Then Dutch sub O24 hit an xAK off of Soc Trang with three live torpedoes. The freighter probably went down after the third hit.
I doubt she got the chance to go down. Three fish probably means she's in orbit
Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: Night of the Duds
ORIGINAL: Yakface
Then Dutch sub O24 hit an xAK off of Soc Trang with three live torpedoes. The freighter probably went down after the third hit.
I doubt she got the chance to go down. Three fish probably means she's in orbit
I certainly hope so. I need some good news... [&o]
Chickens of the Sea
May 9, 1942 -
Japanese TFs continued to offload troops at Port Blair and Cairns this turn. I waited and waited for that 3-ship PT TF to show up at Cairns, but it didn't. The only Allied night action was USS Skipjack taking a shot and missing a Japanese DD near Christmas Island, IO.
Then, with daylight, the wayward PTs finally showed up at Cairns. They were spotted at 18K yards and the Japanese CL and DD escorts opened up. The PT Captains evaded the fire and closed in to 11K yards before turning around a running away.
BTW – this is the same TF that ran into the KB a few days back and immediately turned and ran the other way. But I'm determined to give these guys the chance to play Heroes – dead or alive – so I ordered them back to Cairns for next turn. Hopefully, they will get there in the dark and actually fire something off at the Enemy.
Daylight also brought the usual Japanese Air Attacks, this time on Port Blair and Buitenzorg.
Yet another Japanese TF arrived at Port Blair to drop off troops. The Defenders continue to fire back at the incoming ships. And more Japanese Air Transport planes were hit by Flak as they attempted to either supply or reinforce the Japanese invaders.
In a bit of a surprise, a Japanese invasion force showed up at Bandjermasin. The DD escorts fired at the Dutch defenders, and the Dutch fired back. Then when the Japanese troops moved in to shore they had great difficulty with the landing and lost a large number of troops to accidents.
Ground Action was limited to part of the Japanese 4th Infantry Division capturing the empty Cairns. More of the 4th Division are on ships that are still coming to Cairns, so I sure hope that my PT Captains discover their Manhood and take advantage of the situation.
In any event, in an attempt to help things out I have ordered some of my 4Es in Oz to hit the Airfields at Cairns next turn. It would be nice to damage the base a bit before my opponent finally gets some Air Support in place.
But looking realistically at the situation in Northeastern Oz, it is pretty clear to me that the hodgepodge collection of small Australian Combat units that are at various bases on the Railines up there are not going to stop the 4th Division if I leave my units the way that they are currently spread out. So I'm pulling back once again in order to strengthen my lines in the Rockhampton area. I need to be able to tie up the Japanese while I wait for Reinforcements to show up.
The only good news in all of this mess is that the KB is continuing to slowly sail eastwards and is now just about at the Santa Cruz Islands and sailing northeast. So I have some Freedom of Action along the East Coast of Oz for a while and I intend to attempt to take advantage of that.
Japanese TFs continued to offload troops at Port Blair and Cairns this turn. I waited and waited for that 3-ship PT TF to show up at Cairns, but it didn't. The only Allied night action was USS Skipjack taking a shot and missing a Japanese DD near Christmas Island, IO.
Then, with daylight, the wayward PTs finally showed up at Cairns. They were spotted at 18K yards and the Japanese CL and DD escorts opened up. The PT Captains evaded the fire and closed in to 11K yards before turning around a running away.
BTW – this is the same TF that ran into the KB a few days back and immediately turned and ran the other way. But I'm determined to give these guys the chance to play Heroes – dead or alive – so I ordered them back to Cairns for next turn. Hopefully, they will get there in the dark and actually fire something off at the Enemy.
Daylight also brought the usual Japanese Air Attacks, this time on Port Blair and Buitenzorg.
Yet another Japanese TF arrived at Port Blair to drop off troops. The Defenders continue to fire back at the incoming ships. And more Japanese Air Transport planes were hit by Flak as they attempted to either supply or reinforce the Japanese invaders.
In a bit of a surprise, a Japanese invasion force showed up at Bandjermasin. The DD escorts fired at the Dutch defenders, and the Dutch fired back. Then when the Japanese troops moved in to shore they had great difficulty with the landing and lost a large number of troops to accidents.
Ground Action was limited to part of the Japanese 4th Infantry Division capturing the empty Cairns. More of the 4th Division are on ships that are still coming to Cairns, so I sure hope that my PT Captains discover their Manhood and take advantage of the situation.
In any event, in an attempt to help things out I have ordered some of my 4Es in Oz to hit the Airfields at Cairns next turn. It would be nice to damage the base a bit before my opponent finally gets some Air Support in place.
But looking realistically at the situation in Northeastern Oz, it is pretty clear to me that the hodgepodge collection of small Australian Combat units that are at various bases on the Railines up there are not going to stop the 4th Division if I leave my units the way that they are currently spread out. So I'm pulling back once again in order to strengthen my lines in the Rockhampton area. I need to be able to tie up the Japanese while I wait for Reinforcements to show up.
The only good news in all of this mess is that the KB is continuing to slowly sail eastwards and is now just about at the Santa Cruz Islands and sailing northeast. So I have some Freedom of Action along the East Coast of Oz for a while and I intend to attempt to take advantage of that.
Third Time Lucky
May 10, 1942 -
Night started with yet another Japanese TF unloading at Port Blair. Then things got interesting.
First off, a Miracle Happened! After two abysmally bad tries, the US PT TF that ran away from the KB and the Cairns Invasion TF went back in to Cairns and got in to 1000 yards before all H$LL broke loose. The PT captains had a field day. One PT put two torpedoes into an xAP. Then all three PT boats shot up that same xAP with their machine guns. There were a couple hundred Japanese troop casualties with those hits. Then another of the PT boats put a torpedo into another xAP. And throughout all of this the Japanese gunners didn't hit the mark once, and all three PT boats got away with empty ammo magazines and big smiles on all of the faces of the crews.
The Allied subs then got busy. USS Perch shot four Duds at a Japanese DD in a TF near Saigon. It's only too bad that Perch didn't try to hit the TKs in that TF too.
Then Dutch sub KIX hit an xAK at Port Blair. But here the Japanese escorts were able to find the sub and pounded it with depth charges. So KIX is limping back to Colombo.
Next, USS Sealion was chased near Billiton by the escorts in a big Japanese TF that included CAs and CSs, but the escorts didn't find the mark. But the escorts in that TF later on caught Perch on its rounds near Tandjoengpinag and hit it once.
My opponent wasn't satisfied with his landings at Port Blair and Cairns, so he also had landings start at Pamekassan and Tandjoengselor. In both cases the landings took heavy casualties due to landing mishaps.
Daylight brought Japanese Air Attacks at Tandjoengselor, Pamekassen, Buitenzorg and Port Blair. The planned Allied 4E raids on Cairns were cancelled because of Weather.
Ground Combat found the defenders of Port Blair finally defeated and the base captured. I'm expecting my opponent to have Transport TFs there for a few days because he didn't land any Air Support or Engineering troops, and also his troops on the ground there are pretty beat up. So with any luck the RN's Naval Air boys may well get their first chance at action in a couple of days. [;)]
I think that I can get away with this without having Japanese mainland LBA spoil the “fun” because it appears that my opponent is seriously moving on Myitkynia, and so I am hoping that he is looking to send his Air Units against my Forces along the Burmese/Indian border rather than looking out to Sea.
For a while I thought that he was simply trying to trap my bombers near Swebo with Fighter Traps, but it does look as if he is sending a big Infantry Division forward. The weather is still lousy (when isn't it in that region?) and I am still rebuilding my 4E squadrons, so I will wait until the Japanese column moves closer to Myitkyina before I unleash the RAF and Friends.
The KB is still loitering around the Santa Cruz Islands. Right now it is at Vanikoro. I'm not sure why my opponent is letting the KB just meander around that region, unless he has it waiting for an Invasion TF to catch up. (Or perhaps for a Refueling TF to catch up so that the KB can go further South.)
Night started with yet another Japanese TF unloading at Port Blair. Then things got interesting.
First off, a Miracle Happened! After two abysmally bad tries, the US PT TF that ran away from the KB and the Cairns Invasion TF went back in to Cairns and got in to 1000 yards before all H$LL broke loose. The PT captains had a field day. One PT put two torpedoes into an xAP. Then all three PT boats shot up that same xAP with their machine guns. There were a couple hundred Japanese troop casualties with those hits. Then another of the PT boats put a torpedo into another xAP. And throughout all of this the Japanese gunners didn't hit the mark once, and all three PT boats got away with empty ammo magazines and big smiles on all of the faces of the crews.
The Allied subs then got busy. USS Perch shot four Duds at a Japanese DD in a TF near Saigon. It's only too bad that Perch didn't try to hit the TKs in that TF too.
Then Dutch sub KIX hit an xAK at Port Blair. But here the Japanese escorts were able to find the sub and pounded it with depth charges. So KIX is limping back to Colombo.
Next, USS Sealion was chased near Billiton by the escorts in a big Japanese TF that included CAs and CSs, but the escorts didn't find the mark. But the escorts in that TF later on caught Perch on its rounds near Tandjoengpinag and hit it once.
My opponent wasn't satisfied with his landings at Port Blair and Cairns, so he also had landings start at Pamekassan and Tandjoengselor. In both cases the landings took heavy casualties due to landing mishaps.
Daylight brought Japanese Air Attacks at Tandjoengselor, Pamekassen, Buitenzorg and Port Blair. The planned Allied 4E raids on Cairns were cancelled because of Weather.
Ground Combat found the defenders of Port Blair finally defeated and the base captured. I'm expecting my opponent to have Transport TFs there for a few days because he didn't land any Air Support or Engineering troops, and also his troops on the ground there are pretty beat up. So with any luck the RN's Naval Air boys may well get their first chance at action in a couple of days. [;)]
I think that I can get away with this without having Japanese mainland LBA spoil the “fun” because it appears that my opponent is seriously moving on Myitkynia, and so I am hoping that he is looking to send his Air Units against my Forces along the Burmese/Indian border rather than looking out to Sea.
For a while I thought that he was simply trying to trap my bombers near Swebo with Fighter Traps, but it does look as if he is sending a big Infantry Division forward. The weather is still lousy (when isn't it in that region?) and I am still rebuilding my 4E squadrons, so I will wait until the Japanese column moves closer to Myitkyina before I unleash the RAF and Friends.
The KB is still loitering around the Santa Cruz Islands. Right now it is at Vanikoro. I'm not sure why my opponent is letting the KB just meander around that region, unless he has it waiting for an Invasion TF to catch up. (Or perhaps for a Refueling TF to catch up so that the KB can go further South.)
Ship for a Sub
May 11, 1942 -
The night phase started with the continuation of Japanese landings at Tandjengselor and Parmekasan. Then a Japanese PB unsuccessfully chased Dutch sub KXV near Langsa.
I was extremely puzzled by repeated reports of a Japanese landing at hex 92,138 which is on the Australian East Coast just south of Cooktown. I have no idea why my opponent would decide to land troops, or whatever, at a coastal hex when he already controls both Cooktown and Cairns. Maybe he is practicing to see how to land at a Coastal hex so that he can try to cut off my retreat routes.
Then Dutch sub O21 hit an xAP with a torpedo at Cairns, causing serious damage. However, the Japanese escorts also hit O21 hard, so the sub is now slowly limping its way to the South. A “sub for a ship” could get fairly costly for me unless some of those Japanese ships are big Combat ships.
Daylight brought the usual Japanese Air Attacks. A Chinese troop column just north of Paotow was hit several times by Japanese Army Bombers, so I've ordered it back a hex. My opponent has reinforced Paotow, so there is no point to attempt to besiege it. Tandjoengselor, Badjermasin and Buitenzorg were also bombed.
BTW – my opponent told me why his landing at Badjermasin was so costly – he had forgotten and had set the invading troops set to “Strategic” mode and the TF to “Transport”. I've almost done that a few times in my other pbems, and I can attest to the ease in which one can create a TF by habit rather than paying the necessary attention.
The Japanese Army was busy this turn. There was a Deliberate Attack at Bandermasin, but with the Japanese troops all buggered up by the bad landing the result was 1:2 and the Forts were untouched. There were still a few Dutch casualties, probably because the Dutch troops are totally out of Supply.
The Japanese column that attacked Tandjoengselor was in good shape so it easily kicked out the previously defeated Dutch troops which were also out of supply. The Dutch troops retreated into the jungle, but they will likely evaporate away quickly.
There was a successful Deliberate Attack at Parmekasan too, and here the Dutch were simply wiped out. I had pulled most of the troops of that unit out via Air Lift long before, so only stragglers were left at the base.
And finally, there was a Deliberate Attack at Merak by a somewhat unbalanced Japanese column that consisted of an Armored Regiment, an Engineering Regiment, and two Artillery Regiments. The attack resulted in 1:2 odds, and didn't affect the Fortifications, but the Dutch still suffered heavy casualties, so the base shouldn't hold long despite the lack of Japanese foot soldiers.
In other news, my opponent has put some sort of small Surface Combat TF just south of Cairns in an attempt to blockcade the Waterway between the Mainland and the Great Barrier Reef. But I'm sending a PT TF in next turn anyway. And with any luck, a more “serious” TF will be coming along soon enough. [;)]
BTW – the KB finally vanished from sight. I'm guessing that it is heading towards Kwajalein for fuel.
The night phase started with the continuation of Japanese landings at Tandjengselor and Parmekasan. Then a Japanese PB unsuccessfully chased Dutch sub KXV near Langsa.
I was extremely puzzled by repeated reports of a Japanese landing at hex 92,138 which is on the Australian East Coast just south of Cooktown. I have no idea why my opponent would decide to land troops, or whatever, at a coastal hex when he already controls both Cooktown and Cairns. Maybe he is practicing to see how to land at a Coastal hex so that he can try to cut off my retreat routes.
Then Dutch sub O21 hit an xAP with a torpedo at Cairns, causing serious damage. However, the Japanese escorts also hit O21 hard, so the sub is now slowly limping its way to the South. A “sub for a ship” could get fairly costly for me unless some of those Japanese ships are big Combat ships.
Daylight brought the usual Japanese Air Attacks. A Chinese troop column just north of Paotow was hit several times by Japanese Army Bombers, so I've ordered it back a hex. My opponent has reinforced Paotow, so there is no point to attempt to besiege it. Tandjoengselor, Badjermasin and Buitenzorg were also bombed.
BTW – my opponent told me why his landing at Badjermasin was so costly – he had forgotten and had set the invading troops set to “Strategic” mode and the TF to “Transport”. I've almost done that a few times in my other pbems, and I can attest to the ease in which one can create a TF by habit rather than paying the necessary attention.
The Japanese Army was busy this turn. There was a Deliberate Attack at Bandermasin, but with the Japanese troops all buggered up by the bad landing the result was 1:2 and the Forts were untouched. There were still a few Dutch casualties, probably because the Dutch troops are totally out of Supply.
The Japanese column that attacked Tandjoengselor was in good shape so it easily kicked out the previously defeated Dutch troops which were also out of supply. The Dutch troops retreated into the jungle, but they will likely evaporate away quickly.
There was a successful Deliberate Attack at Parmekasan too, and here the Dutch were simply wiped out. I had pulled most of the troops of that unit out via Air Lift long before, so only stragglers were left at the base.
And finally, there was a Deliberate Attack at Merak by a somewhat unbalanced Japanese column that consisted of an Armored Regiment, an Engineering Regiment, and two Artillery Regiments. The attack resulted in 1:2 odds, and didn't affect the Fortifications, but the Dutch still suffered heavy casualties, so the base shouldn't hold long despite the lack of Japanese foot soldiers.
In other news, my opponent has put some sort of small Surface Combat TF just south of Cairns in an attempt to blockcade the Waterway between the Mainland and the Great Barrier Reef. But I'm sending a PT TF in next turn anyway. And with any luck, a more “serious” TF will be coming along soon enough. [;)]
BTW – the KB finally vanished from sight. I'm guessing that it is heading towards Kwajalein for fuel.
Blocking Forces
May 12, 1942 -
My lone PT ran into the Japanese Picket TF south of Cairns, as expected. The PT skipper actually got in to a 1000 yards, thanks to rain and bad weather, but he didn't get off any shots against the two old Japanese CLs and 4 DDs in the enemy TF. One of the Japanese Transport TFs has now finished off-loading and is headed back to Port Moresby. I have a number of subs in its path so I might get a few more chances. There is still a Japanese Transport TF at Cooktown, but there is also a second Japanese Blocking TF between Cooktown and Cairns, so it will be hard for PTs to fight their way through. So that's why I will be upping the ante during the next few evenings. [;)]
The Day phase started with Bettys bombing a Dutch Recon unit at Bandoeng. I had forgotten that I had sent that unit there in order to try to open up a retreat path. But my opponent had noticed and the formerly empty base now has a Japanese Recon unit in it along with part of an Infantry Regiment. So I won't be able to pull a Fast One there.
My opponent pulled off one of his usual Good Moves in Northern Oz as he has moved up an overwhelming force of planes to Darwin and Katherine. So Tennant Creek got multiple Japanese Air Attacks. The first Japanese attack took care of the US P-40Es that were on CAP. The 7 P-40s were no match for the 19 Zeros and 13 Oscars that flew in at high altitude.
BTW – I've stopped trying to “match altitude” with my opponent since I have so few fighters that are capable of flying in the 30K+ altitude range. Instead I have my fighters at their “max good performance” ceiling. I'm not sure if it helped, but I am “relatively” satisfied that the outnumbered US Flyboys only lost two planes.
Afterwards, Sallys, accompanied by Oscars, flew in and hit the Air Base and Air Base Supply. That's a Bad Thing for me, because I am finding it essentially impossible to move supply to Tennant Creek. It looks to be effectively an untenable position for my forces.
Japanese bombers also hit Bandjermasin, Buitanzorg, and Merak, as well as the retreating Chinese troops near Paotow.
The Allied response was an attack by Chinese bombers, escorted by Chinese H81, on Japanese troops that are on the road to Ichang. The first attack saw 9 SB-IIIs, escorted by 6 H81s, run into a single Oscar. There were no losses on either side, but the Chinese bombers didn't find their target. Then a second wave of Chinese planes, consisting of 12 SB-IIIs and 7 H81s, flew into the same target and this time ran into 9 Oscars on CAP. This time the H81 Pilots shot down a couple of Oscars, but once again the Chinese bombers missed their targets.
BTW II – in this case I moved my Chinese bombers up to 11K feet in order to have the H81s fly in their upper “Best” band. So it appeared to help the fighter pilots, but the Bombardiers couldn't find the target at that altitude.
The Weather in the northern third of the map continues to be abysmally bad, and in particular, in the Bay of Bengal the Weather is consistently in the “End of the World” range, so the British CV planes didn't take off for Port Blair. Even the usually reliable Float Planes didn't fly.
In Ground Action, the Japanese forces at Buitenzorg tried a Deliberate Attack and achieved a 1:1 result, although the Forts remained at Level 2. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.
At Merak the odd Japanese LCU column also attempted a Deliberate Attack and was rewarded with another 1:1 result. The Forts stayed at Level 2, but the Dutch took heavy casualties while the Japanese took none.
And at Bandoeng the Japanese forces attacked at 1:2 odds, but there were no casualties on either side. A number of Japanese Transport Planes were reported lost to Operational Damage this turn, so I am assuming that my opponent flew in the Infantry Troops.
In other news, the KB is still in Stealth Mode and its whereabouts are unknown. But I'm assuming that it is still in the Central Pacific.
Checking my Pilot Stats, it turns out that the Top Allied pilot as far as Kills go, is the pilot of an LB-40 with 4 kills. Most of the Allied pilots in the runner-up position are Chinese.
And there was a hopeful milestone this turn as the TB squadron on USS Wasp was upgraded to TBFs. But given the replacement rate, it will likely be Christmas before all of the US CVs can get rid of their Devastators.
My lone PT ran into the Japanese Picket TF south of Cairns, as expected. The PT skipper actually got in to a 1000 yards, thanks to rain and bad weather, but he didn't get off any shots against the two old Japanese CLs and 4 DDs in the enemy TF. One of the Japanese Transport TFs has now finished off-loading and is headed back to Port Moresby. I have a number of subs in its path so I might get a few more chances. There is still a Japanese Transport TF at Cooktown, but there is also a second Japanese Blocking TF between Cooktown and Cairns, so it will be hard for PTs to fight their way through. So that's why I will be upping the ante during the next few evenings. [;)]
The Day phase started with Bettys bombing a Dutch Recon unit at Bandoeng. I had forgotten that I had sent that unit there in order to try to open up a retreat path. But my opponent had noticed and the formerly empty base now has a Japanese Recon unit in it along with part of an Infantry Regiment. So I won't be able to pull a Fast One there.
My opponent pulled off one of his usual Good Moves in Northern Oz as he has moved up an overwhelming force of planes to Darwin and Katherine. So Tennant Creek got multiple Japanese Air Attacks. The first Japanese attack took care of the US P-40Es that were on CAP. The 7 P-40s were no match for the 19 Zeros and 13 Oscars that flew in at high altitude.
BTW – I've stopped trying to “match altitude” with my opponent since I have so few fighters that are capable of flying in the 30K+ altitude range. Instead I have my fighters at their “max good performance” ceiling. I'm not sure if it helped, but I am “relatively” satisfied that the outnumbered US Flyboys only lost two planes.
Afterwards, Sallys, accompanied by Oscars, flew in and hit the Air Base and Air Base Supply. That's a Bad Thing for me, because I am finding it essentially impossible to move supply to Tennant Creek. It looks to be effectively an untenable position for my forces.
Japanese bombers also hit Bandjermasin, Buitanzorg, and Merak, as well as the retreating Chinese troops near Paotow.
The Allied response was an attack by Chinese bombers, escorted by Chinese H81, on Japanese troops that are on the road to Ichang. The first attack saw 9 SB-IIIs, escorted by 6 H81s, run into a single Oscar. There were no losses on either side, but the Chinese bombers didn't find their target. Then a second wave of Chinese planes, consisting of 12 SB-IIIs and 7 H81s, flew into the same target and this time ran into 9 Oscars on CAP. This time the H81 Pilots shot down a couple of Oscars, but once again the Chinese bombers missed their targets.
BTW II – in this case I moved my Chinese bombers up to 11K feet in order to have the H81s fly in their upper “Best” band. So it appeared to help the fighter pilots, but the Bombardiers couldn't find the target at that altitude.
The Weather in the northern third of the map continues to be abysmally bad, and in particular, in the Bay of Bengal the Weather is consistently in the “End of the World” range, so the British CV planes didn't take off for Port Blair. Even the usually reliable Float Planes didn't fly.
In Ground Action, the Japanese forces at Buitenzorg tried a Deliberate Attack and achieved a 1:1 result, although the Forts remained at Level 2. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.
At Merak the odd Japanese LCU column also attempted a Deliberate Attack and was rewarded with another 1:1 result. The Forts stayed at Level 2, but the Dutch took heavy casualties while the Japanese took none.
And at Bandoeng the Japanese forces attacked at 1:2 odds, but there were no casualties on either side. A number of Japanese Transport Planes were reported lost to Operational Damage this turn, so I am assuming that my opponent flew in the Infantry Troops.
In other news, the KB is still in Stealth Mode and its whereabouts are unknown. But I'm assuming that it is still in the Central Pacific.
Checking my Pilot Stats, it turns out that the Top Allied pilot as far as Kills go, is the pilot of an LB-40 with 4 kills. Most of the Allied pilots in the runner-up position are Chinese.
And there was a hopeful milestone this turn as the TB squadron on USS Wasp was upgraded to TBFs. But given the replacement rate, it will likely be Christmas before all of the US CVs can get rid of their Devastators.
Recon Failures
May 13, 1942 -
This was another busy night for Allied submarines, and the Japanese ASW forces. USS Sculpin tried to sneak up on a big Japanese TF near Cairns, but was spotted and then chased away by the escorts. Next, USS Pike shot 4 torpedoes at an xAK in a TF near Deboyne Island, but missed and was then chased off by the escorts.
Then USS Sargo moved into the Port Area of Cooktown and put a torpedo into an xAK. In return the escorts hit Sargo three times with torpedoes and Sargo is now heading back to port. Finally, a heavily escorted Japanese TF near Medan ran over the Dutch sub KXV, hit it repeatedly with depth charges, drove it to the surface, and then finished it off with shell fire.
Daylight brought Japanese bomber raids on Bandoeng, Merak, Bandjoengmasin, Chinese troops in Wuchow, and Chinese troops near Paotow.
Bad Weather grounded most of the Allied Recon flights in Oz, and all of the Recon and Combat flights from the RN CV TFs in the Bay of Bengal. This constant Bad Weather Luck is starting to become very discouraging.
A Japanese Infantry Regiment moved into position at Palang and attempted a Deliberate Attack. The Japanese troops achieved 1:1 odds and reduced the Forts from Level 3 to Level 2. The Defenders at Palang have no supply, but I've been able to sneak in a single small freighter which is attempting to off load some supplies. It's only too bad that the freighter didn't get there one day earlier, or the Japanese troops one day later.
In other news, the big Japanese Division in Burma reached the hex due west of Katha on the Myitkyina road. I still get the feeling that it is being used to try to bait my Indian Air Units into a Fighter Trap, but I've decided to bring my best Air Units to the Front at the Indo/Burmese border to challenge the Japanese. For this turn I am simply flying Recon and have ordered one B-17 squadron to fly and “test the air”. If the weather cooperates in some manner I will throw everything into an attack the following turn.
And a Japanese TF has turned up at Espirito Santo. It doesn't appear to be the KB, nor does it appear to be an Invasion TF. So I'm not sure what is going on.
In Northeastern Oz, my opponent succeeded in bring Air Support to Cairns, so he has some sort of Air Units there now. Unfortunately, due to the failure of my Recon flights I don't know what is there. So I am still sending in PT TFs to challenge the Japanese TFs at Cairns and Cooktown, but I am holding back the CL/DD TF that I have at Rochhampton until I have a better idea if there are Japanese Torpedo bombers at Cairns or not.
This was another busy night for Allied submarines, and the Japanese ASW forces. USS Sculpin tried to sneak up on a big Japanese TF near Cairns, but was spotted and then chased away by the escorts. Next, USS Pike shot 4 torpedoes at an xAK in a TF near Deboyne Island, but missed and was then chased off by the escorts.
Then USS Sargo moved into the Port Area of Cooktown and put a torpedo into an xAK. In return the escorts hit Sargo three times with torpedoes and Sargo is now heading back to port. Finally, a heavily escorted Japanese TF near Medan ran over the Dutch sub KXV, hit it repeatedly with depth charges, drove it to the surface, and then finished it off with shell fire.
Daylight brought Japanese bomber raids on Bandoeng, Merak, Bandjoengmasin, Chinese troops in Wuchow, and Chinese troops near Paotow.
Bad Weather grounded most of the Allied Recon flights in Oz, and all of the Recon and Combat flights from the RN CV TFs in the Bay of Bengal. This constant Bad Weather Luck is starting to become very discouraging.
A Japanese Infantry Regiment moved into position at Palang and attempted a Deliberate Attack. The Japanese troops achieved 1:1 odds and reduced the Forts from Level 3 to Level 2. The Defenders at Palang have no supply, but I've been able to sneak in a single small freighter which is attempting to off load some supplies. It's only too bad that the freighter didn't get there one day earlier, or the Japanese troops one day later.
In other news, the big Japanese Division in Burma reached the hex due west of Katha on the Myitkyina road. I still get the feeling that it is being used to try to bait my Indian Air Units into a Fighter Trap, but I've decided to bring my best Air Units to the Front at the Indo/Burmese border to challenge the Japanese. For this turn I am simply flying Recon and have ordered one B-17 squadron to fly and “test the air”. If the weather cooperates in some manner I will throw everything into an attack the following turn.
And a Japanese TF has turned up at Espirito Santo. It doesn't appear to be the KB, nor does it appear to be an Invasion TF. So I'm not sure what is going on.
In Northeastern Oz, my opponent succeeded in bring Air Support to Cairns, so he has some sort of Air Units there now. Unfortunately, due to the failure of my Recon flights I don't know what is there. So I am still sending in PT TFs to challenge the Japanese TFs at Cairns and Cooktown, but I am holding back the CL/DD TF that I have at Rochhampton until I have a better idea if there are Japanese Torpedo bombers at Cairns or not.
Enemy Paratroops Take Townsville
May 14, 1942 -
The May Japanese onslaught continued unabated this turn as a Japanese Invasion TF started to offload troops at Espirito Santo. The TF that I saw there last turn must have been a Covering Surface Combat TF. This also confirms the reason that the KB was hanging around for so long. The KB is now positioned half-way along the diagonal between the New Hebrides and Fiji.
Allied efforts at Naval Combat “fizzled in the drizzle” this turn. USS Silversides spotted a couple of SCs off of Hamamatsu but the sub's skipper decided not to fire a torpedo. The SC skippers searched for the US sub in a half-hearted manner then gave up. Meanwhile, back at Cooktown USS Sailfish fired some torpedoes at a DD escort in a Transport TF, but missed. The Japanese ASW missed the US sub too.
And my “on again, off again” PT TF skippers had an “off” night as they ran into a Japanese Combat TF near Cairns and decided to turn and run instead of trying to fight. So I've ordered them back into the fray. I'm also sending in an Australian Cruiser/DD TF to see if they have more guts and seriousness.
Most of the Japanese sub fleet appears to be around Australia, other than a few Japanese subs that are sailing west-bound past the Hawaiian Islands without attempting to check out any of my TFs in the Islands. However, one Japanese sub, I-168, was run over northeast of Palmyra by a US Transport TF on its way back to Pearl. The US ASW escorts snooped around for the Japanese sub but couldn't find it.
The Air War started out with some Bettys sinking the little xAKL that was attempting to unload some supplies at Padang. A bit of supply was offloaded before Flying Death arrived, but not enough to make a difference. One needs a certain amount of Luck in this Game, and my luck is almost always of the Bad sort, so I won't be trying this again.
Tennant Creek was attacked by an overwhelming number of Japanese planes again. My opponent's pilots are now experienced enough that Weather rarely affects them negatively. The first attack consisted of 16 Zeros and 13 Oscars. Nine Warhawks flew CAP but they were manhandled out of the sky with two losses. Then an escorted Japanese bombing run got in against no CAP, and finally an escorted Recon flight.
Japanese Air Attacks increased significantly in China as Japanese bombers hit Chinese troops near Paotow and Kwangchow. Other Japanese Army Air attacks hit Buitanzorg, Bandoeng, Bandjermasin and Merak.
My attempt to “overwhelm” the Japanese Air Defenses over the 9th Division on the road to Myitkyina failed miserably. The majority of Allied Fighter Cover Squadrons aborted their missions, leaving one British Hurricane Squadron to escort in a B-17 squadron. The Allied attack of 11 Hurricanes and 6 B-17s was attacked by 9 Oscars. Despite having very good pilots in the Hurris and the Forts the Oscars outflew and outfought the Allied attack, shooting down a Hurricane, damaging a Fort, and disrupting the attack so that the Bombers missed their target.
Then the Japanese Ground Assaults started. The Japanese troops at Buitenzorg staged a Deliberate Attack that achieved a 1:1 result, reduced the Fortifications from Level 2 to Level 1, and caused roughly equal casualties on both sides.
In China, just south of Yenen, a Japanese Infantry Brigade and a Tank Regiment attempted a Shock Attack on a Chinese Corp that is blocking the road to Yenen. The Japanese achieved a 1:1 result but they took 7 times the casualties as the Chinese.
At Merak, the reinforced Japanese attacking column captured the base and wiped out the Dutch Defenders.
At Bandoeng, a Japanese Infantry Division showed up, but although the Japanese attack resulted in 8:1 odds, the Dutch Armored unit stood it ground and actually took fairly light casualties.
At Padang, the Japanese Infantry Regiment achieved a 1:1 result with a Deliberate Attack and reduced the Fortifications down to Level 1, although the Japanese suffered twice the casualties. I suspect that if that sacrificial freighter hadn't dropped off some supply the results might have been much more in the favor of the Japanese.
And finally, I found out what kind of Japanese planes were at Cairns – Transport planes, not Bombers. And the Transport planes dropped a Paratroop unit on Townsville which allowed the capture of the empty base. This will make the job of my TFs even harder in that region, but that is the chance that I took when I pulled back my troops.
There are lots of Japanese Fighters at Cooktown and Cairns, but none at Townsville (yet) so I've ordered the 4Es in Oz to hit the Airfields at Townsville. We'll see if I get any sort of positive luck for a change with this attack.
The May Japanese onslaught continued unabated this turn as a Japanese Invasion TF started to offload troops at Espirito Santo. The TF that I saw there last turn must have been a Covering Surface Combat TF. This also confirms the reason that the KB was hanging around for so long. The KB is now positioned half-way along the diagonal between the New Hebrides and Fiji.
Allied efforts at Naval Combat “fizzled in the drizzle” this turn. USS Silversides spotted a couple of SCs off of Hamamatsu but the sub's skipper decided not to fire a torpedo. The SC skippers searched for the US sub in a half-hearted manner then gave up. Meanwhile, back at Cooktown USS Sailfish fired some torpedoes at a DD escort in a Transport TF, but missed. The Japanese ASW missed the US sub too.
And my “on again, off again” PT TF skippers had an “off” night as they ran into a Japanese Combat TF near Cairns and decided to turn and run instead of trying to fight. So I've ordered them back into the fray. I'm also sending in an Australian Cruiser/DD TF to see if they have more guts and seriousness.
Most of the Japanese sub fleet appears to be around Australia, other than a few Japanese subs that are sailing west-bound past the Hawaiian Islands without attempting to check out any of my TFs in the Islands. However, one Japanese sub, I-168, was run over northeast of Palmyra by a US Transport TF on its way back to Pearl. The US ASW escorts snooped around for the Japanese sub but couldn't find it.
The Air War started out with some Bettys sinking the little xAKL that was attempting to unload some supplies at Padang. A bit of supply was offloaded before Flying Death arrived, but not enough to make a difference. One needs a certain amount of Luck in this Game, and my luck is almost always of the Bad sort, so I won't be trying this again.
Tennant Creek was attacked by an overwhelming number of Japanese planes again. My opponent's pilots are now experienced enough that Weather rarely affects them negatively. The first attack consisted of 16 Zeros and 13 Oscars. Nine Warhawks flew CAP but they were manhandled out of the sky with two losses. Then an escorted Japanese bombing run got in against no CAP, and finally an escorted Recon flight.
Japanese Air Attacks increased significantly in China as Japanese bombers hit Chinese troops near Paotow and Kwangchow. Other Japanese Army Air attacks hit Buitanzorg, Bandoeng, Bandjermasin and Merak.
My attempt to “overwhelm” the Japanese Air Defenses over the 9th Division on the road to Myitkyina failed miserably. The majority of Allied Fighter Cover Squadrons aborted their missions, leaving one British Hurricane Squadron to escort in a B-17 squadron. The Allied attack of 11 Hurricanes and 6 B-17s was attacked by 9 Oscars. Despite having very good pilots in the Hurris and the Forts the Oscars outflew and outfought the Allied attack, shooting down a Hurricane, damaging a Fort, and disrupting the attack so that the Bombers missed their target.
Then the Japanese Ground Assaults started. The Japanese troops at Buitenzorg staged a Deliberate Attack that achieved a 1:1 result, reduced the Fortifications from Level 2 to Level 1, and caused roughly equal casualties on both sides.
In China, just south of Yenen, a Japanese Infantry Brigade and a Tank Regiment attempted a Shock Attack on a Chinese Corp that is blocking the road to Yenen. The Japanese achieved a 1:1 result but they took 7 times the casualties as the Chinese.
At Merak, the reinforced Japanese attacking column captured the base and wiped out the Dutch Defenders.
At Bandoeng, a Japanese Infantry Division showed up, but although the Japanese attack resulted in 8:1 odds, the Dutch Armored unit stood it ground and actually took fairly light casualties.
At Padang, the Japanese Infantry Regiment achieved a 1:1 result with a Deliberate Attack and reduced the Fortifications down to Level 1, although the Japanese suffered twice the casualties. I suspect that if that sacrificial freighter hadn't dropped off some supply the results might have been much more in the favor of the Japanese.
And finally, I found out what kind of Japanese planes were at Cairns – Transport planes, not Bombers. And the Transport planes dropped a Paratroop unit on Townsville which allowed the capture of the empty base. This will make the job of my TFs even harder in that region, but that is the chance that I took when I pulled back my troops.
There are lots of Japanese Fighters at Cooktown and Cairns, but none at Townsville (yet) so I've ordered the 4Es in Oz to hit the Airfields at Townsville. We'll see if I get any sort of positive luck for a change with this attack.
Nearing the End in the DEI
May 15, 1942 -
The night phase started just south of Cairns where three US PTs sailed into a Japanese Surface Combat TF consisting of 2 CLs and 4 DDs. The PTs were able to get within 2K yards and fire their torpedoes, but they missed the speedy Japanese ships. Surprisingly, the PT boats were able to get away, so they are heading south to re-arm.
Next, USS Sailfish fired at an xAK in a TF at Cooktown, but all of the torpedoes were duds. Sailfish got away unscathed, but now has to go South to re-arm too. But I have plenty of other submarines waiting to take their turns in Cooktown and Cairns.
Japanese troops continued to unload at Espirito Santo. My opponent must use large transport ships and also bring along Supplies when he does invasions, because his ships take a relatively long time to drop off their troops, even when there is no opposition and the invading unit is fairly small. It turned out that the invading unit was a SNLF, which should have unloaded in one turn if the ships were chosen well.
Daylight started with another day of Japanese Fighter Sweeps over Tennant Creek. This time the Weather didn't cooperate fully with my opponent and his Sweeps attacked in smaller, more manageable pieces. So the first attack consisted of 9 Oscars versus 7 P-40Es. The P-40Es held their own and both sides lost a plane. Then a 12 Zero Sweep flew in, but no Allied fighters flew. Finally, 18 Sallys came in escorted by 3 more Oscars. The Sallys took some flak damage but they were able to destroy a P-40E on the field. So I pulled out the worn-down P-40 unit and moved in a fresh one. We'll see how well they do against the onslaught.
Otherwise, Japanese bombers hit Chinese troops near Paotow and Yenen, as well as the remaining Dutch troops at Buitenzorg and Bandjermasin. There was also a surprise attack on the Airfields at Changsha. I had been pulling back the H81s, but I left one squadron there to repair, and a couple of the planes went aloft to try to stop the incoming Oscars and bombers. It wasn't a good idea. So I've got the rest of the squadron pulled back now, and I have also changed the planes in one of the better Chinese fighter squadrons from H81s to P-43s. This will allow me to rebuild the remaining Chinese H81 squadrons.
The Allies did get to send a nice, clear message “by air” in Australia as 4Es attacked the Airfields at Townsville in quantity. First 5 B-17Es and 11 B-17Ds flew in against a single Zero on CAP. The bombers blew past the Zero and hit the Airfield fairly hard. Then 4 Liberators and 3 B-17Es flew in and faced another single Zero. Once again the 4Es shrugged off the Zero and hit the Airfields. Finally, one last group of 3 B17Es flew in, shot up another lone Zero, and again hit the Airfields. I sat down the 4Es to let them get repaired, and also to make certain that I don't fly tired Aircrews into a Fighter Trap over Townsville. My opponent has a large number of fighters at both Cooktown and Cairns and I don't want my precious 4Es to face large quanties of fighters piecemeal.
In any event, it is nice to be able to deal with a Japanese advance that is at somewhat equal terms with the Allied Defense, because the KB is busy elsewhere. And the KB was busy in a Big Way as it sent out full attacks on Suva. It's a Very Good Thing that I don't have much of value in Suva. The KB Air Units took a fair number of Operational losses and damaged planes, and accomplished little for their trouble.
In other news, for some reason the Australian Cruiser/DD TF didn't go to Cairns this turn. It appears to be set up for a dash in next turn, almost as if it were a Bombardment Mission instead of a Surface Combat Mission. If they do reach Cairns next turn it will be interesting to see how much the Japanese Surface Combat TF has been affected by its run-ins with the PT Boats during the past few turns.
More Japanese troops landed at Bandjermasin this turn, and once again there were a lot of Landing Casualties. I can't believe that my opponent sent in troops in Strategic Mode again, so my guess is that there is something about that particular base that makes amphibious landings difficult.
In Ground Combat the Japanese forces at Bandoeng made another Deliberate Attack and this time the tired and worn out survivors of the Dutch Recon unit simply surrendered. There was another Japanese Deliberate Attack at Padang this turn and the Japanese Infantry Regiment was joined by a Infantry Battalion. The two Japanese LCUs once again got a 1:1 result and lowered the Forts to 0. Both sides suffered nearly equal casualties.
And finally, Luganville was captured by the SNLF unit that landed there.
The night phase started just south of Cairns where three US PTs sailed into a Japanese Surface Combat TF consisting of 2 CLs and 4 DDs. The PTs were able to get within 2K yards and fire their torpedoes, but they missed the speedy Japanese ships. Surprisingly, the PT boats were able to get away, so they are heading south to re-arm.
Next, USS Sailfish fired at an xAK in a TF at Cooktown, but all of the torpedoes were duds. Sailfish got away unscathed, but now has to go South to re-arm too. But I have plenty of other submarines waiting to take their turns in Cooktown and Cairns.
Japanese troops continued to unload at Espirito Santo. My opponent must use large transport ships and also bring along Supplies when he does invasions, because his ships take a relatively long time to drop off their troops, even when there is no opposition and the invading unit is fairly small. It turned out that the invading unit was a SNLF, which should have unloaded in one turn if the ships were chosen well.
Daylight started with another day of Japanese Fighter Sweeps over Tennant Creek. This time the Weather didn't cooperate fully with my opponent and his Sweeps attacked in smaller, more manageable pieces. So the first attack consisted of 9 Oscars versus 7 P-40Es. The P-40Es held their own and both sides lost a plane. Then a 12 Zero Sweep flew in, but no Allied fighters flew. Finally, 18 Sallys came in escorted by 3 more Oscars. The Sallys took some flak damage but they were able to destroy a P-40E on the field. So I pulled out the worn-down P-40 unit and moved in a fresh one. We'll see how well they do against the onslaught.
Otherwise, Japanese bombers hit Chinese troops near Paotow and Yenen, as well as the remaining Dutch troops at Buitenzorg and Bandjermasin. There was also a surprise attack on the Airfields at Changsha. I had been pulling back the H81s, but I left one squadron there to repair, and a couple of the planes went aloft to try to stop the incoming Oscars and bombers. It wasn't a good idea. So I've got the rest of the squadron pulled back now, and I have also changed the planes in one of the better Chinese fighter squadrons from H81s to P-43s. This will allow me to rebuild the remaining Chinese H81 squadrons.
The Allies did get to send a nice, clear message “by air” in Australia as 4Es attacked the Airfields at Townsville in quantity. First 5 B-17Es and 11 B-17Ds flew in against a single Zero on CAP. The bombers blew past the Zero and hit the Airfield fairly hard. Then 4 Liberators and 3 B-17Es flew in and faced another single Zero. Once again the 4Es shrugged off the Zero and hit the Airfields. Finally, one last group of 3 B17Es flew in, shot up another lone Zero, and again hit the Airfields. I sat down the 4Es to let them get repaired, and also to make certain that I don't fly tired Aircrews into a Fighter Trap over Townsville. My opponent has a large number of fighters at both Cooktown and Cairns and I don't want my precious 4Es to face large quanties of fighters piecemeal.
In any event, it is nice to be able to deal with a Japanese advance that is at somewhat equal terms with the Allied Defense, because the KB is busy elsewhere. And the KB was busy in a Big Way as it sent out full attacks on Suva. It's a Very Good Thing that I don't have much of value in Suva. The KB Air Units took a fair number of Operational losses and damaged planes, and accomplished little for their trouble.
In other news, for some reason the Australian Cruiser/DD TF didn't go to Cairns this turn. It appears to be set up for a dash in next turn, almost as if it were a Bombardment Mission instead of a Surface Combat Mission. If they do reach Cairns next turn it will be interesting to see how much the Japanese Surface Combat TF has been affected by its run-ins with the PT Boats during the past few turns.
More Japanese troops landed at Bandjermasin this turn, and once again there were a lot of Landing Casualties. I can't believe that my opponent sent in troops in Strategic Mode again, so my guess is that there is something about that particular base that makes amphibious landings difficult.
In Ground Combat the Japanese forces at Bandoeng made another Deliberate Attack and this time the tired and worn out survivors of the Dutch Recon unit simply surrendered. There was another Japanese Deliberate Attack at Padang this turn and the Japanese Infantry Regiment was joined by a Infantry Battalion. The two Japanese LCUs once again got a 1:1 result and lowered the Forts to 0. Both sides suffered nearly equal casualties.
And finally, Luganville was captured by the SNLF unit that landed there.
The End of Resistance on Java
May 16, 1942 -
Probably the “worst” thing about playing the Allied side of a PBEM is that when your opponent sends a turn to you it is immediately obvious from his comments, or lack there of, if your Bright Ideas worked out or not. So when my opponent calmly wrote that we “finally had some surface combat” I knew right then that my plans had not worked out as I had hoped.
The Night Phase started with more Japanese troops landing at Bandjermasin. The USS Pickerel shot at a PB near Donggala but missed. The other escorts in the TF chased Pickerel half-heartedly and then sailed along their way. Considering that the Japanese TF contained a large number of APs, it was quite disappointing that Pickerel spent its efforts on a PB.
Then my Plans went South really fast as the Dutch Surface Combat TF that I was sending up the East Coast of Australia ran over Japanese sub I-24. The Dutch DDs hit I-24 with a depth charge, but that was irrelevant because now my opponent knew exactly what I was doing about his invasion of Northeastern Australia, and where I was doing it.
At that point my small Australian Surface Combat TF ran into a larger Japanese Surface Combat TF on Picket Duty at Palm Island. The Australian TF consisted of CL Hobart and four DDs, while the Japanese TF consisted of 2 CAs, 2 CLs and 5 DDs. Obviously, this Japanese TF had replaced the smaller TF that had sparred with my PT boats.
It was a rather strange battle by Game Standards. The two TFs closed in on each other, opened fire, and neither side did much damage to each other. Despite being outnumbered the Australian TF got the “best” of the encounter, with a hit on one of the Japanese CAs, 2 hits on one of the Japanese CLs, and one hit on one of the Japanese DDs. In contrast, the Japanese were only able to score one minor hit on the Australian CL. Both TFs then disengaged, and the Australian TF headed back towards Rockhampton.
Daylight brought yet another set of Japanese Air Raids on Tennant Creek. The first raid was a Sweep by 10 Zeros that found only 6 P-40Es in the air, despite the fact that I had ordered 100% CAP. The Zeros shot down two P-40s and lost one of their own to Operational Damage. Then a second Japanese raid, consisting of Oscars and Sallys flew in but there was no CAP at all. The Sallys scored one runway hit. So I have no idea why so few of my fighters were flying.
Japanese Air Attacks then went after the usual targets: Chinese troops near Paotow, and the bases of Bandjermasin and Buitenzorg. With Bad Weather over all of my Front Line bases in Australia and India I didn't have any Air Attacks set for the Allies.
The KB turned around this turn and is now sailing west away from Fiji and back towards Australia, albeit at a smarter pace than the TF did when it was sailing eastwards. I am guessing that I have three days until the KB is within Kate range of the east coast of Oz, so, combined with the Dutch SC TF revealing its position, I've decided that I won't attempt to engage any more of the Japanese TFs up in northeaster Oz. There is no point throwing away Combat ships if I don't need to.
BTW – there was a rare end-of-the-day submarine attack by USS Pike which shot a couple of torpedoes at a Japanese DD in the Port of Cairns, but the torpedoes missed.
In Ground Combat, Japanese forces captured Buitenzorg and Bandjermasin with Deliberate Attacks. The troops at Bandjermasin retreated into the jungle, but the troops at Buitenzorg surrendered, ending Resistance in Java. There was one other Japanese attack, this one at Padang, but the Japanese only accomplished a 1:1 result and took over twice the casualties as the Dutch.
Probably the “worst” thing about playing the Allied side of a PBEM is that when your opponent sends a turn to you it is immediately obvious from his comments, or lack there of, if your Bright Ideas worked out or not. So when my opponent calmly wrote that we “finally had some surface combat” I knew right then that my plans had not worked out as I had hoped.
The Night Phase started with more Japanese troops landing at Bandjermasin. The USS Pickerel shot at a PB near Donggala but missed. The other escorts in the TF chased Pickerel half-heartedly and then sailed along their way. Considering that the Japanese TF contained a large number of APs, it was quite disappointing that Pickerel spent its efforts on a PB.
Then my Plans went South really fast as the Dutch Surface Combat TF that I was sending up the East Coast of Australia ran over Japanese sub I-24. The Dutch DDs hit I-24 with a depth charge, but that was irrelevant because now my opponent knew exactly what I was doing about his invasion of Northeastern Australia, and where I was doing it.
At that point my small Australian Surface Combat TF ran into a larger Japanese Surface Combat TF on Picket Duty at Palm Island. The Australian TF consisted of CL Hobart and four DDs, while the Japanese TF consisted of 2 CAs, 2 CLs and 5 DDs. Obviously, this Japanese TF had replaced the smaller TF that had sparred with my PT boats.
It was a rather strange battle by Game Standards. The two TFs closed in on each other, opened fire, and neither side did much damage to each other. Despite being outnumbered the Australian TF got the “best” of the encounter, with a hit on one of the Japanese CAs, 2 hits on one of the Japanese CLs, and one hit on one of the Japanese DDs. In contrast, the Japanese were only able to score one minor hit on the Australian CL. Both TFs then disengaged, and the Australian TF headed back towards Rockhampton.
Daylight brought yet another set of Japanese Air Raids on Tennant Creek. The first raid was a Sweep by 10 Zeros that found only 6 P-40Es in the air, despite the fact that I had ordered 100% CAP. The Zeros shot down two P-40s and lost one of their own to Operational Damage. Then a second Japanese raid, consisting of Oscars and Sallys flew in but there was no CAP at all. The Sallys scored one runway hit. So I have no idea why so few of my fighters were flying.
Japanese Air Attacks then went after the usual targets: Chinese troops near Paotow, and the bases of Bandjermasin and Buitenzorg. With Bad Weather over all of my Front Line bases in Australia and India I didn't have any Air Attacks set for the Allies.
The KB turned around this turn and is now sailing west away from Fiji and back towards Australia, albeit at a smarter pace than the TF did when it was sailing eastwards. I am guessing that I have three days until the KB is within Kate range of the east coast of Oz, so, combined with the Dutch SC TF revealing its position, I've decided that I won't attempt to engage any more of the Japanese TFs up in northeaster Oz. There is no point throwing away Combat ships if I don't need to.
BTW – there was a rare end-of-the-day submarine attack by USS Pike which shot a couple of torpedoes at a Japanese DD in the Port of Cairns, but the torpedoes missed.
In Ground Combat, Japanese forces captured Buitenzorg and Bandjermasin with Deliberate Attacks. The troops at Bandjermasin retreated into the jungle, but the troops at Buitenzorg surrendered, ending Resistance in Java. There was one other Japanese attack, this one at Padang, but the Japanese only accomplished a 1:1 result and took over twice the casualties as the Dutch.
Quiet After the Storm
May 17, 1942 -
This was a surprisingly quiet turn. There was no action during the night, not even any Japanese landings or Allied sub attacks.
Daylight brought similar quietness. There were two Japanese Air Raids on Padang, but nothing else. Even the Recon flights for both sides were mainly rained out.
And there was only one Ground Attack in which the two Japanese Infantry units at Padang finally captured the base. But since there are still a couple of empty bases under Allied control in Sumatra the ragged Allied troops staggered off into the jungle and are again attempting to drag themselves to some semblance of safety.
Otherwise, there doesn't appear to be much action on the horizon. Most of the Japanese TFs pulled out of the Northeastern Corner of Australia, other than a Surface Combat TF that is sticking around Cooktown. Townsville is still empty. Japanese Recon flew over Charter Towers a bit, so I presume that base will receive the next wave of Japanese Paratroops.
The KB is still heading westwards and is now just south of Efate. By the time the KB sails to the eastern Australian coast there will be nothing there to sink or shoot down.
In Burma the Japanese 9th Infantry Division is still moving ever-so-slowly towards Katha. I'm not sure why it is moving so slowly, except maybe it is low on Supplies, or else maybe my opponent has it moving in “Combat” mode so that I can't hit it with a surprise attack in “Move” mode. There are still a lot of Japanese Fighters at Mandalay, but I am sending in B-17Es anyway to try to hit the 9th Division, and also to see if one of my Bomber Captains can become an Ace.
This was a surprisingly quiet turn. There was no action during the night, not even any Japanese landings or Allied sub attacks.
Daylight brought similar quietness. There were two Japanese Air Raids on Padang, but nothing else. Even the Recon flights for both sides were mainly rained out.
And there was only one Ground Attack in which the two Japanese Infantry units at Padang finally captured the base. But since there are still a couple of empty bases under Allied control in Sumatra the ragged Allied troops staggered off into the jungle and are again attempting to drag themselves to some semblance of safety.
Otherwise, there doesn't appear to be much action on the horizon. Most of the Japanese TFs pulled out of the Northeastern Corner of Australia, other than a Surface Combat TF that is sticking around Cooktown. Townsville is still empty. Japanese Recon flew over Charter Towers a bit, so I presume that base will receive the next wave of Japanese Paratroops.
The KB is still heading westwards and is now just south of Efate. By the time the KB sails to the eastern Australian coast there will be nothing there to sink or shoot down.
In Burma the Japanese 9th Infantry Division is still moving ever-so-slowly towards Katha. I'm not sure why it is moving so slowly, except maybe it is low on Supplies, or else maybe my opponent has it moving in “Combat” mode so that I can't hit it with a surprise attack in “Move” mode. There are still a lot of Japanese Fighters at Mandalay, but I am sending in B-17Es anyway to try to hit the 9th Division, and also to see if one of my Bomber Captains can become an Ace.
More Japanese Landings
May 18, 1942 -
The night turn started out with a Japanese amphibious landing at Billiton in the DEI. For some reason the Japanese troops took heavy casualties again during the landing. I would like to know what my opponent is doing wrong so that I can avoid the same thing once I start amphibious landings.
The only other Night action was USS Pickerel shooting at and missing a PB in a Japanese transport TF that was full of Tankers. I wish that my sub captains would try shooting at some of the larger, slower targets instead of the Escorts. [8|]
The KB was spotted slowly sailing westwards, just to the north of New Caledonia. So it definitely looks as if Eastern Australia will receive a visit soon. My units in Eastern Oz continue to Batten Down the Hatches in anticipation of the eventual hit.
Japanese bombers were busier this turn. Bombers hit Chinese troops near Yenen and Dutch stragglers in Sumatra, and Japanese Recon flights were busy again over Australia, China and the Indo/Burmese border.
There was a US Air Attack this turn. Fifteen B-17Es out of Dacca flew to hit the Japanese 9th Infantry Division on the road just to the west of Katha. 19 AVG P-40Es accompanied the Bombers, although they weren't assigned to do so. Nine Oscars arrived on LR CAP, so at first I thought that I might see some Japanese planes falling from the sky, but instead two of the P-40s were shot down and only one Oscar was eventually lost to Operational Damage. The only good thing out of the raid was that the B-17s did hit there target.
Mid-day I received a report that the Floation was failing in O21. The sub is only 1 day away from Brisbane, but with the KB only a few days away, Brisbane is probably a Very Poor Place for the sub to put up for repairs at this time.
Then at day's end 15 Zeros flew south to Sweep Tennant Creek. Four P40s flew to meet them and two of the P-40s were shot down. I wish I understood what “100% CAP” really means in this Game. [&:][&:][&:]
There was one more bit of action as a Japanese SNLF unit landed at the southern Gilberts dot base called Tabiteuea. Since the base is an atoll the SNLF unit did an automatic Shock Attack and captured the base. I assume that my opponent will move engineers to the base because the Airfield can potentially be built up to Level 5.
The night turn started out with a Japanese amphibious landing at Billiton in the DEI. For some reason the Japanese troops took heavy casualties again during the landing. I would like to know what my opponent is doing wrong so that I can avoid the same thing once I start amphibious landings.
The only other Night action was USS Pickerel shooting at and missing a PB in a Japanese transport TF that was full of Tankers. I wish that my sub captains would try shooting at some of the larger, slower targets instead of the Escorts. [8|]
The KB was spotted slowly sailing westwards, just to the north of New Caledonia. So it definitely looks as if Eastern Australia will receive a visit soon. My units in Eastern Oz continue to Batten Down the Hatches in anticipation of the eventual hit.
Japanese bombers were busier this turn. Bombers hit Chinese troops near Yenen and Dutch stragglers in Sumatra, and Japanese Recon flights were busy again over Australia, China and the Indo/Burmese border.
There was a US Air Attack this turn. Fifteen B-17Es out of Dacca flew to hit the Japanese 9th Infantry Division on the road just to the west of Katha. 19 AVG P-40Es accompanied the Bombers, although they weren't assigned to do so. Nine Oscars arrived on LR CAP, so at first I thought that I might see some Japanese planes falling from the sky, but instead two of the P-40s were shot down and only one Oscar was eventually lost to Operational Damage. The only good thing out of the raid was that the B-17s did hit there target.
Mid-day I received a report that the Floation was failing in O21. The sub is only 1 day away from Brisbane, but with the KB only a few days away, Brisbane is probably a Very Poor Place for the sub to put up for repairs at this time.
Then at day's end 15 Zeros flew south to Sweep Tennant Creek. Four P40s flew to meet them and two of the P-40s were shot down. I wish I understood what “100% CAP” really means in this Game. [&:][&:][&:]
There was one more bit of action as a Japanese SNLF unit landed at the southern Gilberts dot base called Tabiteuea. Since the base is an atoll the SNLF unit did an automatic Shock Attack and captured the base. I assume that my opponent will move engineers to the base because the Airfield can potentially be built up to Level 5.
Sub Futility and Japanese Moves
May 19, 1942 -
Things were relatively quiet this turn, other than some futility from the Allied subs. The night phase started out with the continuation of the Japanese landing at Billiton. Then USS Skipjack was attacked by the SC ASW Trio that hangs around Oosthaven. Skipjack got away, but those SCs are becoming a real pain. Then USS Trout fired some duds at an xAK near Kanoya. Once again the US sub got away from the Escorts, but now the sub has to return to port to re-arm.
The Air War was fairly limited this turn. Only two Japanese Bomber attacks flew, and both were against Dutch stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra. Even Recon was limited.
Then at the end of the day USS Growler made an ill-advised daylight attempt to sneak up on a large and well-protected Transport TF at Espirito Santo. The Escorts hammered Growler pretty good and now the sub is limping home.
Finally, the Japanese captured Billiton.
So things were relatively quiet, but there are a lot of Japanese moves under way. First off, a large Japanese unit appeared at Townsville. I suspect that it Took the Train. So I set my Australian B-17s to hit the Airfields at Townsville again.
Equally importantly, the KB vanished from the Map. I suspect that it is still moving towards Oz, but maybe my opponent is simply re-positioning it for mischief elsewhere.
In China more Japanese LCUs are getting into position to attack Sian. I have a lot of troops in the area too, but Supply is always a big problem.
And in Burma the Japanese 9th Infantry Division still hasn't reached Katha. I'm not certain what is taking it so long, but I'm not launching any Air Strikes while the Weather in the area is back in End-of-the-World-Weather mode.
Things were relatively quiet this turn, other than some futility from the Allied subs. The night phase started out with the continuation of the Japanese landing at Billiton. Then USS Skipjack was attacked by the SC ASW Trio that hangs around Oosthaven. Skipjack got away, but those SCs are becoming a real pain. Then USS Trout fired some duds at an xAK near Kanoya. Once again the US sub got away from the Escorts, but now the sub has to return to port to re-arm.
The Air War was fairly limited this turn. Only two Japanese Bomber attacks flew, and both were against Dutch stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra. Even Recon was limited.
Then at the end of the day USS Growler made an ill-advised daylight attempt to sneak up on a large and well-protected Transport TF at Espirito Santo. The Escorts hammered Growler pretty good and now the sub is limping home.
Finally, the Japanese captured Billiton.
So things were relatively quiet, but there are a lot of Japanese moves under way. First off, a large Japanese unit appeared at Townsville. I suspect that it Took the Train. So I set my Australian B-17s to hit the Airfields at Townsville again.
Equally importantly, the KB vanished from the Map. I suspect that it is still moving towards Oz, but maybe my opponent is simply re-positioning it for mischief elsewhere.
In China more Japanese LCUs are getting into position to attack Sian. I have a lot of troops in the area too, but Supply is always a big problem.
And in Burma the Japanese 9th Infantry Division still hasn't reached Katha. I'm not certain what is taking it so long, but I'm not launching any Air Strikes while the Weather in the area is back in End-of-the-World-Weather mode.
Running Over a Picket Sub
May 20, 1942 -
The Night phase was fairly quiet other than a couple of submarine encounters. First off, USS Grayling fired four torpedoes at an SC near Hamamatsu, but missed. The SCs in the ASW TF couldn't find Grayling.
More significantly, the US CV TF that is sailing down the Indian Ocean from India to Australia ran over Japanese sub RO-33 right at the “Indian Ocean” sign on the Map. The DDs in the TF couldn't find the sub, but the sub only spotted some DDs and a CL. Later on, at the end of the Day, RO-33 came back and this time the US DDs found the sub and hit it with four depth charges. Once again, only the DDs and a CL were spotted and reported, as far the Combat Report goes.
It will be interesting to see what my opponent does since no CVs were reported. Will he send the Mini-KB out to investigate? I'd love to test out two of the US CVs against the Mini-KB.
The Air Phase started with yet another series of Japanese Sweeps against Tennant Creek. The first attack saw 13 Zeros fly in against 13 P-40Es. Once again, my reasonably good pilots just couldn't hit any of the Japanese planes, while 3 more P-40s were shot down by the Zeros. Next, 20 Oscars flew in and this time one P-40 flew CAP. The US pilot wisely ducked out of sight. Afterwards two more smaller Japanese Fighter sweeps flew in, but there were no Allied Aircraft on CAP.
I'm getting tired of seeing these sorts of results, so it appears that I am going to have to pull back from Tennant Creek. I don't have enough Hurricane squadrons in Australia to fight the Japanese at High Altitude, and I can't stand the Attrition of sending 4Es against Japanese bases like Katherine and Darwin where my opponent has 50+ fighters in each, particularly with the Constantly Bad Weather. I also can't keep any supply in Tennant Creek, so the Game Design has me Beat here and I will have to pull back to the Rail Line at Alice Springs. This leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, but I see no other option.
Japanese bombing was limited to Dutch Stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra again. The Universal Bad Weather is goofing up even my opponent's plans in other regions, even with his better trained and skilled pilots.
Despite poor weather (I can't remember the last time I saw Good Weather reported) my 4Es in Australia got off their Attacks on the Airfields at Townsville this turn. The first attack saw 8 B-17Es and 4 B-17Ds hit the Airfields with 3 Zeros on LR CAP. The bombers didn't shoot down any Zeros, and suffered some damage, but no bombers were shot down and they hit both the Airbase and the Runways. Next 6 Liberators flew in with no CAP around and again it the Airbase and Runways. Next 4 more B-17Ds flew in unopposed and hit the same targets, and finally another 8 B-18Es again flew in unopposed and hit the same targets once more.
Despite the presence of a large Japanese unit at Townsville there were no Troop casualties on the Ground, so I am assuming that the Japanese unit is a Combat unit and not a Base Force. The Damage to the Runways and Airbase also increased, which also suggests that there is no Base Force present. Although I didn't lose any Bombers I am resting them again next turn in order to let more planes be repaired, and also in the hope that the predicted Bad Weather doesn't last too many consecutive days.
Otherwise there was no other action this turn. The KB is still in Stealth Mode somewhere. The 9th Infantry Division is still poised to more into Katha, but hasn't yet made it. And the Japanese move on Sian in China appears to be taking a breather.
The Night phase was fairly quiet other than a couple of submarine encounters. First off, USS Grayling fired four torpedoes at an SC near Hamamatsu, but missed. The SCs in the ASW TF couldn't find Grayling.
More significantly, the US CV TF that is sailing down the Indian Ocean from India to Australia ran over Japanese sub RO-33 right at the “Indian Ocean” sign on the Map. The DDs in the TF couldn't find the sub, but the sub only spotted some DDs and a CL. Later on, at the end of the Day, RO-33 came back and this time the US DDs found the sub and hit it with four depth charges. Once again, only the DDs and a CL were spotted and reported, as far the Combat Report goes.
It will be interesting to see what my opponent does since no CVs were reported. Will he send the Mini-KB out to investigate? I'd love to test out two of the US CVs against the Mini-KB.
The Air Phase started with yet another series of Japanese Sweeps against Tennant Creek. The first attack saw 13 Zeros fly in against 13 P-40Es. Once again, my reasonably good pilots just couldn't hit any of the Japanese planes, while 3 more P-40s were shot down by the Zeros. Next, 20 Oscars flew in and this time one P-40 flew CAP. The US pilot wisely ducked out of sight. Afterwards two more smaller Japanese Fighter sweeps flew in, but there were no Allied Aircraft on CAP.
I'm getting tired of seeing these sorts of results, so it appears that I am going to have to pull back from Tennant Creek. I don't have enough Hurricane squadrons in Australia to fight the Japanese at High Altitude, and I can't stand the Attrition of sending 4Es against Japanese bases like Katherine and Darwin where my opponent has 50+ fighters in each, particularly with the Constantly Bad Weather. I also can't keep any supply in Tennant Creek, so the Game Design has me Beat here and I will have to pull back to the Rail Line at Alice Springs. This leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, but I see no other option.
Japanese bombing was limited to Dutch Stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra again. The Universal Bad Weather is goofing up even my opponent's plans in other regions, even with his better trained and skilled pilots.
Despite poor weather (I can't remember the last time I saw Good Weather reported) my 4Es in Australia got off their Attacks on the Airfields at Townsville this turn. The first attack saw 8 B-17Es and 4 B-17Ds hit the Airfields with 3 Zeros on LR CAP. The bombers didn't shoot down any Zeros, and suffered some damage, but no bombers were shot down and they hit both the Airbase and the Runways. Next 6 Liberators flew in with no CAP around and again it the Airbase and Runways. Next 4 more B-17Ds flew in unopposed and hit the same targets, and finally another 8 B-18Es again flew in unopposed and hit the same targets once more.
Despite the presence of a large Japanese unit at Townsville there were no Troop casualties on the Ground, so I am assuming that the Japanese unit is a Combat unit and not a Base Force. The Damage to the Runways and Airbase also increased, which also suggests that there is no Base Force present. Although I didn't lose any Bombers I am resting them again next turn in order to let more planes be repaired, and also in the hope that the predicted Bad Weather doesn't last too many consecutive days.
Otherwise there was no other action this turn. The KB is still in Stealth Mode somewhere. The 9th Infantry Division is still poised to more into Katha, but hasn't yet made it. And the Japanese move on Sian in China appears to be taking a breather.
Strange Plane Arrivals
May 21, 1942 -
This was a fairly quiet Night turn again. USS Sturgeon spotted an xAKL near Miri but the sub's skipper decided not to fire on the ship. It's too bad that I can't order my sub captains to fire at anything and everything. Then USS Pollack fired a couple of duds at an xAK near Ebodon. The PB in the TF attempted to find Pollack but couldn't.
Daylight brought a strong Japanese Air Raid on Tennant Creek again. Twenty-six Oscars escorted twenty-one Lilies as they fought the lousy weather but no CAP, since I had my P-40s standing down. The Japanese bombers got a few hits on the Runways at Tennant Creek while suffering a couple of damaged planes. Even if I did have my P-40s in the air they would have been overwhelmed by the Oscars, so things probably worked out for the best.
The only other Japanese Air Raids were on the Dutch stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra. No Allied attacks were scheduled as I continue to avoid trying to fly in End-of-the-World Weather.
Otherwise, not much happened. I got a message from USS Growler that the Flotation Repairs were failing. Growler is a number of days out from Auckland, so this ought to be a touchy voyage.
While checking over the Air Stats I noticed that my opponent is now receiving Nicks. The first Nick showed up as an Operational Loss in the stats.
I got a couple of very odd Aircraft arrivals this turn. First off, a two-plane British Swordfish unit showed up at Aden. But it is due to be withdrawn in 10 days! So I'm not even going to put the unit on a boat.
Then an RNZAF Singapore Squadron showed up in San Francisco. That seems extremely odd, because all of the New Zeeland bases are still under Allied control and no Kiwi base has been lost. The squadron has no planes, but it does have a dozen pilots, so I sent the better pilots to General Reserve and filled out the rest of the squadron with rookies. There are no planes available for the squadron, and there are no planes in the Upgrade pathways. So I sent the squadron to the East Coast. When it gets there I will send it to Cape Town, and eventually back to NZ. Maybe by the time that it gets there some sort of replacement aircraft my show up.
In other news, Japanese troops are marching through the jungle towards Bhamo. I've got an RAF Base Force there and a Burmese Rifle unit, and the Forts are at Level 2, so this may turn into a bit of a pain for my opponent if he has underestimated the size of the Force that he has sent. The 9th Infantry Division is still sitting one hex from Katha.
And a second Japanese unit has shown up at Townsville. It appears that one of the two units is moving towards Charter Towers. There still are no Japanese planes at Townsville, although the number of Japanese fighters has increased in Cairns. I'm waiting for better weather and the Repair Crews to make more progress before I send the 4Es out again.
This was a fairly quiet Night turn again. USS Sturgeon spotted an xAKL near Miri but the sub's skipper decided not to fire on the ship. It's too bad that I can't order my sub captains to fire at anything and everything. Then USS Pollack fired a couple of duds at an xAK near Ebodon. The PB in the TF attempted to find Pollack but couldn't.
Daylight brought a strong Japanese Air Raid on Tennant Creek again. Twenty-six Oscars escorted twenty-one Lilies as they fought the lousy weather but no CAP, since I had my P-40s standing down. The Japanese bombers got a few hits on the Runways at Tennant Creek while suffering a couple of damaged planes. Even if I did have my P-40s in the air they would have been overwhelmed by the Oscars, so things probably worked out for the best.
The only other Japanese Air Raids were on the Dutch stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra. No Allied attacks were scheduled as I continue to avoid trying to fly in End-of-the-World Weather.
Otherwise, not much happened. I got a message from USS Growler that the Flotation Repairs were failing. Growler is a number of days out from Auckland, so this ought to be a touchy voyage.
While checking over the Air Stats I noticed that my opponent is now receiving Nicks. The first Nick showed up as an Operational Loss in the stats.
I got a couple of very odd Aircraft arrivals this turn. First off, a two-plane British Swordfish unit showed up at Aden. But it is due to be withdrawn in 10 days! So I'm not even going to put the unit on a boat.
Then an RNZAF Singapore Squadron showed up in San Francisco. That seems extremely odd, because all of the New Zeeland bases are still under Allied control and no Kiwi base has been lost. The squadron has no planes, but it does have a dozen pilots, so I sent the better pilots to General Reserve and filled out the rest of the squadron with rookies. There are no planes available for the squadron, and there are no planes in the Upgrade pathways. So I sent the squadron to the East Coast. When it gets there I will send it to Cape Town, and eventually back to NZ. Maybe by the time that it gets there some sort of replacement aircraft my show up.
In other news, Japanese troops are marching through the jungle towards Bhamo. I've got an RAF Base Force there and a Burmese Rifle unit, and the Forts are at Level 2, so this may turn into a bit of a pain for my opponent if he has underestimated the size of the Force that he has sent. The 9th Infantry Division is still sitting one hex from Katha.
And a second Japanese unit has shown up at Townsville. It appears that one of the two units is moving towards Charter Towers. There still are no Japanese planes at Townsville, although the number of Japanese fighters has increased in Cairns. I'm waiting for better weather and the Repair Crews to make more progress before I send the 4Es out again.
Stranger Plane Departures
May 22, 1942 -
There is something about the region near Miri that brings out the least in the Allied sub captains. This turn USS Snapper spotted an xAKL and shot four torpedoes at it, but all of the torps were duds. The way things are going my opponent will stop bothering to send escorts along with his TFs soon.
Daylight saw another big Oscar sweep of the skies over Tennant Creek. All of my fighters were sitting out and their pilots were watching from the slit trenches down below. Then a group of Lilies flew over and dropped some bombs, causing a little Airfield damage. I'm pulling more troops out of Tennant Creek, so I don't really care. The only other Japanese air attacks were on the Dutch stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra.
One thing I did care about was the presence of a Japanese Float plane over Dutch Harbor. My Search Planes in the region haven't spotted anything, so I'm hoping that this was simply a Glen from a passing I-boat. If it was off of a Japanese Combat ship my opponent will have a lot of lightly guarded transports to attack at will. In light of this I sent my Air Combat TF out from Prince Rupert towards the western part of the Gulf of Alaska, and also a Surface Combat TF. I'll base them both forward for a while, just in case my opponent decides to try to interfere with my build-up in the region.
BTW – my opponent hasn't paid a lot of obvious attention to the Kuriles or the Aleutians. The first report of a base improvement for Paramushio Jima came only a couple of days ago, and that was the Airfield being built up to Level 1. In any event, I've moved more Patrol Planes into the region and also moved forward some Fighters, and have some Dive Bombers on their way too.
Sometimes I just don't understand the nuances of the Game Mechanics. That empty Kiwi Patrol Plane squadron that arrived in San Francisco last turn arrived at the Eastern US this turn. [&:][X(]
Huh? How did it make the trip in only one turn? It takes several turns for any other Air Unit to move between the bases. Maybe it was because there were no planes – I guess that the pilots hopped a transcontinental flight... In any event, I sent it off to Cape Town. That trip ought to keep it out of my hair for a month plus.
The Big News this turn was that the Japanese 9th Infantry Division finally reached the dot base Katha on the road to Myitkyina this turn. That in itself isn't such big news, other than the fact that once the 9th Division captures the empty base other Japanese units can Take The Train to Katha and cut down their time marching through the jungle. But it is Big News because I am putting in place a Big Plan for next turn.
What I have done has been to bring forward almost the entire Asian Air Capability to the various bases that ring Katha, and I've ordered all of them to Bomb, Escort, Sweep or otherwise just Be There over Katha and the 9th Division. What I have there contains:
The three AVG squadrons, all flying P-40Es
Seven British Hurricane Squadrons
Two B-17E squadrons, 1 Wellington Squadron, and 7 miscellaneous British 2E squadrons
I've also got Recon Planes flying over the base, and good Air HQs trying to coordinate everyone.
Essentially I've thrown the Best that the Allies have at this time against that one LCU in the hopes of catching some Japanese Fighter groups off guard. This will probably end up being a Big Fizzle instead of a Big Sizzle, but I want to let my opponent know that I will fight on my own terms.
We'll see what happens.
There is something about the region near Miri that brings out the least in the Allied sub captains. This turn USS Snapper spotted an xAKL and shot four torpedoes at it, but all of the torps were duds. The way things are going my opponent will stop bothering to send escorts along with his TFs soon.
Daylight saw another big Oscar sweep of the skies over Tennant Creek. All of my fighters were sitting out and their pilots were watching from the slit trenches down below. Then a group of Lilies flew over and dropped some bombs, causing a little Airfield damage. I'm pulling more troops out of Tennant Creek, so I don't really care. The only other Japanese air attacks were on the Dutch stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra.
One thing I did care about was the presence of a Japanese Float plane over Dutch Harbor. My Search Planes in the region haven't spotted anything, so I'm hoping that this was simply a Glen from a passing I-boat. If it was off of a Japanese Combat ship my opponent will have a lot of lightly guarded transports to attack at will. In light of this I sent my Air Combat TF out from Prince Rupert towards the western part of the Gulf of Alaska, and also a Surface Combat TF. I'll base them both forward for a while, just in case my opponent decides to try to interfere with my build-up in the region.
BTW – my opponent hasn't paid a lot of obvious attention to the Kuriles or the Aleutians. The first report of a base improvement for Paramushio Jima came only a couple of days ago, and that was the Airfield being built up to Level 1. In any event, I've moved more Patrol Planes into the region and also moved forward some Fighters, and have some Dive Bombers on their way too.
Sometimes I just don't understand the nuances of the Game Mechanics. That empty Kiwi Patrol Plane squadron that arrived in San Francisco last turn arrived at the Eastern US this turn. [&:][X(]
Huh? How did it make the trip in only one turn? It takes several turns for any other Air Unit to move between the bases. Maybe it was because there were no planes – I guess that the pilots hopped a transcontinental flight... In any event, I sent it off to Cape Town. That trip ought to keep it out of my hair for a month plus.
The Big News this turn was that the Japanese 9th Infantry Division finally reached the dot base Katha on the road to Myitkyina this turn. That in itself isn't such big news, other than the fact that once the 9th Division captures the empty base other Japanese units can Take The Train to Katha and cut down their time marching through the jungle. But it is Big News because I am putting in place a Big Plan for next turn.
What I have done has been to bring forward almost the entire Asian Air Capability to the various bases that ring Katha, and I've ordered all of them to Bomb, Escort, Sweep or otherwise just Be There over Katha and the 9th Division. What I have there contains:
The three AVG squadrons, all flying P-40Es
Seven British Hurricane Squadrons
Two B-17E squadrons, 1 Wellington Squadron, and 7 miscellaneous British 2E squadrons
I've also got Recon Planes flying over the base, and good Air HQs trying to coordinate everyone.
Essentially I've thrown the Best that the Allies have at this time against that one LCU in the hopes of catching some Japanese Fighter groups off guard. This will probably end up being a Big Fizzle instead of a Big Sizzle, but I want to let my opponent know that I will fight on my own terms.
We'll see what happens.
Firing Squad Time
May 23, 1942 -
The Night was quiet other than some submarine antics. First off USS Snapper was chased by some ASW Escorts off of Natoena. Then USS Trigger shot a half dozen torpedoes at an xAKL near Truk but the torps were duds. Finally, USS Permit was chased by ASW Escorts near Tandjoengbalai. In that case the TF was full of Tankers, so it is a real pity that Permit didn't get a shot off at any of them.
Daylight brought more Japanese Float Plane reports from Umnak. My Search planes didn't spot any subs, but afterwards the Air Loss Report showed a Glen lost, so maybe that was the bugger.
Then a “Why? Why? Why?” moment occurred. Fourteen Hurricanes Swept the skies over Mandalay and ran into a CAP of 9 Oscars. [X(]
Huh??????????????????? I didn't order any planes to fly to Mandalay. I specifically ordered all of my planes in that region to fly to Katha, which is hundreds of miles away. [&:]
In any event, the Hurris handled themselves well and shot down 2 Oscars for the loss of one Hurricane.
Then the usual Japanese Air Attacks began, with Chinese troops south of Yenan getting bombed a couple of times, Lilies hitting the Air Fields at Tennant Creek, the Dutch Stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra getting bombed again, and a Chinese LCU south of Sian being bombed.
Then another “Why? Why? Why?” moment occurred. Another Allied Air Raid flew over Mandalay; this time containing 13 Blenheims escorted by 16 Hurricanes. (See my “Huh?” comment above.) This time the Oscars shot down two Hurricanes for the loss of one Oscar, but the Blenheims were able to hit a Japanese Infantry Division on the Ground. [&:][X(]
This was followed by a “You've got to be Kidding!!!” moment as the two B-17E squadrons from Dacca flew over and hit a Japanese Construction Engineering unit at Chaing Mai. (Again, refer to my “Huh?” comment above. I didn't set Chaing Mai as a target either.) There were no Japanese Fighters on CAP there, which isn't surprising in the least bit, because in my opponent's shoes I would never expect to see an Allied Bomber Attack waste bombs on that target.
None of the other Allied Air Units in the region flew, not even the Recon planes. All of the planes that did fly had their “Target” removed and left blank, while the Air Units that didn't fly still had “Katha” as their target.
During the Combat Reply I noticed “clouds” over Katha as I watched my planes go hundreds of miles off course, so I'll be “polite” and assume that the Game calculated that the Weather was Too Bad over Katha and sent out a few flights to other locations.
There is nothing to do but sigh in this situation. I stood down the Hurricane units that were involved in the Air Battles and left the rest of the units on their Mission Orders to attack Katha next turn. I wonder where they will actually go? [8|]
Ground Combat brought a couple of Japanese victories and one draw. A solid Japanese troop column kicked the two Chinese Corps out of the hex south of Yenan. The Chinese troops retreated northwards towards Yenan and starvation instead of westward towards Sian and escape.
Then a Japaneses Infantry Division attacked a Chinese Corps on the road south of Sian, but the rough terrain caused a 1:1 result and the Chinese unit stayed put.
Finally, Katha was captured by the Japanese 9th Infantry Division.
In other news, that African Infantry Unit arrived safely at Bombay this turn. I'm sending that unit to Goa, which seems to be currently popular for end-around invasions of India. I don't know if my opponent intends any Amphibious Assaults on India, but I'm setting up my defenses as if he will.
And the KB remains out of sight.
The Night was quiet other than some submarine antics. First off USS Snapper was chased by some ASW Escorts off of Natoena. Then USS Trigger shot a half dozen torpedoes at an xAKL near Truk but the torps were duds. Finally, USS Permit was chased by ASW Escorts near Tandjoengbalai. In that case the TF was full of Tankers, so it is a real pity that Permit didn't get a shot off at any of them.
Daylight brought more Japanese Float Plane reports from Umnak. My Search planes didn't spot any subs, but afterwards the Air Loss Report showed a Glen lost, so maybe that was the bugger.
Then a “Why? Why? Why?” moment occurred. Fourteen Hurricanes Swept the skies over Mandalay and ran into a CAP of 9 Oscars. [X(]
Huh??????????????????? I didn't order any planes to fly to Mandalay. I specifically ordered all of my planes in that region to fly to Katha, which is hundreds of miles away. [&:]
In any event, the Hurris handled themselves well and shot down 2 Oscars for the loss of one Hurricane.
Then the usual Japanese Air Attacks began, with Chinese troops south of Yenan getting bombed a couple of times, Lilies hitting the Air Fields at Tennant Creek, the Dutch Stragglers in Borneo and Sumatra getting bombed again, and a Chinese LCU south of Sian being bombed.
Then another “Why? Why? Why?” moment occurred. Another Allied Air Raid flew over Mandalay; this time containing 13 Blenheims escorted by 16 Hurricanes. (See my “Huh?” comment above.) This time the Oscars shot down two Hurricanes for the loss of one Oscar, but the Blenheims were able to hit a Japanese Infantry Division on the Ground. [&:][X(]
This was followed by a “You've got to be Kidding!!!” moment as the two B-17E squadrons from Dacca flew over and hit a Japanese Construction Engineering unit at Chaing Mai. (Again, refer to my “Huh?” comment above. I didn't set Chaing Mai as a target either.) There were no Japanese Fighters on CAP there, which isn't surprising in the least bit, because in my opponent's shoes I would never expect to see an Allied Bomber Attack waste bombs on that target.
None of the other Allied Air Units in the region flew, not even the Recon planes. All of the planes that did fly had their “Target” removed and left blank, while the Air Units that didn't fly still had “Katha” as their target.
During the Combat Reply I noticed “clouds” over Katha as I watched my planes go hundreds of miles off course, so I'll be “polite” and assume that the Game calculated that the Weather was Too Bad over Katha and sent out a few flights to other locations.
There is nothing to do but sigh in this situation. I stood down the Hurricane units that were involved in the Air Battles and left the rest of the units on their Mission Orders to attack Katha next turn. I wonder where they will actually go? [8|]
Ground Combat brought a couple of Japanese victories and one draw. A solid Japanese troop column kicked the two Chinese Corps out of the hex south of Yenan. The Chinese troops retreated northwards towards Yenan and starvation instead of westward towards Sian and escape.
Then a Japaneses Infantry Division attacked a Chinese Corps on the road south of Sian, but the rough terrain caused a 1:1 result and the Chinese unit stayed put.
Finally, Katha was captured by the Japanese 9th Infantry Division.
In other news, that African Infantry Unit arrived safely at Bombay this turn. I'm sending that unit to Goa, which seems to be currently popular for end-around invasions of India. I don't know if my opponent intends any Amphibious Assaults on India, but I'm setting up my defenses as if he will.
And the KB remains out of sight.
The Air Force Flies
May 24, 1942 –
The Night was quiet other than USS Skipjack being harassed by a couple of Japanese SCs on ASW duty near Oosthaven.
Daylight brought Glen spottings again around Unmak. This time my Search planes found the Japanese sub, so I’m going to pay some attention to it next turn. I really don’t want my opponent getting too good of an idea of what I am up to in the Gulf of Alaska.
Next off Oscars and Lilies flew over Tennant Creek again, and once more the Lilies achieved a few hits on the Airfields. The Supply situation is so bad at Tennant Creek that the Engineers there can’t even repair the bomb damage. I’m flying in Supplies every day, but it is a lost cause. The only other Japanese Air Attacks were on Dutch Stragglers in Borneo.
Then it was the turn of the Allied Air Command in India to show off their Stuff, and to my pleasant surprise, they actually did. The Air Attacks started out with a raid by 25 Hudson IIIs and 15 Blenheim IVs that was escorted by 32 Hurricanes. Two Oscars flew CAP, but the Hurricanes drove them away. Despite bad weather and heavy rain the Bombers hit the Ground troops.
Next, 32 more Blenheim IVs and 14 B-17Es flew in against no CAP. This group also found the Target despite bad weather and rain and hit the Ground troops again. After that 16 Wellingtons flew in and achieved more hits on the Ground troops. Finally, after it was all over 54 P-40Es from the AVG flew in and Swept around, but there were no Japanese planes to sweep.
So all-in-all, it was a successful raid. Sure, the attacks didn’t accomplish a lot in tangible terms, but they did let my opponent know that I can mass Air Power in the region when I want to do so. And better yet, my losses were negligible.
However, it appears that my opponent is planning some tit-for-tat bombing in the region and has now moved some Japanese bombers to Mandalay. Although the Weather forecast is for the weather to go from miserable to abysmal, I don’t want to be caught with my fighters forward, so I redistributed my Commonwealth Air Units again to give Search Coverage around the Bay of Bengal and also to give Fighter coverage to my key regional bases. This way my opponent won’t be able to whack a large number of my planes at any single base. Of course, I use multiple Air Bases anyway, but it is still a good idea not to give away any “freebies”.
BTW – the two B-17E squadrons came out of the attack looking “shiny and new”, so I ordered them to attack the Japanese ground units that are attempting to go through the Jungle to attack Bhamo. This may also throw my opponent off a bit in his thinking because I almost never fly missions two days in a row.
But my Air Force in India wasn’t the only one that was busy this turn. The American Army Air Corp in Australia went off into the Rain and the Japanese CAP in two attacks on Northeastern Oz. The first attack was on the Port at Cooktown, in which a damaged Japanese ship has been sitting since the original invasion. The Air Attack from Alice Springs split up with 6 B-17Ds flying in first and being met by 7 Zeros. The Zeros shot up the Forts a bit, and together with the Heavy Rain caused the Bombers to miss their target. Next 5 Liberators flew in and faced 2 Zeros, but again the Japanese Fighters and the Weather caused the Bombers to miss their target. So the damaged ship in Port was saved from more damage.
Next the B-17E squadrons at Brisbane flew up to hit the Air Fields at Townsville. First off 16 Forts faced off against 6 Zeros. One unlucky Fort was shot down, but the rest of the planes hit their target. Then 6 more Forts flew in against 3 Zeros. This time the gunners on one of the Forts shot down a Zero. Then the bombers hit their target again. So all-in-all, this was a reasonably successful mission.
Finally, some Oscars flew a Sweep over some Chinese troops that are sitting on the road two hexes to the south of Sian. But this time I had Chinese Fighters on CAP, and the 7 Oscars were met by 6 H81s and 7 P-43s. One H81 was shot down, but all things considered, it could have been much worse. So again my opponent will have to keep in mind my Chinese fighters when he plans out his Air Attacks in China. BTW – I moved both air units back to Chungking to avoid being swept out of the air by a Japanese Air Blitz next turn.
Then in the Ground Phase, a Japanese Paratroop unit captured the undefended base of Charter Towers. I really didn’t want to let my opponent have Charter Towers because it is a Level 4 Airbase, but it is too isolated and I didn’t want to get LCUs trapped up there. Instead I will use the Charter Tower Air Fields for Target Practice for my 4Es.
The Night was quiet other than USS Skipjack being harassed by a couple of Japanese SCs on ASW duty near Oosthaven.
Daylight brought Glen spottings again around Unmak. This time my Search planes found the Japanese sub, so I’m going to pay some attention to it next turn. I really don’t want my opponent getting too good of an idea of what I am up to in the Gulf of Alaska.
Next off Oscars and Lilies flew over Tennant Creek again, and once more the Lilies achieved a few hits on the Airfields. The Supply situation is so bad at Tennant Creek that the Engineers there can’t even repair the bomb damage. I’m flying in Supplies every day, but it is a lost cause. The only other Japanese Air Attacks were on Dutch Stragglers in Borneo.
Then it was the turn of the Allied Air Command in India to show off their Stuff, and to my pleasant surprise, they actually did. The Air Attacks started out with a raid by 25 Hudson IIIs and 15 Blenheim IVs that was escorted by 32 Hurricanes. Two Oscars flew CAP, but the Hurricanes drove them away. Despite bad weather and heavy rain the Bombers hit the Ground troops.
Next, 32 more Blenheim IVs and 14 B-17Es flew in against no CAP. This group also found the Target despite bad weather and rain and hit the Ground troops again. After that 16 Wellingtons flew in and achieved more hits on the Ground troops. Finally, after it was all over 54 P-40Es from the AVG flew in and Swept around, but there were no Japanese planes to sweep.
So all-in-all, it was a successful raid. Sure, the attacks didn’t accomplish a lot in tangible terms, but they did let my opponent know that I can mass Air Power in the region when I want to do so. And better yet, my losses were negligible.
However, it appears that my opponent is planning some tit-for-tat bombing in the region and has now moved some Japanese bombers to Mandalay. Although the Weather forecast is for the weather to go from miserable to abysmal, I don’t want to be caught with my fighters forward, so I redistributed my Commonwealth Air Units again to give Search Coverage around the Bay of Bengal and also to give Fighter coverage to my key regional bases. This way my opponent won’t be able to whack a large number of my planes at any single base. Of course, I use multiple Air Bases anyway, but it is still a good idea not to give away any “freebies”.
BTW – the two B-17E squadrons came out of the attack looking “shiny and new”, so I ordered them to attack the Japanese ground units that are attempting to go through the Jungle to attack Bhamo. This may also throw my opponent off a bit in his thinking because I almost never fly missions two days in a row.
But my Air Force in India wasn’t the only one that was busy this turn. The American Army Air Corp in Australia went off into the Rain and the Japanese CAP in two attacks on Northeastern Oz. The first attack was on the Port at Cooktown, in which a damaged Japanese ship has been sitting since the original invasion. The Air Attack from Alice Springs split up with 6 B-17Ds flying in first and being met by 7 Zeros. The Zeros shot up the Forts a bit, and together with the Heavy Rain caused the Bombers to miss their target. Next 5 Liberators flew in and faced 2 Zeros, but again the Japanese Fighters and the Weather caused the Bombers to miss their target. So the damaged ship in Port was saved from more damage.
Next the B-17E squadrons at Brisbane flew up to hit the Air Fields at Townsville. First off 16 Forts faced off against 6 Zeros. One unlucky Fort was shot down, but the rest of the planes hit their target. Then 6 more Forts flew in against 3 Zeros. This time the gunners on one of the Forts shot down a Zero. Then the bombers hit their target again. So all-in-all, this was a reasonably successful mission.
Finally, some Oscars flew a Sweep over some Chinese troops that are sitting on the road two hexes to the south of Sian. But this time I had Chinese Fighters on CAP, and the 7 Oscars were met by 6 H81s and 7 P-43s. One H81 was shot down, but all things considered, it could have been much worse. So again my opponent will have to keep in mind my Chinese fighters when he plans out his Air Attacks in China. BTW – I moved both air units back to Chungking to avoid being swept out of the air by a Japanese Air Blitz next turn.
Then in the Ground Phase, a Japanese Paratroop unit captured the undefended base of Charter Towers. I really didn’t want to let my opponent have Charter Towers because it is a Level 4 Airbase, but it is too isolated and I didn’t want to get LCUs trapped up there. Instead I will use the Charter Tower Air Fields for Target Practice for my 4Es.
Suspicious Activities
May 25, 1942 –
There was a suspicious Sub/TF encounter during the Night phase. RN sub Trusty was "run over" by a passing Japanese Combat TF near Great Nicobar. The DDs in the TF chased Trusty a bit and caused a bit of damage with a depth charge. Trusty's skipper reported that they spotted a CA, a CL and 3 DDs. Then a while later, the escorts of the Japanese TF chased Trusty again, but this time without finding the sub. But when daylight appeared there was no sign of a Japanese TF in the region.
Hmmm – why was a Japanese Combat TF out there near Great Nicobar? Port Blair is already under Japanese control. There is something about this sighting that just doesn't smell right. Is my opponent preparing for some sort of expansion into the Indian Ocean? Were those ships part of the Baby KB?
In the absence of any firmer data I decided to send out two of the British CVs in a Fast CV TF towards Diego Garcia. Perhaps my opponent is hoping to grab that base in order to interfere with Allied reinforcements from Cape Town. In any event, I also put more long range bombers on Patrol in the region, just in case I can find out just what my opponent is trying.
Daylight saw Tennant Creek hit by Sallys and Lilies. This time they didn't cause any damage. Japanese bombers also hit Dutch stragglers in Borneo.
My Dacca 4Es flew after the Japanese troops near Bhamo despite bad weather. Six B-17s flew in first and were faced by 1 Oscar. The distraction by the Oscar, combined with the bad weather, caused the B-17s to miss their target. Then a second group of seven B-17s flew in, and in the absence of CAP did hit the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is trekking though the jungle.
For the second turn in a row SIGINT reported heavy Radio Traffic where a Japanese TF is heading rapidly westbound. The TF is now entering the northern DEI after travelling through the Central Pacific. SIGINT couldn't tell me what the composition of the TF was. But I wonder if it is the KB heading towards the Bay of Bengal.
There was a suspicious Sub/TF encounter during the Night phase. RN sub Trusty was "run over" by a passing Japanese Combat TF near Great Nicobar. The DDs in the TF chased Trusty a bit and caused a bit of damage with a depth charge. Trusty's skipper reported that they spotted a CA, a CL and 3 DDs. Then a while later, the escorts of the Japanese TF chased Trusty again, but this time without finding the sub. But when daylight appeared there was no sign of a Japanese TF in the region.
Hmmm – why was a Japanese Combat TF out there near Great Nicobar? Port Blair is already under Japanese control. There is something about this sighting that just doesn't smell right. Is my opponent preparing for some sort of expansion into the Indian Ocean? Were those ships part of the Baby KB?
In the absence of any firmer data I decided to send out two of the British CVs in a Fast CV TF towards Diego Garcia. Perhaps my opponent is hoping to grab that base in order to interfere with Allied reinforcements from Cape Town. In any event, I also put more long range bombers on Patrol in the region, just in case I can find out just what my opponent is trying.
Daylight saw Tennant Creek hit by Sallys and Lilies. This time they didn't cause any damage. Japanese bombers also hit Dutch stragglers in Borneo.
My Dacca 4Es flew after the Japanese troops near Bhamo despite bad weather. Six B-17s flew in first and were faced by 1 Oscar. The distraction by the Oscar, combined with the bad weather, caused the B-17s to miss their target. Then a second group of seven B-17s flew in, and in the absence of CAP did hit the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is trekking though the jungle.
For the second turn in a row SIGINT reported heavy Radio Traffic where a Japanese TF is heading rapidly westbound. The TF is now entering the northern DEI after travelling through the Central Pacific. SIGINT couldn't tell me what the composition of the TF was. But I wonder if it is the KB heading towards the Bay of Bengal.
Quiet Night
May 26, 1942 -
Nothing happened in the Night Phase, other than Palm Island being automatically occupied by the Japanese. My subs aren't finding the Japanese TFs at this time.
The Day Phase started out with one of those moments in the Game that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a squadron of Oscars flew in at High Altitude over Myitkyina and blasted away half of the AVG P-40E squadron that was flying CAP. So it's Tennant Creek all over again. Even with very good pilots P-40s are useless in this Game.
So I pulled the remains of the AVG squadron out and replaced it with a British Hurricane squadron that I put up at maximum altitude. But my opponent has around a hundred fighters at Mandalay, and so unless I get Weather-lucky my opponent will be able to blow away my Hurricanes too, just by force of numbers. Since I am trying to defend a large number of bases I can't just mass a couple of hundred planes at one base. And choosing “not to fight” at Myitkyina is not an option at this time. So I'm left with no option but to grit my teeth and think uncomplimentary thoughts about the folks who came up with the Air Combat routines.
Elsewhere, some Japanese bombers hit some Dutch stragglers in Borneo, and some Oscars swept the empty sky over Sian.
SIGINT gave me one of its very infrequent, and always useless pieces of information related to an upcoming attack – in this case it told me that a Japanese artillery unit is preparing to attack Myitkyina. A deaf, dumb and blind man in Fort Francis could have told me the same thing, it's so obvious.
More importantly, in addition to the 96 or so fighters at Mandalay the number of Japanese bombers has gone down again, but there are almost a hundred “auxiliary” planes there. Is my opponent using Transport Planes to keep the 9th Division Supplied at Kathra, or is he planning a Paradrop or two?
The Good News for me this turn was that the third Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division arrived in Pearl, so I reformed the Division. I now have four good Divisions at Pearl.
Nothing happened in the Night Phase, other than Palm Island being automatically occupied by the Japanese. My subs aren't finding the Japanese TFs at this time.
The Day Phase started out with one of those moments in the Game that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a squadron of Oscars flew in at High Altitude over Myitkyina and blasted away half of the AVG P-40E squadron that was flying CAP. So it's Tennant Creek all over again. Even with very good pilots P-40s are useless in this Game.
So I pulled the remains of the AVG squadron out and replaced it with a British Hurricane squadron that I put up at maximum altitude. But my opponent has around a hundred fighters at Mandalay, and so unless I get Weather-lucky my opponent will be able to blow away my Hurricanes too, just by force of numbers. Since I am trying to defend a large number of bases I can't just mass a couple of hundred planes at one base. And choosing “not to fight” at Myitkyina is not an option at this time. So I'm left with no option but to grit my teeth and think uncomplimentary thoughts about the folks who came up with the Air Combat routines.
Elsewhere, some Japanese bombers hit some Dutch stragglers in Borneo, and some Oscars swept the empty sky over Sian.
SIGINT gave me one of its very infrequent, and always useless pieces of information related to an upcoming attack – in this case it told me that a Japanese artillery unit is preparing to attack Myitkyina. A deaf, dumb and blind man in Fort Francis could have told me the same thing, it's so obvious.
More importantly, in addition to the 96 or so fighters at Mandalay the number of Japanese bombers has gone down again, but there are almost a hundred “auxiliary” planes there. Is my opponent using Transport Planes to keep the 9th Division Supplied at Kathra, or is he planning a Paradrop or two?
The Good News for me this turn was that the third Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division arrived in Pearl, so I reformed the Division. I now have four good Divisions at Pearl.