Notes from a Small Island

[BBfanboy]

Whoa - nice bonus on the bombardment to hit two I-boats in port! I wonder what other ships he might have there that were not hit ... yet.

That Superfort raid sure had weak results for the huge number of aircraft. He must have half his flak in that hex!

For the land battle, you must have had units just landing on the same day as the combat, so are they in good enough shape to continue the assault?

Come what may, thanks for bringing us this thriller! Bonne Chance!

[Canoerebel]

A lot of the bombers - perhaps half - were targeting ground units. I'm doing everything I can to slow the advance of units heading to Kushiro. It's going to be quite a race.

Only a few fragments of units were still coming ashore, triggering that IJ bombardment. I'll bring more later, but nothing for a few days as DS is up to other important thing temporarily.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

For the past ten days, flip time for turns has average more than two days. We've been grinding, mostly because of the complexity of this campaign. Today's turn arrived just 12 hours after I sent it to Erik, so it caught me by surprise.

Kushiro D+2: This turn will begin with a major move by DS, which I think will reduce the risk of a major air battle but which increases the risk of encounters with hostile subs.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Since D-Day, Erik has committed a lot of subs and SSX. They've taken a lot of damage and scored but a few hits (two DEs and one LST sunk, that's about it). He lost so many subs during the Siege of Shikuka and the Kuriles Campaign that I think he's run low (that's a solid hunch but not a certainty).

Kushiro D+2: Confirmed sunk.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: Allied bombardment does decent job of targeting ground troops but a poor job of keeping Kushiro airfield suppressed. Damage there is at best "moderate," and my air force isn't targeting the field today. Erik doesn't hesitate to use damaged airfields if he doesn't see a risk of bombardment TF inbound.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: This action caught me by surprise. First, the IJN APDs hit like pros! Second, this is where DS was posted, so I sure didn't think Erik would commit surface ships here. Third, I 'm not sure what this TF is still doing here. I think DS has already left the hex. I triple-checked all TFs to make sure all orders were right - stop unloading, "Do Not Unload," follow TF, Direct/Absolute, etc. But I probably overlooked a few. Judging by some upcoming air activity, I had to miss a few.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: Erik sends many, many fighter squadrons sweeping the hex where DS spent the last two days. Meaning: he's placed a very high priority on dealing with DS CAP.
He caught a few fighters flying LRCAP from either DS or Etorofu, but DS had moved away.

DS fighter squadrons are still in good shape with alot of reserves at Shikuka. LBA is a bit distant from the scene to offer good LRCAP but is in effective range for sweeps and escort missions.

As things stand three days into this campaign, the air war is going okay.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: Hundreds upon hundreds of Erik's best fighters sweep this hex - usually 25 to 45 at a time. Ki-83, Jack, George, Frank, Oscar IVs. It's clear Erik intended to wear out DS CAP. This is why I wanted to get the heck out of Dodge. Two days in once place is iffy. Three days is bad moon rising.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: So I counted - 663 fighters swept the former DS hex.

That doesn't count all the A6M8s that will be flying escort missions, fighters posted as CAP over the IJA tank regiment in the vacant hex, etc.

What's the line from Lord of the Rings: What can we do against such reckless hate? But this isn't Lord of the Rings. It's Disney.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: Coinciding with his fighter bushwhacking, Erik had strike aircraft set to sortie, with escorts. Several packages target nimble DDs at Kushiro and miss. Some others target vulnerable TFs that I left behind, somehow or other.

But this was scary times. I had a bunch of big TFs inbound from Shikuka to rendezvous with DS, including a Iowa TF. Had the rendezvous not taken place for any reason (such as DS getting slowed by riff-raff surface action), I might've suffered some big losses. As it stands, on the day I'll lose a handful of merchantmen but sidestep Erik's well-planned knockout punch.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: These are the ships that incurred HF/HD during the altercation with the enemy APD TF. Originally, I thought this was a separate TF, leading me to scratch my head that I had left so many naked TFs wandering about.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: Erik sends carriers forward. They find only small targets, and those way over at Sapporo (two YMS have been patrolling there for a week, checking for mines and sinking one SSX).

I don't think this is a big carrier force. I think Erik again hoped to coax a reaction and set his strike aircraft, hoping that there would be targets after the Great Sweep Bushwhack that fizzled.

Yeah, I sidestepped something major here.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D-Day+2: Weather shut down most Allied morning air ops, but clears in the afternoon. Allied sweeps find no opposition over Kushiro and Bihoro (Erik had other things in mind) but modest CAP protecting the tank regiment in clear terrain.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D+2: A series of Allied bombers target the enemy tank regiment, which was a key objective, inflicting many disablements but only a few outright destroyed (this is just one raid).

Allied units will arrive in this hex today, and I hope to boot the enemy tomorrow. I had expected a big air battle here, but Erik had his own designs.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D+2: Another raid (the last I'll show). The tank unit shouldn't be battle-worthy tomorrow. But enemy reinforcements may arrive, so there aren't any sure things.

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D+2: The largest of the Allied raids, mainly targeting ground troops to slow them down.

I stood down about 65% of my bombers today, after two days of heavy fighting. They'll rotate now. Enemy AA at Bihoro and Kushiro makes the going tough but naval bombardments help.

This is shaping up to be a massive contest. I mostly control the sea; Erik has the advantage in the air; but I can use distance, AI-targeting confusion, and naval bombardments to dampen his advantage a bit.

[JohnDillworth]

[/quote]

What can we do against such reckless hate

"Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them............."

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

What can we do against such reckless hate

"Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them............."
[/quote]

You got it, John. Really well done movie, you know? I think I'd have followed him.

[Canoerebel]

I ended up tallying the damage to the IJA tank regiment - 24 destroyed, 105 disabled. So that unit's neutralized. Will enemy reinforcements arrive before I can boot it? And does Erik even want to send units into those clear terrain hexes?

[Canoerebel]

2/10/45

Kushiro D+2: Substantial elements of 1st and 5th Marine divisions have landed in the clear hex NE of Kushiro with no trouble at all. But this TF of bigger merchantmen is bringing in the heavy gear. This is awful. I was counting on two near-pristine divisions to hold this hex, but they are going to be battered, it seems.