Spanking Lowpe (NJP72 vs Lowpe (A))

[Lowpe]

Your decision to go after the LOC instead of the ships sounds like Nemo21's thinking. He would sacrifice allied ships without mercy to gain strategic advantage. He also kept his opponent reacting to him with widespread micro-offenses. Well done! This is fascinating to watch.

Very high praise indeed. I wonder what Alfred would say?

Will be air lifting troops onto either side of Palawan on the north side of the Sulu Sea...air search then tomorrow. Air search out of Digos today...

Cotabato to Manilla is 13 air hexes....well within range of my heavy bombers flying naval search -- but first it need to be built to five.

Four days to get my first group of Liberty ships back converted to troop transports. I need them.

[Lowpe]

Very excited to get this plane...the extra two 250#ers really will help in punishing ships CA size and smaller....

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[Lowpe]

This SAG sortied last night, hoping to intercept really anything...preferably one of the IJN's big girls. They were expendable, but too slow getting into position -- I didn't want to use a flank run as fuel is dear.

Chevalier, a Fletcher, will detach and move forward while Colorado performs the occasional bombardment and port protection. She also makes for a plane magnet drawing aerial attacks rather than troop transports.

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[Lowpe]

Even if successful, I doubt that we can starve Honshu...we are so early and this is scenario two.

I am sorely tempted to take a hundred AV worth of troops and hit Quinhon now....but fuel, supply and support troops would be very low I wonder what is at Cam Ranh Bay....

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[Cheesesteak]

Every time I read this AAR, find myself going back to the latest screenshot with in-game date on it. Wild, and well done!

[RangerJoe]

You may not be able to starve Honshu but you probably could starve the unwatched POWs in Luzon if you were so inclined.

Remember what I wrote about invading China. Supporting the Chinese Army to attack Manchuria and Korea would hurt him plus giving nice aerial bases on rail lines to move the damaged large bombers around. All of the main Japanese islands would then be able to be targeted by heavy bombers while there would be a lot for medium bombers as well.

If you did want to starve Honshu, concentrate on attacking the Resource centers. If that is all there is at a base, then it is less likely to be heavily defended. While I admit that there should be a large stockpile of resources by now, once he starts drawing on his reserves it can go fast.

[Lowpe]

June 23, 1943

I keep making silly mistakes....but overall another decent turn.

Looks like Japan was trying to sneak an AKE into Manado...

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[Lowpe]

A bombardment SAG, headed for Manado finds the AKE one hex closer to Manado...the SAG sinks everything.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Manado at 75,99, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
PB Shonan Maru #6, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PB Shuko Maru #2, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
AKE Zinzan Maru, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CA Louisville
CA Chicago
CA Salt Lake City
DD Dale
DD Worden
DD Stuart
DMS Dorsey


Bombardment:

Night Naval bombardment of Manado at 75,99

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 3 damaged
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 1 destroyed on ground
D4Y1 Judy: 9 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed on ground
A6M5c Zero: 4 damaged
D3A1 Val: 8 damaged
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
CA Salt Lake City
CA Chicago
CA Louisville
DD Stuart
DD Worden
DD Dale
DMS Dorsey

Japanese ground losses:
482 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 28

SOC-1 Seagull acting as spotter for CA Salt Lake City
CA Salt Lake City firing at Manado

[Lowpe]

That damage helped hinder Japanese air attacks that find no hits all day....despite bombing all over the SRA.

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[Lowpe]

The liberators were most likely lost flying in supplies to Chungking...or perhaps some Naval Search in the SRA. But our Chungking air lift is working.

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[Lowpe]

After screwing up in the Marshalls for the last few turns...we take a worthless base, but land reinforcements and bulldozers on Ailinglaplap which was the important move.

Time to pull back away before the KB shows up....

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[Lowpe]

I keep making mistakes here, but we will keep pushing forward aggressively. I will try to do a little better job protecting my convoys...but I just feel so pressed to go forward fast. Reckless speed. Flipping the turns fast doesn't help either!

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[CaptBeefheart]

Well played. Ningpo and the base to the west of it make great B-29 bases. Not bad for B-24s either. Just be sure he can't shore bombard it easily before you put a lot of aircraft there.

Putting LowNav B-25s at Quinhon and Palawan (or somewhere around there) tends to shut down oil movement through the South China Sea quite nicely.

Cheers,
CB

[Lowpe]

June 24, 1943

I think the battle for Mindanao is over...will be for sure once the runways are operational. Digos at 97%, Talaud at 99%. Cotabato damaged at 80%. I think all should be working on the morrow. That is a big troop convoy east of Babeldoab...plus Atago and other cruiser forces.

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[Lowpe]

Task Force Eaton in action at Cagayan.....saved pilots lives...

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[Lowpe]

Japan could have done a lot better here in the Marshalls, were I made mistake after mistake. But should be all better now.

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[Lowpe]

Continue doing well in the air war.

Another minor mistake, I took away a full squadron at Namlea where Japan attacked in the air quite violently. Spitfires did well, but eventually were overwhelmed.

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[Lowpe]

Very interesting. Japan is bombing daily with hundreds of planes, and yet they focus all their attention on HQs and support units and in truth they are shattered and have no guns left.

Only six infantry units without full supply, and one of them just showed up today from the south....our air supply is working!

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[BBfanboy]

That damage helped hinder Japanese air attacks that find no hits all day....despite bombing all over the SRA.

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Those IIb model Oscars seem to be cannon fodder. I haven't seen any Tojos or later model Tonys around. Do you think he is using up his older fighters and saving the better ones for the inner perimeter defence? That would mean also hoarding the best pilots, so he would be sending less experienced ones to die in the Oscars?

[BBfanboy]

Task Force Eaton in action at Cagayan.....saved pilots lives...

How did sinking xAKs and an XAP with no troops aboard save pilots' lives? Elimination of supply?