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

[fcharton]

August 18th to 23rd, 1942

The game is moving forward. We’re keeping up with our five turns a week schedule, although I am spending less time on my turns.

As expected, China is my main focus. Troops are on the march, trying to catch enemy units. The big prize of course is the one hundred unit stack that retreated from Chungking. They are trying to retreat, and I am trying to keep them in the plains, and surround them before I move a big stack from Chungking across the river for the kill. Right now, we are racing for the forest hex to the south east. A brigade is halfway there, my opponent should move faster (half open, half rough forest), but he’s under heavy bombardment, so probably in combat mode, and badly disrupted.

If I can occupy all surrounding hexes before the big shock attack from Chungking, I can probably destroy all those troops in short order. Else, I will probably need more time, as the final battle will take place in protective terrain.

Meanwhile, all the artillery that used to besiege Chungking is marching on Kweiyang. I don’t know yet whether I want to target Tuyun or Changsha first. Tuyun is on my way, but I lack infantry. On the other hand, I have enough boots in Changsha, and with the artillery, we can probably eliminate this pocket. I intend to take my time in China. Eliminating all the KMT is worth a month delay in other theaters.


In Burma, the enemy seems to be on the move. Two british brigades are marching on Kalemyo, which I am evacuating (can’t supply it at this time of year). Units from Akyab are also moving east. I have five divisions in Burma, mostly guards, and I believe this should be enough to hold the place for a while. If the enemy breaks through, it is no big deal either: my troops from China will be there in a few months, and I have many of them.


Around New Guinea, my opponent is sending waves after waves of bombers over Lae and Wau. My units are now behind level three forts, and in protective terrain, so this is not very efficient. He had better success with a B17 raid over Manus that sank three cargoes in the port. I had zeroes, on 30% LRCAP… Yeah, well…

Yesterday, I did my best to help him by sending a KB raid against Terapo. I hadn’t checked my ranges, and half my bombers attacked Port Moresby instead, and were slaughtered. This cost me 80 planes, for 20 enemies.

There is little more worth mentioning. The economy is fine, I will have 1.5 million HI in the bank by the end of the month, and fuel and supply levels are up. I need to spend more time taking care of my pilots, and planes, and garrisoning islands. Right now, a big push in the pacific (either against the Gilberts or the Upper Solomons) would probably be quite dangerous. I need to take the time.


This, I find, an interesting aspect of the game. Over such a long campaign, one cannot expect to play correctly, or just “be in the game” all the time, and a compromise must be found between keeping the game moving, and not doing too many stupid things out of boredom, or lack of time. Yesterday’s carrier raid is typical of boredom-driven blunders. I cannot have too many of those. On the other hand, such a bad day forces one back into the game much more than those typical bland actions (sweep here, rest there, move troops, build forts, load convoys, hit the turn button, done).

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: fcharton

Yesterday, I did my best to help him by sending a KB raid against Terapo. I hadn’t checked my ranges, and half my bombers attacked Port Moresby instead, and were slaughtered. This cost me 80 planes, for 20 enemies.

This, I find, an interesting aspect of the game. Over such a long campaign, one cannot expect to play correctly, or just “be in the game” all the time, and a compromise must be found between keeping the game moving, and not doing too many stupid things out of boredom, or lack of time. Yesterday’s carrier raid is typical of boredom-driven blunders. I cannot have too many of those. On the other hand, such a bad day forces one back into the game much more than those typical bland actions (sweep here, rest there, move troops, build forts, load convoys, hit the turn button, done).

Yes. The more time I have, and can spend on a turn, the more satisfying it is. I enjoy that checking and double checking, and get more ideas as I fiddle with units and settings. It never good when are forced to hurry and end up making a poor choice or a mistake in settings. This game does fatigue mental energy over time, and I've been up and down so many times now I'm beginning to see the patterns and predict the next occurrence before it happens. Something always brings me back in and gets me interested though. a new plane, a tactical win or loss, some shift in the overall strategic structure of my positions.

I did find things really pick up and the second half of 42 is a very exciting time in the game.

[fcharton]

August 26th 1942

China

The big stack east of Chungking is about to be surrounded. A tank regiment is in the open hex to the east (mapwise), will attack the lone KMT unit there tomorrow, and march on the big stack. The forest hex south east will be occupied by an infantry regiment in three days. My units in Chungking (over 4000 AV of infantry) will then march over the river, and shock attack the stack. Unless they managed to walk away in the next few days (this is doubtful), they probably are toast.

I have about 6000 AV infantry in Sichuan. Once the big stack is gone, a third of them will march on Burma, while the rest goes for Tuyun, where the supply situation must be quite bad already, and will not improve. Meanwhile, my artillery is marching on Changsha, which will be the last battle in the China war.

Elsewhere, we are reinforcing the stack north of Liuchow, and are marching small units into rough and forest hexes to finish off stragglers. This is taking a while, but I want no Chinese left behind.

So far, the cleanup phase is going better than I expected. With Changsha isolated and Tuyun not having any industry, many enemy units must be out of supply and this is preventing them to move, or making their movement very slow because of fatigue. If things go on this way, the big stack in Sichuan should be done with by early September, we should hold Tuyun by the end of September, and finish off China by October or early November. This also means we should be able to significantly reinforce Burma by October.

Burma

The enemy took Kalemyo back. Two artillery units couldn’t evacuate in time and were trashed in the process, but I have two full strength infantry divisions in the jungle south of the base. We will be back. In Akyab, British troops have been seen moving east, towards the road. I have a guard division behind forts blocking the road, and more units close to Rangoon. I don’t think such an early attack can succeed.

In the air, an inconclusive battle is being fought. My opponent reinforced the Andamans with fighters, yet another time. His Hurricanes had a field day during the first sweep, and shot down 15 Oscars. Then, a second sweep had the opposite results, and about 15 of the 30 Hurricanes based in Port Blair have been lost. I expect him to move away, once more, and be back in a month. Over Burma, fighters from Rangoon and Magwe had good results against enemy bombers attacking my troops in the jungle.

I am quite happy with the situation in Burma. I don’t think the British can break through now, and the air war is probably costing the RAF most of their fighters.

New Guinea

Lae and Madang have been bombed again, but coordination seems harder to achieve, especially as Madang is far from Port Moresby. As a result, sweeping P38-F tend to arrive after the bombers, and our zeroes are scoring against enemy bombers. Today, we shot down eight Beaufighters, two B25-C and a B-24D. Most of my bases in the area now sport level three or four forts, and air bombardment are doing little damage. So far, my opponent doesn’t seem to do a lot of progress here.

Solomons

Several days ago, enemy carriers were spotted between Ndeni and Guadalcanal. They retreated, and were seen again yesterday west of Vanikoro, with transports. Meanwhile, the SNLF company garrisoning Ndeni was bombed by Hudsons from Luganville.

I believe my opponent might attack Ndeni tomorrow. Several submarines were ordered there, in the hope of catching an unloading transport, surfaces forces are ready to jump on unloading ships, and a carrier division is waiting six hexes north west, out of range from his carriers, in the hope of catching whatever ends up in port. KB is on her way, too.

I don’t intend to defend Ndeni, where I only have a marine company, but I believe I can make it costly. So far, my opponent seems to have a very methodical approach to reconquest, one base at a time, lots of troops each time, with long pauses in between. I am fine with this.

VP and pilots

My VP ratio reached an overall high, at 3.1:1, when Chengtu fell at the end of May. Since then, it went down as my losses (planes especially) were no longer compensated by captured enemy bases or destroyed units in China. The fall of Chungking brought the ratio back to 2.9:1, and I suspect the destruction of KMT units will cause it to increase again. But in any case, it seems unlikely auto-victory can be had unless we have a very successful campaign in India at the end of the year.

At the moment, air losses are my main problem in the game, and I believe I am not handling my pilot replacement correctly. I understand I need to train pilots, then move the trained pilots into the reserve, and then into squadrons, but I seem to be having a lot of difficulty getting the right pilots into the right units. I recently discovered bomber pilots in my fighter units, and dive bomber pilots that probably should be escorting instead…

How do you get sure, for instance, that those trained naval bomber pilots you just moved into the reserve end up in the correct front line unit? Do you really need to select every pilot manually, or is there a simpler way?

Links to good discussions on the subject (or comments from the readers) would be much appreciated. The more I look at the air war, the more I suspect pilot management is my main problem.

[fcharton]

August 27th, 1942

And Ndeni it was

As expected, the enemy landed in Ndeni this morning. A fast transport, one APD, two cruisers (Salt Lake City and Northampton), and four destroyers, brought two units, 3800 troops, 50 guns and a hundred vehicles, probably an engineer team and an armor regiment. Disruption was extremely low, which suggests those troops were 100% prepped. My opponent is taking his time, this is good.

They didn’t attack at once, which gives my boys from the 4th SNLF company another day to ponder on the meaning of life before doing the honorable thing.

I had sent four submarines in the port, some with very aggressive skippers, but none of them managed to attack the landing force. Meanwhile, the “dragon” carrier squadron (Soryu and Hiryu) took position 6 hexes north east, hoping to attack…


Oh Lady! Lady!

… but another target was in sight. My opponent had detached two carriers and a surface group near Duff Island, six hexes from my carriers, and thus, the second battle of Duff Island took place.

We had the first attack, and the Lexington drew a very short straw.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 123,143
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 83 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28
B5N2 Kate x 26
D3A1 Val x 12
D3A2 Val x 13

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 44


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged
D3A1 Val: 4 damaged
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed by flak
D3A2 Val: 2 damaged
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB North Carolina, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
CA Louisville

Ammo storage explosion on CV Lexington
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CV Lexington
Fuel storage explosion on CV Lexington

Then came the counterstrike, of equivalent size, but we managed better

Morning Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,138
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 29 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 28
SBD-3 Dauntless x 15
TBF-1 Avenger x 23

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Torpedo hits 1
BB Kirishima
CV Soryu, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Hiryu

In fact, most damage was done by a lone Avenger squadron,

Morning Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,138
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 28 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 7 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu
CV Soryu, Torpedo hits 2, on fire

Then, in the afternoon, our flyboys went for the other enemy CV, with less success, but still.
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,142
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 44 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
B5N2 Kate x 13
D3A2 Val x 10

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 8 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 2 destroyed by flak
D3A2 Val: 4 damaged
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
CL Trenton, Bomb hits 1

And the last enemy strike missed the carriers, but damaged a battleship
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Duff Islands at 124,138
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
SBD-3 Dauntless x 30
TBF-1 Avenger x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 6 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 5, on fire
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1
CA Furutaka, Bomb hits 1
BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 1
CA Kinugasa
CL Abukuma

The Lexington is most certainly gone, VP went up by an unaccounted 350 points, which nicely match her price, and the enemy lost about 100 carrier planes today, 60 of them to ops losses. Intelligence reports no planes in the enemy CV task force, so it seems likely that Yorktown is badly hit too, and had to rebase all her planes to Luganville (seven hexes away) and the two carriers near Ndeni.

Soryu is badly damaged, system and float are in the 30s, engine is a 14. We lost 70 planes, most of them ops losses as Soryu squadrons diverted to Hiryu. Hiryu is fine (20 sys, no float or engine damage), and one battleship (Hiei) is badly hit, but should make it.

What now? Hiryu and the task force is sailing north at flank speed. They should be fine. Hiei, the only ship on fire (fire 1), was sent alone due east. Soryu and one destroyer will try to flee north east at mission speed (I don’t think she’d survive full speed). Finally, my battleships and cruisers were ordered south west, to serve as a rearguard if enemy cruisers try to chase my carriers. My submarines in Ndeni will try to intercept the retreating Yorktown, or perhaps the advancing carriers.

If the enemy gives chase with his surface forces, I have a good chance of sinking them with my battleships. The main unknown is the reaction of the remaining two carriers. I believe they are overstacked with Yorktown and Lexington planes, and won’t be able to join the chase, but if they do so, God help the Soryu, the Hiei, and the surface group. God help them, too, because the rest of the KB is not very far north…


The engagement is not over, but I believe I can claim a victory. Lexington is gone, Yorktown is probably in bad shape, and we stand a good chance of saving Soryu. More importantly, the first serious amphibious action my opponent launches in the Solomons, to retake Ndeni, comes at a very high price, and it is the second time in a month US carriers are defeated in this area. This should make the enemy cautious, slow his tempo, and I need all the speed bumps I can find.

In retrospect, I was quite lucky that my opponent sent only two carriers to Duff Island. I believe he expected me northwest of Ndeni, off Kirakira (this was my apparent heading), and split his carriers to try and catch me in a cross fire. Or perhaps, he didn’t expect Japanese carriers, having seen the KB near Terapo a week ago, and just wanted to cover both approaches of his invasion task force.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: fcharton

[How do you get sure, for instance, that those trained naval bomber pilots you just moved into the reserve end up in the correct front line unit? Do you really need to select every pilot manually, or is there a simpler way?

I select each pilot individually via the "request veteran" button. It is the only way I know to avoid exactly what you are describing. In particular, to ensure that TB pilots get assigned correctly instead of getting DB pilots in my TB groups.

[PaxMondo]

Get the Soryu down to cruise speed as soon as you can.  Even at mission, she will accumulate more damage fast and as you know IJ damage control is quite poor.  Try and get some more ASW escorts with her ASAP.  1xDD is risky.  Given her damage, her cruise speed is now prolly like 9 or 10 so you can use PB's with her now.
 
Hopefully you can get the KB in place in time to mop up.  Be nice to bag 4 CV's.  BANZAI!!!
 
PS: you were SO lucky with the Soryu.  When I read the combat report I thought she was gone.  1xbomb and 2xtorp is usually far more than most of my CV's have historically been able to survive!

[fcharton]

Music for today is the Bach partitas played by Rosalyn Tureck, Glenn Gould without hysteria

August 28th, 1942

Flattop refund

The Allied carriers rushed forth and sank Soryu. I had sent her at flank speed, but changed my mind, considering the enemy wouldn’t make that move. The attack took place at long range, and full speed would have saved her.

My rearguard surface force was also attacked, but the enemy committed few planes, and used bombs which didn’t do much damage. Hiryu is out of harm, and KB should be on site tomorrow. If my opponent presses on, he’s in for a bad surprise.

So we ended up trading one carrier each, but Yorktown is probably in very bad shape and out of the war for a long while, and the allies lost 110 planes to 70 ours. Most importantly, this should keep the enemy honest.

Burmese dogfights

Sweeps over Port Blair follow a very standard pattern. The enemy sends two Hurricane squadrons, I sweep with three Oscar Sentais. We suffer heavy losses on the first day, rest the next one, and then destroy a good number of fatigued Hurries. Then, the Hurricanes are sent home, and come back a month later. For some reason, the enemy stayed there another day, and it cost him another dozen fighters. Overall, my opponent lost 188 Hurricanes IIb and 42 Hurricanes IIc.

Over Burma, he is trying to bomb my troops in the jungle, over Ramree Island and south of Kalemyo. My escorting Zeroes and Oscars are operating at short range, and this is proving costly for the RAF.



August 29th 1942

Whither those transports

A submarine patrol spotted a very large convoy off Horn Island today. The poor sub skipper obviously wasn’t ready for that, and paid dearly for it.

Sub attack near Horn Island at 90,128

Japanese Ships
SS I-17, hits 4

Allied Ships
DD Lamson
CA San Francisco
CL Boise
CL Helena
CL St. Louis
DD Ralph Talbot
DD Fanning

ASW attack near Horn Island at 90,128

Japanese Ships
SS I-17, hits 5, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CL Honolulu
DE Pope
AP Crescent City
AP President Jackson
AP Barnett
AP U.S. Grant
AP George F. Elliot
AP W.A. Holbrook
AK Algorab
DD Mahan

Now that’s a lot of transports, and if they were empty, they’d probably follow the long way south of Australia. Merauke looks like the obvious target, we’ll know tomorrow.


The long march

In China, my troops are finally moving in. In the plains north of Liuchow, 18 KMT units were badly defeated.

Ground combat at 74,54 (near Liuchow)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 6241 troops, 77 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value = 182
Defending force 17206 troops, 75 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 252

Japanese adjusted assault: 94
Allied adjusted defense: 45
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
260 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
5400 casualties reported
Squads: 218 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 457 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 12 (12 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 18

I have a division and a brigade moving in to reinforce, and will push north towards Tuyun.


East of Chungking, air bombardment is causing heavy damage to the 100 units stuck in open terrain. Here are the results for today

Morning Air attack on 1st Chinese Corps, at 77,45 , near Chungking
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 39 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-Ic Sally x 17
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 36
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 20
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 46
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 5 damaged
Ki-48-IIa Lily: 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
842 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 75 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 101 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled


Morning Air attack on 27th Chinese Corps, at 77,45 , near Chungking
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 55
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
695 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 71 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Morning Air attack on 25th Chinese Corps, at 77,45 , near Chungking
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 26

Allied ground losses:
302 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 29 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Morning Air attack on 95th Chinese Corps, at 77,45 , near Chungking
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 27

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
236 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Morning Air attack on 86th Chinese Corps, at 77,45 , near Chungking
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 39 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
141 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Afternoon Air attack on 49th Chinese Corps, at 77,45 , near Chungking
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 15
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 15

Allied ground losses:
184 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

That’s over 400 squads disabled or destroyed. We should shock attack over the river the day after with 5000 AV. Then, 2000 more will march in from the north. This should take care of the big 100 unit stack before it can reach protective terrain.

[PaxMondo]

Sorry to hear about Soryu ....

[obvert]

That's too bad about the Soryu. Turns the outcome a bit, but as you say, we'll see if catch more, and now he's going to be thinking about the KB with every move.

Like the music note at the top. I seem to be not playing my classical records as often as I'd like, mostly since my GF lies mostly more contemporary music. I may have to start putting a new one on during every replay to get back into them. [:)]

[fcharton]

Music for today is Brahms op21-1 variations, played by Julius Katchen (I’m on American pianists these days), soothing music. One thing about Brahms is the quality of his “minor” works. 21-1 is never played in concert.

August 30st 1942

Whither, as I said…

The US transports seen yesterday in Horn Island disappeared. Merauke is four hexes away, and if that was their target, they should have landed today. A large task force was spotted between Port Moresby and Terapo. Could they have been crossing the straits in the other direction, from Darwin? I should have spotted them there, then.

Plane spotting

It was a bad day for enemy bombers.

My Oscars did a good job over Burma, and shot several Blenheims and Wellingtons. Tracker reports 141 Blenheim IV shot down so far. My opponent has 110 planes in groups, and produces 12 per months since May, for a total around 160 planes. This suggests the seven Blenheim squadrons are empty, and will remain so until they upgrade to Vengeance, or later models. Similar calculations suggest that 24 out of 48 Wellingtons are gone. Over the last few days, B25-C have been seen over Kalemyo, US squadrons, which suggests the RAF might be thin on the ground.

As for fighters, we claim 190 out of 230 Hurricane IIb produced so far, and 40 out of 160 Hurricanes IIc, and until late 1943, when the Spitfires come online, 36 IIc per month is pretty much all British fighter plane production.

This should put my opponent in an interesting situation. Once the troops, and the bomber squadrons, freed from China begin arriving in Burma, he will have to transfer US squadrons, or accept heavy losses in India.

China crush

In the forest south of Chungking, a shock attack dislodged the last Chinese unit next to the big stack. Those 100 units are now surrounded. 5000 AV are crossing the river tomorrow, and 2000 more arriving overland. Everything must go.

In the woods between Changsha and Chungking, we are slowly chasing lone units. This is taking a lot of time. So long Tuyun is still held, and can provide a supply line, those units will retreat upon defeat. Finally, my artillery just passed Kweiyang, on its way to Changsha, and infantry is marching north on Tuyun.

The plan for China is pretty straightforward. I need to finish off the big stack before I can free units for Burma. Then, I intend to take Tuyun on my way back, and bombard stack in Changsha.

Once the big stack is gone, and Tuyun is ours, the rest of the Chinese will nicely surrender, and I can forget about this theater until 1945…

Anniversary

This campaign is a year old today, and we played almost nine months of war over a year of real life. This corresponds to the 5 turns a week rate we agreed upon at start, and puts historical V-day in a little more than four years.

[fcharton]

To Elgar’s Sea Pictures, strange music, one never is quite sure if it is great, or just plain and cheap. Call it British genius…

August 31st 1942

Lost and found

The US transports were found unloading in Merauke today, an Australian division is ashore, and will probably take the base tomorrow. There were very few losses on landing, which suggests preparation.

Not all the transports and ships seen in Horn Island two days ago were seen unloading, and it is quite possible a second landing is in the making. Taberfane maybe.

Merauke is paying the price for my lack of involvement during August. I could, and should, have reinforced it, and the prospect of having the war move into the East Indies is not a nice one. This said, Merauke is probably very difficult to support, and an early offensive around Timor looks like a very daunting task. I am developing the air bases on the northern coast of New Guinea. Let’s see how the Australians handle that.

The possible opening of a second front raises an interesting question. So far I could have all KB based at Truk, operating in the Bismarck sea (when my opponent invaded Terapo), or in the Solomons sea (last week around Ndeni). This allowed me to keep KB concentrated while my carriers upgrades in the Home Islands. Now, if things heat up around Timor, I might have use for my carriers, there, but I need to keep the enemy honest in the Solomons, and in the Coral sea, too.

The temptation to split the KB is great, but I believe this would be a wrong move. The recent carrier battle, and what it might have been if the Allies had concentrated their force, shows that two ship carrier divisions are dangerous gambles. I need a large, six ship KB, and might try to keep a smaller reserve, with Zuiho, Soryu and the CVE and CVL that arrive in a couple of months.

So we are back with a KB/Mini-KB division of work. Truk is the natural base for the fleet, and carriers there can intervene in the pacific and in the Banda sea over the small isthmus around Nabire. But what about later, when the enemy moves up towards Ambon, or Java? I’m realizing Manila (the next level seven port north of Truk) is a bit far away. Should I begin work on a second fleet base, closer to the Indies, and where?

No port between Truk and Manila can be build to level seven, so it would have to be a level six or five port, with plenty of naval support. Ulithi and Davao look like good potential sites. Both are level three ports now. Davao can be better supported by land based aircrafts, but is easier to bomb once my opponent gets bases in the area. I think I will develop both.

I really should have thought of all this three months ago, in May or June


Found and lost

Two Australian armored merchant cruisers were spotted off the western coast of Sumatra by Betties operating from Georgetown.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Batoe-eilanden at 42,83
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 22

Allied Ships
AMC Manoora, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
AMC Kanimbla, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk

No troops were reported lost, so I suspect they were raiders, trying to catch coastal convoys, or on their way to northern Sumatra.

Or did my opponent try to setup a beachhead on one of the small islands? September seems a bit early to do this, but then, the Allies seem on the move everywhere. They landed in Ndeni, bombard Lae and Madang, are going for Merauke, and are marching south in Burma. So they might as well consider Sumatra.

But I’m happy they’re gone : it sends the enemy the correct message…

Tommies in the jungle

In Burma, the British are moving forward. Two infantry brigades crossed the river east of Akyab, five units are marching south from Kalemyo, and Magwe was bombed for the first time in several months.

I am not sure I understand the logic of this. Enemy air force is thin in Burma, so any overland advance will be very slow. And even if the campaign succeeds, Chinese divisions will be here in a couple of months.

Anyway, I have lots of fighters and flak in Magwe and Rangoon, and we are flying over short ranges once the British move in. The raids over Magwe cost them another Wellington, and I am sweeping Akyab and the jungle hex east of it tomorrow. This might be the perfect time to deal with the RAF.

Over the long river

East of Chungking, 5000 AV of infantry crossed the river today. Only one, the guards division, shock attacked, but the KMT units were too disrupted to take advantage of it.

Ground combat at 77,45 (near Chungking)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 12040 troops, 122 guns, 47 vehicles, Assault Value = 7249
Defending force 102690 troops, 349 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1153
Japanese adjusted assault: 64
Allied adjusted defense: 217
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3

Combat modifiers
Defender: morale(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
388 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 61 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Allied ground losses:
3308 casualties reported
Squads: 104 destroyed, 98 disabled
Non Combat: 53 destroyed, 233 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 38 (5 destroyed, 33 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

The rest of my troops (7000 AV) is in perfect shape, and will attack tomorrow. This should hurt Chiang and his cronies…

[fcharton]

September 1st 1942

Planes of the month

As it is the first day in the month, we are getting new plane models. This month, we get the A6M3a and the H6K4-L. I am producing 61 A6M3a a month, and will increase production, but this should be a short lived model as the A6M5 should be available in November, and all A6M3a can convert to them.

Most of my naval fighter production is still A6M2, though. Those factories won’t upgrade (not before 44 when I have the Sen Baku, which can then upgrade to A6M5b), and I don’t think converting them into A6M3a makes sense, because of the cost in supply and the delay to get them online. I should have researched the Sen Baku earlier… I will do this now.

As for the A6M5, I have 61 A6M3a factories that will convert, together with 24 Rufe factories. I can probably expand both. I could also convert some of the R&D factories. I have five of them on the A6M5 (one repairing), which should bring the A6M5 in November 42, the A6M5b in July 43, the A6M5c at the beginning of 1944 and the A6M8 in July 44. Converting one of them into A6M5 might speed up production in 1943, at the cost of several months delay in research. This might also allow me to continue production of A6M3a, interesting in their own right because of their range.

This means I could have something like 100 A6M3a / month, that I will keep, and perhaps as many A6M5, half from the upgraded Rufe factory, half from the R&D factories.

With respect to Army fighters (Oscars, since we are PDU off), I made a big mistake a week ago, converting all Ic production into IIa. This is good for the IIa, as they hold their rank much better against the Hurricanes (see below), but I still have quite a few Ic squadrons, that will only convert into the IIb (that should be produced in November 42) I am converting another small factory (Helens, who need those in PDU off?) to get Ic back…

To summarize, we are keeping the A6M2 as our main navy fighter, and will produce A6M3a for a pretty long time. Then we will probably convert two factories (Rufe and R&D) into A6M5 and grow them as large as I can, keeping four to research later A6 models. Our Army fighters are Oscars, and we’re producing as many IIa as we can, before turning to IIb in November. With 3 factories researching it, we should have the III model in the second half of 1943, and the IV model in 1944.

By the jungles of Merauke

… there we were defeated by the First Australian corps, yea.

But interestingly, my troops didn’t retreat, or even lose many squads and devices.

Ground combat at Merauke (89,124)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 8753 troops, 102 guns, 137 vehicles, Assault Value = 305
Defending force 1462 troops, 1 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 50
Allied assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 2)
Allied forces CAPTURE Merauke !!!

Japanese ground losses:
425 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
51 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

I don’t know what to do with them. They certainly won’t attack, and marching to the closest base (that would be Hollandia, on the other side of New Guinea) looks like a strange idea. Can I try to move them along the coast and evacuate them from a non dot base?

What do you usually do with stranded units?

In the skies of Burma

We had a pretty good day today. Over Akyab, two squadrons Oscars IIa swept Hurricanes and Warhawks, we lost three Oscars for nine Warhawks and six Hurricanes IIc. Bombers flew unescorted over Magwe. Five Blenheim IV and three Wellingtons Ic are reported lost.

I am quite happy with the Oscar IIa. Against Hurricanes, they have same speed, better maneuverability, and their centerline machine gun seem to make quite a difference. Right now, I have a squadron in Rangoon, one which just converted in Hankow, and another one half converted in Magwe. The plan is to use those three squadrons in Burma, together with Tojos.

My old Ic Oscars could be used elsewhere in the DEI, and this means the Zero squadons, with their longer range, could be send to New Guinea and the South Pacific.

In the plains of China

Since Chungking fell, two weeks ago, the 105 units that retreated into the plains to the east have been trying to march into protective terrain. Today, only one of them managed to cross the river south, into an infantry regiment. It was very lopsided.

Ground combat at 78,46 (near Chungking)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 2820 troops, 17 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 53
Defending force 3592 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 123
Allied assault odds: 1 to 99

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
711 casualties reported
Squads: 27 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

I am attacking tomorrow, and will probably either destroy them, or throw them back into the plains.

East of Chungking the big stack was attacked, and 39 units, out of 96 remaining, surrendered.

Ground combat at 77,45 (near Chungking)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 197907 troops, 1816 guns, 904 vehicles, Assault Value = 7257
Defending force 97036 troops, 316 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 998
Japanese assault odds: 20 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
4691 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 473 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 36 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 78 disabled
Guns lost 28 (1 destroyed, 27 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
41009 casualties reported
Squads: 2128 destroyed, 224 disabled
Non Combat: 1891 destroyed, 589 disabled
Engineers: 8 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 188 (133 destroyed, 55 disabled)
Units destroyed 39

Those units are now stuck in open terrain. Our divisions took very high disruption, I am not sure why, stacking, perhaps… I don’t need the 7000 AV in this hex, and will probably move half of them out tomorrow to Tuyun, and then Changsha. The rest will finish this stack off, and then transfer to Burma.

Off the coast of Ndeni

KB attacked today and sank several transports and a destroyer in Ndeni.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 44
B5N2 Kate x 59
D3A1 Val x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged
D3A1 Val: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
DD Stuart
AMC Westralia, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
DD Farenholt, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Arcturus, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Republic, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Anderson, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
302 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 22 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

KB will now retire. Submarines off the coast will probably take a few damaged vessels down, and the sea will have her toll too.

This concludes the battle for Ndeni. I am happy with the outcome: the Allies took this small unbuilt island, and defeated a marine company, but this cost them the Lexington, badly damaged the Yorktown, which lost most of her plane complement, and today, two more ships were lost, and three more are in sinking condition.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: fcharton
As it is the first day in the month, we are getting new plane models. This month, we get the A6M3a and the H6K4-L. I am producing 61 A6M3a a month, and will increase production, but this should be a short lived model as the A6M5 should be available in November, and all A6M3a can convert to them.

Playing PDU OFF, I prefer the A6M5 for all of my CV groups, and then use the A6M3a for some of my LB groups. A6M5 is 15 faster and 5 higher DUR giving up about 1/6 of the range. On a CV, all you have to be able to do is 9 hex as that is the max CV attack range. A6M5 can do that with DT's. LB, it is nice to have that extra range sometimes to escort Nettie's .... but eventually I convert most of my LB fighter groups to A6M5 ... speed and DUR mean fewer pilot losses and on defense range isn't that important.

Do a LOT of testing. upgrading units to different ac will 'open' up NEW options for upgrades. There are several (6? 8?) groups that can upgrade to George AFTER they upgrade to the A6M5c .... but only after. Before you upgrade, you won't even see George as an option. This is true for a LOT of both IJN and IJA groups. I think tracker can show this now ... when I last played PDU OFF, I had to setup a test bed to test all of these. A lot of BIG surprises (nice ones) of what you could upgrade to. Just remember that you can't downgrade, so you have to be careful with all upgrades. Meaning, some upgrades will CLOSE off upgrades to other models.

ORIGINAL: fcharton
With respect to Army fighters (Oscars, since we are PDU off), I made a big mistake a week ago, converting all Ic production into IIa. This is good for the IIa, as they hold their rank much better against the Hurricanes (see below), but I still have quite a few Ic squadrons, that will only convert into the IIb (that should be produced in November 42) I am converting another small factory (Helens, who need those in PDU off?) to get Ic back…

Shouldn't IIa replacements free up enough Ic's to keep them ok? Generally does for me unless your losses with the Ic's are really high ... then maybe you need to cycle the groups out so that the IIa' are there? Just suggestion.

ORIGINAL: fcharton
To summarize, we are keeping the A6M2 as our main navy fighter, and will produce A6M3a for a pretty long time. Then we will probably convert two factories (Rufe and R&D) into A6M5 and grow them as large as I can, keeping four to research later A6 models. Our Army fighters are Oscars, and we’re producing as many IIa as we can, before turning to IIb in November. With 3 factories researching it, we should have the III model in the second half of 1943, and the IV model in 1944.

IV is of course one of your best fighters for the IJA in a PDU OFF game. For many groups this is the ultimate upgrade. [:(] So get it as fast as you can. You will need LOT's of these.

[fcharton]

September 2nd 1942

Meet I-4

Off Ndeni, Allied ships retreating from yesterday’s battle were met by my subs.

Submarine attack near Utupua at 120,145
Japanese Ships
SS I-4
Allied Ships
AK Arcturus, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Sub attack near Utupua at 120,145
Japanese Ships
SS I-4
Allied Ships
xAP Republic, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
Arcturus is listed as sunk, Republic is not, between yesterday and today, she’s one torpedo hit behind. She’s probably not in good condition, though.

4E killers

B17-E, probably from Luganville, are bombing Tulagi, and I am having success against them with… a small Rufe squadron.

Morning Air attack on Tulagi , at 114,137
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 3
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 9
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

I suspect the 20mm cannons are making a difference. Flying at long range probably doesn’t help the Allies, too. We are now around 50 B17-E shot down.

I am keeping those Rufes on front line island duty, and will move forward other squadrons (I think I have three squadrons of Rufe). Apart from B17-E, I suspect they can hold their own against enemy recon and patrol planes. Of course, if my opponent brings his carriers and sweep, they’re toast, but it is worth the investment (and I have plenty of replacements in the pool).

Grinding Chiang

Mopping operations are continuing in China. In the South, we are marching on Tuyun, from Liuchow, pushing defeated units before us. We are three hexes away, and should be in Tuyun in about ten days. Meanwhile, my artillery is closing on Changsha, and should arrive in a couple of weeks.

In the forest near Chungking, remnants of the 7th Chinese Corps that crossed the river yesterday, are fighting at impossible odds. I want them eliminated, so that the big stack near Chungking has nowhere to retreat.

Operations in China are pretty slow, but we are keeping our schedule. The big stack will probably be gone by the 15th of September, which will free several thousand AV that will move to reinforce Burma. At about the same time, 1000 AV should be attacking Tuyun, and Changsha should be bombarded. This means we can have Burma reinforced by the end of October, and several divisions ready for the Pacific in December. Five divisions have already been bought. One is in Shanghai, ready to go, the four others are near Chungking. I also have 5700 PP in the bank, which should allow a few more units to be bought.

I am not rushing, though, and this might give my opponent an opening. On the other hand, if he extends too far when all those divisions are ready…

VP chart

Since the fall of Chungking, VP ratios are back around 2.95:1. The destruction of the KMT will probably bring this up again. Here is the VP graph, since the beginning of the war. The jumps in Japan total correspond to the fall of Singapore (February), the conquest of Java (2nd of May), the fall of Bataan (22nd of May) and the capture of Chungking (late August).

[fcharton]

September 3rd to 10th 1942

This AAR is falling back, again, so here is a catch-up post.

China

Most of the action, this week focused on China. Near Chungking, the remnants of the KMT garrison were attacked and destroyed.
On the eighth, we had

Allied ground losses:
38820 casualties reported
Squads: 1009 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 5326 destroyed, 241 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 100 (100 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 33

On the ninth

Allied ground losses:
24427 casualties reported
Squads: 698 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2218 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 56 (56 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 17

And the last unit, the 92nd Chinese corps, surrendered today

Allied ground losses:
1830 casualties reported
Squads: 48 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 225 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

All the 105 units that retreated out of Chungking have now surrendered, and the KMT probably has about 90 units out of 220 left now, most of them in Tuyun and Changsha.

About 8000 AV are freed for operations elsewhere. 1000 are remaining in Sichuan to eliminate the last enemies there. The rest is going to Kweiyang, half of them will march on Burma, and the other will take Tuyun and then Changsha.

Our artillery arrived in Changsha today, and will commence the bombardment tomorrow. This is the strongest enemy garrison, and it certainly needs some softening before we attack.

We also arrived in Tuyun, where the enemy has a large, and untested, stack. Until reinforcements from Chungking arrive, I am probably outnumbered there, but the Chinese should be badly unsupplied. We’re testing tomorrow.

Burma

It now seems clear that the British are on the offensive. Four units are marching down the road from Akyab to Rangoon. I have a guard division, five hundred AV behind level 2 field fortifications, waiting for them. They should be able to hold. If they don’t, I am a bit short. Another column Is marching south, from Kalemyo, into the Imperial Guard division.

I don’t think my opponent can break through in Burma, but even if he does, holding it will be a problem once reinforcements from China arrive.

In the air, over Akyab, we have been damaging the RAF. Oscar IIa seem to be pretty efficient against Hurricanes. I am trying the Tojo IIa tomorrow.

[fcharton]

I am trying once more to get the AAR back in line, writing reports as I play the replays
Music for today is Brahms op34 piano quintet. I’d love to play that, all I need is four musicians in the area… and learning all those notes (it is really full of notes, never quite the same on repeats)

September 11th 1942

Peacekeeping

With the capture of Chungking, and the destruction of the force defending it, China is conquered from a military standpoint. The last two cities help by the Kuomintang, Tuyun and Changsha have been bombarded today, revealing 27 units and 2400 in Changsha (probably behind forts), and 25 units, but only 340 AV in Tuyun. This is a nice surprise, as it suggests I might not need to divert troops to take it.

Here is a map of the situation in China, twelve KMT stacks remain, which I named from Chinese dynasties. From top right to top left, clockwise:




Qin: 14 or 15 units defeated around Sian in March, which have been wandering in the woods since then. Their strength in unknown, but they have been far from any supply source for a long time, and should be in bad shape. A brigade is marching on them, two divisions will remain near Chungking, in case they prove stronger than expected.
Han: two corps, probably depleted
Jin: two red Chinese divisions, at 25 AV
Sui: one shell corps, defeated on several occasions
Tang: the largest KMT stack, 2400 AV, 27 units, in Changsha, behind forts, all hexsides cut-off,
Song and Liao : one corps each, untested but should be fairly depleted
Shang Zhou and Ming, one corps each, retreated from the Kweiyang Chihkiang sector
Yuan: the Tuyun garrison, 339 AV, 25 units
Qing : former Kunming garrison, 8 units, including two RAF base forces, 29 AV

At present, most of my forces are concentrated around Chungking, where I have 8000 AV. They are marching on Kweiyang, and will probably continue on Burma, save a few corps that will move through Changsha, and then to Shanghai. I have about 1000 AV around Tuyun, which should be enough to take the city, and 1600 in Changsha, with lots of artillery, which might or might not be enough, depending on how unsupplied the KMT is, and how strong their forts are. I expect most of the twelve stacks to have been destroyed by the end of the month. Changsha will probably last until mid-October.

Peacekeeping in China will be left to collaborationist units (RGC and NCPC), and the Manchukuo garrison will be left at the lowest size possible. All other units will be sent out, and a huge “China shuffle” is about to begin. I am planning to send most of my restricted divisions to Burma and Malaya (we don’t have PP for border rule) where they will relieve all unrestricted units on duty there. I have four divisions already bought, that will be sent to the Pacific, I might add a few more, but right now, I’d rather buy engineers and base forces to help build my bases in the Pacific and Indies.

It takes about 40 days to march from Chungking to Lashio, in Burma, and so I can probably expect Burma to be reinforced by the beginning of November. This means the Pacific and DEI will be reinforced with troops from China and Indochina by the end of the year.

In the air over Burma

We had another pretty good day today, as our Oscars shot down a dozen Warhawks and Hurricanes, for just one Oscar and a Zero.

The British must be short of fighters, now. Out of 46 Hurricanes I delivered or built, 35 were shot down, for Hurricanes IIa the ratio is 35/42, for IIb 198/230, and for IIc 48/114. In addition 13 Sea Hurricanes were shot down out of 40 produces, and 30 Martletts out of 54. This means there should be about 120 fighters in squadrons and reserve, production rate is 36 Hurricanes IIc and 5 Sea Hurricanes, and won’t increase until late 1943.

I believe this means the Allies will soon need more US fighters in Burma. Until now, we have shot down 500 P-40E out of 700 built so far. As they are used in New Guinea and Burma, and the Allies only produce 35 Warhawks per month, I suspect we might see less escorts around.

On a more general level, plane losses over the last two months were 460 and 480 for the Allies, and 500 and 520 for Japan. Fighters represent about three quarters of these losses (a little more for the Allies), but Allied fighter production runs around 250 units per month, whereas Japan produces over 500. The current rate of loss is probably barely sustainable for the allies. Over Burma, this means few fighters will be left to defend against my bombers, once they transfer from China…

The second phase of the war, ie post-China, is getting clearer now. I want a fighting retreat in South Pacific, and Central Pacific. New Guinea, Gilberts and Marshalls are expendable. I would like to keep Keopang and Ambon, and might actually move carriers in this area, to prevent an early move there. This is my weak point. Meanwhile, my Chinese armies will march on Burma, and try to create pressure there, so that the US has to reinforce this second front, lest India becomes a mess.

If I can force the Allies to divert reinforcements to India at the end of the year and in the beginning of 1943, I believe I can delay the reconquest of the East Indies by a year, and use that time to build a very strong inner perimeter, probably Philippines, Sumatra, Borneo, Marianas, and the continent of course.

[Saros]

Don't forget the allies get a good proportion of their planes from airgroups appearing at full strength. They don't have to fill them out from the pools like you do. For some models this initial plane dump gives a lot more than is received as replacements.

[fcharton]

ORIGINAL: Saros
Don't forget the allies get a good proportion of their planes from airgroups appearing at full strength. They don't have to fill them out from the pools like you do. For some models this initial plane dump gives a lot more than is received as replacements.

Hi Saros,

This is true. But I believe Tracker's Air Production tab has the necessary information : in the TBO.YTA column, you have two numbers. For Hurricanes IIc, for instance, those are 55 (112). Now if I understand correctly 112 is the number of planes arriving as reinforcements, and 55 the number of those I need to build, 55 here. So, I am getting 112-55=57 reinforcement Hurricane IIc, on top of those at start (Grp Planes in Tracker, here zero), and those built (36/month beginning in June 42).

And actually, in the air group tab, I can see seven squadrons arriving with Hurricanes IIc (3, 9, 79, 123, 134, 607, 615 RAF), with 57 planes. But, 43 of those 57 only arrive late in the game, so the actual number of planes arriving via reinforcement is 14 so far. And the total number of Hurricanes IIc at the end of August should be 36*3+14=122 (yeah, there was a mistake in the above post), make it 140 in mid September 42.

What is not taken into account here is the number of planes lost due to transfers to other theaters. The manual says so squadrons lose their planes upon withdrawals. I don't know which ones are concerned. This means there should be less planes than I think.

Since we're PDU off, what should be done to complete the analysis, would be to count the number of squadrons that "seem to" have upgraded to Hurricane IIc. Losses so far are 48, so we're talking about 92 Hurricanes IIc. My opponent has three squadrons of 16 planes that arrive with IIc, and eight more that begin the game with earlier Hurricanes (which should have no pools or production left), and can upgrade to IIc. 92 planes means he can equip a little less than 6 squadrons with IIc, so long he doesn't use more than, and has enough planes for three IIb squadrons... once. Once the pools of IIb run out (in a few weeks at the current rate), this means eleven RAF squadrons will have to share whats left of the 92 hurricanes, and 36 replacements per month until Spitfires Vc come online, which should be in a year, unless he manages to use Australian Spit Vc, which I don't think is possible, and would mean stripping other squadrons that need those Australian planes.

In other words, it seems that the British might soon run out of planes, and have lots of empty squadrons waiting for replacements. In semi historical terms, Britain is very thin on the ground, now. She's been in the war since 1939, has fought the Battle of Britain, is now in North Africa and other theaters, and she can't put up with heavy losses over Burma. From a Japanese perspective, now that China is gone, Britain is the weakest of the Allies (the US are very strong, and Australians and New Zealanders are fighting for their home land), and it makes sense, I think, trying to break her over India, and force the US to reinforce that theater, and slow its advance in the Pacific. Well, that's the plan, anyway...

Francois

[fcharton]

September 12th 1942

Mines

I used to think that mines seldom work. Over the recent weeks, they seem all too efficient. Today, an US submarine fishing in Tulagi got hit, and is now reported sunk.

TF 262 encounters mine field at Tulagi (114,137)
Allied Ships
SS Grenadier, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

In the Aleutian, my bombardment force also hit a mine… Does adding DMS to the bombardment force help?

TF 73 encounters mine field at Attu Island (153,49)
Japanese Ships
DD Ariake, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

CL Yubari and the remaining destroyers still bombarded Attu, with little effect. They apparently missed a task force in port.

Milk runs

The situation in New Guinea is stable. Salamaua and Wau are garrisoned and fortified, and my opponent is trying to bombard them from the air, perhaps before sending troops on foot. I don’t think it will work, have a look at today’s results

Morning Air attack on Yokosuka 4th SNLF, at 98,127 (Salamaua)
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 8
B-25C Mitchell x 12
B-26B Marauder x 7
P-39D Airacobra x 15

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 1 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 1 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

My Zeroes are operating from Lae, and getting very little damage (and I could operate more from Wau, in fact), four Airacobras are reported lost today, for no Zero. As for the damage done, it is very low, because of the jungle and level three forts. So far, it seems enemy advance in this area is blocked, and will be slow. I have to think, though about extricating the troops stationed in this theater. I have no less than three divisions here (one in Wau, another on in Madang, and yet another in Rabaul), which should make allied attempts at reconquest bloody affairs, but which I want to evacuate somewhere in early 43, once I fall back on prepared positions.

Turkey shoots

The area between the New Hebrides and Truk is swarming with enemy submarines. So far, they never did much damage, and I had little success sinking them, so they’re around. I also have a couple task forces on ASW duties, and one of them probably remained too far south, as it was detected, and enemy carriers had a try at them.

The first pass wasn’t very successful.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Stewart Island at 117,139
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 27
SBD-3 Dauntless x 17
TBF-1 Avenger x 3
Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Amatsukaze
DD Okikaze
DD Suzukaze

But the second raid did get through

Morning Air attack on TF, near Stewart Island at 117,139
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9
SBD-3 Dauntless x 27

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

Japanese Ships
DD Okikaze, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hatsukaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Amatsukaze
DD Suzukaze

Okikaze sank, Hatsukaze (something about the wind, I suppose) is in bad shape, and will try to make it to Truk. I did something stupid, and I pay for it.

The silver lining is that carriers are now detected. Intel says only one carrier, and a second battleship target. By the fact that two strike package arrived in the morning, I believe there are two carriers. With Lexington sunk, Yorktown most certainly in the yards for a while, and the British back home, the US should have four CV. There was a division in the Aleutians about a month ago, and probably four carriers during the battle for Ndeni two weeks ago. All this suggests a two carrier division operating from Suva, another one on its way there, and a British carrier and a half (that’s Hermes) around Ceylon. I would be happy with such a disposition. I now have seven fleet Carriers, one light carrier, and two escorts, and can probably prevent raids into the Pacific for a while.

The great leap southwards

All Japanese units in northern China are now on the move, and converging on Wuchang, so that they can help capturing the city en passant, and then march south either to Burma or to Indochina, taking advantage of the railway.

In the south, there was another nice surprise in Tuyun. After discovering the city only had 300 AV guarding it, today’s attack reduced… level one forts.

Ground combat at Tuyun (74,51)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 21053 troops, 171 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value = 713
Defending force 17360 troops, 190 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 341
Japanese adjusted assault: 425
Allied adjusted defense: 160
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Japanese ground losses:
492 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1654 casualties reported
Squads: 32 destroyed, 105 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 49 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 15 (2 destroyed, 13 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

I have a full strength division crossing the river north of the city tomorrow, with the damage done today it seems that the battle for Tuyun could be over earlier than I thought. In retrospect, I should have marched on Tuyun earlier, as it would have deprived retreating KMT units of a target base. That will be for next time.


Speaking of which… I am beginning to wonder if I will play as Japan again. It is not that I don’t like the Empire, quite the contrary in fact, but I also have a lot of difficulty imagining I could play Japan and not go for China. Of course, there are many things I would do differently, better prepare for Chungking, so that I don’t need three months once I’m there, probably work earlier on central China, and herd the defeated KMT stacks better. But taking China looks like a must to me.

On the other hand, I am hearing more and more Allied voices describing such China first strategies as gamey, or a consequence of a flaw in the system. My opponent is among those voices, and I have to say this worries me a bit. Such a long game has to be fun, and I like my opponent. In the long run, this means what looks like my best strategic proposition as Japan is considered gamey (a bit like a Sir Robin for the Allies). You don’t want to embark in such a game.

On the other hand, all the ideas suggested to “cure” the problem are extremely unappealing. Basically, they amount to trying to prevent this IJA from taking China in 42 (or early 43), by adding garrisons, reducing supplies, but they don’t address the other side of the problem: the sheer size of the KMT in late 43, once the Burma Road reopens (or earlier, some proponents suggest more supplies for the Chinese). I don’t see how such remedies can succeed, and I fact, I believe their proponents will live to regret it. From a Japanese standpoint, the whole Pacific war, and fighting the US and British, is predicated upon the idea that China is “almost done with”, and will remain a buffer throughout the war. But anyway, I have to say a game without China and its complex interaction with the rest doesn’t sound very interesting, to me at least.

So, what then? The more I think about it, the more I believe I’d like to defend against a China first attempt, taste my own medicine if you like. Maybe China will turn me into an AFB, after all…

[obvert]

In the Aleutian, my bombardment force also hit a mine… Does adding DMS to the bombardment force help?

Yes, it will usually keep you from hitting them and sweep a few, but there is still the chance to hit one. This is a reason to keep a lot of the fast DMS, if not all of them, from converting to E.

Also, if you bombard farther out, like where only the 20cm and up guns can hit, then you have less chance to hit them.

Speaking of which… I am beginning to wonder if I will play as Japan again. It is not that I don’t like the Empire, quite the contrary in fact, but I also have a lot of difficulty imagining I could play Japan and not go for China. Of course, there are many things I would do differently, better prepare for Chungking, so that I don’t need three months once I’m there, probably work earlier on central China, and herd the defeated KMT stacks better. But taking China looks like a must to me.

On the other hand, I am hearing more and more Allied voices describing such China first strategies as gamey, or a consequence of a flaw in the system. My opponent is among those voices, and I have to say this worries me a bit. Such a long game has to be fun, and I like my opponent. In the long run, this means what looks like my best strategic proposition as Japan is considered gamey (a bit like a Sir Robin for the Allies). You don’t want to embark in such a game.

On the other hand, all the ideas suggested to “cure” the problem are extremely unappealing. Basically, they amount to trying to prevent this IJA from taking China in 42 (or early 43), by adding garrisons, reducing supplies, but they don’t address the other side of the problem: the sheer size of the KMT in late 43, once the Burma Road reopens (or earlier, some proponents suggest more supplies for the Chinese). I don’t see how such remedies can succeed, and I fact, I believe their proponents will live to regret it. From a Japanese standpoint, the whole Pacific war, and fighting the US and British, is predicated upon the idea that China is “almost done with”, and will remain a buffer throughout the war. But anyway, I have to say a game without China and its complex interaction with the rest doesn’t sound very interesting, to me at least.

So, what then? The more I think about it, the more I believe I’d like to defend against a China first attempt, taste my own medicine if you like. Maybe China will turn me into an AFB, after all…

Many things in game disturb what could be the 'right' balance between the sides. I think the Babes fixes with the stacking limits should allow China to be held and still make it difficult for the Chinese to mount any early offensives. It's probably very boring to play the Chinese side well as the Allies. A lot of sitting back and forming MLRs in good territory. A lot of behind enemy lines guerrilla ops to cut supply and LOCs. Getting your air force pummeled and losing supply and troops to constant bombing. Risk troops in Burma to keep the supply lines open longer. Few stay with it until the Japanese force them back.

In both of my games I felt I committed to China, but the Allies weren't offering defense in the most secure places, and Torsten even went on a massive and disastrous offensive. Jocke defended well, but probably because it was his first time at it, pulled back when supply got thin. I didn't have to take most of the difficult bases, even.

Our HR has worked well though. I have the large majority of Chinese territory including the mountains, but he kept the major industry from falling into Japanese hands and forces me to keep most of the original Chinese Ex. Army in China. I've only moved two divisions and a few brigades of those troops out. So it's a good compromise.