Aboard the Red Castle - Erkki(J) vs. Smeulders(A) - no lookin'!

[koniu]

Ki-43 factories will convert to Ki-44 so I wont be producing more than a couple of hundred more

I will stay with few Ki-43 factories to use them as long range escort for bombers but i think they are not good kami

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Erkki

Hey. Once the M3 comes online I'll lose 33% of the factories when they convert in 5/42 - that is planned. An size 30 extra factory from R&D will bring production back from 30/month to 117/month in (130*(2/3))/3= 29 days. The CV air groups become resizable in June so I'll need over a hundred M2s for those... But you're right in that in the long run I probably wont be needing that many fighters, especially these early types. Ki-43 factories will convert to Ki-44 so I wont be producing more than a couple of hundred more. I'll probably leave the Harbin factory which is size 20 though, the later Ki-43s carry 2 bombs so they're probably nice kamis with the armor and everything. [:)]

I forgot about the CV group resize coming, so good planning on that. Oscars are nice for escort, Tojo's have very short range. You may end up producing Oscars longer just to provide Sally/Helen escort in which they do ok.

ORIGINAL: Erkki
G3M2 factory is off about half the time as I dont want to expand Ha-33 factories too much. I cant escort them to max range(nor do they even usually sortie naval attack at hose ranges too often) so they're IMHO only marginally if in practice at all worse than G4M1 as the better defensive armament in G4M doesnt have any practical effect and the 800kg port attack bomb is rarely used. I'm pretty much building them only because I happen to have the factory, lol. [:)]

Nells make GREAT long range Patrol. The next upgrade gets you range almost that of Mavis/Emily at half the cost. Plus you don't get that many Patrol air groups. I always have to "convert" several Nell groups into what are effectively Patrol airgroups to keep sufficient patrol going on.

[Erkki]

ORIGINAL: koniu

Ki-43 factories will convert to Ki-44 so I wont be producing more than a couple of hundred more

I will stay with few Ki-43 factories to use them as long range escort for bombers but i think they are not good kami

Looks like we have different philosophies then! [:)]

To me Zero is better long-range sacrificial escort fighter and once I'll using Army bombers for naval attack they will be flying 11 hex. Looking at many AARs it looks like operating bombers from front fields will not be possible for long because they get nuked all the time, and Ki-43s in front fields will use space and aviation support from better planes. My reasoning has con sides of its own and probably many I havent thought out yet but if I change my plans again it will cost another hundred thousand supplies and lots of HI [:)] so we will have to see and find how this will work! [:D] With 2x250kg bombs, armor and service rating 1 the Ki-43 IIb should be cost-efficiently better kamikaze than the Japanese 2E bombers... However my main kamikazes will probably be Netties, leftover Army bombers and Navy strike aircraft and the D4Y - its cheap, single engine, arrives early, its faster than all Wildcats and carries a 500kg/1100lbs SAP bomb and later models 800kg SAP!!! Plus I'll be building lots of them any way for the KB. [8D] Probably going to keep building the B5N and later B6N for kami role too.


March 26th 1942

East Indies: Japanese forces advance on Celebes. Deliberate attack ordered at Bandoeng tomorrow: 2780 Japanese AV(21 more joining in 7 days) faces 920-1,000 Allied, forts 2(should be), mountain hex, Allies cut off from supply and bombarded for soon 3 weeks. Last attack with forts 3 and still with supply the casualties were 1:2 and forts dropped - high hopes!

South Pacific: Japanese forces land at Woodlark Island, Tulagi's airfield is expanded to size 2 and Rabaul's port is now size 4 and building.

Home Islands: Timor invasion fleet ready, now waiting for the political points... 3 A6M3 R&D factories are fully ready so if my understanding of R&D mechanics is right we should be able to accelerate the plane by 1 month to 5/42. 4th factory is 5 points away from ready at 25(5).

Submarines: Dutch submarines try their luck at Christmas Island and Port Moresby - they get attacked by Japanese escorts but managed to get away. I-29 and I-27 recon Perth: no units at port and very little troops. Lets see if we get better info tomorrow.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Erkki

To me Zero is better long-range sacrificial escort fighter and once I'll using Army bombers for naval attack they will be flying 11 hex.

I agree, it clearly is. So you can use them this way, but be aware of the inter-service penalty on strike coordination. My experience is that the penalty is pretty high. There are work arounds of course ...

[Erkki]

March 27th


Indian Ocean: for 2nd day I-29 and I-17 recce sorties to Perth and canceled due to bad weather.

East Indies: Bandoeng deliberate attack raw AVs are 2860 vs. 930 against forts 2 and terrain - defenders dont have disruption, fatigue or supply issues yet. Forts lowered to 1, casualties 1:2 however all but 8 Japanese squad losses are just disabled vs. 150+ Allied destroyed and fatigue raises so little that we can attack again in 3 days - just need to get the regiment that took almost all the losses away first and a reinforcement coy in.

Philippines: Pegu invaded and captured, defending well-supplied PA units surrender!

South Pacific: first recon sorties flown over Australia, a Japanese transport carrying elements of a naval construction regiment gets torpedoed by a submarine and sunk. 135 men or about 1/2 of the men are rescued and it looks like most of the lost squads were just support...

[Erkki]

March 28th

Nothing happened. [>:]

Some British or Indian units seem to be moving from Calcutta - JAAF recon units keep monitoring all Allied bases between Burmese border and Calcutta so we should be able to keep track of them. Probably just support units but who knows... At Singapore, KB is again 100% ready for action. Timor invasion fleet ready, 3 days and we start loading troops aboard the ships. BB Hyuga TF arrives at Ominato where it'll refuel and do minor repairs before relocating to Paramushiro-Jima where it'll merge with BB Yamashiro TF.

[Erkki]

March 29th


Another silent day, nothing worth mentioning on any front, however:

Intel/SigInt:

Intel reports CL Dragon not sunk but being still in service, so the Type 95 torp didnt do its job.

Ki-49-IIa advanced by 1 month to 42/8, we should be able to get it into production by 42/7!

Japanese spies at Los Angeles let us peek the port, apparently there are no capital warships or tankers:



Tomorrow: Another deliberate attack ordered at Bandoeng. We have only 80 AV less than last try(which achieved 1:1 odds) and now with the lower forts I hope for another 1:1 and equal losses and forts reduction. Reinforcements arrive to Samarinda, I hope to keep the Dutch bombers at Balikpapan for another day attacking Japanese xAKLs so that those 20+ bombers can be captured by our troops. [;)]

[koniu]

ORIGINAL: Erkki

To me Zero is better long-range sacrificial escort fighter and once I'll using Army bombers for naval attack they will be flying 11 hex.

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo
I agree, it clearly is. So you can use them this way, but be aware of the inter-service penalty on strike coordination. My experience is that the penalty is pretty high. There are work arounds of course ...

[/quote]

I play only 50 turns in my game and i see that it is much easier to coordinate Army/army or navy/navy planes than army/navy planes.
I have few actions when army planes do not even start from ground to fly as escort to navy bombers and vice versa.
Like in real life there is internal conflict between army and navy. And like in real life this simulate doctrine differences of navy and army training.

[koniu]

ORIGINAL: Erkki

Ki-49-IIa advanced by 1 month to 42/8, we should be able to get it into production by 42/7!

I think that you should keep some Ki-49-Ia in pool. Later(06/44) they will get MAD device so you can use them as very good long range ASW plane.

[Erkki]

ORIGINAL: koniu

ORIGINAL: Erkki

Ki-49-IIa advanced by 1 month to 42/8, we should be able to get it into production by 42/7!

I think that you should keep some Ki-49-Ia in pool. Later(06/44) they will get MAD device so you can use them as very good long range ASW plane.

B5N2 also gets MAD the same date, and I'll have LOTS of extra B5Ns in the pool by then. [;)] I'm still going to build some Ki-49-Ias until the IIa is available, 10/month so should get some 30 of them.

[PaxMondo]

MAD only add 5% to detection ... it is nothing that I would build for specifically.  Helen 1's are 1 hex shorter range than Helen II's or Sally.  I find that to be most significant.

[Erkki]

By the way, Japan's last sub kill is Yorktown, over a month ago.

We see an Allied sub attack Japanese ships every 2-3 days or so and for the last month they have sunk I think 5 ships, but for the last month, only things the Jap subs have achieved have been reconing of Perth and San Francisco and a failed attack on those 2 DDs near Sydney, remains of the CL Mauritius TF.

Any ideas, suggestions? [&:]

[koniu]

Where are Your subs are hunting. Maybe you doing everything good only place is wrong.
I my game i am sending subs to places where they can find targets. Also having good sub commanders will help.

To detailed help give us more info. (where, how many, patrol zones etc.)

[Erkki]

Map clockwise:

1 sub off West Coast (with E14Y, just reconin). Quite a lot of subs near PH. Allies use patrol PCs and DDs and fly Cats, so I moved the sub screen so far that they havent seen any Cats or those patrol vessels for a month. Any ship approaching Hawaii from directly North to East will have to sail through the sub screen. I checked the most direct routes from all Hawaiian islands to SF and LA and that arc (NNE-NEE) is 2 subs thick. No contacts for a month now.

Near Fiji and New Caledonia, 5 subs. These have got 2 contacts during the last month but no attacks. One near Suva another near Pago Pago.

10 subs Australian eastern coast - 3 are blocking the straight between Tasmania and Australia, others are camping Sydney south and to west 4-5 hex away. Last contact was those 2 DDs and before that Yorktown.

5 subs near Perth: one E14Y sighted convoy 2 weeks ago with lots of xAKs sailed past the screen but didnt attack. Perth has no planes or ships in port except 2 HDMLs or something. All ships heading north along the coast or west to Cape Town or Mombasa will have to sail past the subs.

DEI: 7-8 submarines, these are used as as a very, very leaky mobile picket screen.

India: 7 subs near Colombo, all ships arriving from any direction will have to sail past the sub screen. The most direct routes from Africa and Karachi have 2 subs. Only contact so far are the 4 torpedo boats at Colombo's port that get sighted by E14Ys every couple of days.

[Erkki]

Ie. as far as I can tell, good part of the Allied fleet is sitting on their thumbs at Sydney and Melbourne, doing nothing. Perth is definitely empty, Pearl only has 2 CLs, SF and LA have no combat ships.

[koniu]

For me that are good hunting areas. Maybe they are to good.
Maybe your opponent after you sunk Yorktown choose alternative convoy routs. Tray to send few subs more south. Maybe you will be lucky there.

Also sending sub or two little north of Pago Pago, Christmas island will be good idea. Maybe he decide to skip those bases for while.
What method are you using to make patrol zones. In my game i am using small 3-4 hexes patrol zones. I have reaction set to 1 and subs are ordered to stay in hex for 1-2 to safe fuel.

Or maybe you use all your luck on Yorktown[:D]

[koniu]

ORIGINAL: Erkki

Ie. as far as I can tell, good part of the Allied fleet is sitting on their thumbs at Sydney and Melbourne, doing nothing. Perth is definitely empty, Pearl only has 2 CLs, SF and LA have no combat ships.

Tray to use midget subs on them[:D]

[Erkki]

ORIGINAL: koniu

For me that are good hunting areas. Maybe they are to good.
Maybe your opponent after you sunk Yorktown choose alternative convoy routs. Tray to send few subs more south. Maybe you will be lucky there.

Also sending sub or two little north of Pago Pago, Christmas island will be good idea. Maybe he decide to skip those bases for while.
What method are you using to make patrol zones. In my game i am using small 3-4 hexes patrol zones. I have reaction set to 1 and subs are ordered to stay in hex for 1-2 to safe fuel.

Or maybe you use all your luck on Yorktown[:D]

Yeah thats what I thought. [:D] Not that I can really complain, I rather have Yorktown down than 100 xAKs or 2 dozen TKs/AOs. [:'(]

I have been thinking about moving the Hawaii screen from N-E to NNE-SWW. This turn I moved the Australian east coast subs a little, they will no longer patrol the route across the Pacific but the traffic along the coast from Brisbane to Melbourne except shallow water.

I use 2-3 adjacent patrol hexes with 1-2 linger days.

Also I dont think I'm going to move them to India's western coast yet, probably more traffic there especially near Karachi but also lots of shallow water and too many alternative routes the convoys could use.

[Puhis]

I've noticed that it's more or less useless to keep subs around Pearl or West coast of US.

In mid 1942 best places seems to be near Karachi and Colombo, and Perth. Also my subs have had some success in Calcutta-Akyab-Cox'sBazar triangle, but that's only because allies are fighting for Akyab.

If allies are doing nothing, there's not much to sink.[;)]

[Erkki]

March 30th


Great Nicobar and some base in the Philippines captured.

East Indies:

Ground combat at Bandoeng (50,100)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 87585 troops, 931 guns, 305 vehicles, Assault Value = 2686

Defending force 35878 troops, 364 guns, 204 vehicles, Assault Value = 819

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 1686

Allied adjusted defense: 1132

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
4730 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 239 disabled
Non Combat: 52 destroyed, 127 disabled
Engineers: 13 destroyed, 6 disabled
Vehicles lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
2970 casualties reported
Squads: 40 destroyed, 180 disabled
Non Combat: 49 destroyed, 249 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
Vehicles lost 95 (34 destroyed, 61 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Assaulting units:
21st Infantry Regiment
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
113th Infantry Regiment
41st Guard Battalion
5th Recon Regiment
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
5th Engineer Regiment
24th Infantry Regiment
55th Infantry Regiment
56th Infantry Regiment
33rd Division
114th Infantry Regiment
12th Engineer Regiment
11th Infantry Regiment
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
148th Infantry Regiment
1st Tank Regiment
41st Infantry Regiment
46th Division
53rd Division
42nd Infantry Regiment
I/81st Naval Guard Unit
56th Field Artillery Regiment
18th Mountain Gun Regiment
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
5th Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
25th Army
1st RF Gun Battalion
3rd Mortar Battalion
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
5th Mortar Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Field Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
1st KNIL Regiment
2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion
Lijfwacht Cav Sqn
Mobiele Eenheid Battalion
4th KNIL Regiment
6th KNIL Regiment
Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion
2nd KNIL Regiment
1st Regt Cavalerie
Marinier Battalion
4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion
Barisan KNIL Regiment
3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion
Roodenburg Battalion
1st KNIL AA Battalion
1/4th Avn Sup Afd
ML-KNIL
ABDA
KNI Zeemacht
KNI Leger
NI-MLD
6th Avn Sup Afd
2/4th Avn Sup Afd
3rd KNIL AA Battalion
Andir ML Base Force
7th Avn Sup Afd

As you can see the Allies have massed quite a lot of troops around the DEI to Bandoeng, originally 1200+ AV but even that included some units already hit at Batavia and Kalidjati. Some troops still left elsewhere on Java but they were on their way to Bandoeng when a Japanese armor unit cut cut off the railroad connection. We have now destroyed 2 units from this stack - must have been small support units or something. Forts now 0 and the Dutchmen lost another 100+ AV and they are probably soon out of supplies! One infantry regiment got hit pretty badly but great majority of losses were just disabled squads. I'm still moving it to rest at Batavia. Japanese AV fell from 2686 to ~2460 but fatigue and disruption are fairly low, so we can attack again in 2 or 3 days with 2550+ AV. Shock or deliberate? Allied AV remaining after 2 days rest will be 730 tops and terrain is mountains, no forts any more.

Soerebaja's airfield attacked by Ki-21s with Ki-43 escort - the Dutchment still arent flying! 2 B-339s are destroyed. Soerebaja now reported to have 15 fighters and 40 auxiliary, and airfield damage clearly isnt repairing. All Dutch aviation support is stuck at Bandoeng and theres no way to fly out those Brewsters? [&:][:'(]

South Pacific: Tassafaronga hits airfield size 1. An Allied submarine (again) gets a shot at an xAK near Guadalcanal but this time its a miss.

Home Islands: Troops for Timor invasion start boarding ships. TF target is set to Kendari. Theres so many ships that I can afford to lose 2-3 to submarines... 1 DD escorting now but more will be joining near Mindanao and more distant cover will be given by KB and surface units. Koepang reported to have some bombers at the airfield and some 5000 troops.