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

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

Oddly in WWI the naval aviators were the better trained, especially prior to the war and through most of it as well. Also Naval aviation was used primarily from carriers which engaged in short confrontations and then went back for rest and resupply. Unlike Army aviation which stayed in the area for much longer doing daily operations. Army Aviation did not use a tried and true unit replacement on par with the Navy or even the Marines. The massive expansion of Army aviation in 1942-43 also caused piltos to have far less flying hours then Naval aviators.

I think the difference here is that naval strike is determined by the AI which could be quite reckless. I have complete control over my LBA bombers and by my doctrine, they rarely ever get sent in against heavy fighter defenses. If I had the ability to authorize strikes, my USN air losses would be much much less.

[Sangeli]

Battle for Rangoon!

Forgot to include this in my earlier posts! A few days ago my reinforcements to Burma that were slated Port Blair (that survived the fiasco I mean) arrived in Rangoon. So I ordered an attack on three straight days:

Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 206030 troops, 3656 guns, 3066 vehicles, Assault Value = 6823

Defending force 93463 troops, 1053 guns, 1153 vehicles, Assault Value = 3244

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Allied adjusted assault: 10561

Japanese adjusted defense: 4077

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
3896 casualties reported
Squads: 16 destroyed, 181 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 79 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 76 disabled
Guns lost 124 (7 destroyed, 117 disabled)
Vehicles lost 70 (4 destroyed, 66 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
15353 casualties reported
Squads: 75 destroyed, 1480 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 179 disabled
Engineers: 22 destroyed, 219 disabled
Guns lost 204 (17 destroyed, 187 disabled)
Vehicles lost 109 (4 destroyed, 105 disabled)


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

Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 193361 troops, 3643 guns, 3066 vehicles, Assault Value = 5948

Defending force 89580 troops, 1047 guns, 1146 vehicles, Assault Value = 2839

Allied adjusted assault: 6808

Japanese adjusted defense: 1821

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4447 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 400 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 55 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 56 disabled
Guns lost 125 (22 destroyed, 103 disabled)
Vehicles lost 21 (1 destroyed, 20 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
3849 casualties reported
Squads: 95 destroyed, 1071 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 104 disabled
Engineers: 41 destroyed, 202 disabled
Guns lost 133 (5 destroyed, 128 disabled)
Vehicles lost 95 (6 destroyed, 89 disabled)


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

Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 202770 troops, 3973 guns, 3606 vehicles, Assault Value = 5159

Defending force 99431 troops, 1154 guns, 1189 vehicles, Assault Value = 2946

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Allied adjusted assault: 6466

Japanese adjusted defense: 2125

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Rangoon !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
29203 casualties reported
Squads: 538 destroyed, 212 disabled
Non Combat: 858 destroyed, 232 disabled
Engineers: 221 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 588 (574 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 765 (759 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Units retreated 16

Allied ground losses:
11431 casualties reported
Squads: 128 destroyed, 1479 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 159 disabled
Engineers: 17 destroyed, 248 disabled
Guns lost 327 (14 destroyed, 313 disabled)
Vehicles lost 173 (9 destroyed, 164 disabled)
Units pursuing 1

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Bloody battle but I won pretty easily just the same. Now Rangoon is mine and I can bring supply in by ship. But I sent almost every troop transport to the Pacific so there is no possibility for further amphibious operations. Instead, my Rangoon army march overland to clear the Japanese from the rest of Burma and push south and east into Thailand. I've thought about sending troops into China but at this stage I don't see a huge benefit there. I will send some base units and engineers, however.

[Sangeli]

Naval Battle of Hokkaido

For the past 5 days or so, the IJN has sortied cruisers and battleships at Hokkiado. So far we've only had inconclusive sparring. Both sides have lost a couple of destroyers and a handful of cruisers damaged. But until today no capital ships sunk. Today the BB Kirishima led a sortie by the IJN at Kushiro:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kushiro at 123,53, Range 12,000 Yards

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 2 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 11, on fire
CA Hikari, Shell hits 2
CA Myoko, Shell hits 9, on fire
DD Urazuki, Shell hits 1
DD Kazegumo
DD Samidare, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Hayate, Shell hits 24, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CL Detroit, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Marblehead
CL Phoenix, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Columbia, Shell hits 20, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Boyd, Shell hits 1
DD Cowell, Shell hits 1
DD Murray
DD William Porter, Shell hits 3
DD Remey, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Trathen, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Thompson
DD Dunlap
DD Lamson, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Redoubt, Shell hits 1
DD Le Fier

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight

The CL Columbia sunk during the battle and the CL Detroit sunk after. But the USN would have its revenge with subs:

Submarine attack near Toyama at 111,55

Japanese Ships
CA Kurama, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Rock

CA Kurama is sighted by SS Rock
SS Rock launches 4 torpedoes at CA Kurama



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Toyama at 111,55

Japanese Ships
CA Kurama, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Rock



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Ominato at 121,54

Japanese Ships
CA Myoko, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
DD Samidare
DD Kazegumo

Allied Ships
SS Barb

So the IJN loses 2 CAs while the Allies loses 2 CLs. I'll take that trade any day.

[Sangeli]

Naval Battle of Hokkaido: Part 2

July 7th, 1944

I am calling this battle off Hokkaido as part 2 but really it's been more or less continuous action for two weeks (and I'm not including the initial invasion as part of it). We've had almost non-stop naval battles for a week which have steadily increased in deadliness. Today the Japanse launched a major naval and air offensive against Kushiro. Even with the IJN surface fleet dwindling away, they are putting up a hell of a fight. Today 4 IJN SCTFs sortied at Kushiro and engaged 3 different Allied SCTFs guarding the air base. The first battle was really something else. If you've read my AAR before, you will see me complain about Allied cruisers over and over again. They've proved near useless against anything larger than destroyers. But today Willis Ching Lee really gave an excellent showing for the Allied cruisers:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kushiro at 123,53, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 101, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Matsu, Shell hits 18, and is sunk
DD Kashi, Shell hits 8, on fire
DD Nire, Shell hits 30, and is sunk
DD Aogumo, Shell hits 2, on fire

Allied Ships
CA Chicago II, Shell hits 4
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 2
CL Boise
CL Phoenix, Shell hits 1
CL Miami, Shell hits 3
DD Boyd
DD Cowell, Shell hits 1
DD Laws
DD McGowan
DD Murray, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Prichett
DD Sigourney
DD McCalla, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Thompson
DD Sampson, Shell hits 5
DD Helm, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Redoubt, Shell hits 2
DD Le Fier, Shell hits 1

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 100% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 18,000 yards
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 8,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 8,000 yards
Lee, Willis "Ching crosses the 'T'

Allied ships found their mark today putting 101 shells into the BB Kirishima and giving it heavy damage and heavy fires. No shells could penetrate its think belt armor but it seems that dozens penetrated the superstructure causing horrendous damage. Intel shows that 8 IJN float planes were destroyed on the ground today. Very good chance they came from the BB Kirishima. And if it is not sunk, well I can't imagine it getting back into the war before it ends.

But that was only the start of the night! Immediately after that a SCTF led by the BB Nagato engaged Arleigh Burke and his destroyer squadron:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kushiro at 123,53, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Shell hits 1
DD Arashio, Shell hits 2
DD Benigumo, Shell hits 2
DD Harugumo, Shell hits 2
DD Amagumo, Shell hits 20, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Brownson, Shell hits 3
DD Callaghan, Shell hits 9, heavy fires
DD DeHaven, Shell hits 8, heavy fires
DD Luce, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
DD Saufley, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
DD Schroeder
DD Sigsbee, Shell hits 3
DD Stanly, Shell hits 1
DD Stevens
DD Terry, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Walker, Shell hits 1

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 100% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 18,000 yards
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 12,000 yards
Ariga, Kosaku crosses the 'T'

The BB Nagato has proven to be quite the thorn in my side of late. I put heavy fires on it with 8 bombs about 2 weeks ago and cruisers put more fires on it about 5 days ago. Yet it keeps going out to sortie and find success. Meanwhile my Fletchers continue to take heavy losses. I will have to detach some from the Death Star to reinforce Burke.

After beating off my destroyers, this IJN fleet was engaged my cruiser fleet having already beaten off the BB Kirishima:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kushiro at 123,53, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Shell hits 26, on fire
DD Arashio, Shell hits 1
DD Benigumo, Shell hits 3
DD Harugumo, Shell hits 2

Allied Ships
CA Chicago II, Shell hits 3
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 1, on fire
CL Boise, Shell hits 2
CL Phoenix, Shell hits 2
CL Miami, Shell hits 2
DD Boyd, Shell hits 1
DD Cowell, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Laws
DD McGowan
DD Prichett
DD Sigourney
DD Thompson, Shell hits 1
DD Sampson, on fire
DD Helm, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
DD Redoubt, on fire
DD Le Fier

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 100% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 18,000 yards
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 8,000 yards
Ariga, Kosaku crosses the 'T'

The BB Nagato took 26 shells but only small fires started. No doubt it will be ready to sortie again soon. But the Allied navies do their job putting themselves between the IJN and both Kushiro and Allied shipping. But the battle continues to rage!

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kushiro at 123,53, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo, Shell hits 16
CL Niyodo, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Yamazuki, Shell hits 1
DD Urazuki, Shell hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Takanami
DD Urakaze, Shell hits 3, on fire

Allied Ships
CA Chicago II, Shell hits 16, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL Boise, Shell hits 4, on fire
CL Phoenix, Shell hits 2
CL Miami, Shell hits 3
DD Boyd
DD Cowell, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Laws, Shell hits 1
DD McGowan, Shell hits 1
DD Prichett, Shell hits 1
DD Sigourney, Shell hits 1
DD Thompson
DD Sampson, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Redoubt, on fire
DD Le Fier, Shell hits 1

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 100% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 18,000 yards
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 12,000 yards
Lee, Willis "Ching crosses the 'T'

Willis "Ching" Lee and his cruisers beat off yet another IJN BB fleet! This time the CA Chicago II goes down. Amazing performance by an excellent commander. But that's not all!

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kushiro at 123,53, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
E13A1 Jake: 3 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Hikari, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DD Kazegumo, Shell hits 3
DD Arare
DD Yaegumo

Allied Ships
BB Colorado, Shell hits 14, on fire
BB Pennsylvania, Shell hits 5
BB Queen Elizabeth, Shell hits 3
CL Jeanne d'Arc, Shell hits 5, on fire
DD Hoel, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Buchanan, Shell hits 1
DD Welles, Shell hits 1
DD Bancroft, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Quadrant, Shell hits 2

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 100% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 24,000 yards
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 8,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 8,000 yards
Brown, Wilson crosses the 'T'

The next line of defense of slow BBs get into fray and sink the CA Hikari! Wish they had gone in before the Fletchers but at least they got into the battle at all. And finally, for icing on the cake, my subs do what they do best:

ASW attack near Kushiro at 122,54

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo, Torpedo hits 1
DD Yamazuki

Allied Ships
SS Barb

The BB Kongo definitely won't go down without more sub help but most likely it should be out for some time.

All in all, both sides are exhausted after these series of naval attacks. The Allied cruiser force has basically been forced off the battlefield. Only 3 were sunk in the past week or so but the remainder have been moderately to heavily damaged. Here's what Burke's fleet looks like now:



I had shied away from putting battleships in a static position guarding Kushiro because of their vulnerability to air attacks but now I have no choice with no cruisers remaining in the area. I have 6 CLs in the DEI that are fresh and plan on sending 4 of them up north but they won't be there for a while as they have to go around south of New Guinea before heading north.

[Sangeli]

Air Battle of Hokkaido: Part 3

July 7th, 1944

As you probably could have guessed, the Japanese did not merely sortie surface ships Kushiro. They also sent in near 1000 planes at me. In the first two large scale air battles I relied mostly on CVs and CVEs for air cover. But with supply flowing in Hokkaido and base units settling in, now LBA took the primary role. My Death Star was held back 4 hexes from Kushiro to give some LRCAP and stay out of the fray but their impact was minimal.

The Japanese did have some moderate success sinking ships carrying support units off of Kushiro that had minimal air cover:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kushiro at 124,54

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 51
D4Y1 Judy x 36

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 7
F6F-3 Hellcat x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 6 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 9 destroyed, 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
xAK David J. Brewer, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
DE Harold C. Thomas, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Caleb Strong
xAP Cape Meares

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 204 (195 destroyed, 9 disabled)

There were a few attacks like this but overall the damage was only moderate.

Thereafter, the Japanese sent a few waves to attack Kushiro's air base. It seems no Japanese sweeps would come which greatly aided my cause:

Afternoon Air attack on Kushiro , at 123,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 88 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 74
G3M2 Nell x 18
G3M4-Q Nell x 94
N1K2-J George x 13
Ki-84a Frank x 11
Ki-100-I Tony x 106

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 74
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 57
P-51A Mustang x 7
P-51B Mustang x 55
F4U-1 Corsair x 36
F6F-3 Hellcat x 50

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed
G3M2 Nell: 6 destroyed
G3M4-Q Nell: 22 destroyed, 4 damaged
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed
Ki-100-I Tony: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 6 damaged
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed on ground
P-51A Mustang: 1 destroyed
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
35 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 25
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 60

This was the most destructive air attack as far as the air base was concerned. After this, my fighter defense stiffened and the Japanese took heavy losses. Some attacks went after my combat ships but luckily it was dive bombers targeting a BB:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kushiro at 123,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 114 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 22
Ki-48-IIc Lily x 15

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 23
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 12
P-51B Mustang x 20
F4U-1 Corsair x 5
F6F-3 Hellcat x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 3 destroyed
Ki-48-IIc Lily: 3 destroyed, 8 damaged
Ki-48-IIc Lily: 3 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed
P-51B Mustang: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 8

Some AA guns disabled but the damage was shrugged off other than that. Here are the complete air losses on the day:



This time I did not suffer corresponding high losses because I did not sent any bombers on strike missions. An easy 6.5-1 ratio in the air. Kushiro is pretty badly damaged but now I have multiple air bases in Hokkaido under my control:



And the bases are connected by railroad which is quite convenient for those damaged air planes. And now for the butchers bill for my ships:




All in all, a pretty successful day for me. I fended off attacks from both the air and sea while inflicting pretty hefty casualties on the Japanese. No doubt the Japanese will need rest before trying something like this again. And since the Japanese suffered so heavily in the air, I feel much more secure in sending more BBs to guard Kushiro to replace my cruisers which are in desperate need of repairs. But at this point there's hardly anything left in the tank for the IJN to throw at me.

Going forward, I am going to try to take Hokodate at the south western tip of Hokkaido while continuing to build up engineers, supply, and base units on the island. I want to build Ashikawa to a level 9 air base and start a bombing campaign over Honshu before landing there. Ashikawa is the base east of Sopporo and its already level 8 and is not a coastal base which makes it the perfect place to put bombers. Hokkaido could potentially base the bulk of my air force but it will take time to get all the units, supply, and support needed to make that happen.

[jwolf]

Thanks for writing up that epic series of battles. I would hope that's the end of IJN capability for a while, but it seems like one of those old vampire movies where the monster just won't stay dead for long. But you can replace losses; the Japanes cannot. And that was a great turn in the air for you. Weren't there any Kamikaze attacks?

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: jwolf
Thanks for writing up that epic series of battles. I would hope that's the end of IJN capability for a while, but it seems like one of those old vampire movies where the monster just won't stay dead for long. But you can replace losses; the Japanes cannot. And that was a great turn in the air for you. Weren't there any Kamikaze attacks?

Well it certainly took a chunk out of the IJN but I have no doubt it's not the end! But as you say, the Japanese cannot replace naval losses. Of course the air losses are a very different stories.

Ya, there were a couple of squadrons flying Kamikaze missions but not very significant. I think two landed on cargo ships.

[Sangeli]

The air war has taken a turn for the worse of Hokkaido. Non-stop Japanese sweeping is draining my fighter pools and bombers are hitting my airfields. I'm having to downgrade to P-40s in order to keep squadrons replenished. I have taken steps to bring RAF, RAAF, and RZNAF fighters to Hokkaido to help make up the difference but they won't arrive for some time. Luckily, I am getting 180 F6F-5s which are definitely an upgrade over the F6F-3 but still inferior to the Frank and George which are the mainstay Japanese fighters. As a result, I am also trying to wrangle up more AA units to protect my air bases from bombers. You know things aren't good for the Allies when you're talking about bringing P-40s and AA to the front line to protect against Japanese planes. And speaking of the P-40, can't say I'm happy with Allied designs for that plane. The best P-40 is the P-40K yet production stopped long ago for the P-40N varieties. There's a good chance I will have to rely on large numbers of P-40s as cannon fodder against superior Japanese planes. I can't believe I'm having to use the P-40 on the front line in late 1944 but there it is!

As a result, I am going to try to take Hokkdate in southern Hokaido before landing on the mainland. I need to control the strait in order to bombard bases on both sides of Japan. Relying on air power is not going to be enough to control the skies. This is almost making me second guess my decision to invade northern Japan but what can I do at this point?

[BBfanboy]

Cheer up - you get the A-bomb in another year ....[8D]

[witpqs]

In a few months the P-51D will come on line and help quite a bit, but it is not as rugged as the P-47 models.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: witpqs
In a few months the P-51D will come on line and help quite a bit, but it is not as rugged as the P-47 models.

The P-51D comes in November and is definitely a step up from the F-51B with 6 machine guns instead of 4. The real prize is the P-47N with a top speed of 460 mph and 8 machine guns but that's not until March 45.

But looking at the production schedule, it seems the next big thing for me will be the F4U-1D in September at a rate of 158 a month to supplement the 180 F6F-5s and 78 F4U-1As. That should really help me counteract the bleeding caused by my inferior F6F-3s going on right now.

[pontiouspilot]

Pretty damm sweet set-up I'd say. You rode the razer's edge and it's worked. The only thing I might consider is delaying any further island jump until your next generation of air arrives. In the meantime the air attrition should work in your favor if he keeps the TF attacks coming....CAP trap him. I'd make sure he has some Tfs to shoot at, without being gamey about it. This little theatre has been fascinating....what gives elsewhere? Opponent must be mightily distracted!

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot
Pretty damm sweet set-up I'd say. You rode the razer's edge and it's worked. The only thing I might consider is delaying any further island jump until your next generation of air arrives. In the meantime the air attrition should work in your favor if he keeps the TF attacks coming....CAP trap him. I'd make sure he has some Tfs to shoot at, without being gamey about it. This little theatre has been fascinating....what gives elsewhere? Opponent must be mightily distracted!

Thanks for your support! It's been quite an adventure invading Japan in mid 1944. Elsewhere there's not too much going on. I took Rangoon in Burma and am advancing there. In the SWPAC I'm in the process of pulling out my LCUs while doing island hopping with engineers. Hoping to attack some oil fields with bombers while the Japanese are distracted. But almost all resources on both sides are being used or being sent to northern Japan because that's going to be the decisive theatre.

Well I did just get the F6F-5 which is a big step up from the F6F-3 so in a way I am already at the next gen. In any case, I will take it slow and not island hop until I feel ready. Controlling the straits of Hokkaido would definitely enable me to make the jump as I could bring nearly all Japanese air bases under naval bombardment.

[Sangeli]

Air Battle of Hokkaido: Continued

Well I managed to get some good results by placing my CVEs in Bihoro and setting CAP to 100% at max altitude:







I guess Japanese pools are not as good as I would have expected as the inferior A6M2 was heavily used to escort bombers. And while I did lose 57 planes, only a handful were advanced fighter types which are in high demand. A good day for Allied pilots.

[Capt. Harlock]

I guess Japanese pools are not as good as I would have expected as the inferior A6M2 was heavily used to escort bombers.

Given that the Japanese have lost nearly 30K planes to date, I should think the pools would be a little thin! [:D]

(But the A6M2 might have been used as an escort because it has more range than most newer Japanese fighters.)

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

I guess Japanese pools are not as good as I would have expected as the inferior A6M2 was heavily used to escort bombers.

Given that the Japanese have lost nearly 30K planes to date, I should think the pools would be a little thin! [:D]

(But the A6M2 might have been used as an escort because it has more range than most newer Japanese fighters.)

I'm not sure about that. From what I can tell, almost all Japanese fighters are based in Ominato because it is protected from naval bombardment. I think the A6M2s came from there. My guess is that he's using the A6M2 because he's thinking long term and realizes that escort planes with poor pilots are cannon fodder anyway. Better off using them than a more advanced fighter whose numbers are likely to dwindle given how the Japanese are burning through 2k+ planes in a month if not more.

I should also mention that with fighter bases in northern Japan, I can recon all the factories in Japan to get a sense of his production capacity. Not sure if he put any factories in Manchuria or Korea. Ironically, in this game that would have been a pretty wise move because those areas are safe for over a year until the Soviets join. Though TBH I doubt we get that far.

[Sangeli]

July 17th, 1944

For the past few days, the Japanese have been sweeping different hexes/bases in western Hokkaido. Today they tried to sweep Asahikawa which is going to be my primary air base soon. Here is one of many waves:

Afternoon Air attack on Asahikawa , at 121,51

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 21 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 40

Allied aircraft
Corsair II x 12
Spitfire VIII x 24
F4U-1D Corsair x 27
P-40K Warhawk x 15
P-40N1 Warhawk x 34
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 32
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 31
P-51B Mustang x 24
FM-2 Wildcat x 42
F4U-1 Corsair x 8
F4U-1A Corsair x 32
F6F-3 Hellcat x 85
F6F-5 Hellcat x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 6 destroyed

No Allied losses

With so many planes on CAP, the Allies had the upper hand:



The reason why this battle was more important than the total air losses suggest is that these loses were only in elite Japanese squadrons flying modern planes. The Japanese are going to be hard pressed to replace the airframe losses and utterly hopeless in replacing the pilots. One thing you should notice from the battle is the large number of carrier planes involved on the Allied side from CVEs. At this point, CVEs are actually MORE valuable than CVs are to me! The reason is that CVEs can be put into hexes with a friendly base and not suffer the 50% CAP reduction like CVs do. Right now my CVs are just sitting back in reserve not really doing much at all while my CVEs are all stacked at Bihoro providing an air shield on the eastern half of the island.

And I took a screenshot of my best pilots as well:



I've never seen a 99 experience pilot but M. Arnold is getting very close with 97! Wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with over 40 kills. I mean at this point, how could such a good pilot flying the exceptional P-47D25 even get shot down?

[Sangeli]

July 20th, 1944

Things have been pretty quiet these last few days which is great news for the Allies in Hokkaido. The Japanese seem to have only one SCTF in action now and my Fletchers beat them off:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Sapporo at 120,51, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Tama, Shell hits 2
DD Makigumo
DD Takanami, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Suzunami, Shell hits 2
DD Kiyonami, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Michishio
DD Nara
DD Tsuta
DD Kikuzuki, Shell hits 2
DD Nagatsuki
DD Fuyugumo, Shell hits 2, on fire

Allied Ships
DD Bennett
DD Charrette
DD Cotten
DD Dyson
DD Paul Hamilton
DD Hazelwood
DD Hickox
DD Knapp
DD Laws
DD Leutze
DD Marshall
DD McGowan
DD McNair
DD Morrison
DD Mullany
DD Stephen Potter, Shell hits 1
DD Norman Scott
DD Spence
DD Wedderburn, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Yarnall, Shell hits 1

Reduced sighting due to 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 0% moonlight: 10,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 18,000 yards
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 12,000 yards

That could very well be the only Japanese capital ship still in action today! Granted, the Allies have been hurting in the cruiser department as well; I only have a single CL/CA (CA Boston) left in the Hokkaido area as well. But I have about a half dozen that are arriving or completing repairs soon. And my battleship fleet is intact and ready to go!

The real story of late is the enormous build up of Allied support units and supply in Hokkaido. Ashikawa in the center of Hokkaido should reach level 9 within 5 days and I have around 300k supply scattered around the island.


The Moment of Doom

The culmination of nearly a full year of planning is about to come to fruition. I call it the Moment of Doom. That of course is going to be the MASSIVE strategic air campaign against the home islands. The new home of the USAAF of Ashikawa is no more than 24 hexes away than every city in the home islands. The max normal operating range of the B-29-1 is 28 hexes. That means I can hit any base in Japan with B-29s 10,000 pounds of bombs at any given moment. To complicate matters, I can use P-51s, P-47s, and P-38s to clear the air space for B-24s against any base in the northern half of Honshu; Tokyo is a mere 12 hexes from Ashikawa. The plan on using B-29s to attack deep poorly protected targets of lesser importance while my fighters and B-24s go after the better protected more important further north. There's just no way Japan can stop this. Even if they shoot down bombers it will only slow me down; I've accumulated huge stockpiles of heavy bombers because few have been shot down of late. In particular, I have lost only 20 B-29s and count about 280 in reserve or in squadrons!

That being said, taking Hokadate in southern Hokkaido is going to be very difficult as you see here:



It sits in 2x terrain, well defended by mine, CD guns and 90k soldiers. Taking the base, however is still of paramount importance. So I am planning to use the strategic air campaign to distract the Japanese from a massive BB bombardment campaign against Hokadate. I have 9 old BBs ready for the task. I have a base 1 hex away (Muroran) and plan on using half a dozen AEs to enable near continuous bombardment. And I plan on using my CVEs in Muroran to ensure no bombers can reach these vulnerable and valuable ships. If all of this goes well, I may use my CVs to cover fast BBs against the Japanese along the coast. This is the sort of firepower I've been dreaming about since I started playing as the Allies [:D]

But as much fun as all this sounds, its going to use a LOT of supply. I can't even fathom what my daily usage will be. But I picked Hokkaido much because of the relatively short supply route. To put this in perspective, Saipan is 121 hexes from San Francisco while port Rupert is 80 hexes from Bihoro. My cargo ships make the round trip in less than a month.

[Sangeli]

July 25th, 1944

Today was a huge day of action! My opponent left me a three word message upon sending me the replay: "it has begun".

Third Naval Battle of Hokkaido

The day started rather auspiciously with the Japanese sending MTGBs my way. Two got hit by mines but the rest managed to find my BB fleet and engage it successfully:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Hakodate at 119,53, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
MTB G-161, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
MTB G-163
MTB G-164, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
MTB G-165, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
MTB G-166, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
MTB G-167

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Torpedo hits 1
BB Queen Elizabeth, Shell hits 3
DD Boyd, Shell hits 2
DD Sigourney, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Buchanan
DD Welles
DD Thompson, Shell hits 2

Reduced sighting due to 17% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 17% moonlight: 4,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 24,000 yards
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
Range closes to 6,000 yards...
Range closes to 4,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 4,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 4,000 yards
Lee, Willis "Ching" crosses the 'T'

That's not supposed happen like that under Willis "Ching" Lee! Two torpedo hits on my ships including the BB Pennsylvania. Undoubtedly the limited moonlight had an impact on this. My own PT boats would engage this fleet but indecisively. Thereafter, an SCTF led by the BB Fuso met the remnants of Lee's fleet:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Hakodate at 119,53, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Nara, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Tsuta, Shell hits 1
DD Kikuzuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Fuyugumo, Shell hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
BB Queen Elizabeth, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Boyd
DD Buchanan, Shell hits 2
DD Welles

Reduced sighting due to 17% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 17% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 24,000 yards
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 8,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 8,000 yards

Given that my fleet was outnumbered I'm happy with this indecisive result. Because after this my Fletchers would engage this fleet and set things to right:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Muroran at 120,52, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
E7K2 Alf: 2 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Shell hits 33, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Nara, Shell hits 31, and is sunk
DD Tsuta, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
DD Kikuzuki, Shell hits 9, heavy fires
DD Nagatsuki, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Fuyugumo, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Bennion
DD Brownson
DD Cogswell
DD Conner
DD Franks
DD Guest, Shell hits 2
DD Haggard
DD Hale
DD Heermann
DD Hutchins, Shell hits 1
DD Izard, Shell hits 1
DD Porterfield, Shell hits 2
DD Schroeder
DD Sigsbee
DD Stanly, Shell hits 5, on fire
DD Uhlmann, Shell hits 3

Reduced sighting due to 17% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 17% moonlight: 9,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 24,000 yards
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 18,000 yards
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 8,000 yards
Sakiyama, Shakao crosses the 'T'

That's what I'm talking about! My Fletchers under Arleigh Burke sink the BB Fuso and 4/5 destroyers. President Roosevelt should meet with those commanders and start handing out medals liberally. But of course that's not all! The Japanese "knife fighter" squadrons come in after:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Muroran at 120,52, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Ishikari
DD Kazegumo
DD Makigumo, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Suzunami
DD Kiyonami

Allied Ships
DD Bennion
DD Brownson
DD Cogswell
DD Conner
DD Franks
DD Guest, Shell hits 1
DD Haggard
DD Hale, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Heermann
DD Hutchins
DD Izard
DD Porterfield, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Schroeder
DD Sigsbee, Shell hits 2
DD Stanly, on fire
DD Uhlmann

Why stop at one knife fighter squadron? Why not another?

Night Time Surface Combat, near Muroran at 120,52, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Tama
DD Kuroshio
DD Urakaze, Shell hits 1
DD Arashio, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Samidare, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
DD Bennion
DD Brownson
DD Cogswell
DD Conner
DD Franks
DD Guest
DD Haggard
DD Hale, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Heermann
DD Hutchins, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Izard, Shell hits 1
DD Porterfield, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Schroeder, Shell hits 1
DD Sigsbee, on fire
DD Stanly, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Uhlmann

Not quite as good here taking numerous shells and losing DD Stanly to a torpedo but still happy to waste Japanese ammo and fight them off. I didn't get a screenshot of this next battle but I think more medals need to be awarded:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Hakodate at 119,53, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Tama, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
DD Kuroshio
DD Urakaze
DD Arashio
DD Samidare

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Thompson, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Reduced sighting due to 28% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 28% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 28,000 yards...
Range closes to 26,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 26,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 24,000 yards
Range closes to 22,000 yards...
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 16,000 yards...
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese radar detects Allied task force at 12,000 yards
Nakamura, Katsubej crosses the 'T'

DD Thompson went down early in the battle leaving the BB Pennsylvania alone against torpedo slinging IJN ships having already taken a torpedo from the MTBs earlier Yet the gunners were true and took down the CL Tama in five hits! The BB Pennsylvania is holding up well after the battle:



Probably its last battle of the war but the commander can hold his head up high having withstood multiple torpedoes and still sinking a Japanese CL.

Here's the total butchers bill:



The IJN is getter closer and closer to extinction. Not sure exactly what's left but it can't be much and many are probably being repaired and thus vulnerable to air attack.


The Moment of Doom: The USAAF Gets Revenge

As promised, on this day the USAAF launched its massive strategic air campaign. I picked two targets: the N1K2-J factories in Nagoya and the Ki-83a factories in Fukuoka. Nagoya was within P-38 range so I sent a few squadrons in to sweep:

Morning Air attack on Nagoya , at 111,60

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 42 NM, estimated altitude 28,440 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
A6M4 Zero x 6
A6M5 Zero x 11
A6M8 Zero x 11
A6M8-J Zero x 9
A7M2 Sam x 5
N1K2-J George x 28

Allied aircraft
P-38L Lightning x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38L Lightning: 5 destroyed

There were a few more sweeps like that which helped clear the air for B-24s:

Morning Air attack on Nagoya , at 111,60

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M4 Zero x 1
A6M5 Zero x 9
A6M8 Zero x 12
A6M8-J Zero x 4
A7M2 Sam x 3
N1K2-J George x 24

Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 26
P-38J Lightning x 30
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
P-38J Lightning: 5 destroyed
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 7 damaged

N1K2-J George factory hits 2
N1K2-J George factory hits 4



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Nagoya , at 111,60

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 42 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
A6M5 Zero x 5
A6M8 Zero x 4
A6M8-J Zero x 3
A7M2 Sam x 1
N1K2-J George x 10

Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 14
P-38J Lightning x 3
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M8-J Zero: 1 destroyed
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

N1K2-J George factory hits 1

Some losses but overall pretty good results.

The B-29s and their long range met no air opposition and had great success!

Morning Air attack on Fukuoka , at 103,57

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 27

No Allied losses

Ki-84a Frank factory hits 23



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Fukuoka , at 103,57

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 15

No Allied losses

Ki-84a Frank factory hits 9

Intel showed the factory was level 32 so theoretically I knocked out the entire factory!

Despite the success, the P-38 losses make regular bombing unsustainable:



Furthermore, I am sure that the Japanese will start guarding bases that produce the latest and greatest fighters because that is my primary target. So I pose a question to my readers: what other targets should I go for? There are lots of options like other air frames, engines, heavy industry, etc. Those who are experienced Japanese players could greatly help my war effort by helping me prioritize targets! I would really like to rank targets from highest value to lowest value then allocate missions based off that and the expected levels of defense. This would be a great time for an open discussion of how to bring the Japanese war economy to its knees [:D]

[Sangeli]

EDIT: Combined the two posts into one.