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

[apbarog]

10 Feb 43 - Part Two - Burma

[ChuckBerger]

Wow, that must be really disheartening for your opponent. Both super-battleships burned out and at very high risk of being lost, with nothing but a couple of subchasers to show for it. And so close to bumping into your CVs or invasion transports... I gather this is one of those victories one might almost feel guilty for having won.

Congrats regardless!

[apbarog]

It was bad luck for my opponent. I don't feel bad about the air strikes though. I sent a weak escort and they tracked down the super battleships at Kwajalein. The enemy could have had a strong CAP, from Kwajalein and Roi Namur.

I think what happened is that my move looked like a move to reinforce Kusaie Island. That has been the focus in the area for months. I planned this misdirection, but didn't anticipate enemy combat ships at Kwajalein. I think Yamato and Musashi were headed to Kusaie from Kwajalein, and stumbled into the armada 2 hexes from Kwajalein.

Either way, it was known that I had carriers there. Maybe it looked like I just had CVEs, which would probably mean limited bombers loaded. OPilot had no way of knowing that I had 2 SBD squadrons on CVEs. I probably would have loaded more fighters if I had them available, but the 50 or so SBDs on CVEs couldn't have been anticipated. And Yorktown helped out with 36 more SBDs and about 18 torpedo bombers.

More torpedo bombers could have meant the end of both ships though. They may live to fight again.

[ChuckBerger]

Well, then you've made your own luck! Well played.

[Lowpe]

It is hard to use the super battleships well. What in the world was Japan thinking?????????[&:]

An amazingly bad task force composition. This game won't make the end of 1943 at the rate Japan is going.[:(]

[jwolf]

Your cruiser force held really well against the two Japanese big boys. Great work by your carrier air, but I would have expected a lot more enemy CAP. It looks like the Marshalls op is going well. Good luck in the other theater, at Port Blair.

[apbarog]

11 Feb 43

Battleships New Mexico and Mississippi, with 3 destroyers, find AMc Shonan Maru #7 at Kwajalein and quickly sink the tiny minesweepers. The slow US battleships then bombard Kwajalein, causing 169 casualties, destroying 4 guns and disabling 23 more. The Nimur Naval Fortress does get 2 minor hits on Mississippi.

Kwajalein is then invaded. Light cruiser Trenton is hit with a small shell from the defenders.

I expect the same pattern at Roi-Namur, but that didn't happen. 4 US cruisers did find AMc Tama Maru #3 at Roi-Namur, and the first shell fired hit the tiny minesweeper, sinking the ship. But no landing, nor bombardment, occurred at Roi-Namur at night. I had plotted the move from 3 hexes away, going to the west of Roi-Namur, then to the island. I wanted to avoid the direct route, 2 hexes, which would have passed through Kwajalein. I wonder if having a waypoint screwed up the bombardment run (the battleships stopped for the day just west of Roi-Namur, at that waypoint) and the transports, which got to the island in the afternoon and started unloading then. Either that, or the fact that Yamato and Musashi were passing through Roi-Namur. I did have all task forces on absolute movement.

With daylight, heavy bombers hit both invasion bases. 21 Zeros were up at Roi-Namur. The P-38s never showed. Some Fortresses were lost, but they did good work on the troops.

Then the super battleship task force was spotted, having moved northwest from Kwajalein, through Roi-Namur. It hadn't gotten far. Here's a summary of the damage done. There were no enemy fighters over the ships. Most of the TBFs dropped bombs. There was a dud torpedo hit in the mix.

BB Musashi, Bomb hits 14, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Yamato, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
DD Ariake, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Asakaze, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CS Mizuho, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Harukaze

BB Musashi, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CS Mizuho, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Harukaze
DD Asakaze, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk

In the afternoon, a small attack.

DD Harukaze
BB Musashi, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk

Harukaze and something else still floats.

Then the invasion combat. Kwajalein goes as planned, and goes ok. Tanks helped.

Ground combat at Kwajalein Island (132,115)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 4816 troops, 38 guns, 135 vehicles, Assault Value = 211

Defending force 3735 troops, 45 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 23

Allied adjusted assault: 100

Japanese adjusted defense: 29

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 5)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
1057 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 73 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 18 (13 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
438 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 51 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Vehicles lost 21 (1 destroyed, 20 disabled)

Assaulting units:
22nd Marine Regiment
1st USMC Tank Battalion

Defending units:
Nimur Naval Fortress
24th Air Flotilla
Kwajalein Base Force
51st JNAF AF Unit

Roi Namur is another story.

Ground combat at Roi-Namur (132,114)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 2585 troops, 65 guns, 31 vehicles, Assault Value = 122

Defending force 6055 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 86

Allied adjusted assault: 9

Japanese adjusted defense: 140

Allied assault odds: 1 to 15 (fort level 5)

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

Japanese ground losses:
241 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled

Allied ground losses:
443 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 105 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
24th Infantry/A Div /1

Defending units:
43rd Naval Guard Unit
6th Base Force
41st JNAF AF Unit
53rd JNAF AF Unit

The infantry has 63 disabled squads and 29 non-disabled now, with 67 fatigue. Some support still needs to unload. Supply isn't a problem. The troops will have to recover for a bit. I think the US troops can hold their beachhead. Taking Kwajalein and building it to a size 2 airfield will help a lot. Roi Namur's fight will not be quick but it will be won.

A side note. The four enemy battleships at Truk yesterday were not spotted today. Interestingly, Truk has 0 fighters and 110 bombers. I know that at least 80 of the bombers are Bettys that have been hitting Kusaie off and on. If I had my big carriers here, I'd be running them to Truk for a quick raid on the port and airfield. Just one day's steaming away at full speed. But not possible with the CVEs.

Still a good day. Sinking Yamato and Musashi together is something.

[BBfanboy]

Now that's a great cleanup! Call that your Swiffer round!

I would move those carriers this turn - IJN subs will be closing on their location.
I don't know how many sorties you have left but it looks like all he can bring in now is the four BBs that he had bombarding Kusaie Island. He might do that if he calculates that you are low on sorties, He certainly knows you are out of torpedoes for your aircraft.

[apbarog]

11 Feb 43 - Part Two - Burma

P-38s swept Magwe. No enemy CAP. I wish I had swept Mandalay. Allied bombers attacked all over Burma, but a bunch of light and medium bombers hit Mandalay, and found 20 Oscars. A squadron of 9 Dutch 139WH-3s was destroyed. 60 B-25s did good work on the airfield but 5 were lost.

About 45 B-24s flew from Rangoon and hit Georgetown's port. A couple of months ago, I got SigInt that there was an AKE there. I decided to find out. It made sense, being a big port closer to the action than Singapore, but not too close. Well, it was maybe a bit too close. B-24s flew at a range of 21 hexes, their maximum. Damage reports were:

AS Chogei, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS I-158, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AKE Kashino, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AG Nanka Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

AG Nanka Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AS Chogei, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AKE Kashino, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

We can hope that this will make the enemy go further to rearm. I figure they'll be coming back to Rangoon, and certainly hitting Port Blair, eventually.

The Brits tried to attack in the jungle north of Toungoo, and it went poorly.

Ground combat at 57,49 (near Toungoo)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 13710 troops, 263 guns, 165 vehicles, Assault Value = 495

Defending force 12057 troops, 98 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 357

Allied adjusted assault: 212

Japanese adjusted defense: 527

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
222 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1278 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 143 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled

Assaulting units:
24th Australian Brigade (just arrived, didn't attack)
18th British Division
XV Indian Corps
2/13th Fld RAA Regiment

Defending units:
33rd Division

The Brits will hold, as will the rest of the units in the area. Just not enough troops to continue the offensive north. The northern Allied flank, along the Indian border, is making its way south, but it's slow going in the jungle.

Akyab was captured by the 7th Armoured Brigade. All that was left of the enemy was a company of air support troops. Still a huge stack of enemy just east of Akyab, showing movement east.

Way up in northern China, the enemy tank division does well again.

Ground combat at 84,34 (near Ningsia)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 6755 troops, 128 guns, 395 vehicles, Assault Value = 374

Defending force 28923 troops, 196 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 890

Japanese adjusted assault: 164

Allied adjusted defense: 211

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
1006 casualties reported
Squads: 17 destroyed, 40 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 11 (1 destroyed, 10 disabled)

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

Assaulting units:
3rd Tank Division
4th Cavalry Brigade
2nd Ind.Mixed Brigade

Defending units:
57th Chinese Corps
38th Chinese Corps
3rd Chinese Corps
81st Chinese Corps
56th AT Gun Regiment

The Chinese won't last. I'm forming a defense in the mountains just south of Lanchow, figuring that it will be lost. That will cut northern China off, but the mountains should prevent the enemy from coming south from Lanchow. They'll probably go north and go after the oil that's up that way. Little can be done. Just no supply that far north.

[Lowpe]

The implications on ship building that both super battleships present -- well that means very few carriers have been accelerated.

Your offensive on multiple prongs means you can probably avoid a CV clash for quite a long time and still make very good progress.

Look at China for some prospective bombing bases. You might not have supply now, but in three months time you will.

Well done.[:)]

[jwolf]

[X(] Fantastic to get both the Yamato and Musashi, with direct confirmation! [X(]

This has to be very disappointing for the Japanese as they got so little bang for their superbattleship buck.

[apbarog]

I reconsidered my movements around Kwajalein. The CVEs are leaving, as are the slow battleships, after they bombard Roi-Namur. I'll take the chance that OPilot could move Bettys into the Marshalls. I'll be leaving my APs at Roi-Namur vulnerable for a turn. I think they'll be ok. My invasions have been pretty standard, and maybe predictable. I cover my invasions until they are done. Just not today.

Another invasion TF set for Jaluit is now on the way. It'll have the 1/3 of the division not at Roi-Namur or Kwajalein. When the APs get back, and the ones from Kwajalein and Roi-Namur return, 2 divisions will load up and we'll go to Ponape.

[ChuckBerger]

DD Harukaze must have an awful lot of survivors on board.

[apbarog]

12 Feb 43 - Part One - Roi-Namur

Night Naval bombardment of Roi-Namur at 132,114

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
BB Tennessee
BB California

Japanese ground losses:
318 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 10
Port hits 10

Heavy bombers and carrier aircraft also bombed Roi-Namur, to good effect.

Ground combat at Roi-Namur (132,114)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 3463 troops, 66 guns, 34 vehicles, Assault Value = 44

Defending force 5467 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 69

Allied adjusted assault: 3

Japanese adjusted defense: 37

Allied assault odds: 1 to 12 (fort level 5)

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
32 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
612 casualties reported
Squads: 26 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 15 (1 destroyed, 14 disabled)

Assaulting units:
24th Infantry/A Division

Defending units:
43rd Naval Guard Unit
6th Base Force
41st JNAF AF Unit
53rd JNAF AF Unit

[apbarog]

12 Feb 43 - Part Two - Burma and Elsewhere

First, the Jaluit invasion shipping will hold in place a few hexes from the target. They have just 2 destroyers as escort, and now we know that there are coastal guns there. One of the slow battleships, low on ammo, returning from Kwajalein, will join these transports for the run into Jaluit.

US carriers have refueled from the accompanying AOs and are a bit northwest of the northwestern tip of Australia, not seen. Lots and lots of shipping heading to Darwin. Marines on Horn Island are getting picked up to go to Darwin.

With KB leaving the area, it's now a race to transport units into Rangoon. Ships are loading and leaving Colombo, Madras and Calcutta. Most of the combat squads of the LRP unit at Rangoon have been flown to Little Andaman. I'm going to take some risk and try to ship in the rest of the unit to Port Blair. It's particularly risky because a US minelayer dropped 50 or so mines there just a few days ago. The unit is just too big to get to Port Blair quickly. I'll drop [EDIT: paradrop] the combat part, triggering the shock attack, while shock attacking with the units already there, and land the support squads, maybe simultaneously.

B-25s have moved to Rangoon and will restart the bombing of Port Blair. Hurricanes, now on Little Andaman, will LRCAP Port Blair. I'm interested to see if the enemy has been flying in supply.

[BBfanboy]

Your screenshot of the Division fragment shows you have about 3500 troops there (upper center figures, the Stacking cost of 4371 at the lower left is what it would be if all squads have their complete complement of men). IIRC Roi-Namur is an atoll (so any troops/devices landing will trigger a shock attack) and the stacking limit is 6,000.

So you have room there to add support troops like a USA BF to help your ID recover quicker, or you could add combat engineers, tanks and artillery to beef up the assault. Bombing and bombarding the enemy is the best way to grind them down before the next assault. You could use Jaluit as an air base within range but it likely has high forts as well.

[apbarog]

I won't be adding non-combat troops to Roi-Namur. That would just trigger another shock attack. I'm hesitant to add troops that aren't prepped. What I am doing is trying to take adjacent Kwajalein, and that is possible. I'm trying today. The attack with the initial landing there got the forts down some and casualties were acceptable. Landing an armor unit there is helping.

I'll keep bombing from Tarawa and Nauru, and I'll send the battleships back if possible. Of course, the enemy could counter-attack today at Roi-Namur and clear the island, if they are strong enough.

Kwajalein is a size 1 airfield. I have a task force with base support moving towards the area. If Kwajalein falls today, I'll be landing this support tomorrow. If Roi-Namur drags on, getting Kwajalein's airfield to size 2 will make all the difference, allowing daily bombing from just one hex away.

I have aircraft staged at Wake and Midway, waiting to fly into Kwajalein.

[apbarog]

13 Feb 43 - Part One - The Marshalls

Low ammo single cruisers bombard Kwajalein and Roi-Namur. Nothing hit at Kwajalein. 26 casualties at Roi-Namur. It's something. Bombers flew to Kwajalein but not Roi-Namur today.

Ground combat at Kwajalein Island (132,115)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 4572 troops, 38 guns, 134 vehicles, Assault Value = 161

Defending force 2949 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 17

Allied adjusted assault: 66

Japanese adjusted defense: 44

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
772 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 98 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 9 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 13 (13 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
172 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
22nd Marine Regiment
1st USMC Tank Battalion

Defending units:
Kwajalein Base Force
24th Air Flotilla
Nimur Naval Fortress
51st JNAF AF Unit

US troops will attack again today, despite high fatigue, particularly with the Marines. It appears that the lone enemy combat unit on Kwajalein was destroyed. The base may fall today, and the sooner, the better, for the other part of the division on nearby Roi-Namur. Base support and engineers are standing off, waiting for Kwajalein to fall. I hope that is today.

[Wuffer]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe
This game won't make the end of 1943 at the rate Japan is going.[:(]

Yes, especially if one keep in mind that the real offensive is just to come. Can't help myself but thinking the main reason for the offensives at the flanks is to dislocate the Empire's last strategical reserves away from the centre... not that there could be so much left.
Kudos to Opilot! (edit: ... for staying)

[apbarog]

In a previous game, my strategy was to take Milne Bay and move up the east coast of New Guinea, while moving up the Solomons from Guadalcanal. But that was my only major plan. When the enemy didn't oblige, and kept KB at or near Rabaul, for months, I was stopped. In that game, I then turned to a plan of also moving past Horn Island, and that worked, and also opened up New Guinea because KB couldn't be everywhere at once.

I learned from that. In this game, I planned multiple fronts from the beginning, and to dodge KB in the early part of the war. So far, it's working. I don't know what I'd do to stop it. The Japanese just can't defend everywhere. I guess they could prioritize what to keep and what to lose. Otherwise KB just gets run around all over the place, always late to the party. That's what I've been trying to accomplish. My plan will change when the Essex class carriers start arriving.

13 Feb 43 - Part Two - Burma

3 enemy battleships bombard Port Blair. Just 8 casualties. Probably makes a difference in that I don't own the base.

12 F4U-1 Corsairs make their first appearance in the war, sweeping Magwe, and finding just 3 Oscars. The Oscars are range capping from Mandalay, and all are shot down. These Corsairs are the early model, and not carrier capable.

Elsewhere, Whale hits xAK Hokutatsu Maru with a torpedo along the east coast of Mindanao, probably sinking it. And Halibut hit subchaser Ch 41 near Formosa, almost definitely sinking it.

The almost isolated and completely out of supply Chinese stack near Ningsia got the usual heavy treatment of bombers. I haven't intervened here in a long while. Lanchow had a bit of supply, so I moved 4 Chinese fighter squadrons to there and will LRCAP the troops from 2 hexes away. Hoping for lots of bombers and few escorts, like what I've just seen.

Wellingtons bombed a small enemy unit near Magwe. It's a unit that could flank any Allied troops moving to Magwe (which they aren't any longer). Turns out the unit was just the 53 Construction Company, and it may have been vaporized in the clear terrain. I don't feel bad about it.

Multiple B-25 squadrons from Rangoon hit enemy troops at Port Blair. Hurricanes are there also, on LRCAP from Little Andaman.

Mandalay and its troops are bombed by B-17s.