+1
mining was a low risk operation IRL .. the allies did lot's of it and didn't have many losses ...
Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J), no spence, please
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
This AAR is falling back again. I am a bit uninspired these days, and work is back, unfortunately
February 5th and 6th 1943
Drum roll
We might have sunk that one…
Sub attack near Iwo-jima at 106,79
Japanese Ships
xAP Buenos Aires Maru
DD Shigure
Allied Ships
SS Drum, hits 4
Type 2 depth charges seem to be the functional antisub weapons I have now. Type 95, and 95 mod seem pretty inefficient. I am trying to convert all the ships that can have those, and dispatch them in ASW task forces or escorts.
I have been working on air ASW since a couple of month, and now have a decent number of squadrons with pilots with ASW ratings between 60 and 70. I am concentrating them in small areas, which seem to be a good way to accumulate hits on a few subs. Manado is quickly becoming an air ASW base, et we get two or three hits reported every day,
Disappointed
The attack on Port Blair didn’t work as advertised. I had sent a few squadrons, in Trinkat, and Victoria Point to sweep, and bombers from Rangoon were put on naval bombing. As the fighter were closer and flew faster, I expected them to be there first, but apparently, the engine decided differently, and all my bombers flew first, into the waiting arms of enemy Hurricanes.
We still got half a dozen Hurricanes, but lost a dozen Betties, and a few Oscars in the process. And the milk run wasn’t one… just a pair of destroyers acting as CAP trap. Hate that!
February 5th and 6th 1943
Drum roll
We might have sunk that one…
Sub attack near Iwo-jima at 106,79
Japanese Ships
xAP Buenos Aires Maru
DD Shigure
Allied Ships
SS Drum, hits 4
Type 2 depth charges seem to be the functional antisub weapons I have now. Type 95, and 95 mod seem pretty inefficient. I am trying to convert all the ships that can have those, and dispatch them in ASW task forces or escorts.
I have been working on air ASW since a couple of month, and now have a decent number of squadrons with pilots with ASW ratings between 60 and 70. I am concentrating them in small areas, which seem to be a good way to accumulate hits on a few subs. Manado is quickly becoming an air ASW base, et we get two or three hits reported every day,
Disappointed
The attack on Port Blair didn’t work as advertised. I had sent a few squadrons, in Trinkat, and Victoria Point to sweep, and bombers from Rangoon were put on naval bombing. As the fighter were closer and flew faster, I expected them to be there first, but apparently, the engine decided differently, and all my bombers flew first, into the waiting arms of enemy Hurricanes.
We still got half a dozen Hurricanes, but lost a dozen Betties, and a few Oscars in the process. And the milk run wasn’t one… just a pair of destroyers acting as CAP trap. Hate that!
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
CAP traps are really tough as the targeting is so much out of our hands. It would be even more fiddly if we had to control what bombers would go for, and of course mis-identification in the search phase would have a huge impact, but the way it works now it means there are times when you simply can't fly bombers on naval strike missions with enemy CAP in the area.
It would be so much better if you could assign planes to attack a certain TF. I can also see the problems there though, as players could change TFs every day to combat this.
My biggest gripe lately is that even setting search zones planes will go outside of those and 'find' ships that are under CAP, then go right for them.
It would be so much better if you could assign planes to attack a certain TF. I can also see the problems there though, as players could change TFs every day to combat this.
My biggest gripe lately is that even setting search zones planes will go outside of those and 'find' ships that are under CAP, then go right for them.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
February 7th 1943
The 65th brigade, that once defended Lunga, was evacuated by air to Ontong Java, and I was planning to send it to Kavieng, or some similar place. But allied CV turned up today, and sank my transports, together with a big of the brigade. Hate that!
What are US CV doing here? Another task force was detected near Ndeni, so it seems that the push towards Kirakira or Guadalcanal is finally on. Most of this area is evacuated, and the enemy is welcome to it.
The rest of the war was calm. There were lots of night bombing, with little results, We shot down two B24D.
February 8th 1943
Lunga it is! Two task forces have appeared in Lunga, and will most certainly invade tomorrow. I have 80 AV and guns, behind level three forts, but not much supplies. This seems to be a general feature of recent invasions: several days of air bombardment seem to deplete my supplies, my troops launch an inefficient bombardment upon landing, and everything ends very fast, out of lack of supplies. I don’t really know how to counter this.
Enemy CV are keeping watch east of Guadalcanal, three of them, probably. I have submarines around, and hope to get a lucky shot. Another one is with the landing force, which is strange (or are those CVE?) The KB (now at full strength) is east of Truk, sailing south, undetected. If Allied carriers remain in position, I will try to attack. I have numerical superiority, and this is about the last time when this can be attempted.
The 65th brigade, that once defended Lunga, was evacuated by air to Ontong Java, and I was planning to send it to Kavieng, or some similar place. But allied CV turned up today, and sank my transports, together with a big of the brigade. Hate that!
What are US CV doing here? Another task force was detected near Ndeni, so it seems that the push towards Kirakira or Guadalcanal is finally on. Most of this area is evacuated, and the enemy is welcome to it.
The rest of the war was calm. There were lots of night bombing, with little results, We shot down two B24D.
February 8th 1943
Lunga it is! Two task forces have appeared in Lunga, and will most certainly invade tomorrow. I have 80 AV and guns, behind level three forts, but not much supplies. This seems to be a general feature of recent invasions: several days of air bombardment seem to deplete my supplies, my troops launch an inefficient bombardment upon landing, and everything ends very fast, out of lack of supplies. I don’t really know how to counter this.
Enemy CV are keeping watch east of Guadalcanal, three of them, probably. I have submarines around, and hope to get a lucky shot. Another one is with the landing force, which is strange (or are those CVE?) The KB (now at full strength) is east of Truk, sailing south, undetected. If Allied carriers remain in position, I will try to attack. I have numerical superiority, and this is about the last time when this can be attempted.
-
SqzMyLemon
- Posts: 4239
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
I was able to conduct a successful counter invasion of Lunga by landing at Tassafaronga and marching overland with four divisions. You mention you're not big on defending the Solomons, but that first leap by the Allies into Guadalcanal territory seems to be a golden opportunity to hit back. If no plans for a ground counterstrike, at least you are in position to catch a portion of his naval force with KB. You know he has to support his operation and could be vulnerable. Good luck.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
Music of the day is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8ZgUwDQIYw
That’s the next target, and I have to confess I'm much more into music and other hobbies than AE, these days, so this AAR might wander on irrelated subjects, bear with me, reader (and yeah you've been warned)...
February 9th 1943
As expected, my opponent landed in Lunga. There is something mysterious with those contested landings: they seem to produce a lot of disablements, but very little losses, unless coastal guns manage to hit the troop ships.
Amphibious Assault at Lunga (114,138)
TF 99 troops unloading over beach at Lunga, 114,138
Allied ground losses:
624 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 311 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 266 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 126 (1 destroyed, 125 disabled)
Vehicles lost 102 (0 destroyed, 102 disabled)
The Allied apparently landed a reinforced marine division (3rd Marine, and the 3rd USMC tank battalion). I have an SNLF and guns, behind level three forts and in defensive terrain. Let’s see how long they lasts…
I will not defend the Solomons, we’re in February 43 already, and this area, which has not been built offers little interest for the Allies. If I can keep them working for all those islands, and delay them a couple months, I will be happy.
US Carriers have taken position south of Kirakira. KB is on its way, on a relatively slow route. I want my opponent to get a secure feeling before I try to attack.
In the Andamans, a bombardment task force on its way to Port Blair was intercepted by Dauntlesses, off Trinkat. I had long range CAP and the Daunlesses had a pretty bad day. A Royal Navy task force was detected in the Indian ocean. My forward based are stacked with Betties, if the Brits move in, they might have a very bad day tomorrow.
In Burma, Beaufighters attacked Magwe, which was a bad idea as it is a flak nest. We shot two B24-D over Akyab. Overall, we had a pretty good day in the air, with 17 allied planes downed for 13 ours.
That’s the next target, and I have to confess I'm much more into music and other hobbies than AE, these days, so this AAR might wander on irrelated subjects, bear with me, reader (and yeah you've been warned)...
February 9th 1943
As expected, my opponent landed in Lunga. There is something mysterious with those contested landings: they seem to produce a lot of disablements, but very little losses, unless coastal guns manage to hit the troop ships.
Amphibious Assault at Lunga (114,138)
TF 99 troops unloading over beach at Lunga, 114,138
Allied ground losses:
624 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 311 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 266 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 126 (1 destroyed, 125 disabled)
Vehicles lost 102 (0 destroyed, 102 disabled)
The Allied apparently landed a reinforced marine division (3rd Marine, and the 3rd USMC tank battalion). I have an SNLF and guns, behind level three forts and in defensive terrain. Let’s see how long they lasts…
I will not defend the Solomons, we’re in February 43 already, and this area, which has not been built offers little interest for the Allies. If I can keep them working for all those islands, and delay them a couple months, I will be happy.
US Carriers have taken position south of Kirakira. KB is on its way, on a relatively slow route. I want my opponent to get a secure feeling before I try to attack.
In the Andamans, a bombardment task force on its way to Port Blair was intercepted by Dauntlesses, off Trinkat. I had long range CAP and the Daunlesses had a pretty bad day. A Royal Navy task force was detected in the Indian ocean. My forward based are stacked with Betties, if the Brits move in, they might have a very bad day tomorrow.
In Burma, Beaufighters attacked Magwe, which was a bad idea as it is a flak nest. We shot two B24-D over Akyab. Overall, we had a pretty good day in the air, with 17 allied planes downed for 13 ours.
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
Out of a long music session, my hands hurt a bit
February 10th 1943
In Lunga, the landings are going on, unmolested. A first allied bombardment revealed 236 AV, vs 89 ours, and cost the marines a squad and a gun. I am expecting air bombardement for a couple of days. KB is still sailing, undetected, enemy carriers are still around. Those invasions are opportunities: I just had a fairly easy supply run to Rabaul.
In the Andamans, the task force detected yesterday retreated out of range. Port Blair is probably interdicted. I will fly LRCAP tomorrow to see whether my opponent air transports stuff.
During the night, B24-D bombed Magwe, and failed to cause any damage. One B24 is reported shot down. Overall, the enemy lost eight planes, we lost five. Small favors, as they say.
February 10th 1943
In Lunga, the landings are going on, unmolested. A first allied bombardment revealed 236 AV, vs 89 ours, and cost the marines a squad and a gun. I am expecting air bombardement for a couple of days. KB is still sailing, undetected, enemy carriers are still around. Those invasions are opportunities: I just had a fairly easy supply run to Rabaul.
In the Andamans, the task force detected yesterday retreated out of range. Port Blair is probably interdicted. I will fly LRCAP tomorrow to see whether my opponent air transports stuff.
During the night, B24-D bombed Magwe, and failed to cause any damage. One B24 is reported shot down. Overall, the enemy lost eight planes, we lost five. Small favors, as they say.
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
I owe my opponent a turn. Couldn’t sent it yesterday because I worked late, or today at lunch because I was busy, or tonight because I ate out, and now I’m too tired. Tomorrow morning, I promise…
Music for today is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb3I9lbNaSg
February 11th 1943
A relatively light turn. In Lunga, the allies are sending the heavy bombers before they attack. It doesn’t seem to work, but it keeps them busy, and the marine division that took heavy disablements when it landed is probably recovering in the mean time.
KB is near Nauru Island, and will sail in tomorrow. If enemy carriers remain close to Guadalcanal, we might be in for something big.
Over Burma, we swept Chittagong and shot down two Hurricanes. The less the merrier.
In the Andamans, Dauntlesses from Port Blair managed to find a cargo TF returning from Rangoon, and sank a tanker. LRCAP didn’t fly.
That is pretty much all for today.
As I sit writing here, sick and grown old,
Not my least burden is that dulness of the years, querilities,
Ungracious glooms, aches, lethargy, constipation, whimpering ennui,
Might filter in my daily songs
(Walt Whitman)
February 12th 1943
The carrier battle that wasn’t, again
KB sailed on Lunga, and ended midway between Ontong Java and Guadalcanal. My opponent has all his CV bunched in a big 4 TF groups, and a single, smaller Air Combat task force in forward position (CVE I presume, perhaps meant to divert some of my attack groups). So I was trying to remain far away enough, to either catch an unloading task force, or get a strike at the forward group.
During the night, one submarine found the Yorktown, without success unfortunately.
Sub attack near Kirakira at 115,145
Japanese Ships
SS I-24
Allied Ships
CV Yorktown
BB North Carolina
CA Astoria
CA Chicago
CA Indianapolis
DD Buchanan
DD Kalk
DD Gansevoort
DD Frazier
This TF composition seems typical of the way my opponent uses his fleet carriers. He keeps them all in the same hex, but in separate TF of one or two CV, with a pretty strong screen. I am not sure this is the best idea, as I suspect the BB would slow the task force. But it is always good to know.
In the morning the carrier battle didn’t happen, as enemy CV were 9 hexes away (between Kirakira and Ndeni), and the light carrier force was south of them. And no ships were found in Lunga. Three APD, back from Guadalcanal probably, were found in Ndeni.
Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 110 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 46 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 46
B5N2 Kate x 34
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 11
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
Allied Ships
APD Stewart, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD Rathburne
APD Hatfield, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
What should I do now? KB is at full strength, and I have numerical superiority over the allies (probably 450 planes vs 300). If we have a carrier battle, I can probably make a good show, but victory is far from certain, especially as we are both detected.
Of course, I’m also a bit bored with the game right now, as the Whitman quote for today suggests, and the temptation to attack and see what happens is great.
I have ordered my carriers to retire eastwards, at mission speed. If Spence decides to chase, we might have a long range carrier battle. I suspect he will try, as he seemed willing to commit his carriers over the last few weeks. My hope is to lure him far enough north so that lost squadrons can’t relocate to Ndeni. If the battle doesn’t happen, it is fine too. I’m aware that trading carriers is a very bad deal for Japan right now.
New kids on the block
Corsairs appeared over Madang. I had Nicks on CAP, and it was very ugly: I lost 23 Nicks (yeah twenty three, two thirds of the Sentai) to no Corsair. I hope A6M5 can fight Corsairs a little better, or my aviators’ life will be very miserable very soon…
Music for today is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb3I9lbNaSg
February 11th 1943
A relatively light turn. In Lunga, the allies are sending the heavy bombers before they attack. It doesn’t seem to work, but it keeps them busy, and the marine division that took heavy disablements when it landed is probably recovering in the mean time.
KB is near Nauru Island, and will sail in tomorrow. If enemy carriers remain close to Guadalcanal, we might be in for something big.
Over Burma, we swept Chittagong and shot down two Hurricanes. The less the merrier.
In the Andamans, Dauntlesses from Port Blair managed to find a cargo TF returning from Rangoon, and sank a tanker. LRCAP didn’t fly.
That is pretty much all for today.
As I sit writing here, sick and grown old,
Not my least burden is that dulness of the years, querilities,
Ungracious glooms, aches, lethargy, constipation, whimpering ennui,
Might filter in my daily songs
(Walt Whitman)
February 12th 1943
The carrier battle that wasn’t, again
KB sailed on Lunga, and ended midway between Ontong Java and Guadalcanal. My opponent has all his CV bunched in a big 4 TF groups, and a single, smaller Air Combat task force in forward position (CVE I presume, perhaps meant to divert some of my attack groups). So I was trying to remain far away enough, to either catch an unloading task force, or get a strike at the forward group.
During the night, one submarine found the Yorktown, without success unfortunately.
Sub attack near Kirakira at 115,145
Japanese Ships
SS I-24
Allied Ships
CV Yorktown
BB North Carolina
CA Astoria
CA Chicago
CA Indianapolis
DD Buchanan
DD Kalk
DD Gansevoort
DD Frazier
This TF composition seems typical of the way my opponent uses his fleet carriers. He keeps them all in the same hex, but in separate TF of one or two CV, with a pretty strong screen. I am not sure this is the best idea, as I suspect the BB would slow the task force. But it is always good to know.
In the morning the carrier battle didn’t happen, as enemy CV were 9 hexes away (between Kirakira and Ndeni), and the light carrier force was south of them. And no ships were found in Lunga. Three APD, back from Guadalcanal probably, were found in Ndeni.
Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 110 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 46 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 46
B5N2 Kate x 34
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 11
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
Allied Ships
APD Stewart, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD Rathburne
APD Hatfield, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
What should I do now? KB is at full strength, and I have numerical superiority over the allies (probably 450 planes vs 300). If we have a carrier battle, I can probably make a good show, but victory is far from certain, especially as we are both detected.
Of course, I’m also a bit bored with the game right now, as the Whitman quote for today suggests, and the temptation to attack and see what happens is great.
I have ordered my carriers to retire eastwards, at mission speed. If Spence decides to chase, we might have a long range carrier battle. I suspect he will try, as he seemed willing to commit his carriers over the last few weeks. My hope is to lure him far enough north so that lost squadrons can’t relocate to Ndeni. If the battle doesn’t happen, it is fine too. I’m aware that trading carriers is a very bad deal for Japan right now.
New kids on the block
Corsairs appeared over Madang. I had Nicks on CAP, and it was very ugly: I lost 23 Nicks (yeah twenty three, two thirds of the Sentai) to no Corsair. I hope A6M5 can fight Corsairs a little better, or my aviators’ life will be very miserable very soon…
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
Sadly, not so that you will really notice. They are just too slow. Tojo's are your best until Frank arrives.ORIGINAL: fcharton
I hope A6M5 can fight Corsairs a little better, or my aviators’ life will be very miserable very soon…
Pax
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
February 13th 1943
Odds and ends
On Lunga, the 3rd marine division attacked, and reduced a fort level, for very low losses. It won’t last long, I can tell.
During the night, enemy bombers visited Akyab. We shot down a Liberator II and a B24-D, and very little damage was done.
A surface task force was detected between Taberfane and Saumlaki. Is this an invasion TF? Just some bombardment run? Ironically, this happens the day when Lautem becomes a level two airfield, and Kates will be able to have a shot at enemy ships.
Arma virumque cano
We had a carrier battle, after all. I didn’t really want one, and I don’t think the Allies meant it, but it happened. Here’s how.
During the night the enemy carriers, south of Kirakira yesterday, moved north of Ndeni. They were not on an intercept course. I think my opponent just wanted to cover Ndeni, and keep them under his LBA umbrella. As my carriers, south of Ontong Java were supposed to retire northwards, no battle should have taken place. But fate had it differently: the Jake unit from Tulagi I use as night spotters detected the enemy CV seven or eight hexes from mine, and my carrier skippers decided to react and position themselves seven hexes away. This was a mixed blessing since I have Val 2 squadrons that won’t fly this range.
I always put a significant number of bombers on search (20 to 30 for all squadrons in KB). This usually means quite a few losses to CAP, but I suspect it helps getting the first strike. So, in the morning, my search boys found the enemy, and they were ours, and the weather wasn’t that nice (heavy cloud over them, heavy rain over us), and some of the raids lost coordination. But we could manage a pretty good first strike. Vals were disappointing, but the Kates were splendid.
Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 119,141
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 62
B5N2 Kate x 97
D3A1 Val x 18
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 3
F4F-4 Wildcat x 104
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 10 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 13 destroyed, 24 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 4 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 6 destroyed, 2 damaged
D3A1 Val: 2 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 destroyed
Allied Ships
BB South Dakota, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CV Wasp, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
CV Hornet
CV Saratoga, Bomb hits 1
CA Northampton
BB Indiana
A second strike, by latecomers then made an unsuccessful pass at the Hornet.
Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 119,141
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 17
B5N2 Kate x 12
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1
F4F-4 Wildcat x 66
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
CV Hornet
Then the allies had two unsuccessful attempts against my carriers. Note the relatively small strike packages. I suspect the damage done to the Wasp played a role.
Morning Air attack on TF, near Auki at 119,134
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 52
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 51
SBD-3 Dauntless x 47
TBF-1 Avenger x 17
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 5 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 5 destroyed, 8 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 destroyed by flak
Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima
CV Junyo
CVL Zuiho
CVE Unyo
CV Kaga
CV Hiyo
CV Hiryu
CA Kako
CV Zuikaku
Then we had another unsuccessful attempt against the vanguard CVE task force my opponent put one hex in front of his carriers, obviously as a CAP platform.
Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 119,140
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 34
D3A1 Val x 10
D3A2 Val x 10
D4Y1 Judy x 7
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 70
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 4 destroyed
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
D3A2 Val: 6 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
CVE Sangamon
The rest of the morning saw many bomber squadrons (four on my side, one on the Allies), and getting slaughtered by the CAP. The weather probably got worse in the afternoon, and nothing flew.
What now?
The second battle of Ndeni was a costly one (interestingly, it took place in the very area where KB sank the Lexington). We lost 190 planes, for 110 allies. But none of our ships got hit, and it looks like Wasp is a goner (three torpedo hits, and 50 planes reported as ops losses, which is pretty close to the full complement Wasp has, knowing that some fighters were in the air, and some bombers might have made it to Ndeni). South Dakota is also reported sunk. The VP total suggests they are still afloat, though. I am sending submarines in their general direction, just in case.
I don’t think I want a second day. I have about 300 planes left in the task force, and my pilots are fatigued. My opponent probably has a similar number of planes left and even though his pilots are probably fatigued as well, I don’t want to give him a chance to even the score out. So, I am retiring tomorrow. Should I do this at flank speed (considering that I have a CVE and a couple of slow ships in the TF)?
My hunch is that the Allies won’t pursue. The loss of the Wasp and the South Dakota for nothing should send the fleet home, I believe (especially if he was already hesitating about giving battle). But I won’t take any chance, and run for the clouds. They are forecasting ugly weather due east. But I am interested in opinions about what you’d do in such a situation.
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
First of all, well done. You're oddly morose about wining a one sided CV battle! [;)]
I don't think you would need a flank move from 7 hexes away. He won't flank after you with those ships in jeopardy and none of yours damaged. If he does it'll only be fast CVs. So Hornet and Sara with damaged air groups.
I don't think you would need a flank move from 7 hexes away. He won't flank after you with those ships in jeopardy and none of yours damaged. If he does it'll only be fast CVs. So Hornet and Sara with damaged air groups.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
ORIGINAL: obvert
First of all, well done. You're oddly morose about wining a one sided CV battle! [;)]
À vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire.
(A victory without peril is a triumph without glory)
Seriously, I'm not really in the game these days. I am trying to play as well as I can, and to keep the chronicle alive, but interest is at a low point, even after a carrier battle. And I was a bit in a rush when I wrote the report, yesterday, too.
I'll gloat more in a further installment, I promise!
Francois
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
ORIGINAL: fcharton
ORIGINAL: obvert
First of all, well done. You're oddly morose about wining a one sided CV battle! [;)]
À vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire.
(A victory without peril is a triumph without glory)
Seriously, I'm not really in the game these days. I am trying to play as well as I can, and to keep the chronicle alive, but interest is at a low point, even after a carrier battle. And I was a bit in a rush when I wrote the report, yesterday, too.
I'll gloat more in a further installment, I promise!
Francois
I understand. I've gone through quite a few periods like that in the game.
“Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from a defeat.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
February 14th 1943
Mr Butai hides in the shade
Kido Butai, at flank speed, retreated towards Nauru Island. There was no pursuit. KB will now retire to Truk, take replacements and pilots, get minor repairs, rearm, and get ready for its next foray. VP totals suggest that the neither Wasp, nor South Dakota were sunk. Both must be limping home, and will probably be out of the war for a long while, provided they don’t sink on their way home.
Thinking of the battle, today, and looking at my carrier squadrons, I noticed there is a good margin for improvement.
On the bright side, we had the first strike, managed a rather coordinated attack, and did all our damage there. I believe this is due to two reasons. First, I had a squadron of Jakes in Tulagi, on night search, acting as spotters. I believe this kept enemy detection high. Second, all my bomber squadrons have about 20% of their planes commited to naval search. This means my pilots tend to have high search skills, but also that I usually achieve good detection of enemy targets. The same happened when we sank the Lexington a few months ago. Of course, this also means less planes in my strike packages, and heavy losses to CAP in the search phase. But I believe it is worth the cost.
Also on the bright side, our CAP worked fine against incoming bombers. Instead of giving all my squadron a fixed percentage of CAP (30 or 40), I have a few squadrons with high CAP % (50 or 60), others with light values (10 or 20), and I keep one squadron of Zeroes on night duty at all time, better safe than sorry. All my planes fly the same altitude, as a way to maiximise coordination. This seems to work.
On the less bright side, I noticed KB was far from battle ready when it sailed. Some squadrons had just upgraded to Judies, and had several damage planes, others were short on pilots, or had inactive ones. More importantly, TF commander was set on auto-selection. For KB proper, captain Okada, Kaga’s excellent skipper, was selected, and was quite up to the task (good inspiration, 69 air skill), but for the second task force, instead of the excellent captain Kaku, Hiryu’s skipper, captain Beppu, from the Hiyo was selected, which was a much weaker choice. I also noticed that my ship skippers deserved more than a few changes.
On the even less bright side, most of my losses happened when some squadrons flew unescorted. I am not certain how I can improve this, but I suspect cruise speed it the problem. KB now fields a mixture of Kates (160 cruise speed), Vals (180), and Judies (265). And the Judies were the ones that lost coordination and flew alone. I suspect I must split the strike packages between the Judies and the rest, and probably fly them at a different altitude, with some fighters dedicated to their escort.
How do you do this?
Oh frabjous day, calloo callay
I promised I would gloat, so here it is…
Meanwhile, near Ndeni, my submarines tried to catch the retreating carriers, and we had two shots at them, one at the Saratoga
Sub attack near Ndeni at 120,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-24, hits 1
Allied Ships
CV Saratoga
BB Indiana
CA San Francisco
DD Balch
DD Selfridge
DD Gillespie
And another one, and a hit, at the Yorktown
Sub attack near Ndeni at 120,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-170, hits 9, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB North Carolina
CA Astoria
CA Chicago
CA Indianapolis
DD Lansdowne
DD Kalk
DD Gansevoort
DD Frazier
She won’t sink of course, but a torpedoed carrier must be a good thing. I-170 is in bad shape, but will probably make it to Nauru. Note the way my opponent organizes his task forces. Having a battleship in each make them difficult to attack with surface forces, on the other hand, it also slows them by a few knots. This is good to know.
Three carriers (Saratoga, Yorktown and probably Hornet) are keeping guard north of Ndeni. The others, Enterprise escorting Wasp, I believe, seem to be sailing south, towards Fiji or Noumea.The escort carriers were detected in Ndeni.
Valentine day in the air
We had a couple of good sweeps today. Tojo from Rabaul swept Kiriwina island, and shot down a few Wildcats. Oscars from Hollandia swept Dobo and found Kittihawk III and Wildcats. Over India, Oscars swept Dacca and found P40-K, and Tojos caught Hurricanes IIc over Chittagong. Finally, 12 Wildcats tried to sweep Nabire, and found a full sentai of Oscars there. It wasn’t fair.
Overall, the Allies lost 46 planes today, including 18 F4F-4, 13 P40-K and four Hurricanes, and we lost 24 including 10 oscars, 5 Tojos and 3 A6M5. This helps evening out yesterday’s losses.
I am very happy with this state of affairs. A few weeks ago, my opponent told me he needed to refill his plane pools before he could be on the offensive. He has lost almost 300 planes since the beginning of this month, and about 500 over the last 30 days. I lost even more planes (460 since the beginning of this month, and 600 over the last 30 days), but I am also producing a lot more than him.
If we can keep that rate of attrition for a few months, we might delay the Allied offensive for a while.
Mr Butai hides in the shade
Kido Butai, at flank speed, retreated towards Nauru Island. There was no pursuit. KB will now retire to Truk, take replacements and pilots, get minor repairs, rearm, and get ready for its next foray. VP totals suggest that the neither Wasp, nor South Dakota were sunk. Both must be limping home, and will probably be out of the war for a long while, provided they don’t sink on their way home.
Thinking of the battle, today, and looking at my carrier squadrons, I noticed there is a good margin for improvement.
On the bright side, we had the first strike, managed a rather coordinated attack, and did all our damage there. I believe this is due to two reasons. First, I had a squadron of Jakes in Tulagi, on night search, acting as spotters. I believe this kept enemy detection high. Second, all my bomber squadrons have about 20% of their planes commited to naval search. This means my pilots tend to have high search skills, but also that I usually achieve good detection of enemy targets. The same happened when we sank the Lexington a few months ago. Of course, this also means less planes in my strike packages, and heavy losses to CAP in the search phase. But I believe it is worth the cost.
Also on the bright side, our CAP worked fine against incoming bombers. Instead of giving all my squadron a fixed percentage of CAP (30 or 40), I have a few squadrons with high CAP % (50 or 60), others with light values (10 or 20), and I keep one squadron of Zeroes on night duty at all time, better safe than sorry. All my planes fly the same altitude, as a way to maiximise coordination. This seems to work.
On the less bright side, I noticed KB was far from battle ready when it sailed. Some squadrons had just upgraded to Judies, and had several damage planes, others were short on pilots, or had inactive ones. More importantly, TF commander was set on auto-selection. For KB proper, captain Okada, Kaga’s excellent skipper, was selected, and was quite up to the task (good inspiration, 69 air skill), but for the second task force, instead of the excellent captain Kaku, Hiryu’s skipper, captain Beppu, from the Hiyo was selected, which was a much weaker choice. I also noticed that my ship skippers deserved more than a few changes.
On the even less bright side, most of my losses happened when some squadrons flew unescorted. I am not certain how I can improve this, but I suspect cruise speed it the problem. KB now fields a mixture of Kates (160 cruise speed), Vals (180), and Judies (265). And the Judies were the ones that lost coordination and flew alone. I suspect I must split the strike packages between the Judies and the rest, and probably fly them at a different altitude, with some fighters dedicated to their escort.
How do you do this?
Oh frabjous day, calloo callay
I promised I would gloat, so here it is…
Meanwhile, near Ndeni, my submarines tried to catch the retreating carriers, and we had two shots at them, one at the Saratoga
Sub attack near Ndeni at 120,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-24, hits 1
Allied Ships
CV Saratoga
BB Indiana
CA San Francisco
DD Balch
DD Selfridge
DD Gillespie
And another one, and a hit, at the Yorktown
Sub attack near Ndeni at 120,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-170, hits 9, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB North Carolina
CA Astoria
CA Chicago
CA Indianapolis
DD Lansdowne
DD Kalk
DD Gansevoort
DD Frazier
She won’t sink of course, but a torpedoed carrier must be a good thing. I-170 is in bad shape, but will probably make it to Nauru. Note the way my opponent organizes his task forces. Having a battleship in each make them difficult to attack with surface forces, on the other hand, it also slows them by a few knots. This is good to know.
Three carriers (Saratoga, Yorktown and probably Hornet) are keeping guard north of Ndeni. The others, Enterprise escorting Wasp, I believe, seem to be sailing south, towards Fiji or Noumea.The escort carriers were detected in Ndeni.
Valentine day in the air
We had a couple of good sweeps today. Tojo from Rabaul swept Kiriwina island, and shot down a few Wildcats. Oscars from Hollandia swept Dobo and found Kittihawk III and Wildcats. Over India, Oscars swept Dacca and found P40-K, and Tojos caught Hurricanes IIc over Chittagong. Finally, 12 Wildcats tried to sweep Nabire, and found a full sentai of Oscars there. It wasn’t fair.
Overall, the Allies lost 46 planes today, including 18 F4F-4, 13 P40-K and four Hurricanes, and we lost 24 including 10 oscars, 5 Tojos and 3 A6M5. This helps evening out yesterday’s losses.
I am very happy with this state of affairs. A few weeks ago, my opponent told me he needed to refill his plane pools before he could be on the offensive. He has lost almost 300 planes since the beginning of this month, and about 500 over the last 30 days. I lost even more planes (460 since the beginning of this month, and 600 over the last 30 days), but I am also producing a lot more than him.
If we can keep that rate of attrition for a few months, we might delay the Allied offensive for a while.
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
The fundamental problem is that the Jill/Judy was designed for the SAM. Both have high cruise speeds that the A6M can achieve. It will be a problem until SAM arrives and I don't know anything to do about it ... [:(]
Pax
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
Hi Pax,
I had a look at those cruise speeds today. On think I want to keep in mind is that KB must win battles in 1943 or early 1944 if I want to delay the allied advance.
First, I believe the Sam is just too late to make a difference. I will research it, and try to advance it as far as I can, but it is due in June 45, even with a lot of work, I might get in the last months of 1944. This is just too late, by that time, chances are that KB has become irrelevant, and I need naval victories in 1943 and early 1944. So, escorts are, and will be, Zeroes, which have 230 cruise. Right now, I have Kates (161) and Vals (184) in my complements. The Jill (207) will close the gap opened by the Kate, and the Judy 3 and 4 will close it again, getting every one between 200 and 230.
The problem is with the dive bombers, until the Judy 3 arives (in early 44 I believe). Judy 1 and 2 are too fast, have bad service ratings, but also have 500 kg bombs. Earlier models, the vals are another problem : Val2 is a bit short legged (in situations like the last battle, fought at seven hexes, they become useless).
Right now, KB has a mixture of Val1 and Judy1 (and one squadron of Val2 which just performed very poorly). I believe I have three options, right now (keep in mind I'm PDU off).
- keep a 50/50 mix of Val1 and Judy1 and then 2, until everyone upgrades to Judy 3 at the end of the year (this means building more Val1, I'm afraid)
- upgrade every one to Judy,
- change the composition of KB complements, having less DB and more TB. I think I have enough squadrons to do this, ground most of the Vals and the Judies, keep some Vals2 for close defense and Judy for recon, or maybe add some recon squadron (Judy 1C)
Do you think such a torpedo intensive reorganisation for KB would make sense, until I get the Judy 3 that is.
Francois
I had a look at those cruise speeds today. On think I want to keep in mind is that KB must win battles in 1943 or early 1944 if I want to delay the allied advance.
First, I believe the Sam is just too late to make a difference. I will research it, and try to advance it as far as I can, but it is due in June 45, even with a lot of work, I might get in the last months of 1944. This is just too late, by that time, chances are that KB has become irrelevant, and I need naval victories in 1943 and early 1944. So, escorts are, and will be, Zeroes, which have 230 cruise. Right now, I have Kates (161) and Vals (184) in my complements. The Jill (207) will close the gap opened by the Kate, and the Judy 3 and 4 will close it again, getting every one between 200 and 230.
The problem is with the dive bombers, until the Judy 3 arives (in early 44 I believe). Judy 1 and 2 are too fast, have bad service ratings, but also have 500 kg bombs. Earlier models, the vals are another problem : Val2 is a bit short legged (in situations like the last battle, fought at seven hexes, they become useless).
Right now, KB has a mixture of Val1 and Judy1 (and one squadron of Val2 which just performed very poorly). I believe I have three options, right now (keep in mind I'm PDU off).
- keep a 50/50 mix of Val1 and Judy1 and then 2, until everyone upgrades to Judy 3 at the end of the year (this means building more Val1, I'm afraid)
- upgrade every one to Judy,
- change the composition of KB complements, having less DB and more TB. I think I have enough squadrons to do this, ground most of the Vals and the Judies, keep some Vals2 for close defense and Judy for recon, or maybe add some recon squadron (Judy 1C)
Do you think such a torpedo intensive reorganisation for KB would make sense, until I get the Judy 3 that is.
Francois
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
Francois,
Every IJ player faces this dilema. As you note, the SAM arrives so late that it can't contribute. You really want the 500kg bomb, but then your cohesion will suffer. Truthfully, I do not beleive there is an ideal solution. The Kate is just so slow and the Val's 250kg bomb just too small. As you note, the later models of both Jill and Judy have lower cruise speeds to better match the Zero. Note: then they don't match the SAM well so be sure not to use them together later on.
I think you can do either and be as successful as everyone else. In reality, the IJ had the same problem, and had a mix of units until the late war for just this reason. Me, I tend to switch completely over to the Jill/Judy as soon as I can. I am trading cohesion for bomb size. Absolutely not ideal and I know it. But, I rather risk an attack that if they get through will hurt the allies versus knowing that even if they get through the damage will not be that great. However, I've simmed enough attacks to be able to state that the results tend to be idenitical. Jill/Judy's tend not to get through and the hits are few. The Val/Kates tend to get shredded by the CAP as they are so slow and their hit percentages are low as the groups are disorganized by losses.
Basically from my POV, the KB is a tooithless tiger once the Hellcat comes on the scene. That is why I am always amazed when someone gets a good attack in on the allies in mid-43 or later. Once the Sam arrives, then things change, but by then of course the KB is no match for the Allied Deathstar without a lot of LBA assistance.
Whatever you decide to do, I'll be watching with interest. [;)]
Every IJ player faces this dilema. As you note, the SAM arrives so late that it can't contribute. You really want the 500kg bomb, but then your cohesion will suffer. Truthfully, I do not beleive there is an ideal solution. The Kate is just so slow and the Val's 250kg bomb just too small. As you note, the later models of both Jill and Judy have lower cruise speeds to better match the Zero. Note: then they don't match the SAM well so be sure not to use them together later on.
I think you can do either and be as successful as everyone else. In reality, the IJ had the same problem, and had a mix of units until the late war for just this reason. Me, I tend to switch completely over to the Jill/Judy as soon as I can. I am trading cohesion for bomb size. Absolutely not ideal and I know it. But, I rather risk an attack that if they get through will hurt the allies versus knowing that even if they get through the damage will not be that great. However, I've simmed enough attacks to be able to state that the results tend to be idenitical. Jill/Judy's tend not to get through and the hits are few. The Val/Kates tend to get shredded by the CAP as they are so slow and their hit percentages are low as the groups are disorganized by losses.
Basically from my POV, the KB is a tooithless tiger once the Hellcat comes on the scene. That is why I am always amazed when someone gets a good attack in on the allies in mid-43 or later. Once the Sam arrives, then things change, but by then of course the KB is no match for the Allied Deathstar without a lot of LBA assistance.
Whatever you decide to do, I'll be watching with interest. [;)]
Pax
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
February 23rd 1943
We’re pushing turns. The Allies are on the move in the Solomons. After Lunga, Tassafaronga fell easily. Tulagi should be next, and regular bombardment of Shortlands suggests it will come after. It might prove a bit more difficult as it is in range of Rabaul. The Allies carriers are gone. Wasp and Yorktown probably made it to port, as I didn’t see any significant increase in victory points. But Wasp is out of the war for a while, which is fine by me.
In Burma, we invaded Chittagong again. I sort of hoped my opponent would attack and hurt himself, but he doesn’t seem very cooperative. I believe I will retreat soon, as I can’t really supply my troops so far from my bases, and begin working on my defenses.
We had a series of battles in the air. I am shooting down fighters but the price is getting very high. Loss rates are getting close to 2:1, and I don’t think I can sustain this for very long. The solution would probably be to mount a massive training effort. I need to take some time and work on it.
We are losing a lot of submarines to enemy DE. They really are very efficient, even a sub with low detection, in deep water, has little chance against them. In contrast, my air ASW claims a few hits everyday, but my ships hardly ever hit anything. Again, this would need some work.
I am struggling to stay in the game. Interest is at an absolute low. I am not throwing the towel in (I owe it to my opponent), but most of my turns are played very fast, setting a few squadrons to sweep, cap or rest, and moving a few subs. The rest, the economy notably, is left alone. It would certainly need some attention, and I have been promising myself I’d do something about it tomorrow for quite a while. But motivation never seems to be there, and I am beginning to doubt it will come back.
I have no real problems with the game itself, or the system. I think my lack of interest stems from the comparison with other hobbies: compared to music, programming, or translating, and unless one is a fan of military hardware, or totally dedicated to this era, AE is not very cost efficient. A game takes ages, needs a lot of dedication, yet one learns very little, and all the lessons are very specific. Playing Japan is probably a little more interesting, as you have more to do, and you’re on the wrong side of the reinforcement schedule.
This AAR is in the balance. I find little point spending time updating it if I don’t spend time playing the game. On the other hand, I have found writing an AAR creates some motivation for playing, and motivation is what I need. I can of course turn it into into a quasi-blog, and talk about music, books and modern Chinese poetry (my main hobbies these days), but this would be strange wouldn’t it? I am curious about what others think…
We’re pushing turns. The Allies are on the move in the Solomons. After Lunga, Tassafaronga fell easily. Tulagi should be next, and regular bombardment of Shortlands suggests it will come after. It might prove a bit more difficult as it is in range of Rabaul. The Allies carriers are gone. Wasp and Yorktown probably made it to port, as I didn’t see any significant increase in victory points. But Wasp is out of the war for a while, which is fine by me.
In Burma, we invaded Chittagong again. I sort of hoped my opponent would attack and hurt himself, but he doesn’t seem very cooperative. I believe I will retreat soon, as I can’t really supply my troops so far from my bases, and begin working on my defenses.
We had a series of battles in the air. I am shooting down fighters but the price is getting very high. Loss rates are getting close to 2:1, and I don’t think I can sustain this for very long. The solution would probably be to mount a massive training effort. I need to take some time and work on it.
We are losing a lot of submarines to enemy DE. They really are very efficient, even a sub with low detection, in deep water, has little chance against them. In contrast, my air ASW claims a few hits everyday, but my ships hardly ever hit anything. Again, this would need some work.
I am struggling to stay in the game. Interest is at an absolute low. I am not throwing the towel in (I owe it to my opponent), but most of my turns are played very fast, setting a few squadrons to sweep, cap or rest, and moving a few subs. The rest, the economy notably, is left alone. It would certainly need some attention, and I have been promising myself I’d do something about it tomorrow for quite a while. But motivation never seems to be there, and I am beginning to doubt it will come back.
I have no real problems with the game itself, or the system. I think my lack of interest stems from the comparison with other hobbies: compared to music, programming, or translating, and unless one is a fan of military hardware, or totally dedicated to this era, AE is not very cost efficient. A game takes ages, needs a lot of dedication, yet one learns very little, and all the lessons are very specific. Playing Japan is probably a little more interesting, as you have more to do, and you’re on the wrong side of the reinforcement schedule.
This AAR is in the balance. I find little point spending time updating it if I don’t spend time playing the game. On the other hand, I have found writing an AAR creates some motivation for playing, and motivation is what I need. I can of course turn it into into a quasi-blog, and talk about music, books and modern Chinese poetry (my main hobbies these days), but this would be strange wouldn’t it? I am curious about what others think…
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
ORIGINAL: fcharton
This AAR is in the balance. I find little point spending time updating it if I don’t spend time playing the game. On the other hand, I have found writing an AAR creates some motivation for playing, and motivation is what I need. I can of course turn it into into a quasi-blog, and talk about music, books and modern Chinese poetry (my main hobbies these days), but this would be strange wouldn’t it? I am curious about what others think…
This sounds good to me. It's your space, I'm sure you'll indicate if something major happens. In the meantime, why not talk about what you're interested in right now?
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)
Hey, nobody is forced to read this AAR - I say "Go for it!" [8D]
Intel Monkey: https://sites.google.com/view/staffmonkeys/home