Heads Will Roll! Rev (A) vs 1275psi (J)

[Revthought]

Pearl Harbor, 21:15 GMT -10 (Hawaii Time)

Admiral Kimmel stamped out another half smoked cigarette into what was now an overflowing ashtray. He nervously scanned the ever ceaseless reports that seemed to appear on his desk as if by magic

"Someone's head is going to roll for this," he muttered to himself.

"What was that, Admiral? We've got another report, this one is from Malaya. The Japs are all over the place" said an officer standing in the doorway.

How did he get in here without me noticing again wondered the Admiral.

"For God's sake, Commander. We were warned. I warned them. The War Department Warned them, and they were still caught with their pants down. I'm just glad it did not happen to us. Not the least of which because they wouldn't let us sortie the fleet. I mean, it's only 50 years of naval doctrine we were going against"

"Do you can see it your heart to let me back in command of ship now, Admiral?"

"Not quite yet commander, not quite yet. Though it might come to that..."

It could be worse, thought Kimmel as he looked at the report thrust into his hand, he could be in MacArthur's shoes.

What is This

This is another Allied AAR for War in the Pacific Admirals Edition. I am a new player who has only really been playing the game for a little over a month and who suddenly finds himself embroiled in not one, but two PBEM games and two AARs (the other is being hosted for the time being on another website. So any help and advice will be greatly appreciated!

My opponent s 1275Psi who was kind enough agree to a game with me that is somewhat historical in scope! [&o]

Game Details

We are playing the stock game, no mods, no beta patch
Scn 1
No Historical First Turn
Realistic USN Torpedoes
PDU Off
Allied DC On
1 Day Turns

House Rules:
Japanese expansion is roughly historical
Planes at realistic altitudes

[witpqs]

Good luck! [:)]

[Revthought]

Hawaii

Turn One is in and I've gotten the combat report back, and let's just say I am surprised. The only action in Hawaii (so far) was a penetration by Japanese midget submarines.

Midget Sub attack inside harbor of Pearl Harbor!!!

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-22

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania



---------------------------------------------

Midget Sub attack inside harbor of Pearl Harbor!!!

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-24, hits 4, heavy damage

Allied Ships
BB West Virginia, Torpedo hits 1
PC Taney

PC Taney cannot reach attack position over SSX Ha-24


---------------------------------------------

Midget Sub attack inside harbor of Pearl Harbor!!!

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-19

Allied Ships
BB California, Torpedo hits 1

Given that I have good intel that the Japanese plan a roughly historical campaign, what on earth could the KB be up to that they didn't bomb Pearl today? My naval search reports nothing in the area (except a zillion Japanese submarines.)

Philippines

Clark Field is hit hard.

orning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 83 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 32 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 54
G3M2 Nell x 27

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 6 destroyed, 7 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed on ground
P-35A: 1 destroyed on ground
B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 1 destroyed on ground

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

Airbase hits 19
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 31

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 12000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

My cap showed up, but gotten eaten alive. 7 P-40Es lost in the air in exchange for nothing.

Iba is hit:

Morning Air attack on Iba , at 78,75

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 49 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
G4M1 Betty x 27

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 10

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 23000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
35th PG/21st PS with P-40E Warhawk (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Raid is overhead

Again, I've got nothing to show for my planes that showed up to defend the base.


Port Attack on Manila

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 41 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 9
G4M1 Betty x 27

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
xAK Capillo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AV Langley, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AS Holland, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AM Bittern, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
PG Isabel, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Ethel Edwards, Bomb hits 1, on fire

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

Port fuel hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 18000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
26 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb

CAP engaged:
24th PG/17th PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 19000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes
35th PG/21st PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 0 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes

Again, my pilots and fighters really fail to perform, but at least I get a few of his planes this time.

The ships in port are hit pretty hard, but this could have been way worse. I'm glad there were no sub hits!

Japanese Invasion of Batan Island!

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2033 troops, 27 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 66

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 70

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 70 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Batan Island !!!

I hit Back

I set my flying boats to naval attack and it pays off.

fternoon Air attack on TF, near Batan Island at 85,70

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
PBY-4 Catalina x 3

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAKL Hakuyo Maru, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
333 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 21 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)

The first minor victory of the war! Yay!

Hong Kong

About what you expect to happen here, does happen. I actually screwed up here and move ships I shouldn't have...

Air Attack on Resource Laden Ships

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Hong Kong at 77,61

Weather in hex: Clear sky

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

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 14

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Munlock
xAK Nanning
xAK Ming Sang

Air Attack on Destroyer Force

fternoon Air attack on TF, near Hong Kong at 78,66

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-30 Ann x 15
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
DD Thracian
DD Thanet
DD Scout

Malaya

Inauspicious Start

Alor Star Sunk! George Town Raided!

Morning Air attack on Alor Star , at 49,73

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 35 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 22
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 30

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 42

Aircraft Attacking:
22 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 15000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
30 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb

Morning Air attack on Georgetown , at 49,74

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ia Oscar x 17

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 3

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
17 x Ki-43-Ia Oscar sweeping at 10000 feet

CAP engaged:
No.21 Sqn RAAF/B with Buffalo I (0 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 62 minutes

Again, my cap is less than effective, though only 3 planes manage to make it airborne.

More Ships Sunk Near Georgetown!

Morning Air attack on TF, near Georgetown at 49,74

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 4 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 9
G4M1 Betty x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAP Hong Siang, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAP Kelantan, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Wing Sang, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
28 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Langsa Attacked Demosthenes Sunk!

Morning Air attack on TF, near Langsa at 47,74

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 1 NM, estimated altitude 28,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 0 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 9

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Demosthenes, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
xAK Ellenga

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x G3M2 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo


Invasion in Kota Bharu!

re-Invasion action off Kota Bharu (51,75)

47 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai
PB Tatsumiya Maru
SC Ch 9
SC Ch 7
AK Sasako Maru
DD Ayanami

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

CL Sendai firing at 8th Indian Brigade
PB Tatsumiya Maru fired at enemy troops
SC Ch 9 fired at enemy troops
SC Ch 7 fired at enemy troops
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 5,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards

Finally, the Dutch Airforce Puts up a Fight!

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lingga at 51,87

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 9 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 13

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed, 6 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
AMC Manoora
xAKL Ipoh, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

We lose the Ipoh, but it costs the Japanese 5 Bettys! I consider this Allied minor victory 2

Sub Action

I'm fairly sure I sunk her!

Sub attack near Patani at 54,73

Japanese Ships
AK Tosan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS KXVII

Submarine attack near Patani at 54,73

Japanese Ships
AK Tosan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS KXVII

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

[Revthought]

Well, this was a very interesting, and very tame December 7th. I really need to figure out where his carriers are, and where they are going.

I currently have Lexington headed for Australia via the looonnng route, and Enterprise is also moving South.

Force Z is retreating to Sorabaja, where PoW will split off and head off map to wait for her refit. I just cannot bring myself to possible sacrifice her since, post re-fit, she will have an AA of 1200. The especially the case when the cruisers in and around the DEI can do just as good a job harassing Japanese expansion without her.

I have not decided what to do with the Repulse yet.

I've committed to not doing a full Sir Robin in this game, so next turn I will pull back a little, but not nearly as much as I could.

For example, the only thing "coming out" of Singapore will be the Aussies.

[Anachro]

Good luck. I think it's a better choice to not pull a full Sir Brave Robin. A couple reasons: 1) slowing down Japanese advance initially is a big plus 2) most JFBs seem to not expect it and 3) most importantly, it makes the early war a lot more fun. I look forward to seeing what you do. The only question is, given the lack of carrier attacks on Dec 7th, it remains to be seen where exactly his carriers are located. This will need to be made clear before committing your Asiatic fleet. Don't want them all sunk before they can inflict damage.

[Revthought]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

Good luck. I think it's a better choice to not pull a full Sir Brave Robin. A couple reasons: 1) slowing down Japanese advance initially is a big plus 2) most JFBs seem to not expect it and 3) most importantly, it makes the early war a lot more fun. I look forward to seeing what you do. The only question is, given the lack of carrier attacks on Dec 7th, it remains to be seen where exactly his carriers are located. This will need to be made clear before committing your Asiatic fleet. Don't want them all sunk before they can inflict damage.

Yes, you are certainly correct. I have no idea where those carriers are headed, and I do not have enough experience (read none) with PBEM opponents to even guess at this point.

Should I be concerned at all that he maybe heading for the West Coast? That would be really confounding because of the "mostly" historical expansion he promised, but that in and of itself means nothing as he can obviously raid West.

I'm spooked enough that I am considering trying to move the Sara next turn to Panama.

What I can say is that I have never, ever seen so many damn subs around Pearl playing the AI. With as crappy as my early war ASW is, I feel like my Battleship Fleet, though wonderful to actually think about still having, is just as isolated and unable to move as it would have been if he'd actually done a standard first turn Pearl attack.

It certainly would not be worth his time to attack Pearl now though at least, so I have a nice little Fleet-in-Being if nothing else.

But you are also right in this, I think actually fighting for things makes the early war fun for the Allies, even if you know it's a losing proposition.

[Anachro]

Huge amounts of subs start out around PH on Dec 7th. The historical initial Japanese plan called for a far greater role in the PH attack than what happened. The subs were expected to catch any ships fleeing the harbor after the attack. Ugaki had high hopes for the midgets, which turned out to bee a dud.

While he certainly might, I would think the possibility of an attack on Panama or your west coast, especially this early on, highly unlikely. He might be positioning them for an early effort in the DEI towards Palembang, Batavia, etc. We'll find out soon enough. It would be waste to just keep them hidden for too long.

[Bif1961]

It seems your subs were not damaged at manila, a very good thing for you. I would caution against using your PBYs for torpedo attacks. He will use LRCAP and slaughter them and then you won't have them when you need them for naval search later and you carriers will be the ones being slaughtered. Save them, you don't need them in the Philippines but in the Solomons and Australia.

[Encircled]

Where is the KB?

If its not attacked Manila or PH, then he's either messed up (very easy to do) or its somewhere a very long way from home.

He could be about to attack the West Coast if that is the case, so beware

[Lecivius]

[Revthought]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

Where is the KB?

If its not attacked Manila or PH, then he's either messed up (very easy to do) or its somewhere a very long way from home.

He could be about to attack the West Coast if that is the case, so beware

I did detect a radio transmission awfully close to San Francisco; however, it was not "heavy traffic" and it was too close for what I would think, just based on how long as the Allies it takes to make that transit, could be the KB making for the West Coast; However, next turn I will prepare just in case.

West Coast Plans

Ground Forces

I had planned to send the 2nd Marine Rgt towards Port Morseby. This will have to wait.

Naval Forces

What I really do not want is to over think the situation, and move things in a Panic, so I won't. The one exception here will be the Sara. She will leave port and head in the direction of Panama. I've got no real use for her presently--her squadrons still need serious training--so placing her at the edge of the theater does no harm.

Luckily I have subs, including S boats, on the West Coast. Normally, they'd be headed for Pearl and Alaska. I think instead I will try and use them to screen, just in case, before sending them on to their final destination.

Air Forces

This is the biggest change. Many of the squadrons set to train will need to be prepared for combat missions until I know for sure where the KB is.

DEI

Given that the KB might be headed this way, I'm going to play it pretty conservative with the Asiatic Fleet. Instead of CL + Destroyer TFs being tasked with harassing Japanese landings, the job will fall primarily to destroyers.

Cruisers will fall back from Balikpapan. PoW, with escort, will be headed East--ultimate destination Cape Town to await PoW's refit. I'm really unsure what to do with Repulse. She's the only British big gunned ship that can keep up with PoW in a TF--far more suitable than the old Revenge class boats that come into the theater; however, she's far less important.

She may stick around the DEI or she may leave with the PoW. I haven't yet decided.

Philippines

Falling back to the Manila, Clark Field, Bataan triangle. I've already had some success using my flying boats to naval attack the relatively under defended naval forces around the Philippines. This will continue. I'm going to make an attempt to mine Jolo, but he may get there first.

All the subs capable of mine laying will, in concert with the one off dutch mine layers, mine key points.

Malaya

General retreat to the first line of defense around Mershing. Building fortifications. I'm going to try real hard to evacuate the Aussies and recombine what can be recombined.

Burma

Rangoon cannot be adequately defended. Falling back.

China

We aren't playing with Quiet China, but China is rather Quiet. Other than minor positioning changes, setting units to rest, turning off replacements, and building forts in key speed bumps, nothing needs to be done here.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

Where is the KB?

If its not attacked Manila or PH, then he's either messed up (very easy to do) or its somewhere a very long way from home.

He could be about to attack the West Coast if that is the case, so beware

Some options:
- West coast? I would put everybody on alert, heavy CAP, naval search, etc. Then I would move CV Saratoga to Panama, and I would be careful with the convoys to PH. better safe than sorry
- DEI? If so, your Manila surface fleet is doomed, but not a really big loss anyway

[Lecivius]

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

- DEI? If so, your Manila surface fleet is doomed, but not a really big loss anyway

Naw, send in the Boise. We'll be roasting marshmallows on KB's remains [:D]

[Revthought]

This will be update soon! I came down with the flu, the real one, and it's all I can do to play the turns! You should get three days of stuff soon.

PS

The KB showed up! In the DEI. All of it.

[Revthought]

PS I'm toying with the idea of sending half the BB fleet and 1 carrier to Brisbane. Good or bad idea?

[Anachro]

send the entire fleet. he'll never expect it. [:D]

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: Revthought

PS I'm toying with the idea of sending half the BB fleet and 1 carrier to Brisbane. Good or bad idea?

Until you can get some real stockpiles of fuel to that region fleet operations need to be minimal.

Also prioritize getting Sydney to a level nine port.

Also send some AKEs so you can operate out of ports too small to rearm you BBs.

Regarding the AKEs, you have about twenty or so xAKs at start in various locales that can convert to AKEs.

You'll get about another twenty or so coming in as reinforcements over the first few months.

Comb through all of your at start ships to isolate the valuable conversions before they get tied up in transport TFs shipping supplies.

Check each new arrival for conversion capability.

[Revthought]

Here is a teaser [X(]

[Bif1961]

41 Shell hits i bet the majority came from the rapid firing 6 inchers from the Boise. As to sending BBs to southern OZ they are fuel guzzlers and you don't have the fuel stockpiles in the region to support them. If the KB does an OZ drive-bye there is nothing to in OZ to stop them and you old slow BBs might get trapped there.

[ny59giants]

Fuel and more fuel from California to Aukland and Sydney. Just your CV TFs will use up what little you have. The DEI will be too dangerous with KB to use.