Gensui jdsrae (J) vs SolInvictus (A). IJ War Council room

[jdsrae]

Deliberate attack ordered at Jessore with all Divs sorted by AV shown here, except for the 3rd Tank Div which doesn’t fit on the screen.
3rd Tank Div has 336 AV and 96% TOE.

Some numbers follow:
IJA now has level 2 field forts so have some protection against Allied artillery. Allies are most likely still behind level 5 forts and assumed to have decent supply.
The Allies may have a little bit of fatigue and disruption from Helen/Sally bombing but the level 5 forts may have minimised that.
About 250k IJA troops vs 40k. IJA has 14x Infantry +3x Tank Divs. The Allies have 2x Infantry Divs and 1x Armd Bde plus some attachments.
2480 guns vs 741
2762 vehicles vs 1015
The IJA Divs should have a large experience advantage, they have high morale, minimal fatigue and 0 disruption. TOEs are generally 100%.
Allied units have more firepower punch than the IJA now.
Unadjusted assault strength of 7646 vs about 900 assumed.


Details from the first attack at Jessore a few weeks back are shown below.
Ground combat at Jessore (53,37) on 9 Sep 43.
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 126832 troops, 1551 guns, 2911 vehicles, Assault Value = 4801 – close to double the troop numbers now with nearly +3000AV
Defending force 32764 troops, 721 guns, 1015 vehicles, Assault Value = 886 – the Allies should still have a similar raw AV number to this
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 5
Japanese adjusted assault: 2472 – the IJA adjusted AV should be higher now with better preparation. GEN Itagaki’s assessment is that this attack should get at least a 2:1 result
Allied adjusted defense: 2182 – the Allied adjusted AV should be similar to this again
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 5)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 5
Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses: the IJA didn’t have any field fortifications last time, so casualties should be less this time.
5310 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 289 disabled
Non Combat: 59 destroyed, 35 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 46 disabled
Guns lost 57 (5 destroyed, 52 disabled)
Vehicles lost 447 (211 destroyed, 236 disabled)
Units destroyed 1 – 3rd Tank Regt
Allied ground losses:
489 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 50 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 95 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 19 disabled
Guns lost 62 (2 destroyed, 60 disabled)
Vehicles lost 86 (40 destroyed, 46 disabled)

Attack #2 summary for tomorrow.
Assaulting units: all Tank Regts have been withdrawn to Dacca and Rangpur to recover. The 3x Tank Divs and the “1s” Divs were in the first battle but they have now been joined by most of the “Teen” Divs.
Defending units: No movement arrows have been spotted so it is assumed that the same units are defending.
The image embedded shows the units and strengths from the 9 Sep 43 attack.

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 25, 43
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Submarine attack near Portland Roads at 92,134
SS I-28
Allied Ships
xAKL Beatrice, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAKL Beatrice is sighted by SS I-28
SS I-28 attacking on the surface
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Night Naval bombardment of Port Moresby at 98,130 – these bombardments don’t seem to be doing much but the hope is that they are increasing fatigue/disruption and reducing morale. Might try some BBs soon to see if they can score a few more hits than none. The Nagato Div has 16 days of readiness repairs left at Truk while the Yamato Div will leave Kure tomorrow.
CA Chokai
CA Maya
CA Atago
CA Takao
DD Nowaki
DD Amatsukaze
DD Hayashio
DD Yukikaze
DD Natsushio
DD Oyashio
CA Chokai firing at 24th Infantry Division
CA Maya firing at 24th Infantry Division
E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for CA Atago
CA Atago firing at 24th Infantry Division
CA Takao firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Nowaki firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Amatsukaze firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Hayashio firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Yukikaze firing at I US Corps
DD Natsushio firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Oyashio firing at 24th Infantry Division
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Night Naval bombardment of Port Moresby at 98,130
CA Kumano
CA Mikuma
CA Mogami
DD Hagikaze
DD Urakaze
DD Shiranui
DD Maikaze
DD Kagero
CA Kumano firing at 24th Infantry Division
E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for CA Mikuma
CA Mikuma firing at 2nd Australian Division
CA Mogami firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Hagikaze firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Urakaze firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Shiranui firing at 24th Infantry Division
DD Maikaze firing at 2nd Australian Division
DD Kagero firing at 24th Infantry Division
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Sub attack near Akyab at 53,45
SC Ch 21
SC Ch 22
SS O20 launches 2 torpedoes at SC Ch 21
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Sub attack near Pearl Harbor at 187,93
SS I-3
Allied Ships
DMS Long
DD Hull
SS I-3 launches 2 torpedoes at DMS Long
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Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37 – clean skies over Calcutta
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Ki-84a Frank x 15
15 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
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Morning Air attack on Roi-Namur , at 132,114
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
G4M1 Betty x 11
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged
Allied aircraft
no flights – no CAP despite 11 fighters spotted and runway damage 0, port damage is still 50.
Allied aircraft losses
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 9 damaged
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 1 destroyed on ground
SBD-3 Dauntless: 4 damaged
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 5
Aircraft Attacking:
11 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
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Morning Air attack on 6th Medium Regiment, at 53,37 (Jessore)
Weather in hex: Severe storms – pre-deliberate attack aerial bombardment effectiveness would have been reduced by the storms
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 3
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 17
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 31
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 13
Ki-84a Frank x 5
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 3 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 5 damaged
Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Also attacking 32nd Infantry Division ...
Also attacking 9th Indian Division ...
Also attacking 268th Motorised Brigade ...
Also attacking 150th RAC Regiment ...
Also attacking XXXIII Indian Corps ...
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Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37
Ki-84a Frank x 53 – this was a coordinated sweep punching thin air
14 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
17 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
5 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
8 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
7 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
1 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
1 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
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Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37
Ki-84a Frank x 10
8 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
2 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
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Morning Air attack on 32nd Infantry Division, at 53,37 (Jessore)
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 14 – 2nd wave of bombers at 15k’
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 3
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 10
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 16
Ki-84a Frank x 9
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 damaged
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 2 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 5 damaged
Allied ground losses:
3 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
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Morning Air attack on 150th RAC Regiment, at 53,37 (Jessore)
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 9
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 22
Ki-84a Frank x 9
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 2 damaged
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
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Morning Air attack on 1st Indian Light AA Regiment, at 53,37 (Jessore)
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 10
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 14
Ki-84a Frank x 14
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 damaged
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Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37
Ki-84a Frank x 8
8 x Ki-84a Frank sweeping at 20000 feet
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ASW attack near Akyab at 53,45
SC Ch 21
SC Ch 22
SS O20 is located by SC Ch 21
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ASW attack near Pearl Harbor at 187,93
SS I-3, hits 3
Allied Ships
AV Wright
xAK Dorothy Philips
xAK Hurricane
xAK Virginian
xAK Panaman
DD Thompson
SS I-3 is sighted by escort
I-3 diving deep ....
DD Thompson attacking submerged sub ....
DD Thompson is out of ASW ammo
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ASW attack near Pearl Harbor at 187,93
SS I-3
Allied Ships
DD Hull
DMS Long
SS I-3 is located by DD Hull
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Ground combat at Jessore (53,37)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 212223 troops, 2356 guns, 2446 vehicles, Assault Value = 7685
Defending force 33528 troops, 736 guns, 1012 vehicles, Assault Value = 866
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 4
Japanese adjusted assault: 9778 – the extra prep seemed to help get an upwards adjustment despite no leader (+) for the attackers from any of the HQs present.
Allied adjusted defense: 769
Japanese assault odds: 12 to 1 (fort level 4) – this result exceeded expectations
Japanese forces CAPTURE Jessore !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
12505 casualties reported – plenty of casualties but very few destroyed squads or devices, especially guns and tanks.
Squads: 41 destroyed, 790 disabled – 3rd Div took nearly 300 of these disablements but every other Div is still >95% TOE so the other disablements must have been shared around.
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 70 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 142 disabled
Guns lost 100 (3 destroyed, 97 disabled)
Vehicles lost 35 (13 destroyed, 22 disabled) – very few tanks destroyed. The Tank Divs seem to hold up a lot better than the separate Tank Regts.
Allied ground losses:
8113 casualties reported
Squads: 196 destroyed, 132 disabled
Non Combat: 856 destroyed, 162 disabled
Engineers: 159 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 329 (254 destroyed, 75 disabled)
Vehicles lost 885 (822 destroyed, 63 disabled) – lots of vehicles destroyed, plenty of tanks but probably most of them were trucks.
Units retreated 8
Units destroyed 1
Assaulting units:
Korea Army
1st Army
1st Tank Division
2nd Tank Division
3rd Tank Division
12th Army
1st Division
3rd Division – reduced to 65% TOE so will withdraw to recover
4th Division
5th Division
6th Division
8th Division
9th Division
13th Army
10th Division
11th Division
12th Division
13th Division
14th Division
15th Division
17th Division
1st RF Gun Battalion
2nd RF Gun Battalion
4th RF Gun Battalion
8th RF Gun Battalion
1st Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
6th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
23rd AA Regiment
43rd Ind.AA Gun Co
49th Field AA Battalion
52nd Field AA Battalion
54th Field AA Battalion
28th Fld AA Gun Co
25th Field AA Machinecannon Company
26th Fld AA Machinecannon Company

Defending units:
XXXIII Indian Corps
5th Indian Division
9th Indian Division
32nd Infantry Division
268th Motorised Brigade
150th RAC Regiment - destroyed
6th Medium Regiment
1st Indian Light AA Regiment
2nd West African AA Regiment
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Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 3241 troops, 26 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 888
Defending force 10831 troops, 189 guns, 190 vehicles, Assault Value = 410
Japanese ground losses:
32 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Sep 25, 43
SS I-27 in ARD Dublon ARD at Truk
Repairs completed on SS I-27 at Truk, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on SS I-173 at Singapore, ship returned to service
Ki-49-IIa Helen from 90th Sentai attacking SS O20 at 53,45 SS O20 is reported HIT
F-5A Lightning sighted over Dacca
F-4 Lightning sighted over Rangpur
B6N2 Jill from Hiryu-3 attacking an Allied SS at 114,107 a Sargo class SS is reported HIT
TF 145 followed by Catalina I at 101,130 near Goodenough Island
F-5A Lightning sighted over Milne Bay
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
6 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 43rd JNAF AF Unit from Makin
4 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
7 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 1st South Seas Gsn from Tabiteuea
17 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 2nd South Seas Gsn from Tarawa
Repairs completed on BB Musashi at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service – the 2x Yamato class finish their 9/43 upgrade so now have air search radars
Repairs completed on BB Yamato at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on SS RO-65 at Truk, ship returned to service
Japanese forces CAPTURE Jessore !!!
Babeldaob expands fortifications to size 5
Loemadjang expands fortifications to size 3
xAKL Beatrice is reported to have been sunk near Portland Roads on Sep 25, 1943 - looks like the Allies are still trying to sneak supply around the coast with unescorted xAKL

[jdsrae]

The 2nd attack at Jessore.
No real surprises in the starting numbers for the Allies.
32nd Div and 150th RACR had recovered some AV but 9th Indian Div is still a Division in name only.

The numbers at the end of the bombardment phase show some good hits on the RACR and Armd Bde.

The 3rd set of numbers is at the end of the attack phase, just prior to the last round of bombardments and final result.
3rd Div attacked first and was heavily disabled but seemed to effect a break in, as the following Divisions started to cause casualties while taking very few in return.
150th RACR was destroyed by the 1st Division attack.

12:1 result and Jessore is captured with all units forced to retreat!
Big numbers of Allied devices destroyed which was the aim.
Two more Allied Divs will now need time to recover and 9th Indian Div will be further delayed.
Will this be enough to delay the Allied advance until 1944?

[jdsrae]

The Jessore defenders retreated to Calcutta lifting the units spotted from 26 to 34.
The IJA Korea Army will not advance into Calcutta as it would have level 6 forts by now, in heavy urban terrain with 160k+ of defenders.

Any attempt to threaten Diamond Harbour could be countered by the Allies moving faster along the good roads.

The 6x Allied units that recently moved into the clear terrain NW of Jessore may be the target of some IJAAF bombing soon, with a feint movement ordered that way just to keep the Allies guessing.

The 3rd Air Army will continue with sweeps, CAP/LRCAP and escorted Helen/Sally bombing of Allied troops in the open.

[jdsrae]

“Bengal” Army is still in very good shape, despite being a little low on supplies now.
1x Tojo Sentai is flown in to provide local CAP with a JAAF Bn to rail in to join it. I didn’t expect Jessore to be captured today so it will take 2 days to pack the trains then a few more until the JAAF Bn mechanics are ready to work on the Tojos.
A large LRCAP with a mix of Franks and Tojos set to range 0 will also be overhead with a high chance of an Allied heavy bomber reaction tomorrow.

[jdsrae]

3rd Div will withdraw to Tezpur to recover, but it lost very few devices destroyed.
That will allow 56th Div to move from Tezpur to Rangpur to join the 4x other 50s Divs there.

Being 65% effective it would “only” cost 1213 PP to buy out 3rd Div at the moment, and there are 1194 in the PP bank.
Tempting to sepnd those PP tomorrow when +50 PP are added.

4th and 5th Divs are already “free” so they will hold at Jessore for a few days then move by rail to Chittagong.
They will be shipped back into a central Empire Reserve position, exact location TBC.

[jdsrae]

The Allied CIC is on holiday for about a week so there will be an operational pause, giving me a good chance to take my time with the next turn and check some details like the strategic situation, industry, pilot training, sub patrols and mine warfare.

This is the current strategic situation with estimated positions of Allied Divisions shown.
Only Divs either on map or arriving in 1943 are shown here.

Since the last update in early August, the 5th Chinese Corps and 20th Indian Div were destroyed.
The 20th Indian Div has probably been resurrected as a number of other British, Indian and Australian Divs that were destroyed have reappeared.

5th Indian, 9th Indian and 32nd US Divs were just defeated at Jessore and are at Calcutta.
Prior to this battle the 32nd Div was last identified (about a year ago) in Queensland, Australia, so that is interesting that it has since moved to India.

24th US Div is now at Port Moresby with a fraction of 2nd Aus Div.
The Americal Div, 1st Aus and 5th Aus Divs have not been spotted for a long time so could be anywhere by now, but they are assumed to be near Townsville.

1st USMC Div recently captured Kwajalein after last being spotted at Tulagi.
25th US Div was first spotted when it captured Roi-Namur. Both of the Divs used in the Marshalls are assumed to have been withdrawn back to Pearl Harbour to prepare for their next operation.

As the 1st USMC Div has moved from the Solomons, 3rd USMC Div has probably been withdrawn from there and replaced by garrison troops too.

[jdsrae]

The last time I updated this slide was on 1 June 1943 so almost four months ago.
Restricted Divisions are shown with grey fill, free Divisions with white fill.
All 3x Tank Divisions with black fill are still restricted.
Air Divisions have light blue fill.

IJN Command HQ are shown as SEAF, 4th Fleet and the renamed NEAF flags.
HQ Combined Fleet is shown as “C”, currently at Manus Island.
HQ SWAF is at Singapore and HQ Southern Fleet is currently at Soerabaja.

China Expeditionary (aka India Expeditionary) Army is now back at Imphal.
3rd Air Army has 2nd, 3rd and 4th Air Divs under command.

HQ Korea (aka Bengal Area) Army still has the 1st, 12th and 13th Army HQs with it at Jessore.
HQ 11th Army is the reserve Corps with 19th, 20th and 27th Divs at Dacca.

HQ 15th Army is at Chittagong with 33rd, 34th, 35th and 36th Divs defending the bases on the Arakan Coast.
HQ 20th Army is at Rangpur with 51st, 53rd, 54th and 55th Divs.
HQ 23rd Army is at Tezpur with 56th Div.

Burma Area Army is providing rear area security with the other 30s and 50s Divs attached to it.
The pre-war plan was for Burma Area Army to command the 50s Divs while the 18th Area Army would command the 30s Divs, but in practice they are probably going to stay a bit mixed up.
30th Div at Bangkok has all subordinate units present but 2x Regts are still attached to Korea Army so it hasn’t combined yet.
31st Div at Moulmein has 1x Regt attached to Southern Army while the rest is still attached to CEA so it hasn’t combined yet either.

With the capture of Jessore the offensive moves in India are over.
Korea Army with the Tank Divs and restricted 1s and 10s Divs will defend Jessore then withdraw back to Dacca if the allies threaten to surround them.
Their future moves will be to conduct a fighting withdrawal through Burma towards Thailand and/or China.
The 20th and 23rd Armies with 5x 50s Divs will defend the Rangpur-Tezpur axis and withdraw back to Northern Burma and eventually China.

2nd Guards have already been withdrawn and are now at Saipan.
4th and 5th Divs will be withdrawn from Chittagong by ship next, most likely to move to the Marianas.

HQ 2nd Area Army and 18th Div have recently moved to Batavia with HQ 2nd Army and 16th Div to Soerabaja.
The plan remains for a few of the 10s Divs to be bought out to join 2nd Area Army for the defence of Java and the eastern DEI.
2nd Div (87 exp) and 38th Div (90 exp) are still in the eastern DEI so lower experienced 10s Divs will replace them.
2nd Div will move to either the Marianas or to Japan when replaced, while 38th Div is lower priority to move to Thailand/Burma.

20s Divs will join 7th Area Army for the defence of Malaya and Sumatra.
HQ 25th Army is already at to Palembang with 21st Div.
4x 20s Divs are still at Jehol waiting for more garrison units to arrive in Manchukuo before they can move south by rail and road.
The 20th and 27th Divs in Bengal will stay near the front and will most likely be involved in the withdrawal down the Arakan Coast.

30s Divs will defend Thailand and eventually Indochina under 18th Area Army.

40s Divs have mostly formed up under 8th Area Army to defend PNG and Bougainville areas.
40th Div is currently being flown back to Port Moresby from Manus to attempt to destroy the Allied landing there.
49th Div’s 64th Infantry Group is at Kavieng with 102 days to go until the other subordinate units arrive at Keijo, attached to Korea Army. They will be bought out and shipped south ASAP, so it will be mid-late Jan 1944 before 49th Div can form.

50s Divs are generally in place under Burma Area Army or detached forward in India.

60s Divs are C grade so are mostly providing garrisons in China.
61st Div is at Tokyo now 100% TOE and 52 experience. It is very low priority to buy out and will probably stay in Japan for the whole war, but it is preparing for defence of the Marianas as an emergency reserve option.
62nd Div is temporarily at Jehol to temporarily add its AV to the Manchukuo garrison.

70th Div is C-grade so is the Truk garrison. 71st Div is B-grade at Guam.
The next three 70s Divs don’t arrive in Japan until Mar/Apr/Jul 1944. They may not leave Japan as PP might not be available to buy them out, but if the Allies haven’t moved on the Marianas by then the plan is to try and get them to Guam/Tinian/Saipan to boost the defenders there.
2nd Guards, 7th Div and 104th Div are currently in the Marianas so may stay there permanently.

80s Divs will be used on Hokkaido and NE Area Army when they arrive in Apr/Apr/Jul 1944. If the Allies try anything bold like a move on Hokkaido in the short term then the 2nd Guards and 7th Div could move quickly to this area from the Marianas.

90s Divs will be used to defend Okinawa. The 12th and 18th Garrison Units that form the 94th Div have temporarily moved to Iwo Jima to plug that gap in the perimeter as the risk of an Allied move on Okinawa this early remains very low, however the Allies could make a move on Iwo Jima in late 1943.
The next two 90s Divs to arrive both come in Apr 1944 so the 93rd will be a fairly high priority to buy out.
The 91st is “free” as it arrives attached to 27th Army.

100s Divs will eventually defend Luzon under 14th Area Army.
The 104th Div was bought out and moved a few months ago to Saipan.

110s Divs will stay in Manchukuo to face the Soviets under 1st Area Army, with 110th and 116th Divs already in position.

So after this review, the priority order for buying out IJA Divs during the rest of 1943 will be limited to a maximum of 3x Divs due to PP availability.
They will probably be 3rd Div to move to the Marianas plus 2x 10s Divs to send to the Eastern DEI to allow the 2nd and 38th Divs to move.
2nd Div most likely to the Marianas and 38th Div to Sabang temporarily until a few 20s Divs can be bought out in early 1944 to move to Sumatra.

Later in 1944, the priority will then be to buy the 1s Divs out and move them to SEA Reserve in the Philippines.
That would mean the remaining 10s won’t be bought out until late 1944 at the earliest, by which time the 80s and 90s Divs will be arriving so will be competing with them for PPs.
Those remaining 10s Divs will probably be caught up in the fighting withdrawal through Yunnan to China.


Quite a few IJA Independent Mixed Brigades arrive over the next 2-3 months including those that become the future 100th, 102nd, 103rd and 105th Divs under 14th Army. They should be available to move to the Marianas before the Allies are ready to invade there.

More garrison Brigades will also arrive in China in about 3 months. That will free up a handful of Independent Mixed Bdes from internal garrison duty to move to Manchukuo, in turn allowing most of the 4x 20s Divs at Jehol to move to Malaya.

[rustysi]

Sounds like a plan.[:D]

[jdsrae]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

Sounds like a plan.[:D]

I got rid of the turn yesterday but I think it will still be a few days until it comes back, so all I can do is plan at the moment!

I've been pondering whether there is something better that could be done with the other "free" units still in India, especially HQ 15th Army with 33rd, 52nd, 53rd, 54th, 55th and 56th Divs all nearby and all able to move by ship.

[jdsrae]

I first looked at the IJA Independent Mixed Bdes about 6 months ago to see where they were used historically.
There are quite a few of them and they start arriving soon, bringing some much needed extra assault value to spread around the Empire.

Units with red borders are currently on the map in the locations shown.
Dashed borders indicate Garrison Units or Ind Mixed Regts that become IM Bdes when additional parts arrive.
(*) indicates that the IM Bde will become a Division when additional units arrive.

Locations of units arriving in the future are where they were sent historically.

65th Bde is currently at Manila and will stay there, historically it moved to Rabaul and was destroyed there.
The 65th IM Bde was later raised and sent to the Izu Islands south of Tokyo, then it withdraws 24 May 45.
In this game the 65th Bde and the 65th IM Bde should both exist at the same time.

This image does not show the 1st to 14th Infantry Bdes that arrive in China from Dec 43 to Feb 44.
Their arrival will free up most of the IM Bdes in China from their current garrison duty and allow them to move forward.
Some could be bought out to Southern Army if PP allow. 1st and 2nd IM Bdes historically moved to Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima.
1,2,3,5,8,9 IM Bdes could move to Fusan to add to the Manchukuo garrison total and be bought out in emergencies as required, but there won’t be enough PP to buy out the Divs that I want to plus these IMBs. Instead, most of the IMBs currently in China will move to Burma to garrison rear area bases on railway lines and defend against Allied parachute drops.

7th IMB becomes 115th Div in 288 days so it will move to Manchukuo to join 110th and 116th Divs there.
19th IMB becomes 129th Div in 564 days so it will also move to Manchukuo.
22nd and 23rd IM Bdes will move overland towards Thailand or Malaya.

2nd Garrison Unit (239 days until it can become the 51st IM Bde) is now at Ponape. Historically it defended Truk.
52nd IM Bde doesn’t arrive until late May 1944, so that will probably be too late for it to move all the way to Ponape in this game.

3rd Garrison Unit (only 51 days until it can become the 1st Amphib Bde) is at Kusaie. Historically it defended Eniwetok.
If/when the 1st Amphib Bde is destroyed at Kusaie it will be resurrected and join the other Amphib Bdes in reserve on Hokkaido.

Not all IM Bdes will be moved to their historical locations shown here, but historical locations will be considered before deciding where to move them.

The IM Bdes that arrive in 1943 will be used to get some more combat power to Sumatra (24), Java (29) and the Marianas (30, 31, 32, 33, 34).
The 2nd and 3rd Amphibious Bdes will be held in reserve on Hokkaido as combat troops are still very thin on the ground in that area.

IMBs arriving in 1944+ will move to help defend against the most dangerous Allied axis of advance, as it should be known by then.
Generally the IM Bdes will be used to provide some combat troops in rear areas.

[jdsrae]

Update on the IJN Base Force and Fleet HQ locations.
Base Forces with red circles are on the map. Those in black circles are yet to arrive, so they are planned locations.

HQ Combined Fleet will withdraw to the Marianas at some point, but its naval support squads are doing good work at Manus Island so will stay there for now.
Nominally under command are 1st Fleet and 1st Air Fleet.
For 1st Fleet, 10th and 11th SBF have been at Tarakan and Balikpapan since early 1942 when there were limited IJN base forces. They will probably stay there to try and protect the oil wells until destroyed.
12th and 15th Base Forces are relatively large and powerful, so if it doesn’t look like the Allies will advance through the Eastern DEI they will be withdrawn at some point back to the Formosa/Okinawa area.
In rear areas, 13th, 14th and 15th SBF will arrive soon.
13th and 14th Base Forces are large and the plan was to use them on Okinawa, but they might be better used to help develop then defend the Bonins.
The plan for 15th SBF is to use it at Amami Oshima, but as the 13th and 14th move forward it will move to Nago on Okinawa, with the Okinawa Base Force to arrive and stay at Naha.

HQ SWAF is at Singapore with 2nd Fleet HQ at Victoria Point and 13th Air Fleet under command.
26th Special Base Force will move to Singapore, 27th SBF to Singkawang and 28th SBF to Port Blair.
22nd SBF is currently at Medan but there is a JAAF Bn there so it will move forward to Sabang to join 22nd JNAFU there.

HQ Southern Fleet historically renamed to be the 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet, with 3rd Fleet becoming the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet.
I am using HQ Southern Fleet as the HQ “Southern Area Fleet” at Soerabaja with 3rd Fleet HQ at Kendari and 2nd Air Fleet nominally under its command.
30th SBF will move to Manila which will become the fall back position for HQ Southern “Area” Fleet if/when Java is threatened.
33rd SBF is penciled in for Cebu or a similar base in the Philippine Islands between Mindanao and Luzon.

HQ 4th Fleet is at Truk with HQ 6th Fleet at Ponape. Apart from the Base Forces there are plenty of Auxiliaries including AKE in the area.
6th Base Force was all but destroyed at Kwajalein. A remnant was extracted to Eniwetok a year ago to keep Kwajalein from being overstacked which is now only 5% TOE. I need to remember to extract it so it can rebuild, probably to Tinian where the DP guns and a radar will come in handy at some point.
If 1s Base Forces are destroyed in the coming months, they will be resurrected and used to support the Combined Fleet in 1944/45.

HQ NEAF is at Hakodate with HQ 5th Fleet at Shimushiri-jima. The only numbered IJN Base Force up here is the 51st at Ominato.

HQ SEAF is at Rabaul with 8th Fleet forward at Shortlands.
The 1s Base Forces are shared out amongst 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th Fleets so they only get a few each.
PNG has mostly been left to the Army to defend but there are still some JNAFUs there.
HQ 9th Fleet will arrive in 50 days and will probably move to Hollandia.

[rustysi]

The plot thickens.[:D]

Your opponent takes time off at his peril.[:'(]

[jdsrae]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

The plot thickens.[:D]

Your opponent takes time off at his peril.[:'(]

Indeed, if I hadn’t spent a few hours to update these slides the Allies would never have faced the full force of the mighty 6th Base Force again!

The turn came back overnight, so back to the war!

[jdsrae]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 26, 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Chittagong , at 55,41
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Ki-45 KAIc Nick x 9
Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 10
B-24J Liberator x 5 – first time I can remember seeing the B-24J. They started production in Sep 43 so are only a few weeks old.
B-24D1 Liberator: 2 damaged
B-24J Liberator: 1 damaged
CAP engaged:
45th Sentai with Ki-45 KAIc Nick (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 4 scrambling)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Chittagong , at 55,41
Ki-45 KAIc Nick x 9
Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 12
B-24D1 Liberator: 1 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Naval bombardment of Roi-Namur at 132,114 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Allied aircraft losses
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 35 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 5 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 32 damaged
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 1 destroyed on ground
TBF-1 Avenger: 3 damaged
4 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Ashigara
CA Nachi
CA Haguro
CA Myoko
Allied ground losses:
156 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 45 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 15 (4 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 46
Port hits 7
E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for CA Ashigara
CA Ashigara firing at Roi-Namur
CA Nachi firing at Roi-Namur
CA Haguro firing at Roi-Namur
CA Myoko firing at 225th USN Base Force
225th USN Base Force firing at CA Myoko
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 225th Field Artillery Battalion, at 135,115 (Wotje)
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 21 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 7
N1K2-J George x 9
B6N2 Jill: 2 damaged
7 x B6N2 Jill bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
Allied ground losses:
Guns lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on RAF 225 Group Base Force, at 58,31 , near Darjeeling – this is in the Mountain terrain one NW from Darjeeling. The 225 Gp Base Force has been in the Mountains since it was kicked out of Darjeeling months ago.
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 128 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes – the unit got the radar working again!
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 16
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 20
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 31
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 18
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 6 damaged – and have dragged some ammunition for the AA guns up into the mountains as the bombers are at 15k’.
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 5 damaged
Allied ground losses:
21 casualties reported
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on RAF 225 Group Base Force, at 58,31 , near Darjeeling
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 7
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 15
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 2 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 damaged
Allied ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on RAF 225 Group Base Force, at 58,31 , near Darjeeling
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 14
14 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 15000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 2nd Australian Division, at 98,130 (Port Moresby)
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes – the Allies mustn’t have a radar at Port Moresby, or they’ve run out of diesel for the generators.
N1K2-J George x 8
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 15
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 38
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 17
Ki-49-IIb Helen x 17
Ki-84a Frank x 8
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 2 damaged
Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Also attacking 24th Infantry Division ...
Also attacking I US Corps ...
Also attacking 637th Tank Destroyer Battalion ...
Also attacking 2nd Australian Div /11 ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Roi-Namur , at 132,114
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 130 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 45 minutes
G4M1 Betty x 11
N1K2-J George x 25
G4M1 Betty: 4 damaged
N1K2-J George: 2 destroyed
11 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 15000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 18
FM-1 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 4
CAP engaged: Both of these units must be set to range 1+ CAP flying from Kwajalein.
VMF-113 with FM-1 Wildcat (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 20000.
VMF-422 with FM-1 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 20000.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Buna at 99,129
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid spotted at 21 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes – there is no radar in the Buna base forces and the CVE task force doesn’t have a single air search radar in it either. I need to remember to fix that by posting 2x DD Akitsukis to the CVE task force. There are 5x Akisukis on the map and they all recently finished their 9/43 upgrade that gives them 1x air search +1x surface search radar. They are heading back to SEAF as part of the escort of BB Div 4 (Yamato and Musashi). The next Akistuki (DD Shimosuki) doesn’t arrive until 1 Apr 44…
A6M5c Zero x 29
N1K2-J George x 16
Ki-84a Frank x 8
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 3
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
2 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 15000 feet *
Naval Attack: 4 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
Japanese Ships
CVE Hosho
CAP engaged:
261 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (2 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling) – all land based fighters set to 20k’ range 0 CAP
261 Ku S-2 with N1K2-J George (2 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6th Ku S-1/B with A6M5c Zero (2 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) – on CVE, all A6M5c set to 15k’ range 0 CAP
6th Ku S-1/C with A6M5c Zero (2 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) – on CVE
Hosho-1 with A6M5c Zero (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) – on CVE
30th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (2 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Buna at 99,129
Weather in hex: Light cloud
A6M5c Zero x 29
N1K2-J George x 16
Ki-84a Frank x 8
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 8
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
CVE Hosho
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Akyab at 53,45
SC Ch 21
SC Ch 22
Allied Ships
SS O20, hits 3
SS O20 is located by SC Ch 21
O20 bottoming out ....
SC Ch 22 attacking submerged sub ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Wotje (135,115)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 4989 troops, 83 guns, 187 vehicles, Assault Value = 200
Defending force 2193 troops, 36 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 37
Allied adjusted assault: 75
Japanese adjusted defense: 49
Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)
Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2
Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
236 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Allied ground losses:
246 casualties reported
Squads: 16 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 86 (84 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Assaulting units:
762nd Tank Battalion
158th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
151st Combat Engineer Regiment
201st(Sep) Infantry Regiment
178th USAAF Base Force
225th Field Artillery Battalion
97th Coast AA Regiment
Defending units:
Wotje Naval Fortress – all but destroyed now.
Wotje Base Force – has some SNLF squads left
62nd Naval Guard Unit – zero AV, only a few support squads left
45th JNAF AF Unit – a few SNLF squads left
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 6322 troops, 104 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 902
Defending force 10867 troops, 189 guns, 190 vehicles, Assault Value = 413
Japanese ground losses:
12 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Defending units:
34th Combat Engineer Regiment
24th Infantry Division
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
2nd Australian Div /11
I US Corps

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Sep 26, 43
Repairs completed on DD Yukaze at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service – 6x DD Minekaze class finish their 9/43 upgrade which is next to useless. They still have Type 95 depth charges with no radars at all, so still aren’t much use as ASW platfroms. These 6 are the escorts for CL Division 3 (Kitakami and Oi). They will move to Tokyo to escort the last 2x CS-CVL conversions south when they finish in 1 and 12 days respectively.
Repairs completed on DD Yakaze at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on DD Shiokaze at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on DD Akikaze at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on DD Hakaze at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on DD Sawakaze at Hiroshima/Kure, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on CL Oyodo at Truk, ship returned to service – DesDiv leader for the CVL task force.
SS RO-104 in ARD Dublon ARD at Truk
Repairs completed on SS RO-68 at Truk, ship returned to service – back to defensive patrols around the Marshalls as part of 6th Fleet.
Repairs completed on SS I-179 at Victoria Point, ship returned to service – back to offensive patrols around Ceylon as part of 2nd Fleet.
Repairs completed on TK Tatekawa Maru at Singapore, ship returned to service
Ki-49-IIa Helen from 90th Sentai attacking SS Sawfish at 53,43 SS Sawfish is reported HIT
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Silchar – the Allies are taking a lot of photos of the bases on the railway line from Chittagong to the front line. The IJA Raiding “Division” of 4x Regts is all at Silchar.
F-5A Lightning sighted over Comilla
B6N2 Jill from 954 Ku T-1 attacking an Allied SS at 124,115 an Allied DD is reported HIT
B6N2 Jill from 551 Ku K-1 attacking an Allied SS at 132,119 an Allied SS is reported HIT
D4Y1 Judy from 521 Ku K-2 attacking an Allied SS at 114,107 a Barracuda class SS is reported HIT
PO2 Endo N. of 253 Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 3
WO Mori, M. of 253 Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 3
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Tezpur
PB4Y-1P Liberator sighted over Rabaul
PO1 Hagiri A. of 6th Ku S-1/C is credited with kill number 6 – this was an A6M5c getting 1 of 3 confirmed B-17E air-air kills today.
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
6 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
6 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
4 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
7 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting supplies to Wotje
12 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting supplies to Ailinglaplap
Repairs completed on DD Hibiki at Hakodate, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on DD Akatsuki at Hakodate, ship returned to service
Rota expands fortifications to size 6 – stopped
Great Falls expands airfield to size 9
Nelson NZ expands airfield to size 6
Alliford Bay expands airfield to size 5
Madioen expands fortifications to size 4
Hiyo-1 converting to A6M8 Zero
Previous report of sinking of SS Ray incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
xAK Toyoura Maru arrives at Tokyo – converted to Std-C TK
CL Perth is reported to have been sunk near Port Moresby on Aug 29, 1943

Not many aircraft destroyed but it provides good intel on what is there.
Only the Cruisers bombarded as more coastal defence guns were expected to fire.
The DDs keep their ammunition for AA fire if they don’t withdraw far enough by sunrise and the Allies send a strike after them.
The Damage Report shows the airfield with only 14 points of damage and the port with 37, so the Allied engineers are quick to fill in the holes in the runway.

[jdsrae]

A bit of excitement on the bridge of the Hosho.
B-17s bombing from 15k’ led to some vigorous zig-zagging just off the coast of Buna.

[jdsrae]

1:1 forts dropped to 2, so the Wotje defenders are almost spent.
A good number of Allied devices were destroyed here, especially vehicles if that’s an accurate report.
Fractions of the 62nd Naval Guard and 45th JNAFU have already been withdrawn by air transport to Kusaie, so they will be moved to Truk to rebuild and be used as another speed bump somewhere else.

[jdsrae]

This is what George-2s with 70s experience pilots and the numbers advantage can do to FM-1 Wildcats.
3x George-2 Hikotai swept Kwajalein with a max of 36, 36 and 27 fighters each.
201 Ku S-1 det is also at Ailinglaplap with 9x George-2 but was flying range 0 CAP.
17:1 result going by the Int Screen scoreboard.

The enemy had about 30 fighters spotted at Kwajalein yesterday in 2xVMF Sqns but are down to only 5x fighters spotted at Kwajalein now.
At Roi-Namur the Int Staff report 7x fighters, 35x bombers and 6x auxiliaries.

The first two sweeps encountered opposition with the USN radar giving some of the FM-1s the dive bonus, but they couldn’t take advantage.
The last sweep plus a few stragglers swept thin air.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Allies stand these Wildcats down tomorrow so the Georges will go back to low % CAP too so that they aren’t too tired for when the USN CVs come back.

1x George pilot was KIA with none WIA or MIA.
CPO Yamamoto attains ace status and qualifies for CV service.



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 27, 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Chittagong at 55,41
PB Tenzan Maru
SS Tuna is sighted by escort
Tuna bottoming out ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Salajar at 66,107
SC Ch 34
SC Ch 39
SS Haddock is located by SC Ch 34
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Manado at 75,97
PB Bunzan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
SS Apogon launches 2 torpedoes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Chittagong at 55,41
AMc Urashio Maru – tuna boat vs USS Tuna, which is living dangerously in the shallow water near Chittagong.
SS Tuna is sighted by escort
Tuna bottoming out ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Chittagong at 55,42
E Hiyodori
SS Tuna is sighted by escort
Tuna bottoming out ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 224 encounters mine field at Kusaie Island (125,118)
SS Grampus, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage – good work by the 6th Fleet Minelayer Division. Not yet showing on the sunk ships list.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
Weather in hex: Clear sky
N1K2-J George x 28
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed
22 x N1K2-J George sweeping at 20000 feet
Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 26
FM-1 Wildcat: 6 destroyed
CAP engaged:
VMF-113 with FM-1 Wildcat (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 6 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 24000.
VMF-422 with FM-1 Wildcat (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 6 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 22000.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
N1K2-J George x 26
Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 5
FM-1 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
N1K2-J George x 18
18 x N1K2-J George sweeping at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
N1K2-J George x 6
3 x N1K2-J George sweeping at 20000 feet
3 x N1K2-J George sweeping at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
N1K2-J George x 3
3 x N1K2-J George sweeping at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 178th USAAF Base Force, at 135,115 (Wotje)
Weather in hex: Clear sky
B6N2 Jill x 7
B6N2 Jill: 5 damaged
7 x B6N2 Jill bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 2nd Australian Division, at 98,130 (Port Moresby)
Weather in hex: Severe storms
N1K2-J George x 15
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 17
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 38
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 10
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 3
Ki-49-IIb Helen x 3
Ki-84a Frank x 8
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 2 damaged
Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Also attacking I US Corps ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 24th Infantry Division, at 98,130 (Port Moresby)
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 10
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 14
Ki-49-IIb Helen x 14
Ki-84a Frank x 8
Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Wotje (135,115)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 4344 troops, 88 guns, 114 vehicles, Assault Value = 146
Defending force 1685 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 19
Allied adjusted assault: 14
Japanese adjusted defense: 18
Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-)
Attacker: disruption(-), fatigue(-)
Japanese ground losses:
163 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
249 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 29 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 22 (8 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)
Japanese Bombardment attack – no apparent damage to the defenders, so this might not be worth the supply it is burning.
Attacking force 6715 troops, 104 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 910
Defending force 10902 troops, 189 guns, 190 vehicles, Assault Value = 417

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Sep 27, 43
SS RO-107 terminates patrol and enters Rabaul for repairs
Repairs completed on CVL Nisshin at Tokyo, ship returned to service – brand new CVL joins the Combined Fleet! It just needs some aircraft…
Repairs completed on DD Harusame at Truk, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on SS I-180 at Manus, ship returned to service
SS RO-34 terminates patrol and enters Soerabaja for repairs
SS I-121 lays minefield at Port Moresby ( 98 , 130) and sets course for Manus
B6N2 Jill from Chitose-2 attacking a O16 Class class SS at 114,107 a KXI Class class SS is reported HIT
Ki-49-IIa Helen from 90th Sentai attacking an Allied SS at 53,47 an Allied SS is reported HIT
PO1 Matsunaga I. of 201 Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 2
PO1 Chono F. of 201 Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 6
PO1 Sakai O. of 201 Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 2
PO2 Ogawa S. of 201 Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 3
CPO Yamamoto, T. of 281 Ku S-1 is credited with kill number 5
CPO Yamamoto, T. of 281 Ku S-1 attains ace status!!
F-5A Lightning sighted over Dacca
F-5A Lightning sighted over Buna
PB4Y-1P Liberator sighted over Truk
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Silchar
Temporary flotation repairs failing aboard SS I-6
Ki-49-IIa Helen from 90th Sentai attacking SS Sawfish at 54,46 SS Sawfish is reported HIT
Ki-49-IIa Helen from 90th Sentai attacking a Barracuda class SS at 53,47 a 'T' 1940 Programme class SS is reported HIT
Ki-49-IIa Helen from 90th Sentai attacking SS Sawfish at 54,46 SS Sawfish is reported HIT
PO1 Takagi B. of 253 Ku S-2 is credited with kill number 2
F-5A Lightning sighted over Dacca
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Silchar
PB4Y-1P Liberator sighted over Kusaie Island
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Silchar
Mosquito PR.IX sighted over Imphal
PB4Y-1P Liberator sighted over Kusaie Island
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
4 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
7 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
1 x H8K2-L Emily transporting 24th Air Flotilla from Ailinglaplap
17 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
Repairs completed on CA Chikuma at Hakodate, ship returned to service
Yap expands airfield to size 3
Ailinglaplap expands fortifications to size 4
251 Ku S-1/C converting to J1N1-S Irving
E Hirado arrives at Tokyo
Loss of PB Bunzan Maru on Sep 27, 1943 is admitted
46th JNAF AF Unit arrives at Tokyo – resurrected, set to prepare for Chichi-jima

[jdsrae]

Wotje defenders hang on for another day.
Attacking an atoll with anything less than a full Division looks like a bad idea.

[jdsrae]

Fairly quiet day.
Allies send a small daylight bombing raid to Dacca.
Wotje forts were reduced to 1.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 28, 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Chittagong at 55,41
AMc Urashio Maru
SS Tuna is sighted by escort
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Akyab at 53,45
E Kasasagi
E Hiyodori
SS O20 is located by E Kasasagi
O20 bottoming out ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Ramree Island at 53,49
xAK Amagi Maru
PB Tenzan Maru
SS Cisco launches 2 torpedoes at xAK Amagi Maru
Cisco bottoming out ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Akyab at 53,45
E Hiyodori
Allied Ships
SS O20, hits 7, heavy damage – reported sunk
SS O20 is located by E Hiyodori
O20 bottoming out ....
E Hiyodori attacking submerged sub ....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Cooktown at 92,135
SS I-162, hits 7, on fire, heavy damage – but the excitement of sinking a Dutch sub was very short-lived, with I-162 definitely sunk…
Allied Ships
DD Saufley
DD Kortenaer
DD Waller
SS I-162 is located by DD Saufley
DD Waller attacking submerged sub ....
Debris floats to surface in area of attack!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
Weather in hex: Clear sky
N1K2-J George x 15 – just a single Hikotai set to sweep as it was expected that the Allies would stand down the Wildcats.
15 x N1K2-J George sweeping at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N1K2-J George x 2
2 x N1K2-J George sweeping at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 178th USAAF Base Force, at 135,115 (Wotje)
Weather in hex: Light rain
B6N2 Jill x 6
B6N2 Jill: 2 damaged
B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak – trying to train up the Jill pilots but the risk is high that they get shot down…
Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 2nd Australian Division, at 98,130 (Port Moresby)
Weather in hex: Overcast
N1K2-J George x 14
Ki-21-IIb Sally x 17
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 37
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 17
Ki-49-IIb Helen x 17
Ki-21-IIb Sally: 2 damaged
Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Dacca , at 56,38
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 25
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed
Ki-45 KAIc Nick: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed on ground
Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 11 – bombing from 14k’
B-24D1 Liberator: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged – every B24 goes home with some battle damage.
Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 9
CAP engaged: only a couple of Tojo Sentai set to local CAP with the rest flying LRCAP over Jessore.
9th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (4 airborne, 9 on standby, 0 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 20000.
85th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (4 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 20000.
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Ground combat at Wotje (135,115)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 5961 troops, 94 guns, 180 vehicles, Assault Value = 113
Defending force 1221 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 16
Allied adjusted assault: 30
Japanese adjusted defense: 8
Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2)
Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1
Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-)
Attacker: disruption(-)
Japanese ground losses:
387 casualties reported
Squads: 15 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 5 (4 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
87 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 4 disabled
Vehicles lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)
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Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 7100 troops, 104 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 923
Defending force 10936 troops, 189 guns, 190 vehicles, Assault Value = 419

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Sep 28, 43
B6N2 Jill from Zuikaku-3 attacking an Allied SS at 116,107 a 'T' 1940 Programme class SS is reported HIT
TF 16 observes Catalina I at 99,129 near Buna
TF 277 sighted by Catalina I at 52,54 near Rangoon
F-5A Lightning sighted over Dacca
Ki-49-IIa Helen from 90th Sentai attacking a 'T' War Emergency class SS at 53,47 an Allied SS is reported HIT
F-4 Lightning sighted over Rangpur
F-5A Lightning sighted over Chittagong
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-57-II Topsy transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x Ki-49-II KAI Helen transporting 40th Division to Port Moresby
7 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
4 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
7 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
17 x H6K4-L Mavis transporting 45th JNAF AF Unit from Wotje
Repairs completed on CA Tone at Hakodate, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on SS RO-34 at Soerabaja, ship returned to service
Naha expands fortifications to size 3
Maloelap expands fortifications to size 6 – max, just in time for when the Allies come back if they try and capture the rest of the Marshalls. There is only 88 assault value here so even with size 6 forts it won’t stand against an Allied Division assault.
Pegu expands fortifications to size 5
Aircraft Ki-45 KAId Nick advances R&D – to 2/44 +2/day thanks to engine bonus. It will probably only advance one more month so the IJA should get its first real Nightfighters on 1 Jan 44.
Aircraft B6N2a Jill advances R&D – to 2/44 +8/day with engine bonus. Production should start in Nov 43. The N-6 radar isn’t available until Oct 1944.
Device Mitsubishi Ha-43 advances R&D – to 2/44 +3/day, so should start production in late Nov 43.
552 Ku K-1 converting to D4Y1 Judy – at Manus assigned to 24th Air Flotilla, so it will move towards the Marshalls to join the ASW force once all aircraft are ready.
Device(s) upgraded in 46th JNAF AF Unit supplied from Tokyo
Loss of SS I-162 on Sep 28, 1943 is admitted
43rd Naval Guard Unit arrives at Tokyo – resurrected and starts prep for Saipan.