A Japanese Debacle - Sqz (J) vs. fcharton (A)

[ny59giants]

2 of 3 rgt of the Americal Div arrive at Melbourne in DBB as reinforcement. The third has to come from USA b4 it can recombine.

DBB - I've been playing this mod (Scen 30) and now J3's Between The Storm Lite for so long, going back to a stock game would be culture shock for me. [;)] So, i understand you adjustment issues.

Kudos on the job front!! [&o]

[JocMeister]

Congrats on the new job Joseph. Good news! [:)]

[FeurerKrieg]

Grats on the job. I usually don't worry too much when leaving a job, because often it seems like what you described happens. That being said, the uncertainty factor is hard to ignore.

[SqzMyLemon]

Thanks everyone.

[SqzMyLemon]

Feb. 19/42:

Recon indicated some Allied fighters based at Moulmein in Burma, so I ordered strong Oscar and Zero sweeps against the base. On the day Japan loses five fighters, the intelligence report indicates 21 Hurricanes lost. I think that is high, but I know 10 Hurricanes were lost during the replay, so tack on a few Ops losses and I'd say maybe 15 in total.

In China, I may be in trouble at Pucheng. I underestimated the Chinese strength here and Francois tests the waters with an artillery bombardment. AAR follows:

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Ground combat at Pucheng (86,57)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8181 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 947

Defending force 13476 troops, 104 guns, 56 vehicles, Assault Value = 441

Assaulting units:
70th Chinese Corps
28th Chinese Corps
86th Chinese Corps
32nd Group Army

Defending units:
17th Division

In Sumatra: Japanese Unit(s) Wiped Out at Praboemoelih by attrition!!!

Well, this sucks but I can't change it. Still burns me that my unit was 100% prepped for the target and that the just routed defenders of Palembang were not disrupted. How I suffered 1:99 odds considering the situation is beyond me. Hey Gary, kiss my ass with your randomness and one in a million disasters.

[:D]

[SqzMyLemon]

China: 19 Feb 42

It's taken longer to put the pieces in place than I would have liked, but the Japanese offensive is beginning to make progress.

Chuhsien is completely isolated while Pucheng's northeast and east hex sides are blocked. I expect a Chinese assault at Pucheng, but uncertain whether my lone division can hold. I've ordered IJA air attacks to support the ground forces. I'm sending an Ind. Mixed Bde. to reinforce my position.

Here are the current Japanese dispositions marked on the map:

1. IJA 9th IMB and IJA 9th Tank Rgt.

2. IJA 51st and 104th Divisions, 23rd Army HQ and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Hvy. Art. Bn.'s

3. IJA 15th Division and 13th Army HQ

4. IJA 22nd Division

5. IJA 41st Division, 22nd AA Rgt. and 49 Field AA Bn.

6. IJA 37th, 58th and 70 Divisions

7. IJA 34th Division

Wuchow is to be assaulted from the southeast with three divisions of 13th and 23rd Armies. The forces at position 1 will hold the Chinese in place.

There is one remaining hex side open to the Chinese at Changsha, the northwest. IJA forces at position 4, 5 and 6 are tasked with clearing the Chinese out of the wooded hex northwest of Changsha and sending a recon regiment to close the remaining hex side, fully isolating Changsha. Changteh will be invested with one division. The remaining four divisions will advance against Kweilin and meet up with 13th and 23rd Army forces that have taken Wuchow.

I have two divisions, IJA 32nd and 36th, as a strategic reserve at Sinyang in case the Chinese mount an offensive from Ichang. Aviation and other support units are deploying to Wuchang as quickly as they can be bought out from Manchuria. Artillery in particular will be sent to Changsha to pound the defenders. Japanese forces are prepping for three targets, Changsha, Ichang and Kweilin and all have nearly reached 100%. I want Kweilin and Liuchow quickly taken so I can march on Tuyun. Tuyun simply does not draw supply, and if that still holds true this is where I will break into Central China.

Japanese tactics are to avoid fighting in 3x terrain whenever possible and any hex of stacking limits of 40k or less. The Chinese hold a clear advantage defending in these hexes so I will simply bypass them. I know how the supply situation goes in China, and I am content to let most Chinese positions simply weaken over time. I won't engage in a war of attrition and bludgeon my way forward. I will advance, occupy key supply producing bases and isolate as many Chinese units as possible. The primary goal remains to reach Burma through Paoshan and then start to destroy Chinese forces. There are large concentrations of troops in Northern China around Loyang and Yenan. I hope to backfill and deal with them late in 1942.

I am marching on Lanchow along the slow secondary road with two divisions. This is more a diversion than a serious offensive, but if the Chinese don't react and shift some forces to Lanchow, there is a possibility to take it on the cheap. I won't have air cover, but if I can draw the Allied bombers away from my main offensive towards Kweilin, I'll consider that success in itself.

I must hold Hankow and Wuchang at all costs, but if I can assemble enough of a reserve and entice Chinese forces out from Ichang to attack Hankow, I could defeat them in the clear terrain.

I hope to reach Kweiyang in April.

[SqzMyLemon]

A quick note on the economy.

I'm slowly improving the fuel situation in the Home Islands. I'm bleeding resources though and have dropped below 2 million. It seems to take a lot longer to load transports in DBB. Fusan just expanded to a level 6 port so I hope that will improve resource flow. I've had to resort to shipping resources out from Formosa and Shanghai in an effort to increase the flow of resources to the Home Islands. Once Fusan's port reaches its maximum size I hope that will alleviate the problem, so I can stop shipping from Shanghai.

I expand my aircraft and vehicle production early and dip in the Home Islands supply bank. Hold onto your chair Pax, but I have less than 800k supply in the Home Islands at the moment. However, the early pain is over and I am now banking anywhere from 6-11k supply per turn and that will increase even more as some engine factories finish their expansion. My goal is 1.5 - 2 million supply in Japan by the end of 42. It will be tight, but a worthy goal.

[FeurerKrieg]

Ha, don't feel bad. I was down to about 300,000 supply in the Home Islands before I started the climb back up. For resources, I have ships running on CS convoy just about everywhere that produces resources. Lots of places I'm not used to grabbing from like the small islands of Okinawa, in the Pacific there's Ocean and Nauru, I'm even running some convoys to Port Hedland.

One thing about DBB is you have a lot of small ships that are perfect for these little CS routes. And the ships are so cheap, you don't have to put any escorts with them if you are so inclined.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
Hold onto your chair Pax, but I have less than 800k supply in the Home Islands at the moment.

[X(]



[:D][:D][:D]

[Lowpe]

Very interesting China strategy.

Do you plan on trying to take Chungking? Or just take the road to Burma.

[obvert]

Hi Joseph. Congrats on the job! Hope all begins well.

Good to see you still at it. I'll try to get caught up in order to contribute. In the meantime I'll concur with Pax. [X(] (Get that economy on track!)

[Bif1961]

Good luck with your new job, I am sure that helps ease your mind about the future.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

Good luck with your new job, I am sure that helps ease your mind about the future.

Thanks, it certainly does. I'm glad RL has been dealt with. Game wise it's been a hard five weeks and I'm realizing now just how much of an impact the stress of losing my job had on my gameplay and decision making. In hindsight, I probably should have asked for a hiatus from the game until I felt better about things. I'll soldier on and hopefully restore the situation before it's too late.

[SqzMyLemon]

Feb. 20/42:

No love for Japan. I still can't catch many breaks it seems.

Borneo:

I'm trying to capture Pontianak. I sent a small bombardment force to try and tip the scales. Nope, they don't hit the ground troops and the follow on deliberate assault fails. The Dutch and Indian troops are proving to be supermen in DBB. AAR's follow:

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Night Naval bombardment of Pontianak at 56,90

Japanese Ships
CL Kashii
DD Yomogi
DD Tsuta

Runway hits 1
Port hits 3

E7K2 Alf acting as spotter for CL Kashii
CL Kashii firing at Pontianak
DD Yomogi firing at Pontianak
DD Tsuta firing at Pontianak

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Ground combat at Pontianak (56,90)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3528 troops, 24 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 116

Defending force 1259 troops, 5 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 21

Japanese adjusted assault: 40

Allied adjusted defense: 46

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
72 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
56 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
15th Naval Guard Unit
16th Naval Guard Unit

Defending units:
W Borneo KNIL Battalion
2/15 Punjab Battalion

China:

Good news here.

Allied 4E continue to concentrate on hitting Japanese ground troops, especially my weak RGC units of late. Disruption is 3% and a few disabled squads. I don't think this is a good use for the 4E's and must be burning up supply. AAR's follow:

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Morning Air attack on 13th RGC Temp. Division, at 84,48 , near Ichang

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 7
B-17E Fortress x 6

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
7 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

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Morning Air attack on 13th RGC Temp. Division, at 84,48 , near Ichang

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 6

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
22 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

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Morning Air attack on 13th RGC Temp. Division, at 84,48 , near Ichang

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 2

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

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Morning Air attack on 13th RGC Temp. Division, at 84,48 , near Ichang

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Allied aircraft
LB-30 Liberator x 6

Allied aircraft losses
LB-30 Liberator: 2 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x LB-30 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

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Morning Air attack on 13th RGC Temp. Division, at 84,48 , near Ichang

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 29 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 5

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Chinese forces appear to be withdrawing from Pucheng. I won't know if it is all of them or not for a few days. I'll divert two divisions to deal with them so they don't cause havoc in my rear, or break my siege of Pingsiang.


Australia:

Townsville is captured.

At Armidale, it turns out to be a lone Allied recon unit sent to the base. It gets a hot reception. AAR's follow:

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Morning Air attack on Natal Mtd Rifles Regiment, at 92,163 (Armidale)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45
B5N2 Kate x 98
D3A1 Val x 88

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 5 damaged
D3A1 Val: 6 damaged

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 50 (2 destroyed, 48 disabled)

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Morning Air attack on Natal Mtd Rifles Regiment, at 92,163 (Armidale)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 52
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 21

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)

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Ground combat at Armidale (92,163)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 300 troops, 0 guns, 91 vehicles, Assault Value = 35

Defending force 1333 troops, 8 guns, 77 vehicles, Assault Value = 50

Allied adjusted assault: 0

Japanese adjusted defense: 19

Allied assault odds: 1 to 99 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), leaders(-), preparation(-)
experience(-)
Attacker: leaders(-), disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
Natal Mtd Rifles Regiment

Defending units:
7th Tank Regiment
8th JAAF AF Bn

I guess all those negative modifiers added up to Japan not being able to disable or destroy a single AFV. I guess my Op mode meant no tanks could return fire. Seems an unfair result for Japan considering what happened to my paratroops in Sumatra.

[Lowpe]

Keep bombing those troops in Oz, go lower except with divebomber. I doubt there is much AA there. The disabled will become destroyed this day.[:)]

[BBfanboy]

Some of the early Japanese tank regiments only have armoured cars or tankettes. I would look at what the 7th Tank Regiment actually has.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Assaulting units:
Natal Mtd Rifles Regiment

Defending units:
7th Tank Regiment
8th JAAF AF Bn

I guess all those negative modifiers added up to Japan not being able to disable or destroy a single AFV. I guess my Op mode meant no tanks could return fire. Seems an unfair result for Japan considering what happened to my paratroops in Sumatra.

IIRC, that Natal unit has better armor than yours. You will want to check that ....

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Assaulting units:
Natal Mtd Rifles Regiment

Defending units:
7th Tank Regiment
8th JAAF AF Bn

I guess all those negative modifiers added up to Japan not being able to disable or destroy a single AFV. I guess my Op mode meant no tanks could return fire. Seems an unfair result for Japan considering what happened to my paratroops in Sumatra.

IIRC, that Natal unit has better armor than yours. You will want to check that ....

tm.asp?m=2617094&mpage=1&key=Emergency?

There's a picture of it in Post #27.

For the era it's good armor, or at least plentiful.

[Lowpe]

The 7th SA Armored is enough to make you cry. And it is not restricted.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Some of the early Japanese tank regiments only have armoured cars or tankettes. I would look at what the 7th Tank Regiment actually has.

Made a screenshot of the IJA 7th Tank Rgt. Scenario 1, day 1. From the looks of it, the Marmon Harringtons of the SAfricans should have been slaughtered (unless they have upgraded beyond Bullwinkle's reference screenie).





EDIT: More mystery - I looked in my game and the Natal Mtd Rifles do not appear on map nor in the reinforcement queue. Must be emergency reinforcement only. Bullwinkle's screenshot shows them as of Feb 4, 1942. SqzMyLemon's game is at Feb 20/42 so it seems unlikely the Natal Mtd Rifles would have much better equipment than the Marmon Harringtons.