See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

Horn Island is a key for isolating Darwin. Supplies DO NOT flow up the track from Alice Springs. If you don't care about losing Darwin then losing Horn is no big deal. If you want to keep Darwin (hard ) you'd better get supplies moving from the Perth side now.

Agreed, though I think holding Darwin is just about impossible vs. an attentive Japanese player. Horn Island is important, but there's no reason the Japanese can't take it unless they are neglectful or really tied-up elsewhere. A brief foray into the Coral Sea by KB is pretty much all the aircover you need to clear Horn Island and PM in January, and Japan has the troops available. I personally like to send 4th Division toward Rabaul right from Dec 7th, and that unit is all the muscle you need to clear PM, Horn Island, Darwin, and anything else you feel like up there.

I suppose the USN can stop it, but a quick show of KB is probably all you need to completely clear the Coral Sea for the week or so you need to land on those spots

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

Horn Island is a key for isolating Darwin. Supplies DO NOT flow up the track from Alice Springs. If you don't care about losing Darwin then losing Horn is no big deal. If you want to keep Darwin (hard ) you'd better get supplies moving from the Perth side now.

Agreed, though I think holding Darwin is just about impossible vs. an attentive Japanese player.

I said it was (hard.) [:)]

It is impossible against a Japanese player who wants it. I hate the 4th Division with the heat of ten thousand suns.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

Horn Island is a key for isolating Darwin. Supplies DO NOT flow up the track from Alice Springs. If you don't care about losing Darwin then losing Horn is no big deal. If you want to keep Darwin (hard ) you'd better get supplies moving from the Perth side now.

Agreed, though I think holding Darwin is just about impossible vs. an attentive Japanese player.

I said it was (hard.) [:)]

It is impossible against a Japanese player who wants it. I hate the 4th Division with the heat of ten thousand suns.

Don't worry Moose - you get to vent that heat in about ....August 1945.
Just get some Sigint about which city the 4th Division is in.

[apbarog]

Good comments. I make the assumption that Darwin will be taken, so I haven't tried to reinforce it. In fact at least one unit has been sent south, to eventually combine into it's parent unit. My opponent is very very careful. Every time I've probed a bit, whether it be with a surface fleet or subs, he has kept his forces covered. If I had started playing a very aggressive Allied game, I would have lost many units for little gain. He is taking bases, like Menando, and now Kendari, setting up an air base quickly, moving in fighters and bombers, and when possible, torpedo capability.

The downside of this for my opponent has been his pace has been slower than what could have been done. His furthest progress in the Solomons has been Buin so far. I'm still being careful, not throwing units into Noumea or Suva yet, because the first month's experience with my opponent may not mean that he won't jump forward quickly somewhere. I still can't build these bases strong enough to hold against what he could throw at them. The 4th Division is available, and I'm sure he's sending it somewhere soon. I am keeping to my strategy of a strong, slow build-up, starting at Christmas Island. I will counter when I can. I expect KB to show up near Java soon. If the Solomons are empty, I may probe a bit here and try and force him to divert back to the Solomons. As the Japanese, it's hard to resist the temptation of an early carrier battle. Of course, I won't stick around.

[apbarog]

16 Jan 42

Some of the same air attacks, Kluong, a couple in China.

3 B-17's bomb Horn Island airfield. 2 Zeros intercept. Almost no damage done to the field, and 1 B-17 is written off. At least I've forced him to CAP the place.

On Mindanao, Davao has been reinforced, and units have moved southwest to a base that the Philippine army still holds.

East of Canton, in the woods, a Japanese deliberate attack goes off at a 1 to 10, with 456 Japanese casualties and only 71 Chinese. I don't know what happened here. He may be overstacked, or he may have accidentally attacked with only some of his units. I'll take whatever victory I can get.

Received an important piece of SigInt. The Japanese 4th Infantry Division, which recently captured Port Moresby, and which I suspected had left Port Moresby, is reported to be loaded on transports headed to Manokwari. Manokwari is on the north part of New Guinea, on the east coast. Having come from Port Moresby, I interpret this to mean that there is currently no serious threat to northeast Australia, or a big effort further south in the Solomons. He had a huge effective division right there, and he pulled it back, passing Rabaul. Unless Rabaul is near overstacking, I believe this to mean he may go to Ambon and/or Darwin shortly, or maybe even go toward Soerbaja sooner than later.

[BBfanboy]

I think your guess about 4th Division going to DEI is correct. Manokwari is probably a holding position while the rest of the Amphib force and covering forces gather. I doubt the division will unload there.

[Quixote]

I do not put them in size 0 ports. There used to be a bug where ships in size 0 ports could not be spotted by recon. I don't know if this is still true, but I choose to only use size 1 or larger ports.

Michael fixed this in the beta a little over a year ago, so you won't be exploiting the game by using some of those smaller islands if you choose to.

[apbarog]

Thank you Quixote, using the smaller ports will definitely help things.

[apbarog]

17 Jan 42

Dutch sub KXIII spots an xAK task force retiring from Kendari, and elects not to shoot.

Kluong, a couple of hexes north of Singapore, falls. Over 100 Japanese bombers hit the Australian unit there first. The Aussies were successful delaying the advance a few days, though.

I can confirm that in the woods a couple of hexes east of Canton, China, the Japanese had become overstacked. A new regiment showed up on the list for his bombardment today. That explains the poor attack he had yesterday.

Near Nanyang, a very weak Chinese corp was holding a rough hex, just outside of my main wooded defense line. They were defeated and forced back into the woods. They bought a week of time for solidifying the line, which is now done.

[apbarog]

18 Jan 42

Coastwatchers spotted something moving east from Horn Island, towards Port Moresby, hugging the coastline. I suspect a damaged AP. Moving a sub to intercept.

Speaking of subs, my opponent stated in his email that he was aware of subs near Wenchow, and that he may or may not continue bombarding Wenchow with battleships. He didn't bombard this turn, and there was no activity seen in the area. I already knew that he probably knew at least one sub was in the area, since it showed on a replay. I've decided to leave my subs there, after a short move for each of them. He wants to come back if he's talking about it. I'll wait till the (Dutch) subs run low on fuel, which won't be too long.

Johore Baru's ground forces are bombed.

He does artillery bombardments near Canton and Nanyang, and near Loyang. He'll be able to attack near Canton eventually, but not the other two hexes. Not with the current force matchups.

A big batch of converted ACM's leave San Francisco for fuel in Hawaii and then on to the South Pacific.

The liner Queen Elizabeth dropped off a US regiment at Auckland, and is now RTB to San Francisco for more troops.

Activity that was at Manokwari is now showing to the northwest. Multiple task forces. This looks to be the next Japanese move. Could be Ambon or Balikpapan.

[apbarog]

19 Jan 42

Multiple enemy task forces in the Ternate area, with a carrier group a few hexes away. Destination unknown. It wasn't a direct line for Ambon. Looking more like a move to Balikpapan now.

Shortlands is captured. I had some mines there. No indications of any hit before the base was taken.

Big pushes of fuel and supply moving around for the Allies. 5 US air groups sent to Cape Town are loaded and begin to head to India.

3 additional Chinese divisions are purchased using political points, assigned to Southeast Asia, and begin to walk into Burma. They will catch the rail line, head north, and cross into India. They will build (or rebuild) and train on Indian supplies. These units start near the Burma border and can form a corp. I have 3 other small corps at Sian now. These were decimated in the plains around Loyang. I am sending them all the way across China, into Burma, then into India also. They are small and can be built huge. The key for them is holding some of Burma for them to transit through.

Japanese in the Philippines are content, for now, to sit in Manila and just north of Clark. In Malaya, forces are approaching Johore Baru now.

[apbarog]

20 Jan 42

The 1st Burma Division is bombed at Pegu again. I set up LR Cap for the next turn. This attack was Bettys escorted by only 12 Zeros. We'll see who's setting up a trap for who next turn.

Clark AF is bombed. This will probably be a daily occurrence now. Troops are massing to the north and at Manila. Bataan continues to dig in.

Singapore AF is bombed again. This is a daily occurrence. The fight for Johore Baru should be a day or two away. The result is already obvious.

Near Cagayan, Butuan falls with a perfect 22 to 11 assault value ratio. Philippine units retreat into the mountains inland.

Naval units spotted at Ternate. Still can't tell where the next hammer will fall.

The first US ground troops land in Australia. A US Army regiment, one that would complete a division at Pearl Harbor, lands at Melbourne. It will dig in east of Perth.

I'm considering disbanding the 2 Chinese squadrons of the AVG. They are in China and haven't had hardly any action. The northern front has stabilized. I'm shifting units from the north to the capital, to be able to react to a new attack more quickly. Anyhow, disbanding these units would free up H-81's for the Chinese air force (I believe), and more importantly, free up some of the best US pilots.

5 US air units have just left Capetown on the way to India.

[apbarog]

21 Jan 42

Johore Bahru falls. Except for an isolated unit on the east coast, Singapore is all that remains for the Allies.

Same old bombing of Clark.

Activity near Kendari. A task force is spotted between Kendari and Ambon. Other shipping at Kendari. And a carrier task force is spotted at Manokwari again. Several carriers, maybe part of KB, maybe all of it.

In China, the Japanese have started recon of Chungking. He spots the 2 Chinese AVG units. I was going to withdraw them anyhow, and I do so, now that I got the capital over 20k supply. He has been very active doing recon of Chinese airbases, anything within range of the front. I'm setting up airbase support across China now, enough to jump the Chinese fighters with just 6 range all the way across to India. At some point, most will be bought out and go this route, to save Chinese supply and train in India. US subs make one last supply run from Bataan to China. They'll now go from Singapore to China, until Singapore falls. Every little bit of supply helps in China, I think.

[apbarog]

22 Jan 42

Clark is bombed, and a Japanese artillery attack in the woods east of Canton, China. The Chinese unit there has been worn down enough that he'll kick me out any day now. The Japanese are using all of the artillery that attacked Hong Kong. In stock, they are all unrestricted, not sure if that is true in DBB. If so, I would have sent them elsewhere.

Japanese fleet hovering between Kendari and Ambon. Another fleet south of Davao. Fleet at Manokwari disappeared. He's marshalling ships here for his next move, which is unknown to me.

The 4 US carriers are at Auckland, doing minor repairs. I'm considering sending them to Perth, and sending a Brit carrier there also. I could try to hit something when he goes for Java, and then run. But if my opponent continues his careful method of advance, he'll have Bettys in the area long before he actually lands there. So it may not be worth the trouble. I'll think about it for a few turns while the fleet repairs.

[apbarog]

23 Jan 42

Koepang on Timor is invaded. As always, the Japanese land sufficient forces for the job. And at Pegu, the Japanese cross the river in force and easily rout the carefully constructed 1st Burma Division. So begins the great Burma race, as the Allies in Rangoon try to flee the city and towns to the north look woefully underdefended. The Japanese used the 33rd Infantry Division, 2 infantry regiments, a Thai division, an engineer regiment, a Thai cavalry division, 3 artillery units, and an Armay HQ. The only thing missing is armor. Which begs the question, why no armor? It certainly will be used. Will it be India or Australia? Time will tell.

No movement across the causeway into Singapore, and no movement into Clark so far.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

23 Jan 42

... The only thing missing is armor. Which begs the question, why no armor? It certainly will be used. Will it be India or Australia? Time will tell.
...

Maybe the armor is going to Russia ....[:D]

[apbarog]

Could be China though. Got recent SigInt of the 2nd Tank Regiment being at Taihoku, which is on the northern tip of Formosa. Really odd place. Very early and preliminary indications point away from Eastern Australia, with the 4th Division pulled out of Port Moresby and withdrawn to the north. So no early push that direction, anyhow. This landing on Timor points to Northern Australia, then maybe Western Australia. It looks like he is going to surround Java before taking it. That points more to India than a full-out take-everything in Australia strategy.

[apbarog]

24 Jan 42

AVP Bellatrix runs from besieged Koepang, but is tracked down 3 or 4 hexes to the southwest by a surface group with BB's Kongo and Haruna, CA's Takao and Atago, and 3 DD's. He either had great reaction to the southwest, or he set a course similar to Bellatrix.

In the contested woods hex east of Canton, the Japanese attack and rout the badly disrupted Chinese corp. It retreats north toward safety. It will survive in its damaged state.

Koepang is lost. The north coast of Australia is now threatened.

More SigInt on the 2nd Tank Regiment. A week ago, it was on the northern tip of Formosa. Now it is loaded on ships with a destination of Ishigaki. Ishigaki is a small island between Formosa and Japan. This makes no sense, and is my first inkling that my opponent is probably playing games with task force destinations.

Map updates to follow.

[apbarog]

24 Jan 42 --- Burma

Japanese at Pegu, and moving to Rangoon and northward. The Allies are fleeing as fast as possible. B-17's set to bomb Pegu forces, but didn't fly last turn. Trying again.

[apbarog]

24 Jan 42 --- China

The Japanese clear the woods hex east of Canton. Kukong is held strongly. My worries are the rough terrain stretching from Kukong northeast to Changsha. A determined enemy, with lots of bombers, could force the issue here.

The advance north of Nanyang has halted, for now. The Chinese defense line in the woods is as strong as possible.

He's taken all the low hanging fruit in China. Hopefully better defensive terrain will discourage him for awhile.