Yamamto's Knife Fight in a Shoebox - A New Player's PBEM (J)

[Icechuck]

Well, I'm back. After getting the game in November, playing the Coral Sea a handful of times, and playing a very scuffed PBEM of Guadalcanal alongside a few single-player runs, I'm now entering my first attempt at the Grand Campaign. In perhaps my most foolish act of all time, I, as an avid fan of the Allied side, will be playing the Empire of Japan against my fellow new friend, Gorilla, who is not a user of the forums. While the first 2 turns have been sent, I'll post recaps and explain in a mostly narrated recap of my endeavors. This will not be a PBEM consisting of 10000 battle reports, but rather my description of intent and outcomes unless major actions occur. I'm still very much learning the game, so expect failures both minor and colossal, and many questions. When I get home to my PC, I'll post recaps of December 7th, 8th, and 9th. I ask you please be gentle in judgement, as this is a huge undertaking and I'm going in headfirst.

The notable houserules we're playing with are mostly taken from other AARs I've read. Notably, the Strait of Malacca is closed to IJN elements until the fortress falls. There will be no strategic bombing in China until much later in the war. Restricted HQs cannot cross national borders, with a 3-hex allowance for active defense. There was no CV hunting on turn 1 by the KB. Full PP must be spent to transfer units out of restricted HQs. We have a few others, but there's a general gentleman's agreement to not do much outside the intent of the developers. If it feels gamey, it probably is. Oh yeah, PDU is on.

Discussing my overall plan as the Empire, it is broadly similar to the historical goals. We did play with a historical first turn to reflect this. I intend to establish a defensive perimeter as rapidly as possible, and then fortify without over-expansion. Port Moresby represents a long range goal of this, alongside Noumea. There is little interest to try and knock India out of the war, or Australia, although after the perimeter is established I am contemplating a limited invasion of western Australia to divert Allied resources and keep my opponent off-balance. My intention in this campaign isn't necessarily to win, but rather, to not lose. If I can outlast the Japanese surrender date, or retire in better condition than the Japanese did historically, that's totally okay in my book. This is more about fighting an interesting pacific theater than it is about rushing for an auto-victory.

I look forward to the learning experience, both about the game and about how to play Japan, because I know vastly less about the Japanese (as demonstrated by my dumbstruck look at seeing all the air-squadrons with planes I know little about and their structuring of LCUs), and appreciate any input given as we go.

[M Peaston]

Kudos for playing the Japanese side in your first PBEM - you’re much braver than I am.

It’s always interesting to see the outline of a sensible strategy early on in an AAR; I think it’s a good sign that you’ll do well. I look forward to reading about your exploits in the coming pages.

Good luck, and have lots of fun!

[RangerJoe]

A few things to consider:

1. Build up Fusan to ship resources to the Home Islands. Build up the port and if you build more Light Industry then more resources will flow there,
2. Try not to completely destroy Chinese units, corral them and let them starve while your bomber pilots gain experience and skills when bombing them.
3. Push to conquer China, which means cutting their supplies coming in from the Allies.
4. Establish your perimeter, then backfill by capturing bases. Take ALL dot bases so the enemy can't use them. Paratroopers dropping from the sky and being recovered by float planes are great for this. Fast Transport TFs also work well, if "Remain on Station" is selected, then they can immediately load the unit and go capture another base.
5. Go for Singapore as soon as possible. I recommend bringing some paratroopers to Saigon so you can try to capture bases in Malaya to cut off defenders from Singapore.
6. Chase the Luzon defenders into Bataan as soon as is possible but capture all Light Industry bases. This includes the islands as well, then the units can starve to be mopped up later.
7. See how many engines of the popular types such as the HA-35 are needed, increase production as needed. Remember that when you reach 501 stockpiled engines and are actually researching airframes that would use that engine, then one engine per research factory that produces at least 1 research point that turn will be consumed.
8. Considering the above, if you have not done your increases in your Research Factories, look at the earliest model in a line that you can research and have your factories research that model, then you can move the factories to the next model before they start producing airframes.
9. Be careful with your expansions of industry of all types so you don't crash the economy and war effort by running out of supplies. But you also have to have at least 10k in supplies at a base before any repairs including new production is done. Never repair refineries, just oil because you have a surplus of refining capacity.

[Icechuck]

A few things to consider:

1. Build up Fusan to ship resources to the Home Islands. Build up the port and if you build more Light Industry then more resources will flow there,
2. Try not to completely destroy Chinese units, corral them and let them starve while your bomber pilots gain experience and skills when bombing them.
3. Push to conquer China, which means cutting their supplies coming in from the Allies.
4. Establish your perimeter, then backfill by capturing bases. Take ALL dot bases so the enemy can't use them. Paratroopers dropping from the sky and being recovered by float planes are great for this. Fast Transport TFs also work well, if "Remain on Station" is selected, then they can immediately load the unit and go capture another base.
5. Go for Singapore as soon as possible. I recommend bringing some paratroopers to Saigon so you can try to capture bases in Malaya to cut off defenders from Singapore.
6. Chase the Luzon defenders into Bataan as soon as is possible but capture all Light Industry bases. This includes the islands as well, then the units can starve to be mopped up later.
7. See how many engines of the popular types such as the HA-35 are needed, increase production as needed. Remember that when you reach 501 stockpiled engines and are actually researching airframes that would use that engine, then one engine per research factory that produces at least 1 research point that turn will be consumed.
8. Considering the above, if you have not done your increases in your Research Factories, look at the earliest model in a line that you can research and have your factories research that model, then you can move the factories to the next model before they start producing airframes.
9. Be careful with your expansions of industry of all types so you don't crash the economy and war effort by running out of supplies. But you also have to have at least 10k in supplies at a base before any repairs including new production is done. Never repair refineries, just oil because you have a surplus of refining capacity.

I appreciate it, especially the suggestion to move paras into Saigon, I hadn't thought of that. I've seen alot of the advice you give on other AARs, and it's helped me formulate some ideas for this campaign, so I look forward to any other input!

[RangerJoe]

A few things to consider:

1. Build up Fusan to ship resources to the Home Islands. Build up the port and if you build more Light Industry then more resources will flow there,
2. Try not to completely destroy Chinese units, corral them and let them starve while your bomber pilots gain experience and skills when bombing them.
3. Push to conquer China, which means cutting their supplies coming in from the Allies.
4. Establish your perimeter, then backfill by capturing bases. Take ALL dot bases so the enemy can't use them. Paratroopers dropping from the sky and being recovered by float planes are great for this. Fast Transport TFs also work well, if "Remain on Station" is selected, then they can immediately load the unit and go capture another base.
5. Go for Singapore as soon as possible. I recommend bringing some paratroopers to Saigon so you can try to capture bases in Malaya to cut off defenders from Singapore.
6. Chase the Luzon defenders into Bataan as soon as is possible but capture all Light Industry bases. This includes the islands as well, then the units can starve to be mopped up later.
7. See how many engines of the popular types such as the HA-35 are needed, increase production as needed. Remember that when you reach 501 stockpiled engines and are actually researching airframes that would use that engine, then one engine per research factory that produces at least 1 research point that turn will be consumed.
8. Considering the above, if you have not done your increases in your Research Factories, look at the earliest model in a line that you can research and have your factories research that model, then you can move the factories to the next model before they start producing airframes.
9. Be careful with your expansions of industry of all types so you don't crash the economy and war effort by running out of supplies. But you also have to have at least 10k in supplies at a base before any repairs including new production is done. Never repair refineries, just oil because you have a surplus of refining capacity.

I appreciate it, especially the suggestion to move paras into Saigon, I hadn't thought of that. I've seen alot of the advice you give on other AARs, and it's helped me formulate some ideas for this campaign, so I look forward to any other input!

You are welcome.

A few more:

1. If you are going to expand HI, consider expanding it in Manchuria and Korea. If those are bombed, then no VPs will be awarded. If you can hold China, those are relatively safe until Soviet entry. Maybe expand it 10 points at a time per base.
2. If you expand your Research Factories, just expand them to 30 at the Industry screen where you can expand them by 1 point, 10 points, or double them. You can't expand them by ten points until they are already at 10 points whether or not they are repaired. Bur then switching them to the next airframe in the upgrade sequence before production starts, there is no damage to those factories. Otherwise if you switch them out of the upgrade sequence or to a different model, then they are damaged plus there will be points lost. This way the factories repair faster, you get your better planes faster, but your supply levels can crash!
3. Turn off most merchant cargo ship production except for the Standard-C class or higher which you may want to hoard until they can become tankers, as well as the useful smaller ships that can convert to needed auxiliaries, plus the larger cargo vessels. You may want to build the xAPs as well. This will save you points which can then be used to speed up CVE production. Any ship that starts should be finished otherwise you will waste the merchant shipyard points but they can be one day away from being completed yet production is halted.
4. Turn off the cargo sub production, they only haul cargo and regular subs can do that as well. Maybe initially only keep producing the subs with float planes.
5. If allowed in your House Rules, pull off the 2nd float plane units on ships so equipped and expand them on the CS vessels to the maximum allowed. Use these for training Naval pilots in everything except Naval Torpedo Attacks. Start training them on Low Naval but not just for Kamikazes but Jakes at range 8 carry 4 bombs on low naval which can hurt destroyers and smaller combat vessels not to mention merchant type shipping. Think of putting those in a dot base with either a xAK converted to an AV or a smaller air support unit. The other float plane unit should also expand to the maximum size for the ship itself. You could leave a mix of both types on your cruiser force, the shorter range ones for night work (including CAP) while the Jakes do the longer range daylight patrolling. In that case, you would pull the shorter range float planes like Petes off and expand those. If you do this, those extra float plane units can also really do a lot of Naval Search and ASW search along your important convoy routes. In that case, you will need to convert xAKs to AVs.
6. Train lots of pilots, if you don't need them now then you will later.
7. Build all obsolete aircraft that you have engines for, the engines are free so the airplane only needs the aircraft so it is essentially cheaper. Those aircraft are still useful for training purposes.
8. PDU is on so decide which aircraft that you want to concentrate on building now, the ones that you want in the middle of the game (Tojos), and your end game models. Plan your research and engine building accordingly. Including your engine research. Do you really want the Judy 1 and 2 which are only marginally better than the Val but uses a unique engine that you need to research? But if you would rather have the Judy 3 which also carries a much larger bomb but uses a common engine, then research the Judy 1 (and 2, realistically) but switch some of the Judy research factories to the Judy 3 which uses the common engine but ONLY when you have 501+ of the common engine in your stockpile since then you will get the research bonus. Try to time it so the Judy 1 finishes first, then the Judy 2 shortly afterwards, and then in a few days the Judy 3 goes into production while some if not most of the research factories have just switched to the Judy 4 model.
9. Relatively speaking, convert a lot of xAKs to AKEs and a decent amount to ADs. The ADs can also assist in repair to the smaller vessels, you will also need AGs for this as well. Going back to #5, an AV and an AG at a base with fuel or a small TK/AO can provide a nice backwater air support base as well as supporting ASW ship TFs. Try to keep the smaller ASW vessels in coastal water where the depth charges go deep enough, route your convoys accordingly. You will need a few Lima AKEs to support the Yamato classes away from the large bases. By having the extra support vessels, you can preposition them with ammo so your ships can relocate quickly without having to wait for support vessels to catch up. Also, the support vessels will have to reload and that may take a few days to get to where the supplies are, load back up, and then return to the support base.
10. Consider converting an armaments factory to vehicles, the 80 point one in Korea is a good choice. You should end up with plenty of armaments but probably not enough vehicles for your armor expansions and motorization plus expansion of your infantry units.
11. Don't automatically upgrade all of your air units to the latest and greatest model except your fighters that you use as your offensive strike force. You need to use all of the aircraft as is possible otherwise you wasted the production. That written, unless your units are short while a new model is close to production, turn off the production of the old model. You will have extra of the older models to use when you upgrade your units. That written, only upgrade those units when most if not all aircraft are in working condition since the damaged aircraft may not be repaired and placed into the stockpiles.
12. Read up about the magic highway, there is a slight trick to get it working without stuff going back to Singapore.

As far as a primer for your economy as well as discussions of the various aircraft, Mike Solli's AARs have excellent discussions there. This is an older AAR so some things were changed in updates, he has a later one as well.

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... +don+bowen

This is his latest one:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 5&t=371686

[Icechuck]

December 7th, 1941

Japanese forces surge across the Pacific, striking and devastating Pearl Harbor. The US Pacific Fleet is caught wholly off guard, and almost all capital ships are severely damaged, with atleast one, the USS Arizona, being reported as sunk alongside a handful of smaller surface combatants. Alongside that, Force Z is heavily struck, with Japanese intelligence reporting the Repulse sunk, and pilots reporting Prince of Wales going under after their strikes. Landings in Kota Bharu go well, with minimal resistance. There's not too much to add here, given the historical turn setting being on, but all in all, day 1 went as one could hope.

December 8th, 1941

The first day of wholly controlled warfare begins with a strike at Clark Field., Zeroes escort 21 Bettys over the AO, and dogfight with about 20 Warhawks. The Warhawks are forced away, leaving 3 of their own to crash and burn, and the airfield is struck ineffectively due to cloud cover. Off the coast of Kota Bharu, the RAF attempt a heroic, but ultimately doomed attack run on the landing force and covering Battleship Division. The BB's Haruna and Kongo are attacked by 7 Blenheim Is, 3 Blenheim IVs, and 10 Hudsons. The allies lose 2 of the Blenheims outright, and almost every other plane is damaged and waves off. 12 more pilots brave the AA again, taking Blenheim IVs on another desperate run, but they lose 1 of their number and 9 limp away. No hits are scored.

A deliberate attack by the Khota Baru landing force routes the defenders, destroying Hudsons and Vildebeest's on the ground. The allies suffer about 1400 casualties to the IJA's 185, and begin to route towards Singapore with Japanese troops in pursuit.

Back at Pearl Harbor, poor weather prohibits a 2nd strike, and the KB begins to withdraw towards Truk. No major actions occur, but some merchants are reported hit by search planes, and the AVD McFarland is torpedoed (and presumably killed) by the SS I-19.

In the Gilbert Islands, Makin is occupied without incident.

December 9th, 1941

Japanese SIGINT reveals a major piece of intelligence for the Combined Fleet Headquarters. There's a high volume of radio traffic at Pearl Harbor. This news will rock Yamamoto to his very core.

Submarine actions occur across the theater this turn, with I-123 torpedoing xAK Bennevis off the coast of Iba. Near Johnston Island, I-20 attempts to approach the Heavy Cruiser Astoria, but is sighted and forced to dive. I am also reminded of the stark difference between Dutch submarines and American submarines in the early days, with Salmon dudding on DMS W-10, while the Dutch submarine O-20 first attempts to torpedo the xAP Brazil Maru, but misses, and then shoots again at Teihoku Maru, scoring a crippling hit. She limps into harbor, but is heavily damaged.

In the Philippines, Clark Field is swept by Zeroes. For the cost of 1 aviator, the Allies lose 12 aircraft of varying types. A splendid showing by the elite pilots of the Empire. Following this fighter sweep, Betty bombers and Nell's register over 30 hits on the runway, and 7 on the airbase. A B-17D is reportedly destroyed on the ground. A squadron of Lily's strike the airfield at Tuguegarao and register a handful of hits with no resistance. It appears Gorilla has evacuated the small amount of auxiliary craft reported there. To close out the action, Japanese troops land at Aparri without incident, although many men are lost to accidents. At Vigan, the landings almost go as smoothly, but there's a brief moment in the afternoon when 3 PT boats heroically sail forth against the massive Japanese landing force, and then promptly reconsider and withdraw. After the landings conclude, I detach a DD squadron headed up by the Light Cruiser Naka to head south towards the Bataan peninsula and wrap up any evacuating allied shipping.

Wake Island falls to a shock attack after landings take place on the same day. The SNLF reports all the Americans have been killed or captured, and 366 of their 1511 man force are casualties.

December 10th, 1941

More incredible analysis by Japanese Intelligence, Seattle is reported to be a hub of radio transmissions. Truly, the wily Americans are throwing us off with moves like this.

Japanese submarines begin to withdraw from the immediate Pearl Harbor area but continue to lurk outside ASW patrol range. I-1 takes minor damage from an airstrike as she does this. Dutch SS KXI scores a hit on the Ayato Maru, and she sinks. Fortunately, she was carrying very few men. KXI then goes on to also sink the Kiyozumi Maru in the same turn. I can already sense the satisfaction I'll feel at destroying these forces.

Naka's DD squadron strike gold, and encounter a group of 5 merchants attempting to escape. All are sunk. They then continue down to the Palawan area and encounter the xAK Tantalus, sinking her as well. The Americans respond elsewhere by attacking another DD squadron, headed by the Light Cruiser Natori. Three heroic PT boats, the same from yesterday, sally out and engage the squadron at a range of 10,000 yards in a poor visibility night action. Many shells are fired, torpedoes are launched at the IJN task force, but neither side registers any hits and the PT boats withdraw.

Japanese troops land at Legaspi and Miri. Clark Field is swept again, with 18 Zeroes facing off against 15 P-40s of the E and B variety, and then 6 P-35s who regret being in the airspace. 1 Zero is shot down, but the Allies like 2 P-35s and 1 of each Warhawks. The Zeroes return later in the day, with 21 Zeroes jumping 4 P-40Es. No Zeroes are lost, and 3 Warhawks are shot down. The Nells and Bettys then follow behind, slamming the airfield and registering 15 hits, alongside many aircraft hit on the ground.

Japanese troops prepare to attack Hong Kong, and the hex is targeted for bombardment. Aircraft have been bombing the Port there for 3 days, and it's finally reported emtpy. 4 DDs are ordered to monitor the port and sink any ships attempting to flee.

And that's it. We're all caught up. I'm awaiting the return of my next turn, and will go over some short and long term plans in the next post, and go over the next turn once it's returned.

[RangerJoe]

I am not sure if you know what that radio activity means but keep track of it and if you see it moving, then action may be required.

[Icechuck]

I am not sure if you know what that radio activity means but keep track of it and if you see it moving, then action may be required.

I'm broadly aware of it. My understanding is it means that either there's a lot of ships being pushed into TFs, or there's alot of activity at the bast with ships/planes coming and going. Am I missing anything on that front?

[Icechuck]

December 11th, 1941

An eventful day for the IJN. But first, we've got some other news to go over.

Submarines

The IJN Submarine force around Pearl has begun to disperse away from the harbor, more focused on engaging things outside the cover of the ASW screens and air-cover. The need for this was solidified, with I-3 taking heavy damage from Worden and Hull, and I-1 taking a near miss from Hull. By my count there's 8 US DDs hunting down submarines around Pearl, so we'll be moving away to avoid taking needless losses. Allied submarines have a bit better luck, with KXI sighting a convoy off Vietnam, but being forced under by a patrol boat. S-39 attempts to sneak up on the DD squadron headed by CL Nagara, which is covering the landings at Legaspi, but is forced under when spotted.

China

The battle for Hong Kong has fully begun. Japanese forces conducted a mass bombardment today and will attempt a deliberate attack tomorrow. Assault values are looking good, with 626 for the Japanese and 230 for the Allies. They've been enduring constant air bombardment and will continue to face that while the battle develops.

Elsewhere, the 11th Independent Brigade, in its march to screen the south of Wuchang, encounters the 3rd New Chinese Corp, and bombards them. They'll attempt to hold the enemy in place while other elements move to encircle them. North of that, at Sinyang, the Japanese force garrisoning the base launch a counterattack at a Chinese formation consisting of the 12th Chinese Corps and 3rd Group Army and force them to retreat from the hex. At Ichang, the 34th Division and some supporting elements encounter a massive buildup of Chinese forces and are attacked. The attackers, numbering about 41,000 to my 14,000, are a combination of 6 Chinese Corps. Casualties are high, with 1200 Japanese losses to 1071 Chinese, but we hold, and reinforcements are sent for. Multiple ground support squadrons are also rotated over to the Ichang area to bombard the Chinese forces.

Guam
Japanese forces land on Guam.

Borneo
Japanese troops seize Miri and begin marching towards Brunei. No casualties are taken, and no serious resistance was encountered as of yet.

Philippines
The day begins over Clark Field, as it has the last few days, with Zeroes tearing in from above. Across multiple sweeps, 7 enemy aircraft are lost at no loss of Zeroes. The Bettys and Nells then slam the runway again, scoring many good hits and destroying an O-47 on the ground.

On the ground, Japanese troops secure Legaspi and in the north, are marching south to try and pin the Allies into the Bataan peninsula.

At sea, the IJN suffers its first loss, and the first surface actions of the war break out.

Starting with the loss, the aforementioned squadron of the CL Nagara is beset upon by 3 PT boats in a night action, who are attempting to disrupt the landings at Legaspi. The boats come in and are only sighted at a range of 2,000 yards. Q-111 and her 2 peers fire torpedoes, and one strikes true hitting the DD Suzukaze. Suzukaze, a Shiratsuyu Class, is fatally wounded. Q-111, however, does not get to celebrate for long as a shell from Nagara annihilates the PT boat. This isn't a major loss, but, it's worth noting as the first IJN warship to be sunk in this war.

On the western side of the Philippines, however, a very different story unfolds. The DD squadron headed by Naka, which we'll just refer to as the Naka Squadron, encounters the xAK Ming Sang. She is promptly sunk in the late hours of the night. Immediately thereafter, the squadron sights the American destroyers John D. Ford and Peary. In another night action, the forces engage, and the Ford is struck 3 times with heavy fires, while Peary is ignited by 1 hit. The DDs withdraw, and the Naka Squadron continues south. All of this happens immediately off the coast of Panay. Naka Squadron, intent on bombarding the airfield at Jolo after sighting some enemy aircraft relocating there, continues on her voyage until she sights the Ford and Peary again, still burning and limping home. The order is given to close with the enemy, and both destroyers are sunk. The Ford takes 19 hits and goes under, while Peary is shot twice and torpedoed. As the squadron continues to cut through the night, just north of her target at Jolo she sights the destroyers Pilsbury and Pope. Both sides engage, with neither scoring hits, until a few hours later when the DDs are sighted again. This time, the action occurs in daylight hours, and Pilsbury registers 1 hit on Yudachi. Pilsbury, in response, is struck 25 times and sunk, while Pope is hit 21 times before joining her comrade at the bottom of the Sulu Sea. Truly, the Japanese are experts at proportional response to damage.

Naka then proceeds to bombard Jolo, causing minor damage, before encountering even more targets. The cargo ships Hinsan and Munlock are both beset upon, and promptly shot to death, and to top it all off, Naka encounters the AO Pecos. Pecos is hit 13 times before the TF has to disengage due to low ammunition. Pecos wasn't confirmed sunk, but has heavy fires and heavy damage, and is unlikely to survive the next day. The Naka Squadron will proceed north to Cam Ranh Bay for replenishment.

Malaya

The march towards Singapore continues, with reinforcements continuing to land at Singora, Patani, and Kota Bharu. Fighter squadrons and CAS squadrons are transferred from Vietnam to provide cover for army forces.

New Guinea

Troops will land on Hollandia, Vanimo, Aitape, and Wewak tomorrow. In 2 days, Kavieng will fall as well.

Future Schemes

I've begun scheming a few ideas on unconventional targets to strike, to try and spread my opponent's forces out, but nothing is definitive yet. Adak and Dutch Harbor are being carefully eyed by Japanese HQ as potential targets before winter sets in.

[RangerJoe]

I am not sure if you know what that radio activity means but keep track of it and if you see it moving, then action may be required.

I'm broadly aware of it. My understanding is it means that either there's a lot of ships being pushed into TFs, or there's alot of activity at the bast with ships/planes coming and going. Am I missing anything on that front?

Or ships are loading. But that is one way to track enemy TFs including air combat TFs.

You can also use Glens on night search . . .

[Icechuck]

I am not sure if you know what that radio activity means but keep track of it and if you see it moving, then action may be required.

I'm broadly aware of it. My understanding is it means that either there's a lot of ships being pushed into TFs, or there's alot of activity at the bast with ships/planes coming and going. Am I missing anything on that front?

Or ships are loading. But that is one way to track enemy TFs including air combat TFs.

You can also use Glens on night search . . .

Appreciate the clarification. I'll be sure to watch for those signs on the more immediate AOs to pre-empt an enemy evacuation or reinforcement!

[Icechuck]

December 12th, 1941


Submarines

I-170 torpedoes the Tanker Eidsvold off Pearl Harbor. She takes 1 hit and is reported to have suffered heavy damage.

China

Japanese troops conduct a deliberate attack on Hong Kong to test our luck. With 1:1 odds, we reduce forts down to level 2, although losses are high with 800 IJA losses to 257 allied. The men will rest and shell the city, with further air attacks continuing to diminish the defenders and prevent the forts from recovering.

The Chinese force at Ichang is harassed by air throughout the day. They suffer about 50 losses. The Chinese are also shelled at Ichang, suffering another 20 casualties. The intention here is to delay long enough for an armored regiment and further divisions can arrive.

At Paotow, the 81st Chinese corps conducts a failed shock attack against the 1st and 4th Cav brigades. I lose 64 to their 252. At Kweisui they attempt the same thing with the 3rd Provincial Chinese Corps. They succeed, routing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ching An Tui Brigades. The Chinese will be blocked if they continue to south, and should struggle to supply themselves here.

Guam

Guam falls. 36 Japanese losses are sustained, and the 144th Infantry Regiment will immediately start packing for Truk, and then Rabaul.

Borneo

Landings continue on Borneo, and more troops are preparing to land on the island within the next few days. Planning is made for Balikpapan, Samarinda, Tarakan, and Pontianak.

Phillipines

Clark Field suffers again. Only 3 P-26 As and 3 P-35s are launched against me this time, and 1 of each are lost. The airfield is hammered again, and I will be retasking the bombers and fighters to hit other targets across Luzon. More Japanese troops are bound for Luzon, and the men continue the march south. The landings at Legaspi are complete, and Japanese forces march north to Naga.

Ryujo is operating around the Celebes Sea, attempting to catch fleeing ships. She is tailed by a submarine, so is changing course to disengage.

Malaya

Georgetown is swept by Oscars, and are opposed by 14 Buffalos. Sweeps will continue to destroy this force. An unknown CA and BB are sighted attempting to flee Singapore, so a daring raid is planned. Zeroes and Oscars will sweep the fortress tomorrow, to try and cover a massive Betty and Nell strike now that their torpedoes are replenished. The forecast is good, so hopefully we can strike gold.

New Guinea

Hollandia, Vanimo, Aitape, Wewake, and Manus are occupied.

Truk

Kido Butai has nearly arrived at Truk for resupply and refuel.

[Icechuck]

December 13th, 1941

Submarines

The Tanker Eidsvold is struck 2 more times by I-170, dooming her.

S-39 duds on DMS W-8 off Legaspi.

Enemy subs across the theater are suppressed by the newly equipped Japanese PT boats.

China

The 13th Independent Mixed Brigade shatters the 89th Chinese Corps near Pengpu. Low casualties are sustained on my end.

Japanese troops bombard Hong Kong, inflicting 38 losses.

The massive Chinese blob at Ichang attempts a shock attack and suffers 339 dead to my own losses of 162. Reinforcements are fighting to the south and should arrive in time.

Borneo

More troops are enroute to land, the march continues.

Philippines

San Fernando falls, with a massive stock of over 40k fuel massed there.

Clark Field is swept, only 1 allied plane launches in defiance and is shot down.

Malaya

Swarms of Japanese craft sweep Singapore. For the cost of 1 Zero and 1 Oscar, 11 Buffalos are shot down. The bombers, however, are unable to locate the enemy ships and no strikes are conducted. The forecast for tomorrow is terrible, so strikes are cancelled. No joy today. Georgetown continues to suffer daily bombardment.

New Guinea Area

Landings occur on Kavieng, minor enemy resistance is encountered but should be knocked down.

Truk

KB had to hold to refuel the destroyers, they're about 48 hours out.

[Icechuck]

December 14th, 1941

Submarines

Many failed attacks today. Nothing of consequence.

China

The CAS on Ichang continues, and Chinese losses continue to mount. Both sides shell one another at Ichang, with incidental losses on both sides.

Near Hankow, Japanese armored forces attempt to break through Chinese units intent on blocking reinforcements to Ichang, but are repulsed with minor losses. Another attack tomorrow should displace them.

At Wuchang, the 40th and 6th Division, supported by an armored car company, shell the Chinese 20th Corp, with the intention to attack tomorrow.

At Hong Kong, the Japanese attack again, reducing forts to level 1. 271 losses are sustained, and 500 enemy troops are casualties. We'll continue the attack and airstrikes tomorrow to hopefully keep the forts down and get them to level 0. The Emperor will soon be gifted the fortress.

Borneo

No action.

Philippines

Clark Field is swept again, with minimal resistance. Bombers cause minimal damage to keep it suppressed. At Manila, Bettys and Nells savage the port, damaging 4 transport ships and annihilating a PG.

Lingayen appears to be abandoned, as confirmed by recon and a small bomber raid.

Enemy B-17Ds attack the landings at Legaspi, scoring no hits. To me, this seems like an unworthy risk, but I might not have the full picture. If anyone has insight on this, it would be appreciated.

Malaya

The inexorable march to Singapore continues. Sally's bomb Georgetown, hitting the runway and Buffaloes on the ground.

I won't get too much into anything else, as it's just more of the same. I'll update in hopefully 1-2 turns when some major developments may occur.

[RangerJoe]

With the major Chinese attack at Ichang using a lot of supplies, bomb them and everywhere else but constantly shift targets where the AVG can show up. Escort those bombers within the 5 hex range of the airfields that the AVG can use. The bombing and bombarding will use the Chinese supplies even faster and soon there will be shortages. Just remember, corral the Chinese units, try not to destroy them so you won't face them at Chungking or Chengtu.

[stuman]

I am enjoying reading these posts from the point of view of a relatively new Japanese player. And thank you Ranger Joe for your comments. I am taking notes !

[Icechuck]

I am enjoying reading these posts from the point of view of a relatively new Japanese player. And thank you Ranger Joe for your comments. I am taking notes !

Ranger Joe was invaluable in my Coral Sea practice when I first got the game, I can only imagine all the input on the big one!

[Icechuck]

With the major Chinese attack at Ichang using a lot of supplies, bomb them and everywhere else but constantly shift targets where the AVG can show up. Escort those bombers within the 5 hex range of the airfields that the AVG can use. The bombing and bombarding will use the Chinese supplies even faster and soon there will be shortages. Just remember, corral the Chinese units, try not to destroy them so you won't face them at Chungking or Chengtu.

So far I've had no signs of the AVG, but I'm making sure to escort as much as I can. Definitely worried about them knocking down my aircraft. Any idea what their starting experience is?

[Icechuck]

December 15th, 1941

Submarines

I-124 surfaced this morning to destroy the xAKL Dos Hermanos with the deck gun. 6 shells were fired, when a massive explosion was reported and the I-124 dove back down. She was struck 6 times with heavy fires and damage off Legaspi. She will sink.

American submarines are suppressed throughout the Philippines area. Dutch sub KXVII was hit by a depth charge off Borneo, and hopefully is hurting.

China

A Walrus II sortie attempts to fly out of Hong Kong. They're met by Tojos and Oscars, and shot down. Following this, the routine bombing runs continue. After the daily bombardment, the troops conduct an attack, and reduce forts to level 0. Casualties are almost 1:1, with the Japanese losing 446 to the British 434. Hong Kong will hopefully fall at the next go. I might rest my men up and do a shock attack, or perhaps I'll just keep with the safer deliberates using some newly arrived troops.

At Ichang, air attacks continue and both sides bombard for minimal impact. Directly south of Ichang, The Japanese 13th Division, 13th Tank Regiment and supporting artillery and smaller infantry units rout the 30th Chinese Corps, and the tanks and infantry are now free to march to Ichang. An independent mixed brigade will hang back to keep the supply lines open as the Chinese attempt to threaten Hankow. North-east of Hankow, a Chinese garrison unit that was enroute to Hankow is routed by 2 Chinese Corps. They're out of supply and shouldn't last long against real resistance.

No sightings of the AVG yet.

Philippines

I initially swept Clark Field today as a final measure, but when the Bettys came in to hit the airfield, Warhawks tried to shoot at them. Clearly, the allied fighters aren't done yet.

The 91st PA Division is trying to retreat from the landings at Appari, but are being harassed by aircraft to slow their withdrawal.

More B-17s attempt to disrupt me at Legaspi, but one is downed by flak and none hit their targets. Nearby, Ryujo launches a torpedo attack at a poor allied AM, sinking her.

Malaya

Georgetown continues to be attritted by air, because targets keep getting blown up on the runway. Troops landing at Singora and Patani are vectored to Georgetown to secure the airfield. Victoria Point falls.

[RangerJoe]

With the major Chinese attack at Ichang using a lot of supplies, bomb them and everywhere else but constantly shift targets where the AVG can show up. Escort those bombers within the 5 hex range of the airfields that the AVG can use. The bombing and bombarding will use the Chinese supplies even faster and soon there will be shortages. Just remember, corral the Chinese units, try not to destroy them so you won't face them at Chungking or Chengtu.

So far I've had no signs of the AVG, but I'm making sure to escort as much as I can. Definitely worried about them knocking down my aircraft. Any idea what their starting experience is?

Some of the pilots are very good, some are just adequate. Not all of the pilots were initially fighter pilots before joining the AVG.

There was one pilot who was even born in Canton, China, in the AVG.

"More than thirty German fighters were attacking the bomber formation and Major Howard single-handedly went after them. He shot down two, probably shot down two more and damaged at least another two. He continued to attack even after he had run out of ammunition and was low on fuel. When he returned to his base at RAF Boxted, his Mustang had just a single bullet hole.

For this action, James H. Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor, presented by Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz 11 January 1945. He is the only fighter pilot in the European Theater to have received this Medal. Howard was promoted to the rank of colonel."

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/11-january-1944/