Turnaround? Lowpe (J) vs Tiemanj (A) Stock

[JocMeister]

Any estimate on how many OZ squads you have wiped out? [:)]

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Any estimate on how many OZ squads you have wiped out? [:)]

No idea on the number of squads, some got away, some drowned, a fair number bombed or bombarded to death and could have been replaced.

INF/ARM
4th ID , 6th ID, 7th ID, 3rd Aus Motor Bde, 4th Aus Motor Bde
2/1 AIF, 2/2 AIF, 2/1 NAIOU, 1st Aus Bde, 2/10th Armored

9 Base forces or Engineers

7 Artillery units

2nd Hvy AA

[JocMeister]

The 3 IDs are 18 months worth of replacements alone. Not to mentioned he lost 2 of the most potent allied IDs in the game...well done. [:)]

[Lowpe]

Jan 17, 1943

IJN I-boats lose the tanker convoy off the West coast, but a consolidation prize is sunk off Western Oz. This spot has been pretty productive for the IJN.

[Lowpe]

Allied bombers go all out again in Burma, they must be getting tired, this time attacking Rangoon! Is this a bombardment prior to a general attack? All of the British reinforcements entered the city yesterday...one can hope!

Japanese bombers hit both Port Moresby and the remnants of the Australian 4th Infantry Division, now hiding behind level 4 forts watching IJA Tanks approach...approaching fast...they are thru the outer line...they are everywhere...run away! Run away!

[Lowpe]

Rangoon...twilight. The British artillery open up. IJA heavy guns answer. The Commonwealth forces are overmatched in the duel of the big guns, but wait...whistles, shouts, yells, an Allied general advance has been ordered.

Just what the high command had been waiting for! The siege of Rangoon had been stripped to stop the Allied offensive in Burma, confident that their forts, artillery and the difficult terrain would stop any attempt by the Allies.

IJA high command was correct.

Now the only worry is that the Allies retreat in good order out of Rangoon, before they can be pocketed again and pounded into submission. Unless there is a change is the command structure this outcome seems unlikely.

[Lowpe]

China:

Changsha pocket now cut off. Changteh looks empty.[X(] I have recon over the city, but not targeting the city...a fast march down the road is ordered...can we snare it?

Elsewhere, another Chinese corp surrenders. I am cleaning up all the stragglers. Soon, offensive operations will come to close here locking the the Chinese into the central plains. A push toward Kunming is left.

[ny59giants]

Can you take the three bases in the clear terrain to the west of Changsha?? They each have some small industry there and this would make supplies flow to the north easier. Take all but the hexside to the NE of Changsha before you capture the city to allow an escape route.

[Lowpe]

China: The war of maneuver.

Closing the Changsha production triangle.

Movement should be pretty quick here given the mostly good roads. A nice change of pace from the normal snails pace of movement over the last 4 months.

Four days to cross the river south of Ichang. The three Chinese units there will get bombed by 80 planes, 20percent resting each day. I will most likely bombard at Changsha to eat up some of his supplies, and there is fresh ART units bought off the Soviet border to help there. A few aviation support groups are bought too, and they are entrained to different airbases to help with the Changsha push.

[Lowpe]

I am struck by the comparison to Obvert's AAR where he is planning out the defense, in depth, of Changsha.

If the Chinese had dug in on the x3 terrain around Changsha with some of the these units that are sitting, useless in the Cities, I would not have been able to isolate Changsha as easily and as quickly, and at almost 0 cost in troops, and just normal levels of supply expenditures (I have done almost everything in China with movement -- only a few select attacks, and very few bombardments and even less bombing).

To my mind, the Chinese front acts as a big supply and time drain on Japan...especially here in scenario 1. The allies here aren't doing so well sacrificing time, units, victory points for absolutely minimal supply expenditure on my part.

[Lowpe]

I am flying heavy CAP over Rangoon and the infantry division in the clear one hex to the north of Rangoon (they are on the way to Toungoo). 4 fresh heavy cruisers arrive and will break into half and bombard Cox's hopefully. Allied mines laid at Akyab, and south of Rangoon, Japanese mines headed for north of Akyab which now has more xaks.

Allied troops seem to have stopped moving to cut the last supply road to northern Burma from Tuang Gyi. I have a tank regiment moving into Tuang Gyi. They will just assume defensive position and await two more infantry divisions.

An offensive sweep with A6M5c will fly across Prome and see if there is anything to fight. I have done horribly in most sweeps so far so this might catch him off balance.

Should be a relatively boring turn, unless the Allies try another attack at Rangoon. Surely his bombers need rest...

[Lowpe]

Jan 18, 1943

Well, well. Not as boring as I thought. In the dark 3 Allied heavy cruisers bombard Nauru for light damage and they return to Tarawa. Some Allied night bombers are hitting Kusaie each night, and a squadron of Rufes have been giving protection, and doing very well disrupting the attack and not getting shot down until tonight where one the Rufes is destroyed.

Then, the air war in Burma, again. A6M5c sweep Prome and find some straggling CAP, including a few P38s. I would rather fight them here in dribs and drabs then when the Allies use them in killer sweeps, so I am quite pleased.[:)]

Although the results aren't great, it is a turning point in the air war here in Burma. This marks Japan's return to the offensive in the Air...

But while that sweep is going in, massive Allied bomber forces are in flight targeting Rangoon..

[Lowpe]

And as the waves of bombers reach Rangoon, the Japanese fighters nswer, mostly flying from undamaged Moulmein with a wide variety of planes....

The dogfights are generally short...we need some radar at Rangoon, but very satisfying. There were no Allied fighter sweeps.[:)]

[Lowpe]

And in the Pacific...Lae's port gets attacked by several waves of low flying 4Es. Only 5 zeroes rise to give combat, but the bombers are low enough to be damaged by balloons.

In port a 2 vp xakl and a 3 vp PB are sunk eventually but several B17s are destroyed.

Overall, a very good day in the air war for Japan! Over the last three days the Allies have lost over 80 planes -- a lot of them bombers, while Japanese losses have been half that with very few pilots lost.

[Lowpe]

So, a good day in the air, and on the ground the Chindits at Toungoo are attacked again, with decent results, while a reinforcing infantry division is only 55 miles away.

In China, a good sized Chinese Corp surrenders, freeing up another 200 assault value to move on to other goals, and Changteh is occupied with 11 units. Excellent, that raises the cut off number of units to around 40. The reduction of the Changsha pocket has started with bombing, and soon bombardments to eat eliminate supply, disable the defenders, and in general make life miserable for the Chinese.

[Lowpe]

December 19th 1943


Burma: The Japanese continue to flex their air muscles in the Burma theater, a nice sweep by Zeroes destroys a lone Sea Hurricane, Nells follow bombing the airfield, which in hindsight was not needed as the IJA forces the Chindits out and captures Toungoo -- freeing up the railroad to norther Burma. Banzai!

[Lowpe]

Another violent day at Rangoon. This time a few cruisers bombard Rangoon in the dark, and find some planes there. Are they set to attack the shipping at Moulmein?

Will the Allies launch another attack at Rangoon? IJA yesterday dispatched a regiment to reinforce from Pegu, but they won't get there for a day or two more.

[Lowpe]

Moulmein:

Radar picks up several flights of planes inbound! Standbye fighters are scrambled, the British have weak to no fighter coverage...not a bomber gets thru.[:)]

[Lowpe]

Another very good day in the Air for Japan. How long can the Allies keep taking these losses? Their pilots must be weary, the planes in need of repair, many of the fields need patching.

[Lowpe]

At Rangoon, the whistles blow, a rolling bombardment hits the Japanese lines and the Commonwealth try once again to evict the IJA from besieging Rangoon...and fail (scant points short of a 1-3 result).

Will he keep at Rangoon?