I've Made a Huge Mistake - Japan Focus Pacific

[Peever]

Despite my lack of patience for doing PBEM games I’ve decided to try again after finding out an uncle of mine owns WitP after a Memorial Day family get together. He has only had the game since last December and only played Allies against the AI. I’ve been playing around with Japan this year to actually learn how to play them but have not gone beyond March 1942 so we’ll both be going into this game pretty green for our respective sides. To make things crazier we will be playing the Focus Pacific mod with all its new toys and active Russians.

Settings/House Rules:
-Suggested settings for Focus Pacific scenario 71

China: Our goal with China is to keep it close in terms of outcome and somewhat historical though in this fantasy scenario that might not be possible. When we were thinking about doing a stock game we wanted to keep it back and forth sort of like North Africa. We would like to keep the tempo slow in China to reflect the logistical complexities of trying to capture and more importantly control such a huge underdeveloped country. This may be harder to do in this mod with all the extra troops but we’ll try our best and make changes when needed.

Russia: Russia is active but not at war on the first turn. To paraphrase Marshall, “ If hostility cannot be avoided the Soviet Union desires that Japan commit the first overt act.” Russia cannot attack by any means nor launch any ships until Japan attacks first (most likely in the first or second turn). Russia maintains a “Europe First” policy; no offensive operations beyond the starting boundaries until the Germans have been stopped in Europe (right now we are thinking November/December 1942). Russian policy at the outset of the war is hold at all costs and defend key cities until the last man.

Japanese goals:
Capture Sakhalin, Vladivostok, and the resource areas of Russia’s Pacific cost. Take the DEI, push into Burma, and down through the Solomon Islands in a somewhat historical fashion. My primary goal will simply keep the economy afloat to get into 1943. In my practice games I’ve found myself to be far too conservative and slow on the offensive as Japan so that will be my big hurdle. I’m so used to my standard Sir Robin strategy from all my time playing as the Allies that the idea of a big grand offensive in December 1941 seems insane.

[Peever]

He is the strategic map outlining my goals at the onset as far as conquests though this could/will change once I actually get into the game and a better grasp of all the new toys Japan has to play with.




In the North the first order of business is to cut off Vladivostok and capture Sakhalin.

[paradigmblue]

ORIGINAL: Peever

He is the strategic map outlining my goals at the onset as far as conquests though this could/will change once I actually get into the game and a better grasp of all the new toys Japan has to play with.
In the North the first order of business is to cut off Vladivostok and capture Sakhalin.

Keep in mind that Vladivostok and the bases directly around it are quite tough. It may be easier to cut off Vladivostok by cutting the rail line a bit further North. Cut the rail line at a hex that has good defensive value but no defenders - a non base hex is going to be better for this - where you can dig in. That will prevent him from moving reinforcements South.

Use your Zeroes aggressively to sweep his antiquated fighters out of the sky, and then bomb his airfields and then his industry. Keep in mind that Harbin, which is a key industry center for Japan, is within easy bombing reach for the Soviets, so be sure to keep a solid CAP above this hex.

The Soviets have an enormous amount of artillery in the immediate vicinity of Vladivostok, but they are quite vulnerable elsewhere. I'm just worried that if you charge straight into those guns and force concentrations that you'll wind up with a bloody nose.

Soviet Subs activate at Vladivostok on the 1st/2nd turn. Be sure to bomb that port hex if you see ships anchored there.

---

What are you doing for a first turn strike? In my testing experience with Focus Pacific, going after Manilla with the KB first turn yields better results than Pearl, and places the KB where it can support your operations in the DEI. This also makes the KB available to deal with Singapore, which fields Swordfish that can put the hurt on your amphibious invasions if you don't properly protect them. Sand-box your first turn a few times to see what works best for you and your plan.

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: paradigmblue
I'm just worried that if you charge straight into those guns and force concentrations that you'll wind up with a bloody nose.

+1
Don't go there OP. Soviet southern army is massive, you won't be able to root them out of their bases around Vlad even with all Manchukuo/China armies combined. Best course is to kick Soviets around in center/north areas while building defences in the south , then slowly starve out Vlad pocket using your air dominance. They still can give you quite a headache if them decide to attack.
I would also suggest skimming through Rader's "Taming the bear" AAR

[Peever]

When I was playing around with the beta version back in March I sent KB to Pearl but thought it was a mistake because of all the extra Allied assets that the Brits/Americans/ and French have near the South China Sea. So KB will not sail to Hawaii. I know in stock games hitting Pearl to destroy air assets such as bomber and patrol planes can be just as important than the ships since Allied air assets are so limited at the start of the war. The fact that he will have all those planes to send South to start patrols right from the get go has me a little worried about future expansions into the Southwest Pacific but making trade offs is part of strategy. Even hitting Pearl to destroy the aircraft won't do as much in this scenario since the French start out with plenty of planes to patrol the convoy zones right from the start so that means any strike on Pearl is even further reduced.

For attacking the Soviets the pre-plan I made was based off a quick look of the map and some of the starting forces. It will take some time to organize everything on the Asian main land to decided what to send to China, Russia, or the Pacific. The Soviet subs has me nervous too since I'm not sure of their effectiveness. During my testing to get a grasp of the Japanese economy and convoy shipping I didn't have to worry about subs at the start of the war and was free to spend a few days running convoys around the Home Islands without any escorts before the US subs arrived from Pearl. Now that I have Russian subs to deal with....yuck. That's why I wanted to get Vladivostok ASAP, to take out their primary base.

[paradigmblue]

ORIGINAL: Peever
The Soviet subs has me nervous too since I'm not sure of their effectiveness.

The Soviet subs are honestly pretty bad, and you have sub chaser assets stationed at bases around the Sea of Japan. Just make sure you escort your convoys and put up some air search and air ASW and you'll be fine.

[Peever]

The War Starts
In the early morning hours of Dec 7 Hawaii time Pearl Harbor is rocked by an explosion aboard the battleship Maryland.




In the North Japan launches a small raid attack against the Russian port of Vladivostok. While I’m pleased to have done damage to the subs there were no other attacks against Russian airfields nor any other bases.
Allied Ships
SS ShCh-106, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
SS ShCh-121, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
SS ShCh-101, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
SS ShCh-102, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
SS ShCh-104, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
SS ShCh-122, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
SS ShCh-108, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS ShCh-139, Bomb hits 1
SS ShCh-105, Bomb hits 1
Port hits 7

Across the Philippines Japanese air and naval forces have struck heavy blows across the airfields of Clark Field and Iba. Many allied planes were damaged on the ground and the runways took quite a beating. Oh no doubt they’ll still be able to put planes in the air tomorrow but nowhere near the amount they need to stop the waves of bombers we will send to them.

At the port of Manila the primary focus was on the harbor to destroy the sub pens.



Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 95 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 96
A6M2-N Rufe x 6
B5N2 Kate x 162
D3A1 Val x 144

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged
D3A1 Val: 5 damaged
D3A1 Val: 2 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
PBY-4 Catalina: 29 damaged
PBY-4 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40E Warhawk: 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed on ground
SOC-1 Seagull: 3 damaged
SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed on ground
LB-30 Liberator: 17 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
AS Holland, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Sturgeon, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Pillsbury, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Sailfish, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
SS Swordfish, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Saury, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Stingray, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Peary, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS S-37, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 1
xAKL Don Jose, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS Porpoise, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Pike, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Pickerel, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AV Langley, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Searaven, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
PT Q-111, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
PT-34, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Skipjack, Bomb hits 1
SS Shark, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
PT Q-112, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Rochambeau, Bomb hits 1
SS S-40, Bomb hits 1
SS Seawolf, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
PT-32, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Compagnia Filipinas, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Tarpon, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Yu Sang, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
SS Sargo, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAP Neptuna, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Seal, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL Bisayas, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Corregidor, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
33 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

KB currently sits on the east side of Luzon out of the way of any subs or surface ships (I hope) and will strike Manila again as well as any surface ships that try to run. A Japanese battle fleet is also on the way to sail into the area to hunt for the Allied surface groups that are known to be in the area. In the southern islands Davao was hit and two AKLs and a AVD are on fire with heavy damage.

Guam, Wake, Rabaul, Hong Kong, and Rangoon were also hit by air forces, but without a doubt Rabaul was the surprise. The first raid that went in decimated by Buffalos.

Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 27

Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 16 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 damaged
Hudson I: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 14

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
9 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.26 Sqn RAAF with F2A-3 Buffalo (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 10 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 117 minutes

Subsequent attacks fared much better and destroyed some planes on the ground but the Allies are in a much better position than I thought.

The French port of Kwanchowan was also hit by several raids. Here are the result of the first attack:
Morning Air attack on Kwangchowan , at 73,60

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 17
G4M1 Betty x 18
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 36
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 25

Allied aircraft
Morane MS410 x 27
Breguet Br697 x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Morane MS410: 27 damaged
Morane MS410: 5 destroyed on ground
Breguet Br697: 9 damaged
Breguet Br697: 3 destroyed on ground
Breguet 514 Bizerte: 1 destroyed on ground
Dewoitine HD-780: 1 destroyed on ground
Glen 167F: 3 destroyed on ground
Latecoere 298: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
PG D'Iberville, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AV Gauchet, Bomb hits 3, on fire
DD Desaix, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Le Casque, Bomb hits 1

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 27
Port hits 2
Port fuel hits 1

Once KB has struck another blow or two in the Philippines it might be wise to swing it around this way. Needless to say this French port has to be knocked out soon. I have some ground troops near Hanoi that are marching that way but there is a Chinese base they need to capture first.

In Malaya troops are on their way to land on the northern part and march down the peninsula, no Mersing gambit for me. I have a feeling Singapore could be a tough nut to crack. At the moment there are a few divisions planning to march to Rangoon but perhaps I should delay any attack into Burma until Malaya is conquered and gains have been made in the DEI? How hard and where will the Allies defend in the DEI?

I can’t remember if I have ever played a game without a Pearl Harbor attack and I know my opponent never has. He is quite upset that I didn’t go sink his obsolete battleships and instead am sinking his subs (even with the dud torpedoes they are the main offensive weapon the US has at the start). Those US battleships have been spared, for now, so when and where will they appear? I am not going to look at the Allied side of this scenario (unless I have to check on a possible bug or something) so I don’t know the full extent of the Allied position in the South Pacific. I do know from the scenario description and from looking at the beta version months ago that there is a nice sized French deployment around Tahiti. I must assume that the US base supply position is not too far off from stock so those battleships won’t be running wild just yet since there most likely won’t be the fuel stores at those small bases in the South Pacific.

[Peever]

Day 2

Russian Front:
Surprise! Winter in Russia is cold and snowy! Storms canceled most air ops. One raid did get to the air to fly to Vladivostok where they meet heavy fighter cover. The Russians have a lot of air assets but low quality, training, and the weather should keep their power low for now.

Malaya/Burma:
Landings continue and some more air raids on the northern bases. Fighter cover over Rangoon is a lot stronger. My limited raid had most of the bombers shot down.

China:
Another successful strike against the French at Kwangchowan. Two days of concentrated strikes on the airfield seems to have hindered their ability to put up resistance. Hong Kong is proving to be annoying with the Hurricanes present there.

Philippines:
Luzon seems to have been neutralized at this point. Iba, Clark Field, and Manila air fields have been hit hard and there were limited CAP that was no threat. The port at Manila was struck again and more ships and subs were sunk. Nearly all the subs started at Manila have now been suck and only a handful have managed to get out to sea.

The southern part of the Philippines have hit back hard. The Allies start with a much larger air force dispersed among the islands there and they hit back at “Mini KB”.


Three of the four carriers were hit and now have to withdraw.


I still have an “Extra Mini KB” that has a CVL and CVE scouting for ships near the Moluccas but I know the US has some CVL’s around there too. My carriers were able to sink a number of transports that were fleeing the Philippines. I had a strike force sailing to the southern Philippines but may have to hold them back due to the stronger USN air presence.

Now to get tracker working and really dig into the economy and revise air frame / engine planning.

[Peever]

Econ Update 1: 10-Dec-1941

We have been having a discussion about the state of the Japanese economy in the Focus Pacific thread because it starts out running really hot. Everybody in Japan is seems to be living the life of luxury.

A typical Japanese home circa December 1941:




The home islands need a massive 239,000 resources PER DAY to have all industry running at full capacity (edit: I could clarify that this is the current daily deficit of resources). Woof! Time to conquer the world boys. If everyone is going to continue to wipe themselves with gold-leaf toilet paper we’re going to need a lot more resources.

A Shot of the Industry chart:


The air industry will need tweaking too. As you can see there is currently is a small engine deficit. However first we need to change over some factories.




The first thing to do will be to cease production of the B5N1 Kate and switch all production over to the B5N 2. For the IJA I’m thinking of streamlining things down in terms of fighters currently in production. Send Nate packing and switch all those lines to the Ki-43-Ic Oscar. Also going to need to beef up production of twin engine bombers. They’ve been taking a beating thanks to stronger than expected Allied fighter coverage.
Building the G5N2 Liz is looking tempting. A nice big four engine bomber would really help against the Soviets and for hitting big targets in the South Pacific.


The problem of course is the expense. It uses 4 Ha-32 engines, which are already running at a deficit, and will take months to get frames and engines up into production, and even then how many squadrons could I actually field?

I have about 25 days left of resources so it's time to get anything that floats out to sea and start sucking Asia dry.

[paradigmblue]

ORIGINAL: Peever

The home islands need a massive 239,000 resources PER DAY to have all industry running at full capacity (edit: I could clarify that this is the current daily deficit of resources). Woof! Time to conquer the world boys. If everyone is going to continue to wipe themselves with gold-leaf toilet paper we’re going to need a lot more resources.

Currently you're producing a huge amount of supplies a turn - probably more than you need. What if you turned about 50% of your Light Industry off? You'd lose about 10,000 supplies/turn, but save 150,000 resources.

[BillBrown]

I don't think you can turn off LI, only HI.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: paradigmblue

Currently you're producing a huge amount of supplies a turn - probably more than you need. What if you turned about 50% of your Light Industry off? You'd lose about 10,000 supplies/turn, but save 150,000 resources.

As Japan, you should never turn off, or reduce, your supply producing capability...ever. You can't fight or run your war effort without it. The only exception being if you require fuel you might, in extreme circumstances, wish to turn off your HI and the corresponding supply generation, to conserve fuel for naval operations near the end. Increase transport capacity to meet the resource deficit, because the problem isn't going to go away and if you fail to get the required resources to the Home islands, you'll run out of supply sooner than later.

And BillB is right, LI can't be turned off.

[savelius2]

The Liz and Rita are neat, and I'd love to see then in action. They're expensive and nowhere near as durable as the Allied heavy bombers, which makes them risky to use. Especially when the allies have P-50s with their high flight ceiling and Speed right away. Do you have any idea how many squadrons you could field with them? If it's a reasonable number it might be worth looking into, after all, youre only limited by your industry and it would be interesting if you could mass enough of them to really shut down a region with bombing like the allies can.

[Peever]

A Night of Action

December 10 finally sees some surface action. First up was two screening forces clashing in the southern Philippines.


Night Time Surface Combat, near Jolo at 74,93, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Nagara, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Yukikaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Yamakaze
DD Kawakaze
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze, Shell hits 1
DD Shiokaze

Allied Ships
CA Houston
DD Barker, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Paul Jones, Shell hits 1
DD Mayrant, Shell hits 2
DD Trippe, Shell hits 1
CL Dallas, Shell hits 1

A pretty light skirmish. There are a lot more Dutch ships in this scenario including capital ships. The Japanese have the carrier advantage in this area though, especially since I did not attack Pearl Harbor. With the “Mini KB” having to withdraw due to damage and “KB Prime” running up to Formosa to rearm there is now an opportunity for the Allies to sail their surface tasks forces around and raid bases or shipping lanes.

British Destroyers

The strike force intended to destroy ships escaping Manila has encountered some destroyers. These are the ones that start in Hong Kong. Damn. Now the Allies know what I have coming into the area.


Night Time Surface Combat, near Balabac at 71,86, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Yamato
CA Takao
CA Atago
CL Jintsu
DD Asashio
DD Oshio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio
DD Akatsuki
DD Hibiki

Allied Ships
DD Scout
DD Thanet
DD Thracian, Shell hits 2, heavy fires

What a shameful display! Letting the enemy get away to report our position and full knowledge of our strength.

Despite their cover blown the strike force continues on and the following morning…

Hello!

Looks like the ships I didn’t sink in Manila back on the 7th have been found. Now restore your honor and actually hit the targets this time.




Much better!
Day Time Surface Combat, near Tawi Tawi at 72,88, Range 22,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Yamato
CA Takao
CA Atago
CL Jintsu
DD Asashio
DD Oshio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio
DD Akatsuki
DD Hibiki

Allied Ships
DD John D. Ford, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
DD Pope, Shell hits 16, and is sunk
PG Isabel, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
PG Asheville, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
PG Tulsa, Shell hits 17, and is sunk
AS Otus, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
AM Tanager, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
AM Quail, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
AM Lark, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
AM Whippoorwill, Shell hits 12, and is sunk
AO Pecos, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
TK Mindanao, Shell hits 12, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP President Madison, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Sagoland, Shell hits 18, and is sunk
xAKL Paz, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAKL Anakan, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAK Capillo, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
xAK Ethel Edwards, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAKL Palawan, Shell hits 20, and is sunk
xAKL Princess of Negros, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Si Kiang, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Tantalus, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

The entire enemy fleet sunk and not a sractch on our ships. I WOULD EXPECT NOTHING LESS WHEN FIGHTING A BUNCH OF MERCHANTS! Now comes the hard part. How the heck do I rearm the Yamato without having to sail back to Japan? I need some replenishment task forces sailing a few days behind the Yamato in all honesty.

Well now the Allies know that even if my carriers may not be in the area the Japanese Navy is ever present.

The French Clown Car

When the war opened the French base of Kwangchowan was bombed heavily. Lots of planes were destroyed and the airfield damaged. Things were quiet. Nice. I sent in some more planes to continue a harassment raid and they were shot to pieces.
Morning Air attack on Kwangchowan , at 73,60

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 32
G4M1 Betty x 16

Allied aircraft
Morane MS410 x 35
Breguet Br697 x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 9 destroyed, 2 damaged

No Allied losses

Where did these French planes come from? Intelligence reports the French are receiving replacements for the Allied base of Shangri-La. No such place can be found on any map though. Top men have been assigned to scour China for this place. Every day more and more French planes continue to appear and now they have gotten so bold as to strike out from their base.



Noooo! That was our shipment of Hot Pants from Vietnam! So despite bombing the airfields the French are still able to attack because they went and took the wheels off the planes and replaced them with pontoons. How can I bomb an airfield made of water? Can I send in a bunch of mine layers to the port and stop the planes from taking off that way?! (As far as I know float planes do not hit mines. Add that to the War in the Pacific 2 feature wishlist.) For now I’ll have to settle for some night bombing until I can take out that darn base.

[Peever]

ORIGINAL: savelius2

The Liz and Rita are neat, and I'd love to see then in action. They're expensive and nowhere near as durable as the Allied heavy bombers, which makes them risky to use. Especially when the allies have P-50s with their high flight ceiling and Speed right away. Do you have any idea how many squadrons you could field with them? If it's a reasonable number it might be worth looking into, after all, youre only limited by your industry and it would be interesting if you could mass enough of them to really shut down a region with bombing like the allies can.

I have to find a way to build some of them because I want to see them in action too. I don't have the knowledge to know how many I could realistically field. I guess it depends on how aggressive I want to expand the air production or make cuts in other areas. Japan doesn't start with any Liz factories so I'll be starting from scratch having to wait for factories to get online and then build up enough numbers to get them out there. By late summer '42 I suppose I could have a decent number.

Would I have enough to shutdown a region? No clue. I doubt it. An aggressive Japanese player that actually knows what they are doing could be dangerous with them I bet. By the time Japan has built up significant quantities I imagine it would be late '42 or in '43. Just in time for the Allies to start getting next generation fighters to take them on.

[Peever]

Sit Rep 11-Dec-1941

Wake Island
The invasion of Wake Island was nearly called off after the Pearl Harbor strike was canceled in favor of hitting the Philippines. There are no carriers present to assist in the operation and the United States could respond with the full might of an undamaged Navy. The invasion went forth because if the US Navy does respond then I’ll know where they are and it will keep them busy and away from more important areas.
Resistance on the island appears to be far more than PAN AM employees.

Ground combat at Wake Island (136,98)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 3051 troops, 31 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 107

Defending force 4645 troops, 84 guns, 40 vehicles, Assault Value = 63

Japanese adjusted assault: 0

Allied adjusted defense: 85

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 99 (fort level 2)

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

Japanese ground losses:
1375 casualties reported
Squads: 47 destroyed, 84 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 13 (8 destroyed, 5 disabled)

At this time the Japanese troops on the island are on their own. Either they take the base or die. I’m not committing any more troops. I’ll keep bombing the island but I don’t have any more assets to offer them.

Marshall/Gilbert Islands
Makin atoll invasion was scrubbed because I don’t have the time or patience to play with some worthless dot base right now. Tarawa was taken but needs some ENG with aviation support before a potential push to Baker Island. Ships are on their way to capture Nauru and Ocean Islands.



Right now these islands are ripe for an Allied raid. I have some sub and air assets for defense but a strong raid with all the American carriers and some battleships could do some damage and nothing I can do about it.

Southeast Pacific
Have just landed unopposed at Kaveing. Some ENG on their way to Manus to set up another airfield. At Truk troops are prepping for the invasion of Rabaul. I’ll shift some small carriers and more surface forces to the invasion of New Britain. Subs are on their way to screen for Aussie naval units and potential USN ships that may try to interdict naval invasion. Also the possibility of seeing some French naval assets in the region too.

Celebes Sea


Action heating up here. Some ENG have just taken Talaud-Eilanden to build a base for float planes and small bombers. There are some torpedo bombers at Babeldaob that will go here to hit any Dutch/USN ships that may come up from the South.
Another small force is speeding to Jolo to establish another airfield in preparation for future invasions.
There are a number of airfields scattered throughout the many islands of the Philippines. The largest concentration seems to be at Cebu right now. That’s where the strike that hurt “Mini” KB came from. Troops are prepping for and invasion of Davo right now at Babeldaob.
In Sarawak Miri has just fallen, and troops are sailing for Brunei too. I would like to send some fleets around North Borneo to hit Tarakan but the US air presence in the Sulu Sea could hurt them without proper air cover. I have engaged with some US surface ships, the Boise has not been spotted. The Dutch may show up soon in this area. Force Z could also appear here too. Japanese air power should keep Allied surface ships out of the South China Sea.

Malaya
Continuing to land troops and build up air bases to start sending fighters towards Singapore. Troops are marching to Georgetown right now. The Brits have strong fighter coverage over Singapore, but they are not launch any attack from there. It’s a little too quiet I think. Either they are in a full Sir Robin and all the bombers have left, or more likely they are just training up pilots to have better success in future attacks.

Luzon


Landings have started on northern Luzon. The Batan Island invasion was scrubbed in favor of sending more ENG to Aparri. Continuing to hammer the air bases to keep the runways damaged and CAP down. Japanese troops have just reached the outskirts of Hong Kong. The city will be assaulted shortly. Then they can go down the road to take out Kwangchowan.

China
Moving troop around right now. No major actions yet.

Russia

The Korean air force is being repositioned to better attack along this front for now. Still moving troops around in preperations for ground offensives. Will be sending out some ground forces to attack the forts along the border and keep them busy and possibly try to draw out some Russians. Other troops are being sent up further to the north to launch the main attack and cut the rail line. Right now the goal is to keep the Russians into thinking the attack with be in this area. The weather of course sucks hampering air sweeps.

[Peever]

Recent Activity

Russian subs active in Sea of Japan and have sunk several xAKs. I have ships running all over the place and not all have escorts as I consolidate and arrange the naval forces around Japan.


Philippines


-P-50 Skyrockets in skies over Luzon. They will prove to be too little too late. Having KB Prime attack Luzon on December 7th combined with air forces from Formosa have severely damaged the air fields. The other fighters were mostly destroyed on the ground with Allied bombers. The heavy bombers that survived have not done any return damage. There have been several attacks by 4E bombers against ships but not a single hit. The Japanese have air superiority over the northern Philippines.

-Jolo Invasion force unloaded and secured Jolo however the entire transport fleet was wiped out by US cruisers

-Troops land at Legaspi to march up to Manila from the south. The CVE Iki, providing air cover, was sunk by planes from Cebu. KB Prime now on the way to wipe out Cebu airfield.


Hong Kong under siege. Looks like a nice mix of British, Canadian, and even Indian troops defending the city.

Ground combat at Hong Kong (77,61)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 51222 troops, 587 guns, 328 vehicles, Assault Value = 1524

Defending force 14290 troops, 315 guns, 150 vehicles, Assault Value = 244

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 1098

Allied adjusted defense: 849

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
644 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 32 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 44 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1172 casualties reported
Squads: 45 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 17 (11 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Assaulting units:
19th Ind. Engineer Regiment
104th Division
66th Infantry Regiment
300th Division
38th Division
20th Ind. Engineer Regiment
2nd RF Gun Battalion
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
5th RF Gun Battalion
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion

Defending units:
Rifles of Canada Battalion
Kowloon Brigade
1st Middlesex Battalion
Winnipeg Grenadiers Battalion
2nd Royal Scots Battalion
102nd RN Base Force
Hong Kong Fortress

Guam Invasion: Allies have some extra units to make things a little harder. The 44th Div better be able to take it soon.

Ground combat at Guam (106,95)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12410 troops, 120 guns, 32 vehicles, Assault Value = 408

Defending force 6038 troops, 197 guns, 147 vehicles, Assault Value = 87

Japanese adjusted assault: 228

Allied adjusted defense: 139

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
683 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Allied ground losses:
453 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 39 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 17 (1 destroyed, 16 disabled)

Assaulting units:
44th Infantry Division
15th Base Force

Defending units:
Guam USN Base Force
Guam Coast AA Regiment
Guam Defense Battalion

-Sub hits Chicago outside of Pearl Harbor. Ships are on the move.

Sub attack near Pearl Harbor at 181,106

Japanese Ships
SS I-17

Allied Ships
CA Chicago, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
CL St. Louis
DD Mugford
DD Lamson
DD Gridley

SS I-17 launches 6 torpedoes at CA Chicago
DD Lamson fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Gridley fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Lamson fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Lamson fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Lamson fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Lamson fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


-Nauru Island taken

[1EyedJacks]

Just poking my head in to have a look @ how your game is going... Maybe see if I can steal - um - I mean borrow ideas/intel/etc. from your game.

So it looks like the allies have plenty of 4E bombers... What kind of CAP do you plan to maintain over KB Prime?

[ny59giants]

Gilbert Islands - While not on the 'must capture" list of bases, Tabiteuea is the key to this island group, IMO. Its potential size and high stacking limits make it ideal as a jumping off point for the Allied to take the rest of the Gilberts and eventually move on to the Marshalls.

Air HQs - When playing Japan, I plan around where I want these assets to go to control the seas around them. Two key bases for this are Koepang on Timor and then Denpasar off SE corner of Java (or an actual base in the SE part of Java). Add in Oosthaven or Palembang and Java is isolated. The other base I like to capture early is Horn Island to close off the DEI from the east. Getting these bases allows Ms Betty and Ms Nell to limit Allied naval access while you backfill the rest of the DEI/SRA.

Soerabaja - Outside of Singapore, this is the one base the Allied can reload their big guns of PoW and Repulse. I use it to quickly repair my subs. So, I would strongly suggest that getting into a position with your CV/CVL/CVEs to hit the port hard. Gen Patton is about to find out in our RHS game! [;)]

[Peever]

ORIGINAL: 1EyedJacks

Just poking my head in to have a look @ how your game is going... Maybe see if I can steal - um - I mean borrow ideas/intel/etc. from your game.

So it looks like the allies have plenty of 4E bombers... What kind of CAP do you plan to maintain over KB Prime?

I have been lucky with 4E bombers thus far. The Allied 4E bombers have done no damage to my shipping as I've been lucky enough to destroy a good portion of them at the start of the war. A few have started dropping bombs on bases but they've had little success there too.

For CAP I stagger patrols between at 12,15,17, & 20 thousand feet between 30-50% depending on where I am. You might need even more to deal with the P-50's the Allies get depending on how hard you were able to hit the airfields in Luzon in the first few days. The USN has a strong position scattered throughout the Philippines with a lot of Buffaloes and dive bombers to make life hard. As you go south you'll start running into a ton of Dutch fighters as well.

In KB Prime I use the CVL Ryukaku as as CAP & Patrol carrier. The Zeroes stay on a high CAP setting, 60-80 percent, and the Kates act as the eyes of the fleet with high search and ASW patrols.

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Gilbert Islands - While not on the 'must capture" list of bases, Tabiteuea is the key to this island group, IMO. Its potential size and high stacking limits make it ideal as a jumping off point for the Allied to take the rest of the Gilberts and eventually move on to the Marshalls.

Didn't even think of that base thanks for the tip. I've always found these islands a nuisance on both attack and defense. I don't want to send too many units there for defense just yet because I want the troops to advance in other areas, but then I may not have them in position and prepped when the Allies do attack there. I remember reading one AAR that was to "Strip the islands of everything and let the few defenders left live off coconuts and fish" (Was that one of John's games?).