To Young to Die, To Old to Rock and Roll

[zuluhour]

Aye, they will stage forward with some loose engineers to the assembly area. I'm thinking how to divvy
up the LST LSI for "the plan". My current thinking involves some small short range contested landings
under LBA......about 35oonm away......but I want to have significant back up to the attack transports
as they come on line. Pearl has large support assets closing on her which will have to transfer as well.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: zuluhour

Well I am close to deciding the axis of attack. Most of the combat units are prepping in the right direction. Large numbers
of support units are at sea and I'll have to review them on arrival in forward areas. The destroyer upgrades are in full swing
and all the attack transports are together awaiting April and June. I can't risk losing them now.

Just so you don't waste a month, half the conversions to APA start in March, not April. Not sure about the AKA conversions.

About PM - if NE Australia is all yours, build up the bases at Portland Roads and Coen and bomb PM into irrelevance. You should have a lot of M/W squadrons by now and a lot of air BFs. If supply gets to Cairns by ship it should trickle north in reasonable quantity. Attention to PM may make him think that is the direction you are coming .

[zuluhour]

Hello BB, I will post my response tomorrow with the map. Sage advice.

[zuluhour]

logistics logistics logistics

[BBfanboy]

Good to see the construction in NE Oz. I still think Coen should be built up some for two reasons:
- it is safe from seaborne bombardment, unlike the other bases there.
- supply will flow a bit better to Portland Roads if Coen is developed more.

[zuluhour]

engineers are on the way, slow slog up the coast road to Coen.

[BBfanboy]

You're gonna like what the Feb upgrade does for the DD ASW ability! [:)]

[zuluhour]

I look forward to the DE conversions as well. Lars has had great success with his submarines, something
close to JohnIII's.

[zuluhour]

Hmmmmmm

[zuluhour]

The IJN vanishes for the past two days in the Coral Sea. The battle over the skies of New Guinea heat up. It's the first time
Lars has called in fighters to face me here.

[zuluhour]

The Chinese last stand

[zuluhour]

Need help with this one, why will it not withdraw???

[BBfanboy]

Not Catholic?
JK [;)]

Don't the planes have to be serviceable before withdrawing them?

Don't forget to strip the squadron of good pilots too.

[ny59giants]

Looks like VS-8 has a fragment somewhere as the "Unit OOB" option is there. Click on it to where the other part is at.

[kaleun]

What NY59giants said

[zuluhour]

For, pardon the expression, some unfathomable reason, there was indeed a fragment of the group on Adak. I never had the Big E CLOSE to the Aleutians.
One for the books. Can't believe I missed the OOB button. Thank you gents. I bring fighters into the fray over New Guinea.
Morning Air attack on Buna , at 99,129

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 37,550 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 1 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x P-38G Lightning sweeping at 34550 feet

**I think the results were more like 7-0.
***Corsairs are seen for the first time by Lars over Port Moresby, no one climbs up to say hello.

Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 44 NM, estimated altitude 29,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 16

No Allied losses

[zuluhour]

...

[zuluhour]

The end of China. One division and one squadron escape.
 
 
Ground combat at Changsha (82,52)
 
Japanese Deliberate attack
 
Attacking force 219968 troops, 2033 guns, 804 vehicles, Assault Value = 6559
 
Defending force 60948 troops, 228 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1144
 
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3
 
Japanese adjusted assault: 11906
 
Allied adjusted defense: 679
 
Japanese assault odds: 17 to 1 (fort level 3)
 
Japanese forces CAPTURE Changsha !!!
 
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), disruption(-)
 experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
 
Japanese ground losses:
      5122 casualties reported
         Squads: 14 destroyed, 566 disabled
         Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 49 disabled
         Engineers: 1 destroyed, 66 disabled
      Guns lost 51 (1 destroyed, 50 disabled)
      Vehicles lost 19 (1 destroyed, 18 disabled)
 
Allied ground losses:
      68261 casualties reported
         Squads: 3535 destroyed, 0 disabled
         Non Combat: 4427 destroyed, 0 disabled
         Engineers: 132 destroyed, 0 disabled
      Guns lost 303 (303 destroyed, 0 disabled)
      Units destroyed 10
 
Assaulting units:
    3rd Tank Division
    3rd Division
    22nd Division
    34th Division
    15th Division
    40th Division
    110th Division
    51st Division
    116th Division
    36th Division
    19th Ind.Mixed Brigade
    39th Division
    13th Division
    12th Ind.Mixed Brigade
    35th Division
    6th Division
    15th Tank Regiment
    12th Tank Regiment
    104th Division
    32nd Division
    13th Army
    1st Mortar Battalion
    23rd Army
    14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
    4th Mortar Battalion
    China Expeditionary Army
    15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
    12th Army
    2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
    51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
    52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
    11th Army
    21st Mortar Battalion
 
Defending units:
    74th Chinese Corps
    20th Chinese Corps
    79th Chinese Corps
    37th Chinese Corps
    10th Chinese Corps
    99th Chinese Corps
    27th Group Army
    29th Group Army
    9th War Area
    17th Chinese Base Force

[zuluhour]

found this really interesting:
 
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Aircraft/PatRon91/

[BBfanboy]

That was interesting! One thing that confused me at the beginning of the document where he says they had no losses and then later on recounts all kinds of losses. Also interesting that the interviewer seemed to be actually listening to recommendations and taking some kind of action on them. Many's the time I submitted reports with recommendations and heard back .... nada! [&:]