Zuluhour vs Zigurat666: 1943

[DOCUP]

That's not good Kurt, but you can come back. Just remember this day and fight on. Remember May 14th. Hmm that doesn't sound as good as Remember the Alamo.

[zuluhour]

I'm hip Joe, just waiting around for the next FUBAR.

[zuluhour]

May 16, 1942

Port Blair falls to Imperial Japan. SigNet picks up another IJA division moving to Australia.

[zuluhour]

May 18, 1942

SoPac:CenPac: Sara reaches home safely. IJN SAG located SSE of Canton.

Burma: Some good news in the skies as P38s from southern India clear skies in central Burma of Zeros with no loss.

China: confusion in the forests.

[zuluhour]

May 19-20, 1942

CenPac: Following a three set tennis match which only reaches two sets, ADM Nimitz, now CnC Pacific Ocean areas shelves Operation Neptune's Spear. The three mile swim following the match of which the Admiral is the only one to complete, finds the new plan from TWIT worthy of attempt. Orders are given verbally on the spot to his exec. Operation Cross Court to proceed immediately. The opening move, code name "Service" is underway.

***the code name at Zulu HQ is "Red Headed step child". The obvious reason, we feel like one.****

[zuluhour]

May 24, 1942

The Japanese have landed and secured Diego Garcia.

[zuluhour]

May 25-27, 1942

SwPac: IJN bombardment groups sortie to PM like clock work. They may try this one too many times. To the east Op Service is well underway.

Australia: IJA forces advance on Koolgerie.

Burma: The Burma Corp is eliminated NW of Rangoon after a week of heavy fighting.

China: IJA forces capture the base 2nd furthest north. I believe they are cut off from supplies and have been for over a week.

[zuluhour]

some detail

[zuluhour]

May 28, 1942

CenPac: Op Service continues to mount. Support TFs are at sea closing on point luck. One carrier TF spotted at over 600nm. Must be Mavis flying out of Canton although recon shows less than half a dozen ships on the ground there.

SoPac: Supporting TFs load and depart for point luck.

Australia: P39s beat up over Koolgerie from three plus IJN carriers off Perth. I believe I can account for 5-6 IJN fleet CVs now.

Burma: Seems quiet.

[DOCUP]

Nice art work. What do you have at Ramree and Akyab.

[zuluhour]

Akyab will be a tough nut for the IJA, Ramree is some of Burma Corp engineers and a little Indian infantry just enough to burn him in a shock attack. The intention at Ramree is more for intel, I fly short ranged recon from there. If I can hold it for forty-five days or so, heavies will work Rangoon over. The Aussies and British are III Corp (northern Burma) and will meet the IJA in the jungles NE of the central plains. I hope to draw the IJA there while I concentrate for a move up the coast in the fall.

[zuluhour]

May 30, 1942

Relative quiet in most AOs. Another heavy shelling at Port Morseby. China sees the usual fifty plus sorties. Burma seems unusually quiet; I think this may be a secondary theater for Japan. I will not alter my plans there for now. The South Africans are at sea and are expected in Africa soon.

Operation Cross Court: Op Service: All forces are at sea. Carriers will refuel the day after Tomorrow and cruise point luck waiting for the slower elements to arrive. CVE-1 arrives on the west coast. We anxiously await Wasp as well.



Super Battleship Yamato spotted off Truk: May 30, 1942

[zuluhour]

May 31, 1942

West Coast: A relief expedition is organized for Op Service. Seven hundred PPs from the bank. It hurts with Australia under so much pressure.

CenPac: Op Service in full swing. Hornet to join the fleet in twenty four hours, now refueling. Intel yesterday showed almost 100 ships at Rabaul.

SwPac: The IJA waits for more troops before attacking the Aussies in front of Kalgoolerie.

Burma: IJAF sweeps Akyab. We get the better but have many damaged frames. The USAF is building nicely in India and two squadrons of veteran Dutch fighters upgrade to Hurries and will be able to assist the Brits later this month over western Burma.

Indian Ocean: The Royal Navy sorties.

[zuluhour]

Details:

[zuluhour]

June 1, 1942

General: Many, many, merchantmen enter yards for upgrades.

CenPac: Op Service: FAG-1 and FAG-2 (fast attack group) patrol point luck. FAG-3 is closing 120nm from due east. Transports and supply are 600nm to the north east. Objective service projected for June 5. FAG-1 and -2 refuel in heavy weather which I hope/wish disguises radio traffic. FAG-3 will refuel tomorrow. Recon from Pago Pago reports Suva with thirty eight aircraft sans fighters. I suspect there is a chutai or so at New Caledonia. F4s will stand down on the 2nd and recon objective Service on the 3rd, weather permitting. There are Bettys flying out of Suva as they have flown night raids over Pago Pago and last night over Eua.

SwPac: Allied cruisers intercept IJN patrol boats off Port Moresby and dispatch them. It's the first known IJN sinking's in quite a while. I order a quick night bombardment of the PM perimeter before they retire. Both cruisers have full main gun ammo. I hope supply is used when the IJN big guns reload at Rabaul and its not just free of charge. The IJA has closed with Aussies outside the Kaloorlie perimeter but have not attacked. Almost a dozen more Jap formations are 46m to the west and closing.

India: Reserve formations now total five divisions.

[BBfanboy]

Yes, replenishing ammo does use supply, first from any AE or AKE that is there for the purpose, but then the AE/AKE must be restocked from the base. BBs do use the most supply to replenish after a bombardment.
Note that smaller ships can be replenished directly from the port without using the AE/AKE.

There is a table in the manual that describes the size of gun ammo that can be replenished in a given size port, modified by Naval Support troops. Level 7 ports can load most guns but not 16"/50s of the Iowa class nor the 18" guns of the Yamato class.

[zuluhour]

Yes, first time I checked the table this game. It would seem with the number of BBs and CAs used to hammer PM and the number of sorties, a significant amount of supply is needed at Rabaul and Truk. I don't believe the silent service can interdict the sea lanes at this point so I will resume my judicial use of mines around his ports. I will take this info into account with Operation Neptune's Spear I hope to launch in September.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

PS - here's a nugget learned during sandboxing: if you assault a city which has industry and kick the enemy out, some or all of the industry will be destroyed. If you go into the city and let him smash his troops against your defences, then patiently bomb and arty bombard until the enemy is eliminated, you take over the city by "Occupation" rather than assault and you get all the industry intact: manpower too. Haven't done a base with aircraft/vehicle/armaments factories yet.

Remember this little discussion? I have some hard figures for you.

On June 09 I took Bangkok by Deliberate attack, destroying the static Royal Thai Army HQ and retreating the static Thai Aviation Coy BF. The industry I captured was: Manpower 1(1), Resources 40, Heavy Industry 38(1), Refinery 20, Light Industry 70(50).

I redid the turn without the DA and commenced bombarding [by LCU artillery] and bombing from the air. I finally eliminated the two static units above and took the base by occupation on June 30 - three weeks later than using a DA. The base had a little damage from partisan attacks when the enemy units AV dropped below minimums, but the worst was 35 Port damage and very little AF damage. The big bonus was in the HI. What I captured was:

Manpower 3, Resources 40, HI 79(1), Refinery 20, LI 72(48) = a gain of one Manpower and 40 HI.

Doing the same thing at Harbin and Changchun [the Russians are in play, and man! - do they have artillery!], I captured Manpower 16 and 14 respectively vs. about 4 that you get with an assault on the base/city. The HI seems to be cut in half by an assault, and sometimes some of the LI is damaged too, but not destroyed.

Anyway, if you are not on an urgent timeline for conquest and want to capture more industry where it is needed, grinding the enemy to nothing and occupying the base has its benefits. [:)]

Edit: PS - I forgot to mention, at Harbin or Changchun I captured a Mavis aircraft factory intact. It did not convert to a vehicle factory. I have it set to not repair but to produce and am waiting to see if the 1 repaired production point will produce an aircraft in a month [the production rate in the industry screen]. I suspect it will not, and that no Allied squadron would be able to use the Mavis if it did. [:'(]

[zuluhour]

June 2, 1942

CnC CenPac: The North Carolina and Wasp are in the Caribbean and closing on the Panama canal. Her sixteen inch rifles will get work in this summer. A relief force for Objective Service is in blue water and steaming south with the Long Island covering. The assault TF for Service only makes 280nm yesterday and is expected at point luck in thirty six hours. All fast attack groups are fueled and ready. Reserves of fuel and supply are in rout. Eua reports another night raid and the reports indicate we down two, but recon at Suva shows double the number of attack aircraft now and ships in the harbor. Recon is shifted to objective Service for tomorrow. Operation Net is at sea and proceeding to the objective.

SwPac: Several surface groups reported around New Britain and I expect another run or three at PM. Our bombardment last night hit nothing, yielding only new and improved weapon pits for the IJA 4th division. The IJA closed on the perimeter forces at Kaloorlie (they are really moving fast) and we expect a blood bath on the third.

Burma: Ramree swept clean of fighters for now, I do not want to pay PPs to insert fresh squadrons.

China: The bombardments and bombings continue unabated.

[zuluhour]

BB, I am glad the IJA has needed shock attacks to take anything from me. Paul is addicted to the shock attack. I believe this will be an Achilles heel eventually.