Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

[AW1Steve]

Strangely enough , I also used to drive a roller coaster. One of the many jobs I did to work my way through college. [:D]

[apbarog]

I never drove a roller coaster, but Jim Gordon said that he did.

[apbarog]

30 Dec 41

With Hong Kong captured, lots of enemy minesweeping going on there now.

Bombing in China. 2 squadrons of the Flying Tigers move back into China. One unit sets up an ambush in the south, where 2 Sonias units were bombing unescorted yesterday. It's a range 3 LRCAP for the P-40s, so there's no guarantee of an intercept.

SB-IIIs bomb an enemy brigade near Nanchang. A nuisance bombing.

KB moves near Balikpapan. An enemy task force is passing through Tawi Tawi, east of Tarakan, but none of the ships hit any of my mines.

Lahat, near Palembang, is lost. An unoccupied Pucheng is lost in China. And the enemy doesn't appear to have landed enough men at Kendari to take it.

There have been some small victories for the Allies. I've spoken of the ships that escaped to the Aleutians by passing between Iwo Jima and Japan. They are now grouped up at Dutch Harbor and are heading to Canada.

Lots of enemy ships from Java escaped. Really, all of them. All 5 ARDs made it out. They have repair capacities of 20k, 8k, and three of them have 3k. All are near Perth now. I really like the many smaller Dutch xAPs, with 300-400 troop carrying capacity. They are more expendable than the bigger and better US xAPs, but can still unload sizable units just with numbers. Many of these ships went to India carrying fragments from Malaya. They will head south back to Australia to augment the South Pacific forces.

AVP Heron just left Aparri and headed east from Luzon, and is unseen. It is destined for the Iwo Jima passage. 3 xAKs, the ones that supplied Pakhoi, are about to arrive at Aparri and will do the same after refueling. They are unseen.

[edit: And xAKL Dai Lee, which is now north of Ulithi, and will pass just to the east of the island heading south. It will have to pass by the several enemy bases on the New Guinea coast. Others have done so successfully in the past.]

[apbarog]

Japanese Ship Losses - 1941

Note that Ryujo is almost certainly not sunk, with just a mine hit and observed moving quickly from the area. Also, Myoko is probably not sunk.

[apbarog]

Allied Ship Losses - 1941

Most of the losses were ships fleeing from the Philippines. The only sizable combat ship lost was CL Danae, which was left at Singapore in a task force intentionally on December 7th to draw Bettys to Singapore. However, KB appeared immediately near Singapore. Danae did escape initially, with damage, but was finished off running north in the Malacca Straits.

[zuluhour]

Nothing on Luzon so far? Interesting. One day I'm going to try and do something about this new bypass thingy. I would try and get some supply to Bataan. Why not?
A couple of merchants hugging the coast line maybe? No big loss if they are caught and a return trip would only be a bonus.

[apbarog]

OPilot did land at Legaspi, but that invasion has been limited. He pushed toward Manila a bit, taking Naga and the next base, but has stopped. He's landing many more troops on Mindanao.

As for supplying Luzon with ships, OPilot has done a very good job at cutting off shipping towards Borneo and the Celebes. Nothing could have gotten through that way. I know, because I've tried sneaking ships out that way, hiding in ports, but he has patrolled with combat ships and used a CVL task force there, so no luck. I've had limited luck moving ships out to the east of Luzon, and the most luck moving around the north of Luzon and to the east. That escape route has yet to be discovered. But it's only good for very long-ranged ships that can make it all the way to the Aleutians.

But yes, Luzon has partially been ignored. It did allow me to ship supply from Manila to Pakhoi.

[apbarog]

31 Dec 41

A new year. At least December is over. It's still another year until the US sub torpedoes start to work a little better. Plenty of pain for the Allies to come. It's early.

Northeast of Balikpapan, Dutch sub KIX fires 4 torpedoes at DMS W-13, but missed. Minesweepers are moving to newly captured Balikpapan to sweep the minefield. KB remained nearby Balikpapan.

North of Jolo, S-40 fired 2 torpedoes at xAK Unkai Maru #6, but missed.

Similar bombing in China. My CAP trap near Chaochow worked. P-40Es intercept Sonias bombing retreating Chinese troops. 22 Sonias are downed for the loss of 3 Warhawks, to ops losses.

Enterprise and Lexington are still at Sydney, finishing up minor repairs with their escorts. They should be done in 4 or 5 days. Some destroyers go into upgrade there today. Saratoga is at Auckland. Yorktown has left the West Coast and is headed to Auckland. I've already started a bunch of destroyers converting to APDs. I really like the APD upgrades. I could have waited for upgrades to DEs, but I find the troop carrying ability very useful. High speed runs into danger areas on fast transport missions can and have saved bases for me in the past.

[apbarog]

1 Jan 42

xAKL Dai Lee headed east from the Philippines recently, one of the last ships to leave. It passed north of Babeldaop unseen, went southeast to near Ulithi, still unseen, and headed south toward safety. Today near Woleai, west of Truk, it ran into a cargo TF, with 4 xAKs and a PB escort. Both sides evaded combat. But Dai Lee has been spotted where it shouldn't be. It's a slow ship, moving just 4 hexes a day, and it isn't hard to guess which direction it is going. Since fuel is tight for it to make it to the Milne Bay area, it can't go off in some unexpected direction, so I can expect an intercept in a couple of days.

Oscars from the Legaspi area swept Manila for the first time. 20 P-35A were on CAP, but they did very poorly. 12 P-35s were lost, with just 1 Oscar downed. The planes are garbage, but the pilots are US and relatively good, so I disband the unit. The unit did have a nice bomber intercept earlier in the fight.

Also for the first time, Bettys escorted by Zeros bomb Malaybalay on Mindanao. Malaybalay is the inland mountain base. P-26As are based there, but they have been assigned to low level naval strike (even though they haven't been flying). Several are destroyed on the ground. This is a Philippine unit, and will be used until it doesn't exist.

Unescorted Sonias have continued to bomb Pakhoi, so I moved fighters nearby and will LRCAP it tomorrow.

Samarinda, next to Palembang, is lost. Mergui is also lost.

SigInt says that the 15th Army is planning for Rangoon, and that the Southern Army HQ is at Saigon.

Allied activity centers around getting troops, supply, and fuel to Pago Pago, Suva, Noumea, Auckland, and Australia. Troop reinforcements are just trickling in, so most of the transport is supply and fuel. It will be awhile until the troops start rolling in.

[apbarog]

2 Jan 42

Sub Seawolf fired 4 torpedoes at BB Hyuga near Kendari, but missed. More enemy land at Kendari, including Yokosuka 3rd SNLF, a paratroop unit, landing by sea.

Fewer enemy air attacks in China. One that did occur was where I set up a squadron of the Flying Tigers for a CAP trap. Sonias try to bomb Pakhoi, but find H81s. 23 Sonias are shot down, with no loss of H81s.

Hudsons from Rabaul bomb the port at Manus, doing very little, but showing strength coming from Rabaul. In reality, little is left there. Lark Force was moved to Tulagi.

Sallys bombed Aparri's port. This is where my 3 fleeing xAKs were spotted yesterday. They moved east, but did react away from a surface group. Both the xAKs and the enemy were not spotted during the day.

Destroyer Le Triomphant has set up a patrol south of Iwo Jima, and is not spotted. AVP Huron is nearby, passing north of the Iwo Jima headed east to the Aleutians. Also not spotted.

Temuloh is lost.

In northeast China, the enemy fails with an attack in the mountains:

Ground combat at 92,38 (near Chengting)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 3882 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 712

Defending force 14226 troops, 77 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 266

Japanese adjusted assault: 72

Allied adjusted defense: 301

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 4

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

Japanese ground losses:
978 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
109 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
110th Division
26th Engineer Regiment
13th Indpt Infantry Regiment
11th Indpt Infantry Regiment
26th Recon Regiment

Defending units:
35th Chinese Corps
83rd Chinese Corps
13th Group Army

I'll take that result every day please.

[apbarog]

Units Extracted

The following units were extracted from the Singapore region. Most were picked up by floatplanes and flown to Java, where they loaded onto ships and went to India. Almost all are tiny fragments of the original unit. The exception is SSV Bde, which was flown by Dutch transports from Singapore to Palembang, then railed to Oosthaven, then loaded onto a ship to go to India. About 40% of SSV Bde was extracted, including about 50 combat squads. 4 units were extracted from Hong Kong, flying on floatplanes all the way from Chittagong. Yes, it is possible.

Some of these units can combine into larger formations.

British units:

106 RN Base Force
29 Battery/3 HAA
224 Group RAF
223 Group RAF
5 Field Rgt
2/215 Bty 80th AT Rgt
1st ISF Base Force
137/155 Field Rgt
272/273 Bty 80th AT
2 Argylls Bn
102 RN Base Force (from Hong Kong)

Indian units:
2/15 Punjab Battalion
5/2 Punjab Battalion
15 Indian Bde
3/16 Punjab
28 Gurkha Bde
22 Indian Bde
6 Indian Bde
5/14 Punjab Battalion
Kowloon Bde (from Hong Kong)

Commonwealth units:

SSV Bde
SSVF Bde

Canadian units:

Winnipeg Grenadiers Bat (from Hong Kong)
Rifles of Canada Bat (from Hong Kong)

My plan is to use many of these small units to guard bases close to, but behind the lines in India, protecting against paratroop attacks. The base units will come in handy anywhere. Can the reinforcement pools support all of this? I don't know. I'll accept it if some units have to stay small, and just garrison.

All of these units are either at Bombay, or will be arriving at Bombay in the next couple of days.

[apbarog]

3 Jan 42

Sub Pickerel fired 4 torpedoes at CM Itsukushima near Babeldaob, but missed. The sub was hit by a depth charge and will retire to Brisbane for repairs. Damage is moderate, with FLOT damage around 20. Pickerel then spots what appears to be KB, heading to Babeldaob.

P-40s in China sweep Nanchang, guessing that there were Nates there using ranged CAP, but nothing is found. The P-40s and H81s have made themselves known, and now move back to Ledo to train. The enemy has seriously curtailed bombing in China. I can expect Zeros and/or Oscars here soon.

Georgetown is lost, as is Kendari.

[apbarog]

4 Jan 42

xAKL Dai Lee had moved from Luzon to the east, passing north of Babeldaob, then southeast to Ulithi, then south. Today it stumbled into a group of 4 destroyers and an AMC. Probably not a combat force looking for the ship, but combat occurred. Dai Lee took 11 shell hits, and since it was carrying fuel, it had no chance. It sank after the combat.

S-40 spotted an AO with TB escorts near Jolo, but 4 torpedoes missed TB Kari.

Port Dickson was lost. Cagayan was lost, and the defenders retreated into the mountains at Malaybalay.

[DOCUP]

Since I'm online, keep up the good work. Love reading your AAR.

[apbarog]

Thanks DOCUP. I enjoy writing the report right after I do my turn. It's become part of the game for me.

5 Jan 42

Sub Permit fired 2 torpedoes at xAK Santos Maru near Manado, but missed.

Sub Tarpon fired 4 torpedoes at DD Asashio near Kendari but missed.

It's funny, once I set up a spreadsheet to track my submarine hits I stopped getting any. Last hit was on December 26th.

Singapore bombed, a daily occurrence now. Sallys at 15000 feet hit very little but get torn up by flak. Manila was bombed also. Very little damage but no flak here.

Some enemy bombing in China, but far enough away from Chinese bases to not have to worry about another CAP trap.

[apbarog]

6 Jan 42

DMS Dorsey gets a depth charge hit on RO-67 at Noumea. There are big US xAPs here unloading, so it's a good thing to clear out the enemy sub. Only Dorsey was spotted by the enemy.

Speaking of Le Triomphant yesterday...

Day Time Surface Combat, near Iwo-jima at 107,82, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
PB Yahonui Maru, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
xAKL Bizen Maru, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
xAKL Yamashimo Maru
xAKL Juyo Maru, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
xAKL Hoko Maru, Shell hits 10, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Le Triomphant

Le Triomphant then reacted to the remaining xAKL and a second combat was initiated, but both sides evaded combat when the range finally closed. Le Triomphant took a bit of system and engine damage. It didn't appear to be hit during combat, so I'm guessing that it incurred damage during the reaction move, as if it was on Full speed (which it wasn't). If so, I learned something new today. Good to catch a manageable target for the French destroyer. Too bad they were just small xAKLs and not loaded with troops.

Two enemy attacks in China, working over isolated Chinese behind the lines.

[jwolf]

It didn't appear to be hit during combat, so I'm guessing that it incurred damage during the reaction move, as if it was on Full speed (which it wasn't).

My understanding -- which admittedly has a very spotty record [:'(] -- is that if your TF was set to mission speed, that could include high speed runs at appropriate times during the action. The only way to avoid this -- I think -- is to set to cruise speed, but then your TF may miss some opportunities. Mission speed appears to work well for most situations. But I would be interested to hear a more definitive word on the matter.

[apbarog]

I think you are right jwolf. I've never read this but it makes sense. I'll dig the manual out. Many times, the answer is right there, if you can find it.

[apbarog]

7 Jan 42

Sub Gudgeon spots battleship Kirishima, 3 cruisers, and 5 destroyers near Kavieng. The sub fires 2 torpedoes at DD Kagero, and misses.

South of Hong Kong, S-38 fires 2 torpedoes at PB Eiko Maru, and gets a hit. Later, during the daylight, the sub again launches 2 torpedoes at the same patrol boat, and again gets a hit. Probably sunk after that.

Near Balikpapan, O16 fires 2 torpedoes at TK Teiyo Maru, but misses.

I-157 is reported to have hit 2 mines at Singapore. The sub is most probably sunk. Their are friendly and enemy mines there.

Near Donggala, sub Narwhal fires 2 torpedoes at xAK Madras Maru, but misses. Narwhal took a load of supply to Pakhoi, and is now headed to Soerabaja for fuel and torpedoes, and will redeploy to the South Pacific.

DD Le Triomphant started to return to Wake Island, about to pass near Marcus Island. It was not spotted today.

Another enemy cleanup attack against the Chinese in the north-central plains. I'm trying to be a nuisance running remnants of units around, stalling for time before they are destroyed.

Kuala Lumpur was lost. Over 30 enemy units are next to Singapore now.

US carriers Lexington, Saratoga, and Enterprise are at Auckland repairing minor damage and training squadrons. Yorktown is in Hawaii and headed to Auckland. Yorktown was not spotted at Pearl Harbor despite a pesky Glen sub in the area, spotting most task forces. I set my first Bolo squadron to ASW at Pearl Harbor today. Not well trained, but there are some pilots near 60 in ASW. It will be another month till the many other Bolo units are trained enough to start lighting up the subs.

[apbarog]

Le Triomphant

Looking at Tracker, I saw that Le Triomphant did not incur 12 SYS damage and some engine damage in the turn when it reacted to the xAKL. It actually accumulated the damage during the week of travel to that point. It was an unusually high amount of damage for a week's travel at mission speed, but it wasn't all at once like I originally thought.