Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)

[ADB123]

March 17, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn.

Daylight brought out a Dauntless Naval Air Patrol over Etoforu Island in the Kuriles. If I had any hope that the Navy Dive Bomber might not be recognized, that hope vanished later on when more Dauntlesses flew over the Island.

The Dive Bombers spotted a number of small Patrol ships in a fairly large TF, but they didn't attack the Japanese ASW ships. More importantly, the CV planes, along with Long Range LBA Recon Planes didn't spot any more Japanese ships in Port. Previous Recon flights had reported Japanese Support Ships in Port, so at the time it seemed worth a bit of fuel to see if I could hit any of them.

In any event, despite flying the Naval Search patterns, none of the CV Bombers bothered to attack either any Japanese TFs, nor did they chose the Port at Etoforu as an alternate target. Now that the Surprise was in the open and there didn't appear to be anything there worthwhile to attack I ordered my CVs to return to Base. There's no point in taking chances with Japanese Anti-ship LBA if there is nothing of value to go after. In any event, this will give my opponent something else to consider.

On the other side of the Pacific Allied 4Es finally flew and hit the Air Base at Mandalay in a thoroughly convincing manner. My opponent won't be basing planes there for a long time, if at all. I've ordered the 4Es to go after Magwe again next turn, just to be certain that the Air Base there stays closed too.

In north-central Australia B-24s hit the Air Base at Wyndham in a fairly convincing manner. There was no Japanese CAP and negligible FLAK, so the 4Es had a very nice practice run. My opponent has used Wyndham in the past as a supplemental base to Darwin and I don't want him doing it now while I have troops moving around north-central Oz. So the 4Es have orders to hit Wyndham again next turn. BTW – as a bonus, a Dinah was destroyed on the ground in this attack.

Off of northwestern Oz there were no more reports of the various Japanese CV TFs that have been around. However, several Allied Subs reported being spotted by Japanese Search planes, including KVII which was half-way between Geraldton and Carnarvon at the time. Japanese LBA Search from the DEI can't reach over there, so that was either a Glen or a CV/CS-based plane. Therefore, I'm not sending anything along the Coast for a while yet.

And in another interesting item, a radio report came in from the San Diego/Balboa wormhole. There was no sign of a Japanese sub there, but just in case I increased Airborne ASW out of San Diego and also sent a couple of ASW TFs down to check things out. I don't have any ships due to come out of the wormhole at this time (and the next TF that does exit will contain a CL and several DDs), but I want to discourage my opponent just in case he has send a sub or something else down there as a nuisance.

Finally, in a great example of why SIGINT can't be trusted, I was surprised by a report that Japanese DD Amatukaze hit an uncharted reef at 92, 137. First off, I was suspicious because I saw no reason why the Allies should receive a report about a Japanese ship hitting a reef. And when I found that location – Cooktown – I became even more suspicious that this was a magnificently incorrect report.

Sure enough, I checked the PT TF that I had patrolling at Cooktown, and one of the PTs was badly damaged. So I disbanded that PT into Port and took out some extra-big grains of salt for the rest of the SIGINT report.

[ADB123]

March 18, 1943 -

IJN Shokaku is a very Lucky CV. This Night Turn started out with USS Hake shooting six torpedoes at the Japanese CV as it was on its way towards Denpasar. The sub's torpedoes missed, and the Escorts in the Japanese TF hit Hake once before driving off the sub. Otherwise, that was it for the Night Phase.

Daylight brought Allied 2Es to Burma again this turn as various Bomber Squadrons hit Japanese troops near Akyab, Kalemyo and in Warazup. Most of the Air Attacks did little damage, but its the Thought That Counts.

Allied 4Es didn't fly to Burma this turn, but they did fly elsewhere. B-24s hit the Air Base at Paramushiro-jima again. The first attack was by 22 Liberators which were faced by 27 Oscar IIs and 15 A6M2s. One Zero was knocked down on the way in, the Bombers then hit the Air Base fairly well, and then the Japanese Fighters shot down a B-24 on the way out. Then 11 more B-24s flew in and faced 7 Oscar IIs and 6 A6M2s. Another Zero was shot down but the US Bombers only achieved a few hits on the Air Base.

US Bombers also flew against Wyndham again. Once more there was no CAP and the 4Es had a good time smashing up the Air Base and Air Fields and destroying more Dinah IIs on the Ground.

The day ended with USS Amberjack hitting an SC with a torpedo off of Kanoya. The SC went down in pieces and Amberjack went along its way without being bothered but the other 3 SCs in the Japanese ASW TF.

The End-of-Day results weren't too bad:

A6M2s – 3 A-to-A, 3 Ops
Dinah IIs – 3 Ground
Oscar IIs – 1 Ops

B-24Ds – 3 A-to-A, 1 Ops

Most of the B-24 losses were write-offs at Base and only one pilot was lost.

So I sat down the B-24s in the Aleutians and in Central Australia for next turn. The 4Es in India still have their same Flying Orders, and I ordered the B-17s in northeastern Oz to wake up the Japanese in PNG a bit.

While going through my normal turn-set-up I was surprised to find a small Japanese TF just off of Norfolk Island. I had put an AVD and a 4-Cat Patrol Squadron on that island to give me a bit more advanced notice in the region between New Caledonia and New Zeeland, but the Cat pilots must have been sleeping last turn. So I flew the Cats out and set the AVD on its way to NZ. I also sent a Big Hammer towards Norfolk, just in case the Japanese ships stick around a bit.

And in the Far North Pacific I was surprised to see a cluster of Japanese Sub symbols near the hex where my CV TF was last turn. My Air Recon reported that Etoforu was emptied out, and that Paramushiro-jima had no more Fighters. So it appears that my opponent is planning on using Subs as his main defence in that region. In any event, my decision to pick-up-my-marbles-and-go-home last turn was a good one.

[ADB123]

March 19, 1943 -

That small Japanese TF that showed up a couple of hexes away from Norfolk Island last turn ended up being a small Bombardment TF. Two CAs and two CLs hit the now-empty base and caused miscellaneous damage. Once the Japanese TF left I ordered the AVD back to the island since the AVD's ability to support Catalinas is independent of the general state of the Base.

However, now that it turns out that the TF was a Cruiser Bombardment TF my Hammers are unlikely to reach the locale in time to catch the retiring ships. I wonder if my opponent will send the Cruisers back again once he notices that the Cats are Back? [;)]

There wasn't much Air Action this turn as most Air Missions in Burma were rained out, other than some odds-and-ends Air Attacks on Warazup.

One set of Allied Air Missions that did fly as planned were the B-17 Attacks on Port Moresby, which flew in very nicely and hit the Air Base and Air Fields hard in the absence of any Japanese CAP. I like those sort of quasi-training missions.

Japanese Paratroops landed at the empty island base of Tanna, which is to the east of New Caledonia. Eventually I'll turn the entire region into smoldering craters, but for now I don't really care if my opponent wants to grab small empty bases.

SIGINT Silliness Struck Again this turn with the following report:

“Radio call signal of xAK Nanoran Maru detected at 49,133.”

It turns out that 49,133 is Carnarvon, and there is an Allied PT TF there.

BTW – my opponent finally acknowledged seeing the USN CV planes over Etoforu a couple of turns ago. He was a bit puzzled that he didn't have any prior warning of the CV movement into the Region. I responded that SIGINT is unreliable and that those were probably just flying saucers. [:D]

[ADB123]

March 20, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw USS Amberjack hit an E Class ASW ship off of Aogashima with a Dud. The E Class was in a small Transport TF. Amberjack got away without being spotted.

Daylight was Wet, Wet, Wet, and only a handful of 2E attacks flew against Warazup. I am finding that only the Vengence Army Dive Bombers will hit the Japanese troops at Warazup. The 2E Level Bombers can only seem to hit the Air Base. So I moved up the rest of the Vengence Squadrons and I've got the 2Es flying Overkill Practice against the Air Base at Warazup.

Once again there were no Japanese Bomber Attacks or Fighter Sweeps anywhere. I'm not sure what my opponent is doing. Perhaps he is doing major Upgrades. Or maybe he is moving his planes around.

In any event, more Japanese Planes have started flying Search and ASW around Japan proper. USS Grunion was whacked by a Japanese LBA Bomber in the straights between Hokkaido and Sakhalin and is now limping home.

And more Japanese Subs are showing up across the Pacific after their near total absence for many months. Either my Patrol Planes are spotting the subs, or else Glens are spotting my Bases and TFs.

[ADB123]

March 21, 1943 –

There was no Night Action this turn.

Daylight brought out the IJA Air Force in strength over Liuchow. There were more than enough Fighters to keep me from sending in any of the fighters left in the Chinese Air Force, so the Japanese Bombers only had to deal with Flak, and there wasn’t a lot of that because half of the Chinese units at Liuchow are out of Supply.

The Weather was still fairly bad in Burma, but some 2Es flew against the Japanese troops that are to the east of Akyab, and also those that are to the east of Kalemyo. Various 2Es also flew against Warazup, but didn’t hit their targets.

The 4Es flew for the first time in several days and hit the Air Base at Magwe hard. I doubt that my opponent will attempt to move planes back into the Central Burmese Air Bases, but there is no use giving him reason to consider it.

I suffered a lot of Ops Losses to my C-47s today as I sent a number of Transport Squadrons to Air Drop Supplies to my troops that are moving out of Jorhat and towards Warazup. Fortunately, the Troops now have enough Supply, so I sat down the Transport planes.

Along with the increasing numbers of Japanese Subs being spotted in the Central Pacific, my Patrol Planes spotted what appears to be another Japanese Cruiser TF, this time northeast of Baker Island and heading towards Palmyra Island. This was something of a surprise for a couple of reasons:

1 – The TF bypassed Baker Island despite the presence of an AVD and some Cats

2 – The TF is heading further into my Search and Patrol Zone

I’m guessing that the reports that my opponent has been getting from his Glen-equipped subs about Allied Transport TFs at Palmyra have tempted him to attempt either a Naval Intercept or a Naval Bombardment.

He may also think that I don’t have any CVs in the Region.

In any event, I’ve sent away everything that needs to flee, and I am sending in everything that needs to get some Live Target Practice. It will be interesting to see if I finally get some positive luck for a change. I’m well-prepared for success – all I need is for the Game to give a Break to me for a change.

[ADB123]

March 22, 1943 –

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought Naval Air Patrol reports that the Japanese TF was still on its way towards Palmyra.

Off at Norfolk Island IJN Emilys twice flew in and tried to attack the AVP TF that had just returned there. But hanging around were some Wildcats that wandered over from a nearby USN CV TF. The Wildcat pilots were very efficient with the huge lumbering Flying Boats and shot down all of them. The Japanese pilots never got to see their Target.

Off further East however, none of the couple dozen Catalinas in the half dozen different Squadrons at various bases in the region flew in to attempt to attack the Japanese TF. The Vindicators at Palmyra didn’t either, despite having Drop Tanks available.

In Asia the IJAAF flew in China again – this time against Hengyang. They didn’t have as good a time there as they did the previous day at Liuchow. So far there is no sign of Japanese troops moving in against either base, although there are plenty of Japanese LCUs near Liuchow.

In Burma Allied 2Es hit Japanese troops that are east of Akyab, others that are east of Kalemyo, and the Air Base at Warazup. And the 4Es flew and hit the Air Base at Lashio.

In Australia 4Es hit the Air Bases at Wyndham and Katherine without seeing any Japanese CAP.

And at the end of the day USS Tinosa shot at a PB near Ponape but missed. The US Sub got away without being found by the other escorts in the Japanese Fuel TF. It’s only too bad that Tinosa didn’t shoot at the AO on that TF.

The End-of-Day reports were encouraging, but also a bit suspicious as 6 Emilys were reported downed by Air-to-Air Action. I didn’t remember seeing so many in the Combat Replay. Never-the-less, considering the difficulty in keeping Emilys in the Air, those losses have got to hurt.

After the Turn I went to the Central Pacific to try to see why none of my planes in the Region attempted to attack the Japanese TF. I was wondering if I should have moved Mitchells to Palmyra instead of the Vindicators, then I moved my mouse over the TF symbol and found the surprise that is shown in the screen-capture below – it turns out that “KB 3” has shown up.

The CV TF must have been travelling in “planes down” mode when it passed Baker Island because no CV planes were spotted and the AVD at Baker was left alone.

What I don’t know now is if my Air Patrols just misidentified the TF last turn, or if KB 3 is escorting a Bombardment TF.

In any event, I recalled the Combat TFs that I had sailing towards Palmyra and pulled out the Vindicators and Cats from the Base. If there is a Naval Bombardment TF going in along with KB 3 then the Shore Guns at Palmyra will have a chance to try out their Gunsights. On the other hand, if KB 3 is alone and attacks Palmyra by Air then the very large AA Regiment on the Island, along with all of the other upgraded AA guns in the other LCUs at the Base, will get an opportunity to test out their gunsights on the IJN Bombers.

BTW – I’m also moving other Air Units into the Region. If Palmyra’s Air Fields aren’t closed after next turn I will fly in a number of Air Units that will test out the Japanese Naval Air Defences.

Finally, my Recon of Southern Burma has shown that my opponent has moved back into Toungoo in a Very Big Way, with 140 Fighters present, along with hundreds of unidentified miscellaneous planes. My guess is that my opponent is planning a Fighter Trap for my Bombers since I have had them bombing constantly for the past little while. In any event, I sat down my 4Es, set my 2Es to Naval Search and Recon, and shortened the Ranges of my Fighter Squadrons while setting some Fighter Traps of my own.

[ADB123]

March 23, 1943 –

There was no Night Action again.

Daylight came and brought out lots of Japanese Bombers chasing after the Australian Tank Regiments that are next to Wyndham. The great majority of the Bombers came from Timor, which gives me an idea of what my opponent has built up over there.

Just to make certain, B-24s hit the Air Base at Wyndham again, but next time they are going after the Air Fields at Darwin.

BTW – SIGINT says that a Japanese Infantry Regiment is on its way to Wyndham. Can my Armour make it to the base first? The Weather will tell.

That was it for action.

BTW II – SIGINT also said that some Japanese Paratroops are preparing to attack Akyab. I would be very surprised to see Paratroops drop there. The Paratroops would also be very unhappily surprised at what they found on the Ground waiting for them.

And, you might ask, what about the KB 3 Grand Tour of the Line Islands?

Well, not a lot is happening. It almost looks as if the Japanese TF intends to go between Palmyra and Christmas Islands and head towards the South Pacific Worm Hole. (see below)

I don’t really care if it does, because I don’t use that Worm Hole any way.

But I ought to see some Air Action next turn because I Ferried in some Wildcats and flew in some Army DBs into Palmyra, and I have Navy DBs at Christmas, so with some Escorts around the DBs ought to go after the CVs. And I’ll Ferry in more Fighters next turn.

[ADB123]

March 24, 1943 – Interim Report

My opponent didn’t have time to do the Turn this evening so he just sent the Combat Replay to me. This means that I only have part of the overall picture.

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought out plenty of Japanese Fighters Sweeping over the Australian Armoured units that are in the hex next to Wyndham. This was followed by more Fighters that escorted first some Bettys and then some Lilys. But the overall numbers of Japanese Bombers were down a lot from last turn, so it appears that Weather and the long flight from Timor took its toll. Overall it appears that the damage to the Australian LCUs was minor.

But more importantly, this meant that many Japanese Fighters were off over Wyndham when the 4Es arrived over the Air Base at Darwin. The first attack consisted of 25 B-24Ds and 11 B-24D1s. They were faced by 16 Oscar Is, 16 A6M3as, and 19 Nicks. The 4E gunners had a good time blasting their way through the Japanese Fighters and then the Bombardiers had an even better time hitting the Air Fields. Japanese planes were shot down in the Air and blasted apart on the Ground.

A second late attack of 7 more B-24Ds flew in and faced 3 Oscar Is, 15 A6M3as, And 10 Nicks. The 4Es got through but they didn’t cause anywhere as much damage. Never-the-less, I am looking forward to seeing the full End-of-Day totals when I get the Turn. I want to savour this rare occurrence.

In Burma most Allied Air Attacks were rained out other than some ineffectual Bombing runs on Warazup.

From what I could see as the Combat Replay went by the KB 3 appears to have pulled back from the Line Islands and looks to be now heading westwards. If so, this mirrors what happened with my CV TF in the Kuriles where I pulled it back because of a lack of worthwhile targets. Oh well, I was intending to move Air Units into the South Pacific Bases – this has just caused me to start a bit sooner.

[ADB123]

March 24, 1943 – Final Report –

So things weren’t bad this turn, but they weren’t as good as the Combat Replay suggested. The Air Loss numbers were fairly good – Japan 27 to Allies 13, but I had hoped for more in the Darwin Raid. Never-the-less the End-of-Day numbers were acceptable:

Nick – 1 A-to-A, 8 Ground, 1 Ops
Tojo – 7 Ground, 1 Ops
Lily – 4 Ground, 1 Ops
Oscar I – 1 A-to-A, 1 Ground, 1 Ops
Dinah II – 1 Ground, 1 Ops
Tony – 1 Ops
Dinah III – 1 Ground.

I had a handful of B-24s written off back at Base due to the Combat Damage and also the Long Flight.

So it was not a Breakthrough turn by any means, but it did cause my opponent to group his Fighters into even larger Fighter Traps at Darwin, Buna, Toungoo and other Japanese-held Air Bases.

I’m resting my 4Es this coming turn.

In Other News, SIGINT reported that Japanese troops are now headed for Wyndham in APDs, so it looks as if my opponent might be able to reinforce his Base Force there before my troops can get there and capture the base.

There was also a report of Japanese Troops on their way to Shikuka, which is a bit disappointing because I want to invade Shikuka. But I should have expected that my antics in the Far North would eventually cause my opponent to build up his bases more.

Finally, KB 3 is definitely heading back to base, as shown in the Screen Cap below. I ordered a number of Subs to get in the expected pathway of the CV TF, just in case.

[ADB123]

March 25, 1943 –

The Night Phase had a very nice surprise – USS Shad put a torpedo into IJN Ashigara at Tulagi. The CA didn’t sink, but it ought to be out of service for some time. And Shad even got away unscathed.

Daylight saw Japanese Bombers from Timor and Darwin hit the Australian Armoured units near Wyndham again this turn. There were some Japanese Fighters on Escort, but there were also probably a hundred or so sitting back at Darwin. In any event, the Japanese Air Attack had little effect, and with some luck at least one of the Australian LCUs will enter Wyndham next turn.

The only Allied Air Attack saw 46 Vengeance Bombers attempt to hit one of the two Japanese LCUs at Warazup, but miss.

And Allied troops to the northeast of Akyab did a successful Artillery Bombardment on the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is sitting there attempting to block the Allies. The Japanese suffered fairly good casualties, and considering where they are in the Jungle, they won’t be getting Supplies and Replacements very quickly.

Allied Naval Search planes continued to follow KB 3 as it headed back to the West. It appears that the TF will pass by Baker Island without bothering to hit the Catalina that is there.

And I’ll be taking a break from the match for a few days.

[ADB123]

March 26, 1943 -

The Night Phase was unexpectedly active as US Subs were busy for a change in two different Regions. First off, USS Shad shot at a Japanese DD and missed, but then got away from the subsequent ASW attack. Then USS Sunfish put a torpedo into a PB near Wakkanai and put the small ship under.

Daylight brought out Japanese Fighters and Bombers over the Australian Armoured units that were closing in on Wyndham. The Weather allowed every Japanese plane in the Region to attack the Australian LCUs. Despite the bombings, the Australians reached Wyndham – unfortunately, at this point they are so badly disrupted that it is pointless to bother with an Attack. So I will continue to sacrifice the two Units in order to distract my opponent from what else I am doing in Northern Oz.

And Allied Offensive Air Missions didn't fly yet again this turn. I am so tired of this that I am starting to wonder why I even bother setting Air Attack Missions for my Air Units.

KB 3 continues to casually sail westwards. The various US submarines that are along the Route of the Japanese TF continue to be unable to make contact.

So since the Game does not allow me to conduct anything resembling Combat Actions, other than via submarine, I will continue to play “Railroad Tycoon – Pacific” and continue to Max-Out bases for lack of anything else to do.

[ADB123]

March 27, 1943 – Interim Report -

My opponent sent the Combat Replay this evening but was unable to sent the Turn, so here is what I observed in the CR:

The Night Phase found IJN RO-63 shooting 4 torpedoes at a USN DD Radford near Suva, and missing. The US DD then hit the RO-class sub three times. This didn't discourage the Japanese sub commander however, because a little while later Radford detected the sub once again and chased it some more, although the DD didn't hit the sub this time. However, my opponent now knows that at least 2 xAPs are approaching Suva.

The Daylight Phase, also known as the Rain-Everywhere-Across-the-Entire-Pacific Phase, started the usual deluge of “mission rained-out” messages for the Allies. Then the IJAAF flew its usual long-distance bombing runs against the Australian troops at Wyndham, despite the Storm notices over the base.

At this point the Game finally appeared to “take pity” on the Allies and let a couple of Vengence Squadrons actually fly a couple of hexes and attempt to hit the Japanese Engineering unit that is at Warazup. As is typical in this match, the British Army Dive Bombers only caused a tiny fraction of the damage that the Long-Range High Altitude Bombing of the Japanese 2Es did at Wyndham.

Otherwise, things were quiet as I continue to march troops at a couple of miles-a-day rates. Eventually those troops will reach their positions.

Despite all of the adversity, I am hoping that there is a little Light-on-the-Horizon as Hellcats are supposed to start to arrive in April. (Although I have a suspicion that they will be only slightly less horrible than Wildcats.)

[ADB123]

The Turn didn't show a lot different from what I saw in the Combat Replay.

KB 3 disappeared from view. KB 1 & 2 remain out-of-sight.

The Map below of Northern Oz shows why I'm willing to sacrifice those Australian Armoured units at Wyndham.

BTW - another Japanese LCU arrived this turn, likely via Fast Transport.

And notice the Mouse-Over for Darwin - there is no way that I am going to fly anything against 188 Fighters in one base. (But that does mean that there are a lot of Japanese Fighters that aren't defending elsewhere.)

[ADB123]

March 28, 1943 -

Once again my opponent didn't have the time to do a turn so he sent the Combat Replay.

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought out Japanese Fighters and Bombers over Wyndham again.

This time, however, US 4Es joined the action over Wyndham and bombed the Air Base there, causing Japanese casualties as a bonus. A handful of A6M3s showed up on CAP. They missed the first wave of 4Es coming in but caught up with them going out – shooting down a B-24D in the process. Never-the-less, the 4Es caused significant damage and will keep my opponent thinking.

On the other side of the Pacific the Allied Bombers finally flew, but it was an astoundingly scattered series of Attacks. It's a good thing that my opponent didn't have any Fighters on CAP anywhere. Warazup was attacked again by 2Es and Vengences but little damage was done. Various 2E Squadrons also hit Japanese troops near Akyab and Kalemyo, causing little damage but hopefully causing the loss of some Supplies.

Finally the 4Es took off an hammered the Air Fields at Mandalay again. Even the 4E attacks were badly scattered, but they caused lots of damage none-the-less.

So my observations in the Indo-Burma region are as follows: even with Level 9 Air Bases, multiple Air HQs with Good Air HQ Leaders, very Experienced Bomber crews and pilots, and massive amounts of Supplies, even short-range Bomber Attacks are subject to massively random effects that prevent coordinated Attacks. And that's when the Weather actually allows any Attacks to fly at all.

What this tells me is that I've got to re-think my overall strategy. I had assumed from the beginning that I could eventually start to move forward by establishing Maximum-sized Air Bases and weaken the Enemy with Bomber attacks in various locations prior to moving forward with Ground Troops or Invasions. But what I have been experiencing in all Theaters – Indo-Burma, Australia, PNG, and the Far North – tells me that this can't be done, at least not in 1943.

So this tells me that I may have to do what I have not wanted to do – that is, to build up Gigantic Forces for a single-point Gigantic Dice Roll to decide the outcome of the Match. I find this to be terribly disappointing, particularly since I have been playing this match for nearly 2 years now and I can't say that I look forward to playing for another six months or a year before I have a reasonable chance to win a major victory.

[ADB123]

March 28, 1943 – Final Report –

I got the Turn this evening and I had my work cut out for me as I started to implement changes to my long-term plans.

Most importantly, I started to pull out some of the Engineering Units that I have in the Aleutians. More Aleutian bases are getting maxed-out, and as they do I have been moving the Engineering units to other nearby bases. But now I’m closing in on the end of my base building.

I had originally planned to stage a diversionary invasion of the Kuriles at the same time as a serious invasion of Sakhalin Island in mid-1943. But I had assumed that I could close down the Japanese Air Bases at Paramushiro-jima and Onnekotan-jima with Long Range 4E bombing, aided by Naval Air Attacks. However, I found out that my 4Es couldn’t quite do the job at an acceptable loss rate, and also that my Naval Fighters couldn’t gain Air Superiority. At the same time my opponent started to move serious numbers of Troops to the Sakhalin Bases

I had also assumed that I could make better progress in Northern Australia and northern Burma, but those advances bogged down. So in light of all that happened, as well as what didn’t happen, I’ve decided that I will postpone a Northern Attack until sometime in 1944.

Instead I am going to move more of the Alaskan Engineering forces down to the South-Central Pacific and start to apply more pressure in that region. I’m going to leave my Combat Forces in the Aleutians so that my opponent doesn’t get tempted to pull back his forces and move them south to meet my new threat.

In the meanwhile, the Map below shows the new Allied multi-thrust in Northern Australia. I’ve got multiple forces moving via Land, Sea and Air and threatening everywhere. My opponent is moving more units into Wyndham, but I am keeping the 4E pressure on Wyndham and the other bases in the North. The Japanese Troops can’t do a lot if their Supplies and Base are being continuously hammered.

And finally, in Burma Japanese TFs continue to be able to get into and out of Rangoon without being intercepted by Allied Submarines. I now have around a half dozen subs along the route into Rangoon and they just can’t seem to catch any Japanese ships. In the meanwhile I’ve ordered more Troops to fight their way through the jungle to provide yet another threat to the Japanese lines in Central Burma. Sure, Jungle-Crawling takes tons of time, but it’s better than trying to Slug-It-Out if I don’t have to .

[ADB123]

March 29, 1943 -

There was no Night Action. My submarines near Rangoon and Wyndham failed again to intercept any Japanese TFs.

Daylight brought a number of very large Japanese Air Attacks upon the Air Base and Troops at Liuchow. Damage was moderate.

This was followed by Allied 2E and Army DB Air Attacks on the Air Base at Warazup and the troops there, as well as Japanese troops near Kalemyo. The Allied 4Es did not fly in the Indo-Burma region.

US 4Es did fly in Oz. First off B-17s hit the Air Base at Katherine rather hard. There was no Japanese CAP and so the Forts had an easy time of it.

Next, Liberators attacked the Japanese troops at Wyndham. I was very surprised to see some P-38s go along on Escort. I had moved the P-38s to the same base as the 4Es in order to activate the Drop Tanks for the next turn, but I hadn't thought that the Lightnings would go along with the B-24s. A handful of A6M3as showed up on LR CAP over Wyndham and duked it out with the P-38s. One fighter from each side was shot down, but the 4Es got through to hammer the Japanese Ground Troops.

I was then surprised even more to see that the Japanese Bombers didn't hit the Australian Armoured Units at Wyndham. But the Japanese troops there attempted an Artillery Attack. There are now portions of 2 Japanese Infantry Regiments at the base, along with a small portion of an Armoured unit and the JNAF Air Base that has been receiving most of my 4E attacks. The Artillery Bombardment failed to cause any damage.

But the Big News from the Allied perspective was that the Australian Armoured Units at Nookanbah liberated the base. There were no Japanese troops there and my opponent did not attempt to fly in any troops. I am leaving one of the Armoured Units at Nookanbah and sending the other two northwards towards Derby and Broome.

[ADB123]

March 30, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw Dutch sub KIX shot and miss at a PB near Moulmein. The Dutch sub got away from the Japanese escort. It appears that my opponent is attempting to chase away my subs with odds-and-ends ASW TFs.

Daylight saw the return of Japanese Bombers over the Australian Armoured Units at Wyndham. This time there were no Japanese Fighters around. I wonder if they were socked-in at Darwin.

Allied 2Es and Army DBs attacked Warazup again. The 2Es did a bit of damage to the Air Base but the Dive Bombers missed their Ground targets. Other Allied 2Es hit Japanese troops to the east of Kalemyo with a bit more success.

The Allied 4Es took off this turn and hit the Air Base at Myitkyina fairly hard, despite being spread out over multiple attacks.

At the end of the day the Japanese troops at Wyndham attempted a Deliberate attack on the Australian Troops but the Japanese only achieved a 1:2 result and suffered almost 4 times the casualties.

And in the Operations Report, there was a notice that Dutch sub O19 hit a reef. When I checked the sub it only had minor damage, but another PT in Cooktown had serious damage, so once again it appears that the INTEL report was totally wrong.

It looks like my opponent is hoping to surprise some of my Bombers in Burma next turn because an “air” symbol showed up at Toungoo this turn. So I've ordered the 4Es to go after the Air Base there and ordered the P-38s to do High Altitude Sweeps. I also increased the range of all of my Fighter Squadrons in the Region to allow them to cover the various Bomber Attacks. Next turn could end up being fairly bloody in that region.

In Oz I set P-38s on LRCAP and ordered the 4Es to hit the Japanese troops at Wyndham again. I've also got a lot of Transport planes flying around. I'm losing 2 or 3 C-47s per day to Ops losses.

[ADB123]

March 31, 1943 –

There was no Night Action this turn as the Allied subs near Rangoon and Wyndham again failed to locate any enemy Task Forces.

Daylight brought out P-38s over Taung Gyi. I was surprised to see that there was no Japanese CAP despite the presence of an aircraft symbol at the Base.

The Air Action in Burma then switched to Warazup where the first Allied Air Strikes found some Oscar Is on LR CAP. Fortunately I had expected this and so the Allied 2Es and DBs were accompanied by Hurricane IIcs. The Hurricanes took care of the Japanese Fighters but the Allied Bombers had the usual difficulties in finding their targets. More Allied Air Strikes came in and eventually the Oscar LR CAP faded away. Other Allied 2Es hit other Japanese Troop concentrations in Northern Burma but no additional Japanese LR CAP showed up.

The action then shifted to Northern Australia where Japanese Bombers flew in from Timor to hit the Australian Troops at Wyndham again. This time a few P-38Gs were on LR CAP, but unfortunately, the Weather Cleared at Darwin and so the P-38s were faced with some Japanese Oscars on Fighter Escort duty. The P-38s couldn’t get past the more numerous Oscars so the Japanese Bombers were able to hit their target.

But then US 4Es flew in, blasted past the handful of Oscars on LR CAP over the Base and hammered the Japanese troops on the Ground very hard. Unfortunately for the Australian troops, more Japanese troops arrived on Fast Transports thanks to the inability of the Allied subs to interfere with the Japanese Reinforcement TFs.

At this point I figured that the planned Allied 4E Attack on Taung Gyi wasn’t going to fly, but the Big Bombers finally did arrive, accompanied by various Long Range Allied Fighters. Once again there was no Japanese CAP and so the well-experienced Allied Bomber Squadrons were able to hammer the Air Base at Taung Gyi hard and even catch a number of Oscars on the Ground.

The End-of-Day Air Loss report showed the effect of moving the Oscars back into Combat Areas:

Ki-43-Ic : 8 A-to-A, 4 Ground, 1 Ops

The Allies lost 1 Hurricane and 1 P-38 in exchange.

The Day Ended with the now heavily reinforced Japanese Troops at Wyndham handily driving out the now rather beat-up Australian Armoured Units. And SIGINT reported that more Japanese Troops are on their way. But all this activity at Wyndham has occupied my opponent fairly well, which means that my expansion and base development in northwestern Oz has been able to move ahead quickly without interference.

However, SIGINT reported a Radio Signal to the West of Perth, just out of range of my LBA Naval Search Planes. Has the KB come back? If so, the only ship travelling along the Worm Hole-to-Perth route is a US Submarine, so I’m not too worried about the current situation. Never-the-less, I put the Allied Forces on the West Coast of Oz on Heightened Alert.

There was one other Japanese Ground Attack this turn as part of a Japanese Raider Battalion Paradropped onto the still-empty base of Tawau in North Borneo and captured it.

But more interesting and important was the arrival of KB 3 northwest of Suva. My opponent must have decided to send in KB 3 when he received the Submarine reports of Allied ships near Suva a few turns ago.

However, all of the Allied Transport TFs have emptied-out and are on their way away from the region. Instead, I have a number of Surprises awaiting KB 3 if it moves in closer to Suva and/or Pago Pago. Things are not the same in the South Pacific as the last time that the KB sailed by, so many months ago.

And finally, as I wrote to my opponent when I sent back the Turn; “There’s a new cat in Town”.

Yes, I will finally start to receive Hellcats this month.

[ADB123]

Here's the situation in the Indo-Burma region:

[ADB123]

Here's the situation in Northern Australia: