Rascally AI beat me to Canton Island. He'll have a rough time defending it. He doesn't have a 2+ AF south of Makin. Even Zeros have a limit on endurance. I'll probably be able to pummel him with CA based bombardment. But it still imposes a longer detour around him. I have gathered up 11 and 13 knot AOs to let my shorter legged xAKs sail out of range of trouble. Once Liberty ships with their 19,000 mile endurance show up this becomes less and less of a problem.
Bora Bora was code named Bobcat and the first SeaBee unit is named Bobcat for a reason. It was sent there and Bora Bora was turned into a giant gas station for convoys running from the west coast to Australia. Well out of range of any air threat from Canton or possibly even Noumea. It's just the right range to refuel Clemson class DD escorts
Sorry about lack of sitreps but, really there has been nothing to report. Just moving troops around through the enormous distances.
No action in Aleutians as AI=San and I agree it is a cul-de-sac not worth the effort.
No action in India as neither of us has enough resources to boot the other off the Imphal ridge. The Scenario really short-changes the RAF I I cannot get any edge. there. I've move all the 10th USAAF except the "Hump" tranports."
I did finally ousted AI-San from Canton Island and have it garrisoned so none of his cheesy amphib counterattacks will get anywhere. I have a force aimed at Baker Island and another aimed at the Ellice Islands. This will straighten out my cargo routes to Australia.
I nabbed Milne Bay and now have sufficient air defense to start building up to (initially) clear the Louisiades and outflank Shortlands and Guadalcanal.
Building up fuel & supply most everywhere. Darwin is now a busy sub base.
Chiang is moving a big army toward Canton/Hong Kong. I am getting ships ready for "Malta Convoys" to those ports once taken. These will be expensive. I haven't made any move up the eastern DEI or the Makassar Strait just yet.
Mk. 14s are now exploding and the take is 3-5 ships a day. Advice from the forum works A-OK.
Two air issues. Am starting to replace Wildcats with Hellcats but for some reason I just can't get that last plane out of maintenance.
For some reason Spitfires with elite pilots just can't kill more than 1 one 2 Betties per raid.
Sitrep July 1, 1943
I took and garrisoned Canton and Baker Islands. This will straighten out my logistics convoy paths. Got lots of small islands planned for attack. Finally got some CVEs to the 7th Fleet. AI-San has some Betties that are geniuses at finding my less escorted transports. Further his Betties seem to thumb their noses at the very best fighters I have: Spit V with nearly elite Aussie pilots. He doesn't shoot down my fighters but these Spits should slaughter Betties - - but they don't. What I have to do is use B-25s and P-38s to find and smash his bases. I NG he has lots of Nicks and Tojos which are hard on B-25s. And the range of Betties lets him sit in bases halfway to the Imperial Palace and still kill my little cargo ships.
Thanks to tips from the forum my subs are absolutely feasting on AI-San's merchant ships. I'm sinking 8-10 ships A DAY on a routine basis (nice when Mk. 14s explode). I allocated the Makassar strait to the Dutch, the South China sea to the US Asiatic subs. the modern Gatos and Balaos at Midway get Japanese waters. I don't get detected often and never more than a day at a time. Distance, as always is the big enemy in 1943. Hell, even the S boats are chipping in.
Scenario 2 concentrates all AI-San's Tonys in India-Burma. These license-built Me-109s are murder on Hurricanes, all marks of P-40s and USAAF 4E bombers. Just like the ETO. My pools in CBI are very thin and I have to stop after a couple days of action.
Chinese land war is just like previous scenarios. AI-San has the tactical smarts of Gideon Pillow.
Major air defeat for the RAF in the India-Burma area. I ran a major set of raids on the airfield at Magwe to set up destruction of the oil fields. The RAF came back with a major Schweinfurt/Regensburg butthurt.
AI-San's Tonies massacred the RAF Hurricanes and Blenheims. I've had to retreat back out of range. With the thin replacement pools for the RAF in India, it looks like offensive air operations are cancelled for at least six weeks if not more.
The US 10th AAF didn't help much. Scen 2 has their pools almost non-existent. I moved the US fighter groups to Ledo to protect the Hump transports. Also the Betties raiding Darwin are just smarter than 48 of the best Aussie pilots in Spit Vs.
On the other hand, I'm definitely getting the upper hand in eastern NG. All his fields are losing planes on the ground and that's always a goo thing.
I wondered why AI-San's Betties were blithely zooming past Aussie Spitfires. It's simple. British and Anzac base forces normally have no radar. "Observer Corps" and "Sound Detectors" only. No radar = reduced chance of contact. In July 1943 there are six (count 'em six) radars in British/Anzac pools. I am now trying to get them deployed.
I ought to have figured this out earlier. In other scenarios British/Anzac base forces have "Improved CH" radars that make deploying or moving these base forces a real pain. Not in Scenario 2.
Most, but not all US base forces have some sort of radar. By now all US naval units have some type of air search radar.
Sorry about no earlier sitreps but this war is moving slower than the Russians in Ukraine.
Things are about to pick up. I've moved adequate invasion forces for the Louisiades and Solomons. AI-Sans airfields at Rabaul, Aitape, and Hollandia have pretty much been neutralized. The Aussie I Corps is slowly moving toward Law and Finschhaven. AI-San has nothing that can resist those three divisions. Airedale recon shows only a manageable garrion on Bougainville and my B-17s have flattened Shortlands.
I have punched out most of AI-San's nuisance bases with only one of the Ellice Islands showing a garrison.
US land units have planned invasions that should completely isolate Rabaul. USMC units are about 80% planned for the Gilberts and Marshalls.
Scenario 2 issues short-handed and poorly trained air wings for my CVs, so half my carrier force is sitting in Pearl training their air wings. I'm moving good pilots all over the place trying to put together a carrier force that need not fear Kido Butai. Kido Butai went into hiding about July of 1942 and I haven't seen it since. I suspect it is in Tokyo Bay.
India/Burma are totally comatose.
Chiang had a surprise. He scrounged up enough troops I just took Canto and have Hong Kong surrounded. I may very well have Canton/Hong Kong under control before I am really ready to run "Malta Convoys" in the stiffen up Chiang. Obviously I have to take the Marianas, but this time I will try to pick up Luzon instead of fighting my way up the DEI.
My subs are all over AI-San. I have 35 subs in Japanese waters, and 12 US Asiatic subs in the South China Sea. The Dutch have the Makassar Strait and east DEI covered and the British burn diesel fuel.
AI-San's subs have been pesky but I am putting together ASW bases at Pago and Noumea to protect mega-convoy inbound to Grisbane, Sydney, and Perth.
Despite the paucity of forces allocated by Scenario 2 (I'm trying to keep use of PP down) I feel I'm a bit "ahead of schedule."
Been watchin' the real thing in Ukraine, so whumping on AI-San has slowed down.
Sitrep: Oct. 3, 1943
The terrain in New Guinea has been slowing down the Aussie push. The Aus 6th Div just took Lae. Follow-up troops (BF, Eng, etc) are on their way in. I do have sold air superiority over the north Solomon Sea. Rabaul and Aitape are flattened, so I can ship in followup easily. I have mountains of supply and lakes of fuel at Brisbane, Sydney, and Noumea.
I just took Vella Lavella. My airedale recon dropped the ball. A lot bigger garrison than I thought. My elite USMC battalions got mauled but they are almost due to be withdrawn anyway.
I'm getting set to take Bougainville. 1st USMC Div and two doggy divisions plus tanks and artillery.
Planning going for Bismarck Sea campaign. Umboi and Manaus appear to be lightly held Recon shows 15,000 man garrison a Kavieng. I get those three and Truk has had it. I used a good tactic for Rabaul using mostly B-25D1s but I shot the entire pool of that plane type. B-25Gs terrorized Rabaul shipping. Sank four SS and eleven various ASW craft there.
By Jan 1944 AI's invasion of Australia ain't gonna happen. It will be all he can do to run unescorted Betties to Darwin from Timor. All that does is generate a lot of Aussie Spit V aces. Darwin makes a dandy sub base for blasting tankers out of the DEI. Older boats are being withdrawn soon, so I'll transfer a couple dozen boats from Midway. Sub campaign is going very well now.
My overall offensive plan is Marianas/Luzon and Hong Kong. Chiang has taken Canton and is on the doorstep of Hong Kong. If Chiang can take Hong Kong, I'll try to run some "Malta Convoys" through the Luzon Strait. Other than the Hong Kong area, China is comatose.
India/Burma is as dead as the Sumerian civilization. AI and the British/Indians peer at each other over the formidable Imphal ridge. Neither has the firepower or the pool depth to blow the other off that ridge. The RAF barely has enough pool depth to hold the ridge. Good thing the IJAAF has such weak planes.
Scenario 2 is very parsimonious about CV based planes. The squadrons are short-handed and the pilots are barely experienced enough to lower the gear. So 60% of my carrier force sits in Pearl training.
I did spot some of Kido Butai in the darndest place. They ambushed a couple British tankers running fuel to Darwin. They were - get this - 15 hexes due south of Diego Garcia. I simply ran and let him run out of fuel. While he has out there I safely took a bunch of nuisance bases in the Solomon Sea.
I guess I'm too much a guy of my times. I try to keep my casualties down and that slows down the offensive.
The New Guinea battle is down to mop-ups. I took Finschhaven a couple days ago and here very little left on New Guinea I'm interested in. I look to seize complete control of the Bismarck Sea in the next few weeks. I've blste AI-San's LBA off Umboi Island and Rabaul remains a wreck. I have US Army units prepping for Umboi and Manaus. Thy have no air power but roughly 8,000 man land garrisons. It'll take all the dogfaces in both th SWPac and SoPac Commands, but I have armor, engineers, and scads of artillery. And plenty of assault shipping.
I'm also assembling my Torokina assault. Torokina is lightly garrisoned but Shortland has a lot of ground-pounders. If I can grab Torokina I can get lots of USMC units of Shortland without months of prep time. Actually Torokina is the one I really want. I can used it to base low-value Aussie strike planes to keep Rabaul neutralized.
The Bismarck Sea goal is to have Manaus in hand and assault on Ponape the same time I make my CenPac move. I want to used every B-25 I have to blitz Truk first attack. B-25C for medium altitude level bombing, B-25D1s hit the airfields low and all my B-25s hit the port. Kill lots of planes and shipping at first then use 4E bombers to roto-till the base. Should open the door for the Marianas.
In Scen 2 AI-San likes small amphib counterattacks but I found a cure. Anti-shipping bases. I put a couple search/recon squadrons, a F4U-1 strike escort squadron, at least 3 Dauntless squadrons with good NavB rated aircrew, some Avengers or A20G squadrons ow low altitude. AI-San get a taste of that and never comes back. If in range of Zeros T-Bolt and P40K local CAP is needed. Plenty of those available.
KB continues to hide out. I occasionally get a sighting south of Tokyo Bay but he ducks back in immediately.
China and India totally comatose due to excellent defensive terrain. At least this make orders phase quicker.
Sub war going well. Keep my aggressive skippers out of shallow water and let 'em do their thing. I reently transferred 10 Gato-class boats to Darwin. I have gotten enough supply and fuel to operate Darwin well into 1946.
I continue to slug it out against AI-San in Scenario 2
Sitrep: Jan 1, 1944
Biggest news is that I've kicked in the door on Bougainville. AI-San had only garrisoned Torokina with a paltry flak battalion. I chase them back into Shortlands and am moving stuff into Torokina. I have enough engineers to improve Torokina quickly and I don't need the casualties of an amphib landing at Shortlands although have lot of troops prepped for Shortlands.
All AI-San has in eastern New Guinea is a token garrison at Madang. Three Australian Divisions should handle them easily then I'll move most of my big Aus divisions back to OZ for prepping for action in the DEI. Operations in the eastern DEI won't extend much beyond Kendari and maybe Menado. I'll use 4E bombers to wreck Soerabaja.
I have a big logistical base built at Darwin, supported by Perth and Brisbane.
Once I take Shortlands I'll re-unite my CVs at Pearl and get ready for a Gilberts/Marshalls blitz. Scenario 2 give the us very lame CV air wings: short-handed and low quality. I've been addressing that.
KB continues to hide out. His air wings should have awesome pilot quality, so I'll continue to expose my carriers only in big numbers.
As I have advanced and KB continues to hibernate, I developed shipping attack forces. 3 or 4 squadrons of SBDs. A squadron of torpedo bombers, three squadrons of defensive fighters (usually P-40K of P-47B), an escort squadron of P-38s in case something comes calling, and 2 or 3 squadrons of search planes. Obvious enough BF, a Seabee battalion in case AI-San does damage. Some flak. A regiment of US army infantry or a brigade of second-line Aus infantry. If handy a battalion of CD guns (I have great luck with those) and maybe a 300+ mine field with tenders and P boats mostly because I can't think of a better use for PT. Some ASW assets. At really big places where I have lots of defensive fighters, I'll station some cruisers. Build some fortifications and it is Gibraltar.
I go to the trouble because AI-San has a taste for lightweight amphib counterattacks, particularly in the third quarter of 1942. With this much garrison, his SNLF forces become kamikazes.
I've raided the Gilberts and Marshalls. Not much there. I have lots of USMC units prepped. After, that, there's no dodging the Marianas.
With CBI and NorPac comatose, I'm up to my ears in underutilized xAK.
As is often the case the AI's ASW efforts got more effective around New Year's Day. Since the first I've lost two boats and eight more are limping to Pearl with major hull damage. Good thing I sent all the damaged big ships to the West Coast. The Pearl shipyards will be full of damaged subs (usually 8-10 days), and the Royal Hawaiian will be full of submarine officers for a while.
Kido Butai came out to play. It is currently beating up an isolated island with 4 CV and 2 CVL per the airedales. I'm not too worried. I have nothing going on there and he can't stay all the way out in the middle of the Pacific too long. What is annoying is that he caught me with my big CV forces split. I have 4 x CV with my best air crews protecting the invasion of Torokina. I have 3 x CV with OK air crew at Pearl with 7 x CVL with short-handed and not-too-good crews inbound to Pearl. I am missing a good opportunity for a pincers move but my CVs are 3000 miles apart.
But I do have good long range air search. Maybe I can figure out where he is hiding. I'm fairly sure it is Tokyo Bay, but I don't have much in the way of eyes on the Tokyo Bay outfall. H's not hiding in the Marshalls. I've raided those islands a couple of time and found nothing but about 40 competent Zero drivers.
AI-San has stepped up air attacks in Burma but I don't care. The British have hordes of veteran pilots flying Spit VIIIs and running up lofty kill tallies.
China remains noisy but comatose Japanese and Chinese lobbing small-caliber mortars at each other - nothing more.
Pretty much wrapping up Solomons/Eastern NG. Nabbed Umboi Island. AI-San built a decent port and airfield there and didn't leave much of a garrison.
Aussie I Corps is zeroing in on Madang and I'm moving assault power from easily taken Torokina to well held Shortlands. Don't want to leave that in my rear. Prepping landings for Manaus and Ponape, to support suppression of Truk.
I take Madang and Shortlands maybe I'l be free of these three-week marches though the jungle.
The struggle against AI-San and Scen 2 continues but a milepost has been reached
With the extermination of the last wrench-twiddlers at Shortlands, the battle for the Solomons is well and truly over. Further, Madang fell to the Aussie infantry and the only holdout in the Bismarck Sea is Manaus. I have three divisions planned for Manaus, and South Pacific HQ is planning for Ponape. Then, Truk gets hammered.
I am concentrating my big carriers at Pearl and the Wasp and my CVLs will support actions at Manaus and Ponape. Plan, plan, plan.
KB is hiding somewhere I can't see him.
China is comatose. India is, too but I am gather troops and shipping to move at least three India Corps to Darwin to reinforce Chiang at Swatow to take Hong Kong.
I am hip-deep in supply and fuel.
A few kamikaze attacks have been made, so I move with lots of fighters.
AI-San has upped his ASW game so the yards at Pearl, Sydney, and Brisbane are full of beat-up subs.
I am slowly catching up to the historical time-line.
Even if Scen 2 gives me only about two-thirds of the stuff other scenarios dish out the USN gets big by mid-1944. It takes a while to turn this behemoth.
I have totally taken control of the Solomons and the Bismarck Sea. I have a center of resistance at Finschhaven (Aus) and Umboi (US). Boh are mainly sea control bases. Fighters, ship attack planes (Beuauforts/ Beaufighter fo Aus, SBDs for US) some locl ASW, lots of NavSearch. Nothing comes near.
Took Manaus and a building up a base there to flatten Truk along with Ponape. I expect to ue beaucoup B-25s and P-38s on Truk. After thorough tenderization I'll us Truk as target practice for low EXP B-24s.
I m transferring all my AUS infntry to Sydney for rest and planning for a campaign up the eastern DEI. Most of my US forces are at Pearl planning for a Marshalls blitz. Followed by taking the Marianas. I intend to bypass Iwo and got straight to Luzon Once I get Luzon I have nine Indian divisions to reinforce Swatow and move to Hong Kong.
By then I'll be in my end game. KB continues to hide out.
The endless war against AI-San and the distances grinds on.
Sitrep: May 28, 1944.
Manaus is almost ready for the great strike on Truk. To get plenty of land-based planes I've got an invasion on Ponape laid on. I have a division planned for Ponape and lots of engineers and BF. betwenn the two bases, plan on hundreds of B-25s of all versions (B-25C attacking as level bombers from 11,000 feet, plus every gun-totin B-25 coming in low to kill shipping)
(P-38s sweeping and escorting the Manus bombers and P-47s escorting the Ponape planes. Truk should be mush in a couple days and then I'll mine the hell out of it, and let a few old SS and DD maintain a blockade. One helluva self-supporting POW camp. If my recon airedales are close to correct, I'll have nearly 350,000 Japanese troops in self-supporting POW camps.
I have my first Marshalls invasion bearing down on Maleolap. That island and Wotje seem to be the center of resistance. I' counting on well-prepped reinforced Marine divisions to make the assault work. I'm even dropping SeaBees in the assault wave to get the ports working ASAP. Then Kwaj, Roi, and Eniwetok. After that, no place to go but the Marianas.
I have the I Aus Corp resting refitting at Sydney. The Aussies will drive up through eastern DEI and the Makassar Strait, conquering and setting up air-sea blockade bases.
While John Wayne, Tom Hanks, Vin Diesel, Sean Connery, and Red Buttons assault the Atlantic Wall, Taxcutter's Central Pacific blitz get rolling.
The Third Fleet is softening up Maleolap, Wotje, and Majuro as I have a Marine division tasked for Maleolap. So far just token resistance. KB is nowhere in sight. KB maybe in Tokyo. IF KB comes out he'll have to thread his way between 50 subs and several squadrons of long-range naval search assets.
From Shortland an invasion force of a reinforce army division shaped for Ponape. This also included a substantial CVBG. Airedale recon show7,000 men on Ponape. An army division with tanks, combat engineers, and artillery should do the job. I already have Manaus and and staffing up for a 300+ plane strike from there concurrent with a 250+ plane strike planes for a thunderclap attack on Truk. There seems to be a lot of shipping there and hordes of B-25s get to have their finest hour.
As Tom Hanks searches for Private Ryan, the Maloelap Naval Fortress had a bad day.
First, that night they got a dose of 14" US naval rifle displeasure over Pearl Harbor.
At dawn they got dive bombers and a beach full of hostile Marines stomping the bonsai.
By dark not only were the bonsai gone but all the Japanese as well. Marines were towing Japanse carcasses out to deep water behind LCVPs for the local marine life to eat at their leisure.
Seabees are repairing the airfield.
Literally every base north of Makin got pelted.
A few Betties from Wake showed up but 50+ Hellcats discouraged them.
The Pacific held its breath as I began the neutralization of Truk.
200 B-24s escorted by P-38s from Manus. Going for the air base
105 (Gun) B-25s escorted by P-47s from Ponape, and one carrier full of Hellcats and Helldivers. Going for the port/ships.
In both cases the escorts brushed aside the local Zeroes. Few bomber losses noted.
The B-24s did a nice job of killing kamikazes on the ground and putting 42% damage on the base, but 200 B-24s will empty your supply dumps in a hurry.
The port strike sank six IJN subs in port. Nice. AI-San's subs are hard to kill in scenario 2. Alo a number of auxiliaries including two sub tenders.
Long and short of it I have no further fear of Truk. I'm pulling assault troops out of Ponape and Maleolap fast as I can. Most of Maleolap assault resources are two days from recovering to Pearl. The Ponape assault assets will be back in Shortlands with a week.
At Pearl I have three assault forces prepped for the Marshalls. The Marshalls and Gilberts are not that solidly held, and I want unrestricted passage from SF to Eniwetok for the Marianas.
Will start hopping my Aussies up through the eastern DEI shortly.
AI-San has really upped his ASW game and Pearl's shipyard is half full of beat-up subs.
But as the chess master would say, I now control the middle of the board.
Ponape and Manus are still pummelling Truk. Ships prtty much sunk/driven off. A handful of Zeros annoy my P-38s.
Ponape medium bombers also molesting Roi, Eniwetok, and Kwaj. Recovering ships a Pearl for second wave at Marshalls.
I expect a ground fight at Wotje, Roi, and Eniwetok.
Planning in progress for Marianas and Luzon.
Getting a dozen trucks on or off these little islands is always a big delay.
