Yes way... (GBL vs Dixie)

[goodboyladdie]

DEI

The aforementioned B-17 raid on Tarakan failed, but one of the CMs hit the day before sank after fires raged out of control. Another is soon to follow. The minefield at Tarakan was cleared.

The Palembang landings attracted about 5 waves of air attacks from Java. The attached screenie illustrates how well they went. The first wave was USN PBY-4s, which was a new one for me. Netties sank 3 xAPs near Benkoelen on Sumatra. I will deliberate attack at Palembang to cause minimal damage. The KB will move two hexes to continue provided cover. I do not like them being so predictable, but need to cover Palembang until I can get fighters in there. I will send A6M2s from Malaya and move some over from the Philippines to back fill. On Borneo the remnant of the allied forces from Sambas were forced to retreat again.

Malaya

L212s bombed Georgetown from Medan again. My Nates did nothing much and I am sad to say, I forgot to do anything about them in my haste,so the buggers do the same thing next turn. It is an annoyance, but not a big one. The 21st Division landed at Mersing, but it is about three weeks too late. A Hudson was shot down by the land based CAP that is covering the landings. AMC Bangkok Maru was torpedoed by KXII, which was sunk in return - a rare ASW success.

[Mike Solli]

Why are you restarting the Shinano? Don't you have any CVs or DDs to accelerate?

[Erkki]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Why are you restarting the Shinano? Don't you have any CVs or DDs to accelerate?

Shinano is a Taiho class CV in Scenario 2. I think it arrives somewhat earlier too and is a lot cheaper to build. Just 4 months behind Taiho if they are both accelerated!

[Mike Solli]

Aha! That explains it.

[PaxMondo]

Yeah, in scen 2, I think this is the biggest gift.  A second Taiho is a real treat ...

[goodboyladdie]

5th January 1942

Economy

This turn, I thought I had fixed my naval production...

Central and South Pacific

I-172, returning with damage from the West Coast, was spotted and attacked by the escorts of a small transport tf near Hilo. I seemed to have a lot more joy and inhibited Martin more when I was employing close blockade tactics.

Further to the south, I had a bit of a wobble and cancelled the Savaii landing, but then thought what the hell and let it run. I need to keep Martin guessing and if I was to consider later operations beyond my economic goals, making Martin's supply ships and reinforcements take the long way round in the South Pacific is a worthwhile one. I like the idea of using Atolls though, as Martin really needs to be on his game not to mess up an early war landing on one. There are not many in my target zone that give me the reach I need...

[goodboyladdie]

The Philippines

Just moving forces into position at Mauban and Manila. Most of the Clark force will sit in defence for now to prevent Martin coming back out of the Bataan peninsula, especially as he seems to have retreated his best units there. I would love to know what he got out of the PI at the start when my CVL was flying five days of port attack missions, but cannot move my air effort over to find out yet.

DEI

The big news is Palembang falling nice and easy. Only 8 oil and 9 refinery centres were damaged as well. I captured about 40k supplies, 50k fuel and 5k oil. It looks like he managed to get a fair bit out over the last month. I haven't got a clue how as I have a lot of subs and LBA in the area. Dixie lost at least 2 Martin 139s and about 5 B339Ds over the hex for no reward. 38th Div is dividing to run about and capture nearby bases to consolidate my hold on eastern Sumatra.

Kuching airfield is now size 3. The Netties there worked well with the KB to sink a TK and 2 AMs near Oosthaven, after RO-33 had damaged the TK overnight. The KB and Car Div 5 will withdraw to Cam Ranh Bay, as I have a few Nates and some A6M2s in Palembang now. Another damaged CM sank in Tarakan.

A small force is landing to take Talaud-eilanden, east of Manado.

[goodboyladdie]

Malaya

I captured Mersing and 21st Div is moving to the Johore Strait. 2 HDMLs tried to attack the landing force, but the covering force flagship, CS Chiyoda sank them at 10000 yards with two salvoes. Spectacular shooting. I am not used to that as an AFB! KXI then hit and xAK with three torpedoes and escaped what little retribution was on offer as the ship sank. L212s made a nuisance of themselves over Georgetown again. Flak remains heavy over Singapore. I finally have a second Ace!

[goodboyladdie]

CBI

The AVG has turned up again. They ambushed a couple of my previously unmolested training raids in China and knocked down a few Mabels, Sonias and Idas and an Oscar and Nate too. I'll hit a closer target to keep out of their way rather than chase them around. If Martin keeps moving them from base to base he'll use up his aircraft stocks.

Here is the Tracker chart showing my HI surplus now in a position to rebuild. How low should I let my armaments pool go?

[goodboyladdie]

6th January 1942

Central and South Pacific

RO-62 was driven off by 2 DMS escorting a small AK into Johnston Island. She was slightly damaged by the second attack.

The Philippines

Clark fell. Did I incorrectly speak about that last turn? I get confused when catching up... There was only a weak PA Div and a base force there with the Subic Bay defences. Now I have to clear up the mess I made when I was lowering his morale and burning his supply by hitting the AF so hard.

My ASW force at Lingayen finally attacked the USN sub there, but I do not know if they caused any real damage.

[goodboyladdie]

DEI

Kaga got another Ace as the KB was withdrawing northwards. Then Martin brought some B-17s in at 36600ft over Palembang and hit a refinery centre. I have brought in 2 Oscar units to fly CAP at 38k feet to stop that. I am hoping morale checks will mean his 4E fighters will not fly against the numbers, because if they come my Oscar Ib's will be able to do nothing but put them off their aim.

Malaya

KXI sank an APD at Mersing. A6M2s shot down 2 L212s over Kuala Lumpur as Martin unwisely moved them to where I have fighters.

CBI

My raid on the cut off CW forces south of Moulmein met a CAP of Buffs and Blenheim IFs. My Oscars drove them off with no losses for either side.

In China the AVG turned up over Wuchow today and shot down a Nate and 3 Sonias.

The Economy

Nope, Naval shipbuilding is still screwed, forcing me to fund 150 points of upgrades on top of the 50 point Merchant points I invested last turn. Not for the first time, thanks Martin, for letting me play scenario 2!

Taiyo's Kate squadron expanded to 13 planes this turn. She is sailing to get back in the way. Destination Babeldaob. Hosho has no new damage and reached Okinawa.

[goodboyladdie]

6th/7th January 1942

Central and South Pacific

I-26 tussled with a flush decker ASW tf off San Francisco all day. I moved her a hex to try to get out from under. RO-26 got some of the same medicine at Johnston Island. My landing force is ashore at Savaii. I am withdrawing the escort north and have left the transports to unload and run north as they finish unloading supplies to hold down casualties as I really do not know what Martin has in the area. A JNAF base force will move to Savaii from Maloelap, so at least I will be able to fly search planes in.

The Philippines

I am continuing to move 2 small forces around taking undefended bases. This turn it will be Siquijor and Tablas.

DEI

No B-17s at Palembang, but it could have been the awful weather. A DMS was hit by non-detonating torpedoes at Tarakan. Some of the crew were deafened by the clang, but it could have been worse...

I took Talaud-eilanden. I forgot to assault for at least a turn so I now have two subs for company during the reload...

Praboemoelith, near Palembamg fell to a river assault from the three Brigades of 38th Div.

In Korea 29th Div was transferred to Southern Army and I will try to find a nice quiet beach for them to land on in Java. They are heading for Port Arthur to meet up with transports. An Engineer regiment will make up the garrison numbers at Mukden to allow them to leave. I have left them planning for Calcutta to keep Dixie in the dark.

3 xAPs were torpedoed by Netties out of Kuching south of Palembang. No troops were aboard.

Malaya

Flak remains heavy at Singapore.

Here is a screenie showing how many BBs I supposedly sank at Pearl Harbor. Two on the list waved at my subs as they passed through my so called screen, so I do not believe a bit of it. I really wish I had kept my subs in close.

[goodboyladdie]

7th/8th January 1942

Central and South Pacific

I-2 had some run ins with Canadian minesweepers near Victoria and I-1 had some attention from USN DDs further south. No damage, but I am moving the patrolling subs every day now.

My troops landed at Luganville and I took Savaii. There were no allied units there, which surprised me. I have had subs at Noumea and Suva since early on and they have not seen any activity. I am being very tempted to try to throw together a push into New Caledonia as I can really force his supply lines south if I do. I will see what I can gather together to push south, but the DEI and resources come first. I am sending some spare DDs to Yokosuka to escort CVL Shoho to join the mini KB when she arrives.

The Philippines

Not a lot. Still taking small undefended bases each turn. I had an oops moment and let an amphibious force take all the supplies in Babeldaob, so am rushing to get more down there. A USN sub was attacked at Lingayen and actually hit!

DEI

My Palembang Oscar ambush did not work. I had to hurry this turn and the next and it was only on the one currently back with Martin I realised that some dickhead had forgotten to give them orders to actually fly...

A USN sub received a hit at Tarakan before DMS W-18 ran out of ammo and another allied sub received a proper hit at Talaud-eilanden, so an altogether lucky turn. I tried to get my A6M2s at Palembang to sweep Batavia. If I can drive his fighters out of the skies, it'll mean my Netties get to do some real work if the RN or USN turn up.

Malaya

Malacca fell. Oscars and Nates punished the L212 raid on Georgetown.

Jap carriers

The KB is reunited at Cam Ranh Bay. I will disband to carry out quick repairs. I have 2 Kongos and more escorts coming from Hong Kong. When they arrive I will split the KB into 2 task forces, each with a maximum escort. It should give me greater flexibility and mean that each tf will have more flight decks than anything they face in the next couple of months.

Hosho's flooding increased to 45 so she has disbanded in Kanoya. She will repair the minor stuff and then run for a proper dockyard.

[goodboyladdie]

8th/9th January 1942

My notes for this turn are incomplete as I did most of it in 5 minute segments spread over lots of little bits of downtime at work.

Central and South Pacific

I-8 missed a US DD off San Francisco as another ASW tf turned up.

A small AK on the way to Tulagi was attacked on the surface by a USN sub. She took 7 hits, but isn't badly damaged and is unloading her cargo. I will have to get more organised...

Luganville fell and I started landing at Lae. My fighters intercepted C-47s over Lae, but I do not seem to have destroyed any.

The Philippines

A USN sub attacked a convoy and experienced torpedo failure at Davao. There was no counter attack.

I captured Masbate and more importantly Mauban, where the PA units bounced out of Lucena surrendered.

DEI

Dutch Martin 139s attacked Palembang at night. They destroyed an A6M2 on the ground. I will deal with these night raids after I have hit the 4E that comes over by day.

I landed at Morotai.

CBI

I captured Pegu. I'll have a look at Rangoon now.

In China, the AVG are sweeping the skies. My Navy pilots are pretty evenly matched with them, but the JAAF lost Nates and Oscars to them this turn. I will either have to bomb the airfields they are using or avoid them until I bring greater numbers to the fight.

The low Oscar Ic pool is due to me using them all for upgrades, btw.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: goodboyladdie

My Palembang Oscar ambush did not work. I had to hurry this turn and the next and it was only on the one currently back with Martin I realised that some dickhead had forgotten to give them orders to actually fly...

And who hasn't done this one B4? [:(] Still, it always hurts when you do ... No worries, plenty of war left. [;)]

[Chickenboy]

Enjoying the AAR, GBL. Thanks for keeping us informed. [8D]

As for the sinking of three Allied subs by type 95, I quote the following well known site for truth in combat reporting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x3TMBeX-ws

[goodboyladdie]

Thanks Andre/Pax

I am pretty sure the one that took three hits went down, but as for the others I have no faith in the reports...

[goodboyladdie]

9th-10th January 1942

Economy

The Aichi Ha-60 advanced again to 8/42. The economy is looking unbalanced again (already), so I have switched off production until the airframe catches up (still due 1/43). I have expanded the Kawasaki Ha-60 for the Tony as I realised it was being under researched and the airframe factories are repairing better than any others.

Central and South Pacific

I-18 put a torpedo into USS Kingfisher at Pago Pago. It could indicate a general bug-out, but I am not so sure as I always send her off to escort convoys straight away when I play allies. She still seems to be afloat.

On New Guinea, Lae became my latest conquest with no resistance so the transports I saw last turn must have been flying the garrison out. I will assault across the river into Wau, where an allied unit is still present.

Further south, the Luganville force and escorting CVLs are heading for Truk to refuel. Then I will head them back south to move the naval guard units about to see what I can grab on the cheap. They will be back out again before the new CVL that arrives in 16 days can join them, but it can't be helped. I have to try to get in before Martin can put a USMC regiment in my way. I am surprised to find nothing here. I always drop some of the forces that start loaded at Canton Island here. If they are not here, where are they? Is it one or two deployable USMC regiments he has in December? I should not be concentrating my thoughts on this area, but I find myself thinking about it lots...

[goodboyladdie]

Philipinnes

The AO bomb magnet a Manila got hit again. The approach march on Mindanao and Luzon continues. I'll have an exploratory attack at Manila in a couple of turns. I do not have a massive superiority and that light urban terrain is a bastard to fight through when fortified, so I will keep up the bombardment to reduce supplies.

DEI

At Palembang there was a PBY-4 night attack on my ASW vessesl with no hits. Martin 139s then came in at 1000 ft and lightly damaged the airfield. Tomorrow night they will meet Oscars. There were three high altitude 4E raids during the day. I lost an Oscar Ib, but Martin lost 2 Brewster B339Ds and had 2 B-17s damaged. I have swapped a Oscar Ib unit with the Ic's at Tarakan to see if the extra hitting power of the 2 12.7mm machine guns helps. My Zero sweep at Batavia drove the small Dutch CAP (now there's an image) down, with no losses on either side.

At Babeldaob, the Kendari force is loaded and waiting for CVE Taiyo to come and escort (see screenie). It is a light force, so I am hoping Martin has not reinforced too much.

Morotai fell.

Malaya

1 L212 was shot down by my Oscars over Georgetown. I created some barges there as I am considering a quick attack on a lightly defended hex in Sumatra to keep the pressure up. Any suggestions? Johore Bahru was captured by 21st ID. I now have an avalanche of units coming down the railway line. I am hoping that Martin cannot bomb them as they are all in strategic mode. The last cut off unit further north, a light AA unit, was destroyed by two infantry regiments near Malacca. Flak is still murder over Singapore.

CBI

Over Burma, my bombers went after a ground unit that had retreated into Rangoon. They met Buffs and Blenheim IFs, with one Buff destroyed by escorting Oscars. Does Martin still have an AVG squadron available here? I bloody well hope not as they are a pain in the arse.

In China the AVG had an inconclusive skirmish over Wuchow, followed by a downed Oscar over Canton and a destroyed Nate over Wuchang.

[1EyedJacks]

Hi Carl,

It looks like you are gettng close to taking Palembang. Do you plant to also use para-units or do you have other targets in mind?

You've got a great opening going on so far as Japan - it's cool to follow along with this!


TTFN,

Mike