Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)

[ADB123]

July 5, 1942 -

The only Night time news this turn was the continued off-loading of the Japanese Invasion TF at Puerto Princesa. The invading forces didn't lose any more troops, but it was still funny to see the end result as the full Japanese 9th Infantry Regiment eventually attacked and “defeated” the two Observation Towers at the base. My opponent could have landed the smallest Combat unit that he had to capture the base, instead of an experienced 109AV LCU.

The Day Phase brought Japanese Air Attacks on one of the Chinese units out in the Rough west of Wuchow again. But this time there were no Japanese ground assaults. Lilys in the Celebes also hit the ever-diminishing Dutch Stragglers.

Finally, a Japanese Paratroop unit took Akyab. Now my opponent has to figure out what he wants to do with it. I set a Hurricane Squadron on LR CAP over Akyab for next turn, just in case my opponent flies in Transport Planes to either remove the Paratroops or bring in other troops.

And my opponent is getting a kick out or watching my small but steady loss of P-38s to Operational Damage. I continue to guess wrong as to when the next Japanese Bombing Run will hit Tennant Creek, but I'll take the odd Ops Loss just in case I can surprise my opponent one of these turns.

[ADB123]

July 6, 1942 -

This was an odd turn all around.

The Night Phase had no action.

The Day Phase had only one Japanese Air Attack – once again the Lilys in the Celebes hit the Dutch Stragglers in the jungle there.

Then I got a notice of Japanese Transport planes being intercepted over Akyab. Great! I thought. Then I looked over the various reports and there were no Japanese Transport Planes listed as shot down. Instead one Hurricane and one Oscar were listed as being shot down, and one of each lost to Ops Damage.

Huh? I checked the Hurricane Squadron that I had put on LR CAP over Akyab, and sure enough, it was missing two planes (but not missing any pilots). But there were no reports of Air Combat. Afterwards, I checked through all of the various and sundry reports that the Game generates for each turn, and there was no mention in any of them of Air Combat over Akyab.

So obviously, my opponent had some sort of LR CAP of his own over Akyab, or he had Oscars escorting the Transport Planes, but the combat between the Hurricanes and Oscars wasn't shown or described. Very strange stuff... [&:]

It appears that my opponent was successful in pulling out his Paratroops out of Akyab despite the attempted interference by my Hurricanes. Oh well, it will be interesting to see where he drops them next.

[ADB123]

July 7, 1942 -

My opponent and I upgraded to the latest Patch and as of the first turn that we've tried, everything seems to be okay.

The Night Phase was quiet with the exception of Japanese sub I-26 taking a shot at HMNZS Leander near Rarotonga, but missing. The Escorts in the swift Surface Combat TF missed the Japanese sub too, so everyone continued on their own ways. Leander was out in that area because I've got it and the other HMNZS ships that are due for July 42 upgrades on the way to Pearl for the upgrades. I won't do upgrades in Auckland because it is too exposed to Japanese CV raids.

Daylight brought the now-usual Lily raids on the ever-diminishing Dutch LCU that is trying to make it to a friendly base. I've got a Transport sub on the way to drop off some supplies, but the Dutch Straggler Unit may well dissipate from the constant Aerial Bombardments before it makes it to any supplies.

And to make things tougher, a small Japanese Recon unit captured the empty Celebes base of Watampure this turn. If that Recon unit heads north it will cut off the Dutch LCU. Oh well, it is keeping a couple of Japanese units busy.

B-17s from Dacca flew against Mandalay this turn. Only 9 Bombers got past the Weather and they ran into 1 Nick and 8 Oscars. The 4Es blew past the CAP, but my opponent has been rebuilding his forces in Mandalay so I ended up losing a couple of Forts to Flak. One Oscar was lost to Ops damage, and a bit of damage was done to the Runways at Mandalay, but no Japanese planes were caught on the Ground. I will probably have to give up on Low Alt bombing of Mandalay now and wait for some B-24s to arrive in India so that I can conduct more serious Bombing Campaigns.

The Japanese Infantry Regiment that has been sitting next to Kalemyo for the past few weeks finally moved onto the road from Imphal to Kalemyo, cutting off my lone Burmese defender at miserable Kalemyo. It also appears that my opponent is moving out some more LCUs from Mandalay, so maybe he intends to attempt a siege of Imphal. Just in case this is so, I've ordered some better LCUs to move over to Imphal, and also ordered some of my local Reserve forces to Silchar to provide more support. It will be interesting to see what my opponent does with his supply lines in that neck of the woods.

[CapAndGown]

ORIGINAL: ADB123

Daylight brought the now-usual Lily raids on the ever-diminishing Dutch LCU that is trying to make it to a friendly base. I've got a Transport sub on the way to drop off some supplies, but the Dutch Straggler Unit may well dissipate from the constant Aerial Bombardments before it makes it to any supplies.

AFAIK, subs will only deliver supplies to ports. They cannot deliver supplies to bases with no ports. Not sure they can deliver supply to non-base coastal hexes, but I doubt it.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

ORIGINAL: ADB123

Daylight brought the now-usual Lily raids on the ever-diminishing Dutch LCU that is trying to make it to a friendly base. I've got a Transport sub on the way to drop off some supplies, but the Dutch Straggler Unit may well dissipate from the constant Aerial Bombardments before it makes it to any supplies.

AFAIK, subs will only deliver supplies to ports. They cannot deliver supplies to bases with no ports. Not sure they can deliver supply to non-base coastal hexes, but I doubt it.

That's good info. Thanks.

I've got the sub heading towards a Celebes port that is still in Allied hands. I've also got the Dutch LCU crawling towards the same port. But the Japanese Recon unit can probably make it to that base (I've forgotten the name of the base) long before the Dutch unit can - assuming that the Dutch unit isn't blasted into oblivion first by the Lily attacks.

[ADB123]

July 8, 1942 -

Things seemed to be going okay this turn, then I started to plan my next turn and happened to check my subs like normal... Ugh! Where did all that System Damage come from, even on the subs in Port? And Ah $hit!!! The System Damage is on one or more deck guns, and some torpedo tubes, on all of those subs. D@mn! The Data Base changes in the new Patch screwed something up. So I've put this match, and my other Japanese pbems on hold for now until I find out what went wrong and how to fix it.

In the meanwhile, here is what happened for this turn:

During the Night Phase USS Pompano ran into a small Transport TF off of Aogashima but it was spotted by an Escort and chased off. The USS Grayling got chased by an SC off of Sendai. The skipper of that SC was very persistant and he chased the Grayling twice more during the turn. Then USS Tambor hit an xAK with a Dud off of New Hanover Island.

Daylight brought the continuation of the Daily Lily Raid on the Dutch stragglers in the Celebes.

Then 15 Oscars Swept the skies over Kalemyo. A lone Hurricane showed up and exchanged some fire with the Oscars, but no one was shot down, although one Oscar was later reported as an Ops loss. After this I got Lucky for a change and an unescorted Attack by 20 Lilys showed up over Kalemyo, and 5 Hurricane IIas and 4 Hurricane IIcs showed up. The British fighters shot down 2 Lilys and damaged 2 others, but the rest got through to hit their target.

So it appears that my opponent intends to continue to push along the Indo-Burmese border. I think that it is a silly move on his part unless he intends to come at India in a very Big and Serious Way, but I'll be happy to help him get his troops lost in the Jungle if he does continue to push.

[ADB123]

July 6 - Again -

My opponent and I have gone back two turns and he re-did the turn with the Patch, but he chose "No" for the Database update. When I opened the turn it asked me to accept the "phwhex" (or whatever) changes and I hit the "Yes" button. It then asked me to accept the "...6i" version and I hit the "Yes" button again.

But then it didn't ask me to update the Database. I am assuming that this is because my opponent chose "No" to the Database update.

I did the turn and checked things carefully. I couldn't find anything that looked wrong or different.

Of course, the problems last time turned up on the second turn after the Update, so I'll have to see what happens when I receive the next turn.

In any event, there was no change with the turn from the first time. But I've changed a couple of things for the next turn, including not flying my Dacca B-17s.

[ADB123]

Things looked okay again this turn, and there was no request for me to change the Database, so we may have put that to bed this time. Next turn will be the telling point since it was the July 8 turn where I noticed things going wrong the last time.

Jul7 7, 1942 -

Things started to diverge this turn. Leander wasn't hunted by a sub, but Dutch sub O24 took a shot at RO-34 half way between Ceylon and the Andaman Islands. The Dutch sub missed; it's too bad that it couldn't get into a surface gun battle.

The Lily Raid on the Dutch stragglers was on again, as was the capture of Watampone by the small Japanese Recon unit.

I didn't send out my Dacca B-17s this turn. I'm going to wait for better weather, and better targets.

The Japanese Infantry Regiment moved to cut off Kalemyo again. I wonder if my opponent will attempt to bomb the Burmese troops at Kalemyo next turn.

So all-in-all, a quiet time as we carefully check out the Patch and confirm that the lack of the Database update is helping things.

[ADB123]

It looks like we have turned the corner on the Database Update Problem. This is our last replay turn, and there is nothing out of the ordinary.

July 8, 1942 -

At this point nothing much is the same as during the first time we played this turn. Even the bases that expanded this turn were different from the first time.

During the Night Phase Grayling was chased half-heartedly by an SC near Sendai.

Daylight brought a soggy Sweep by 9 Oscars over Warazup. The Japanese fighters were met by 16 Hurricanes, and the Hi Alt Battle began. Both sides lost a couple of planes, but the Brits didn't lose any pilots.

Then the Celebes Lilys hit the Celebes Dutch Stragglers again. There aren't a lot of troops left in that pitful unit. An SST is dropping off supplies at a nearby base, but it will likely be too little, too late.

Rain ruined the rest of my opponent's Air plans.

And USS Tambor ruined the plans of the skipper of a Japanese xAK off of New Hanover when the US sub put a good torpedo into the freighter.

So we are now heading back into the Great Unknown. But I am now in a slightly better position to “know” a little bit more, as the first Catalina squadron flew into the Air Base at Attu Island this turn. I now have “eyes” that can reach Japan.

[ADB123]

July 9, 1942 -

We're back in unknown territory.

Well, to be more accurate, unknown and very quiet territory.

The Night Phase saw saw the skipper of the USS Tautog spot a couple of SCs off of Utsonomiya, but he decided not to fire at them. But later on at the end of the day the Tautog spotted the same SCs again and this time the Skipper did shoot off some torpedoes. As luck would have it, the torpedoes were duds.

Otherwise, the only action, other than various rain-soaked Recon flights, were the daily Lily Attacks on the ever-shrinking Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes. A US Transport Sub is now dropping off supplies at the empty base of Palopo, but I don't think the Dutch Stragglers will make it there on time to make use of the supplies because a Japanese Recon unit is motoring up towards Palopo and will undoubtedly make it there first.

Speaking of US SSTs, USS Nautilus made it to Madras and will unload the remnants of the West Sumatra Base Force. It will be interesting to see how much that Dutch Base Force will recover. The other Dutch Base Force in Sydney appears to be stuck at a handful of Support troops, although there are supposedly Dutch troops of various types in the Reserve, somewhere.

Some US Fighter Reinforcements showed up at San Francisco this turn, and the result was UGLY! The average Experience Level for the squadrons is around 25, despite the fact that I have been sending my precious 80+ pilots to Training Command. Oh well, those Fighter Squadrons won't be going anywhere for a long, long time.

One thing I did do was to swap-out the handfuls of P-38s that came in with the new squadrons and replace them with P-39s. I need those P-38s for decent squadrons, not for Training Squadrons.

[ADB123]

July 10, 1942 -

There was no Night action this turn.

Daylight Air Action consisted of the regular Lily attacks on the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes. But this time the Japanese pilots missed their target, giving the Dutch a brief respite. And better yet, afterwards I noticed that some of the Supplies that the SST dumped off at Palopo had reached the Dutch Unit. So the Dutch Stragglers will still eventually be destroyed, but at least they won't be destroyed hungry. [;)]

Finally, at the end of the day US sub S-40 took a shot at a PB off of Sabang, but missed. The PB was part of a small TF that includes 2 xAKs. I am assuming that they are heading around Sumatra to invade the remaining unoccupied island bases off of the Indian Ocean coast.

Well, those Dutch Stragglers may be getting a brief respite, otherwise there is no respite in sight from the continuing Japanese advance, as slow as it may be at this time. SIGINT has been informing me of more Japanese LCUs that are preparing to attack Sian and Ichang, and there are more Japanese subs off of Colombo and Dutch Harbor.

And speaking of the Aleutians, my opponent finally noticed the nascent US Air Base at Amchitka.

But most importantly, a Japanese LCU showed up at Wazarup this turn. My troops there haven't had much of a chance to recover from their defeat at Myitkyina, so if my opponent has sent an Infantry Division, and if they can stay Supplied, my troops will be kicked across the River shortly. So I've ordered more of my Mobile Reserve forward to the Railroad Bases in the region.

Thus, it appears that I won't have the opportunity to pull out the remaining Australian Division in India any time soon. [:(]

[ADB123]

July 11, 1942 -

The turn started out fairly ordinary as USS Skipjack hit a PB with a dud off of Cam Ranh Bay. Then Daylight came and the skies were filled with Enemy Planes.

First off 9 Oscars Swept Kalemyo. They were met by 5 Hurricane IIa, 8 Hurricane IIb, and 4 Hurricane IIc. The Oscars got to dive, but the Hurricanes out fought them, shooting down 3 Oscars for no Allied losses.

Next 10 Oscars Swept Wazarup. They were met by 10 Hurricane IIb, and 16 P-38E. Three more Oscars were shot down with no Allied losses.

Then 27 more Oscars Swept Kalemyo. This time they were met by 4 Hurricane IIa, 6 Hurricane IIb and 3 Hurricane IIc. Despite the Japanese numerical advantage one Oscar was shot down for the loss of only one Hurricane IIa.

The Morning Air War then switched over to the Celebes where the usual Lily Attack found its target this time as the Dutch Stragglers were hit hard. And to make things worse, the Japanese Recon unit reached Palopo, cutting off the closest safe ground for the Dutch.

The Afternoon brought 14 more Oscars and 24 Lilies over Kalemyo. Only 1 Hurricane was available for CAP, and after sparring with the Japanese fighters for a bit the Hurricane left. But the Japanese bombers were not able to find their target.

At this point the whole complexion of the War in the Bay of Bengal changed as 35 unescorted Kates flew out of the southwest and attacked the Port of Colombo. [X(][X(][X(] The Kates ran into heavy Flak, but they hit USS S-41 that was docked for minor repairs with 3 bombs, sinking the sub, and also put a bomb into an xAK in the harbor.

Three Hudsons flew out to try to find the Japanese CVs, but they were caught by 4 Zeros. One Hudson was shot down and the other two turned back without an attack or a clear view of the Japanese TF.

And finally, the B-17s at Dacca didn't fly today against the Japanese troops at Wazarup, although the Tranport planes at Dacca did fly and drop off their supplies at the base.

At the end of the turn I checked out the Bay of Bengal and the region surrounding Colombo and I found not one but two Japanese CV TFs. The one that attacked is slightly ahead of a bigger CV TF, so that means that the first TF is likely a trap with a couple of CVLs or CVEs. (There was also a third, smaller Japanese TF in the middle of the Bay of Bengal – I'm not sure what it is or why it was there.)

So in one sense the day was an Allied success as Japanese Air losses were almost three times those of the Allies. Amongst their losses the Japanese lost a dozen Kates to Flak and Ops, and 11 Oscars, while the Allies only lost a handful of Hurricanes and a few other planes to Ops. But the overall situation in the Bay of Bengal looks very dangerous because I have no real idea of my opponent's intentions. Is he:

- Just doing a raid on the Port in Colombo in case I had some important ships in repair or in port?

- Trying to wear down my Air Defenses?

- Setting the stage for an Amphibious Invasion of Ceylon or India proper?

My opponent is definitely serious about the Ground War at the Indo/Burmese border – he now obviously has an Infantry Division and two other LCUs besieging Wazarup, and it looks like more Japanese LCUs are headed for Myitkyina.

So I started to set up my Defense of the Bay of Bengal:

- I put all of the PTs, HDMLs, and other small ships in the region into Combat TFs

- I set all of my LBA to Naval Search instead of Naval Attack, except for where I could bring in a Fighter Unit, and there I set the Range of the bombers to match that of the Fighters

- I pulled the British CV Air Units off of their CVs and sent them down to the Madras-Colombo region.

- I ordered the RN to pull out of Bombay and head to Karachi.

- I ordered all non-combat ships out of Karachi and off-map

- I ordered all of my LCUs in the region that were set to “Rest” to go to “Combat” mode

- I ordered the RN ships at Diego Garcia to Capetown.

So we'll see what happens, and where the KB heads. I'm hoping for a chance to surprise part of the KB with my LBA, but my opponent will have to make a mistake for me to get away with that.

BTW – I'm still not sure how my opponent got the KB into position south and southwest of Colombo without then being spotted by the dozens of Allied subs in the Straights of Malacca and the region between Sumatra and Colombo. I wonder if he sent the ships up the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra? In any event, its a very good thing that I have lots of Air Patrols in the region or the Trick with the two CV TFs might have caught me.

In other news, yet another Japanese sub showed up off of Dutch Harbor. That makes three of them now. So I moved yet another Dive Bomber Squadron into the region. With most if not all of the KB showing up in the Bay of Bengal I am more at ease with my activities in the Aleutians, but I still want to get everything set up as quickly as possible, just in case my opponent decides to try to interrupt my plans there.

And finally, USS Nevada finally completed repairs of its Pearl Harbor damage in Alameda. But since the BB is due for an Upgrade in August, I am going to leave the ship in Alameda and let the August repairs get done there. I don't really have any good place to use a Slow BB at this point, so it is better off being changed into a Flak Trap.

[ADB123]

July 12, 1942 -

The Night Phase was quiet except for USS Permit being chased unsuccessfully by an SC off of Lingga.

Daylight brought Japanese Air Attacks on Dacca, so my opponent obviously finally figured out where I am keeping my B-17s.

The first Air Attack consisted of a Sweep by 21 Oscars. They were met by 20 Hurricane IIb and 2 P-40Es. The Japanese lost 2 Oscars while the Allies lost 2 Hurricanes and one P-40.

Then an Escorted Bombing Run came in. There were 13 Helens and 18 Oscars which were met by 7 Hurricanes and 6 P-40s. The Allied fighters shot down 2 Oscars and damaged a couple of Helens, while only 1 Hurricane was shot down. The Japanese bombers got through, but surprisingly their target was an Artillery unit and not the Air Fields.

I'm not sure what to make of that attack. Did my opponent make a mistake, or is he seriously trying to soften-up the Allied troops at Dacca, perhaps in advance of a Paradrop? In any event, I ordered another Reserve unit to move to Dacca.

Afterwards there was one more Japanese Air Attack on Dacca as 3 Oscars flew in and found 1 P-40 on CAP, which was shot down. In the end, the Air Combat report said that the Japanese lost 9 Oscars in total, versus 6 Hurricanes, so if that has any reality to it, the result wasn't as bad as it could have been. The only other Japanese Air Attack was in the Celebes where the Dutch Stragglers were hit again.

The B-17s at Dacca finally took off and hit the Japanese 33rd Infantry Division at Wazarup, causing some casualties. But Allied Air Attacks on Japanese LCUs are usually close to worthless at best, so I am changing my tactics for the next turn.

I have ordered the B-17s to hit the Airfields at Mandalay – Flak be damned. I also ordered most of my Front Line Fighter Squadrons to Sweep Myitkyina and Mandalay. I want to discourage this Japaneese Air Offensive right off the bat.

BTW – some of the Transport Planes that I sent to Wazarup were intercepted, but none were shot down and most dropped off their supplies.

You may be wondering – what about the KB and mini-KB off of Ceylon? Well, they didn't do much other than to send out some Recon flights and shoot down a Catalina on Naval Search. The two CV TFs are in adjacent hexes halfway between Koggala and Addu. I was surprised that the Naval bombers didn't go after any of my small ship TFs in the region. Nor did they attack any Airfields or Ports. So what is my opponent up to?

Hanging around in order to provide Air Support for an invasion of Ceylon or India?

Trying to lure out LBA attacks?

Hoping to intercept some Allied TFs?

In any event, this is allowing me to safely pull all of my important Naval Assets out of the region, and I'm still able to land more troops in India, so I'm not unhappy with the KB et al sitting where they are currently.

And in the Celebes, that Japanese Recon unit captured the empty Palopo this turn. This leaves the Dutch Stragglers with a cross-country journey to try to reach an unoccupied base.

[ADB123]

July 13, 1942 -

There was no Night Action this turn, but the Air Battles over the Indo-Burmese border more than made up for it.

The morning Air Phase started out with 19 Oscars Sweeping Kalemyo, but there was no one there for them to Sweep, because all of my Front Line Fighters were set to go off on Sweeps of their own. Later on 19 Oscars and 19 Helens hit the small Burmese Infantry Unit at Kalemyo, followed by a final 3 Oscar Sweep.

The First Allied Sweep consisted of 16 Hurricanes attacking Mandalay, where they met 19 Oscars and 1 Nick on CAP. The Hurricanes shots down one of the Oscars.

Next 12 more Hurricanes flew in and found 13 Oscars and 1 Nick on CAP. Once again 1 Oscar was shot down.

Then 16 more Hurricanes flew in and found 8 Oscars and 1 Nick on CAP. This time 1 Oscar and 1 Nick were shot down while 1 Hurricane was lost.

Myitkyina was the next target as 16 Hurricanes flew in to find 13 Oscars on CAP. One of the Oscars was shot down.

Next 16 unescorted Blenheim IVs flew in to Myitkyina. They were met by 7 Oscars. The Oscars shot down 2 Blenheims and damaged four more, but the Attack was successful and hit the Airbase, Airfields and Supply nicely.

Finally, another group of 16 Hurricanes Swept Katha, but there were no Japanese planes there.

Morning action then shifted to the daily Lily bombing of the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes.

The Afternoon Air Phase brought another 16 plane Hurricane Sweep over Myitkyina. The Brits were met by 12 Oscars. The Japanese lost 2 Oscars while the British lost 1 Hurricane.

But then the Afternoon Air Phase was over, and the B-17s at Dacca hadn't flown.

All-in-all, the Allies held a small edge in Air Losses over the Japanese, and as far as Fighters went, the Japanese lost 13 Oscars versus the British losing 10 Hurricanes. But since the British couldn't gain full control of the Skies as they did during the Myitkyina campaign I decided to sit down the British fighters next turn and let the B-17s do their job for a change. Any Ops losses that the Japanese fighters take will be a bonus.

And in other news in the region, the KB did nothing again other than to send out some Search and Recon flights. The Japanese TFs have moved slightly further away and now sit roughly at the 7 O'clock position, about 7 hexes from Koggala. So I've stopped my Off-Map Exodus and instead are ordering my TFs to dock in Karachi until I see just what my opponent is actually doing.

[ADB123]

July 14, 1942 -

The Night Phase found a couple of US subs busily being unsuccessful in the DEI. First off, USS Permit ran into a big Tanker TF near Singkawang, but there were too many ASW Escorts for the sub to get off a shot. Then USS Perch hit an EE with a Dud near Singkep. In both cases the US subs got away unscathed, but it would have been nicer if they had at least damaged something.

Daylight showed that the KB was still off of Ceylon, and had now moved due south of the Island and about 4 or 5 hexes away. Japanese Search planes scouted the various small PT and miscellaneous TFs that are sitting at the bases at Ceylon, but didn't attack. Allied Search planes also checked out the KB and the other Japanese TFs that are in the same hex with the KB.

The Daily Lily Attacks then flew against the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes, but for once the Japanese planes couldn't hit their target. The Dutch unit is probably just too small nowadays.

Next the B-17s from Dacca took off for Mandalay. The Forts were split up by the weather. The first squadron came in whole, so there were 8 B-17s facing 1 Nick and 9 Oscars. The Forts blasted past the Japanese fighters, but with the bad weather and Flak although the US Bombers found their target they only achieved one Runway Hit. Then 6 of the B-17s from the other squadron flew in and faced 5 Oscars. Again the US Bombers got past the Japanese fighters, but this time the combination of Flak and End-of-the-World Weather caused the bombers to miss their target.

This was followed up by a Sweep of the empty skies over Warazup by 15 Oscars. Right afterwards 16 more Oscars escorted in 13 Helens. The Japanese bombers attempted to hit one of the Base Forces in the base, but missed. And that was it for the Air Phase.

The Ground Phase brought a Deliberate Attack on Warazup by a surprisingly strong Japanese column consisting of the 33rd Infantry Division, 4 Artillery Units and an Armored Regiment. The Japanese achieved a 1:1 result and reduced the Fortifications from Level 3 to Level 2. But worse for the Allies, the Japanese only had one-third the casualties of the Allies.

Finally, a Japanese SNLF unit showed up at Terapo and attacked the “Observer” fragment of the RAAF Base Force that has been sitting in that empty base for months and months. I figured that the attack would finally rid me of the useless fragment, but instead the fragment retreated.

Huh? How did a couple of Observation Towers “retreat”? So I'm not rid of the @#$%^ thing yet. [8|]

The end of the turn brought me a large number of ships of various types, few of which are useful to me at this time. One ship in particular, a Dutch DD, is just giving me a bit of a headache because it “arrived” at Colombo.

Yes, and that is with the KB only a few hexes away.

So I ordered the DD to take off at full speed towards Goa. It will be interesting to see if it gets away or not.

[ADB123]

July 15, 1942 –

I’ve got a lot of subs in the Bay of Bengal, so it was only a matter of time before one of them stumbled upon one of the Japanese TFs that has been sailing around there. So during the Night Phase it was the turn of USS S-40 to try to do something heroic. Instead, the sub found a DD and shot some Duds at it. Afterwards it appeared that the sub had found a Decoy TF that contained an AV, so it seems that my opponent has a mix of TFs in the Bay of Bengal, including the KB, a Decoy TF, and a Surface Combat TF.

The only other Night Action was off of Aogashima where USS Pompano was unsuccessfully chased by a couple of SCs.

Daylight brought out the daily Lily attacks on the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes. My opponent also has his small Recon unit moving towards the Dutch Stragglers, so their suffering may well end soon.

My opponent continued his assault on Wazarup this turn with more Air Attacks. A big raid of Helens and Lilys, escorted by Oscars, flew in but only attacked one of the Base Forces at the base. Then a couple of sizable Oscar Sweeps flew in. I didn’t have any planes flying in the region this turn, and so the only opposition to the Japanese was Flak, but despite this the Japanese Air Attack had a negligible effect.

So I continue to be perplexed regarding my opponent’s intentions in India and the Bay of Bengal. The Japanese TFs have split apart again, with some heading southeast towards Malaya, with another one heading slightly eastwards. There is also a Transport TF sailing out of the Straights of Malacca, but it appears to be heading towards Rangoon, so it is probably Supply Convoy.

It seems to me that my opponent was hoping to use the KB to attrite my Air Power in the Region a bit, and also to try to catch any ships that I had lingering around, but there was no follow-up after that initial Japanese strike on Colombo. The end result was that the location of the KB has been clearly shown to me for little gain on the part of the Japanese.

And the assault on Wazarup is also puzzling. It’s just another miserable malarial base that is hard to supply and on a road to nowhere. I’m not going to throw significant forces towards its defense, but I will try the occasional Air Ambush there, such as I have set up for next turn. I’m more than happy to see major Japanese LCUs tied up in the mountains and jungles of the Indo-Burmese border because this simply means that I have more time to bring in reinforcements to the rest of India.

In the meanwhile, I keep on pouring in more units into the Aleutians while building up the bases there in a massively parallel manner. There are a number of very nice island bases in the Aleutians, and they will be very suitable for staging multiple strong LCUs for action in 1943 and beyond.

BTW – to finish with a sour note, Dutch sub O24 hit a mine at Banjoewangi this turn. I only found out after the turn when I went through the various reports. The sub is badly damaged and it will be a miracle if it gets back to Perth for repairs. So now I’ve got to watch both ends of Java when I have subs sailing around.

[ADB123]

July 16, 1942 -

This was the sort of Night Phase that everyone waits for... [;)]

First off, USS Tambor shot and missed at CVL Zuiho just off of Mussau Island, which is just north of New Britain. Tambor got away from the ASW but found out that Zuiho was part of a very big Transport TF that not only included APs, AKs and AMCs, but also a couple of BBs! [X(]

This must have really encouraged the Skipper of the Tambor, because he went right back and this time put a good torpedo into the side of Junyo!

Two Carriers in a Transport TF! That's an interesting combination. Just what was my opponent planning with that TF? Did he just group everyone together to move from Point A to Point B, or was he planning on an Invasion, with the Carriers along to provide CAP instead of CVEs?

This also makes me wonder even more about the foray of the KB into the Bay of Bengal. Was that just a big visual distraction?

Afterwards Intelligence claimed that the Junyo was sunk, but there were no reports of Naval planes lost, so I don't believe the Intel Report.

However, there was no doubt about the sinking of an HDML at Koggala immediately after the action in the South Pacific. A Japanese sub attacked one of two HDMLs that was on patrol at Koggala. The first torpedo missed, but the second resulted in the “O” word - “Obliterated”. The other HDML attempted to find the sub but couldn't.

Daylight brought the usual Lily Attacks on the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes, but that was it for Japanese Air Efforts, other than for Recon flights. No Japanese planes flew to Wazarup, so my Air Trap was in vain.

But right afterwards, despite the lack of Air Support, the Japanese column at Wazarup did another Deliberate Attack, reduced the Fortifications down to Level 1, achieved a 3:1 result, and captured the base. Most of the Defenders were driven out into the Jungle, but the British AA unit that had been kicked out of Myitkyina was destroyed.

It appears that my opponent is now pulling back some of his troops from Wazarup, so I don't expect him to attempt to continue across the Mountains and Jungle that separates Wazarup from the Indian Railroad bases.

So, will my opponent rest now, or will he go after Imphal.?

[ADB123]

July 17, 1942 -

The Night Phase was no where near as interesting this turn as last. First off, USS Permit was chased unsuccessfully by an SC near Lingga. Then Japanese sub I-164 took a shot at a DE off of Christmas Island but missed. The DE then replied with a Depth Charge hit on the Japanese sub. That encounter was actually pretty lucky for me, because that DE was escorting an AO, but the sub never spotted the Oiler.

The Day Phase was back to being relatively quiet again. The only Air Attack was the daily Lily raid on the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes. There were, however, a lot of Recon flights from both sides in Australia and along the Indo-Burmese border.

Dutch sub O24 is in dire straights as it sent out five messages this turn regarding Temporary Floatation Failures. The sub is never going to make Perth, so I've ordered it to try to make it to one of the still-empty Dutch bases in the region.

The KB and Friends went into Stealth Mode and disappeared from view this turn, despite the presence of numerous Allied subs in the region. Oh well, it's now Back to Usual for India and I didn't have to divert any Transport TFs. So the British 2nd Division ought to be back together in Karachi within a few more days. Unless I see signs of a major Japanese push in India I will send the Brits to Calcutta and start to prepare the final Australia Division to make the long and slow trip back to Oz.

[ADB123]

July 18, 1942 –

The Night Phase brought some action of the type that we haven’t seen in a while – Sub Surface Action. USS Shark got into a surface battle with an unescorted xAK off of Hengchun (near Formosa). The sub’s skipper kept on trying torpedoes, but one after another they were duds. Then the Skipper got ticked off and ordered his men to fire with the Deck Gun. A Gun Duel ensued, with the Shark getting 5 decent hits into the xAK while the ship got one minor hit back on the sub. Finally, the Shark ran out of ammo and had to head home, not knowing if the Freighter would sink or not.

Then the British in India got a Very Big Surprise as the KB appeared out of the storms in the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal and started to launch massive Air Strikes at the Air Fields at Dacca. The first strike was the main air attack including bombers and fighters. But afterwards there were three follow-up Sweep Attacks by Fighters from the KB, along with some Sweeps from Oscars. I am going to paste in the Bay of Bengal Combat Report Excerpts to show what hit:

First Attack:

Morning Air attack on Dacca, at 56, 38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 122
B5N2 Kate x 125
D3A1 Val x 151

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIa Trop x 5
Hurricane IIb Trop x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged
D3A1 Val: 2 destroyed, 38 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIa Trop: 1 destroyed
Hurricane IIb Trop: 4 destroyed
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 23
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 169

Second Attack:

Morning Air attack on Dacca, at 56, 38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 38,500 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 2

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIa Trop x 3
Hurricane IIb Trop x 2

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Third Attack:

Morning Air attack on Dacca , at 56,38

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 39,500 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 18

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIa Trop x 2
Hurricane IIb Trop x 2

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

Fourth Attack:

Afternoon Air attack on Dacca , at 56,38

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 42,500 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 112
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 16

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIa Trop x 3
Hurricane IIb Trop x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIa Trop: 1 destroyed
Hurricane IIb Trop: 2 destroyed

Fifth Attack:

Afternoon Air attack on Dacca, at 56, 38

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 110
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

Sixth Attack:

Afternoon Air attack on Dacca, at 56, 38

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 110
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

I was astounded at how many Zero Sweeps the KB got off into the air. And that’s with End-of-the-World Weather too!

In between the KB Darkening the Sky over Dacca, the daily Celebes Air Attack on the Dutch Stragglers flew yet again, but it’s hard to even notice such a minor event.

I pulled all of my damaged Hurricane squadrons out of the Region, and also sent the B-17s far, far away. I can’t really match those sorts of numbers that the KB put up, but I do have a lot of Air Bases in India, so I can back off a ways until the KB moves somewhere else.

But I decided not to totally give up the Skies to the KB so I put all of my Fighters at Calcutta on Stratospheric CAP and set their Range to “1”, just in case the KB attempts an attack on Calcutta too. The P-38s in Calcutta ought to cause the Zeros some difficulties.

But I don’t intend to slug it out with the KB beyond this attempt at a trap at Calcutta. The results of today’s battle were even, but I really don’t want to trade-off my Fighters against the KB at this time; I would rather pull back and wait for better opportunities against the Japanese Army Air Force.

One thing is for certain – I’m certainly glad that I’m not wasting any CVs against the KB.

[ADB123]

July 19, 1942 -

Night brought some sub action, but unfortunately, not where I wanted it (in the Bay of Bengal at the KB's location... [;)] ). USS Pompano was chased by an SC near Hamamatsu, but got away, and USS Tautog was chased by an SC near Shimizu, but also got away.

Then near Cam Ranh Bay the skipper of USS Salmon spotted an unescorted xAK and decided to attack on the surface. The first two torpedoes were duds, but then – Miracle of Miracles! - the xAK was hit by two good torpedoes. So the Salmon now gets to run the gauntlet back to Colombo for more torps.

In the meanwhile, the KB moved a bit west of its position yesterday and ended up due West of Akyab and slightly south-west of Cuttack. Allied Bombers on Naval Search spotted the Japanese TF repeatedly, but surprisingly the KB did not launch any more Air Attacks.

The only Air Attack of the turn was the Lilies in the Celebes yet again. They have to be approaching a record for consecutive Air Attacks without a rain-out.

Things were the total opposite for the B-17s at Calcutta as the usual message arrived that the Mission to Mandalay was scrubbed.

So I have no idea of what my opponent intends by keeping the KB sailing around the Bay of Bengal. I keep on chasing the KB with more and more subs, so one of them may well become a “blind squirrel” and eventually find a CV or two if the KB continues to exhibit Brownian Motion in the Bay.

In any event, it is good to see the KB there because it continues to allow me to move my Forces elsewhere at will. So, for example, the British 2nd Division was finally re-built at Karachi this turn and will now Take the Train to Calcutta. And more Units, Supply and Fuel Transport TFs are on their way. To a good extent, the match has turned into “Railroad Tycoon – Indian Edition”.