Notes from a Small Island

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Why would there be German MG42s in the American Civil War? Or German MG42s in the Kuriles, circa late 1944? Now I'm all confused. [&:]

I think the conversation was about "why would the Combat Engineer Units" be withdrawn?

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

I can imagine a dumb Lt trying to get his men ready for the fight by saying:

"Okay men, after helping to build the Alcan highway through the mountains and the muskeg swamps with their hordes of mosquitoes, then building airports on the nice Aleutian vacation islands of Adak and Shemya, you are being sent to Camp Bowies in Texas - of all places. It is just outside of Fort Worth. Why would you want to go to Texas? Rather, stay here and FIGHT for these lovely Kurile islands. Remember, if you get wounded, the lovely ladies at home will faun all over you. So don't leave without having a good fight first!"


The actual history of the 62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) which was part of the 18th combat Engineer Regiment.

62nd Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy)

I have been to texas, I lived and worked there for a year and a half. I did not like it and I only stayed 10 extra days because a friend was injured. I have never been back but I might like to visit there but I can think of better places to visit, like this place.

a lovely small town.

Nice! The only thing that town needs is a large handbasket, like this one:

[RangerJoe]

It also gets down to -25C so it freezes over every winter.

On average, for a third of the year, the village of **** in Norway freezes over, reaching sub-artic temperatures as low as −25 °C (−13 °F) and making it among one of coldest places to live on Earth.

a lovely cold small town

It also has a blues fest in September.

BTW, did you notice the green eyed, redhead from that small town?

[Bif1961]

So there it can actually be a cold day in Hell?

[RangerJoe]

I like to check the weather there, just to see if where I am at is warmer or colder than . . .

weather link for a nice little town

[Canoerebel]

11/29/44

Uruppu: An important turn opens with a decent but not impressive bombardment. The supply hits are the best effect.

Erik was a bit longer in flipping this turn to me. In the meantime, my daughter and her fiancé arrived yesterday for a visit, followed by all kinds of family activities carrying well into the evening. Youngest son and his girlfriend are here and it looks like we're going to watch a movie. So it may be late tonight before I get through the details of this turn.

I must say that I had many second thoughts about ordering an attack. Despite the combat engineers withdrawing, I've had a bad feeling that the enemy defenses will be too formidable and that it might have been better to continue the previous routine for a few more weeks. Let's see.

[RangerJoe]

18 destroyed devices and 17 disabled. I think that ratio is in your favor. If you can do multiple bombardments on the turn that your land attack occurs, it will enhance the effects of the land combat even more.

The CLAA Oakland is basically an overgrown destroyer and would probably be best in an anti-aircraft screening force.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

So there it can actually be a cold day in Hell?

Indeed it can be, and in more than one spot!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan

[Canoerebel]

11/29/44

Uruppu: This is one of several 2EB raids that scored supply hits.

[Canoerebel]

11/29/44

Uruppu: Enemy counter-bombardment reasonably (but not impressively) self-destructive.

[Canoerebel]

11/29/44

Uruppu: Opening Allied attack is nasty for the Allies. Adjusted AVs were closer than expected; Allied casualties are moderately heavy; Japanese casualties are moderately light (but still decent).

I'll have to go through the units individually to see how bad things really are. But with three fresh Allied divisions slated to come in over the next two to three weeks, the Allies should be in decent shape as long as I can keep Erik from reinforcing.

[Canoerebel]

11/29/44

Uruppu: While Allied losses were heavy, it does look like they damage was spread out in a way that makes the future fairly promising.

During the early Ketoi attacks, 5th Australian Division AV was driven down into the middle double digits and had to be withdrawn. At this point, the Allied units might be able to attack again in five or six days. But it might be 10 days or more before I bring in the big combat engineering unit. In the meantime, artillery bombardments, ship bombardments, and bombing will be closely monitored for signs of enemy weakness.

I'm wrong in the chart below - most of the Japanese losses are disablements, not destroyed. Keeping them disabled will be important and shouldn't bee to hard.

[Canoerebel]

11/29/44

Uruppu: The USA infantry division that took the heaviest losses was 38th, but it doesn't look too bad.

The heaviest losses must've been the smaller units - the Fijians, Filipinos, parachutists, regiments.

[Canoerebel]

11/29/44

Uruppu: Yeah, its units like this one that took the brunt of the losses. I'll try to withdraw it to Ketoi or Shikuka to rehabilitate.

[HansBolter]

Have seen the same kind of savaging of the small units in big fights.

I've started to not include the small units in fort reduction efforts in sieges due to this effect.

I tend now to put them all in reserve and make my fort reduction attacks only with regiment/brigades and higher, with an exception for combat engineer battalions.

[jwolf]

Rats. I don't mind a rough combat if at least the forts get knocked down a step. On the other hand, I have seen several sieges like this where the first attack is bad, with no fort reduction, but the next attacks all make steady progress. Good luck.

[Canoerebel]

Having slept on the turn results, I feel pretty good about what happened (though not as good as if the Allies had achieved a 1:1, inflicted more casualties on the Japanese, and dropped forts by three).

The battle left Japan with 1000 AV and the Allies with 1800, almost the same ratio as before. The Allied troops will be better able to recover disruption and disablements.

More importantly, the Allies will bring in 1450 AV over the next two-plus weeks - three infantry divisions and one big combat engineering unit.

[Canoerebel]

11/30/44

Uruppu: I am putting on a clinic how to achieve non-nuclear bombardment results.

It's challenging to get good results against troops in 3x terrain, so this isn't surprising. The hit against supply is important, as is the continued disruption of enemy troops.

Allied ships can remain at sea more or less indefinitely, as I've seen in both my recent games, when in escorting roles. But bombarding exacts some wear and tear, at least when CD guns are firing in opposition. I've disbanded one of my TFs at Shikuka to repair accumulated light wear and tear, so basically 2 TFs will rotate for the next week or so.

[Canoerebel]

11/30/44

Kushiro: Daily sweeps of Kushiro continue, with the Allies more and more often achieving lopsided victories. Bombers are also getting through now, scoring Resources hits.

There's a great deal more fighting to do in the Air War. Erik has alot and is employing many different tactics, as am I. I am beginning to get the feeling that the Japanese fighter corps is somewhat stretched a bit more fragile. I think the give and take, the ebbs and flows, of the battle over Kushiro (and possibly switching to Sapporo) will continue for another month or so. At that point, I think some changes will take place that will amp up the pressure on the Japanese air force.

The Siege of Shikuka materially affected Erik's sea power. The ongoing air battles over Hokkaido may achieve the same with regard to the air war, eventually. The ground war will be much slower, but the battles in the Kuriles are steps forward.

[Canoerebel]

11/30/44

Uruppu: No Japanese counter-battery fire (darn it). Allied bombardment has a modest effect.