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

[apbarog]

26 Feb 43 - Part Three - Burma and the Andamans

A British cruiser task force was east of Port Blair, at a staging point for running in to bombard the base. On the run in to Port Blair, the force runs into 5 enemy destroyers, part of the 8 destroyer task force that went to Port Blair yesterday (where one hit a mine). The forces engaged in a total of 4 separate battles in 2 separate hexes. The first 3 fights were at night, and started at 1,000 yards, with visibility being only 2,000 yards in thunderstorms and 57% moonlight. The last was during the day at 3,000 yards and 6,000 yards visibility. It was a knife fight. Here's a summary:

Battle #1:
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki
DD Shirayuki, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Asagiri, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
DD Sagiri, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Yugiri, Shell hits 3

Allied Ships
CA Dorsetshire
CA Cornwall, Shell hits 1 (hit by dud torpedo)
DD Arrow, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Decoy
DD Express

Battle #2:
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki
DD Shirayuki, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
CA Dorsetshire, Shell hits 2
CA Cornwall
DD Decoy
DD Express, Shell hits 2

Battle #3:
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki
DD Shirayuki, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
CA Dorsetshire
CA Cornwall
DD Decoy
DD Express

Battle #4:
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Yugiri, Shell hits 15, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CA Dorsetshire, Shell hits 2
CA Cornwall
DD Decoy
DD Express, Shell hits 4, on fire

Allied bomber concentrated on Meiktila in Burma, where fighters provided support. Results weren't great in light rain, but troops were hit in the open. There's over 60,000 enemy troops there now. There is movement to Taung Gyi, heading towards Thailand. But I can't rule out the chance that the enemy stays to keep China divided from Burma. I just don't know how bad the enemy supply situation is. I've seen no indications of low supply with the bases involved.

Another cruiser force will bombard Port Blair. B-25s will bomb it from Rangoon. And the troops will attack again.

[apbarog]

27 Feb 43 - Part One - Ponape/Kusaie/The Marshalls

So many enemy subs appear between Kusaie and Nauru. They've been there, just not seen. Now there's ASW aircraft on both islands. Subs took some shots at a couple of DMS in the area but missed.

West of Truk, Seadragon fired 2 torpedoes at patrol boat Fumi Maru. One hit, with sinking audio afterwards. Fumi Maru was hit by a dud torpedo fired by Halibut back in December.

Cleanup attack at Kusaie.

Ground combat at Kusaie Island (125,118)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10311 troops, 208 guns, 205 vehicles, Assault Value = 313

Defending force 4154 troops, 28 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 51

Allied adjusted assault: 105

Japanese adjusted defense: 129

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
592 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 30 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
85 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
37th Infantry Division
767th Tank Battalion
2nd Base Maint Engineer Battalion
5th US Naval Construction Battalion
1/542nd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
214th Coast AA Regiment
10th US Naval Construction Battalion

Defending units:
Guards Mixed Brigade
Sasebo 6th SNLF
54th JNAF AF Unit

Up until now, I didn't want to invade Truk. Bypassing it seemed preferable. But given the current situation, with Truk within bomber range, I've reconsidered. I have multiple divisions in the area, and I think that possessing Truk's port in the first half of 1943 would go a long way to shortening the war. So I've started to get the troops prepared. I estimate an invasion in about 2 months. It will be a huge undertaking. Just landing 2 divisions will overstack the island somewhat, but I expect it to be difficult to take. I will prepare 3 divisons, with the plan of landing 2 and keeping 1 as reserve. I will have some extra xAPs there to pick up troops if needed. Time to think about it.

[apbarog]

27 Feb 43 - Part Two - Babar

AMc Bombo continued to clear mines at Babar. DMS Trevor there too. Enemy subs are there, probably dropping more mines. Trevor was fired on by I-124, but 4 torpedoes missed. Trevor hit the sub with a depth charge.

Mitchell IIs, B-26s and B-17Ds bombed Babar. xAKLs continued to unload supply there. Troops attacked.

Ground combat at Babar (76,117)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5060 troops, 88 guns, 121 vehicles, Assault Value = 263

Defending force 5337 troops, 45 guns, 28 vehicles, Assault Value = 52

Allied adjusted assault: 93

Japanese adjusted defense: 23

Allied assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Babar !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
779 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 38 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 37 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 22 (15 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 32 (32 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
133 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Assaulting units:
Americal Infantry Division
754th Tank Battalion
154th Field Artillery Battalion
97th Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
16th Naval Guard Unit
44th Field Const Co
7th Port Unit
4th Field Construction Battalion
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
61st JNAF AF Unit
106th JAAF AF Bn

Victory! Now the struggle to fix the base, and land follow up troops. I won't risk lots of shipping there until there's a functional airbase. I will be pulling out Americal Division, when possible, after the port is fixed.

[apbarog]

27 Feb 43 - Part Three - Burma and Elsewhere

Dutch sub O19 fired 2 torpedoes at small tanker Matsumoto Maru near the northeastern tip of Borneo, near Jesselton. One torpedo hit. The tanker was not loaded but sinking audio was heard.

Another British bombardment of Port Blair.

Night Naval bombardment of Port Blair at 46,58

Allied Ships
CA Frobisher
CA Exeter
CA Shropshire
CL Mauritius
DD Stronghold
DD Scout
DD Stuart

Japanese ground losses:
336 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 4 (2 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 4
Port hits 5
Port supply hits 1

South of the Andamans, Gunnel spotted already damaged destroyer Hatsuyuki. 4 torpedoes were fired and one hit. Hatsuyuki is on fire and has heavy damage. It was moving slowly before the torpedo hit.

Allied bombers and fighters concentrated on Taung Gyi in Burma, and found no CAP. Results were acceptable but not great. The airfield was the primary target. Flak is heavy at the enemy held bases in Burma. As they retreat, they are concentrating in those bases. Allied bombers have moved up to 15,000 feet to bomb.

Another Allied attack at Port Blair.

Ground combat at Port Blair (46,58)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15186 troops, 264 guns, 119 vehicles, Assault Value = 369

Defending force 5165 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 110

Allied adjusted assault: 150

Japanese adjusted defense: 161

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

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

Japanese ground losses:
442 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 29 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
464 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 40 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
24th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
25th Australian Brigade
17th Australian Brigade
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
111th LRP Brigade
112th RN Base Force
111th RN Base Force
276th Coastal Artillery Battalion
2/1st Lt AA Regiment
16th USN Special Construction Battalion

Defending units:
1st Raiding Regiment
41st Infantry Regiment
1st Base Force
5th JAAF AF Coy

There are fewer enemy units now, and they weren't destroyed in battle. Those destroyer might have picked up a fragment. Seaplanes could be flying them out too. And subs too. Not flying subs though.

P-38s are flown into China for the first time. They'll deploy up north tomorrow and set up an ambush.
Truk has more aircraft now. 111 fighters and 15 bombers.
Bangkok is now getting regular Allied recon. Wow. 214 fighters there! 32 bombers and 112 auxiliary.

[CaptBeefheart]

You probably have considered this, but regarding Truk, I'd do a fair amount of overstacking, even including a prepped theater HQ, on the initial assault. As long as you bring plenty of LSTs, xAKs, AKs, etc. loaded with only supplies to offload on D-Day, D+1, D+2, etc., you should do OK. A lot of supplies. You can use the empties to evacuate troops once you take the base.

I would also embed a lot of minesweepers and slow BBs in your amphib assault TFs. The BBs will soak up a lot of shore fire and take a lot of SYS damage. You'll want to put plenty of AE, AD, AKE, AR and ARD (if you have any) auxiliaries and naval support at Ponape to sustain the assault. Good luck. I've taken Truk against the AI, and it's not easy.

Cheers,
CB

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: CaptBeefheart

You probably have considered this, but regarding Truk, I'd do a fair amount of overstacking, even including a prepped theater HQ, on the initial assault. As long as you bring plenty of LSTs, xAKs, AKs, etc. loaded with only supplies to offload on D-Day, D+1, D+2, etc., you should do OK. A lot of supplies. You can use the empties to evacuate troops once you take the base.

I would also embed a lot of minesweepers and slow BBs in your amphib assault TFs. The BBs will soak up a lot of shore fire and take a lot of SYS damage. You'll want to put plenty of AE, AD, AKE, AR and ARD (if you have any) auxiliaries and naval support at Ponape to sustain the assault. Good luck. I've taken Truk against the AI, and it's not easy.

Cheers,
CB

Or, if the Command HQ has a command radius of 9, put it at Satawal, 8 hexes from Truk.

[apbarog]

All good points CaptBeefheart and BBfanboy. Truk will be a big challenge, but I don't think, in this game, it can be stopped. Truk is too far from other Japanese bases. OPilot will have some time to reinforce, but it's already near the stacking limit. KB would probably be in the vicinity for such an invasion, but with my offensive north of Australia, it might not be.

It will be a big battle, one I think we can win. And the benefit of having such a large port at the front will be huge.

[apbarog]

28 Feb 43 - Part One - Ponape

Enemy battleships were sent to Ponape from Truk. They could have come sooner, when the invasion was occurring, but I'm guessing that they feared the carriers supporting the landing. S-44 was patrolling at Ponape, and it spotted the task force, and fired 2 torpedoes at destroyer Nowaki, which missed. The sub was hit by many near misses in the shallow water and will retire to Tabiteuea for repairs.

The enemy then found a bunch of small cargo ships unloading supply.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Ponape at 119,113, Range 6,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
BB Yamashiro
BB Ise
DD Akigumo
DD Nowaki
DD Arashi
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
SC-643, Shell hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL Kwangtung
xAKL Oriskany, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
xAKL Kaiping, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Bordvik, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Proteus, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL De Haan, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
xAKL Van Diemen, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Burwah, Shell hits 9, and is sunk

and fought again. Only Van Diemen remains, burning in port.

SC-643, and is sunk
xAKL Kwangtung, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Van Diemen, and is sunk

The supply was needed and most was unloaded. I'm not concerned about losing xAKLs on a mission of some importance. The enemy then bombarded Ponape.

Allied ground losses:
381 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (3 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Airbase hits 17
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 44
Port hits 2
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 2

The airbase is still open, and there are a good number of engineers there. Ponape is just going to get pounded, as expected. I'll do what I can to extract a cost from the enemy. It will be a struggle to keep Ponape supplied. It is rough terrain, not jungle, and bombardments are effective. In the meanwhile, Kusaie Island will be building.

In the morning, 44 A6M5 Zeros swept Ponape from Truk. There was no CAP. This will be a regular occurrence too, with bombers at some point. I move in 2 fighter squadrons even without any ground support for them. A big troop convoy in on the way, and will arrive in a couple of days. I hope to slip them in before the battleships return. The enemy battleships didn't get back to Truk. They will today, and rearm. Then they'll move into position to bombard again. So I'll have a day to unload, I think. I considered unloading the troops on Kusaie, and flying in what I can, but without support the airbase will be closed and that won't be possible with C-47s, only float planes, which won't help enough. Two cruiser task forces will guard the transport at Ponape. That'll be risky if they go up against the 3 battleship task force. One task force is a bunch of ANZAC light cruisers which have shown skill at torpedo attacks, so I may risk them. More US subs are moving between Truk and Ponape.

Lots of enemy subs around Kusaie and Nauru Islands. Some are chasing the Allied carriers to the south of Nauru. The carriers were not seen today and are just off-map heading to Tabiteuea.

[apbarog]

28 Feb 43 - Part Two - Babar

DMS Trevor cleared the rest of the enemy mines at Babar. With the airbase at Babar completely damaged, enemy planes attack from Koepang.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Babar at 76,117

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 42
Ki-48-IIb Lily x 27

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAKL Meroendoeng, Bomb hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Kortenaer, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAKL Coolana, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Lematang, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage

Sallys attacked US troops on Babar.

Only Kortenaer remains, with SYS 26/FLOT 29-10/ENG 2-0/FIRE 2. It'll make it back to Darwin. The xAKLs were unloading supply. Troops on Babar have enough supply to continue to clear the island, which they will try to do today. Two large fast transport task forces have formed at Darwin. One will carry engineers to Babar. The other will carry supply. With the APD's ability to move 8 hexes a phase, the enemy may never see them. They can be to Babar and back to Darwin by the end of the day.

The airbase needs to be repaired before Babar can take fighters and become less vulnerable.

[apbarog]

28 Feb 43 - Part Two - Burma and China

In the shallows near Saigon, sub Saury has a good day. One torpedo hit xAKL Miiko Maru, probably sinking it, then one torpedo hit xAK Delagoa Maru, possibly sinking it. Saury has drawn a lot of attention to the shallow water here. Time to redeploy east a bit, in deeper water.

British ships bombard Port Blair. 103 casualties and light base damage.

It was ironic that yesterday I moved P-38s to Chungking. Today, many Oscars swept Chungking. Unfortunately, I was resting the Lightnings. The Chinese pilots did well, considering the odds. 11 P-43s and 28 P-66s were on CAP at the beginning of the day. 36 Oscars, then 32 Oscars, then 24 Oscars swept the capital. The Chinese put on a good show with the first sweep, but got hammered in the second, and were nowhere to be seen for the third. Total losses were 18 Oscars, 13 P-66s and 3 P-43s. 2Lt. W. Pocheng became the 2nd Chinese ace.

Cleanup behind the lines continues near Prome. The enemy is about to evaporate here. Just a bunch of units originally from Rangoon and already battered a few times.

Ground combat at 54,50 (near Prome)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2690 troops, 15 guns, 81 vehicles, Assault Value = 105

Defending force 3260 troops, 23 guns, 15 vehicles, Assault Value = 25

Allied adjusted assault: 56

Japanese adjusted defense: 46

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
262 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
503rd Parachute Regiment
632nd Tank Destroyer Battalion

Defending units:
311th Ship Eng Coy
211th Ship Eng Coy
15th JAAF AF Bn
18th JNAF AF Unit /1
204th Ship Eng Coy
32nd Special Base Force
3rd Air Div /1

Near Mandalay, an Australian brigade assaults an enemy regiment with a river crossing.

Ground combat at 58,45 (near Mandalay)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 4059 troops, 78 guns, 60 vehicles, Assault Value = 135

Defending force 3654 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 115

Allied adjusted assault: 118

Japanese adjusted defense: 50

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1189 casualties reported
Squads: 39 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 30 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Allied ground losses:
229 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 38 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
18th Australian Brigade

Defending units:
21st Infantry Regiment

OPilot has managed a controlled retreat from Akyab, moving inland, and making it through the Burma plain to the east. The Allies just didn't have enough troops to close the door to Thailand. Which was as expected, but I gave it a try anyhow.

[apbarog]

1 Mar 43 - Ponape

North of Kusaie Island, I-15 spotted the ANZAC TF headed to Ponape and fired 2 torpedoes at destroyer Mugford. One hit. Mugford split off on its own, and is SYS 43/FLOT 93-67/ENG 34-26/FIRE 0. It's in very bad shape. It need 2 days to get to Kusaie, be lucky not to be spotted by another sub, and be very lucky to get good die rolls. It's unlikely to survive, but you know me, I'm trying to save the ship.

Enemy airstrike from Truk.

Morning Air attack on Ponape , at 119,113

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 11 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes (no radar or base support here yet)

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 13

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 9
P-400 Airacobra x 23
F4U-1 Corsair x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 6 destroyed (9 actually downed)

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
xAKL James Cook, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
YMS-95, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Both ships sank, so the Bettys accomplished their mission. Might have thought there was something more valuable there though.

After the surviving bombers left, the fighter sweep appeared. 44 A6M5 Zeros went up against 9 P-38s, 23 P-400s and 12 F4Us. The P-38s were flying LRCAP from Kusaie. 9 Zeros were downed, for the cost of 8 P-400s, 7 P-38s and 3 Corsairs. A fresh squadron of P-40Ks is moved in today.

US troops on Kusaie work on clearing the enemy. It's a slow process.

Ground combat at Kusaie Island (125,118)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10296 troops, 208 guns, 207 vehicles, Assault Value = 336

Defending force 3950 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 49

Allied adjusted assault: 118

Japanese adjusted defense: 63

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
414 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
191 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Another attempt at Jaluit, and another bad result. B-25s will keep bombing. The island will fall sometime, but not anytime soon. I'll settle for a stalemate and continue to fight a war of attrition on Jaluit.

Ground combat at Jaluit (134,120)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3892 troops, 61 guns, 34 vehicles, Assault Value = 105

Defending force 4274 troops, 37 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 80

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied adjusted assault: 29

Japanese adjusted defense: 186

Allied assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 3)

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

Japanese ground losses:
47 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Allied ground losses:
487 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 76 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 16 (1 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
24th Infantry/B Division

Defending units:
52nd Naval Guard Unit
Jaluit Naval Fortress
Jaluit Base Force
24th JNAF AF Unit

[apbarog]

2 Mar 43 - Part One - Ponape

RO-66 elected not to fire at a yard oiler headed to Kusaie from the south. Escorting SC-639 did some minor damage to the sub.

In the Marshalls, enemy troops at Jaluit continue to be bombed. Roi-Namur gets hit every day too.

Cleanup attack at Ponape.

Ground combat at Ponape (119,113)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14881 troops, 354 guns, 251 vehicles, Assault Value = 808

Defending force 3480 troops, 28 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 35

Allied adjusted assault: 412

Japanese adjusted defense: 35

Allied assault odds: 11 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1212 casualties reported
Squads: 50 destroyed, 14 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 36 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 11 (7 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
143 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Assaulting units:
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
110th Cmbt Engineer Battalion
27th Infantry Division
40th Infantry Division
763rd Tank Battalion
808th Aviation Engr Bn /1
21st MAG /2
251st Cst AA Rgt /1
5th Marine Def Bn /1

Defending units:
64th Naval Guard Unit
Yokosuka 6th SNLF
Ponape Naval Fortress
57th JNAF AF Unit

And at Kusaie Island.

Ground combat at Kusaie Island (125,118)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10247 troops, 208 guns, 208 vehicles, Assault Value = 355

Defending force 3673 troops, 23 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 43

Allied adjusted assault: 58

Japanese adjusted defense: 99

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
228 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
767th Tank Battalion
37th Infantry Division
40th Infantry Div /8
1/542nd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
34th Cmbt Engr Rgt /2
27th Infantry Div /9
2nd Base Maint Engineer Battalion
5th US Naval Construction Battalion
7th USN Naval Const Rgt /2
10th US Naval Construction Battalion
214th Coast AA Regiment
763rd Tank Bn /2

Defending units:
Guards Mixed Brigade
Sasebo 6th SNLF
54th JNAF AF Unit

[apbarog]

2 Mar 43 - Part Two - Babar

APDs deliver the non-vehicle part of an engineer unit to Babar. Two other engineer units will be delivered in the same way in the next week. Another group of APDs are bringing in supply. I-22 missed APD Chew with 2 torpedoes.

Mitchells and Ansons continue to bomb enemy troops at Wyndham. Reinforcements will be landed at Wyndham today.

Babar is cleared of enemy. All enemy units dissolved due to attrition after the combat.

Ground combat at Babar (76,117)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 4810 troops, 88 guns, 122 vehicles, Assault Value = 234

Defending force 4125 troops, 32 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 20

Allied adjusted assault: 43

Japanese adjusted defense: 11

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
452 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
69 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
Americal Infantry Division
754th Tank Battalion
97th Field Artillery Battalion
154th Field Artillery Battalion
7th US Naval Const Bn /11

Defending units:
16th Naval Guard Unit
61st JNAF AF Unit
4th Field Construction Battalion
7th Port Unit
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
44th Field Const Co
106th JAAF AF Bn

The priority at Babar is getting the airfield repaired.

[apbarog]

2 Mar 43 - Part Three - Burma and Elsewhere

Sturgeon fired 2 torpedoes at a patrol boat near Jolo and missed. Multiple tankers in the convoy.

North of Miri, in the middle of the South China Sea, Harder fired 4 torpedoes at huge transport xAP Teikyo Maru. One hit, setting the ship on fire. No men aboard. This ship was hit by a torpedo back in November near Victoria Point, fired by Dutch sub KXVIII.

Port Blair was bombarded by 6 British cruisers. 381 casualties. Troops attack.

Ground combat at Port Blair (46,58)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15250 troops, 265 guns, 119 vehicles, Assault Value = 365

Defending force 4466 troops, 36 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 87

Allied adjusted assault: 202

Japanese adjusted defense: 95

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
771 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 59 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (4 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
345 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

Assaulting units:
25th Australian Brigade
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
24th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
17th Australian Brigade
111th LRP Brigade
2/1st Lt AA Regiment
276th Coastal Artillery Battalion
111th RN Base Force
112th RN Base Force
16th USN Special Construction Battalion

Defending units:
41st Infantry Regiment
1st Base Force

It's been an incredible fight. The base is getting close to falling. Port Blair was planned to be the first part of the Rangoon invasion, to be taken quickly to provide support to Rangoon. Didn't work out that way. Burma is on the way to being cleared and the Andamans aren't captured yet. Another attack ordered.

[apbarog]

3 Mar 43 - Part One - Ponape

Cleanup continues.

Ground combat at Ponape (119,113)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15175 troops, 380 guns, 250 vehicles, Assault Value = 811

Defending force 2691 troops, 22 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 12

Allied adjusted assault: 283

Japanese adjusted defense: 9

Allied assault odds: 31 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1030 casualties reported
Squads: 36 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (6 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
27 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
40th Infantry Division
110th Cmbt Engineer Battalion
27th Infantry Division
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
763rd Tank Battalion
251st Coast AA Regiment
808th Aviation Engr Bn /1
21st MAG
5th Marine Def Bn /1

Defending units:
Yokosuka 6th SNLF
64th Naval Guard Unit
Ponape Naval Fortress
57th JNAF AF Unit

2 units were destroyed by attrition after combat. It's the end for the enemy on Ponape.

[apbarog]

3 Mar 43 - Part Two - Wyndham and Babar

6 Fletcher class destroyers were ordered to patrol just north of Wyndham, while transports move to Wyndham to unload troops and supply. Good thing they were there.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Wyndham at 71,126, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Makinami, Shell hits 2

Allied Ships
DD Fletcher
DD Chevalier
DD DeHaven
DD Nicholas
DD O'Bannon
DD Waller

Reduced sighting due to 10% moonlight

Two 5 inch shells hit Makinami, and the fight ended quickly at 2,000 yards, with Makinami running for home. Its crew have to consider themselves lucky. But the landing at Wyndham was protected and took place without interference. Allied bombers hit enemy troops there. The attack will wait a day while more troops unload from xAPs.

[apbarog]

3 Mar 43 - Part Three - Burma and Andamans

British cruisers bombarded Port Blair. 290 casualties. Lots of US bombers hit Port Blair's troops.

In an interesting coincedence, Sallys bombed Port Blair today, something that either hasn't happened at all or happened quite awhile ago. At the same time, 13 Wildcats from Little Andaman flew LRCAP over Port Blair for the first time. I was looking for transports, but found the Sallys. 20 Sallys were shot down with no Wildcat losses.

Allied troops attacked.

Ground combat at Port Blair (46,58)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15029 troops, 265 guns, 119 vehicles, Assault Value = 333

Defending force 3592 troops, 31 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 41

Allied adjusted assault: 158

Japanese adjusted defense: 39

Allied assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Port Blair !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
671 casualties reported
Squads: 17 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 14 (14 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
98 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
24th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
25th Australian Brigade
17th Australian Brigade
111th LRP Brigade
112th RN Base Force
2/1st Lt AA Regiment
111th RN Base Force
276th Coastal Artillery Battalion
16th USN Special Construction Battalion

Defending units:
41st Infantry Regiment
1st Base Force

And Port Blair finally falls. I underestimated the enemy troop strength there from the start. I also did not allocate armor to the attack. That would have helped a lot. Port Blair became a meat grinder, especially for the two US regiments there, both of which are more than 75% disabled. They didn't incur too many destroyed squads though. They'll probably recover where they are. More supply is on the way to the base now.

Back at Ponape, Tina were intercepted. It's an Allied base, so the Tinas were dropping supply to units about to be eliminated. 23 Tinas were shot down.

[CaptBeefheart]

That seems a waste of Tinas to resupply those remnants on Ponape... unless he intends to re-invade?

Cheers,
CB

[Macclan5]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

And Port Blair finally falls. I underestimated the enemy troop strength there from the start. I also did not allocate armor to the attack. That would have helped a lot. Port Blair became a meat grinder, especially for the two US regiments there, both of which are more than 75% disabled. They didn't incur too many destroyed squads though. They'll probably recover where they are. More supply is on the way to the base now.

Still lurking sir. [8D]

While this assessment is very probably fair as your own self assessment - I would postulate the other side ; what if your Burma invasion faced multiple squadrons of Fighters and Bombers form Port Blair ?

Perhaps it could have been done more efficiently - perhaps - not knowing all resources at your disposal.

At least it prevented disaster / assured smooth landings at Rangoon et al without Betties dropping by daily... You have no assurance it would not have happened that way.

Port Blair is "somewhat overlooked" under discussed in my opinion. Owning or occupying and preventing enemy leverage from this base is critical in the Burma Theater-of-Operations i,m,h,o

[apbarog]

I had a bit of a discussion with OPilot today about Burma. He said that when he saw my armada approaching the Andamans, he flew in the parachute regiment to Port Blair from Rangoon. He didn't anticipate that my invasion armada would go straight to Rangoon. The paras saved Port Blair, as I had always only seen one other combat unit there. But it weakened Rangoon, which fell quickly. I don't know if it would have mattered if it had been at Rangoon, as I landed an overwhelming force.

He said that my use of Rangoon for rearming bombardment task forces to hit Port Blair made the difference at Port Blair. I agree. I do wonder what would have happened had KB stayed in the area. It left after practically losing all of 3 Zero squadrons on a massive attempt to sweep Rangoon. Had KB stayed, there would have been no bombardments of Port Blair, or reinforcement. It would have held. He could have landed more troops and eliminated the invaders.

My carriers had left the area, headed to Australia. I can only wonder where OPilot thought they were. All in all, the Burma invasion plan has worked. Burma will be cleared soon, if the enemy continues to evacuate to the east.

Which brings up another point. What will OPilot do with those divisions leaving Burma for Thailand? He could get them resupplied at Chang Mai and push west back towards Rangoon. Or he could go further south and then push towards Moulmein. Or just form a stronger defensive line. Or, what I fear the most, they could push up into China to continue to cut any resupply from Burma, just doing so in the mountains west of Kunming. Or go to China proper and cause more havoc there. Time will tell.