Typhoon of Steel: John vs. Bill--RA 3.0

[John 3rd]

North Pacific Operations
January 23-Feb 13, 1942

We last left off with a pair of US CVs (Saratoga/Yorktown) and CVE Long Island driving the Japanese Northern Fleet out of the region. It was hard to watch as my ships were subjected to numerous SBD Attacks. Losses were significant. The American CVs and a BB led STF operated at will until the 27th. Notable losses include CVE Hosho, CL Yura, 8 old DDs, 1 AK, 4 PB, and an AO. Hosho and the AO hurt a bit but the rest isn't too bad.

In an attempt to get the Allies to clear out the Japanese CVs East and NE of Hawaii are allowed to be seen moving North. They move 3 days in that direction, link-up with little Taiyo and come back south.

The Hosho survivors (8 Zero--11 Pilots and 3 Kate--4 Pilots) are flown off to Midway so Taiyo's 12 Zero and 9 Val can be used again. Little Taiyo gets a confirmed sinking when her planes (10 Zero and 5 Val) hit AP Maui with 4 Bombs. The AP was carrying troops appeared heading North.

As the shipping flees West to Paramushiro Jima, several days are allowed to lapse. At Dutch Harbor sat 3 DD and 7 big AKs disbanded in the harbor. Time is allowed for the Americans to withdraw and then 4 AKs are loaded with 1 1/2 SNLF and drop them at Akutan on Febuary 1st. The troops surprise and get the surrender of the 2/153rd Bat there! Nice little victory. The AKs flee West and, sure enough, the next day a STF centered on Warspite bombards Akutan and a small strike from Long Island misses the AKs.

Seeing this happen plants the germ of an idea with the Japanese High Command. The 1st Mixed Brigade arrived at Rabaul on the 28th and got ordered to begin prep for Umnak. There are at leats 3 units there and a squadron of P-36 and Bolo operating from that base. As this unit and two new Naval Guard at Tokyo fills out and begins its prep work, the Fleet begins to gather to deal with the Allied warships.

Little Zuiho and Shoho arrive at Kobe on the 8th of February and enter the yards for quick repairs. They have 3 CA, 1 CL, and 6 DD with them. The TF waits for the arrival of CVL NIsshin and CV Junyo. Both carriers shall be available about February 25th as well as some ship named YAMATO! This should be more then enough force to, hopefully, catch this piece of the Allied Fleet and decisively sink it.

Umnak shall be taken and serve to provide a nice POW haul for Japan. Invasion Date for Umnak is about March 15th...

[John 3rd]

The frustrating Hawaii Operation shall be covered last because details may take about an hour to write! The manner in which the Operation was just described provides hints as to its status for the moment...

[John 3rd]

New Guinea, Solomons, and New Hebrides
January 23-Febuary 13, 1942

My noble opponent uses a frustrating combination of Sir Robin and audacity. I've seen audacity in Hawaii and Sir Robin in Burma and the SE Pacific.

The New Guinea and New Hebrides have been quite surprising. For very little shipping cost with NO warship or aerial protection the Japanese have taken Milne Bay (1-27), Port Moresby (2-3), Ndeni (1-25), and Luganville (1-30). If there had been ANY form of resistance then none of these operations could have or would have succeeded.

This is what drives me nuts with Allied players. "Oh, noooooo it is the beginning of the war and I must retreat for fear of losing things!" If they played to fight, delay, and sense opportunity then it is quite easy to derail operations. To give credit, this is what Bill has done in the Aleutians; however, anything (say the ANZAC Cruisers) would have stopped me dead in my tracks.

OK. That is his choice and we'll see how it plays out. The Japanese are done in this region for the next couple of months. Beyond mopping up bases, I'll move engineers and BF in for possible future operations but beyond that there is little that happen.

[John 3rd]

Timor and NW Australia
January 23 to February 13, 1942

The rapid seizure of Timor has led to a short hiatus in operation directed at the NW Coast of Australia. The fall of Singapore on February 12th ends that. Two Inf Div and support units will begin to move within a week or so.

KB-2
The left off with CarDiv1 (Akagi/Kaga), Ryujo, Shoho, and Zuiho SW of Perth laying waste to Allied shipping. Chronology:

23rd Vals sink 2 AK at sea while Kates attack Perth Harbor and sink 3 AMc and an AVP. A pair of AG, an AM, and an AS are also hit in harbor.

24th Vals CRUSH a TF of 10 AK SW of Perth. YUMMY! A group of Kates sink 4 AMc in Perth

25th KB-2 splits with CarDiv1 moving along the southern coast and the CVLs out to sea about 8 hexes away.

26th Kates hit Cape Esperance and Albany but catch nothing in Port.

27th With fuel beginning to run short and action heating up in Hawaii, the Carriers recombine, head for their AOs, and make for Koepang.

31st A small strike sinks an AKL at Carnavon

Feb 4th Begin approach to Darwin

While the Carriers were moving along the West Coast of Kangarooland ships were spotted at Darwin. This led to an air and surface set of actions prior to the KB-2 arriving to finish things off:

24th 11th Air Fleet and a cruiser force has arrived at Koepang and enables raids to begin on Darwin AF and shipping in the hex. A small American CAP of P-40s is always overhead and does not do much to stop the attacks. Figure a daily attack but I'll be specific if somthing happens.

29th 20 Zero/Oscars escort 22 Betty and fight through 9 P-40 to hit a CM and AK.

31st 2 CA, CL, and 5 DD sink an AK. To my surprise my planes find 40 P-40 on CAP starting this day. Wow. Chance to shootdown planes I guess!

Feb 2nd Get Dili running and move my Fighters closer to Darwin.

5th The KB-2 arrives and joins the fray! LBA attacks the AF destroying some planes on the ground while the KB Zeros Sweep and attack the shipping. An AK and 2 AKL are sunk as well as 15+ P-40s shotdown for 3 Zero, 3 Betty, and 1 Val.

6th The combined groups shotodwn another 8 P-40s and drive the aircraft out of Darwin.

7th KB-2 splits with the 2 small CVL heading home in preparation for Aleutian action while CarDiv1 + Ryujo move to Truk and then on to Hawaii.

Regular raids continue over Darwin but it appears fighter resistance has been rboken for the short term.

The 16th Army is prepping for Wyndham and shall land there in about 10 days using the troops described at the beginnning of this Post.

[John 3rd]

Wife coming home. End of Postings for a while!

[John 3rd]

Combat Report
Malaya and the Fall of Singapore
January 22-14 February, 1942

The Malayan Campaign went according to plan with landing way up north and a gradual movement south. Main operations were carried out by 3 Inf Div with Mersing and Johore Bharu falling at the end of January.

We could have crossed over into Singapore but I wanted to wait and make sure the assault would take the Fortress down quickly. This decision forced a hold of about 10 days so the 38th Inf Div could wrap up it Southern China Operations and move to Mersing.

Once present the 25th Army HQ, 4 ID, 6 Artillery units, and 4 Engineer Regiments made a united crossing onto the Island. On the 9th of February the army successfully crossed and acheived a 1-1 dropping Forts to 2. The force was heavily disrupted so I waited until the 12th for the next attack. This deliberate Attack aslo got 1-1 and lowered Forts again. Bargaining on the Allies being a mess I ordered a final Shock Attack and forced the surrender on the 13th.

I might have been able to do this sooner but I didn't see the point. The troops were not needed elsewhere since Java was rolling and Burma is a Sir Robin. In allowing time to be taken all 4 Inf Div are in excellent shape and will deploy as soon as mines are swept from the area. Two ID head for Burma (Imperial Guards and 38th) while two move to Koepang and then join the 16th Army for NW Aussieland.

Should note that aircraft losses were quite light as well. I was using 2 Snetai of Nates and 3 Bomber Sentais (Lily and Sally). They will redeploy to Burma quite probably after upgrades.

[John 3rd]

Combat Report
Java Campaign
January 23-Feburary 14, 1942

I have always been a believer of the Patton method of warfare compared to Sir Bernard Law Montgomery. By this I mean it is always better to 'bounce' something rather then plan it to death for a set-peice attack. This view is no better demonstrated then in Java.

Since the Invasion of Malaya would take place only in the northern area and Palembang was an immediate objective (requiring carrier CAP and the 4th ID) I knew there would be an opportunity to gain a lodgement in Java while my CVs were still present.

This was done by landing the 33rd ID at Merak in late-December as I swept through Palembang and sent the 4th South towards Oosthaven. Using captured AF for CAP, the 4th was shuttled over to Batavia and then the two ID worked together driving west.

It became rapidly obvious that Bill was going to put everything possible at Bandoeng to gain maximum benefit from the geography. Knowing that the eastern pincers had already grabbed Timor, an improvised landing occurred at Tjedpoe by a Tank Regiment and the Muira Detachment. Reinforcements arrived in the form of Manchurian TK Reg pulled early on and now deployed into Java. This Force rapidly captured Soerabaja and all points east.

The Tanks moved fast enough to keep 7 units at Tjilitjap from joining the Bandoeng concentration. On February 15th the first serious attack occurred here gaining a 2-1 and ropping Forts to 0. These units will surrender tomorrow and then all forces will move to finish off Bandoeng.

Once again if just a few Dutch units had been left around Soerabaja it would have cost me a week or two more to take eastern Java. I will thank the stars for small favors.

When hostilities end here, all 6 Tank Regiments will move to Burma along with 1 Inf Div. The other will move to Hawaii to aide operations there. About 100 aircraft have and are supporting operations. The bulk of these will move to Australia.

[John 3rd]

Combat Report
Burma Campaign
January 22-Feb 14, 1942

The Allied choice of the Sir Robin defense is never fully understandable to me. As said before, the Allies can lose BUNCHES of troops, planes and ships and still replace them. The Japanese, generally, cannot. Summary of this comment is to FIGHT!

The current Burma operation stands as case in point. Very few troops were available for any sort of early move into this vital theatre. An Army HQ, Inf Regiment and a Base Force was all that was avialble to move out from Bangkok to drive on Tavoy and Moulmein.

Realistically, I knew (once I had Oosthaven and western Java) that there would be a chance to send TF around western Sumatra and add to the movement north into Burma. This was done fairly quickly after Paratroopers grabbed Port Blair. A Raiding TF of CAs and DDs were sent to Port Blair and about 8 SS arrived pretty quickly to lend further support.

As my 3 unit spearhead moved along the coast and grabbed Tavoy, Allied troops fell back without a fight. Moulmein fell without issue January 21st. The Inf Reg used to 'occupy' those small Thai ports was reformed and sent north at this point.

Recon demonstrated that troops were rapidly moving out of Rangoon and only one large unit held Pegu. The Burma Division had been constituted and it waited for my attack. With only having limited means available, I swung in Fuso and Yamashiro for a bombardment the night my forces assaulted the town. The bombardment was somwhat effective and a 1-1 occurred with the initial attack. On the 28th the town fell and the door lay open to an undefended (for the most part) Rangoon.

Feeling like Stonewall Jackson was leading this improvised offensive, I began feeding more small units into the fray. While not counting for much the Air Flotilla, 2 small BF, TK Regiment, and Naval Guard was enough to keep operations moving against token opposition. Though a portion of the AVG was present, my Zero Daitai and 2 Oscar Sentai proved strong enough to keep the skies Japanese. Only 1 Sentai of Lily have been availble for bombing support.

Rangoon easily fell on February 1st. I then SPLIT my limited forces sending a portion NW to Prome and the rest North to Toungoo. Prome fell on February 12th and Toungoo on the 13th.

Until a roadblock is found this offensive--consisting of NOTHING--will roll north. By March 1st serious troops and aircraft will arrive and the goal will be total explusion of the Allies from all of Burma. If Brave Sir Robin had not been used, I would be starting the true Burma Campaign from Moulmein on March 1st instead of from somewhere north of Toungoo...

[John 3rd]

Operations Report
Southern China
January 23-February 14, 1942

The early fall of Hong Kong provided an opportunity to experiment in China. The 38th ID was available and Imperial High Command decided to use it to clear southern China of bandits. The 38th easily took Kwangchowan and Pakhoi then drove NE and grabbed Nanning. As these moves occurred the 104th ID moved out of Canton and took Wuchow.

About 100 fighters and bombers supported the twin thrusts.

Nanning fell in late-January and two Inf Brigades have moved in to hold the city. The 104th ID sits at Wuchow and the 38th aided in the final fall of Singapore.

This, once again, shoestring operation got heavy support from Central China. An army of 6+ Inf Div moved out to threaten Changsha. The Chinese moved more troops into the area and did not--as of yet--move reinforcements to the south.

To strengthen the hold at Nanning an Inf Division is moving across China to join it conducting a stronger defense if needed.

[John 3rd]

Operational Report
Central and Northern China
January 23-February 14, 1942

Sir Robin strikes once more as the Japanese were able to capture Chenchow, Loyang, and Nanyang without a fight. A massed fist advance towards Sian with a diversion heading for Yenan.

In the forrest east of Sian sit 9 Inf Div, 3 Brig, 3 Tank Reg, 2 Army HQ with Northern China HQ sitting Loyang supporting operations. The Chinese were just driven from the hex SE of Sian and 14 Chinese Divisions/Corps are nearly trapped two hexes SE of the target. There are 19 units currently in Sian with 5 to the NE.

A Diversion of 4 Inf Brigade and 2 Inf Reg is about to cross the river and begin a drive on Yenan. The goal isn't so much to capture the city as it is to 'fix' the units up in that region so they cannot move southwards.

Shanghai just went to a Lvl 7 AF so I've pulled all the air in Northern and Central China to upgrade them to Oscars, Lily, and Sally. This should help the bombing campaign some.

[John 3rd]

All that is left is Hawaii and the Economy. Got have some lunch and will prepare a long entry for the Hawaiian Operation.

[John 3rd]

Operations Report
The Hawaiian Campaign
January 22-February 18, 1942

The frustration being felt in this Campaign that started so easily and well is somewhat indescribable. Where Bill has followed a Sir Robin in so many other theatres of the war that CANNOT be said here. My opponent has been tenacious, bold, and quite daring with his response and strategy in countering the Japanese invasion of Hilo and subsequent build-up.

Goals of the Hawaii Invasion:
1. Force an Attritional Air Battle.
2. Force a Naval Clash and make the Americans keep their Fleet in the Pacific.
3. The desire to not HAVE to take everything but enough to grind Pearl Harbor down and make the Americans come back and save the islands.

We left off with the campaign in excellent shape. I had taken Kona and was driving on Hilo, the AF were building up from their Sz-1 starting points, and the Americans had been reduced to using their aircraft only at night in petty, useless attacks against the Fleet. Wow--what a difference a month makes. Now, things are in terrible shape with Kona and Hilo's AF cratered and out-of-action, my aircraft destroyed on the ground due to nuclear bombardments by Heavy Cruisers, and American command of the air due to the arrival of the US CV Air Groups.

I'll cover these changes topically:

Carriers:
KB-1 Originally I was hamstrung due to only having CarDiv's 2 and 5 available to support the Operation. In sinking the Enterprise in late-December Shokaku took a 1,000lb bomb that did about 20 Sys Damage to her. Due to the restraints of the moment I was forced to keep her operating around the target. This was highly concerning considering just one hit would probably knock her out of action.

On January 22nd the KB-2, CarDiv1--Ryujo, and the 2 CVL were SW of Perth blasting shipping. They get recalled to help in Hawaii. On Feb 4th and 5th they blast Darwin as they pass by that Port. The 6th sees them split with little Zuiho and Shoho heading back to Kobe to re-size air groups, wait for new construction, and then move on to the Aleutians to deal with issue up there. The remaining 3 carriers reach Truk on 12th, refuel, and are in the Midway area by the 16th.

While waiting for this welcome reinforcement, KB-1 ran up and linked with little Taiyo (fleeing from the Aleutians) passed east of Hawaii and then made Port at the entirely TOO SMALL base of Christmas Isle. They dock on Feb 1st. My engineers are digging here and are making progress but not quickly enough by my needs. The Port is about to go to Sz-4 and this will help with fuel unloading. Supplies are plentiful--I just need to unload fuel faster. On the 8th the CVs move out along the western side of Hawaii getting ready to Cover the Lihue Landing. Shokaku and Taiyo (in separate TF) are sent home for Repairs. The 3 remaining carriers must be cautiously used. Help is coming but one must be patient...

The 10th reveals the vastly increased strength of the American planes and I become doubly cautious with my 3 heavies. They swing NW of Hawaii and then East cutting across his newly discovered northern route for supplies. For three days (13th-15th) the CVs sink AKs, AKLs, and other vessels. They then head west to rendezvous with KB-2 and refuel.

Land Developments
Hilo
Hilo falls on the 28th to the Sendai Inf Div. Japanese bag 2558 POWs. Move 3 Con Bat and a large BF in to begin base expansion.

Lahaina
Knowing this will be a battle of AF, I load a TF with most of the Imperial Guards Brigade and land at Lahaina on January 22nd. CD is NASTY but losses are quite minor. I'm getting the art of imbedding a BB into an Invasion Force down. The Guards land and are facing a CD unit, Inf Bat, and BF. I reinforce the attack a couple of days later with the South Seas Force. The base is Bombarded on the 25th and 26th. On the 26th my TF encounters yet ANOTHER dozen PT Boats (they have been appearing left-and-right) sink nearly all of them but BBs Nagato and Hyuga each take a Torp. [:@] The base falls on January 29th and is significantly damaged.

The Lihue Landing
From Johnston I prepare a landing of the 90th Inf Reg, 2 SNLF, and 1 Base Force for Lihue. The TF is protected by a CA-CL TF and the big guns of Nagato and Mutsu. As detailed earlier the 3 remaining CVs leave Christmas on the 8th to provide LR CAP.

The morning of the 10th starts off beautifully when the two STF encounter a host of AP, AK, and DD trying to unload at the target. Sinkings: 3 MORE PT Boats, 5 AP, 1 AK, and DDs Ralph Talbot, Crosby, and Allen. It is very nice work since all of the APs were carrying troops. A good start! Things suddenly turn to utter KIMCHEE when the TF are pounced on by a total of 59 Fighters and 84 (CRAP [X(]) SBD! Thankfully they have a crappy day and my 12-20 Zeros flying CAP actually do fairly well but the damage is serious. A similar sized force attacks the same TF in the afternoon phase as well. Though frightening, losses are fairly light with the following totals: Mutsu takes 9 1,000lb B, Nagato takes 10, Aoba get hit with 3 and sinks the next day due to later attack, CL Isuzu, a DD, and an AK are also hit by single bombs.

Thankfully Japanese BB are made of stout steel! Though their upperworks are a mess (Sys 28 and 33) they are damaged internally or in flotation. Thank Goodness. They are, however, put out of the battle and are now headed for home looking to join Hyuga in the docks.

For some reason those BBs draw all the attacks and--thankfully--they ignore the 6,000 troops in the Invasion Force. Lihue is immediately cancelled and we retire to Johnston. Just to raise some chaos I detach some DDs to try and catch more shipping and they do fairly well. They bag another loaded AP, 2 AK, and 2 more PTs.

This is the turning point of the fight right now. I can surmise that Bill brought his CVs in close enough from the North and flew in his air groups. I've seen what appears to be two full CV Air Groups (50+ F4F, 70+ SBD, and 25+ Devastator). Saratoga and Yorktown's Groups have been seen in the combat display. With the reduced state of my CVs at the moment I cannot challenge these planes coupled to about 200 army aircraft. This is why joining up the KB's is so important right now!

Nuclear Bombardment and the ALMIGHTY 4EB
Things wouldn't be that bad if my AF at Kona and Hilo were operational. Both have gone to AF-3 but are throughly trashed thanks to the combination of B-17, B-24, and nuclear bombardments from American CAs/CLs. Starting about Feb 1st the Americans commit roughly 60 4EB to the job of knocking down my Zeros. Nothing better in 1942 then a 4EB at shooting down Japanese fighters! Heck--if your gonna lose them might as loss them to these huge, invulnerable aircraft. [8|] They served to grind down my Zeros while begin the work of cratering the AF. Should note that the Zero--while they still flew--managed to down a good number of escort fighters.

The killer part of this equation has been the continuos use of CA-CL Bombardment TF. Every night both AF has received visits from 1-2 CA, 1-2 CL, covered by 4-5 DDs. They have been repeatedly murderously successful. On Sz-3 AF I had about 80 planes on each when this started to occur. One would think I've got the planes parked so tightly tip-to-tip. Grrrrrr... With losing control of the air (on the arrival of the CV Air Groups) things have spun momentarily out of control. Both fields are at 100% Damage and I cannot do much of anything. Lahaina is mine but I only have a small BF there and so he is ignoring it for the moment.


PLANNING:
To wrest control of the situation back I have embarked on the following plan:

A. Combine the KB (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Zuikaku, and Ryujo will form into 2 TF and spin off 2 BC as a STF to cover upcoming landings. I cannot risk getting them too close but they'll offload some Vals and replace them with Zeros to buttress the CAP strength to about 200 Zero.

B. A Fast TF landed an SNLF at Lanai last night (Feb 18th). It is deserted and will fall today. I will then begin construction base construction. Course my 2 CL and 8 DD couldn't LEAVE Lanai and were attacked by the SBD Force causing Isuzu to take 1 B and 1 TT with another pair of DDs taking single bombs. The CL will limp into Lahaina and--possibly--survive.

C. I've got the 90th Inf Reg, and CCA of the 2nd Inf Div loaded and prepping for Molokai.

D. The 9th Air Fleet, in shipping, is concentrating at Johnston. This powerful force comprises the 9th Air Fleet HQ, 3 Air Flotilla, and 3 Large BF. They will be divided onto Molokai, Lahaina, and Hilo. This should place enough engineers and varying targets to make it so my AF can operate.

E. I've only got BB Ise and 3 BC available for heavy support and that is exactly what they will do.

I will get everyone together at Johnston and then head west. KB, STF, the Inf TF, and 9th Air TFs will all be in the same hex. EVERYTHING heads towards Molokai and then spreads out. KB stays tight and then backs off a hex or two south. Lihue is another possibility but I don't know what is there at the moment. It makes better sense to grab all of the islands south of Pearl and THEN take Lihue when I get the chance.

This plan is open for the moment because it will take another 5 days or so to get everything open.

I am VERY OPEN to ideas on changing this situation for the better. Please opine because I can use the help and advice!

[John 3rd]

Here is a slightly dated screenshot taken on the 14th of February (now the 18th) showing the situation with some notes on strength.

Should note that there are 24 SS now patrolling East, NE, North, and near the West Coast. They have been very successful. Will Post on their totals in a bit. To run some sort of interference with Bill's bombardment missions I created about 16 Midget SS and spread them between Kona, Hilo, and Lahaina. Also have made some barge units to shuttle forces a bit.

[SoliInvictus202]

wow - that doesn't look too good - but the hammer might just tip the balance of war back into your favour...

just a question - have you been using DD-TFs to intercept the bombardment runs? - maybe I just overlooked it in your report - but from what I have seen in the early stages of the war - those DDs with long lances can be quite nasty against a superior force, if the TF commander is a good one - the Allied don't have radar yet on their ships (April is the update if I am not mistaken) - so you should have all advantages in night combat on your side (and your opponent launches these attacks always during the night so that his ships are back under the CAP umbrella during the day, from what I understood)

I am sure other forum-members will have better ideas, but it seems to me that dealing with these Bombard-TFs is your highest priority if you want to get your airfields up and running again...

PS: also it seems that your SS are patrolling on intercept patterns from the WC - do you have any RO-Class SS to patrol on the routes these BB-TFs take?

maybe all of this will not be needed anymore when KB cleared the field... just a thought

[FatR]

This is probably a belated advice, but how many flak units you've brought for this operation? Try massing them in a single base, of course, as soon as you can stop surface bombardments. This hopefully should give a degree of protection against bombers, particularly once you can fly CAP once again.

I'd advise to try drawing an American air attack to KB, at the range of 6-7 hexes, if khyberbill makes a mistake of letting his planes attack at such range. Embed battleships in the force, even if they are damaged. A good massacre by Zeros can bleed his airforce white. It is risky, but something must be done to neutralize it.

[Cribtop]

The three weapons of impact are, as noted, the bombardment TFs, the 4Es and the SBDs. I was going to suggest a CAP trap for the latter and mines, mini-subs and SCTFs for the bombardments, but others got to those ideas first. How strong are PH's air defenses? The best place to kill 4Es is on the ground, and you may nail some SBDs as well. Can Netties reach from Johnston to add to the carnage of a KB alpha strike? Is this even feasible given known enemy fighter strength?

PS Obviously flood the area with subs as this could also help with the bombardment TFs.

[John 3rd]

Good ideas.

1. I've thought of a CAP Trap by sending a group of DDs into the area and have KB Zeros on LRCAP. That might be a good stinger.
2. Have 8 AA units sitting at Johnston and Christmas read to go in.
3. I've got 6 RO working the area plus the Midgets
4. His 4EB are hitting everyday. Morale must be a question at some point. A good bloody nose might serve to get them beginning to abort their missions.

The SBDs scare the crap out of me! Seems to me they have got to be dealt with first.

Getting operational AFs going is next. Lahaina isn't damaged at the moment but I need to get BF there to give it the ability to do something.

[FatR]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd
Getting operational AFs going is next. Lahaina isn't damaged at the moment but I need to get BF there to give it the ability to do something.

Any possibility of sneaking something there from Johnston/Midway by transport planes or flying
boats (or even Betties)?

[Cribtop]

Or even SSTs? Or some combination thereof?

IMHO 6 ROs is way too few subs. I'd pulse in about 20 fleet boats and cover all hexes into and out of contested bases. The war will be won or lost off Hawaii, not in the convoy routes.

Keep your chin up. After your dire warnings I was concerned you had lost a bunch of CVs. The damaged capital ships are no fun, but your situation is quite retrievable.

One bit of Cribtop doctrine that may help too is the LCTF (light combat task force). I like to send 3 CLs and up to 6 DDs into a contested hex ahead of an SCTF or bombardment group. With a good, aggressive commander, the LCTFs act as PT vacuum cleaners. You could use this tactic to irritate him then dangle a DD only LCTF as bait for the SBDs.

[John 3rd]

Go Cribtop! My concern there is with no aircover those ships sent into the area will be pounced on by 100 SBD!

Moving the SS is not a problem. Consider it done next turn. Heck--I'll try just about anything to change the course at the moment.

I've got Tina and Mavis TR but don't think they have the range. Worth a look though.

I'm not despondent, just shocked at the difference in play between one area and another. The decision to commit his CV Air Groups is fairly bold. The move is gutsy but I can CHEW THEM UP and hurt him some. Last turn showed squadrons from Lexington, Saratoga, and Enterprise.

I've now got the firepower concentrated. Can move forward within 3-4 turns.