Speedy vs Fabertong - time to smack back the Penguin

[BBfanboy]

Nice to see the progress in Burma.
Those two bases NW of Schwebo are not showing any troops - have they been reconned to verify that?
If they are empty, can you send any unit to take them and open the Burma Road?

[Speedysteve]

Hi BB,

All bases in northern Burma have been evac'd by Faber. He only has forces in Mandalay south

[Speedysteve]

Grrr. My Laptop has died so this is on hold until I can either get it fixed or get a new one.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

For those who still remember me I still have no laptop but aim to rectify that over the next few weeks all being well! Game is still live just dormant [;)]

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

The game is back on as I have a new laptop! Woohoo.

I figured let's start with a re-cap of where we're up to so, any readers that are left, get a refresh.

We're up to 23rd February 1944.

The below shows an overview of the Japanese perimeter. The most recent advances have been against Siberoet and Padang on Sumatra and I've just started flooding troops back into northern Burma.....

[DivePac88]

Its good to have you back there Speedy, I was a little worried We'd lost you old chap. [:)]

[Speedysteve]

No worries on that [8D]

Purely down to laptop dying and me wanting to wait until post-Christmas sales to get a decent enough one slightly cheaper!

[Speedysteve]

Burma:

Quite a fluid situation here. Faber has withdrawn from northern Burma and appears to be in full flight from the Central Basin as well. An empty Shwebo will be taken tomorrow and depending upon reported enemy strength south of the river they may continue to advance rather than wait for the additional 2000 AV still further north.

Advance also crawling south of Akyab and west out of China towards Lashio.

Faber is concerned by this, I feel, as SigInt reports at least 1 x Division (5th Division) and 3 Bde's heading to Burma aboard ships.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Looking forward to getting up to date with the Combat Report's as a nice little piece of action just took place off Singapore....anyhow on to the summaries first [;)]

Here's Sumatra.

Siberoet was taken and then Padang recently. The current situation is my CV's are stationed there providing CAP for the unloading of oodles of Support Forces (ENG, BF and AA). To the west are the last 2 major reinforcement TF's (1 containing 562K of supply and the other carrying the plane elements for Padang - P47D2's (72), F6F (36), F4U (24), A20G (48), SBD (46) and B25D (16)).

Once these are all ashore and active my Naval forces will leave the region as the forces here will be sufficient for the allotted task = create air supremacy over Sumatra and the Singapore region to nullify Japanese use of the Malacca Strait. In addition to this 2000AV worth of troops at Padang will eventually march towards the Palembang region and attempt to take over Sumatra.

Most other regions are fairly static for now. I'll begin to update with CR's now.

As a reminder the next invasions will be in SoPac (New Caledonia and New Guinea) over the next 2-3 months as my CV's head there to support these invasions (have oodles of troops sitting around in Aus so may as well put them to use) before the CV's head back to CentPac to join reinforcements for the invasion of the Mariana's.

[BBfanboy]

Thanks for the update Speedy. Very interesting situation to see an Allied landing on Sumatra in early 1944. I wonder how hard he will fight for Palembang.
I see some subs near Siberoet waiting for your convoys. You were killing them off fairly well earlier but still suffered some losses yourself. Are you confident you can get by/attack these ones?

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Hi BBfanboy - indeed. Interesting times. Intel and recon seems to indicate he's pulling back on Sumatra as a whole to Palembang. All SigInt messages relating to troop movement indicate a flurry of units moving towards Burma. All in all I'm established at Padang now and he's virtually no chance of rooting me out unless he committed 6000+ AV of troops and a LOT of airpower. With regard to his subs. Not a problem there at present. My 2 convoys are almost at Padang now.

-----------------------

Burma:

All going smoothly here so far. Northern Burma is secure. I feel it's now a race against time for my troops to slug on the trails until we all get to the Central Basin and better infrastructure. The race is presumably against Faber's mass of reinforcements that are coming on ships. No other action up here as my airpower is at the limit of the short range fighter cover and Faber only has about 80ish combat planes in Rangoon.

------------------------

Sumatra:

All proceeding to plan here as well. The final 2 substantial convoys of Phase 1 will be at Padang by the 27th. With fighters up and running my CV's will depart the scene by the end of the month.

The Japanese offensive action in the area has gradually reduced over time. Over the past week only 1 raid was launched against Padang from Singapore but my CV CAP extracted a heavy toll (80ish Japanese - Sally, Tojo, George vs 15ish CAP) on the 23rd.

I decided to try a little surprise raid on the 24th which went well overall. I instructed my CV air to attack enemy ships up to and including the Singapore area. A large enemy convoy was detected off Singapore and a series of heavy air raids were launched. Heavy enemy CAP was encountered (90ish Tojo, Tony, George and Frank) which exacted a heavy enough toll through the day (40 x Hellcat, 35 x Helldiver and 10 x Avenger for 10 x Jap) but a substantial enemy convoy was removed from the world of the living - approximately 20 enemy AK, AP, DMS, E, APD - carrying 1000's of troops (maybe bound for Burma?) were sunk. Happy with that trade.

------------------------

Submarine Warfare:

9 x dud/missed attacks.

SS Guitarro heavily damaged AK Sasako Maru off Okinawa on the 19th. In return she was heavily damaged by the escorts.

On the 20th Tambor finished off AK Sasako Maru with a further 2 torpedoes.

SS Aspro claimed TK Juko Maru off Puerto Princesa on the 21st.

SS Flying Fish blew up TK Nissho Maru with 3 torpedoes off NW Luzon.

On the 23rd SS Seahorse reported in sinking PB Sureboko Maru off Fukue-jima.

SS Trusty damaged AP Teikyo Maru with a torpedo off Cam Ranh Bay.

SS Snook heavily damaged AK Teiyo Maru east of Singapore on the 24th.

2 of my subs were heavily damaged BY ASW Vessels and 3 by LBA.

2 x Jap subs have been damaged by ASW vessels off Padang/Siberoet.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Sumatra:

By the end of Feb all of the supplies and material had been unloaded at Padang. Orders were given for all ships to retire west from the region. The CV's and Surface Units will then head south past Perth and round to Eastern Aus for the next phase of operations.

The first air raid was launched from Padang against Singapore on the 29th. A mass of 120ish Fighters (P47D2, F4U1 and F6F) were despatched on Fighter Sweeps. Resistance was heavy and up to 160 enemy fighters were engaged on CAP. I lost 30 planes to a reported 46 enemy CAP.

------------------------------------

Submarine Warfare:

2 x missed/dud attacks.

SS Trusty claimed AK Teiyo Maru sunk east of Singapore on the 28th.

SS KVIII sank the small CM Hirashima in the Malacca Strait on the 28th.

On the 29th SS Hake heavily damaged AK Hakodate Maru near Okinawa.

SS Aspro blew up the tiny TK Akatuki Maru with 2 torpedoes near Puerto Princesa.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

The Allied re-conquest continues as Padang on western Sumatra is secured and is now an Allied Bastion with over 2000AV worth of troops and 300 planes are on station.

Northern Burma is now totally secure as the Japanese continue to withdraw south.

In the air some nice new toys are available to play with including P47D25's, P51B's and Avengers for the Brits. On the sea CV Franklin, Wasp II, CVE Savo Island, Ommaney Bay, Petrof Bay, Begum, Shah, Rudyerd Bay and 7 x SS arrive to exact vengeance.

-------------------

Points:

Allies: +1303 points
Japanese: +585 points


Bases:

Allies: +4 (+97 points)
Japanese: -4 (-78 points)


Planes:

Allies: +391 lost
Japanese: +471 lost


Troops:

Allies: +24 lost
Japanese: +211 lost


Ships:

Allies: +10 (+94 points. 6 x ships from small convoy off Akyab and 4 x SS).
Japanese: +70 (+487 points. Mainly sub kills + 27 ships from the Convoy at Singapore and 5 x SS).

-------------------------------

Sub Kills:

47 of 74 were successful = 63.51% success.

Dutch Boats:

PB - 5 (1 mine)
AK - 34 (+1)
TK - 7
CM - 5 (+1)
DD - 4
TB - 1
DMS - 4 (1 mine) (+1)
E - 1
APD - 1
ACM - 1
AP - 1
AMC - 1

= 65 ships
-------------------------------

British Boats:

DD - 1 (1 mine)
AK - 5 (1 mine)
SC - 1
PB - 1
TK - 1
AO - 1
SS - 3 (2 mine)

= 13 ships

-------------------------------

Fleet Boats:

AK - 204 (+18)
SC - 14 (+2)
AP - 8 (-1)
PB - 38 (+6)
TK - 51 (+8)
AKE - 1
CM - 6
ACM - 2
E - 10 (+2)
APD - 2
DD - 3 (-2)
CL - 2 (Oi, Kashima)
AO - 5
PC - 1
AMC - 1
AV - 1
AM - 1 (1 mine) (+1)
SS - 1 (+1)
DMS - 1 (+1)

= 352 ships
--------------------------------

S-Boats:

AK - 21 (+1)
AP - 2
CM - 1
PB - 5
DMS - 1
SC - 5
TK - 3

= 38 ships

= 468 ships = 53.06% of reported sunk ships total.

[BBfanboy]

Interesting stat at the end or the Intel Screen there. Even though the Allies flew nearly twice as many sorties, Op Losses were nearly equal on both sides (16 vs 17). Did he have a lot of air-to-air or flak - damaged aircraft on the last day of February or was he pushing his search to extreme range?

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Hi BBfanboy - good question. The Japanese Ops losses were mainly down to damaged planes from the Allied fighter sweeps over Singapore.

Sumatra:

All Allied ships departed Padang early on the 1st March heading west before ultimately turning south and towards Australia.

The Japanese left a parting gift as SS I-168 hit CLAA Juneau with a torpedo leaving her heavily damaged and listing (2/82(62)/0). Juneau limped back into the small harbour at Padang.

The only other action of note was I launched a further series of Fighter sweeps over Singapore on the 2nd claiming 45 x enemy planes for 25 x friendly.

In the short term my plan on Sumatra is to rest and recover (most of my troops are at 65-80% readiness). I'll then advance from Padang towards Palembang.

--------------------------

Burma:

The advance continues!

An empty Mandalay was captured on the 4th by the Chinese. Other allied troops joined them on the 5th from Shwebo. There's now 5000 AV here. Orders have been given to continue SW towards the Rangoon area. I've attached a screenshot of the theatre.

On action of note occurred on the 1st March when an Allied Paradrop occurred at Magwe west of Mandalay. Transports flew in 3 x Bde's based at Akyab. The only enemy encountered were a small base unit and 20 x enemy Tojo's were captured on the ground. 450 enemy were claimed killed for 80 friendly.

---------------------------

Submarine Warfare:

5 x dud/missed attacks.

SS Guavina claimed the troops laden AK Horaizan Maru sank east of Singapore on the 1st.

SS Flier also claimed a freighter from this convoy AK Hokuan Maru.

SS Bonefish heavily damaged AO Kyokuto Maru with 2 torpedoes east of Mindanao.

SS KXV blew up the small CM Ukishima near Cam Ranh Bay on the 3rd March.

SS Wahoo sank troop full AK Denmark Maru near Okinawa.

SS Guavina had fun again sinking AK Hoten Maru.

In return 2 of my SS have been damaged.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Sumatra:

Progress as normal here. The troops continue to rest whilst the occasional fighter sweep is launched against Singapore. In this case the raid on the 8th cost 20 Allied fighters for 36 enemy.

Once Padang is fully expanded the Engineers will march eastwards to expand Swalohento (sp?). A load more support personnel, supply, engineers and 20 air groups are about to leave the US for Sumatra via Panama. These will come in handy for future expansion across the Island.

Recon also identified 34th Ind. Mixed Bde 90 miles SE of Padang. It's not apparently moving and is now designated target practice for 80 x LB at Padang.

-------------------------

Burma:

Things continue to move apace here.

Meiktila was taken on the 6th and the Chinese have just reached an abandoned Taung Gyi which they'll enter on the 10th.

The enemy is in full flight but where will they stop? I'd love to cut off a load of them in Rangoon but the chances of that are slim. Intel continues to identify a shed load of enemy Bde's, Rgt's and Div's that are moving to Burma. It's a race as to how far south I can advance before they all arrive. Ultimately though, the original plan was to take Rangoon by the end of May. Based on where I am now I'd like to get further south!

Air support is still far away. Engineers are repairing the base at Mandalay. Air Support should be present within 2 days time. This will be crucial to ultimately supress Rangoon but to also provide fighter cover.

-------------------

Submarine Warfare:

5 x dud/missed attacks.

SS Dace reported sinking DD Hibiki NW of Luzon on the 7th.

SS Swordfish heavily damaged AK Shinanogawa Maru with a torpedo SE of Cam Ranh Bay.

SS Amberjack claimed sinking TK Shinetsu Maru with a torpedo NE of Ambon.

It's been a costly few days for my subs though. Many subs have attacked enemy escorts and have paid for it. SS Gabilan, Billfish, Greenling and KXIII were all damaged.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Burma:

The fluid action continues in Burma.

Prome was abandoned by Faber and taken by the Allies on the 15th.

The Japanese have clearly set their 'lines in the sand' and some of the substantial reinforcements reportedly arriving have clearly arrived! I've attached a screenshot to show the situation better than text can describe!

The rapid advance will now slow down as I have to consolidate my forces and wait for everyone to arrive from various areas in northern Burma. We'll advance on Toungoo (with the stack NE of it = 3200 AV) as only 1 enemy unit has been reported there. Toungoo will be an important airbase to build up if we have to face serious Jap resistance further south.

The screenshot shows the reported Jap strength levels and also air totals. To add to this I do have a further 220ish fighters and 180 bombers waiting to deploy into Burma. I just need to capture Toungoo and build up Meiktila for these. About 2/3 of my fighters are front line (Spits/P38J). The rest are P40N5 or Hurricane variants.

Air raids will be launched by Mandalay (against Toungoo) and Prome (against Jap units further south) to test any enemy air opposition.

I'm tempted to send my Chinese Exp. force SE from Taung Gyi across country into Thailand......

The next month or 2 will be interesting in Burma.

-------------------

Sumatra:

Slowly building up here. Faber has entrenched at Djambi (16K men, 6 units) and of course Palembang (35K men, 16 units).

I launched an raid against Djambi on the 10th. A mix of enemy CAP was present and they took a toll on my P47D2's shooting down 28 of them for 3 x Franks!

In reverse of fortunes Faber decided to react once to my regular milk runs bombing the Jap Bde south of Padang by providing Franks on CAP. My new P47D25's (72 of them now based at Padang) took a heavy toll shooting down 15 of them for the loss of 1 x P47D2 [:)]

A further West African Division is soon to be embarked at Mombasa and will head to Padang.

--------------------------

Submarine Warfare:

1 x dud/missed attack.

Lots of Sub vs Escort action!

SS Pompano claimed sinking E Aguni south of Tokyo on the 10th. Pompano tracked the convoy and heavily damaged the troop laden AK Onoe Maru with a torpedo on the 13th.

SS Seahorse sank DMS W-6 west of Sasebo on the 11th.

SS Hoe sank TK Samui Maru off Miri on the 13th.

SS Apogon sank E W-16 near Cam Ranh Bay on the 14th.

SS Archerfish sank TK Nichiei Maru off the Palau's on the 14th.

SS Hoe saw action again on the 14th sinking the troop loaded AK Hohuku Maru east of Singapore.

SS Tilefish sank E Manju off the Palau's on the 15th.

SS S-46 damaged CL Kashima with a torpedo near Iwo-jima on the 15th.

The enemy ASW vessels also took their toll. SS Tarpon was sunk off Batavia and SS Hoe and Tilefish were heavily damaged.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Burma:

16th:

Air raids were launched against 48th Division SE of Prome and against Toungoo. Some enemy fighters did provide CAP over 48th Division but no planes were lost on either side.

17th:

Allied forces approached the outskirts of Toungoo and prepared to take the place tomorrow.

No Allied air raids were launched today but Faber launched raids against Allied troops near Prome and against forces outside Toungoo. Ground losses were minimal and the heavy Allied AA escorting the troops near Toungoo (4 x AA Rgt's) did their job claiming 8 enemy bombers.

18th:

The Japanese evac'd from Toungoo in the night and the Allies entered a very quiet Toungoo on the 18th.

Prome air units launched an air raid against Rangoon. 103 x Enemy fighters were on CAP (A6M5/Tojo/Nick) which shot down 9 Hurricane's. The Spits despatched 5 enemy CAP and the bombers did their job knocking out 1/3 of the runways and claiming 20 enemy bombers/transports on the ground.

------------------

3600 AV worth of troops are marching SE from Prome.

Toungoo forces are awaiting supply! It's a balance now as I need to build up these bases in Burma to maximise supply flow but I can't delay too long to allow Faber more time to strengthen his position.

-------------------

Sumatra:

A small enemy convoy strayed too near the east cost of Sumatra, NW of Singapore and a series of air raids were launched on the 16th by SBD's from Padang. At least 5 enemy ships were claimed sunk (AK/SC/APD/E)

The usual milk runs carry on against the Jap Bde south of Padang.

An air raid was launched against Djambi which met the usual mix of enemy cap (90 x CAP). Losses were fairly even (about 10 planes each. I sent over Sweeps the next day which claimed 22 enemy fighters for the loss of 16 friendlies.

Intel detected 3rd Tank Division unloading at Oosthaven on the southern tip of Sumatra (the centre and north being at risk from Allied airpower). This info made up my mind on whether to continue to wait for my troops to recover. I decided waiting was too costly as Faber can bring in more and more troops (and the one thing Jap doesn't feel short on is troop units).

I've directed most of my land forces to move eastwards to a position west of Djambi. We'll see what the situation is like then. I don't want to cross the river and shock attack Djambi directly so I may go south then east. I'm also sending an African Bde southwards to engage the Jap Bde being used for air target practice.

-----------------------

Submarine Warfare:

2 x dud/missed attacks.

SS Devilfish sank AK Cuba Maru near Okinawa on the 16th.

SS Seahorse sank PB Hokuyo Maru SW of Japan.

SS Scamp sank TK Hishi Maru #2 east of Singapore with 2 torpedoes.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Burma:

My armada of troops under Slim commanding III Indian Corps reached the enemy lines SE of Prome on the 21st. Recon and artillery duels ensued on the 22nd:

Ground combat at 55,51 (near Prome)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 84829 troops, 1478 guns, 1249 vehicles, Assault Value = 3583

Defending force 30707 troops, 310 guns, 244 vehicles, Assault Value = 1124

Japanese ground losses:
41 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
134 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 14 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled


Assaulting units:
77th Chindit Brigade
11th PAVO Regiment
18th British Division
72nd British Brigade
26th Indian Division
BFF Brigade
44th Cavalry Regiment
2/3 AIF Pioneer Battalion
16th Indian Brigade
26th Indian Brigade
25th Indian Division
IV Corps Engineer Battalion
111th Chindit Brigade
50th Indian Para Brigade
Guides Cavalry Regiment
XXXIII Corps Engineer Battalion
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
45th Indian Brigade
150th RAC Regiment
14th Indian Division
5th Indian Division
32nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
III Indian Corps
6th Mixed A/T Mtr Regiment
3rd (Special Force) Division

Defending units:
48th Division
23rd Ind. Engineer Regiment
33rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
30th Ind.Mixed Brigade
41st Infantry Regiment
19th Tank Regiment
18th Tank Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment

Orders have been given for a Deliberate Assault tomorrow.

In the air fierce air battles raged over Rangoon on the 20/21st with the Japanese shooting down more planes (mainly hurricanes - losses about 25 vs 10) but Faber lost about 35 planes on the ground due to bombing (mainly bombers).

Supply is still lacking from Toungoo but advance aviation personnel are on hand now so 95 fighters flew in from Calcutta (SpitV/VIII's and P40N's).

-------------------------

Sumatra:

The main force of troops heading for Djambi have reached Swalohento.

The only action of note was over Djambi on the 21st when an Allied air raid was met by the usual mix of first line Jap fighters. Losses were about even (15ish each).

-------------------------

Submarine Warfare:

5 x dud/missed attacks.

SS Grunion sank PB Keiko Maru off Balikpapan on the 21st.

SS Hammerhead sank AK Tazan Maru off Okinawa with 2 torpedoes.

SS Pompano and Grunion were damaged by ASW vessels and Hackleback by LBA.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Simply put the assault Se of Prome failed and badly. The arrival of a Japanese Tank Division couldn't have helped but some heads will roll. A bunch of good leaders were in charge as well. Oh well. Will have to think on this. It's unlikely I'll punch through here. Faber has a similar level of troops further East and a further 25 units or so in Rangoon/Pegu. I'll move south from Toungoo to investigate there. The Chinese will also advance SW from Taung Gyi.

I've also just launched a TF from Calcutta bound for Ramree Island. I'll continue to ferry troops here to build this up as a supply base a filter point for entering further combat units.

Thoughts?

Here's the assault:

Ground combat at 55,51 (near Prome)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 91572 troops, 1478 guns, 1769 vehicles, Assault Value = 3576

Defending force 39357 troops, 441 guns, 870 vehicles, Assault Value = 1497

Allied adjusted assault: 1649

Japanese adjusted defense: 2889

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
3418 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 306 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 64 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 66 disabled
Guns lost 91 (5 destroyed, 86 disabled)
Vehicles lost 131 (53 destroyed, 78 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
5378 casualties reported
Squads: 150 destroyed, 405 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 82 disabled
Engineers: 38 destroyed, 55 disabled
Guns lost 86 (4 destroyed, 82 disabled)

---------------------

Submarine Warfare:

SS Balao damaged AK Tokyo Maru with a torpedo off Balikpapan.

---------------------

Sumatra:

Here's a snapshot of Sumatra showing my armies moving east from Padang through Swalohento. The 2 arrows show potential points for the troops to aim for. Recon indicates 16K enemy troops and 5 units at Djambi. I doubt my force can take them with a Shock attack (2200 AV).