After the High Command decided against my Midway operations in hopes of pushing the Allies back further, they approved my secondary plan of isolating Australia from the US in hopes of opening it up to eventual invasion, though I fear that trying to take & resupply Port Moresby will not be feasible unless India & China are totally secure & the Russian threat is no longer an issue. My plan thus approved from High Command is to feint to Port Moresby by taking & building up bases on the northern coast of New Guinea using Lae, Rabaul, Kaveing & Buna, as well as others to be developed & taken, as bases to neutralize Port Moresby & the northern Australian bases. With the Allied attention focused on Australia & New Guinea, I will seize the rest of the Solomans chain & use it as a launching point towards the New Hebrides chain. The High Command has given me till Dec43 to achieve total victory with this plan. I have no illusions as to we are only delaying the inevitable as the sleeping giant awakens but we may yet achieve an honorable peace. Due to the events in India & our European allies doing so well verses the despised Russians some additional troops & air units will be available towards the greater glory of the Emperor as will the ships assigned to the Midway & Alaskan operations.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
In service to the Emperor
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Attack Condor
- Posts: 424
- Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2002 2:33 am
- Location: Chicago
Sorry for the long delay, I was on vacation last week & my home pc wouldn't log me on to post for some reason. I'm playing vs the Allied AI which so far seems to be better at how it handles transports than the IJN AI. I've played up to mid Jul so far but now that I'm back at work I won't have as much time to play as many turns but here goes...
May42 - Opening moves
I embarked the 16th NG from Shortland to occupy Tulagi, the 4th NG from Truk to Lunga, the 8th NG from Rabaul to Buna with a engineer unit & the 144Rgt with an engineer unit from Rabaul to GiliGili.
On May6th Buna & Tulagi were taken without resistance but the invasion of GiliGili was held up due to American CV's made an appearance. My carrier strike, Shokaku, Zuikaku & Shoho, under Yamaguchi countered them in the Coral Sea but the Americans were able to get off the first strike but it was uncoordinated but effective as the Shokaku took moderate damage. My elite carrier units were able to extract a might revenge on the American TF by heavily damaging the Lex & Yorktown, which intel reports sunk on the 8th. The Shoho took a torpedo hit causing moderate damage from a submarine that was able to get inside & escape from my destroyer screen. On May7 GiliGili was taken without further interference from the Allies. Due to an oversight by my air command the Buna transports were left uncovered & the Allied forces from PM, largely having been reinforced by air carrier units, made me pay for my mistake. On May10, Lunga was taken without any resistance.
Summation of May -
My initial moves wentn rather well with only moderate damage to my available transports & carrier strike force which will be replaced by the units coming from the cancelled Midway operation due in at the end of May & start of June. After the Battle of Coral Sea things were quiet as the Allies had nothing to strike with other than what was at PM so I continued to resupply, reinforce & build up my gains of May. My ability to shutdown PM by air has proved fruitless so far due to limited air assets but that should change in the next month or 2.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
May42 - Opening moves
I embarked the 16th NG from Shortland to occupy Tulagi, the 4th NG from Truk to Lunga, the 8th NG from Rabaul to Buna with a engineer unit & the 144Rgt with an engineer unit from Rabaul to GiliGili.
On May6th Buna & Tulagi were taken without resistance but the invasion of GiliGili was held up due to American CV's made an appearance. My carrier strike, Shokaku, Zuikaku & Shoho, under Yamaguchi countered them in the Coral Sea but the Americans were able to get off the first strike but it was uncoordinated but effective as the Shokaku took moderate damage. My elite carrier units were able to extract a might revenge on the American TF by heavily damaging the Lex & Yorktown, which intel reports sunk on the 8th. The Shoho took a torpedo hit causing moderate damage from a submarine that was able to get inside & escape from my destroyer screen. On May7 GiliGili was taken without further interference from the Allies. Due to an oversight by my air command the Buna transports were left uncovered & the Allied forces from PM, largely having been reinforced by air carrier units, made me pay for my mistake. On May10, Lunga was taken without any resistance.
Summation of May -
My initial moves wentn rather well with only moderate damage to my available transports & carrier strike force which will be replaced by the units coming from the cancelled Midway operation due in at the end of May & start of June. After the Battle of Coral Sea things were quiet as the Allies had nothing to strike with other than what was at PM so I continued to resupply, reinforce & build up my gains of May. My ability to shutdown PM by air has proved fruitless so far due to limited air assets but that should change in the next month or 2.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
June42 -
Begins as May ended, reinforcing & resupplying with no interference by the Allies other than the occasional strike from PM to GG which seems to be a thorn in his side. On June10 another Allied CV TF makes an appearance in the Coral Sea & my new carrier strike force under Nagumo with Akagi, Kaga, Soryu & Hiryu make a timely appearance the day after in support of supply runs to the northern coast of NG. The battle in an overwhelming success with only light damage to the Akagi & with 1 definite Allied CV sunk, intel says the Hornet & another heavily damaged. The Allies tried to sneak a invasion tf into GG but it was sunk without delay & the troops that did get on shore will be dealt with by the 144th & bombardment runs from Rabaul by a new arrived BB tf. Again my air forces haven't been able to damage PM enough to neutralize it so I will now start day & night missions as well as bombardment runs as transports have been sporadically seen entering the harbor presumably to resupply to base. I have little recon forces so I've been unable to get an accurate picture of just what is a PM. The Allied have begun to send a bombardment tf from Luganville to Lunga. I've countered & sent a light cruiser tf to hopefully stop these attacks while I consolidate my NG holdings.
On June20th, my luck continues as my CL tf surprises the Allies, much damage was done to my ships as the Allies had 2 hvy cruisers but our excellent training as well as torpedoes turned the tide. I lost no ships but 4 CL's were mod-hvy damage as well as 2 DD's to 1 CA sunk, 2 hvy damaged & 1 DD sunk.
Summation of June42 - Much as May did most of the month was quiet with a couple of days of heavy action. So far my luck has been great with the Allies reeling from loses & most of my forces due in in the next month PM is looking very inviting as there seems to be not much that can counter my moves since I have the Allies out numbered in carriers as well as experienced aircrews. Mopping up of the GG invasion force is continuing with more troops there than I expected but the bombardment tf's are helping out greatly.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Begins as May ended, reinforcing & resupplying with no interference by the Allies other than the occasional strike from PM to GG which seems to be a thorn in his side. On June10 another Allied CV TF makes an appearance in the Coral Sea & my new carrier strike force under Nagumo with Akagi, Kaga, Soryu & Hiryu make a timely appearance the day after in support of supply runs to the northern coast of NG. The battle in an overwhelming success with only light damage to the Akagi & with 1 definite Allied CV sunk, intel says the Hornet & another heavily damaged. The Allies tried to sneak a invasion tf into GG but it was sunk without delay & the troops that did get on shore will be dealt with by the 144th & bombardment runs from Rabaul by a new arrived BB tf. Again my air forces haven't been able to damage PM enough to neutralize it so I will now start day & night missions as well as bombardment runs as transports have been sporadically seen entering the harbor presumably to resupply to base. I have little recon forces so I've been unable to get an accurate picture of just what is a PM. The Allied have begun to send a bombardment tf from Luganville to Lunga. I've countered & sent a light cruiser tf to hopefully stop these attacks while I consolidate my NG holdings.
On June20th, my luck continues as my CL tf surprises the Allies, much damage was done to my ships as the Allies had 2 hvy cruisers but our excellent training as well as torpedoes turned the tide. I lost no ships but 4 CL's were mod-hvy damage as well as 2 DD's to 1 CA sunk, 2 hvy damaged & 1 DD sunk.
Summation of June42 - Much as May did most of the month was quiet with a couple of days of heavy action. So far my luck has been great with the Allies reeling from loses & most of my forces due in in the next month PM is looking very inviting as there seems to be not much that can counter my moves since I have the Allies out numbered in carriers as well as experienced aircrews. Mopping up of the GG invasion force is continuing with more troops there than I expected but the bombardment tf's are helping out greatly.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
July 42 -
This month has been a busy month in game as well as out. The first of July started quietly as the end of June as naval forces retreated to resupply & refuel. My air forces operating from Rabaul, Kaveing & Lae have been unable to put PM out of action even though I'm running 24hr ops with Betty's & Nell's from all 3 bases. Losses have been fair with Allied air cap being ineffective most times due to experience escort crews. Most bomber losses are lost on the way home or due to flak. July 12-15 turned into another historical naval victory for the IJN. The Allies attempted to run a carrier raid with the only carrier they seem to have left, Wasp, which was met by a 3BB surface force 90mi south of Russel Island followed the next day by my main carrier forces on their way to refuel at Lunga then to raid at E Santo. The losses over the 3 days were only light damage to one of my BB's & 2 DD sunk to 3 Allied CA & 3 DD sunk during the naval battle. My naval aircrews then found the rest of the force then next day sinking the Allied CV along with a CLAA & 2 DD's. Allied air attacks were beaten back with only light losses to my aircrews. My carrier forces then docked in Lunga to refuel & rearm to head onto E Santo as part of my upcoming Operation Lotus Blossum - the taking of E Santo as a base to take Nouema & cut off Australia from the US supply line.
July 20-25 was again a busy period in the Solomans as my carrier TF's sighted the remnants of the Allied CV TF as well as what I supposed to be another bombardment TF from E Santo to Lunga both were dealt with but the bombardment TF was able to complete it's mission before I was able to intercede. Only light damage was done to Lunga & only 1 a/c was lost on base to Allied losses of 2CA & 3DD.
Summation of July - Due to severe Allied CV losses, I've decided to push up Operation Lotus Blossum before the Allies recover. I've only had light damage done to my carrier forces, mod damage to Shoho (Tokyo) & light damage to Akagi (Truk) & the occasional loss of a transport due to ineffective air cover & inability to close PM. So far I've only lost 25 ships to approx 50 Allied with 4 being large CV with another known heavily damaged along with a few CA units. After spending Aug softening up E Santo with CV & bombardment forces, I'll invade with 2 new divisions due to come in using Lunga as the air & land base & Tulagi as the Naval base.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
This month has been a busy month in game as well as out. The first of July started quietly as the end of June as naval forces retreated to resupply & refuel. My air forces operating from Rabaul, Kaveing & Lae have been unable to put PM out of action even though I'm running 24hr ops with Betty's & Nell's from all 3 bases. Losses have been fair with Allied air cap being ineffective most times due to experience escort crews. Most bomber losses are lost on the way home or due to flak. July 12-15 turned into another historical naval victory for the IJN. The Allies attempted to run a carrier raid with the only carrier they seem to have left, Wasp, which was met by a 3BB surface force 90mi south of Russel Island followed the next day by my main carrier forces on their way to refuel at Lunga then to raid at E Santo. The losses over the 3 days were only light damage to one of my BB's & 2 DD sunk to 3 Allied CA & 3 DD sunk during the naval battle. My naval aircrews then found the rest of the force then next day sinking the Allied CV along with a CLAA & 2 DD's. Allied air attacks were beaten back with only light losses to my aircrews. My carrier forces then docked in Lunga to refuel & rearm to head onto E Santo as part of my upcoming Operation Lotus Blossum - the taking of E Santo as a base to take Nouema & cut off Australia from the US supply line.
July 20-25 was again a busy period in the Solomans as my carrier TF's sighted the remnants of the Allied CV TF as well as what I supposed to be another bombardment TF from E Santo to Lunga both were dealt with but the bombardment TF was able to complete it's mission before I was able to intercede. Only light damage was done to Lunga & only 1 a/c was lost on base to Allied losses of 2CA & 3DD.
Summation of July - Due to severe Allied CV losses, I've decided to push up Operation Lotus Blossum before the Allies recover. I've only had light damage done to my carrier forces, mod damage to Shoho (Tokyo) & light damage to Akagi (Truk) & the occasional loss of a transport due to ineffective air cover & inability to close PM. So far I've only lost 25 ships to approx 50 Allied with 4 being large CV with another known heavily damaged along with a few CA units. After spending Aug softening up E Santo with CV & bombardment forces, I'll invade with 2 new divisions due to come in using Lunga as the air & land base & Tulagi as the Naval base.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Aug 42 -
Things have gone very well this month, the month started slow but finished with a bang.
The first ov the month was again slow as both sides retreated to repair & replace losses from the end of last month action in the Solomans. I sent parts of the 35th Brig from Buna on a recon in force to PM, which was soundly beaten back by Allied troops in the area. Due to this raid it seems that the Allies have forsaken PM and decided to slowly abandon it as recon & intel reports have seen that Allied air forces have been transferred out & not replaced as well as some tranports seem to be removing troops but are in turn deftly handled by my air units operating from Lae & GG.
In the Solomans, the opening stages of Operation LB have begun & done well. Several days of air raids by my CV under overall command of Nagumo have destroyed many Allied planes on the ground as well as any that make it inot the air at Luganville along with any ships in port there. The occasional extra day sent over to raid Noeuma has had marginal results vs the losses sustained. Allied air power in the area seems to be focused at Luganville with some at Efati & Noeuma. Within a week I will have three full divisions to invade with at Luganville as well as other support & garrison units. I have already onther division in Shortland that can be used in NG or as reserve to Operation LB.
Summation of Aug - Severe losses to the Allied forces have continued as intel now reports I've sunk 6 CV as well as a 1/2 doz other capital ships with numerous DD & tranports for a total of over 100 ships lost to only 25. Intel report that the Allies no longer have any naval air assets due for the next few months so now is the month of truth to achieve our goal of severing the Allied lines of supply to Australia. Due to the unexpected air superiority in NG the taking of PM will be given a higher priority in late Sept or Oct being the possible time of assault. Currently my forces are resting & repairing due to arrival of final invasion & naval forces for Operation LB.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Things have gone very well this month, the month started slow but finished with a bang.
The first ov the month was again slow as both sides retreated to repair & replace losses from the end of last month action in the Solomans. I sent parts of the 35th Brig from Buna on a recon in force to PM, which was soundly beaten back by Allied troops in the area. Due to this raid it seems that the Allies have forsaken PM and decided to slowly abandon it as recon & intel reports have seen that Allied air forces have been transferred out & not replaced as well as some tranports seem to be removing troops but are in turn deftly handled by my air units operating from Lae & GG.
In the Solomans, the opening stages of Operation LB have begun & done well. Several days of air raids by my CV under overall command of Nagumo have destroyed many Allied planes on the ground as well as any that make it inot the air at Luganville along with any ships in port there. The occasional extra day sent over to raid Noeuma has had marginal results vs the losses sustained. Allied air power in the area seems to be focused at Luganville with some at Efati & Noeuma. Within a week I will have three full divisions to invade with at Luganville as well as other support & garrison units. I have already onther division in Shortland that can be used in NG or as reserve to Operation LB.
Summation of Aug - Severe losses to the Allied forces have continued as intel now reports I've sunk 6 CV as well as a 1/2 doz other capital ships with numerous DD & tranports for a total of over 100 ships lost to only 25. Intel report that the Allies no longer have any naval air assets due for the next few months so now is the month of truth to achieve our goal of severing the Allied lines of supply to Australia. Due to the unexpected air superiority in NG the taking of PM will be given a higher priority in late Sept or Oct being the possible time of assault. Currently my forces are resting & repairing due to arrival of final invasion & naval forces for Operation LB.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Sept 42 -
Most of this month was quiet as I prepare for the invasion of PM as well as Luganville. Only the occasional raid into Luganville by my carrier TF's under Nagumo with minor losses against moderate a/c of the Allies. The Allies continue to run a CA bombardment TF from Luganville to Lunga that I've never been able to defend against even when I have surface units at Lunga. I've only been able to damage the ships on the return leg with my Vals based at Irau. My air assets operating in Lae, GG & Rabaul have continued to bomb PM with little losses but only doing enough damage to keep the airbase from operating while causing little in troop losses. The 2nd ID along with elements of the 35th Brigade & the newly arrived 38th ID captured Lae Lae just nw of PM to serve as a forward supply base. My recon in force by the 35th showed that I had insufficient forces allocated to take PM so the 6th, 51st & 20th which were to be earmarked for Luganville will be diverted to hasten the taking of PM. Oct will be a busy month as operations get into full swing.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Most of this month was quiet as I prepare for the invasion of PM as well as Luganville. Only the occasional raid into Luganville by my carrier TF's under Nagumo with minor losses against moderate a/c of the Allies. The Allies continue to run a CA bombardment TF from Luganville to Lunga that I've never been able to defend against even when I have surface units at Lunga. I've only been able to damage the ships on the return leg with my Vals based at Irau. My air assets operating in Lae, GG & Rabaul have continued to bomb PM with little losses but only doing enough damage to keep the airbase from operating while causing little in troop losses. The 2nd ID along with elements of the 35th Brigade & the newly arrived 38th ID captured Lae Lae just nw of PM to serve as a forward supply base. My recon in force by the 35th showed that I had insufficient forces allocated to take PM so the 6th, 51st & 20th which were to be earmarked for Luganville will be diverted to hasten the taking of PM. Oct will be a busy month as operations get into full swing.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Oct 42 -
My invasion to take PM finally got under way on the 6th with the 38th ID freshly landed at LaeLae along with most of the 2nd ID coming over the Kokoda Trail from Lae & the 35th Brigade from Buna. My first few days of attacks were soundly beaten back as Allied forces at PM were well entrenched & not in as bad a shape as I had thought even due to all the air & naval bombardments over the preceding weeks. Due to this I redirected the forces assigned to my Luganville operations - 6th,20th & 51st ID, as they haven't arrived at staging area yet. They all landed directly at PM with the 6th & 51st landing mid month & the 20th following a few days later. The 41st ID was a last minute addition to the PM operation. From the 10th - 20th only bombardment attacks were done to soften up the Allies with an occasional naval bombardment TF of 1BB & 6CA operating from GG running every other day. Late in the month it was discovered that the Allies were trying to run airdrops into PM. LRCAP from Lae soon put an end to that with heavy transport losses dealt. Starting on the 21st concerted allout attacks were dealt to the Allies slowly breaking their defenses down but with heavy losses on both sides. When the 41st ID finally landed on the 30th, PM was finally taken. If took only a few days more to wipe out the remaining elements of the Allied forces.
Due to the shifting of forces to support the taking of PM, Operation Lotus Blossom has been postponed until sometime early next year. But my right flank should be well secured with PM, GG & Lae as major forward airbases & Allied naval transport losses have been heavy. The only threat so far has been the occasional bombardment run to Lunga from Luganville which continues to be a problem my air & naval forces in the area haven't been able to slow down. I have been only able to deal my blows after the bombardment has done it's damage. From this tactic, I presume that the Allies will try to take Lunga as it's first offensive step should he ever become strong enough in carrier airpower to challenge me. Lunga is heavily entrenched but not as many combat troops have been landed there which will be rectified soon enough.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
My invasion to take PM finally got under way on the 6th with the 38th ID freshly landed at LaeLae along with most of the 2nd ID coming over the Kokoda Trail from Lae & the 35th Brigade from Buna. My first few days of attacks were soundly beaten back as Allied forces at PM were well entrenched & not in as bad a shape as I had thought even due to all the air & naval bombardments over the preceding weeks. Due to this I redirected the forces assigned to my Luganville operations - 6th,20th & 51st ID, as they haven't arrived at staging area yet. They all landed directly at PM with the 6th & 51st landing mid month & the 20th following a few days later. The 41st ID was a last minute addition to the PM operation. From the 10th - 20th only bombardment attacks were done to soften up the Allies with an occasional naval bombardment TF of 1BB & 6CA operating from GG running every other day. Late in the month it was discovered that the Allies were trying to run airdrops into PM. LRCAP from Lae soon put an end to that with heavy transport losses dealt. Starting on the 21st concerted allout attacks were dealt to the Allies slowly breaking their defenses down but with heavy losses on both sides. When the 41st ID finally landed on the 30th, PM was finally taken. If took only a few days more to wipe out the remaining elements of the Allied forces.
Due to the shifting of forces to support the taking of PM, Operation Lotus Blossom has been postponed until sometime early next year. But my right flank should be well secured with PM, GG & Lae as major forward airbases & Allied naval transport losses have been heavy. The only threat so far has been the occasional bombardment run to Lunga from Luganville which continues to be a problem my air & naval forces in the area haven't been able to slow down. I have been only able to deal my blows after the bombardment has done it's damage. From this tactic, I presume that the Allies will try to take Lunga as it's first offensive step should he ever become strong enough in carrier airpower to challenge me. Lunga is heavily entrenched but not as many combat troops have been landed there which will be rectified soon enough.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Nov 42 -
Nov was a quiet month as I reshuffled forces as well as sent most of my naval forces to Truk or Japan for some very well deserved & neede rest & refit. Since the taking of PM, I've moved LRB into PM & GG and begun escorted bombing raids to Australia hoping to keep the Allies at bay there. The Allies have begun excorted raids with a new fighter into PM themselves but damage has been light as well as losses in mine as well as their raids. I'm planning on leaving the 35th Brig & 2nd ID at PM to defend against any invasion the Allies may try there. The 6th, 20th, 38th, 41st & 51st will be moved to Shortland for rest & then some elements to Lunga to strengthen the garrison there. I've only kept the Hiyo & Unyo to counter the Allied bombardment TF running into Lunga. The rest of my forces are in Truk or were sent to Japan for needed repairs & upgrades. In addition the the afore mentioned carriers, I have the Hiryu, Junyo, Ryuho & Shoho under minor repair at Truk along with the newly arrived Haruna with numerous CA/CL/DD units.
Most of my primary naval forces will return somewhere around the first of the year just in time for the last push into Luganville/Noeuma before the Allies start to get the advanced aircraft & naval airpower in strength. So far losses have been lopsided in ships as the Allied AI started to become stupid with transports after losing all it's CV units but the airwar has been about equal.
IJN Allied
Aircraft losses 1190 1878
Gound troops 120 1600
Ships 25 150
Allied ships sunk: 6CV, 1BB, 13CA/CL, 36DD, 19 AU, 5SS & 70 AP/AK/AO/TK
IJN ships sunk: 6DD, 5SS, 14 AP/TK
I have severely damaged several other large capital ships but so far they haven't sunk or are laid up in port somewhere. With this 3to1 advantage in score I should be able to sit back a couple of months without any ill effects. Dec will be spent getting large amounts of fuel & supplies to the Solomans area & whittling away at the Allied surface forces as recent recon has shown that they might consist of 3 BB along with numerous cruiser support.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Nov was a quiet month as I reshuffled forces as well as sent most of my naval forces to Truk or Japan for some very well deserved & neede rest & refit. Since the taking of PM, I've moved LRB into PM & GG and begun escorted bombing raids to Australia hoping to keep the Allies at bay there. The Allies have begun excorted raids with a new fighter into PM themselves but damage has been light as well as losses in mine as well as their raids. I'm planning on leaving the 35th Brig & 2nd ID at PM to defend against any invasion the Allies may try there. The 6th, 20th, 38th, 41st & 51st will be moved to Shortland for rest & then some elements to Lunga to strengthen the garrison there. I've only kept the Hiyo & Unyo to counter the Allied bombardment TF running into Lunga. The rest of my forces are in Truk or were sent to Japan for needed repairs & upgrades. In addition the the afore mentioned carriers, I have the Hiryu, Junyo, Ryuho & Shoho under minor repair at Truk along with the newly arrived Haruna with numerous CA/CL/DD units.
Most of my primary naval forces will return somewhere around the first of the year just in time for the last push into Luganville/Noeuma before the Allies start to get the advanced aircraft & naval airpower in strength. So far losses have been lopsided in ships as the Allied AI started to become stupid with transports after losing all it's CV units but the airwar has been about equal.
IJN Allied
Aircraft losses 1190 1878
Gound troops 120 1600
Ships 25 150
Allied ships sunk: 6CV, 1BB, 13CA/CL, 36DD, 19 AU, 5SS & 70 AP/AK/AO/TK
IJN ships sunk: 6DD, 5SS, 14 AP/TK
I have severely damaged several other large capital ships but so far they haven't sunk or are laid up in port somewhere. With this 3to1 advantage in score I should be able to sit back a couple of months without any ill effects. Dec will be spent getting large amounts of fuel & supplies to the Solomans area & whittling away at the Allied surface forces as recent recon has shown that they might consist of 3 BB along with numerous cruiser support.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Dec 42 -
The first part of Dec was a quiet part as I resupplied & rested units only running the occasional night raid from GG to Cooktown & Cairns. I began running long range sweeps from PM to Cooktown to keep the Allied fighters of of escort duties & to continue attrition as that will be my strategy in the NG area. PM is a major fighter base & it seems as though the Allies are unwilling to test my day defenses except at Buna where I have no airunits & only come at night to PM doing only light damage. They also seem to avoid GG which is a mixed Betty/ Oscar 2 base. As more Oscar 2 come into play I will begin day offensive raids to Cooktown & Cairns hoping to do more damage to the Allied air forces in Australia.
In the Solomans, Xmas came early when another bombardment TF tried to pay a visit to Lunga in mid Dec. My BB TF under Hosagowa was able to surprise the Allies & get in very good strikes early on leading to an almost lopsided annihilation of the Allied TF. Total loss to the Allies from the engagement was 2BB, 3CA, 6DD sunk, 3DD damaged, my losses were 1BB, 2DD sunk, 3CA heavily damaged, 3DD heavily damaged, 1BB lightly damaged. At Christmas, the Allies delivered another present in the form of an carrier raid which my CV TF under Nagumo dispached with ease - 3CVE sunk, 4DD sunk, 4DD heavily damaged to no losses other than air losses amounting to 5F/10DB/10TB shot down. Following these heavy losses to the Allies, I will make a raid early next month into the New Caledonia area to see how strong the Allies are in land air & troops.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
The first part of Dec was a quiet part as I resupplied & rested units only running the occasional night raid from GG to Cooktown & Cairns. I began running long range sweeps from PM to Cooktown to keep the Allied fighters of of escort duties & to continue attrition as that will be my strategy in the NG area. PM is a major fighter base & it seems as though the Allies are unwilling to test my day defenses except at Buna where I have no airunits & only come at night to PM doing only light damage. They also seem to avoid GG which is a mixed Betty/ Oscar 2 base. As more Oscar 2 come into play I will begin day offensive raids to Cooktown & Cairns hoping to do more damage to the Allied air forces in Australia.
In the Solomans, Xmas came early when another bombardment TF tried to pay a visit to Lunga in mid Dec. My BB TF under Hosagowa was able to surprise the Allies & get in very good strikes early on leading to an almost lopsided annihilation of the Allied TF. Total loss to the Allies from the engagement was 2BB, 3CA, 6DD sunk, 3DD damaged, my losses were 1BB, 2DD sunk, 3CA heavily damaged, 3DD heavily damaged, 1BB lightly damaged. At Christmas, the Allies delivered another present in the form of an carrier raid which my CV TF under Nagumo dispached with ease - 3CVE sunk, 4DD sunk, 4DD heavily damaged to no losses other than air losses amounting to 5F/10DB/10TB shot down. Following these heavy losses to the Allies, I will make a raid early next month into the New Caledonia area to see how strong the Allies are in land air & troops.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Jan43 -
Following on the heels of my recent success, I took the initiative on both fronts. In the NG area I began daylight raids of Cooktown & Cairns with recently arrived Sally & Helen bombers out of GG with Oscar 2 escort & A6M sweeps/escorts from PM. The first few raids were moderately successful in damaging the airbases & aircraft only light CAP was found with losses about even & that will hurt in my war of attrition as a check of new pilots coming in shows their experience being quite low.
In the Solomans, I began my CV raid with 3CV/1CVL/1CVE in search of any ships left over from the previous months action. At Luganville I found that the Allies had moved extensive fighter cover into the area, intel has said that they are probably from all the sunk allied CV units. I have assigned A6M units from Irau as additional air cover for my TF to deal with the Allied fighters. In my first engagement with the Allied air at Luganville I was able to inflict heavy losses to the airbase destroying some 30 F4F in aircombat along with 20 misc a/c destroyed on the ground as well as several transport ships in the area. The Allies countered with a very largely escorted strike consisting of over 100 fighters but only a dozen DB & B. This strike was able to deplete my CAP to a signifcant level that I had to withdraw for a few days to replentish a/c & the few lost pilots. Losses in the raid were Allies - 60F, 20B/DB, 5P to my 30F, 5DB, 10TB as well as 1 CVE heavily damaged. Sweeps from Irau will be instituted to keep the Allies from building up too much fighter cover in the area. After the short rest & refit period, I again sent my TF into the area as a recon in force. This time the Allied airforces didn't attack but significant fighter strength was found still in the area in Luganville & Noema.
I'm currently resting my naval air bombing units to build up a ready supply of replacement aircraft to supply the numerous depeleted Nell & Betty units, so they may be of use in the upcoming months of anticipated operations in the New Caledonia area. With the arrival of IJAAF bombers, they will take over the operations in NG & Australia. My CV forces will be increasing in the next few weeks as a few of my more experience units will return from refit in Japan.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet
Following on the heels of my recent success, I took the initiative on both fronts. In the NG area I began daylight raids of Cooktown & Cairns with recently arrived Sally & Helen bombers out of GG with Oscar 2 escort & A6M sweeps/escorts from PM. The first few raids were moderately successful in damaging the airbases & aircraft only light CAP was found with losses about even & that will hurt in my war of attrition as a check of new pilots coming in shows their experience being quite low.
In the Solomans, I began my CV raid with 3CV/1CVL/1CVE in search of any ships left over from the previous months action. At Luganville I found that the Allies had moved extensive fighter cover into the area, intel has said that they are probably from all the sunk allied CV units. I have assigned A6M units from Irau as additional air cover for my TF to deal with the Allied fighters. In my first engagement with the Allied air at Luganville I was able to inflict heavy losses to the airbase destroying some 30 F4F in aircombat along with 20 misc a/c destroyed on the ground as well as several transport ships in the area. The Allies countered with a very largely escorted strike consisting of over 100 fighters but only a dozen DB & B. This strike was able to deplete my CAP to a signifcant level that I had to withdraw for a few days to replentish a/c & the few lost pilots. Losses in the raid were Allies - 60F, 20B/DB, 5P to my 30F, 5DB, 10TB as well as 1 CVE heavily damaged. Sweeps from Irau will be instituted to keep the Allies from building up too much fighter cover in the area. After the short rest & refit period, I again sent my TF into the area as a recon in force. This time the Allied airforces didn't attack but significant fighter strength was found still in the area in Luganville & Noema.
I'm currently resting my naval air bombing units to build up a ready supply of replacement aircraft to supply the numerous depeleted Nell & Betty units, so they may be of use in the upcoming months of anticipated operations in the New Caledonia area. With the arrival of IJAAF bombers, they will take over the operations in NG & Australia. My CV forces will be increasing in the next few weeks as a few of my more experience units will return from refit in Japan.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Adm, Combined Fleet