Buried in the Sunset (Marbakka [A] vs. Texas_D [J]) - Reluctant Admiral 4.1

[marbakka]

Combat Report - 12/9/1941

Bad day for the Allies

- Bases captured this turn: Hong Kong (!), Guam (!), Ocean Island, Nauru Island, Menado.
- His heavy SAG that was in Singkawang struck out west unexpectedly and caught my tanker fleet leaving Palembang. It consisted of 2 CLs (Durban and Dragon) and 4 TKs full of fuel. All were sunk and I only got 1 shell hit apiece on the 2 BBs. Total loss.
- My Australian cruiser group arrived at Rabaul at the same time that the enemy moved a SAG into the hex. The IJN group consisted of 4 CAs and 4 DDs while my group only had 1 CA and 4 CLs. CL Adelaide was sunk. CA Canberra took some hits but the damage is negligible. There are 2 enemy transport TFs within a day from arriving at Rabaul. Given the strength of the enemy SAG, I don't really see any option here but to retreat.

I feel like I've been steamrolled everywhere so far. Hong Kong fell on the very first attack, though it had been bombed to rubble before that. I'm disappointed in the performance of my 2 fleets - the force at Rabaul in particular was pathetic.

[marbakka]

Orders Summary - 12/10/1941

Again, not much needed doing.

- I bought the Base Force in Makassar and began loading it on transports to send to Ambon. I'm desperate for some aviation support over there.
- All the Banshee squadrons are at Ambon. All that remains is to move the P40s in to fly CAP, but they had to take a pitstop in Timor on the way
- Without boring you with details, I sent reinforcements to Midway, Canton, and Palmyra. Next up is Adak but that will take some time and I have nothing that can cover their landing by air or sea
- I ordered the Canberra and her fleet to retreat to Brisbane for repairs rather than stick around to see the bitter end of Rabaul
- Force Z and the newly formed Houston Battle Group ("Houston BG") are headed to the Ambon/Kendari area to prevent any sudden grabs over there
- Enterprise retrieved the VMF on Wake and is breaking north to avoid the KB which is steaming westward from Pearl. Hopefully, they can swing north of Midway and thence to Pearl
- Lexington is headed to Pearl from the South to meet her sister.
- Saratoga is awaiting the arrival of Sims Class DDs to serve as her escort. She'll also need some cruisers out of Pearl but those will have to repair first. I'm not planning on doing much with her before Yorktown arrives anyway.

[marbakka]

Combat Report - 12/10/1941

- An enemy submarine (SS I-3) is near Fiji. I'm rather annoyed that it took all of 3 days to sniff out where I was working down there.
- As expected, a large force landed at Rabaul. My surviving cruisers made it away safely.
- The KB has moved about 8 hexes directly west of its previous position. I believe it to be headed directly for Truk, and thus Enterprise should swing well north of it with no problem.
- The mKB is now parked in the Celebes Sea, and with the assistance of a light SAG is slaughtering the ships trying to escape the Philippines. AV Langley was sunk today.
- He is moving rapidly in Borneo and Mindinao, but slowly in Luzon.

Overall, I think he has come out of the gates a lot faster this time, but this is not Scenario 2 and he has to run out of gas or at least stop to take a breath sooner or later.

[marbakka]

Orders Summary - 12/11/1941

Mostly, I tinkered with build orders and welcomed arriving troops to their new bases this turn.

- All Banshees and a squadron of P40s are settled into Ambon. I have fuel, supplies, and more aviation support on the way
- I have a massive cargo and fuel convoy loading at LA bound for Suva. An ASW fleet has been dispatched to try to deal with the submarine menace around Fiji.
- B17s out of Baja are bombing Singkawang's airfield again

My opponent and I agreed to a nighttime bombing rule. Basically, the moonlight needs to be above a certain percentage. He never sent me the email to remind me, so I don't remember what the percentage is. In our last game, he took advantage of nighttime bombing raids over Singapore in a big way.

[John 3rd]

Glad everything is going well now with the scenario. Good work.

[marbakka]

Combat Report - 12/11/1941

- The mKB has moved just shy of the Makassar Strait and began slaughtering any Philippines refugees they could. His CBA sunk 4 AMs, 2 PGs, about 8 xAKLs and a TK. Painful to watch but these things happen, but that's the beginning of the war for ya. If he moves his fleet into the strait itself, it will be a matter for serious consideration. Force Z and several cruiser TFs would be in range, but I'd have virtually no air cover. I wish he'd bring them close to Ambon. [8D]
- KB1 has apparently entered a blind spot in my naval search pattern. I have no reason to suspect that it did anything but continue westward toward Truk. My submarines have spotted a TF hovering between Truk and Wake and I suspect that is his AOs waiting to see if they are needed. Enterprise should be well clear of his visual range (north of Midway)
- KB2 has disappeared. My best guess is that it headed west to assist in Malaya
- My B17 bombing of Singkawang did not go so well. I'm going to stand them down and build them up a bit before sending them back.
- More mines in place at Billiton.
- Palembang is up to 160ish AV. I'm surprised he is letting me build it up. However, I'm starting to notice that some of my transports between Batavia and Palembang are being shot down. The notice says that such-and-such an aircraft was "intercepted." I'm not sure how they are being intercepted when I have CAP flying over both bases. Could he be doing LRCAP between them?

Allied submarines. [8|]

[marbakka]

Whoa. I just looked at the turn and realized that he has moved that heavy SAG that sunk the CLs Dragon and Durban south of Billiton and into the Java Sea. Is he trying to get Force Z to come out and play thinking it is in Batavia or Baja? He is playing far more aggressive than I anticipated.

[marbakka]

Orders Summary - 12/12/1941

- This turn was mostly about giving orders to the nearly 3 dozen LCUs that arrived at their assigned destinations. Most of it was mundane. The only thing of note that I can recall off the top of my head is that the 7IND in Bombay was replaced by a large enough garrison that I could move them to Chittagong. Yipee!
- The more I thought about it, the more skittish I became about not knowing where the KB is exactly. I'm about 95% certain that it went directly west toward Truk, but within that 5% are two possibilities: a) that Lexington was spotted by a sub and the KB turned SE into a hole in my search patterns, or b) that he knows where Enterprise is and turned NE (though that should be in the middle of my coverage). I left the Enterprise as it was, but out of an abundance of caution, Lexington will sail directly east for a turn before going to PH.

[marbakka]

Combat Report - 12/12/1941

- The enemy BB group south of Billiton moved back North in the night and avoided my Java bombers.
- Chokai led a number of light cruisers down the river at Palembang. As a result, I lost 2 AMs 2 AMCs, a PG, and 8 TKs. That fleet was supposed to leave in the night, but I told it to stay because the SAG south of Billiton might have intercepted it. It was full of fuel. Tough loss.
- When Chokai got done sinking all that, it bombarded Palembang, damaging the Airfield by about 30% and damaging a dozen or so transports. Most of my transports are in Batavia pushing troops to Palembang, so I'm not terribly hurt by this.
- The mKB disappeared NE of Borneo. I don't have good coverage over there, so it may still be right where I saw it last. I've tasked some B17s out of Baja for some coverage over the Strait.
- In China, he has an army marching toward Changsha with upwards of 1000 AV. Not enough to take it, but enough to harass my buffer hexes
- The air war over Luzon has been about 1:1 for several days now, but the losses on each side are light. This is largely due to weather, I think.
- I'm still having a LOT of transports to Palembang intercepted by whatever mysterious force is intercepting them

[Arnhem44]

About your transports being shot down, do you have physically have fighters flying CAP over the hex or are you LRCAPing Palembang? Also, is he sweeping Palembang during these turns?

[marbakka]

I have a couple small squadrons flying CAP over Palembang. He has not been sweeping Palembang, though my CAP did engage some LRCAP that he had over his Chokai TF.

[Arnhem44]

Got me there mate, stop the flights if it's costing you airframes, at least for the time being, I'm sure it's not escaping his notice that his fighters are getting kills. You don't want to give him freebies like that, break the cycle and maybe pick it up again in a week or two of game time to see if he's conscientious about keeping an eye on the details.

[marbakka]

Orders Summary - 12/13/1941

- Sent my PTs into Palembang in the hopes that the enemy ships there used up all their ammo on the TKs and the bombardment. A few lucky torpedo hits would improve my morale a good deal
- No clue where the KB is. I've moved some search planes out to Wake to help out
- Dispatched a group of support ships to Suva
- Refueling Force Z at sea since Ambon has no fuel at the moment. Tankers are on the way to remedy this.
- My CVs should be in PH within a couple of days. They will refuel and then make their way to SOPAC/Australia accompanied by a replenishment fleet who will assist their operations in those waters. I'm thinking about moving them around to the west of Java
- My ships in PH continue to take care of emergency repairs. When I get a good number of them that can take to sea, I'll move them to the WC. I need to read up on the AR's capabilities. Any good at sea? Should they join the escort?
- PM = 150AV; Palembang = 160AV

[BBfanboy]

I'm pretty sure ARs can only do their work when disbanded [at anchor] in port. It would do you no good in helping damaged ships make the transit to the WC. However, other undamaged ships can help a little with pumps and firefighting teams - that's why the AI tries to have an undamaged DD escort a damaged ship when an Escort TF is formed after battle damage.

[marbakka]

Combat Report - 12/12/1941

Welp! The gigs up, boys.

- After another round of bombardment (from a different TF), Japan landed about 500 AV at Palembang. Just when I was starting to wonder if he was actually going to let me build it up again. Oh well. I'll have to find a Plan B.
- LOTS of submarine attacks today. I must have fired 24 torpedoes at enemy ships. Of those almost all hit...and 1 exploded. Futility.
- A raid of 27 Vals bombed an ASW fleet that was 1-2 hexes north of Batavia sinking USS John D. Edwards with 4 bomb hits. The IJN carrier task force is just NW of Billiton and is almost certainly the KB2 containing 2 fleet carriers. In our last game, he used this division of the KB to cover a Mersing landing. I'm wondering if the troops that landed at Palembang are the same he would have used at Mersing or if these are the troops that he used on Billiton last game. In either case, he seems to be playing more aggressively and with more haste. I will be looking for ways to make him regret that.

Nothing of huge significance in the SigInt, but "radio chatter" (code for his propaganda filled chatting on teamspeak) indicates that he may have spotted Force Z. Fine with me! If he sails the mKB down toward Ambon my Banshees will have something to say about it.

[ny59giants]

The A-14 Banshee are nice to have, but they have very poor NavB skill. Don't expect to get many hits. However, you can use them to get him to react to you and then hit where he has just left. The British Swordfish and Vildebeest are nice planes to use away from Singapore.

Send four escorts per damaged BB from Pearl to USA. Make sure to use lots of waypoints for the first few turns out of port to avoid any subs. Your BBs should have all damages that can be repaired pierside done before leaving port.

[marbakka]

Orders Summary - 12/14/1941

- ASW fleets in the Java Sea are all ordered into safe ports until this carrier groups gets out of our hair
- Houston BG will be refueling at sea this turn
- I moved all my transport squadrons from Palembang and Batavia to Soerabaja and the other lvl 4 airport in SE Java. I was hoping they could reach Ambon from Soerabaja and some of them can but only at the edge of extended range. I'm a bit lost in the DEI now that Palembang is not an option. Any advice on the defense of Java?
- Loading another group of troops out of SF for Suva. They will leave without escort or even enough fuel to make it, but I have two AOs merging with them in a couple of days and 3-4 DDs that will meet them SE of Pearl to serve as their escort. All my DDs are in use right now, so I have to scrounge up what I can. Not safe.
- The troops destined for Adak should arrive in Prince Rupert tomorrow. The transports are just waiting for them to get to the train station before boarding them and moving out

This is what the Pearl repair situation looks like and what my tentative plan of action is:

Fleet One:
CA New Orleans 35/48(48)/6/0 to San Diego
CA San Francisco 17/21(21)/10(10)/0 to San Diego
BB Oklahoma 19/40(40)/5/0 to San Diego
BB Tennessee 46/43(43)/12(4)/0 to Los Angeles

Fleet Two:
BB California 16/33(33)/39(39)/0 to Almeda
BB Nevada 13/55(42)/4/0 to San Francisco

Staying in Pearl:
BB West Virginia 34/67(67)/33(29)/0
BB Arizona 63/54(51)/9(2)/0
BB Pennsylvania 56/66(50)/10(3)/0

I'm waiting until they are a bit more repaired before I try to move any of them, and yes, I'll be including tons of escorts with them.

[ny59giants]

This is what the Pearl repair situation looks like and what my tentative plan of action is:

Fleet One:
CA New Orleans 35/48(48)/6/0 to San Diego Keep her at Pearl to repair. It shouldn't take long and the Repair yards holds 100k worth of ships.
CA San Francisco 17/21(21)/10(10)/0 to San Diego Same as NO
BB Oklahoma 19/40(40)/5/0 to San Diego Stay pierside at Pearl until damage is 0-40-0-0
BB Tennessee 46/43(43)/12(4)/0 to Los Angeles Stay pierside at Pearl until damage is 0-43-4-0

Fleet Two:
BB California 16/33(33)/39(39)/0 to Alameda Stay pierside at Pearl until damage is 0-33-39-0. The engine damage is of some concern.
BB Nevada 13/55(42)/4/0 to San Francisco Stay pierside at Pearl until damage is 0-42-0-0

Staying in Pearl:
BB West Virginia 34/67(67)/33(29)/0
BB Arizona 63/54(51)/9(2)/0
BB Pennsylvania 56/66(50)/10(3)/0

[marbakka]

A couple of additional things to consider about the PH repair situation that I failed to mention in my 1am haze:
- These are only the capital ships that need repairing. I have a ton of CLs and smaller ships that need a few weeks in the yard as well.
- The reason I thought to send the CAs to the SD area was because Saratoga and Yorktown need escorts badly. Saratoga is sitting there in port with nary a DD in sight (she's waiting on the Sims Class DD delivery in a few days). I figured if I needed them over there anyway, I may as well stick them there for repairs. I'm mostly just concerned about NO's flotation on the way over.

I don't plan on sending them anywhere until all but major damage is repaired. Just planning ahead.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

The A-14 Banshee are nice to have, but they have very poor NavB skill. Don't expect to get many hits. However, you can use them to get him to react to you and then hit where he has just left. The British Swordfish and Vildebeest are nice planes to use away from Singapore.

Send four escorts per damaged BB from Pearl to USA. Make sure to use lots of waypoints for the first few turns out of port to avoid any subs. Your BBs should have all damages that can be repaired pierside done before leaving port.

I have tremendous success with the A24 even with crews with 35 experiece.

Apparently even a rookie can hit a big transport with a dive bomber.

You do want to make sure you get them in the same hex with the incoming and understrength SWPac A24 squadrons when it comes time to "withdraw" the ABDA ones AND "disband" them instead of "withdrawing" them. When you do it that way the outgoing sqaudron gives it planes to the squadron sticking around.