearl Harbor/West Coast and the South Pacific. The last major group is in the Central Pacific trying to pick off stragglers and giving me intelligence on Allied ship movements.

[Q-Ball]

Split the depleted divisions into 3s; they will rebuild quicker if you do that.

Nauru? He is really putting his neck in the wood chipper. Turn it on.