Destroyers catch the Stingray, and deliver a pounding with one solid hit, fuel leaks, torpedo room damage, control room damage, etc. However she doesn't go down.
On the other hand, a Iboat south of Ceylon gets jumped by a CA/DD surface group and gets sunk. Lousy Allied ASW.
My cap trap is only a partial success in Indochina, manage to bag a dozen Blenheims, more Hurricanes, 4 Jugs, but lose 20 fighters...not a great trade, but about the best I can get with Jugs sweeps hitting me.
Chinese fighters catch some Helens and balances out the bomber losses, flak and ops downs more Allied 4es...
I forgot to take a picture of it; but I have a dozen subs, all undetected, surging into Ramree Island this turn where search has spotted some BB/CA, plus the normal pt boat swarms.
I hope to overwhelm his ASW efforts and get a few licks in. Anything to slow down the pace of naval operations in the Bay of Bengal.
IJN Subs get trashed at Ramree...solid intel on the CA force, no BB present, one sub lost, and three damaged...I think they launched two torpedoes. Another sub is trashed in the CentPac between Hawaii and LA.
Focused bombing in Indochina, which is a direct result of the captrap from yesterday. This will allow more airfields to repair fully...all my fighters safely back at Bangkok flying CAP in such numbers as to preclude any Lightning sweep.
An invasion fleet (?) is spotted in the CentPac guarded by one of the Yank carrier groups. Whither is the second CV group; and what is the target? Should I attempt to get Eniwetok within 8 hexes of the KB? Hmmm....
Chinese troops shock attack on the road to the central plains and get 1-99 odds with predictable losses.[:)]
In the CentPac, I put a squadron of Betties on 1000 foot naval strikes, with skill only around 35, they aren't going to hit much but I am impressed with their ability to survive the flak put up by 3 destroyers...perhaps this would be a solid antifletcher option.
In China, I drop the bombing altitude for most planes to 4000 and the damage done escalates very nicely with no flak. Bomb Kunming at 4K destroying a half dozen Chinese P40s and Lancers with only one squadron of bombers.
Wake Island: Stuffed to the rafters with troops, AA, ART, but very few coastal defense guns. The famed CD guns have been moved, to Umboi Island which now seems like a horrible idea. I had hoped they would die fighting on Umboi, and then be reborn to fight in the Marianas. It now looks like the Allies will skip the area entirely.
Several Yank battleships are scant hours away, hundreds of planes, and if the past is any guide, tanks will be coming ashore in the first wave. Oh, my.
But wait, where is the KB? The vaunted IJN! Why, They are busily sipping sake each evening in Pagan, while flying practice during the days. Wake is left to suffer on their own...
---Game note: we seem to be on hold for several days as some unknown calamity has happened to the Allies.
Japanese CAP trap in the Car Nicobar area; I let a heavy bombardment looking surface fleet get spotted, and now will send a fast transport PB force north with two full squadrons of Georges flying a heavy, heavy CAP. I hope to really butcher some of his anti-shipping planes here -- he did have success several days ago when two APDs returned to port here by mistake (sinking one and damaging the other). This is their revenge.
China, normal Japanese bombing and sweeps. Heavy George CAP over some airfields within Lightning raid distance. I think I moved everything back from Jugs distance.
I had 4 xaks hanging out in Hanoi, they got spotted, and then I swamped the base with fighters, but no bombers attacked.[:(] It seems I get to pull off one trap for every five tried.
Wake: destined to fall. I thought previously about prepping a division plus to retake the island, but it simply isn't worth the risk. I like very much how I spotted the attack ahead of time, and I like how the Allies moved their invasion fleets up. If, and it is a big if, he stays with this tactic I think I can bloody him very nicely at either Marcus or on the approach to the Marianas, and even at Ponape or Kusaie (most likely Ponape).
While he is busy at Wake, I am moving lots of supply forward to Umboi, Rabaul, Ponape line. And also withdrawing some forces from Milne Bay to the lower Solomons.
Lots of Yank subs off the Home Islands now, 4-6 hexes away. Disappointed so far with my DD/3E hunter killer group, but at least they are gaining expereince. In a day or two a whole bunch of Es get done their upgrades, plus a dozen or so decent SC. The AMc training program is going very well, I hope it is worth it in the long run.
The first squadron of KI-100-I are done, and will go to the Marianas/Truk/Rabaul area. Others will head to Indochina where the air war is very active, maybe some to China too. Trying to always use the Army fighters first, and saving the Navy fighters for special events.
South and Central Pacific: Do you know where he is basing his B-24s at?? Is it feasible to send in your Helens with Oscars escorts to hit them while they rest?? With the monthly production and replacement rate you need to thin out these monsters or some important base will be shut down in one day very, very soon. I was able to get 150 to 200 of them over a base at this time in war. Now, it can be 250 to 300 if I need to.
South and Central Pacific: Do you know where he is basing his B-24s at?? Is it feasible to send in your Helens with Oscars escorts to hit them while they rest?? With the monthly production and replacement rate you need to thin out these monsters or some important base will be shut down in one day very, very soon. I was able to get 150 to 200 of them over a base at this time in war. Now, it can be 250 to 300 if I need to.
I can't agree with you more...I have to bleed those 4Es every opportunity. I have some good ideas where they are, and hopefully I can get some forces there to spoil his day especially while the deathstar is at wake.
No night bombing...invasion fleet spotted off Wake Island and in the morning the heavy guns open up, and it looks bleak no matter what Tokyo Rose says about hundreds of Americans washing up on the shore...does she know something we don't?
Then, unexpectedly, the Cap Trap over Trinkat and Car Nicobar catches heavy bombers...both sides are surprised by this move.
I hesitate to think how good those pilots were in the bombers, as they drive off the Georges with elan!
And then, even odder, the bombers focus on the troops and not the runway or port or pb.
Severe storms over Trinkat and thunderstorms over Car Nicobar surely hamper all flight operations and cause the bombers to miss their targets (mostly)...
But then Lightnings come and dive from astonishing heights on the low flying George, wreaking a great toll on some of my best pilots...
But the CAP holds, if barely, and then over the horizon come Dakotas and Skytrains...oh my!
The bombardments come from the skies over Wake...every plane over Wake is American and is carrying death! But the forts and AA fend them off with very light damage!
As the afternoon wanes, and the paratroopers descend upon the defenders at Trinkat and the shell shocked Wake Island defensive group cowers in their forts, the days air losses are reported...not a good day as sweeps at Kavieng bring down many Zeroes and some Nicks too....
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