South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: obvert


Wow. You're getting me all pumped up GJ!

I bet i am[;)]

[obvert]

Thanks for that, or uh, not really. GreyJoy, going to levels most of us can't hope to reach.

Dec. 7, 1941

After some nail biting and severe doubting of my settings, I received the turn back from Dan and watched the replay. I won't say yet this was the opening I had hoped for, but there were no major disasters and some minor successes. Dan showed with a few small moves that he will be an opponent to reckon with and be wary of.

Pearl Harbor

I set one less Kate group to torpedo and I think this was not the best choice. I figured the 800kg bombs might do nearly as much damage to the BBs and if they hit something else, really tear a hole in it. Instead, the BBs did their job, ate a bunch of bombs, and none were reported to have sunk outright. Some of the hits on other ships do look like big 800kg hits, especially the DDs that did sink.

One suicide sub impaled itself only after actually launching torpedoes and scoring a hit on the Maryland. Miracle! The rest floundered in various ways as usual.

I had one group of Zeros attacking the airfields at 100ft, a group of Vals and one of Kates bombing as well, and came away with what looks like mediocre airframe destruction. Lots of damaged planes reported, but also a lot more than are actually there, so obviously those are not on the mark.

As a result of this inconclusive set of reports, I will attack again on turn 2. I only lost a few A6M2s on the day, so I'm prepared to take heavier losses for one more day to make sure I've made a dent here.

One of Dan's subs went right to the KB and launched 4 torps at Soryu, but luckily all missed. I sent the KB out west and then back in on an arc, and put a whole flood of subs in between tomorrow's launch point and Pearl, so hopefully any enterprising SCTFs or subs will hit those first. I also set a few Pete's to night search and some to ASW at 2 hexes around the KB.

I'm nervous about the oilers up there all alone (which were detected at 7/7), but if he goes for it with the Enterprise TF I'll come hard after him the next day.

DEI

The only unconventional move here was to send the Manado TF from Samah to Singawang on a quick TF. Dan was smart and kept his Swordies on 8 hex range, and hit two xAKs unloading. One went down with a few troops and the other is now going to try to limp back to Saigon. I got 55 AV ashore, and think this might take the place considering the state of the KNIL battalion there and its low moral. If it doesn't, there's no great damage, as he can't move a lot in there quickly, but I'd like to get it quick and set up the airfield.

Dutch subs went right after the TFs around Malaya, and he also got an xAK at Patani.

Phillippenes

The port bombing at Manilla hit 11 subs with a bomb each, so not bad there. I'll keep it up until it looks like nothing is left in there. We hit some B-17s on the ground at Clark, but again not sure how many really.

Apparri and Vigan invasions are on, Legaspi is not, but is heading to Ambon instead. More on that soon. Legaspi 2 is heading to Antimonan, but won't arrive for a while.

China

It's be quiet here for a while as I organize garrisons and rest divisions back to full strength. I'm more concerned with cutting supply by getting to Burma quickly than hurrying here. I did hit Hong Kong Port and Changsha airfield. I'll be bringing a few new Sally groups in soon, changing out the Nates, and once things are more settled start moving toward Sian, chasing random Chinese corps around, and hoping to land at Pakhoi and head up toward Nanning.

Wake Invasion

Put together the Tarawa and Wake invasions and they're heading up to Wake. I'm nervous about the Lexington TF moving in, so with the day 2 Pearl strike, I'll head this back to the Marshals for a few days until I know the coast is clear.

Combat Reports

I won't always post lengthy combat reports, but for this and other crucial turns I will. I'd welcome any thoughts about the PH attack especially, and the situation with the US CVTFs and their likely movements.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 07, 41
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Midget Sub attack inside harbor of Pearl Harbor!!!

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-24, hits 6, heavy damage

Allied Ships
BB Maryland, Torpedo hits 1
PC Taney

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Patani at 52,72

Japanese Ships
xAK Meiten Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PB Eiko Maru

Allied Ships
SS KXVII

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

SS KXVII launches 4 torpedoes at xAK Meiten Maru


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Singkawang at 56,88, Range 21,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki
DD Usugumo
DD Shirayuki
DD Hatsuyuki
APD Fuji
TB Hiyodori
PB Heiei Maru #7
xAK Syoka Maru
xAK Rokko Maru
xAK Igasa Maru
xAKL Ryoyu Maru #21
xAKL Sasago Maru

Allied Ships
CL Danae


Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 21,000 yards
Japanese TF attempts to evade combat
Range increases to 21,000 yards...
Japanese Amphibious TF evades combat



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Pearl Harbor , at 180,107

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 72 NM, estimated altitude 2,100 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 80
B5N2 Kate x 144
D3A1 Val x 135


Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed by flak
B5N2 Kate: 3 damaged
D3A1 Val: 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 38 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 98 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 7 destroyed on ground
P-36A Mohawk: 18 damaged
P-36A Mohawk: 3 destroyed on ground
SBD-1 Dauntless: 21 damaged
SBD-1 Dauntless: 3 destroyed on ground
B-17E Fortress: 17 damaged
B-18A Bolo: 23 damaged
B-18A Bolo: 2 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 43 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 3 destroyed on ground
F4F-3 Wildcat: 6 damaged
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 7 damaged
O-47A: 1 destroyed on ground
A-20A Havoc: 17 damaged
A-20A Havoc: 3 destroyed on ground
C-33: 4 damaged
R3D-2: 3 damaged

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 12, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 9, heavy fires
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires
CL Helena, Bomb hits 2
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AR Vestal, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 5, on fire
PT-30, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1
DD Dale, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AO Neosho, Bomb hits 1
DD Farragut, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Cummings, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Cachalot, Bomb hits 1
DD Schley, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Jarvis, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AV Wright, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DM Montgomery, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk


Repair Shipyard hits 3
Airbase hits 31
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 47
Port hits 23
Port fuel hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
16 x A6M2 Zero bombing from 100 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
12 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
27 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
27 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
City Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
11 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
27 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
6 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
27 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
6 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
6 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
4 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 10000 feet
13 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
10 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
11 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
19 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
12 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
12 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
18th PG/6th PS with P-40B Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes

Training flight from 18th PG/6th PS has been caught up in attack
Magazine explodes on DD Dale


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Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9



Allied aircraft
P-40B Warhawk x 1


No Japanese losses

No Allied losses



Aircraft Attacking:
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 20000 feet

CAP engaged:
24th PG/HqS with P-40B Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 43 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13



Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 15


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 5 destroyed



Aircraft Attacking:
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet

CAP engaged:
No.67 Sqn RAF with Buffalo I (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 10 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 10000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 13 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
G3M2 Nell x 27
G4M1 Betty x 27



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
SS Perch, Bomb hits 1
SS Tarpon, Bomb hits 1
SS Swordfish, Bomb hits 1
DD Pillsbury, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Searaven, Bomb hits 1
SS Porpoise, Bomb hits 1
SS Stingray, Bomb hits 1
AM Whippoorwill, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AV Langley, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
SS Permit, Bomb hits 1
SS Sargo, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 1, on fire



Port hits 1
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
27 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
8 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet *



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 56 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
G3M2 Nell x 9
G4M1 Betty x 54



Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 8 damaged
P-35A: 1 destroyed on ground
B-17D Fortress: 24 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 7 damaged
O-47A: 5 damaged
O-47A: 1 destroyed on ground



Airbase hits 13
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 39

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
27 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
9 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
4 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Davao , at 79,91

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 12



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AVD William B. Preston, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires



Port hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B5N1 Kate bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kota Bharu , at 51,75

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 3,100 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
Ki-27b Nate x 44



Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 15


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 3 destroyed



Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 22

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x Ki-27b Nate sweeping at 10000 feet
12 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 10000 feet
15 x Ki-27b Nate bombing from 100 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 50 kg GP Bomb
4 x Ki-27b Nate bombing from 100 feet
Airfield Attack: 1 plane(s) with no ordnance
Airfield Attack: 2 x 50 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.21 Sqn RAAF with Buffalo I (15 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(15 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
15 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Raid is overhead



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kota Bharu , at 51,75

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 48
Ki-43-Ia Oscar x 24
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 32
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 30



Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 38 damaged
Hudson I: 2 destroyed on ground
Vildebeest III: 3 damaged
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed on ground


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


Airbase hits 18
Airbase supply hits 13
Runway hits 42

Aircraft Attacking:
21 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
27 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
30 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb
12 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 10000 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 18



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
SS Saury, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS S-37, Bomb hits 1
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage


Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Port hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
18 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 15000 feet *
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Hong Kong , at 77,61

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 7
Ki-44 Tojo x 5
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 12
Ki-51 Sonia x 24



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAK Nanning, Bomb hits 2
xAK Hai Lee, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAKL Yat Shing, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Hinsang, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
xAK Munlock, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Hanyang, Bomb hits 1
xAK Fatshan, Bomb hits 1



Repair Shipyard hits 7
Port hits 5

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing from 10000 feet
City Attack: 4 x 50 kg GP Bomb
5 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 10000 feet
City Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb
7 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb
13 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 4 x 50 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Changsha , at 82,52

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 7
Ki-51 Sonia x 12



Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
DB-3M: 1 damaged
SB-III: 2 damaged
A-29A Hudson: 1 damaged



Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 18

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 50 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 27 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 36
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 33



Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 1


No Japanese losses

No Allied losses


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


Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 23

Aircraft Attacking:
36 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
12 x Ki-43-Ib Oscar sweeping at 10000 feet

CAP engaged:
No.67 Sqn RAF with Buffalo I (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 18



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Indira, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
HDML 1103, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Mundra, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Agnes, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Chaksang, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Chilka, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Hermelin, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
xAKL Ardent, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
HDML 1104, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk



Port hits 4
Port fuel hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
18 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 27



Allied aircraft
P-26A x 4


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-26A: 1 destroyed



Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 10

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 15000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb
15 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet

CAP engaged:
6th PS PAAC with P-26A (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
24th PG/20th PS with P-40B Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes

Training flight from 24th PG/20th PS has been caught up in attack




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Patani at 51,73

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 9



Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 7
Hudson I x 4


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged
Hudson I: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Kumano
AK Tosan Maru



Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Hudson I bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
3 x Blenheim I bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
77th Sentai Det A with Ki-27b Nate (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Raid is overhead
1st Sentai with Ki-27b Nate (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 9000
Raid is overhead


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Singkawang at 56,88

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 2 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes


Allied aircraft
Swordfish I x 5
B-339D x 3


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Syoka Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Igasa Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
475 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



Aircraft Attacking:
5 x Swordfish I bombing from 6000 feet *
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 lb SAP Bomb


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Pearl Harbor at 180,104

Japanese Ships
CV Soryu
CA Tone
DD Akigumo
DD Kasumi
DD Arare
DD Tanikaze
DD Hamakaze

Allied Ships
SS Plunger



SS Plunger launches 4 torpedoes at CV Soryu
DD Kasumi fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Arare fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Tanikaze fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Hamakaze fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Tanikaze fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Tanikaze fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Tanikaze fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Singkawang (56,88)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 787 troops, 5 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 30

Defending force 1432 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 55



Assaulting units:
West Borneo KNIL Battalion
Singkawang Base Force

Defending units:
15th Nav Gd /1
8th JNAF Coy /1

[/font]

[princep01]

My guess is that Pennsylvania was the only BB sunk in the first attack. Looks like 3 DD, a DM and yes! a PT Boat join her at PH. The Manila bombing attack PROBABLY did not hit all those subs. Maybe half are real hits, likely less than half. But, a good day on the merchants and your losses were very low.

Another attack on PH will probably sink one or two more BBs and WILL visit significant air losses on KB. I'm not sure that is a good trade as the BBs that will be sunk will otherwise be out of action for a very long time anyway (6 months to a year +). That is th eperiod you will be on the offensive. Yes, they are worth points and they are useful for shore bombardment, but actually, they are a hinderance in most other naval battles (except against the old, slow IJN BBs) . I'd think carefully before risking the loss of 20-30 ace pilots for those ships.

[obvert]

My guess is that Pennsylvania was the only BB sunk in the first attack. Looks like 3 DD, a DM and yes! a PT Boat join her at PH. The Manila bombing attack PROBABLY did not hit all those subs. Maybe half are real hits, likely less than half. But, a good day on the merchants and your losses were very low.

Another attack on PH will probably sink one or two more BBs and WILL visit significant air losses on KB. I'm not sure that is a good trade as the BBs that will be sunk will otherwise be out of action for a very long time anyway (6 months to a year +). That is th eperiod you will be on the offensive. Yes, they are worth points and they are useful for shore bombardment, but actually, they are a hinderance in most other naval battles (except against the old, slow IJN BBs) . I'd think carefully before risking the loss of 20-30 ace pilots for those ships.

Well, the turn is gone now, but I'd still like to learn from this, so thanks for that princep. Good aim on the PT, eh?

I guess my feeling on the old BBs is that they get really useful in 43 during amphibious landings. Put a few of those in the TF that hits the beach and you suck up a lot of shore battery, air hits, and give some back as well. The AA is also not bad on those after the refit. Having 7 of them floating around for the US seems like a good thing (for him), and worth more than even 30 of the best IJN pilots. I know those guys are great, but I have confidence I can train up to 55 EXP, 70 TORP, 60 LN, 65 DEF for the KB if I don't use it every single week to hit another flak heavy port. That's bit off the starting levels, but not much.

I'm just as excited to see if I can take down the CA's and a few more Cats and B-17s on Henderson field as well though. There will be quite a few unflyables there waiting to get hit.

xAK Oregon Maru

The Oregon Maru is among several Aden class xAKs converting to the xAK-t type for a little extra troop carrying ability. She'll be in Nagoya for a few more days.

[obvert]

Tainan Ku T-1

This group is supporting the PI invasion and hoping to get a lot of kills over Clark and Manilla. I won't be basing them here for long. Too far to keep sweeping from Taiwan. As soon as we have airbases set up, they'll be moving to the PI.

[PaxMondo]

I agree with you ... take those BB's out or you will pay for it in '43. Hate losing the pilots, but as you say, by the time most allied players will risk their CV's in a battle (after July '42), you will have plenty of reasonably skilled pilots in your pool to replace them with.

[obvert]

I agree with you ... take those BB's out or you will pay for it in '43. Hate losing the pilots, but as you say, by the time most allied players will risk their CV's in a battle (after July '42), you will have plenty of reasonably skilled pilots in your pool to replace them with.

_____________________________

Pax

I just read of their use in 45 in the downfall scenario Nemo is AARing as well. His opponent lost a few of them in amphib TFs, but because they were there, it meant they ate the damage that would have otherwise taken out 20-30 other ships loaded with troops. Plus he didn't fly his bomber squads thinking the AA would be too hot. That seems worth keeping around, or from my point of view, worth taking another good shot at.

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Dan sent back turn 2 after a long consideration of his options and it threw me for a loop. This game is getting interesting already.

8 Dec 1941

Pearl Harbor

The day 2 attack went off as planned. My groups took much heavier losses as expected. Only when they got to the port to bomb, there were no ships in Pearl Harbor!!!

I was utterly confused watching the reply. After looking at the reports, and the screen mouseovers, it does appear PH is empty! This was a bold move on his part, (if it is not a strange bug) but depending on what else is happening out there East of Hawaii, it could be a fantastic opportunity.

He could have done one of two things in my opinion.

1. Moved everything out at top speed and sent it to the West Coast, burning BBs and all. Three are listed as sunk last turn. Not at Pearl, but near Pearl and Lahaina. Two DDs listed sunk near Hilo.

2. Moved most out at top speed but made multiple SCTFs of the multitude of DDs from PH, and set a rear action screen for the rest of the ships that the KB will run into tomorrow. Or they could be a zillion tiny 1-3 ship SCTFs meant to trip up movement and run me out of ammo in case I dislodge and chase with a SCTF of my own.

The damaged BBs can't be far, nor can the merchants and supply ships which were there.

The other strange thing is that very few aircraft are reported at PH now, including NO aux. I had 200 bombers over the port and airfield plus a few float recons and I can't imagine this is off by too much. So where did all of the damaged planes go? Could he have loaded them and got away in one turn with the AKs?

Here is a map. Let me know what you think, please!

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Here is the path of the KB and my SCTF for tommorrow. I split this off the KB as a screen from the PTs and a hunting TF for tomorrow if I do indeed sight over 100 ships speeding to San Fran.

I ran over another sub yesterday, but my escorts sighted it first. I'll keep some floats on ASW. I set the Kates and Vals to short range to avoid the PH cap and set the Kates to bombs at 5,000 to conserve torpedoes for the next day if we do sight some things. If the KB does reach this position I can't imagine all of the BBs would have cleared this area by then, and we might still have a shot at them or other slow AUX and merchants.

[Jzanes]

What range is your naval search set at? Would your subs have spotted any ships fleeing to the east, south, or north?

I suspect he's playing a shell game. I bet he moved all the ships and had them "auto disband" in Hilo and Lahaina harbours. I wouldn't be surprised to see him move them back to Pearl next turn. I bet he lost several heavily damaged ships once they left Pearl and their damage control failed.

You might try hitting the smaller HI ports and have the KB sweep around to the east and see if you spot and kill any slow moving cripples.

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Here are the losses for yesterday.

We went in hard over the PI again, but one zero group didn't follow it's Nells, so they got nailed. We're going to relax on the bombing until everything is built up and closer in on the PI and after we've run a series of sweeps.

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What range is your naval search set at? Would your subs have spotted any ships fleeing to the east, south, or north?

I suspect he's playing a shell game. I bet he moved all the ships and had them "auto disband" in Hilo and Lahaina harbours. I wouldn't be surprised to see him move them back to Pearl next turn. I bet he lost several heavily damaged ships once they left Pearl and their damage control failed.

You might try hitting the smaller HI ports and have the KB sweep around to the east and see if you spot and kill any slow moving cripples.

Last turn Naval Search was only set at 6 for the Vals, but at 10 for some Jakes. Next turn I feel i can sweep around, hopefully not getting tangled with a bunch of PTs and subs, and see what's out there. I'll recon both Lahaina and Hilo as well in addition to Pearl. Both read no ships but have anchors on them.

The subs are all around Pearl, and didn't spot anything, so it makes sense that all ships went to those two ports.

I think I'll be revising my planned movements.

He could have withdrawn the air groups as well, to get them out of harms way.

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9 Dec 1941

I've just run the next turn, and as it turns out Jzanes was right on the money. He was playing a shell game with ALL of the PH ships, sending them to Lahaina and Hilo. I changed my previous KB course and ran it down 3 hexes from both ports and launched 3 hex naval/port strikes with all groups minus the 1 Kate group on 9 hex search (70%) recon (30%).

I suspect he sent a good number of the fast DDs CLs and CAs that were undamaged out toward the US, but I'm not positive still about this. My recon still shows Pearl empty and 3 ships in Lahaina (1 BB) and none in Hilo. I have a good idea of what happended to the ships in Hilo, however.

Hawaii

The KB got a good shot at numerous support, merchant, auxilliary, and patrol ships that had been shuffled out of PH last turn to Lahaina (I suspect) and this turn went toward Hilo. I haven't counted everything up, and the ships sunk chart doesn't show half of the ships that I watched getting demolished in the replay, but it looks like we took out a fair number of these ships. I'll look through the replay again and document the losses for the more comprehensive post to come. I think his bluff was called this turn, and he lost a big pot on this one. Hats off to Jzanes to giving me the heads up to consider some other options.

This is the difficult and exciting part of beginning to play a human opponent. I do have to adjust my thinking to take in more possible choices, and learn to better predict the one he will choose.

I did commit one serious and long lasting blunder this turn. I sent two Glenn subs, (including the I-25) one hex from PH. I had them set for a 1 hex react, but never thought they'd step into the minefield at PH to react to a couple of PCs there! This will hurt, I know. I guess I'll have to pick a new sub to follow. Hopefully this will not become a trend, but as I'm not superstitious, I'm going forward and will choose another this weekend. Preferably one sitting in the middle of the Pacific somewhere.


PI

The convoys came close to shore and encountered numerous PT and sub attacks. One PT group avoided the SCTFs and knocked out a DMS, but no merchants were hit. This 3 PT TF then got wiped by the accompanying CLs and DDs. Subs all missing, thankfully. It did push my amphib TF back fro the landing though, so I wasted a turn here. More DDs will come in tomorrow before the TF moves forward toward Vigan.

No flights over the PI as I wait for closer airfields. Several small merchants fro Hong Kong were hit by the Netties.

Malaya

Subs continued to try out the ASW around the convoys unloading. KXII paid the ultimate price with 13 hits and is listed as sunk. No ships lost here this turn. We also hit a good number of uncapped merchants fleeing the area through the straits. At least 4 xAKs and the Vendetta, which took a torp from a Betty and went down. Escorts flew with them this turn, but I might have to try narrow search arcs tomorrow as well to avoid the CAP I suspect will be over these ships.

On land we're beginning the long pursuit toward Singapore.

DEI

The Legaspi invasion is heading for Ambon. It has been detected, but I'm going ahead as there is good Surface cover and the Mini KB is near, hitting ships and obviously supporting this op. Hopefully the Boise et al will give it a pass, but if they come in, I assume our SCTF can hold it's own. I'm going to send a couple DDs as a decoy to Boela to bombard.

Central Pacific

Tarawa is ours, but I'm surprised this convoy didn't get plastered this turn by the Lexington TF. He knew where it was going. This makes me suspect he's hanging around Wake. I'll up the recon and see if the Wildcats are still there. Or he may have just hightailed it for the North or the South. The Wake invasion turned back and is near Kwajalein, as one of my scouting subs had a 3/3 detection rating about 10 hexes east of Wotje last turn. This has to be a CVTF. Nothing else around.

China

The AVG showed up in Changsha, which is great. I began bombing there immediately, but let the units be filled with fresh replacement pilots just in case. He jumped and I lost 4 Nates and 5 Sonias. But now at least one section of the AVG is out of Burma and the DEI, which suits me just fine.

HI

Setting up convoys and refits. Lots of scrambling ships and clicking.

[Cribtop]

Beware, nothing can stop That Damn Boise! [:D]

[Jzanes]

Good to hear that you caught him being sneaky with his ships. One thing, I've learned to do is to place at least one ship in each port. That way your opponent will see the anchor symbol but won't know if you have 1 ship or a thousand in the port unless he recons the base. Plus you can move your ships from port to port and have them auto disband and he won't know that you moved them unless he see's them enroute.

[Ketza]

What an odd move on his part. It makes much more sense to leave the cripples in port and defend them with the fighters you have left and shoot down 20% of the KBs attack planes.

Nice bonus for you to catch them!

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Beware, nothing can stop That Damn Boise! -Cribtop-

I know! I am very wary. Hopefully it went toward another are first and can't make it down here. It would be hard by now to put a big SCTF together at Ambon, but you never know. I will find out in two turns. Ryujo is also around trying to scare everyone else off with her terrifying group of Claudes and some Kates. Not enough A6M2s around yet.

Good to hear that you caught him being sneaky with his ships. One thing, I've learned to do is to place at least one ship in each port. That way your opponent will see the anchor symbol but won't know if you have 1 ship or a thousand in the port unless he recons the base. Plus you can move your ships from port to port and have them auto disband and he won't know that you moved them unless he see's them enroute. -Jzanes-

I've learned some good lessons here.

1. Recon, recon, recon. Each port has two separate recon flights now.

2. Naval/Port strike is your best friend. This turn both ports are targeted by at least one group, so if there is more around than there appears to be, then we'll find out and have at least a few groups hitting them.

3. Human opponents are sneaky. I still feel like there are about 60-90 ships unaccounted for here, and if they're out in the waters south or east of Hawaii, I will be off to find them next turn. None of the subs to the east on patrol have run into anything at all. The one Glen sub south hasn't seen anything. No ships reported at Pearl, (no anchor symbol either), 3 ships with 1 BB at least at Lahaina, 0 ships but with an anchor symbol at Hilo. I also have some night searches on trying to see if he does move them.

What an odd move on his part. It makes much more sense to leave the cripples in port and defend them with the fighters you have left and shoot down 20% of the KBs attack planes.

Nice bonus for you to catch them! -Ketza-

Welcome Ketza!

Yes, I also think its a bit weird to leave that cozy nook of 90 fighters and tons of AAA. Tricky, and it caught me off guard, but it didn't really work out as planned. I guess if I'd tried one more Pearl strike and no recon around the area maybe I would have just left. Not likely though, as my first plan was to go NE and see if they had fled. If I found nothing there I would have gone back to recon everything and found them anyway.

Now, I am playing with fire, as there was another dud sub attack by Gudgeon this turn. Thing s could have made a very different turn if any of the multiple sub or PT strikes had hit the KB.

Just about to rewatch the replay and count up the damage. I'll report again after that with a list.

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Day 3 - Air attack near Hilo

This is a list of the ships attacked near Hilo. Most of them looked in dire condition after the attack, though few show up on the sunk ships report.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]ACM PLanter
CM Oglala

AMc Condor
AMc Crossbill
AMc Redbird
AMc Cockatoo
AM Turkey
AM Bobolink
AM Tern
AM Vireo
AM Rail


AD Rigel
AD Dobbin
AD Whitney
AE Pyro
AE Mauna Loa
AG Argonne
AG Aries
AR Vestal
AR Medusa
AV Wright
AVP Avocet
AVP Swan

AK CAstor
AK Alchiba
AP St Mihel

AO Ramapo

xAKL Hirondelle
xAKL Manini
xAK Florence D.
xAK Laida

PG Sacramento
PC Reliance
PC Tiger
[/font]

My next step will be to have a look at the Allied side (prewar recon) to see what ships were indeed at PH on Dec 7 and try to figure out what is unaccounted for, their speeds and possible destinations. After next turn the KB will be to the east of Hawaii, 7 hexes SE of PH (barring any PT or sub attacks that might slow us down). I will avoid any more PH attacks unless I find that there is still a large group of ships there, including BBs, CAs, and CLs, (which seems unlikely as at least 4 separate Kates and a Jake reconned PH last turn and found no ships, only 93 fighters and 14 bombers. No auxilliary! Where have the Cats gone?).

All groups will be set to 6 hex naval/port attack, with some groups specifically assigned to Lahaina and Hilo, others open to commander discretion. All A6M2s are on escort at 40% CAP at various heights from 6,000 to 20,000.

He did send 28 P-40B, 15 P-36 Mohawk, 8 F4F3, and 12 Dauntless out last turn. None got through and there were heavy losses. 10 Mohawk, 3 Wildcat, 4 P-40B, and 3 SBD to no CAP losses.

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It looks like the KB attacks of Dec 9 took out most of the Aux, merchant, and Patrol/escort ships that had been in Pearl, as well as all of the slow mine warfare ships. These were all of the slow ships, and there are a few more out there I might have a look for in the upcoming days:

AV Curtis [spd 20] and Tangier [spd 17]

AO Neosho [spd 18] (1 bomb hit Dec 7)

PC Taney [spd 21]

BBs - 3-4 should still be afloat either in Lahaina, Hilo, PH, or on the way east or south. [spd21] (All of these should be slower than this as they were all hit in the Dec 7 attack)

All DMS (4) and DM (7 left, DM Montgomery sunk Dec 7 ) must have high-tailed it out with the remaining DD (about 25 left), CL (6 - 3 hit Dec 7) and CA (2 - both hit Dec 7 and on fire, so possibly slowed) .

Here is the attack list from Dec 7:

BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 12, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 9, heavy fires
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 5, on fire
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1
CL Helena, Bomb hits 2
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1

AO Neosho, Bomb hits 1

DD Dale, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Schley, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Jarvis, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Cummings, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Farragut, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DM Montgomery, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

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11 Dec 1941

Hawaii

Last turn was calm and relatively without incident here. The BBs disappeared from Lahaina, if they were indeed there, back into the safety of PH. One AMc ventured out near Hilo and was promptly sunk by 24 Vals. Slight overkill.

No other shipping was seen in the area.

After this turn the decision was made to end operations in Hawaii and move back to more pressing needs in the Solomons and the DEI. Against my better judgement, but for specific reasoning, I broke the KB into two equal sections. Shokaku, Zuikaku, and Hiryu in one group heading to the SW toward Canton and on to Truk, supporting the Shortlands and Tulagi invasions on the way.

The second group with Kaga, Akagi and Soryu is heading due north to secure the area around the AOs up there, shepherd them back, and support the Wake invasion which has been waiting around for a few turns now.

Both groups are on full 9 hex searches in case any stragglers from PH are running in these directions. I feel they can handle the US CVs in a 3-2 engagement as long as the Buffalos are still there and we have better searches at longer range than the US CVs. If this is true we should get first shot, and 100 strike planes going in should do well at this point in the war to debilitate the US CVs. It is playing with fire though, I know, as 70 SBDs can do a lot of damage no matter how strong my CAP. Still, rolling the dice.

DEI

The Ambon invasion is going in. Nervous, as the original TF composition of this amphib force is not what I would have chosen, with the two CSs in there. Also, a four ship TF was sighted at Kendari yesterday. I brought the Ryujo nearby, have 3 CAs and three DDs joining the CL and 5 DDs already with the force, They should all join in the Ambon hex tomorrow and proceed. Fingers crossed.

More fleeing ships taken out by air and sea and sub, including a big oiler and a large xAP. He's sending many ships right past Babeldaob for some strange reason. I have been pounding ships each turn with a Betty group here and just added some Kates as well. Keep em coming.

PI

Three British DDs fought a hard night battle against 1 CL and 5 DDs and held us off with minimal losses before retreating. No ships lost for either side, but we expended most of our torps without a hit and only got 5 shell hits on one DD. I'll be glad when this part is over and I can realign my forces into better TF compositions with better leaders, and then see how we do. That should have been a rout.

The landings went without a hitch, though, and so the foothold has been created. Now to build up some airbases, get more troops in, and start the push back into Clark and Bataan.

Malaya

Fairly quiet as TFs continue to unload and we set up some air groups here. The straits should effectively be closed now. Betties from Bangkok and Sallys and Lilys on Malaya are on Naval for the moment to make sure nothing sneaks by and will begin working on Singapore once the Oscars have arrived in numbers and the base forces have set up.

Kaveing

The small 15 AV SNLF did not take the place on first try. came up 1 to 2. We'll sit and wait, and hopefully get a better dice roll next time.