Attack Attack Attack - a Hotseat AAR

[Remington700]

South China Sea
US subs attack along the convoy lane failing to sink a freighter and then silently slip away. Escort and combat destroyers expand their search but cannot find the target. Land-based air units from Indochina located the general area of the enemy but no sighting was made. I stack a couple more destroyers in the area to slightly improve the chances of getting a hit next turn.

[Remington700]

Central Pacific
The Kido Butai reaches the South Pacific convoy lanes looking for targets of opportunity.

[Remington700]

Builds
Japan: 1 Escort Fighter

[Remington700]

Allied December 6th

India
SBD dive-bombers from the US 8th Naval Air strike the Indian National Army at the Central Road junction causing a (2)SP loss. Japanese Zeros attempt to intercept but are caught a in a furball with the new P-38 Lightnings. The heavily armed planes make quick work of the lightly armored Zeros, shooting down (5) A6M3 SPs with a single loss. 2 SBD SPs were lost in the action.

Following the dogfight, three Indian Corps attack the junction making little progress with both sides taking heavy losses. Dug in, the Japanese infantry is hard to move.

The British 10 Corp heads to the Padma River to replace the 27 Indian Corps. Plans are drawn up for a joint offensive.

Since convoys are an on and off thing, I plan to use an allied force of Indian, British and US troops to spread out the losses.

[Remington700]

South China
The 23rd and 25th armies move towards positions south of the You River.

[Remington700]

Central Pacific
Disaster! The South Pacific convoys are literally decimated losing 17 MM which is close to a tenth of all allied merchant marine. The convoys will be shut down. In a month the CV Essex will arrive on the west coast and will meet up with the US CV group. It will soon be time to go on the attack.

I learned another hard lesson. Do not ship PP/OPs to more than one country at a time when your sea lanes are in danger. It led to four attacks instead of one.

South Pacific
General MacArthur and an infantry corps head to India to increase pressure on the Dacca front.

Convoys
Turned off all convoy routes for now. We cannot afford to lose more Merchant Marine

[Remington700]

Builds
UK: No Builds
India: No Builds
Red China: 1 Supply unit
US: 1 LR Submarine. 1 Merchant Marine.

[Remington700]

Japan December 20th

China Burma India 
The 1st Army heads to the Dacca line. They will replace the beat up Indian National Army which will head to Indochina. I need to bring in a group of bombers to provide ground support for the line.

Betty and Nell bombers strike the Chinese 32nd army across the river from Lao Cai. No damage to either side; just a loss in effectiveness for all involved.

South China Sea
Destroyer patrols continue with ships returning to duty and trading out for resupply.

[Remington700]

Dutch East Indies
I need to put a full Army in Batavia. The defense is too weak and my oil supply could be drastically reduced with a single attack.

[Remington700]

Central Pacific
The Kido Butai resupplies from an oiler. They can remain on station for another six weeks. While convoys can be shut down to stop MM losses, at the very least this will stop the export of US PP/OPs for a few turns.

[Remington700]

Builds
Japan: 1 Oiler.

[Remington700]

Allied December 20th

With no enemy bombers or CVs visible in area, MacArthur’s HQ and the US 2nd Corps disembark in Calcutta. The SEAC HQ moves forward, linking up with MacArthur’s headquarters.

I still do not know if my intel in the theater is improved by codebreaking or not. But it is good.

Battle for the Central Road junction
SBD dive-bombers launch air strikes on enemy positions at the Central Road junction with the Dacca railway. Damage is small but develops into a furball. Japanese Zeros focusing on the SBDs are surprised by Hurricanes and Lightnings which shoot down (7) SPs of enemy fighters. A P-38 was lost along with a couple of SBDs.

The Burma Corps with resupplied heavy artillery sends a preattack bombardment to soften up the Indian National Army. Three heavy corps follow up with a full-scale ground attack. The enemy takes (4) hits and retreats to the south. The British 10th Corps exploits the breakthrough, securing the important crossroads.

[Remington700]

South China
The 25th army cross the You River to dig in on the high ground overlooking the jungle approach. A request has gone out for additional replacements to help secure this position. P-40s of the 23rd Fighter Group relocate to the Kweiyang air base to provide air support.

The 5th army holds the bridge at the Hong River north of Kunming. Intelligence shows enemy divisions at Lijiang and outside of Myitkyina, and a small infantry formation northwest of Lashio. With no large corps in the area, the veterans of the Reserve Army take the road to Kweiyang. They are replaced in the line by the 1st Cavalry.

Once again, the intel is strong; I am not sure why.

[Remington700]

Central Pacific
The Japanese CV fleet terrorizing my South Pacific convoys requires two turns to reach the lanes from the Marshall Islands, which is the closest supply source. They will either be low on supply, use an oiler or head back for resupply. Looking at how far I can move in the fist leg it will put me close to the last known location of the Japanese CV taskforce. The recon is very low so I am not sure how well we can spot the enemy.

South Pacific
The wait is over – now is the time to set up a CV ambush. Convoy routes in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean resume from the United States to India. If the Japanese 1st Air Fleet continues to attack my convoys they will be spotted. The CV Essex arrives next week in San Diego to join the US CV strike force. With six carriers it is time to put a stop to undisputed Imperial control of the Pacific Ocean.

West Coast
SBD dive-bombers arrive in San Diego and for now will fly naval patrols in the area.

[Remington700]

Builds
UK: 1 Small infantry corps. Replacements set at 30, slightly above their normal production rate.
India: No builds. Maximum replacements.
US: 1 Fighter bomber. Saving stockpile so maximum replacements will be available if necessary for naval repairs.

[Remington700]

Japan January 3rd

India
The Indian National Army moves to embark on boxcars at the depot outside of Lashio. They will rail to Indochina front. D3A dive-bombers relocate to an airfield north of Yenangyaung, preparing to fly ground support missions over the Dacca line.

Indian Ocean
The 2nd Air Fleet steams to Indian Ocean to attack shipping. Or worst case, stop the flow of PPs to India.

[Remington700]

Indochina
General Tanaka arrives at the Indochina front to take command. After failed attempts to attack China from the west, the emphasis is now to hit their soft underbelly in the south. The newly renamed Indochina Army Group will command up to three armies if they can be supplied.

[Remington700]

China Sea
Bettys fail to locate US subs on the South China Sea convoy route. Destroyers are moved to the East China Sea to help defend against two US submarine groups in the area. The 10th IJA leaves Tokyo and steams towards Batavia.

Central Pacific
The Kido Butai stays on station raiding US merchant ships. Their intent is to bait the US carriers into combat.

[Remington700]

Builds
Japan: No builds. Replacements remain at 50% of production to build stockpile.

[Remington700]

Allied January 3rd

India
The Japanese 25th army is targeted for an assault. SBD dive-bombers escorted by Hurricanes strike the target. Enemy Zeros respond but are soon jumped by the escorts resulting in a loss of (5) enemy air SPs. The 25th army losses a single strength point.

The allied ground attack does not go near as well losing (5) SPs to the enemy’s (2) in single attack. However, 2 Val dive-bomber SPs were shot down flying ground support.

South China
The Chinese 25th army is hit by a couple of air raids losing a SP but still in good condition. No other activity in this area.

South China Sea
The Mark 14 torpedoes should improve per the game message which is desperately needed. I am not sinking anything. I stack 3 subs in one group and leave a single in the other. Maybe one of these groups will get results.