The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Canoerebel]

6/28/44

DEI: Mini KB is moving north, towards the Java Sea; and the Allies will snap off an invasion of Ternate tomorrow. I'm not expecting a quick victory there, but proximity to Allied bases should make supply an issue for John and allow frequent bombing by Allied LBA.

[Canoerebel]

6/28/44

Indochina and Peep Show: Promising developments in Thailand...and taking a look at Peep Show possibilities.

[Canoerebel]

Attacks on troop transports north of Luzon on 6/28/44

1. Morning Air attack (by LBA) on TF, near Laoag at 82,70

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 1 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 0 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84a Frank x 2

Allied aircraft
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 35

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Toan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Yamayuri Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Sanju Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Yamagiku Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Tsurushima Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Eihuku Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Hakodate Maru, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
xAK Muroran Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
SC Ch 46, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
823 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 39 destroyed, 46 disabled
Engineers: 22 destroyed, 5 disabled
Vehicles lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)


2. Morning Air attack (by Death Star aircraft) on TF, near Laoag at 82,70

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 14 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84a Frank x 2

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 142
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 56
TBF-1 Avenger x 14
TBM-1C Avenger x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAK Sanju Maru, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Kinkasan Maru, Bomb hits 11, and is sunk
xAK Tsurushima Maru, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Tachi Maru, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Jinzan Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Muroran Maru, Bomb hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Zyunyo Maru, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk
xAK Eihuku Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
SC CHa-251, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Yamagiku Maru, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
xAK Yamayuri Maru, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PB Sonan Maru #5, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
xAK Toan Maru, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
PB Nichi Maru #1, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
6420 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 314 destroyed, 273 disabled
Engineers: 62 destroyed, 51 disabled
Guns lost 19 (10 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 106 (70 destroyed, 36 disabled)

[Canoerebel]

Final note on the day. The Allied air force was active on Luzon. Fighters swept stout enemy CAP at San Fernando, this time scoring a 3:1 victory. Massed 4EB then hit the airfield hard, destroying many aircraft on the ground. I don't think John can rail out damaged aircraft now, so he'll have to think about putting any more fighters here (and his other good field, Aparri, isn't on a railroad; so disabled aircraft there are "stuck" until fixed, if ever).

[BBfanboy]

Nice! [:)] The IJA will sorely miss the BFs you drowned because of the scarcity of Air Support and engineers Japan always has.

If you end up attacking Bangkok, consider putting a unit in the jungle hex directly west first, to cut off his retreat toward Malaya/Singapore. That also cuts the rail line so he can't reinforce or retreat by rail into that defensible terrain.

[Lowpe]

Pretty interesting that Japan couldn't spare even a sentai of Oscars for some LRCAP over those transports. Or didn't think of it?

Also, the task forces were really light on ASW ships.

[JeffroK]

If you are moving into kamikaze areas, do you have any B29 or B24 which can hit the Formosa bases (by night) and disrupt him a bit.

Can you manage to take the first raid at max range (a bit hard)and have maximum LBA LRCAP.

Having played DOWNFALL I find them a 1 shot weapon, sometimes dangerous, but an often painful insect on unescorted TF.

[Canoerebel]

In early 1943, John and I agreed to refrain from night bombing (fearing that it was a bit borked). At that time, I told him that I'd want to do it later on, as historical, and not to excess if it did prove overpowered.

Before embarking on night bombing, I need to give John fair warning. But I don't want to tip him deeper into despair, and right now I'm afraid that's what'll happen.

So I'll wait until some propitious moment, if ever there is one, to broach the topic. For now, I'll proceed as is.

Formosa is well within range of big Allied airfields on Luzon, but not fighters. I won't use 4EB until I can arrange for good sweeps (with rare exceptions, if a strike seems helpful to "keep John honest" with his CAP distribution. He has a heckuva lot of AA in Japan right now, per SigInt. He was ready for strategic bombing...but it hasn't happened yet.

Recon will fly Singapore from Miri tomorrow. That'll get his attention.

[Bullwinkle58]

I can't say why you got NO VPs for Japanese troops if that's what you saw, but remember the 6000 casualties don't mean VPs, only dead devices. And in my game with Lokasenna recently I saw about 400% FOW inflation on numbers of lost men in a transport sinking.

[Canoerebel]

Party pooper.

[Lokasenna]

Looks like a bog-standard base force, MAYBE two, judging by types showing up in the losses and the number of transports. Which isn't going to be all that many devices, really. A few hundred devices at most.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

I can't say why you got NO VPs for Japanese troops if that's what you saw, but remember the 6000 casualties don't mean VPs, only dead devices. And in my game with Lokasenna recently I saw about 400% FOW inflation on numbers of lost men in a transport sinking.

What patch level? In one of the more recent Betas Michael fixed a problem with Japanese units that get re-spawned not yielding points. It might have only been units that are re-spawned right away, or some other concoction but it was pretty big.

[Canoerebel]

I sent John a brief note of commiseration: how I've seen enough of my own TFs to evaporate, generating white hair on my head, to know how that last turn was for him.

He replied that he's getting enough white hair now...but then added (he just had to, ya know) that he hoped to get this TF out safely but was glad the "other three" had made it already.

Well, his exact words: "Hoped I could get that last TF through but am happy that the previous three made it."

[JeffroK]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I sent John a brief note of commiseration: how I've seen enough of my own TFs to evaporate, generating white hair on my head, to know how that last turn was for him.

He replied that he's getting enough white hair now...but then added (he just had to, ya know) that he hoped to get this TF out safely but was glad the "other three" had made it already.

Well, his exact words: "Hoped I could get that last TF through but am happy that the previous three made it."

We must be careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.

W S Churchill, speech of 4 June 1940

[Canoerebel]

Great quote, JeffK.

For many years now, I've taught an adult Sunday school class in a little country Baptist church in northwest Georgia. Occasionally, just for fun, I put together a list of humorous or profound quotes from four sources - always the same four sources, because they are quote machines: The Book of Proverbs, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, and Winston Churchill. Then I read one quote at a time. The class tries to guess the source. It's hard to get them right and prompts a lot of laughter.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

I can't say why you got NO VPs for Japanese troops if that's what you saw, but remember the 6000 casualties don't mean VPs, only dead devices. And in my game with Lokasenna recently I saw about 400% FOW inflation on numbers of lost men in a transport sinking.

What patch level? In one of the more recent Betas Michael fixed a problem with Japanese units that get re-spawned not yielding points. It might have only been units that are re-spawned right away, or some other concoction but it was pretty big.

I think we're at 1126a. Not last, but close.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

I can't say why you got NO VPs for Japanese troops if that's what you saw, but remember the 6000 casualties don't mean VPs, only dead devices. And in my game with Lokasenna recently I saw about 400% FOW inflation on numbers of lost men in a transport sinking.

What patch level? In one of the more recent Betas Michael fixed a problem with Japanese units that get re-spawned not yielding points. It might have only been units that are re-spawned right away, or some other concoction but it was pretty big.

I think we're at 1126a. Not last, but close.

Worth checking the notes. When we patched I suddenly started getting serious points for IJ LCU devices destroyed.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: witpqs



What patch level? In one of the more recent Betas Michael fixed a problem with Japanese units that get re-spawned not yielding points. It might have only been units that are re-spawned right away, or some other concoction but it was pretty big.

I think we're at 1126a. Not last, but close.

Worth checking the notes. When we patched I suddenly started getting serious points for IJ LCU devices destroyed.

I believe the fix you're talking about is because of our game, actually - back in Australia, Bullwinkle got one of those messages "18th Division surrounded at Geraldton!" or whatever it said... and instead of the unit suffering increasing disablements as is supposed to happen with that message (and then dying soon), it teleported back to Tokyo. The comment on our game save file still reads "added 150 VPs" from Michael's editing our save for that, and he fixed it afterwards.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58




I think we're at 1126a. Not last, but close.

Worth checking the notes. When we patched I suddenly started getting serious points for IJ LCU devices destroyed.

I believe the fix you're talking about is because of our game, actually - back in Australia, Bullwinkle got one of those messages "18th Division surrounded at Geraldton!" or whatever it said... and instead of the unit suffering increasing disablements as is supposed to happen with that message (and then dying soon), it teleported back to Tokyo. The comment on our game save file still reads "added 150 VPs" from Michael's editing our save for that, and he fixed it afterwards.

So you're sayin' that bug was Bullwinkle's fault? [:'(]

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: witpqs
So you're sayin' that bug was Bullwinkle's fault? [:'(]

Fault? I prefer to think of it as service services to the community. [:)]