(RA) IJN refloated Soulsilver (J)vs Deaniks (A)

[soulsilver]

Hello my name is soulsilver, I'm an intermediate player and long time lurker on the forum starting an AAR for a game that is already in Progress. We are using reluctant admiral mod with the Dbabes stacking limits which gives japan more staying power into the late game.The current date is march 7th and the entire Southern resource area has been secured, along with Darwin, Port Moresby, Rangoon and the Aleutian Islands. The allies have taken serious surface loses with the confirmed loss of both Lexington class Carriers, and 6 BBs (5 USN and 1 British), while the Japanese have taken no capital ship loses, and only lost a single surface combat ship (an old Light cruiser). Things are looking up for Japan.

House rules;
1)No CV Hunting turn 1
2)Paratroopers; Free to use fragments to capture small island bases but have to bring the whole unit if you are using it elsewhere , either in 1 turn or in the following turns if you cant bring the whole unit.
3)Units cutting retreat must be a realistic size of brigade or above ; What does cutting retreat mean = surrounding a hex completely with units and no direction to escape.
4)All PT Boats in the same hex must be in the same task force
5)No Crossing Malacca strait with surface ships until Japan controls Singapore
6)Fighter altitude limit 20k until 06/42 , 25k 06/42-01/43 , 30k 43-44 , 35k 44-45 , 40k 45-46
7)No night strat bombing until 44
8. No crossing borders without paying the pp costs for moving units of restricted commands
9) exceptions: American units can move freely in Canada, and Thai units may move freely in Burma and Malaya.
10) restricted units may move 3 tiles across national borders before paying PPs.

PDU ON, Realistic R&D ON

edited: grammar

[soulsilver]

Strategic situation, ill post more pictures in a bit

[soulsilver]

situation in China

[soulsilver]

Intel page

[soulsilver]

Indian landings

[soulsilver]

Burma Situation

[Evoken]

Good progress so far , how about ship losses ?

[soulsilver]

March 8th
Oscars sweeps in china net a few P-40es. It appears that the restricted p-40 units on the continental united states just withdrew freeing up quite a few p-40s for use by the flying tigers. They definitely need the planes as they have lost all 92 of their H81's, along with the 30 ish p-39s. Today day about 10 p-40es along with 10 p-39s were downed in china, so we are making good progress in reducing the effectiveness of the flying tigers.

Routine milk runs over Burma, china and Philippines went as normal. It appears that the Bataan garrison will still have supply for at least another month, as AA fire is still intense.

In Burma/India paratroops landed along the railway to chittagong to cut off reinforcements. landings are scheduled for tommorow.

[Anachro]

Unless you've destroyed significant forces in Burma and your opponent is woefully inadequate on defense, I'm not sure 3 divisions will be enough to take Chittagong if he has prepared his defenses well. It's an urban hex and with forts is hard to take. By March with a lot of engineers it could have at least 3 forts if not more. We'll see. I know I've made Chittagong a very tough nut to take before. Do you plan to land more around or behind Chittagong (maybe para drop too) to help cut it off?

EDIT: Just saw the total numbers. 3 divisions against 1 should be decent with the landing bonus and if your numbers on enemy defenses are correct. But remember it probably won't be instant if he has forts + the urban hex defensive modifiers. Also, good to know that if he literally just brought int he Aussie division by strat moving it, it will take 3-4 days to unload to combat mode.

[soulsilver]

March 9th

Pre-Invasion action off Chittagong (55,41) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force

317 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Shell hits 1
CA Myoko
CA Chokai
CL Tatsuta
CL Tenryu
CL Ayase
DD Akatsuki
DD Arare
DD Michishio, Shell hits 4
DD Tokitsukaze, Shell hits 2
APD Nadakaze
APD Shimakaze
APD Tachikaze
TB Hayabusa
PC PB-72
PC PB-65
PC PB-57
PB Tokati Maru
PB Sozan Maru
PB Eiko Maru
SC Ch 22
SC Ch 21
SC Ch 5
AMC Kiyosumi Maru
DD Hibiki

Japanese ground losses:
61 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
594 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 37 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Morning Air attack on 84th Indian Brigade, at 55,41 (Chittagong)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 29
F1M2 Pete x 3
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 94
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 30
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 5 damaged

Allied ground losses:
120 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

193 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga
BB Ise, Shell hits 2
CA Nachi
CA Haguro
CL Kuma, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Yukaze
DD Hakaze
xAP Kobe Maru
xAP Naminoue Maru, Shell hits 4, on fire
PC PB-56
SC Ch 2
SC Ch 1
AK Kinka Maru

Japanese ground losses:
109 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1141 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 105 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 15 (1 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)


Overall pretty good damage to the troops at chittagong, but possibly at the loss of a Light cruiser since it has 43 fire damage....
All other ships are in no danger of sinking. The Imperial guards, 18th Division, and 21 Division along with 4 tanks and 2 engineers will attack tommorow.

[soulsilver]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

Unless you've destroyed significant forces in Burma and your opponent is woefully inadequate on defense, I'm not sure 3 divisions will be enough to take Chittagong if he has prepared his defenses well. It's an urban hex and with forts is hard to take. By March with a lot of engineers it could have at least 3 forts if not more. We'll see. I know I've made Chittagong a very tough nut to take before. Do you plan to land more around or behind Chittagong (maybe para drop too) to help cut it off?

EDIT: Just saw the total numbers. 3 divisions against 1 should be decent with the landing bonus and if your numbers on enemy defenses are correct. But remember it probably won't be instant if he has forts + the urban hex defensive modifiers. Also, good to know that if he literally just brought int he Aussie division by strat moving it, it will take 3-4 days to unload to combat mode.

Chitagong is a plains hex, at least in the Reluctant admiral mod. Furthermore I am sure that the Aussie division was just moved in via rail, as the tile had been continuously scouted for around a week before hand. Normal post naval invasion bombardment revealed that he has around 420 AV to my 1400 (dont forget the 4 tanks and 2 engineers helping me out). The 7th Aussie Division is backed up by the 84th Indian Brigade and part of the 2nd Pioneer battalion.

also I edited my post from march 8 to include information I had failed to include such as the paradrops in northern India along the railway. reinforcements coming from India should be delayed.

[soulsilver]

my current Air production

115 x A6M2
40 X B5N2
10 X C5M2
40 x D3A1
80 x Jakes
9 x Glen (figuring out what to do with this factory currently turned off)
22 x G3M2
50 x G4M1
6 x H6k4 ( not sure what im gonna convert this to
24 x H8K1
25 x Ki-21
17 x Ki-30
115 x K-43 Ic
15 x Ki-46
34 x K-48 (production has been turned off currently in use as ASW)
30 x k-51 sonia (production turned off, might keep this till K-51b in 43)
15 x K-57 Topsy
15 x L3Y2 Tina

I'll post my R&D in a bit

[soulsilver]

ORIGINAL: Evoken

Good progress so far , how about ship losses ?

As I noted in my first post, the Allies have lost 2 CVs (both lexington class CVs) 6 BBs, around 15 cruisers, 30 DDs, 15 Subs, Japanese have lost 1 CL, and 1 sub BANZI!!!

in terms of civilian ship losses, ive lost around 40 cargo/transports of various sizes, but not a single tanker! [&o] I've only killed around 15 tankers, but killed off around 350 allied civilan ships of various sizes.

[Anachro]

Oh wow you're right. It's been so long since I've fought over Chittagong, I just assumed. If this is the RA mod, and it's a clear hex, you should be fine. I think 3 divisions with bombing and bombardment will be good initially and you should have ample reinforcement. Do you have plans to push deep into India? I think an Allied player can do well to hold the line if you make the decision to land on the southern coast or simply attack directionally from Burma. See my current PBEM with John and go to the early section where he invades India. You have to be careful there because even if you have success early on, there is so much land and a good rail system: meaning, the Allied player has ample time to prepare defensive lines deeper in and and can quickly move troops to areas of concern. In my game, I was able to hold John roughly to here:



I was able to build what I view as a triangular fortress just north of Calcutta, building level 9 airfields and level 5 forts at Jamshedpur, Ranchi, and Asanol. The first two were jungle hexes so even harder to take, Asanol was a bit dicey but I just put more troops there. The allies get a LOT of engineers to do all this, even in India. From the airfields there, I was able to overwhelm John's airpower at Calcutta, not to mention I brought in tons of 4Es to bomb him to pieces. So you need to be wary of your opponent erecting strong defenses as well. This is why a lot of Japanese players prefer to land further up in the western coast towards Bombay or even perhaps to Karachi. This is closer to the heart of the Allied logistical effort and threatens the supply lines of the rest of India.

[soulsilver]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

Oh wow you're right. It's been so long since I've fought over Chittagong, I just assumed. If this is the RA mod, and it's a clear hex, you should be fine. I think 3 divisions with bombing and bombardment will be good initially and you should have ample reinforcement. Do you have plans to push deep into India? I think an Allied player can do well to hold the line if you make the decision to land on the southern coast or simply attack directionally from Burma. See my current PBEM with John and go to the early section where he invades India. You have to be careful there because even if you have success early on, there is so much land and a good rail system: meaning, the Allied player has ample time to prepare defensive lines deeper in and and can quickly move troops to areas of concern. In my game, I was able to hold John roughly to here:



I was able to build what I view as a triangular fortress just north of Calcutta, building level 9 airfields and level 5 forts at Jamshedpur, Ranchi, and Asanol. The first two were jungle hexes so even harder to take, Asanol was a bit dicey but I just put more troops there. The allies get a LOT of engineers to do all this, even in India. From the airfields there, I was able to overwhelm John's airpower at Calcutta, not to mention I brought in tons of 4Es to bomb him to pieces. So you need to be wary of your opponent erecting strong defenses as well. This is why a lot of Japanese players prefer to land further up in the western coast towards Bombay or even perhaps to Karachi. This is closer to the heart of the Allied logistical effort and threatens the supply lines of the rest of India.

I havent really explained my overall strategy in India yet. I have around 5 Divisions slated for Ceylon and southern India to open a second front. Taking ceylon should help protect my flank while also serving as a launch pad into southern India. the troops at Chiattagong will be reinforced by the troops from burma (3 divisios) along with at least 1 Division from Batavia. I plan to push simultaneously from the south and the east and hopefully can bottle him up by the line of death up by Delhi.

[RangerJoe]

Invade the backside when you can, especially if you have a rail line to your main units. Stretch the defense even more.

[Bif1961]

Thanks for the AAR. I hope you enjoy your experience and like many, get addicted.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: soulsilver

my current Air production

115 x A6M2
40 X B5N2
10 X C5M2
40 x D3A1
80 x Jakes
9 x Glen (figuring out what to do with this factory currently turned off)
22 x G3M2
50 x G4M1
6 x H6k4 ( not sure what im gonna convert this to
24 x H8K1
25 x Ki-21
17 x Ki-30
115 x K-43 Ic
15 x Ki-46
34 x K-48 (production has been turned off currently in use as ASW)
30 x k-51 sonia (production turned off, might keep this till K-51b in 43)
15 x K-57 Topsy
15 x L3Y2 Tina

I'll post my R&D in a bit

My two Yen here:
--Produce the GLEN until the engine pool runs out, you need them for subs
--You don't really need to produce the Tina, but probably too late; H6K Float Transport a better option
--Don't upgrade Topsy 1 to Topsy II until the engine pool for Topsy I runs out

Otherwise looks fine, R&D more important

[soulsilver]

March 10th

good news this turn, the attack at Chittagong went well, and the light cruiser put out the fires.

Ground combat at Chittagong (55,41)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 43138 troops, 354 guns, 391 vehicles, Assault Value = 1425

Defending force 18773 troops, 300 guns, 236 vehicles, Assault Value = 467

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 938

Allied adjusted defense: 80

Japanese assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Chittagong !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 2 destroyed

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

Japanese ground losses:
1221 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 71 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 19 disabled

Allied ground losses:
11027 casualties reported
Squads: 300 destroyed, 54 disabled
Non Combat: 623 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 60 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 89 (84 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 188 (188 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
Imperial Guards Division
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
5th Tank Regiment
21st Division
2nd Tank Regiment
18th Division
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
4th Tank Regiment
7th Tank Regiment
Southern Army
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
84th Indian Brigade
7th Australian Division
2/2nd Pioneer Battalion
Chittagong Fortress

The allies launched air attacks against chitagong and Magwe which did no damaged and resulted in a few lost bombers

Morning Air attack on TF, near Chittagong at 55,41

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 5 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23
F1M2 Pete x 6
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 8

Allied aircraft
Lysander II x 10

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Lysander II: 5 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Lysander II bombing from 10000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 100 lb GP Bomb


In addition the Allied response was spotted just off ceylon

Sub attack near Koggala at 29,51

Japanese Ships
SS RO-34, hits 2

Allied Ships
DD Norman
BB Ramillies
DD Nizam
PC Jumna
DD Fortune

[soulsilver]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

Thanks for the AAR. I hope you enjoy your experience and like many, get addicted.

dont worry I already am