January 2nd, 1942
Borneo
Balikpapan fell today. Three Warhawks and seven Banshees were destroyed on the ground. The oilfields and refinery are only lightly damaged, but I am expecting enemy bombers anytime soon. My tank regiment is now marching on Samarinda.
In Tarakan, a first deliberate attack managed 1:1 odd, and reduced the forts. The enemy is outnumbered, I expect this base to fall tomorrow or the day after.
The conquest of Borneo is progressing nicely. I will probably hold the northern and southeastern coast by the end of this week. The west coast will take a little more time.
Clark Field
A first deliberate attack achieved 2:1 odds, and reduced the forts to level 2. My opponent does not seem to reinforce this base. I believe he is just planning to fall back on Baatan. This suits me fine. Clark will probably fall before the end of the week. Then, we will march on Baatan, see whether we have a chance of taking the place, and if not, lay siege.
Somehow, I believe the enemy made the conquest of Luzon pretty easy for me. This is good, as this will free troops for Singapore and Sumatra.
China
Most of the action today took place in China. In the north, a Chinese corps was mauled near Kweisui. I will pursue, and defeat them a second time, then move my troops back to Kweisui, to attack the Chinese units in the mountains between Kweisui and Taiyuan.
In Yenan, a second deliberate attack reduced the forts to level two, but did not do much damage. Reinforcements are on their way. It will be a long siege, I’m afraid.
In Loyang, a second round of bombardment destroyed 16 squads and disabled 50. This is looking good.
In Kiukiang, the Chinese corps that tried to invest the city was badly defeated. I plan to use my division there to pursue, and damage it a second time. In Chuhsien, we managed to reduce the forts, but, like Yenan, it will most certainly take a while.
Japanese prospects in China are quite bright. In the North, the enemy unit between Taiyuan and Kweisui are being defeated and reduced, and will oppose little resistance once we march westwards. The siege of Yenan will probably last another week or so, but the enemy is doomed there.
In the central plains, Loyang will need a few more days of bombardments before we attack, but I don’t see how it can be saved. I will arrive in Nanyang tomorrow, and see what waits there. According to recon, there are lots of units in the city, but many of them have been defeated near Sinyang or Hankow. If we can damage both the Loyang and Nanyang troops, the road to Sian will be very difficult to defend, and the enemy will not benefit from the defensive terrain (especially since the northern route from Yenan will be open).
In central China, Ichang is a stalemate, and enemy counterattacks around Kiukiang are not strong enough to damage my troops. Attempts to cut off supplies were foiled by sending ships up the Changjiang. Still, I am not sure Nanchang and Kiukiang could resist a serious attack by the Chinese (they have quite a few units in this area). I am concentrating a small force (three divisions) in Wuchang. I want to push towards Changsha, deal some damage, and force the enemy to fall back.
In the South, my two divisions from Hong Kong are moving towards Pakhoi. They will push the remnants of the 64th Chinese corps, and move to Lang Son, and then to Singapore. Once I have cleared the coast, I will probably not move much. I am very thin on the ground, there.
Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J), no spence, please
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
I agree, I always think this is a mistake. Allies should vigorously defend Luzon, it can really dampen the IJ expansion plans. Rolling over quickly allows for the IJ to pursue targets like OZ and India. Just my thoughts ...ORIGINAL: fcharton
Somehow, I believe the enemy made the conquest of Luzon pretty easy for me. This is good, as this will free troops for Singapore and Sumatra.
Pax
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 3rd, 1942
Lost and found
It had been a while since the AVG had disappeared from the face of earth. They’re back: the second squadron flew over Pakhoi today. I am glad I know, I just wish they hadn’t eaten ten of my Lilies for breakfast. The two other squadrons have yet to appear. I suppose they either are busy transferring to northern China, or are resting somewhere, to get replacements. I have shot 60 of their planes down, out of 80 available, replacement included.
Valiant I-123
Since a number of days, my submarines never seem to find targets. Today, I-123 patrolling in the straits off Balikpapan managed to find, and sink, two enemy ships, xAKL Beatrice, and AG Gemma. Both now show up as sunk.
Submarine attack near Balikpapan at 63,100
Japanese Ships
SS I-123
Allied Ships
xAKL Beatrice, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Beatrice is sighted by SS I-123
SS I-123 attacking on the surface
Submarine attack near Bandjermasin at 62,101
Japanese Ships
SS I-123
Allied Ships
AG Gemma, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG Gemma is sighted by SS I-123
SS I-123 launches 2 torpedoes at AG Gemma
Wake at last
A SNLF battalion landed on Wake island today, to reinforce the infantry regiment already in place. The first shock attack went fine
Ground combat at Wake Island (136,98)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 1277 troops, 19 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 92
Defending force 966 troops, 24 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 12
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
317 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 28 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
82 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
I have good hopes to take the place tomorrow… at last.
Reinforcing Ambon
A week after the fiasco of the first landings, a tank regiment arrived in Ambon. We now have enough troops to hold the place, and perhaps to take it. An SNLF battalion should arrive in a few day, just in case.
On Luzon, a second day of attack on Clark Field further reduced the forts, and destroyed about a hundred enemy squads. Despite mounting disruption, I am attacking again tomorrow, it seems the base is ripe for capture. Note how, in the combat report, casualties and squad losses tell different stories (the squads are the correct ones)
Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 53099 troops, 470 guns, 213 vehicles, Assault Value = 1827
Defending force 11312 troops, 166 guns, 251 vehicles, Assault Value = 171
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1
Japanese ground losses:
1269 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 95 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Vehicles lost 17 (2 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
997 casualties reported
Squads: 64 destroyed, 50 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 57 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 38 (8 destroyed, 30 disabled)
Vehicles lost 16 (5 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Lost and found
It had been a while since the AVG had disappeared from the face of earth. They’re back: the second squadron flew over Pakhoi today. I am glad I know, I just wish they hadn’t eaten ten of my Lilies for breakfast. The two other squadrons have yet to appear. I suppose they either are busy transferring to northern China, or are resting somewhere, to get replacements. I have shot 60 of their planes down, out of 80 available, replacement included.
Valiant I-123
Since a number of days, my submarines never seem to find targets. Today, I-123 patrolling in the straits off Balikpapan managed to find, and sink, two enemy ships, xAKL Beatrice, and AG Gemma. Both now show up as sunk.
Submarine attack near Balikpapan at 63,100
Japanese Ships
SS I-123
Allied Ships
xAKL Beatrice, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Beatrice is sighted by SS I-123
SS I-123 attacking on the surface
Submarine attack near Bandjermasin at 62,101
Japanese Ships
SS I-123
Allied Ships
AG Gemma, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG Gemma is sighted by SS I-123
SS I-123 launches 2 torpedoes at AG Gemma
Wake at last
A SNLF battalion landed on Wake island today, to reinforce the infantry regiment already in place. The first shock attack went fine
Ground combat at Wake Island (136,98)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 1277 troops, 19 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 92
Defending force 966 troops, 24 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 12
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
317 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 28 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
82 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
I have good hopes to take the place tomorrow… at last.
Reinforcing Ambon
A week after the fiasco of the first landings, a tank regiment arrived in Ambon. We now have enough troops to hold the place, and perhaps to take it. An SNLF battalion should arrive in a few day, just in case.
On Luzon, a second day of attack on Clark Field further reduced the forts, and destroyed about a hundred enemy squads. Despite mounting disruption, I am attacking again tomorrow, it seems the base is ripe for capture. Note how, in the combat report, casualties and squad losses tell different stories (the squads are the correct ones)
Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 53099 troops, 470 guns, 213 vehicles, Assault Value = 1827
Defending force 11312 troops, 166 guns, 251 vehicles, Assault Value = 171
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1
Japanese ground losses:
1269 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 95 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Vehicles lost 17 (2 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
997 casualties reported
Squads: 64 destroyed, 50 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 57 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 38 (8 destroyed, 30 disabled)
Vehicles lost 16 (5 destroyed, 11 disabled)
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 4th 1942
The battle for Nanyang
Chinese units in the central plains are clustered in two large stacks, 1000 AV in Loyang, and 1700 in Nanyang. Both are in clear terrain behind forts. Most of the troops in Loyang are fresh, I have been bombing them today for the third day in a row, destroying about 50 combat squads overall. I will try to attack tomorrow.
Since most of the troops in Nanyang were already defeated around Sinyang, I tried a deliberate attack.
Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 45054 troops, 423 guns, 678 vehicles, Assault Value = 1569
Defending force 61796 troops, 443 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1782
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese ground losses:
1960 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 135 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 34 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Vehicles lost 66 (3 destroyed, 63 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2736 casualties reported
Squads: 146 destroyed, 171 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 91 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 43 (17 destroyed, 26 disabled)
I am trading disablement for destroyed squads, I can probably sustain another such attack, and then I will need to rest. The city should fall in a week.
One good thing about the battle of Nanyang is that it relieves the pressure on Ichang. Units threatening the Hankow-Ichang road have been see marching back.
In Yenan, another deliberate attack achieved similar results as in Nanyang. We had heavy disablements, but the enemy lost squads in exchange, and forts lost a level. An infantry division is five days away, I will probably attack once or twice before it arrives, which means Yenan will probably be ours in a week.
All this suggests that, before the fifteenth of January, I might have three stacks, one in Yenan, one in Loyang and one in Nanyang, ready to close on Sian.
The fall of Clark Field
This was the other important piece of news today. A third deliberate succeeded in taking the base. I am especially happy with the number of guns and vehicles destroyed in the process.
Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 52407 troops, 471 guns, 214 vehicles, Assault Value = 1735
Defending force 10399 troops, 153 guns, 244 vehicles, Assault Value = 106
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Clark Field !!!
Allied aircraft losses
B-10B: 1 destroyed
Japanese ground losses:
1338 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 110 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2836 casualties reported
Squads: 72 destroyed, 24 disabled
Non Combat: 282 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 96 (93 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 236 (233 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 11
Units destroyed 2
The enemy now had some 40 units in Bataan. I believe this favours me, since the terrain (jungle) is not as protective as in Clark (Jungle rough), and the base, being smaller, will spoil supplies. But I still don’t know whether I can take it with the forces at hand (close to 2000 AV once rested) or if I need to besiege them. I am marching on Bataan, I will soon know.
Last tango in Wake
We captured Wake, too…
Ground combat at Wake Island (136,98)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 4223 troops, 61 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 75
Defending force 868 troops, 23 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 10
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Wake Island !!!
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 5 destroyed
Japanese ground losses:
124 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Allied ground losses:
1076 casualties reported
Squads: 25 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 85 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 25 (25 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
The 144th infantry regiment will rest and then be sent to Truk, and then will invade Rabaul. We are very late in the South Pacific.
The battle for Nanyang
Chinese units in the central plains are clustered in two large stacks, 1000 AV in Loyang, and 1700 in Nanyang. Both are in clear terrain behind forts. Most of the troops in Loyang are fresh, I have been bombing them today for the third day in a row, destroying about 50 combat squads overall. I will try to attack tomorrow.
Since most of the troops in Nanyang were already defeated around Sinyang, I tried a deliberate attack.
Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 45054 troops, 423 guns, 678 vehicles, Assault Value = 1569
Defending force 61796 troops, 443 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1782
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese ground losses:
1960 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 135 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 34 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Vehicles lost 66 (3 destroyed, 63 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2736 casualties reported
Squads: 146 destroyed, 171 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 91 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 43 (17 destroyed, 26 disabled)
I am trading disablement for destroyed squads, I can probably sustain another such attack, and then I will need to rest. The city should fall in a week.
One good thing about the battle of Nanyang is that it relieves the pressure on Ichang. Units threatening the Hankow-Ichang road have been see marching back.
In Yenan, another deliberate attack achieved similar results as in Nanyang. We had heavy disablements, but the enemy lost squads in exchange, and forts lost a level. An infantry division is five days away, I will probably attack once or twice before it arrives, which means Yenan will probably be ours in a week.
All this suggests that, before the fifteenth of January, I might have three stacks, one in Yenan, one in Loyang and one in Nanyang, ready to close on Sian.
The fall of Clark Field
This was the other important piece of news today. A third deliberate succeeded in taking the base. I am especially happy with the number of guns and vehicles destroyed in the process.
Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 52407 troops, 471 guns, 214 vehicles, Assault Value = 1735
Defending force 10399 troops, 153 guns, 244 vehicles, Assault Value = 106
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Clark Field !!!
Allied aircraft losses
B-10B: 1 destroyed
Japanese ground losses:
1338 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 110 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2836 casualties reported
Squads: 72 destroyed, 24 disabled
Non Combat: 282 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 96 (93 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 236 (233 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 11
Units destroyed 2
The enemy now had some 40 units in Bataan. I believe this favours me, since the terrain (jungle) is not as protective as in Clark (Jungle rough), and the base, being smaller, will spoil supplies. But I still don’t know whether I can take it with the forces at hand (close to 2000 AV once rested) or if I need to besiege them. I am marching on Bataan, I will soon know.
Last tango in Wake
We captured Wake, too…
Ground combat at Wake Island (136,98)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 4223 troops, 61 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 75
Defending force 868 troops, 23 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 10
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Wake Island !!!
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 5 destroyed
Japanese ground losses:
124 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Allied ground losses:
1076 casualties reported
Squads: 25 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 85 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 25 (25 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
The 144th infantry regiment will rest and then be sent to Truk, and then will invade Rabaul. We are very late in the South Pacific.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
ORIGINAL: fcharton
January 4th 1942
The battle for Nanyang
Chinese units in the central plains are clustered in two large stacks, 1000 AV in Loyang, and 1700 in Nanyang. Both are in clear terrain behind forts. Most of the troops in Loyang are fresh, I have been bombing them today for the third day in a row, destroying about 50 combat squads overall. I will try to attack tomorrow.
Since most of the troops in Nanyang were already defeated around Sinyang, I tried a deliberate attack.
Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 45054 troops, 423 guns, 678 vehicles, Assault Value = 1569
Defending force 61796 troops, 443 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1782
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese ground losses:
1960 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 135 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 34 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Vehicles lost 66 (3 destroyed, 63 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2736 casualties reported
Squads: 146 destroyed, 171 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 91 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 43 (17 destroyed, 26 disabled)
I am trading disablement for destroyed squads, I can probably sustain another such attack, and then I will need to rest. The city should fall in a week.
One good thing about the battle of Nanyang is that it relieves the pressure on Ichang. Units threatening the Hankow-Ichang road have been see marching back.
I think this is all good for you. You're fighting largish stacks in the clear, not in the forests. The more you can wear them down here the quicker Sian will fall eventually. I would take as long as possible, getting as many attacks in as you can at 1:1 to keep lowering the AV and total strength of these troops before you push them back to the good defensive hex.
At Yenan you'll have more trouble if you don't wipe out the units there, as they will most likely retreat to the hinterlands. That means they'll come back behind your lines later after you've moved off to Sian and harass your LOC.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
Hi Obvert,
That’s pretty much my early strategy in China. This is an attrition battle. The enemy begins the game with a lot of infantry corps in the 200-350 AV range, which can cluster into very strong stacks (especially once the battle moves into defensive terrain). Once damaged and reduced to 100 or less, they will never come back as decent fighting forces, for lack of supplies and low replacement rate. And once most Chinese corps have become shells, unless the Burma road is open and supplies are flowing, there is nothing the Allies can do to save the KMT.
To do so, I want to fight in open terrain as much as I can. Loyang and Nanyang are good places, as is Ichang, and the area around Nanchang and Changsha.
Another important aspect I have noticed in my previous game is that defeated stacks should always be pursued. Once units retreat, they tend to accumulate a lot of disablements, which become easy targets for destruction (even in closed terrain). Give them enough time, and those squads will be back (repairing disabled squads cost no supplies).
To me this is the key with the Yenan boys. Once you have pushed them out of town, just pursue and defeat them over and over. They will be fighting over long supply lines (to Sian), and by the time you’ve pushed them to the Wei river banks (the plains north of Sian) or the Huanghe loop (near Ningsia), they will have become ghost units.
Francois
That’s pretty much my early strategy in China. This is an attrition battle. The enemy begins the game with a lot of infantry corps in the 200-350 AV range, which can cluster into very strong stacks (especially once the battle moves into defensive terrain). Once damaged and reduced to 100 or less, they will never come back as decent fighting forces, for lack of supplies and low replacement rate. And once most Chinese corps have become shells, unless the Burma road is open and supplies are flowing, there is nothing the Allies can do to save the KMT.
To do so, I want to fight in open terrain as much as I can. Loyang and Nanyang are good places, as is Ichang, and the area around Nanchang and Changsha.
Another important aspect I have noticed in my previous game is that defeated stacks should always be pursued. Once units retreat, they tend to accumulate a lot of disablements, which become easy targets for destruction (even in closed terrain). Give them enough time, and those squads will be back (repairing disabled squads cost no supplies).
To me this is the key with the Yenan boys. Once you have pushed them out of town, just pursue and defeat them over and over. They will be fighting over long supply lines (to Sian), and by the time you’ve pushed them to the Wei river banks (the plains north of Sian) or the Huanghe loop (near Ningsia), they will have become ghost units.
Francois
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 5th, 1942
Fortress Ambon
An Allied task force, CA Houston, CL Boise, Marblehead and Dragon, and a handful of DD, bombarded Ambon this morning. Damage is light, and my reinforcements are only due tomorrow. This suggests two interesting facts. First, enemy combat vessels are based in the area. Northern Australia looks like a likely possibility. I will send submarines, and perhaps the KB (now refitting in Truk). Second, Ambon is being defended, and reinforced (an Australian detachment appeared a few days ago, and independent company showed up today). I doubt this can succeed, but I believe such island fortresses provide good opportunities to damage enemy assets (eg CA Pensacola two weeks ago).
Balikpapan mysteries
A convoy appeared in Balikpapan today. My minesweepers sank a couple of ships, and surface force will deal with the rest tomorrow.
Japanese Ships
DMS W-2
DMS W-3
Allied Ships
xAKL Kwangtung
xAKL Lee Sang
xAKL Oriskany, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Benkalis, Shell hits 1
xAKL Benkoelen, Shell hits 1
xAKL Boelongan
xAP Camphuys, Shell hits 1
xAP Le Maire, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Rochussen
xAP Rooseboom, Shell hits 3, on fire
xAP Siberg, Shell hits 5, heavy fires
This is not the first unprotected convoy I detect in this area. I don’t quite understand what the enemy is trying to do. Those (mostly) Dutch ships might have brought reinforcements to Balikpapan, were they in ports?
B17-D bombed the refinery today. I had Zeroes on CAP, which shot several bombers down, but could not prevent them from doing damage. This reinforces my feeling that fuel-intensive strategies, like trying to grab a large perimeter in the Pacific, are very dangerous.
Elsewhere in Borneo, Tarakan fell today. Samarinda was captured yesterday, and Pontianak should be ours tomorrow. This means all Borneo, save the west coast, is ours. This makes the Celebes sea a Japanese lake, and will soon turn the defense of Ambon into a complex affair.
Nanyang and Loyang
The second day of the battle of Nanyang was not as nice as the first, but we destroyed another level of fortifications, and damaged a few more units.
Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 43902 troops, 423 guns, 678 vehicles, Assault Value = 1427
Defending force 59657 troops, 424 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1652
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese ground losses:
1075 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 217 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 14 disabled
Vehicles lost 64 (1 destroyed, 63 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2413 casualties reported
Squads: 27 destroyed, 187 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 28 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 21 disabled
Guns lost 40 (2 destroyed, 38 disabled)
I am resting the troops tomorrow, and will attack again in two or three days.
In Loyang, a first deliberate attack succeeded in destroying two units. HQ, probably, this is good, those never come back. Forts are now level two, and a good number of enemy squads were destroyed.
Japanese ground losses:
970 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 190 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 27 (1 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2288 casualties reported
Squads: 68 destroyed, 57 disabled
Non Combat: 48 destroyed, 62 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
Wuchang and Chuhsien
I still don’t understand enemy plans in China. Isolated corps keep advancing on Kiukiang, and get defeated piecemeal. Today, I attacked two lone Chinese corps in the plains west of Wuchang with an IJA division, and routed them.
Ground combat at 83,51 (near Wuchang)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 11859 troops, 104 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 424
Defending force 14212 troops, 86 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 401
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
242 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 42 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Allied ground losses:
4524 casualties reported
Squads: 283 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 134 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 17 disabled
Guns lost 9 (6 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 2
I think I need to count the number of combat squads destroyed since the beginning of the game, but in Central China, that's quite a few defeated corps. I could probably advance now, but I want to see if I can keep this going for a while. Two divisions from Ichang will arrive in Wuchang tomorrow. I want to use them, together with this one as raiding force, to defeat all the units I could find in open terrain between Nanchang and Hankow.
In Chuhsien, we have a stalemate. The enemy is outnumbered two to one, the forts are gone, but good defensive terrain seems to prevent my two divisions from taking the city. I will try one more day, and rest…
The AVG has again disappeared. My hunch is that they will move to Chuhsien. I am bombing airfields in Chuhsien and Wenchow tomorrow.
Fortress Ambon
An Allied task force, CA Houston, CL Boise, Marblehead and Dragon, and a handful of DD, bombarded Ambon this morning. Damage is light, and my reinforcements are only due tomorrow. This suggests two interesting facts. First, enemy combat vessels are based in the area. Northern Australia looks like a likely possibility. I will send submarines, and perhaps the KB (now refitting in Truk). Second, Ambon is being defended, and reinforced (an Australian detachment appeared a few days ago, and independent company showed up today). I doubt this can succeed, but I believe such island fortresses provide good opportunities to damage enemy assets (eg CA Pensacola two weeks ago).
Balikpapan mysteries
A convoy appeared in Balikpapan today. My minesweepers sank a couple of ships, and surface force will deal with the rest tomorrow.
Japanese Ships
DMS W-2
DMS W-3
Allied Ships
xAKL Kwangtung
xAKL Lee Sang
xAKL Oriskany, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Benkalis, Shell hits 1
xAKL Benkoelen, Shell hits 1
xAKL Boelongan
xAP Camphuys, Shell hits 1
xAP Le Maire, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Rochussen
xAP Rooseboom, Shell hits 3, on fire
xAP Siberg, Shell hits 5, heavy fires
This is not the first unprotected convoy I detect in this area. I don’t quite understand what the enemy is trying to do. Those (mostly) Dutch ships might have brought reinforcements to Balikpapan, were they in ports?
B17-D bombed the refinery today. I had Zeroes on CAP, which shot several bombers down, but could not prevent them from doing damage. This reinforces my feeling that fuel-intensive strategies, like trying to grab a large perimeter in the Pacific, are very dangerous.
Elsewhere in Borneo, Tarakan fell today. Samarinda was captured yesterday, and Pontianak should be ours tomorrow. This means all Borneo, save the west coast, is ours. This makes the Celebes sea a Japanese lake, and will soon turn the defense of Ambon into a complex affair.
Nanyang and Loyang
The second day of the battle of Nanyang was not as nice as the first, but we destroyed another level of fortifications, and damaged a few more units.
Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 43902 troops, 423 guns, 678 vehicles, Assault Value = 1427
Defending force 59657 troops, 424 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1652
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese ground losses:
1075 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 217 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 14 disabled
Vehicles lost 64 (1 destroyed, 63 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2413 casualties reported
Squads: 27 destroyed, 187 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 28 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 21 disabled
Guns lost 40 (2 destroyed, 38 disabled)
I am resting the troops tomorrow, and will attack again in two or three days.
In Loyang, a first deliberate attack succeeded in destroying two units. HQ, probably, this is good, those never come back. Forts are now level two, and a good number of enemy squads were destroyed.
Japanese ground losses:
970 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 190 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 27 (1 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2288 casualties reported
Squads: 68 destroyed, 57 disabled
Non Combat: 48 destroyed, 62 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
Wuchang and Chuhsien
I still don’t understand enemy plans in China. Isolated corps keep advancing on Kiukiang, and get defeated piecemeal. Today, I attacked two lone Chinese corps in the plains west of Wuchang with an IJA division, and routed them.
Ground combat at 83,51 (near Wuchang)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 11859 troops, 104 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 424
Defending force 14212 troops, 86 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 401
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
242 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 42 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Allied ground losses:
4524 casualties reported
Squads: 283 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 134 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 17 disabled
Guns lost 9 (6 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 2
I think I need to count the number of combat squads destroyed since the beginning of the game, but in Central China, that's quite a few defeated corps. I could probably advance now, but I want to see if I can keep this going for a while. Two divisions from Ichang will arrive in Wuchang tomorrow. I want to use them, together with this one as raiding force, to defeat all the units I could find in open terrain between Nanchang and Hankow.
In Chuhsien, we have a stalemate. The enemy is outnumbered two to one, the forts are gone, but good defensive terrain seems to prevent my two divisions from taking the city. I will try one more day, and rest…
The AVG has again disappeared. My hunch is that they will move to Chuhsien. I am bombing airfields in Chuhsien and Wenchow tomorrow.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 6th, 1942
Catch me if you can
I have a good number of small task forces between Tarakan and Balikpapan, so you would expect retreating towards Java would be a very dangerous prospect.
Not for AVP Valk, though. She managed to be intercepted six times today, by three different task forces, between Tarakan and Balikpapan, to no avail …
Night Time Surface Combat, near Tarakan at 67,91, Range 11,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Night Time Surface Combat, near Tandjoengselor at 68,95, Range 9,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Night Time Surface Combat, near Samarinda at 68,96, Range 12,000 Yards
Both Task Forces evade combat
Night Time Surface Combat, near Samarinda at 67,96, Range 9,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Day Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 65,98, Range 20,000 Yards
Japanese TF attempts to evade combat
Both Task Forces evade combat
Day Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 64,98, Range 20,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Not all enemy task forces could achieve the same, though. Near Balikpapan, the convoy spotted yesterday met a surface task force, and its fate
Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 66,98, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Atago
CA Chokai
CL Kashii
CL Isuzu
DD Asashio
DD Oshio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio
Allied Ships
xAKL Kwangtung, Shell hits 21, and is sunk
xAKL Lee Sang, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAKL Benkalis, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
xAKL Benkoelen, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
xAKL Boelongan, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
xAP Camphuys, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Rochussen, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
A bad day for the Volunteers
As expected, the AVG reappeared over Chuhsien. Despite Tojos escorting them, four Betties were shot down. Meanwhile, we bombed Wenchow, destroyed four H81-A3 on the field, and damaged half a dozen. I am bombing Wenchow again tomorrow, see if I can catch more.
Air losses are slowly turning against us. Apart from the occasional success of the AVG, operational losses are mounting, and there are less enemy planes to shoot down, now that most of the planes on Luzon and in Burma are accounted for. Overall losses are still 3:2 in our favor, and average daily losses a bit better than 1:1, so there is no reason to complain.
Hard times in Ambon
The 2nd SNLF finally landed in Ambon, and the enemy is badly outnumbered. Yet a deliberate attack does not seem to help.
Ground combat at Ambon (76,109)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 2062 troops, 36 guns, 138 vehicles, Assault Value = 189
Defending force 3064 troops, 43 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 79
Japanese adjusted assault: 36
Allied adjusted defense: 130
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
76 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
129 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Enemy losses are higher than ours, so I suppose time is of the essence, as they say in contracts. More rest, and attacks, and more rest, and attacks again, will finally wear down the enemy and capture the base. I can handle that.
The rest of the Indies are very quiet. Pontianak fell, first try. I am taking small bases here and there, but nothing important is happening now. The next targets are Kendari and Macassar, obviously. An early capture of Kendari would relieve the pressure on the Ambon beachhead, but I probably need to sweep this area first, and shuttle planes and aviation support before that.
As a result, were in an operational pause of sorts. This is probably due to bad planning on my part. We’re not that late on schedule, on the other hand…
Kiukiang curiosity
A lone Chinese corps had advanced into Kiukiang, had been detected in advance, and was punished today. This hardly worth reporting, except for…
I had three units in Kiukiang, the 39th infantry division and the 12th mixed brigade were my main fighting force, but the Kyuko Naval guard unit, which garrisoned the city, also participated in the attack. This small unit was supplied, had a good morale (80), no fatigue or disruption, but took almost all the casualties, and was almost destroyed in the battle (from 56(4) to 7(5) infantry squads).
This is not a real problem, as it will rebuild, but it is curious, and suggests that small units should perhaps better be left out of such battles. Without the naval guard, the Chinese corps would have been trashed anyway…
Ground combat at Kiukiang (85,53)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18649 troops, 154 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 610
Defending force 9208 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 351
Japanese adjusted assault: 519
Allied adjusted defense: 223
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
1587 casualties reported
Squads: 58 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 14 (3 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2408 casualties reported
Squads: 101 destroyed, 20 disabled
Non Combat: 101 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 1
Elsewhere in China, deliberate attacks in Loyang reduced the forts again, in Yenan they damaged the enemy, but I am mostly waiting for reinforcements. North of Paotow, a retreating Chinese corps was defeated again. My troops will now retreat and clear the road between Kweisui and Taiyuan, or, rather, damage the corps there to make sure they cannot try anything silly. I plan to build up in Paotow and march West towards Ningsia and Hami, but I am waiting for Yenan to fall to launch this operation.
Catch me if you can
I have a good number of small task forces between Tarakan and Balikpapan, so you would expect retreating towards Java would be a very dangerous prospect.
Not for AVP Valk, though. She managed to be intercepted six times today, by three different task forces, between Tarakan and Balikpapan, to no avail …
Night Time Surface Combat, near Tarakan at 67,91, Range 11,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Night Time Surface Combat, near Tandjoengselor at 68,95, Range 9,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Night Time Surface Combat, near Samarinda at 68,96, Range 12,000 Yards
Both Task Forces evade combat
Night Time Surface Combat, near Samarinda at 67,96, Range 9,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Day Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 65,98, Range 20,000 Yards
Japanese TF attempts to evade combat
Both Task Forces evade combat
Day Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 64,98, Range 20,000 Yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Both Task Forces evade combat
Not all enemy task forces could achieve the same, though. Near Balikpapan, the convoy spotted yesterday met a surface task force, and its fate
Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 66,98, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Atago
CA Chokai
CL Kashii
CL Isuzu
DD Asashio
DD Oshio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio
Allied Ships
xAKL Kwangtung, Shell hits 21, and is sunk
xAKL Lee Sang, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAKL Benkalis, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
xAKL Benkoelen, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
xAKL Boelongan, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
xAP Camphuys, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Rochussen, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
A bad day for the Volunteers
As expected, the AVG reappeared over Chuhsien. Despite Tojos escorting them, four Betties were shot down. Meanwhile, we bombed Wenchow, destroyed four H81-A3 on the field, and damaged half a dozen. I am bombing Wenchow again tomorrow, see if I can catch more.
Air losses are slowly turning against us. Apart from the occasional success of the AVG, operational losses are mounting, and there are less enemy planes to shoot down, now that most of the planes on Luzon and in Burma are accounted for. Overall losses are still 3:2 in our favor, and average daily losses a bit better than 1:1, so there is no reason to complain.
Hard times in Ambon
The 2nd SNLF finally landed in Ambon, and the enemy is badly outnumbered. Yet a deliberate attack does not seem to help.
Ground combat at Ambon (76,109)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 2062 troops, 36 guns, 138 vehicles, Assault Value = 189
Defending force 3064 troops, 43 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 79
Japanese adjusted assault: 36
Allied adjusted defense: 130
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
76 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
129 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Enemy losses are higher than ours, so I suppose time is of the essence, as they say in contracts. More rest, and attacks, and more rest, and attacks again, will finally wear down the enemy and capture the base. I can handle that.
The rest of the Indies are very quiet. Pontianak fell, first try. I am taking small bases here and there, but nothing important is happening now. The next targets are Kendari and Macassar, obviously. An early capture of Kendari would relieve the pressure on the Ambon beachhead, but I probably need to sweep this area first, and shuttle planes and aviation support before that.
As a result, were in an operational pause of sorts. This is probably due to bad planning on my part. We’re not that late on schedule, on the other hand…
Kiukiang curiosity
A lone Chinese corps had advanced into Kiukiang, had been detected in advance, and was punished today. This hardly worth reporting, except for…
I had three units in Kiukiang, the 39th infantry division and the 12th mixed brigade were my main fighting force, but the Kyuko Naval guard unit, which garrisoned the city, also participated in the attack. This small unit was supplied, had a good morale (80), no fatigue or disruption, but took almost all the casualties, and was almost destroyed in the battle (from 56(4) to 7(5) infantry squads).
This is not a real problem, as it will rebuild, but it is curious, and suggests that small units should perhaps better be left out of such battles. Without the naval guard, the Chinese corps would have been trashed anyway…
Ground combat at Kiukiang (85,53)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18649 troops, 154 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 610
Defending force 9208 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 351
Japanese adjusted assault: 519
Allied adjusted defense: 223
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
1587 casualties reported
Squads: 58 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 14 (3 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2408 casualties reported
Squads: 101 destroyed, 20 disabled
Non Combat: 101 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 1
Elsewhere in China, deliberate attacks in Loyang reduced the forts again, in Yenan they damaged the enemy, but I am mostly waiting for reinforcements. North of Paotow, a retreating Chinese corps was defeated again. My troops will now retreat and clear the road between Kweisui and Taiyuan, or, rather, damage the corps there to make sure they cannot try anything silly. I plan to build up in Paotow and march West towards Ningsia and Hami, but I am waiting for Yenan to fall to launch this operation.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 7th, 1941
Not much happened today. Off Pearl Harbor, an oiler was sunk and another one damaged. Is the enemy planning something? In Malaya, Malacca was captured. Next stop is Johore, and then Singapore.
In China, another day of bombing of the airfield in Wenchow destroyed a few more H81-A3. Bombardment of Loyang destroyed 35 squads, and another attack in Nanyang eliminated 25. Another Chinese corps was mauled close to Wuchang.
The war is a month old, and even though I feel I am not moving as fast as I should, the Japanese perimeter is already large, and we did not suffer any large loss, such as a sunk invasion fleet, or an assault that goes terribly wrong.
In Burma, the battle for Rangoon is about to begin. The enemy has partly evacuated the base, I believe they would rather fight around Magwe. In Malaya, we are in Malacca, and have faced little resistance so far. In the Philippines, only Bataan is held on Luzon, and we are making progress on Mindanao. On Borneo, we hold all the coast from Pontianak to Balikpapan.
In the Dutch Indies, I am now shifting troops to move against the Celebes. Ambon is a stalemate, but I don’t think the enemy can hold it for long. The South Pacific was the slowest theater, we still have not attacked Rabaul, but troops are on the move, and KB is out raiding.
In China, the situation is very good. Loyang and Yenan are poised to fall, and Nanyang is under siege. Enemy losses were very high, while ours remained reasonable.
VP wise, odds are 1 : 1.25. This is better than my previous games. Enemy air losses are about 50% higher than ours, ground losses are 12 times heavier.
Not much happened today. Off Pearl Harbor, an oiler was sunk and another one damaged. Is the enemy planning something? In Malaya, Malacca was captured. Next stop is Johore, and then Singapore.
In China, another day of bombing of the airfield in Wenchow destroyed a few more H81-A3. Bombardment of Loyang destroyed 35 squads, and another attack in Nanyang eliminated 25. Another Chinese corps was mauled close to Wuchang.
The war is a month old, and even though I feel I am not moving as fast as I should, the Japanese perimeter is already large, and we did not suffer any large loss, such as a sunk invasion fleet, or an assault that goes terribly wrong.
In Burma, the battle for Rangoon is about to begin. The enemy has partly evacuated the base, I believe they would rather fight around Magwe. In Malaya, we are in Malacca, and have faced little resistance so far. In the Philippines, only Bataan is held on Luzon, and we are making progress on Mindanao. On Borneo, we hold all the coast from Pontianak to Balikpapan.
In the Dutch Indies, I am now shifting troops to move against the Celebes. Ambon is a stalemate, but I don’t think the enemy can hold it for long. The South Pacific was the slowest theater, we still have not attacked Rabaul, but troops are on the move, and KB is out raiding.
In China, the situation is very good. Loyang and Yenan are poised to fall, and Nanyang is under siege. Enemy losses were very high, while ours remained reasonable.
VP wise, odds are 1 : 1.25. This is better than my previous games. Enemy air losses are about 50% higher than ours, ground losses are 12 times heavier.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
I let this AAR lag behind. We have played the 13th of January today. Here’s a brief round up of last week. I apologize for the lack of style...
January 8th, 1942
It was a good day in the air. Buffaloes sortied over Singapore, and met sweeping Zeroes. 10 British planes were shot down. In another event, bombers were shot down over Kuala Lumpur. I am not sure why the enemy persists in attacking airfields in Malaya. Apart from an odd plane destroyed on the ground, losses to my CAP are very heavy.
In Loyang, fortifications are gone, raw AV odds are about 2:1, we destroyed 68 squads for a loss of three. I am trying again tomorrow, if the city does not fall, I will probably rest for a day. But in any case the end is near.
January 9th, 1942
Loyang fell today. Seventeen enemy units retreated, enemy losses were heavy.
Allied ground losses:
10651 casualties reported
Squads: 245 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 507 destroyed, 42 disabled
Engineers: 78 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 37 (22 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Units retreated 17
The Chinese have retreated in the plains, towards Sian. Four infantry divisions will pursue the Chinese. I want to damage them more before they get into defensive terrain. The rest of the stack, artillery, will move towards Nanyang. If the base hasn’t fallen by the time they arrive, they will support the assault, else, they will be ready to move either on Sian or on Ichang.
January 10th, 1942
Another good day in the air. Sweeps over Batavia shot down a handful of planes. Sorties from Singapore were slaughtered over Malacca and Johore.
KB went hunting in the Coral sea, and found targets. Light cruisers Achilles and Leander were sunk. In Rabaul, Betties from Truk found a troop transport, a light cargo, and a minelayer. This should keep the enemy honest for a while, all the better as my invasion of Rabaul is now sailing.
A deliberate attack in Nanyang only achieved 1:2 odds, but destroyed 100 enemy squads, to 15 ours. We are not strong enough for an easy capture of the city, but the enemy has not enough troops to counter attack. The siege is on.
Chuhsien fell, much to my surprise. As often when a stack is defeated in closed terrain, losses were heavy. Reconnaissance suggests this is the main force in the Wenchow area. Once it is defeated, Wenchow and the coast will fall easily.
Yenan, reinforced yesterday, was captured today. 13 units retreated towards Lanchow. I am resting the two divisions that spearheaded my advance in Shaanxi, and will pursue with the others. With Loyang and Yenan captured, and Nanyang under siege, the road to Sian is open.
Finally, a first bombardment in Bataan revealed the enemy has 1350 AV there. I have 1700, and a couple hundred more arriving in a few days. The bombardment caused no damage to the enemy, which suggests the fortifications are pretty good. I will now bomb the place, and try a deliberate attack in a week, to see whether I can reduce the forts. If so, I will try to take the place. Else, I will retire a division, maybe more, and prepare for a long siege. There is no point in wasting time on Luzon.
January 11th, 1942
Since the beginning of the war, my opponent has shifted troops in the area between Nanchang and Wuchang. We sortied and defeated exposed units, and repulsed a few piecemeal attempts to take Kiukiang. So far, all my bases are garrisoned and fortified, and the railroad from Sinyang and the Long River allow for supply movement. Yet, if all these units concentrated, and attacked a single base (Nanchang, for instance), they could do some damage.
To prevent this, two divisions that cleared the railroad between Hankow and Sinyang were dispatched to Wuchang, and joined another one there. This 1200 AV force has advanced towards Changsha, and defeated three Chinese corps today. With a little luck, my opponent will feel threatened and pull his troops back.
With the fall of Yenan, and Kweisui and Paotow garrisoned, the KMT units north of Taiyuan are stranded. One corps marched on Taiyuan today. Its move had been detected, and three divisions were waiting for it.
Finally, a first deliberate attack on Rangoon reduced the forts, and revealed the enemy has about 200 AV there. We have three times more. The Burma Road is closing…
January 12th, 1942
In Malaya, both Kuantuan and Mersing fell today. Nine units are reported in Johore. A division, a regiment, and assorted armored units will arrive tomorrow. I intend to reinforce Johore before I cross the Causeway. We should attack Singapore at the end of the month.
In Ambon, after a few days of rest, and aerial bombings, a deliberate attack finally succeeded in reducing the forts, and achieving 1:1 odds. The enemy seems to have given up on reinforcing the base.
In Nanyang, enemy raw AV went down 25% in two days. We destroyed more than 200 squads today. Fatigue is mounting, though, and we might need to rest soon.
January 8th, 1942
It was a good day in the air. Buffaloes sortied over Singapore, and met sweeping Zeroes. 10 British planes were shot down. In another event, bombers were shot down over Kuala Lumpur. I am not sure why the enemy persists in attacking airfields in Malaya. Apart from an odd plane destroyed on the ground, losses to my CAP are very heavy.
In Loyang, fortifications are gone, raw AV odds are about 2:1, we destroyed 68 squads for a loss of three. I am trying again tomorrow, if the city does not fall, I will probably rest for a day. But in any case the end is near.
January 9th, 1942
Loyang fell today. Seventeen enemy units retreated, enemy losses were heavy.
Allied ground losses:
10651 casualties reported
Squads: 245 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 507 destroyed, 42 disabled
Engineers: 78 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 37 (22 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Units retreated 17
The Chinese have retreated in the plains, towards Sian. Four infantry divisions will pursue the Chinese. I want to damage them more before they get into defensive terrain. The rest of the stack, artillery, will move towards Nanyang. If the base hasn’t fallen by the time they arrive, they will support the assault, else, they will be ready to move either on Sian or on Ichang.
January 10th, 1942
Another good day in the air. Sweeps over Batavia shot down a handful of planes. Sorties from Singapore were slaughtered over Malacca and Johore.
KB went hunting in the Coral sea, and found targets. Light cruisers Achilles and Leander were sunk. In Rabaul, Betties from Truk found a troop transport, a light cargo, and a minelayer. This should keep the enemy honest for a while, all the better as my invasion of Rabaul is now sailing.
A deliberate attack in Nanyang only achieved 1:2 odds, but destroyed 100 enemy squads, to 15 ours. We are not strong enough for an easy capture of the city, but the enemy has not enough troops to counter attack. The siege is on.
Chuhsien fell, much to my surprise. As often when a stack is defeated in closed terrain, losses were heavy. Reconnaissance suggests this is the main force in the Wenchow area. Once it is defeated, Wenchow and the coast will fall easily.
Yenan, reinforced yesterday, was captured today. 13 units retreated towards Lanchow. I am resting the two divisions that spearheaded my advance in Shaanxi, and will pursue with the others. With Loyang and Yenan captured, and Nanyang under siege, the road to Sian is open.
Finally, a first bombardment in Bataan revealed the enemy has 1350 AV there. I have 1700, and a couple hundred more arriving in a few days. The bombardment caused no damage to the enemy, which suggests the fortifications are pretty good. I will now bomb the place, and try a deliberate attack in a week, to see whether I can reduce the forts. If so, I will try to take the place. Else, I will retire a division, maybe more, and prepare for a long siege. There is no point in wasting time on Luzon.
January 11th, 1942
Since the beginning of the war, my opponent has shifted troops in the area between Nanchang and Wuchang. We sortied and defeated exposed units, and repulsed a few piecemeal attempts to take Kiukiang. So far, all my bases are garrisoned and fortified, and the railroad from Sinyang and the Long River allow for supply movement. Yet, if all these units concentrated, and attacked a single base (Nanchang, for instance), they could do some damage.
To prevent this, two divisions that cleared the railroad between Hankow and Sinyang were dispatched to Wuchang, and joined another one there. This 1200 AV force has advanced towards Changsha, and defeated three Chinese corps today. With a little luck, my opponent will feel threatened and pull his troops back.
With the fall of Yenan, and Kweisui and Paotow garrisoned, the KMT units north of Taiyuan are stranded. One corps marched on Taiyuan today. Its move had been detected, and three divisions were waiting for it.
Finally, a first deliberate attack on Rangoon reduced the forts, and revealed the enemy has about 200 AV there. We have three times more. The Burma Road is closing…
January 12th, 1942
In Malaya, both Kuantuan and Mersing fell today. Nine units are reported in Johore. A division, a regiment, and assorted armored units will arrive tomorrow. I intend to reinforce Johore before I cross the Causeway. We should attack Singapore at the end of the month.
In Ambon, after a few days of rest, and aerial bombings, a deliberate attack finally succeeded in reducing the forts, and achieving 1:1 odds. The enemy seems to have given up on reinforcing the base.
In Nanyang, enemy raw AV went down 25% in two days. We destroyed more than 200 squads today. Fatigue is mounting, though, and we might need to rest soon.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 13th, 1942
The day before the battle of Balikpapan
This morning, SS I-123 patrolling between Borneo and the Celebes was attacked by a large surface force. She was hit, as often in shallow waters, but will survive. More importantly, the enemy task force was reported to include CL Adelaide and eight destroyers.
Later that day, the same task force, moving north east towards Balikpapan was attacked, without success, by Nells and Mabels based in Samarinda. CL Marblehead, CL Mauritius and CA Houston were reported. Finally, a second surface force was reported near the coast of Java, moving east, towards Ambon or Balikpapan.
I believe the first task force is moving on Balikpapan. Whether the second is there to reinforce or is moving on Ambon, I don’t know.
I have two cruisers, two light cruisers, four destroyers and a torpedo boat in Balikpapan, yet undetected. Mini KB is on the other side of the Celebes, and has been ordered to close in, on the other side of the island. I also have land based aircrafts in Samarinda, Balikpapan, Tarakan and Manado.
If the enemy comes to bombard the base, he will meet my task force, and chances are I can surprise him. We have roughly the same number of ships, so this should be a close call. However, I have lots of planes in the area that should be able to finish the cripples. Interesting times ahead…
Ambon at last
After several weeks of battles, it seems Ambon is finally ripe to fall. Today, a deliberate attack reduced the forts, and halved the assault value of the defenders (from 60 to 30). With a little luck, the base will be ours tomorrow. Without, we will have to rest, and attack again, and it will fall in two or three days. Kendari is the next target. Manado and Ternate will be our staging point for that invasion.
Our troops arrived in Johore, where the enemy seems to be making a stand. Ten units are reported there, this probably is a good thing: we have caught very little enemies during our Malayan campaign, and I would rather reduce enemy forces before going in for Singapore.
In Rangoon, a deliberate attack eliminated one unit, reduced the forts, and destroyed 35 squads. We are resting tomorrow, and will launch another attack on the fifteenth.
The day before the battle of Balikpapan
This morning, SS I-123 patrolling between Borneo and the Celebes was attacked by a large surface force. She was hit, as often in shallow waters, but will survive. More importantly, the enemy task force was reported to include CL Adelaide and eight destroyers.
Later that day, the same task force, moving north east towards Balikpapan was attacked, without success, by Nells and Mabels based in Samarinda. CL Marblehead, CL Mauritius and CA Houston were reported. Finally, a second surface force was reported near the coast of Java, moving east, towards Ambon or Balikpapan.
I believe the first task force is moving on Balikpapan. Whether the second is there to reinforce or is moving on Ambon, I don’t know.
I have two cruisers, two light cruisers, four destroyers and a torpedo boat in Balikpapan, yet undetected. Mini KB is on the other side of the Celebes, and has been ordered to close in, on the other side of the island. I also have land based aircrafts in Samarinda, Balikpapan, Tarakan and Manado.
If the enemy comes to bombard the base, he will meet my task force, and chances are I can surprise him. We have roughly the same number of ships, so this should be a close call. However, I have lots of planes in the area that should be able to finish the cripples. Interesting times ahead…
Ambon at last
After several weeks of battles, it seems Ambon is finally ripe to fall. Today, a deliberate attack reduced the forts, and halved the assault value of the defenders (from 60 to 30). With a little luck, the base will be ours tomorrow. Without, we will have to rest, and attack again, and it will fall in two or three days. Kendari is the next target. Manado and Ternate will be our staging point for that invasion.
Our troops arrived in Johore, where the enemy seems to be making a stand. Ten units are reported there, this probably is a good thing: we have caught very little enemies during our Malayan campaign, and I would rather reduce enemy forces before going in for Singapore.
In Rangoon, a deliberate attack eliminated one unit, reduced the forts, and destroyed 35 squads. We are resting tomorrow, and will launch another attack on the fifteenth.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 14th 1942
The first battle of Balikpapan
The large surface task force detected yesterday raided the straits between the Celebes and Borneo. The enemy came with CA Houston, CL Adelaide, Mauritius and Marblehead, and nine destroyers. Three Japanese destroyers on an ASW mission did not have enough time to retreat and were sunk, damaging CA Houston in the process.
Japanese Ships
DD Wakatake, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DD Kuretake, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DD Sanae, Shell hits 20, and is sunk
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 4
CL Adelaide
CL Mauritius
CL Marblehead
DD John D. Ford
DD Pope
DD Whipple
DD Stewart
DD Electra
DD Encounter
DD Express
DD Isis
DD Jupiter
In the afternoon, Kates from mini KB managed to hit Houston with a torpedo. She is reported as sunk. It might be fog of war, but if not, it is a good trade.
Meanwhile, another task force raided Balikpapan, where a cruiser task force was waiting.
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
C.XI-W: 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
CA Atago, Shell hits 1
CA Chokai
CL Kashii, Shell hits 3
CL Isuzu
DD Asashio, Shell hits 1
DD Oshio
DD Minegumo
DD Asagumo, Shell hits 5, on fire
TB Kiji, Shell hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CL Java, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1
CL Tromp, Shell hits 1
CL Dragon
CL Durban
DD Alden
DD Edsall
DD John D. Edwards
DD Banckert
DD Van Nes
DD Witte de With
All my ships, being in port already, will survive, but Java is definitely sunk. Both the cruiser force of the mini KB will try to sink remnants tomorrow, but even if they don’t, it was a good day for the IJN.
Trouble in Cagayan
So far, the campaign of Mindanao went fine, but then enemy is now concentrated in Cagayan, where the 146th infantry regiment faces a full strength PA division. The 144th, that just left Wake, has been sent to reinforce, as will the Amphibious brigade from Hainan. Altogether, this probably means several weeks of delay in the capture of Mindanao.
In Johore, a first deliberate attack reduced the forts, and revealed two indian brigades and the 27th Australian. I am not sure I understand the benefits of this first line of defense for the Allies.
In Nanyang, a deliberate attack destroyed 200 more Chinese squads. My artillery has arrived. I will now bombard, in order to reduce the enemy before the final assault. Once this stack is defeated, the road to Sian is open, and I doubt the enemy has lots of troops to garrison it.
The first battle of Balikpapan
The large surface task force detected yesterday raided the straits between the Celebes and Borneo. The enemy came with CA Houston, CL Adelaide, Mauritius and Marblehead, and nine destroyers. Three Japanese destroyers on an ASW mission did not have enough time to retreat and were sunk, damaging CA Houston in the process.
Japanese Ships
DD Wakatake, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DD Kuretake, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DD Sanae, Shell hits 20, and is sunk
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 4
CL Adelaide
CL Mauritius
CL Marblehead
DD John D. Ford
DD Pope
DD Whipple
DD Stewart
DD Electra
DD Encounter
DD Express
DD Isis
DD Jupiter
In the afternoon, Kates from mini KB managed to hit Houston with a torpedo. She is reported as sunk. It might be fog of war, but if not, it is a good trade.
Meanwhile, another task force raided Balikpapan, where a cruiser task force was waiting.
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
C.XI-W: 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
CA Atago, Shell hits 1
CA Chokai
CL Kashii, Shell hits 3
CL Isuzu
DD Asashio, Shell hits 1
DD Oshio
DD Minegumo
DD Asagumo, Shell hits 5, on fire
TB Kiji, Shell hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CL Java, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1
CL Tromp, Shell hits 1
CL Dragon
CL Durban
DD Alden
DD Edsall
DD John D. Edwards
DD Banckert
DD Van Nes
DD Witte de With
All my ships, being in port already, will survive, but Java is definitely sunk. Both the cruiser force of the mini KB will try to sink remnants tomorrow, but even if they don’t, it was a good day for the IJN.
Trouble in Cagayan
So far, the campaign of Mindanao went fine, but then enemy is now concentrated in Cagayan, where the 146th infantry regiment faces a full strength PA division. The 144th, that just left Wake, has been sent to reinforce, as will the Amphibious brigade from Hainan. Altogether, this probably means several weeks of delay in the capture of Mindanao.
In Johore, a first deliberate attack reduced the forts, and revealed two indian brigades and the 27th Australian. I am not sure I understand the benefits of this first line of defense for the Allies.
In Nanyang, a deliberate attack destroyed 200 more Chinese squads. My artillery has arrived. I will now bombard, in order to reduce the enemy before the final assault. Once this stack is defeated, the road to Sian is open, and I doubt the enemy has lots of troops to garrison it.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 15th, 1942
Balikpapan, take three
During the night, our cruisers sortied from Balikpapan and intercepted the retreating enemy forces.
Japanese Ships
CA Atago
CA Chokai, Shell hits 1
CL Kashii, Shell hits 6, on fire
CL Isuzu
DD Oshio, Shell hits 1
DD Minegumo, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Asagumo
Allied Ships
CL Adelaide, Shell hits 28, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Mauritius, Shell hits 9, on fire
CL Marblehead
DD John D. Ford
DD Pope
DD Electra
DD Express, Shell hits 2
DD Isis
DD Jupiter
Adelaide is sunk. Mauritius will probably escape. CA Houston suggests might be sunk, but then, the absence of three Allied DD (Whipple, Stewart and Encounter) might indicate she is still afloat, and trying to escape. We shall see…
Bye bye, Burma supply
Rangoon fell today.
Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18318 troops, 203 guns, 131 vehicles, Assault Value = 573
Defending force 5885 troops, 79 guns, 9 vehicles, Assault Value = 170
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese adjusted assault: 441
Allied adjusted defense: 143
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Rangoon !!!
Japanese ground losses:
378 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Allied ground losses:
1100 casualties reported
Squads: 48 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 120 destroyed, 25 disabled
Engineers: 22 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 48 (42 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Vehicles lost 11 (11 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 6
Units destroyed 1
The industry is 50% damaged, the facilities should be back online in a few days. The Burma road is now closed, and the conquest of China can begin. The fall of Rangoon caused a significant change in victory points. Today, the VP ratio changed side, going from 1.13:1 in favor of the Allies, to 1.06 :1 for the Empire.
Not just Rangoon
Rabaul had been evacuated, and was easily captured today. We are now moving on Gasmata, and then Lae.
On Mindanao, the Allies managed to chased the 146th Infantry Regiment out of Cagayan. Enemy losses were almost as high as ours.
Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 9448 troops, 65 guns, 58 vehicles, Assault Value = 368
Defending force 3713 troops, 32 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 125
Allied assault odds: 6 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
696 casualties reported
Squads: 30 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 7 (3 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 1
Allied ground losses:
702 casualties reported
Squads: 67 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 14 (5 destroyed, 9 disabled)
We will wait for reinforcements and attack in a few weeks.
In the central plains
The first bombardment of Nanyang destroyed almost as many enemy squads than the deliberate attack the day before.
Allied ground losses:
803 casualties reported
Squads: 41 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 7 (2 destroyed, 5 disabled)
West of Loyang, a first deliberate on the former defenders of the city disabled over 300 Japanese squads, But destroyed a good number of enemies.
Japanese ground losses:
3139 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 328 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled
Guns lost 18 (1 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
926 casualties reported
Squads: 79 destroyed, 128 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 81 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 36 (10 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Maybe I should bombard, instead…
Balikpapan, take three
During the night, our cruisers sortied from Balikpapan and intercepted the retreating enemy forces.
Japanese Ships
CA Atago
CA Chokai, Shell hits 1
CL Kashii, Shell hits 6, on fire
CL Isuzu
DD Oshio, Shell hits 1
DD Minegumo, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Asagumo
Allied Ships
CL Adelaide, Shell hits 28, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Mauritius, Shell hits 9, on fire
CL Marblehead
DD John D. Ford
DD Pope
DD Electra
DD Express, Shell hits 2
DD Isis
DD Jupiter
Adelaide is sunk. Mauritius will probably escape. CA Houston suggests might be sunk, but then, the absence of three Allied DD (Whipple, Stewart and Encounter) might indicate she is still afloat, and trying to escape. We shall see…
Bye bye, Burma supply
Rangoon fell today.
Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18318 troops, 203 guns, 131 vehicles, Assault Value = 573
Defending force 5885 troops, 79 guns, 9 vehicles, Assault Value = 170
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese adjusted assault: 441
Allied adjusted defense: 143
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Rangoon !!!
Japanese ground losses:
378 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Allied ground losses:
1100 casualties reported
Squads: 48 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 120 destroyed, 25 disabled
Engineers: 22 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 48 (42 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Vehicles lost 11 (11 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 6
Units destroyed 1
The industry is 50% damaged, the facilities should be back online in a few days. The Burma road is now closed, and the conquest of China can begin. The fall of Rangoon caused a significant change in victory points. Today, the VP ratio changed side, going from 1.13:1 in favor of the Allies, to 1.06 :1 for the Empire.
Not just Rangoon
Rabaul had been evacuated, and was easily captured today. We are now moving on Gasmata, and then Lae.
On Mindanao, the Allies managed to chased the 146th Infantry Regiment out of Cagayan. Enemy losses were almost as high as ours.
Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 9448 troops, 65 guns, 58 vehicles, Assault Value = 368
Defending force 3713 troops, 32 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 125
Allied assault odds: 6 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
696 casualties reported
Squads: 30 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 7 (3 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 1
Allied ground losses:
702 casualties reported
Squads: 67 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 14 (5 destroyed, 9 disabled)
We will wait for reinforcements and attack in a few weeks.
In the central plains
The first bombardment of Nanyang destroyed almost as many enemy squads than the deliberate attack the day before.
Allied ground losses:
803 casualties reported
Squads: 41 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 7 (2 destroyed, 5 disabled)
West of Loyang, a first deliberate on the former defenders of the city disabled over 300 Japanese squads, But destroyed a good number of enemies.
Japanese ground losses:
3139 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 328 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled
Guns lost 18 (1 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
926 casualties reported
Squads: 79 destroyed, 128 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 81 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 36 (10 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Maybe I should bombard, instead…
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 16th, 1942
Meet Mr Butai
Since Kido Butai was in the Coral sea, ready to ambush anything that tried to interfere with the landings in Rabaul, I sent her north, halfway between Port Moresby and Cooktown.
We found a couple of ships in Port Moresby in the morning.
Allied Ships
xAK Yochow, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
xAK Yunnan, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Townsville
And a few more in the afternoon…
Allied Ships
xAK Anshun, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
xAKL Pulganbar, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Aeon, Bomb hits 3, on fire
PG Moresby, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk
AM Townsville, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
As if Bataan would fall on the 16th of January
It had been a while since I last did something very stupid (gamewise, of course, in real life, hardly a day goes without a blunder).
After the capture of Clark Field, my troops advanced on Bataan. Several days of inefficient bombardment showed the enemy had 1400 AV, against 1900 for us, behind forts. Any reasonable player would not launch an attack now. Here’s why:
Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 55097 troops, 545 guns, 231 vehicles, Assault Value = 1883
Defending force 47182 troops, 800 guns, 572 vehicles, Assault Value = 1412
Japanese adjusted assault: 330
Allied adjusted defense: 2177
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 3)
Japanese ground losses:
7860 casualties reported
Squads: 118 destroyed, 392 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 88 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 64 disabled
Guns lost 63 (21 destroyed, 42 disabled)
Vehicles lost 67 (11 destroyed, 56 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
877 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 201 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled
Guns lost 26 (2 destroyed, 24 disabled)
Vehicles lost 18 (3 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Unfortunate as it is (especially for the general commanding the 14th Army, Evil Empires have little patience with scapegoats), the Bataan affair makes one fact obvious: Bataan will not fall soon, unless I commit very large forces to it.
We will have a siege, then, and this raises two questions. The enemy has 1500 AV, how many troops do I need to guard them, and what is the best way to reduce them?
I believe three division equivalents should be fine. In fact, 1000 AV is probably enough. The terrain is defensive for me, too. I am already retiring the 4th Infantry division (which is prepped for Singapore), and a few tank regiments. But I might remove more units later on.
As for how to reduce the enemy, I believe air, and land, bombardment is the way to go. So far, I used bombers from Takao. I will relocate them in Clark and Manila. Artillery units are being sent in, from Hong Kong.
The long war in China
The second day of bombardment in Nanyang was even better than the first : 140 squads and five guns were destroyed.
West of Taiyuan, two divisions joined two independent brigades and attacked two Chinese corps blocking the railway to Sian. It was another easy victory.
Ground combat at 90,40 (near Taiyuan)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 38328 troops, 322 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 1340
Defending force 9472 troops, 86 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 299
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
901 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 81 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Allied ground losses:
4186 casualties reported
Squads: 211 destroyed, 34 disabled
Non Combat: 100 destroyed, 29 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Units retreated 3
Between those two battles and few more air bombardments, the KMT lost 355 combat squads today. This is a little less than what they replace in a month (350 infantry and 40 HMG squads), and about 1% of the number of squads the Chinese begin the game with (31 500 infantry, 2 300 MMG and 1 100 Cavalry squads, according to Tracker).
Since the beginning of the war, 8 550 Chinese squads (combat squads, that is) were eliminated. Even accounting for replacements, this represents about a quarter of KMT forces. At this rate, we can hope to significantly reduce KMT strength by summer 1942. It also means that the enemy, having less troops, will better resist the supply shortage. You can’t have everything.
Meet Mr Butai
Since Kido Butai was in the Coral sea, ready to ambush anything that tried to interfere with the landings in Rabaul, I sent her north, halfway between Port Moresby and Cooktown.
We found a couple of ships in Port Moresby in the morning.
Allied Ships
xAK Yochow, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
xAK Yunnan, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Townsville
And a few more in the afternoon…
Allied Ships
xAK Anshun, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
xAKL Pulganbar, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Aeon, Bomb hits 3, on fire
PG Moresby, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk
AM Townsville, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
As if Bataan would fall on the 16th of January
It had been a while since I last did something very stupid (gamewise, of course, in real life, hardly a day goes without a blunder).
After the capture of Clark Field, my troops advanced on Bataan. Several days of inefficient bombardment showed the enemy had 1400 AV, against 1900 for us, behind forts. Any reasonable player would not launch an attack now. Here’s why:
Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 55097 troops, 545 guns, 231 vehicles, Assault Value = 1883
Defending force 47182 troops, 800 guns, 572 vehicles, Assault Value = 1412
Japanese adjusted assault: 330
Allied adjusted defense: 2177
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 3)
Japanese ground losses:
7860 casualties reported
Squads: 118 destroyed, 392 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 88 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 64 disabled
Guns lost 63 (21 destroyed, 42 disabled)
Vehicles lost 67 (11 destroyed, 56 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
877 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 201 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled
Guns lost 26 (2 destroyed, 24 disabled)
Vehicles lost 18 (3 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Unfortunate as it is (especially for the general commanding the 14th Army, Evil Empires have little patience with scapegoats), the Bataan affair makes one fact obvious: Bataan will not fall soon, unless I commit very large forces to it.
We will have a siege, then, and this raises two questions. The enemy has 1500 AV, how many troops do I need to guard them, and what is the best way to reduce them?
I believe three division equivalents should be fine. In fact, 1000 AV is probably enough. The terrain is defensive for me, too. I am already retiring the 4th Infantry division (which is prepped for Singapore), and a few tank regiments. But I might remove more units later on.
As for how to reduce the enemy, I believe air, and land, bombardment is the way to go. So far, I used bombers from Takao. I will relocate them in Clark and Manila. Artillery units are being sent in, from Hong Kong.
The long war in China
The second day of bombardment in Nanyang was even better than the first : 140 squads and five guns were destroyed.
West of Taiyuan, two divisions joined two independent brigades and attacked two Chinese corps blocking the railway to Sian. It was another easy victory.
Ground combat at 90,40 (near Taiyuan)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 38328 troops, 322 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 1340
Defending force 9472 troops, 86 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 299
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1
Japanese ground losses:
901 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 81 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Allied ground losses:
4186 casualties reported
Squads: 211 destroyed, 34 disabled
Non Combat: 100 destroyed, 29 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Units retreated 3
Between those two battles and few more air bombardments, the KMT lost 355 combat squads today. This is a little less than what they replace in a month (350 infantry and 40 HMG squads), and about 1% of the number of squads the Chinese begin the game with (31 500 infantry, 2 300 MMG and 1 100 Cavalry squads, according to Tracker).
Since the beginning of the war, 8 550 Chinese squads (combat squads, that is) were eliminated. Even accounting for replacements, this represents about a quarter of KMT forces. At this rate, we can hope to significantly reduce KMT strength by summer 1942. It also means that the enemy, having less troops, will better resist the supply shortage. You can’t have everything.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 17th, 1942
Mr Butai in Australia
KB raided Cairns, sinking a few light cargoes, and Horn Island, damaging the port installations. We will now retire towards the Solomons, our next targets are Noumea and Suva. Then KB will retire to Truk, and remain there for a while.
After more than a month of war, I have the impression my opponent (whom I heartily recommend to other players, by the way, he’s a really nice person!) likes to play it safe. He has been trying a number of raid, and has been punishing me when I overextend, but he isn’t going for an aggressive defense. Against such a careful enemy, I believe KB is strongest while it remains a threat. Raids like this one are necessary to make the threat a reality, but KB should be hidden most of the time.
Last stop before Singers
Johore Baru fell today, with heavy enemy losses. Two units surrendered, one of them the 27th Australian (yay! As we say in Japanese)
Ground combat at Johore Bahru (50,83)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 26067 troops, 226 guns, 244 vehicles, Assault Value = 870
Defending force 10263 troops, 112 guns, 169 vehicles, Assault Value = 281
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Johore Bahru !!!
Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 3 destroyed
Japanese ground losses:
486 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 63 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Allied ground losses:
5402 casualties reported
Squads: 211 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 348 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 58 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 83 (82 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 125 (124 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 8
Units destroyed 2
All Malaya is now free of Allied units, and we are beginning to concentrate in Johore for the final assault on the Lion city. I have a little less than 2500 AV in the peninsula, and plan to reinforce them with the 4th ID from Luzon, and the 38th and 104th that are now in Nanning. The first assault on Singapore might take place at the beginning of February, and if everything goes fine, we should capture the city before the end of the month. Then we can do all the things evil armies like ours do in conquered cities, like fill our bellies with chicken rice and sugarcane, or play croquet on the lawns of Fort Canning…
Nanning
Before marching to Singapore, the 38th and 104th ID were tasked with taking Nanning. We crossed the river and shock attacked today, finding six units and 550 AV in town. This might take a few days.
Once Nanning falls, these units need about three weeks to reach Singapore. I am expecting them by mid-February, for the final onslaught.
Mr Butai in Australia
KB raided Cairns, sinking a few light cargoes, and Horn Island, damaging the port installations. We will now retire towards the Solomons, our next targets are Noumea and Suva. Then KB will retire to Truk, and remain there for a while.
After more than a month of war, I have the impression my opponent (whom I heartily recommend to other players, by the way, he’s a really nice person!) likes to play it safe. He has been trying a number of raid, and has been punishing me when I overextend, but he isn’t going for an aggressive defense. Against such a careful enemy, I believe KB is strongest while it remains a threat. Raids like this one are necessary to make the threat a reality, but KB should be hidden most of the time.
Last stop before Singers
Johore Baru fell today, with heavy enemy losses. Two units surrendered, one of them the 27th Australian (yay! As we say in Japanese)
Ground combat at Johore Bahru (50,83)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 26067 troops, 226 guns, 244 vehicles, Assault Value = 870
Defending force 10263 troops, 112 guns, 169 vehicles, Assault Value = 281
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Johore Bahru !!!
Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 3 destroyed
Japanese ground losses:
486 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 63 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Allied ground losses:
5402 casualties reported
Squads: 211 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 348 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 58 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 83 (82 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 125 (124 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 8
Units destroyed 2
All Malaya is now free of Allied units, and we are beginning to concentrate in Johore for the final assault on the Lion city. I have a little less than 2500 AV in the peninsula, and plan to reinforce them with the 4th ID from Luzon, and the 38th and 104th that are now in Nanning. The first assault on Singapore might take place at the beginning of February, and if everything goes fine, we should capture the city before the end of the month. Then we can do all the things evil armies like ours do in conquered cities, like fill our bellies with chicken rice and sugarcane, or play croquet on the lawns of Fort Canning…
Nanning
Before marching to Singapore, the 38th and 104th ID were tasked with taking Nanning. We crossed the river and shock attacked today, finding six units and 550 AV in town. This might take a few days.
Once Nanning falls, these units need about three weeks to reach Singapore. I am expecting them by mid-February, for the final onslaught.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
January 18th, 1942
An uneventful day. The 16th Naval Guard easily captured Kendari . Wewak, on the northern coast of New Guinea, surrendered without a fight. North of Rangoon, the retreating Allied stack was defeated, and sent back into Prome. In Port Moresby, KB sank AM Bunburi.
In Nanyang, air attacks destroyed 8 combat squads, and bombardment 47 more (and two guns). Enemy AV, once over 1600, is now below 600. I am attacking tomorrow. I believe those troops are too damaged to defend the major road to Sian. If I can advance fast enough, units between Sian and Loyang, and Sian and Taiyuan, all on slow roads, might be pocketed.
A quick look at industry and resources
Industrial capacity : As mentioned in the beginning of this AAR, I am trying to keep Japanese HI usage as low as I can. I have greatly reduced naval construction, halting most merchant programs, and a number of naval ones as well. As a result, I am hoarding HI points. I have 350 000 right now, and am saving about 7 500 every day. I am now using 784 naval and 168 merchant yards (this is on the low side), 221 vehicle (87 repairing) and 250 armament factories (190 stopped). Vehicle points are low but stable, armament production is probably a little low, as quite a few reinforcements are arriving now. Air frame and engine productions are going up, as industry expands and repairs. This is necessary, as the air war is quite intense. I am currently using about 7 700 HI per day (pilot training cost included). This means I am saving a day of future use every day.
Resources : With the capture of the Henan industrial basin (Loyang and Chengchow), I now produce more resources than I need. Stocks went down from 9.3 million to 9.15 million over the course of December, stabilized around 9.16 during the first half of January, and are now slowly increasing (9.19 million as we speak). This excess of resources has one advantage : I don’t need to set up long convoys to bring back production from remote corners of my empire (eg Nauru and Ocean island).
Speaking of convoys, the resource situation in Japan is slowly stabilizing. At the beginning of the war, the Home Islands used 80 000 tons of resource stocks every day. Convoys from Hokkaido and Fusan have reduced this to about 10 000 tons. As a result, stocks in the Home Islands which represented two months surplus usage at game start will now last for about 15 months. In Hokkaido, resource stocks, which increased from 880 000 tons at the beginning of the war to 1.5 million tons in early January, are now diminishing.
Oil and fuel: Since the beginning of the war, oil production has more tripled (from 305 oilfields in December, to 940 and 170 repairing, today). As refining capacity also increased, we are using our stocks at the same rate, about 8 000 tons per day. Stocks are around 4.5 million tons now (down from 4.8 at game start), at this rate, they will be empty in about 15 months, at which stage some extra refining capacity can be shut down.
The oilfields we hold now (without Sumatra, Java and Burma), could produce about 10 000 tons of fuel per day, when repaired. My industrial needs (HI without hoarding) represent 7.5 tons/day.
Fuel stocks (bunker fuel included) are now at 7.4 million tons, decreasing at about 7 000 tons per day. We refine 15.5 tons of fuel every day, which puts overall fuel usage at 22 500 tons, broken down as 14 500 for industry and 8 000 for ships. Deducing HI hoarding fuel use, I am consuming about 16 000 tons of fuel every day, which is about the quantity I refine every day.
In other words, at this point of the game, with my navy mostly intact, Java, Sumatra, and Burma oilfields still in enemy hands, my fuel usage is balanced, and the daily deficits correspond to the building of HI stocks. This suggests a thrifty Japan, like mine, is much less dependent on DEI oil and fuel than is commonly thought.
Supply : After a steady decrease in December, mostly due to repairs and industrial expansion, supply stocks have now stabilized a little over 5 million tons. 60% of those are in Japan, most of the rest in China. The supply line from Korea to Malaysia is now open, so I probably need to convoy more supplies to the continent.
An uneventful day. The 16th Naval Guard easily captured Kendari . Wewak, on the northern coast of New Guinea, surrendered without a fight. North of Rangoon, the retreating Allied stack was defeated, and sent back into Prome. In Port Moresby, KB sank AM Bunburi.
In Nanyang, air attacks destroyed 8 combat squads, and bombardment 47 more (and two guns). Enemy AV, once over 1600, is now below 600. I am attacking tomorrow. I believe those troops are too damaged to defend the major road to Sian. If I can advance fast enough, units between Sian and Loyang, and Sian and Taiyuan, all on slow roads, might be pocketed.
A quick look at industry and resources
Industrial capacity : As mentioned in the beginning of this AAR, I am trying to keep Japanese HI usage as low as I can. I have greatly reduced naval construction, halting most merchant programs, and a number of naval ones as well. As a result, I am hoarding HI points. I have 350 000 right now, and am saving about 7 500 every day. I am now using 784 naval and 168 merchant yards (this is on the low side), 221 vehicle (87 repairing) and 250 armament factories (190 stopped). Vehicle points are low but stable, armament production is probably a little low, as quite a few reinforcements are arriving now. Air frame and engine productions are going up, as industry expands and repairs. This is necessary, as the air war is quite intense. I am currently using about 7 700 HI per day (pilot training cost included). This means I am saving a day of future use every day.
Resources : With the capture of the Henan industrial basin (Loyang and Chengchow), I now produce more resources than I need. Stocks went down from 9.3 million to 9.15 million over the course of December, stabilized around 9.16 during the first half of January, and are now slowly increasing (9.19 million as we speak). This excess of resources has one advantage : I don’t need to set up long convoys to bring back production from remote corners of my empire (eg Nauru and Ocean island).
Speaking of convoys, the resource situation in Japan is slowly stabilizing. At the beginning of the war, the Home Islands used 80 000 tons of resource stocks every day. Convoys from Hokkaido and Fusan have reduced this to about 10 000 tons. As a result, stocks in the Home Islands which represented two months surplus usage at game start will now last for about 15 months. In Hokkaido, resource stocks, which increased from 880 000 tons at the beginning of the war to 1.5 million tons in early January, are now diminishing.
Oil and fuel: Since the beginning of the war, oil production has more tripled (from 305 oilfields in December, to 940 and 170 repairing, today). As refining capacity also increased, we are using our stocks at the same rate, about 8 000 tons per day. Stocks are around 4.5 million tons now (down from 4.8 at game start), at this rate, they will be empty in about 15 months, at which stage some extra refining capacity can be shut down.
The oilfields we hold now (without Sumatra, Java and Burma), could produce about 10 000 tons of fuel per day, when repaired. My industrial needs (HI without hoarding) represent 7.5 tons/day.
Fuel stocks (bunker fuel included) are now at 7.4 million tons, decreasing at about 7 000 tons per day. We refine 15.5 tons of fuel every day, which puts overall fuel usage at 22 500 tons, broken down as 14 500 for industry and 8 000 for ships. Deducing HI hoarding fuel use, I am consuming about 16 000 tons of fuel every day, which is about the quantity I refine every day.
In other words, at this point of the game, with my navy mostly intact, Java, Sumatra, and Burma oilfields still in enemy hands, my fuel usage is balanced, and the daily deficits correspond to the building of HI stocks. This suggests a thrifty Japan, like mine, is much less dependent on DEI oil and fuel than is commonly thought.
Supply : After a steady decrease in December, mostly due to repairs and industrial expansion, supply stocks have now stabilized a little over 5 million tons. 60% of those are in Japan, most of the rest in China. The supply line from Korea to Malaysia is now open, so I probably need to convoy more supplies to the continent.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
Wow, you have really mastered the Solli school of economics! [&o][&o][&o]
Great job so far. Congrats!!
Great job so far. Congrats!!
Pax
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
ORIGINAL: fcharton
Industrial capacity : [/b] As mentioned in the beginning of this AAR, I am trying to keep Japanese HI usage as low as I can. I have greatly reduced naval construction, halting most merchant programs, and a number of naval ones as well. As a result, I am hoarding HI points. I have 350 000 right now, and am saving about 7 500 every day. I am now using 784 naval and 168 merchant yards (this is on the low side), 221 vehicle (87 repairing) and 250 armament factories (190 stopped). Vehicle points are low but stable, armament production is probably a little low, as quite a few reinforcements are arriving now. Air frame and engine productions are going up, as industry expands and repairs. This is necessary, as the air war is quite intense. I am currently using about 7 700 HI per day (pilot training cost included). This means I am saving a day of future use every day.
Resources : With the capture of the Henan industrial basin (Loyang and Chengchow), I now produce more resources than I need. Stocks went down from 9.3 million to 9.15 million over the course of December, stabilized around 9.16 during the first half of January, and are now slowly increasing (9.19 million as we speak). This excess of resources has one advantage : I don’t need to set up long convoys to bring back production from remote corners of my empire (eg Nauru and Ocean island).
Speaking of convoys, the resource situation in Japan is slowly stabilizing. At the beginning of the war, the Home Islands used 80 000 tons of resource stocks every day. Convoys from Hokkaido and Fusan have reduced this to about 10 000 tons. As a result, stocks in the Home Islands which represented two months surplus usage at game start will now last for about 15 months. In Hokkaido, resource stocks, which increased from 880 000 tons at the beginning of the war to 1.5 million tons in early January, are now diminishing.
Oil and fuel: Since the beginning of the war, oil production has more tripled (from 305 oilfields in December, to 940 and 170 repairing, today). As refining capacity also increased, we are using our stocks at the same rate, about 8 000 tons per day. Stocks are around 4.5 million tons now (down from 4.8 at game start), at this rate, they will be empty in about 15 months, at which stage some extra refining capacity can be shut down.
The oilfields we hold now (without Sumatra, Java and Burma), could produce about 10 000 tons of fuel per day, when repaired. My industrial needs (HI without hoarding) represent 7.5 tons/day.
Fuel stocks (bunker fuel included) are now at 7.4 million tons, decreasing at about 7 000 tons per day. We refine 15.5 tons of fuel every day, which puts overall fuel usage at 22 500 tons, broken down as 14 500 for industry and 8 000 for ships. Deducing HI hoarding fuel use, I am consuming about 16 000 tons of fuel every day, which is about the quantity I refine every day.
In other words, at this point of the game, with my navy mostly intact, Java, Sumatra, and Burma oilfields still in enemy hands, my fuel usage is balanced, and the daily deficits correspond to the building of HI stocks. This suggests a thrifty Japan, like mine, is much less dependent on DEI oil and fuel than is commonly thought.
Supply : After a steady decrease in December, mostly due to repairs and industrial expansion, supply stocks have now stabilized a little over 5 million tons. 60% of those are in Japan, most of the rest in China. The supply line from Korea to Malaysia is now open, so I probably need to convoy more supplies to the continent.
I think you're going a bit too far toward conservation and HI build-up. You will need a lot of the ships you will be forced to cancel at those levels of production. You can go without the Yamatos if you want to , but that's not much fun. You'll want to accelerate several CVs, and there is no replacement for lots more escorts and DDs that are coming along. This is the time to have them, up until 43 when Japan is strong and can make use of the extra stuff. Turn off more merchant yards when you've built a pool and you have all of the TKs and AOs built.
As for resources, it is good to ship from shorter distances away. I've basically gotten ALL of the resources from Hokkaido and Sakhalin, so I had to stop a few convoys to slow down the draw. Fusan is also a major help when you get that working, shortening your lines and getting a big port to work with. On the other hand, what do your ships already sailing back to the HI carry if no resources are gathered from the more remote bases in the DEI or even in the Pacific?
I've had several CS convoys of xAKLs that I would otherwise have no use for set up to carry from Macassar to Soerabaja, Davao, Boela and Kendari to Babeldaop, and from bases around the W Borneo and Singapore area to Singers, as well as a few to Nauru and Ocean. I know you're not there yet, but it's working really well for me and it's a set up and forget kind of project. Also, the US subs seem fond of attacking all of these small insignificant ships, wasting the good and bad torps day after day while letting the troop ships sail right on by.
I have some merchant ships turned off now as well as a few planes and a lot of the armament factories. But after I've built the pools. You will need them. I'm banking 5k HI a day now and hope to have over 1,000,000 by the end of 42. I still have more HI to build up in Singapore and in other spots on java and in China. This will be my biggest addition to the HI pools in the future.
Don't be too frugal. You have to have something to fight with! [:)]
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
@pax : nice to see you here! I’m of course flattered, but unworthy of the comparison.
@obvert : very good points, as always. After reading your comments, I had a look at my ship planning. Whereas I build almost no merchant ships, my naval program cuts, so far, mostly amount to the two battleships. I do intend to stop the late war (1945) CV and CVE, but those are not decisions to make now. My main worries, at the moment, are the submarines. I originally intended to build all of them, because I thought they can keep the enemy honest, even late in the war. Yet, seeing how harmless they are so far, I am beginning to have second thoughts about it.
As for the merchants, there is something circular in the reasoning. If convoys can be limited to cabotage (along routes like Palembang-Singapore, Fusan-Fukuoka, Hakodate-Ominato, Takao-Amoy…) you need less ships, which means less fuel, and therefore less convoys from the DEI to the Home Islands, and less dependence on DEI oil. This means I can stop all the cargoes and most of the tankers (keeping in mind that if this strategy proves wrong, I can restart some of them at a later stage…), and this means less HI, and therefore less oil needed in the Home Islands.
This is not frugality for frugality’s sake. I believe my opponent, like most AFB, assumes oil is Japan’s weak point, and that if he succeeds in denying me access to the oilfields (either through Palembang fortress approaches in the early game, or through early attempts at reconquering the East Indies), the end of the war will become easy. My plan is to foil this attempt, by depending less on the fuel. This means I can sustain a long attrition war in the SRA, which I can easily reinforce once China has fallen.
My strategic plan is not quite set, but here is the general idea: take China out of the war, use my units there to build a reserve, and fight (and win) a long attrition battle in the Indies (where I enjoy shorter lines).
January 19th, 1942
Blood in the skies
Since the beginning of the war, air losses have remained at very high levels. Today, each of us lost about 20 planes. I am still winning this part of the war (563 planes lost, for 793 enemies) but increases in operation losses are reducing my edge.
Today, we swept Singapore (three enemies downed), and Surabaya (six downed), and bombed China. The enemy tried to bomb our airfields in Malaya, without much success, and managed to intercept some bombers over Nanning.
The fall of Nanyang
This was the most important piece of news today. After a week of bombardment, the city fell to a deliberate attack. Chinese losses were heavy.
Japanese ground losses:
604 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 39 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
21125 casualties reported
Squads: 810 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 614 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 154 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 159 (153 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Units retreated 18
Units destroyed 1
This battle (and another one near Wuchang where 150 squads were destroyed) puts KMT combat squad losses to 9 650 since the beginning of the war.
The enemy retreated towards Sian. I will pursue along the major road. Troops retreating from Loyang, Taiyuan and Yenan are falling back on Sian, but on secondary roads. The race is on… If my opponent has no reserves on the road to Sian, I will probably win it.
@obvert : very good points, as always. After reading your comments, I had a look at my ship planning. Whereas I build almost no merchant ships, my naval program cuts, so far, mostly amount to the two battleships. I do intend to stop the late war (1945) CV and CVE, but those are not decisions to make now. My main worries, at the moment, are the submarines. I originally intended to build all of them, because I thought they can keep the enemy honest, even late in the war. Yet, seeing how harmless they are so far, I am beginning to have second thoughts about it.
As for the merchants, there is something circular in the reasoning. If convoys can be limited to cabotage (along routes like Palembang-Singapore, Fusan-Fukuoka, Hakodate-Ominato, Takao-Amoy…) you need less ships, which means less fuel, and therefore less convoys from the DEI to the Home Islands, and less dependence on DEI oil. This means I can stop all the cargoes and most of the tankers (keeping in mind that if this strategy proves wrong, I can restart some of them at a later stage…), and this means less HI, and therefore less oil needed in the Home Islands.
This is not frugality for frugality’s sake. I believe my opponent, like most AFB, assumes oil is Japan’s weak point, and that if he succeeds in denying me access to the oilfields (either through Palembang fortress approaches in the early game, or through early attempts at reconquering the East Indies), the end of the war will become easy. My plan is to foil this attempt, by depending less on the fuel. This means I can sustain a long attrition war in the SRA, which I can easily reinforce once China has fallen.
My strategic plan is not quite set, but here is the general idea: take China out of the war, use my units there to build a reserve, and fight (and win) a long attrition battle in the Indies (where I enjoy shorter lines).
January 19th, 1942
Blood in the skies
Since the beginning of the war, air losses have remained at very high levels. Today, each of us lost about 20 planes. I am still winning this part of the war (563 planes lost, for 793 enemies) but increases in operation losses are reducing my edge.
Today, we swept Singapore (three enemies downed), and Surabaya (six downed), and bombed China. The enemy tried to bomb our airfields in Malaya, without much success, and managed to intercept some bombers over Nanning.
The fall of Nanyang
This was the most important piece of news today. After a week of bombardment, the city fell to a deliberate attack. Chinese losses were heavy.
Japanese ground losses:
604 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 39 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
21125 casualties reported
Squads: 810 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 614 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 154 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 159 (153 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Units retreated 18
Units destroyed 1
This battle (and another one near Wuchang where 150 squads were destroyed) puts KMT combat squad losses to 9 650 since the beginning of the war.
The enemy retreated towards Sian. I will pursue along the major road. Troops retreating from Loyang, Taiyuan and Yenan are falling back on Sian, but on secondary roads. The race is on… If my opponent has no reserves on the road to Sian, I will probably win it.
RE: Perfection of a kind (fcharton vs spence)
I understand your concerns. In my recent games, I have stopped building them except for the Glen subs. I use the Glens for long range recon and intel. They are so expensive and not as useful as other items.ORIGINAL: fcharton
My main worries, at the moment, are the submarines. I originally intended to build all of them, because I thought they can keep the enemy honest, even late in the war. Yet, seeing how harmless they are so far, I am beginning to have second thoughts about it.
Pax