Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Logistics, Patience, and Firepower

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
Looking good at Nauru!
He must be flying in that NG unit. Do you have any way of LRCAPing Tarawa?

That can be done easily. I have a base only 1 hex away. But I actually think it was brought in by sub.

[Sangeli]

November 23rd 1943

As usual I'm doing pretty well in the sub war offensively:

Sub attack near Aogashima at 111,66

Japanese Ships
PB Konei Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Daisin Maru

Allied Ships
SS Whale


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Submarine attack near Truk at 111,109

Japanese Ships
AK Kamogawa Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Tunny


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Sub attack near Manado at 76,101

Japanese Ships
TK Kanze Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
TK Nichiei Maru
PB Kyo Maru #5

Allied Ships
SS Tautog

ASW was pretty good today as well:

Sub attack near Ocean Island at 130,130

Japanese Ships
SS I-176, hits 36, and is sunk

Allied Ships
AGC Blue Ridge
PC Taney
AM Tumult


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Sub attack near Ocean Island at 130,130

Japanese Ships
SS I-9, hits 6

Allied Ships
CV Wasp
CL Birmingham
DD Lansdowne
DD Lang
DD Morris
DD Frazier
DD McCalla

SS I-9 launches 6 torpedoes at CV Wasp

The last one was a little scary but in the end it turned out all right.

Some air action as well this turn. Japanese sweeps in Burma, Japanese bombing my troops and Nauru (my CVs moved away so Rev Rico went for it), and an assortment of effectively unopposed Allied bombings.

Finally, let's look at Nauru:

Ground combat at Nauru Island (127,128)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 19424 troops, 512 guns, 391 vehicles, Assault Value = 375

Defending force 14012 troops, 165 guns, 22 vehicles, Assault Value = 110

Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
24th Marine Regiment
754th Tank Battalion
102nd Combat Engineer Regiment
19th Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Division
249th Field Artillery Battalion
9th Marine Defense Battalion
226th Field Artillery Battalion
7th Marine Defense Battalion

Defending units:
26th Ind.Mixed Brigade
88th Naval Guard Unit
14th Garrison Unit /1
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
37th JNAF AF Unit
21st Air Flotilla
40th JNAF AF Unit
1st IJN AA Battalion
32nd Special Base Force
4th Fleet
90th Nav Gd /3

I am probably going to order a deliberate tomorrow but I'm not sure how much disruption I gained from the Japanese bombing runs. Next time I will be sure to keep at least some continuous air cover.

[Sangeli]

November 23rd 1943

Action packed day.

I did not get so lucky with Japanese subs today. Two of them found their mark:

Sub attack near Nauru Island at 128,129

Japanese Ships
SS I-171

Allied Ships
CV Bunker Hill, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Birmingham
DD Renshaw
DD Lang
DD Morris
DD Frazier
DD McCalla


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Sub attack near Ocean Island at 130,130

Japanese Ships
SS I-171, hits 4

Allied Ships
CVE Liscome Bay, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CLAA San Juan
DE Wileman
DD John D. Ford
DD Balch
DD Case

Ouch. Bet that CVE goes down. At least I'll be getting a bunch more soon.

At least I got some revenge on Japanese subs. Each day the sub threat diminishes when I knock them out of the battlefield:

ASW attack near Ocean Island at 130,130

Japanese Ships
SS I-172, hits 9

Allied Ships
DD Thatcher


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Submarine attack near Ocean Island at 130,130

Japanese Ships
SS I-172, hits 16, and is sunk

Allied Ships
BB Oklahoma
DD Fanning
DD Gwin
DD Bullard
DD Le Hardi
DD Le Fier
DD Paulding
DD Gilmer

And of course what day is complete without sinking a Japanese tanker?

Sub attack near Shanghai at 95,59

Japanese Ships
TK Akebono Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
TK Otowasan Maru
PC PB-68
PC PB-65

Allied Ships
SS Steelhead, hits 5

Once again I hit Nauru HARD:

Night Naval bombardment of Nauru Island at 127,128 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

14 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
BB Royal Sovereign
BB California
BB Pennsylvania
BB Oklahoma
BB Colorado
CLAA Oakland
DD Le Hardi
DD Le Fier
DD Paulding
DD Gilmer
DD Stuart
DD Litchfield
DD Sterett
DD Fanning
DD Helm
DD Blue
DD Hammann
DD Laffey
DD Gwin
DD Taylor
DD Stanly
DD Sigsbee
DD DeHaven
DD Bullard

Japanese ground losses:
624 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 21 destroyed, 75 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 18 (4 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 6 (2 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Resources hits 9
Airbase hits 56
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 181
Port hits 29
Port fuel hits 7
Port supply hits 3


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Night Naval bombardment of Nauru Island at 127,128 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

20 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
BB Indiana
BB Montana
BC Strasbourg
BC Dunkerque
BC Repulse
DD Clark
DD Gridley
DD Caldwell
DD Strong
DD Ringgold
DD Hazelwood
DD Guest
DD Dashiell
DD Claxton
DD Bradford
DMS Hamilton

Japanese ground losses:
438 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 47 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Resources hits 1
Airbase hits 22
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 38
Port hits 8
Port fuel hits 2

But that was just the start of the day. The Japanese KB unexpectedly showed up. I really thought it was going to stay in the Darwin area. But I guess Rev Rico had other plans. But it certainly did not go as planned. First one of my subs found their mark:

Sub attack near Nauru Island at 120,125

Japanese Ships
CV Akagi, Torpedo hits 1
CLAA Tenryu
CLAA Kuma
CLAA Kinu
CLAA Isuzu
CS Chiyoda
CS Chitose
DD Kyosuki
DD Natsuzuki
DD Haruzuki
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Wakazuki
DD Urazuki
DD Yamazuki
DD Mitchisuki
DD Hazuki

Allied Ships
SS Snook, hits 2

It seems the Japanese thought that Nauru would be protected by only CVEs. But actually that is where I had my main CV force. So the 8 hex strike that came....well let's just say this is the kind of 8 hex strike that I always welcome:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Nauru Island at 127,128

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 127 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 42 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 117
B6N1 Jill x 62
D4Y1 Judy x 44

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 235

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 5 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 41 destroyed, 3 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 26 destroyed, 2 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 4 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVL Belleau Wood
CV Bunker Hill
CVL Independence
CV Wasp

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 10000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
2 x B6N1 Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
2 x B6N1 Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
1 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 10000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb

9 out of every 10 bombers was lost on that strike. I'm sure the A6M8s suffered more heavily than appears as well. The KB is clearly not the threat it used to be.


But despite the massive bombardment by most of the active battleships in the Pacific, it did not prove enough for me to make real progress with my assault:

Ground combat at Nauru Island (127,128)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 19569 troops, 512 guns, 391 vehicles, Assault Value = 389

Defending force 12989 troops, 158 guns, 19 vehicles, Assault Value = 96

Allied adjusted assault: 88

Japanese adjusted defense: 123

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 6)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
854 casualties reported
Squads: 37 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 21 (12 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
833 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 87 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 36 (2 destroyed, 34 disabled)

Assaulting units:
24th Marine Regiment
754th Tank Battalion
19th Infantry Regiment
102nd Combat Engineer Regiment
7th Infantry Division
249th Field Artillery Battalion
9th Marine Defense Battalion
226th Field Artillery Battalion
7th Marine Defense Battalion

Defending units:
88th Naval Guard Unit
26th Ind.Mixed Brigade
14th Garrison Unit /1
37th JNAF AF Unit
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
1st IJN AA Battalion
21st Air Flotilla
32nd Special Base Force
40th JNAF AF Unit
4th Fleet
90th Nav Gd /3

Ughh. I really needed to knock down a fort level with that attack. Now I am afraid I will have to give my troops on Nauru a long rest before they are ready for another attack.

Meanwhile halfway across the world my troops crossed the river from Bassein to Rangoon:

Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 82315 troops, 1305 guns, 1508 vehicles, Assault Value = 2699

Defending force 55391 troops, 663 guns, 704 vehicles, Assault Value = 1939

Allied adjusted assault: 2578

Japanese adjusted defense: 2987

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 4)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), disruption(-), preparation(-)
experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
1152 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 118 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 36 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 24 disabled
Guns lost 50 (1 destroyed, 49 disabled)
Vehicles lost 57 (4 destroyed, 53 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
6509 casualties reported
Squads: 126 destroyed, 696 disabled
Non Combat: 54 destroyed, 85 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 89 disabled
Guns lost 55 (5 destroyed, 50 disabled)
Vehicles lost 148 (117 destroyed, 31 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
Gardner's Horse Regiment
268th Motorised Brigade
6th Australian Division
5th Chinese/A Corps
2nd British Division
7th Australian Division
6th Chinese Corps
5th Chinese/C Corps
6th Mixed A/T Mtr Regiment
14th Army
97th Field Artillery Battalion
1st Medium Regiment
2/9th Field Regiment
2/11th Field Regiment
28th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
5th Field Regiment

Defending units:
2nd Tank Division
8th Division
91st Naval Guard Unit
2nd Division
16th Division
1st RTA Division
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
Burma Area Army
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
1st RF Gun Battalion
11th Shipping Engineer Regiment

Rangoon is going to be a long and bloody battle no doubt.

And finally here is Tarawa:

Ground combat at Tarawa (136,128)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 12814 troops, 473 guns, 243 vehicles, Assault Value = 391

Defending force 10935 troops, 202 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 156

Japanese ground losses:
88 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
762nd Tank Battalion
3rd Marine Regiment
34th Infantry Regiment
21st Marine Regiment
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
2nd Marine Defense Battalion
168th Field Artillery Regiment
7th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
198th Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
1st Sasebo Assault Division
85th Naval Guard Unit
82nd Nav Gd /2
24th Special Base Force
5th Mortar Battalion
24th Air Flotilla
7th JNAF Coy
63rd Field AA Battalion
1st ADU Coastal Gun Regiment
6th IJN AA Battalion

[Sangeli]

What to do in the Gilberts? Previously I had wanted to take Nauru before Tarawa but it's clear to me the Nauru attackers need some time to rest. But it's also clear the Japanese are still going to fight for Nauru and likely sneak in reinforcements. So what I will do is keep my CVs near Nauru with a few cruisers and battleships for bombardment to slowly grind down the defenders and keep up the siege. But I will send most of the other battleships to work on Tarawa again. Once I get the Japanese down to around 100 AV again I'll let my attackers give it another go. I fear that I acted prematurely on Nauru and don't want to make that mistake again. But boy...these atoll invasion are bloody work. In retrospect I really should have focused on forming up divisions for these invasion instead of the hodgepodge of regiments which get obliterated when the shock attack fails to take the base.

[HansBolter]

How could you have failed to reduce the forts when you had combat engineers participating?

The AI attacks my fortified positions at odds of 1 to 40 billion and STILL reduces the fort level due to using engineers.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
How could you have failed to reduce the forts when you had combat engineers participating?

The AI attacks my fortified positions at odds of 1 to 40 billion and STILL reduces the fort level due to using engineers.

Bad dice rolls I guess. Either that or this game is rigged against me [:D]

[setloz]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
How could you have failed to reduce the forts when you had combat engineers participating?

The AI attacks my fortified positions at odds of 1 to 40 billion and STILL reduces the fort level due to using engineers.

Bad dice rolls I guess. Either that or this game is rigged against me [:D]

Just keep pounding at it. The AV ratio is going to get in your favour and when it does, the forts will go down very fast.
On a side note, nice job on shredding that KB strike. The more he loses his experienced pilots, the less potent subsequent KB strikes become...

[Sangeli]

November 24th 1943

Quiet day. Only action of note were some submarine attacks:

Submarine attack near Sendai at 118,58

Japanese Ships
xAK Kokuyo Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Skipjack


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Sub attack near Tokara Retto at 99,63

Japanese Ships
PB Kenkai Maru #3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Crevalle



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Submarine attack near Sendai at 118,58

Japanese Ships
xAK Dori Maru, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Sunfish

And they even found another Japanese CV:

Sub attack near Ponape at 117,119

Japanese Ships
CV Taikaku, Torpedo hits 1
CLAA Tenryu
CLAA Kuma
CLAA Kinu
CLAA Isuzu
CS Chiyoda
CS Chitose
DD Natsuzuki
DD Haruzuki
DD Fuyuzuki
DD Wakazuki
DD Urazuki
DD Yamazuki
DD Mitchisuki
DD Hazuki

Allied Ships
SS Rock, hits 1

Air, naval, and land bombardments bring down the AV of the Tarawa defenders:

Ground combat at Tarawa (136,128)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 12889 troops, 472 guns, 243 vehicles, Assault Value = 402

Defending force 10211 troops, 197 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 120

Japanese ground losses:
149 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Assaulting units:
762nd Tank Battalion
21st Marine Regiment
3rd Marine Regiment
34th Infantry Regiment
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
2nd Marine Defense Battalion
7th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
168th Field Artillery Regiment
198th Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
1st Sasebo Assault Division
85th Naval Guard Unit
82nd Nav Gd /2
5th Mortar Battalion
7th JNAF Coy
24th Special Base Force
63rd Field AA Battalion
24th Air Flotilla
6th IJN AA Battalion

Tomorrow I will order a deliberate. By the time the assault starts I should have the Japanese AV below 100 I think.

And let's look at Nauru now:

Ground combat at Nauru Island (127,128)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 6494 troops, 248 guns, 160 vehicles, Assault Value = 330

Defending force 12390 troops, 154 guns, 21 vehicles, Assault Value = 61

Japanese ground losses:
98 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Assaulting units:
102nd Combat Engineer Regiment
754th Tank Battalion
19th Infantry Regiment
24th Marine Regiment
7th Infantry Division
249th Field Artillery Battalion
9th Marine Defense Battalion
226th Field Artillery Battalion
7th Marine Defense Battalion

Defending units:
88th Naval Guard Unit
26th Ind.Mixed Brigade
14th Garrison Unit /1
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
21st Air Flotilla
4th Fleet
32nd Special Base Force
37th JNAF AF Unit
40th JNAF AF Unit
1st IJN AA Battalion

A little better than I thought it would be. Still think I will give my guys some time to rest. As long as I can keep up some pressure I should be OK leaving it alone for a bit. I think I may land in Makin before attempting another attack here again.

[ny59giants]

I always double check my leaders after an invasion. Somebody may have drown. [;)]

Do you have any HQ pairs? You have 4 Command HQs (NoPac, CenPac, SoPac, and SWPac) that should be prepping with an Army or Corp HQ each to enable you to have a strong chance at the 90% adjusted AV bonus. If this is your main area of operations right now, I would have all 4 down in Gilberts prepping.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Do you have any HQ pairs? You have 4 Command HQs (NoPac, CenPac, SoPac, and SWPac) that should be prepping with an Army or Corp HQ each to enable you to have a strong chance at the 90% adjusted AV bonus. If this is your main area of operations right now, I would have all 4 down in Gilberts prepping.

Well I have SWPac and SoPac already prepping for targets in their respective theaters. Good call on NorPac and CenPac though. Only issue with those guys is getting them in range for future OPs. Their command range doubles if there is an intermediate HQ but that's still only 18 hexes I believe.

In the future I will do a much better job assembling divisions and prepping HQs for invasions. I made the mistake of trying to prep too many targets at one time which meant I couldn't have HQs and divisions for each of them. Lessoned learned...

[BBfanboy]

Nauru's opposition has a good crack in it - your bombardment destroyed six squads to one disabled. Good chance almost all are disabled already.

That carrier you torpedoed was in the neighbourhood for a run at Nauru though. The CSs are not a big threat but I wonder if there are more unseen carriers in that TF.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
That carrier you torpedoed was in the neighbourhood for a run at Nauru though. The CSs are not a big threat but I wonder if there are more unseen carriers in that TF.

Go back to the report from the day before. The KB launched an 8 hex strike and my Hellcats tore it to shreds.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
That carrier you torpedoed was in the neighbourhood for a run at Nauru though. The CSs are not a big threat but I wonder if there are more unseen carriers in that TF.

Go back to the report from the day before. The KB launched an 8 hex strike and my Hellcats tore it to shreds.

Ah, right! I forgot about that - reading so many AARs and not remembering everything!

[ny59giants]

Having NorPac HQ sitting up in the Aleutians doing nothing doesn't help your war efforts in CenPac, does it? All your Command HQ regardless of where they are should be paired with an Army or Corp HQ prepping for offensive targets. This is a big advantage you have going forward and don't overlook what it will do to speed up your advance.

Bristol Class DDs - I usually have a DesRon (4 DDs) with each CV TF for AA and ASW as they are very well suited for this role. The rest are pre-war DDs while as many Fletchers go in SC TFs.

Spend extra time next time the CV TFs are in port to go through every ships leaders to ensure they have good Inspiration, Naval, and Aggressiveness. Going from 50 to 60 PPs does help in these mods.

[Sangeli]

November 25th 1943

Finally a break in the Gilberts. Tarawa falls easily:

Ground combat at Tarawa (136,128)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 13884 troops, 475 guns, 382 vehicles, Assault Value = 415

Defending force 9112 troops, 192 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 91

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 5

Allied adjusted assault: 118

Japanese adjusted defense: 8

Allied assault odds: 14 to 1 (fort level 5)

Allied forces CAPTURE Tarawa !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2615 casualties reported
Squads: 171 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 72 disabled
Engineers: 33 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 115 (95 destroyed, 20 disabled)
Vehicles lost 14 (14 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
352 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 80 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 12 (1 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Vehicles lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd Marine Regiment
762nd Tank Battalion
21st Marine Regiment
34th Infantry Regiment
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
168th Field Artillery Regiment
7th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
2nd Marine Defense Battalion
198th Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
1st Sasebo Assault Division
82nd Naval Guard Unit
24th Special Base Force
85th Naval Guard Unit
7th JNAF Coy
63rd Field AA Battalion
24th Air Flotilla
5th Mortar Battalion
6th IJN AA Battalion

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Bristol Class DDs - I usually have a DesRon (4 DDs) with each CV TF for AA and ASW as they are very well suited for this role. The rest are pre-war DDs while as many Fletchers go in SC TFs.

I use the Bristol class DDs in my CV TFs while using Fletchers in the independent task forces. I don't operate Fletcher SCTFs usually; instead I form up multiple ASW TFs when I need a SCTF (which isn't all that often).

[Sangeli]

Lot of sub action on the day. Losses:

Allies
1 SS

Japanese
1 DD
1 xAK
1 SS
1 SS Damaged
1 SST Damaged

[Sangeli]

November 28th 1943

Japanese subs continued to get punished in the Gilberts by my ASW fleets:

Sub attack near Nauru Island at 127,128

Japanese Ships
SS I-168, hits 18, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Pringle
DD Hazelwood

And today I landed on Makin. Did not expect the Japanese to interfere with the landing but Rev Rico caught me off guard. I didn't even have a dedicated surface task force covering the landing (though the amphibious TF had 5 BBs). This could have been a disaster:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Makin at 136,125, Range 30,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei
CB Kasuga
CA Myoko
CA Haguro
DD Mochitsuki
DD Asagiri
DD Yugiri
DD Amagiri

Allied Ships
CVE Casablanca
CVE Anzio
CVE Neosho
CLAA San Juan
DD Conway
DD Case
DD Balch
DD John D. Ford
DE Griswold
DE Wileman

Instead the Japanese commander elected to withdraw. Got very lucky here.

The Makin landing went MUCH better than either Nauru or Tarawa:

Ground combat at Makin (136,125)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 11631 troops, 211 guns, 205 vehicles, Assault Value = 377

Defending force 3925 troops, 46 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 52

Allied adjusted assault: 57

Japanese adjusted defense: 14

Allied assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 6)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
1365 casualties reported
Squads: 52 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 18 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 9 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 20 (7 destroyed, 13 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
596 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 51 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 17 (1 destroyed, 16 disabled)

Assaulting units:
43rd Infantry Division

Defending units:
301st Ind.Infantry Battalion
14th Naval Guard Unit
6th ADU Coastal Gun Regiment
1st IJN Pioneer Battalion
39th JNAF AF Unit

Full divisions are really the way to go for atoll invasions. Knocked down 4 levels of fort in the landing so I should easily take the base tomorrow. The bombardment fleets will now head back to Nauru to finish off what's left of the Japanese:

Ground combat at Nauru Island (127,128)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 16497 troops, 460 guns, 296 vehicles, Assault Value = 433

Defending force 13682 troops, 173 guns, 21 vehicles, Assault Value = 133

Japanese ground losses:
30 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
754th Tank Battalion
24th Marine Regiment
102nd Combat Engineer Regiment
19th Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Division
226th Field Artillery Battalion
249th Field Artillery Battalion
9th Marine Defense Battalion
7th Marine Defense Battalion

Defending units:
88th Naval Guard Unit
26th Ind.Mixed Brigade
2nd Amphibious Bde /1
14th Garrison Unit /1
32nd Special Base Force
21st Air Flotilla
40th JNAF AF Unit
37th JNAF AF Unit
4th Fleet
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
1st IJN AA Battalion

While the respite has given my units time to recover, the Japanese have actually recovered more. Less than a week ago they had half the AV. No matter. Three days of heavy bombardment will take care of the Japanese.

And after Nauru I have something special planned for the Death Star. Let's just say I'm feeling a little bolder now that 1 CV and 2 CVL from PH just arrived in the Gilberts.

[Sangeli]

November 30th 1943

Today we had some interesting surface fights. My plan was to bombard Rangoon with my cruiser fleet but Rev Rico correctly predicted this and sent a task force led by the BB Yamato to intercept:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Rangoon at 53,54, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato, Shell hits 15, on fire
CL Noshiro, Shell hits 1
DD Kazegumo
DD Makigumo, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Michishio
DD Shigure

Allied Ships
CA Pensacola, Shell hits 3, on fire
CA Cornwall, Shell hits 6, on fire
CL Achilles, Shell hits 1
CL Emerald
CL Kenya, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Newcastle
DD Parrott, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Schley, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Arunta, Shell hits 1
DD Crosby, Shell hits 1
DD McKee
DD Hart, Shell hits 1

The CL Kenya would go on to sink. Without naval bombardment I'm not sure how I'm going to take Rangoon. I could be stuck there for many months.

In the Gilberts the Japanese surprisingly decided to sortie a cruiser fleet in the vicinity of many of my fleets near Ocean Island. It first ran into a Fletcher ASW fleet that put up a good fight but lost a DD anyway:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Ocean Island at 129,129, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Oyodo, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1
DD Mochitsuki, Shell hits 1
DD Shiratsuyu
DD Yudachi

Allied Ships
DD Converse, Shell hits 20, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Thatcher, Shell hits 4, heavy fires

But in taking a torpedo the CL Oyodo was left exposed to air attack:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Ocean Island at 130,128

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
E13A1 Jake x 3

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 39
SBD-5 Dauntless x 19
TBF-1 Avenger x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
E13A1 Jake: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-5 Dauntless: 6 damaged
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Oyodo, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Yudachi



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ocean Island at 130,128

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 40
SBD-5 Dauntless x 16
TBF-1 Avenger x 7

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-5 Dauntless: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Oyodo, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Yudachi, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

Really don't understand the move here. This area is swarming with dangerous Allied fleets. Why would Japan send a small SCTF like this right at me? I did end up losing 40-50 planes attacking the other destroyers that got away so in net VPs it's a wash but all those planes and pilots are replaceable and ships are not. Rev Rico is doing me all sorts of favors by committing SCTFs under conditions favorable to the Allies. He would be much better off being more conservative and waiting for me to overextend and using naval and air units in a concentrated counterpunch rather than sending SCTFs by themselves with only LRCAP.

[Sangeli]

A closer look at the Gilberts: