Never Thought I'd Start Another One - tc464 (A) vs. Mike (J)

[Tanaka]

12 May 42

Sub War

I screwed up with I-124. She was sent to lay a minefield at Pt. Moresby, but I figured the port would be mined and decided to change the target hex to a hex south of the base. Unfortunately, I forgot to make the change and sure enough, there was a minefield and she hit one and sank. Down to 3 minelaying subs.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

One of my subs had spotted a number of Allied TFs at Luganville. I know I had said that I wasn't going to use any of KB until after the July 42 air unit changes, but it looked like a chance I shouldn't pass up. I sent Shokaku and Zuikaku to investigate. They'll arrive in range tomorrow.

SRA

Borneo

Nothing to report.

Burma

The tanks will attack Paoshan again tomorrow.

China

The Zeros in the north of China shot down 3 more fighters at Hami. There still are a couple left. Once they're finished off, the Zeros will move to Kweilin in south-central China to start taking out a concentration of Chinese fighters at Kunming.

Other Stuff

Nothing to report.

What are these July 42 air unit changes?

[RangerJoe]

Trust me on this, if you attack infantry with armor and chew them up without taking too much if any damage, then you won the battle even if you didn't capture the base. Apparently, all devices that were disabled at the beginning of the battle are destroyed during the retreat.

There is no need to compete with sweeping enemy fighters if you don't have to do so. But if you do, it will be over your own base so you are much more likely to recover your pilots from destroyed aircraft. Meanwhile, the enemy will most likely lose his pilots. So maybe make some "killer" fighter units with very good to excellent pilots with superb defensive skills to compete with his sweeps.

[Mike Solli]

What are these July 42 air unit changes?

The July 42 air unit changes I referred to are when the Japanese fleet carriers change the composition of the air units. In about all the cases, the number of fighters increases and the dive and torpedo bomber numbers also change. I am hoping that at that point I can change the composition to what I want. Basically, with the exception of Akagi and Kaga, I'll increase the number of fighters on each carrier to 50% of the max. I'll change the Kates to 1/3 to 1/2 of the torpedo complement and fill out the rest with Vals. Akagi and Kaga's fighters will be around 36 or 39. My reserve of IJNAF fighters with exp of 70+, A2A of 70+ and def of 70+ (mostly) is increasing to be able to meet this change.

[Mike Solli]

Trust me on this, if you attack infantry with armor and chew them up without taking too much if any damage, then you won the battle even if you didn't capture the base. Apparently, all devices that were disabled at the beginning of the battle are destroyed during the retreat.

I totally agree with you on this. I do want to take the base, primarily for the additional LI, but the 3 Chinese corps defending are decreasing in AV every day. I'm losing no tanks and the disruption tanks are minimal, usually just a couple per attack that are quickly repaired. I wasn't aware of the last sentence, but it doesn't surprise me. When a unit retreats, the losses are usually severe.

There is no need to compete with sweeping enemy fighters if you don't have to do so. But if you do, it will be over your own base so you are much more likely to recover your pilots from destroyed aircraft. Meanwhile, the enemy will most likely lose his pilots. So maybe make some "killer" fighter units with very good to excellent pilots with superb defensive skills to compete with his sweeps.

I learned about that first sentence way back in WitP, about 20 years ago. And yes, I will defend over my own territory much more readily than over enemy controlled territory. Ted has so many fighters in Chittagong (90+) that are almost always sweeping the hex to the east of Chittagong. I'm building up my forces there to overpower his. We'll see what happens. Anyway, I'm considering trying to sneak in a low level sentai to hit his bombers that are bombing (a squadron each of Blenheim IV and Wellingtons). All of his sweeping fighters are around 30k feet and the bombers are bombing at 8k feet. Unfortunately, I have only Oscars in the AO. A single chutai of Tojos has been upgraded and are almost repaired. It'll be a couple more weeks before I get enough to outfit a full sentai.

[Mike Solli]

14 May 42

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Well, another crappy CV attack. Shokaku and Zuikaku were hanging out by the Santa Cruz Islands hoping to find some juicy targets around Luganville. Instead, they found 3 DEs and all they launched were 26 Vals escorted by 14 Zeros. There were 6 Kittyhawks and 5 F4F-4 Wildcats flying CAP, probably from Luganville, which has level 4 port and airfield. The Zeros managed to shoot down a Wildcat before the survivors got past them. Eight Vals were lost and no hits were scored on the speedy DEs. I found it interesting that the F4F-4 was being used. I figured Ted would reserve them for the carrier squadrons.

I just compared the F4F-3, -3A and -4 and the only thing the -4 has going for it is 6 wing mounted .50 cals. The other 2 have only 4 wing mounted guns and the -3A is the longest ranged of the three. They all really suck. In April 43, he'll get the Hellcat, which has longer range. Interesting...

Anyway, Shokaku showed 5 KIA and 1 WIA with 6 planes shot down and 1 written off. There is a 30 exp pilot WIA. (I maxed out all the CV air groups to train extra guys while they sit in port playing pinochle.). There are 7 planes missing but no pilots are missing.

Zuikaku shows 2 Vals shot down and another written off, which corresponds with the number of remaining planes. They also show 2 pilots KIA, and are missing 2 pilots.

Really weird.

Anyway, the carriers are going home. I must keep telling myself that KB must sit in port until after 1 July 42 when their air complements change.

SRA

Borneo

Still one base in Allied hands.

Burma

Another deliberate attack by my tanks at Paoshan tomorrow.

I am also attacking the weak Indian Infantry Division that got beat up earlier. It's just east of Cox's Bazaar and one of the Indian CD battalions is with it. There are reinforcements coming. I hope they don't make it.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements
CMc Ma-2 - To'so converting to ACM
Sasebo 5 SNLF - Southeast Fleet - will clean up all the islands in the SRA still in Allied control.
14 Naval Guard - Southwest Area Fleet - will clean up all the islands in the SRA still in Allied control.

Update on the oil fields:

18 damaged oil fields at Palembang with enough supply there to repair them.
74 damaged oil fields at Miri, but only 10k supply there. More is on the way.
Boela (5 damaged fields) and Babo (4 damaged fields) will not be repaired even though Ted is ignoring my oil everywhere.

Everything else is completely repaired.

[RangerJoe]

A very low CAP should catch his bombers.

I have found that Kates carrying 2 bombs work better than Vals on the small combat vessels. Even Jakes with 4 bombs work pretty good on low naval. If the torpedo bombers don't have torpedoes, they will carry a full bomb load at 1k feet - I may have mentioned this before. This includes the Bettys and Nells. Those long ranged Nells can really reach out and touch someone.

Just remember something about the weather where you are actually located at right now. Those Dairy Queen Blizzards are always so much better than Mother Nature's blizzards!

[Mike Solli]

15 May 42

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Not much today other than the daily B-17 bombing and nightly Nell bombing.

SRA

Borneo

Nothing to report.

Burma

The three tank regiments chewed on the Chinese more at Paoshan today. They'll rest then do it again.

The 18 and 48 Divisions and 10 Tank Regiment attacked the 70 British Division and a coastal artillery regiment and failed. I didn't lose much, but a lot was disabled. Interesting. I have twice as many troops and twice as much raw AV. The 70th must be a decent division. I'll rest a bit and reinforce them with troops moving to that front and try again later.

China

Three I-16s were shot down over Hami today. That just about eliminated the Chinese air power there. The Zeros are transferring to Kweilin as soon as some AS arrives there. There are a couple dozen enemy fighters at Kunming to take car of.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
SS I-11 - Glen sub - Indian Ocean

[Mike Solli]

16 May 42

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Interesting (and puzzling) events at Milne Bay today. First off, DEs John D. Ford and Peary entered Milne Bay and attacked (unsuccessfully) I-173, which has been stationed there for quite a while. Then, they were attacked by CAs Kinugasa, Furutaka and Kako along with 4 DDs and sunk. There was no damage to my ships. My CA TF was lurking in the shadows just waiting to ambush something entering Milne Bay. If I remember correctly, they were at or near Gasmata. I'm not really sure what those two DEs were trying to do.

SRA

Borneo

Nothing to report.

Burma

Not much here. Same old Allied sweeping and IJAAF hiding.

China

Just a few bombardments and maneuvering to surround Chinese forces.

Other Stuff

Nothing to report.

[Mike Solli]

17 May 42 - pretty quiet day, but things will start to get interesting tomorrow...

Sub War

Not much to report.

5 Fleet

Not much to report.

4 Fleet

Not much to report.

SE Fleet

Not much to report.

SRA

Borneo

Landed at the last Allied held base in Borneo. Will attack tomorrow.

Burma

Attacked Paoshan again, chewing up more Chinese. They've got to get pushed out soon! There are a lot of enemy troops there, but not a lot of AV.

China

Not much to report.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
SC Ch-28 - ASW

[Mike Solli]

18 May 42

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

This caught my eye:

Afternoon Air attack on Milne Bay , at 101,133

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Allied aircraft
Albacore I x 12
Martlet II x 11

Allied aircraft losses
Albacore I: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
9 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Port hits 5

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x Albacore I bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x Albacore I bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb

There's a British carrier in the area! What's really interesting is that I just flooded the area with subs to try and intercept convoys headed to Pt. Moresby. I sent a bunch of them to and around the location of the British TF hoping to get a shot at this carrier. Things are going to get really interesting over the next few days.

Here's a shot of the area:

SE Fleet.jpg (498.47 KiB) Viewed 498 times

SRA

Borneo

With the capture of Sampit, Borneo is completely liberated (other than a few Dutch and British remnants starving in the jungle). With that, the SRA campaign is successfully concluded. There are quite a few islands that are still Allied held, but I'll take them all eventually. I won't mention it in the AAR unless it is something important.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Nothing to report.

[Mike Solli]

19 May 42

Sub War

So it begins....

I-171 spots CV Formidable, launches 4 torpedoes, and misses.

I-169 spots CV Formidable, launches 4 torpedoes, and misses.

Then, O21 put a couple torpedoes into an empty tanker (7950 capacity) near Balikpapan sinking her. Yeah, the sub war is just peachy.

But then, in the afternoon, I-171 caught up with Formidable again, launched 4 more torpedoes and 1 finally hit causing an ammo storage explosion! The sunk ships screen said she sank, but those intel weenies always say that. The intel screen did not confirm that.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

The night raid on Pt. Moresby's airfield was pretty successful destroying 7 aircraft, damaging another 22, and putting lasting damage on the airfield.

In the afternoon, just before Formidable was torpedoed, she launched another attack on Milne Bay sinking an ACM that was tending a small minefield there.

Formidable never moved from the hex she was in yesterday. Interesting. I see 7 ships in that TF. The TF to the SW shows 5 ships and it's heading SW. Was that a convoy originally headed for Pt. Moresby or possibly something else? No clue. Here's the screen shot:

Formidable.jpg (398.7 KiB) Viewed 493 times

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Another deliberate attack at Paoshan tomorrow.

I forgot to mention that the main body of 15 Army is moving toward Shwebo, where there are 70k Allied troops. The 15 Army has been (and continues to be) reinforced with artillery. It appears that the Brits are withdrawing from Shwebo. I hope to attack them before they leave the base. If not, then I hope to catch them in the open to chew them up.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements
BB Yamato - Headed to Singapore to join up with the other BBs.
SC Ch-30 - ASW

With the successful completion of Yamato, that 233 points I can use to accelerate more CVs!

[Mike Solli]

20 May 42

Sub War

The I-7 took a DC off Noumea. That area is a real hotbed of ASW ships. Wonder why? Anyway, her damage is: 16-22(9)-1-0. She'll head to the barn for repairs.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

So, I have no idea what happened to the Formidable TF and the other one to its SW. They just disappeared. I'm sending my subs to scour the area to the south and SW tomorrow.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

The Paoshan attack chewed up more Chinese, but they still hold the base. Another attack in a couple of days.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
TK Ceram Maru - 8150 capacity, 14 kt - I have a lot of these accelerated. This one is going to Fusan.

[Mike Solli]

21 May 42

Sub War

Check Burma.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

I-169 ran into an 8 ship TF 6 hexes due east of Townsville. There was no attack. So, which TF is it? Again, I have no clue. Hopefully something will happen tomorrow. Intel says there's a BB in the TF, but that could really be anything. This is really weird. I can't figure out what Ted was trying to do here. He's been silent about the whole thing too.

Why was there a British CV down here? Are the US CVs nearby? So many questions...

I did do a little sneaking around and learned that the Formidable arrives with 2 "squadrons" of 6 Albacore Is each and a Martlet II squadron 16 strong. That tells me he's got 30% CAP. That's far too low for my tastes. I usually have 60% CAP in my carrier TFs.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

I sent an Ansyu PB as a fast transport to drop off supply at Akyab. It's safe there, right? Well, first thing, that little ship ran into a MTB and sank her! I was elated! Amazing! PBs just don't do that! Immediately after, the Trusty came in and torpedoed and sank her.

Another Paoshan attack tomorrow.

I'm waiting for the Imperial Guards Division to reach the front (just east of Cox's Bazaar) to attack there. They're still a couple of days out.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Nothing to report.

[RangerJoe]

So the MTB was bait that the Trusty was using!

[Mike Solli]

22 May 42

Sub War

Well, the I-172 found the enemy TF, Force Z! In addition to PoW and Repulse, there was a CA, CL and 3 DDs that were spotted. She launched 4 torpedoes at PoW and guess what? They missed!

Then the I-171 came in for a try, and put 2 torpedoes into the side of PoW! They did hit her with a DC. Her damage is: 12-37(26)-0-0. She'll head home. The sunk ships report said she sank, but the intel report didn't confirm that. She didn't sink, but she's not happy.

Remember that brand spanking new TK I got? I got lazy and sent her directly to Fusan with no escort or using a coastal route. She ran over SS Cachalot (really weird name for a sub), who attacked her on the surface. There were at least 3 torpedo attacks, that all missed. They exchanged shellfire. The TK was hit by a shell (FOW) and the sub submerged because of damage (even though she was never hit). My guess is that she started the attack with damage and that was the "damage" she sustained. Anyway, I got lucky there.

Finally, the I-160, patrolling off Diamond Harbor, spotted the CVL Hermes and fired 6 torpedoes at her. They all missed.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Well, Force Z disappeared. I see nothing. Again, I'm having my subs scour the area to try and find these damaged ships. How do they disappear like that? Also, was Formidable part of Force Z or a different TF? I may never know.

SRA

I've been rather concerned about the build up of Darwin. That base is currently at level 4 port and level 6 airfield. I decided to send 6 BBs escorted by 4 DDs to soften the place up. What happened totally surprised me.

My TF entered the port in the dead of night to find the Dutch Squadron there! A crazy battle took place between my ships and the Dutch CLs De Ryuter, Java and Tromp, along with 6 Dutch DDs. At times, the ships were exchanging fire at 2k yards! When it was over, all 3 Dutch CLs were sunk, along with 3 DDs and 2 damaged DDs. Only lucky DD Evertsen was untouched. In return, 3 of my BBs took a total of 8 shells, none penetrating. Banzai!

I figured my TF had used up most of its ammunition and wouldn't bombard, but I was wrong. My TF continued on into the port and blasted the place. They destroyed 4 planes and damaged another 15 while chewing up the troops and doing moderate damage to the base.

Then, on the way out, they ran into the 3 surviving Dutch DDs and sank one and heavily damaged a second. Again, lucky Evertsen remained untouched. They did get lucky and lightly damaged 2 of my DDs. Overall, it was a nice little mission. They eliminated a pesky enemy TF that had a nasty habit of bombarding some of my bases on the fringe of my empire.

Burma

The attack on Paoshan was the most successful yet, but the Chinese still held. At least, the survivors held. I lost nothing. Another attack in a couple of days. We're getting close.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Nothing to report.

[RangerJoe]

That battle at Darwin sounds like you used a sledgehammer to swat a mosquito!

That sub is a sperm whale:

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

[Tanaka]

What are these July 42 air unit changes?

The July 42 air unit changes I referred to are when the Japanese fleet carriers change the composition of the air units. In about all the cases, the number of fighters increases and the dive and torpedo bomber numbers also change. I am hoping that at that point I can change the composition to what I want. Basically, with the exception of Akagi and Kaga, I'll increase the number of fighters on each carrier to 50% of the max. I'll change the Kates to 1/3 to 1/2 of the torpedo complement and fill out the rest with Vals. Akagi and Kaga's fighters will be around 36 or 39. My reserve of IJNAF fighters with exp of 70+, A2A of 70+ and def of 70+ (mostly) is increasing to be able to meet this change.

Hmm can't you just resize the units to whatever you want the next time you are near a large port? Not having KB as a threat because it is heading back to Japan to wait for air composition changes is risky as those British carriers showing up might prove...

[Mike Solli]

23 May 42

Sub War

The I-172 put a third torpedo into PoW 4 hexes east of Townsville, but took a depth charge in return. Her damage is: 10-29(12)-3-0. She'll head for Truk for temporary repairs then to the Home Islands to complete the job. The PoW is heavily damaged but still plodding toward Townsville.

The I-175 couldn't reach PoW for a shot but took one at an escorting DD that missed.

The SC Ch-18 caught the S-43 and hit her twice with depth charges, leaving her heavily damaged. No report of her sinking though.

Finally, the I-28 sank an xAK in the Aleutians.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

The night bombing Nells hit Pt. Moresby again destroying 4 aircraft and damaging another 19, along with some damage to the airfield. This nightly bombing is starting to add up. I usually lose a bomber a month, or less.

I learned something interesting. Right now at Milne Bay, the port is building but at level 0. Some B-17s came in to bomb the port leaving 10 damage, but none is showing at the base. Either the engineers are really good (unlikely), or damage doesn't accrue if the level is 0.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

15 Army will reach Shwebo tomorrow. It's coming in from the west so there will be no shock attack.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
AMc Naruo Maru

[Mike Solli]

That battle at Darwin sounds like you used a sledgehammer to swat a mosquito!

That sub is a sperm whale:

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

When I plan for a surface action, I want to have at least 1 class heavier than my opponent. In this case, it was 2 classes heavier (BB to CL). Even better!

[Mike Solli]

What are these July 42 air unit changes?

The July 42 air unit changes I referred to are when the Japanese fleet carriers change the composition of the air units. In about all the cases, the number of fighters increases and the dive and torpedo bomber numbers also change. I am hoping that at that point I can change the composition to what I want. Basically, with the exception of Akagi and Kaga, I'll increase the number of fighters on each carrier to 50% of the max. I'll change the Kates to 1/3 to 1/2 of the torpedo complement and fill out the rest with Vals. Akagi and Kaga's fighters will be around 36 or 39. My reserve of IJNAF fighters with exp of 70+, A2A of 70+ and def of 70+ (mostly) is increasing to be able to meet this change.

Hmm can't you just resize the units to whatever you want the next time you are near a large port? Not having KB as a threat because it is heading back to Japan to wait for air composition changes is risky as those British carriers showing up might prove...

I think it was only CV Furious and she disappeared. Hopefully sunk, but that is doubtful.

The only options I have for the CVs is no resize or resize to a specific number in July 42. There is no other option. If I remember correctly, in July, they will resize to the specific number and then I should have the option to set the size.