European battle for the Pacific - No Terje - Campaign for India

[sj80]

The game progressed slowly the last month because of working issues and vacation. But now we are returning to the usual 1 turn by day. We finally reached end of March 1942.

I-29 torpedoed the CV Formidable and an Ammo Explosion occurred. Terje withdraw the ship because the repair time was too long. There should be no British CV in action at the moment with the already sunken Hermes and Indomitable. The IJN is ruling the Indian Ocean except a small place ... Cocos Island (west of Java). Terje turned the small island into a fortress with a strong garrison. 2 Divs and 2 Tank Regs are preparing for an amph assault.

The IJA in China has assaulted Changsha and got a really bloody nose. 19.000 dead Japanese soldiers, the highest losses for one day. More troops including combat engineers are on the way to Changsha. Heavy air bombardments will weaken the defenders.

Sebastian

[sj80]

The KB was lurking north of Fiji for some turns and after allied carriers were discovered near Pago Pago an attack order was given! The Hornet was torpedoed 2 turns ago near the US West Cost, so "only" 4 Allied carriers could be in place.

My attacks inflicted heavy damage to the enemy. Regarding Terjes information the Saragota is lost, the Yorktown and Enterprise are heavily damaged. Unfortunately the counter attacks have hit my KB very hard and crippled the Soryu and Kaga. The Agaki got medium damage and the Shokaku got light damage.
All pilots of Soryu, Kaga and Agaki are pulled back in the pool. This will save many veteran pilots. Only 83 pilots are killed, wounded or missed. 160 jap planes are lost compared to 105 allied planes.

This turn was really thrilling and my heartbeat raced while watching the combat replay. I was inflicted that day with the SLCS (sudden carrier loss syndrome), but I'm over it now. Today I got pulled out a wisdom tooth and that hurts much more than loosing some carriers. [:(]
Maybe I was too aggressive and risked too much. But I'm sure the IJN would have done the same in 1942. The next target is to prevent a complete Midway failure and get the remaining 4 CVs back home. Another problem is that most ships started with high Op points the next turn (maybe refueling, but all movement points were shown in green). I had to split up the BBs Hiei and Haruna (both 800 ops). Maybe they can protect my retreating carriers or catch some allied ships during the night. Now my subs have the mission to finish the remaining allied carriers ...

Sebastian

[sj80]

Again I was a bit lazy with AAR updates. Here is the overview over the last week.

Our carrier clash ended in 2 vs 2 lost carriers. Kaga and Soryu in exchange for Saragota and Yorktown (sunk 3 turns later because of heavy damages). One sub fired some torps at Lexington but missed it. This is still an allied victory but I can be happy that it didn't turned into a complete disaster. I also got my 2 BBs back to safety. My preparation was bad (e.g. KB TF with low fuel, no heavy SC TF around with KB) and I was too aggressive.

The most interesting situation for the IJN is around the Fiji islands. We have some kind of stalemate here. Both sides are building up some bases. Terje is preparing an air campaign with his 4e bombers.
The planned invasion of Suva was canceled because of the 23k+ allied troops including 400 tanks at Suva. [:(] I will never take the base with 45k stacking limit and rough terrain.

The IJN operations during the last days were really hampered by fuel shortage and own planning mistakes. But the situation is getting better for Japan every turn now. The Allied side has max 2 carriers in the region (Enterprise heavy damaged, Lexington light damaged, Hornet too far away) and only small air unit forces. Almost all IJN air forces are concentrated around Fiji islands, including Sally units for ASW duties. All heavy ships except 3 BBs are operating in this area. Terje and I have many subs in this area. His TFs are placed in shallow waters and this means hard times for my subs, but I have to be aggressive.
Unfortunately my remaining 3 operational carriers (Hiryu, Shokuka, Zuikaku) are around Truk for repair and refuel. It will take at least 1 more week before the KB can sail again. The heavy damaged Agaki is out of order for 60 in repair at Noumea.
The Mini KB and the other 3 BBs are heading towards the Cocos Islands where Terje built up a fortress.

Sebastian

[sj80]

The situation around Fiji and Pago Pago is heating up every turn. Both sides are building up their bases. The Surface Combat TFs are ruling the area because the carriers are away for repair and most air fields are too small for bomber use. Two heavy Japanese SC TFs jumped directly into 2 Allied Amph TFs. It was a very good turn for the Japanese, 5 Allied Cruisers were sunken (3 CA, 2 CL) without own losses. [:D]

Sebastian

[sj80]

The IJA achieved a great victory in China. Changsha has fallen after the second attack and over 1k of Chinese combat squads were destroyed. Only a few Japanese combat squads were lost. The main part of the IJA in China will try to clear the area around Changsha (especially the fortress Hengyang with 180k Chinese troops) and march towards Kweiyang.
Recon planes reported some allied troops marching from India towards Burma! My defenses in northern Burma are very weak. Much more troops are shipping to Rangoon to strengthen the Burma defenders. I'm not sure if Terje is launching a real offensive here or if he is only fooling me. He wrote in his mails that he has to threat my lines anywhere ... hmm. [&:]

Other events April between 11th and 23th:
The A6M3a accelerates to 11/42, all 7 research plants are online. The KI-49IIa Helen advances to 07/1942. The KI-45a Nick goes into production with all 3 research plants. 90 planes the month are too much for the Nick in the long run but I want to fill my units as fast as possible. The first KI-44IIa Tojo research plants will come online within some days.
Around 350 Ha-34 (Tojo, Helen) engines are in the pool with fast increasing numbers. The Ha-33 engine will become short after the G3M3 Nell arrives next month.

Both sides are building up their bases massively around Fiji and Pago Pago. The situation down there will become very interesting!

Sebastian

[sj80]

The game progressed with the usual speed of 1 turn the day and we now reached May 1942.

There is light and shadow in our game. The IJA is marching across China and seems to be unstoppable. The Changsha triangle is cleared and the "Big Road" will soon be complete in Japanese hands. The next target is Kweiyang. The China campaign is running much better than expected. [:)]
The not so good news come from the South East Area Fleet and the Noumea/Fiji region. Both sides are continuing the base buildup. I tried to attack his ships at Pago Pago 3 turns ago with a massive LBA strike and it ended in a disaster. His CAP was too strong. Over 70 planes (Zeros, Bettys, Nells) lost for only minimal Allied losses and no Allied ship was hit. [:(] The next turn my sweeping attacks runs better but now my air units needs resting time. Terje still has large parts of his fleet concentrated on Pago Pago. The Combined Fleet is working on a plan ... I will show this later.

His subs raided Noumea today and inflicted good damage. My mines, ASW TFs and ASW air units were complete useless. [:@] It seems his subs can move into mined ports without problem?! I think he expected to hit some tankers but there are no tankers at Noumea. But he blocked the port for another turn. Over 80 Allied mines were cleared by my Mine Sweepers but there are still more mines. This is the second time his subs mined Noumea ...
As consequence I will add an ASW TF that will stay in port and not moving around the port. I really need some hints for protecting own ports against sub raids. Are 132 mines not enough? Does it depend of the mine type?

No news from Burma. I shifted 300 Oscars to Burma, but everything is quiet in the air. 2 Divs and many support units arrived the last days. I think he stopped his units in the jungle.

Sebastian

[sj80]

Again I was a bit lazy with forum updates. The game has moved forward and we're now at end of May.

The overall situation is looking good for the Empire of Japan. In China the "Big Road" was cleared and the next targets are Kunming, Chengtu and Chungking. In Burma Terje tried to test my defenses with an Australian and an Indian division. No match for my battle-hardened IJA 4 Divs and 9 Tank Regs. [:D]
He also tried to raid the area around Fiji with his subs but my air ASW made a good job. 2 or 3 Allied subs are sunken. He has withdrawn his sub fleet and I'm sure he is planning something new. I expect a sub raid/mine campaign against Singapore and Palembang within the next days.
The Ki-49 Helen IIa will come online in a few days with 80 planes the month. The Ki-44 Tojo IIa will come online around end June.

Sebastian

[sj80]

Almost 1.5h months gone since my last AAR update. It's really time to give a complete overview. The Game is still running with approx. 1 turn the day. Terje is a really reliable opponent!

The economic situation is "light and shadow". 254 oil centers (141 Soerabaja, 24 Medan, 66 Miri) are still destroyed and are being repaired. Every ton of oil and fuel is transported towards the Homeland. Currently I have 1.8 mio tons of oil at the Homeland. I really need the supply production of my refineries. That leads to my second major concern: supplies.
The supply situation is stable around 2.3 mio tons overall. My China offensive has consumed a lot of supplies and now Burma/India becomes some kind of black hole. Same with the IJN action around Fiji .. those BBs consume a good amount of supplies when being reloaded and air ops are costly too. I also over expanded Air and R&D industry at game start.
The Ki44 IIa Tojo went into production in mid June with 120 planes the month. With start of July the A6M3a follows with 120 planes too. The Ki49 II Helen is currently produced with 80 planes.
2 Unryu carriers are being accelerate produced. The third will enter production in some days. I stopped all subs except those with glen planes. I'm still producing the Musashi but I'm unsure about it. The Yamato class BBs are "one-shoot-BBs". I can't ream them with AKE and they need a really big port to rearm. I need the yard points to accelerate the other Unryu carriers...

The strategic situation is looking really good for the Empire of Japan. The Empire is still on offensive. In China's industrial center only Chungking is in Chinese hands and the siege will begin soon. The Southern Army is preparing the invasion of India. Maybe it's a little bit late for that but waiting in Burma is so boring. [;)] Meanwhile the Southeast Area Fleet tries to conquer fortress Suva.
Terje commented some turns ago that he lost 3 US carriers at our CV clash in April. That were really good news, because I got only confirmation of 2 sunken US carriers. I lost Kaga and Soryu in that battle. Of the British CV/CVE 2 are sunken and 1 is withdrawn because of heavy damage. The IJN has carrier superiority until mid 1943.

This picture shows all three main areas. Comments are highly appreciated!

Sebastian

[sj80]

Today the campaign for India has started! Terje is blocking the access to India at Chittagong with a strong fortress (80k men, 1000 afv). 3 BBs hit the fortress Chittagong hard. I expect that Terje will pull back his fighters to Calcutta. After that he can only provide LRCAP for Chittagong. The bombing campaign will start after air superiority is secured.
Almost the whole IJAAF is committed to Burma. I have a lack of av support and supplies. But many support units including supplies will arrive Rangoon within the next days. I'm also short on AKE but this will be solved within 3-4 days. Much worse is that the next oiler seems to be 1000 miles away. I have no chance to refuel my BBs at port because all ports are too small and they can't enter Rangoon. So I have to sent smaller ships towards Rangoon and use them for refuel at sea.

Sebastian

[Wuffer]

hi,

just found this superb piece of presentation.
Your style is really great.

Regarding the 'war', I think you did the right decision with the ongoing offensive, you must keep him honest. The Allies master plan of defence looks like a bit too static, basically some reinforced strongpoints, but perhaps you could try to put even more emphasis on medium- to longterm manouvering than brute force...? Fight, where you are strong and he is weak. Just an idea, as it's allways easy to comment from distance when not directly confrontated with the 1001 problems on the map )

[sj80]

ORIGINAL: Wuffer

Regarding the 'war', I think you did the right decision with the ongoing offensive, you must keep him honest. The Allies master plan of defence looks like a bit too static, basically some reinforced strongpoints, but perhaps you could try to put even more emphasis on medium- to longterm manouvering than brute force...? Fight, where you are strong and he is weak. Just an idea, as it's allways easy to comment from distance when not directly confrontated with the 1001 problems on the map )

Hey Wuffer, thanks for your comments.
The Empire of Japan has conquered all territory that is within range (whole SRA, China except Chungking and some useless bases, Darwin and Port Hedland in Northern Australia, South-East area including New Caledonia and Fiji region except Suva). The only area where Terje is probably weak are the Aleutians islands. He established a base at Dutch Harbor and ignored the islands west of it. But I have no strong land units and no ships in the Northern Pacific. It will cost me a lot of fuel to sent BBs and CVs there and I have to prepare my units for a landing on Dutch Harbor. At the moment I slowly capture the western Aleutian bases with tiny invasion forces.
The only valuable target is India. I want Calcutta and the industry centers around it.

Terje is using different play styles. Sometimes he has no problems to go for suicide attacks with his fleet and on the other hand he has retreated many valuable land units and grouped them into strongholds (Darwin, Suva, Chittagong, Changsha, Chungking, ...). His intention was to allow me a quick expansion but stop me at the strongholds. It didn't work. I captured Darwin and Changsha. Suva will fall in some weeks. With his stronghold strategy he lost the fight for China. Changsha felt easier as expected and some Southern Army division landed at Hong Kong and deliberated the area in his backyard. There are huge stacks of Chinese units sitting in useless small towns and starving to death. Maybe it would have been better to use the terrain bonus for defense and spread them more over the map. We're playing Scen 1 with stacking limits and with that every wood/jungle/rough hex can stop an offensive.
But Terje is clever and already played several PBEM games. I expect him to use the same stronghold tactic during offensive. I think he will go for "blitz" through my defenses.

Sebastian

[sj80]

Surprise, Surprise. Terje invaded Mili while the Empire of Japan concentrated everything on the campaign for India. Unfortunately the Marshall Islands had no Air HQ and almost none AV support. These units were shifted towards Fiji some weeks ago to support the operation against Suva.

My naval search recognized the invasion fleet 1 turn before it hits the island. 2 heavy SC TFs and the KB (3CV, 3CVL) rush towards the Marshall islands. The island was conquered at the second day. Some xAP's were hit by subs. Maybe my ships can catch the returning Allied fleet.

Sebastian