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

[apbarog]

19 Jan 44

I spotted an enemy sub 4 hexes southwest of Pearl Harbor yesterday. This is the first sighting near Pearl in a long, long time. 3 subchasers were sent to patrol the area. The sub was in the same spot as yesterday. Near misses caused some minor damage to the sub. A single destroyer, Flusser, was sent to patrol that same hex. I-52 missed Flusser with 6 torpedoes. Flusser then hit the sub with 4 depth charges. All that was left was an oil slick and the audio of a sub sinking. It may look to OPilot that I was using the default route to Pearl when he found shipping so quickly. In reality, Pearl is getting very little use. Flusser was the only destroyer there. There is a slow battleship due to come out of refit at Pearl in about 10 days.

British cruisers and American destroyers bombarded Kota Bharu.

Night Naval bombardment of Kota Bharu at 51,75

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 30 damaged
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
CA Cornwall
CA Suffolk
CA Sussex
DD Braine
DD Boyd
DD Bennett
DD Bache
DD Aulick

Japanese ground losses:
496 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled

Airbase hits 15
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 73
Port hits 17
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 4

Lots of B-24s hit troops at Kota Bharu. No CAP detected. P-38s swept. No CAP. Paras dropped in.

Ground combat at Kota Bharu (51,75)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 848 troops, 14 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 63

Defending force 1490 troops, 16 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 10

Allied adjusted assault: 31

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 31 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Kota Bharu !!!

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 22 destroyed

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

Japanese ground losses:
459 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 40 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (2 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 2

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

Assaulting units:
503rd Parachute Rgt /1
14th LRP Bde /1

My recon was correct. The defense was weak. Have something that I didn't understand at Kota Bharu. The intel screen said that 41 Tojos were destroyed in the turn: 8 in air-to-air, 2 on the ground, and 31 ops losses. The 31 ops losses were from the naval bombardment. The 2 on the ground were from the B-24s. But where did the 8 air-to-air come from? I had a fighter sweep that found no enemy planes. However, during the air transport phase, I did hear gunfire, and no C-47s were lost. Could it be that some air-to-air can occur during that phase, a phase that doesn't show up on the combat report? OPilot told me that his Tojos were resting, which makes it even stranger. Can't explain this one.

The grinding attack at Temuloh began. The enemy is isolated and out of supply. The Allied force is not overwhelming but has lots of tanks.

Ground combat at Temuloh (50,78)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8102 troops, 58 guns, 307 vehicles, Assault Value = 595

Defending force 14956 troops, 132 guns, 44 vehicles, Assault Value = 366

Allied adjusted assault: 271

Japanese adjusted defense: 802

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
507 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
292 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 22 (1 destroyed, 21 disabled)

Assaulting units:
16th LRP Brigade
21st Australian Brigade
Provisionl Tank Brigade
Guides Cavalry Regiment
111th LRP Brigade
30th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
5th RIAF Adv/Sqn Base Force

Defending units:
1st Division
80th Garrison Battalion

And the culmination of the Mersing landing...Singapore is captured!

Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 62017 troops, 1046 guns, 1044 vehicles, Assault Value = 1915

Defending force 17654 troops, 203 guns, 212 vehicles, Assault Value = 124

Allied adjusted assault: 1397

Japanese adjusted defense: 155

Allied assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 6)

Allied forces CAPTURE Singapore !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
1076 casualties reported
Squads: 30 destroyed, 31 disabled
Non Combat: 191 destroyed, 50 disabled
Engineers: 57 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 125 (87 destroyed, 38 disabled)
Vehicles lost 162 (152 destroyed, 10 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

Allied ground losses:
1032 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 111 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Guns lost 30 (4 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Vehicles lost 27 (2 destroyed, 25 disabled)

Assaulting units:
43rd Infantry Division
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
254th Armoured Brigade
18th British Division
11th (East African) Division
50th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
XV Corps Engineer Battalion
2nd British Division
145th Field Artillery Battalion
2nd RAA Jungle Field Artillery Regiment
198th Field Artillery Battalion
144th RNZA Bty

Defending units:
79th Garrison Battalion
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
2nd Area Army
Southwest Area Fleet
62nd JNAF AF Unit
29th Army
4th Ship Engineer Regiment
70th JAAF AF Bn
93rd JAAF AF Bn
11th RF Gun Battalion
68th Field AA Battalion
10th Special Base Force
32nd Field AA Battalion
34th Field AA Battalion
18th JNAF AF Unit
63rd JNAF AF Unit
21st Fld AA Gun Co
102nd Machine Canno AA Battalion
96th JAAF AF Bn

Enemy troops began to evaporate by attrition. Heavy industry at Singapore was noted to be turned off, probably to save fuel. Singapore's shipyard is a size 52, with 12 of it damaged. The shipyard will come in very handy, and its repair was begun. Supply is over 100,000 on Malaya and more has been waiting on cargo ships at Palembang and Batavia, waiting for Singapore to be taken.

Troops at Singapore will rest a bit, having disruption levels around 60.

The game score is now Allies 48,175 and Japan 23,167. It's now over 2 to 1. The game will continue until one side decides for it to end. I expect that we'll see a bitter fight on mainland Japan first. We both want to see the rarely experienced endgame.

[apbarog]

20 Jan 44

There were only 5 enemy mines left at Singapore. They were cleared out.

Triton spotted a big transport convoy leaving Okinawa to the east. 2 torpedoes missed destroyer Usugumo.

Yesterday I moved a Chinese fighter squadron to Lanchow, in northern China. They got lucky, and shot down 12 Topsys that were probably flying in supply. 3 Chinese pilots became aces. They moved back to the capital today.

37 Franks swept Kota Bharu. I figured he'd sweep today, to clear the way for bombers to bomb my paras in one of the few clear terrain hexes in Malaya. P-38s and P-47s were on LRCAP. Losses were even, with 9 Franks shot down for the cost of 5 Thunderbolts and 4 P-38s. No bombers arrived though.

Allied troops made the first deliberate attack at Ambon in many months. Allied artillery has been bombarding daily for most of that time, slowly whittling down the enemy strength. Supply is an issue for the Japanese also. The odds weren't great but the results weren't terrible. The attack came after a weak bombardment by a US slow battleship, Tennessee, which just came out of repairs.

Ground combat at Ambon (76,109)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16455 troops, 284 guns, 244 vehicles, Assault Value = 511

Defending force 12009 troops, 109 guns, 34 vehicles, Assault Value = 349

Allied adjusted assault: 183

Japanese adjusted defense: 577

Allied assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 2)

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

Japanese ground losses:
863 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 57 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 34 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Vehicles lost 11 (1 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
525 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 83 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Vehicles lost 16 (1 destroyed, 15 disabled)

Assaulting units:
2nd Marine Division
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
9th Marine Defense Battalion
53rd Aus Lt AA Regiment
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
1/532nd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
16th Base Maint Engineer Battalion
23rd USN Special Construction Battalion
24th USN Special Construction Battalion

Defending units:
48th Division
III./4th Infantry Battalion
I./4th Infantry Battalion
25th JAAF AF Bn
23rd Field Construction Battalion
24th Special Base Force
29th Fld AA Gun Co
60th JNAF AF Unit /1

The troops will rest a bit while artillery continues the attack. Tennessee is using Lautem as a rearming base, with an AKE there. An enemy sub was spotted at Ambon. An ASW task force is dispatched from Lautem to patrol there.

Doing some analysis of southern Japan. Planning the eventual big invasion, probably of Kyushu Island in the south. Considering using most of the British and Commonwealth troops at Singapore to support. Or send them to China to replace the US troops planning to take Hong Kong and vicinity, freeing them up for Japan.

[apbarog]

21 Jan 44

Lost YMS BYMS-2168 sweeping mines at Batu Pahat, along the coast northwest of Singapore.

Bluegill hit AK Ayatosan Maru with a torpedo southeast of Iwo Jima. Later in the day, Bluegill attacked the stricken ship again, and sank the ship with another torpedo. The subs are having a harder time finding targets, with the enemy having everything west of Formosa and the Philippines cut off.

An Allied unit has cut off the rail line from Bangkok to Malaya. It walked through the jungle from Mergui. The enemy is responding, with movement shown towards the hex both to the south and at Bangkok. It's just a nuisance but it'll require a decent attack to kick it back into the jungle.

More enemy reduction at Singapore. 1427 casualties, with more units evaporating from attrition after the combat.

The enemy was eliminated at Baybay, in the Philippine islands.

I moved some SBDs to Boela and put them on ASW. They lit up a stream of enemy subs from Sorong, south past Boela, then west to Ambon. They've been supplying Ambon. They used to go a more direct route through Namlea, near Ambon, but Namlea is an Allied base and I had mined it, sinking several transport subs. Now US destroyers are patrolling the enemy base at Ambon.

[apbarog]

22 Jan 44

Two groups of Franks swept Temuloh, with at least 68 planes. 27 P-47s defended. 12 Franks were shot down for the cost of 10 Thunderbolts. The enemy also swept and bombed the Allied unit that cut the rail line southwest of Bangkok.

Heavy bombers hit Ishigaki's troops. Naval bombers from Formosa did the same. Battleship New Mexico and escorts bombarded Ishigaki instead of their daily run to Pescadores. All of this attention to Ishigaki provided just enough support to get the job done.

Ground combat at Ishigaki (90,66)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 1299 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 55

Defending force 1575 troops, 27 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 34

Allied adjusted assault: 29

Japanese adjusted defense: 13

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

Allied forces CAPTURE Ishigaki !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
444 casualties reported
Squads: 17 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 11 (8 destroyed, 3 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd USMC Parachute Bn /1
2/7th Cav/Cdo Bn /1

Defending units:
III/19th Naval Guard Unit
Funauke Fortress

Lesson learned: a lightly held fortress is vulnerable to paras.

[EDIT: Noticed it was level 0 forts. The paras were lucky.]

More cleanup at Singapore. Another Allied attack at Temuloh, wearing down the enemy. Lots of supply and fuel being unloaded at Singapore.

The Chinese coast invasion isn't that far away. 2 US carriers need a couple more days at Manila to finish their refit. Then I think the invasion shipping will move from Busuanga to the embarkation points: Manila, Batangas and Lucena. The troops won't be as recovered from the fighting at Luzon as I would like, but I think they'll be good enough.

[apbarog]

23 Jan 44

British cruisers bombarded Taiping, on the Malayan west coast. There had been fighters based there but not today. The enemy has the 11th Division there, in the jungle. It's the next defense line. 4 B-24s were lost here trying to hit the airfield. Franks were protecting, probably flying from Georgetown.

US bombers hit the enemy troops at Ishigaki hard. Heavy and naval bombers struck. The III/19th Naval Guard Unit was wiped out by attrition, leaving just the fortress unit.

Wearing down the enemy continued at Temuloh. The Japanese will lose the 1st Division and the 80th Garrison Battalion here.

Another Allied deliberate attack at Ambon. 656 enemy casualties, with some destroyed squads and devices, and 504 US casualties, almost all of which were disabled. Progress is being made, slowly. The enemy is out of supply but numerous subs are bringing some in. Allied aircraft hit a transport sub and probably sank it near Ambon.

Cleanup continued at Singapore. 1035 enemy casualties. Just 5 enemy units left: 3 HQ units and 2 base units.

I've decided to pull out most of the Allied forces at Singapore after it is cleared. Malaya will be left with 2 divisions pushing north on the west coast, and 1 division currently at Temuloh. A US division, 2 British divisions and an East African division will leave Singapore. They will reinforce the US invasion of the Chinese coast east of Hong Kong. If all goes well, the Brits and Commonwealth troops will stay in China, and the US troops will pull out to prepare for the invasion of Japan. The plan in China will be to take the coastal invasion cities, and move most of the US strength west to take Hong Kong and threaten Canton. Success there would open up a supply line from Hong Kong to the Chinese. With the British reinforcing, it will be left to the Chinese to liberate their country, and most importantly, to continue tying down large numbers of Japanese troops.

The US will then concentrate on the final approach to Japan.

[apbarog]

24 Jan 44

BB TFs bombarded Pescadores and Ambon. Tennessee did very little damage at Ambon.

Enemy air concentrated at Wuchow in China. The Chinese have had to absorb great punishment from the air for two years. That will hopefully be changing soon, if Hong Kong can be captured by the Americans.

Lots of less than optimal fighter types swept Bangkok, having forward deployed to Tavoy. P-40N5s and A-36s did poorly against Oscars and Tonys. Corsair IIs and Spitfire VIIIs at least held their own. Many B-24s hit the airfield and tried bombing manpower for the first time, as an experiment. 3480 fires and 6834 fires were started, but that's about it, for the city bombers.

Aircraft from Okinawa and nearby carriers hit shipping at Iriomote. The APc's were bringing in supply. This is the second big task force of tiny APc's that I've lost in the war. The first was on the northern coast of Borneo. I really like the ship type, so much so I use them in very forward resupply missions, and they paid the price, again.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Iriomote at 89,65

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 6 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D4Y2 Judy x 18
J2M2 Jack x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
APc-46, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
APc-37, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
APc-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AM Katoomba, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
APc-32, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
APc-39, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
APc-30, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
APc-42, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
APc-31, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
APc-38, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk

Then 28 Jills, 54 Judys and 53 Zeros arrived to attack a TF at Iriomote, but attacked nothing. Probably after the APc TF that no longer existed. 9 Jills then did the same. The other TF was then found in the afternoon. It was carrying the vehicles for an engineer unit already at Iriomote.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Iriomote at 89,65

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 6 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D4Y2 Judy x 18
J2M2 Jack x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AKL FS-159, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
SC-648, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AKL FS-145, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 20 (14 destroyed, 6 disabled)

More cleanup on the ground at Ishigaki and Singapore, with another hard fought attack at Temuloh.

Total air losses were 12 Tonys and 9 Oscars for the cost of 10 A-36s, 9 P-40Ns, 7 Spitfire VIIIs and a B-24.

[apbarog]

25 Jan 44

Submarine Dace spotted CVE Taiyo east of Shanghai, but missed with 4 torpedoes. I don't know what Taiyo is doing there. Just 2 destroyers spotted with her. Maybe leaving Shanghai after repairs, who knows. Dace got hit by a depth charge in the shallow water and will return to Manila.

I dropped a small New Zealand unit onto Bacolod, in the Philippines. There's one enemy unit there with about 1000 men, and probably no supply. The NZ unit was not prepared at all for Bacolod. They landed, taking a lot of disablements, then someone decided that it wasn't going well and the small task force left, and there's no one alive on the beach. When the unit unloads back at Zamboanga, I'll see how much was lost in this little fiasco. I should have landed them on the Allied dot base 2 hexes southwest of Bacolod, and on the same island, connected by a trail.

In an example of how resilient HQ units are, a huge cleanup attack at Singapore resulted in the destruction of a base unit, but 3 HQ units still survive. Losses were very high, and the enemy is doomed. Just don't know if the end is tomorrow or some other day. Lots of transports are gathering to pick up the Allied divisions and some other units.

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 62163 troops, 1094 guns, 1065 vehicles, Assault Value = 1849

Defending force 2755 troops, 0 guns, 52 vehicles, Assault Value = 3

Allied adjusted assault: 1213

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 1213 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1089 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 152 destroyed, 52 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 35 (21 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
11th (East African) Division
43rd Infantry Division
XV Corps Engineer Battalion
254th Armoured Brigade
18th British Division
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
50th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
2nd British Division
198th Field Artillery Battalion
57th Coastal Artillery Regiment
144th RNZA Bty
145th Field Artillery Battalion
2nd RAA Jungle Field Artillery Regiment
462nd Base Group
96th Coast AA Regiment
1st Indian Light AA Rgt /1

Defending units:
2nd Area Army
Southwest Area Fleet
29th Army

Got the first really good attack at Ambon. After months of stalemate and Allied artillery bombardments, the enemy is finally crumbling.

Ground combat at Ambon (76,109)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15918 troops, 284 guns, 243 vehicles, Assault Value = 439

Defending force 10116 troops, 100 guns, 25 vehicles, Assault Value = 266

Allied adjusted assault: 142

Japanese adjusted defense: 118

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1006 casualties reported
Squads: 26 destroyed, 40 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 10 (3 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
157 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Assaulting units:
2nd Marine Division
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
53rd Aus Lt AA Regiment
23rd USN Special Construction Battalion
1/532nd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
9th Marine Defense Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
16th Base Maint Engineer Battalion
24th USN Special Construction Battalion

Defending units:
48th Division
24th Special Base Force
I./4th Infantry Battalion
III./4th Infantry Battalion
25th JAAF AF Bn
23rd Field Construction Battalion
29th Fld AA Gun Co
60th JNAF AF Unit /1

Enemy carriers and battleships are not seen near Okinawa today, but the weather was bad in the area, so I can't tell for sure.

[CaptBeefheart]

I've had pretty good luck with barge TFs bringing in supplies and engineering vehicles to exposed bases, at least against the AI. Such TFs rarely get hassled from the air.

Cheers,
CB

[apbarog]

I haven't used them much as the Allies. I will do so more in the approach to Okinawa and Japan.

26 Jan 44

British cruisers bombarded Georgetown. A squadron of Tojos were damaged but flew later in the day. Moderate damage to the airbase. The Tojos swept over the Indian division in the clear terrain south of Taiping. 25 P-47s were there. About equal losses. Peggys then bombed the troops after running into the 13 P-47s that were left, but the fighters never got to the bombers.

P-38s from Kuantan swept Georgetown and found Franks in the air. More Franks lost than Lightnings. Total air losses were 11 Franks and 7 Tojos for the cost of 10 P-47s and 4 P-38s.

Singapore is cleared! Troops start to switch to Strat mode while lots of transports wait for them there.

Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 62242 troops, 1094 guns, 1065 vehicles, Assault Value = 1861

Defending force 1269 troops, 0 guns, 36 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

Allied adjusted assault: 1104

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 1104 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1298 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 256 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 38 (38 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

Assaulting units:
43rd Infantry Division
254th Armoured Brigade
50th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
XV Corps Engineer Battalion
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
18th British Division
11th (East African) Division
2nd British Division
57th Coastal Artillery Regiment
2nd RAA Jungle Field Artillery Regiment
96th Coast AA Regiment
462nd Base Group
145th Field Artillery Battalion
198th Field Artillery Battalion
144th RNZA Bty
1st Indian Light AA Rgt /1

Defending units:
2nd Area Army
Southwest Area Fleet

Paras on Ishigaki caused 29 casualties in an attack on the fortress unit there. Wearing them down. Similar approach going on at Temuloh and Ambon.

A US sub was lit up with high detection levels well east southeast of Okinawa. Enemy carriers are suspected to be out there. They didn't go straight back to Japan.

[Lowpe]

Can you post a picture of China? I feel you have done very original things there in this game.

I don't know if you can swing it, but now that Formosa is yours Ningpo is an incredibly valuable base for the Allies in so many ways. Normally, it is very lightly garrisoned.

Anyhow, masterful game.[&o]

[apbarog]

Northern China

[apbarog]

Southern China

Supply is such a constraint for the Chinese. I'm still barely breaking even, with the Burma Road open and transports still flying the Hump. I felt that China was so close to collapsing. Just a couple of attacks with bad results for the enemy helped the Chinese hold, especially in the far north.

I don't know what OPilot committed to China. I don't know the Japanese units by heart, so I can't say. I do know that OPilot has used a large air force in China, and pummeled the Chinese relentlessly, especially in clear terrain.

I don't know how original my Chinese defense was. I did survive though, which is all I can hope for.

[Lowpe]

Any idea how much supply is flying in a turn?

[apbarog]

Not as many transports flying the Hump as a month or two ago. Many were sent to Sumatra and Malaya with the Singapore campaign. Most went back to Rangoon, some of which weren't yet sent back to Ledo, which I probably should do.

Here's what's at Ledo.

[Lowpe]

Thank you.[:)]

[apbarog]

27 Jan 44

Dutch sub O16 missed sub transport Yu-8 just north of Babeldaob. Lots of SST's were running the route between Sorong and Ambon. After I moved some dive bombers doing ASW work to the area, and getting some hits on subs, the SST's have left. Yu-8 may be one of them.

Battleship New Mexico and 5 US cruisers bombarded Amoy instead of the nightly run to Pescadores. A Pete was destroyed and a couple others damaged. Moderate base damage.

Battleship Tennessee bombarded Ambon, doing light damage and causing 196 casualties.

The enemy air in China again went to Wuchow.

Ambon is finally captured. The Marines invaded Ambon long ago, before the Java campaign. The enemy defense was weak but just strong enough with the jungle and the forts to force the Marines to rest between attacks. KB arrived on the scene quickly and escorted the 48th Division to Ambon, and it had been a stalemate ever since. Over time, US artillery wore down the enemy, and enemy supply couldn't get to Ambon in sufficient quantities.

Ground combat at Ambon (76,109)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15910 troops, 284 guns, 242 vehicles, Assault Value = 442

Defending force 8992 troops, 97 guns, 23 vehicles, Assault Value = 216

Allied adjusted assault: 145

Japanese adjusted defense: 43

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

Allied forces CAPTURE Ambon !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
1263 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 32 disabled
Non Combat: 25 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 35 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 45 (45 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 22 (22 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
119 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
2nd Marine Division
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
16th Base Maint Engineer Battalion
23rd USN Special Construction Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
1/532nd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
53rd Aus Lt AA Regiment
9th Marine Defense Battalion
24th USN Special Construction Battalion

Defending units:
48th Division
25th JAAF AF Bn
23rd Field Construction Battalion
III./4th Infantry Battalion
I./4th Infantry Battalion
24th Special Base Force
60th JNAF AF Unit /1

I've decided to kick off the Chinese coast invasion. It's a bit sooner than I had planned, but I haven't had an invasion be too unprepared yet, and the enemy is generally weaker than I prepare for. Lots of shipping had gathered at the size 3 port of Busuanga. Orders are given to move to Manila, Batangas and Lucena, to pick up invasion troops. Despite having over 300 ships at Busuanga, I don't have quite enough to lift everything in the invasion plans. 2 follow-up units, planning for Chaochow, will have their equipment load but the troops will have to wait for return shipping. The Americal Division, at Batangas, will also have its equipment loaded, but the troops will begin to be flown to Takao. They'll move from there to the China coast later, either by air or by ship. The plan is to take Swatow, Chaochow and Amoy. The major movement from there will be west, towards Hong Kong. The enemy has over 60,000 men at Canton. West of Canton and Hong Kong is already blocked by the Chinese. The troops at Canton will have to choose to either stay there and possibly be cut off, move to Hong Kong, and also be cut off, or flee to the east before the Americans get there.

I hope to take Hong Kong and open up a supply line to the Chinese, reinforce China with British and Commonwealth troops coming from Singapore, and extract the US troops for use in a landing on Japan. The enemy could counter with many divisions, in which case the US troops may not be able to leave.

[apbarog]

28 Jan 44

I-5 was sighted way down south of the southeastern corner of Australia, east of Melbourne. SC-744 was escorting an xAK to Townsville from Melbourne. It had been badly damaged and spent months repairing at Melbourne. It's a bit ironic that the enemy spotted the first naval activity through this area in a long time.

Sub Raton fired 4 torpedoes at big transport xAP Kachidoki Maru near Chichi-jima, but missed.

12 Bettys from Saigon flew 13 hexes to Kuantan to attack 6 PT boats. All bombs missed. My concern about sending shipping the short route from Singapore to Manila was warranted. OPilot was looking for targets after spotting a few transports north of Borneo. Fortunately, they'd already moved far enough east. But I'm loading lots of troops at Singapore, and they'll go the long route around the south of Borneo to get to Luzon.

The enemy fortress unit at Ishigaki is still being reduced. US troops at Ambon will attack again today, as will troops at Temuloh.

Loading has begun at Manila, Batangas and Lucena for the Chinese coast invasion.

[apbarog]

29 Jan 44

Grunion sank E-boat Tsushima near Tokunoshima. E-boat Wakamiya hit Grunion with a depth charge, but it will survive.

Another cleanup attack at Ambon. The fight has passed the tipping point, with 1428 enemy casualties. More supply will unload at Ambon.

The Funauke Fortress was eliminated finally on Ishigaki.

Another cleanup attack at Temuloh, but this one went poorly. Reinforcements are ordered in.

Ground combat at Temuloh (50,78)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8061 troops, 104 guns, 259 vehicles, Assault Value = 598

Defending force 13472 troops, 130 guns, 44 vehicles, Assault Value = 270

Allied adjusted assault: 214

Japanese adjusted defense: 511

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
75 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
867 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 97 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Assaulting units:
Provisionl Tank Brigade
16th LRP Brigade
Guides Cavalry Regiment
111th LRP Brigade
21st Australian Brigade
503rd Parachute Regiment
50th Indian Para Brigade
4th West African AA Regiment
30th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
5th RIAF Adv/Sqn Base Force

Defending units:
1st Division

At Taiping, on the west coast of Malaya, northwest of Temuloh, we get an unexpectedly positive result.

Ground combat at Taiping (49,75)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 25902 troops, 444 guns, 430 vehicles, Assault Value = 985

Defending force 12546 troops, 162 guns, 28 vehicles, Assault Value = 338

Allied adjusted assault: 190

Japanese adjusted defense: 189

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1539 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 84 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 30 disabled
Guns lost 12 (1 destroyed, 11 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
413 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 57 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd Commando Brigade
81st (West African) Division
150th RAC Regiment
5th Indian Division

Defending units:
11th Division
20th Ind Engineer Regiment
2nd Area Army
19th Field Construction Battalion
69th Field AA Battalion
91st JAAF AF Bn
94th JAAF AF Bn

Most Chinese invasion shipping is now loaded and will rendezvous at Bataan. The huge Allied carrier force will rendezvous also, coming from Taytay.

[Lowpe]

My guess, is that China will fall very fast. The excellent road network above Amoy is just a killer.

Japan suffers from almost no excess troops in the theater, and the invasion will play havoc with supplies as demand for them will now grow exponentially and much will be wasted trying to get supply thru less than optimal routing.

If it were me, falling back to a fortress Shanghai and a line at the river and Tienstin anchor....I for sure would be preparing that line, as there are a couple of clear hexes where the troops will need high forts and AA regiments. Shanghai could be turned into a strong fortress and supplied by sea.

I have done the zero retreat option too, in an attempt to buy time, and it simply very inferior tactic.

Your China Invasion is a natural outcome of Japan not taking the bulk of China and is a major reason why taking China ranks so highly on Japan's todo list. And of course you are here far too early for Japan. China has tons of units and can afford a broad front advance, closing with strongholds, bypassing and surrounding them, infiltrating. Chinese troops should almost never attack except after the Japanese have been starved and bombed. Japan will even have very difficult time holding the Tientsin line if they try to hold China.

[apbarog]

My plans in China are limited: take Canton and Hong Kong and open up a supply line for the Chinese. I'd like to get the US troops out of China afterwards and include them in the landings on the Japan home islands. That may or may not happen, depending on the enemy reaction to the China coast landings.

With lots of supply, the Chinese will be able to start pushing all along the line, with many air units that are in Burma and India not doing a lot. I think that the enemy will collapse in China.