To the end of Sept / Oct 1942
Major action took place in the Pacific.
At the 2nd Impulse of their turn the US went out with their fleet - reaching for the 2 box of Solomon Sea.
Their new Essex carriers were moved to Pearl Harbour and Pago Pago and reorganized during the 1st Impulse.
A cruiser is loaded too with a Division.
The formation of the USA was quite formidable, counting 10 fully manned carriers - escorted by a BB (Alabama) and 9 CA.
Thanksfully for Japan, the USA had not found the convoy point in the Solomons, protected as well by a plane that went there to cover against submarines earlier.
A pesky trap of the US.
The USA went to the 2 box because their AMPH and TRS could get there only in the 2 box - and from there span a wide range of Japanese isles, including Truk. Truk is manned only by a 6-4 Japanese white print infantry at the time.
Japan knows to be in danger, and with risk to lose a major naval base. Japan takes a Naval action.
US has little reserves - 9 old BBs (the 4 moving ones), 2 cruisers (one of them dedicated to a MAR division) and the Amph both in the Pago Pago zone.
A pair of submarines are sent there to attempt the intercept later on in a sea empty of US surface forces (there is only a 6-3 moving submarine that arrived from San Diego).
Then everything the Japan could throw, was thrown into battle in the Solomons. The Japanese task force counts of all their carriers at avail - except Jinjo and Shoho.
Japan has guns - 110 points of gunnery against 55 of USA.
Japan has fighters - 2 * 6 and 2 * 5; vs 2 * 5 and 3 * 4.
Japan has naval bombers operating from the ground too.
But US has a helluva of carrier planes - 2 of them with 6 of air naval power, and 2 with 5 of air naval power.
Japan opts to split their forces, what can get to the 4 gets to the 4 box. Unyo (Jinjo's sister carrier) goes to the 2 with more land based planes (Japan pours 4 of them there plus one at the 0) and the battle is to commence.
Japan also made the convoy flee - to avoid giving a +1 to the US roll to search.
The fist Japanese impulse see the IJN victorious, a roll of 1 vs a roll of 5. Japan peels 7 Surprise points - and calls for Surface Combat electing to choose a target (Remember with our House Rule, every odd target is normally selected from owner and even target from opponent).
US Intrepid is blasted away even before to see combat, sinking with 2 CVP squadrons.
Alabama is the next target, and explodes as well - hit certainly by heavy shells of IJN BBs.
The US loses 2 more CA and gets another damaged there.
Japan's cruiser Tenryu and BB Haruna are sunk too; another cruiser aborted.
The US also have lost one of their 5 Air to Air fighters now, along with the Intrepid (and a 3 air to sea factor CVP too).
Decision Time: I would have fled with the US fleet by now. By staying the US could have brought in their BBs, and fought still decently, but US are not much in a rush yet - and they get 5 new light carriers next turn; I'd not have endangered the fleet on almost even grounds; but heck historically the US went in on parity at Midway.
The US elects to remain and so the Japanese does. But they do not find each other.
US impulse, good weather still! US takes combined, and reinforces in with 5 BBs from Pearl Harbour.
Then with the other 2 moves brings in the invasion force from Pago Pago zone - and the Japanese submarines fail to intercept both the pratically unescorted troop convoys.
The US favor not to fight in the Solomons - after all why to endanger their invasion. But the Japanese are there and want to fight. The IJN finds again 2 to 6, again peeling the 7 surprise points.
It's a new Surface combat; the Japan loses the Mutsu and the Nachi.
Japan elects the Essex as target - which is only damaged but has the last 5 air to air US CVP.
BB Nevada too sees to the bottoms of the seas.
Some ships are damaged by the end of the clash.
Decision time: Japan here had to decide if to screw the invasion by selecting as target one of the TRS or AMPH - or hit a carrier. My reasoning is that if I find again, I could use less fighters on the US side.
Both fleets remain but alas the US manage to remain, not being found again. That was the purpose of erasing the fighters from the skies. But it served somehow the purpose.
US invade. They examine the targets and ultimately have to decide between Truk (Major base) or Porto Vila (minor base but gives on 3 seas and more tenable presently).
The Notional in Truk is 4 strong (since all the invaders are from Box 2!) and US has little shore bombing remaining (6 points, and 6 points of attack combat value) vs 10 defending points.
The airplane battle is -massive- and see the Japanese and US fighters dogfighting with no results (We had litterally 5 rounds of air battle where all the results were pratically clearing an opponent bomber). In the end of the day only 1 Japanese CVP was shot down; the US cleared most of their bombers and so the Japanese did safe one being shot down. Few aborted planes.
The attack is only at +3.X
It ends bad for the US - as they roll 6. All the invading force perishes on the shores of Truk.
But it's not over yet.
The Japanese in their (3rd) impulse attack again. This time they choose Naval Air combat despite having 8 surprise points.
Their airplanes did not performed well over Truk (Japan had +2 and US -2!) but the admirals are confident they'll be successful on the sea.
There are -heavy- losses from both sides, the air battle starts at +2 for Japan and -3 for US (2 Surprise points spent).
Japan loses a NAV2 and a TRS4 (A Naval pratically!); has 2 NAV3 aborted too - which is crippling because they go back to the ground and not stick around for more rounds like CVP.
The US gets 2 CVPs shanked in the process.
2 US CVPs get through, 6 and 5 value! The Japanese carriers are in dire danger, the remaining 6 surprise points are spent to bolster the AA. Highest of 3 dices. 7. A bomber is blasted away and the other still gets to score a X. Zhuikaku is the designated victim, loaded with an aborted 6 strong Zero.
The IJN commanders scream "Full Starboard", the ships perform evasive maneuvers and Zhuikaku gets only damaged, and the other CV carrying the other 6 strong Zero is aborted.
Japan is luckier, with 5 bombers getting through. The AA barrage of the US is massive - they score 11 points and blast away from the skies an excellent NAV3 and shrink damage on the fleet by 1 only. (Lucky rolls from the US I believe, 2 lowest out of 4; the mechanics in which AA inflicts damage is strange though. To have shot down 2 CVPs would have been much better for the US as they've have soaked 7 air to sea power instead of just 3).
Japan scores 3 X though.
CV Lexington II is the first target - but it resists the destruction. Pesky damage control teams of US, the Japan selects it as their other X of choice (a cruiser was damage as Allied choice) wanting to be sure to sink another US CV (with a plane loaded).
In the US turn the US brings forth 4 more old BBs and 1 CA, from Pago Pago - deploying all their naval arsenal in the Pacific.
But the fleets - battered and punished - do not find each other.
And the turn reached an end.
Japan lost loads - US lost more though.
But Japan struggles to repair the losses meanwhile USA is just delivering tons of ships - though that is letting Germany pratically conquer Russia (Which produced only 6 BPs this turn!)
