Westerley Wind, Fine NJP72 (J) vs Lowpe (A) DBB Sce 30

[njp72]

Wow, this was a surprise!

A decent chunk of the British fleet pops up near Diego Garcia. I would have thought Lowpe would have scampered away once he sighted KB the previous turn. I actually thought they were hovering around Bombay.

Not to be and like life imitating art (but far worse for the Brits) Her Majesty's fleet is caught napping and carnage ensues.

[njp72]

A couple of the day's naval strikes on the Brit fleet

[njp72]

And another one.

[njp72]

Troops safely ashore at Chittagong.

Getting ready for round 2 after being rudely rejected the first time. Bought a few more friends this time. [:D]

[njp72]

The next few days will be critical in achieving the early war objectives which as the title of the AAR suggests, neutralising the Commonwealth forces for the majority of 42 (land, air and naval).

If I can achieve that (from a naval perspective it is largely completed), it will give me time to fortify the Pacific for the inevitable USN counter- offensive.

I'm hoping the forces the Commonwealth are losing in India, Burma and to a lesser extent Australia will cripple their offensive capability for 12 months. We will see.

Major Allied shipping losses for the first 3 months

*Repulse is crippled and trapped at Singapore

[njp72]

And part 2.

The majority of high valued sank ships are Commonwealth/ British.

[jdsrae]

What, no shock attack at Chittagong?! [:D]

[njp72]

ORIGINAL: jdsrae

What, no shock attack at Chittagong?! [:D]

LOL, I learnt my lesson last time! [:D]

[njp72]

The 3rd and perhaps decisive battle at Chittagong has ended and the Allies have been routed.


Maybe I should have shock attacked again at Chittagong after all!

[njp72]

The possibilities in Southern India are very exciting.

With the pounding on the sea and land, the Brits should be in complete disarray. Seizing industry and continuing to attrit Commonwealth forces in favourable engagements will be the major objective.

At least the disaster that has befallen the Imperial Guards has been avenged. The 18th British Div should be out of the war for a good part of 42.

[njp72]

Finally a failed intercept off Diego Garcia just about spells the end of the British fleet in the Indian Ocean (at least for the short term).

I don't think Lowpe has any British surface combatants left out here. The USN will have to the heavy lifting for the remainder of 42 I suspect.

[ny59giants]

You did well against me in India. The key for Japan is to destroy as many of the CW (Commonwealth) devices whether you do it in India or Australia. The Indians get enough infantry squads to rebuild those smashed troops. Its all the minor devices that can come up short. I know from experience that you will hound those troops and try to destroy as many as possible. The question will be how much air power will he sent over them to protect.

[Bif1961]

He has been exposed with the sinking of the majority of the RN and your taking of Chittagong which opens up the south-eastern plains of India and road to take Ledo and shut down supplies to China over the Hump. That will benfit your China campaign as his defenses crumble for lack of supplies.

[njp72]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

He has been exposed with the sinking of the majority of the RN and your taking of Chittagong which opens up the south-eastern plains of India and road to take Ledo and shut down supplies to China over the Hump. That will benfit your China campaign as his defenses crumble for lack of supplies.

Yep Bif, that is exactly how I see it playing out over the next 12 months. The last few days of combat has meant that he is toast in China and Southern India.

Also Ceylon as well.

Game on [:D]

[njp72]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

You did well against me in India. The key for Japan is to destroy as many of the CW (Commonwealth) devices whether you do it in India or Australia. The Indians get enough infantry squads to rebuild those smashed troops. Its all the minor devices that can come up short. I know from experience that you will hound those troops and try to destroy as many as possible. The question will be how much air power will he sent over them to protect.

Oh yes Mike, I intend to hound his survivors all across India to smash them apart. [:)]

I wonder if he will commit his troop reserves out of Calcutta to save his position in Southern India. I hope so.

[njp72]

Whilst waiting for a turn, I thought it would useful to reflect on the first 90 days especially the damage inflicted on the RN (let's be honest it is also fun from my selfish perspective).

Thanks to some wonderful pre- war intelligence [:)], the RN roughly starts with the following strength at the commencement of hostilities:

1 x CVL
2 X BBs
1 x BC
2 x CAs
11 x CLs
10 x DDs

* Plenty of CLs but very few DDs hmmmmmmmm

We can then add the following for the first 90 days reinforcements:

2 x CVs
4 x BBs
1 x CA
1 x CL
7 x DDs

Therefore utilising my primary school mathematical ability I approximately have:

2 x CVs
1 x CVL
6 x BBs
1 x BC
3 x CAs
12 x CLs
17 x DDs

Not an inconsequential force with some decent hitting power even if a number of the vessels are obsolete.

So what has been nailed (suspected losses below)

2 x CVs = 1 x CV sank 50% loss
1 x CVL = 1 x CVL sank 100% loss
6 x BBs = 3 x BBs sank 50% loss
1 x BC= 1 x BC crippled in Singapore 100% loss
3 x CAs = 3 x CAs sank 100% loss
12 x CLs = 7 x CLs sank 60% loss
17 x DDs = 9 x DDs sank 50% loss

So after some pretty amateurish analysis, it is reasonably apparent that the RN is running on next to empty. That would have to keep Winston up at night.




Looking worried below[X(]

[ny59giants]

Your subs will benefit the most for those DDs sunk. Best ASW for Allies through '42.
I hate losing Prince of Wales because of her AA, not her big guns.

[njp72]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Your subs will benefit the most for those DDs sunk. Best ASW for Allies through '42.
I hate losing Prince of Wales because of her AA, not her big guns.

I have never really played the Allies but they both (PoW and Repulse) look like handy ships.

No wonder players hate to lose them early on.

[ny59giants]

You have an open invitation to play the Allies and I'll go over to "the Dark Side." John and I are still working on another version of BTSL. We were taking last night about the Dutch navy and their pre-war plans that they did not implement due to $$$. 5 or 6 CLs, 12 DDs, and the worse news for Japan is 18 subs.

[njp72]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

You have an open invitation to play the Allies and I'll go over to "the Dark Side." John and I are still working on another version of BTSL. We were taking last night about the Dutch navy and their pre-war plans that they did not implement due to $$$. 5 or 6 CLs, 12 DDs, and the worse news for Japan is 18 subs.

Thank you my friend, noted.

Between work, play and a few current games on the go, I don't have any spare capacity at the moment.

Appears to be a very interesting scenario [:)]