LoBaron + Robbrennan vs Offenceman, allied secret AAR

[Rob Brennan UK]

4 day update for the Commonwealth forces as we have had a fast paced e-mail exchange recently and somewhat quiet turns.

Bolo was bombarded by Japanese BB's out of range of the local CD units and we don't have mines here sadly
(Lack of minelayers and only Americans have ACM minefield tenders annoyingly).

Night Naval bombardment of Dobo at 83,116 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

8 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
BB Mutsu
CA Kako
CA Furutaka


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


BB Fuso firing at A/B Battery Heavy Coastal Artillery Regiment
A/B Battery Heavy Coastal Artillery Regiment firing at BB Fuso
BB Mutsu firing at 2nd RAN Base Force
2nd RAN Base Force firing at BB Mutsu
CA Kako firing at 3rd Australian Brigade
CA Furutaka firing at 8th Australian/B Division

Very little damage caused and the airfield with its P40's was utterly unaffected. AF size grew to 3 this turn too
so it wont be long before i can fully operate 2E mitchells here to try and close down Oil shipping from the small
Oil centres in North New guinea. I have no further plans to send shipping here as it has 40k supply and enough men/eng for
now.

Piccies ..

1) Bolo , As its already friendly from a previous invasion (evacuated later) I'm flying in a small base force using catalinas
to set up a fighter base to cover the weak AP's operating from Darwin. Once this is good enough we move onto base 2.

2) Soumlaki - Japan pushed us out of this earlier in the war but this time I want proper integrated base air defences that can
mutually support (will be begging for some P38 lightnings from the Yankees shortly)

8th Australian division (brigades) /A and /C are planned for these bases with /B on Dobo. We have a shortage of major units to make any further progress
in this area but we do have more fighters and medium bombers here than before against an aggressive Japanese response.

4) Taberfane - CW aims are for a small Eng unit to build this up to support Dobo. If Japan continues to harass Dobo we can
unload supplies here and hopefully avoid any nasty night clashes.

3) Dobo -- AV 386 with 2 AAA and 1 CD with 155 mm guns. one small armoured 'regiment' with 5 Grants 8 Stuarts and 10 Humber a/c's ..
Not exactly a prime Tank unit but well worth it if Japan invades imo. And yes its at 100% strength, It really is a pathetic
regiment [;)] Aviation support only 44 , but im short up here anyway and it'll have to suffice for now.

More soon I hope.





Antone viewing on a 4:3 pls let me know if this pic or previous one is best sized . Thank you

EDit , a bit more info now im looking at the turn .

Brit SC TF with Price Of Wales as flagship and The repaired CA Indianapolis with CL and DD escorts leaves Brisbane
for New Guinea to meet up with the BB Maryland. Hopefully this group can challenge Japan's surface navy should it return.

Found 2 Minelayers for use in Darwin .. on the way now.

Lae has almost enough supply now from small 1-2 ship AK's sailing up from Milne bay with DD escorts (for ASW) .. moved up some
Albacore Torp bombers to Lae too (with Air Hq in Buna we can use torps here) . limited range set to 4 but have now closed off
the jap retreat from Finchafen as well as i can.

Aussie Div marching on Finchafen will arrive next turn and bombers from PM have prevented any fort building here , so we will
only hit any pre-existing ones (fingers crossed)

[kfsgo]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK


3) Dobo -- AV 386 with 2 AAA and 1 CD with 155 mm guns. one small armoured 'regiment' with 5 Grants 8 Stuarts and 10 Humber a/c's ..
Not exactly a prime Tank unit but well worth it if Japan invades imo. And yes its at 100% strength, It really is a pathetic
regiment [;)] Aviation support only 44 , but im short up here anyway and it'll have to suffice for now.

Are you sure you didn't miss a TOE upgrade? Sounds like one of the 2/x etc armoured regiments - they should be kicking around 40 Grants and 18 Stuarts by March 1942...

[Rob Brennan UK]

ORIGINAL: kfsgo

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK


3) Dobo -- AV 386 with 2 AAA and 1 CD with 155 mm guns. one small armoured 'regiment' with 5 Grants 8 Stuarts and 10 Humber a/c's ..
Not exactly a prime Tank unit but well worth it if Japan invades imo. And yes its at 100% strength, It really is a pathetic
regiment [;)] Aviation support only 44 , but im short up here anyway and it'll have to suffice for now.

Are you sure you didn't miss a TOE upgrade? Sounds like one of the 2/x etc armoured regiments - they should be kicking around 40 Grants and 18 Stuarts by March 1942...

I Don't think so , but I'll confirm it next turn received just in case. Might well have been an Australian restricted
unit freed up with PP's earlier on. And welcome to the AAR by the way.

Japan hit Bolo with Helen bombers with a good sized zero escort. The P40E's fared quite well and honours about even. This turn
Australian command flew in a small 16 plane squadron of spitfires to fly high CAP as the P40's operate best below 20k feet,
As i suspect Japan might send in Zero fighter sweeps the spits should be a nasty surprise.

Afternoon Air attack on Dobo , at 83,116

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 29 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 36
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 30



Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 25


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed



Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 8

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 14000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
15 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 14000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
51st FG/16th FS with P-40E Warhawk (3 airborne, 6 on standby, 16 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 18000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes

Elsewhere our subs in the DEI were attacked by 2 ASW groups , thier patrols have been altered (as have all other subs
in the area ) to avoid this happening again.


PS . the Dutch sub reported sunk by mines 6 days ago arrived in Christmas island with heavy damage. Closely followed by another with even worse
damage. It appears 2 subs were hit and in the confusion one was reported sunk erroneously. Both are so full of holes that even with repairs
to the critical systems I'm not sure they can make it back to Perth for the needed shipyard time. We will endeavour to save both however as the
Dutch silent service has been excellent so far.

TTFN

[LoBaron]

Below is a rough summary of the successfully concluded OP Predictable. Shortland fell after stiff resistance
on Jul 10th, Fighter units relocate as we speak.

[witpqs]

Very nicely illustrated!

[LoBaron]

You know, it´s all your fault... [;)]

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 14, 43

Night air raids on Rangoon and Pegu were ineffective , mostly due to terrible weather and Japanese night fighters. One
good point was shooting down 3 Nick night interceptors for no allied bomber losses. My bombers have great def skills and
very high exp FYI. We have a house rule that night ops groups have to be set at 50% rest -- i forgot so I'll be standing them down
for the duration of high moonlight this month in the interests of fairness.

Japanese subs laid a minefield at cocos islands , we have no worries about this at all and its being cleared as we speak.

Picture details .. I did try your program Witpqs .. did like the format tbh and so here is my usual pre-school scribblings.

1) Basein AF 1(6) forts 2 .. very small recon armoured unit and 2 eng battalions .. just building up forts and AF (later)
when we go for Rangoon it'll be a useful assembly area , as its over a river from Rangoon we will be relativity safe once
allies send down some decent troops (awaiting fort building 1st) . for the actual Rangoon attack we wont be crossing the river
but heading NE 1st before assaulting.

2) Prome AF 9 forts 4 .. AV support now at 250+ .. supply is great too. Main assembly area for Rangoon attackers.

3) Toungoo . AF 4 (building to 9) forts 3 .. Waiting for AF to hit 9 as a second forward fighter base. There is
one rather large possibility that the huge Japanese army in Pegu could push north once I commit to Rangoon. Ideally Id like to
take Pegu 1st , then commit to Rangoon .. Although I am preparing for Rangoon I'm 1/2 tempted to re prep for Pegu as its
not an urban hex .. Also Japan might be preparing for Rangoon too so I'll catch him unprepared to defend here. its a
conundrum tbh as i do not have enough men for both places AFAIK.

4) Port Blair Port 2 AF 4 Forts 3 .. building all 3 with 146 eng squads and 14 eng vehicles. 2 full brigades and CD guns
defending .. not planning any more men for here for now. Just running a small supply ship between madras and here.

5) Little Andaman .. Eng unit in transit to build up for mutual AF's .. once both are prepared this will be a good
platform to hit Japanese positions in Malaya. More a decoy than a real threat as any and all spare units are shipping down to
Perth for the invasion of Java.

New Guinea

Attack on Finchafen -- very disappointing 1-2 odds .. we will grind them down with air attacks eventually. POW/Maryland sent to
bombard tonight (with LRCAP cover from land bases) ,, home base Buna (large AKE for replenishing the BB guns). I wonder
how this will affect his defence. Aussie div stood down for now to rest.



Ground combat at Finschhafen (100,126)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10264 troops, 134 guns, 148 vehicles, Assault Value = 410

Defending force 4129 troops, 74 guns, 15 vehicles, Assault Value = 84

Allied adjusted assault: 80

Japanese adjusted defense: 100

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

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

Japanese ground losses:
486 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
216 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)


Assaulting units:
4th Australian Division

Defending units:
Yokosuka 6th SNLF
43rd Naval Guard Unit
89th Naval Guard Unit
I/19th Naval Guard Unit
82nd Naval Guard Unit
87th Nav Gd /1
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
1st Base Force /1

[LoBaron]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK
Picture details .. I did try your program Witpqs .. did like the format tbh and so here is my usual pre-school scribblings.

Its a bit like art. [&o]

[Rob Brennan UK]

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK
Picture details .. I did try your program Witpqs .. did like the format tbh and so here is my usual pre-school scribblings.

Its a bit like art. [&o]

A dead Sheep in formaldehyde is considered art these days , mines a masterpiece by comparison [;)]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 16, 43

Finchafen was the only real activity for the CW this turn , 2 decent air attacks and a superb bombardment from the POW
group did a huge amount of damage.

Morning Air attack on 82nd Naval Guard Unit, at 100,126 (Finschhafen)

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes


Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 6
Beaufort VIII x 16
Spitfire Vc Trop x 4
B-26B Marauder x 11
P-39D Airacobra x 25


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
26 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



Aircraft Attacking:
16 x Beaufort VIII bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x B-26B Marauder bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
25 x P-39D Airacobra bombing from 100 feet


Morning Air attack on 82nd Naval Guard Unit, at 100,126 (Finschhafen)

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes


Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 6
Beaufort VIII x 16
Spitfire Vc Trop x 8
B-26B Marauder x 11
P-39D Airacobra x 25


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
71 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



Aircraft Attacking:
16 x Beaufort VIII bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x B-26B Marauder bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
25 x P-39D Airacobra bombing from 100 feet


Night Naval bombardment of Finschhafen at 100,126

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales
BB Maryland
CA Suffolk
CA Indianapolis
CL Capetown
CL Caradoc
CL Hobart
DD Relentless
DD Redoubt
DD Napier
DD Arunta
DD Frazier

Japanese ground losses:
403 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 12 (3 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)



Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 24
Port hits 19
Port supply hits 10



The spits and hurricanes were combat air patrols over finchafen while the P39's (who really need combat training) were
on ground attack . POW and escorts did a masterful job and the Aussie div will shock attack tomorrow with a new BB
mission hopefully going in just before.

piccie of air combat reported kills , as per usual I don't believe a word but looks like the US did well over Rabaul
LoBaron can fill in all other US stuff , sorry to poach your thunder but nothing else was worth screening all turn.









EDIT :- AKE in Buna had no supplies loaded in it and therefore could not reload the BB guns .. AKE will load supply
this turn and just the cruisers and DD's will return to hit the place while the Aussies shock attack.

[LoBaron]

Rob already summed it up quite well.

The Solomon situation:

I tested the CAP defense of Rabaul with a P38 sweep for two days, below is the initial raid:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 40,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 93
Ki-61-Ia Tony x 27



Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 24
P-38G Lightning x 41


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 7 destroyed
Ki-61-Ia Tony: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38F Lightning: 1 destroyed
P-38G Lightning: 1 destroyed



Aircraft Attacking:
22 x P-38G Lightning sweeping at 39000 feet
12 x P-38G Lightning sweeping at 39000 feet
17 x P-38F Lightning sweeping at 39000 feet


The follow up raids of the next days met still resistance, I assume the true kill ratio to
be about 2.5:1, which means I lose more pilots, but less airframes.

Pilots are not a problem as long as the attrition rate doesn´t go up at least to double
loss figures.
Airframes are another story, Mike outproduces me probably 6:1 in Lightning:Zero&Tony airframes,
so if I cannot break his air defense in short time, and only fight winning battles, the P38s alone won´t
win this. But this was expected and the preparations to bring Shortland AF into action are already
in the makes.

With numerical support of USMC/USN Wildcats and USAAF P40s I expect to reach air superiority within
the next 1-2 months. This is supported by the fact that Mike needs to pay attention to the Commonwealth
advancing in NG to avoid getting isolated in the Bismark Sea.


Other news:

Good day for both, the silent service and the ASW effort:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Munda at 111,136

Japanese Ships
SS I-124, hits 8, heavy damage <--- one less of the sub Nemesis Mike tries to release at the Solomons.

Allied Ships
PC Jackson
AM Pieter de Bitter
KV Quesnel



Captain of SS I-124 elects not to launch torpedoes at this target
KV Quesnel fails to find sub, continues to search...
PC Jackson fails to find sub and abandons search
KV Quesnel fails to find sub, continues to search...
KV Quesnel fails to find sub, continues to search...
KV Quesnel attacking submerged sub ....
Large oil slick appears over area of attack!
Escort abandons search for sub




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Torishima at 106,67

Japanese Ships
xAK Kinugawa Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage <--- Fuel laden AK with course HI
xAK Nichibi Maru
xAK Yamazato Maru
xAK Tamagawa Maru
PB Santos Maru
PB Saiko Maru

Allied Ships
SS Harder



SS Harder launches 6 torpedoes at xAK Kinugawa Maru
PB Santos Maru attacking submerged sub ....
PB Saiko Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Santos Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Saiko Maru attacking submerged sub ....
PB Santos Maru fails to find sub and abandons search
PB Saiko Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Saiko Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Saiko Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

... A dead Sheep in formaldehyde is considered art these days ...

... LoBaron can fill in all other US stuff , sorry to poach your thunder but nothing else was worth screening all turn...

What, not even a dead sheep in formaldehyde?

Alfred

[Rob Brennan UK]

Do dead Japanese is a bad state of decay count ?

Anyhoo .. Finchafen attack worked like a charm today , and the follow on shock attack destroyed/surrounded the rest and wiped them out.
Also got the dot base just NW of Finchafen too so no jap bases left south of Munda on NG anymore. WE still need to wipe out the
unit that retreated right onto our supply path to munda however [:'(]

Night Naval bombardment of Finschhafen at 100,126

Allied Ships
CA Suffolk
CA Indianapolis
CL Capetown
CL Caradoc
CL Hobart
DD Redoubt
DD Napier
DD Thracian
DD Arunta
DD Frazier

Japanese ground losses:
27 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 8
Port hits 10
Port supply hits 2


Ground combat at Finschhafen (100,126)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 10242 troops, 137 guns, 148 vehicles, Assault Value = 404

Defending force 3147 troops, 64 guns, 13 vehicles, Assault Value = 60

Allied adjusted assault: 616

Japanese adjusted defense: 19

Allied assault odds: 32 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Finschhafen !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
642 casualties reported
Squads: 49 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 16 (10 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Vehicles lost 12 (12 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Allied ground losses:
273 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 36 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled


Assaulting units:
4th Australian Division

Defending units:
I/19th Naval Guard Unit
82nd Naval Guard Unit
89th Naval Guard Unit
43rd Naval Guard Unit
87th Nav Gd /1
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
Yokosuka 6th SNLF
1st Base Force /1



Ground combat at Finschhafen (100,126)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 10044 troops, 137 guns, 148 vehicles, Assault Value = 374

Defending force 2139 troops, 54 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 16

Allied adjusted assault: 261

Japanese adjusted defense: 10

Allied assault odds: 26 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
358 casualties reported
Squads: 33 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 25 (17 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
18 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled


Assaulting units:
4th Australian Division

Defending units:
43rd Naval Guard Unit
87th Nav Gd /1
2nd Mortar Battalion
89th Naval Guard Unit
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
82nd Naval Guard Unit
Yokosuka 6th SNLF
1st Base Force /1


Ground combat at Saidor (99,124) FYI in the cloudy hex NW of finchafen

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 2987 troops, 34 guns, 48 vehicles, Assault Value = 102

Defending force 497 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3

Allied adjusted assault: 92

Japanese adjusted defense: 4

Allied assault odds: 23 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Saidor !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
212 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 1



Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
2nd Australian/B Division

Defending units:
65th Naval Guard Unit

Not much else to add from the CW war department today.

[LoBaron]

Jul 18/19, 43

Congrats to the CW victory at Finschhafen! The noose around Rabaul tightenes,
I wonder how long Mike tries to stem against the tide before digging in further
north. The longer he stays and fights, the better.

A quiet turn for the the US forces. Air suppport and engineers continue
to increase on Shortlands, we now have 70 fighters already stationed there.

The AF is fully repaired, now port damage needs to be reduced.

4 days ago Bunker Hill and Yorktown II arrived @ Panama and already set sail
with escorts to join up with the rest of the carriers, currently on R&R at Auckland.
When the fleet joins up it will the first time in war the US carriers are able
to match KB in raw combat power.


The 32nd division is already halfway through the jungle to Torokina where the AF is
closed by daily B24 raids.


The sub war in the solomons continues, this turn without casualties:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Shortlands at 110,132

Japanese Ships
SS I-159

Allied Ships
DD Stuart
BB Mississippi
CA San Francisco
CA Houston
DD Selfridge
DD Dunlap



SS I-159 launches 8 torpedoes at DD Stuart
DD Stuart fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Selfridge attacking submerged sub ....
DD Dunlap fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Selfridge fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Selfridge fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Choiseul Bay at 112,132

Japanese Ships
SS I-8, hits 3

Allied Ships
DD Meade
SC-708
PC Taney



SS I-8 is located by DD Meade
I-8 diving deep ....
DD Meade fails to find sub and abandons search
PC Taney fails to find sub, continues to search...
PC Taney attacking submerged sub ....
PC Taney fails to find sub, continues to search...
PC Taney fails to find sub, continues to search...
PC Taney fails to find sub, continues to search...
PC Taney fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub

[Rob Brennan UK]

July 20+21

2 days dominated by submarines and mines , not much else bar a few air missions to talk about.

First up the sad news that KV Claydaman has been sunk by a mine off Dobo, The Mine sweepers
did their jobs but the Corvette sadly tried to emulate them and did in fact clear one mine, explosively.

TF 371 encounters mine field at Dobo (83,116)

Allied Ships
AM Launceton
AM Pirie
AM Kalgoorlie
KV Cyclamen, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage



7 mines cleared


Ground attack aircraft in New guinea hary the last remaining Japanese troops south of Madang. There was LRCAP
in case Japan tried to intercept but the fighters mainly went ground pounding.



Afternoon Air attack on 65th Naval Guard Unit, at 98,124 , near Madang

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes


Allied aircraft
Beaufighter Ic x 12
Beaufort VIII x 12
Hudson I x 2
B-26B Marauder x 9
P-39D Airacobra x 22


No Allied losses

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


Morning Air attack on 65th Naval Guard Unit, at 98,124 , near Madang

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 36 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes


Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 25


No Allied losses

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


I'm guessing the results being poor are because we lost our recon spotting when they retreated last turn.
We can and will get better recon on them. annoyingly this jap unit forced the tanks trundling north to Madang
to change course .. so had to reset their movement .. grrr..

Dutch sub O21 sank a merchantman in the south DEI . I have most of my subs concentrated between south Java and
south of Davao in the Philippines.

Sub attack near Morotai at 81,100

Japanese Ships
xAK Tateisi Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SC Ch 16
xAK Sydney Maru #2
xAK Manko Maru
PB Hokutai Maru

Allied Ships
SS O21


Lastly we almost certainly got an enemy sub trying to intercept the transports heading to Lae .. chalk one up
for the good guys. 3 more subs in various places were reported being hit by ASW a/c .. dubious to verify.

ASW attack near Buna at 100,128

Japanese Ships
SS I-25, hits 10, heavy damage

Allied Ships
xAK Ulooloo
xAK Time
DE Arrow

[LoBaron]

Jul 20/21, 43

Totally quiet day for the US. No combat nowhere. Nothing. Just like peacetime.

The 32nd should arrive and set up the siege of Torokina next turn if fatigue does not slow
them down, but except for this, quiet.

Sensational news from our intel guys meanwhile:
Tokyo Bay Fortress is located at Yokohama/Yokosuka(113,61).

I never knew! Thanks you! [X(]

[LoBaron]

Jul 24/25 ´43 The Solomon Situation

Another turn with the task to challenge Rabaul, another inconclusive result, below is a short
overview on the force balance in the upper Solomons.




The current task is twofold: Attrit the JAAF/IJN air, and gain air superiority
over Rabaul. I currently have the numbers and capability to sweep Rabaul with my
P-38 fleet originating from Munda.
The sweeps are performed at 39k, the so called "exploit invincible altitude" where
there is no counter for the "poor Japanese suffering endless dives".
High alt sweep my ass... [:'(]

As you can see, Mike puts up stiff professional resistance, limiting my sweeps to 2 days per week
at best.

Combat over Rabaul is intense, the developement of the air battles is what I would expect
in such a situation. Rabaul is a fighters nest, hosting about 200 fighters, from what I
see about 160 Zeros and 40 Tonys, so total numerical superiority cannot be achieved,
as I can only bring 60-70 Lightnings over target.

Usually a fight is initiated with the Lightnings screaming down at the CAP formations and shooting
down a couple. After the initial attack the fight evens out with the nimble Zeros dogfighting
on eye level with my veteran pilots, and the Tonys mix in pretty well.

In the screenshot you see 15th FG/45th FS, an elite unit which suffered worst on the last attacks
run, losing 12 A/C and 7 pilots over the last 2 days. I can replace the pilots with equally skilled
reserves, but I have to keep an eye on the plane pools.

I am confident with this situation, I can dictate the op tempo and fight a war of attrition, which
basically is the main target in this theatre anyway. As soon as Shortlands is regarded safe, additional
shorter ranged squads can support the effort against the Japanese main base, by then the air balance
will tilt in our favour.

As if it needs proving, but this is a perfect demonstration that you cannot "game the air model" with
high alt sweeps as long as the opponent is bright enough to set up a good defense, and know when to
fight and when to pull back. The "invincible high alt sweep" is a myth from people unable or unwilling
to understand a tactical situation and act accordingly.

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 26, 43

The Commonwealth (and China) , have some news this turn.

Japan has initiated artillery bombardment operations in central China, Whoopee doo dah frankly. OK China
has a huge supply defect and is on 1/2 rations at best in most places. Allied flight from Ledo now that Burma
is secure and no longer a supply sink. have helped build the capital to over 20k supply to allow gradual
upgrading of specific units. Chinese pools are very healthy atm too, with the exception of artillery which is
the Chinese Achilles heel (among many tbh)


Ground combat at 78,51 (near Chihkiang)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3430 troops, 196 guns, 258 vehicles, Assault Value = 3158

Defending force 146483 troops, 739 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 5737

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
54 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled


Assaulting units:
22nd Division
12th Tank Regiment
20th Recon Regiment
78th Infantry Regiment
40th Division
5th Armored Car Co
15th Tank Regiment
102nd Infantry Regiment
69th Infantry Brigade
31st Tankette Co
6th Division
39th Division
66th Infantry Regiment
14th Division
2nd Recon Battalion
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
5th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
6th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
1st Mortar Battalion
4th Mortar Battalion
11th Army
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
Tonei Hvy Gun Regiment
8th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
31st Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
75th Chinese Corps
99th Chinese Corps
74th Chinese Corps
26th Chinese Corps
79th Chinese Corps
18th Chinese Corps
10th Chinese Corps
65th Chinese Corps
60th Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
59th Chinese Corps
8th Chinese Corps
10th Construction Regiment
33rd Group Army
6th Construction Regiment
7th Artillery Regiment
20th Group Army
Lusu War Area
25th Group Army
1st Artillery Regiment
41st AA Regiment
56th AT Gun Regiment

As you can see we have plenty of units defending here , I have ordered the 3 weakest back for growth/refit given
we have enough AV here to blunt any Japanese advances. Actually i believe we have enough forces in all critical areas
to repel Japanese aggression. Chinese attacks to recapture areas lost early in the war however are a fantasy atm. Supply being
the main issue (again). Japan also unleashed some bombers on an unsuspecting HQ relocating to the Chinese cavalry arm
which is massing in the hills (no inf units so its much faster and all cav units refitted and maxed out to 100% TOE)

Morning Air attack on 38th Group Army, at 86,31 , near Ningsia

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 24
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 44



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
104 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 24 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
22 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 4000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
22 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 4000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Not a lot i can do about this , no airbases nearby and chain has had several unit withdrawals over the past few months so
Chinese fighters in china is about 70 a/c all in the capital. Rest of the Chinese airforce is in India training up a new
generation of pilots for bombers/fighters and recon a/c , we will hopefully start getting in late 43 (fingers crossed).



Over in New Guinea the Albacores bored of waiting on naval strike have switched over to ground attacks to help batter the last jap units into
oblivion. .. more bombers and ground attack a/c from Port Moresby join in a rather ineffective attack. The pattern seems to be disabling
units when bombers from PM fly, while the albacores KO several inf squads over 2 days. Swordfish have been moved up to Lae in-case Japan's surface
navy gets involved. Additionally the POW and Massachusetts act as naval patrol off Lae while a large support troop convoy unloads.

Also in Australia we have been tinkering massively with restricted and non restricted air units (mainly to allow the ones that can be
changed to useful units have been given the best a/c and pilots , while the perma-restricted units are relegated to training in the
hinterland and search patrols from major ports. Its all abit of a mess in Darwin right now as we try and free up units for use on the
forward island bases. Thunderbolts will hopefully make a surprise sweep next turn

[Rob Brennan UK]

28/9 July

The combat sweep over Boela went as well as could be expected , below is day 1 sweep, we failed to achieve air superiority this turn
(ie planes left at the end) , however on day 2 we did. Given the hoo-hah surrounding high alt sweeps day 1 was as 'expected' for the
initial dive attack then it evened out allowing Japan to bag a few of mine. Day 2 however Japan got in the 1st attacks and we failed
utterly to get much in the way of an initial surprise dive phase... Posted below day 1 for comparison.

Morning Air attack on Boela , at 80,110

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 25 NM, estimated altitude 48,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 29



Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 22


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 7 destroyed

No Allied losses



CAP engaged:
251 Ku S-1 with A6M3a Zero (0 airborne, 20 on standby, 0 scrambling)
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 36750 , scrambling fighters between 36000 and 36750.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes


Morning Air attack on Boela , at 80,110

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 46,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 18



Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 18


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed



Aircraft Attacking:
12 x P-47D2 Thunderbolt sweeping at 42000 feet

CAP engaged:
251 Ku S-1 with A6M3a Zero (0 airborne, 14 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 36750 , scrambling fighters between 36000 and 36750.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes



Combat report says 21 zeros shot down for 6 thuds .. we lost 11 a/c in total which hurts badly tbh. Japanese
losses can ofc not be verified. Standing down for tomorrow while the torpedo bomber crews arrive from reserve to the
Beaufort sqdn now stationed here. Also for the Aussie Mitchell 2 low level nav attack specialists move across to
a non restricted squadron in Darwin. once we have these in place i hope to close boela to tanker traffic. Subs have
been stationed in the south DEI and are now a lot more active with b25 and Catalina search a/c combing the seas
providing targets for them to react to.

TTFN

[LoBaron]

Jul 28/29 ´43

Quiet day for the US except for a couple of inconclusive Sub/ASW engagements without casualties and
the usual B-24 raid against Torokina.

Will try a deliberate attack there next turn to test defenses, although it could fail in a spectacular
way, because the prep of 32nd division is in the high 30´s only. I am taking the risk because I assume
lots of exhausted Japanese there trying to recover from the retreat from Shortlands.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Quiet day for the US except for a couple of inconclusive Sub/ASW engagements without casualties and
the usual B-24 raid against Torokina.

1st August .. NOT so quiet or inconclusive.

Firstly though, Commonwealth side of the war.

P40K fighter sweep to test some newly reconnoitred bases in Java faced sever resistance from Japanese A6M3a's 1-1 allies
lose these as the alt chosen , i.e 19k for max P40 Manoeuvre. Our pilots lacked experience but did have good def and
a2a skills, losses est at

P40K - 11 planes and 8 pilots
Zero's - None listed as air to air

This line of attack has been halted for now. We need numbers for the P40 to work imo . layered if possible too.

Morning Air attack on Bandoeng , at 50,100

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 47 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 23



Allied aircraft
P-40K Warhawk x 22


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 4 destroyed



CAP engaged:
253 Ku S-1 with A6M3a Zero (0 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 36750 , scrambling fighters between 36000 and 36750.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes

Japan had the alt advantage but the combat animations showed no massive dive that initially killed off
allied planes , rather a slow trickle of kills throughout the animations.

All else pretty quiet , Japan seems to be sending more subs to the south of Lae but at least 3 attacked
in 2 days by dedicated ansons and LR Hudsons.

There is a piccie , but its not embedded until LoBaron does his report. You'll understand why if you peek
or wait for a few hours.