A Good Place to Start - Matthew (A) v Fokko (J) - Bottlenecks Mod

[M Peaston]

Allied and Japanese air losses to date.

A1 Jan 42 Air.png (1.39 MiB) Viewed 1395 times

A2 Jan 42 Air.png (800.47 KiB) Viewed 1395 times

J1 Jan 42 Air.png (766.36 KiB) Viewed 1395 times

J2 Jan 42 Air.png (1.24 MiB) Viewed 1395 times

[M Peaston]

8th February 1942



CHINA

50+ Sonias, escorted by Tojos, bombed the airfield at Kukong again. Luckily, I don’t intend using the airfield there. The destruction of supply is more of an issue, but Kukong is on the rail network so this might not cause as much trouble for me as it could have done otherwise.

It looks like the Japanese are determined to clear out the 11th War Area around Tsinan and Suchow.



INDIA/BURMA

PG Tarantula bombards Moulmein claiming to cause some minor damage. She’ll return tomorrow night, just to be irritating.



ABDA

Manila holds out another day.

ACM Watergate, forced to take shelter at Puerto Princesa in the first days of the war, has repaired sufficiently to try and make a break for safety and is heading for Darwin via the Makassar strait. Let’s see if she can succeed where Lanikai failed. Also, if she does make it out, it shows it might be possible to slip some supplies in to Bataan by a similar route......

Oscars from Singapore sweep Palembang again. The sweeps aren’t being contested; most of the Dutch air force has now withdrawn to Java.



SWPAC/SOPAC

A reinforcement convoy reaches Sydney with II Fighter Command, 3 Warhawk Squadrons, and 95th AA Rgt. II Fighter Command and the AA. will go to Charters Towers, which is currently my main airbase in the area. One of the Warhawks will remain at Sydney, one will go to Port Moresby and the third I’ll swap over with a P39 squadron from SOPAC (which will go to Darwin).

Also with the convoy are Warspite and AE Lassen. Warspite will join Force Z and Lassen will go to Darwin - once Soerabaja becomes unusable I’ll need some means of rearming major warships in the area. I considered sending Warspite and Lassen through the Torres Strait; there has been a surprising lack of enemy sub activity here (I have had a number of supply convoys and refugee ships pass this way unmolested), but I don’t think I need to take the risk so they’re going the long way around Western Australia.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

Swordfish torpedoed and damaged xAK Akiura Maru north of Luzon.

S-37 took two hits off Saigon but is able to continue her patrol

[M Peaston]

The fighting at Manila:

I notice that the Allied AV is down to 35 (a reflection of just how depleted the Allied units are). However, the adjusted Allied AV was 201, enough to stave off defeat for another day. Part of this increase is clearly down the terrain (Heavy Urban), but I also have a good alignment of unit preparation, Corps HQ preparation and Command HQ preparation. This is an aspect of land warfare that I had hitherto been overlooking.



Ground combat at Manila (79,77)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 25571 troops, 317 guns, 239 vehicles, Assault Value = 613

Defending force 9214 troops, 198 guns, 30 vehicles, Assault Value = 35

Japanese adjusted assault: 304

Allied adjusted defense: 201

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
229 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 20 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
641 casualties reported
Squads: 31 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Vehicles lost 8 (5 destroyed, 3 disabled)

Assaulting units:
48ID 1st Formosa Regiment
48ID Kanno
65th Brigade
2ITB 2nd Tank Regiment
27th Ind Engineer Regiment
48ID 48th Recon Regiment
48ID 47th Infantry Regiment
4th Division
24SBF Sasebo 1st' Naval Guard Unit
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
48ID 48th Engineer Regiment
14th' Army
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
1st PA Infantry Division
91st PA Infantry Division
192nd Tank Battalion
71st PA Infantry Division
2nd PA Constabulary Regiment
16th Naval Dist.~
II Philippine Corps
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment

[M Peaston]

9th February 1942



CHINA

It was Wuchow’s turn to take a pounding from the Sonias today: over 60 of the bombers attacking the airfield. They were escorted again by Tojos, so the Japanese must be concerned about interference from the AVG. Rightly so, as the AVG 1st Squadron and Ground Echelon are already based at Liuchow just north of Wenchow, and will soon be joined by the 2nd Squadron, which has upgraded to the P40E.

I’d never really closely studied the aeroplane stats before. I think the H81-A3 the Flying Tigers are equipped with slightly outperforms the P40E, but the P40E has two advantages which are going to be useful: a lower service rating and availability in greater numbers.

Going toe-to-toe with the Japanese air force represents a shift in emphasis. So far I’ve been trying to hit the Japanese where they are weakest, but I want to tie down as much of the Japanese forces, including the air force, in China as I can, and ideally get the Japanese to commit more fighters here and preventing their use else where.

3rd Squadron AVG is currently in Burma but will relocate to Kunming; I’ll then operate with two squadrons up front with one in reserve and rotate. There been no Japanese air activity over Burma so far, so the RAF can cope on their own for now.

Of course, the Japanese my avoid a prolonged fight by simply halting their bombing of Wuchow. That’s ok too, if it helps in its defence.

If the AVG gets smashed up without the Japanese having to commit extra forces from outside China, then that is a bad outcome.

Another possibility is that by the time I’ve got everything into place the Japanese will have reduced Wuchow to rubble and moved on to some other poor city, with me having been shuffling squadrons around for nothing……



INDIA/BURMA

HMS Tarantula pays another visit to the 33rd Division at Moulmein.



ABDA

Over 80 Oscars sweep Palembang again. The Dutch air force is not going toe-to-toe with them!

The few defenders left at Manila grimly repel another Japanese assault. How much longer can they hold out?



SWPAC

A small Japanese force (reported to be 500 troops) land at Medang. A squadron of B26 Marauders at Charters Towers is ordered to Port Moresby to harass the landings. A US BF is due to arrive at Port Moresby tomorrow and then I’ll be in a better position to expand air operations there.



SOPAC/CENPAC

Some 160nm north of Waipapakauri Colonel Wilson paces the deck of the transport with a sense of mild frustration about him. It’s clear now that he and his regiment (1st Marine) won’t be reaching Sydney until 14th February. Still, being only a day behind schedule is not bad for a trans-pacific crossing in wartime. When sailing they were told they were likely going to Noumea, or possibly Luganville. Much may have changed in that time. From what little news he has been able to gather, it seems the Japanese have made few advances in the South Pacific. Wherever they’re sent, a few days in Sydney after such a long ocean voyage wouldn’t go amiss.

Unbeknown to Colonel Wilson, orders from MacArthur are already awaiting him at Sydney. 1st Marine Rgt will re-stow and sail as soon as possible - for Rabaul.

Across the Pacific there is a flurry of activity and orders. CA San Francisco and DD Helm, escorting (now empty) troop transports from Luganville, leave their charges in the care of two destroyers, and increase speed for Sydney. They, along with Pensacola and DD Van Ghent heading down from Brisbane, will provide escort for 1st Marine Rgt. Lexington’s group, also at Brisbane, is readying to sail and will provide distant air cover.

At Pearl Harbor Saratoga and Yorktown are on 4 hours notice to sail. It seems likely they’ll be going into action for the first time. The rumour among the crew is that they are heading west, and finally taking the war to the Japanese. The senior officers know that they are to strike targets in Marshalls. The very senior officers know that the real purpose is to try and lure KB away from Rabaul - and the 1st Marine Rgt’s landing.

All this activity around his regiment, and Colonel Wilson is in blissful ignorance of at all.



USA

Another small reinforcement convoy leaves for Sydney:

1st USMC Air Wing HQ
11th MAG HQ
134th Combat Engineer Rgt
2nd and 3rd USMC Raider Bns.



STRATEGIC/OPERATIONAL

Sigint indicates that the 4th Infantry Rgt is planning for Kendari. This regiment was last seen on the peninsula near Manado, so no surprises there.

Sigint also indicates 144th Rgt is planning for Rabaul. 144th Rgt is currently at Truk so no surprises there either! I wonder who will win the race to Rabaul? My rough calculations for 1st Marine Rgt are:

4 days to Sydney
1 day to disembark
2 days to unpack
1 day to re-embark

Working on the basis then that 1st Marine Rgt sails on 19th February

5 days to Rabaul (assuming a high-speed run through the Solomon sea)

I can’t see the Marines arriving before 24th February.

I could shave several days off of this by diverting them direct to Rabual, loaded strategically as they are. The TF is too big to dock, but individually each ship would fit into the docks. Slower to unload then, vulnerable, and then still need to unpack, but still saving time overall.

Hmmm…….decisions for next turn…….



This is been one of those turns with very little action, but much going on behind the scenes.

I suspect much the same could be said of the Japanese side.

[RangerJoe]

The H81-A3 aircraft were P-40Bs made to Swedish standards but the Swedish government let them go to China. So compare them to American P-40Bs but the higher service rating might also reflect a shortage of spare parts, engines, and so on.

[JanSako]

I switched the Tigers to P-40E as soon as I could & gave the H81's to the Chinese. They can be used to train their pilots, it will be a while until they get the P-43's.
I also walked a base force to a base in between Lanchow & where they are so the I-15/I-16 squadrons can fly over to Lanchow & they were eventually bought out & all trained in India to save supply.

IMO the only time to openly challenge Japan's airforce (this early) is of you can muster at least a hundred airframes. A mix of Hurricanes with P-39's and some P-40 at the top of the multi-layer CAP will do a number on sweepers and will smash any escorts. You do need the Air & DEF on 70 though, and EXP at 60+ otherwise your attrition will be too high.
If you cannot do this, dance around him & ambush smaller raids if he is still doing them.
If you already taught him not to do smaller scattered raids and he is concentrating against individual targets, then it is time to start thinking about these big CAP traps.

[M Peaston]

The H81-A3 aircraft were P-40Bs made to Swedish standards but the Swedish government let them go to China. So compare them to American P-40Bs but the higher service rating might also reflect a shortage of spare parts, engines, and so on.

That’s interesting on the H81-A3. It’s always good to know a bit of the background - brings the game more to life.

[M Peaston]

I switched the Tigers to P-40E as soon as I could & gave the H81's to the Chinese. They can be used to train their pilots, it will be a while until they get the P-43's.
I also walked a base force to a base in between Lanchow & where they are so the I-15/I-16 squadrons can fly over to Lanchow & they were eventually bought out & all trained in India to save supply.

IMO the only time to openly challenge Japan's airforce (this early) is of you can muster at least a hundred airframes. A mix of Hurricanes with P-39's and some P-40 at the top of the multi-layer CAP will do a number on sweepers and will smash any escorts. You do need the Air & DEF on 70 though, and EXP at 60+ otherwise your attrition will be too high.
If you cannot do this, dance around him & ambush smaller raids if he is still doing them.
If you already taught him not to do smaller scattered raids and he is concentrating against individual targets, then it is time to start thinking about these big CAP traps.

We’ll see how it goes. Either the Japanese will bring in more fighters, or the bombing will stop - until the Japanese bring in more fighters. I think Fokko is determined to go on the offensive in the Wuchow/Kukong area.

[M Peaston]

10th February 1942



CHINA

The airfield at Wuchow took another hammering today. In the northeast the Japanese assault against the 3rd Red Guerrilla Corps at Shuozhou has been reinforced by 110th Div plus another artillery Rgt. South of Suchow the Chinese forces trying to retreat to Hwaiyin find their way blocked by an unknown enemy unit.

The Japanese have been making good tactical use of the railways in the 11th War Area to suppress guerrilla activities. Because there are dot bases pretty much all along the railway lines, a unit moving by train can end its movement pretty much anywhere along the rail line, rather than being confined to travelling between cities. Every time a Chinese unit tries to break out across a railway it finds its way blocked by a superior force which was able to reach the destination hex by train far quicker than the Chinese could march.



ABDA

The Japanese bomb Palembang, destroying on the ground a couple of Dutch fighters which were already damaged. An enemy force lands on Tandjoengpinang, south of Singapore.

In the smouldering, pock-marked ruins of what was once the city of Manila the defence now consists of some snipers, a few machine-gun posts and some well-concealed artillery. Infiltrating between the isolated trenches, shell-holes and ruins that the Allies still manage to hold, the Japanese overrun Corps HQ, yet by dusk (although under all the smoke and dust, it is dusk all day) the defenders somehow manage to repel the last attack of the day. Now, with all coordination and unit cohesion gone, each man knows he can do little more now than defend his post until the last. Surely now, tomorrow will bring the final assault.



SOPAC

1st Marine Rgt will go to Sydney and reload tactically for Rabaul as planned. If the Japanese beat me to the punch then so be it. Of course it would be good to hold Rabaul, but it’s not essential.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

SSI-123 Torpedoed and sank xAKL Berous off Soerabaja. For her efforts she received a brace of hits from the escorting HDML.
O-20 torpedoed a PB off of Takao. There’s no evidence it sank.

[M Peaston]

Eastern China:

China 10th Feb.png (1.49 MiB) Viewed 1227 times

There's not much left of the defenders at Manila:

Manila.png (1.42 MiB) Viewed 1227 times

[M Peaston]

11th February 1942



CHINA

A quiet day in China; the Japanese bombard at Shuozhou, a few sporadic air attacks. I’ve finally got the AVG in place in southwest China, so of course there are no Japanese air raids here today.



ABDA

After the usual air-raids the Japanese again attacked at Manila, and were again, somehow, beaten back. 192nd Tk Bn even managed to get two of their Stuarts back into action.

The airfield at Palembang is heavily bombed again, but all I’ve got there is a few damaged planes anyway. The Japanese take Tandjoengpinang and Singkawang II.

There is a build up of Japanese shipping at Singapore, what looks like an invasion fleet supported by BBs and CAs. I think Sumatra is the likeliest target.



SWPAC/SOPAC

KB shows up off the Bismarcks, bombing the airfield at Rabaul. I assume an invasion is imminent.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

Stingray and Catchalot manage a successful double-act at Nauru Island. Stingray shells xAKL Kanaiyama Maru in a night-time attack, and Catchalot torpedoes and sinks the cargo ship the next morning. It’s good to see that the torpedoes do explode occasionally, if only against low-value targets…..

[M Peaston]

DEI.png (2.48 MiB) Viewed 1194 times

Java.png (2.17 MiB) Viewed 1194 times

[M Peaston]

12th February 1942



CHINA

A Japanese Deliberate Attack at Shuozhou has the 3rd Red Corps rocking on its heels, but still holding - just. Meanwhile a Japanese assault at Laiwu (south of Tsinan) founders against unexpectedly tough fortifications - the level 9 forts coming as a surprise to me, let alone the Japanese.



INDIA/BURMA

PG Tarantula bombards 33rd Div at Moulmein.



ABDA

The heroic defence at Manila finally crumbles. Focus now switches to Bataan.

The Japanese buildup at Singapore continues; meanwhile the Royal Thai Navy leads the charge as three Torpedo Boats bombard Palembang, presumably checking for mines on the way…..sadly, they didn’t find any.

Little ACM Watergate continues her journey from Puerto Princesa, refuelling at Balikpapan and clearing he Makassar Strait on her way to Darwin. She does not appear to have been detected, which suggests the Japanese are not watching this area too closely (although she is only a very small ship). If ships can go one way, they can also go the other way…..



SWPAC/SOPAC

144th Rgt land at Rabaul, supported by the Kate and Vals from KB. The PT flotilla at Rabaul gave a good account of themselves, putting two torpedoes into xAP Yoshino Maru for the loss of just one PT Boat. I had thought the PT boats at Rabaul would probably be a one-shot weapon, I didn’t think six would survive and this has given me the unexpected problem of rearming/refuelling them without using Rabaul.

[M Peaston]

This should work, provided the Japanese don't interfere with my carefully-laid plans.....

Rabaul.png (1.16 MiB) Viewed 1168 times

[BBfanboy]

You could also look at any ships that fled the DEI to find the Dutch AGPs. There are two or three of them. Maybe one could set out to Milne Bay to refuel and then sneak on to Gasmata if not sighted?

[M Peaston]

I’ve had a quick look at my AGPs, in addition to Niagara there’s one each at Koepang, Cocos Is, Batavia and Soerabaja. Those at Cocos and Koepang can remain where they are for the moment, but those at Batavia and Soerabaja aren’t really achieving anything and I’ll relocate them.

I’m starting to master the art of getting my support ships to where it is they need to be, the problem is that by the time they arrive the plan has changed….

[RangerJoe]

I’ve had a quick look at my AGPs, in addition to Niagara there’s one each at Koepang, Cocos Is, Batavia and Soerabaja. Those at Cocos and Koepang can remain where they are for the moment, but those at Batavia and Soerabaja aren’t really achieving anything and I’ll relocate them.

I’m starting to master the art of getting my support ships to where it is they need to be, the problem is that by the time they arrive the plan has changed….

That is just one of the reasons why I suggest the conversion of every C2 Lassen class xAK to the AE support ship, they are the only class that can convert to the AE.

[JanSako]

He does not have many of those yet & it takes a while to convert. I also thought AE's don't do anything different than AKE's until '44 (is that wrong?).
They are also quite valuable to use in an AGP role.

[RangerJoe]

He does not have many of those yet & it takes a while to convert. I also thought AE's don't do anything different than AKE's until '44 (is that wrong?).
They are also quite valuable to use in an AGP role.

The AEs function just like the AKEs until 1 January 1945 BUT the C2 Lassen carries more cargo and thus can supply larger main gun rounds for the battleships while some AKEs don't carry the largest shell, at least that I am aware of. The USS Pyro is a small AE and can't carry the largest shells as per my understanding.

[M Peaston]

Everything takes longer in this mod; that’s the design philosophy. In this case the C2 Lassen takes 40 days to convert. I am gradually converting them, although my repair yards are filling up with all sorts of conversions/refits and I expect they will do throughout the game.

My understanding is exactly as you both say, i.e. an Allied AE functions identically to an AKE until 1945. However….

If I understand correctly, the rearm level of an AE/AKE is equal to its cargo capacity. So:

The Harriman AKE class (example below converting at Mare Island) with a cargo capacity/rearm level of 2,800 should, according to the rearm table in the manual, be capable of rearming up to 12” guns.

AKE.png (1013.3 KiB) Viewed 1048 times

The Pyro class AE with its cargo capacity of 3,600 should be able to rearm up to 14” guns.

Pyro.png (990.09 KiB) Viewed 1048 times

The C2 Lassen Class AE (example below Peter Kerr heading to Stockton to convert) with its cargo capacity of 5,400 should be able to reload up to 16” guns.

Peter Kerr.png (912.41 KiB) Viewed 1048 times

Prior to 1945 the designation of AE or AKE makes no difference, but this is something where size definitely matters (assuming of course that I’ve understood the manual correctly).

At this moment, AE Lassen is transiting the Bass Strait on the long route to Darwin to enable Force Z to rearm there, while AE Pyro is heading to Suva to rearm the light cruisers there. I would like to pretend (to myself as well as everyone else) that this was good planning based on a thorough knowledge of the rearm rates, but it was in fact just good luck –AE Lassen happened to be closer to Darwin so she got the job.

I will certainly be paying more attention to rearm rates and tender sizes from now on; another thing on this sharp learning curve.

Logistics, Logistics Logistics!