Back and Better Than Ever Vettim 89(A) vs Greasylake(J)

[vettim89]

Ouch regarding New Caledonia. I feel your pain.

I like to put an AV or AVD or whatever at one of the Channel Islands (off LA) to host a Kingfisher squadron on ASW. With a three hex radius, that covers the LA approaches pretty well.

Regarding the deployment of your AUS and UK divisions, is your opponent known for doing end arounds? You'd hate for them to be hanging in Burma while he lands somewhere in India.

Good luck.

Cheers,
CB

I have a lot of ASW patrol AC near the WCUSA including a LB-30 squadron and Larry has not ventured there. Larry is a what I call a sneaky conservative player. By that I mean he plays pretty close to the vest but will pull a surprise move every now and then. That said, I still own all of the DEI except Miri which I have pounded to irrelevance; so I think any shocking moves in the near term are out of the question I am sending the 7th Aussie DIV to Oz. I am keep the 6th in India for now.

[vettim89]

The IJN SCTF has strayed further south an is in the Macassar Strait. I have a small convoy at Balikpapan which is departing. Two SCTF based around CLs (one Dutch, One British) are rushing to cover the convoy. We shall see what happens here. I am sure the Coral Sea romp is satisfying to Larry, but those CVs would probably be of better use here. I have three SCTF in the area: the above mentioned two plus one built around USS Houston south of Ambon

Bombardment attack at Bataan brought a comment from my opponent brought snide comment about future war crimes.

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 26254 troops, 380 guns, 135 vehicles, Assault Value = 1643

Defending force 54099 troops, 851 guns, 773 vehicles, Assault Value = 1673

Japanese ground losses:
1859 casualties reported
Squads: 49 destroyed, 75 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 22 (11 destroyed, 11 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
74 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

AMPH TF arrives at Pago Pago to pick up teleported units and deliver them to Not-Pago Pago.

IJN remains in force in the Coral Sea. I debated this one. I have some merchies holed up at Brisbane and Sydney. I also have some surface units at Sydney including Canberra in the yard. I thought about forming a SCTF and have them run towards Melbourne at top speed. My fear with that is if Larry pursued I would have a TF out of fuel being chased by 10+ carriers. So I opted to keep them in port and formed some sacrificial TF with xAKL and AMc at each base. There are 50 P-40E with atrocious training at each base. My hope is that Larry will set his bombers on Naval strike as primary and either Port of Airfield attack as secondary. The sacrificial lambs will hopefully keep the nasties away from the bases themselves

[CaptBeefheart]

Those KB cruises around SE Oz can really increase the pucker factor. At least you have some fighters there. Even with lousy EXP and AIR ratings they should be able to make it a bit painful for the IJN.

Cheers,
CB

[BBfanboy]

Those sacrificial TFs could also burn up KB sorties so it has to RTB. Good move.

[Sardaukar]

I had bad experiences with using Suva as stockpile base for fuel from WC/Panama even against AI.

Lost quite a few TK when KB gave a visit (yea, even AI can do that).

Auckland in NZ is way safer bet.

[vettim89]

The IJN CVs flee north//NNE. Only a replenishment TF visible in northern Coral Sea. We will continue our vigilance.

Some how SS pollack wandered into a Japanese port, hit a mine, and sank. No longer trusting the AI for sub routing

The IJN SCTF caught up to my convoy and slaughtered them. Then it tangled with Dutch PTs and sank two for good measure. My SCTF did not attempt an intercept. Too far away. Again sloppiness on my part

SCTF vs PT.jpg (244.77 KiB) Viewed 338 times

Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 64,98, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
CL Kinu
CL Kuma
DD Natsugumo
DD Murasame
DD Uranami
DD Sagiri

Allied Ships
xAK Taiyuan, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Yu Sang, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Liran, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
PC Zeeman, Shell hits 13, and is sunk

An I-boat finds CA Cornwell off the SW India coast and puts a torpedo into her. Again a well escorted TF with I think five DDs

IJN ASW TF roughs up an S-boat at Rabaul. I tried to use my opponents tactic of going right into a port hex; oddly didn't work for me. Also hit a mine at Rabaul

Bombardment at Bataan still leaning towards the good guys favor

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 15656 troops, 267 guns, 162 vehicles, Assault Value = 1627

Defending force 53975 troops, 849 guns, 772 vehicles, Assault Value = 1670

Japanese ground losses:
156 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 20 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 45 (31 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 26 (23 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
201 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

[vettim89]

A quiet turn after all the action of late

SCTF arrive at Balikpapan and the IJN SCTF is now back in the Sulu Sea. Too little, too late

Another S-boat finds a mine but is not sunk. Pretty banged up and she may not make port. Check all my sub patrol zones to make sure none of them are near ports.

USS Gato found a nice fat xAP south of the Home Islands and fires dud torpedoes at it. <sigh>

IJN SCTF is spotted near Rossell Island. A REPL TF is about 150 NM north of there.

IJA has moved to Kweiteh in north-central China

Ground combat at Kweiteh (90,46)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 20755 troops, 171 guns, 29 vehicles, Assault Value = 765

Defending force 3028 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 146

Assaulting units:
110th Division
32nd/A Division
32nd/B Division

Daily Bombardment Attack at Bataan

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 15307 troops, 241 guns, 138 vehicles, Assault Value = 1657

Defending force 53879 troops, 848 guns, 771 vehicles, Assault Value = 1672

Japanese ground losses:
98 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 12 (3 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 6 (5 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Possible important USN operation goes off next turn. Stay tuned

[vettim89]

Well a USN fleet boat finally hit something: a CM near Rabaul

With my full knowledge of the location of IJN carrier power (One CVTF still in the central Coral Sea BTW), I thought I would raid the Marshalls with two carriers (Yorktown and Saratoga). Well it did not go as planned. First my offensive strikes yield a hit on an xAK and an escort. Bombing raids on the AB at Roi-Namur and the port at Kwajalein yielded nothing. But first the enemies air power showed up. This is going to get ugly

code brown.jpg (97.56 KiB) Viewed 297 times

Morning Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 138,115

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 69 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 29
G3M2 Nell x 9

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 37

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1

then

Morning Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 138,115

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 60 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 19
G4M1 Betty x 9

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 1

then

Morning Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 138,115

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 5 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

then

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 138,115

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 10
G3M2 Nell x 9

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
G3M2 Nell: 6 damaged
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

then

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 138,115

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 59 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
G4M1 Betty x 17

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1
CA Portland
CV Saratoga, on fire, heavy damage

but wait, there's more

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 138,115

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
G4M1 Betty x 9

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
CV Saratoga, on fire, heavy damage
CA Louisville, Torpedo hits 1

Yorktown can make 2 kts and is at 91 FLOT damage. She will like be finished off next turn

Sara is in slightly better shape but unless the Japanese concentrate on Yorktown, I doubt she will make it out either

not good.jpg (101.19 KiB) Viewed 297 times

B-17s hit Miri but bad weather led to only 3 hits.

Daily Bataan update

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 15354 troops, 250 guns, 142 vehicles, Assault Value = 1685

Defending force 53630 troops, 846 guns, 766 vehicles, Assault Value = 1650

Japanese ground losses:
48 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 17 (6 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Vehicles lost 17 (8 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
147 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Hey I took a shot. Was not expecting that much resistance. Obviously my opponent was waiting for me to try something like this. Now forced to make future plans down two CVs.

[vettim89]

Japanese air finishes off both Saratoga and Yorktown.

So ends a miserable month. That said, Larry is going to have his industry crash to a halt by the end of 1942 if he doesn't speed things along in the DEI Going to go over some deployments to start off March. Will just sulk into a corner and whimper for now

[MBF]

Ouch - that's tough this early but I think you are right about his economy

[vettim89]

So we start March with now only two months left on the Invasion Bonus.

Still seeing multiple IJN CVTF up around New Ireland. Nothing in the Coral Sea at this time. I moved up an understrengthed Hudson squadron from NZ to help with Naval Search around Noumea.

Amazingly, my cripples from the Marshall Islands fiasco are not attacked this turn. The TF with the minimally damaged ships will be out of air range next turn (at least I hope they will be). One solo CA is heading towards Johnston Island . Will be a miracle if she makes it

Heading Home.jpg (88.57 KiB) Viewed 260 times

Bombardment attacks continue the trend of eating away at the Allied AV

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 15899 troops, 326 guns, 137 vehicles, Assault Value = 1802

Defending force 52954 troops, 840 guns, 757 vehicles, Assault Value = 1607

Japanese ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (2 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
134 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (4 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

[vettim89]

I-170 finds crippled S-35, puts a torpedo into her and sinks her just north of Milne Bay. Is there anything his subs can't do?

The Indianapolis TF is now far enough east to be out of danger from air attack. I have sortied every available ASW capable ship from PH to met this TF and CA Louisville which is almost exactly halfway between the Marshalls and Johnston Island. She sails solo but escorts are on the way

The remaining two RGT of Americal DIV are unloading at Auckland. I will shuttle them to Noumea in small TF

IJA takes Hwaiyin which was pretty isolate (Hex 92, 50)

Ground combat at Hwaiyin (92,50)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 13780 troops, 114 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 516

Defending force 2270 troops, 18 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 59

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 466

Allied adjusted defense: 14

Japanese assault odds: 33 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Hwaiyin !!!

[vettim89]

Fairly slow turn.

CA Louisville continues inching toward Johnston Island. Escorts will catch up to her next turn. CVs Enterprise and Lexington depart for Mare Island. Lexington is due for refit and Enterprise will meet up with the soon arriving Hornet.

No action in the DEI.

Had a Filipino BTN disperse on Mindanao. Only Zamboanga remains in Allied hands on that Island. Leyte and Cebu have not been assaulted yet. At Bataan, the slow withering continues and Larry added some units.

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 16980 troops, 362 guns, 243 vehicles, Assault Value = 2324

Defending force 52279 troops, 832 guns, 751 vehicles, Assault Value = 1546

Japanese ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
130 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled

Milne Bay now has a level 1 AB. Will work on building the port to level 1 next.

[vettim89]

Lots of stuff moving around map for now

Biggest issue is getting the crippled CAs from the Marshalls fiasco home. Indianapolis will make PH in two turns (I think). Louisville is now escorted and inching toward Johnston Island. I will send an AR out to her if she makes port.

CA escape.jpg (203.18 KiB) Viewed 142 times

The major good news for this turn is at Bataan. AH, ouch? That is definitely going to leave a mark. Of late, the Allies take destroyed squads and the IJA losses are disabled. Not this time. How long does it take to produce 500 infantry squads?

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 71514 troops, 832 guns, 655 vehicles, Assault Value = 2355

Defending force 51963 troops, 825 guns, 751 vehicles, Assault Value = 1528

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 4

Japanese adjusted assault: 151

Allied adjusted defense: 1569

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 10 (fort level 4)

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

Japanese ground losses:
12845 casualties reported
Squads: 500 destroyed, 528 disabled
Non Combat: 90 destroyed, 85 disabled
Engineers: 21 destroyed, 63 disabled
Guns lost 125 (53 destroyed, 72 disabled)
Vehicles lost 161 (93 destroyed, 68 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2962 casualties reported
Squads: 88 destroyed, 143 disabled
Non Combat: 27 destroyed, 46 disabled
Engineers: 18 destroyed, 36 disabled
Guns lost 67 (24 destroyed, 43 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

[chaos45]

500 squad losses is painful for Japan....its not the building its the timeline of replacements making it to a resting unit not in Japan.

The Japanese should be bombing you much more if they want any results.....basically what i found to work best---as a newbie Japanese player is to make sure in the philipines you bomb airfields or ports at manilla/clark field and Bataan almost continuously....this prevents the Allies from being able to build forts and makes them expend supply on AA fire all the time...once you see them stop shooting AA you know the Allies are out of supply and ready for possible assaults to clear forts....plus once the airfields are damaged and stay damaged you know supply is running low.

Basically as Japan to reduce air losses you can start out bombing at like 11-12k feet is fairly safe for AA fire over the philipines...then once AA fire drops off you can drop down to 6k feet. Expend munitions not tons of Japanese squads that take forever to replace. Also take manilla ASAP as its generating most the Allied supply in the philipines.

[Yaab]

"terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+)..."

Defender's trifecta. Every time my defending Chinese units get those three modifiers in one battle, AI Japanese losses are great.

[vettim89]

Both CA TFs reach there destinations. The repair bill for Indianapolis is 57 days and she will undergo her April refit during her stay. I thought about sending Louisville straight to PH but with her flooding at 58 (33), I thought best to send an AR out to help her pump out. Still a lot of I-boats around the Hawaiian Islands. Oh on that note, an I-boat followed the Indianapolis into PH and FINALLY I had a successful ASW attack.

ASW attack near Pearl Harbor at 180,107

Japanese Ships
SS I-20, hits 4, on fire

Allied Ships
CA Indianapolis
CA Portland
DD Craven
DD Ralph Talbot
DD Maury
DD McCall

I think there's a good chance I-20 doesn't make it back to port

B-17s hit Miri for the last time reducing Oil to 40. Mouseover intel says there are finally a/c at the base

Back to Bombardment Attack at Bataan

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3097 troops, 238 guns, 174 vehicles, Assault Value = 1471

Defending force 49649 troops, 800 guns, 749 vehicles, Assault Value = 1318

Allied ground losses:
233 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (4 destroyed, 1 disabled)

[vettim89]

Nells out of Rabaul sink an xAKL trying to get supplies into Milne Bay. New thing to deal with in this AO. SCTF is seen transiting the gap just eat of Milne Bay. Likely a bombardment attack forthcoming at PM of perhaps Townsville. Within a few weeks I will finally have some air units capable of offensive action in the Coral Sea.

RN roughs up a sub off west coast of India.

ASW attack near Mangalore at 28,30

Japanese Ships
SS I-124, hits 4

Allied Ships
DE Jumna

Escorts drive a sub off a TK convoy on the Pineapple Express run for not hits, but no hits on the TK either. Lots of ASW air activity around Oahu

Bombardment at Bataan is pretty weak this turn

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3105 troops, 238 guns, 174 vehicles, Assault Value = 1546

Defending force 49135 troops, 788 guns, 743 vehicles, Assault Value = 1286

Allied ground losses:
23 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (4 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)

[Mike Solli]

B-17s hit Miri oil again and have reduced the function oil field to 90. I guess I have to take the wins when I can get them

It's going to take 210k supply and 7 months to repair. That's a significant win for you.

Edit: Now it's 260k supply and almost 9 months to repair. Ouch. That's a lot of lost oil.

2nd Edit: I just did the math. If he doesn't lose any more oil facilities and repairs 1 per day (starting today) for 260 days, he'll have lost 339,300 oil. That really hurts. Every day he delays starting to repair the oil costs him an additional 2600 oil.

[vettim89]

IJN Bombards Milne Bay. I have the bare essentials there just so Larry can't pick it up with like a SNLF I wonder if that mission was more of a recon than anything else.

Night Naval bombardment of Milne Bay at 101,133

Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga
BB Ise
BB Fuso
BB Nagato

Allied ground losses:
106 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

AN IJN CVTF bumps into a fleeing merchant south of Milne Bay

Day Time Surface Combat, near Milne Bay at 99,136, Range 29,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga
CV Soryu
CVL Shoho
CS Mizuho
BB Hiei
DD Kasumi
DD Shigure
DD Nenohi
DD Sazanami

Allied Ships
xAKL Pulganbar

They sink the xAKL with a Val attack later in the day. Still that gives me a little intel about how he is organizing those CVTF.

The Japanese show up at Menado. I thought about running a SCTF in to disrupt but am pretty sure there is a carrier TF in the Sulu Sea. Eventually I will have to commit my Surface Forces in the area but want to do it in a way that will count.

An I-boat snags a solo TK SW of WCUSA.

Daily Bataan update

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3135 troops, 242 guns, 178 vehicles, Assault Value = 1615

Defending force 48879 troops, 775 guns, 736 vehicles, Assault Value = 1275

Allied ground losses:
131 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 7 (4 destroyed, 3 disabled)

In my opinion Larry is wasting a lot of fuel hunting small fry in the Coral Sea. Fuel thar Mike Solli just pointed out he really doesn't have to spare. All the major oil centers in the DEI are still mine. I am sure the ships he sunk in the Coral Sea are fun to see rack up, but those assets could be used elsewhere.