Islands of Destiny: RA 5.0 Japanese Side

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: obvert

So ports strikes should be seriously off limits in this mod with the DBB flak against the Allies. You not only lost all of the pilots, but lost an opportunity to make him have to consider a fully stocked and ready KB was there and able to thwart any next efforts. You also lost a portion of the VPs you harvested the day before.

It is amazing how impotent Japanese bombing becomes in the face of Allied AA, but Allied AA can't be everywhere. But it does denote a change in thinking in how you use all those Army bombers.

Think how impossible it would be to take back Sumatra without control of the skies. That control, led you to using round the clock naval bombardments. You pressed the fighter panic button then, and luckily had some frames capable of standing toe to toe with the Allies.

Then tell me you shouldn't press the panic button on your Army and Navy fighter design for 1944 now.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Good truth in that statement. I have been playing that vanilla stock game against Herbie and flak is NOTHING like this. It is something I have issues with on the DBB Mods. All of ours are based off of DBB and so it is uniform pain.

I will not make the same mistake again. Luckily it didn't cost me that many good pilots.

The KB will refuel this turn and move south.

Actually, I think flak is finally on the mark. By the end of 1943 the dive bomber was approaching obsolesce due to the growing power and accuracy of AA fire. Japan had pretty much stopped using carrier aircraft vs defended bases and even by the Guadalcanal campaign the weak Japanese bombers were restricted to bombing from very high altitudes anywhere but in China. The Allies were able to soldier on with the dive bomber only because the Japanese flak never really was up to the standards of other WWII combatants. But the Americans were wise enough not to use dive bombers in Europe. Considering the flak you were facing the results are spot on.

[John 3rd]

Sabang, Sumatra
25th Army HQ

Looking about the conference table (actually a set of boards spread over a pair of saw hourses) Yamashita looks into the faces of nine commanders staring at him.

"Gentlemen: This is it. This is our first assault on the perimeter of the Allied line at Sabang. You will make sure that my orders are followed to the letter: no Banzai Assault, no extra measures, wait for the chaos of our Naval Bombardment to be at its highest extent, then STRIKE. Your objective is this set of hills (all look at the current photos taken by Army Recon planes) between a seem in the lines of this American Independent Regiment and the British 18th Infantry Division. The goal here is to weaken the enemy line in preparation for further exploitation. Am I clear? It is not all out victory or death on this attack. Watch your Division's casualties and do your best. The Emperor himself will read of our attack."

Some of Japan's best Infantry Divisions are ready for a Deliberate Attack. All are at 100% prep, 25th Army HQ is 100% Prep and Southern Army Command (at Langsa) is 100% prepped. The Divisions: 19th ID 60% XP, 14th ID 77% XP, 38th ID 85% XP, 16th ID 79% XP, and 5th ID 92% XP. Every commander checked and all four Engineering Regiments checked.

All 4 Kongo's and 3 BBs will bombard the base and then the attack occurs.

Any bets?

Back at Langsa two full strength ID begin unloading (along with 35,000 supply). They will arrive to switch out with whatever units need to and be the strength needed for the FINAL assault.

[pws1225]

Good luck John. Hopefully this will put an end to the Allied incursions on the western side of the board for a very long time.

[John 3rd]

How would the surrender of 150,000 Allied troops look in mid-1943? YUMMY! I'm just hoping to drop the Forts. No idea what the number is and this is why we rely on the heavy guns of the Fleet.

[John 3rd]

June 10, 1943

Breaking the Japanese mindset when it comes to all-out attacks instead of measured, limited attacks can be very difficult for the Japanese mindset. Four of the five Japanese Infantry Division Commanders follow General Yamashita's orders to the letter. The duel bombardments by seven capital ships of the Japanese navy inflict serious losses on the 18th British Division as well as the American 37th ID (815 cas, 41 Guns, 64 Vehicles and the AF takes another 89 hits destroying 18 more aircraft). The star shell leaps into the sky signaling a night assault.

The engineers do excellent work and take few casualties. By morning all five Infantry Divisions are embroiled in the assault. Progress is slow but steady and by nightfall all objectives are taken. The trio of outlying hills command a better position commanding the approaches to Sabang's port. They Fall without too much trouble. The only issue comes in the Commanding General of the 38th Division. Tight control is lost and he flings his troops into a perceived breach. They takes serious losses but that is about it. The lines tighten and the first salient is hammered into the Allied perimeter. The Japanese gain a four by two mile addition to their position.

Binoculars scan from the new heights and the next assault begins to be planned.


HAH! The Deliberate Attack gains a 1-1 result (1920--1566). We find our that Dan had only been able to get the Forts up to 4. They are now at THREE.

Statistics: Japan 8581 Cas Allies 2232 Cas. Nearly 85% of the Japanese losses are disables. They'll be back soon...

BANZAI!!!

[Sangeli]

Nice! Now that those fort levels are lowered a bit those bombardments are going to get even more deadly. That's going to a nice haul of prisoners for labor camps.

[obvert]

Nice! Great to lower the forts.

I've forgotten, do you have a division or tow you can rotate in? Looks like at least one of yours (38th) needs extensive rest.

This is a good result for the first attack here. For the casualties, how many squads did each side lose? Hard to tell from casualty numbers what the real story is here.

You've been pretty patient and methodical with this situation, which I think has been a big plus. It didn't matter how long it took, and in fact he even lost a few more aircraft after he started to get a bit frantic and tried to get one last desperate hold on the place. Dan's very good at spinning results into some kind of advantage, but it's going to be hard to make yarn out of losing eight full divisions and a whole sack of other stuff in 43 with nothing to show for it.

How is Medan's oil doing with repairs, by the way? You will need all you can get.

[JeffroK]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

Nice! Now that those fort levels are lowered a bit those bombardments are going to get even more deadly. That's going to a nice haul of prisoners for labor camps.

Yeah a couple of more Changis, Palawans or Cabanatuans or Bataan Death Marches!

[Lowpe]

Great first attack!

Boy, you are really going to grab the victory points here! If the Allies lose all that, my goodness will that put a crimp in their ability to threaten multiple fronts.

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Great first attack!

Boy, you are really going to grab the victory points here! If the Allies lose all that, my goodness will that put a crimp in their ability to threaten multiple fronts.

Damned STRAIGHT BABY!

Here is an actual screenshot of the losses from the assault:

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: obvert

Nice! Great to lower the forts.

I've forgotten, do you have a division or tow you can rotate in? Looks like at least one of yours (38th) needs extensive rest.

This is a good result for the first attack here. For the casualties, how many squads did each side lose? Hard to tell from casualty numbers what the real story is here.

You've been pretty patient and methodical with this situation, which I think has been a big plus. It didn't matter how long it took, and in fact he even lost a few more aircraft after he started to get a bit frantic and tried to get one last desperate hold on the place. Dan's very good at spinning results into some kind of advantage, but it's going to be hard to make yarn out of losing eight full divisions and a whole sack of other stuff in 43 with nothing to show for it.

How is Medan's oil doing with repairs, by the way? You will need all you can get.

Guys: It really helps with morale to see all of you dialed in and tossing in your thoughts with developments and activities. Just wanted to say a quick thanks.

Regarding additional troops:
1. I have THREE Infantry Divisions set to rotate. The freshly unloaded full strength 116th and 4th ID have departed Langsa and are a hex up from that base. They'll arrive in Sabang in about seven days.

2. The 48th got beat-up pretty good a while back and it is now at an AV of over 340. Will let it go another week and then bring it north.

3. The attack above clearly showed that I brought no artillery to the fight. The hex limits had me convinced that there wasn't any room for it. Now, however, at Sabang I do have room. There are seven Artillery units waiting at Rangoon. Have ordered AKs to that base for a pickup. They might not arrive until the fight is done but why not grab them?

PLANS:
1. I've disbanded my BCs for the first time in two months. SYS Damage finally got over 10 on two of the Kongos and several Escorts. They've had three days of R&R and will get one more before going back into action.

2. Yamato isn't fully repaired from her combat damage. I pulled the BB out of the shipyard when SYS was fully repaired. There is still 22 FLOT Damage. Disband her for a few days as her SYS went to 2 and I don't want to tinker with 'bigger' issues.

3. Kido Butai is nearly at Yokohoma and Tokyo. I truly don't think ANY of those CVs have been home since the war started. Everyone gets a few days of R&R. Will allow upgrades on 2/3 of the CVs and move the rest to Saipan.


Medan's OIL is nearly 35 and I plan to repair to 50 presently. Once the campaign concludes I shall work to fully repair the centers. Have managed to keep up with production of both fuel and oil while this mess has been going. Just got done converting about 12-16 AK into TK to help with moving and transport.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Great first attack!

Boy, you are really going to grab the victory points here! If the Allies lose all that, my goodness will that put a crimp in their ability to threaten multiple fronts.

Well, the American divisions should be fairly quick to rebuild. (three, maybe four months) with little trouble. Indian and Australian can be rebuilt if you are a little creative in breaking down smaller units. I doubt the British division will ever get rebuilt. It is a big hit for Dan but not the end of the world. All other units are really no problem for the Allies to quickly rebuild. Sinking six carriers would have been a lot more significant. [;)] It has always been my contention as an Allied player that the Allies can recover from just about any early war disaster so long as they do not screw up and lose the carriers. It does limit his options in this theater for some time. I would call this contest a draw so far. Neither side had delivered a significant body blow. Been fun to watch so far.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Great first attack!

Boy, you are really going to grab the victory points here! If the Allies lose all that, my goodness will that put a crimp in their ability to threaten multiple fronts.

Well, the American divisions should be fairly quick to rebuild. (three, maybe four months) with little trouble. Indian and Australian can be rebuilt if you are a little creative in breaking down smaller units. I doubt the British division will ever get rebuilt. It is a big hit for Dan but not the end of the world. All other units are really no problem for the Allies to quickly rebuild. Sinking six carriers would have been a lot more significant. [;)] It has always been my contention as an Allied player that the Allies can recover from just about any early war disaster so long as they do not screw up and lose the carriers. It does limit his options in this theater for some time. I would call this contest a draw so far. Neither side had delivered a significant body blow. Been fun to watch so far.

A bigger loss is the experience. All of those units (except Marine) start with very average experience and it takes a grinding campaign to build them up. The Allies need grinding campaigns for this very purpose. He will be resetting the experience on what should now be some solid divisions. Still, 1943-44 Allied divisions are so much stronger than Japanese. He should be OK by the end of the year. Unless he loses another big one....

[Lowpe]

I agree, that in three months or so the Allies will be good to go again...but that is three months gained, time John should put to good use.

Every JFB would love wiping out all those troops in 43...the VP boost will help in 45 immensely.

But the battle isn't over yet. Close, but no cigar yet.

[kjnoel]

Is it really so easy to shrug off the US losses?

There are 4 divisions in Sabang which [full strength] is something like 1000 rifle squads. The US Army gets 80 squads a month, so 960 a year. To rebuild these units will take a full year of replacements (not time, just squads). That is one huge bite out of the US war effort!

Am I missing something?

[Capt. Harlock]

There are 4 divisions in Sabang which [full strength] is something like 1000 rifle squads. The US Army gets 80 squads a month, so 960 a year. To rebuild these units will take a full year of replacements (not time, just squads). That is one huge bite out of the US war effort!

Am I missing something?

Possibly, yes. Are all 4 divisions U.S. Army, or are there units which can draw on other pools?

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

I agree, that in three months or so the Allies will be good to go again...but that is three months gained, time John should put to good use.

Every JFB would love wiping out all those troops in 43...the VP boost will help in 45 immensely.

But the battle isn't over yet. Close, but no cigar yet.

I am figuring roughly 2-3 weeks to finish this campaign in Sumatra. The problem is going to be those troops in the Jungle where the 1st Marine ID is. He has moved most of his support troops to the hex between the marines and Sabang. They will be easy to drive out/surrender. Sabang will get hit again in two days time...

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Great first attack!

Boy, you are really going to grab the victory points here! If the Allies lose all that, my goodness will that put a crimp in their ability to threaten multiple fronts.

Well, the American divisions should be fairly quick to rebuild. (three, maybe four months) with little trouble. Indian and Australian can be rebuilt if you are a little creative in breaking down smaller units. I doubt the British division will ever get rebuilt. It is a big hit for Dan but not the end of the world. All other units are really no problem for the Allies to quickly rebuild. Sinking six carriers would have been a lot more significant. [;)] It has always been my contention as an Allied player that the Allies can recover from just about any early war disaster so long as they do not screw up and lose the carriers. It does limit his options in this theater for some time. I would call this contest a draw so far. Neither side had delivered a significant body blow. Been fun to watch so far.

I think this is bigger than just buy back and refill, and the VPs gained don't go away. The experience is a big factor, the time it will take even if he gets to buy them back soon, and the PPs themselves. You only get so many.

The Allies still own one hex in addition to Sabang. Could the IJ move out of that one once Sabang is about to fall and let the Allies have a retreat path? The question is, without another base on the island would they retreat? If they did they could sit there for a good while.

As kjnoel points out too, it's a lot of squads, plus devices that will be even harder to fill as many of the regiments and smaller units don't have a lot of those devices in numbers.

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

There are 4 divisions in Sabang which [full strength] is something like 1000 rifle squads. The US Army gets 80 squads a month, so 960 a year. To rebuild these units will take a full year of replacements (not time, just squads). That is one huge bite out of the US war effort!

Am I missing something?

Possibly, yes. Are all 4 divisions U.S. Army, or are there units which can draw on other pools?

We have the 1st Marine Div and two Marine Regiments, 2 US Army ID and 3-4 Ind Reg, the 20th Indian Division, and 18th British ID.