RADM Yamaguchi's Diary (Pls no affins or cheesesteak)

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 21, 41
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Sub attack near Pamekasan at 58,106

Japanese Ships
SS I-158

Allied Ships
xAK Liran, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
TK Angelina
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TF 148 encounters mine field at Balikpapan (64,97)

Japanese Ships
PB Nako Maru #2, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PB Kyo Maru #8, Mine hits 1, on fire
xAK Mikasa Maru, Mine hits 1, on fire
i think i could have waited to use paras here but i was getting impatient
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Rangoon at 51,55

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 3 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 9

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Erinpura
xAK Steel Maker, Bomb hits 1
22nd air hq hanging out at victoria point just in case - didn't think i'd find much but you never know
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Morning Air attack on Tarakan Coastal Gun Battalion, at 67,91 (Tarakan)

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 39 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 24
G4M1 Betty x 49

Allied aircraft
B-339D x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied ground losses:
131 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Bombing tarakan troops before combat thanks to ranger joe
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Afternoon Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35
B5N1 Kate x 31
B5N2 Kate x 29
D3A1 Val x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAP Siberg, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Le Maire, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Van Landsberge, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Camphuys, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMc Kawi, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Van Rees, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Ping Wo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Van Neck, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMc Bogor, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Taiyuan, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Benkoelen, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMc Smeroe, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Rochussen, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Oriskany, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Silindoeng, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AMc Ardjoeno, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
mini kb still finding ships
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Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 7141 troops, 91 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 287

Defending force 3281 troops, 37 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 80

Japanese adjusted assault: 169

Allied adjusted defense: 31

Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Port Moresby !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Catalina I: 1 destroyed

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
696 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 77 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1268 casualties reported
Squads: 29 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 91 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 19 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 35 (35 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 4
Units destroyed 1
always good to get PM early
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Ground combat at Balikpapan (64,97)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 547 troops, 17 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 16

Defending force 6270 troops, 81 guns, 8 vehicles, Assault Value = 245

Assaulting units:
VI KNIL Battalion
Balikpapan Base Force

Defending units:
I/81st Naval Guard Unit
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Sasebo 8th SNLF
III/81st Naval Guard Unit
This shouldn't be a problem tomorrow

[RangerJoe]

Yes, research the Rufe to get the A6M5 but to keep factories from getting damaged you have to follow the development order. That is why I did on a spreadsheet. Have one factory go to producing the Rufe but switch to researching the NEXT aircraft in the research line. Keep going on the research to where you want the development to end. The A6M2 factories will not automatically switch to the A6M5 until you have research the M3 versions. Production factories can be set to keep producing the current model or to upgrade to the next model.

If you switch researching Rufes to research Jacks the factories will become disabled and you will lose some points. A size 30(0) factory might go to 0(23) so it is best to just research the Jack right away. Once the research line ends, then you need to decide whether to have the factory go into production or switch to another line to research.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe
If you switch researching Rufes to research Jacks the factories will become disabled and you will lose some points. A size 30(0) factory might go to 0(23) so it is best to just research the Jack right away. Once the research line ends, then you need to decide whether to have the factory go into production or switch to another line to research.

yes i realize it will become disabled and i will have to repair it all over again. What i am asking is that in my mind new planes are very important to me and i would rather spend supplies and hi on them as opposed to flying older planes that get shot down all the time and losing pilots and building more inferior planes. i can't quite quantify what it takes to fully repair a/c factories

[jdsrae]

They need 1000 supply per point of factory to repair. Plus a relatively small amount of HI and supply to get it back from 23 to 30.
For research factories the question is: “is the 30k supply worth it?”
The earlier you get the research factories repaired the better, and it depends on how many other factories you have researching the same plane.
Each additional factory provides diminishing returns in how much time it saves.

I prepared myself a bunch of spreadsheets to try and get my head around it.
I’m running a game vs AI now to test what it is telling me so I’m really still a rookie at this.
For the J2M2 Jack, for 1,2,3,4,5,6 research factories setup on day 1, they “should” repair by about 9 Jan 43 at which time research can start.
Then (excluding engine bonus) add the following amount of research time in months (x30 for days) to 9 Jan 43 depending on the number of research factories: 6, 4.9, 4.1, 3.5, 3.1, 2.7
Anything above 6 factories on the J2M2 only saves about 0.2 of a month or less than a week. Is that worth 30k of Supply?
Rufe research factories should be repaired by about 17 Feb 42, then assuming you leave 4 of them to research the A6M5c, you should get it about Apr 43.
By then you’d be close to having the J2M2 anyway (with say 4 factories from day 1) so you’d probably be better off researching a late war plane once you have A6M5c.

[RangerJoe]

Except that the J2M2 Jack does not land on carriers safely. It is not CV capable.

[jdsrae]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Except that the J2M2 Jack does not land on carriers safely. It is not CV capable.

Yep edited, point being that once the Rufe-A6M5c are researched there isn’t much time left to help get the Jack earlier.

[RangerJoe]

You can also get the A6M8 quicker although it uses a different engine.

There is no perfect solution, just how you want to play the game.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 22, 41
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Sub attack near Newcastle at 93,167

Japanese Ships
SS I-23

Allied Ships
xAK Meigs, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Coast Farmer
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Sub attack near Newcastle at 93,167

Japanese Ships
SS I-23

Allied Ships
xAK Meigs, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

SS I-23 launches 2 torpedoes
i was hoping for some action near australia
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Ground combat at 89,49 (near Hwainan)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2014 troops, 16 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 91

Defending force 736 troops, 16 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 10

Japanese adjusted assault: 35

Allied adjusted defense: 4

Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1

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

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

Allied ground losses:
496 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Units retreated 1
consolidation in china
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Ground combat at Surigao (81,88)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 667 troops, 0 guns, 100 vehicles, Assault Value = 55

Defending force 1388 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 25

Japanese adjusted assault: 45

Allied adjusted defense: 10

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

Japanese forces CAPTURE Surigao !!!

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

Allied ground losses:
819 casualties reported
Squads: 80 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 56 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 24 (24 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 5

Assaulting units:
2nd Tank Regiment

Defending units:
103rd PA Infantry Regiment
3rd PA Constabulary Regiment
Cagayan USAAF Base Force
Mindanao Force Corps
102nd PA Infantry Regiment
this tank regiment wiped out most of mindinao while sustaining next to no losses
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Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 803 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 52

Defending force 1524 troops, 45 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 21

Japanese adjusted assault: 11

Allied adjusted defense: 28

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

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

Japanese ground losses:
145 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

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

Assaulting units:
1st Raiding Regiment
Yokosuka 1st SNLF

Defending units:
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Coastal Gun Battalion
Tarakan Base Force
that was not cool
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Ground combat at Balikpapan (64,97)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 6315 troops, 81 guns, 8 vehicles, Assault Value = 249

Defending force 1338 troops, 36 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 15

Japanese adjusted assault: 255

Allied adjusted defense: 7

Japanese assault odds: 36 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Balikpapan !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Do-24K-1: 1 destroyed

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), fatigue(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
74 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
715 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 21 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 28 (27 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 2
that's more like it, guess we'll have to saddle up and head to Tarakan

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 23, 41
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Cagayan at 79,89, Range 6,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
DD Asagao
DD Fuyo
DD Karukaya

Allied Ships
DD Peary, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage
i didn't know Peary was still hanging around
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ASW attack near Brisbane at 96,161

Japanese Ships
SS I-23

Allied Ships
CA Pensacola, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Admiral Halstead
Nice. I thought Pensacola had made it east to Koepang. Nice to know it was still near Brisbane.
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Day Time Surface Combat, near Pamekasan at 58,103, Range 18,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Kinu
DD Yugumo
DD Hatsuharu
DD Nenohi
DD Hatsushima
DD Wakaba
DD Ikazuchi
DD Inazuma
DD Akebono

Allied Ships
PT-35, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT Q-113
clearing PTs is taking forever
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Submarine attack near Brisbane at 96,161

Japanese Ships
SS I-23

Allied Ships
CA Pensacola, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
ok. i think this may be enough to scratch that one.
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Pamekasan at 58,103

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 9 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
Vildebeest III x 7

Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CL Kinu, Torpedo hits 1
ouch. i thought i designated enough cap.
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Pamekasan at 58,103

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Allied aircraft
Swordfish I x 6

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CL Kinu, Torpedo hits 1
DD Yugumo
i guess i didn't really like any of my CLs anyway
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Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 80643 troops, 856 guns, 329 vehicles, Assault Value = 2606

Defending force 28251 troops, 329 guns, 583 vehicles, Assault Value = 568

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 1431

Allied adjusted defense: 1015

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
3162 casualties reported
Squads: 15 destroyed, 306 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 43 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 85 disabled
Guns lost 42 (3 destroyed, 39 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1694 casualties reported
Squads: 100 destroyed, 66 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 38 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 28 (4 destroyed, 24 disabled)
Vehicles lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)
looking pretty good even without the 5 more heavy art bats on the way

[RangerJoe]

To check if the Pensacola sank, just check the FP ground losses.

You really should have your subs torpedo American aircraft carriers by accidentally stumbling upon them . . .

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

To check if the Pensacola sank, just check the FP ground losses.

You really should have your subs torpedo American aircraft carriers by accidentally stumbling upon them . . .

thanks. there were 5 seagulls today. I can't imagine the pensacola was carrying 5 of them. i thought the max was 4.

I looked at all the other reports and couldn't find any other destroyed at bases. I did see that one of my mavis patrols on naval search carrying torpedoes discovered another CA in a different location.

H6K4 Mavis has spotted an Allied BB at 110,137
:::::::: an Allied CA is reported HIT.

i couldn't be that lucky could I?

[BillBrown]

She can carry 5, operate 4. One is in storage.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

She can carry 5, operate 4. One is in storage.

thanks. it was a nice thought....for a minute

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 24, 41
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Submarine attack near Tawi Tawi at 71,89

Japanese Ships
AK Kaga Maru, Torpedo hits 1

Allied Ships
SS KXVIII

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Dutch subs again
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mataram at 60,112

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 4 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
CL Java
DD Van Ghent
CL De Ruyter, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Still able to find a few ships hanging around
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Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 65021 troops, 732 guns, 347 vehicles, Assault Value = 2402

Defending force 26678 troops, 326 guns, 581 vehicles, Assault Value = 441

Japanese adjusted assault: 553

Allied adjusted defense: 925

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

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

Japanese ground losses:
4444 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 263 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 54 disabled
Vehicles lost 15 (5 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1057 casualties reported
Squads: 40 destroyed, 98 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 51 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 59 (1 destroyed, 58 disabled)
Vehicles lost 11 (1 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Assaulting units:
21st/A Division
4th Engineer Co
21st/B Division
33rd/A Division
4th/A Division
4th/C Division
16th/B Division
7th Tank Regiment
4th/B Division
1st Ind. Engineer Regiment
48th/A Division
33rd/C Division
48th/B Division
21st/C Division
33rd/B Division
21st Ind. Engineer Regiment
2nd/B Division
48th/C Division
4th Tank Regiment
1st Engineer Co
16th/A Division
2nd/C Division
2nd/A Division
3rd Ind. Engineer Regiment
16th/C Division
14th Army
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
25th Ind. Engineer Regiment
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
1st Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
31st PA Infantry Division
26th PS Cavalry Regiment
57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team
31st Infantry Regiment
45th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team
194th Tank Battalion
192nd Tank Battalion
2nd PA Constabulary Regiment
1st PI Base Force
21st PA Infantry Division
Manila USAAF Base Force
1st USMC AA Battalion
USAFFE
14th PS Engineer Regiment
Far East USAAF
South Luzon Force
Asiatic Fleet
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
Subic Bay Defenses
Clark Field USAAF Base Force
Cavite USN Base Force
North Luzon Force
1st PA Constabulary Regiment
I'm going to have to fire myself. Forgot to change to defend
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Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 32092 troops, 437 guns, 195 vehicles, Assault Value = 960

Defending force 25889 troops, 358 guns, 256 vehicles, Assault Value = 490

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 784

Allied adjusted defense: 707

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
2035 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 113 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 9 destroyed, 82 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1747 casualties reported
Squads: 49 destroyed, 102 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 25 (7 destroyed, 18 disabled)
Vehicles lost 15 (2 destroyed, 13 disabled)

Assaulting units:
4th Ind. Engineer Regiment
5th Division
18th Division
15th Ind. Engineer Regiment
23rd Ind. Engineer Regiment
3rd Mortar Battalion
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
25th Army
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
5th Mortar Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
SSVF Brigade
27th Australian Brigade
1st Malay Battalion
1st Manchester Battalion
2nd Malay Battalion
3rd Cavalry Regiment
2nd Gordons Battalion
2/17 Dogra Battalion
22nd Australian Brigade
2nd Loyal Battalion
12th Indian Brigade
223 Group RAF
Singapore Base Force
272/273rd Bty 80th AT Gun Regiment
22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
Malaya Army
111th RAF Base Force
2nd HK&S Heavy AA Regiment
1st HK&S Heavy AA Regiment
III Indian Corps
Singapore Fortress
112th RAF Base Force
3rd Heavy AA Regiment
24th NZ Pioneer Coy
Malayan Air Wing
1st Indian Heavy AA Regiment
5th Field Regiment
this actually looks pretty good. i think.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 25, 41
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Merak at 48,97, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Atago
CA Chokai
CL Jintsu
DD Maikaze
DD Nowaki
DD Arashi
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
PT TM-4
PT TM-5
PT TM-6
PT TM-7, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
PT TM-8
PT TM-9, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
I'm thankful that this one went as i think it should. sometimes those encounters with PTs don't end up making sense.

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Sub attack near Oosthaven at 47,97

Japanese Ships
SS I-164

Allied Ships
PT TM-6
PT TM-8
PT TM-5
PT TM-4
SS I-164 cannot acquire firing solution on enemy PT
I-164 bottoming out ....
Nice try!
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Rennell Island at 113,143, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Abukuma
DD Shiratsuyu
DD Shigure
DD Murasame
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare
DD Yamakaze
DD Kawakaze
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Yugure
DD Ariake
DD Tatsuyuke

Allied Ships
CL Adelaide, Shell hits 3
Nice, is she traveling alone?
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Morning Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 8 NM, estimated altitude 24,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 11
B-339D x 10
CW-21B Demon x 12
75A-7 Hawk x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed
B-339D: 2 destroyed
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Morning Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 46

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 7
B-339D x 5
CW-21B Demon x 10
75A-7 Hawk x 10

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 4 destroyed
B-339D: 1 destroyed
CW-21B Demon: 3 destroyed
75A-7 Hawk: 5 destroyed
Even with our house rule on 20k max sweep they seem to be working ok
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Rennell Island at 110,146

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 40
B5N2 Kate x 18
D3A1 Val x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Adelaide, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
Takes care of that one
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Afternoon Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 42
B5N1 Kate x 29
B5N2 Kate x 28
D3A1 Val x 17

Allied aircraft
B-339D x 1
75A-7 Hawk x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-339D: 1 destroyed
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed on ground
Swordfish I: 1 destroyed on ground
139WH-3: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
CM Prins van Oranje, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
i like it when i attack an airbase and sink a ship as a bonus
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Ground combat at Merak (48,97)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 23813 troops, 214 guns, 52 vehicles, Assault Value = 827

Defending force 333 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 1354

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 1354 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Merak !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender:
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
436 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 51 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
Imperial Guards Division
4th Ind.Mixed Regiment
21st Ind.Mixed Brigade
143rd Infantry Regiment
14th Shipping Engineer Regiment
36th Field AA Battalion
97th JAAF AF Bn

Defending units:
Merak Base Force
all right. so here's the situation. I had the IG division all loaded on 1 task force and the 2 rgts and 1 bde on another. They were in reserve in case i needed them somewhere. Otherwise they were headed for Keopang. As i was going by Batavia i kept looking at Merak. It's only a 1 port and not an ideal landing spot for a Java invasion because it's next to Batavia. But when his bombers from batavia hit palembang too low for my CAP and did 5 damage to the oil i got pissed and decided i'm landing there. I can't believe i landed all this in just one turn. what the hell am i going to do now.
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Ground combat at Kudat (69,86)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 1019 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 35

Defending force 241 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 28

Allied adjusted defense: 3

Japanese assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kudat !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
34 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
54 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 1
almost all of Borneo is part of the empire. Tarakan should be tomorrow.

[RangerJoe]

Merak is nice and it opens the Sunda Straight. It is 30 miles wide and was formed by just one exploding volcano . . .

Now Oosthaven is open for an invasion which is the back door entry to Palembang.

The Adelaide was a 24 knot cruiser with 2 depth charge racks. It makes for a nice convoy escort.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Merak is nice and it opens the Sunda Straight. It is 30 miles wide and was formed by just one exploding volcano . . .

Now Oosthaven is open for an invasion which is the back door entry to Palembang.

The Adelaide was a 24 knot cruiser with 2 depth charge racks. It makes for a nice convoy escort.

Ranger Joe you are always so helpful but i haven't shown a map to help you help me. Here's the situation.

reminder it's dec 25, 1941

[RangerJoe]

From Merak, I would move a division into Batavia. Recon by land bombardment. Move a mixed unit 1 hex SW and then into Batavia. Move another mixed unit (maybe the brigade) into the base SW of Batavia. Move your extra infantry 1 hex SW if you don't think they will counter invade to reinforce any of the three positions. If you can take the base SW of Batavia, do so.

Clear out the Allied mines, send a SCTF to visit Oosthaven to interrupt any evacuation, bring in float recon air units, and bring in fighters for air cover remembering to keep a LOW CAP against torpeckers.

Invade Kalidjati for a larger airbase, move to the base in the mountains SW, and move towards Soerabaja to cut off Western Java. Armor would be great in the clear terrain. If needed, and they probably will be, bring in more units especially combat engineers for Batavia then Soerabaja. If Batavia is strong and Soerabaja is weak, then go down to Soerabaja and take that first while pounding the ground units in Batavia. Maybe the airbase as well but NEVER use ship bombardments since you can lose industry. Don't forget to have airborne units take weakly held bases.

Don't forget Cocos and Christmas IO islands for float recon aircraft.

If you use 2 DD TFs to interdict shipping, set them to low aggression so they won't fight so much with SCTFs and escorts but rather go after the merchant vessels.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

From Merak, I would move a division into Batavia. Recon by land bombardment. Move a mixed unit 1 hex SW and then into Batavia. Move another mixed unit (maybe the brigade) into the base SW of Batavia. Move your extra infantry 1 hex SW if you don't think they will counter invade to reinforce any of the three positions. If you can take the base SW of Batavia, do so.
I was thinking of taking the hex to the sw and maybe moving another further. The IG division isn't the greatest. I was thinking of stalling a bit because i think i'll take singapore tomorrow and then the 5th and 18th would be available. I've got the 38th at lingayan but i foolishly already unloaded it.

Clear out the Allied mines, send a SCTF to visit Oosthaven to interrupt any evacuation, bring in float recon air units, and bring in fighters for air cover remembering to keep a LOW CAP against torpeckers. I've got a nice zero unit ready to move over. I have extra float plane units on CAs still to move over. Thanks for a reminder about low cap. I've been setting my cap too high almost all the time.

Invade Kalidjati for a larger airbase, move to the base in the mountains SW, and move towards Soerabaja to cut off Western Java. Armor would be great in the clear terrain. If needed, and they probably will be, bring in more units especially combat engineers for Batavia then Soerabaja. If Batavia is strong and Soerabaja is weak, then go down to Soerabaja and take that first while pounding the ground units in Batavia. Maybe the airbase as well but NEVER use ship bombardments since you can lose industry. Don't forget to have airborne units take weakly held bases. Kalidjati is on the list but this was just a spur of the moment reaction and i don't have anything ready and nearby. I'm working on it.

Don't forget Cocos and Christmas IO islands for float recon aircraft.

If you use 2 DD TFs to interdict shipping, set them to low aggression so they won't fight so much with SCTFs and escorts but rather go after the merchant vessels. Never tried that but i will

[RangerJoe]

In other words, you came in with no reserves. Are these the units from Palembang, if not grab some of them.

Remember, against the Dutch you do not need divisions except for the major bases. The Allies may not know what you have. Get some smaller units like naval guards and SNLF forces if you have to. Pretend you are Patton during the breakout in France . . .