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

[apbarog]

20 Aug 42

Another interesting day in the Solomons!

First, Tambor takes a shot at cruiser Tone as it approaches from the southwest. Torpedoes miss.

Yamato makes its first appearance, moving into Lunga at night with 3 cruisers and 6 destroyers. 6 PT boats intercept, but the initial range is 8000 yards, and never gets closer than 5000 yards. 2 PT boats are sunk.

Then Hiei shows up at Rennell Island at night, with 4 cruisers and 5 destroyers. 6 PT boats intercept, and the range starts at 8000 yards and doesn't get closer than 7000 yards. One PT boat is sunk.

S-27 was moved one hex southwest of Nauru, and it finds cruiser Chokai and gets 2 torpedo hits. Chokai is certainly sunk. (I think I said that a turn or two ago also.)

Hiei and friends then bombards Rennell Island, and gets a pretty good result. I had some Cats for search and some Bolos for ASW there. Most planes are damaged. A couple of Cats are destroyed.

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 57
Port hits 47
Port supply hits 8

Then Yamato and friends bombard Lunga. 54 ground casualties and no other damage done.

With daytime, 5 PT boats reengage Hiei and force, but the range stays long and no hits are achieved for either side.

Similar result at Lunga with Yamato and force. The range did close to 9000 yards from 20000 yards, but again, no hits.


Hiei retires to the northwest, just north of the Slot, so I'm not sure what its destination really is. Tautog takes a shot at Suzuya but gets a dud hit.

Back near Nauru, Tambor takes a shot at Maya, and gets a dud hit.

Then S-18 lines up Kumano and gets one torpedo hit. No fires or damage noted though.

Finally, Sargo gets a shot at Aoba in the Yamato force, but misses.

I do know, from the Intel screen, that the Japanese lost 2 Daves and 2 Jakes on the ground. So 2 ships sank.


Elsewhere, at Bandoeng, Java, the daily artillery attack by the enemy shows two more armor units there now. It does look like an assault is coming.


In summary, US carriers head to Noumea for fuel. KB moved a little to the east, and is still about 8 hexes from Lunga and Ndeni. No sign of any invasions. I do see 20 units at Rabaul now. They certainly aren't all meant to defend Rabaul.

So for now, the Japanese strategy is just a nuisance. It may all be about drawing out the US carriers.

[apbarog]

21 Aug 42

Some success in the Solomons area.

At Nauru, Dutch sub KX torpedoes the old training cruiser Natori. Natori is part of the escort for AO's.

Near Buin, S-43 takes a shot at destroyer Fumizuki but misses.

Near Ontong Java, north of Tulagi, US sub Sargo shoots at a DMS but misses. This is another AO task force.

I've noticed a trend with my opponent. He likes to set up refueling task forces at friendly islands, even if he's using AO's.

Today Rennell Island is swept by multiple land-based air groups. I have no fighters there, so they find nothing.

The fun part of today was at Nauru Island. I had moved a bunch of heavy bombers to Ndeni and targeted Nauru's port today, hoping there would be some disbanded combat ships, or maybe tankers or AKE's. I got lucky.

***
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 33
B-24D Liberator x 3

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Bomb hits 4
CA Tone, Bomb hits 4
CA Atago, Bomb hits 3
DD Hagikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Tanikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
***
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 8

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Bomb hits 3
DD Nenohi, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Atago, Bomb hits 1
CA Tone, Bomb hits 1
***

None of the cruiser bombs penetrated. A gun or two was destroyed. Was nice to see, even if not decisive.

There were two interesting air flights. 5 Pete's from KB Lunga, finding no CAP. Then 5 Jakes escorted by 9 Zeros targeted my big cruiser task force southwest of Rennell Island. My cruisers are now 8 hexes from KB. I was lucky it was 8 and not 7. My cruisers were standing by to confront any invasion in the area, but now KB is getting more adventurous, so it's time to run.

US carriers are at Noumea. With KB getting more aggressively moving south, it's starting to threaten a move toward Noumea. I have lots of shipping here, many disbanded in port. I will start considering moving out ships.

KB just looking for targets? An invasion on the way? Too soon to say. It really looks like the Japanese want a carrier battle. I expect KB to bomb Ndeni heavily this turn, since I just bases a bunch of heavy bombers there, and not everything will be able to move out.

It's a tense time in the South Pacific. My opponent has done everything in a coordinated fashion so far, so I doubt that KB is just wandering around aimlessly. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[BBfanboy]

Surprised that your bombs did not penetrate the cruisers. Except for Mogami class, IIRC, 500 lb bombs will normally penetrate the deck of those CAs. In one game I sank an Atago class CA with 500 lb bombs from P-40Es. Were your bombers carrying lighter bombs because of the range?

Also interesting that Chokai is missing from the enemy cruiser force engaged on the 19th. I thought she likely sank and now I am certain of it. You called it last turn so it is not really news.

[apbarog]

Yes, I was surprised that all of the bombs bounced also. Could have been a belt armor hit or two also. The range was normal, 15 hexes from Ndeni.

My opponent pretty much stated that Chokai was lost.

I'm still thinking ahead of plotting my next turn. KB is in the perfect area for me to load up all of my airbases and simultaneously attack with my carriers. Except that my bases are built big enough yet. Another month and I'd commit for sure. Now I'm not sure. It would be nice strike KB, but I can't throw away my carriers.

Thinking...

[apbarog]

I moved my carriers north to a spot adjacent to Koumac. If KB moves aggressively south, there could be a carrier battle. I also readied all of my naval strike aircraft at Koumac and Noumea.

My cruisers southwest of Rennel Island run full speed to the south. My task force could look like a carrier task force to the enemy. Who knows what his reaction to that would be. Only 8 hexes away.

[HansBolter]

Looks better than an even trade to me.

You likely sunk two extremely valuable CAs that are a limited quantity asset.

Everything else will be in the repair yards for some time.

You can afford to trade combat ships at a 1:2 ratio while your opponent cannot afford to trade them at a 1:1 ratio.

Big win for you in my book.

The Allies have to think strategically, especially when they will have to face losing tactically for a long time to come.

Every tactical draw is an Allied strategic victory.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

Looks better than an even trade to me.

You likely sunk two extremely valuable CAs that are a limited quantity asset.

Everything else will be in the repair yards for some time.

You can afford to trade combat ships at a 1:2 ratio while your opponent cannot afford to trade them at a 1:1 ratio.

Big win for you in my book.

The Allies have to think strategically, especially when they will have to face losing tactically for a long time to come.

Every tactical draw is an Allied strategic victory.

Two CAs sunk? Not sure which ones you believe sunk. [&:]
Chokai was confirmed, but the other three all appeared in port and the bombs dropped on them there did not penetrate or cause major fires.
OTOH both Australia and Boise went down, so it looks to me that the Allies lost 2 to the IJN 1. Would be delighted if another of his CAs went down.

[apbarog]

After the surface battle, but before the heavies bombed Nauru, Intel showed 2 Daves and 2 Jakes destroyed on the ground. I know that Chokai sank. Something else did, but I don't know what it was. I don't think anything will be sinking from the port bombing at Nauru, unless a destroyer fire gets out of control.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

After the surface battle, but before the heavies bombed Nauru, Intel showed 2 Daves and 2 Jakes destroyed on the ground. I know that Chokai sank. Something else did, but I don't know what it was. I don't think anything will be sinking from the port bombing at Nauru, unless a destroyer fire gets out of control.

I checked Scenario 1 start and Chokai has one Jake and two Daves at start. The numbers you saw could be Chokai + FOW or + an aircraft destroyed by shell fire during the battle.

[apbarog]

Thanks BBfanboy, that makes sense. Just Chokai sank then.

[HansBolter]

A 1:2 trade is still a strategic victory for the Allies.

May not feel like it in the short term as you are short now on combatants and every loss hurts dearly.

In the long term you CAN afford to trade 1:2 and still come out on top.

The time spent in repairs for the ones that didn't sink is valuable breathing space for you wherein they won't be rampaging and taking advantage of your tactical weakness.

Trying really hard to illuminate that silver lining for you![:D]

[BBfanboy]

Completely agree with you HB. Japan leans heavily on her CAs during the expansion phase.

[apbarog]

22 Aug 42 - The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

My opponent used this line recently. I wonder how many times during our war that it crosses my mind. Today was definitely one of those.

First the usual stuff:

APD moving from Luganville to Suva get 2 good depth charge hits on I-10.

I-22 takes a shot at cruiser Detroit southwest of Rennell Island. This is my big cruiser force that got dangerously close to KB yesterday.

At Ontong Java, north of Tulagi, Dutch sub O21 spots a big juicy AO task force. It fires on huge AO Ken'yo Maru...but misses. O21 then gets hit directly with one depth charge. I'll send more subs here. The AO's are supporting KB to the south, and don't seem to want to leave this base even though they've been spotted.

Rennell Island's airfield is bombed by 42 Bettys from the Shortlands area. One Bolo is damaged and the airfield takes very minor damage.

The enemy bombards at Bandoeng, Java, and I bombard at Calcutta. Same old.

It's amazing to me how my emotion can change in just a couple of minutes of watching the combat replay. At the start of the daylight part of the replay, I saw that KB had moved south, toward Koumac, and was at a hex only 7 hexes from where I told my carriers to go. 7 hexes. I know that I limited all of my carrier bombers to 6 hexes because that is the maximum range of my escorts.

One hex short. I knew what was coming. A huge one-sided attack. I was doomed. This was going to define the war for the next year.

And then the first air phase ended and no attack. Not only that, but my carriers weren't spotted.

Then the PM phase started. And the same. No sign of my carriers. No attacks for either side. I had land-based bombers that could have made a futile attack, but nothing.

Incredible.

So what happened? I opened up my turn to find that my carriers had started to move from Noumea, but didn't move all the way up the coast next to Koumac. I have no idea why. All were already refueled. One carrier took on a dozen more fighters. I don't know why they moved just a few hexes, and stopped 2 hexes short of their destination (which is still assigned). But it's a miracle. Nothing short of that.

I went from doom and gloom to relief, all in a turn where nothing happened.

Did I say that I love this game? If I added up all of my game time since I started playing AE and its predecessors, it wouldn't surprise me if that time is over a year of my life.

---Oh, and he does see my carriers this turn. Time to decide what to do.---

[BBfanboy]

Refuelling/replenishment of your CVs likely did not complete on the previous turn so some ops points were used at the start of this turn to finish the work before steaming off into the rising sun ...

[apbarog]

That could be, BBfanboy. I didn't notice an ops points spent but I could have missed that.

I decided to move my carriers due east. KB went south-southwest last turn, heading for my cruiser force that has since run to Sydney. If KB keeps coming south, and/or attacks Noumea, I'll move my carriers north, staying east of KB, and try to get behind KB and hit that AO task force north of Tulagi. Just a tentative plan. I did leave my land-based bombers on naval attack, and I reinforced Noumea's CAP. I also mostly evacuated Noumea's port.

KB can run amok bombing my bases. I'll keep my shipping out of range. It won't accomplish much doing that. I'm holding off having a direct confrontation with my carriers. Wasp will be repaired soon, and will join the fleet. I'm not saying that will be enough to engage, but it will help.

In other news, I did get SigInt that 38 Division is planning an attack at Chittagong. This is new. Not necessarily a meaningful piece of info, but it could be.

[apbarog]

23 Aug 42

I'm starting to see enemy subs near Noumea as well as Suva now. They've been used very defensively up until now. Today I-4 finds a transport task force near Nadi, but misses an AMC.

West of Nauru Island, S-33 makes attacks on a PB and an xAK, but misses both.

Same old bombardments at Bandoeng and Calcutta.

As for KB, it moved northwest, and is now 5 or 6 hexes south of Rossel Island. It looks to be retiring toward Rabaul, or repositioning to cover a landing in the Solomons.

Allied carriers also moved away, moving to the east. They will now move more northward, closer to Ndeni. The enemy AO's at Ontong Java, north of Tulagi, moved away to the north after my last sub attack, and probably didn't like being reconned by air. I do have a CL and a couple of DD's moving north of Ndeni now, scoping out the area and maybe making a run into ONtong Java or Nauru if an opportunity presents itself.

So, the tension level about KB has ratcheted back down a bit.

Some of the ships that fled Noumea are returning.

In India, I'm repositioning my heavy bombers closer to the front, now that I have a few big airbases built north of Calcutta. The target will be Akyab soon.

[apbarog]

24 Aug 42

KB continues to retire to the north, now by Milne Bay. It will either go to Rabaul or along the New Guinea coast to Truk.

My opponent states that he didn't want to engage my carriers so close to Noumea. This is valuable information for me. He's still being cautious, and doesn't want to trade carriers. This information helps me make my next decision about what to do with my carriers.

And I've decided to send them all south to Auckland. Lexington and Saratoga are overdue for a refit, and it's a refit that takes 42 days. The refit damage is all SYS damage, so Auckland will work for this. Some other carriers, and lots of cruisers and destroyers have upgrades due in October. A few ships, like BB North Carolina, have upgrades in September. I'll just stay at Auckland for awhile. I don't have any offensives planned for the near future. I just want to defend what I have.

With KB leaving the area, I'll start resorting ground units that didn't make it to their intended destinations, and start moving them.

In other news, a small xAKL task force is spotted adjacent to Makin Island. Plunger elected not to engage. Probably a small supply convoy. Makin is the only level 2 airfield in the Tarawa area. My earlier Tabituea carrier attack brought some attention to this area.

[apbarog]

25 Aug 42

Wahoo finds an xAK task force at Tarawa, but is sighted before lining up a shot.

Chittagong gets some extended enemy attention. First it is swept by 29 Oscars. No CAP there. Then 2 Sally groups escorted by Oscars and Nicks hit the airfield, damaging a bunch of Hudsons that I have there on naval search. The enemy probably just saw that I had planes there and decided to hit them.

KB disappeared. Rabaul was reconned, and KB was not sighted there. It could be close to Rabaul, though, as I had a sub get a high detection level to the east of Rabaul. Or KB could have headed north along the New Guinea coast.

Air groups from Lexington and Saratoga relocate to Suva. All Allied carriers head to Auckland for repair for all and refit for some. A number of ground units start loading at Suva, headed to destinations that they didn't get to when KB appeared.

[BBfanboy]

Some IJN players avoid using Rabaul for their CVs because it is an obvious target. Check out Kavieng.

[apbarog]

26 Aug 42

S-32 finds an xAK task force at Tarawa, and gets one torpedo hit. No mention of men or material lost on the ship. I had a light cruiser and 2 destroyers approaching Tarawa, stopping 7 hexes from the island today to prepare to run in at high speed tonight. But the task force is spotted, and the enemy will undoubtedly leave Tarawa, so it returns to base.

No sightings of KB. US carriers head to Auckland. Wasp is now fully repaired at Auckland.

A Glen sub spots a cargo task force inbound to Diego Garcia from Capetown.

At Chittagong, a Brit infantry division arrives. Another is just one hex to the south, blocking the road from Cox Bazar. There were some indications of possible enemy activity here, but no sign of anything. I might as well reinforce here. I don't think there is anywhere else in Burma/India that the enemy can cause trouble without carrier support.