Tsushima is a PITA. I've had TFs stumble there with similar results. If it hasn't been reinforced with infantry, you should be able to take it fairly easily with paras (maybe 2/3 to 1 division?) once they aren't doing more important things.
Well done on the invasion. This should be quite interesting to the peanut gallery.
Cheers,
CB
Yeah, this may have been a retreat path thing where you can't set waypoints for bombardments. Too bad but I should be able to avoid it in the future knowing this may happen. I'll base TFs differently and soon hope to also have Oita to access the inland sea.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
Tsushima is a PITA. I've had TFs stumble there with similar results. If it hasn't been reinforced with infantry, you should be able to take it fairly easily with paras (maybe 2/3 to 1 division?) once they aren't doing more important things.
Well done on the invasion. This should be quite interesting to the peanut gallery.
Cheers,
CB
I took it with a single USMC Para Bn with 30 AV, but after the fort had been bombed silly first.
It's been reinforced, and I can't bother with it now. Troops have to go to Kyushu for the upcoming battles. He'll make a stand somewhere and it'll be bloody.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
[font="Times New Roman"]April 23, 1943[/font]
Whew. Felt good to take that base. I was very worried about this op, and still there is a lot of uncertainty, but having Kummamoto means the thorn is stuck in and it won't be removed. I can now play off of that in numerous ways depending on his responses.
The tanks made a dash to Karume and it was a good thing. The IJA attacked and got a 1:1. It was a close call and by tomorrow the force of infantry and arty will arrive. Unless reinforced, the Allies will win this easily with over 2k AV on the way of very experienced troops. This clear hex would be a bad place to make a stand unless the forts are somehow very high. We'll see.
In the meantime bombers hit Fukuoka and sweeps got good results all over the Western Home Islands.
[font="Trebuchet MS"]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 23, 1943 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SW attack near Kumamoto at 102,59
Japanese Ships
SS I-160, hits 14
Allied Ships
BB Mississippi
PC Jumna
APD Manley
AP President Hayes
AP John Penn
AK Betelgeuse
xAP Tjinegara
xAP Dilwara
xAP Santa Elena
xAK Mount McKinley
xAK Langkoeas
DD Thracian
DD Stronghold
DD Stuart
PC Sutlej
SS I-160 is sighted by escort
DD Thracian fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Stronghold attacking submerged sub ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Shimonoseki at 104,57, Range 3,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Yukaze
DMS W-20
DMS W-22
CMc Hakata Maru #7
PB Tamo Maru #7
PB Yachiyo Maru
PB Aso Maru #3
PB Eifuku Maru
PB Kenkon Maru
PB Myoken Maru
PB Nagata Maru
PB Shotoku Maru
AK Kaga Maru
AR Katuragi Maru
AR Tokai Maru
AR Myoko Maru
AR Aobasan Maru
AR Asosan Maru
AR Asakasan Maru
xAK Atutasan Maru
xAK Naruto Maru
xAK Sinsei Maru
xAK Hakakisan Maru, Shell hits 1
PB Hokutai Maru
xAK Kasyu Maru
xAK Seisyo Maru
xAK Hokutai Maru
AD Azuchi Maru
AD Gotake Maru
xAK Hakodate Maru
AD Jinshu Maru
AD Kashiwara Maru
AD Sugiyama Maru
AD Ueizuru Maru
AD Yuri Maru
PB Tatibana Maru
PB Hozugawa Maru
PB Urashio Maru
PB Zuikai Maru
CM Nasami
CM Shirakami
CM Naryu
CM Kyosai
CM Ukishima
CM Hoko
CM Ishizaki
CM Hatsutaka
CM Aotaka
CMc Kuroshima
CMc Ashizaki
CMc Kurokami
CMc Katashima
CMc Ento, Shell hits 3
CMc Ninoshima
CMc Washizaki
AMc Hino Maru #2
AMc Misago Maru
Allied Ships
PT-226
PT-236
PT-240
Reduced visibility due to Thunderstorms with 85% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 85% moonlight: 2,000 yards
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Tokuyama at 105,58
Japanese Ships xAKL P-113, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Tambor
xAKL P-113 is sighted by SS Tambor
SS Tambor launches 2 torpedoes at xAKL P-113
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Matsuyama , at 105,59
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M3a Zero x 2
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 21
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 17
Japanese Ships
ACM Toshi Maru #7, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
ACM Shintohoku Maru, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AR Kikukawa Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
AR Mexico Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
ARD Haiphong ARD, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
Assaulting units:
51st Recon Regiment
17th Division
19th Ind Engineer Regiment
23rd Tank Regiment
4th Tank Regiment
1st Ind.Mixed Brigade
20th Ind Engineer Regiment
56th Depot Division
25th Field AA Machinecannon Company
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
21st Air Flotilla
13th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
18th JAAF AF Bn
84th JAAF AF Bn
30th Ind Engr Rgt /1
17th JAAF AF Bn
72nd JAAF AF Bn /1
Defending units:
255th Armoured Brigade
641st Towed Tank Destroyer Battalion
766th Tank Battalion
2nd USMC Tank Battalion
2nd Tank Battalion
50th Tank Brigade
77th LRP Bde /2
111th LRP Bde /1
Kagoshima was my bane. It took me 6 months to finally conquer it.
Had overrun most of Honshu before Kagoshima finally fell.
I've made the choice to bypass that since it can be controlled from nearby islands. If I can get to Oita and take it, both Kanoya and Kagoshima will be completely unconnected and will wither slowly. There are now only about 35k troops total in the two bases.
Since Karume is in the clear I should be able to get around fairly quickly.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
The Japanese are building Hiroshima into an impregnable airfield. The KB is hanging back at Kobe, but that is in sweeping range so I'll try to hit the CAP. Lightnings and Corsairs do well against A6M2/3a.
I'll also try sending more paras for Matsue but it's not critical . I'm sending amphibious to Fusan to haul the huge Soviet Army and some other Allied units across to Simonoseki.
Attachments
Screenshot..22.09.10.jpg (415.04 KiB) Viewed 625 times
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
He's does but they're been mediocre against Corsairs and P-38s. Even the P-40K with the quality of pilots I've been able to get are tough for them. You can see Tojo losses above at ~1000.
In masses they're good, but he's prioritising some key bases, and the outliers I'm hitting only have 30-50 so they're much more vulnerable.
In terms of sweeping Kobe to hit the KB groups, the LBA there is only about 70 planes. Same at Osaka. I'm starting to wonder if the Japanese are low on supply as well, since LBA hasn't tried any large strikes yet against this invasion of the Home Islands, unless he's just really been unlucky with weather and other factors.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
[font="Times New Roman"]April 24, 1943[/font]
The 24th is a busy day in the air. A lot of sweeps hit nearly a dozen bases across the Home Islands, looking to outnumber and get mismatches against the defending CAP. One base, Shimonoseki, had stiffer resistance, but this was also the target for the 4Es today, and the sweeps combined with LR CAP allowed the strikes to go in virtually untouched to smash the fields.
The sweeps of the KB CAP also did well, getting about 3:1, with the P-40K group actually doing the best cleaning up at the end. I'm finding the P-40Ks more than a match for what Japan has to field right now, standing up to Jacks and having an advantage over anything else. The Japanese did show the brand new George off to good effect, sweeping Kummamoto and the Allied CV CAP, but they got just better than 1:1 and will probably need 3-4 days to get back to full strength now.
I keep wanting to sweep and bomb the heavily defended Hiroshima, but I know this is not a good strategic move right now, and I've held back. He's got over 300 fighters there, and about 250 bombers, but they're doing nothing, so I'll just leave them and go about my business of reducing other bases and bombing them flat.
Subs are now starting to be a nuisance in the inland sea which is very fun. Two put three fish into CS Chiyoda today and it looks like she sank based on the Jakes lost "on the ground."
Elsewhere, the LOC gets strengthened as Chichi-Jima falls easily to a strong invasion and shock. Now many of those troops that didn't land, plus others from previous battles here in Cent Pac will move quickly to Kummamoto. This campaign reached it's main objective, and now smaller units that have been prepping for islands very near Tokyo will move forward and await a good moment to strike.
[font="Trebuchet MS"]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 24, 1943 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Hiroshima/Kure at 106,58
Japanese Ships xAKL P-130, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS O16
xAKL P-130 is sighted by SS O16
SS O16 launches 2 torpedoes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Nakadori-jima at 101,57, Range 7,000 Yards
Improved night sighting under 75% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 75% moonlight: 8,000 yards
Submarine attack near Hiroshima/Kure at 106,58
Japanese Ships xAKL P-130, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS O16
xAKL P-130 is sighted by SS O16
SS O16 launches 2 torpedoes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Nakadori-jima at 101,57, Range 7,000 Yards
Improved night sighting under 75% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 75% moonlight: 8,000 yards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Invasion action off Chichi-jima (111,74) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
49 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
BB Nevada
DD Banckert
DD Witte de With
DD Endicott
xAK British Columbia
DD Tblisi
xAKL Lee Sang
xAK African Prince
SC PC-581
SC-630
LST-446
LST-447
LST-448
12 troops of a US Cmbt Eng Sqd lost from landing craft during unload of 50th Cmbt Engr Rgt
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad lost overboard during unload of 2nd Marine Div /13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Fukue-jima at 100,59
SS RO-65 launches 6 torpedoes at BB Mississippi
DD Thracian fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Stronghold fails to find sub, continues to search...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Tokuyama at 105,58
Japanese Ships
DD Uzuki
Allied Ships
SS Halibut
SS Halibut launches 2 torpedoes at DD Uzuki
Halibut bottoming out ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Hiroshima/Kure at 106,58
Japanese Ships CS Chiyoda, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Grouper, hits 1, on fire
CS Chiyoda is sighted by SS Grouper
SS Grouper attacking CS Chiyoda on the surface
Duke, C.E. decides to submerge SS Grouper due to damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kumamoto , at 102,59
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 15 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes
Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 34
Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 17
Martlet II x 20
Martlet IV x 11
Spitfire Vc Trop x 9
Kittyhawk III x 7
P-39D Airacobra x 11
F4F-4 Wildcat x 141
F6F-3 Hellcat x 38
Japanese aircraft losses N1K1-J George: 4 destroyed
Assaulting units:
2nd British Division
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
754th Tank Battalion
767th Tank Battalion
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
19th Indian Division
1st Tank Battalion
267th Armoured Brigade
26th Indian Brigade
97th Field Artillery Battalion
Defending units:
52nd/B Division
Nakagusuko-wan Fortress
52nd/A Division
2nd Raiding Regiment
52nd Naval Guard Unit
64th Inf Group Brigade
16th Division
48th/A Division
48th/B Division
48th/C Division
Guards Mixed Brigade
52nd/C Division
108th JAAF AF Bn
Wake Coastal Gun Battalion
47th JNAF AF Unit
47th Naval Guard Unit
11th Air Fleet
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
57th JNAF AF Unit
Southwest Area Fleet
51st Ind.AA Gun Co
I/124th Infantry Battalion
17th JNAF AF Unit
41st Air Defense AA Battalion
1st Art.Mortar Regiment
115th JAAF AF Bn
Here is a current map. Notice it looks like IJA troops are moving out of Kurume toward Fukuoka. Hopefully the Allies will take this base next turn and move on quickly from there.
Attachments
Screenshot..23.37.05.jpg (445.27 KiB) Viewed 625 times
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
The 24th is a busy day in the air. A lot of sweeps hit nearly a dozen bases across the Home Islands, looking to outnumber and get mismatches against the defending CAP. One base, Shimonoseki, had stiffer resistance, but this was also the target for the 4Es today, and the sweeps combined with LR CAP allowed the strikes to go in virtually untouched to smash the fields.
The sweeps of the KB CAP also did well, getting about 3:1, with the P-40K group actually doing the best cleaning up at the end. I'm finding the P-40Ks more than a match for what Japan has to field right now, standing up to Jacks and having an advantage over anything else. The Japanese did show the brand new George off to good effect, sweeping Kummamoto and the Allied CV CAP, but they got just better than 1:1 and will probably need 3-4 days to get back to full strength now.
I'm thinking it's time for Lowpe to pull the Rufes off of front-line service. He may have a stockpile of fighters he can afford to lose, but from the results, I would guess he's running low on experienced pilots.
Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?
The 24th is a busy day in the air. A lot of sweeps hit nearly a dozen bases across the Home Islands, looking to outnumber and get mismatches against the defending CAP. One base, Shimonoseki, had stiffer resistance, but this was also the target for the 4Es today, and the sweeps combined with LR CAP allowed the strikes to go in virtually untouched to smash the fields.
The sweeps of the KB CAP also did well, getting about 3:1, with the P-40K group actually doing the best cleaning up at the end. I'm finding the P-40Ks more than a match for what Japan has to field right now, standing up to Jacks and having an advantage over anything else. The Japanese did show the brand new George off to good effect, sweeping Kummamoto and the Allied CV CAP, but they got just better than 1:1 and will probably need 3-4 days to get back to full strength now.
I'm thinking it's time for Lowpe to pull the Rufes off of front-line service. He may have a stockpile of fighters he can afford to lose, but from the results, I would guess he's running low on experienced pilots.
The Rufe's were likely on the CS cruisers. As part of the KB CAP. So they will stay up until there are Rex's which should be there already. Anyway, he's using Pete's as night CAP so he'll use it all if he thinks it will help.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
[font="Times New Roman"]April 25, 1943[/font]
A much quieter but very interesting turn on the 25th. Instead of moving out as the map appeared to indicate, the IJA massively reinforce at Karume. The Allied attack reduces the forts to 2, and the Allies continue to pour in as well. It's about a 2:1 AV advantage, and I'll have another 300 AV in for the 26th. The Japanese show an op mode(-), meaning they've strated in, and that will make them even more vulnerable.
I've also begun loading troops at Fusan for an invasion of Shimonoseki. That will close the rail from Honshu, and if more IJA are in transit to Karume they will have to arrive by tomorrow. That will be the key day.
I'll turn all bombers on to the ground troops at Karume and hope the forces there now can push them out. Fatigue is building to high levels and they won't fight well too much longer, but the fresh troops just in will shock, hopefully pushing things over the edge.
The IJA reinforced Matsue in the nick of time, as the Allied renewed para-assault failed there.
I also sent a para-strike to Torishima South of Tokyo. No luck. Not critical, but it would be nice to put pressure on this vector too. I do have troops prepped for all of the islands here and for Tsu.
[font="Trebuchet MS"]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 25, 1943 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 27,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 5
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 4
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 14
Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 7
Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed
Assaulting units:
1st Marine Division
1st USMC Tank Battalion
50th Tank Brigade
13th Armoured Regiment
13th Australian Brigade
77th LRP Brigade
255th Armoured Brigade
17th Indian Division
254th Armoured Brigade
2/6th Armoured Regiment
17th Australian Brigade
641st Towed Tank Destroyer Battalion
2/7th Armoured Regiment
2nd USMC Tank Battalion
2nd Tank Battalion
44th Indian Brigade
766th Tank Battalion
22nd Marine Regiment
111th LRP Bde /1
KNI Leger
2/9th Fld RAA Regiment
205th Field Artillery Battalion
134th Field Artillery Battalion
209th Field Artillery Battalion
77th Coast AA Regiment
Aus I Corps
1st RAA Med Arty Regiment
2/13th Fld RAA Regiment
I US Corps
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
2nd RAA Med Arty Regiment
Defending units:
1st Ind.Mixed Brigade
20th Ind Engineer Regiment
51st Recon Regiment
Guards Depot Division
60th Division
Kure 2nd SNLF
23rd Tank Regiment
4th Tank Regiment
19th Ind Engineer Regiment
15th Naval Guard Unit
Sasebo 5th SNLF
Yokosuka 1st SNLF
110th Division
Ikaiei SNLF
17th Division
56th Depot Division
84th JAAF AF Bn
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
5th Mortar Battalion
23rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
4th Mortar Battalion
31st Mountain Gun Regiment
3rd Mortar Battalion
13th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
12th JAAF AF Coy
17th JAAF AF Bn
51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
55th Field AA Battalion
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
8th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
30th Ind Engr Rgt /1
18th JAAF AF Bn
21st Mortar Battalion
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
25th Field AA Machinecannon Company
72nd JAAF AF Bn /1
[font="Times New Roman"]April 26, 1943[/font]
On the 26th the Japanese reinforce a bit more, and take a 2:1 loss at Karume. The base doesn't fall, although the forts go to 1 so it'll need serious reinforcement to hold on tomorrow. I've got a few new units in to use that are fresh, but the Marines of the 1st are worn out, with fatigue and disruption in the 80s. I never work troops this hard, but this time it has to be done. The Allies took a lot of disabled, but should have more than a 2:1 AV advantage next turn.
A few brigades are rendered unfit and will go to reserve mode. With the fresh armour here this should work tomorrow, especially if the air strikes actually go in.
None of the many hundreds of bombers set to bomb Japanese troops flew today. Rain over Karume. Hopefully tomorrow it'll clear up a bit.
[font="Trebuchet MS"]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 26, 1943 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on TF, near Tokuyama at 105,58
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 19 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes
Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 6
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
CA Mikuma
Aircraft Attacking:
6 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22.4in Mk 13 Torp.
Assaulting units:
2nd British Division
267th Armoured Brigade
19th Indian Division
1st Tank Battalion
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
26th Indian Brigade
97th Field Artillery Battalion
Defending units:
48th/A Division
64th Inf Group Brigade
16th Division
2nd Raiding Regiment
48th/C Division
Guards Mixed Brigade
48th/B Division
Nakagusuko-wan Fortress
52nd/A Division
52nd/C Division
57th JNAF AF Unit
41st Air Defense AA Battalion
47th JNAF AF Unit
17th JNAF AF Unit
115th JAAF AF Bn
108th JAAF AF Bn
52nd Naval Guard Unit
Southwest Area Fleet
51st Ind.AA Gun Co
47th Naval Guard Unit
1st Art.Mortar Regiment
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
I/124th Infantry Battalion
Wake Coastal Gun Battalion
11th Air Fleet
52nd/B Division
Very surprised he chose to make a stand at Kurume.
The troops he pushed out of Fukuoka and/or Nagasaki to make the stand will be retreating back into one of those two bases in disarray and will make taking at least one of those a lot easier.
Love the fact that the Dutch are participating in this invasion.
I worked hard to get every last nationality represented in the game into the HI for a shot at the Japanese in the end game.
Very surprised he chose to make a stand at Kurume.
The troops he pushed out of Fukuoka and/or Nagasaki to make the stand will be retreating back into one of those two bases in disarray and will make taking at least one of those a lot easier.
Love the fact that the Dutch are participating in this invasion.
I worked hard to get every last nationality represented in the game into the HI for a shot at the Japanese in the end game.
It is cool to try and use them all. I don't think I can get the one or two little French units here, but the Chinese are already involved. Soviets on the way.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
On the 26th the Japanese reinforce a bit more, and take a 2:1 loss at Karume. The base doesn't fall, although the forts go to 1 so it'll need serious reinforcement to hold on tomorrow.
Which we know at this point don't exist in the IJ inventory. This isn't '45. In '43, IJ doesn't have much on the HI in terms of defense. A few partial ID's, a few CD's and Arty units, but not much. And, he has little to no supply and hasn't had any since start of the war, so no big forts any where either. You've likely got more than enough now to push all the way through.
On the 26th the Japanese reinforce a bit more, and take a 2:1 loss at Karume. The base doesn't fall, although the forts go to 1 so it'll need serious reinforcement to hold on tomorrow.
Which we know at this point don't exist in the IJ inventory. This isn't '45. In '43, IJ doesn't have much on the HI in terms of defense. A few partial ID's, a few CD's and Arty units, but not much. And, he has little to no supply and hasn't had any since start of the war, so no big forts any where either. You've likely got more than enough now to push all the way through.
That's my thinking. If I also open up Shimonoseki with the Soviets it'll be a landslide. There are a lot of unrestricted Soviet troops, and a surprising number are still at full strength, including one of the two big Armored divisions and the two massive Mechanized IDs. I've converted some of the Soviet ships to AP to assist in the amphibious ops which is nice.
He does have a lot fo previously destroyed troops he may have bought back, but I'm guessing not many have had time to fill out. So yeah, reinforcements might be slim.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
[font="Times New Roman"]April 27, 1943[/font]
Well, a night strike finally hit pay dirt! A small Avenger group found CA Mikuma and got one fish to hit! Not bad. There aren't many of those left, and this helps the cause as the Allies will soon begin to look for fights in the inland sea. [:)]
Strikes got through to the ground troops today at Karume. They were not only disbabling and disrupting, but actually destroyed over 100 infantry squads, setting the stage for a whopping 4:1 victory on the ground and a huge defeat for the IJA. The Japanese lose over 2,000 devices destroyed and retreat in a mess to Fukuoka.
Armor will aim to get to the hex between Fukuoka and Oita, with the infantry heading to Fukuoka directly. The two big experienced IDs, including the 1st Marine, will need some rest. Three HQs are in hex to assist. They'll sit and get ready to move to Nagasaki as reserve troops move forward.
The Soviets and some other Allied tanks land at Shimonoseki in order and hold an advantage at the base already. By the time unloading finishes the Allies hold have a 3:1 advantage here and the base should fall within a week barring unusually high forts.
No action otherwise as the KB hangs back at Kobe and the Allies plan a surprise. [;)]
[font="Trebuchet MS"]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 27, 1943 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on TF, near Tokuyama at 105,58
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 24 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes
Allied aircraft
TBF-1 Avenger x 6
Allied aircraft losses
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
CA Mikuma, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
Aircraft Attacking:
6 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22.4in Mk 13 Torp.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Shimonoseki at 104,57
Japanese Ships SS I-124, hits 13, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CL Ceres
DD Russell
DD Norman
DD Nepal
DD Maury
DD Patterson
SS I-124 is sighted by escort
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Invasion action off Shimonoseki (104,57) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force
410 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
BB New Mexico, Shell hits 6
BB Oklahoma, Shell hits 1
BB Colorado, Shell hits 2
SC BO-10
SC-641
SC-631
AP Julius Fucik
DE Express
Japanese ground losses:
679 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 27 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 43 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 39 (3 destroyed, 36 disabled)
15 Support troops lost from landing craft during unload of Aus II Corps
11 troops of a Soviet Rifle Sqd 43 lost in surf during unload of 35th Rifle Div /2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 56th Division, at 103,58 (Kurume)
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes
Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 10
Liberator II x 10
Hudson III (LR) x 12
Mitchell II x 4
B-17E Fortress x 3
B-17F Fortress x 12
B-24D Liberator x 6
B-24D1 Liberator x 15
B-25C Mitchell x 34
B-25D1 Mitchell x 1
P-39D Airacobra x 11
Japanese ground losses: 653 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 64 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 25 (8 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Hudson III (LR) bombing from 8000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 56th Division, at 103,58 (Kurume)
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes
Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 10
Wellington Ic x 16
Wellington GR.VIII x 16
A-29 Hudson x 3
B-24D Liberator x 12
P-39D Airacobra x 10
F4U-1 Corsair x 8
Assaulting units:
1st/A Division
Shimonoseki Fortress
3rd Mobile Engineer Regiment
1st/B Division
303rd Ind.Infantry Battalion
1st/C Division
59th Field AA Battalion
8th JNAF Coy
27th Fld AA Gun Co
30th Field AA Machinecannon Company
2nd JNAF Coy
25th Air Defense AA Regiment
26th Air Flotilla
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
21st AA Regiment
104th Ship Eng Coy
41st JNAF AF Unit
1st Base Force
93rd JAAF AF Bn
Defending units:
3rd Tank Battalion
637th TD Bn /2
35th Rifle Div /5
193rd Tank Battalion
206th Tank Bde /20
Aus II Corps
