Ocean of Blood. FatR (J) vs. Bigred (A).

[FatR]

I'm using one of modified maps from here:
tm.asp?m=2189709

Number show port/airfield potential of a base.

[FatR]

May 16, 1943 - At the Gates of Chungking

Well, as you can see below, my main force is indeed there. I took the longer road, to avoid a river crossing attack into Chungking itself. Almost all Chinese units in the heartland are concentrated in Chungking, so, I'm sending my tanks around to take other cities, while infantry and artillery will march into Chungking directly. With about 90% of Japanese artillery on map (over 3000 guns) concentrated in that stack, I'm pretty sure my troops will be able to pound Chinese in x2 defensive terrain to dust, particularly as they should be stariving. A test bombardment in clear terrain caused over 1500 casualties...


Reduction of Allied Airbase on Little Andaman

Started in the first week of May. Bigred usually had no CAP there, relying on massive flak fire to protect against raids of opportunity. He apparently didn't expect the massive air offensive I launched right after the bulk of IJAAF was no longer needed to ensure success in China, using over 200 bombers from various Japanese airbases in the region. Massed use of bombers reduced Japanese losses per sortie very considerably. A day of bad weather allowed Allies to repair the airfield enough to put a good fight, and my airforce has suffered huge losses to Corsairs, Spitfires and thankfully small number of Hellcats, including my best ace. However, after, IIRC, two days of fighting Bigred decided to ground his planes, maybe not expecting me to be back. But my bombers flew once again and plastered the airfield, ending serious resistance in one shot, and destroying about 40 of the first-line Allied fighters on ground in two days.

So now the Allied airbase at Little Andaman is nonfunctional. Bigred didn't get many convoys there intact lately, so I expect Allied supplies to run out quickly, which will make an invasion possible.

Fleet had to pay the for this victory as well, though - I needed to push convoys to Trinkat and Port Blair, so that these bases will have enough supply for the air offensive. In the prosess a DD was sunk by British divebombers, another by a PT boat. PT boats also very heavily damaged one of the training cruisers.

By the way, after the patches presense of planes on an airfield is no longer always detected by recon... I'm also not sure if attempts to intercept transport planes led to bloody duels with CAP before, but now they do.


Island Hopping

Meanwhile, a great storm gathers in Southwestern Pacific. Stay tuned - I'll describe the outcome once the battle will be over.

[FatR]

Ocean of Blood: Kirakira Version

Long story short, on May 15 of 1943, my airsearch detected a massive Allied armada that just left Ndeni and was heading in the general direction of Solomons. Betties from Nauru sortied against it and got annihilated by LRCAP. Their colleagues from Munda were more lucky, stumbing on a forward Allied minelaying TF. It had no CAP, so DM Montgomery, CM Weehawken, and AM Motive were sunk at no loss.

At the moment I had a considerable naval force at Rabaul (5 CAs, 4 CLs), with BBs Kongo and Kirishima currently escorting a large resupply convoy to Milne Bay (I decided to use battleships to counter skipbombers I expected Bigred to have on watch, he did, it worked, in combination with providing heavy CAP, of course). To be honest, I was somewhat vary of contesting Allied landing in force. It resembled a bait, dangled before my nose, so that Allied carrier force/skipbombing 4Es from Ndeni can massacre my reaction force.

Still, considering conservative play and tendency not to commit his forces decisively, displated by Bigred before, I decided in favor of counterattacking with all available strength. Considerable bomber force, including 3 (4 on the next day, although one group in both cases was based in a base without torpedo HQ) groups of Betties, 1 group of Judies, 1 group of Nicks on low naval and some Jakes on low naval was set to strike at the Allied fleet with all its might, while my own naval forces gathered at Munda, under modest aircover, to attack on the next day.

Unfortunately, instead of the expected bang, May 16 ended in a whimper. None of my planes in Solomons sortied at all. Allied fleet subjected Tulagi and Lunga to relatively light bombardments, at countering which my coastal DP guns seemed ineffective. 2 midgets were sank in the process, without even making a single shot at the enemy.
However, the Allied sub fleet fared even worse:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Normanby Island at 102,133

Japanese Ships
APD Tsuta
xAK Ryunan Maru
xAK Yosyu Maru
xAK Tatuha Maru
AV Kimishima Maru

Allied Ships
SS S-45, hits 11, and is sunk


SS S-45 launches 4 torpedoes at APD Tsuta (One actually hit, but miraculously was a dud.)
S-45 bottoming out ....
APD Tsuta attacking submerged sub ....
SS S-45 forced to surface!
APD Tsuta firing on surfaced sub ....
xAK Ryunan Maru firing on surfaced sub ....
xAK Yosyu Maru firing on surfaced sub ....
xAK Tatuha Maru firing on surfaced sub ....
AV Kimishima Maru firing on surfaced sub ....
APD Tsuta firing on surfaced sub ....
Sub slips beneath the waves

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Vella Lavella at 110,133

Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki
CA Maya
CL Kiso
CL Kinu
CL Niyodo
DD Shirakumo
DD Shinonome

Allied Ships
SS Permit, hits 20, heavy damage

SS Permit launches 4 torpedoes at DD Fubuki
Permit bottoming out ....
DD Shirakumo attacking submerged sub ....
DD Shinonome attacking submerged sub ....
DD Fubuki fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Shirakumo attacking submerged sub ....
DD Shinonome attacking submerged sub ....
DD Shirakumo fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Shinonome fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Shinonome fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Shinonome fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub

It should be noted, that no meaningful attempts to suppress my airfield or beat back my aviation was undertaken by the Allies before this operation, which, as I saw on 16th, targeted Kirakira. Kirakira went to level 1 airfield on that very day, suggesting that Bigred already was sneaking troops there.


For the next day, May 17, I formed two TFs of 1 BB and 3 CAs/bigger CLs + 4 DDs each (with Tanaka and Nishimura, the two most aggressive Japanese admirals, in command), and another TF of 8 DDs led by Yubari, and send them on a bombard/retreat run to Kirakira. Probably I should have accepted fuel burn and send them as full speed SCTFs, but I have little trust of full speed moves - in my experience they can result in TFs moving or stopping unpredictably, due to AI detecting fuel shortage on some ships, or whatever. Aviation had pretty much the same order, except with sweeping Kirakira.

This resulted in the longest sequence of night surface battles during this war so far.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 113,139, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
CA Chokai
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Kawakaze
DD Yugure
DD Ikazuchi
DD Inazuma

Allied Ships
PT-224

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 10,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 10,000 yards
Tanaka, Raizo crosses the 'T'
DD Kawakaze engages PT-224 at 9,000 yards
Task forces break off...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 114,139, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
CA Chokai
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Kawakaze
DD Yugure
DD Ikazuchi
DD Inazuma

Allied Ships
PT-224, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 10,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 10,000 yards
Combat ends with last Allied ship sunk...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 115,139, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima
CA Atago
CA Maya
CL Niyodo
DD Fubuki
DD Shinonome
DD Shirakumo
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
LCT-146, Shell hits 3, and is sunk

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 12,000 yards
Japanese open fire on surprised Allied ships at 12,000 yards
LCT-146 sunk by BB Kirishima at 12,000 yards
LCT-146 sunk by BB Kirishima at 12,000 yards
Combat ends with last Allied ship sunk...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 116,140, Range 11,000 Yards

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 2 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima
CA Atago
CA Maya, Shell hits 2
CL Niyodo, Shell hits 2
DD Fubuki
DD Shinonome
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
CA Pensacola, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Detroit, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Woodworth, Shell hits 1
DD Anderson
DD Dunlap, Shell hits 1, on fire

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
Task forces break off...

So far so good, but the Nishimura's division used up most of its torps here...



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 116,140, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo, Shell hits 5
CA Chokai, Shell hits 2
CA Furutaka, Shell hits 3, on fire
CA Kako, Shell hits 8, on fire
DD Kawakaze
DD Yugure, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Ikazuchi, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Inazuma

Allied Ships
CL Helena, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Montpelier, Shell hits 16, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Chevalier
DD Conway, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Cony, Shell hits 2
DD Downes, Shell hits 1

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
Lee, Willis "Ching" crosses the 'T'
Task forces break off...

(Tanaka getting his T crossed? How can this be?!? My SCTF managed to win this by sheer superior weight, but at the cost of damage, that caused it to fragment, and, as it happened, the entire assault to fall apart.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 116,140, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
CA Furutaka, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Kawakaze
DD Ikazuchi, on fire

Allied Ships
CL Boise, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Strong
DD Drayton
DD Lamson

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
Tanaka, Raizo orders Japanese TF to disengage
Task forces break off...

(Here you can see the result of the previous battle. I guess I was lucky to escape That Damn Boise with only an old CA in danger of sinking.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 116,140, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Yubari, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Shimakaze, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Oyashio
DD Arashi
DD Oshio, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Natsugumo
DD Arare
DD Yamakaze, Shell hits 2
DD Kikuzuki

Allied Ships
CA Quincy, Shell hits 1
CL Cleveland
DD Waller
DD Gansevoort, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Kane

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
Task forces break off...

(The third SCTF arrives and immediately wastes its torps on DDs.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 116,140, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Yubari, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Shimakaze, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
DD Oyashio
DD Arashi
DD Oshio, on fire
DD Natsugumo, Shell hits 1
DD Arare
DD Yamakaze
DD Kikuzuki

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Shell hits 8, on fire
CL Denver
DD Philip, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Bagley, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
Merrill, A.S. "Tip" crosses the 'T'
Task forces break off...

(I hate Allied BBs apparent ability to snipe my destroyers. And for the record, Shimakaze wasted her torpedoes sinking Bagley, instead, of you know, targeting the friggin battleship).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 116,140, Range 7,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Yubari, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Oyashio, Shell hits 1
DD Arashi
DD Oshio, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Natsugumo
DD Arare
DD Yamakaze, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Kikuzuki

Allied Ships
DD Allen, Shell hits 1
DD Schley
DD Kortenaer
DD Piet Hein, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage

Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 96% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 7,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 7,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 7,000 yards


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kirakira at 116,140, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 1
CA Atago, Shell hits 2
CA Maya
CL Niyodo, Shell hits 2
DD Fubuki, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Shinonome, Shell hits 26, and is sunk
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Yugiri, Shell hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Bache, Shell hits 2
DD Eaton, Shell hits 22, and is sunk
DD Lansdowne, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Bailey, Shell hits 6, and is sunk


Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 100% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
Nishimura, Teiji crosses the 'T'

(The final encounters basically consist of Allied DDs wreaking havoc despite wastly inferior odds. They account for most of my immediate losses in these battles.)

4 Japanese DDs are sunk. Furutaka is in danger, every other Japanese capital ship will survive unless finished by subs. 10 Allied seaplanes destroyed on ground indicate that both of the heavily damaged CLs went under. Victory, I guess? I'll soon run out of destroyers at this rate, though. And none of my TFs reached the landing zone.


Daylight activity by Japanese - and, I believe, Allied - aviation is much less than expected. Allied skipbombers damaged another DD at Tulagi. Betties, appearing after Allied CAP at Kirakira already was swept, did much better:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kirakira at 116,140

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 11 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5b Zero x 30
G4M2 Betty x 36
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 13

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 5


Japanese aircraft losses
G4M2 Betty: 2 damaged
G4M2 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
APA Leonard Wood, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
SC-635
APA Harris, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
APA Zeilin, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
APA W.A. Holbrook, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
LST-446, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

This strike was less than 1/3rd of the available force, though. And all of the Allied ships were unloaded already.

Allied subs failed to hit anything this day. Japanese subs sank a number of unescorted LCTs over the last three days, but did not engage any bigger targets.

[FatR]

As a funny sidenote, I'm still receiving intelligence confirmations about Allied ships sunk in Manila at the beginning of the war...

Returning to the Battle of Kirakira, I wonder if Bigred specifically waited for nearly full moonlight to launch his operation. Certainly no engagements tonight started at knifepoint, where trademark Japanese torpedo attacks are most effective. I supposed 4-DD TFs were ASW patrols, but even not counting them, Bigred divided his fleet into quite a lot of taskforces. This certainly succeeded at preventing my TFs from interrupting the landing, but did not succeed in defeating them. The Allied naval force, taken together, was roughly equal in strength, but, in the end, suffered considerably higher losses.

I also notice, that despite both sides having numerous ships with radars, detection in all of the above episodes was visual. Not sure if this is not a bug.

[GreyJoy]

...a very interesting read...must have been a great battle to watch!

[FatR]

May 18-20, 1943: Naval Battle of Kirakira: Aftermath

Retreat to the relative safety of Rabaul proved to be costlier than the battle itself. CL Yubari was finished by a sub attack, and CA Furutaka reached Rabaul but failed to disband into port and sank in the harbor. While Yubari was not particularly valuable, losing another CA hurts. Allies still suffered heavier losses, but this is no longer an one-sided victory.

Allied fleet suffered more damage from the air, meanwhile. In a night attack Betties damaged BB Pennsilvania with a single torpedo. APA Zeilin, torpedoed on 17th, was caught in harbor of Kirakira by Betties and heavily damaged, some small ships (PTs, LSTs, an SC) sunk. Speaking of Kirakira, I was amazed to not find a massive garrizon with heavy flak there. A massed Betty attack demolished the airfield easily, after CAP was swept away with more numerous Japanese fighters from Lunga and Tulagi.


The First Step Back

While fighting at the tip of Solomons chain raged, Bigred snuck a landing force to Horn Island unnoticed. While I fortified Horn Island quite a bit, the very first combat demonstrated, that without heavy reinforcement and resupply, which was practically impossible to pull off, considering proximity of large Allied airbases in Australia, defenders are doomed:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Horn Island (91,128)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 4092 troops, 39 guns, 152 vehicles, Assault Value = 208
Defending force 4267 troops, 58 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 132
Allied adjusted assault: 60
Japanese adjusted defense: 127
Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 5)

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

Japanese ground losses:
556 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 62 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 34 (5 destroyed, 29 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
144 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled

Assaulting units:
2/8th Armoured Regiment
II Aus Corps Engr Bn /4
Port Moresby Bde /3
Bowen RAN Base Force
2/16th Field Rgt /1

Defending units:
82nd Naval Guard Unit
46th Naval Guard Unit
47th Field AA Battalion
42nd Road Const Co
8th JAAF AF Bn

Presence of Allied armor is likely to blame...

This is a good move on Bigred part. One look at the map will demonstrate that this conquest, executed with only a small force of obsolete ships and landing craft, is a far more important for Allies than Kirakira. Of course, my own relaxed attitude towards building up defences around Torres Strait is also to blame, and this mistake might cost me dearly.


A Research Bug?

A7M2 accelerated on May 20th. I have no fully repaired factories researching it, and I hope the patch did not allow unrepaired facilities to produce research, because I imagine facing Shindens in early 1944 will suck for Allied players.

[FatR]

June 1st of 1943 - Situation Update

Battles rage on three fronts, as the game enters summer of 1943. Both sides are currently on the offensive in different sectors, but I hope that my target is more strategically important.

[FatR]

Andamans Campaign: Near Conclusion?

After seeing that Allied forces on Little Andaman are out of supply (by absence of flak fire), I've decided to proceed with the landing operation even though many of the units prepared for Little Andaman are still busy in China. My forces hit the beaches on May 31. Allies put no resistance so far except a single unsuccessful 4E raid and sub concentration, which so far resulted only in a massive number of hits reported by experienced Judies's crews from covering Japanese carriers (I train all my divebombers with ASW as a secondary skill). Allied CD guns fired little, probably plagued by supply shortages as well, so my sacrificial minesweeper force had survived as well. However, a bug that prevents sweeping of mines by a TF patrolling in a single hex struck, and it did not sweep any mines on the second day. As the result, AK Tatuharu Maru was mined and went under, carrying alot of men from the elite 5th Division with her. I really should have included a couple of empty transports to fish survivors out of water in my amphibious TF.

The first taste of the defender's strength left me cautiously optimistic:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Little Andaman (44,59)
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 27876 troops, 731 guns, 435 vehicles, Assault Value = 1223
Defending force 49377 troops, 254 guns, 388 vehicles, Assault Value = 2111

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

Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
18th British Division
7th Australian Division
6th Australian Div /2
1st Bengal Construction Battalion
I Australian Corps
222 Group RAF
1st Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment
35th Light AA Regiment
III Indian
48th Light AA Regiment
IV Indian /2
175 Wing
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
RAF 223 Group Base Force
6th Heavy AA Regiment
Sikh Construction Battalion
Eastern Fleet
2/9th Field Rgt /2
RAF 222 Group Base Force
2/11th Field Rgt /2

Defending units:
18th Div /1
27th Electric Engr Rgt /2
5th Div /3
38th Div /1
48th Div /1
53rd Div /1
3rd Ind. Mtn Gun Rgt /2
15th Army /2
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Bn /1
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Bn /2
Southern Army /1

I have another division fully prepared for Little Andaman in reserve, so I think, taking into account supply shortage on the defenders' part, my highly experienced force can overwhelm them even despite undoubtely high forts. Presence of numerous fragments suggests to me that Bigred is airlifting his troops from the island.

However, I'm dismayed that just 3 AA regiments wrought such a carnage upon my airforce. I shudder at the thought of what a proper flak fortress can do.

[FatR]

Southwestern Pacific

Things aren't going too well, as you can see on the map. My fears started to come true, when Allies grabbed unoccupied Merauke. Countermeasures against the possible movement to eastern DEI is already well in action, but I'm afraid they will consume disproportional amount of troops, indirectly and greatly weakening my defense in Solomons. It is possible that the entire Solomons theatre soon will be rendered irrelevant.

Speaking of Solomons, fighting in late May was mostly centered on Tulagi and Kirakira. Both bases suffered devastating naval bombardments. I've failed to prevent reinforcement of Kirakira, and sinking a large LCI convoy was a weak consolation. In turn, IJN managed to resupply Tulagi, but three of four AKs that participated in the operation, and an AV were moderately damaged by 4E skipbombers and sent home for repairs. Well, I guess that can be considered a good result at this time. Ndeni is a mightly Allied base now, with level 6 airfield, and Liberators from there range as far as Munda, but so far Allies have failed to shut down any of the Japanese airfields. Losses on ground are mounting, though.

[FatR]

China

Quite a bit of chaos here, as annoying Chinese remnants try to interrupt my communications. Meanwhile, north of Lanchow my armored force, that moved to capture the oil center at Urumchi, was defeated and cut off by surprisingly numerous Chinese defenders. Painful, but not catastrophic.

The main event, though, was my attempt to assault and take Chungking:

Ground combat at Chungking (76,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 284088 troops, 3469 guns, 1471 vehicles, Assault Value = 9318
Defending force 187681 troops, 1615 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 6201
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 5
Japanese adjusted assault: 2920
Allied adjusted defense: 19343
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 5)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), preparation(-)
experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
48141 casualties reported
Squads: 268 destroyed, 3032 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 255 disabled
Engineers: 29 destroyed, 477 disabled
Guns lost 192 (10 destroyed, 182 disabled)
Vehicles lost 44 (1 destroyed, 43 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
9089 casualties reported
Squads: 117 destroyed, 282 disabled
Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 360 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 65 disabled
Guns lost 135 (33 destroyed, 102 disabled)
Units destroyed 4

Assaulting units:
3rd Division
104th Division
32nd Division
6th Division
22nd Division
35th Division
10th Division
36th Division
110th Division
4th Division
116th Division
1st Division
9th Division
33rd Division
17th Division
60th Division
41st Division
39th Division
40th Division
19th Division
12th Division
26th Division
55th Division
Imperial Guards/C Division
Botanko Hvy Gun Regiment
21st Mortar Battalion
North China Area Army
2nd Mortar Battalion
13th Mortar Battalion
10th Mortar Battalion
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
Tonei Hvy Gun Regiment
4th Army
10th Mortar Battalion
6th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
4th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
RGC Army
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
Mongol Garrison Army
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
6th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
10th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
4th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
12th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
5th Army
13th Army
3rd Army
5th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
NCPC Army
7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
15th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
22nd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
4th Mortar Battalion
7th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
12th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
Kwantung Army
6th Army
China Expeditionary Army
13th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
22nd Ind.Mtn Gun Battalion
20th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
12th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
1st Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
11th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
11th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
14th Army
5th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
13th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion

Defending units:
5th Chinese Cavalry Corps
97th Chinese Corps
57th Chinese Corps
41st Chinese Corps
77th Chinese Corps
39th Chinese Corps
14th Chinese Corps
7th New Chinese Corps
30th Chinese Corps
93rd Chinese Corps
6th Construction Regiment
100th Chinese Corps
23rd Chinese Corps
75th Chinese Corps
14th Construction Regiment
45th Chinese Corps
18th Chinese Corps
11th Construction Regiment
3rd Prov Chinese Corps
3rd New Chinese Corps
87th Chinese Corps
7th Construction Regiment
303rd Regiment
76th Chinese Corps
29th Chinese Corps
36th Chinese Corps
78th Chinese Corps
90th Chinese Corps
5th Construction Regiment
32nd Chinese Corps
47th Chinese Corps
73rd Chinese Corps
83rd Chinese Corps
6th Chinese Corps
60th Chinese/B Corps
26th Group Army
15th Group Army
19th Group Army
7th Chinese Base Force
39th Group Army
14th Group Army
7th Group Army
25th Group Army
1st Artillery Regiment
32nd Group Army
4th Heavy Mortar Regiment
10th Construction Regiment
9th War Area
35th Chinese Corps
20th Chinese Base Force
4th Construction Regiment
10th Group Army
22nd Artillery Regiment
1st War Area
49th AA Regiment
23rd Group Army
20th Group Army
CAF HQ
38th Group Army
21st Group Army
18th Chinese Base Force
China Command
57th AT Gun Regiment
Lusu War Area
4th Group Army
30th Group Army
13th Construction Regiment
6th War Area
20th Artillery Regiment
Y' Force
16th Construction Regiment
2nd Group Army
29th Group Army
17th Construction Regiment
8th Construction Regiment
56th AT Gun Regiment

As you can see, the biggest land battle of the war didn't quite go as I hoped... Over 3000 AV were destroyed or disabled. I think, though, that thanks to sufficient supply for steady recovery in the hex, my grand army will be able to batter the defenders down. Effects of artillery bombardments improved markedly after the reduction of fort level from 6 to 5, so I hope that after another attack, this time reinforced by my tank divisions, after they stop sweeping Chinese troops outside of Chungking, hopefully dropping the forts further, artillery will be able to do real damage. I also believe that the Chinese forces shouldn't have any supply to recover their losses (although unit regeneration still can expand their ranks).

[FatR]

Japanese Economic Overview

Can't say that I'm in terribly good shape, although there are no immediate shortages. Oil/Fuel reserves are down to 3.9 millions, and my intentions of keeping my existing Merchant SY points in reserve remained intentions... The supply situation started to improve, at least. I think patches have more to do with it, than any of my decisions.

[FatR]

Air Production

Ki-44-IIc just started to roll from assembly lines. As did N1K1-J. I've stopped production of A6M4, as George is going to replace it as the main IJN land interceptor and superior A6M8 is not far away. I'll restart it in case of large losses. Production of Hiens was stopped as well, because Ki-44-IIc is generally better, while having good Service Rating. At the moment I'm stockpiling Kawasaki Ha-60 engines until Ki-61-II KAI enters service. Ki-61-Id probably will be available even later than Ki-84 at the current rate of acceleration, so I have little interest in it. However, Ki-61-II KAI carriers 4x20mm cannons in this mod, so I want it as a bomber interceptor for my biggest and most important bases.

Rearming of carriers with new torpedo and dive bombers is mostly complete by now. Soon they will find their way in land-based units as well, significantly increasing their potential.

[FatR]

June 13, 1943 - Fall of Little Andaman

The fourth attack, preceded by a battleship bombardment that targeted entirely troops caused the defenders' morale to collapse earlier than I expected:

Ground combat at Little Andaman (44,59)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 65149 troops, 799 guns, 271 vehicles, Assault Value = 1853
Defending force 42500 troops, 918 guns, 674 vehicles, Assault Value = 921
Japanese adjusted assault: 2696
Allied adjusted defense: 401
Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 4)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Little Andaman !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), disruption(-)
experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2563 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 225 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 24 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 37 disabled

Allied ground losses:
37050 casualties reported
Squads: 1230 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3012 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 415 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1331 (1331 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 835 (835 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 19

Assaulting units:
48th Division
27th Electric Engineer Regiment
5th Division
38th Division
21st Division
8th Engineer Regiment
53rd Division
18th Division
8th Mountain Gun Regiment
15th Army
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
Southern Army
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
18th British Division
7th Australian Division
6th Australian Div /2
35th Light AA Regiment
I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
6th Heavy AA Regiment
175 Wing
IV Indian /2
Eastern Fleet
RAF 222 Group Base Force
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
RAF 223 Group Base Force
1st Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment
48th Light AA Regiment
222 Group RAF
I Australian Corps
1st Bengal Construction Battalion
Sikh Construction Battalion
III Indian /1

Quite fortuitiously, as Allies are marching on Burma again, while pummeling my secondary airfields (Mandalay and Myitkina) with relentless night raids, while situation in SWPac deteriorates. However, the time when Bigred could safely advance on other parts of my perimeter using constant commitment of fleet and aviation to keeping Little Andaman suppressed is now over.

Also, point ratio is currently 2.794:1. If Chungking falls, which seems probable, it will likely pass 3:1 necessary for a point victory in 1944. Bigred should pay more attention to his losses...

Another thing to ponder is whether it was possible to storm Pearl Harbor, in the light of massive disadvantage imposed on the defenders by the lack of supply, as demonstrated above (people might remember, that long time ago I decided against a landing on Oahu in favor of clearing Andamans). I'm still not sure. Even without any supply, coastal guns fire at Little Andaman was considerable. I lost an AP, with several ships damaged, and many squads cut down before reaching the shore. And Allies had only one coastal gun regiment.

I should note that the starved Allied garrizon on Great Nicobar still persists. At the moment it poses no danger to my communications, at least without a massive resupply and reinforcement effort. Under the current beta air transport provides very little supply, so such effort can only be undertaken by sea. I'll watch this island carefully, though.

Note, that during the Andamans campaign, IJN had lost:

CVL:2
CA:2
CL:3
DD:18
SS:4

Air losses are harder to calculate, but I believe that at least a third of approximately 9200 Japanese planes lost by this day, perished in over Andamans and in operations directly related to this campaign.
So, the tremendous victory achieved was not without a considerable cost. It is not as high as it could have been, parly because I was consistently lucky in this campaign, but mostly due to some mistakes of my opponents. I don't think that my leadership was noteworthy - my decision to seek the decisive carrier battle was risky, but straightforward, and after winning it the rest was just a combination of plowing forward with superior strength and exploiting my opponent's mistakes. I cannot even credit myself with concentration on my goal, due to the long lull in fighting after Port Blair fell.

[janh]

ORIGINAL: FatR
... 27th Electric Engineer Regiment
Southern Army

Congratulations to this victory! [&o] I wouldn't have expected that to happen so early and easily, but maybe battlewagons nuking supplies in the base hex and causing disruption aided you more than to be could be hoped for. But you really brought the kitchen sink for this one, he? Electric Engineers for electrocuting the fish? [:D]
BigReds casualties are huge, and offset the losses you have taken here and in Burma in the recent months. Especially the CA/CLs and DDs, and also the IJA LBA. In what shape is the latter now?

For sure you need to get the Solomon AO under control quickly, else BigRed will bleed you there in the same fashion as in the Adamans/Burma theater. And it can't be too long until he must have sufficient CV strength again to engage you...

Not sure about Pearl, but I would keep a safe a this point and test it once the game is officially over and you have the Allied password. In case you can see a "win by points", you could negotiate to continue the game after "victory" day and take the risk? Might make the game more fun, and after all the losses, maybe BigRed needs some motivation backup.
In general I would still consider it a worthy target, since if taken, the Allied war effort might truly come to a standstill. Other than Solomon, N-OZ to DEI, and Burma proper, no theater for an advance would remain. And with KB in being, and USN CV Fleet rather untrained and untested, any option will be either a huge risk, or purely a slow land-campaign to the HI.
Yet, as you surely know, a couple of people did some testing with invasions in mid-1942, with varying setups, but always loosing heavily up to totally. Of course that can't be compared directly to this game, since Pearl now should be pretty starved and bombed to dust. Maybe supply problems, plus disruption by LBA bombing will allow to overcome the heavy coastal defense? Hmmh, very risky, but very worthy...

[FatR]

ORIGINAL: janh
Congratulations to this victory! [&o] I wouldn't have expected that to happen so early and easily, but maybe battlewagons nuking supplies in the base hex and causing disruption aided you more than to be could be hoped for.

All supplies on Little Andaman were wiped out before landing by air attacks. Flak going silent is a good indication of this. I don't think it can be turned off volutarily.

ORIGINAL: janh
But you really brought the kitchen sink for this one, he? Electric Engineers for electrocuting the fish? [:D]

I don't know, they somehow use tanks in their electric works)). Seriously, one of the more useful units, too bad that separate engineer regiments usually take horrific losses during assaults and can't accumulate experience due to that.

ORIGINAL: janh
BigReds casualties are huge, and offset the losses you have taken here and in Burma in the recent months. Especially the CA/CLs and DDs, and also the IJA LBA. In what shape is the latter now?

I think my losses in Burma were minimal, except in the air. In fact, divisions that stormed Little Andaman just now were ones that dealt the Allies their last defeat in Burma. So far, Japanese ground forces suffered no really costly defeats. Horn Island was the only case of a destroyed stack, and I managed to pull out approx. 1/3 of the troops by the air. While losses in mega-stack attacks in China are heavy, they are mostly disablements and spread between various units, so only 4 Infantry Divisions have their combat strength severely reduced for more than 2-3 weeks.
As about LBA, IJAAF has large reserves of fighter and bomber pilots trained on map (I can't find exact count anywhere in the game or the Tracker), IJNAF, not so much. I've started moving training Army groups to the front, once the current beta closed the abulity to pull undergraduates from the program. However, I don't feel I have sufficient pilot reserves for an offensive air campaign, except against isolated bases. Planes are plentiful as well. There is a bit of Betties shortage, but Francis will enter production on the next month.

ORIGINAL: janh
For sure you need to get the Solomon AO under control quickly, else BigRed will bleed you there in the same fashion as in the Adamans/Burma theater. And it can't be too long until he must have sufficient CV strength again to engage you...

By my calculations, Allies (assuming CVEs sailing with the fleet) still aren't going to enjoy long-term aircraft carrier superiority until well into 1944. By early November I'll have all 17 Japanese CVs present in the scenario active, with 3 CVLs and several CVEs (I wonder where to get escorts for them, though...). Assuming no unexpected losses, of course. Aircrews are in top shape, save for freshly arrived groups placed on CVEs, because they had almost a year with little combat to train. Actively seeking a carrier battle in 1943 would be quite foolhardy for Bigred. Allies will have 50/50 chances of victory at best, which is not a gamble one should take when your forces will continue to grow and the enemy is at the peak of his strength. If I was a more aggressive player, I'd concentrated on luring USN carriers into battle now...

ORIGINAL: janh
Not sure about Pearl, but I would keep a safe a this point and test it once the game is officially over and you have the Allied password. In case you can see a "win by points", you could negotiate to continue the game after "victory" day and take the risk?

We'll see. At the moment I have another plan (that might easily backfire). But at the moment I need to truly take China out of the war first. Otherwise I cannot spare enough troops for Pearl. Burma is weakly held now, and I see more Allied troops trying to march across the jungle... I also need to reinforce Eastern DEI ASAP. Solomons don't bother me very much. This axis of Allied advance is the most strategically beneficial to Japanese, because it does not directly lead to anything important. Allied entrenchment in southern New Guinea is much more dangerous, because once Torres Strait is open to Allied shipping, they can go for the vitals directly. Taking Horn Island, Merauke and Terapo was a very good move on Bigred's part, because it made continued defense of Solomons relevant only as far as Allies are willing to sacrifice assets to overcoming it. And left said defense without reinforcements, which went to Boela, Biak, Hollandia, and other bases to the west.

[FatR]

June 22-24: Battle of Munda, or Tokyo Express Under Fire

Fighting at Solomons (in form of air raids and Allied bombardment missions against my outlying bases), was going with mixed results for most of June. I avoided disproportional losses, but the only serious Japanese counterattack was an attempt to strike at Allied shipping around Horn Island. While the mission went well, almost 60 Bettie sorties resulted in only a single torpedo hit. I must say, their torpedo attack accuracy now is not even close to what it was and as pilot skills weren't bad (65-71 in NavT), I blame improved Allied flak.

Then I decided to make another resupply run to Munda, possibly with a detour to bombard Kirakira, after my transports unload. The mission was ill-fated from the beginning. On June 22th xAK convoy and the covering battleship TF arrived at Munda, but the latter strayed south, drawing CAP after itself. While warships were not hurt by consequent American air attacks, glide-bombing Avengers pounded the convoy, sinking APD Tsuta and damaging one of the xAKs.

That fault in my SCTF positioning was an important warning about setting reaction for it to 0, which I ignored with perilous result. On June 23th Raizo Tanaka led his ships FAR south of Munda, where they were caught without CAP by torpedo-carrying Avengers, probably from Ndeni. While half of American torpedoes were duds, BB Kirishima took two that exploded, and, while not in immediate danger, was far too crippled to retreat further than the assumed safe harbor of Munda.

Unfortunately, on June 24th...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 73 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M4 Zero x 13
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 16
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 19

Allied aircraft
Martlet IV x 12
F6F-3 Hellcat x 82
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 24
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18
TBF-1 Avenger x 39

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Martlet IV: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 15 destroyed
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 2 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CA Maya
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 9, on fire, heavy damage (no penetrations, but she was already in a bad condition after 2 torpedo hits the day before)
CA Atago, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
15 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
3 x SB2C-1C Helldiver releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
15 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
9 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
13 x SB2C-1C Helldiver releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SB2C-1C Helldiver releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 42 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M4 Zero x 6
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 3
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 7

Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 7 destroyed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 75 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M4 Zero x 13
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 15
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 19

Allied aircraft
Martlet IV x 12
F6F-3 Hellcat x 57
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 21
SBD-3 Dauntless x 17
TBF-1 Avenger x 48

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Martlet IV: 4 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 10 destroyed
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 3 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 7 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
CA Atago, Bomb hits 1
DD Oyashio
DD Yudachi
CA Maya, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Isokaze

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
15 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
8 x SB2C-1C Helldiver releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
12 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
4 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
7 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
9 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
3 x SB2C-1C Helldiver releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
10 x SB2C-1C Helldiver releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hiei
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CA Maya

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 28 NM, estimated altitude 2,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M4 Zero x 8
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 6
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 12

Allied aircraft
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 7

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 2 damaged
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 1000 feet
Naval Attack: 5 x 500 lb SAP Bomb


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Munda , at 111,134
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M4 Zero x 6
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 6
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 11

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 11
F6F-3 Hellcat x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 damaged
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed, 10 damaged
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed on ground
A6M5b Zero: 1 destroyed on ground
G4M2 Betty: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 3 damaged
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 7

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb


Kirishima went under in the afternoon phase, while Hiei is so cripped, that she can only survive by disbanding into harbor. Maya can't got at full speed, so her chances of running away also aren't great. The only good thing, Allied carrier fighter squadrons were crucified by CAP, losing 45 Hellcats + 11 Martlets IV according to the Tracker (in exchange for about 3-5 Jap fighters - escorts disadvantage against CAP is nothing short of amazing in AE, although defeat this severe makes me suspect that Bigred's carrier pilot training standards are too low), which, although not a fair exchange for even one battleship, should encourage Bigred to withdraw his carrier TF for now. I really got more luck than I deserved, as most of Allied land-based planes probably didn't fly that day, while those that did appeared only in afternoon, after all the carrier strikes already happened.

Regardless, this is the second clear-cut Allied victory since the fateful Battle of Ceilon, and I must congratulate Bigred on exploiting my blunder in decisive manner.

[FatR]

Late June: Fallout of Disaster

Long story short, Hiei did not survive this ordeal. Despite size 3 port and over 200 naval support, shore personnel failed to extinguish the fires, fanned by more bomb and shell (from naval raids) hits. So after a few days the burning hulk was abandoned by the surviving crew.

Well, I should have known that Solomons hold doom for Hiei and Kirishima. All other ships got away, though.

This also puts me in a problematic strategic situation. Anything lighter than a battleship or KB is going to be screwed over by skipbombing 4Es (and KB is not really safe too). But if I withdraw my ships permanently, my airfields will continue to be pounded from the sea, never mind the supply problem. What to do, what to do...

To lighten the mood - take a look at another loss IJN suffered recently:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 63 encounters mine field at Little Andaman (44,59)

Japanese Ships
DMS W-21
DMS W-4
DMS W-2
DMS W-1
E Manazuru, Mine hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
PC Ashi

149 mines cleared

So, any ship can be a minesweeper... up to seven times.


Burma Airwar

Mostly it manifests as persistent Allied air raids against the trio of major airfields in Irawaddy valley. I must say, while I have nothing against night bombing accuracy, ability of bombers to shoot down interceptors by night drives me nuts. Two Ki-45 airgroups were literally reduced to 1/4th of their strength by persistent 4E night raids at one point. Massing planes by temporarily switching day CAP to night helped to hold the tide for now, though. I found that my 1E fighters seem noticeably better than Ki-45 at actually shooting down night invaders... might be due to difference at pilots' skills and experience, though.

Bigred also attempted one day of massed sweeps and day airfield bombing of Magwe. My aigroups managed to score well against sweepers and seemingly discouraged Allies from returning on the next day. Old Ki-44-IIa performed the best. And Ki-61-Ia remains highly disappointing so far. Judging by unit victory numbers, they seem to be inferior to Ki-44s in actual dogfight, never mind inferior range and service rating.

[FatR]

July 1-4, 1943: The Days Of Hard Luck

Allies made an impressive comeback at the beginning of July, thanks to my carelessness and the random number generator finally showing Bigred some much-needed favor.

First, as you can see on the map below, Allies have established bases on Rossel and Tagula Islands, while I wasn't looking. An attempt to stage a naval bombardment mission ended with my cruiser TF hit by divebombers as soon as it left Rabaul. LRCAP reaped a number of kills, but 2 CAs were lightly damaged and CA Aoba moderately damaged, cancelling the mission.

Meanwhile, delivery of divisions from Little Andaman to Rangoon resulted in another air battle and 2 AKs sunk, thankfully after unloading almost everything. CAP didn't fail - Dauntlesses that did the damage arrived in one package with B-24s and were shielded by them.

On July 2 I spotted a few Allied ships near Port Moresby and, not sure if that was invasion or Terapo resupply, decided to launch an all-out air assault on Allied shipping across the region, sweeping Rossel, Kirakira and Terapo, while sending a number of bomber groups to roam freely. I relied on surprise primarily, as before that the Allied airforce was on the offensive for weeks, facing no counterraids.

On July 3 Allies landed at Port Moresby, and my bombers didn't fly (partially because real Allied TFs weren't present at Rossel and Kirakira on that exact turn, despite being spotted before). Except for some Betties and Emilies, which got butchered by Hellcats.

But all was not lost, for KB was not so far away, on the way to Truk (call it a hunch or analysis, but I believed that Bigred's next target will be SWPac again). Too far away to reach the striking range at normal speed, so I decided to order a full speed approach. Forgetting that it doesn't f*cking work. I've marked the place on the map where my carriers should have ended their move after running for 14 hexes (fuel was in the green for that move) as 1. Yeah, just the position from which they should have been able to destroy the main Allied landing force, including CVEs and at least one BB, at no risk. You can see where they ended up (2). Yeah, I should have remembered that full speed movement functions erratically at best, instead of testing my luck. One of KB's TFs was even spotted on 4th, so I think Bigred will certainly get his ships away... not even a possibility of moving past Rabaul and trying to surprise the Allied ships at the Ndeni anchorage now, as this move burned too much fuel. For nothing.

Anyway, most Japanese bombers still didn't sortie on 4th - less than 1/3rd of those within range and with dedicated fighter escorts. Emilies still sunk a worthless xAK. Judies missed at CVEs. Escorts managed to butcher Hellcat CAP somehow and allow all strikes to go in unharmed, but this was a weak consolation.

Worse still, unescorted Mitchells raided Rabaul on the same day. CAP failed to engage them before the drop point, despite detection at 67 NM. I lost a RO-sub and a CM, with several ships damaged.

I also lost a small convoy at Hollandia, but that was purely my fault - I forgot to actually provide CAP.

[FatR]

July 5-11: Disaster on Home Front

Before I was able to think up a plan of rebuilding my dislocated defenses at New Guinea, I found even worse oversight than leaving that region weakly defended. In early spring I changed my convoy routing, shipping oil, fuel and resources from Singapore to Canton/Hong Kong, allowing them to flow by land into Shanghai/Port Arthur and picking them from there to Honshu. Except, I absolutely forgot to actually order my main Shanghai tanker convoy to start running. So, as a result, I found I have over 650k of fuel in Shanghai, with Tokyo out of it, and not producing. The blow to HI stockpile is massive and I expect it to drop from over 500k to 400k before the situation can be rectified.

Speaking about New Guinea, I found that Terapo has more strategic importance than I thought - it is 25 hexes from Truk, and Allies have a few super long-range recons capable of flying that far. So, Truk is no longer viable as a KB base now... I have to bring KB (which predictably failed to catch any elements from Moresby invasion) there at the moment, though - it needs to be refueled. I had a DMS sunk and an AO heavily damaged by subs in an attempt to bring enough fuel for my carriers to even reach Truk.

Meanwhile, an Allied force is marching overland from Moresby to the northern coast. At the moment only Milne Bay has a garrizon of over 100 AV (until this month almost all reinforcements were sent to Solomons, not NG), so this overland campaign poses a great danger to my positions.

However, after a long period of refusing to fly and/or inaccurate attacks, Japanese aviation finally struck back. Sweeps of Terapo, PM and Horn Island (I didn't know where scattered Allied convoys can be found in the morning, so I tried to weaken CAPs over the entire zone) produced roughly 1:1 losses over July 10-11, but on 11th Betties from Lae finally flew and found CVEs Suwannee and Chenango with weak escort, covered by only one Hellcat squadron and stray Kittyhawks from nearby Cooktown. Chenango is confirmed sunk by two torpedoes (a number of Avengers was lost on ground, ensuring that this is true) and Suwannee is heavily damaged by one. An escorting AM also was sunk.

[FatR]

July 12-21: Johnston Island Falls, Woodlark Island Holds (For Now)

Consequences Of Full Speed

KB wasn't really in position to save Johnston. It just limped to Truk on the turn I spotted the invasion fleet, with 0-1 speed after refueling and significant system damage. So I didn't bother. Johnston was held very lightly, as I had no intentions to fight for Hawaii seriously anymore. I saved fragments from there - rebuilding units from fragments allows them to keep some of their experience, while destroyed and recreated units come with minimal experience possible.

However, this victory proved costly for Americans, as I-22 managed to find and sink CVE Nassau on her way back. That's third Allied CVE lost for certain during this war.


Allied Nightbombing Offensive at Burma

Is severe. At one point I lost over 30 planes on ground at Magwe in a single turn. However, every time my defenses start faltering Bigred ceases massed raids for a day or three, allowing my fighters to catch their breath and recover losses. I'm not sure about the reason. Most likely accumulated damage to bombers reducing their availability.


SWPac Situation

Critical. I believe I'm facing an overland offensive from PM, and there is very little Jap infantry on entire New Guinea at the moment, as I hoped for fleet and aviation to hold Allies at bay, at least until I finish China off. However, air superiority gradually slips from my hands. I barely managed to get some air support and a radar from Rabaul to Lae, losing CL Naka and DD Hokaze to air attacks in the process, although CAP shot down alot of Avengers in return.


The Naval Battle of Woodlark Island

However, my airbases from Tulagi to Milne Bay aren't exactly inactive, as Bigred might have thought (in a month or two things might change, as supplies run out). So, when Allied moved to land on Woodlark Island:


they were contested by both fleet from Rabaul and aviation.

The former did better than the latter:


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 21, 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Woodlark Island at 104,133, Range 7,000 Yards

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 2 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
CA Chokai
DD Yugumo, Shell hits 1
DD Onami, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Michishio, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Hibiki
DD Oboro
DD Minazuki

Allied Ships
CL Concord, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Buchanan
DD Meade, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Lang

Improved night sighting under 82% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 82% moonlight: 8,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 23,000 yards
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 17,000 yards
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
Range closes to 7,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 7,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 7,000 yards
Conolly, Richard L. crosses the 'T'
Massive explosion on CL Concord (The opening Long Lance salvo from Chokai was right on mark and decided the battle)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Woodlark Island at 104,133, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Natsugumo
DD Arare
DD Kasumi
DD Shiratsuyu, Shell hits 2
DD Yudachi
DD Kawakaze
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
DD Meade, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Lang

I omitted the slaughter of the massive LCT/LCVP convoy and sinking of about 5 PT boats in the morning. Both squadrons returned to Rabaul in time and weren't subjected to air attacks.

Aviation, though, did poorly. I estimate we sank a small Dutch AO, a Dutch PC and a xAKL, while damaging an old Dutch CL and a couple of troop-laden transports, at the cost of about 30 fighters, all from veteran squadrons, and 10 attack planes. Allied fighter losses were less than 10. My principal mistake was not shutting down airsearch around Torres Strait and southeast of Solomons for this turn, so airstrikes flew all over the map. Also, it seems that the upper altitude of divebombing attacks is reduced now. My Judies at 15k bombed from level flight, which contributed to poor results, as they flew most sorties on 21st.

Anyway, the Allied landing force was clearly chased out, and with few Allied AV unloaded on the previous day, plus reinforcements brought by airlift, I expected good results on the defense, even though supply situation was pretty bad (I failed to get a good load of supplies to Woodlark before Bigred established his foothold at Rossel/Tagula).
But I was wrong:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Woodlark Island (104,133)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 2150 troops, 24 guns, 146 vehicles, Assault Value = 79
Defending force 2166 troops, 12 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 101
Allied adjusted assault: 51
Japanese adjusted defense: 481

Allied assault odds: 1 to 9 (fort level 4)

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

Japanese ground losses:
172 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
39 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Assaulting units:
2/6th Armoured Regiment
II Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
168th Field Artillery Regiment
F Det USN Port Svc

Defending units:
66th Naval Guard Unit
3rd South Seas Gsn /1
3rd Raiding Rgt /3
49th JNAF AF Unit /1

Goddamn Allied tanks. At this rate they will be able to grind down the defenders quite fast, and I don't have actual good units to fly in.


China

The siege of Chungking still continues. With great losses, I was able to grind forts down to 1, and now, bombarding every second day, I'm able to destroy or disable 70-90 squads per bombardment attack. This seems to be enough to keep the Chinese numbers down. Hower, two more costly attacks probably will be needed to rout the defenders.