Attack Attack Attack - a Hotseat AAR

[Remington700]

South China
The snow continues with no letup in sight. The Chinese 25th Army receives supplies in order to help with effectiveness recovery. The battle-hardened Reserve Army advances southeast along a ridgeline leading to the You River. They will provide support to the defensive line as needed.

[Remington700]

Operation Earthquake – reclaiming Port Moresby

The plan to invade Papua New Guinea is just about complete. Logistics are improving and soon US troops will begin to arrive in Australia. The timetable may push up a bit based on the recent naval victory in the Central Pacific but will still be driven by weather. Looking at the weather matrix provided by Alvaro, the odds of clear weather are high (70%) in June however with a little luck (64%) we can land in April.

The plan is to saturate the target area with air raids to reduce effectiveness and to pull enemy fighters into costly dogfights. This coupled with hard pounding on the Indian front should cause the Japanese to struggle with replacements. Under cover of naval air, the US CV force will patrol the area looking to draw the Japanese carriers into a battle they cannot win.

[Remington700]

Coral Sea
Airfields will be constructed in northern Australia to base a large contingent of bombers, fighters and fighter bombers. They will have the range to dominate the area around Port Moresby.

FDR has given the greenlight to Operation Earthquake and will eventually pull General MacArthur from India to lead the offensive. Until then he is needed on the Indian front. Troops, planes and supplies will be stockpiled in Australia, readying for the assault.

However the US Navy continues develop plans to capture Kwajalein and the surrounding islands in the Central Pacific. Plus the recapture of New Caledonia to possibly coincide with the attack on Port Moresby. The president does not want to put all his eggs in one basket.

West Coast

A squadron of B-25 Mitchells arrive in Los Angeles however their equipment is in tatters and replacements are needed. After refit and resupply, they will head to Australia.

Victorious, taskforce 21 returns to port in San Diego. Repairs will take a couple of turns and then the CVs will be used to support offensive operations.

The US 5th Corps arrives in San Francisco. Soon they will embark transports heading to Australia.

[Remington700]

Builds
UK: No builds.
India: No builds.
US: 2 airfields. Replacements are maxed for naval repairs.
Red China: No builds or replacements.

I verified the cost of (18)PPs for Red China to upgrade from 1940 to 1941 assault. Base cost of the unit was (180)SPs in 1939. It appears the cost to upgrade was 10% of base cost – this is probably documented in the manual but I have yet to find it. This is good to know for future planning.

Convoys
The US opens convoy routes again, sending (100)SPs to the United Kingdom. Next turn they will switch to India. By going all to one location and switching each turn I hope to limit the number of attacks on my Merchant Marine

[Remington700]

Japan February 14th

India
The Japanese hold their positions on the Dacca line. The battered 25th Army receives supplies and replacements however effectiveness is still in the low 30% range.

The British fleet sits just offshore of Chittagong stopping all inbound supply. Intelligence is weak but nine ships have been spotted including a carrier and four battleships. Four enemy air groups are located outside Calcutta so the risk of bringing in the 2nd Air Fleet is too great. They will hunt convoys in the Indian Ocean.

[Remington700]

South China
After multiple bombing raids three infantry divisions and the weakened 21st IJA attack the Chinese 10th Army in the snow. Losses are light on both sides. The enemy is entrenched in heavy forest and urban areas with a river protecting their right flank. Attack from the south will not work. They must be assaulted from the east along the Yulin – Nanning Road. The 21st Army is resupplied and receives replacements but is still in a weakened condition.

South and East China Sea
US submarine attacks in the South China Sea are ineffective. The Bullhead is located and heavily damaged. In the East China Sea a US sub sinks a merchant marine, slipping away before they can be located.

[Remington700]

Central Pacific
The First Air Fleet arrives in Truk for much needed repairs. They will be joined by two CVs and two Battleships from Singapore. The fleet will include 5 CVs and a CVL with 6 BBs. The loss of carrier air was high in the previous battle and may take a few turns to fill in.

While damaged, the Kido Butai still has plenty of bite remaining. The US has parity with CVs however they have lost many battleships which absorb a lot of punishment. However, the Japanese Navy cannot continue to trade carriers on a one for one basis. They need to catch the US fleet out of place so it can be wiped out. While US reinforcements will be endless, a big setback will drag out the conflict and erode American support for the war. Japan can no longer win the war, but they can force an armistice until a lasting peace can be negotiated.

[Remington700]

Builds
Japan: No builds. Replacements bumped up to 355 for naval repairs.
Thailand: 1 Supply group.

[Remington700]

Allied February 14th

India
The light carrier Hermes launches air strikes against the beat-up 25th IJA. They do no real damage but continue to disperse the enemy. The idea is to keep them from regrouping.

The Hermes air units are not much good but are slowly getting better. Their experience is up to a whopping 14%. After the latest patch the fighters arrive with 60% experience which is more reasonable. However it is not worth starting the game over for it. I will work with what I have.

South China
No activity on this front. Snow continues to lower effectiveness. A supply unit is sent to the 10th Army at Nanning to improve their defense.

[Remington700]

Coral Sea
The opening round of operation earthquake begins. B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the airfield at Port Moresby destroying A6M2s on the ground. However most of the Zeros were able to get into the air before the heavy bombers arrived. They were met by P-38s flying escort resulting in each side losing 3SPs. The bombers were able to smoke a SP while losing 2 of their own.

The result of the first attack was promising - a 5 for 5 SP trade, something the Japanese can ill afford. I will increase the pressure as more planes arrive.

[Remington700]

Central Pacific
The cruiser Salt Lake City with supporting light cruisers and destroyers open supply to Canton Island. They initiate combat with the blockading motor torpedo boats are unable to catch them.

[Remington700]

Convoys
US to Canada: 100PPs
All other routes shutdown.

[Remington700]

Builds
UK: 1 Sub.
India: No builds.
Canada: 3 Supply units.
US: 1 HQ. B-25 Medium bomber with close support.

[Remington700]

Japan February 28th

India
D3A “Val” dive-bombers attack the British fleet to test their defenses. P-38s from the Calcutta area shoot down 3SPs and another 3SPs are lost attacking the fleet. The Ramillies was hit but is still in fighting order. Keeping the 2nd Air Fleet out of this area was a smart thing to do as the air defense is sound.

The D3A unit lost 6 SPs, now sitting at 14 SPs. The combat log shows 3 lost to the p-38s and 6 to the Naval Air Strike. So, I think the “Air Strike” may be the total lost in the battle. I will look closer going forward.

[Remington700]

South China
Snow continues across the border in China. Air strikes continue to pound the Chinese 10th Army in Nanning. While no real damage is done, effectiveness is further reduced adding to what is already lost from the snow.

The 12th Imperial Army embarks and rails to Canton. They will disembark and follow the road up the Yong River to aid in the assault on Nanning.

[Remington700]

Snow in China
It has been snowing every turn since Nov 22. This is eight turns in a row. Effectiveness is below 50% across the line on both sides. Looking at the weather chart, I am assuming “Temperate” is the same as “North Moderate”. So, with a 70% chance it seems reasonable that it would snow. However, this is an independent event. By my math there is a 4% chance that it will snow 8 times in a row. Which has caught me off guard. Despite what I learned with War Plan I went ahead with offensive actions. This has put some units in a bad way.

The last winter season did not seem this bad, so I went back and checked it out. It only snowed three turns in a row from late December through January. No wonder this caught me off guard.

[Remington700]

South China Sea
Japanese destroyers sink the Bullhead! Farther north in the East China Sea the Growler sinks another merchant marine. G4M Bettys out of Saigon search for the US subs but fail to locate any targets. Destroyers continue to rotate out for resupply.

Japanese Anti-Submarine Warfare is still at 1940 levels despite research so sinking a sub is a bonus. Although it was an accident that it happened. As the US player I should have moved the damaged sub last turn but missed the damage until I was writing up the AAR. By then it was too late to do anything about it.

The US torpedoes are getting better but the number of hits is not. I am not seeing the advantage of stacking subs in wolfpacks other than spreading out damage. Plus I have not been moving the subs thinking it might give them a second shot. It does not. It has been awhile since I played WPE so I may need to change my submarine strategy.

[Remington700]

Central Pacific
The 8th MTB sends a spread of torpedoes at the cruiser Salt Lake City, but none find their target. The torpedo boats then head to Tarawa for resupply and safety.

The RO-67 heads out to hunt convoys in the South Pacific lanes.

[Remington700]

Builds
Japan: 1 Supply Oiler.

The Japanese change their code. Master Keys are recorded and distributed.

[Remington700]

Allied February 28th

India
The Hermes taskforce remains on station, refueled by oilers. The US Reserve Corps does a successful amphibious landing to the northwest of Chittagong. Four air strikes target the city garrison causing a loss in effectiveness. Battleships from the British taskforce pound the defenders, who are well dug-in around the city and jungle terrain.

However, the loss in effectiveness is too much. The US corps assaults doing minor damage but causing the garrison to retreat. Advancing, Chittagong is now firmly in allied control. Fighters from the CV Hermes strafe the retreating defenders improving their experience to 16%. All naval and air forces in the area are on Red Alert as they await a Japanese CV response.

There is miscellaneous troop movement along the Dacca line. The US 2nd Corps moves to Calcutta to board transports heading to reinforce the beachhead at Chittagong.