Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
October 42 Air Losses
Here are the Air Losses as of October 2, 1942:
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October 42 NE Oz
Here's the map of northeastern Oz. As far as I can tell, the Japanese held bases are empty.
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October 42 China
Here's the situation in China:
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October 42 Indo-Burma
Here's the situation at the Indo-Burmese border:
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October 42 - Mars
Here's the situation in the Aleutians:
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Air Combat Over Imphal
October 2, 1942 –
The Night Phase brought multiple sightings of Japanese TFs around the South Pacific, including a TF near Cairns again. The Japanese CV TF that had been near Noumea moved northeast and appears to be heading further east. A small TF showed up at Luganville. Another TF showed up northeast of Guadalcanal. And there were multiple reports of named Japanese ships at various ports in the Solomons and PNG. (When coast watchers report the name of a ship there is a very good chance that there really is a ship there.)
And there was the usual Japanese Transport Traffic elsewhere, as evidenced by the xAKL that USS Tarpon hit with a live torpedo off of Donggala. That small freighter was part of a larger TF that was full of xAKLs. I wonder why my opponent is using so many small freighters instead of larger freighters?
As I was expecting given the increased Japanese interest in Imphal, Japanese Army Air Units attacked the base this turn. First off 12 Tojos and 19 Oscars swept in and faced 21 Hurricane IIcs. The Oscars were at 12K feet, so I bet that they were supposed to escort a Bombing Run but got split up. The Tojos were at Max Alt, so they were obviously on a deliberate Sweep mission.
The Brits did there jobs very well as 2 Oscars and 3 Tojos were shot down for the loss of 1 Hurricane. Next came the Main Event as 27 Lilies flew in with 33 Oscars for escorts. This time there were only 4 Hurricanes on CAP, but they fought well and damaged a number of enemy planes. The Lilies eventually got through, but they caused little damage to the Air Base and all of the damage was repaired by morning.
At the End of the Day the totals were: 5 Oscars lost: 4 A-to-A, 4 Tojos lost: all 4 A-to-A, and 3 Hurricanes lost: 2 A-to-A, but no pilots lost. If my opponent follows his normal pattern he will not fly again next turn, and may pull his bombers out of Mandalay in order to avoid my 4Es. But I’m not launching my 4Es at this time. I’ll wait until things are more promising.
Otherwise, things are continuing along as planned. I have decided, however, to use the Atlantic Route for a while to ship supplies and fuel to Oz because my opponent is showing too much interest in the South Pacific and my long detours are taking as long as going the “back route”.
The Night Phase brought multiple sightings of Japanese TFs around the South Pacific, including a TF near Cairns again. The Japanese CV TF that had been near Noumea moved northeast and appears to be heading further east. A small TF showed up at Luganville. Another TF showed up northeast of Guadalcanal. And there were multiple reports of named Japanese ships at various ports in the Solomons and PNG. (When coast watchers report the name of a ship there is a very good chance that there really is a ship there.)
And there was the usual Japanese Transport Traffic elsewhere, as evidenced by the xAKL that USS Tarpon hit with a live torpedo off of Donggala. That small freighter was part of a larger TF that was full of xAKLs. I wonder why my opponent is using so many small freighters instead of larger freighters?
As I was expecting given the increased Japanese interest in Imphal, Japanese Army Air Units attacked the base this turn. First off 12 Tojos and 19 Oscars swept in and faced 21 Hurricane IIcs. The Oscars were at 12K feet, so I bet that they were supposed to escort a Bombing Run but got split up. The Tojos were at Max Alt, so they were obviously on a deliberate Sweep mission.
The Brits did there jobs very well as 2 Oscars and 3 Tojos were shot down for the loss of 1 Hurricane. Next came the Main Event as 27 Lilies flew in with 33 Oscars for escorts. This time there were only 4 Hurricanes on CAP, but they fought well and damaged a number of enemy planes. The Lilies eventually got through, but they caused little damage to the Air Base and all of the damage was repaired by morning.
At the End of the Day the totals were: 5 Oscars lost: 4 A-to-A, 4 Tojos lost: all 4 A-to-A, and 3 Hurricanes lost: 2 A-to-A, but no pilots lost. If my opponent follows his normal pattern he will not fly again next turn, and may pull his bombers out of Mandalay in order to avoid my 4Es. But I’m not launching my 4Es at this time. I’ll wait until things are more promising.
Otherwise, things are continuing along as planned. I have decided, however, to use the Atlantic Route for a while to ship supplies and fuel to Oz because my opponent is showing too much interest in the South Pacific and my long detours are taking as long as going the “back route”.
Revisiting an Old Front
October 3, 1942 –
Once again this turn there was no Night Action and no Day Action. There were plenty of Recon flights and mine told me, as I expected, that my opponent had pulled his Bombers out of Mandalay and safely away from any retaliation by my Heavy Bombers.
But the story is just re-starting in the Indo-Burma border as SIGINT told me that a Japanese Infantry Regiment is preparing for an assault on Imphal in addition to the Artillery Unit that was mentioned some time back. I’ve been swapping out weaker units from Imphal and replacing them with fresher units, but now I’m starting to move up some reserves to defend the base in a serious manner.
BTW – Recon also told me that there are now two Japanese units at Kalemyo, and at least one more just to the east in the jungle. So I’m increasing the Recon for next turn, and also sending a message to my opponent - yes, the Heavies will be paying a visit next turn, along with P-38s on Sweep. I don’t intend to give up any more ground in the Region, and I’ve now got the Forces to duke it out in a serious manner.
Elsewhere, the Japanese CV TF is still sailing north of the Santa Cruz Islands. It appears to be headed back towards Truk for refuelling or whatever. In any case, I’ve ordered my TFs back to their business since my opponent doesn’t seem to be interested in going south of the Noumea-to-Pago Pago line.
BTW – I actually reminded my opponent about his misbegotten first Darwin Invasion in which he didn’t know how to re-load his Battleship ammo. I mentioned to him that he had better find a Big port and some Big AKEs in order to re-load the Yamato’s Big Guns. Sure, its fun to send the Yamato out to Bombard a Base, but getting those guns re-loaded can be a real pain. In any event, I wanted to make certain that we don’t get into a situation again where he gets all down because his ships don’t have ammo because he goofed up their replenishment.
Once again this turn there was no Night Action and no Day Action. There were plenty of Recon flights and mine told me, as I expected, that my opponent had pulled his Bombers out of Mandalay and safely away from any retaliation by my Heavy Bombers.
But the story is just re-starting in the Indo-Burma border as SIGINT told me that a Japanese Infantry Regiment is preparing for an assault on Imphal in addition to the Artillery Unit that was mentioned some time back. I’ve been swapping out weaker units from Imphal and replacing them with fresher units, but now I’m starting to move up some reserves to defend the base in a serious manner.
BTW – Recon also told me that there are now two Japanese units at Kalemyo, and at least one more just to the east in the jungle. So I’m increasing the Recon for next turn, and also sending a message to my opponent - yes, the Heavies will be paying a visit next turn, along with P-38s on Sweep. I don’t intend to give up any more ground in the Region, and I’ve now got the Forces to duke it out in a serious manner.
Elsewhere, the Japanese CV TF is still sailing north of the Santa Cruz Islands. It appears to be headed back towards Truk for refuelling or whatever. In any case, I’ve ordered my TFs back to their business since my opponent doesn’t seem to be interested in going south of the Noumea-to-Pago Pago line.
BTW – I actually reminded my opponent about his misbegotten first Darwin Invasion in which he didn’t know how to re-load his Battleship ammo. I mentioned to him that he had better find a Big port and some Big AKEs in order to re-load the Yamato’s Big Guns. Sure, its fun to send the Yamato out to Bombard a Base, but getting those guns re-loaded can be a real pain. In any event, I wanted to make certain that we don’t get into a situation again where he gets all down because his ships don’t have ammo because he goofed up their replenishment.
Sequential Attacks
October 4, 1942 –
The Night Phase saw no action again. Then the Day Phase started and my plans were unveiled, although not quite as I had hoped.
The Weather was lousy, and my Air Attacks went in one at a time, one at a time, one at a time, and so on.
First off 23 P-38Es Swept in over Kalemyo and found only 3 Oscars there – probably on Leaking CAP. So, did we get a nice slaughter of the Oscars? No, they got away with their skins.
But where was the other squadron of P-38s? Well, it never showed. [8|]
Next came in 15 Wellingtons. They were supposed to be escorted by Hurricane IIcs, but the Hurricanes were no-shows too. The Wellingtons were met by 3 Oscars again, but this time, in the absence of any P-38s, the Oscars were real Tigers and shot down two Wellingtons. Never-the-less, the British pilots stuck with their attack and dropped their bombs on the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo.
Next in line were 16 B-17Es. They were met by 1 Oscar whose pilot wisely flew away as quickly as he could. So the Forts happily hammered the Japanese Troops again.
This was followed by 16 B-17Fs who were also met by a single Oscar that flew off in a hurry. This group of Forts also hit their target nicely.
Finally, 12 B-24Ds flew in, passed by the single Oscar on CAP, and hit the Japanese troops once more.
So from the point-of-view of bombing the Japanese troops at Kalemyo, the Attack was a Success, but I’m still not happy about losing those two Wellingtons when they should have been either escorted, or else the P-38s should have swept the skies clear. [:-]
Oh well, I’m putting the Wellingtons back on ASW Patrol and leaving the Bombing to the US 4Es. In any event, I sat everyone down again and increased Recon of the Region to make certain that more Japanese troops aren’t sneaking in through the jungle.
BTW – the Japanese troops that had been to the east of Kalemyo seem to have moved out, but I don’t trust my Recon that much and so I am flying more Recon next turn just to get a better idea of what is going on.
Elsewhere, my Recon told me that there are still a couple of Japanese LCUs at Cairns, despite earlier reports that the base was empty. I suspect that my opponent is hoping to fly in a Sneak Attack once I move my troops closer and also catch them in the open. So I’m not rushing in my troops until I have large enough Air Bases nearby in order to fly LR CAP over my troops in the region.
But that’s okay because I’m still 3 months ahead of my plan at this point, so there is no need to rush into ambushes.
The Night Phase saw no action again. Then the Day Phase started and my plans were unveiled, although not quite as I had hoped.
The Weather was lousy, and my Air Attacks went in one at a time, one at a time, one at a time, and so on.
First off 23 P-38Es Swept in over Kalemyo and found only 3 Oscars there – probably on Leaking CAP. So, did we get a nice slaughter of the Oscars? No, they got away with their skins.
But where was the other squadron of P-38s? Well, it never showed. [8|]
Next came in 15 Wellingtons. They were supposed to be escorted by Hurricane IIcs, but the Hurricanes were no-shows too. The Wellingtons were met by 3 Oscars again, but this time, in the absence of any P-38s, the Oscars were real Tigers and shot down two Wellingtons. Never-the-less, the British pilots stuck with their attack and dropped their bombs on the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo.
Next in line were 16 B-17Es. They were met by 1 Oscar whose pilot wisely flew away as quickly as he could. So the Forts happily hammered the Japanese Troops again.
This was followed by 16 B-17Fs who were also met by a single Oscar that flew off in a hurry. This group of Forts also hit their target nicely.
Finally, 12 B-24Ds flew in, passed by the single Oscar on CAP, and hit the Japanese troops once more.
So from the point-of-view of bombing the Japanese troops at Kalemyo, the Attack was a Success, but I’m still not happy about losing those two Wellingtons when they should have been either escorted, or else the P-38s should have swept the skies clear. [:-]
Oh well, I’m putting the Wellingtons back on ASW Patrol and leaving the Bombing to the US 4Es. In any event, I sat everyone down again and increased Recon of the Region to make certain that more Japanese troops aren’t sneaking in through the jungle.
BTW – the Japanese troops that had been to the east of Kalemyo seem to have moved out, but I don’t trust my Recon that much and so I am flying more Recon next turn just to get a better idea of what is going on.
Elsewhere, my Recon told me that there are still a couple of Japanese LCUs at Cairns, despite earlier reports that the base was empty. I suspect that my opponent is hoping to fly in a Sneak Attack once I move my troops closer and also catch them in the open. So I’m not rushing in my troops until I have large enough Air Bases nearby in order to fly LR CAP over my troops in the region.
But that’s okay because I’m still 3 months ahead of my plan at this point, so there is no need to rush into ambushes.
Goodbye CL Trump
October 5, 1942 –
This was a Night for Japanese submarines, although it didn’t start out so well for them. First off, I-15 was caught sneaking up on a US Replenishment TF near Tahiti. One of the two DE escorts chased off the sub and the TF reached port safely.
Then on the other side of the South Pacific I-25 put a torpedo into the side of Dutch CL Trump, just outside of Perth, despite there being 8 Dutch DDs in the Surface Combat TF. One of the Dutch DDs chased off the sub temporarily with a near-miss, but a little while later I-25 came back and found the crippled Trump with only one Dutch DD as an escort. I-25 immediately put two more torpedoes into Trump and sent the old Dutch light cruiser to the bottom. The remaining Dutch DD never found the Japanese sub.
Afterwards I was trying to figure out how I-25 snuck in unobserved to the south of Perth, but I then realized that I had recently replaced the experienced Hudson squadron that had been there with an inexperienced Mitchell squadron. Oh well, live and learn.
In any event, I sent out some ASW TFs to see if they can catch I-25 and exact some revenge.
After that things went quiet during the Day Phase, other then Recon Flights. There were a number of Japanese Recon flights over Chittagong this turn. I’m suspecting more and more that my opponent intends to probe my Indian defences soon. In any event, I’m moving more reserves into the region, although for now I am leaving them in non-Malarial bases for the most part.
I also decided to send the 4Es out next turn against another small collection of Japanese troops in Burma. I’m trying to keep changing my targets so that my bombers face mainly Leaking CAP instead of Fighter Traps.
And in Other News, SIGINT informed me that a Japanese AD is sitting in Port at Shortlands. So it looks like my opponent is getting ready to battle me in the South Pacific. I certainly hope that he continues to send Forces there, because I want his Forces to be as spread out as possible. To help this, as soon as I get more supply to Noumea again I will move some Hudsons back and Recon and/or bomb Luganville again.
This was a Night for Japanese submarines, although it didn’t start out so well for them. First off, I-15 was caught sneaking up on a US Replenishment TF near Tahiti. One of the two DE escorts chased off the sub and the TF reached port safely.
Then on the other side of the South Pacific I-25 put a torpedo into the side of Dutch CL Trump, just outside of Perth, despite there being 8 Dutch DDs in the Surface Combat TF. One of the Dutch DDs chased off the sub temporarily with a near-miss, but a little while later I-25 came back and found the crippled Trump with only one Dutch DD as an escort. I-25 immediately put two more torpedoes into Trump and sent the old Dutch light cruiser to the bottom. The remaining Dutch DD never found the Japanese sub.
Afterwards I was trying to figure out how I-25 snuck in unobserved to the south of Perth, but I then realized that I had recently replaced the experienced Hudson squadron that had been there with an inexperienced Mitchell squadron. Oh well, live and learn.
In any event, I sent out some ASW TFs to see if they can catch I-25 and exact some revenge. After that things went quiet during the Day Phase, other then Recon Flights. There were a number of Japanese Recon flights over Chittagong this turn. I’m suspecting more and more that my opponent intends to probe my Indian defences soon. In any event, I’m moving more reserves into the region, although for now I am leaving them in non-Malarial bases for the most part.
I also decided to send the 4Es out next turn against another small collection of Japanese troops in Burma. I’m trying to keep changing my targets so that my bombers face mainly Leaking CAP instead of Fighter Traps.
And in Other News, SIGINT informed me that a Japanese AD is sitting in Port at Shortlands. So it looks like my opponent is getting ready to battle me in the South Pacific. I certainly hope that he continues to send Forces there, because I want his Forces to be as spread out as possible. To help this, as soon as I get more supply to Noumea again I will move some Hudsons back and Recon and/or bomb Luganville again.
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Canoerebel
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RE: Goodbye CL Trump
CL Tromp always seems to fight gamely, so it's a shame to see the little cruiser go under....
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
RE: Goodbye CL Trump
ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
CL Tromp always seems to fight gamely, so it's a shame to see the little cruiser go under....
Particularly when it went down due to a sub ambush instead of in a fight.
Recon Flies, Bombers Sit
October 6, 1942 –
There was no Night Action, and then to my great surprise, there was no Day Action either. Plenty of Recon planes flew for both sides, but my bomber attack on the troops at Katha never materialized.
Afterwards I checked the 4E squadrons and yes – I had set them to attack, and they did have a proper range set. They just didn’t fly. I don’t remember seeing any notices during the Combat Replay, but obviously the Game decided that something wasn’t good enough. So I left those bombers set to attack and we’ll see what happens next turn.
Otherwise it was Business As Usual as my forces continued to move into position. One thing about the length of time that it takes to move substantial forces around Australia is that it does give plenty of time to check things out in advance. So, for example, more Recon flights told me that there is still a Japanese unit at Cooktown, in addition to the two units at Cairns. I’m not sure why my opponent has left them there, unless he intends to pull them out by air at some point before I attack.
In any event, my main Australian Assault Divisions are now in position and will start to move forward in a couple of days. My opponent is no longer flying Recon in Northeastern Oz so he won’t see much of what I am doing for a while yet.
BTW – my opponent hasn’t pulled out of Northern Oz yet and he still has troops and planes at Katherine, and likely Darwin. Japanese Recon flew over Tennant Creek today for the first time in a while. And also for the first time in a very long while the Supply situation in Tennant Creek went into the “black” this turn. So I’ve decided that I will march a good AA unit there to help discourage any more Japanese bombing campaigns.
There was no Night Action, and then to my great surprise, there was no Day Action either. Plenty of Recon planes flew for both sides, but my bomber attack on the troops at Katha never materialized.
Afterwards I checked the 4E squadrons and yes – I had set them to attack, and they did have a proper range set. They just didn’t fly. I don’t remember seeing any notices during the Combat Replay, but obviously the Game decided that something wasn’t good enough. So I left those bombers set to attack and we’ll see what happens next turn.
Otherwise it was Business As Usual as my forces continued to move into position. One thing about the length of time that it takes to move substantial forces around Australia is that it does give plenty of time to check things out in advance. So, for example, more Recon flights told me that there is still a Japanese unit at Cooktown, in addition to the two units at Cairns. I’m not sure why my opponent has left them there, unless he intends to pull them out by air at some point before I attack.
In any event, my main Australian Assault Divisions are now in position and will start to move forward in a couple of days. My opponent is no longer flying Recon in Northeastern Oz so he won’t see much of what I am doing for a while yet.
BTW – my opponent hasn’t pulled out of Northern Oz yet and he still has troops and planes at Katherine, and likely Darwin. Japanese Recon flew over Tennant Creek today for the first time in a while. And also for the first time in a very long while the Supply situation in Tennant Creek went into the “black” this turn. So I’ve decided that I will march a good AA unit there to help discourage any more Japanese bombing campaigns.
Voodoo
October 7, 1942 –
The Night Phase showed no Action. Then, to my chagrin, neither did the Day Phase.
Sometimes, for no reason that I can fathom, an Air Attack just won’t fly. The only bit of “voodoo” that seems to work is to stand down the Air Squadrons and try again a couple of turns later. I keep on thinking that it is one of those occasional database glitches that shows up from time to time. Oh well… [8|]
So I stood down my 4Es and I’ll try again with them in a few turns. It’s a very good thing that I don’t have a pressing need for their Attack Capabilities at this time.
The only News this turn was that a small Japanese Infantry regiment showed up and captured the empty base at Taytay. Since there was no report of a landing I’ll assume that the Japanese troops marched across the island. I suspect that my opponent marches his troops as often as he can in order to avoid Naval Landing losses.
Now, if my opponent would only capture Sandakan. I’ve had an “Observer Corps” fragment sitting in that base for most of the match. I pulled out the rest of the RN BF a couple of months ago via transport submarine and brought it to Australia, but the main BF won’t regenerate properly until the Observer Corps is finally destroyed by the Japanese. Unfortunately, Observer Corps fragments won’t “die” on their own, and they are too big to pull out on transport subs.
And my Big Move in NE Oz started today in a big way as I started a large number of LCUs out along the road from Hughenden to Charter Towers. The Air Base at Hughenden reached Level 1 today, so I moved a good Hurricane unit in there to discourage long range bombing.
The Air Base at Winton also reached Level 1 today so I moved a Fighter unit into that base too. I prefer to move forward under Air Cover and so these Base Improvements are meeting my requirements quite nicely.
Finally, I started a Cavalry Unit up the Road from Rockhampton to Bowen, so everything in the Region continues to progress nicely.
The Night Phase showed no Action. Then, to my chagrin, neither did the Day Phase.
Sometimes, for no reason that I can fathom, an Air Attack just won’t fly. The only bit of “voodoo” that seems to work is to stand down the Air Squadrons and try again a couple of turns later. I keep on thinking that it is one of those occasional database glitches that shows up from time to time. Oh well… [8|]
So I stood down my 4Es and I’ll try again with them in a few turns. It’s a very good thing that I don’t have a pressing need for their Attack Capabilities at this time.
The only News this turn was that a small Japanese Infantry regiment showed up and captured the empty base at Taytay. Since there was no report of a landing I’ll assume that the Japanese troops marched across the island. I suspect that my opponent marches his troops as often as he can in order to avoid Naval Landing losses.
Now, if my opponent would only capture Sandakan. I’ve had an “Observer Corps” fragment sitting in that base for most of the match. I pulled out the rest of the RN BF a couple of months ago via transport submarine and brought it to Australia, but the main BF won’t regenerate properly until the Observer Corps is finally destroyed by the Japanese. Unfortunately, Observer Corps fragments won’t “die” on their own, and they are too big to pull out on transport subs.
And my Big Move in NE Oz started today in a big way as I started a large number of LCUs out along the road from Hughenden to Charter Towers. The Air Base at Hughenden reached Level 1 today, so I moved a good Hurricane unit in there to discourage long range bombing.
The Air Base at Winton also reached Level 1 today so I moved a Fighter unit into that base too. I prefer to move forward under Air Cover and so these Base Improvements are meeting my requirements quite nicely.
Finally, I started a Cavalry Unit up the Road from Rockhampton to Bowen, so everything in the Region continues to progress nicely.
Whale Watching
October 8, 1942 –
It appeared to be “Whale Watching” season in Northern Japan this turn. The Night Phase started out by USS Whale being spotted and chased unsuccessfully by a couple of SCs near Toyohara. But the skipper of the Whale wasn’t deterred and he came back to fire some torpedoes at one of the SCs. Unfortunately, the torpedo that hit was a dud. Fortunately, the Whale got away again.
However, this wasn’t the end of it as the Whale spotted and fired more torpedoes at yet another SC in a different 2-SC TF. But once again the torpedo that hit was a dud, so the Whale had to escape again. So after all this I sent the Whale back to Port for more fuel and more torpedoes.
Otherwise, it was a turn of Rain and Recon. I took the opportunity to fine tune more of my unit placements and Front Line Leaders. The Advance is well underway in Northeastern Australia and I’m hoping to have most of the region back under Australian control before the end of the month.
It appeared to be “Whale Watching” season in Northern Japan this turn. The Night Phase started out by USS Whale being spotted and chased unsuccessfully by a couple of SCs near Toyohara. But the skipper of the Whale wasn’t deterred and he came back to fire some torpedoes at one of the SCs. Unfortunately, the torpedo that hit was a dud. Fortunately, the Whale got away again.
However, this wasn’t the end of it as the Whale spotted and fired more torpedoes at yet another SC in a different 2-SC TF. But once again the torpedo that hit was a dud, so the Whale had to escape again. So after all this I sent the Whale back to Port for more fuel and more torpedoes.
Otherwise, it was a turn of Rain and Recon. I took the opportunity to fine tune more of my unit placements and Front Line Leaders. The Advance is well underway in Northeastern Australia and I’m hoping to have most of the region back under Australian control before the end of the month.
International Union of Submarine Commanders
October 9, 1942 –
There must be a Union of submarine skippers that crosses national boundaries. The Night Phase saw Japanese sub I-2, which was hanging around Pago Pago, miss little old and slow ACM Planter with four torpedoes as the ship was slowly heading back to base. I had moved Planter away when the Japanese CV TF was cruising the Neighbourhood, but now that the Coast was Clear I sent the ship back to Pago Pago in order to keep up the miserable little mine field there.
The Day Phase brought lots of Recon and lots of Rain again. It turns out that the leftover Japanese LCUs at Cairns have now pulled out and are slowly marching North to Cooktown. I am going to ignore them and continue with my advance. In a few days Charter Towers should be Liberated! [&o]
And now that I’ve given the Random Garbage Generator a couple of turns to reset itself I have set my 4Es to try to bomb Kalemyo. It will be interesting to see what happens.
There must be a Union of submarine skippers that crosses national boundaries. The Night Phase saw Japanese sub I-2, which was hanging around Pago Pago, miss little old and slow ACM Planter with four torpedoes as the ship was slowly heading back to base. I had moved Planter away when the Japanese CV TF was cruising the Neighbourhood, but now that the Coast was Clear I sent the ship back to Pago Pago in order to keep up the miserable little mine field there.
The Day Phase brought lots of Recon and lots of Rain again. It turns out that the leftover Japanese LCUs at Cairns have now pulled out and are slowly marching North to Cooktown. I am going to ignore them and continue with my advance. In a few days Charter Towers should be Liberated! [&o]
And now that I’ve given the Random Garbage Generator a couple of turns to reset itself I have set my 4Es to try to bomb Kalemyo. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Darkening the Sky
October 10, 1942 –
There was no Night Action again this turn, but things got back into gear during the Day Phase as the Allied Air Attack in Burma was finally on.
The Attack started out with full Sweeps by the two US P-38 squadrons over Kalemyo. Unfortunately, the Japanese Fighters stayed home so the US Flyboys got to admire the stormy weather and then fly home without using up any machine gun bullets.
Next came the 4Es, and it was quite a sight as the entire Attack arrived in unison. There were 16 B-17Es, 15 B-17Fs, 12 B-24Ds – all escorted by 16 British Hurricane IIcs. Again there was no Japanese CAP and no flak at 8000 feet, so the Bombers dropped their bombs unhindered.
And for all that Show, the end result was 12 casualties for the Japanese.
Oh well, I didn’t lose any planes, and only 1 was damaged. So I just sat everyone down again and set the Recon Boys to check out other targets for future attacks.
At the end of the day there was one of those rare Daylight submarine attacks as USS Grayback shot four torpedoes at a PB near Ocean Island, but the one torpedo that hit was a Dud. Grayback got away safely from the PB escorts in the small Transport TF.
But the End of the Day revealed something quite significant – an Australian Armoured Unit and an American Armoured Unit ended up at Charter Towers. The Base is empty, and the Allied Units will capture it next turn. And just to be certain, and to prevent any Bombing or Troop Drops, I set some P-38s on LR CAP over the base. Next turn the Score will swing nearly 90 points in my favour!
BTW – SIGINT brought an interesting bit of news – the Air Base at Etorofo finally reached Level 1 this turn. I wonder if my opponent is receiving Intel about the growth of my Bases in the Aleutians. He hasn’t been sending Glen-equipped subs to the Region for a while, likely because I’ve got plenty of Fighters on CAP over many of the Bases, and Glens are easy pickings for any CAP.
There was no Night Action again this turn, but things got back into gear during the Day Phase as the Allied Air Attack in Burma was finally on.
The Attack started out with full Sweeps by the two US P-38 squadrons over Kalemyo. Unfortunately, the Japanese Fighters stayed home so the US Flyboys got to admire the stormy weather and then fly home without using up any machine gun bullets.
Next came the 4Es, and it was quite a sight as the entire Attack arrived in unison. There were 16 B-17Es, 15 B-17Fs, 12 B-24Ds – all escorted by 16 British Hurricane IIcs. Again there was no Japanese CAP and no flak at 8000 feet, so the Bombers dropped their bombs unhindered.
And for all that Show, the end result was 12 casualties for the Japanese.
Oh well, I didn’t lose any planes, and only 1 was damaged. So I just sat everyone down again and set the Recon Boys to check out other targets for future attacks.
At the end of the day there was one of those rare Daylight submarine attacks as USS Grayback shot four torpedoes at a PB near Ocean Island, but the one torpedo that hit was a Dud. Grayback got away safely from the PB escorts in the small Transport TF.
But the End of the Day revealed something quite significant – an Australian Armoured Unit and an American Armoured Unit ended up at Charter Towers. The Base is empty, and the Allied Units will capture it next turn. And just to be certain, and to prevent any Bombing or Troop Drops, I set some P-38s on LR CAP over the base. Next turn the Score will swing nearly 90 points in my favour!
BTW – SIGINT brought an interesting bit of news – the Air Base at Etorofo finally reached Level 1 this turn. I wonder if my opponent is receiving Intel about the growth of my Bases in the Aleutians. He hasn’t been sending Glen-equipped subs to the Region for a while, likely because I’ve got plenty of Fighters on CAP over many of the Bases, and Glens are easy pickings for any CAP.
Charter Towers is Liberated
October 11, 1942 –
The Night Phase saw USS Wahoo caught by a small Japanese PB/SC ASW TF near Ailinglaplap in the Marshalls. Wahoo got hit once fairly well and is now limping home.
There was no Air Action during the Day except for the usual flurry of Recon flights from both sides.
But the REALLY important action took place at the end of the day as the USA 763rd Tank Battalion and the Australian 2/6th Armoured Regiment liberated Charter Towers.
The base came under US control, which means that it will be a bit of a pain to bring Restricted Australian Air Squadrons there, but I’ll work it out. The Runways and Air Base are still somewhat wrecked from my earlier Bombing attacks, but they will be repaired quickly enough once Engineer units arrive. I have a LOT of LCUs on their way to Charter Towers.
So the Liberation of Northeastern Australia is three months ahead of schedule. That’s great, except for the fact that I still have a number of units that are still In Transit and so I will have to be a bit careful about moving forward for a while yet so that I don’t out-run my main forces.
In other News, SIGINT reported that yet another Japanese LCU is on its way to Java. It appears that my opponent intends to Fight It Out over Java in a Big Way.
In Strange News, another single plane Walrus squadron is due to arrive in Australia in a couple of days. I’m not sure what to do with these “things”. I don’t think that I can place them onto the Australian cruisers that don’t have Floatplanes. I guess that I’ll just put them on Search and ASW Patrol at small bases.
And finally, Months of Frustration have come to an end as the Air Fields at Dutch Harbor reached Level 2 this turn. I would have been better off abandoning Dutch Harbor all together and leaving it as a Trap for the Japanese, considering all of the effort that I’ve had to put in to have the Base reach AF 2.
The Night Phase saw USS Wahoo caught by a small Japanese PB/SC ASW TF near Ailinglaplap in the Marshalls. Wahoo got hit once fairly well and is now limping home.
There was no Air Action during the Day except for the usual flurry of Recon flights from both sides.
But the REALLY important action took place at the end of the day as the USA 763rd Tank Battalion and the Australian 2/6th Armoured Regiment liberated Charter Towers.
The base came under US control, which means that it will be a bit of a pain to bring Restricted Australian Air Squadrons there, but I’ll work it out. The Runways and Air Base are still somewhat wrecked from my earlier Bombing attacks, but they will be repaired quickly enough once Engineer units arrive. I have a LOT of LCUs on their way to Charter Towers.
So the Liberation of Northeastern Australia is three months ahead of schedule. That’s great, except for the fact that I still have a number of units that are still In Transit and so I will have to be a bit careful about moving forward for a while yet so that I don’t out-run my main forces.
In other News, SIGINT reported that yet another Japanese LCU is on its way to Java. It appears that my opponent intends to Fight It Out over Java in a Big Way.
In Strange News, another single plane Walrus squadron is due to arrive in Australia in a couple of days. I’m not sure what to do with these “things”. I don’t think that I can place them onto the Australian cruisers that don’t have Floatplanes. I guess that I’ll just put them on Search and ASW Patrol at small bases.
And finally, Months of Frustration have come to an end as the Air Fields at Dutch Harbor reached Level 2 this turn. I would have been better off abandoning Dutch Harbor all together and leaving it as a Trap for the Japanese, considering all of the effort that I’ve had to put in to have the Base reach AF 2.
Back to Recon Wars
October 12, 1942 –
There was no Night Action again this turn.
Daylight brought lots of Recon but no other action. Oddly enough, there was still no Japanese Recon of northeastern Australia.
My opponent commented that his invasion of northeastern Australia was a “diversion”; but one has to ask, for him or for me? [;)]
In any event, my Forces continue to move into position for further “adventures” in the future. In the short term, I ordered the two armoured units that liberated Charters Towers to move to Townsville next.
Otherwise, I don’t have a lot going on. I don’t feel like flying Bombing attacks just for the sake of flying them because right now my opponent doesn’t have much in the way of good targets in the open. But I am increasing my Recon flights, and if some interesting targets do show up I’ll be sure to have my Bombers pay a visit or two.
There was no Night Action again this turn.
Daylight brought lots of Recon but no other action. Oddly enough, there was still no Japanese Recon of northeastern Australia.
My opponent commented that his invasion of northeastern Australia was a “diversion”; but one has to ask, for him or for me? [;)]
In any event, my Forces continue to move into position for further “adventures” in the future. In the short term, I ordered the two armoured units that liberated Charters Towers to move to Townsville next.
Otherwise, I don’t have a lot going on. I don’t feel like flying Bombing attacks just for the sake of flying them because right now my opponent doesn’t have much in the way of good targets in the open. But I am increasing my Recon flights, and if some interesting targets do show up I’ll be sure to have my Bombers pay a visit or two.
Next Target
October 13, 1942 –
This was definitely a 13th sort of day.
The Night Phase started out poorly as TK Marina was hit by two torpedoes from I-15 just off of Tahiti. Marina’s escort fired off lots of depth charges but got no hits. So Marina went down and I-15 sailed off into the Night.
Then USS Kingfish wasted some torpedoes on an SC near Wakkanai. One of the torps actually hit the little patrol ship, but that torpedo was a dud.
Daylight brought lousy weather and plenty of Recon flights. My one attempt at an offensive operation flew but accomplished nothing. A squadron of Kiwi Hudsons flew out from Noumea to hit Luganville, but the Bombers missed their target, despite there being no opposition.
Finally, a Japanese Raider Regiment dropped in to capture Merauke on the south coast of New Guinea.
But next time will be Better, as my two lead armoured units moved into position to Liberate Townsville next turn.
BTW – another benefit of my opponent pulling out of northeastern Oz is that I can re-take the bases there while not showing most of the troops that I have moving into position. This way my opponent continues to be in the dark regarding my major troop dispositions.
This was definitely a 13th sort of day.
The Night Phase started out poorly as TK Marina was hit by two torpedoes from I-15 just off of Tahiti. Marina’s escort fired off lots of depth charges but got no hits. So Marina went down and I-15 sailed off into the Night.
Then USS Kingfish wasted some torpedoes on an SC near Wakkanai. One of the torps actually hit the little patrol ship, but that torpedo was a dud.
Daylight brought lousy weather and plenty of Recon flights. My one attempt at an offensive operation flew but accomplished nothing. A squadron of Kiwi Hudsons flew out from Noumea to hit Luganville, but the Bombers missed their target, despite there being no opposition.
Finally, a Japanese Raider Regiment dropped in to capture Merauke on the south coast of New Guinea.
But next time will be Better, as my two lead armoured units moved into position to Liberate Townsville next turn.
BTW – another benefit of my opponent pulling out of northeastern Oz is that I can re-take the bases there while not showing most of the troops that I have moving into position. This way my opponent continues to be in the dark regarding my major troop dispositions.
Townsville is Liberated!
October 14, 1942 –
Allied subs were busy being unsuccessful again this turn. First off USS Seadragon shot off four torpedoes at an SC near Chiba. The one torpedo that hit was a dud. Then Dutch sub KXVIII shot off four torpedoes at a DD near Woodlark Island, but missed. That DD was part of a very large, very heavily escorted transport TF that contained an AMC, an AV, and lots of various escort ships. I wonder what that TF is doing and where it is going.
Daylight brought lousy weather most everywhere, which even affected a number of Recon flights. Continuing the recent trend, there was absolutely no Japanese Recon of my operations in northeastern Oz. Oh well, I’m sure not going to remind my opponent about this.
The Big News this turn was that Townsville was Liberated!
Once again, the USA 763rd Tank Battalion and the Australian 2/6th Armoured Regiment did the job.
The Airfields and facilities at Townville Air Base are a total mess. I can see why my opponent didn’t want to bother to try to fight it out there. All-in-all I’m quite pleased with the effective job that my 4Es did, even though I didn’t have too many of them and I didn’t fly them too often.
So it will take me a while to fix things up at Townsville, and after that start to build things up the way that I want. But Charters Towers is almost back to full-operating condition and I intend to use it as my major Air Base anyway, so the situation at Townsville isn’t a show-stopper by any means.
In Other News, I got my first Level 7 Air Field in the Aleutians this turn. A number more are on the way. We’ll see how far we get before Winter sets in and slows everything down.
And I received a large number of new ships this turn. All of them are useful in their own ways; although I wish that the Bogue-class CVEs could do something other than just provide Replenishment services. Oh well, they will be Floating Training Bases for the next couple of years.
Allied subs were busy being unsuccessful again this turn. First off USS Seadragon shot off four torpedoes at an SC near Chiba. The one torpedo that hit was a dud. Then Dutch sub KXVIII shot off four torpedoes at a DD near Woodlark Island, but missed. That DD was part of a very large, very heavily escorted transport TF that contained an AMC, an AV, and lots of various escort ships. I wonder what that TF is doing and where it is going.
Daylight brought lousy weather most everywhere, which even affected a number of Recon flights. Continuing the recent trend, there was absolutely no Japanese Recon of my operations in northeastern Oz. Oh well, I’m sure not going to remind my opponent about this.
The Big News this turn was that Townsville was Liberated!
Once again, the USA 763rd Tank Battalion and the Australian 2/6th Armoured Regiment did the job. The Airfields and facilities at Townville Air Base are a total mess. I can see why my opponent didn’t want to bother to try to fight it out there. All-in-all I’m quite pleased with the effective job that my 4Es did, even though I didn’t have too many of them and I didn’t fly them too often.
So it will take me a while to fix things up at Townsville, and after that start to build things up the way that I want. But Charters Towers is almost back to full-operating condition and I intend to use it as my major Air Base anyway, so the situation at Townsville isn’t a show-stopper by any means.
In Other News, I got my first Level 7 Air Field in the Aleutians this turn. A number more are on the way. We’ll see how far we get before Winter sets in and slows everything down.
And I received a large number of new ships this turn. All of them are useful in their own ways; although I wish that the Bogue-class CVEs could do something other than just provide Replenishment services. Oh well, they will be Floating Training Bases for the next couple of years.