See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
Maybe you should land some paras in that base in the middle of Borneo and see what happens ... [:D]
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
14 Jul 43
Battleships Kongo and Haruna, 2 cruisers, and 6 destroyers arrive at Denpassar. I had just moved 6 PT boats here yesterday. They engage, but the fight never gets closer than 9000 yards. 2 PT boats are destroyed. The enemy then bombards Denpassar, damaging about 20 planes but destroying only 4. Airbase damage is moderate. Walker is finally showing some attention here. I thought it would happen sooner. The bombardment doesn't accomplish anything really.
US carriers will leave Darwin and head to Timor, where loading for Kolaka is ongoing.
The 8 Fletchers to the south of Java are spotted well out into the ocean. I hope that it was just a lucky Emily, but I can't rule out carriers. The Fletchers will head south and retire to Exemouth. The task force they were looking for turned out to be the battleships that went to Denpassar, and are now at Soerbaja.
A cruiser task force is spotted at Balikpapan.
US troops will attack at Makassar today.
Battleships Kongo and Haruna, 2 cruisers, and 6 destroyers arrive at Denpassar. I had just moved 6 PT boats here yesterday. They engage, but the fight never gets closer than 9000 yards. 2 PT boats are destroyed. The enemy then bombards Denpassar, damaging about 20 planes but destroying only 4. Airbase damage is moderate. Walker is finally showing some attention here. I thought it would happen sooner. The bombardment doesn't accomplish anything really.
US carriers will leave Darwin and head to Timor, where loading for Kolaka is ongoing.
The 8 Fletchers to the south of Java are spotted well out into the ocean. I hope that it was just a lucky Emily, but I can't rule out carriers. The Fletchers will head south and retire to Exemouth. The task force they were looking for turned out to be the battleships that went to Denpassar, and are now at Soerbaja.
A cruiser task force is spotted at Balikpapan.
US troops will attack at Makassar today.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
15 Jul 43
Just recently didn't I say that I figured that Walker would start using his battleships?
Today, battleships Hiei and Kirishima and friends move to Denpassar. They engage 4 PT boats. The range closers to 8000 yards, so the PT boats didn't engage, but no hits were made by the Japanese either. Escorting destroyer Teruzuki then hit a mine. The Japanese then bombarded the base, damaging a bunch of planes, destroying about 6 planes, and causing other minor damage. The mined destroyer was showing smoke during the fight, so it took some damage from the mine, but nothing catastrophic.
Over at the clear terrain hex of Makassar, cruisers Aoba and Mogami, and 9 destroyers bombard Allied troops. 261 casualties and heavy disruption to the 41st Infantry Division. I won't be taking the base with these naval bombardments.
Just south of Makassar, RO-36 spots lone APD Parrott as it heads north, but misses with 2 torpedoes. Parrott has a fragment of a small unit on it, and is headed to one of the small Allied bases north of Makassar. It will unload today and hide in one of the tiny ports.
At Banjoewangi, at the tip of Java, my 4 PT boats at Denpassar decided to chase down Hiei and Kirishima, forcing another engagement. This fight in the daylight closes to 5000 yards, and one PT boat fires a torpedo at a destroyer and misses. 2 PT boats are sunk.
Near Kangean, sub Sunfish spots battleship Kongo and friends, fires 4 torpedoes at cruiser Haguro, and all miss.
Walker made a maximum air effort today at Makassar. Escorted bombers flew from Soerbaja and Manando. Some damage to my troops and more disruption.
At Mataram, ACM Obstructor and PC Sutlej just arrived. I have a minefield here that needs tending. Kates from Soerbaja, escorted by Zeros and Oscars, arrive, and fight about 10 Kittyhawks. A couple of planes are lost, the Kates drop torpedoes, but all miss.
Back at Makassar, Kongo and Haruna and escorts are spotted, with no CAP. First 27 SB2C-1C divebombers arrive, flying from Waingapoe. Kongo and cruiser Kako each take one hit, and Haruna takes 7 bomb hits, setting her on fire. Almost all bombs bounced. A couple of guns on Haruna were hit. Some of the bomb hits were 1000 pound bombs. Minor damage caused.
Then Beaufighter VIcs arrive, flying at wavetop level. Flak brings down a couple of planes, but the bombers do hit destroyer Shirakumo with one bomb, and the ship is on fire.
12 B-25Cs then bomb the battleships from 6000 feet, but all bombs miss.
In the afternoon, the Kates come back to Mataram, targeting the ACM and the PC again. This time, PC Sutlej his hit by 5 bombs (no torpedoes this time), and ACM Obstructor is missed with bombs.
Allied troops at Makassar are then bombarded by Haruna and Kongo, cruisers Kako and Haguro, and 5 destroyers. 590 casualties. The enemy ships remain at Makassar at the end of the day.
A very interesting day. Walker has finally shown up, and is using battleships to bombard. My Makassar invasion will not succeed if my troops keep getting bombarded. But they are not in danger of being defeated, and have plenty of supply with them. I have to admit that I'm a little bit happy to see Walker come out of hibernation here. His morale has to have gone up a bit with his bombardments today.
Now back to reality. Time to reduce his morale again.
Invasion shipping for Kolaka will rendezvous with 6 US carriers just north of Dili today. They will invade in 2 days. My carriers will be in a good position to support my troops at Makassar, but if Walker just bombards at night and leaves, he'll stay out of range. I am willing to move surface combatants to Makassar though.
Today some heavy squadrons at Dili will bomb Makassar's airfield. A squadron of F6Fs has moved to Mataram. Most of my planes have been pulled out of Denpassar, but I left my fighters there. Denpassar is showing its vulnerability to Walker now, with it being so close to Soerbaja. I knew this, and it has been part of the plan to get Walker to focus there. I will have to put up with some ugliness there for awhile while I go elsewhere.
And way on the other side of the world, I am doing a maximum air effort to hit Magwe. Sweepers will sweep from Chittagong. Medium bombers will hit Magwe's airfield, and many heavy bombers will hit the oil facilities there. This will be my first attack on Walker's oil. Our house rule is to have no strategic bombing until June 1943. I'd prefer to just capture the oil, like I will on Borneo, but that isn't going to happen in Burma anytime soon. There's about 50 fighters at Magwe. I expect good planes with ace pilots, but I hope to overwhelm them.
I'm moving some support ships from Darwin to Waingapoe and Lautem. Waingapoe will become my new submarine forward base. AKEs will go to Lautem to support the attacks on Kendari.
Just recently didn't I say that I figured that Walker would start using his battleships?
Today, battleships Hiei and Kirishima and friends move to Denpassar. They engage 4 PT boats. The range closers to 8000 yards, so the PT boats didn't engage, but no hits were made by the Japanese either. Escorting destroyer Teruzuki then hit a mine. The Japanese then bombarded the base, damaging a bunch of planes, destroying about 6 planes, and causing other minor damage. The mined destroyer was showing smoke during the fight, so it took some damage from the mine, but nothing catastrophic.
Over at the clear terrain hex of Makassar, cruisers Aoba and Mogami, and 9 destroyers bombard Allied troops. 261 casualties and heavy disruption to the 41st Infantry Division. I won't be taking the base with these naval bombardments.
Just south of Makassar, RO-36 spots lone APD Parrott as it heads north, but misses with 2 torpedoes. Parrott has a fragment of a small unit on it, and is headed to one of the small Allied bases north of Makassar. It will unload today and hide in one of the tiny ports.
At Banjoewangi, at the tip of Java, my 4 PT boats at Denpassar decided to chase down Hiei and Kirishima, forcing another engagement. This fight in the daylight closes to 5000 yards, and one PT boat fires a torpedo at a destroyer and misses. 2 PT boats are sunk.
Near Kangean, sub Sunfish spots battleship Kongo and friends, fires 4 torpedoes at cruiser Haguro, and all miss.
Walker made a maximum air effort today at Makassar. Escorted bombers flew from Soerbaja and Manando. Some damage to my troops and more disruption.
At Mataram, ACM Obstructor and PC Sutlej just arrived. I have a minefield here that needs tending. Kates from Soerbaja, escorted by Zeros and Oscars, arrive, and fight about 10 Kittyhawks. A couple of planes are lost, the Kates drop torpedoes, but all miss.
Back at Makassar, Kongo and Haruna and escorts are spotted, with no CAP. First 27 SB2C-1C divebombers arrive, flying from Waingapoe. Kongo and cruiser Kako each take one hit, and Haruna takes 7 bomb hits, setting her on fire. Almost all bombs bounced. A couple of guns on Haruna were hit. Some of the bomb hits were 1000 pound bombs. Minor damage caused.
Then Beaufighter VIcs arrive, flying at wavetop level. Flak brings down a couple of planes, but the bombers do hit destroyer Shirakumo with one bomb, and the ship is on fire.
12 B-25Cs then bomb the battleships from 6000 feet, but all bombs miss.
In the afternoon, the Kates come back to Mataram, targeting the ACM and the PC again. This time, PC Sutlej his hit by 5 bombs (no torpedoes this time), and ACM Obstructor is missed with bombs.
Allied troops at Makassar are then bombarded by Haruna and Kongo, cruisers Kako and Haguro, and 5 destroyers. 590 casualties. The enemy ships remain at Makassar at the end of the day.
A very interesting day. Walker has finally shown up, and is using battleships to bombard. My Makassar invasion will not succeed if my troops keep getting bombarded. But they are not in danger of being defeated, and have plenty of supply with them. I have to admit that I'm a little bit happy to see Walker come out of hibernation here. His morale has to have gone up a bit with his bombardments today.
Now back to reality. Time to reduce his morale again.
Invasion shipping for Kolaka will rendezvous with 6 US carriers just north of Dili today. They will invade in 2 days. My carriers will be in a good position to support my troops at Makassar, but if Walker just bombards at night and leaves, he'll stay out of range. I am willing to move surface combatants to Makassar though.
Today some heavy squadrons at Dili will bomb Makassar's airfield. A squadron of F6Fs has moved to Mataram. Most of my planes have been pulled out of Denpassar, but I left my fighters there. Denpassar is showing its vulnerability to Walker now, with it being so close to Soerbaja. I knew this, and it has been part of the plan to get Walker to focus there. I will have to put up with some ugliness there for awhile while I go elsewhere.
And way on the other side of the world, I am doing a maximum air effort to hit Magwe. Sweepers will sweep from Chittagong. Medium bombers will hit Magwe's airfield, and many heavy bombers will hit the oil facilities there. This will be my first attack on Walker's oil. Our house rule is to have no strategic bombing until June 1943. I'd prefer to just capture the oil, like I will on Borneo, but that isn't going to happen in Burma anytime soon. There's about 50 fighters at Magwe. I expect good planes with ace pilots, but I hope to overwhelm them.
I'm moving some support ships from Darwin to Waingapoe and Lautem. Waingapoe will become my new submarine forward base. AKEs will go to Lautem to support the attacks on Kendari.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
16 Jul 43
Sub Tullibee spots unescorted small xAKL Kamishima Maru just north of Namlea. The ship is already heavily damaged and is smoking. The captain of the sub elects not to engage. Later during the night, the captain changes his mind and torpedoes the ship, most certainly sinking it.
Near Victoria Point, sub Trusty spots a big AK task force, but is forced to submerge. I believe that the ships picked up troops from Rangoon.
Near Madjene, sub Saury spots the battleship Kongo task force, fires 4 torpedoes at cruiser Haguro, one hits, but its a dud. Kongo and friends pass through Madjene and find lone APD Parrott. Parrott is mercilessly pummelled with shells, and even torpedoed. The troops were offloaded first.
Near Leyte, sub Shark strayed into the shallows. I did set this patrol point on purpose, not wanting to always stay in deep water, and I paid the price. 3 E-boats found the sub and sank it. This is the 5th US sub sunk in the war: S-18, S-38, Greenling, Pike, and now Shark. I do try to be careful with them, most of the time.
Near Bataan, sub Hake spots a big tanker task force, but fires 2 torpedoes at a subchaser, and misses. It is interesting to note that Walker is now heavily escorting tankers. This task force of 4 spotted tankers had 6 subchasers and a destroyer with it. This is a big shift from just using one subchaser.
My big air attack on Magwe only partly materialized. P-40s swept, finding just an Oscar unit, and it was training. Medium and heavy bombers hit the airfield, causing moderate damage. Then the bulk of my sweepers arrived, finding nothing. None of my heavy bombers tasked with bombing oil flew. We try again.
33 Nells from Soerbaja flew to Makassar, unescorted, and bombed my tank battalion there. No hits. Probably an oversight by Walker, as this was the only air unit that bombed again today.
At Akyab, I had spotted a few cargo ships. 16 Beaufighters flew at wavetop height and attacked an xAK. 15 Oscars were on CAP, shooting down a few bombers. xAK Kizan Maru was bombed multiple times and is probably sunk. It was not loaded with men.
Heavy bombers hit Makassar's airfield.
Loading at Rennel Island continues for a reinforcing landing at Munda.
Kolaka invasion shipping will move to within 3 and 4 hexes of Kolaka. 6 US carriers support. Prince of Wales TF will join up. CV Victorious will remain south, and may join up tomorrow.
SigInt reports the 32 Div/A is headed to Singkawang, on the northwestern tip of Borneo.
Sub Tullibee spots unescorted small xAKL Kamishima Maru just north of Namlea. The ship is already heavily damaged and is smoking. The captain of the sub elects not to engage. Later during the night, the captain changes his mind and torpedoes the ship, most certainly sinking it.
Near Victoria Point, sub Trusty spots a big AK task force, but is forced to submerge. I believe that the ships picked up troops from Rangoon.
Near Madjene, sub Saury spots the battleship Kongo task force, fires 4 torpedoes at cruiser Haguro, one hits, but its a dud. Kongo and friends pass through Madjene and find lone APD Parrott. Parrott is mercilessly pummelled with shells, and even torpedoed. The troops were offloaded first.
Near Leyte, sub Shark strayed into the shallows. I did set this patrol point on purpose, not wanting to always stay in deep water, and I paid the price. 3 E-boats found the sub and sank it. This is the 5th US sub sunk in the war: S-18, S-38, Greenling, Pike, and now Shark. I do try to be careful with them, most of the time.
Near Bataan, sub Hake spots a big tanker task force, but fires 2 torpedoes at a subchaser, and misses. It is interesting to note that Walker is now heavily escorting tankers. This task force of 4 spotted tankers had 6 subchasers and a destroyer with it. This is a big shift from just using one subchaser.
My big air attack on Magwe only partly materialized. P-40s swept, finding just an Oscar unit, and it was training. Medium and heavy bombers hit the airfield, causing moderate damage. Then the bulk of my sweepers arrived, finding nothing. None of my heavy bombers tasked with bombing oil flew. We try again.
33 Nells from Soerbaja flew to Makassar, unescorted, and bombed my tank battalion there. No hits. Probably an oversight by Walker, as this was the only air unit that bombed again today.
At Akyab, I had spotted a few cargo ships. 16 Beaufighters flew at wavetop height and attacked an xAK. 15 Oscars were on CAP, shooting down a few bombers. xAK Kizan Maru was bombed multiple times and is probably sunk. It was not loaded with men.
Heavy bombers hit Makassar's airfield.
Loading at Rennel Island continues for a reinforcing landing at Munda.
Kolaka invasion shipping will move to within 3 and 4 hexes of Kolaka. 6 US carriers support. Prince of Wales TF will join up. CV Victorious will remain south, and may join up tomorrow.
SigInt reports the 32 Div/A is headed to Singkawang, on the northwestern tip of Borneo.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
ORIGINAL: apbarog
Burma
Near Victoria Point, sub Trusty spots a big AK task force, but is forced to submerge. I believe that the ships picked up troops from Rangoon.
My big air attack on Magwe only partly materialized. P-40s swept, finding just an Oscar unit, and it was training. Medium and heavy bombers hit the airfield, causing moderate damage. Then the bulk of my sweepers arrived, finding nothing. None of my heavy bombers tasked with bombing oil flew. We try again.
At Akyab, I had spotted a few cargo ships. 16 Beaufighters flew at wavetop height and attacked an xAK. 15 Oscars were on CAP, shooting down a few bombers. xAK Kizan Maru was bombed multiple times and is probably sunk. It was not loaded with men.
Really good news for you frankly on a variety of fronts now. Congrats.
Your primary axis of attack has him worried and reacting. Indeed with good reason.
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Your line at Burma can continue to hold; even potentially push forward adding additional pressure (?!?)
<I think ?>
His troops have to be suffering supply wise sitting in the jungle way from roads; admittedly they may have dug in with fortification bonus but you can ground bomb the troops at low cost / low risk and exasperate his efforts on the line. Helps to train up a good pool of pilots as well... with those old Hudsons etc.
I realize of course that you have bought out and redeployed a number of Indian / British assets to the primary line of advance.
However I suspect there are probably 2 -3 Indian Divisions and some small mountain gun regiments you have not touched; either permanently restricted or potentially just too costly to buy out. Despite the limitations of the command structure you should be able to push down through Cox Bazaar into Akylab to create additional pressures at the front.
Even 2nd line troops with P40E (P40K) and upgraded Indian Divisions will get you some results eventually.
Thanks again for the updates.. really well written
A People that values its privileges above it's principles will soon loose both. Dwight D Eisenhower.
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
I have used the Hudsons to bomb in jungle extensively but the 250 lb. bombs do not have much effect between the terrain and the enemy's field forts. But you are correct about the good training for green bomber pilots.
Wellingtons do better with their 500 lb. bombs. Also using some Dutch Mitchell bombers that I bought out to unrestricted ABDA.
I find that I cannot get enough supply to flow south down the coast road past Cox's Bazar and Akyab unless I build the bases. I usually build the port to 2 and the AF to 4, and bring supply in xAKLs.
Agree on the nicely illustrated and described AAR. Kudos, Apbarog! [:)]
Wellingtons do better with their 500 lb. bombs. Also using some Dutch Mitchell bombers that I bought out to unrestricted ABDA.
I find that I cannot get enough supply to flow south down the coast road past Cox's Bazar and Akyab unless I build the bases. I usually build the port to 2 and the AF to 4, and bring supply in xAKLs.
Agree on the nicely illustrated and described AAR. Kudos, Apbarog! [:)]
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully just documenting the war day by day is interesting enough for you all. If there is any way for me to improve my presentation of the fight, let me know. I've read that some don't want to know what the AAR writer is planning to do in the future. I've pretty much just presented what I am thinking. If you'd rather see things differently, I'm open to suggestions.
17 Jul 43
Near Groot Natoena, north of Borneo, sub Pompon finds a tanker convoy, fires 2 torpedoes at TK Jinzan Maru, but misses.
Unescorted Nells from Soerbaja again bomb Allied troops at Makassar, doing minor damage but lots of disruption in the clear terrain. I will try to intercept the Nells today.
I hit Magwe with lots of bombers. There are 5 Zeros, 12 Oscars, and 6 Nicks on CAP at the start. Most, if not all, of these fighters are not currently based at Magwe. The airbase is at about 33 damage, and a mouseover shows 42 damaged oil facilities. I switch all bombers to hit the oil today.
12 B-24s bomb Gasmata from Milne Bay. Rabaul still has about 150 fighters. Not going there weakly.
Some heavies hit Kendari's airfield.
B-25s hit enemy troops at Makassar.
A new US regiment has loaded at Rennel Island. The transports will go to Tassafronga today (oops, that reminds me, I forgot to LRCAP them). They will land at Munda, with a slow battleship supporting. The plan is to unload in one day, and bombard with the battleship on the way out. That should give me a 2 to 1 advantage there, with plentiful supply for my troops coming from adjacent Vangunu.
Remember Burma? I've searched high and low across India for troops that could be used for an offensive, and I think I've found enough to give it a try. The bulk of the units are ones that have been prepping for Port Blair while at Bombay. Might as well use them. I'm not planning any amphibious operations in this area any time soon. I don't know if I can kick the enemy armor division out of the way south of Chittagong, but we shall see. Lots of stuff moving to Chittagong now.
A big demonstration here is probably as good as a successful offensive. My restricted Indian units can go to Cox Bazar but no further. Combined with my newly started bombing offensive, it will hopefully give Walker another thing to be concerned about.
Today Kolaka will be invaded. Support troops, prepped for Kendari, will stay with the carriers nearby, and land after the base is taken. They will then walk to Kendari, cutting off any retreat.
F6Fs on CV Victorious will fly LRCAP to Makassar hoping to catch those Nells that have been visiting.
BB Prince of Wales task force will join the carriers. They'll probably be bombarding Makassar soon. DMS will sweep Makassar and Kendari for possible mines. A Brit sub will drop mines south of Balikpapan.
Heavy bombers will hit Ambon.
And I've decided to invade Koepang now. Loading begins at Darwin. The 2 infantry divisions will load on APAs, with armor using AKAs. Other support will be on xAPs. Koepang is very isolated now, so I'm not concerned with some ships not unloading in a day. I decided to invade Koepang now primarily because my troops are 100% prepped for it, and I want them to be used elsewhere as soon as possible. So they'll finish Koepang off quickly, hopefully, and start prepping for the next target.
Walker has already said that he won't be doing a turn tomorrow, so the next turn will be on Thursday.
17 Jul 43
Near Groot Natoena, north of Borneo, sub Pompon finds a tanker convoy, fires 2 torpedoes at TK Jinzan Maru, but misses.
Unescorted Nells from Soerbaja again bomb Allied troops at Makassar, doing minor damage but lots of disruption in the clear terrain. I will try to intercept the Nells today.
I hit Magwe with lots of bombers. There are 5 Zeros, 12 Oscars, and 6 Nicks on CAP at the start. Most, if not all, of these fighters are not currently based at Magwe. The airbase is at about 33 damage, and a mouseover shows 42 damaged oil facilities. I switch all bombers to hit the oil today.
12 B-24s bomb Gasmata from Milne Bay. Rabaul still has about 150 fighters. Not going there weakly.
Some heavies hit Kendari's airfield.
B-25s hit enemy troops at Makassar.
A new US regiment has loaded at Rennel Island. The transports will go to Tassafronga today (oops, that reminds me, I forgot to LRCAP them). They will land at Munda, with a slow battleship supporting. The plan is to unload in one day, and bombard with the battleship on the way out. That should give me a 2 to 1 advantage there, with plentiful supply for my troops coming from adjacent Vangunu.
Remember Burma? I've searched high and low across India for troops that could be used for an offensive, and I think I've found enough to give it a try. The bulk of the units are ones that have been prepping for Port Blair while at Bombay. Might as well use them. I'm not planning any amphibious operations in this area any time soon. I don't know if I can kick the enemy armor division out of the way south of Chittagong, but we shall see. Lots of stuff moving to Chittagong now.
A big demonstration here is probably as good as a successful offensive. My restricted Indian units can go to Cox Bazar but no further. Combined with my newly started bombing offensive, it will hopefully give Walker another thing to be concerned about.
Today Kolaka will be invaded. Support troops, prepped for Kendari, will stay with the carriers nearby, and land after the base is taken. They will then walk to Kendari, cutting off any retreat.
F6Fs on CV Victorious will fly LRCAP to Makassar hoping to catch those Nells that have been visiting.
BB Prince of Wales task force will join the carriers. They'll probably be bombarding Makassar soon. DMS will sweep Makassar and Kendari for possible mines. A Brit sub will drop mines south of Balikpapan.
Heavy bombers will hit Ambon.
And I've decided to invade Koepang now. Loading begins at Darwin. The 2 infantry divisions will load on APAs, with armor using AKAs. Other support will be on xAPs. Koepang is very isolated now, so I'm not concerned with some ships not unloading in a day. I decided to invade Koepang now primarily because my troops are 100% prepped for it, and I want them to be used elsewhere as soon as possible. So they'll finish Koepang off quickly, hopefully, and start prepping for the next target.
Walker has already said that he won't be doing a turn tomorrow, so the next turn will be on Thursday.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
Other points of interest
6 US carriers are supporting actions near the Celebes. CV Victorious is joining today. Where are the CVEs? A number of them were damaged in earlier actions near New Guinea, but only one has been sunk, and that was long ago when I was trying to save BB Idaho limping from Milne Bay to Australia. Some CVEs made slow minor repairs on the Australian coast. Some went to Pearl Harbor, one to Auckland. One is still repairing at Sydney. But I've gotten reinforcements.
Recently leaving Pearl Harbor was a task force with CVL Independence, 7 CVEs, and 4 slow battleships (all upgraded).
CV Lexington II is on the way to Pago Pago from Balboa. CV Yorktown II is at Balboa, where it will be joined by CVL Princeton tomorrow. Then they go to Pago Pago also. CVL Belleau Wood will arrive at Balboa in 4 days.
I have 2 CVEs at Townsville.
I recently mentioned that the US has lost only 5 subs in the war. In contrast, the Japanese have lost:
3 SST (I-1, I-2, I-178)
11 - 11 point subs
9 - 8 point subs
10 - 6 point subs
2 - 5 point subs
6 US carriers are supporting actions near the Celebes. CV Victorious is joining today. Where are the CVEs? A number of them were damaged in earlier actions near New Guinea, but only one has been sunk, and that was long ago when I was trying to save BB Idaho limping from Milne Bay to Australia. Some CVEs made slow minor repairs on the Australian coast. Some went to Pearl Harbor, one to Auckland. One is still repairing at Sydney. But I've gotten reinforcements.
Recently leaving Pearl Harbor was a task force with CVL Independence, 7 CVEs, and 4 slow battleships (all upgraded).
CV Lexington II is on the way to Pago Pago from Balboa. CV Yorktown II is at Balboa, where it will be joined by CVL Princeton tomorrow. Then they go to Pago Pago also. CVL Belleau Wood will arrive at Balboa in 4 days.
I have 2 CVEs at Townsville.
I recently mentioned that the US has lost only 5 subs in the war. In contrast, the Japanese have lost:
3 SST (I-1, I-2, I-178)
11 - 11 point subs
9 - 8 point subs
10 - 6 point subs
2 - 5 point subs
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
You have done an excellent job of exploiting your opponents weak setup in the DEI .. getting all the right recon ..
As a stated before it takes some effort to built a defense here .. and it looks like it has to be done in early 1942
else ... [&o]
Your position once established is going to shorten this game for sure ..
As a stated before it takes some effort to built a defense here .. and it looks like it has to be done in early 1942
else ... [&o]
Your position once established is going to shorten this game for sure ..
"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so"
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
ORIGINAL: apbarog
Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully just documenting the war day by day is interesting enough for you all. If there is any way for me to improve my presentation of the fight, let me know. I've read that some don't want to know what the AAR writer is planning to do in the future. I've pretty much just presented what I am thinking. If you'd rather see things differently, I'm open to suggestions.
--
They will land at Munda, with a slow battleship supporting. The plan is to unload in one day, and bombard with the battleship on the way out. That should give me a 2 to 1 advantage there, with plentiful supply for my troops coming from adjacent Vangunu.
--
Lots of stuff moving to Chittagong now.
A big demonstration here is probably as good as a successful offensive. My restricted Indian units can go to Cox Bazar but no further. Combined with my newly started bombing offensive, it will hopefully give Walker another thing to be concerned about.
--
And I've decided to invade Koepang now.
Nope no changes needed.. frankly really well written.
I like the combination of future glimpse / strategy reaction / combat results for important battles (only) / maps. I think many will agree.
Periodic updates every month or so on other fronts even if static is a 'nice to have'.
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Yep Munda is a show of force. Another thing for Japan to worry about. Another threat to Rabul.
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Yes totally agree. A show of force is enough. Another thing for Japan to worry about.
Cox's Bazar if it can be had. I figured given the date you must of had about 3 decent INF Divisions / same number of decent ARM / ART battalions around India that you may not have been able to buy out...
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Great move for all the reasons listed plus two more. A quick battle should increase their experience neatly just in time for you to move them on...
A People that values its privileges above it's principles will soon loose both. Dwight D Eisenhower.
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
No turn from Walker yesterday, and none today. Real life intervenes. The fate of the world (fictitious) waits.
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
18 Jul 43
Today was one of those days that the Japanese player hates. No, there wasn't a big carrier battle, or any surface battle. But lots and lots of Allied bombers, mostly heavy bombers, ranged high and low across the Pacific. And there just wasn't much that could be done about it. I've played the Japanese side many times. I know the feeling.
Allied ASW ships work hard in the Makassar and Kendari areas. No subs sunk, but a few damaged.
One hex east of Manado, sub Kingfish finds a very large task force, fires 2 torpedoes at an AKE, but misses. This looks like ships leaving a port all at once, or headed to a base to setup support. Or both. Sub Steelhead then found the same task force another hex to the east, but gets no hits. So the TF is headed due east from Manado. Where is it going? I don't know.
Kolaka is invaded. There's just an engineering unit there, so the base should fall quickly. Support units, and everything destined for Kendari, will then land at Kolaka.
DMS Lamberton sweeps a single mine at Kendari. This was odd. Only swept one mine, during the night phase, and no more, and yet I still see a mine symbol there. Lamberton will stay another day and sweep.
Southeast of Makassar, RO-105 torpedoes PC-1078, sinking her. The sub takes minor damage.
Then the bombings begin.
Magwe is first swept by 12 Chinese P-43s, manned by excellent pilots. They find Zeros, Oscars, and Nicks, probably on ranged CAP, and the defenders do better than the Chinese. Hard to sweep effectively with just 12 planes.
Then P-40Ks sweep Magwe, and do well. Then P-39s sweep, and do the best of all.
Then there's about 15 minutes of nothing but bombings. Mediums and heavies hit Magwe's oil. The sky is clear, the bombers encounter no CAP, and the aim is excellent. Oil damage was 42 yesterday. Today the oil damage is 218. There's only 83 undamaged oil left. I rest the bombers today. I do see new movement of enemy troops leaving Magwe and another base to the east. The flak at Magwe did fairly well, considering, downing a few planes. Walker may have gotten discouraged here and decided to pull units of unknown type out.
Ambon was swept and bombed. Ambon's airfield damage was in the 40's.
Makassar troops were bombed with B-25s.
Koepang's airfield was bombed. Taberfane's airfield was bombed.
Today 7 Allied carriers move southwest a bit, along with ships with followup units for Kolaka. BB Prince of Wales is there also, and a bunch of Fletchers will join the pack.
And 2 plus divisions have loaded at Darwin and set off for invading Koepang.
Today was one of those days that the Japanese player hates. No, there wasn't a big carrier battle, or any surface battle. But lots and lots of Allied bombers, mostly heavy bombers, ranged high and low across the Pacific. And there just wasn't much that could be done about it. I've played the Japanese side many times. I know the feeling.
Allied ASW ships work hard in the Makassar and Kendari areas. No subs sunk, but a few damaged.
One hex east of Manado, sub Kingfish finds a very large task force, fires 2 torpedoes at an AKE, but misses. This looks like ships leaving a port all at once, or headed to a base to setup support. Or both. Sub Steelhead then found the same task force another hex to the east, but gets no hits. So the TF is headed due east from Manado. Where is it going? I don't know.
Kolaka is invaded. There's just an engineering unit there, so the base should fall quickly. Support units, and everything destined for Kendari, will then land at Kolaka.
DMS Lamberton sweeps a single mine at Kendari. This was odd. Only swept one mine, during the night phase, and no more, and yet I still see a mine symbol there. Lamberton will stay another day and sweep.
Southeast of Makassar, RO-105 torpedoes PC-1078, sinking her. The sub takes minor damage.
Then the bombings begin.
Magwe is first swept by 12 Chinese P-43s, manned by excellent pilots. They find Zeros, Oscars, and Nicks, probably on ranged CAP, and the defenders do better than the Chinese. Hard to sweep effectively with just 12 planes.
Then P-40Ks sweep Magwe, and do well. Then P-39s sweep, and do the best of all.
Then there's about 15 minutes of nothing but bombings. Mediums and heavies hit Magwe's oil. The sky is clear, the bombers encounter no CAP, and the aim is excellent. Oil damage was 42 yesterday. Today the oil damage is 218. There's only 83 undamaged oil left. I rest the bombers today. I do see new movement of enemy troops leaving Magwe and another base to the east. The flak at Magwe did fairly well, considering, downing a few planes. Walker may have gotten discouraged here and decided to pull units of unknown type out.
Ambon was swept and bombed. Ambon's airfield damage was in the 40's.
Makassar troops were bombed with B-25s.
Koepang's airfield was bombed. Taberfane's airfield was bombed.
Today 7 Allied carriers move southwest a bit, along with ships with followup units for Kolaka. BB Prince of Wales is there also, and a bunch of Fletchers will join the pack.
And 2 plus divisions have loaded at Darwin and set off for invading Koepang.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
Watching your operation here as you are doing a lot and using the classic allied early war tactic, hit them where they ain't.
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
19 Jul 43
A day with lots of action.
Troops and supply continued to unload at Kolaka. All ships were unloaded and headed home. AP William Ward Burrows had been detached on its own for the run in to Kolaka, as it was slowing the task force. After it arrived and started to unload, I forgot to have it rejoin a task force to head home. On the way home today, by itself, RO-36 finds the ship and gets into a gun battle with it. The sub gets a couple of chances to fire torpedoes and gets 2 hits on the transport, sinking it.
I'm very careful to escort every task force, if possible, to avoid such things, but I made a mistake here.
DMS Lamberton swept more mines at Kendari, and spots a bunch of subs there. More mines being laid, I suspect. I'll continue to sweep to give the impression that I'm clearing the way for shipping. I'm not invading by sea, but I may bombard his troops, eventually.
Near Mindanao, sub Balao spots a task force with an xAK, and AKV, and AKE, and a PB. It gets 2 hits on xAK Soyo Maru. The ship is in trouble. It was not loaded with men.
Dutch sub KXVII spots a big AKE task force just south of Mindanao. This task force is the same one that was seen leaving Manado yesterday. The sub misses a patrol boat.
An amphibious task force arrived at Munda and unloaded a US regiment. No interference.
A small minesweeper arrived at Koepang and started to sweep a few mines. My big invasion task force will head to Roti today, and will invade Koepang tomorrow.
I had just laid some mines at the entrance to Balikpapan. A destroyer and a couple of escorts found them and started to sweep them.
Walker made a maximum effort on Denpasar today. Battleships Hiei and Kirishima, 2 cruisers, and 9 destroyers arrive from Soerbaja. They tangle with 6 PT boats, sinking one of them. 3 of the destroyers are then reported to have hit mines at Denpasar. Excellent. 2 report heavy damage while 1 reports fire with heavy damage. These destroyers moved 2 hexes toward Soerbaja. I'd guess that all will survive. The one on fire could burn up.
The rest of Walker's battleship task force then bombarded Denpassar, damaging a bunch of planes, and destroying 6. Over 500 casualties, and enough airbase damage that the fighters didn't fly during the day.
On the way home, my PT boats reacted one hex and engaged the battleships again at Banjoewangi during the day, but no hits were achieved at very long range.
Then the battleships ran over sub Pogy, but no torpedoes were fired. Then the damaged destoyers were found by Pogy, but couldn't get a shot here either.
Walker then sent everything he could by air from Java to Denpassar.
33 Nells escorted by 15 Zeros, 43 Oscars, and 7 Tonys.
33 Zeros sweeping.
28 Zeros sweeping.
18 Zeros sweeping.
29 Sallys and 20 Lilys escorted by 42 Oscars and 18 Tojos.
There was no CAP to meet any of these flights. It took longer than I thought it would for Walker to become focused on Denpassar, so close to Java. But now he has. And that is what I planned for, while I strike to the north. Denpassar will absorb the blows and hold the left shoulder. Anything short of a counter invasion will mean little, in my opinion.
I bombed Koepang some, and Ambon some more. I hit Bima and Taberfane also.
2 Japanese subs were targeted by ASW forces south of the Celebes. One RO sub is probably sunk. The other sub is possibly sunk.
Kolaka was captured wtih the US 32nd Infantry Division and the 1st USMC Tank Battalion. The 44th Field Construction Company was destroyed. I split the division and sent 2/3 of it toward Kendari, along with the tanks. They will cut off Kendari.
The followup units for Kolaka, with engineers and air support, along with the troops prepped for Kendari, will move to Kolaka and land. 2 divisions may be overkill for Kendari. We'll see. The US 32nd Infantry Division is about half disrupted now. Not from the landing, but from previous action. I didn't worry about it for Kolaka. The division prepped for Kendari is in much better shape.
Prince of Wales, 5 cruisers, and 6 Fletcher class destroyers will bombard Makassar, in preparation for a deliberate attack. 10 other Fletchers will move to Makassar for guard duty, and to position for a possible full speed run elsewhere. 7 carriers move slightly west toward Makassar, and will cover Makassar and Kolaka with LR CAP.
A day with lots of action.
Troops and supply continued to unload at Kolaka. All ships were unloaded and headed home. AP William Ward Burrows had been detached on its own for the run in to Kolaka, as it was slowing the task force. After it arrived and started to unload, I forgot to have it rejoin a task force to head home. On the way home today, by itself, RO-36 finds the ship and gets into a gun battle with it. The sub gets a couple of chances to fire torpedoes and gets 2 hits on the transport, sinking it.
I'm very careful to escort every task force, if possible, to avoid such things, but I made a mistake here.
DMS Lamberton swept more mines at Kendari, and spots a bunch of subs there. More mines being laid, I suspect. I'll continue to sweep to give the impression that I'm clearing the way for shipping. I'm not invading by sea, but I may bombard his troops, eventually.
Near Mindanao, sub Balao spots a task force with an xAK, and AKV, and AKE, and a PB. It gets 2 hits on xAK Soyo Maru. The ship is in trouble. It was not loaded with men.
Dutch sub KXVII spots a big AKE task force just south of Mindanao. This task force is the same one that was seen leaving Manado yesterday. The sub misses a patrol boat.
An amphibious task force arrived at Munda and unloaded a US regiment. No interference.
A small minesweeper arrived at Koepang and started to sweep a few mines. My big invasion task force will head to Roti today, and will invade Koepang tomorrow.
I had just laid some mines at the entrance to Balikpapan. A destroyer and a couple of escorts found them and started to sweep them.
Walker made a maximum effort on Denpasar today. Battleships Hiei and Kirishima, 2 cruisers, and 9 destroyers arrive from Soerbaja. They tangle with 6 PT boats, sinking one of them. 3 of the destroyers are then reported to have hit mines at Denpasar. Excellent. 2 report heavy damage while 1 reports fire with heavy damage. These destroyers moved 2 hexes toward Soerbaja. I'd guess that all will survive. The one on fire could burn up.
The rest of Walker's battleship task force then bombarded Denpassar, damaging a bunch of planes, and destroying 6. Over 500 casualties, and enough airbase damage that the fighters didn't fly during the day.
On the way home, my PT boats reacted one hex and engaged the battleships again at Banjoewangi during the day, but no hits were achieved at very long range.
Then the battleships ran over sub Pogy, but no torpedoes were fired. Then the damaged destoyers were found by Pogy, but couldn't get a shot here either.
Walker then sent everything he could by air from Java to Denpassar.
33 Nells escorted by 15 Zeros, 43 Oscars, and 7 Tonys.
33 Zeros sweeping.
28 Zeros sweeping.
18 Zeros sweeping.
29 Sallys and 20 Lilys escorted by 42 Oscars and 18 Tojos.
There was no CAP to meet any of these flights. It took longer than I thought it would for Walker to become focused on Denpassar, so close to Java. But now he has. And that is what I planned for, while I strike to the north. Denpassar will absorb the blows and hold the left shoulder. Anything short of a counter invasion will mean little, in my opinion.
I bombed Koepang some, and Ambon some more. I hit Bima and Taberfane also.
2 Japanese subs were targeted by ASW forces south of the Celebes. One RO sub is probably sunk. The other sub is possibly sunk.
Kolaka was captured wtih the US 32nd Infantry Division and the 1st USMC Tank Battalion. The 44th Field Construction Company was destroyed. I split the division and sent 2/3 of it toward Kendari, along with the tanks. They will cut off Kendari.
The followup units for Kolaka, with engineers and air support, along with the troops prepped for Kendari, will move to Kolaka and land. 2 divisions may be overkill for Kendari. We'll see. The US 32nd Infantry Division is about half disrupted now. Not from the landing, but from previous action. I didn't worry about it for Kolaka. The division prepped for Kendari is in much better shape.
Prince of Wales, 5 cruisers, and 6 Fletcher class destroyers will bombard Makassar, in preparation for a deliberate attack. 10 other Fletchers will move to Makassar for guard duty, and to position for a possible full speed run elsewhere. 7 carriers move slightly west toward Makassar, and will cover Makassar and Kolaka with LR CAP.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
Just got caught up with your AAR. My biggest comment is how light both of your losses have been. (Well, he had lost some important carriers.) My campaign is into 9/43 and we have not see a carrier go down. Otherwise I would say 40 cruisers or more with each of us closing on 70-80 DDs lost. Air losses are at about 15,000 for Japan and close to 10,000 for the Allies. I have lost about 9 BBs on the Allied side. He is an aggressive Japanese player and invaded India in 4/42. We have been fighting in the India Burma region ever since with lots of naval and air fighting to go with the land campaign.
I think most games see a lot more fighting and losses than yours. About an average game territory wise. You have a nice foothold and can threaten his oil production but he seems to be doing fine elsewhere. I would not advise spending to much time or effort cleaning out Sumatra, Java and Borneo. Once you bomb out the oil the terrain does not have much strategic value in my opinion. Better to drive for Japan. The best thing I see going for you is that you really have a good shot at hurting is production in the DEI. Good game, I will keep following.
I think most games see a lot more fighting and losses than yours. About an average game territory wise. You have a nice foothold and can threaten his oil production but he seems to be doing fine elsewhere. I would not advise spending to much time or effort cleaning out Sumatra, Java and Borneo. Once you bomb out the oil the terrain does not have much strategic value in my opinion. Better to drive for Japan. The best thing I see going for you is that you really have a good shot at hurting is production in the DEI. Good game, I will keep following.
I am the Holy Roman Emperor and am above grammar.
Sigismund of Luxemburg
Sigismund of Luxemburg
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
You are correct crsutton. Walker was careful and measured with his early expansion. He covered his early invasions well, but that also slowed his expansion. He did invade India at Diamond Harbour. I forget when that was, but it's all in the AAR somewhere. He brought 5+ divisions, and he almost took Calcutta. When he landed, I began a strategic retreat from the Burma border, not wanting to get cut off. I even started to withdraw troops out of Calcutta, underestimating the value of the urban terrain. His first attack at Calcutta would have succeeded, but I had an Indian division in Strat mode moving away from the Burma border, and he pathed into Calcutta and stopped, on the very turn he attacked. Then I realized the force multiplier that the terrain provided, and moved troops back in quickly. It became impossible for him to win Calcutta.
So Walker was a bit adventurous, going to India.
Neither of us have fought an attritional fight in the air. I felt that this was to my advantage in the early war, with limited airframes. Note that we are playng PDU off.
As for the oil, I've taken out 75% of Magwe's oil in 2 days. I could bomb oil in Java and in southern Borneo now. I am going to capture Balikpapan and Samarind soon, though, so I'll just take it for myself. It's most likely that I will bomb northern Borneo when I have southern Borneo.
Java is being bypassed for the time being. I do have Chinese and Indian troops prepping for Soerbaja, but that won't happen for at least 2 months. By then, I hope to have Kendari, Manado, Ternate, Boela, Balikpapan, Samarind, and the small base adjacent to Tarakan. Mindanao is being planned for.
My goal is to be able to send ships from Mindanao into the South China Sea if I choose to. Raids on tanker convoys will end this war early, I predict.
Walker hasn't lost much either, with all of his battleships alive, and missing just some of his carriers. I think that the tide has turned in the air, though. He can load up Java and make that area tough for my air, as I have limited bases nearby, and he has many. But elsewhere, I keep pushing the front and I keep trying to build up big bases along the way. So far, I've been outrunning my plan though. Like going to Makassar before I had big bases to the south. But his lack of many big bases in the area allowed that. That will continue for the targets I have listed above. I will continue to use my bombers to shut down the appropriate bases at the right time.
So Walker was a bit adventurous, going to India.
Neither of us have fought an attritional fight in the air. I felt that this was to my advantage in the early war, with limited airframes. Note that we are playng PDU off.
As for the oil, I've taken out 75% of Magwe's oil in 2 days. I could bomb oil in Java and in southern Borneo now. I am going to capture Balikpapan and Samarind soon, though, so I'll just take it for myself. It's most likely that I will bomb northern Borneo when I have southern Borneo.
Java is being bypassed for the time being. I do have Chinese and Indian troops prepping for Soerbaja, but that won't happen for at least 2 months. By then, I hope to have Kendari, Manado, Ternate, Boela, Balikpapan, Samarind, and the small base adjacent to Tarakan. Mindanao is being planned for.
My goal is to be able to send ships from Mindanao into the South China Sea if I choose to. Raids on tanker convoys will end this war early, I predict.
Walker hasn't lost much either, with all of his battleships alive, and missing just some of his carriers. I think that the tide has turned in the air, though. He can load up Java and make that area tough for my air, as I have limited bases nearby, and he has many. But elsewhere, I keep pushing the front and I keep trying to build up big bases along the way. So far, I've been outrunning my plan though. Like going to Makassar before I had big bases to the south. But his lack of many big bases in the area allowed that. That will continue for the targets I have listed above. I will continue to use my bombers to shut down the appropriate bases at the right time.
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
20 Jul 43
DMS Lamberton continues to sweep small numbers of mines from Kendari. Many subs are spotted there during the day, so I think more mines are being dropped.
The enemy sweeps mines by Balikpapan.
The damaged enemy destroyers head toward Soerbaja, and run over sub Truant, which is there to drop mines. Luckily, Truant is barely scratched. The destroyers do get through before the mines are dropped, though.
At the clear hex of Makassar, battleship Prince of Wales, 5 cruisers, and 6 Fletcher class destroyers bombard. It's a huge bombardment. Over 1500 casualties, with heavy airbase damage, moderate port damage, and even manpower and resource damage, as well as 2212 fires started. I should have attacked today, but I did not.
At Munda, slow battleship New Mexico bombards, causing 115 casualties in the jungle terrain.
A YMS continues to sweep mines at Koepang.
Enemy troops are bombed at Makassar and Koepang and Taberfane.
With 2 regiments now at Munda, I attack. It goes poorly, with 1 to 2 odds against level 3 forts. US casualties are 462, Japanese are 154. I'm bringing in another regiment in the next week, as well as a Corp HQ.
Walker did move a cruiser TF from Rabaul to the air protection at Torokina. They could move to Munda tomorrow. All of my shipping is gone.
Koepang will be invaded today.
I sent 10 Fletcher destroyers, led by Admiral Arleigh Burke, to Balikpapan. I spotted what could be a tanker TF there. There were still a few friendly mines south of the base, but the enemy was sweeping them. Of more concern is the unknown number of mines at Balikpapan. I'll take a chance and be a bit aggressive here. Success or not, it will probably be the last time I see tankers there.
US carriers will drift a hex to the west and range CAP Makassar, while still providing LRCAP at Kolaka. Lots of stuff unloading at Kolaka. SBDs on the carriers attacked many subs at Kendari. Between 5 and 10 subs, I estimate. Had to be dropping off more mines. A few subs were hit.
A small cruiser TF will bombard Makassar today, and I will attack there today.
DMS Lamberton continues to sweep small numbers of mines from Kendari. Many subs are spotted there during the day, so I think more mines are being dropped.
The enemy sweeps mines by Balikpapan.
The damaged enemy destroyers head toward Soerbaja, and run over sub Truant, which is there to drop mines. Luckily, Truant is barely scratched. The destroyers do get through before the mines are dropped, though.
At the clear hex of Makassar, battleship Prince of Wales, 5 cruisers, and 6 Fletcher class destroyers bombard. It's a huge bombardment. Over 1500 casualties, with heavy airbase damage, moderate port damage, and even manpower and resource damage, as well as 2212 fires started. I should have attacked today, but I did not.
At Munda, slow battleship New Mexico bombards, causing 115 casualties in the jungle terrain.
A YMS continues to sweep mines at Koepang.
Enemy troops are bombed at Makassar and Koepang and Taberfane.
With 2 regiments now at Munda, I attack. It goes poorly, with 1 to 2 odds against level 3 forts. US casualties are 462, Japanese are 154. I'm bringing in another regiment in the next week, as well as a Corp HQ.
Walker did move a cruiser TF from Rabaul to the air protection at Torokina. They could move to Munda tomorrow. All of my shipping is gone.
Koepang will be invaded today.
I sent 10 Fletcher destroyers, led by Admiral Arleigh Burke, to Balikpapan. I spotted what could be a tanker TF there. There were still a few friendly mines south of the base, but the enemy was sweeping them. Of more concern is the unknown number of mines at Balikpapan. I'll take a chance and be a bit aggressive here. Success or not, it will probably be the last time I see tankers there.
US carriers will drift a hex to the west and range CAP Makassar, while still providing LRCAP at Kolaka. Lots of stuff unloading at Kolaka. SBDs on the carriers attacked many subs at Kendari. Between 5 and 10 subs, I estimate. Had to be dropping off more mines. A few subs were hit.
A small cruiser TF will bombard Makassar today, and I will attack there today.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
21 Jul 43
A tiny enemy minesweeper sweeps mines just outside of Balikpapan. 10 Fletchers head that way from Makassar, and run over I-9, sinking the sub. The destroyers then run into AMc Hino Maru #6, the tiny minesweeper, and sinks the ship. The destroyers, led by Arleigh Burke, storm into Balikpapan's port, and find some cargo ships at anchor.
Japanese Ships
PB Santos Maru, Shell hits 45, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Kinsyo Maru #2, Shell hits 14, heavy fires
xAK Yamaura Maru, Shell hits 25, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Terukawa Maru, Shell hits 35, and is sunk
xAK Nanman Maru, Shell hits 33, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PB Senyo Maru, Shell hits 31, heavy fires, heavy damage
E Shirataka, Shell hits 19, heavy fires, heavy damage
E Nuwashima, Shell hits 16, and is sunk
Allied Ships
DD Fletcher
DD Abbot
DD Ammen
DD Aulick
DD Bache, Shell hits 1
DD Chevalier
DD Converse
DD Hutchins
DD Jenkins
DD Nicholas
On the way south, the destroyers run over sub I-26, and cause at least moderate damage to the sub.
Back at Makassar, cruisers Pensacola and Chester and 5 destroyers bombard, doing nice work on the troops and the base.
Koepang is invaded. One LCI hits rocks and sinks.
Enemy troops at Makassar are bombed by B-25s, as usual.
Sub Trident finds a cargo task force near Phuket, Thailand, but no torpedoes are fired. I believe that enemy troops are still being moved from Rangoon to Singapore.
The mandatory enemy artiller bombardment at Koepang shows many units there, but half of them are just fragments. As I'd already figured, troops have been evacuated from Koepang, somewhat. Judging from the combat values, the 2 US divisions should take the base fairly easily. Forts could make it a bit tougher.
The US forces at Makassar attack, getting 2 to 1 odds and reducing the forts to 2. 1281 enemy casualties, 108 US losses. The base will fall.
Allied carriers and most ASW shipping will retreat to the south. All troops have been unloaded at Kolaka, so all troops ships will leave today. Some AKAs will stay and continue to unload. There's been no interference here, so I expect another day of no air attacks. The usual pattern is that Walker will see my carriers move south, then he may load up a base with bombers. The closest airbase is Manado. The Brit division and support start to move from Kolaka to Kendari.
A tiny enemy minesweeper sweeps mines just outside of Balikpapan. 10 Fletchers head that way from Makassar, and run over I-9, sinking the sub. The destroyers then run into AMc Hino Maru #6, the tiny minesweeper, and sinks the ship. The destroyers, led by Arleigh Burke, storm into Balikpapan's port, and find some cargo ships at anchor.
Japanese Ships
PB Santos Maru, Shell hits 45, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Kinsyo Maru #2, Shell hits 14, heavy fires
xAK Yamaura Maru, Shell hits 25, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Terukawa Maru, Shell hits 35, and is sunk
xAK Nanman Maru, Shell hits 33, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PB Senyo Maru, Shell hits 31, heavy fires, heavy damage
E Shirataka, Shell hits 19, heavy fires, heavy damage
E Nuwashima, Shell hits 16, and is sunk
Allied Ships
DD Fletcher
DD Abbot
DD Ammen
DD Aulick
DD Bache, Shell hits 1
DD Chevalier
DD Converse
DD Hutchins
DD Jenkins
DD Nicholas
On the way south, the destroyers run over sub I-26, and cause at least moderate damage to the sub.
Back at Makassar, cruisers Pensacola and Chester and 5 destroyers bombard, doing nice work on the troops and the base.
Koepang is invaded. One LCI hits rocks and sinks.
Enemy troops at Makassar are bombed by B-25s, as usual.
Sub Trident finds a cargo task force near Phuket, Thailand, but no torpedoes are fired. I believe that enemy troops are still being moved from Rangoon to Singapore.
The mandatory enemy artiller bombardment at Koepang shows many units there, but half of them are just fragments. As I'd already figured, troops have been evacuated from Koepang, somewhat. Judging from the combat values, the 2 US divisions should take the base fairly easily. Forts could make it a bit tougher.
The US forces at Makassar attack, getting 2 to 1 odds and reducing the forts to 2. 1281 enemy casualties, 108 US losses. The base will fall.
Allied carriers and most ASW shipping will retreat to the south. All troops have been unloaded at Kolaka, so all troops ships will leave today. Some AKAs will stay and continue to unload. There's been no interference here, so I expect another day of no air attacks. The usual pattern is that Walker will see my carriers move south, then he may load up a base with bombers. The closest airbase is Manado. The Brit division and support start to move from Kolaka to Kendari.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
Nice job at Balikpapan! I see why JFBs hate Fletchers.[:D]
You might want to check the Intel Report for aircraft lost "on the Ground" to see if there were any aboard those ships being evacuated. I don't think there would be - he should be able to fly out most of them - but sometimes players pick up disabled aircraft when they are abandoning the base.
You might want to check the Intel Report for aircraft lost "on the Ground" to see if there were any aboard those ships being evacuated. I don't think there would be - he should be able to fly out most of them - but sometimes players pick up disabled aircraft when they are abandoning the base.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28
22 Jul 43
Near Bataan, sub Hake is hit by a depth charge from a patrol boat. Walker is patrolling the western side of Luzon.
Koepang is bombarded by light cruiser Concord and 4 destroyers. Damage is light. Disruption is the goal, to aid the attack.
Supply continues to unload for troops assaulting Koepang, and mines continue to be swept here.
Enemy troops at Makassar are bombed by B-25 squadrons, as usual.
Walker springs a surprise, moving Vals, Kates, and Zeros into Kendari. Kendari has been heavily bombed, and I thought that the airfield was too badly damaged for operations. Or at least too damaged for Walker to try to use. I was wrong. With my carriers having just left the area, I thought I had a turn to get my last ships out of Kolaka. I was wrong about that too. 4 empty xAPs are sunk just southwest of Kolaka, as they head home. 3 of them are 5000+ tons, the other is 6000+ tons. So, average xAPs.
2 heavy bombers squadrons attack Kendari, finding 27 Zeros on CAP. One B-17 is downed, as is one Zero. The bombers target the port, doing slight damage.
At Koepang, the Allied attack goes at 2 to 1 odds and reduces the forts from 3 to 2. The troops are still in good shape, except for the combat engineer regiment, and will attack again. Losses today were 1788 enemy, with about 20% destroyed, and 1150 Allied casualties. Koepang will fall today or tomorrow. A big port support unit is loading at Darwin, to be shipped to Koepang. Then the 2 US divisions here, the 24th Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division, will start prepping for the next target, which is still to be determined.
At Makassar, the Allied attack takes the base with few friendly losses. A number of enemy units are destroyed. The rest are isolated and will die shortly. Damaged enemy planes that were stuck here are destroyed: 16 Topsys, 8 Bettys, and a few Sallys, Tojos, and Zeros.
Support units for Makassar will arrive there today, and the carriers will move adjacent to Makassar to support this. BB Prince of Wales, having rearmed and refueled at Lautem, will guard the carriers.
A cruiser task force will bombard Kendari, hoping to catch some of those enemy planes there. Lots of heavy bombers will arrive later in the day. P-47s and P-38s will sweep from Lautem.
There's still enemy battleships at Soerbaja. No other activity noted.
Waingapoe is now my forward sub base. Slightly damaged subs will still go to Darwin for repairs.
Interesting to note that the huge Chinese corp is unloading at Perth, along with the first parts of an Indian division. More of each are on the way, all prepping for Soerbaja.
Near Bataan, sub Hake is hit by a depth charge from a patrol boat. Walker is patrolling the western side of Luzon.
Koepang is bombarded by light cruiser Concord and 4 destroyers. Damage is light. Disruption is the goal, to aid the attack.
Supply continues to unload for troops assaulting Koepang, and mines continue to be swept here.
Enemy troops at Makassar are bombed by B-25 squadrons, as usual.
Walker springs a surprise, moving Vals, Kates, and Zeros into Kendari. Kendari has been heavily bombed, and I thought that the airfield was too badly damaged for operations. Or at least too damaged for Walker to try to use. I was wrong. With my carriers having just left the area, I thought I had a turn to get my last ships out of Kolaka. I was wrong about that too. 4 empty xAPs are sunk just southwest of Kolaka, as they head home. 3 of them are 5000+ tons, the other is 6000+ tons. So, average xAPs.
2 heavy bombers squadrons attack Kendari, finding 27 Zeros on CAP. One B-17 is downed, as is one Zero. The bombers target the port, doing slight damage.
At Koepang, the Allied attack goes at 2 to 1 odds and reduces the forts from 3 to 2. The troops are still in good shape, except for the combat engineer regiment, and will attack again. Losses today were 1788 enemy, with about 20% destroyed, and 1150 Allied casualties. Koepang will fall today or tomorrow. A big port support unit is loading at Darwin, to be shipped to Koepang. Then the 2 US divisions here, the 24th Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division, will start prepping for the next target, which is still to be determined.
At Makassar, the Allied attack takes the base with few friendly losses. A number of enemy units are destroyed. The rest are isolated and will die shortly. Damaged enemy planes that were stuck here are destroyed: 16 Topsys, 8 Bettys, and a few Sallys, Tojos, and Zeros.
Support units for Makassar will arrive there today, and the carriers will move adjacent to Makassar to support this. BB Prince of Wales, having rearmed and refueled at Lautem, will guard the carriers.
A cruiser task force will bombard Kendari, hoping to catch some of those enemy planes there. Lots of heavy bombers will arrive later in the day. P-47s and P-38s will sweep from Lautem.
There's still enemy battleships at Soerbaja. No other activity noted.
Waingapoe is now my forward sub base. Slightly damaged subs will still go to Darwin for repairs.
Interesting to note that the huge Chinese corp is unloading at Perth, along with the first parts of an Indian division. More of each are on the way, all prepping for Soerbaja.
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