Minelaying subs are I-121, 122, 123, and 124. Use them in a TF with 2 or all 4 someplace. [;)] I use mine just for laying mines and not normal patrols.
NW Australia - off of Exmouth, have 2 to 4 subs on patrol. I would have 1 Glen equipped sub and 2 to 3 fleet subs all patrolling in parallel direction from SW to NE direction. Any ships running into the SRA or away will probably run through here.
Remember to recon your planned invasion sites well. If he's got a large concentration of troops somewhere and you can bypass it to cut them off, do so. You can finish them later, the important thing is not to incur too many losses to yourself, so it's much better IMHO to give your bomber pilots some active experience and pound the enemy for a few weeks while your ground troops prep for the target.
Since you're setting up a trap for Q-Ball, my suggestion would be to try and keep the KB in the shadows, nice and quiet. Let him know where the Kaga and her contingent are though, you want him going after something juicy worth exposing his carriers. If you have subs in the area, try to plug possible escape routes with them. If you can make even one of his carriers eat a torp right now, he'll have a rough time getting out of there with his flattops.
Alternately, you could expose the KB, and keep Kaga in the dark, try to force him north to avoid the KB. If you feel the Kaga and her planes are up to the task.
Five more turns into the war...not the best ones we experienced so far.
Let's advance with order:
NOPAC-CENTPAC-SOPAC: nothing. Delivering supplies and base forces at Addak, Marcus, Wake and Kwalajein.
SWPAC: We finally landed between the 5th and 6th of Jan at PM. the 144th Infantry Regiment, the Guards Mixed Brigade and the Maizuru 1st SNLF (pretty crack units i'd say) got welcomed over the beaches by a huge CD guns fire. So unexpected and bloody as hell!
We didn't have any devoted recon plane at Rabaul till 2 days ago, so i had send the Mavis to do the job. 2 weeks ago they spotted 2 units...4 days ago 6 units, but merely 6k men...i thought it would have been easier... While we found more than 110 AVs, entranched and very well supplies. Our guys got distrupted on the beaches (yes, i had CLs supporting the amphib TFs and several PBs...but, hell, those RAF base forces really destroyed my landing!).
During the landing phases and the bombardment that followed 1300 japanese have been reported in the casualities list. The KB, who was supporting the landing, sent 100 Kates to ground bombing...achieving NOTHING![:(]
I tried a deliberate attack nonetheless on the 7th.... and we got a bloody 1-2 in his favour....ouch[:@]
No naval actions in the whole SWPAC sector. My subs aren't spotting a damn thing and so aren't my AMCs...
Mylne Bay has fallen. Now it's time to get to Buna and Lae...but i don't have units to do the job [:(]... Shortland and Tulagi are being reinforced in these days.
SOUTHERN DEI-CELEBES: "the plan" is taking too much time and the american CVs are already positioned far away from my range...now moving southwest between Darwin and Timor. Enemy cruisers are still spotted at Ambon but Kaga's group and Mini-KB didn't move as expected, making only 8 hexes instead of the 12 planned last turn...so we were not in the right position. And it's also sure that he spotted us...already 7 subs are spotted around Menado. I'll push forward for another couple of turns but i bet he will be moved away by the time i arrive.
The 5th Amphib Bde is 2 turns from its invasion site (Tarakan). Kaga's group should provide distant coverage for this landing and a DD flottilla (6 DDs) will guard against those pesky PTs that are guarding the waters around it.
An air HQ will be soon moved to Menado, while 3 SNLFs will be loaded there and will wait for the supporting group for the next push towards Kendari. Ambon won't be invaded immediately. I'm pretty sure he has reinforced it and i don't wanna find another nasty surprise like the one i got at PM.
LUZON-MINDANAO: In Luzon 2 reinforced regiments have finally reached Manila from Legaspi. Now the enemy is bottled between Clark, Manila and Bataan. What remains of his P-40s did try some oppositions against our air bombings, but the Oscars did get rid of them pretty easily.
At Mindanao our regiments are getting closer. I think in 3/4 turns we should be able to conquer the last enemy redoubts (Cayagan). Those 2 regiments will then be used against Ambon and Balikapan.
SUMATRA: we finally conquered Oosthaven and Djambi (the base producing 250 oil north of Palembang), while our armies are marching towards the western coast where the enemy is retreating. Our paras conquered Sebang. We will transport now a base force so to extend the control of the seas in Indian Ocean.
Muntok (the island in front of Palembang) has been conquered. Soon we'll get all those little islands producing resources in front of Palembang and Singapore.
JAVA: no enemy activity spotted. I'll try to gather some units for an early landing but i don't have much to spare untill Singapore falls...so probably i'll play conservately....Java isn't going anywhere anyway.
MALAYA:: We're almost down to Mersing. The advance has taken more than a month....too much...Had i have better planned this operations things could have gone a lot better...
Singapore is daily bombed by 100 bombers. Flak is a problem even at 10k feet....but we're getting closer and closer....let's hope for the best.
BURMA: the 15th Army is massing at Mouleim, while the Royal Thai Army is trying to flank Pegu. He keeps on sending xAKLs to Rangoon and my Nells keep on sinking them...but he has a lot of them to spare and all those supplies that are flowing to China are well worth the loss of some useless xAKLs
CHINA: here Brad is really statlemating me. I got a couple of bloody noses in southern China. Impatience and overconfidence are terrible friends to deal with for Japan... i lost a base (Tsinkiang) (did i spell it right?![:'(]) and i have been stopped in a couple of occasions trying to clean and bottle his armies that are driving me nuts in the southern coast. He clearly knows how to handle the chinese. For the rest everything is quiet...i'm losing so much time deciding what to do that i almost already lost the initiative in this theatre...
Subs: same old story here. Mine aren't spotting a damned ship (WC, PH, Oz or DEI area), while his ones are deadly as ever! They sunk 3 more xAKs during the last 3 turns.... till now i have already lost not less than 50 transports thanks to his subs, and a CA has been damaged[:-]
Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. - Yasser Arafat Speech to UN General Assembly
Bad luck - with all the disruption you missed 1-1 odds by one adjusted AV point!
Most of those enemy forces are support troops so you should be able to knock them off next attack.
BTW, it looks like you spelled Tsinkiang right [unless there is a "g" after the first "n"], but for some reason I could not find Mouleim on the map ... [;)]
You're not using one of Cap Mandrake's M&M charts, are you?
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
Love it. They just stick out like swore thumbs when all we do is look for them.
Love this guy.
Best AAR's going (sorry CR) and you are forced to read them closely just for the geography lessons!
Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. - Yasser Arafat Speech to UN General Assembly
Thanks guys for your support in my geography lessons [:D]
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jan 08, 42
Wow...we were close to a disaster today....allied SS Swordfish put a torp in Kaga's belly north of Menado and later in the day another one in a CA's belly, part of Kaga's escort.... luckly both of them were dudes....[8|]
Those are risky waters and Q-Ball's ability to use his subs even with the dud rate is incredible!....and it' really driving me mad....
PM is a fortress. No matter how hard i hit it...it seems to be made of steel!!! I sent 200 crack bombers to pound the base and the troops.... look at the results!!!...this mod really changes things when dealing with air-to-ground bombing!...hopefully this will work both ways when 4Es will come around
American cruisers moved back to Timor and his CVs disappeared from my radars... kaga now leads a mini-KB composed of 200 planes...not bad! she, along with 3 strong SCTFs, will shield the advance of my apmhib TFs towards Kendari-Ambon. In 3 turns we should be able to move 100 betties to Menado...loaded with torps...this should keep Brad at bay in the area....
In China more bloody noses...he's outmanouvreing (sp!?) me everywhere, gaining time to fortify his positions...
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Sub attack near Manado at 76,98
Japanese Ships
CV Kaga
BB Haruna
BB Kongo
CA Mogami
DD Hatsushima
DD Akebono
DD Amagiri
DD Yugiri
DD Sagiri
Allied Ships
SS Swordfish
SS Swordfish launches 4 torpedoes at CV Kaga
Swordfish diving deep ....
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Sub attack near Manado at 76,98
Japanese Ships
CA Chokai
CL Sendai
DD Uranami
DD Hayashio
DD Oyashio
DD Kuroshio
DD Wakaba
DD Nowaki
DD Amatsukaze
Allied Ships
SS Swordfish
SS Swordfish launches 4 torpedoes at CA Chokai
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Morning Air attack on Singapore , at 50,84
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 83
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 17
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 6
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 24
Aircraft Attacking:
16 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
17 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
17 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
25 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
25 x D3A1 Val bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking Papuan Inf Battalion ...
Also attacking 15th RAN Base Force ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 13th Field Regiment ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 15th RAN Base Force ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Rabaul Base Force ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 15th RAN Base Force ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 15th RAN Base Force ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
Also attacking 49th Australian Battalion ...
Also attacking Port Moresby ...
ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
Wow...we were close to a disaster today....allied SS Swordfish put a torp in Kaga's belly north of Menado and later in the day another one in a CA's belly, part of Kaga's escort.... luckly both of them were dudes....[8|]
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
Wow...we were close to a disaster today....allied SS Swordfish put a torp in Kaga's belly north of Menado and later in the day another one in a CA's belly, part of Kaga's escort.... luckly both of them were dudes....[8|]
[:D]
GJ, "duds". If they were "dudes" they might have been California surfers who slammed into Kaga head first. [;)]
If the US subs are shooting dudes it would explain the lack of damage inflicted...Sooner or later Greyjoy is probably going to start including funny spellings on purpose and have some fun at our expense.
I think the Thunderstorms had a lot to do with the results at PM. If the skies are clear tomorrow, you will have better results. If you have some float planes on BBs or CAs you might have them recon as well. It really helps.
I may have misinterpreted the combat report, or I may not be aware of the context in which the action occurred, but using KB strike aircraft to bomb ground troops or facilities is pretty wasteful. Those guys need to be nurtured and saved and used only for the missions that suit them or when an absolutely vital opportunity comes up. I don't think this is one of those situations. How many mission sorties are left after the strikes off Oz and then the PM missions? Mission sorites are gold. Don't use them on mundane stuff like this.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.