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

[apbarog]

Burma and India:

2 enemy divisions at Diamond Harbour, 3 at Calcutta. Some enemy infiltrators on the Indian/Burma border. I'm trying to cut behind one unit southwest of Ledo.

Repulse and friends just bombarded Diamond Harbour and are headed to Ceylon.

[apbarog]

Celebes and Timor:

More bypassed bases here. Koepang is being built up. I got SigInt of a small air support unit planning for Bima. Very quiet area lately.

[apbarog]

Java

In the east, the Dutch hold only Soerbaja. The Dutch do hold the western tip of the island still. The enemy advance has been slow, and more units have been arriving here. The only base held in strength by the Dutch is the inland mountain base south of Batavia.

[apbarog]

Northern Australia

The north is held lightly by the enemy. Some armor is known to be at Katherine, and they arrived after the north was taken. No sign of a new advance here. Probably just a defensive move.

[apbarog]

Sumatra

Padang is the only base still held by the Dutch, and it is contested. Otherwise quiet here.

[apbarog]

Northern China

All quiet here for quite awhile.

[apbarog]

Southern China

The only activity here is an enemy offensive pushing west from Canton. Kwangchowan will fall, but I'll hold it as long as I can. The enemy is using a bunch of bombers and they are very effective in the clear terrain here. I will defend the river line to the north. This is not a huge enemy offensive, but the commitment is enough to clear the coast.

Supply is a critical part of defending China. I monitor supply by tracking what is in the capital every turn. Supply steadily dwindled down to about 15k over the months, but is now increasing slightly, on average, each turn. Chungking currently has 21922. Transports from Ledo are flying the Hump. Only Changsha is still building forts, and no units are still taking replacements. They did for awhile, especially in critical areas.

[apbarog]

The Gilberts

Quiet. Some building by the enemy on Tabiteuea. Little activity seen in this area.

I'm considering landings at Tabiteuea, Ocean Island, and Nauru Island after my Guadalcanal landings. This would be a threat to heading northwest toward Truk without taking the rest of the Solomons. Just thinking at this point. A lot depends on the enemy response to my Solomons landings.

I have to keep telling myself that it is still early in the war. I have all of the big carriers I'm going to have until an Essex shows up in mid 1943. It's only the beginning of July 1942. I need to be patient more than aggressive. But I will do what I can.

[apbarog]

The Solomons

Last, and certainly not least, the Solomon Islands.

My invasion armada met at Efate and is headed north. My planned landings are:

Tulagi - Enemy held, but I believe lightly held. I'm committing the 1st Marine Division and a small amphibious armor unit.

Lunga - Repeated recon shows no enemy troops. I will drop paratroopers before I land troops amphibiously. If the base is empty, I'll avoid losses for troops not prepped sufficiently. A US division will arrive here, over time, after the initial landings.

Tassafronga - Paras will drop here also and then be reinforced.

Rennel Island - This base is unoccupied and still Allied controlled.

All bases will get engineers and base forces, as well as other troops, in a follow-up wave.

US carriers Enterprise, Yorktown, Hornet, Wasp, Saratoga, and Lexington are involved, as well as Brit carriers Indomitable and Illustrious. KB is in the Singapore area at the moment. The only Allied battleship here is Prince of Wales. 3 US CLAA's are here.

I do fear enemy surface fleets. I expect them to sortie from Rabaul. I'm using xAP's and xAK's, so unloading will not be as quick as I'd like. I've made the decision not to risk any AP's or AK's that upgrade later to APA's and AKA's. I will accept some losses for taking these bases.

Then I want to hold these bases against an expected counter-attack. Allied carriers will defend these bases, even if KB comes calling. I'm willing to commit the carriers if I have friendly airbases in the immediate area. Building up my bases will be critical.

The invasions should be in about 3 days.

[jmalter]

hi apb,

thanks for the overview & good luck w/ your Solomons excursion. No doubt I'm not telling you the news, but a fully-prepped unit containing Naval Support coming in w/ the 1st wave will make a big difference w/ getting the hvy equipment unloaded ASAP.

Good on ya for not risking your future APA/AKAs, those ships are far too valuable! Mine are safely holed up at Mare Island, awaiting conversion. But now that I think about it, I'll try an experiment - look through them, mebbe upgrade a few captains, put a few into TFs that will either Patrol or CS:Supply between Mare & Alameda. Using Tracker, I'd like to see if their crew experience builds up in the downtime months before they convert.

[apbarog]

Thanks jmalter. All bases will be getting base forces of some sort. Most will have some naval support I think. I will probably advance most of my carriers closer to Shortlands to try and prevent enemy ships hitting my transports. There is some risk here. Shortlands isn't far away. But the reward for taking and building these bases will be worth it. I think.

3 Jul 42

I don't know if carriers are headed back north into the Indian Ocean, but I am sure that ships are coming. Dutch sub KXVII takes a shot at a destroyer near Little Andaman Island. The ships in the task force include battleship Haruna. I have to assume, once again, that carriers are in the area. Repulse and escorts now go full speed and should make it to Colombo, and friendly CAP, this turn.

In the Solomons, one transport task force is spotted in my armada headed north. My carriers are not spotted, but the alarm is surely raised. B-26's hit ground troops on Tulagi, and identify the 2 units there: 7th Independent SNLF Coy and C/50 JNAF Coy. Tiny units. A Marine division will be overkill, but that's ok. There are coming to hold the island, not just take it.

Next turn, paras will drop on Tassafronga. The other para drop is delayed a turn. My transports upgraded in Sydney recently, and Luganville is too far to transfer in one day. So this turn is just the Tassafronga drop. The next will be the Lunga drop. Shouldn't be an issue, as both bases still show as empty.

[apbarog]

4 Jul 42

About 20 Betty's escorted (at long range) by 40 Zero's attack the armada. The huge CAP destroys many planes. 19 Betty's and 12 Zero's are downed. 4 F4F-4's and 1 Sea Hurri are lost.

Lots of enemy subs in the Solomons. It's not a great surprise where the landings will be, and the enemy is ready with subs. I-170 is run over but it misses destroyer Buchanon. My paras take Tassafronga. I miscalculated with my other paras. I thought that they could drop from Luganville to Lunga, but the range is too great. About half of my paras at Ndeni dropped on Tassafronga, so I assign the rest to drop on Lunga this turn.

Now what to do.

My armada is too far out to land amphibiously during the night. I decide that minewsweepers only will go to Tulagi and Lunga. The armada will move just 2 hexes to the northeast, and be within range of night landings the next day. Lunga will be taken by paras first.

High detection levels of my subs well east-northeast of Kavieng. Probably something big coming south from Truk. Heavy SigInt at Rabaul again.

I anticipate the enemy to try to disrupt the landings with whatever is in the area. I expect to escort my transports to landing, then I may jump forward to strike whatever is out there. If I sit back, battleships and cruisers will do high speed runs into the invasion hexes at night, and be out of range by day. I have carrier superiority here for now, so I should take advantage of that. I won't get dangerously close to Buna or shortlands though. Protecting the fleet is priority one, but I may do so from a forward position in a couple of days.

In the Indian Ocean, my ships at Colombo are getting detected by search planes from ships. My guess was right that he'd come storming back north to cut off my bombardment force of Diamond Harbour. Good thing the slow battleships were not committed. The Repulse task force, at Colombo, will head north. It made it safely to Colombo only because it did a high speed run last turn.

I don't know if there are carriers in the area, again. But like the last many weeks when I knew stuff was out there, I'm betting that carriers are there.

I did put planes on Ceylon on naval attack. Might as well try if I do ever actually spot the enemy.

[apbarog]

5 Jul 42

Indian Ocean:

Some detection levels on the west coast of India, but this must be from subs. A multiple battleship task force is spotted near Andaman Island. A large circle of high detection here and to the west of this task force. Definitely more than one task force causing this.

An enemy sub spotted at Diamond Harbour for the first time. He may think that I'm coming back. Repulse has rounded the southern tip of India and is headed north to Bombay. The task force may go to Aden for repairs. Some damage was taken during the high speed run to Ceylon from Diamond Harbour.


Solomons:

Lunga is taken by paratroopers. It was undefended. Many enemy subs surround the armada. Between depth charge attacks and air attacks, at least a couple of enemy subs are badly damaged. 4 Glen's are shot down over the carriers.

I will move the carriers one hex southeast, away from the invasions, and stay in the shallows. This is probably the least expected move. The invasion of Tulagi will take place. A bunch of task forces head to Lunga to unload. I've decided that the reinforcements for Tassafronga will unload at Lunga instead, and walk. I'm already long range capping Tulagi, Lunga, and Rennel Island. I need to keep good CAP over the carriers. Tassafronga is the least important base for immediate reinforcements.

Shortlands has few planes now. I see no enemy task forces or high detection in the area.

Both Tulagi and Lunga get a cruiser force to protect the landings. In theory anyhow.

[apbarog]

6 Jul 42

Solomons:

Landings continue unopposed except for enemy subs. Big xAP Limerick takes a torpedo hit from I-24. Damage is moderate. Limerick continues to Lunga and starts unloading. Barring another hit, Limerick should survive.

Allied carriers have been hanging back protecting the invasions. Next turn, all carriers move 8 hexes to a point well north of Tulagi. If there are enemy ships inbound, I may catch them a turn before arriving. If not, I'm showing an aggressive move that will make the enemy think twice about being safe from my carriers.

[apbarog]

6 Jul 42

Indian Ocean:

And there they are again! Enemy task force spotted lurking out in the Indian Ocean. No carrier spotted. KB may be there, but I think that this time at least part of KB is headed to the Solomons. The Japanese are stuck having to protect all those troops stalemated at Diamond Harbour and Calcutta. I've done enough to look like I may be trying something here, having bombarded Diamond Harbour. But I'm not up to anything here. Just can't cut off Diamond Harbour without naval superiority here.

Big Allied tanker full of fuel is torpedoed and sunk near Calicut. This task force was headed south to Ceylon, but turned around after the latest threat. A waste. It is headed back to Karachi to unload and then back off the map.

[apbarog]

7 Jul 42

Solomon's landings continue unopposed. I have lots of juicy targets here. I spotted some enemy task force between Buin and Rabaul during the night. If the enemy was coming, I'm hoping that my forward move with my carriers last turn will dissuade him from coming. I mined Lunga with a Dutch minelaying ship this turn, then the ship, CM Krakatau, was sunk by I-6 just after it left Lunga. I hate to lose a minelaying ship as I like to use my mines.

As one reader suggested recently, unloading naval support troops early in an invasion helps with unloading everything else more quickly, or at all. Lunga is a port 0. I neglected to use my port units for these invasions, and now I'm paying the price with slow unloading, and some devices that won't unload at all. I'm fixing this situation as quickly as I can now.

I did capture Tulagi this turn. This was the first contested invasion for the good guys, and an overwhelming win with a whole Marine division and other assorted units. I do see about 18 units at Rabaul. I'm sure they are planning something other than sitting at Rabaul.

I moved Cat's into Tulagi this turn. That will help some with the air search.

In the Indian Ocean, US sub Skipjack spots the following near Port Blair:

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsuharu
BB Hyuga
BB Yamashiro
CA Ashigara
CS Chiyoda
DD Sagiri
DD Mochizuki
DD Sazanami
DD Akebono
DD Oboro


I still think there are carriers here. I can't imagine how much fuel the enemy has burned cruising the Indian Ocean for the past couple of months. And in my mind, taking Diamond Harbour and contesting Calcutta has accomplished nothing for the enemy. No resources or industry. It has tied down the Allies in India, but it isn't like they were going anywhere else in '42 anyhow. I consider the Calcutta stalemate a major Allied win.

Down by Mergui in Burma, sub Seadragon torpedoes a tiny AMc. Another very tiny victory for the Allied subs.

[Sangeli]

The Japanese advance in this game seems a little lackluster. Usually you can expect one deep move by now. So far the Japanese have scarcely advanced more then the historical lines except northern Australia which is just about standard in every game.

But even so the Japanese still have plenty of teeth still. I imagine the Japanese are planning a counter-move now in the Solomons to push you out of Guadalcanal. Or bypass it entirely and land behind it. Stockpile supply and build up forts while you still can.

And yea, bring a naval service detachment. I always keep them in my forward bases so I can fast transport or fly them in on the heels of in invasion. I prefer that to loading them in the invasion force lest they get sunk at sea; you don't get many of them and I consider them very valuable. Not to mention it saves room for the LCUs.

[apbarog]

8 Jul 42

Java:

Soerbaja has been isolated and is deliberately attacked, with a 3 to 1 attack and lowering the forts to 2. The base will fall soon, but I do like the losses, all things considered:

Japanese ground losses:
1956 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 154 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled

Allied ground losses:
2557 casualties reported
Squads: 72 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 39 destroyed, 56 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 20 (3 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Vehicles lost 31 (20 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Singapore:

A carrier task force is spotted here. Size is not known. Getting the most of my Dutch search planes while I can.


Indian Ocean:

The enemy task force(s) moves northeast closer to Diamond Harbour, but is still hanging out in the black hole out in the Indian Ocean.


Solomons:

Zero's from Buna and/or Shortlands sweep Tulagi, coming in 2 groups. First 19 show up against 45 F4F's on long-range CAP, and the US fighters take twice as many losses. Then 27 Zero's arrive, against 18 remaining F4F's, and the US side takes far more losses. Total losses for the day are 25 F4F-4's and 14 Zero's. No enemy bombers show up.

I feel like I've overstayed my welcome with so many vulnerable AP's in the area. Almost all units still have devices loaded on ships, but unloading is terribly slow and some devices won't unload at a 0 port with no naval support troops. I decide to evacuate almost all task forces from Tulagi, Lunga, and Rennel Island. They'll mostly go to Luganville and unload. I send the remaining pieces of units back to their intended destinations, loaded on smaller ships and done so after some naval support troops are there waiting.

Allied carriers move south near Rennel Island, and no LR CAP will take place this turn. I'm taking a bit of a chance with that, as there will still be a couple of task forces unloading at Lunga, unloading mostly supply.

After this, CV Indomitable will head for Sydney to withdraw. The rest of the carriers will either refuel from AO's or go to Noumea for fuel and new planes. But there are only about a dozen new F4F's in the pool right now. I may come back and strike Buna and Shortlands just to keep the pressure on. The more the enemy delays to countering my landings the better.

[apbarog]

9 Jul 42

At Tulagi, the Zero's return and sweep again. No CAP is found, and no bombers show up afterwards. Most Allied shipping has left. A couple of small TK's unload at Tulagi, some supply is being unloaded at Lunga, and one troop convoy is unloading at Lunga also. A cruiser force stands guard.

No sign of enemy naval activity in the Solomons.

Allied carriers will now move south out of the area. Indomitable will head to Sydney to withdraw. I'm still undecided what the rest will do. I could strike Buna and Shortlands, but all that is there are aircraft, and I'm not sure which airfield has them. Probably not worth the risk. I've made my landing. Now I just need to secure it. Future advances are just that, in the future.

I-11 takes a shot at Boise headed from Tulagi to Luganville. My damaged xAP is headed that way also. Unfortunately, the xAP split off from its task force, and is now slowly headed home all by itself. This is bad and probably will not end well.

Soerbaja is bombed and attacked by artillery.

Bandjermasin, Borneo is invaded.

At Diamond Harbour, an enemy task force is spotted. Shows escorts and a TK, but that is probably wrong. Either supply coming in or troops going in or out. About 100 enemy fighter planes there now.

[BBfanboy]

Don't forget to land Indomitable's air group before she withdraws! Never hurts to have a few extra TBs on the Oz coast in 1942! [:)]