Stalking the Wolf. Mundy (A) vs GrauWolf80 (J) - LST's Bottleneck Mod.

[jwolf]

That combat report at Rabaul is great! [:)] Are the "civilians" a feature of this mod?

[ny59giants]

PBYs in Philippines to India as your small CW Cats are too small to cover all that ocean.

B-17s in Philippines go to India. I like them at Ledo, once built up, as they can reach into China and offer a nice surprise.

Malaya - make sure you have a way to base hop your short legged fighters can get up to India. An aggressive Japanese player will take Port Blair and other bases to prevent this.

AEB go to India, SeaBees stay in Pacific as general rule of thumb.

[Mundy]

Yeah, they're meant to be a supply sump in these forward areas. I think LST's intention was for you to save them, if possible. I've been rather indifferent about their fate. Another unit is the hospital unit, which basically are support troops, meant to be paired with a hospital ship. In this game, I doubt hospital ships will avoid attacks like they tended to in real life.

20 January 1942

Landings
Pontianak

Losses
Sambas
88/50
Yushan / Chuchou

Rabaul's civilians beat off another attack. How...? Beats me...

Ground combat at Rabaul (106,125)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 3721 troops, 32 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 122

Defending force 2083 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 92

Allied adjusted defense: 47

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
56ID 148th Infantry Regiment
4th Base Force

Defending units:
Civilians

Tarakan's still holding with no attacks from him in a while.

I finally dealt with those MTB, which were disrupting all my shipping around Rangoon. My boats managed one ineffectual hit on one, but the big boys finished the job.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Rangoon at 54,54, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
MTB RTN CMB-6
MTB RTN CMB-7
MTB RTN CMB-8, Shell hits 1
MTB RTN CMB-9

Allied Ships
HDML-1100
HDML-1101
HDML-1102
HDML-1103
HDML-1104

Reduced visibility due to Thunderstorms
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 1,000 yards
Range closes to 4,000 yards...
Range closes to 2,000 yards...
Range closes to 1,000 yards...
Leader, RTN gains tactical advantage
MTB RTN CMB-7 engages HDML-1104 at 1,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-8 engages HDML-1103 at 1,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-8 engages HDML-1101 at 1,000 yards
HDML-1100 engages MTB RTN CMB-8 at 1,000 yards
Boyd K. orders Allied TF to disengage
Range increases to 2,000 yards
HDML-1104 engages MTB RTN CMB-8 at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 3,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-7 engages HDML-1101 at 3,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-7 engages HDML-1103 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1104 engages MTB RTN CMB-8 at 2,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-7 engages HDML-1102 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1103 engages MTB RTN CMB-6 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1100 engages MTB RTN CMB-9 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1104 engages MTB RTN CMB-9 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1104 engages MTB RTN CMB-8 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1102 engages MTB RTN CMB-7 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1101 engages MTB RTN CMB-6 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1104 engages MTB RTN CMB-7 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1103 engages MTB RTN CMB-6 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1103 engages MTB RTN CMB-9 at 2,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-7 engages HDML-1102 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1100 engages MTB RTN CMB-6 at 2,000 yards
HDML-1102 engages MTB RTN CMB-9 at 2,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-9 engages HDML-1101 at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 3,000 yards
HDML-1104 engages MTB RTN CMB-9 at 3,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-9 engages HDML-1103 at 3,000 yards
HDML-1102 engages MTB RTN CMB-6 at 3,000 yards
HDML-1101 engages MTB RTN CMB-9 at 3,000 yards
Leader, RTN orders Japanese TF to disengage
Task forces break off...


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

Day Time Surface Combat, near Rangoon at 54,54, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
MTB RTN CMB-6, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
MTB RTN CMB-7, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
MTB RTN CMB-8, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
MTB RTN CMB-9, Shell hits 9, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CA Australia
CA Cornwall
CA Exeter
CL Hobart
CL Enterprise~
CL Dauntless~
CL Ceres~
CL Glasgow~
CL Capetown~
CL Colombo~
CL Caledon~
DD Nestor~
DD Napier~
DD Nizam~
DD Ierax~
DD Aetos~

Reduced visibility due to Thunderstorms
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 6,000 yards
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 7,000 yards...
Range closes to 3,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 3,000 yards
Range closes to 1,000 yards...
Leader, RTN gains tactical advantage
CL Ceres~ engages MTB RTN CMB-9 at 1,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-9 sunk by CL Caledon~ at 1,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-6 sunk by CL Glasgow~ at 1,000 yards
Range increases to 2,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-8 sunk by DD Nestor~ at 2,000 yards
Leader, RTN orders Japanese TF to disengage
Range increases to 3,000 yards
MTB RTN CMB-7 sunk by CL Glasgow~ at 3,000 yards
Combat ends with last Japanese ship sunk...

Near Port Moresby, his battleships chased my small supply convoy most of the way to Australia, sinking most of them. I was hoping this would get them within Dauntless range, but no luck there. Force Z refueled at Sydney and is headed north to deal with them. I don't know if they'll hang around long enough or not

[Mundy]

21 January 1942

Landings
<None>

Losses
Pontianak
Rabaul
90/57

The civvies at Rabaul finally fall.

I have several Australian base units making the cross-country march to Portland Roads. I've found in other games, that despite its seeming isolation, it doesn't seem to have trouble getting supply.

The big cavalry fight in northern China goes my way.

Ground combat at Paotow (92,34)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 26284 troops, 220 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 956

Defending force 4128 troops, 40 guns, 100 vehicles, Assault Value = 66

Allied adjusted assault: 393

Japanese adjusted defense: 106

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

Allied forces CAPTURE Paotow !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
772 casualties reported
Squads: 28 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 65 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 18 (15 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 75 (73 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Allied ground losses:
159 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 28 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
4th Chinese Cavalry
3rd Chinese Cavalry
2nd Chinese Cavalry
1st Chinese Cavalry
5th Chinese Cavalry

Defending units:
1st Cavalry Brigade
4th Cavalry Brigade

Fuso and Yamashiro are exiting the area, having rounded the point at Milne Bay. Force Z is back to Sydney to get fixed back up.

A bunch more Dutch ground troops will be reaching Rangoon in a day or so. A bunch of Australian and British quality units plus base troops are at Aden awaiting transport which will arrive next turn.

[Mundy]

22 January 1942

Another numbered dot base falls in China.

A group of two or three carriers catch my final transports leaving Sabang, sinking all except for one destroyer, whose survival is doubtful. I'm moving SS Trusty to try and intercept, but I'm not hopeful.

Tarakan beats off another attack. The casualties are starting to stack his way, though.

GW catches another transports just entering the map from Panama. He's got that spot sighted in. I've added dog-legs to everyone else inbound, so they should get around this problem. Mississippi is also inbound from there to Pearl. With enough battleships rounded up, I may pay Midway a visit.

All three carriers reunited at Tahiti. I'm waiting about 3 days for the AOs to show, as everyone is low on fuel. Not all the DDs fit in the new single task force, so they'll head back to Pearl.

I want to get my bases, such as Noumea, Suva and Pago Pago populated. His roving carriers have me hesitant to try anything. I'm hoping I can get a 3v2 or 3v1 against some of them.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Hi,

two comments:

Resources:
IMO Australia should export resources instead of needing resource imports. It exported mostly primary produce (i.e. resources - mainly agricultural products like wool and wheat) and imported mainly processed and manufactured goods (i.e. supplies in the game) before and during the war. I'm not sure that Australia has a resource deficit in my mod - someone with tracker could check that out please?

I intended that the ressource surplus at Aden, Adaban, Mombasa, CT, the "Caribean Sea Frontier" and on-map sources be shipped to CONUS and the UK for conversion into supplies. The UK base for example has LI but no ressource production. With factories repairing in CONUS, the resource demande will rise there as well

This is to simulate economic relationships and to tie-down shipping and to simulate the fact that there are very few withdrawals of merchant ships in the game although historically many ships mae trips all over the world and did not spend the entire war in the PTO.


Civilians:
The civilians at Rabaul are tough Aussie plantation managers and Chinese shopowners armed with hunting rifles. They are fighting for their homes, businesses and lifes - and are fighting mad that the military tasked to protect them has chickened out...

The intention of the civilians is mainly to prevent a "Sir Robin", being "supply eaters" is secondary. The idea is that the noble purpose of the armed forces is to protect the civilians - so the civilians should be evacuated first, while the military stands and fights if necessary - not the other way round. In my tests I have never left civilians behind, so I never faced that issue. Looks like a repeat of the die-hard HQ units which sometimes resist long after the combat units have surrendered.

Historically the evacuation of civilians started before the war, but many refused to go until the shooting started.

[Mundy]

So, to keep Australia well stocked, I should just ship supply over?

I was trying to airlift civilians early on, but it was an extremely slow process.

[Mundy]

23 January 1942

Landings
Namatanai (107,125) (one hex E of Rabaul on the next island)

Losses
Port Dickson

Tracker's been acting up for me. I've messed with the memory settings in the batch file. It seems like whatever I set it to to fix something aggravates another situation. I'm currently using

java -Xms384m -Xmx512m -jar "WitPTracker.jar"
pause

But when I load the turn, nothing happens.

Tarakan's still holding on. Maybe he needs more bodies.

Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3919 troops, 54 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 179

Defending force 2879 troops, 39 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Japanese adjusted assault: 66

Allied adjusted defense: 73

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

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

Allied ground losses:
94 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 8 (3 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
Sasebo 8th SNLF
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
31st Field AA Battalion
21st Fld AA Gun Co
35th Field AA Battalion
26th Fld AA Gun Co

Defending units:
Tarakan Defenses
Tarakan Base Force
VII KNIL Battalion
Civilians


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


Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 442 troops, 20 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Defending force 5022 troops, 128 guns, 39 vehicles, Assault Value = 174

Assaulting units:
Tarakan Defenses
Tarakan Base Force
VII KNIL Battalion
Civilians

Defending units:
Sasebo 8th SNLF
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
35th Field AA Battalion
31st Field AA Battalion
21st Fld AA Gun Co
26th Fld AA Gun Co

His carriers north of Sumatra, caught my slow minelayers which left their load this turn. It's tooltipping two CVLs and a CV, but I don't really trust those.

His battleship force is back to Port Moresby already. Yamashiro seems to be missing this time. Once they're out of the yard, I'll have to keep Force Z on station up here.

He caught my convoy unloading at PM, most got away.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Hood Point at 98,133, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Shell hits 1
CA Aoba
CA Kako
CL Oi
DD Akebono
DD Kisaragi
DD Kikuzuki
DD Mochizuki

Allied Ships
DD Flusser, Shell hits 1, on fire
PG Isabel
xAP Sarpedonia, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Maori
xAP Nairana, Shell hits 2
xAK Hauraki, Shell hits 1
xAK Peisander, Shell hits 3, on fire
xAK Peshawur
xAK Talune
xAP Diomed
xAP +Centaur, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
xAK Lena Luckenbach
xAK Lewis Luckenbach~
xAK James Lykes, Shell hits 5, heavy fires
xAK Liberty Glo
xAK Nisqually
xAP Ruys~, Shell hits 2, on fire

Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 18 (8 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Reduced sighting due to 28% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 28% moonlight: 9,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 9,000 yards
Japanese launch Long Lance torpedoes at 9,000 yards before allies detect Japanese presence
BB Fuso fires at PG Isabel at 9,000 yards
BB Fuso fires at xAP Ruys~ at 9,000 yards
DD Mochizuki fires at DD Flusser at 9,000 yards
DD Mochizuki fires at xAP Nairana at 9,000 yards
DD Kisaragi fires at DD Flusser at 9,000 yards
DD Akebono fires at xAP Sarpedonia at 9,000 yards
DD Kisaragi fires at xAK James Lykes at 9,000 yards
DD Mochizuki fires at xAK Peisander at 9,000 yards
Range closes to 7,000 yards
DD Mochizuki engages DD Flusser at 7,000 yards
CA Kako engages xAK James Lykes at 7,000 yards
CA Aoba engages xAP Ruys~ at 7,000 yards
CA Kako engages xAP +Centaur at 7,000 yards
DD Mochizuki engages DD Flusser at 7,000 yards
DD Kikuzuki engages DD Flusser at 7,000 yards
DD Kisaragi engages DD Flusser at 7,000 yards
DD Akebono engages xAP Sarpedonia at 7,000 yards
DD Mochizuki engages xAK Talune at 7,000 yards
Range closes to 5,000 yards
BB Fuso engages DD Flusser at 5,000 yards
CA Aoba engages PG Isabel at 5,000 yards
CA Aoba engages xAK James Lykes at 5,000 yards
DD Kisaragi engages xAP +Centaur at 5,000 yards
DD Flusser engages DD Mochizuki at 5,000 yards
DD Kisaragi engages xAP Nairana at 5,000 yards
DD Flusser engages DD Akebono at 5,000 yards
DD Kikuzuki engages xAK Hauraki at 5,000 yards
Range closes to 4,000 yards
BB Fuso engages DD Flusser at 4,000 yards
BB Fuso engages PG Isabel at 4,000 yards
CA Aoba engages DD Flusser at 4,000 yards
DD Akebono engages xAP +Centaur at 4,000 yards
DD Kikuzuki engages DD Flusser at 4,000 yards
DD Flusser engages DD Akebono at 4,000 yards
DD Akebono engages xAK James Lykes at 4,000 yards
DD Mochizuki engages xAK Peisander at 4,000 yards
Range increases to 6,000 yards
BB Fuso engages DD Flusser at 6,000 yards
Allied Task Force Manages to Escape
Task forces break off...

[Simonsez]

I've seen elsewhere where others have suggested turning off all of the Australian HI factories to limit the native draw down of Australian fuel stokcpiles in the early game. Until you can get regular convoys set up, the fuel situation in Australia can be frustrating when you need to refuel good combat ships or turn around a large fleet of merchant ships to make another run. Assume that you have already tried to grab as much fuel from the DEI as you send ships out of harms way. Until your opponent has serious air cover in the lower DEI, you can still pull from Java's large stockpile. Load up all the small AKLs and AKs that you can with fuel as you pull them out. Every little bit helps you and denies your opponent. Continue to pull out fuel in AKLs through small ports until you start to loose ships. Even if sunk, a ship full of fuel denies that fuel to the enemy.

[Mundy]

The DEI is pretty much covered by him at this point. Carriers have run rampant there.

I've been sending fuel from Cape Town. I've had them going from the US also.

Fuel isn't really critical at Australia yet. I can run my smaller convoys for some time. I won't be basing any capital ships there, however.

24 January 1942

Namatanai falls.

Tracker's running again. I saw a thread about upping the memory values by 128 until it works, and so far, it has. I rely on it to let me know when LCUs reach their destinations.

Quiet turn. His battleships near PM vanished as well as the carriers south of Burma. I'm wary of sending anything out at this point.

New Mexico arrived in Panama. I'm not sure if/when I can get damaged BBs at Pearl sent to the states. Some of them have flt at around 75, which makes the trip too iffy for me. Drydocks are full for now. Saratoga ain't coming out anytime soon. Colorado's about 9 days out yet. Some of the more lightly damaged battleships at Pearl are going through upgrades, delaying their release.

[Mundy]

25 January 1942

Eastern carriers are now 5 hexes W of Port Blair headed NW. Indomitable is 2 hexes from Colombo. Not sure if I'm looking at a showdown between these or not. I'm reluctant to just disband them if he decides to hit the port.

Once Bataan and Singapore fall, I won't have to sit through the endless air raids. For all the iron they're dropping, not many people are getting hurt.

Mines save the day again.

TF 61 encounters mine field at Perth - Fremantle (49,147)

Japanese Ships
SS I-166, Mine hits 1, heavy damage

I use them rather liberally, keeping Argonaut busy.

[Mundy]

26 January 1943

Landings
St. George (107,126) (1 hex SE of Rabaul, on the next island)

Losses
<None>

Thanbyuzayat falls, 1 hex SW of Moulmein. I forgot to post last turn's attack which went at 1-1 odds.

Ground combat at Thanbyuzayat (55,56)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 29183 troops, 274 guns, 207 vehicles, Assault Value = 951

Defending force 3653 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 125

Allied adjusted assault: 206

Japanese adjusted defense: 63

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

Allied forces CAPTURE Thanbyuzayat !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
1357 casualties reported
Squads: 56 destroyed, 24 disabled
Non Combat: 40 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 12 (7 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Allied ground losses:
509 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 77 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
46th Indian Brigade
17ID 16th Indian Brigade
Tenasserim BAF~ Battalion
8th Australian Division
45th Indian Brigade
6th Burma Rifles' Battalion
44th Indian Brigade
4th Burma Rifles' Battalion
1st Burma' Division
17ID 48th Gurkha Brigade
108th RAF Base Force

Defending units:
55ID 112th Infantry Regiment
55ID 55th Cavalry Regiment
55ID II./143rd Inf Battalion

His troops retreated eastwards, into Thailand. I'm tempted to pursue, but I need to get everyone healed back up. Another barrier in front of Rangoon.

His carriers are now moving NE, towards Calcutta. I have a big convoy two days away, and I'm hoping they don't get caught. My RN carriers are in a task force, sitting on Colombo for now.

More Australians have been arriving at Aden, and I'm getting them shipped to Karachi, and railing them to Diamond Harbor for final shipment. They're pretty much the backbone of my Burma headquartered units.

[Mundy]

27 January 1942

Losses
Cape St. George

I get my first probe at Bataan. This will be a fight.

Ground combat at Bataan / Corregidor (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 44657 troops, 583 guns, 256 vehicles, Assault Value = 1931

Defending force 74449 troops, 1025 guns, 492 vehicles, Assault Value = 2109

Japanese ground losses:
205 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 18 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Allied ground losses:
211 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
16th Division
2ITB 2nd Tank Regiment
48th Division
2nd Division
4th Tank Regiment
38th Division
3rd Ind Engineer Regiment
2TD 7th Tank Regiment
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
14th Army
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
4th Marine~ Regiment
1st PA Constabulary Regiment
51st PA Infantry Division
1st PA Infantry Division
41st PA Infantry Division
194th Tank Battalion
91st PA Infantry Division
4th PA Constabulary Regiment
Manila Bay Defenses
2nd PA Constabulary Regiment
192nd Tank Battalion
Philippine Scout Division
11th PA Infantry Division
71st PA Infantry Division
21st PA Infantry Division
2nd PA Constblry HW Regiment
301st Construction Battalion
201st PA Construction Battalion
16th Naval Dist.~
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
Prov. Naval Rifle Battalion
Asiatic Fleet~
86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion
USAFFE
Far East USAAF~
II Philippine Corps
Prov. USAAC Regiment
COMSUBAF'
Lanikai Escapees
Provisional AT Grp
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment
Station CAST'
Dugout Doug
US Female Personnel
202nd PA Construction Battalion
1st Marine AA Battalion
Mariveles USN Base Force
I Philippine Corps
Civilians

He hasn't crossed the line to Singapore yet. Sumatra and Java are likewise untouched also.

His carriers smack my transports at Diamond Harbor, sinking about five. Most survived with some damaged, but they're disbanded now. He's sitting about 6 hexes to the SW. My two carriers will be meaningless against that.

I'm getting a good force built up near Lang Son. Once my last unit arrives, I'll push across the border, eventually taking Hanoi and Haiphong like in my other game. That should stir things up.

Other than that, mostly quiet.

[Mundy]

28 January 1942

Landings
Digos

His first try. This doesn't bode well with these losses.

Ground combat at Bataan / Corregidor (78,77)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 47530 troops, 584 guns, 472 vehicles, Assault Value = 1927

Defending force 74258 troops, 1024 guns, 492 vehicles, Assault Value = 2092

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 1191

Allied adjusted defense: 2413

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

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

Japanese ground losses:
2031 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 395 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 77 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 38 disabled
Guns lost 39 (1 destroyed, 38 disabled)
Vehicles lost 61 (3 destroyed, 58 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2987 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 242 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 72 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 71 (5 destroyed, 66 disabled)
Vehicles lost 31 (2 destroyed, 29 disabled)
Units destroyed 3

Assaulting units:
16th Division
2ITB 2nd Tank Regiment
48th Division
3rd Ind Engineer Regiment
4th Tank Regiment
2nd Division
38th Division
2TD 7th Tank Regiment
14th Army
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
51st PA Infantry Division
192nd Tank Battalion
21st PA Infantry Division
41st PA Infantry Division
71st PA Infantry Division
11th PA Infantry Division
Manila Bay Defenses
4th PA Constabulary Regiment
194th Tank Battalion
1st PA Infantry Division
Philippine Scout Division
91st PA Infantry Division
2nd PA Constabulary Regiment
4th Marine~ Regiment
1st PA Constabulary Regiment
2nd PA Constblry HW Regiment
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
USAFFE
1st Marine AA Battalion
Prov. USAAC Regiment
Far East USAAF~
Station CAST'
I Philippine Corps
Prov. Naval Rifle Battalion
Asiatic Fleet~
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment
Lanikai Escapees
Provisional AT Grp
Dugout Doug
202nd PA Construction Battalion
301st Construction Battalion
86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion
201st PA Construction Battalion
US Female Personnel
COMSUBAF'
Mariveles USN Base Force
16th Naval Dist.~
II Philippine Corps
Civilians

Apparently I had a flotilla, with a mixture of transports, seaplane tenders and a hospital ship parked at Tulagi, which I wasn't aware of. Some of his carriers did become aware of them, however and sank the hospital ship, and damaging others. I'll try to get them out.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Tulagi at 114,137

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Reisen x 44
B5N2 Kankoh (Kate) x 39
D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) x 31

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kankoh (Kate): 2 damaged

Allied Ships
AV +Manunda, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAP +Maetsuycker, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Cremer
AV +Wanganella, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires
PC Warrego, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PC Swan, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 3000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
9 x B5N2 Kankoh (Kate) launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
4 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 1000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kankoh (Kate) launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
6 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 3000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
13 x B5N2 Kankoh (Kate) launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
1 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 1000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
5 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 3000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
3 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 2000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 2000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Kanbaku (Val) releasing from 1000' *
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring PC Swan
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AV +Wanganella
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP +Maetsuycker

I'll have to start looking around at other obscure bases.

[Mundy]

29 January 1942

Landings
Dadjangas
Kavieng

Losses
Digos

His carriers off of India hit the port of Diamond Harbor, damaging some ships. Not much I can do about it.

Other carriers are rounding the Solomons, near Ndeni, heading Southwest. Force Z, minus PoW is heading north from Sydney, so I'll have to watch it. If I have to, duck into a nobody port and disband. Fuso's group, I think is ducking west into the strait to avoid detection. I've four subs around PM, and a couple got a shot off without effect. The Tulagi refugees all bit it. Probably two carriers in that group. I'm guessing the one by India may be a singleton unit.

A big mob of Chinese are moving on Lang Son. Probably a couple days to get there.

Tarakan still holds out.

Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3966 troops, 54 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 186

Defending force 2927 troops, 41 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 7

Japanese adjusted assault: 124

Allied adjusted defense: 73

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
38 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
72 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 7 (3 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
Sasebo 8th SNLF
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
21st Fld AA Gun Co
35th Field AA Battalion
31st Field AA Battalion
26th Fld AA Gun Co

Defending units:
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Base Force
Tarakan Defenses
Civilians


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


Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 493 troops, 25 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Defending force 5058 troops, 128 guns, 39 vehicles, Assault Value = 181

Assaulting units:
Tarakan Defenses
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Base Force
Civilians

Defending units:
Sasebo 8th SNLF
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
21st Fld AA Gun Co
31st Field AA Battalion
35th Field AA Battalion
26th Fld AA Gun Co

His forces at Bataan are resting, apart from bombardments.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Defending units:
Prov. USAAC Regiment
Station CAST'
Prov. Naval Rifle Battalion
Asiatic Fleet~
Lanikai Escapees
Dugout Doug
US Female Personnel
COMSUBAF'
Civilians

I see that you have recombined the various Army and Navy base force formations into the provisional infantry units. I'm content that the method of getting rid of the base force devices in the recombined parent unit and turning them into infantry assets does work.

You may want to evacuate the HQ "Commander Submarines Asiatic Fleet", it does not disband and renames to COMSUBSOWEPAC, i.e. the submarine command for MacArthur's Navy. Like many other units in my mod, the HQ is below its TOE strength at start - if you evacuate it to Australia and turn replacements on, its naval support squads may become useful down under.

Speaking of MacArthur, you may also want to evacuate "Dugout Doug" - this units is a splinter of the SWPac HQ which shows up at Melbourne later. If you want MacArthur in charge of the SWPac, you need to save "Dugout Doug".

I also see that you did not evacuate the various "chrome" units like the codebreakers, the nurses etc. and also the civilians. You should try to evacuate a max of those non-combat squads - it's part of the "script" of the scenario. Losing them will cost you VPs (if you care about), and more importantly, they will eat lots of supplies which could be put to better use for your combat units. Furthermore, each non-combat squad will add 10% AV to the defense. Since some civilian units are quite large, those 10% can create issues, like observed at Rabaul and Tarakan. It may not be possible to evacuate all civilians, depending on the speed of the Japanese expansion. This is esp. true for the large civilian unit at Manila - but in that case I would not sent it to Bataan but leave them at Manila and declare it an open city, while stockpiling a max of supplies at Bataan.

The evacuated civilian units can be disbanded at "national home bases" like Delhi and Sydney, ending the supply drain (and their support squads go back to the pool).

[Mundy]

You're probably being a little hard on me. People transport is at a real premium in this game, and it's all I can do to get combat units moved around as it is, without worrying about the civilians. I've no transport left in the Philippines to free anyone else there. Thanks to his more difficult start, I was able to save more shipping that I normally would. I'm glad to see there's a way to disband civilians. I'll have to keep that in mind.

31 January 1942

I sprang a surface surprise on his carriers near India, now positively identified as CarDiv 1. I was hoping for more luck with torpedoes.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Cuttack at 49,42, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga, Shell hits 2
CV Akagi
BB Hiei
CA Myoko, Shell hits 1
DD Akatsuki
DD Hibiki, Shell hits 1
DD Oboro, Shell hits 3
DD Asakaze
DD Matsukaze, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Witte de With, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Van Nes
DD Banckert
DD Van Ghent, Shell hits 3
DD Scout, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
DM Stronghold
DD Tenedos
DD Electra
DD Encounter
DD Express
DD Jupiter
DD Panthir~
DD Vasilissa Olga~, Shell hits 1, on fire

Poor visibility due to Rain
Maximum visibility in Rain: 15,000 yards
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 15,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 15,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Panthir~ at 15,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Encounter at 15,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Electra at 15,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Tenedos at 15,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Van Ghent at 15,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Banckert at 15,000 yards
Range closes to 10,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages CV Kaga at 10,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Scout at 10,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Tenedos at 10,000 yards
DD Encounter engages DD Matsukaze at 10,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Electra at 10,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Tenedos at 10,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD Tenedos at 10,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Van Ghent at 10,000 yards
DD Witte de With engages DD Matsukaze at 10,000 yards
Range closes to 7,000 yards
DD Tenedos engages CV Akagi at 7,000 yards
DD Encounter engages CV Kaga at 7,000 yards
DD Matsukaze sunk by DD Jupiter at 7,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Van Nes at 7,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD Electra at 7,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Jupiter at 7,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD Van Ghent at 7,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD Vasilissa Olga~ at 7,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD Jupiter at 7,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Scout at 7,000 yards
DD Electra engages DD Asakaze at 7,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages DD Oboro at 7,000 yards
DD Tenedos engages DD Oboro at 7,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Scout at 7,000 yards
DD Witte de With engages DD Oboro at 7,000 yards
DM Stronghold engages CV Kaga at 7,000 yards
Range increases to 9,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Vasilissa Olga~ at 9,000 yards
DD Panthir~ engages CV Kaga at 9,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Jupiter at 9,000 yards
DD Express engages DD Oboro at 9,000 yards
DD Asakaze engages DD Witte de With at 9,000 yards
DD Scout engages DD Oboro at 9,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD Encounter at 9,000 yards
DD Scout engages DD Asakaze at 9,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages DD Asakaze at 9,000 yards
DD Witte de With engages DD Hibiki at 9,000 yards
Range increases to 13,000 yards
DD Witte de With engages CV Kaga at 13,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Banckert at 13,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Van Nes at 13,000 yards
DD Hibiki engages DD Encounter at 13,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages DD Oboro at 13,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages DD Van Nes at 13,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Van Ghent at 13,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages DD Asakaze at 13,000 yards
Range increases to 18,000 yards
CV Akagi , CV Kaga screened from combat
- escorted by DD Hibiki
DD Vasilissa Olga~ engages DD Oboro at 18,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages DD Asakaze at 18,000 yards
DD Vasilissa Olga~ engages DD Oboro at 18,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Encounter at 18,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Tenedos at 18,000 yards
DD Oboro engages DD Banckert at 18,000 yards
Range increases to 23,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Van Ghent at 23,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Van Ghent at 23,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Banckert at 23,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Van Nes at 23,000 yards
Range increases to 27,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Panthir~ at 27,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Jupiter at 27,000 yards
CA Myoko engages DD Panthir~ at 27,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Scout at 27,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Van Ghent at 27,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Witte de With at 27,000 yards
Task forces break off...

The air retaliation was pretty bad, with many damaged. Not many have outright sunk yet. They couldn't quite make it there in the night phase, which was too bad, as I think they would have done a little better. His carrier escorts look rather minimal.

Two more carrier divisions arrived off of Australia, hitting transports and Force Z. Repulse ate a bunch of 60 kg bombs and a couple torpedoes. if I can get her to port, she'll survive. I've moved my group of A-24s to Townsville, so if he pursues, they'll get a chance. My carriers were in the Palmyra region and are now heading west. His two carrier divisions are fairly widely separated, so I could, in theory pounce on one at a time.

Chinese should reach Lang Son next turn. Then I can drive him all the way back to Vietnam.

The fight continues at Kavieng, thanks to my hardy civilians.

Ground combat at Kavieng (106,122)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 1008 troops, 7 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 46

Defending force 205 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 7

Japanese adjusted assault: 36

Allied adjusted defense: 23

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
61st Naval Guard Unit

Defending units:
1st Ind Coy(-)~
Civilians

Civilians fight at about 10% efficiency, compared to combat troops. I think this is a leftover from an update made to Uncommon Valor way back when. In those days, a single combat squad could roll up several thousand support troops, which was a bit outlandish, so that fix was made.

[Mundy]

01 February 1942

Landings
Cotabato

Losses
83/60

Troops cross the water into Singapore. This will take awhile, I think.

Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 65458 troops, 845 guns, 515 vehicles, Assault Value = 2599

Defending force 62073 troops, 515 guns, 574 vehicles, Assault Value = 754

Japanese adjusted assault: 1515

Allied adjusted defense: 4417

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

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

Japanese ground losses:
5227 casualties reported
Squads: 27 destroyed, 525 disabled
Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 99 disabled
Engineers: 15 destroyed, 52 disabled
Guns lost 45 (2 destroyed, 43 disabled)
Vehicles lost 24 (3 destroyed, 21 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1760 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 190 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 92 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 23 disabled
Guns lost 67 (5 destroyed, 62 disabled)
Vehicles lost 26 (1 destroyed, 25 disabled)

Assaulting units:
19th Division
4th Ind Engineer Regiment
30ID 41st Infantry Regiment
31ID Kawaguchi Det'
5th Division
18th Division
20th Division
Imperial Guards' Division
1TD 1st Tank Regiment
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
2TD 6th Tank Regiment
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
25th Army
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
34th Field AA Battalion
15th Army
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Mortar Battalion
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
11ID 6th Indian Brigade
2nd Malay~ Battalion
2nd Loyal Battalion
1st Mysore Battalion
SSVF~ Brigade
3rd Cavalry Regiment
2/17 Dogra Battalion
2nd Gordons Battalion
1st Malay~ Battalion
1st Manchester Battalion
11ID 28th Gurkha Brigade
9ID 12th Indian Brigade
9ID Det 80th AT Gun Regiment
1st HK&S Heavy AA Regiment
22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
112th RAF Adv Base Force
AHQ Far East~
2nd ISF Base Force
Civilians
11ID 137/155th FA Regiment
Malaya Command~
11I D Det 80th AT Gun Regiment
III Indian
109th RN Base Force
109th RAF Adv Base Force
2nd HK&S Heavy AA Regiment
Civilians
Singapore Base Force
Singapore Fortress
113th RAF Adv Base Force
110th RAF Adv Base Force
111th RAF Adv Base Force
11 Battery/3 HAA
9ID 5th Field Regiment
30 Battery/3 HAA
Malayan Air Wing~
1st Indian Heavy AA Regiment
29 Battery/3 HAA
Civilians

A typical bombardment at Bataan/Corregidor

Ground combat at Bataan / Corregidor (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 2016 troops, 91 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value = 1697

Defending force 71896 troops, 1017 guns, 485 vehicles, Assault Value = 1820

Japanese ground losses:
Guns lost 12 (11 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
44 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
2nd Division
38th Division
16th/A Division
2TD 7th Tank Regiment
2ITB 2nd Tank Regiment
3rd Ind Engineer Regiment
16th/B Division
4th Tank Regiment
48th Division
16th/C Division
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
14th Army
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
2nd PA Constabulary Regiment
91st PA Infantry Division
41st PA Infantry Division
194th Tank Battalion
Philippine Scout Division
Manila Bay Defenses
1st PA Infantry Division
71st PA Infantry Division
4th Marine~ Regiment
11th PA Infantry Division
192nd Tank Battalion
1st PA Constabulary Regiment
21st PA Infantry Division
51st PA Infantry Division
4th PA Constabulary Regiment
2nd PA Constblry HW Regiment
Mariveles USN Base Force
201st PA Construction Battalion
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
16th Naval Dist.~
1st Marine AA Battalion
II Philippine Corps
Prov. Naval Rifle Battalion
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment
301st Construction Battalion
Asiatic Fleet~
I Philippine Corps
USAFFE
Prov. USAAC Regiment
COMSUBAF'
Far East USAAF~
202nd PA Construction Battalion
86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion
Provisional AT Grp
Station CAST'
Civilians

Kavieng still holding.

Ground combat at Kavieng (106,122)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 1003 troops, 7 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 46

Defending force 205 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 7

Japanese adjusted assault: 8

Allied adjusted defense: 15

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

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

Allied ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
61st Naval Guard Unit

Defending units:
1st Ind Coy(-)~
Civilians

...and another day at Tarakan.

round combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3942 troops, 54 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 182

Defending force 2848 troops, 34 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Japanese adjusted assault: 74

Allied adjusted defense: 67

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
118 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Sasebo 8th SNLF
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
35th Field AA Battalion
31st Field AA Battalion
21st Fld AA Gun Co
26th Fld AA Gun Co

Defending units:
Tarakan Defenses
Tarakan Base Force
VII KNIL Battalion
Civilians


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


Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 420 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Defending force 5044 troops, 128 guns, 38 vehicles, Assault Value = 177

Assaulting units:
Tarakan Defenses
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Base Force
Civilians

Defending units:
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Sasebo 8th SNLF
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
31st Field AA Battalion
21st Fld AA Gun Co
35th Field AA Battalion
26th Fld AA Gun Co

A chance encounter with one of his carrier groups off of Australia. Looks to be CarDiv 2 and CarDiv 5. Probably a weak bunch in the other group. Fairly weak escorts here, too. A pity Force Z couldn't have jumped on them. I'm routing subs to try to get in their way, but that's always an iffy proposition.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Upstart Bay at 98,144, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku
CV Zuikaku
BB Kirishima
CA Tone
DD Akigumo
DD Kagero
DD Hamakaze
DD Arare

Allied Ships
KV Chevreuil~
xAK Macedon

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 100% moonlight: 8,000 yards
Range increases to 12,000 yards...
Both Task Forces evade combat

The carriers in India have backed off and appear to be heading south, rounding the corner around Burma. Once enough transports are ready, I'll start shipping units out of Pearl to the front.

[Mundy]

02 February 1942

Losses
Singkawang

The Japanese at Bataan and Singapore are content to bombard this turn.

CarDivs2/5 hit the port at Townsville, inflicting hits, including a magazine on a destroyer. I wish they'd just go away. I don't know how many sorties they have left. My dream is to catch them with my carriers when they run out. Mine are passing Canton, so it will be awhile.

Looking up his ships, between the two divisions, he has about 2,000 sorties in stock. Looking up at what he's done in the last week or so, he's burned about 614, so I'd say they're still dangerous.

Tarakan still fights.

[Mundy]

04 February 1942

Landings
Kavieng
Lae

Losses
Jolo

Got this from da Monkey:

1942-02-03 6/33rd Division - - is planning for an attack on Rangoon -

I don't think GW is the type to put out a bunch of bogus destinations, so I'll have to respect this. I'll keep some token troops at Moulmein and the next base down, but bring the majority back in. At least I can pack the theatre with more Aussies from Aden.

Otherwise, more bombardments at Singapore and Bataan. All his carriers have left the scenes. I'm routing mine back to Pearl. They're spotted and I don't want him setting something up for them. I think some of his CVs are between Lae and Rabaul. My beat up ships from Townsville are headed to Sydney. Repulse may have to go to somewhere bigger.