LoBaron + Robbrennan vs Offenceman, allied secret AAR

[LoBaron]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

Jan 3rd, ´42:

I hate it when I do that (which is every time a new game year rolls over). You'll be dating checks wrong for the next month too! [:'(]

Doh! [X(]
Happens to me all the time, in game and in real life.

Will correct the post before somebody starts to ask what the hell I am doing at Lunga 1 month after the war started... [:D]

[Rob Brennan UK]

Jan 7th 1943

Java finally fell with a large haul of Dutch prisoners, I just hope they are well treated by their Japanese captors.


Ground combat at Madioen (54,104)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 57176 troops, 708 guns, 171 vehicles, Assault Value = 1917

Defending force 21535 troops, 302 guns, 119 vehicles, Assault Value = 301

Japanese adjusted assault: 797

Allied adjusted defense: 163

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Madioen !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1089 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 81 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 63 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled


Allied ground losses:
15510 casualties reported
Squads: 586 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2820 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 177 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 317 (317 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 154 (154 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 24

The allied air offensive in Burma has been rolling for 4 days now unmolested by Japan and will continue tomorrow , the best attack so far is this one :-

Afternoon Air attack on 21st Division, at 59,46 (Mandalay)

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes


Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 6
Hurricane IIc Trop x 20
Liberator II x 17
Wellington Ic x 9
Hurricane XIIb x 2
B-17E Fortress x 29


Allied aircraft losses
Liberator II: 2 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
261 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

There are 4 artillery units resting in rear bases to improve morale and their holiday is now over as Japan has reopened its shelling of Mandalay and they are to be railed back into combat ASAP. with i might add much improved morale (70 compared to the 10-20 they had before).

Additional troops just North of shwebo are reprepping for Mandalay, I am in two minds here about just going head to head with large armour advantage or trying a flanking approach to Magwe (recon states 20k troops there , so no walk over) , for now its head to head with one div moving down from Lashio as a threat to supply lines. what makes me wary of a large flanking move is Japanese air power which now Java has fallen can be moved to Burma and hammer any allied ground moves, the commonwealth just isn't capable of sustained air operations yet.


Piccie courtesy of Paint.Net (thank you for recommending this one) and shows the last Dutch outposts ( i have changed one small base in Australia to ABDA as a last fall-back for the patrol planes, who by now are very very experienced. the Dutch B25's are trained up in Ground attack , Low Nav and now ASW . Should be a hard nut to crack.

[LoBaron]

Jan 7th, ´43 (hah now I got it right...)

BB Oklahoma was seen taking evasion action after torpedo track had been identified heading straight for
the Flag of Reinforcement convoy Wake. All guns except the main turrets trained to starboard firing into
the general bearing of incoming fish to distract the sensible warheads.

30 seconds later a significantly larger watersprout was witnessed by crew members on escort vessels and resulted in confused reports.
"Oklahoma has been hit broadside!!"

Sub attack near Wake Island at 135,97

Japanese Ships
SS RO-66

Allied Ships
BB Oklahoma, Torpedo hits 1
CA Chicago
CL St. Louis
DD Waller
DD Reid
DD Wilson
DD Mustin



SS RO-66 launches 6 torpedoes at BB Oklahoma
RO-66 diving deep ....
DD Reid fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Wilson fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Mustin fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Mustin fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub

5 Minutes later everyone was back to general quarters, relieved that the the assumed hit was only a premature explosion
of one of the torpedoes caused by accurate 20mm fire. The destroyers remained on the scene searching for the
Japanese sub but failed to make contact, resuming course to Wake 45 minutes later.

[witpqs]

Kudos to guys for keeping up resistance in the enemy's primary objective for so long!

[Rob Brennan UK]

The Java hold-out was an idea I had before the game started and wanted to test (same with the Kuala Lumpur defence earlier in the war). Most players try and defend Batavia and/or Soerbaja. Japan knows this and preps its troops accordingly. with the withdrawal to Madeoin I was expecting a delay of max 3 months from early June 42. Japan could have taken it earlier if she had used her airforce more aggressively in the early months. As it was a few Dutch and Brit fighters were able to scare off the bombers for quite some time. Japan only had evens AV in Java for a long time (2 divs + bits) so was unable to really prosecute the attack given the defence modifiers and the level 5 forts. supply reduction was the key to prising the Dutch out of their bastion and Japan failed for months to bring in enough a/c to really accomplish much.

Once enough bombers with decent fighter sweeps (both the Hiyo and Junyo air groups were used for this , tying up 2 CV's as a bonus) were used the supply losses increased sharply even though the AAA was very effective and managed to shoot down a good number of Japanese bombers. the Helen losses are 95% ones lost over Madeoin in the past 6 months. along with some sallies earlier on.

Why Madeoin though ? 3 main factors decided the issue.

1) Had to be a base so supply could be sucked in using the draw supply buttons to the base max of 80k, The base was built up by engineers from day 1 so more supply could be stored here.

2) terrain , the higher the modifies the better and wooded mountains don't get much better.

3) non-coastal was very important, so as not to give the Japanese Navy free practice and any coastal base would be rapidly reduced by bombardments, which could easily be resupplied from Batavia or Soerbaja ports.

Lasting into 43 was a huge surprise, as the initial thought to this defence was to tie up troops as to make an invasion of Australia much harder for Japan. Similar thinking went into the Burmese defence too (which once again I am surprised actually held in Mandalay). building up Christmas island and the cocos group were again meant as speed bumps to a Japanese expansion in the SW pacific. with both of these in tip top shape, Japan can go for them but it'll take time and cocos will require KB, making it predictable and vulnerable to allied CV ambushes. Cocos Island troop limits though do make it less than ideal for a staging post to re-invade the DEI. Christmas (if we can hold it , however has unlimited stacking and would be an excellent staging post to liberate Java).

The commonwealths time of glory has now slowly passed and from now on the main allied aggressor will be the USA. We will not be idle however and will annoy Japan as much as possible to draw off men and material making life easier for our allies.

TTFN and watch this space.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Jan 11th '43

The Chinese airforce did well these past 2 days over Kweiyang, the Japanese bombers were successfully intercepted while the escorts were handled roughly indeed.

the Betty losses were courtesy of the US just south of Guadalcanal.

[LoBaron]

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.
Work is intense at the moment and my spare time is spread too thin between different stuff.

Preparations for the invasion of PM continue on US side who will be responsible for the support role, the overall command for the attack will be with our British friends though.
I expect the fleets to be ready and on station in about 3 turns (6 days).

BTW: Rob, old friend, whats the name of the operation? Not a good idea to launch an attack without a name...thats bad karma man, bad karma!



Other news Jan 11th ´43:

Our subs start to get into ´43 shape. Over the last couple of days we had some hits on AKs which actually exploded (Sonarman 2nd class, Bruckner, on duty on
USS Guardfish has been heard to shout "deph chaaargeees...!" while diving behind a tray of lemons when the first MK14 went off with a loud burp, he simply was
not used to the noise...) and Rob was even lucky enough to sink a DD.

Next two days we will try some fighter sweeps over Shortland and see whats there. Operation Knockknock is in preparation, the diversion heavy bomber raid of Rabaul
during the attack on PM. The fighter sweeps on Shortland are targeted to convince Mike its my next primary objective.

And I got a new slogan: "Carrier squad reorganisation, stealing WitPAE´s players lifetime since 2007" [:D]

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jan 17, 43

As LoBaron stated in his last update the pace has slowed a lot of late. BUT things are beginning to get back to normality. The CW are just waiting for the US to send over its fleet to Sydney so the transfer of flag admirals can occur before proceeding north to cover the large invasion flotillas assembling in Townsville. the Royal Navy support elements are in Rockhampton (away from jap recon) and lots of AP's have been in townsville since the invasion of Horn Island. Hopefully to all intents and purposes Japan does not know when we are coming. she does ofc know we will be coming as its a no brainer next advance.

Next post I'll detail the actual attacks (3) planned on the new guinea coast. Recons have shown very little to be in the area and with all dot bases checked out daily recons run over PM and Lae , the only 2 occupied bases we can find (very low levels of Japanese activity in this area , Like LoBaron I suspect the main defences to be up around the admiralties and Rabaul.

With clear skies and bright moonlight the allied bomber forces in India struck Magwe airfields defended by 30 Oscars on night CAP, losses show 3 oscars downed by gunners while 6 planes destroyed on the ground (2 tonys 1 nick and 3 more oscars) , also Japanese fighter numbers are dwindling here (down to 120 from over 300 ). Looks like a target for day sweeps in a few days time. Sadly the availability of new US airframes (or lack thereof) means one P38 unit in India has downgraded to P40E's , not a biggie unless we meet serious opposition. with the notable absence of Japanese bombers over India (ever !) , day CAP is still flown but not a major priority. this really is a sitz-Krieg situation for now.

china however we have some good news, the central probe in force routed a weak jap force (see piccie) , Japanese bombers however draw a horrendous toll and with 3 new unidentified units arriving the turn after we routed the enemy , discretion seems the better part of valour and the Chinese will withdraw to the old defence lines just over the river.

Air attacks ! horrible losses for troops in combat mode :-

Morning Air attack on 73rd Chinese Corps, at 75,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 28 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 55



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
355 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 29 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

the ground combat was nice to watch though ! [:D]


Ground combat at 75,53

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 63001 troops, 388 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2625

Defending force 1512 troops, 58 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 44

Allied adjusted assault: 3190

Japanese adjusted defense: 9

Allied assault odds: 354 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
1435 casualties reported
Squads: 61 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 66 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Units retreated 3


Allied ground losses:
127 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Given nil recon and not even an arty barrage , brave move from the Chinese army but had we waited, 3 more units would have arrived (unknown strength) the results could have gone the other way. although this force is not expendable, there are sufficient reserves to replace it should disaster occur. Interesting he has supply issues just one hex away from a city on a railline ?? interesting.

[LoBaron]

Flag transfer will be in about 4-6 days, then things will start to get more busy again.


The Carriers departed Auckland, will refuel at Noumea and then handed over to their new commander Admiral Brennan.

No specific news atm except for CL Honolulu bagging a small (sp: tiny) resupply convoy off Munda.

[LoBaron]

Ok we are definitely lacking in updates atm. RL is too intense for keeping
up the AAR on a regular basis (at least the USN has this issue sadly)

Here is the current situation for 23rd Jan ´43:

We are in preparation for the next step to move the southern front into
the attrition zone:
In a couple of days Australian troops will land at PM, creating a second threat
vector for Rabaul. The USN carriers and escort groups temporarily have been put
under CW command to enable a smooth op.
Details have to be provided by Rob as he is responsible for the planning.

To make the task easier the US has decided to increase the pressure on the eastern flank
and start raiding Shortlands which is currently bristling with fighters.
For this 4 P38 squadrons have been dispatched to Lunga AF, while the marine fighters on
Tassafaronga provide CAP for the (badly needed) reinforcement convoys for Guadalcanal.

I would prefer to support the Lightning sweeps with the VMF units but Tassafaronga still
lacks the supplies for drop tanks and I wont run sweeps at extreme range except if its
unavoidable.

To reduce this issue a supply shuttle convoy has started regular runs from Ndeni to Lunga
and a major convoy from Noumea is in the works.

Depending on the outcome (bad weather, less planes available than I´d like, 70 fighters sighted at Shortland)
of the sweeps during the next two days I will decide how to continue, but I will try to keep the pressure on.

The primary goal of this operation is to draw Japanese fighters to Shortlands, reducing the number of potential
escorts available for any Netty raids against the invasion convoys.

The next AF to get operational will be Tulagi with a USAAF BF on the way, when this is done the
size and frequency of offensive operations against the northern solomons will only be limited
by number of planes available.


On the CentPac front the Marines on Marcus Island have their expected feast on every supply available
celebrating their victory. They will have nothing to eat by tomorrow...
To improve the situation a convoy consisting of AKs and 2 ASW escort groups is on the way (Marcus is
bristling with Japanese subs), but is still a couple of days out. I have nobody but myself to blame
for this situation as I knew that supply consumption will be dreadfully high with a full regiment and a
USN BF on a 6k limited atoll, but the main reason is that the first supply runs all have been cut short
by the close vincinity of KB, I hope this wont be an issue this time.


Thats it for now, and sorry folks, it will take a bit until I will be able to return to the 1 update per turn
schedule.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Sorry too for the poor updating recently , Blame World of Tanks !

A Picture speaks a thousand words so :-





The Milne attack looks to be uncovered , and it is , but as Milne is empty i'm sending in a small element of the Ausssie 5th Div on 3 APD's for a quick grab.

PM itself should be hit in strength , 2 Divs + support (all at once because of japanese CV retaliation.

the Americans are focusing Japan nicely on Shortlands now with successful P38 + F4/3 sweeps. Recons shows PM rather weak tbh so its a sledgehammer vs a nutshell hopefully. And Lae has a few bombers , no fighters therefore Beau-fighter LRCAP should be ok covering the northernmost attack.

TTFN

[Rob Brennan UK]

Jan 30th 1943 .. Invasion !

Orphan Anne came on the radio today to announce that the allies will die in droves trying to take PM from the peace loving Japanese empire! Never heard that message before as vs the AI I never lost the place [;)]. Nice fluff devs !

Allied forces also landed on Milne bay and yes its nice and empty, thankfully given how weak the attack was.

PM was a bit of a sledgehammer on my part though.

2 Bombardment TF's hit hard initially just before the landings.

1st though the jap sub defending the harbour met a grisly end (i hope)

ASW attack near Port Moresby at 97,131

Japanese Ships
SS RO-33, hits 4, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Frazier
CA Devonshire
CA Houston
DD Bailey
DD Barton


Bombardments closed the runways , which was a good thing as the beaufighters escoring the bombers on the 29th were shredded by zeros.


Night Naval bombardment of Port Moresby at 98,130

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
BB Valiant
BB Warspite
CA Devonshire
CA Houston

Japanese ground losses:
89 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)



Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 49
Port hits 13
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 1

Walrus II acting as spotter for BB Valiant
BB Valiant firing at 144th Infantry Regiment
Walrus II acting as spotter for BB Warspite
BB Warspite firing at Port Moresby
CA Devonshire firing at 144th Infantry Regiment
CA Houston firing at Port Moresby




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Naval bombardment of Port Moresby at 98,130

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
BB Mississippi
BB Maryland
CA Northampton
CA Indianapolis

Japanese ground losses:
118 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (4 destroyed, 6 disabled)



Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 63
Port hits 10
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 1




Most of the combat troops are ashore safely , just 2 days to unload what's left in the AP's before we retire. The ground troops are resting for now,Although their disruption is at worst 2 ! , fatigue is upto 40 at worst.

CBL hermes will still be the closes CV (1hex) while the big American ones stand off another 2-3 hexes from the invasion site. Churchill agreed to leave a SC TF at PM just in case unspotted jap surface forces arrive and also as a decoy for jap torp bombers. 6 of which flew to attack the APD's unloading at Milne , no effect as hoped for.

As a bonus US sub SS Barb did a marvellous job sinking 2 full AO's near Iwn Jima. While Australian bombers hit and set fire to a jap Tanker and AKL (sinking a PB as a bonus) in Boela harbour (recon suggested no fighters and we did not encounter any).

Morning Air attack on Boela , at 80,110

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes


Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 12


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
TK Amakusa Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Shinsoku Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Takunan Maru #5, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk


the storms had no effect and despite average bombing skills (40-50) (8k alt) the results are very favourable.

As a brief counterpoint , Japan now rules the skies over Christmas island after murdering the Canadian P40E unit based there. this was to be expected but keeps jap fighters and bombers in Java while they might be better employed elsewhere.

[LoBaron]

Jan 30, 43:

While the Aussies landed and now prepare to liberate PM, the US had a row of successes over the last
couple of days, unpreceded in the war.

First the contest of airspace over Shortlands is clearly onesided, with a kill ration of close to 5:1.
The 4 experienced P-38F/G squads now based at Lunga are taking turns sweeping the Japanese base and, while
the Zero drivers there are clearly elite and put up a good fight, they lose.

I expected this performance. This is what Lightnings should be used for and they do a hell of a job,
using their alt advantage to bounce the CAP and their superior speed to evade the counter. It works
much more often than not.

Over the last four days the estimate is about 40-45 Japanese fighters shot down for the loss of about 8.

Mike will face difficult decisions soon, Shortlands is in range of Ndeni B-24s and I deliberately showed
him this fact by flying an ineffective port attack.
He can either stand and fight, losing pilots at a rate which he cannot keep up with (planes, as we know might
be another story) while I can easily replace my losses, - or he can give up defending and let Shortland get
whacked by continous heavy bomber raids, acting as training ground for my LBA and wearing out the defenders.

Tulagi is short on supplies still, but this will change over the next couple of days, opening up a new base
I intend to use for recon planes and medium bombers trained for low naval attack. Soon anything trying to reinforce
Shortlands will have to fight to reach destination.

Morning Air attack on Shortlands , at 109,131

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 38,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 4
A6M3a Zero x 30



Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 22


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 9 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed

I like to take over initiative here but I wont. I will react.
If Mike keeps the resistance up I will simply continue this tactic for a while since my secondary goal is attrition.
If he hides and moves back to Rabaul I will speed up my buildup and move forward sooner.
No rush, we got all the time we need. [8D]


Also as Rob already mentioned, SS Barb did a great job sinking 2 AOs laden with oil in CentPack.
They were small ones but this turn surely hurt with two AOs and one TK lost in 2 days.
The Silent Service is getting better.

Sub attack near Iwo-jima at 101,79

Japanese Ships
AO Shiretoko, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AO Tsurumi
AO Erimo
xAK Saiho Maru
PB Kiso Maru

Allied Ships
SS Barb



SS Barb launches 6 torpedoes at AO Shiretoko
Barb diving deep ....
PB Kiso Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Kiso Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Kiso Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Kiso Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Kiso Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


Sub attack near Iwo-jima at 101,79

Japanese Ships
AO Tsurumi, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AO Erimo
PB Kiso Maru

Allied Ships
SS Barb



SS Barb launches 4 torpedoes at AO Tsurumi
Barb diving deep ....
PB Kiso Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Kiso Maru attacking submerged sub ....
PB Kiso Maru loses contact with SS Barb
SS Barb eludes PB Kiso Maru by diving deep
Escort abandons search for sub


Good luck to the Australian Soldiers on the beaches around PM!

[Rob Brennan UK]

Jan 31 1943

The landings have been under attack from Japanese betties on torpedo runs, fortunately the CAP was able to see off most of these with heavy Japanese losses (no escorts) along with float plane attacks from Lae , One AP (small) was lost to a torpedo strike. Nothing much of note as it was already empty.


APDs' retiring from Milne (captured today) , had a stab at a Jap Ro boat ..

ASW attack near Milne Bay at 101,134

Japanese Ships
SS RO-63, hits 5

Allied Ships
APD John D. Ford


Christmas island is coming under increasingly heavy air attack , more supply is being run in with AKl's i hope it unloads safely but japan now has anti shipping planes lurking. Lost 2 AMc mine sweepers today.

Tomorrow we retire from PM completely and CVL Hermes shifts north while the CV's skedaddled back covering the AP's to Townsville. Another APD run to milne is ordered with USN DD escorts.

[LoBaron]

Feb 2, 43:

I do not have much to add to Robs post.

The invasion was clean, a 4:1 superiority of AV is at the beaches at PM, so
I guess Rob will attack tomorrow.

Interesting was that Mike did not provide escorts for the Betty bombers attacking
the amphibs, I cannot comment on the reason but I suspect either bad weather or bad
morale of the concerned fighter units, or both.
The IJN fighter squads (currently 3 different units confirmed) have been mauled by P38
sweeps over the past couple of days, I estimate the losses 55+ fighters, that cannot be
good for their mood.
Anyways the carrier fighter had a field day on the Betties, I hope Mike lost a lot of pilots
though this might not be the case as they were shot down over (still) friendly territory.


The other news is that CV flag has changed back to USN again.
The reason is:

52nd Division is located at Kanazawa(111,57).
31st Field AA Battalion is located at Mandalay(59,46).
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment is located at Babeldaob(90,97).
Heavy Volume of Radio transmissions detected at 112,119.
Tachirai JAAF Base Force is located at Fukuoka(103,57).
5th JAAF AF Bn is located at Tokyo(114,60).

Whatever this is, it is big and quite fast, and it has - additionally to sigint - been sighted by submarines
on a southerly heading, currently right between Truk and Guadalcanal.

I believe this to be KB.

My reasoning is:
- Mike knows he currently is unable to contest airspace over Shortlands with LBA.
- He is aware that I can hit Shortlands and everything further South with Medium bombers
or B24s.
- He knows that PM is lost, and knows that the allied carriers are around, so are free to
counter moves in that area without KB protection.

So this is what I will do:

- The carriers have been ordered to move to a position 300nm North of Noumea and meet with
a smaller group consisting of 3 CVEs.
- Ndeni B24 have suspended ops against Shortland and put on naval search.
- VMF squads on Guadalcanal have been put on alert and 2 P38 squads will fly high cover.
- I will not suspend sweeps against Shortlands but took this into consideration in case
Mike usese KB to cover operationst Shortlands.

Whether I engage will depend on Mikes intentions, TF composition and position.

[LoBaron]

Feb 4th, 43:

KB hit the British landing forces at Terapo and south of Milne Bay.
While the losses were tough it looked graver than it was, the most hurtful loss being CVL Hermes and CA Dorsetshire.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Terapo at 96,127

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 60 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 35
B5N2 Kate x 51
D3A1 Val x 104



Allied aircraft
Martlet II x 17
Beaufighter VIc x 1


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 2 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 22 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed, 17 damaged


Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
xAK Goulburn, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
AM Cessnock
CA Dorsetshire, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
CVL Hermes, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, on fire
CL Birmingham, Bomb hits 1
xAK Mernoo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Iron Knob, Bomb hits 11, and is sunk
DD Thracian
xAP Johanne Justesen, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AM Stawell
AM Rockhampton
DD Arunta
CL Mauritius, Bomb hits 2
CL Hobart
AM Shepparton, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Mangola, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

This was our fault, I guessed a KB approach from the east of Shortlands and we did not pull back the landing at Terapo when the
PM landing group and the USN Carriers retreated south.

Mike made a good move here but it could be the battle is not over yet, see map below.
The carriers will move to a position West of Guadalcanal and surface combat groups, ASW forces and LBA will support. In case Mike
gets a small victory desease and moves South we will greet him with 1000 pounders.
To be honest I doubt it, my guess is he will retreat North and be happy with the results, therefore I tried to make the best of the situation,
set an attack on Shortlands, cover the exit routes into the Bismark Sea with subs and use the CV umbrella to reinforce Tulagi.

Next turn could be interesting.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Ah yes , the CW got a bit greedy and tried to cover the last few days of the northern landing with the CVL Hermes. Sadly she is no more but the planes made it to PM which also fell on the 2nd. Additionally the POW escaped pretty unharmed apart from several AA batteries KO'd and bot radar sets nobbled.

We got away quite likely tbh.

The APD run to Milne has been aborted after one was sunk by kates the escorting DD group did not fare too well either losing 3 more.

More detail when i get the time

TTFN

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Feb 06, 43

There is a saying that revenge is best served cold. The CW however prefer it to be delivered with fire and brimstone. The loss of the Hermes sent winnie into a rage and he ordered an all out effort to find and damage those responsible. Australian and US field commanders thought it unfeasable and possibly suicidal but the 17's were readied for a speculative attack on the admiralty islands. The dawn broke slowly to the rumble of distant thunder, no Japanese fighters in the sky and large flat targets in the harbour below. By a miracle the japs were caught with their pants down !

Morning Air attack on Manus , at 101,119

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 25 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 5


Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 1


With the first days information analysed the second day saw the bombers heading back with much better results.


Morning Air attack on Manus , at 101,119

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 1
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 1
CA Ashigara, Bomb hits 1
CV Akagi, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Haruna, Bomb hits 1



Port hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 8000 feet *
Port Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb

While I suspect not much more than paint was chipped , the morale boost to the allies was immense !

Elsewhere the japs were running surface ships into Lautern (N of Darwin) , the low level skills of the newly arrived Mitchells were put to good use :-

Morning Air attack on TF, near Saumlaki at 78,117

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes


Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 10


Allied aircraft losses
Mitchell II: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAP Palau Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Naka, Bomb hits 1
CL Abukuma



Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Mitchell II bombing from 1000 feet
Naval Attack: 3 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
6 x Mitchell II bombing from 1000 feet
Naval Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Sadly this was tempered by the final signal from a Dutch sub limping home from an air attack near Kendari and another AKL lost trying to supply Christmas island. NB Christmas is getting pounded badly from the air daily and the AKL's suffer badly on the supply runs.

Overall though seeing one jap CV on fire is heart warming [8D]

[witpqs]

Wow!

[LoBaron]

Wow indeed. Rob always has a good hand when it comes to such things.

I really would have loved to see Mikes face when he watched the replay... [;)]


Nothing much to say from US side, except that the resupply of Marcus Island went
well. It will need a couple of runs more though as the Marines there consume as
fast as I can deliver, my own fault to stack the atoll 1.5k over the 6k limit,
but I want to make reconquest as hard as possible.

That Island could be my door to Guam so I will fight for it.

The usual air battles over Shortlands, Mike keeps on fighting which suits me quite well.
He cannot attrit me, and if it does not attrit him its at least good training for my
USAAF pilots.