Play up, play up and play the game.... Flashman returns

[RogerJNeilson]

Flashman sits in his tent, watching the rain drip down, and feeling pretty miserable...

A sudden thought, but very naughty and very sneaky.

Given the total lack of activity from the Soviets is this a viable convoy route?

[RogerJNeilson]

Report delivered, cursory acknowledgement and told to go find out about the 'Barrier Islands'?????? Still accompanied by my 'bodyguards' wherever I wander.

[RogerJNeilson]

Hmm ok so the "Barrier Islands' are to the west of Kyushu and therefore offer good forward air bases for us and also cover any invasions along the most likely area - which is of course western Kyushu. I gather the Yanks have some clever guy who has come up with some system, Intelchimp, or Intelgorilla or something - will have to see if that can help me.

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: RogerJNeilson

Flashman sits in his tent, watching the rain drip down, and feeling pretty miserable...

A sudden thought, but very naughty and very sneaky.

Given the total lack of activity from the Soviets is this a viable convoy route?

If that convoy includes troopships carrying troops, make certain the TFs have toggled on "Do Not Unload". You do not want to deposit any Western Allied forces onto Soviet territory.

The passage of the convoy will not per se trigger an early Soviet activation.

Alfred

[RogerJNeilson]

[/quote]

If that convoy includes troopships carrying troops, make certain the TFs have toggled on "Do Not Unload". You do not want to deposit any Western Allied forces onto Soviet territory.

The passage of the convoy will not per se trigger an early Soviet activation.

Alfred

A very valid point but given the general state of Allied troop numbers unless we could ship Chinese around I doubt any risks would be taken there. On the other hand its a much more direct route to Korea than some of the other convoys have to take, provided the Japs don't decide to get active with their bombers again.....

[RogerJNeilson]

The system is Intellimonkey - knew it had some primate connection. Its pretty damn good once a fella get this head round it.

Ok so Nakadori... report as follows:

[RogerJNeilson]

Looks like he feels Fukue might be a target......

[RogerJNeilson]

Kuroshima..... next to nothing here...... but then again what is there to defend? Seaplane hideout?

[RogerJNeilson]

Tokara..... why bother? No airfield no air support, useless piece of rock surely

[RogerJNeilson]

Yakushima, this looks a more nasty one......

[RogerJNeilson]

Tanegashima...another one he wants to make us bleed over?

[RogerJNeilson]

HQ 10 April

Flashman, some good ideas you offered in your analysis the other day. Indeed the shipping issues are being addressed and some of your suggestions will be taken on board.. However the one where you are the key person to be stationed at Hong Kong or Singapore to oversee this was none too subtle really.

No we have another key task for you.

You and your section will hold yourselves in readiness for a short air trip. A C48 is on standby at the airfield. As soon as we get word your destination is safe you will be off there…

Ah, almost forgot to tell you where it is and what the mission is…..

Currently the 254th Armoured Brigade, the 255th Indian Tank Brigade and the 268th Motorised Brigade are breaking into Seishin. They seem to be making heavy going of it given they are fighting a bunch of electricians. However I am assured that today or maybe tomorrow they will crush the remaining garrison, You will land there, and accompany the troops as they move to their actual objective Rashin. Just in case the mototised lads are not up to it there is a large force of Chinese infantry slogging along the road to join them.

Once both places are taken you are to ensure that when Uncle Joe finally wakes up and decides to further the glorious workers revolution he does so in Manchukuo and not Korea. There are sizeable forces of the enemy up there still, isolated but obnoxious - the Russians can play at removing them. We, and when I say we, I mean our friends from over the pond, want Korea firmly in our grip once this is finished. Holding those bases will ensure a useful watching brief on Vladivostock,

We also will be able to use those bases, suitable improved by all the bulldozers we have to spare to enable northerly convoys and raiding of Japan from that area too. In your spare time up there maybe I can give you the task of playing with shipping - though not sadly in the luxury of Singapore or Hong Kong.

Off you trot Flashman, and pack your toothbrush….. You never know you might end up having some cosy vodka sessions with our comrades…. I gather they do have women in their front line units.

[RangerJoe]

A C-48? Or is that a C-46 Commando?

Russian women in the front lines? Just look at my avatar for a look at one of their man killers.

[RogerJNeilson]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

A C-48? Or is that a C-46 Commando?

Russian women in the front lines? Just look at my avatar for a look at one of their man killers.

A C-48? Or is that a C-46 Commando?

Russian women in the front lines? Just look at my avatar for a look at one of their man killers.

Brown jobs never worry too much about airforce details.... or maybe it just got mashed in the order system?

Good thing Flashman doesn't know about her, he would be having some very odd dreams.....

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: RogerJNeilson

If that convoy includes troopships carrying troops, make certain the TFs have toggled on "Do Not Unload". You do not want to deposit any Western Allied forces onto Soviet territory.

The passage of the convoy will not per se trigger an early Soviet activation.

Alfred

A very valid point but given the general state of Allied troop numbers unless we could ship Chinese around I doubt any risks would be taken there. On the other hand its a much more direct route to Korea than some of the other convoys have to take, provided the Japs don't decide to get active with their bombers again.....
[/quote]
Once I tried to deliver supply to one of the remote Soviet bases in the Behring Sea. The ship would not offload there. I doubt the game would allow troops to disembark either, even if you could do so at a hex with no base. Will have to try paratroops sometime, as an experiment...

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: RogerJNeilson

Hmm ok so the "Barrier Islands' are to the west of Kyushu and therefore offer good forward air bases for us and also cover any invasions along the most likely area - which is of course western Kyushu. I gather the Yanks have some clever guy who has come up with some system, Intelchimp, or Intelgorilla or something - will have to see if that can help me.

The system Flashman is looking for is "Orangutel". Unfortunately, it is a rare beast, and now only available on Borneo.

[RogerJNeilson]

From a historical point of view I don't think this is at all likely. There were some British service personnel stationed at Murmansk at one point but they were in a cordon sanitaire if I recall correctly - I am sure I saw this on the BBC at some stage. However I cannot see Stalin allowing any combat troops on Mother Russia. I am more interested in how the straits between Okha and Nilolaevsk are treated - should they allow international passage or are they purely Russian waters?

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: RogerJNeilson

From a historical point of view I don't think this is at all likely. There were some British service personnel stationed at Murmansk at one point but they were in a cordon sanitaire if I recall correctly - I am sure I saw this on the BBC at some stage. However I cannot see Stalin allowing any combat troops on Mother Russia. I am more interested in how the straits between Okha and Nilolaevsk are treated - should they allow international passage or are they purely Russian waters?

I have sailed convoys through that strait with no problem (before activation). The Russians are more about denying use of their land. Their navy is not on the board until the day after activation.

[RogerJNeilson]

Flashman’s tent 11th April

Kicking his heels waiting for the flight to Seishin Flashman digested the news from the front. Not a good day to be either in the Navy or in a land unit engaged in action. Fighting at Batavia and Seishin still a slog at both, mopping up at Keijo, Ketoi Jima and Agrihan.

The navy seems to be playing a game of fly fishing where units of destroyers sail close to the the coast of Japan and invite attacks - this is wearing down the enemy who either hold on their airfields (missing possible big naval targets) or get pretty stitched with anti aircraft fire from dodging destroyers pirouetting around the water. Two destroyers have been lost to these tactics by planes ramming them directly. Otherwise the naval action is taking out Japanese MGBs. Rumour has it that a big landing has occurred on Okinawa.

Meanwhile Wilson, Keppel & Betty sit in the jeep (Flashman’s ‘affectionate’ term for his ‘section’ of bodyguards.)


Ground combat at Seishin (109,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 4144 troops, 64 guns, 159 vehicles, Assault Value = 568

Defending force 1236 troops, 3 guns, 60 vehicles, Assault Value = 36

Allied adjusted assault: 146

Japanese adjusted defense: 40

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 4)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 3

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

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

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

Assaulting units:
254th Armoured Brigade
255th Indian Tank Brigade
268th Motorised Brigade

Defending units:
27th Electric Engineer Regiment


Ground combat at Agrihan (111,88)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2555 troops, 83 guns, 27 vehicles, Assault Value = 172

Defending force 1048 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Allied adjusted assault: 75

Japanese adjusted defense: 3

Allied assault odds: 25 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
88 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
4th USMC Tank Bn /9
7th Marine Regiment
1st USMC Amphb Tank Bn /9
136th USA Base Force
863rd Engineer Aviation Battalion
3rd USMC Air Wing Base Force

Defending units:
3rd Fleet

Ground combat at Batavia (49,98)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 36369 troops, 770 guns, 574 vehicles, Assault Value = 1369

Defending force 15408 troops, 71 guns, 8 vehicles, Assault Value = 301

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied adjusted assault: 748

Japanese adjusted defense: 189

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 3

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

Japanese ground losses:
921 casualties reported
Squads: 60 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 55 disabled
Engineers: 8 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 5 (4 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
513 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 66 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Assaulting units:
26th Indian Division
14th Air Landing Brigade
38th Infantry Division
25th Australian Brigade
9th Australian Division

Defending units:
76th Infantry Brigade
3rd Raiding Regiment
75th Infantry Brigade
19th Ind. Engineer Regiment
24th Nav Gsn Unit
22nd Air Flotilla
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Fleet
28th Army
24th Port Unit

Ground combat at Ketoi-jima (134,50)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 7822 troops, 220 guns, 74 vehicles, Assault Value = 330

Defending force 1538 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Allied adjusted assault: 151

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 151 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1614 casualties reported
Squads: 39 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 151 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
33rd Infantry Division
4th FA Bn /2
864/1913rd Engineer Aviation Battalion
202nd USAAF Base Force
182nd USAAF Base Force /2
246th USN Base Force /8

Defending units:
3rd Mixed Brigade

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Shimonoseki at 105,56

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 68 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-61-Id Tony x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-61-Id Tony: 10 damaged

Allied Ships
DD Johnston, Shell hits 1
DD Spence
DD Knapp, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Bullard, Kamikaze hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x Ki-61-Id Tony bombing from 100 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

Banzai! - Miyajima U. in a Ki-61-Id Tony is willing to die for the Emperor
Hidaka S. gives his life for the Emperor by ramming DD Bullard

[RogerJNeilson]

12th April, somewhere above Korea

Flashman sat almost deafened by the engine noise. Shortly landing at Seishin, who knew what lay ahead. Sealed orders for the commanders of the units there. He knew the gist. Press on fast to Rashin, take and hold. Chinese Corps coming up fast to provide infantry support. Over the border the radio traffic of the Soviets had in the last 24 hours burst into life this little area of the world was going to get rather too busy for his liking.....