Where the Chrysanthemums Grow - DesertWolf101 (J) vs ITAKLinus (A)

[DesertWolf101]

January 22-24, 1942

China

Over the last three days the battles have continued to rage around the Sian pocket. The massed Chinese armies have suffered grievous losses, in large part thanks to the heavy application of Japanese air power. However, the Japanese armies have also taken significant disablements in certain sectors and especially in a river crossing effort north of Ankang. Interestingly, an Australian anti-tank unit has shown up northwest of Sian - these boys are a long way from home!

SRA

The most import development in the region is the seizure of Batavia during the Java campaign. It took three deliberate attacks over three days before the town finally fell. The bulk of the Dutch army was present as part of the garrison so hopefully the assault on Soerabaja will be easier and quicker.

[DesertWolf101]

January 25, 1942

South/Southwest Pacific

An interesting turn today!

With my carriers having departed the area, Francesco is running all over the Coral Sea with numerous surface task forces. One of his destroyers finds and sinks a Japanese APD near Rabaul, but another one runs into some of my own destroyers in the area and is sunk.

Further to the south, My ships were sailing back from the successful New Caledonia operation when they ran into DD MacDonough. In the shortest naval battle between warships I have ever seen in WITP, a single torpedo salvo was immediately launched that blew the hapless American destroyer apart.

During the day phase a further battle developed when the Japanese cruiser cover force ran into two enemy light cruisers composed of CL Honolulu and CL Leander. The Japanese force prevailed by sinking Honolulu and heavily damaging Leander, but unfortunately not before heavy cruiser Maya was hit with some penetrating hits from Honolulu from very short range that left her with heavy fires. Those Brooklyn light cruisers can fight!

During the air phase my naval search picked up further enemy ships circling nearby. I have a feeling this is not over yet and Francesco is planning to battle me all the way to friendly waters...

DEI

To round out the naval action, Francesco had placed some submarine laid mines at Ambon and a couple of my ships hit them. One of my battleships has minor damage and a destroyer is badly hurt.

China

The battle around Sian reached a turning point today. The Japanese army was ordered to shock attack the now weakened and highly disrupted Chinese force northeast of Sian, throwing it back across the river with heavy casualties. Another Chinese army with close to 2,000 AV has also been fully encircled two hexes northwest of Sian. Not counting the encircled Chinese army, I believe Francesco is now down to around 1,500 battered AV in Sian itself and in the hexes immediately to its southeast and southwest. A further 1,000 Chinese AV with artillery support is hunkering down in mountains north of Ankang.

The bulk of my troops, and especially the armor, need to rest for a few days before resuming further operations here, but overall the situation looks promising.

[DesertWolf101]

January 26, 1942

Enemy fleet carriers sighted!

Francesco sent a strong force of fleet carriers right next to Padang on the west coast of Sumatra and within range of Singapore. I had a unit of 12 Mavis float planes on search based from Singapore and they didn't spot the enemy on the turn prior. My assumption is that he either ordered the carriers in at flank speed or I was just not lucky with the early warning system I had set up.

I was lucky however with the weather as the USN and the Royal Navy flew only in the morning phase. A Wildcat sweep dispersed the token CAP of Nates I had on duty over Singapore before the main enemy bomber force arrived. The weather of moderate rain likely helped minimize enemy hits, but I think an even more critical factor was the previous slaughter of the experienced enemy dive and torpedo bomber pilots in air battles over Palembang. As a result, I lost in total only two xAKs and one xAKL, and in terms of damage I had one light cruiser moderately damaged, and one battleship with minor damage, and one xAK with heavy damage. Could have been a lot worse!

[DesertWolf101]

January 26, 1942 - Continued

Elsewhere on the map today, the Japanese fleet retiring from the Noumea operation repeatedly dodged further enemy attempts at interception. Unfortunately, cruiser Maya's heavy fires went completely out of control thanks to inept Japanese damage control and she promptly sank. [:(]

The good news for the day was the final cornering and destruction of some of the best enemy units on Luzon, including all their armor.

[DesertWolf101]

January 27, 1942

Today's highlight was in China. The turn prior I had bombed Chungking's airfields and I expecting Francesco to now vigorously defend the base so I sent in two Hikotai of 45 Zeros each to sweep. Francesco did indeed defend Chungking as expected, but he brought in what seemed to my surprised fighter boys to be the entire Allied fighter force. As it is the Zeros twice had to fight their way through 10 squadrons composed of P-39Ds and various versions of Warhawks and Hurricanes, totaling some 150+ fighters. The end result was some 50 enemy fighters shot down for 24 of mine lost. Zero pilot losses were notable but not terrible at 7 KIA and 6 MIA. Unfortunately one of those missing is the famed Toshio Ota - hopefully he can be found!

Elsewhere, Japanese destroyers hunted down and sank DD Farragut near Rabaul while the enemy carrier force retreated up the Sumatran coast to the north.

[DesertWolf101]

Musings

I noted a couple of interesting air combat related issues so far with this game that I wanted to share:

1) A few turns ago a Nell bomber on a raid over Soerabaja shot down a Dutch Demon fighter. I don't know about you guys but while I have often seen Japanese bombers inflict damage with their defensive guns before I don't think I have ever seen a Japanese bomber shoot down an Allied fighter!

2) I noted with interest today that I have lost only 21 Oscars thus far in this campaign and only 3 of them the Ic version. This is compared to the 118 Zeros lost thus far. This shows the extent to which I am relying on the Zero for heavy frontline duty, but this should start to change a bit now as more Oscars get built and fill out the numerous Nate Sentai.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

Musings

I noted a couple of interesting air combat related issues so far with this game that I wanted to share:

1) A few turns ago a Nell bomber on a raid over Soerabaja shot down a Dutch Demon fighter. I don't know about you guys but while I have often seen Japanese bombers inflict damage with their defensive guns before I don't think I have ever seen a Japanese bomber shoot down an Allied fighter!

2) I noted with interest today that I have lost only 21 Oscars thus far in this campaign and only 3 of them the Ic version. This is compared to the 118 Zeros lost thus far. This shows the extent to which I am relying on the Zero for heavy frontline duty, but this should start to change a bit now as more Oscars get built and fill out the numerous Nate Sentai.

1) Congratulations, you have used up your ration of luck for the rest of 1942!

On a more serious note, I have a hunch that the issue isn't as much that the IJ defensive armament in aircraft is bad, but more that it never really gets a chance to fire. The odds are stacked so heavily against them in air-to-air combat (speed, armour, durability) that they get shot down before the defensive fire element kicks in. Allied 4E's and the like do much better because they're able to persist through several firing passes.

2) That's probably how it should be for the first month or two of the war. Sensible to save the IJA pilots from dying in the Nate, and once Oscar production is up and running, you can largely phase the Zero out of frontline work, let the Oscar and IJA do the bulk of the work while keeping the Zero and the IJN pilots for special duties for particularly troublesome bases and sweeps.

[DesertWolf101]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

Musings

I noted a couple of interesting air combat related issues so far with this game that I wanted to share:

1) A few turns ago a Nell bomber on a raid over Soerabaja shot down a Dutch Demon fighter. I don't know about you guys but while I have often seen Japanese bombers inflict damage with their defensive guns before I don't think I have ever seen a Japanese bomber shoot down an Allied fighter!

2) I noted with interest today that I have lost only 21 Oscars thus far in this campaign and only 3 of them the Ic version. This is compared to the 118 Zeros lost thus far. This shows the extent to which I am relying on the Zero for heavy frontline duty, but this should start to change a bit now as more Oscars get built and fill out the numerous Nate Sentai.

1) Congratulations, you have used up your ration of luck for the rest of 1942!

On a more serious note, I have a hunch that the issue isn't as much that the IJ defensive armament in aircraft is bad, but more that it never really gets a chance to fire. The odds are stacked so heavily against them in air-to-air combat (speed, armour, durability) that they get shot down before the defensive fire element kicks in. Allied 4E's and the like do much better because they're able to persist through several firing passes.

2) That's probably how it should be for the first month or two of the war. Sensible to save the IJA pilots from dying in the Nate, and once Oscar production is up and running, you can largely phase the Zero out of frontline work, let the Oscar and IJA do the bulk of the work while keeping the Zero and the IJN pilots for special duties for particularly troublesome bases and sweeps.

Yes I largely agree with your points. With regards to the Nate though, while I do strive to keep it out of the frontlines I don't hesitate to use it where necessary in the first couple of months, especially in secondary fronts and as fighter cover for my bases behind the frontline. They generally do ok in intercepting early war medium bombers and when they do go down the pilot often survives in friendly territory.

[DesertWolf101]

January 28, 1942

SRA

Francesco sent back his carriers down the coast of Sumatra once more to launch a full deck strike on the port of Tandjoengbalai. I disbanded an empty convoy there two turns ago but had already ordered it back to Singapore in anticipation of such a move (I knew the DL on the recently captured base would reveal the convoy to Francesco). In the end therefore, the enemy struck hard but the port was empty.

Enemy Hudson and Blenheim bombers launched a raid on Bangkok to no effect. Nates on CAP duty shot down 6 of the bombers.

In other good news, CL Glasgow ventured a bit too far into Japanese water around Java. It sunk a DMS but was then riddled with torpedoes by a squadron of Nells and sank like a stone.

Francesco declared Manila an open city which was then promptly occupied by the Japanese with industry and shipyard intact.

China

I continue to hammer away at various Chinese formations around Sian. The Chinese themselves launch another series of attacks to breakthrough the encirclement but are thwarted. In the Chungking plain, two Japanese infantry divisions are advancing towards Chengtu which is stirring the hornet's nest at Chungking.

[DesertWolf101]

January 29 - February 1, 1942

Francesco and I managed to churn out a flurry of turns over the last couple of days.

SRA

The Japanese are closing in on Soerabaja which contains the last enemy presence on the important island of Java. With the bulk of the enemy already destroyed during the battle of Batavia, I anticipate Soerabaja will quickly fall into Imperial hands.

Mop up operations are continuing across the rest of the DEI. Japanese forces have landed in Timor and should hopefully soon have the island under control. Imperial troops have also landed in northern Sumatra and are moving to clear it of Dutch forces. Dutch forces are on their last legs but the enemy's naval search in the area, likely operating from remote islands and isolated outposts, is still very good.

China

The ground war is progressing reasonably well as Japanese forces continue to inflict significant casualties on Chinese forces both around the frontline and in mop op operations to the rear. The key event over the last four turns however has been the air battle over Chungking.

In order to effectively support the Japanese troops advancing into the Chungking plain I needed to suppress the city's airfields. The importance of this mission was especially reinforced when Francesco brought in B-17E bombers into the city to counterbomb my main air complex at Ichang. After a few sharp fights with Allied fighters over the base, the enemy's air defenses were worn down and Chunking was hammered. I am pretty sure the airfields are now closed but weather grounded my bombers on February 1st so they may have reopened over the last turn. Either way, significant losses were inflicted on some of the enemy's most dangerous aircraft, including half a dozen B-17Es that have been destroyed on the ground at Chungking thus far.

[DesertWolf101]

I-boats strike!

My submarine successes in this campaign have admittedly been fairly modest until now. Aside from the usual easy prey in the first week of the war, for the most part my I-boats have only sunk the occasional damaged warship or solitary xAK. On January 31 however my effort to leverage SIGINT to get a better understanding of Francesco's convoy routes started paying off when I sunk an AKE far southeast of Hawaii. Hopefully more successes like this will follow.

Most importantly however, with the enemy fleet carriers operating near Sumatra, I surmised that Francesco would eventually return to Colombo to refuel/repair/rearm so I positioned some submarines near there in anticipation. This paid off on February 1st when I-156 sighted and engaged CV Enterprise. Only one of 6 torpedoes connected, but it looks like a good hit with both 'critical damage' and 'damage to engines' reported.

[RangerJoe]

Now that you suspect where she is going, you can put more subs in her path.

[DesertWolf101]

February 4, 1942

Today was an important day for two reasons.

1) Japanese forces captured Soerabaja and with it the the entire island of Java. The Java campaign took 20 days to wrap up and involved some six divisions of troops. These forces are now freed up for further operations.

2) Imperial troops stormed and captured Chengtu. This is a critical victory that will provide a logistical foundation to greatly ease the Japanese conquest of the remainder of the Chungking plain. I feel pretty confident about the campaign in China.

[DesertWolf101]

The Score

Francesco is busy in Haiti at the moment so turns have slowed down. I will take the opportunity to update on the state of the game. The overall score is at about 2 to 1 in my favor. I would say at this stage that autovictory is possible but not likely, so I am playing for the long game.

[DesertWolf101]

Air Losses

The air war has been very intense thus far with heavy losses on both sides. In fact, I don't know of any Scenario 1 AAR with this many air losses by this point in the war. I took pretty brutal losses over Singapore and to a lesser extent over China when my squadrons failed to coordinate and in a couple of instances when weather grounded my sweeps but not my bombers. However, I have more than repaid the pain and the overall kill ratio is about 1.5:1 in my favor.

[DesertWolf101]

Naval Losses

Naval losses are pretty heavy this early on too, but not as heavy as many other games. I lost two heavy cruisers which really sucks. In addition ten Japanese destroyers of various types and two APDs were also lost. Allied naval losses are significantly worse however, with a confirmed 4 battleships, 1 heavy cruiser, 10 light cruisers, and some 30-40 destroyers sunk. I also have sunk close to 20 submarines while losing only the initial mini submarines launched against Pearl Harbor.

[Q-Ball]

You've sunk 20 Allied subs? How did you sink so many in 2 months? I didn't see a port attack on Manila, but did you get a bunch there?

That's alot.....

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
I also have sunk close to 20 submarines while losing only the initial mini submarines launched against Pearl Harbor.

Japanese intel is notorious for overstating the case regarding Allied subs sunk. Unless you depth charge them to the surface, shoot 'em full of holes, see the sailors bailing into the water and the sub go down stern first, you can't rely on ASW reports to that effect.

About the only 'sure thing' for the Japanese re: Allied subs sunk in the first two months of the war is if you hit 'em with several bombs apiece while they were moored at Cavite / "Manila" on turn one.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
I also have sunk close to 20 submarines while losing only the initial mini submarines launched against Pearl Harbor.

Japanese intel is notorious for overstating the case regarding Allied subs sunk. Unless you depth charge them to the surface, shoot 'em full of holes, see the sailors bailing into the water and the sub go down stern first, you can't rely on ASW reports to that effect.

About the only 'sure thing' for the Japanese re: Allied subs sunk in the first two months of the war is if you hit 'em with several bombs apiece while they were moored at Cavite / "Manila" on turn one.

Then again, don't forget the Sea Tiger . . . [;)]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Petticoat

[DesertWolf101]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

You've sunk 20 Allied subs? How did you sink so many in 2 months? I didn't see a port attack on Manila, but did you get a bunch there?

That's alot.....

Yes I confirmed the sinking of 13 submarines in the initial Manila strike (briefly mentioned in post number 5), confirmed the destruction of two more submarines by depth charge/gunfire, another two 2 submarines suffered very heavy damage from mine strikes of which at least one but more likely both sank (heard sub sinking noises), and 2-3 other subs were sunk at different dates in various port airstrikes around the map.

Incidentally, I destroyed 20 submarines in the Manila strike of my first Japanese game (Empire of the Sun), so I was actually a bit disappointed that I confirmed only 13 subs sank in Manila for this game.