Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)

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Here's the situation in China:

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Here's the situation in the South Pacific:

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Apri 1, 1943 -

This is another interim report because my opponent only had time to run the Combat Replay this evening.

The Night Phase saw USS Trigger attempt to sneak up on a large Japanese Transport TF at Wyndham, but the Escorts in the TF drove off the US sub. However, at the end of the Day Trigger snuck back and put a torpedo into an xAK. Trigger got away unscathed.

Daylight revealed at least some part of the KB sitting fairly far north of Port Hedland. A squadron of A6M3as flew a Sweep against Port Hedland. Facing them were some P-38Gs and Kittyhawk IIIs. The Allied planes were there primarily to deter Long Range Japanese Bombers from Timor and not to stand up to Crack Japanese Naval Fighters, but they did reasonably well and only one plane of each type was lost.

But no Japanese Naval Bomber Attack showed up, although Japanese Search planes spotted some of the various Allied TFs in the area. However, the majority of those TFs are PT TFs, and next turn I intend to pull out the Kittyhawks and replace them with Spitfires and Corsairs. If the KB sends planes out next turn there will be a different reception for them.

The action then shifted to Burma where various Allied 2Es and DBs hit the troops and Base at Warazup again. This time there was no Japanese LR CAP. Despite this, the Allied Air Attacks did little damage. Other Allied 2E attacks hit various Japanese troops near Akyab and Kalemyo, but with equally poor results. And as a bit of a wake-up call, Allied 2Es also attacked the Japanese troops at Bhamo, but once again they missed their target for the most part.

Then, Allied 4Es hammered the Air Base at Taung Gyi again. There weren't any Japanese planes there this time, but it was still good to damage the Base and Air Fields even further and keep Japanese planes out of there.

Finally, US Liberators hit the Japanese troops at Wyndham again. A few Oscar Is showed up on a half-hearted LR CAP, but the 4Es pretty much ignored them and hammered the Japanese Troops on the Ground. The results at Wyndham are so much better than what can be achieved in Burma. No Japanese Air Attacks flew against the Australian Armoured Units that are still sitting outside of Wyndham.

The Big Surprise this turn was that there was Absolutely no Action in the South Pacific. There were no reports of KB 3, no sightings, no Japanese Spy Planes seen or any other indication that KB 3 had been fairly close to Suva the previous day. I checked all of the SIGING and Ops Reports after watching the Combat Reply and I didn't see mention in there either. I wonder if my opponent just pulled back after not seeing TFs but instead seeing Air Unit symbols.

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April 1, 1943 – Final Report -

The Turn didn't show a lot that was different from the Combat Replay. The Air Losses were as per the CR – the good thing was that I didn't lose any pilots.

As I figured, KB 3 disappeared totally from view. So I re-set my Catalinas in the Region from Attack/Search to All Search, just in case KB 3 went into Stealth Mode. My ships in the region continue to sail away on detours, but they aren't changing their missions significantly.

North of Port Hedland it appears that both KB 1 & 2 are sitting just out of Bomber Range. I moved up more good Fighters and ordered my TFs in the region to head to Port and stay there, if they weren't already in Port. If the KB's Bombers want these ships they will have to fight their way through my CAP.

I also ordered a handful of PT TFs to sail out at Full Speed in an attempt to disrupt the KB TFs if possible. Sure, the PT TFs will run out of fuel, but there is always that small chance that they will intercept. (We're back to the “blind squirrel” school of tactics.)

So, will my opponent commit KB 1 & 2, or will they sail back into the “twilight zone” like KB 3 just did?

[ADB123]

Wow! Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to check in on this AAR over the past two years!

[WriterNotViking]

Thank you for keeping it interesting and well-written. I started reading around June and had to catch up from the beginning. I've learned a lot about the game from your posts, but the real treat is waiting to see what will happen next. I hope you will be able and willing to fight to the finish, because I would love to see who wins.

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ORIGINAL: WriterNotViking


Thank you for keeping it interesting and well-written. I started reading around June and had to catch up from the beginning. I've learned a lot about the game from your posts, but the real treat is waiting to see what will happen next. I hope you will be able and willing to fight to the finish, because I would love to see who wins.

Thanks for the interest. I hope that I can continue to keep your interest in this match.

[ADB123]

April 2, 1943 -

This was yet another turn where I out-and-out guessed wrong and paid for it.

The Night Phase started out with a Japanese 2BB, 2CA, 4DD TF showing up at Port Hedland.

And, of course, I had sent out the PT TFs that had been sitting at Port Hedland in the slim hope of disrupting the Japanese CV TFs that were off shore.

And, as I should have expected with my continuous bad luck, my PT TFs didn't intercept anything.

But the Japanese TF found an empty Transport TF at Port Hedland – 2 AVPs and 4 small Dutch xAPs. The Japanese ships sank the Allied ships almost instantly – none of the Japanese ships missed with anything and all guns fired successfully.

The Japanese TF then proceded to hammer Port Hedland with a Naval Bombardment, smashing up all of the Facilities, destroying numerous LCUs, and as a bonus, destroying some Allied Fighters on the Ground. The Shore Guns couldn't reach the Japanese Ships, and as I should have expected, none of the Japanese ships ran into any of the Allied Mines.

To add to the general irritation and frustration of the Night, USS Perch had a clean shot at a Japanese RO-class sub off of Tokara Retto, but missed. However, the Combat Report claimed a hit. So who knows what really happened. (My bet is that the RO is still sailing along happily, unaware of what transpired.)

Daylight brought out Japanese Fighters and Bombers against a US Tank Regiment that had moved a hex to the west of Daly Waters. I stand totally amazed that my opponent can spot my LCUs so easily at a distance when my Search and Recon Planes seem unable to spot anything.

Then, to add insult to injury, hundreds of Allied 2Es, 4Es and DBs flew against the Japanese troops at Warazup and Myitkyina. Despite non-stop Air Recon, supposed 10/10 spotting, and daily Air Base bombing raids, all but a handful of Allied Dive Bombers missed their targets.

Finally, some US B-24s hit various Japanese troops at Wyndham, but it was poor consolation for such a lousy day.

BTW – despite dozens of Long Range Search planes in action, dozens of Long Range Fighters around to provide Escort, and dozens of Long Range Bombers that are trained in Naval Attack on the Ready in Northern Oz, there were no attempted attacks on the retiring Japanese Bombardment TF. It had found a Rain Storm to hide in and was happily sailing away unmolested.

I get really, REALLY sick of these sorts of days.

And my opponent was too busy to do the turn, so he only sent the Combat Replay. So I get to brood another day over my inability to do anything to stop the Japanese from doing whatever they like.

[DanielAnsell]

First off, congratulations on going two years with this. That's big time, and I think this AAR is a real sleeper, on the lists. It looks like you get plenty of views, if not the amount of cross-talk some others get.

On the frustration level, it looks like you are doing things right. The jungle seems able to soak up untold amounts of HE, and even the towns in Burma seem to have that capability. But I sometimes wonder if you are causing more damage than you think. After all, it might be hard to spot casualties from the air on jungle roads.
Ask your opponent to check his units disruption levels before and after the attacks. Not for disclosure now, but I think at war's end you'll find you did more damage in terms of fatigue and disruption, at least, if not outright casualties, then is apparent.

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ORIGINAL: Carny

First off, congratulations on going two years with this. That's big time, and I think this AAR is a real sleeper, on the lists. It looks like you get plenty of views, if not the amount of cross-talk some others get.

On the frustration level, it looks like you are doing things right. The jungle seems able to soak up untold amounts of HE, and even the towns in Burma seem to have that capability. But I sometimes wonder if you are causing more damage than you think. After all, it might be hard to spot casualties from the air on jungle roads.
Ask your opponent to check his units disruption levels before and after the attacks. Not for disclosure now, but I think at war's end you'll find you did more damage in terms of fatigue and disruption, at least, if not outright casualties, then is apparent.

I think that most of my frustration is that my opponent stubbornly refuses to make mistakes! [;)]

In Burma I appear to have bogged him down, likely to Supply shortages which are increased by my constant bombing. It's just that everything takes so long there that I have a tendency to try experiments, such as last turn's 4E attack. I need to keep focussed upon what works, which is 4E Base attacks.

Thanks for the comments!

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April 2, 1943 – Final Comments -

The actual Turn contained some relatively good news and a big mystery.

First off, the damage to Port Hedland wasn't too bad, and I've got LOTS of Engineers there, so things ought to be back to scratch pretty fast. I also only lost 3 P-40Ks and 1 P-38G on the Ground.

The Mystery is how the Japanese Naval Forces off of Northern Oz totally disappeared this turn. Nothing is out there except for one Japanese sub. And I've got a lot of subs sailing around the area, as well as 3 PT TFs, and plenty of Long Range Search Planes at various bases in Northwestern Oz. But they spotted nothing. Talk about going “stealth” in a big way!

I found it interesting that the PT TFs that I sent out after the Japanese CV TFs ended up running themselves out of fuel while trying to get away from Enemy Aircraft Sightings. Considering that nothing really attacks PT Boats, this seems to be a bit of an overreaction for the PTs.

In any event, I've got a Secret Weapon on its way to Port Hedland – McHale's Navy. Yes, McHale is commanding a fresh PT TF that is now on its way to take the place of the other scattered and fuelless PT TFs.

One thing that my Air Search has noticed that there are now a lot of Japanese subs off of Canton Island and Palmyra Island. Those subs will have to deal with my LBA which has been training in ASW for the past 15 months.

Otherwise, I sat down most of my Bomber Squadrons to give them time to rest up and repair the odd damaged plane. In Burma I've ordered most of my 2E Squadrons to do extended Recon in case some new and interesting Targets show up.

And I keep on looking at the ever-increasing pool of Mk 13 Mines while wondering when I will be able to start to use them. It's too bad that the Designers decided not to give the Players even semi-historical quantities of the other mines.

[Erkki]

I found it interesting that the PT TFs that I sent out after the Japanese CV TFs ended up running themselves out of fuel while trying to get away from Enemy Aircraft Sightings. Considering that nothing really attacks PT Boats, this seems to be a bit of an overreaction for the PTs.

Bad weather over Port Hedland? One thing I'd like to see in PBEM is the single player style "patrol flights cancelled from base/ship XXYY due bad weather" reports... The player would need to watch through like 50 of them each turn [:D] but many times in many places it would help to know what is going on and why. Maybe as a toggle, like. "patrol sortie cancellation reports: << 0,5 sec >>" (with the buttons to decrease and increase), in the settings screen.

BTW your AAR does have readers. [;)]

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ORIGINAL: Erkki

I found it interesting that the PT TFs that I sent out after the Japanese CV TFs ended up running themselves out of fuel while trying to get away from Enemy Aircraft Sightings. Considering that nothing really attacks PT Boats, this seems to be a bit of an overreaction for the PTs.

Bad weather over Port Hedland? One thing I'd like to see in PBEM is the single player style "patrol flights cancelled from base/ship XXYY due bad weather" reports... The player would need to watch through like 50 of them each turn [:D] but many times in many places it would help to know what is going on and why. Maybe as a toggle, like. "patrol sortie cancellation reports: << 0,5 sec >>" (with the buttons to decrease and increase), in the settings screen.

BTW your AAR does have readers. [;)]

There was generally bad weather all around the region. During the Combat Replay I could see Japanese TFs sitting under clouds off shore.

All of my long range fighters and bombers were at Exmouth and Carnarvon. They are in attack range of any TF that stays at Port Hedland, but not of ships that are several hexes north of Port Hedland. I only had Fighters and Search planes in Port Hedland because I was expecting an Air Attack, not a Naval Bombardment.

Corruna Downs is the real key to the defence of Port Hedland, and although I have some Engineers there, I don't have enough and the Air Field is not yet at Level 2, which will allow me to base Dive Bombers there. (But plenty more Engineers are on their way. I may have lost some old xAPs, but I got the Troops off first.)

So as a Raid, it was a pain, but if it is just a raid it only slows me down a bit, and the next time I will have more capability in place.

One of these days I'll catch a Japanese TF...

Thanks for reading and for the comments! [:)]

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April 3, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw Dutch sub KIX take a shot at a Japanese PB in an ASW TF near Moumein, but miss. My opponent has been attempting to harass my subs off of Rangoon/Moulmein with a couple of small-ship ASW TFs, but the Japanese ships appear to be as incompetent in their ASW roles as my submarines are in their anti-ship role.

Daylight saw Japanese bombers attack the retiring Australian Armoured units near Wyndham again. My opponent appears to be taking turns attacking different Allied units out in the desert; likely in order to frustrate any attempt by me to LR CAP my troops.

This time Japanese bombers flew from Darwin as well as Timor. My opponent has continued to build up Darwin even more than before. He appears to have decided that it is a great place to defend and to tie-up any Allied advance into the region, and I'd have to concur with his decision for the following reasons:

1 – He can supply his forces by ship and the Allied subs can't stop the TFs
2 – Allied Ground forces can't advance on Land because of the Reduced Supply rules that were introduced into the region back in one of the early updates to the Game
3 – Allied 4Es can't close the Air Base down at Darwin because Allied Air Bases that can be built large enough are too far away for continuous effective Heavy Bombing, and anyway, the Supply Rules hinder those Allied Bases from which the 4Es can operate even at Long Range
4 – It is pretty much impossible to move troops by Sea because of the Japanese ability to coordinate the KB with Island-Based LBA

So I will continue to build up the bases in Northwestern Australia and continue to try to sneak Troops and Supplies into the Northern Australian Bases that I hold, but I will have to also continue to have to accept losses in the Ships that I use to try to sneak in those Troops and Supplies since there is no way I can gain Air Superiority in the region in the Foreseeable Future. In any event, this is an interesting lesson for aspiring Japanese players – the Game Design and Rule Modifications give you a great opportunity in this region, so you really ought to take advantage of it.

In the meanwhile, although some Afternoon Recon Flights took off for the Allies, no Allied Bombing Runs flew, so things were quiet elsewhere.

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April 4, 1943 -

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought the Japanese Bombers out against the retiring Australian Armoured units near Wyndham again. I can't keep Tennant Creek supplied, which means that I can't provide LR CAP over the two Australian units, so they will just have to tough-it-out as they leave.

US 4Es did attack in return in northern Oz as B-17s hit the Air Base at Katherine and B-24s hit the Japanese Troops at Wyndham. There were no Japanese Fighters on CAP at either location.

In Indo-Burma the Allied 4Es were rained out again, but the DB and 2E attacks on Warazup did fly, and for a change most actually hit their targets to a limited extent.

At the end of the day USS Trigger put three torpedoes into an xAKL at Darwin. There wasn't much left of the little Japanese Freighter after the third torpedo hit.

And Derby was captured by Australian Armoured Units. Now one of those units is on its way to Broome.

Finally, some Japanese Paratroops captured Sandakan and put the British Observer Unit there out of its misery. That single Observer “whatever” has been sitting there with no supply at that jungle base on Borneo since very early in the Game. Now the rest of the Base Force that the Observer was from can finally re-build.

I've noticed that I will get 4 A-36 Mustang squadrons in a couple of days. I'm not sure what to do with them since they don't appear to have much potential and they get few replacements which won't show up until later in the year. Maybe I'll just use them as Training Squadrons like I do P-39s.

[Erkki]

Why do you use P-39s in training squads? Unless you play with altitude rules(limiting CAP & sweep to alt of second best or best MVR or something) the P-39D is better than P-40E and N1 N2 are approximately as good as P-40K and Ns... P-400 isnt that bad either. Of course if you have plenty of better fighters around now with the Hellcat available you might not need to fight with the Cobras or Warhawks...

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ORIGINAL: Erkki

Why do you use P-39s in training squads? Unless you play with altitude rules(limiting CAP & sweep to alt of second best or best MVR or something) the P-39D is better than P-40E and N1 N2 are approximately as good as P-40K and Ns... P-400 isnt that bad either. Of course if you have plenty of better fighters around now with the Hellcat available you might not need to fight with the Cobras or Warhawks...

I've still only got P-39Ds, and one squadron of P-400s. They are useless against High Altitude Japanese fighters and they have poor range. So I keep them on the West Coast of the US for pilot training. Also, if my opponent ever gets the urge to try a Port Raid on the West Coast, the Aerocobras will provide defence.

I use P-38s and Corsairs as my main Front Line Combat Fighters. I use Hurricane IIcs, Spitfires and P-40Ks as my main Front Line Defensive Fighters. Other fighters like Kittyhawks are relegated to behind-the-line-defense against Paratroop drops or against nuisance long-range bomber raids in India and Australia.

And I'm still stuck with Marine F4Fs on Pacific Islands because the Corsair replacement rate is low. But they are there solely to deter long-range Betty/Nell attacks.

BTW - in my Japanese PBEM, nothing makes me happier than seeing my opponent put P-39s in the Air against my fighters. What I try to avoid is having my Fighters tangle with P-38s, Spitfires, Hurricane IIcs and Corsairs.

[Erkki]

Yeah, well, all P-39s are better than P-40E at all altitudes... But if you can only use it up to 10,000 or 15,000ft I know they can be pretty limited.

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ORIGINAL: Erkki

Yeah, well, all P-39s are better than P-40E at all altitudes... But if you can only use it up to 10,000 or 15,000ft I know they can be pretty limited.

You notice - I didn't mention P-40Es anywhere... [;)] [:D]

I haven't used P-40Es (other than in China where they are (a little) better than biplanes) since very early 1942. My P-40Es are pretty much all sitting in the Pools, just like Buffalos. (And soon, I hope, just like Wildcats!)

One thing about this match - the Air War has been Long Range for the most part. So both sides have had to fight with Long Range Fighters. Thus you still see my opponent trying to use Oscar Is and A6M2s from time-to-time. (China is a totally different topic, and even there Oscar Is are at risk if they go against the US fighters that the Chinese have.)

Right now my opponent is keeping his Fighters back in Major Bases, where he can have 150 to 200 modern Fighters available for CAP. There aren't any current situations where I could use P-39s effectively. So I keep them in the Backwaters, training pilots.

Thanks again for the comments.

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April 5, 1943 -

There was no Night Action again this turn. Which was okay from my p.o.v. since it meant that there weren't any Japanese TFs bombarding my forward bases.

Daylight brought out a bit of a surprise as Japanese planes showed up over Daly Waters. I've been pulling out many of my units from there since I can't provide Supply to them. The ones that are left are fairly tough and dug in, so the Japanese Attack wasn't too much of a problem. And this also meant that my other units on the Move around the area got a day without an attack.

In Return, B-17s hit Katherine again, and B-24s hit the Japanese Troops at Wyndham again.

And in Indo-Burma the 4Es flew this turn and hit the Airfields at Magwe. The Weather scattered out the Bomber Squadrons, but since there was no CAP it wasn't a problem, other than the fact that Big Groups of Bombers cause more damage than the same bombers spread out over sequential attacks. But there was still enough damage to keep Magwe out of operation.

At the end of the Day Dutch Sub KXIII was chased unsuccessfully by a Japanese PB near Moulmein. But USS Sawfish was hammered by Japanese DD Escorts in a Transport TF at Darwin. Sawfish will be limping home in a very iffy condition.