Shall we play a DBB-C game? - CT Grognard vs Arnhem (no CTG pls)

[BBfanboy]

Let me guess - your kingdom consists of the den in your residence and occasionally, the dog house? [:)]

[Arnhem44]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Let me guess - your kingdom consists of the den in your residence and occasionally, the dog house? [:)]

Depends, who wants to know? /shifty eyes

[Arnhem44]

The Philippines
CTG is in a hurry to make move his troops out from Luzon once they're done reducing Bataan, a force of minesweepers is engaged by the coastal artillery as they enter the bay to clear the minefield there. The fixed defences score hits on quite a few DMSs but the mines are being cleared pretty quickly.

DEI
An SNLF captures Praboemoelih, 1 hex south of Palembang. Morotai also falls.

Singapore
The long awaited second attack on Singapore, taking fort levels down to 2. If he takes fort levels down to 0 and I'm still standing the garrison is going to go out in a blaze of banzai glory.

Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 74331 troops, 802 guns, 441 vehicles, Assault Value = 2031
Defending force 55019 troops, 586 guns, 354 vehicles, Assault Value = 1074
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese adjusted assault: 1286
Allied adjusted defense: 2357
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

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

Japanese ground losses:
5707 casualties reported
Squads: 161 destroyed, 290 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 108 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 37 disabled
Guns lost 57 (9 destroyed, 48 disabled)
Vehicles lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
3365 casualties reported
Squads: 132 destroyed, 61 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 143 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 48 (8 destroyed, 40 disabled)
Vehicles lost 35 (2 destroyed, 33 disabled)

Assaulting units:
41st Infantry Regiment
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
4th Ind Engineer Regiment
18th Division
113th Infantry Regiment
2nd Division
56th Engineer Regiment
124th Infantry Regiment
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
5th Division
Imperial Guards Division
148th Infantry Regiment
1st Tank Regiment
6th Tank Regiment
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
25th Army
3rd Mortar Battalion
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
5th Mortar Battalion
1st RF Gun Battalion
34th Field AA Battalion
56th Field Artillery Regiment
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
36th Field AA Battalion

Defending units:
SSVF Brigade
2nd Gordons Battalion
3rd Cavalry Regiment
1st Manchester Battalion
2nd Loyal Battalion
2/17 Dogra Battalion
22nd Australian Brigade
1st Malay Battalion
11th Indian Division
27th Australian Brigade
9th Indian Division
2nd Malay Battalion
224 Group RAF
3rd Heavy AA Regiment
110th RAF Adv Base Force
III Indian Corps
109th RAF Adv Base Force
2nd ISF Base Force
Singapore Fortress
223 Group RAF
2nd HK&S Heavy AA Regiment
Singapore Base Force
113th RAF Adv Base Force
AHQ Far East
3rd HK&S Light AA Regiment
1st Indian Heavy AA Regiment
111th RAF Adv Base Force
22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
Malayan Air Wing
112th RAF Adv Base Force
Malaya Army
1st HK&S Heavy AA Regiment
109th RN Base Force

Sub War
Seadragon torpedoes xAP Rakuyo Maru off Oosthaven as the transports pull out from unloading.

Allied Sub killboard
KXIV - AK Sakura Maru (6,840t)
S-38 - xAK Gyoun Maru (1,900t), xAK Kikuryu Maru (1,900t)
KXV - xAK Nojima Maru with O19(3,425t)
Sargo - xAK Gosei Maru (3,425t)
Swordfish - xAKL Yamatsuru Maru (1,650t), xAKL Muko Maru (1,650t)
Seadragon - xAKL Kanjo Maru (1,650t), xAKL Tamaki Maru (1,650t)
Perch - DD Sazanami (2,090t)
Tarpon - TB Manazuru (775t)
O20 - xAP Taizan Maru (on 27 Dec 1941)

Probable
S-38 - xAK Tamon Maru (torp hit 1, on fire, 12/12/41)
KXI - xAK Kogyo Maru (torp hits 2, hvy fires/dmg, 07/12/41)
Seadragon - xAP Rakuyo Maru (torp hit 1, hvy dmg, 21/01/42)

[FeurerKrieg]

Nice AAR, Arnhem. Like you I'll be watching in order to get a feel for the challenges the other side might face.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Arnhem

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Let me guess - your kingdom consists of the den in your residence and occasionally, the dog house? [:)]

Depends, who wants to know? /shifty eyes

[:'(]
Well, you did offer your kingdom for supply, and I have these left-over Easter candies after stuffing plastic eggs for the grandkids. However, I don't have room for another den and never enjoyed being in the dog house, so unless you have more to offer, I'll just eat up the supply myself. [;)]

[Arnhem44]

ORIGINAL: Feurer Krieg

Nice AAR, Arnhem. Like you I'll be watching in order to get a feel for the challenges the other side might face.

Hey FK,

Thanks for popping by. I don't think I'm being an example of stellar play at the moment though :p

[Arnhem44]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Arnhem

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Let me guess - your kingdom consists of the den in your residence and occasionally, the dog house? [:)]

Depends, who wants to know? /shifty eyes

[:'(]
Well, you did offer your kingdom for supply, and I have these left-over Easter candies after stuffing plastic eggs for the grandkids. However, I don't have room for another den and never enjoyed being in the dog house, so unless you have more to offer, I'll just eat up the supply myself. [;)]

Unfortunately I have nothing to offer but blood, sweat, tears and a lot of cursing at the monitor.

[Arnhem44]

The Philippines
Subic Bay and Bataan fall. Organized resistance on Luzon and the Philippines ends.

Ground combat at Subic Bay (78,76)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 7829 troops, 33 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 240
Defending force 3129 troops, 59 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 68
Japanese adjusted assault: 123
Allied adjusted defense: 31
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Subic Bay !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
149 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Allied ground losses:
4568 casualties reported
Squads: 134 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 149 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 77 (77 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

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Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 21537 troops, 290 guns, 373 vehicles, Assault Value = 522
Defending force 35885 troops, 385 guns, 193 vehicles, Assault Value = 310
Japanese adjusted assault: 272
Allied adjusted defense: 105
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Bataan !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
843 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 46 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 22 disabled
Vehicles lost 20 (2 destroyed, 18 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
50934 casualties reported
Squads: 1333 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1492 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 106 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 193 (193 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 204 (204 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 38

China
Sian looks to be attacked soon, there's a stack of angry Japanese just outside and closing quickly.

SWPAC
Darwin bombed, ships sunk. Am running in supplies via Perth since it seems the Torres Strait has become infested with subs, am hoping the Betties are perma set to port attack and won't disturb the resupply merchies.

Morning Air attack on Darwin , at 76,124
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 28 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 25

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Toendjoek, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DD Van Ghent, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
HDML P 16, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Sinabang, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Tjisaroea, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
TK Havfru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Van der Lijn, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Paul Jones, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Port hits 1
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 6000 feet *
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

[Arnhem44]

DEI
Tarakan is invaded and the CD guns there ding a couple of transports. Lots of landings on other bases on the east end of the DEI as well but I'm not going to list details unless a significant event happens.

Singapore
Supply levels have come down to 46k from the constant repair of base facilities due to bombing, this is one aspect of the game engine that really annoys me, anyone with half a brain will bomb a target hex under siege just to eat up supplies and prevent fort level buildup, wish there was a toggle to stop repair of damage to base facilities. Of course it cuts both ways but it's overall a gamey move which I'm sure just about everyone exploits and I wish there was a work around.

Also, bombardment attacks have taken a small but steady toll on the garrison, hope I still have enough to give him a really bloody nose on the next attack.

Morning Air attack on Singapore Fortress, at 50,84 (Singapore)
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
G3M2 Nell x 53
G4M1 Betty x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 17 damaged
G3M2 Nell: 2 destroyed by flak
G4M1 Betty: 13 damaged

Allied ground losses:
59 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
28 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
22 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
19 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
6 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

SWPAC
Am sending some of the less damaged ships south to Townsville starting this turn as it seems CTG is determined to bomb even the smallest bomb to smithereens.

Morning Air attack on Darwin , at 76,124
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 25

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAP Tjisaroea, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AM Abraham Crijnssen, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
ACM Colonel Harrison, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AMc Enggano, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Toendjoek, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL Sipirok, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 6000 feet *
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

[Arnhem44]

Singapore
A taste of what the island undergoes daily.

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Morning Air attack on Singapore Fortress, at 50,84 (Singapore)
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 96

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 48 damaged
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
189 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
23 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
21 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
26 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

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Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 2497 troops, 221 guns, 75 vehicles, Assault Value = 1775
Defending force 52862 troops, 578 guns, 351 vehicles, Assault Value = 914

Japanese ground losses:
Guns lost 15 (1 destroyed, 14 disabled)

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

DEI
Tarakan is bombed before a deliberate attack is launched, I'm surprised at the resilience of the Dutch LCUs. Ambon is invaded with 15 DDs as a covering/bombardment force.

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Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 3758 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 126
Defending force 1904 troops, 43 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 53
Japanese adjusted assault: 49
Allied adjusted defense: 73
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), morale(-)
experience(-)
Attacker: leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
107 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

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

Assaulting units:
90th Infantry Regiment

Defending units:
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Base Force
Tarakan Defenses

Sub War
An I-boat cruising east of Suva snags a TK with 2 torpedoes while all I get for this turn is Skipjack getting DCed near Saigon, she's afloat but just barely and making her way to Java for repairs.

[Arnhem44]

DEI
Tarakan receives another round of bombings and ground attacks but at the end of the day the Dutch flag still flies.

West of Palembang (north on the map), an IJA paratroop unit jumps in on Djambi expecting it to be empty but it just happens I have 2 Dutch battalions in transit to Palembang and the Japanese pararoopers land right on top of them. The Dutch LCUs were in movement mode or I would have really put the hurt on. I'm switching to combat mode for the turn and will try for a deliberate attack to see if I can wipe out this fragment before moving onto Palembang.

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Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 3654 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 114
Defending force 1778 troops, 37 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 47
Japanese adjusted assault: 87
Allied adjusted defense: 22
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), morale(-)
experience(-)
Attacker:

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

Allied ground losses:
103 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

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Ground combat at Djambi (48,88)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 248 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 19
Defending force 1908 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 65
Japanese adjusted assault: 10
Allied adjusted defense: 21
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

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

Japanese ground losses:
61 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

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

Assaulting units:
Yokosuka 1st SNLF /1

Defending units:
Medan Garrison Battalion
Van Aaran Garrison Battalion

Singapore
The third try to take Singapore starts with the usual bombings and ends in fort levels dropping to 1 and one of the Aussie brigades being rendered combat ineffective. I am sorely tempted to try a deliberate attack.

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Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 71451 troops, 799 guns, 441 vehicles, Assault Value = 1835
Defending force 52977 troops, 577 guns, 351 vehicles, Assault Value = 921
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese adjusted assault: 1231
Allied adjusted defense: 2513
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)

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

Japanese ground losses:
4696 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 449 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 41 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 95 disabled
Guns lost 43 (4 destroyed, 39 disabled)
Vehicles lost 14 (2 destroyed, 12 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2729 casualties reported
Squads: 57 destroyed, 180 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 102 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 64 (15 destroyed, 49 disabled)
Vehicles lost 12 (5 destroyed, 7 disabled)

China
CTG is definitely trying for an end run on Chungking via the north/north-west, I have the equivalent of a division and a half worth of IJA troops that have been kicking the butts of 2 Chinese corps from Kweisui and then Paotow, the Chinese LCUs have been retreating in the direction of Lanchow and it looks like the IJA is right on their tails. Lanchow through to Kienko should be well fortified and held by enough forces to hold off the Japanese units committed by the time both sides come into contact at Lanchow. I'll have some in reserve in case CTG reinforces this attack.

[Arnhem44]

DEI
Ternate is invaded. As for Djambi, turns out my LCUs didn't have their movement reset and 1 LCU is already out of the hex and on its way to Palembang, the other one should be out shortly. Palembang itself is 10% away from fort level 3, am hoping the 38th ID will have a bloody nose taking Palembang as it can't have much PP for the place having just taken HK.

The Ambon CD guns bracket an xAKL and sets her on fire, glugglugglug. The same battery also puts 2 shells into an xAK.

The Tarakan defenders defy the odds and survive another day of attacks.

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Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 3639 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 112
Defending force 1675 troops, 37 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 42
Japanese adjusted assault: 45
Allied adjusted defense: 46
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-)
morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: leaders(+), leaders(-)

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

Allied ground losses:
154 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 6 (2 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Singapore
I resist the temptation to order an attack and hunker down for another round of bombings. Fort levels climb up to 2 while unmodified AV drops to 735. It was a shade over 1k at the start of the siege.

[Arnhem44]

DEI
The Ambon guns are in action again this round and put a shell each into an APD and an xAK, setting the latter on fire. But it was not too be, Ambon falls, together with Tarakan and Ternate. That just about ends the Dutch presence east of Java.

Singapore
More bombing and chipping away at the garrison.

Flak in DBB has been tweaked to be more lethal and I've got to say it's been noticeable compared to stock, to date, Japanese losses of level bombers due to flak are as follows

KI-21-IIa Sally - total loss 45, lost to flak 13
G3M2 Nell - total loss 38, lost to flak 15
G4M1 Betty - total loss 37, lost to flak 5

I'm guessing most of these losses were inflicted over the skies of Singapore and to a lesser extent, the Philippines. Not counting ops losses as I won't know what percentage was lost to non-combat action. Will be interesting to see how things develop going forward, especially interested to see the effect shipborne AA will have on both sides. For example, PoW starts at whopping 2,113 AA Rating and climbs to 2,383 in Jan' 42. Now that's a flak ship.

SWPAC
To date, I've lost 693 VP worth of ships in the Darwin Turkey Shoot. This includes the warships that tried to take on KB prior to the blockade and bombing of Darwin port and ships that I've lost due to sinkings at sea post KB departure. A partial list of ships lost includes (non-combatants/auxiliaries below 2,000t are mostly not included)

2 CA Canberra, Australia - lost in Darwin
7 CL Dragon, Leander, De Ruyter, Marblehead, Perth, Achilles, Tromp - first 4 lost in Darwin, latter 3 lost in action
19 DD - 5 American, 4 Australian, 3 British, 6 Dutch, 1 French - 5 lost in Darwin, rest lost in action
3 CM
2 AS
3 med TK
34 xAPs (6 are above 2,000t, the largest of which are 2 at 7,500t apiece, the rest are 1,000t and below)
6 xAKs (ranging from 2,750-6,100t, this does not include the 8 xAKs lost at Noumea prior to KB shutting down Darwin, those were all 4,220t apiece)
10 xAKL

Listing the losses makes me feel a little better, the one glaring issue I see I will have trouble with both in the short and long term is the loss of the DDs.

I was depending on the Dutch and 4 stackers of the Asiatic Fleet to be the mainstay of my ASW screen for shipping in ANZAC waters, with the loss of the DDs I've been forced to task DDs which I would have used to screen the American CVs to convoy escort duties. I have the surviving 7 Clemsons from the Asiatic Fleet but those are barely coping with the multiple convoys I have running around. While I am not suffering for want of DDs the additional demands placed on the American DDs has basically meant all of them are out at sea and rotating them to do upgrades will be extremely tricky. I have 3 Aussie and 1 Dutch DD coming in from Cape Town and Aden which should be in theatre by end Feb '42.

For the Brits, I have exactly 2 DDs left to cover the entire area west of Singapore. The Aussie and Dutch DDs were moved to ANZAC waters in keeping with the historical bent of the game, I will have about 10 DDs coming in through Aden in the next 70 days but don't know how many of them are not British as I will be sending any ANZAC ships south via CT. However, as I do not anticipate doing much in the Indian Ocean during that time the number of reinforcing DDs should suffice for now.

The loss of the cruisers will hamper my ability to sting IJN operations but I'm guessing he's going to make sure he's got enough cover on his invasion fleets to see off all but the most determined attempts post fall of the DEI/Singapore. Nonetheless, I've diverted 3 Brit CAs to come down from the Indian Ocean to provide additional cover to ANZAC.

As for the non-combatants/auxiliaries, to give an idea of the reinforcements I'm getting I had on one of the turns that KB was pounding Darwin received 30+ xAKs in one go, combined with the diversion of the longer legged ships from the DEI and Indian Ocean, I can safely shrug off all of the losses suffered. On a tactical level the loss of the sub tenders makes it inconvenient to operate my subs but it's not a game breaker.

As a post-script, the first of the resupply convoys from Perth has docked in Darwin and is unloading unmolested, the Betties have stopped their visits for the time being and the first convoy of damaged ships is making it's way down to Townsville and points south hex by painful hex.

[Arnhem44]

Burma
Rangoon falls to the advancing Japanese.

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Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 22163 troops, 197 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value = 692
Defending force 564 troops, 12 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 32
Japanese adjusted assault: 727
Allied adjusted defense: 1
Japanese assault odds: 727 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Rangoon !!!

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

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

Allied ground losses:
721 casualties reported
Squads: 34 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 16 (16 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
143rd Infantry Regiment
112th Infantry Regiment
33rd Division
55th Engineer Regiment
15th Army
55th Mountain Gun Regiment
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
Rangoon BAF Battalion

China
Wenchow is assaulted dropping fort levels to 0 but the remnants of 2 corps there hang tough for one more day. Tsiaotso in the north is also assaulted and holds.

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Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 22962 troops, 217 guns, 38 vehicles, Assault Value = 657
Defending force 13601 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 399
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese adjusted assault: 961
Allied adjusted defense: 712
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
1097 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 113 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Allied ground losses:
466 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 35 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
15th Division
102nd Infantry Regiment
2nd Ind.Mixed Regiment
13th Army
China Expeditionary Army
4th Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
100th Chinese Corps
88th Chinese Corps
25th Group Army

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Ground combat at Tsiaotso (88,42)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 6724 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 209
Defending force 2207 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 74
Japanese adjusted assault: 72
Allied adjusted defense: 28
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
679 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 77 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

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

Assaulting units:
16th Ind.Mixed Brigade

Defending units:
5th New Chinese Corps

Singapore
Bombings and bombardments.

DEI
Nells visited Soerabaja for the first time today, I had no fighters on CAP and as I'm typing this I remember what I had forgotten to do for the next turn. Go me.

Palembang is shock attacked by the 38th Div as it comes across the river hexside. Apart from pulling in the various Dutch battalions scattered around Sumatra, I managed to sneak the 44th and 45th Indian Bdes into Palembang via Oosthaven a couple of weeks ago in game time and they've added their firepower to the defence. CTG mentioned in an email that he wasn't expecting the Indians so I guess that puts a spanner in the works for a couple of days. Again, I was sorely tempted to do a deliberate attack but my job is to deny Palembang for as long as possible and it's not like I have first line troops available so I'll just sit there and take my lumps.

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Ground combat at Palembang (48,91)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 12255 troops, 98 guns, 36 vehicles, Assault Value = 399
Defending force 12099 troops, 64 guns, 95 vehicles, Assault Value = 388
Japanese adjusted assault: 74
Allied adjusted defense: 1411
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 19 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-), disruption(-), fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
1791 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 170 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled

Allied ground losses:
277 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 35 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Assaulting units:
38th Division

Defending units:
44th Indian Brigade
Zuid KNIL Battalion
Padang Garrison Battalion
Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion
So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion
45th Indian Brigade
Padang Base Force
Palembang ML Base Force
24th NZ Pioneer Coy

Sub War
Lots of Japanese subs in the Torres Straits, an I-boat takes a shot at resup convoy but misses.

[Arnhem44]

The Philippines
I've stopped reporting events here because there aren't many Allied units left to contest the Japanese but one of the few hexes that still had a substantial Allied presence was Cebu. It falls this turn.

DEI
Palembang starts getting visits from level bombers.

China
Near the coast, Wenchow holds steady in the face of another attack. The units here have tied down the Japanese for a while now. Over at Nanyang, the 116th Division is ejected after wandering into the hex all by it's lonesome.

Up north the Japanese continue their advance on Lanchow with a shock attack on the shell of a Chinese corps. Chengchow falls to the 36th Division, the token force I've left behind to cover garrison requirements is destroyed. Tsiaotso is also attacked this round but holds.

Selected combat reports below

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Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 22017 troops, 217 guns, 38 vehicles, Assault Value = 568
Defending force 13309 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 371
Japanese adjusted assault: 244
Allied adjusted defense: 1291
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 1)

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

Japanese ground losses:
2732 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 132 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled

Allied ground losses:
162 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
15th Division
102nd Infantry Regiment
2nd Ind.Mixed Regiment
13th Army
China Expeditionary Army
4th Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
100th Chinese Corps
88th Chinese Corps
25th Group Army

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Chengchow (88,44)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 18876 troops, 136 guns, 36 vehicles, Assault Value = 600
Defending force 3438 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 71
Japanese adjusted assault: 132
Allied adjusted defense: 8
Japanese assault odds: 16 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Chengchow !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
331 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 36 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
4013 casualties reported
Squads: 57 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 132 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 1
Units destroyed 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
36th Division
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade

Defending units:
8th New Chinese Corps
24th Group Army

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 52780 troops, 195 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1591
Defending force 9532 troops, 102 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 247
Allied adjusted assault: 2185
Japanese adjusted defense: 66
Allied assault odds: 33 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: op mode(-), leaders(+), preparation(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4108 casualties reported
Squads: 83 destroyed, 73 disabled
Non Combat: 56 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 15 disabled
Guns lost 28 (9 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Allied ground losses:
234 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
2nd Chinese Cavalry Corps
85th Chinese Corps
41st Chinese Corps
92nd Chinese Corps
7th New Chinese Corps
90th Chinese Corps
4th Construction Regiment
5th War Area
22nd Group Army

Defending units:
116th Division

[Arnhem44]

China
One of my corps moving near Nanyang gets smashed by 2 IJA Divs in a tit for tat move for the attack on the 116th Div at Nanyang the previous turn. Tsiaotso is captured this turn.

Ground combat at 86,45 (near Nanyang)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 24747 troops, 198 guns, 40 vehicles, Assault Value = 796
Defending force 5278 troops, 43 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 142
Japanese adjusted assault: 783
Allied adjusted defense: 18
Japanese assault odds: 43 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
817 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 88 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
2067 casualties reported
Squads: 81 destroyed, 76 disabled
Non Combat: 76 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 24 (4 destroyed, 20 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
35th Division
32nd Division

Defending units:
40th Chinese Corps

Singapore
Singapore is assaulted again this turn dropping fort levels to 1, the assaults are coming in fast and hard now and my engineers are not able to bring up the fort levels fast enough in between attacks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 70469 troops, 798 guns, 441 vehicles, Assault Value = 1699
Defending force 51547 troops, 562 guns, 337 vehicles, Assault Value = 80
Japanese adjusted assault: 2008
Allied adjusted defense: 1211
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
4006 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 171 disabled
Non Combat: 24 destroyed, 67 disabled
Engineers: 55 destroyed, 22 disabled
Guns lost 33 (3 destroyed, 30 disabled)
Vehicles lost 23 (14 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2136 casualties reported
Squads: 60 destroyed, 30 disabled
Non Combat: 41 destroyed, 123 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled
Guns lost 43 (8 destroyed, 35 disabled)
Vehicles lost 30 (20 destroyed, 10 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Sub War
An RO boat is spotted near Noumea by a troop convoy so CTG will have an inkling that things are moving in that part of the world.

Sargo is DCed by a group of DDs entering Manila Bay, I have 4 boats parked just outside the Bay hoping to catch any transports entering/exiting the bay as they move his LCUs off Luzon. Ditto for Singapore and Palembang as I expect them to fall anytime now.

As I've mentioned before I've got quite a few subs in and around Truk and this turn everything got lit up, judging from the DL of the TF it's a good chance KB was entering Truk and her Kates were saturating the waters around her. Didn't manage to have a shot at the CVs but knowing where they are is as good as it gets. Triton also has a sniff at a massive resup convoy as it enters (or is that exits?) Truk.

Sub attack near Satawal at 109,104

Japanese Ships
xAK Utide Maru
PB Ronsan Maru
AO Shiriya
AO Ondo
AO Naruto
TK Zuiyo Maru
TK Yamazuru Maru
TK Tatibana Maru
TK Samui Maru
TK Ogura Maru #2
TK Nissho Maru
TK Kaijo Maru
TK Juko Maru
TK Hishi Maru #2
xAK Sangetsu Maru
xAK Nissen Maru #3
xAK Juko Maru
xAK Bandoeng Maru
xAK Akasi Maru
xAK Mansei Maru
xAK Ryoka Maru
xAK Kokuryu Maru
xAK Hokusin Maru
xAK Syokyu Maru
xAK Heiei Maru
xAK Tensyo Maru
xAK Ryuzan Maru
xAK Sinno Maru
xAK Sekiho Maru
PB Tyuwa Maru
PB Tomitu Maru
PB Toko Maru
PB Tokati Maru

Allied Ships
SS Triton

[Arnhem44]

DEI
Djambi is taken by the Yokosuka 1st. I've got another 2 Dutch bns a couple of days out, they won't be able to reach Palembang before it falls but perhaps I can rough up some paratroopers.

Singapore
2 assaults in a row, CTG must be getting impatient. His AV has dropped a fair bit from yesterday's attack and my fort levels are down to 0. My 2 Indian divisions are pretty much intact although both Aussie brigades are now combat ineffective. Looks like it's a good time for a shock attack by the Britsh Army in Malaya. Rule Britannia!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 68456 troops, 798 guns, 439 vehicles, Assault Value = 1577
Defending force 49514 troops, 550 guns, 314 vehicles, Assault Value = 720
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese adjusted assault: 854
Allied adjusted defense: 1279
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

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

Japanese ground losses:
3845 casualties reported
Squads: 61 destroyed, 208 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 38 disabled
Engineers: 17 destroyed, 23 disabled
Guns lost 27 (1 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Vehicles lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1776 casualties reported
Squads: 58 destroyed, 85 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 100 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled
Guns lost 68 (28 destroyed, 40 disabled)
Vehicles lost 11 (1 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Sub War
Had an I-boat sniffing around just outside Sydney the previous turn so I dispatched a couple of AMs to try and chase it off, they registered 5 hits on her and it's my fervent hope she sinks on her way home.

Off Truk, Spearfish gets smacked around after unsuccessfully launching at Naka, so the gang's all here then, KB and the heavies, probably in preparation for a move on SWPAC.

ASW attack near Truk at 110,108

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
BB Ise
BB Kongo
CA Kako
CL Abukuma
CL Nagara
CL Jintsu
DD Nowaki
DD Yukikaze
DD Asagumo
DD Minegumo
DD Yamagumo
DD Natsugumo

Allied Ships
SS Spearfish, hits 2, heavy damage

[Arnhem44]

Significant events
Page 1 of the AAR
7 Dec 1941 - Air raid on Pearl Harbor sinks Nevada and Tennessee, with Pennsylvania eventually succumbing to fires a couple of days later. The Philippines and Malaya are invaded. CTG goes long and invades bases like Puerto Princessa and Singkawang from the word go. Repulse is torpedoed just off Singapore, she suffers moderate damage.
9 Dec 1941 - Boise sinks CVL Ryujo in the Celebes Sea before being sunk herself. Tarawa falls.
11 Dec 1941 - Wake Island falls.
12 Dec 1941 - Guam falls.
18 Dec 1941 - Hong Kong falls.
18-24 Dec 1941 - Chinese troops attempt to take Ichang but are bloodily repulsed suffering heavy casualties.
27 Dec 1941 - First major Allied success of the war, invasion convoy destroyed off Ambon by Force Z.
29 Jan 1941 - 1 Jan 1942 - IJA troops make an unsuccessful attempt to take Changsha and are thrown back with heavy losses.
Page 2 of the AAR
2 Jan 1942 - An element of KB (4 CVs) appears off the east coast of Australia, presumably on a raiding run, they sink a convoy of 8 merchant ships unloading supplies at Noumea.
4 Jan 1942 - Battle of Timor Sea. A portion of the ABDA fleet intercepts and engages 3 IJN CVs raiding Darwin, they inflict light damage on the enemy TF and are later decimated by retaliatory air strikes launched from the CVs, suffering the loss of Tromp and 9 DDs (6 Dutch, 2 US and 1 British). With this loss, ABDA ceases to exists as a viable fighting force. Another attempt to break the blockade on 6 Jan results in heavy losses to the remnants of the fleet
6 Jan 1942 - Malaya completely occupied by the Empire of Japan.
7 Jan 1942 - 14 Jan 1942 Darwin Turkey Shoot. Counting losses including warships that were lost in the Battle of Timor Sea and ships sinking in port and at sea post KB departure of the Darwin area, the Allies have lost a total of 2 CAs, 7 CLs and 19 DDs in addition to upwards of 60 non-combatants/auxiliaries when elements of KB (split into 2 TFs) together with significant IJN surface forces blockaded and proceeded to bomb Darwin harbour over the course of a week of game time. A more detailed writeup of losses is included in the daily report of 27 Jan 1942. Clark Field falls, Bataan is the only Allied base left on Luzon.
12 Jan 1942 - Japanese move into Singapore and begin the reduction of the garrison.
15 Jan 1942 - Moulmein falls. The invasion of Burma begins in earnest.
Page 3 of the AAR
21 Jan 1942 - Bataan falls. Organized resistance in the Philippines ceases.
27 Jan 1942 - Ternate, Tarakan and Ambon fall.
28 Jan 1942 - Rangoon falls. Assault on Palembang begins.

The war goes badly for the Allies when compared with history. The Philippines has been overrun, Darwin has been bombed, Singapore is about to fall and Palembang with all it's oil has the enemy at its gates. In China, the IJA has had mixed fortunes, capturing cities near the coast and in the north but coming up against a wall of Chinese in central China. Java is as yet unmolested with it's garrison and airforce intact.

At sea, the Allies have lost a slew of surface combatants in exchange for the scalping of a CVL. The Allied subs had some early successes against the Japanese merchant marine but in recent weeks have either missed their targets or experienced dud torps when they did manage to hit something. More updates of the various theatres to follow.

[Arnhem44]

We'll start with the quieter theatres

CONUS and NORPAC
CONUS now has 100+ xAKs in ports on the west coast and there are another 70 in various stages of transit from Cape Town and Balboa, several of the xAKs that have the option have been converted to xAPs as I'm desperately short of these. An even 2 dozen are loading supplies to PH and will disband there after unloading. The first fuel convoys to PH have turned around and are heading back while the first fuel convoy to Suva is about 20 days out from Sydney. I'm pretty short of ASW assets which hampers my ability to form convoys and thus maximise my lift capacity but the IJN subs that appeared off LA and SD a couple of weeks ago in game time have disappeared, am hoping CTG won't be bothered to send them all the way back because dwell time on the coast.

On the beach I have 3 Inf Divs and 4 Base Groups waiting to be bought out with PPs. The 1st Raider Bn, 2 Const Reg and a Combat Engineer Bn are waiting for APs to come back from PH so I can push them out to SWPAC. I also have 2 nearly full strength Pursuit Groups (1 each under SWPAC and SOPAC commands) that are working up and building xp but can be shipped out in a pinch. PDU off means I'm talking about P-39s here, should be fun!

Shot of NORPAC as follows

[Arnhem44]

CENPAC
Not much activity here since Tarawa and Guam fell in the first week of the war. An intact Hawaiian AF means that Cat squadrons were responsible for sighting most of the IJN sub activity within 10 hexes of PH which allowed me to steer my shipping around them. I also have healthy numbers of fighters in my Pursuit Groups here with half of them Warhawks (mostly B variant) and the other half a mix of Mohawks and Airacobras.

PH itself is quite empty of ships, the yards have repaired everything damaged on the first day of the war except the 5 BBs, Oklahoma will come out fully repaired in about a week's time, the other 4 will take a lot longer, am bringing down their system damage to 0 before I ship them off to CONUS to finish their repairs and refit.

Midway and Johnston Islands
The former is being built up as a forward sub base while the latter is being resupplied, both will field Cat squadrons to cover the approaches to PH.

The Line Islands
Palmrya and Christmas are being built up to be used as stopover points for aircraft transiting from PH to SWPAC and SOPAC. They'll also be filled out with a Cat Squadron each when I can spare them and will eventually have some airborne ASW assets to keep the waters around them clear. Palmrya's port will be built up and I might stockpile supplies and fuel from CONUS here for transhipment to Oz but I should have enough long range xAKs to keep ANZAC swimming in supplies.

Canton and Baker
These 2 will be built up because if nothing else they start out as US territory and have the only decent SPS values in the immediate neighbourhood. The long term goal here is for these 2 bases to support an advance on the Gilberts.

Tabitueueuauaueeuaueuauauaueueua
Which brings us to my favourite island. It has by far the best SPS values of the entire chain and with max stacking of 40k this island and the immediate surrounding islands are the key to holding the Gilberts. Nauru and Ocean start out with size 2 ports while Tabi starts out as a dot but the former 2 are within Betty range from Kwajalein and a little too near Ponape and Truk for comfort. Holding Tabi at this juncture will not be without risk so if I go in it will be with a massive supply component to ensure whatever I drop off there will be able to survive for a period of time. Am thinking of using the 25th ID from out of Hawaii together with a base group and air HQ, with KB and company at Truk I'm waiting for enough sealift to lift everything and then some at one go before I embark on this little venture, am hoping to have boots on the ground before the end of Feb' 42.