Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J), no spence, please

[fcharton]

Hi Erik,

The accepted wisdom says that Auto Victory in 43 is only achievable if Japan conquers all of Australia or India (which means a very early capture of the Indies and a quick follow up invasion). I am not shooting for auto victory, but I have been wondering for a while about China. I mean, if you defeat all of China, and destroy all the units there, and build those 100 VP apiece bases, don't you get pretty close to that 4:1 ratio?

As for air losses, I agree that planes are by far your cheapest weapons, and probably the only field where you can outproduce the Allies for a long while. My current problem is that on a low intensity turn, like those, my opponent loses five planes, and I lose ten or twelve. I'd like to keep this closer to 1:1. But like you, I'd rather trade 20 for 20, than 5 for 5. I'm building a thousand planes per month, right now, more than half of them fighters. A quick calculation in Tracker suggest the Allies produce 521, including 240 fighters.

This means I can accept losses around 2:1, over 18/day, I am depleting allied pools, over 32/day I'm depleting mine. Average losses around 20/day on both sides would be quite fine, as it would probably deplete his pools, and not mine. That's about 600 planes a month, half of them fighters.

Francois

[fcharton]

July 26th 1942

Adak at last

Mutsu, Yamashiro and friends reached Adak this morning, found three PT boats and sank one. Then, they bombarded the base, and took some revenge for the unprovoked attacks of the previous days.

Night Naval bombardment of Adak Island at 162,52
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
PBY-5 Catalina: 7 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 3 destroyed on ground
P-40E Warhawk: 7 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed on ground
B-26 Marauder: 12 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Yamashiro
BB Mutsu
CL Yubari

Allied ground losses:
39 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 22
Port hits 9
Port supply hits 3

Three Catalinas and as many Warhawks, it was worth pressing on.
This raid, and the previous ones on Attu, seems to confirm that my opponent is not establishing strong garrisons here.

This is the third raid on the Aleutians. I expect the enemy to try to throw a welcome party the next time. I am leaving a submarine in the port, in case someone comes visiting…

More action at sea

For several days, my search planes in Hollandia and Wewak have been detecting Allied cargoes following the coast of northern Australia. They are probably returning to Cooktown, from Darwin. I had two surface groups cruising in the area: one returning from the Solomons to refit in Singapore, and another one on opposite course. I also had put a few submarines on patrol in the shallows near Horn Island. Yet, enemy cargoes never were caught.

Well, everything came together today. Near Mornington Island, a surface force intercepted one group

Night Time Surface Combat, near Mornington Island at 85,132, Range 12,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga
CA Kumano
CL Sendai
CL Kinu
DD Tanikaze
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare
DD Nenohi
DD Yugao
Allied Ships
xAKL Lepus, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
xAKL Lorinna, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
xAKL Ngakuta, Shell hits 23, and is sunk

And the other found my submarines

Submarine attack near Horn Island at 90,129
Japanese Ships
SS RO-62
Allied Ships
xAKL Koonda, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Submarine attack near Horn Island at 91,129
Japanese Ships
SS RO-62
Allied Ships
xAKL Wear, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage

Just xAKL, nothing to call the Emperor about, but so long it keeps the enemy prudent…


In the New Hebrides, one of the Glen equipped submarines that patrols the sea between Luganville and Ndeni, in the hope of detecting an enemy move, was attacked by three US destroyers. Damage is light, but intelligence reports an APD, which might transport troops.

I doubt their target is Lunga or Kirakira, the enemy knows I‘m there, and there would be more ships at sea. They might go for Ndjeni, though. Three destroyers have been sent there, just in case. KB is a few days away.

In other news

In Chungking, raw AV are 4400 vs 3900 KMT. My troops still need rest, but at the current rate, the next deliberate attack should be over 5000 AV, vs about 3500, out of supply and behind level one forts. Chances are, then, that we will achieve 1:1 odds, and collect less disruption. Right now, every attack brings my infantry to 90 disruption and fatigue.

Between assaults, I have been trying different schemes to rest my units. Apparently, reserve mode and splitting divisions into their components help in getting replacements, and repairing disabled squads. On the other hand, keeping units as a whole and in combat mode, seems to be better for reducing fatigue and disruption. Can anyone confirm this?

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: fcharton

Hi Erik,

The accepted wisdom says that Auto Victory in 43 is only achievable if Japan conquers all of Australia or India (which means a very early capture of the Indies and a quick follow up invasion). I am not shooting for auto victory, but I have been wondering for a while about China. I mean, if you defeat all of China, and destroy all the units there, and build those 100 VP apiece bases, don't you get pretty close to that 4:1 ratio?

As for air losses, I agree that planes are by far your cheapest weapons, and probably the only field where you can outproduce the Allies for a long while. My current problem is that on a low intensity turn, like those, my opponent loses five planes, and I lose ten or twelve. I'd like to keep this closer to 1:1. But like you, I'd rather trade 20 for 20, than 5 for 5. I'm building a thousand planes per month, right now, more than half of them fighters. A quick calculation in Tracker suggest the Allies produce 521, including 240 fighters.

This means I can accept losses around 2:1, over 18/day, I am depleting allied pools, over 32/day I'm depleting mine. Average losses around 20/day on both sides would be quite fine, as it would probably deplete his pools, and not mine. That's about 600 planes a month, half of them fighters.

Francois

Also remember that everything the allies produce at this time is virtually crap! [:)] And as you say the allied pools are..usually empty!

[fcharton]

July 27th 1942

I am being a little more careful with my planes, and this pays instant dividends: we lost seven planes to nineteen enemies yesterday, and four to thirteen today. Over Rangoon and Magwe, we are shooting half a dozen bombers a day (between flak, air and ops losses), for one or two fighters. Over New Guinea, I am letting my opponent bomb retreating units. Thanks to the jungle, it does little damage, but a couple of planes are damaged, and sometimes lost, every day.

The loss ratio is nice, but losing 15 planes a day is not enough to reduce Allied pools. I need to be more aggressive.

July 28th 1942

Aftermath in Adak

After my battleships left Adak, a submarine had been left in the port, in case reinforcements arrived. An AV paid a visit today, and was punished for it.

Sub attack near Adak Island at 162,52
Japanese Ships
SS I-5
Allied Ships
AV Wright, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Had AV Wright left Adak when my BB were detected, or was she reinforcing the island? I don’t know, but this is a good catch.

Ndeni

Two days ago, after enemy destroyers were spotted north of Luganville, a small DD squadron was sent to Ndeni, just in case. They were attacked today, without success, but with a very interesting mix of planes.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 7
F4F-3 Wildcat x 18
SB2U-3 Vindicator x 7
SBD-2 Dauntless x 16

Allied aircraft losses
SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Okikaze
DD Hatsukaze
DD Amatsukaze

These could be carrier planes, but I really doubt it. Carriers on naval strike would feature torpedo bombers, wouldn’t they? Ndeni being at maximum range from Luganville, I suspect my opponent has loaded his base with carrier planes, to prevent me from bombarding. This, again, suggests that Luganville is used as his forward hub for future action against the Solomons.

This is good intelligence: KB is just north of Ndeni, undetected, and I am certainly not moving it into detection range.

Rabaul

Something has to be done about the B17-E in Port Moresby. Thanks to their long range, they can attack deep inside my lines, and they are difficult to kill. We got one, possibly two, today, over Rabaul.

Afternoon Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 7 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed by flak

So far, 34 of them are reported lost. I realize my opponent produced 15 per month during six months, and had about 110 more in various squadrons. That’s about two hundred of them, and 50 more B-17F that will be produced next month. 34 out of 250 is not much, but the next B-17 is the G model, which arrives in late 1945.

The fall of Liuchow

We captured Liuchow today. Once the forts were gone, this was an easy one.

Ground combat at Liuchow (74,55)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 24729 troops, 230 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 507
Defending force 30437 troops, 190 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 568
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Liuchow !!!

Japanese ground losses:
648 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 69 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 16 (2 destroyed, 14 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
10048 casualties reported
Squads: 446 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 468 destroyed, 53 disabled
Engineers: 70 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 61 (58 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 11 (11 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 18

My troops are fatigued, and I will not pursue. My opponent now holds three bases in China: Chungking and Changsha, both under siege, and Tuyun, devoid of industry. This probably means the KMT troops present on the map cannot trace supply lines and will be left to wither.

The capture of Liuchow is important, because it frees the railway from Central China to Liuchow, and then to Vietnam. Support units from Manchuria and China can now be sent to Indochina, Burma and Singapore, freeing Southern Army units based there.

[fcharton]

July 29th 1942

The weird carrier engagement off Duff

Yesterday, in Ndeni, three destroyers were attacked by carrier planes, which I assumed were based in Luganville. No damage was done, and the destroyers retreated towards Lunga. KB cruising in the area, remained a few hexes north east of Ndeni, ready to strike if my opponent decided to move against Lunga or the Solomons. To avoid giving away KB by detecting enemy submarines, all squadrons had been ordered to fly close range (2 hexes).

It turned out I was wrong, those carrier planes were, well… carrier based. And in fact, a large task force showed up seven hexes south of KB. I wasn’t expecting them, and my squadrons had been ordered to two hex range, so no one flew, except the CAP.

The enemy, on the other hand, had all their dive bombers on naval attack, but apparently no fighters came to escort them. Is this the seven hex strike rule? But then, shouldn’t it apply to all planes alike? Or did my opponent put all his fighters on CAP, or what?

Anyway, this resulted into a very strange battle.
A first strike features Dauntlesses and Avengers, a squadron of each, and it was very unfair, especially for the Dauntlesses.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,139
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 59

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 15
TBF-1 Avenger x 12

No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 10 destroyed
TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga
CV Akagi

A second squadron of Dauntlesses fared a little better against my Zeroes, but the flak finished those that made it through.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,139
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 53

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 15

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 7 destroyed, 1 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Akagi
CV Kaga

And then, there was a third attack, which didn’t go well…

Morning Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,139
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 43 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 44

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 15

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 8 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Akagi
CV Soryu
CV Hiryu

At this point, the Allies had probably lost over 40 planes, and most of three squadrons of dive bombers. Why those fighters didn’t fly is beyond me.


Tough luck, eh? Dear reader. Well the digital Admiral Halsey, heading the Allied Carriers, didn’t agree with you. He probably considered he was winning, because he sent two more unescorted raids in the afternoon. The Japanese HQ is considering him for the Order of the Chrysanthemum…

The first raid didn’t get better…

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,139
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 56

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 12 destroyed

And here’s the last one.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,139
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 26 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 50

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 16

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 7 destroyed, 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Akagi

Overall, my opponent lost more than 80 planes, 76 Dauntless and 10 Avengers, are reported in Tracker, which would mean almost all the six squadrons that flew against KB. Given the damage done and the long range, this makes some sense. And of course, I doubt many pilots made it back home.

Intelligence reports three task forces, and 15 ships, seven hexes away. I have seen VB-3 and VB-6 over my carriers, which suggest the Enterprise and Saratoga were here (unless my opponent shuffled squadrons, of course). Five squadrons of dive bombers, plus one of torpedo bombers, suggest two or three carriers.

I suppose I have to call this a victory. Sinking the enemy carriers would have been better, of course, but 80 carrier planes, with as many pilots, is a pretty good result. Tracker reports 163 Dauntless 3 shot down since the beginning of the war. The Allies have about 110 in their squadrons, and produce 20/month, or 160.

But of course, this battle was absolutely weird. Why did the Allies send unescorted bombers, in the morning, and then again in the afternoon? Why didn’t my carrier launch in the afternoon, once the enemy was detected? (I had a message saying my carrier reacted to enemy carriers, so detection did happen). Aren’t such loss ratio (7:86) a bit crazy?

I don’t know enemy details, of course, and someone probably forgot one of those all important factors that turn victories into defeats. Yet, the more I look into it, the more I think it proves the game engine does very little target assessment, or does it very badly.

Just as the AI will launch a huge unescorted strike against three xAKL, into a CAP trap (me in Timor a month ago), it will not hesitate to send all bombers in a TF to certain death (enemy DB flying in the afternoon), and will not consider exploiting such a situation to one’s advantage (me in the afternoon).

I might be wrong, but my hunch here, is that range is the only deciding factor, and strikes are decided independently. If something is detected in range, you attack. It doesn’t matter whether you have escorts, the target is worth it, or you’ve just lost the first three squadrons there. If it isn’t in range, you don’t. It is exactly the same problem as with land based naval strikes, except perhaps that naval strikes tend to be the purpose of carriers...

I’m slightly underwhelmed. At this point, I suppose I should chase the enemy carriers, but I don’t feel it is fair. I’m moving KB due West, and have set all squadrons to maximum range. If my opponent chooses to make a stand, we will have a battle. I expect (hope, in fact) he won’t.

As usual, I’m very interested in explanations about what happened.

[JocMeister]

My bet is that he messed up the settings. His fighters can´t do 7 hexes. Only 6. He probably didn´t realize this and lowered the range on his TBs/DBs to 6. Not the best day for you opponent. I understand why you don´t feel to happy. This game is very unforgiving and its easy to make mistakes like that!

[fcharton]

hi Jocmeister,

Judging from the previous day attack on Ndeni, he had Wildcats (F4-A3) and Buffaloes (F2-A2), and both are advertised as 6-8 (normal/extended).
Now the Dauntless is a 7-8, which might explain why the 'cats didn't fly, but strangely he had Avengers (6-8 also) in the air during the first round.

So apparently, his Dauntless would fly because 7 hexes is in their normal range. One Avenger squadron had a lucky (?) roll, and flew, but the fighters didn't manage, and so the DB flew unescorted... five times...

As for the game being unforgiving, I agree, having been on the receiving end of this a month ago. I keep thinking such results (reported losses are like 12:1) are too extreme.

Francois

[GreyJoy]

francois, i do think he simply messed up with his fighters...nothing more

[Q-Ball]

Everyone who has played WITP-AE has messed-up range settings, probably more than once. That is certainly what happened here; the F4F-3 and F4F-4 both can escort strikes out to 7 hexes using fuel tanks. He may have had them set with no drop tanks, which by itself would explain the result.

If your guys were set to Range of 2, count yourself very lucky; if I am right on the drop tank settings, if they were 1 or 2 hexes closer, you would have lost a couple CVs for no gain at all.

Be careful with your own settings........

[witpqs]

I think his F4F-4 can do 8 hexes with drop tanks. I agree he probably just messed up the settings.

BTW those were all different aircraft models that attacked your three DD the previous day. My guess is those were land-based USMC squadrons. If you had sent KB south you might have faced them and the carriers (within fighter range).

[fcharton]

Ok, wrong fighter range it was, then. I'll try to ask my opponent some time.

Q-Ball, I do realize how lucky I was. I didn't expect enemy carriers at all.
Witpqs, you're probably right, and the appearance of Allied CV suggest something might have been cooking in the area. Well, it's off now, I suppose.

As for the 2 range, I tend to put my squadrons on short range while transiting KB in this area, to prevent search missions to spot enemy subs (lots of them there) and get KB detected. The idea was to lurk at sea and wait for the enemy to appear, and be detected by land based search planes.

2 range looked like a good compromise between close range security, and discretion. But I do see the flaw in this approach.
What do you guys do? Limiting KB searches doesn't seem right...

Thanks in advance
Francois

[witpqs]

BTW I was thinking he neglected to set the fighters to use drop tanks, which I think limits them to 6.

So far I haven't played Japan in PBM. But as Allies I definitely use detection of my subs as Intel.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: fcharton

As for the 2 range, I tend to put my squadrons on short range while transiting KB in this area, to prevent search missions to spot enemy subs (lots of them there) and get KB detected. The idea was to lurk at sea and wait for the enemy to appear, and be detected by land based search planes.

2 range looked like a good compromise between close range security, and discretion. But I do see the flaw in this approach.
What do you guys do? Limiting KB searches doesn't seem right...

Thanks in advance
Francois

If there is any chance of meeting the enemy, I always keep the KB ready for battle out to it's maximum strike distance. If I'm running from Soerabaja to Truk, I might not, but I would emphasize ASW missions. Keeping a low profile is great but obviously has it's limitations. I'd rather have my opponent see it than either get a CV sunk by a sub or worse, meet Allied carriers unprepared.

[fcharton]

July 30th 1942

After yesterday’s battle, KB sailed east and found nothing. The enemy probably retreated toward Noumea. I am confident this buys me some time in the Solomons and Gilbert. If I got the numbers right, my opponent will be short on dive bombers for quite a while. As such, I believe enemy carriers won’t be seen too often, and this is good.

KB will now patrol around the Solomons. I might send it raid Luganville (despite the presence of land based planes there) and try to catch that big surface force that was spotted there on several occasions.

North of Guadalcanal, the surface group from Singapore arrived today in Rekata Bay… to be bombed by B-17E from Port Moresby. They didn’t score any hit, and five planes were damaged. B-17 seem to be quite efficient against ships in port (they damaged my ships in Rabaul on several occasions) but much less on task forces as sea. I am fine with this kind of limitation.

Over New Guinea, the enemy bombarded my retreating troops with little success, and lost a B-26 over Lae. Overall, my opponent lost seven planes for two on my side.

In Chungking, we have over 5200 AV, vs 3700 enemies. I’m giving the troops another day rest, and we will attack.



July 31st 1942

In New Guinea, after bombing my troops retreating from Terapo, the enemy turned his attention to Lae.

Morning Air attack on Lae , at 99,126
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 12
Hudson III (LR) x 6
B-26B Marauder x 6
P-39D Airacobra x 10
P-400 Airacobra x 12
P-40E Warhawk x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 6 damaged
Hudson III (LR): 3 destroyed
They will eventually interdict this airfield, I’m sure, but I am not sure I’m seeing their point.

B-17E reappeared over Rabaul. My ships in port will get it (I have an ACM and a few damaged cargo), but we also go two more Buffs, … patience is the mother of virtue, as we say in Japan.

In Chungking, we have 5400 AV against 3732 enemies, and we will have that banzai moment tomorrow.

[PaxMondo]

Banzai!!!
 

[fcharton]

August 1st 1942

The battle in Chunking didn’t go as nicely as I hoped. I didn’t bomb the airfield as earnestly as I should, and the enemy managed to rebuild the forts to level two.

We still did destroy a good number of combat squads, and support assets too. So we probably lost time, but are still reducing the enemy.

Ground combat at Chungking (76,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 197432 troops, 2800 guns, 1466 vehicles, Assault Value = 5513
Defending force 183116 troops, 800 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 4031
Japanese adjusted assault: 1445
Allied adjusted defense: 2383
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

Japanese ground losses:
7272 casualties reported
Squads: 20 destroyed, 1312 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 118 disabled
Engineers: 39 destroyed, 157 disabled
Guns lost 137 (3 destroyed, 134 disabled)
Vehicles lost 34 (1 destroyed, 33 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
6830 casualties reported
Squads: 317 destroyed, 796 disabled
Non Combat: 118 destroyed, 784 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 22 disabled
Guns lost 75 (15 destroyed, 60 disabled)
Units destroyed 6


Next day bombardment report 3200 AV for the KMT, and 4200 on our side. We are repairing between 150 to 200 every day, have another HQ arriving tomorrow and an infantry division in Kienko.

It is a pity we didn’t reduce the forts, but I’m quite happy with the damage done. I don’t think the enemy can hold much longer.

Right, gaijins, it snowed a lot this week end, and I’m supposed to take the kids sleighing in the garden (they really need me there: there’s a river at the bottom of the slope, and the water doesn’t look engaging…)

[fcharton]

I am drowning in work these days, and have very little time for the game. I’m trying to keep the pace around five turns a week, but things will be forgotten, errors done, and ships sunk. And this AAR will just try to keep up with the game. Sorry about that, dear reader, I’ll be back at some point, but not now.

August 2nd 1942

Burma

The milk runs over Magwe went all wrong today. During the night, my Nicks managed to damage a few Wellingtons, two are reported shot down. In the day, a squadron of Oscars, just arrived from Bangkok (since the enemy doesn’t want to play in the Andamans, there is not point keeping Oscars there), joined the Zeroes on CAP, and derailed a rather large raid.

Morning Air attack on Magwe , at 57,47
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 30

Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 24
P-40E Warhawk x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 13 destroyed, 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Tracker reports 22 Blenheims lost today, and 29 enemy planes.

I also have reinforced Rangoon. An Air HQ from Singapore just arrived, and an Oscar squadron moved in.

Meanwhile, flak is arriving from China. So far, flak has been very inefficient, and I am trying very large concentrations. Magwe will have 53 flak points, Rangoon 14, let’s see if this makes a difference.

Chungking

P66-Vanguards appeared in Chungking. Today, only one flew, shot down a Sally, and bombardments damaged several on the ground. I don’t think this will work. At the current rate, the runway will be too damaged, and supply levels too low, for significant number of fighters to fly.

I have been moving many HQ to Chungking, and this is beginning to pay off. My infantry is recovering faster than before. Today we had 4400 AV, and disruption went down from 90 to 60. I have noticed that combat mode seems to be the fastest way to reduce disruption and fatigue. Reserve, on the other hand, seems to work better for disablements and replacements. With this faster rate of recovery, I hope to be able to launch an attack a week (from one every other week in June).


August 3rd 1942

Rabaul

Liberators showed up over Rabaul today, with little success. Enemy B17-E had more luck in the afternoon and sank the last damaged cargo sitting in port, and the minefield tender. I shot down three more of them, for a total of 43 reported destroyed. That’s almost a quarter of total enemy numbers.

The Lae airfield has been interdicted by heavy bombardment. There is little I can do about it right now. On the other hand, it is not as I’m very exposed there.


August 4th 1942

Akagi woes

Near Duff Islands, a US submarine put a torpedo into CV Akagi. Damage is very low (4 SYS and 2 FLT), but I made a lot out of it as I sent my turn to my opponent, hoping he might believe KB is back to Truk. I’m not really crazy of the mind game in AE, but a little deception never harms.

A submarine sent patrolling in Luganville found an AP there, which she missed, unfortunately. I am sending a bombardment task force tomorrow.


In Chungking, disruption is now in the 30s, and our bombers are keeping the runway damaged. We will attack next week.

[fcharton]

August 17th 1942 – Chungking falls

Sorry about the lack of updates, free time was scarce over the last few weeks. I did manage to keep the game going, not playing as well as I should, and this AAR fell back.

There is little to report in the Pacific. My opponent has been bombing Lae, and Madang, and Rabaul, and I have been shooting his planes. At sea, he managed to sucker me twice, intercepting a bombardment task force with his carriers. I lost a battleship (Hyuga) around Luganville, and another one in the Aleutians. Well done, Spence!

In the Indian Ocean, another attempt to base fighter squadrons in the Andamans was defeated by sweeps from Bangkok. Bombers don’t seem to visit Magwe and Rangoon anymore. Right now, the enemy is focusing on Akyab and Ramree Island. As we’re having monsoon, I’m not too worried about an enemy offensive.

The big piece of news was the fall of Chungking, today. On the 12th, a first attack had reduced the forts back to level one, and achieve 1:1 odds for the first time.

Ground combat at Chungking (76,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 227680 troops, 3045 guns, 1508 vehicles, Assault Value = 6847
Defending force 179030 troops, 751 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3573

Japanese adjusted assault: 1907
Allied adjusted defense: 1671
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Japanese ground losses:
17542 casualties reported
Squads: 61 destroyed, 1259 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 81 disabled
Engineers: 18 destroyed, 146 disabled
Guns lost 117 (6 destroyed, 111 disabled)
Vehicles lost 27 (2 destroyed, 25 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
9047 casualties reported
Squads: 376 destroyed, 901 disabled
Non Combat: 125 destroyed, 928 disabled
Engineers: 28 destroyed, 15 disabled
Guns lost 117 (51 destroyed, 66 disabled)
Units destroyed 4

Over the next few days, our troops recovered very fast, while Chinese AV lingered around 2500. I ordered a deliberate attack today, despite disruption levels around 20, lest some destroyed enemies come back. That did the trick, much to my surprise…

Ground combat at Chungking (76,45)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 224046 troops, 3044 guns, 1508 vehicles, Assault Value = 6503
Defending force 164114 troops, 661 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2592
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese adjusted assault: 5258
Allied adjusted defense: 1123
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Chungking !!!

Allied aircraft losses
P-66 Vanguard: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
11384 casualties reported
Squads: 36 destroyed, 510 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 103 disabled
Engineers: 12 destroyed, 148 disabled
Guns lost 116 (2 destroyed, 114 disabled)
Vehicles lost 68 (5 destroyed, 63 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
56591 casualties reported
Squads: 2278 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 2853 destroyed, 397 disabled
Engineers: 179 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 288 (256 destroyed, 32 disabled)
Units retreated 105
Units destroyed 9

The enemy has retreated east (mapwise), over the river. I will bomb them, surround them, and then move in for the kill. I believe this stack can be eliminated before it can retreat into protective terrain.

All over China, Japanese units are moving, we are trying to “comb” the place, and eliminate all the KMT. It seems clear that no one will make it to Burma, so the goal is to make the clean up phase as short as possible.

Then, we will reinforce the pacific, and march on Burma. With a little luck, we will be ready to attack at the end of the year, once the US is heavily committed in the South Pacific. I intend to conduct a fighting retreat in the South pacific (Solomons and New Guinea), sacrificing a number units in the process, in order to gain time and reinforce a second line of defense, and march on Burma and India. Well, that’s the plan, anyway…

Here is a picture of the situation in China

[PaxMondo]

Congrats on Chungking and welcome back!
 
Taking Chungking before 1Sept, I think is a record for an AAR!
 
[&o][&o][&o]

[obvert]

Well done! Great to see you back around as well.

This should give you a glut of troops to use in Burma for sure, and an endless use for your PPs to other locations. [;)]

Considering the amount of time it will take to get out the necessary units, it'll be interesting to see where you make the strongest defense line in the Pacific (and elsewhere).