Olorin (J) vs Sdhundt (A) --- GC (No Sdhundt please)

[Olorin]

Aug 22, 42

- Kido Buttai 2 continued mopping up the allied cruisers near Diego Garcia. Only one CA was found and sunk, everything else seems to be dead. However, I am bit paranoid about Saratoga. It's almost certain it sunk, but I will search the Indian Ocean thoroughly, before I leave the area.

- More Nells are transfered to Sumatra and Akagi will go to Singapore for upgrades (perhaps it will be needed there).

- A TK is spotted near Exmouth heading northwest... I will be keeping an eye on it, perhaps it's something more than a tanker.

- Here is the message I received from Steven together with the turn:
"What a disaster, so many young brave sailors died because of my careless attack. If this was real I would be court marshaled and shot."
So, judging by the above comment, both his CVs are dead. Unless my opponent is tricksssy...


Operation Gandhi
Not enough supply in Comila to attack today ...which means more delay.
3rd Air Div continues to bomb the allied forces at Comila:

Morning Air attack on Comilla , at 56,39
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 18
Ki-49-Ia Helen x 63

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-49-Ia Helen: 15 damaged
Ki-49-Ia Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied ground losses:
150 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 9

Aircraft Attacking:
23 x Ki-49-Ia Helen bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
15 x Ki-49-Ia Helen bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
7 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar sweeping at 14000 feet
24 x Ki-49-Ia Helen bombing from 6000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.258 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes

Also attacking 14th Indian Division ...
Also attacking 50th Tank Brigade ...
Also attacking Comilla ...
Also attacking 14th Indian Division ...
Also attacking 50th Tank Brigade ...
Also attacking Comilla ...
Also attacking 14th Indian Division ...
Also attacking Comilla ...
Also attacking 14th Indian Division ...
Also attacking 50th Tank Brigade ...
Also attacking Comilla ...
Also attacking 14th Indian Division ...
Also attacking 50th Tank Brigade ...
Also attacking Comilla ...
Also attacking 14th Indian Division ...
Also attacking Comilla ...

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Olorin

- Here is the message I received from Steven together with the turn:
"What a disaster, so many young brave sailors died because of my careless attack. If this was real I would be court marshaled and shot."
So, judging by the above comment, both his CVs are dead. Unless my opponent is tricksssy...

I truly suspect they are, but I would still be very vigilant and kill everything. There is little downside to continuing to pound these straggling groups for another few days. Killing CA's and DD's is not a bad thing. Letting one of those CV's slip by with the allied damage control capability and their huge repair yards ... that I would hate.

[Olorin]

Aug 24, 42

After the carrier battles of the past week, attention now turns to Operation Gandhi once again.

Because of tactical mistakes made during the exploitation phase, the 16th Army is bogged down in the operational depth, engaged by equal forces at Comilla (1200 AV each).

However, I still think I can unlock this position by committing my operational reserve (4th & 21st Divs), landing another three divisions at Diamond Harbor and then capturing Calcutta and threatening to encircle his entire Army on the India/Burma border. I can then force him to voluntarily withdraw from the Imphal-Ledo line and eliminate the Akyab pocket. If he doesn't withdraw, then another pocket will be formed.

The problem I am currently facing at Comilla is lack of supplies. There are 40.000 tons at Chittagong that insist on staying there.

The 3rd Air Div had a bad day: bombers flew without escorts and got mauled over Comilla. I lost 11 Hellens, but overall, the bombings are going well. I must have destroyed or disabled over 100 vehicles and lots of support troops during the last week.

[Olorin]

Aug 25, 42 - Aug 29, 42

Aftermath of the Battle of the Andaman Sea
Zuiho lost the battlle with flames and went down [:(] so it's time for the full appraisal of the battle.
KB2 was completely destroyed. Junyo, Ryujo, Shoho and Zuiho were lost (air capacity 161)
They lost Lexington and Saratoga (air capacity 180).
In terms of aircraft, I lost around 15, while they lost 180.
Also, they lost 8 CAs and 1 CL.

All in all, I think it's a small victory for Japan. It could have been a clear victory, if KB2 was not in a base hex, cutting air operations by half. I think that if KB2 was at sea, at least one CVL would have survived, possibly even two. But I am happy as it is. I averted a disaster by having two CVs in reserve, Operation Gandhi continues without problems and the SLOC to Chittagong was not attacked.

Lessons learned: at least one BB is necessary to draw enemy bombers away from CVs. LBA is unlikely to strike against CVs unless the escort/CAP ratio is favorable. Allied damage control is miraculous, while Japanese CVs are very fragile.

N.Australia
- The Australian Army entered Derby with more than 5 divisions, but I withdrew in good order towards Broome.
- Stalemate at Exmouth. 280 allied AV vs 230 mine.
- Allied destroyers raided the Koepang-Broome LOC, sinking one PB and one xAK.

SE Fleet
- The allies set up a trap for my Netties, by moving a few BBs a few hexes off Luganville. Result: 8 Betty pilots killed.
- Then, his BBs escorted a transport TF to Ndeni, to avoid another night engagement with my DDs. I moved KB northeast of Ndedni, but by the next morning the enemy was gone.
- 20.000 tons of fuel reached Rabaul. After one day, I am back to 0.

China
The front is very fluid at the moment. The Chinese are trying to avoid total encirclement in Changsha area and are moving north through the gaps in my line. I am trying to close the gaps and tighten the ring around them. 2 Chinese Corps' look like they will escape. A minor Chinese counterattack at Shaoyang, trashed an IJ division. There is still some life left in them.

Aleutian Islands
A convoy successfully reinforced Amchitka and Adak Isl, bringing the total AV to 230. 27 Betties are now providing full search cover over the North Pacific Ocean. There are also 2 Jake-equipped subs patrolling southeast of Dutch Harbor.

Operation Gandhi
Transferring the 4th and 21st Divisions to Chittagong. They will then march to Comilla to join the 16th Army and crash the allied stack. Ground and air bombardment continues successfully, but the cost in pilots and aircraft is rising. An unescorted strike resulted in losing 20 bombers in a single day.

Pilots
So far, I lost 1744 pilots, which is not good.

Pilots in reserve:
IJNAF - 1150 (115 fighter, 905 bomber and 100 auxiliary)
IJAAF - 1455 (645 fighter, 640 bomber and 170 auxiliary)

TRACOM
IJNAF - 100 (90 fighter, 10 bomber)
IJAAF - 33

Replacement pool:
Zero! After the latest beta patch, Japan is not able to draw pilots that haven't finished their full training program. I will change the way I train pilots on map. Fighter pilots will continue to be trained for two months, raising their air skill only. Bomber pilots will be trained for three months.

Special KB pilot reserve - 50 elite fighter pilots and 50 elite bomber pilots from the reserve pool, plus 100 from TRACOM. Constantly trying to increase these numbers.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Olorin

[Lessons learned: at least one BB is necessary to draw enemy bombers away from CVs. LBA is unlikely to strike against CVs unless the escort/CAP ratio is favorable. Allied damage control is miraculous, while Japanese CVs are very fragile.

Yep. Had similar experiences to learn same lessons. [:o] Welcome to the club. [;)]

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Olorin

Replacement pool:
Zero! After the latest beta patch, Japan is not able to draw pilots that haven't finished their full training program. I will change the way I train pilots on map. Fighter pilots will continue to be trained for two months, raising their air skill only. Bomber pilots will be trained for three months.

Yep. I think this is being discussed and when Michael's computer gets back online might be adjusted yet again. Hard to say though.

[Olorin]

I hope the devs find a compromise regarding IJ replacement pilots. This may not be an issue now, but if I keep losing pilots at this rate, I will face a real problem in a year or two.

[Olorin]

Aug 30, 42

Operation Gandhi
The bloody air battle over Comilla continues. Today, the 3rd Air Div failed in its mission to protect the 16th Army. I lost another 20 IJAAF pilots today and only 15 Oscars remain in the reserve pool.

Morning Air attack on Comilla , at 56,39
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 41 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 24

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 16
Martlet II x 4
Hurricane IIb Trop x 8
Hurricane IIc Trop x 9
P-39D Airacobra x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 5 destroyed

No Allied losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on 3rd Carabiniers Regiment, at 56,39 (Comilla)
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 67 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 12
Ki-49-Ia Helen x 61

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 15
Martlet II x 4
Hurricane IIb Trop x 8
Hurricane IIc Trop x 7
P-39D Airacobra x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 3 destroyed
Ki-49-Ia Helen: 10 destroyed, 2 damaged (ouch!)

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane Ib: 1 destroyed
Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
85 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 39 (14 destroyed, 25 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on 16th AA Regiment, at 56,39 (Comilla)
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 29 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 31

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 2
Blenheim IV x 22
Hurricane IIc Trop x 1
Wellington Ic x 11
P-39D Airacobra x 1
P-40E Warhawk x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane Ib: 1 destroyed
Blenheim IV: 2 damaged
Wellington Ic: 2 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
26 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on 20th Fld AA Machinecannon Company, at 56,39 (Comilla)
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 31

Allied aircraft
Martlet II x 1
Hurricane IIc Trop x 1
Mohawk IV x 2
Wellington Ic x 7
P-40E Warhawk x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
83 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 14 (3 destroyed, 11 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 2nd Mobile Engineer Regiment, at 56,39 (Comilla)
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 23 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 30

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 12
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
105 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Vehicles lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on 16th AA Regiment, at 56,39 (Comilla)
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 22

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 10
B-25C Mitchell x 8
P-40E Warhawk x 1

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 3 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Ground combat at Comilla (56,39)
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 27007 troops, 482 guns, 683 vehicles, Assault Value = 1198
Defending force 40374 troops, 533 guns, 1538 vehicles, Assault Value = 1414

Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
9th Indian Division
2nd British Division
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
11th Indian Division
267th Armoured Brigade
50th Tank Brigade
42nd Cavalry Regiment
14th Indian Division
1/4 Central Detach.
RAF 223 Group Base Force
77th Heavy AA Regiment
823rd Engineer Aviation Battalion

Defending units:
6th Tank Regiment
2nd Mobile Infantry Regiment
20th Ind. Engineer Regiment
16th Infantry Regiment
1st Tank Regiment
2nd Tank Regiment
1st Ind. Engineer Regiment
146th Infantry Regiment
10th Tank Regiment
2nd Mobile Engineer Regiment
2nd Engineer Regiment
1st Mobile Engineer Regiment
8th Tank Regiment
1st Mobile Infantry Regiment
1st Recon Battalion
38th Division
7th Tank Regiment
5th Tank Regiment
18th Tank Rgt /2
2nd Mortar Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
16th AA Regiment
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
20th Fld AA Machinecannon Company
1st Mobile AA Battalion
11th RF Gun Battalion
1st Mobile Field Artillery Regiment
23rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th RF Gun Battalion
16th Army
2nd Recon Rgt /2

5th Fleet
Two enemy CVEs unexpectedly showed up between Paramushiro-Jima and Amchitka Isl and exchanged blows with CVE Unyo, which was guarding my SLOC to the Aleutian Islands. Fortunately, a big reinforcement convoy had finished unloading supplies and troops in Amchitka four days ago.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Attu Island at 151,48
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5

Allied aircraft
F4F-3P Wildcat x 13
SBD-3 Dauntless x 22

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3P Wildcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVE Unyo, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
13 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Chitose Ku S-1 Det with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters to 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes

Ammo storage explosion on CVE Unyo
Ammo storage explosion on CVE Unyo
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Unyo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on TF, near Attu Island at 148,51
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 75 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
B5N2 Kate x 3
D3A1 Val x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 3 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
CVE Copahee, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVE Long Island, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CL Leander

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
3 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 11000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
1 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

Carrier support unable to supply air cover..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3P Wildcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVE Unyo, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
13 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Chitose Ku S-1 Det with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters to 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes

Ammo storage explosion on CVE Unyo
Ammo storage explosion on CVE Unyo
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVE Unyo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Attu Island at 151,48
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4F-3P Wildcat x 4
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CVE Unyo, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Arare, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring a Japanese CVE
Massive explosion on DD Arare
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Arare

Unyo damage: 50 sys, 45 flt, 19 eng, 84 fires.
Its air groups diverted to Amchitka.

[Olorin]

Aug 31, 42 - Sep 04, 42

Operation Gandhi
- The 33rd Division entered Akyab and trashed an Indian Brigade.
-The 4th and 21st Divisions entered Comilla, but I couldn't launch the attack due to supply shortage. I will wait until Sep 9 and will shock attack with or without enough supplies. This battle will decide the fate of the entire operation.
- The 2nd Army is loaded on troop transports and remains 7 hexes southwest of Akyab. If the attack on Comilla succeeds, it will proceed with the planned invasion of Diamond Harbor. If the attack fails, it will unload at Chittagong and swing south to fight against the trapped allied units at Cox'Bazar.
- The brutal air war over Comilla continues. The 3rd Division has lost 1/3 of its bombers and half its fighters and the reserve pool is empty of both, as I stupidly turned off production of Oscars and Helens 10 turns ago. Anyway, Tojo and Helen-II are available now, but it will be sometime before they reach the battlefield. Fortunately, I have inflicted equal losses upon the enemy airforce and managed to shut down two airfields Dimapur, Ledo).

China
Still trying to close the ring around the Changsha pocket and fighting against Chinese stacks trying to relieve their encircled comrades. The enemy is committing units piecemeal and I am able to counter them pretty easily. Here is an example, a Chinese crossing of the river northwest of Ichang. They entered Patung, shock-attacked, got trashed and now they find themselves cut off from supply, as I control all hexsides:

Ground combat at Patung (81,46)
Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 35312 troops, 232 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1305
Defending force 13722 troops, 104 guns, 186 vehicles, Assault Value = 545

Allied adjusted assault: 384
Japanese adjusted defense: 991
Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

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

Japanese ground losses:
177 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 14 (1 destroyed, 13 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
3057 casualties reported
Squads: 52 destroyed, 168 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 13 (3 destroyed, 10 disabled)


Assaulting units:
39th Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
30th Chinese Corps
32nd Chinese Corps
45th Chinese Corps
26th Group Army
33rd Group Army

Defending units:
12th Tank Regiment
39th Division

N.Australia
- A dozen PTs at Derby are pestering my sLOC to Broome. I lost two lowly tankers.
- The enemy is also conducting a small air campaign against Broome, but is losing quite a few bombers each turn, he can't sustain it much longer.

5th Fleet
CVE Unyo sinks, while the two enemy CVEs vanish in the vast Ocean. 6 Nells flew from Amchitka, but failed to score a single hit.

[Olorin]

Sep 05, 42 - Sep 09, 42

Operation Gandhi
The air battle continues. I must have lost more than 150 IJAAF pilots in September, but the goal of inflicting losses and disruption to his garrison at Comilla is worth the effort.
Daily artillery barrages are also conducted and are always in my favor, as I have amassed lots of heavy guns.
Hopefully, all this effort will pay off on Sep 10, when I will launch the long awaited shock attack. That's the day the 16th Army will draw supplies from Chittagong (happens once a week).

Morning Air attack on 3rd Carabiniers Regiment, at 56,39 (Comilla)
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 31
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 54
Ki-49-Ia Helen x 83
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 23

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 1
Hurricane IIc Trop x 1
Mohawk IV x 1
P-39D Airacobra x 2
P-40E Warhawk x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-49-Ia Helen: 15 damaged
Ki-49-Ia Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied ground losses:
299 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 58 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 61 (18 destroyed, 43 disabled)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Comilla (56,39)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 2158 troops, 177 guns, 136 vehicles, Assault Value = 2452
Defending force 32817 troops, 638 guns, 993 vehicles, Assault Value = 1155

Japanese ground losses:
Guns lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
147 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 6 (4 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 35 (30 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Assaulting units:
8th Tank Regiment
4th Division
1st Tank Regiment
1st Ind. Engineer Regiment
2nd Recon Battalion
2nd Tank Regiment
2nd Mobile Infantry Regiment
10th Tank Regiment
1st Recon Battalion
2nd Mobile Engineer Regiment
1st Mobile Engineer Regiment
2nd Engineer Regiment
16th Infantry Regiment
20th Ind. Engineer Regiment
7th Tank Regiment
6th Tank Regiment
5th Tank Regiment
21st Division
146th Infantry Regiment
38th Division
1st Mobile Infantry Regiment
18th Tank Rgt /2
8th RF Gun Battalion
16th Army
16th AA Regiment
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
23rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Mortar Battalion
20th Fld AA Machinecannon Company
1st Mobile Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Mobile AA Battalion
1st Mobile AA Battalion
11th RF Gun Battalion
2nd Recon Rgt /2

Defending units:
267th Armoured Brigade
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
11th Indian Division
2nd British Division
9th Indian Division
42nd Cavalry Regiment
50th Tank Brigade
14th Indian Division
RAF 223 Group Base Force
77th Heavy AA Regiment
1/4 Central Detach.
95th Heavy AA Regiment
2/11th Field Regiment
2/13th Field Regiment
6th Medium Regiment
823rd Engineer Aviation Battalion

Generally, I am one month behind schedule. The 6 lost days at the beginning of the planned exploitation phase meant tat the enemy could mass his reserves at Comilla and stop my advance before it really begins. I believe that those 6 days were crucial.

No matter...we shall break the British Army anyway.[8D]

China
- An IJA division was almost wiped out trying to cross the river next to Patung (same thing happened to them a few turns ago).
- A Chinese Corps was wiped out two hexes north of Chihkiang.
- Most of the Chinese in the Changsha pocket are gathered to the north end of it (Chihkiang). They attacked twice and both times they sustained heavy losses, but it is clear that I must send another division to Chihkiang in order to hold it.

Ground combat at Chihkiang (78,50)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 70894 troops, 390 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2667
Defending force 12438 troops, 104 guns, 93 vehicles, Assault Value = 420

Allied adjusted assault: 451
Japanese adjusted defense: 745
Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
442 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 33 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1256 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 182 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Assaulting units:
9th Prov Chinese Corps
20th Chinese Corps
26th Chinese Corps
79th Chinese Corps
21st Chinese Corps
46th Chinese Corps
28th Chinese Corps
25th Chinese Corps
31st Chinese Corps
5th Chinese Cavalry Corps

Defending units:
13th Tank Regiment
13th Division

SE Fleet
An American submarine entered Rabaul and launched a torpedo against Shokaku. Fortunately it was a dud. The sub was viciously attacked by my destroyers and was naturally sunk.

N.Australia
...has become very unhealthy for Japan. There are more than 4 Australian divisions at Derby currently advancing against Broome, where I have 700 AV behind lvl 5 forts. At Exmouth, we have roughly the same amount of AV, but he has started to use heavy bombers against me. I have two regiments a and one brigade at Kendari, which will be committed at Broome.
I need more time! When Operation Gandhi no longer needs troops transports, they will be redeployed to this theater in order to execute a large scale withdrawal of the 14th Army to the eastern DEI. KB2 will be needed.

[Olorin]

Sep 10, 42

Op.Gandhi
The decisive battle occurred today and it's a crashing victory for the Imperial Japanese Army!
Behold the Battle of Comilla:

Ground combat at Comilla (56,39)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 63549 troops, 681 guns, 1573 vehicles, Assault Value = 2473
Defending force 32158 troops, 631 guns, 968 vehicles, Assault Value = 1092

Japanese adjusted assault: 2802
Allied adjusted defense: 80
Japanese assault odds: 35 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Comilla !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane Ib: 4 destroyed

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
3623 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 245 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 70 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 61 disabled
Guns lost 30 (1 destroyed, 29 disabled)
Vehicles lost 190 (25 destroyed, 165 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
5171 casualties reported
Squads: 301 destroyed, 305 disabled
Non Combat: 855 destroyed, 61 disabled
Engineers: 243 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 339 (245 destroyed, 94 disabled)
Vehicles lost 930 (924 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Units retreated 13
Units destroyed 2

Assaulting units:
8th Tank Regiment
2nd Engineer Regiment
10th Tank Regiment
5th Tank Regiment
16th Infantry Regiment
146th Infantry Regiment
2nd Mobile Infantry Regiment
1st Mobile Infantry Regiment
2nd Tank Regiment
1st Mobile Engineer Regiment
2nd Mobile Engineer Regiment
6th Tank Regiment
4th Division
1st Ind. Engineer Regiment
7th Tank Regiment
1st Recon Battalion
1st Tank Regiment
21st Division
20th Ind. Engineer Regiment
38th Division
2nd Recon Battalion
18th Tank Rgt /2
1st Mobile AA Battalion
23rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
11th RF Gun Battalion
1st Mobile Field Artillery Regiment
20th Fld AA Machinecannon Company
2nd Mobile AA Battalion
16th AA Regiment
16th Army
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th RF Gun Battalion
2nd Mortar Battalion
2nd Recon Rgt /2

Defending units:
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
42nd Cavalry Regiment
2nd British Division
267th Armoured Brigade
9th Indian Division
11th Indian Division
50th Tank Brigade
14th Indian Division
1/4 Central Detach.
RAF 223 Group Base Force
2/13th Field Regiment
77th Heavy AA Regiment
2/11th Field Regiment
95th Heavy AA Regiment
823rd Engineer Aviation Battalion

- Exploitation can begin immediately. I decide to modify the plan: The 16th Tank Army (renamed after its victory) will march northeast to capture Tezpur.
- The 21st Division, temporarily placed under the 16th Tank Army, will capture Silchar to defend against a possible flank attack by the British Burma Corps.
- The 2nd Army will not invade Diamond Harbor and Calcutta; instead it will unload at Chittagong and advance to Dacca, where the allied remnants withdrew after today's battle. It will push them back and then assume defensive positions behind the river.
- The 4th Division will head back to Chittagong to defend against the encircled allied troops that are trying to break out from the Cox'Bazar pocket.

The plan is to take Tezpur with the 16th Tank Army, leave its two infantry divisions there to defend against a possible relieving attempt from the outside and use the two tank visions to crash the Burma Corps from behind.
The 15th Army will try to assist as much as possible.
Once, the Burma Corps is destroyed, the Cox'Bazar pocket will be dealt with.

The goal is to destroy the Burma Corps and the allied forces in the Cox'Bazar pocket and defend on the line Dacca-Tezpur, which offers better defensive terrain and is shorter than the line Calcutta-Darjeeling.

When the above goals are achieved the 16th Tank army will redeploy to China, while the 2nd and 15th Armies will remain in India.

Here is a screenshot of the area:
1 and 2 are the next objectives of the 16th Tank Army, Tezpur and Silchar respectively.
3 is the future pocket of Imphal-Ledo (Burma Corps)
4 is the current pocket of Cox'Bazar (70th Brit.Div plus 4 Indian divs)
The red dots are the Dacca-Tezpur line.

[ny59giants]

Comilla - great job here. [&o] I would send a sizable force over the river to attack Dacca. Order most of your troops to "Follow" a particular unit. Once a LCU has over 1/2 its infantry squads disabled, he will have a significant number of them destroyed in the next combat result that goes against them. If I was the Allied player, I would be trying to get them over the river and into the relative safety on India. You need to destroy his infantry squads and push back his eventual counter attack further back. Send your tanks to the east and cut off his retreat back to India.

KB2 - your victory was tactical, but will end up being a strategic defeat as you cannot afford to lose those CVs. Sad fact when you play Japan. [:(]

Transport planes - They should be being used 'in mass' to transport supply from Burma to India. Do you have your para available in Burma/India. Use your and sacrifice as needed in India to capture those dot bases to prevent him using the rail lines to move troops in and out of that area. Even if you don't take a defended base, it will halt his ability to move troops by rail through it. If you get a base with your para, then risk some troops by air lifting them in.

Fast Transport - I would think about using those Anysu PBs in this role to get supplies to Chittagong as they can carry 1000 supply each.

[Olorin]

Your comments are appreciated, Michael.

Comilla: What you describe was my initial plan. My tanks were supposed to follow them over the river, while 3 infantry divisions landed at Diamond/Harbor and Calcutta. I changed that to a less aggressive plan, but still those troops are going to be attacked again.

KB2 - Aye, agreed about it being only a tactical victory. But the strategic disadvantage will only be felt after mid '43 I think. Until then, I will maintain a slight carrier superiority (the Big E was also sunk a few months ago).

Fast Transport - Wow, I never thought about using them in this role. Very helpful indeed. I will use them as fast transports in the Solomons as well.

[ny59giants]

A landing this late in the game at Diamond Harbor will get you into big trouble. Focus on destroying what you have in front of you.

Make sure you have divided up your Recon planes and have them cover all those bases in India and those dot bases. The more info you have, the better.

Use your bombers to hit his ground units in the clear hard. You can afford the losses in the long run.

[Olorin]

N. Australia:

- The whole purpose of holding N.Australia was to buy time and prevent an early allied counteroffensive in the DEI. It seems that this purpose is achieved, but I still need a few more weeks, before shipping and carriers become available for the planned evacuation. The biggest problem here is not his ground forces, but the American heavy bombers.

- He is pushing at least 5 Australian divisions one hex east of Broome, but it seems that my bombers convinced him that to stay in the open is unhealthy. We'll see what his intentions are in the coming days. If he stays put, I also stay put. If he tries to take Broome, I withdraw the entire 14th Army to the eastern DEI.

SRA:

- In terms of ground troops, I have almost 200 AV in various small units spread all over the place. My temporary carrier superiority prevents him from attempting a deep strike in Java or Sumatra.

- A new division will be redeployed from Manchukuo to Java in 10 days. From now on, I intent to buy out 1 div every 45 days and send most of them here.

[ny59giants]

Since I'm late to viewing this AAR, do you have Port Moresby, Horn Island and anything to the east of Darwin that can slow down his re-supply efforts from coming that way?? What air assets and Air HQs do you have from Timor over to Rabaul area?? I would have some of your low endurance subs operating over here.

[Olorin]

PM, Horn Island, Merauke and Groyte Island are all mine. N.Guinea and the Solomons also.
I have 1700AV in the SE Fleet area. Not enough, will try to reinforce.
KB is at Rabaul.
Low endurance subs operate in the SE Fleet. Jake equipped subs off Perth to watch for possible deep strike.

Air HQs:
The 5th Air Div is at Koepang, the 22nd Air Flotilla at Broome.
The 4th Air Div is at Buna , the 23rd AF at Rabaul and the 25th at Tulagi.
All beginning air assets remain close to their respective HQs.
I also bought 36 Nicks, 42 Oscars and 36 Hellens for the 4th Air Div at New Guinea.

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

A landing this late in the game at Diamond Harbor will get you into big trouble. Focus on destroying what you have in front of you.

Make sure you have divided up your Recon planes and have them cover all those bases in India and those dot bases. The more info you have, the better.

Use your bombers to hit his ground units in the clear hard. You can afford the losses in the long run.

You should also know that I am holding Trincomalee and Jaffna and have complete air superiority over Ceylon, southern India and the Bay of Bengal. Hiyo and Kaga operate in this area.

Diamond Harbor and Calcutta are lightly defended (25.000 troops, most of them appear to be engineers).

As for my transport planes, they are all in Burma, supplying Comilla/Chittagong by air. [:)]

[ny59giants]

How is he supplying his huge army in northern Australia?? They cannot be coming up through Alice Spring & Tennant Creek as the road network doesn't allow it. I would be bombing his AF at Derby to cause his supply level to go down. What warships do you have that could be part of a BB TF to hit Derby?? Any Nell/Betty from Koepang with Zero escort to hit this base??

Since he doesn't control either end of northern Australia, I would start to hit his bases to get those 'Supply Hits' to show up.

Nicks go to where ever he is operating his 4e bombers out of. They are your best 4e bomber killers. FYI - skip the Nick 'B' models and R&D the "C" models. The accuracy on the "B" is very bad for the cannons. same for your Tojo.

Since I brought up Mr uber-Tojo, how many are you going to produce??

[Olorin]

Interesting questions. Here we go:

It seems that he has always good supply in N. Australia and I think I am to blame for it, since I haven't been doing what you say I should (hitting his AFs). The reason for that is that I held Derby and Nookanbah until very recently. I also suspect he occasionally pushes small xAKLs to Darwin, that escape detection.

I have 27 Nells and 27 Zeros in Timor.
120 Oscars and 90 bombers in North Oz. The Nicks at PM will move here.

3rd Fleet in Kendari:
Fuso, Yamashiro, two CAs and 4 DDs comprise my main SCTF in the area. It bombards Darwin regularly, but now that I abandoned Derby, it will become its main target.
I also have a CL led destroyer division (4 DDs).
CVE Hosho also operates here (currently upgrading at Sorebaja).

I have a similar setup in the SE Fleet, plus KB.

Tojos: It's been 10 days since it became available. Currently I am producing only 30 per month, but the goal is 180 per month. still producing 210 Oscars, but their production will gradually fall to 0, as more Tojos reach the battlefield.

R&D: I am afraid I screwed up here and had to redesign my entire R&D programm from scratch. Haven't managed to accelerate any important models so far.

[jrcar]

Bugger on Tojo and your aircraft research program, late 1942 and early 43 the Allies get increasing numbers of good aircraft that will eat Oscar. Oscar II is usful though, it has a decent bomb load and is "good enough" for China, and can be also used in Chinaas a bomber.

I use the 1000 ton PB's a fair bit for FT. They are very useful in forward locations, however you also need them to guard against the Allied subs.

Good job on trashing the Brit Army, it will probably never recover.

The loss of those CV's though means the Pacific will be very hard to defend.

Cheers

Rob