Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)

[ADB123]

Here are the Ship Losses, there will be many more next turn...

[DanielAnsell]

Ouch. That's definitely a rough day. Still, not that different than the real war, at this point, in terms of carriers lost on the Allied side.

The good news is you'll get shiny new Essex carriers to replace them, with decks full of lovely shiny Hellcats, to replace them in about a year.

In terms of your overall strategy, what does this defeat mean? Does it change much, really?

[ADB123]

In terms of your overall strategy, what does this defeat mean? Does it change much, really?

No, it just means that I have to move a half dozen Air Units to Oz to replace the 6 lost on the CVs. I know exactly which I am going to move, how, and why, so it won't be a big deal.

It also means that I won't need as much fuel in Oz, so there will be fewer opportunities for the KB to do anything in the Indian Ocean other than burn up its own fuel.

[ADB123]

I just got today's turn and also some comments from my opponent regarding the destruction of my CV TF. It turns out that he had deliberately sent the KB far to the West and South in the hopes of sneaking in the "back door" to attack Perth. Then he spotted the Transport TF that was sailing towards the Map Edge. It just so happened that his planes didn't attack the TF, or I would have known that a substantial part of the KB was there and I wouldn't have sent out my CVs.

So my Big Mistake was to assume that my opponent wouldn't send the KB out to the Map Edge because I assumed that he wouldn't send out so much Force just to hunt Transport Ships. But from the point of view of a major attack on Perth, it made perfect sense. I just never expected him to try such a round-about attack route for an attack on Perth.

So I've learned a painful lesson and I won't underestimate my opponent's aggressiveness so much in the future.

[ADB123]

March 9, 1943 -

Night Time saw a bit of Insult added to Injury as a Japanese Sub attempted to attack one of the crippled US DDs that was attempting to get away from the KB. Surprisingly, the sub missed.

Daylight brought Japanese Naval Search Planes out in droves and they easily spotted the retiring US Ships despite heavy cloud cover and bad weather. But before the second day onslaught in the Indian Ocean could start, various Land-Based Air Attacks took place.

First off Japanese Fighters Swept Nanning again, followed by Bombers. At the end of the day a Japanese Infantry Division and two Japanese Armoured Regiments attempted a Deliberate Attack on the two Chinese Corps in the city. The Japanese only achieved a 1:4 result and the Forts stayed at Level 2, but the Japanese took few casualties while the Chinese took around 10 times as many, likely because of their lack of Supplies.

It was then the turn of the Allied 4E Forces in Indian, Australia, and the Aleutians to attempt to cause some level of damage to the seemingly invincible Japanese.

First came the Attacks at Paramushiro-Jima, carried out by B-24Ds, B-17Es, and PB4Y-1s. They were met by Oscar IIs, A6M2s, and Tonys. As in previous Attacks on the Eastern Kuriles, Distance played a big roll – the 4Es didn't carry full loads and were hindered by the long flight to and from the Target. The US Bombers fought their way past the Japanese CAP and hit the Air Base, but the effects were far from critical, and the wear-and-tear from the long flight caused many Bombers to be written off.

Next, the well-seasoned 4E crews from India hit the Air Base at Toungou. Surprisingly, some Oscar IIs and Nicks showed up to contest the attack. The 4Es got through, but the end result was less effective than usual in that Theater.

Finally, the 4Es in northeastern Oz went after the Air Base at Lae and got Lucky for a change as they caught a number of Japanese planes on the Ground. The B-24Ds, B-17Fs, and B-17Es had to face Tojos, Tonys, Oscar Is, A6M3s and A6M2s, but they got through and hit the Air Fields hard.

At this point reports came in from the Indian Ocean that Bombers from the KB caught up with a number of the slower cripples. A CLAA and 5 DDs were sent under. Japanese damage and losses from Flak continued to be unbelievably light.

The End-of-Day Air Results were a mixed bag:

Total Losses: Japanese 42, Allies 26

A6M2 – 2 A-to-A, 23 Ground, 2 Ops
Oscar II – 5 A-to-A, 2 Ops
Tony – 2 Ops
Oscar I – 2 Ops
A6M3 – 1 Ops
Tojo – 1 Ops
Nick – 1 Ops

B-24D – 10 A-to-A, 6 Ops
B-17E – 3 A-to-A, 1 Ops
PB4Y-1 – 2 A-to-A, 1 Ops

It was nice to catch so many Japanese planes on the Ground. It's only too bad that they weren't more modern Fighters.

The B-24Ds continue to be have troubles and I'm glad to be slowly replacing them with B-24D1s.

In any event, I'm resting the Aleutian 4Es next turn, but I'm sending out the Australian and Indian 4Es again.

[crsutton]

Well, I regret to hear of your loss in the Indian Ocean. But you can recover from the loss of two carriers and supporting ships. I have one set rule for 1942-43. I never split my carriers up and I never operate in an area unless I know exactly where KB is. I have passed up on some nice sure carrier actions on surface ships and merchants because I was not positive where KB was lurking.

You are right I found the wildcat to be hopelessly outclassed and it was a problem for me. You will get the hellcat in the next month or so and your carrier fighter troubles will be behind you. I find the hellcat to be an excellent fighter vs all second generation Japanese fighters and it will dominate until the Frank arrives. If you are playing the betas or if not you will eventually see the patch, then you will be able to buy back all of those lost air groups. Production of the SBD5 and first helldiver model in mid 43 will solve your inventory problems as well. Just hang in there for a few months.

[ADB123]

I have one set rule for 1942-43. I never split my carriers up and I never operate in an area unless I know exactly where KB is. I have passed up on some nice sure carrier actions on surface ships and merchants because I was not positive where KB was lurking.

I guess that it bothers me to do that because it gives up too much to the Japanese player. I've felt that by showing some of my carriers, now and then, and in different locations, it has kept my opponent a bit more honest.

And I've been playing this match for 2 years - it's been very VERY hard to not do much during that time... [:D]

So I don't disagree with you in principle, it just seems a shame to have to play that way for so long.

It's also too bad that the Wildcats were designed in the Game to be so pathetic. [8|]

Thanks for your comments -

[Arnhem44]

Heyas ADB, how many decks have you lost so far? Got to remember that the USN did lose quite a few decks IRL by the end of '42 so if nothing else it could force you to be a little creative in achieving your goals, you could also use this episode to mess with your opponent's head, Victory Disease is your friend.

Anyways, hang in there mate, CV's are not the only way to bring the pain.

[ADB123]

Heyas ADB, how many decks have you lost so far?

Here are my combat ship losses:

[ADB123]

Here are my sub and other major ship losses:

[ADB123]

Here are the major Japanese ship losses. Note carefully - my opponent hasn't lost any major combat ships!

[crsutton]

Very light losses to date-especially BBs. Losing two carriers will hurt as the remaining four just can't go head to head with KB. But you will be seeing the new Essex carriers soon, so I would have to say you are in very good shape. At this stage the risk of two carriers was probably worth it. Losing them in mid 42 is a much more serious affair. What are the major IJN losses to date?

I have two campaigns going. Both started about a week or two after AE came out. One is in 3/44 and the other in 10/42. This game is eating up my life...[;)]

[ADB123]

What are the major IJN losses to date?

That's the previous post... The biggest ships my opponent has lost have been some AOs and AMCs... [X(]

My opponent has been extraordinarily strict with himself as far as the use of his TFs. He has absolutely refused to sail anything anywhere without some portion of the KB there to escort it, along with LBA. This has meant that I just haven't had any opportunities to attack his combat ships. The times that I've tried I've lost ships without gain.

To a good extent my opponent has played a near-perfect Scenario 1 match from the Japanese perspective. I just don't have the self-control to be able to avoid taking risks like he has. And at the same time his approach has stymied my attempts at causing him some losses.

This makes for a very challenging game. But I still believe that I can eventually overcome his advantages with enough LBA in the right places.

[ADB123]

March 10, 1943 -

Another Japanese sub attacked one of the retreating US crippled DDs west of Perth, but the sub missed.

Daylight brought pure relief for that DD and the other survivors of the Great Debacle as the KB was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps my opponent decided that he didn't want to take a chance with my LBA. Perhaps the KB was running low on fuel. Perhaps he wanted to go after other targets. Whatever the reason, it was great now to lose more ships today.

In fact, this was a day totally without Japanese Air Attacks from either the IJN or the IJA. Only Allied Bombers flew.

In Burma 2Es hit Japanese troops in the jungle near Akyab, and near Kalemyo, and also Japanese troops in Warazup. The 4Es hammered the Air Base and Air Fields at Mandalay totally closed.

In northeastern Australia the 4Es flew again, breaking my usual pattern. This time the Bombers hit the Air Base at Buna again and they caught Japanese planes on the Ground there too. The results were reasonable in terms of Japanese planes shot down and destroyed on the ground, as well as damage done to the Air Base and Air Fields.

The End-of-Day results were as follows:

A6M2 – 5 A-to-A, 1 Ground, 2 Ops
A6M3 – 5 Ground 1 Ops
Oscar I – 3 Ground
Tony – 2 Ground
Tojo – 1 Ground

I lost a handful of 4Es, mainly as write-offs at the end of the mission.

This coming turn I'm resting all of my 4Es and most of my 2Es. I am moving Air Units Forward and I want to give them time to get back up to strength before I start again.

And it appears that there are a couple of Japanese TFs moving Eastwards in the Kuriles. I am watching them closely, and moving some Forces forwards, just in case an Opportunity Arises. (Unlike in the Indian Ocean, I've got a LOT of Search, Recon and Subs throughout the region, giving me very good coverage of that is going on.)

[ADB123]

March 11, 1943 –

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought Japanese Air Attacks on Nanning again. The number of Japanese Air Units and planes being used is increasing there. I guess that my opponent feels that it is more effective to use his Bombers there than in Burma.

There were no Allied Bomber Attacks. The few that I planned were Rained out.

At the end of the day the Japanese besiegers of Nanning staged another Deliberate attack. This time they achieved a 1:1 result and lowered the Forts down to Level 1. Once again the Chinese casualties outnumbered the Japanese casualties significantly.

I’ve put more Naval Search assets in the South-Central Pacific and this turn they turned up what appears to be a Japanese Surface Combat TF northwest of Nanumea. It is supposedly heading southeast towards the Ellice Islands. So I’ve pulled out the Cats and the AVD that I had at Funafuti. Things are not the same in that Region as they were some time back when the Yamato was sent to bombard the empty base at Canton Island.

[ADB123]

March 12, 1943 –

The Night Phase saw IJN I-8 take a shot at and miss AVD Mackinac as the Seaplane Tender left Funafuti. Mackinac didn’t miss and hit the sub with a couple of depth charges. Afterwards there was a report of a different Japanese sub going down thanks to depth charges, but I don’t know if that was a coincidence, poor reporting, or wishful thinking. One thing for certain – that was the first time that I’ve seen a Japanese sub in the South Pacific in a long time.

Daylight brought big Japanese Air Raids on Nanning and the Chinese troops in that base.

Allied Air Attacks were rained out except for some 2Es that went after the Japanese troops at Warazup and also those to the east of Kalemyo, but in the “Severe Storms” the Allied bombers mostly missed their targets. The 4Es didn’t take off at all.

But the Big News was that the KB was spotted off of the West Coast of Australia again. But this time the two KB TFs have split, with the smaller one west of Geraldton and the larger one west of Perth.

So I have to defend two places from potential attack. I split my Air Forces with most, including the Torpedo Bombers at Geraldton, and a smaller contingent down at Perth. I want to maximize my chances at getting in some hits, and Perth has a Level 9 Air Base and an Air HQ. I’ve also got Air Reinforcements on their way, and many ships scrambling around the Region.

The first question is – will the KB TFs go after Air Bases, TFs or Ports, or try to split between all three?

The second question is – can my LBA do what my Naval Air hasn’t been able to do?

Or will the Weather Gods of the Game Engine punish the Allies once again?

[ADB123]

March 14, 1943 –

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought Japanese Fighters and Bombers out again over Nanning. As usual, the Japanese planes hit the Chinese base and troops rather hard, but at least this time the Japanese planes took some Ops damage.

Then it was the turn of the Allied 2Es in Burma where the Japanese troops to the east of Kalemyo were hit by at a few of the many Allied Bombers that flew in Attack missions. But the Allied Bombers that tried to hit the Japanese Troops in Warazup just couldn’t find the Target at all.

Action then shifted to the Indian Ocean off of southwestern Australia as US B-24D1s flew a low-level Naval Attack mission after the northern Japanese CV TF. The first wave saw 6 Liberators fly in against 10 A6M3as and 8 A6M2s. The 4Es faired reasonably well against the Japanese Fighters, but when the Bombers made their Attack Runs they were hammered by Japanese Naval AA, which was amazingly more effective than the equivalent US Naval AA.

The Japanese CVs in this TF were already smoking slightly, so they must have been the ones that had received the minor hits during the fight with the US CVs a few days before. But none of the 4Es that got through could hit their targets. Two of the Liberators were lost to Enemy Fighters and Flak.

Then a second wave of Allied Bombers flew in – 3 more Liberator 24D1s escorted by 13 Marine Corsairs. This time the Allied Attack was met by 10 A6M3as and 7 A6M2s. The Corsairs were at a disadvantage because they were Escorting the Liberators. But despite this the Marines did well, shooting down 1 A6M3a while losing 2 Corsairs. Thanks to this the Bombers got through and one actually scored a hit on CV Hiryu. However, the usual Allied Luck held and the 500 lb bomb hit the CV’s Belt Armor.

In the Afternoon the Japanese Naval Air finally got off an Attack on Geraldton where 16 A6M3as, 16 A6M2s, and 15 B5N2s went after an empty TF consisting of an AM and a relatively small xAP. The Japanese Attack was faced by 8 Spitfire Vcs, 8 Kittyhawk Ias and 5 F4U-1 Corsairs.

The Allied Fighters held their own and ended up shooting down 3 A6M2s, 1 A6M3a and 2 Kates, while only losing 1 Spitfire. But the remaining Kates got through and hammered the little TF, sinking the Dutch AM and severely damaging the xAP. The Kates were pummeled again by the Allied Fighters on their way out.

No further Allied or Japanese Air Attacks flew, and the second and larger Japanese CV TF was not spotted during the turn or afterwards.

Finally, the Japanese Infantry Division and the two Tank Regiments executed one more Deliberate Attack at Nanning and captured the base, driving out the two badly beaten Chinese Corps. Those Chinese LCUs have now been given orders for the long, slow march back to Chungking and re-building.

The End-of-Day results were reasonably encouraging. The total Air Losses were 24 for the Japanese and 17 for the Allies. The breakdown of losses off of southwestern Oz was as follows:

A6M3a – 2 A-to-A, 5 Ops
A6M2 – 5 A-to-A, 2 Ops
B5N2 Kates – 4 A-to-A

F4U-1 Corsair – 4 A-to-A
B-24D1 – 1 A-to-A, 2 Flak
Spitfire Vc Trop – 1 A-to-A

Only 2 Allied Pilots were lost and neither was experienced.

What was particularly disappointing was that the Allied LBA Torpedo and Dive Bombers didn’t fly, despite being within Maximum range of the Japanese CVs, and despite being at a Level 9 Air Base with a Good, Aggressive Air Commander in an Air HQ, and having plenty of Supply.

It will be interesting to see if my opponent sticks around for another try at Geraldton or Perth with the Northern KB. What will also be interesting will be to see what happened to the Southern KB. Has it moved off in search of other Transport TFs in the Region, was it just Lucky and didn’t get spotted while being nearby, or is it moving to the south-east in search of those retreating Allied Ships that are sailing around the southwestern tip of Oz?

BTW – I’ve moved in yet more Search and Attack planes into the Region, just in case the KB does stick around.

[ADB123]

March 14, 1943 –

There was no Night Action again this turn. Daylight brought out Japanese Recon/Search planes over Perth. The Naval Search planes from Perth and other south-western Australian Bases found two Japanese TFs west of Perth. One was reported as a CV TF and the other as a 3-DD TF, which I really doubt. I suspect that the later TF is the KB 2.

The Air Action then shifted to Burma where various Allied 2Es went after the Japanese Troops at Warazup as well as the Air Base there. The 2Es did a much better job of hitting the Air Base than they did hitting the Japanese Troops.

Then the 4Es finally flew and pounded the Air Base and Air Fields at Myitkyina into dust. It doesn’t appear that my opponent is making any special efforts to try to rebuild the more forward Air Bases in Burma. Instead he appears to be building up Air Bases around the Rangoon area.

There were no Japanese Air Attacks in China this turn. The victorious Japanese troops at Nanning appear to be heading eastwards towards Liuchow.

The badly damaged xAP at Geraldton sank this turn at the Docks.

The KB stayed relatively far offshore this turn and no Japanese Air Attacks were attempted. But 6 Australian B-25C Mitchells attempted a Low Level Air Attack on the KB. They were met my 11 A6M3as and 13 A6M2s. The Japanese fighters shot down 3 of the Mitchells and damaged a fourth. The remaining 2 Mitchells attempted an attack on BB Kongo but were hammered by the AA from the Japanese ship, and didn’t get in any hits.

The End-of Day results were funny – the report table said that 4 Mitchells were lost A-to-A, 1 to Flak, and 1 to Ops. But when I looked at the Bomber Squadron it was only missing 4 planes.

In any event, it will be interesting to see what the KB does next turn. In the meanwhile, I’ve got some plans in the works that could be interesting if they can achieve Surprise.

[ADB123]

March 15, 1943 –

There was finally some Night Action as Dutch sub KIX hit an xAK with a torpedo just off of Moulmein. Unfortunately, that Freighter was in a Transport TF that was leaving Rangoon empty. An escort in the Japanese TF made a half-hearted attack on the Dutch sub, but the Dutchmen got away to hector the Japanese again in the future.

Daylight brought reports of Bad Weather cancelling Allied Air Missions all across the Entire Pacific. So while some secondary 2E Attacks flew in Burma, no important missions flew for the Allies.

The Japanese got off a number of Fighter Sweeps and Bomber Attacks on some retiring Australian Artillery units that I have pulling back from Daly Waters. I’ve ordered some P-38s to fly LR CAP over those units next turn.

Japanese Spy Planes flew over Norfolk Island and Canton Island this turn. I pulled back the Supply TF from Norfolk, but I left the Transport TFs at Canton Island for now so that they have an opportunity to drop off their remaining Troops.

In Other News, USS Sargo finally limped into a West Coast Repair Port despite having a lot of floatation damage. The Sub will be in the Dry-docks for several weeks.

And my Long, Long Range Naval Search has spotted several large TFs at Etoforu, as well as lots of Japanese ships in Port. The Japanese TFs may be moving to the northeast, but INTEL is so random that one never knows for certain. Never-the-less, it is rather interesting when one considers the benign neglect that the Kuriles have received from the Japanese for most of the War.

And the KB stayed quiet off of Western Australia, with what appears to be the secondary KB TF heading back to Port.

[ADB123]

March 16, 1943 –

When my opponent sent this turn he commented that he had a “bit of a surprise” that I would see in the Combat Replay. My opponent’s comments are always rather cryptic, so I had no idea if this meant that there was a “good surprise”, such as the Japanese forces finally stumbling into one of my traps, or a “bad surprise”, such as the Japanese discovering one of my plans.

Well, the Night Phase showed that it wasn’t so much of a “surprise” as it was business-as-usual for the Allies as USS Snook shot off six torpedoes at IJN CV Shokaku north of Exmouth, and missed with all of the torpedoes. The Japanese Escorts hit the Snook lightly once and the sub got away with a chance lost. (I replied to my opponent that the “surprise” would have been if one of the sub’s torpedoes had actually hit the CV… [;)])

Daylight brought reports of Japanese CV TFs north of Exmouth and west of Port Hedland. They are all out of range of LBA Attacks, and equally so are my northwestern Australian Bases out of range of Japanese Naval Bomber attacks. There were also more Japanese Recon flights over Port Hedland and other Australian bases, and also a number of Indo-Burmese bases. However, there were no Japanese Bomber attacks anywhere.

As usual, most Allied Bomber Attacks in the Indo-Burma Region were washed out, with the exception of a few 2E attacks on Wazarup.

The Weather let up in the Far North and my 4E attacks on Paramushiro-jima flew as planned. First in were 12 PB4Y-1s which were faced by 27 Oscar IIs and 15 A6M2s. This time the Navy 4Es fought fairly well, shooting down 1 Oscar II while losing 1 4E, and were able to reach and hit their target.

Then the USAAF had its turn as 33 B-24Ds flew in and faced 13 Oscar IIs and 8 A6M2s. The Army Bombers had a better time of it, shooting down 1 Oscar II and 1 A6M2 while destroying 1 of each on the ground, along with 1 Irving on the ground. The 4Es also hit the Air Base and Air Fields hard.

The End-of-Day results reflected the difference in the two Air Strikes:

Ki-43-IIa Oscar – 3 A-to-A, 1 Ground, 1 ops
A6M2 – 2 A-to-A, 1 Ops
Irving – 1 Ground

PB4Y-1 – 4 A-to-A

Finally, a Japanese Paratroop unit dropped in on and captured Tawi Tawi in the DEI/PI region. I had totally forgotten that this base was never captured before.

SIGINT had a couple of interesting stories to tell. First off, more Japanese forces are heading towards the north shore of PNG, and my Patrols have spotted Japanese Transport TFs in the area to back this report. Perhaps my opponent is still concerned about me attempting a counter-attack in that Region.

And in a bit of rather surprising news, SIGINT reported that another Japanese Infantry Division is headed towards Darwin. I guess that my opponent figures that he can hold northern Australia indefinitely thanks to the implementation of the Special Supply Movement Restrictions in that Region.

In any event, while that now Long Ago Decision does remove some of the playability and enjoyability of the Game in that region for me, it won’t stop me in the long run, and I will continue to build up where I can despite the artificially-induced difficulties.

And below, here are the current locations of the Japanese TFs off of northwestern Australia: