Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: Carny

Any idea what his garrison in Rangoon is like? It would be awesome to get some good use out of those otherwise useless RN battleships in supporting a British Empire invasion of Rangoon in conjunction with your coastal offensive in Burma, thus really cutting of those hordes of troops playing about in Burma.

He's got a couple of regiments there, but it is too easy for him to railroad his up-country Divisions back to the vicinity of Rangoon. I would have to grab a handful of surrounding bases simultaneously, and with around 400 Japanese fighters in the area, I'm not going to be able to drop in Paratroops.

Anyway, he's also got most of the Malaya coastal bases built up for 2E LBA so I won't be able to bring in Task Forces. It's hard enough to get submarines into the waters between Rangoon and the tip of Sumatra.

I want to bog down his forces in Burma in 1943, and then hit the Indian Ocean coast of Sumatra in 1944. So having a handful of Japanese Divisions mucking around in Burma, along with 400 Fighters that could be used elsewhere, is a good deal in my mind.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

[DanielAnsell]

You are right about the divisions rolling down the rails back southern Burma, but all those lovely British battlewagons blazing away makes a pretty picture in my head.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: Carny

You are right about the divisions rolling down the rails back southern Burma, but all those lovely British battlewagons blazing away makes a pretty picture in my head.

The problem is to find something useful for battlewagons to blaze at. My experience is that BBs are really only good if they catch a Transport TF. My experience is that cruisers and destroyers tend to accomplish more in both surface combat and naval bombardments. My feeling is that this is a function of the relative speed and manoeuvrability of cruisers and DDs versus BBs.

Yes, I too would like to see those Big Guns blazing, but the question is where and when? (And considering that my BBs are spending 90% of their time in Repair Shipyards for damage or Upgrades, "when" is the real question... [:D] )

[ADB123]

January 3, 1942 -

There was no Night Action this turn.

Daylight brought an attack on the Air Base at Noumea by Vals, flying in from the North. That suggests strongly to me that my opponent sent his CV TF back to the north of New Caledonia rather than off to the West after Achilles.

The Vals did little, other than take some flak hits. They were followed by some Lilys, escorted by Oscars, which also did little but take flak hits. There was a report that one of the Lilys was shot down by Flak, so that is good news in the sense that the Troops at Noumea still have enough Supplies to fire their AA guns.

The Air was quiet over China this turn and it appears that the only Japanese column that is moving forward is the big one that is a couple of hexes east of Liuchow. I just moved yet another big, well-rested Chinese Infantry Corps into Luichow and have more on the way, so I am getting a good feeling that I can stall the Japanese advance at Liuchow.

The US 4Es in India flew again this turn to hit those two Japanese Infantry Regiments that are east and southeast of Akyab. The Big Bombers continue to score well. It's great practice and I'm not losing planes, so I've ordered the Boys to fly again next turn. If my opponent moves some of his 300 Fighters forward I'll take a chance at his forward bases again, but for now I've got my priorities set on Akyab.

There were two late-day Naval actions involving submarines. First off Japanese sub I-7 shot 4 torpedoes at USS Wilson off of Brisbane, but missed. The Wilson is escorting the crippled Achilles back to Brisbane, and the Wilson's skipper didn't like being interrupted in his job, so the DD chased the Japanese sub and hit it four times. Unfortunately, this used up the ASW Ammo on the Wilson, but I ordered another DD from Brisbane to sail over and Join the Wilson/Achilles TF in order to give fresh protection. I also increased the number of ASW Aircraft in the region.

Finally, USS S-45 whacked a PB in a Transport TF at Onnekotan-jima. The PB went down quickly and S-45 got away from the other ASW ships in the TF.

There was no Japanese Ground Assault at Noumea this turn, so I guess that the Japanese troops are still fatigued and short on supplies. I'm trying to “convince” my opponent that he ought to just pull the troops out... [;)]

And if SIGINT is correct, some Japanese subs are off of the West Coast again for the first time in a long time. I don't have much sailing in the region, and the one TF that I was sending to Hawaii got an upgrade in ASW Escorts prior to departure.

[ADB123]

January 4, 1943 –

The Night Phase saw HMNZS Achilles run out of luck as Japanese sub I-15 put two torpedoes into the already badly listing light cruiser. Achilles went down quickly just a few hexes from safety in Brisbane. Neither the fresh Escort DD nor any of the land-based ASW spotted I-15 before or afterwards. I’ve been wondering where my opponent has been keeping his submarines, and it appears that they are cruising the South Pacific between Australia, New Caledonia and New Zeeland.

Daylight saw Vals hit the Air Base at Noumea again, followed by an attack by Oscars and Lilies. The Vals hit nothing and the Lilies did little damage. The USN CV TF should be in position to hit the Japanese troops at Noumea next turn, as long as it doesn’t run into a Japanese sub first.

Japanese bombers also hit a Chinese Infantry Corps that is west of Wuchow, but caused few casualties. My defense of Liuchow is coming together nicely and I ought to be able to stall the Japanese there.

Allied 4Es took to the skies over PNG, Northern Oz, and Burma again this turn. Liberators attacked the Air Base at Port Moresby and ran into some A6M3s and A6M2s. Two of the A6M3s were shot down, but a Liberator was lost too. The Bombers accomplished little else on their run.

Massed Liberators and Fortresses hit the Air Base at Katherine again, causing significant damage and suffering no losses. The Japanese CAP stayed back at Darwin.

And at the end of the Day Liberators and Fortresses hit the Japanese troops outside of Akyab again. This time I have ordered the 4Es to sit down a turn and rest up.

The Japanese besiegers at Noumea attempted another Deliberate attack this turn, but they were repulsed with a 1:2 result while the Fortifications remained at Level 3. The Japanese attackers are Fatigued, and I hope to increase that state for them next turn.

Next turn an Allied Supply TF will dock at Cox’s Bazaar and unload the Supplies that I hope will allow for an advance by the Assault forces that I have sitting there. I’ve moved up a lot of CAP to cover the TF, and so far it hasn’t been spotted by Japanese Recon or Search planes, so I’m hoping that I can get the Supply in and the TF out before my opponent realizes what is happening.

[ADB123]

January 5, 1942 –

The Night Phase was quiet as neither side had any Naval TFs stumble upon opposing submarines.

Daylight brought Vals hitting the Air Base at Noumea again. One Val was shot down by flak and another was a write-off when it got back to base. I now think that these Vals are land-based rather than CV-based.

The Vals were followed by Oscars and Lilies again. The Lilies flew high enough to avoid the flak, but this also meant that they couldn’t find their mark.

In China Sallys hit the Air Base at Hengyang, but caused little damage. Lilies then hit the Chinese troops west of Wuchow, but also caused little damage.

At the end of the day S-45 was chased unsuccessfully by some small ASW escorts at Onnekotan-jima.

And finally, there was no Japanese Ground Assault on Noumea. I suppose that my opponent is attempting to rest his troops and get some supplies to them.

At this point my question to myself was, “Where is the USN?” [&:] The US CV TF should have been close enough to Noumea to attack, so why weren’t there any USN planes flying over the Japanese troops at Noumea? [&:]

As soon as I launched the turn I checked the CV TF and sure enough, it was where it was supposed to be, and well within range of Noumea. The TF had not been spotted by Japanese Search planes or submarines. All of the planes on the CVs were set as they were supposed to be. The Weather was good. But nothing happened. [8|]

So I ordered the TF a hex closer to Noumea, gave specific Ground Attack orders to a couple of the Naval Bomber squadrons (I left the others on “Naval Attack” with “Ground Attack” as their secondary mission), and set part of one of the Fighter squadrons to fly LR CAP over Noumea. This way I hope to jump those Vals next turn, even if my Bombers don’t fly.

In other news, the Supply TF reached Cox’s Bazaar safely and it appears that it hasn’t been detected. I have PT TFs at the bases in the region so if my opponent sees a green “TF” symbol he might just shrug it off as another PT TF. Now if the ships can unload quickly I ought to be in good shape.

In China it seems pretty clear now that my opponent is sending a full-blown assault force against Liuchow. If my troops can defeat the first assault or so then my opponent might get discouraged again. The real issue will be getting sufficient Supply to my troops.

[ADB123]

January 6, 1943 –

There was no Night Action this turn again.

Daylight brought a nice surprise in the South Pacific as the daily Val strike against Noumea was intercepted by 11 F4F-4s on LR CAP from the USN CV TF nearby. The Vals aborted their mission but they couldn’t get away and 5 were shot down immediately as the Navy Fighter Pilots got a taste of blood.

Then the IJAAF attack flew in with 11 Lilies escorted by 10 Oscar Ics. They were met by 11 F4F-4s again, but things were different as the Oscars fought back hard against the Navy Fighters. Things weren’t as bad as they were in the Kuriles where the Japanese had Oscar IIs in the air on CAP, but never-the-less the Cream of the USN Fighter Pilots had a tough time even against the same types of Oscars that USAAF Fighter Pilots eat up regularly. The Navy Pilots still were able to break free of the Oscars and shoot down one Lily, but the rest of the Japanese bombers hit their target. Both sides lost a fighter in the scramble.

Then the USN Air Attack struck as Dauntlesses and Avengers hit the Japanese troops at Noumea hard, causing significant casualties. A second wave of Navy bombers hit later on as the planes that had been held back on Naval Attack flew to their secondary target in the afternoon.

The totals at the end of the day were as follows:

8 Vals lost – all A-to-A
1 Lily lost – A-to-A
1 Oscar lost – A-to-A
4 F4F-4s lost – 2 A-to-A, 2 Ops

All-in-all, it was a fairly good surprise attack, and the USN pilots did quite well. But it is painfully clear that the F4F-4 is a totally inadequate fighter at this stage of the War, and that it should not be used against most opposing Japanese fighters. So the US CVs will have to continue to stay well back from the main action and bid their time until Hellcats arrive later in 1943.

There was Air Action elsewhere as Japanese bombers hit Chinese troops west of Wuchow, US 4Es hit Japanese troops near Akyab, and US 4Es hit the Air Base at Katherine again. Both sides are essentially focusing their efforts on the weak spots of their opponents and avoiding the opposing strengths.

At the end of the day USS S-45 ran out of luck at Onnekotan-jima and was hammered by the ASW SCs at the base. Fortunately for S-45 the little ASW ships ran out of ASW ammo before the sub was sunk. So S-45 now limps home.

There was one surprise Japanese attack as a small Japanese Parachute Regiment dropped in on and captured the empty base at Pontar, near Timor.

And there was no Japanese Army attack at Noumea this turn.

[ADB123]

January 7, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw USS Wahoo shoot some torpedoes at Japanese CL east of Raboul and miss. Wahoo got away from the escorts in the Japanese TF, but a while later went back to try again. This time Wahoo shot some torpedoes at an SC in the TF and missed again. But now the DDs in the TF caught Wahoo and hit the sub with a couple of depth charges, so Wahoo is limping back to Port.

Daylight saw USAAF B-17s hit the Air Base at Katherine again. As usual, there was no CAP, but for some reason this time the Heavies didn't do a lot of damage. Some Japanese bombers also attacked the Chinese troops that are west of Wuchow, but they didn't hit their target at all.

At the end of the day the Cats in New Zealand attempted to drop more supplies to the besieged troops at Noumea, but this time the Catalinas were intercepted by some Oscars. My opponent obviously wanted to be ready in case I sent in the USN bombers again this turn. No Cats were lost, but I stopped the Air Supply mission and set the planes back to Naval Search.

It appears that more Japanese troops are marching towards Noumea, so it seems that my opponent is determined to capture the base.

And finally, Allied troops have started to cross the Indo-Burmese border in two places. The move into Burma is finally beginning.

[ADB123]

January 8, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw sequential Allied submarine futility, starting with Dutch sub O21 which shot at a DMS in a small Japanese Transport TF near Luganville, but the sub hit the Mine Sweeper with a dud. The ASW ships in the TF chased O21, but didn't catch it.

Next, USS Porpoise found the same TF nearby. Porpoise shot off its new, improved torpedoes at an E-class Escort, but missed. The ASW escorts in the Japanese TF then chased the Porpoise away. But I must have a very aggressive Skipper in USS Porpoise, because the Sub came right back and tried again, unsuccessfully, before being chased away once and for all. It's too bad that a third Allied sub didn't find that TF because I suspect that the Escorts have used up most of their ASW ammo.

Daytime was quiet with no Bombing raids by either side. Instead there was the usual flurry of Recon flights, along with Bad Weather over all of the Map.

Finally, the two Japanese Raiding Regiments, along with the Naval Guard unit attacked the Allied troops at Noumea again. This time the Japanese achieved a 1:1 result and reduced the Fortifications down to Level 2. I'm actually in a hurry for the Base to Fall, because a US Air HQ is due to arrive there in a few days, and I don't want it to arrive on the day that the base is captured.

My opponent noticed my Attack Column moving out towards Akyab and commented upon it. He appears to be betting that I won't be able to keep the troops supplied. Well, the supply at Cox's Bazaar is nicely in the Black and I have actions in progress to keep it that way.

[ADB123]

January 9, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw USS Grunion catch an xAKL just off of Olga in Siberia and blow the little freighter out of the water with three torpedo hits. It is interesting to see a Japanese convoy sailing so far north in the Sea of Japan. That makes me think that my opponent is deliberately sending hit TFs north with way-points in order to avoid my submarines that are prowling closer to the northern coast of Japan.

Daylight brought Oscars and Zeros Sweeping over Noumea. My USN flyers are already back in Port, undergoing more training, so there was nothing for the Japanese pilots to Sweep except empty sky. Some bombers, escorted by more Japanese fighters, eventually flew in to hit the Air Base at Noumea again.

Japanese Bombers also hit the Chinese Corps that is west of Wuchow again this turn. Most of the attacks missed the target, but one large attack did cause a number of casualties.

So having bombed those Chinese troops multiple times over the past number of weeks, my opponent had his Infantry Unit try a Deliberate attack this turn. To my surprise the attacking unit was only a 1/3 piece of a Japanese Infantry Division. Despite the regular bombing of the Chinese troops, the Chinese fought off the Japanese easily. The Japanese suffered a 1:4 Combat result and lost 3 time as many troops as the Chinese. So maybe my opponent will think a bit longer before he attempts his next attack upon the Chinese.

Then off in Noumea a Japanese SNLF unit joined the two Raiding Regiments and the Guards Unit and attacked the Defenders at Noumea again. This time the Japanese achieved a 2:1 result and reduced the Forts down to Level 1. I'm actually quite surprised that it has taken the Japanese as long as it has to capture Noumea.

Finally, back in the Sea of Japan the Skipper of the Grunion wasn't finished for the day as he spotted another Japanese Transport TF and this time sank an xAK with two torpedoes. The Escorts in the Japanese TF attempted to find the US sub but couldn't. What was nice about this attack is that the sinking freighter put Japanese troops into the Water.

So seeing this I ordered a handful of US subs to converge on the straights near Wakkanai in the hopes that one or more of them will intercept any more Japanese TFs that attempt to go through. And I also sent a couple more subs to see if they can find either of those two TFs that Grunion scored on.

Elsewhere, a couple of Japanese ships showed up at Rangoon Harbor this turn. I wonder if they are there in anticipation of Japanese Naval Attacks on my troops that are marching towards Akyab? I've alerted the RN in case this is what is happening, and I've also more more Fighters forward to provide cover over my Naval and Land forces. My Armoured Spearhead is already half-way to the Target.

[ADB123]

January 10, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn.

Daylight brought the return of the Japanese Army Air Corp to Burma in a big way as various Japanese Air Units attempted to attack the Allied troops on the road to Akyab.

First came some Fighter Sweeps as 21 Oscars flew in to face 2 Hurricanes that wandered in from Cox's Bazaar. The outnumbered Brits duked it out with the Japanese and both sides lost a plane. I was somewhat surprised to see the Oscar Is instead of Oscar IIs.

Next 21 Tojos flew in and faced 6 more Hurricanes. This time the Brits were outmatched and two Hurricanes were shot down while no Tojos were lost.

Then the Bombers came in as 30 Helens and 20 more Oscars arrived. There was a mix of Helen Is and IIs, but they missed their target.

Finally, 44 more mixed Helens flew in escorted by 24 more Tojos. This time the Japanese bombers found their target but they scored few hits.

Next was the Allied turn as the Indian 4Es hit the Japanese troops at Kalemyo hard. I had been considering going after the Air Fields at Magwe when I planned the attacks for this turn, but I decided to Soften Up the troops at Kalemyo instead. Sure enough, afterwards my Recon told me that my opponent had moved his bombers to Magwe. So you can well imagine where my 4Es are headed next turn, and also my P-38s.

US Forts and Libs also hammered the Air Fields at Katherine this turn. My opponent must have a fair number of Engineers there now, because the Air Fields aren't staying damaged as long as they were previously.

And finally, there were a number of Japanese Air Attacks on Noumea. The remaining Allied troops were still firing Flak at the Japanese planes. But when the Japanese Troops did their Deliberate Attack it was over for the French and Noumea was in Japanese hands. Now my opponent has to garrison the base.

[ADB123]

January 11, 1943 –

The Night Phase saw USS Shark put two torpedoes into an xAK near Toyohara. The Transport ship went down with Japanese troops on it, so that was another useful attack. Later on at the end of the day USS Whale tried to sneak up on the same TF but this time Whale was caught by an Escort and chased off. Never-the-less, I’ve got more subs moving into the path of that TF and maybe one of them will sink the final Transport ship in the TF.

Daylight brought the USAAF out in force in Burma in answer to the JAAF Air Attacks of the day before. Magwe was the target and the Army Pilots took the fight directly to the Enemy.

First in were 25 P-36Gs on a high altitude Sweep. They were met by 95 Ki-43 Ic Oscars. The dog fight was fierce and the Japanese lost one Oscar versus 2 P-38s going down.

Next in were 25 P-38Fs who were faced by 83 Oscars. This time the “Fs” shot down 3 Oscars for the loss of one P-38.

Then the first wave of 4Es flew in – 16 B-17Es and 11 B-24Ds. They were met by 55 Oscars. The Heavies had no troubles with the JAAF fighters and blasted through them to hit the Air Base at Magwe hard. The Japanese had a couple of Oscars damaged during their futile attacks on the US bombers and also 2 Helens destroyed on the Ground.

Next came in the second wave of 4Es – 11 B-17Fs and 11 B-24Ds. They were met by 53 Oscars and again blew past the Japanese Fighters. Again the US Bombers hit the Air Base hard, destroying 1 Oscar on the way in and 1 more Helen on the Ground.

Finally, 24 P-38Es flew in against 51 Oscars. The “Es” had a good time, shooting down 5 Oscars against the loss of a single P-38.

The End-of-Day totals were as follows:

25 Oscars lost – 20 A-to-A, 5 Ops
6 Ki-49 Ia Helens lost on the Ground

8 P-38Gs lost – 5 A-to-A, 3 Ops
5 P-38Fs lost – all A-to-A
3 P-38Es lost – 2 A-to-A, 1 Ops

No US Bombers were lost and only a couple were damaged. One new USAAF Ace flew out of the battle.

So the outnumbered US Fighters still did a good job against the Enemy CAP. Since the 4Es are still in good shape they have orders to fly out again tomorrow against Magwe.

While the Air War raged over Magwe Allied troops moved into position to attack at Akyab and Kalemyo. There is no opposition at Akyab so the Allied troops ought to take the base tomorrow. There is an enemy unit at Kalemyo, but the Allied units will attack anyway, supported by more Allied Heavy Bombers. The situation is shown in the map below.
And finally, the first Japanese troops reached Liuchow this turn. More Japanese troops are on their way, as are move Chinese troops. I’ve got a Chinese unit attempting to do an end-around in the region, as well as Chinese troops ready to make a demonstration move towards Lashio. Things should be interesting over the next couple of turns.

[ADB123]

January 12, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn, but Allied Forces were in action all over the Pacific during the Day.

First off, British and US 4Es hit the Japanese troops at Kalemyo. There was no CAP and the bombers hit their target well.

Next, US 4Es started to attack Magwe again. The first wave saw 10 Libs and 15 Forts come in against 4 Oscars on CAP. The 4Es blew past the Oscars and hit the Air Base hard. Next 11 more Forts flew in and faced only 1 Oscar on CAP. The Forts shot up the Oscar and then hit the Air Base again. Finally, 10 more Liberators flew in against no CAP and once again hammered the Air Base and Runways.

Then Liberators and B-17s flew in and hit the Air Base at Katherine again. The attacks were less effective than usual, but the eventual accumulated damage was reasonably good.

The JAAF then sent in some Sallys and Lilies against Liuchow, causing some damage but not a lot.

Finally, the Japanese at Noumea were surprised as a US CV Attack Force flew in to hit the Air Base. There were 4 A6M2s in the Air on CAP, but they couldn't get past the 21 Wildcats that escorted in 45 Dauntlesses and 31 Avengers. The USN bombers hit the Air Base hard, and at the end of the day the losses stood at 2 Zeros shot down, with one lost to Operational damage, against one Wildcat lost.

Since there were no Japanese TFs in the region I ordered the US CVs back to Port. I want to keep my opponent edgy, but there is no reason to take unnecessary risks at this time with my CVs.

The Ground Phase saw both sides on the Offensive. First off the big Japanese column at Liuchow launched a Deliberate Attack. They reduced the Forts from 4 to 3 and achieved a 1:2 result. Casualties were high on both sides, with the advantage leaning slightly towards the Japanese. But another Chinese Infantry Corps arrived this turn, and another will arrive next turn, so this ought to turn into a tough battle for the Japanese.

Then it was the turn of the Allied Ground Forces as a couple of British Armoured units captured Akyab against no opposition. Then the Allied Armoured units at Kalemyo launched a deliberate attack, but they only achieved a 1:2 result against the Level 3 Forts. The Japanese did suffer 3 times the casualties of the Allies.

Finally, the 1/3 Japanese Division that has been pressuring the Chinese Corps that is west of Wuchow attempted another Deliberate attack this turn. Things worked out badly for the Japanese, they only achieved a 1:9 result, and the Japanese took 10 times the casualties of the Chinese.

In other news, USS Grouper was hit by a bomb from a Lily on ASW Air Patrol near southern Hokkaido. So Grouper is now limping home.

[crsutton]

Akyab is a trap for the Japanese player if he does not evacuate. The key is to pin the defenders in Akyab while driving them out of the hex directly to west. Many players miss that the hexside to the south west is impassible and just by taking the one hex to the west you will have neatly trapped any Japanese forces in Akyab. My first major land victory of the war had me eliminating three Japanese divsions and support troops there.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Akyab is a trap for the Japanese player if he does not evacuate. The key is to pin the defenders in Akyab while driving them out of the hex directly to west. Many players miss that the hexside to the south west is impassible and just by taking the one hex to the west you will have neatly trapped any Japanese forces in Akyab. My first major land victory of the war had me eliminating three Japanese divsions and support troops there.

My opponent didn't allow me to trap any units in Akyab, instead they are along the road to the south. And that "red line" border is a great advantage to me because it means that I only have to be concerned with attacks from the east.

So once I've got Akyab built up to how I want it I will cross the river to the east and start chomping up Japanese LCUs Pacman-style... [;)]

Thanks for your comments! [:)]

[ADB123]

January 13, 1943 –

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought about Bloody Battles in the Skies over Burma. First off the JAAF went after Akyab. The initial attack saw 21 Oscar Is fly in and face 8 Hurricane IIcs. The British pilots were flying over from Cox’s Bazaar so they straggled into the fight in dribs and drabs, which allowed the Oscar pilots to swamp the Hurricanes. At the end of this attack 1 Oscar and 2 Hurricanes were shot down.

Next, 42 Helen IIs escorted by 24 Tojos arrived. Only 1 Hurricane was available to fly CAP and it was chased off easily. Fortunately, the Helens attacked the Air Base instead of the Allied Armoured units that were in Akyab. I will have AA-equipped units in Akyab soon, but for now those Armoured units are vulnerable to Air Attack.

Afterwards 21 more Tojos swept in over Akyab and 5 Hurricanes arrived on CAP individually. Once again another Hurricane was shot down.

The Action in Burma then switched to Kalemyo where 8 Hurricanes swept in and found 3 Tojos on CAP. Three of the Hurricanes jumped one Tojo and shot it down. This was followed by the Main Event as 17 British Liberator IIs and 8 US B-24Ds, escorted by 8 Hurricanes and 25 P-38Fs, flew in and hammered the Japanese troops in the base. There was no Japanese CAP this time.

The Burma Air War then concluded with Allied Air Attacks on the Air Base at Mandalay. First in were 25 P-38Fs which found no CAP. Then three waves of 4Es flew in and hammered the Air Fields.

The Air Action then switched to China where JAAF Bombers and Fighters attacked the Air Bases at Ichang and Liuchow. I don’t have any nearby bases with sufficient supply to support Fighters, so there isn’t anything I can do about these attacks.

The End-of-the-Day picture wasn’t pretty as the British losses were fairly high:

Hurricanes lost: 6 A-to-A, 4 Ops

Tojos lost: 1 A-to-A
Oscars lost: 1 A-to-A

Fortunately, most of the British losses were “write-offs” and no good pilots were lost. But this isn’t sustainable, so I sat down my Hurricanes at Cox’s Bazaar and set more P-38s to Sweep in an attempt to attrite some of the Japanese fighters. I am gritting my teeth each turn as I wait for sufficient Corsairs to show up in the pools to equip the Marine Fighter unit at Calcutta with them.

Other than the Air Wars things were quiet. The Japanese did not attack at Liuchow, which allowed another good Chinese Infantry Corp to arrive and get set for combat.

I was interested to find a very strong Chinese Infantry Corps arrived at Chungking this turn. I immediately gave the unit Marching Orders to head south towards Liuchow.

I was also somewhat surprised to find the big and very strong Australian 9th Division show up at Aden. The British and Indian Forces in India are more than sufficient to continue the push into Burma, so I am sending the 9th back to Oz to prepare for action in Northern Oz and the DEI.

And I got tons of fresh units in the US West Coast bases. They are all being ordered Up North for action in the North Pacific.

Now, if I could only get more decent US planes…

[ADB123]

January 14, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw USS Sculpin hit an xAK with a dud torpedo just north of Rekata Bay in the Solomons. One of the E-class Escorts chased Sculpin away, doing some minor damage to the sub in the process. That was a big Transport TF that Sculpin found. We'll see if any of the other Allied subs in the area will run into that TF.

Daylight brought out a very large portion of the JAAF after the lone Chinese Infantry Corps that tried to sneak down behind the lines southwest of Hengyang. First of dozens of Japanese Fighters Swept in in multiple runs, followed by some big Bomber attacks. The Chinese troops are in the open so they were hit pretty hard. I now have them retreating back to Hengyang. This idea obviously won't work.

Some Japanese Bombers also attacked the Air Base at Liuchow, but they caused little damage. The Big News in the Region is two-fold. First off, the Chinese Corps that was west of Wuchow has finally been able to break contact with the Japanese troops that have been harassing it, and it is now across the river and a hex southwest of Liuchow.

The other part of the News is that it appears that Japanese troops are pulling back to the East from Liuchow, and the other Japanese troops that are east of Liuchow have stopped moving westwards. Has my opponent given up the Siege of Liuchow, or is he just pulling out badly disrupted units? Time will tell.

The Big News that Didn't Happen was in Burma, where Nothing Flew on either side. This was quite astonishing. Usually something will fly from one side or the other. My opponent has commented that we would be more successful sending submarines into Burma rather than aircraft, and I tend to agree.

At the end of the Day USS Scorpion shot at and missed a DD in another large Japanese Transport TF near Ulithi. Scorpion got away safely.

The only Land Combat was at Kalemyo where Allied troops fired off an Artillery Bombardment. One Japanese Combat Squad was disabled. Obviously I need to bring more Forces forward.

In Other News, the Allies, particularly the US, received a large number of ships this turn, including some combat ships for a change. There were a few Air Units received too. The British got a Night Fighter squadron and another Land-based Dive Bomber squadron, and the US received yet another under-trained Marine Fighter squadron that was equiped with Wildcats. That VMF squadron is going to be spending a long time training in San Diego.

[ADB123]

January 15, 1943 – Interim Report -

My opponent is away for the weekend again, but he sent me the Combat Replay for this turn to tide me over until he gets back and has time to do the actual turn. Usually I prepare my reports after I've done my side of the turn, because I get a different view of the situation from what I see in the Combat Replay by actually going over all of the units and areas. But for now I'll put up my comments on the Combat Replay and then mention differences once I get the Turn in a few days.

The Night Phase was quiet other than a report of increased flooding on S-45 as it limps back to Port. I'll probably send it to the nearest decent port instead of its home base and let it get some dockside repairs for a while.

Daylight started out with more Bad Weather in Burma where a number of Allied Fighter Squadrons turned back from their missions. But this in itself is an indication of “better” conditions that the previous turn, because the planes didn't even try to take off last turn.

JAAF Fighters and Bombers in China flew again in large numbers against Liuchow. Most of the bombers went after the Air Base, but they caused little damage. One group of Lilies went after a Chinese LCU in Liuchow, but they missed their target.

Allied planes finally started to fly in Burma as Fighter Sweeps flew through the undefended skies of Kalemyo. Then British and American Liberators flew in and attacked the Japanese Infantry Regiment there, but the 4Es missed their target in the Poor Weather Conditions.

But the Weather must have cleared a bit by the Afternoon because 13 B-17Fs, 12 B-17Es and 24 B-24Ds flew in to hit the Air Base at Taung Gyi. Only 1 Tojo IIa was on CAP. The 4Es blew past the lone defender and reported hitting the Air Base and Air Fields hard, including destroying 2 Tojos and 2 Dinahs on the Ground. Unfortunately, I won't be able to confirm the true extent of the Damage until I can go over the actual turn. But this should have made my opponent a bit antsy because I don't usually catch any of this planes on the Ground.

Finally, the Allied Troops at Kalemyo attempted another Artillery Bombardment, which went poorly again. I thought that I ordered those troops to sit tight after last turn, so I'll have to check them again once I've got the turn.

And it appears that the Japanese Air Searches in the Burma Region didn't pick up the small Supply TF that I had heading to Akyab. The TF ought to be in Akyab now, dropping off some supplies. I've got a P-38 squadron flying LR CAP over the TF, so that will discourage any long range naval bombers that the Japanese might have set to Naval Attack in the region.

[ADB123]

Okay, I received the turn this evening and was able to see the final results.

S-45 is still in reasonably good shape so I am allowing it to continue on to Port, which is almost as close as any backup port.

The attack on Taung Gyi ended up with the following results:

Dinahs lost - 3 on the Ground
Tojo IIas lost - 3 on the Ground

B-17Fs lost - 1 A-to-A and 1 Ops

Overall, the condition, morale and fatigue of my 4Es remains good, so I ordered them to hit the Air Fields at Magwe next turn.

I've got the other mix of British and US 4Es going after the Japanese troops at Kalemyo again.

One change is that I've ordered all of the 2Es in the region to hit the Japanese troops that are just to the East of Akyab next turn. As long as my opponent does send massed-LR CAP over those troops I ought to be okay. BTW - I will have plenty of Allied Fighters available to provide escort too.

And I've ordered the Australian 4Es to hit the Air Fields at Katherine again. If the Weather cooperates next turn ought to be interesting.

[ADB123]

July 16, 1943 – Interim Report -

My opponent sent the “Allied” turn again this turn instead of his “Japan” save. With the time difference he won't see my email in regarding this until tomorrow morning. Oh well, so here's another interim report based upon the Combat Replay only.

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought Rain Everywhere, so all of the Air Attacks were scrambled. At first I was swearing at that, but later things seemed to turn my way a bit, for only for a while.

The first air attack to make it through the Bad Weather was 3 Mabels, of all things, attacking the Chinese Corps that is now SW of Liuchow. The Mabels actually caused some damage, which was a harbinger of worse things later as I realized that this Chinese Corps is now in “Open” ground and a sitting duck for Japanese bombers.

Later on large numbers of Japanese Army Bombers flew in to attack Chinese troops in Liuchow proper, causing little damage to the troops in the city. But when Chinese bombers hit those troops out in the open they caused heavy casualties, so I'm going to have to move that unit once more. That's too bad, because that was a good blocking position.

At this point action took off in Burma as 25 Lilies and 22 Helens, escorted by 21 Ki-15KIa Nicks, attacked the Air Base at Akyab. The Japanese attack was met by 12 Hurricane IIcs. I expected the Brits to have a good time since they had the Altitude advantage over the Nicks, as well as having the Nicks in “Escort” mode, but the Nicks fought off the Brits very easily and even shot down one Hurricane with no losses to the Japanese. So the Japanese bombers got through unimpeded and hit the Air Fields hard.

Then 20 more Helens came in unescorted. They were met by 3 more Hurricanes. The Hurricane Pilots shot down 1 Helen and damaged another, but the Helens got through to hit the Air Fields again.

Afterwards the Japanese Fighter Sweeps finally showed up, with 29 Oscars chasing off 1 Hurricane during the first Sweep, and then 19 Tojos Sweeping Empty Skies.

Finally, 31 Helens, escorted by 18 more Nicks, attacks Akyab and were met by 6 more Hurricanes. A Fighter was lost on each side, but the Bombers got through again to hammer the Air Fields.

So Luck was on My Side to the extent that the Japanese Bombers came in before the Japanese Fighter Sweeps, but my Hurricanes performed very poorly compared to how they were performing a couple of months ago. In particular, I wasn't expecting Nicks to do so well against Hurricane IIcs. I guess that the Brits can no longer be counted upon to provide Front Line Defense.

The Allies finally got to fly some of their Offensive missions in Burma too, with other missions elsewhere washed out.

The First Allied Air Attack was the 2E attack on the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is sitting due East of Akyab. 39 Wellingtons and 24 Blenheim Ivs, escorted by 25 P-38Gs and 13 Hurricane IIcs, hit the Japanese troops hard. Then 16 more Blenheims, escorted by 25 P-38Es, attacked the same Japanese troops but couldn't find the mark.

Next, 10 B-24Ds and 11 Liberator IIs hit the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo. They were followed by 8 more Liberator IIs that missed their mark.

Finally, the main Allied 4E attack of 12 B-17Fs, 15 B-17Es and 19 B-24Ds flew in to Magwe. They were met by 5 Tojo IIs and 2 Oscars. The 4Es blasted past the Japanese Fighters and hit the Air Fields fairly hard, but they didn't catch any Japanese planes on the Ground.

Importantly, the small Supply TF that is at Akyab showed up during the Combat Replay. I don't know if my opponent saw that too, but I've got to assume that he did. I'm hoping that the ship was able to unload most of its supplies. I've got it as an “Amphibious” TF in the hopes of unloading more quickly since the Port at Akyab is damaged too. Depending upon how things look I'll probably pull out that TF and send it to Cox's Bazaar next turn. It's actually good that my opponent is working so hard to damage the Air Fields at Akyab because it is giving me time to move up my Forward Defenses elsewhere in the Region. Now, if those @#$%^ Corsairs only fill in the pipeline quickly enough so that I can convert the Marine Squadron in Calcutta. I need good planes!