Sailing in harms way: InHarmsWay (J) vs Andav (A) Scen2

[PaxMondo]

....Odds are the IJN may lose this action, but it is worth the shot, and I find it easier to undertake risky attacks knowing that in the end, all of the IJN will end up in the same place... BANZAI!!!

BANZAI!!!!!

[InHarmsWay]

"Admiral Harmasaki, it looks like your sake is safe for now, the TF commander south of Rabaul reported no sighting of the allied carriers, but he was able to make a successful night time strike on several transport ships that were in the area. He asks for forgiveness in not living up to your expectations. He said that transports were barely worthy of the long lance expenditures, but in lieu of any other target he felt that it was worthwhile."

"What ships did he encounter?" .. Admiral Harmasaki mused as he looked over the combat report. "Ah, it was worth the gamble. Radio to TF 347, well done even though the true targets escaped. the APA's are worth the effort to kill."

---------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Deboyne Islands at 103,135, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CL Isuzu
CL Yubari, Shell hits 1
DD Kosugiri
DD Myojinami
DD Suruyame
DD Yamanagiri

Allied Ships
DD Lardner, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD McCalla, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APA Harris, Shell hits 9, on fire
APA Zeilin, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
APA Hunter Liggett, Shell hits 10, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk

Low visibility due to Rain with 14% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Rain and 14% moonlight: 1,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 14,000 yards
Allied ships attempt to get underway
Range closes to 9,000 yards...
Range closes to 6,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 6,000 yards
Range closes to 4,000 yards...
Range closes to 2,000 yards...
Range closes to 1,000 yards...
DD Myojinami engages DD McCalla at 1,000 yards
DD McCalla sunk by CL Yubari at 1,000 yards
Range increases to 2,000 yards
DD Lardner engages CA Maya at 2,000 yards
CL Yubari engages DD Lardner at 2,000 yards
DD Yamanagiri engages DD Lardner at 2,000 yards
DD Lardner engages DD Kosugiri at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 4,000 yards
DD Lardner sunk by DD Kosugiri at 4,000 yards
DD Yamanagiri engages APA Harris at 4,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards
CA Maya engages APA Hunter Liggett at 2,000 yards
DD Myojinami engages APA Zeilin at 2,000 yards
CL Isuzu engages APA Hunter Liggett at 2,000 yards
APA Hunter Liggett sunk by DD Yamanagiri at 2,000 yards
DD Myojinami engages APA Zeilin at 2,000 yards
DD Kosugiri engages APA Harris at 2,000 yards
APA Zeilin sunk by CA Maya at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 3,000 yards
CA Maya engages APA Harris at 3,000 yards
Range increases to 4,000 yards
CL Isuzu engages APA Harris at 4,000 yards
DD Myojinami engages APA Harris at 4,000 yards
Allied Task Force Manages to Escape
Task forces break off...
----------------------------
Nice to bag a couple APA's, but one did escape. I think those APAs are some of the better landing ships for his future assaults, and not sure how many he gets. Adm Wa commented that my Surface TF sailed right by the Surface TF riding shotgun, which he was annoyed with , but also right by the CV's which he was happy with...

[PaxMondo]

Nice to bag a couple APA's, but one did escape. I think those APAs are some of the better landing ships for his future assaults, and not sure how many he gets. Adm Wa commented that my Surface TF sailed right by the Surface TF riding shotgun, which he was annoyed with , but also right by the CV's which he was happy with...

Totally agree with you, the APA's were a worthy target ... almost as much as his CV's. He only gets (in Scen 1) about dozen and a half in all of '43 ... Here is early April he has less than 10 total ... so nailing 2 is a big deal.

BTW: it takes 8 - 10 of these APA's to move a full Marine ID in amphib so, just losing 2 means he doesn't have APA to move a full Marine ID ... however he can make this up by using AKA's which he also gets about a dozen or so in '43 .... or AK's which he gets quite a few (over 2 dozen) in the early war period.

[InHarmsWay]

After 2 months of combat, LGen Shigeru looked out at the still smoking ruins of Amchitka Airfield and port. Extensive lines of Allied POW's streamed past and he could not help feel both anger at having taken so long to conquer this god forsaken island, and grudging respect at his enemy for the defense they had put up against overwhelming odds. At least it was over now, and repair of the base can commence. Both the 53rd and 54th Divisions would need time to recover and refit after the battle.
------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Amchitka Island (158,52)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 16848 troops, 208 guns, 135 vehicles, Assault Value = 365

Defending force 5352 troops, 172 guns, 178 vehicles, Assault Value = 39

Japanese adjusted assault: 421

Allied adjusted defense: 94

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Amchitka Island !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
1004 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 98 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 17 (2 destroyed, 15 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
4201 casualties reported
Squads: 57 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 736 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 46 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 239 (239 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 218 (218 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 6

Assaulting units:
54th Division
53rd Division
2nd Recon Regiment
56th Recon Regiment
8th Tank Regiment
82nd Naval Guard Unit

Defending units:
4th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
57th Coastal Artillery Regiment
154th FA Bn
95th Coast AA Regiment
112th USA Base Force
808th Engineer Aviation Battalion
-------------------------------------------------
Lesson learned for all those Jfanboys out there. Do not try and land in the winter, in Alaska, and then overstack the hex while trying to resupply past a US coastal Artillery Regiment. That way lies pain. Looking at my ships sunk, the coastal defense unit claimed ~20 xAKs over the past 2 months. Brutal. Towards the end my fast transports were getting through, but by then, enough BB bombardments had eventaully whittled away the CD unit enough.

[InHarmsWay]

Quick air production update as of April 11, 1943.

George : There are 730 N1K1's in the pool. I have reduced production to 5 * size 30 factories.
7 size 30 factories have been switched to the N1K2 airframe. best estimate is the K2 airframe will arrive sometime in August '43. I may move 1-2 more factories to the K2 model, depending on losses.

Frank : I now have 6 factories researching, and worst case is the Ki-84a model will begin production around May 10th. The remaining five factories that need repair are: two at 25(5), two at 26(4) and one 29(1). Very much looking forward to this, and now I need to start thinking about what to do with the remaining Tojo Factories (four factories). I will switch them to something else in the next day or two. IJA high command staff are still debating this....

Ki-83 : 14 size 30 factories repairing currently. Repaired status is: 19, 18, 17, 15, 15, 14, 12, 12, 12, 11, 11, 10, 8, 1

A7M2 Sam: 14 size 30 factories repairing. Repaired status is: 26, 17, 17, 14, 14, 13, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 6

J7W1 Shinden: 9 size 30 factories repairing. Repaired status is: 8, 7, 7, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2

Engine wise, doing well with inventories (1285 Ha-45's, 739 Ha-35's, and over 500 of Ha-32 and Ha-33 engines), and will have the Mit Ha-43 in production likely in mid - late June timeframe.

[PaxMondo]

Quick air production update as of April 11, 1943.

George : There are 730 N1K1's in the pool. I have reduced production to 5 * size 30 factories.
7 size 30 factories have been switched to the N1K2 airframe. best estimate is the K2 airframe will arrive sometime in August '43. I may move 1-2 more factories to the K2 model, depending on losses.

Frank : I now have 6 factories researching, and worst case is the Ki-84a model will begin production around May 10th. The remaining five factories that need repair are: two at 25(5), two at 26(4) and one 29(1). Very much looking forward to this, and now I need to start thinking about what to do with the remaining Tojo Factories (four factories). I will switch them to something else in the next day or two. IJA high command staff are still debating this....

Ki-83 : 14 size 30 factories repairing currently. Repaired status is: 19, 18, 17, 15, 15, 14, 12, 12, 12, 11, 11, 10, 8, 1

A7M2 Sam: 14 size 30 factories repairing. Repaired status is: 26, 17, 17, 14, 14, 13, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 6

J7W1 Shinden: 9 size 30 factories repairing. Repaired status is: 8, 7, 7, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2

Engine wise, doing well with inventories (1285 Ha-45's, 739 Ha-35's, and over 500 of Ha-32 and Ha-33 engines), and will have the Mit Ha-43 in production likely in mid - late June timeframe.

Here's my thoughts, use as you see fit.

Ki83: good sweeper. reasonable escort (it has range). Fair (at best) CAP. Struggles against late model P47/P51/F4U. So it has it's uses, but you have to consider how much you will actually use it in roles to which it is best suited. If you are sweeping in the late war, bless you. If you are actually able to send bombers afterwards, WOW. Congrats!

A7M: your best IJN carrier capable fighter. Good CAP due to climb, speed, firepower. Matches up against all allied fighters.

J7W: your best interceptor. Speed and firepower are top end. You need to know how to manage the SR and the climb.

Ki-84: a solid fighter/interceptor. Can hold its own against everything the allies have.

Ki-102c Randy. Your best, way better than any other, night fighter ... These are WAY more effective than any normal fighter in night operations. Just remember, you need high exp/skill pilots for night ops. I save them in TRACOM. Pretty much ALL of my +80 fighter pilots are saved for my Randy's. With enough ground radar, they can decimate allied night bombing, forcing the allies back to daylight bombing where the J7W/Ki84 combo can take care of them.

G3M3 - until the Black Widow shows up, this is your best bomber in the late war as a night bomber. Great range (21/26). Once the Black Widow appears, you want to stop else you are just going to feed VP's to the allies.

[InHarmsWay]

Just when I thought it was safe to disband the KB and start upgrades.... yes, I put 4 CVs into upgrades just 2 days ago, Adm Wa shows up near Adak Island with Carriers. To bring our gentle readers up to speed. KB and Mini KB reached the HI, and the Kaga, Akagi, Shokaku and Zuikaku are all being upgraded with several CAs and DDs. Devious and sneaky Adm Wa moved in CVs and hit supply ships unloading off of Adak this last turn. Thankfully he did not try a port attack as I had disbanded Tanaka and his Surface TF the day before. All he has seen is a bunch of xAKs and xAPs with escorts. Strike results are as follows: My Betty and Nells all hit Umnak Island to keep his airfield from building. I fought through some Carrier supplied CAP Wildcats with my George escorts, but did lose a sizeable fraction of those fragile 2E bombers.
------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Adak Island at 162,52

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 16

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 23
SBD-3 Dauntless x 83
TBF-1 Avenger x 56

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 11 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Asanagi
xAK Goyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
E Fuyo
xAK Nisso Maru
DD Matsukaze
DD Hayate
DD Susukaze
xAK Nitiran Maru, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Kamakura Maru
DD Tatsuyuke, Bomb hits 1
AO Shiretoko, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAP Kobayashi Maru
DD Kazegumo
E W-22, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
xAP Yoshino Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Satsuki
DD Amatsukaze
xAK Igasa Maru
DD Hatsuzuki, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Tadeyame, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Hatakaze, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Nagato Maru
xAK Naples Maru
DD Kamikaze
---------------------------------------
Given the size of the strike, I am amazed that so few ships were hit and sunk!

So, plan now is to mobilize Tanaka, and try and catch his CVs with a night surface attack. Also have another DD surface TF sent out as well. Tranports fleeing west. 5 MTBs have been guarding the harbor. All Georges are now on CAP, with bombers on ASW, so they do not impale themselves on what I expect Adm Wa will have as a strong CAP. BANZAI my surface TFs!

April 12 1943 status North Pacific.jpg (416.13 KiB) Viewed 384 times

[PaxMondo]

Your N1K's racked up 11:1 in their dogfight when fighting 1.5:1 odds ... just think if you have a couple more 36 AC groups there ...

Move them in, over stack Adak. fly in AV via Mavis TP's from Paramushira-jima (27 hex, so the Mavis should just be able to make it, the N1K has 30 hex range, so no worries).

use L3Y's to get the AV to Paramushira-jima from Hokkaido. Use Thalia/Topsy to backfill Hokkaido from the HI. Each turn you will be able to move 15 - 30 AV, so in a few turns you will be able to support the new groups at Adak. Kill his carrier groups. You won't be able to sink his CV's, but you can decimate his air groups. Those are tough pilots to replace. Keep cycling N1K's to Adak as necessary to keep the groups full and fresh.

PS: this means you will need to gather essentially ALL of your TP capacity and put it to work. You're gonna burn a lotta supply doing this, BUT this is a chance to kill a lot of CV pilots, you cannot miss this opportunity.

PPS: steal the KB fighter airgroups. convert them to N1K's and they will be your 2nd cycle of N1K's to go through Adak. This is why you always want at least 200 of your top fighters in inventory so that you can react to situations like this ... speed wins.

[InHarmsWay]

Well it turned into a nothing burger at Adak. Adm Wa wisely chose to retreat after just that one attack. It has been several days and the mini deathstar was last seen by faithful Emily pilots 23 hexes east of Adak and sailing away. I got a shot at a DD in the CV TF with a sub but missed. At least that was confirmation the death star is moving away. Just had the last Adak ground unit reinforcements arrive at the port, unloading will commence. I have been sweeping Umnak of wildcats with Georges, averaging 3-1 or 4-1 kill ratio. I expect to see Hellcats anytime now as I have been bombing the airfield trying to keep those seabees in their foxholes. He has built it to lvl 4, but hopefully is stalled now. As that is the only really decent airfield for 4Es left to him up there, I am hoping to really make it difficult. I have put some land units on preparation to keep going up the island chain, will see where we are in a month or two if that is feasible. Adm has said nothing yet, but I just know it has annoyed him that he build up that wonderful base in Adak, and now I am using it.... . Maybe I can get him to offer a significant naval battle up here... ah, something to ponder!

[PaxMondo]

Well it turned into a nothing burger at Adak.

Excellent!!!

I have been sweeping Umnak of wildcats with Georges, averaging 3-1 or 4-1 kill ratio.

BANZAI!!!

N1K is dominant in this portion of the game. You invested a LOT to get them early and you are reaping the rewards of that investment. Congrats!!!

Maybe I can get him to offer a significant naval battle** up here... ah, something to ponder!

My thoughts: not likely until/unless he has decided on the Northern route to attack you. So, if he comes, you will need to react like it is an attack on the HI* ... yes, that reaction has a huge cost and possibly some risk. But the flip side is losing the HI, which is game over. Hence, you react.

* This means shifting +10 ID's to Hokkaido, +10 airgroups, KB, .... and all the support for this. Obviously, it means that the other side of the world (India/OZ/Burma) immediately have to go into "delaying actions".

** "significant naval battle" is the Deathstar with amphib assault on Adak or ports leading up to Adak ... the further east you go up the Aleutians, the more warning you have AND the less likely he will choose to go this route. If you own Kodiak, and have it well served, it is difficult for the allied player to attack Adak without neutralizing Kodiak first. If he is going via the Southern route, he doesn't really care about Kodiak. To get to the Marianas, he either has to clear the Marshalls or the Carolines.

That your opponent will attempt feints goes without saying. However, you have played him enough to know what his "real" amphib force look like ... if the Deathstar shows up without the right amphib, it's a feint. Otherwise, you have to treat it as real.

[PaxMondo]

BTW, great game and great AAR. Small suggestion: always start your update with the game date as your first line.


Thanks for taking the time to provide us with an AAR .....

[InHarmsWay]

Thanks for the reminder. Current date is April 20, 1943. Very little has occurred the past few days, IJN HQ is eagerly awaiting the upgrades to the KB fleet, and I expect Adm Wa is busy outfitting with Hellcats... A couple updates worthy of note. 7 factories are now researching Franks so they will likely arrive around May 10th. With 11 factories, I should be able to outfit most of the frontline IJA fighters by the end of May. Looking forward to that, as the IJN Georges have been carrying the fight in Burma to date. Also nice to get some Franks in CAP over Adak, once the Death Star comes calling.

I have also reduced my N1K1 George production run to 150 / month while pushing to bring the N1K2 model forward with 7 factories researching that. I have 660 N1K1's in the pool. Nearest I can tell I will get the K2 model in August. Will not research the K5 model unit I get the Mit Ha-43 engines. Those should arrive early June of '43.

Here is my estimate of Adm Wa's next moves.

With Fleet CVs seen in the North Pacific in the past few weeks, and CVE's down around Port Morseby, I think Adm Wa has repositioned them to try and take back Adak quickly. Losing those nice bases I think really stung. I expect he will try and move once he has Hellcats in the death star. What I am hoping to do is have Adak and Amchitka whittle down his carrier planes, then move in with the KB. If he leaves Adak alone, I will have fortifications up even more. Currently they sit at 3, and should get to 4 in about 10 days. I have 653 AV at the base, with a flak strength of 31, and a couple of units with DP guns to make any bombardments less effective. Air HQ are located at Adak and Amchitka. Mines at Adak, and I do not think he is aware of that either...

Elsewhere, in India he is threatening up near Lashio, but trying to land forces to take Rangoon from the side (building out Akyab, and moving on Prome). I think this attack is mainly being put in as he has had a large number of land units in the India / Burma Area of Operations since my attempt at taking Calcutta.

[PaxMondo]

lost a long post (again) ... oh well. meaningless ramblings ...

[Mike Solli]

I'm reading too many AARs. What are the carrier losses on each side? Also, what is the status of your carrier reinforcements?

[PaxMondo]

I'm reading too many AARs.

[InHarmsWay]

Mike, good question. Scenario is Scenario #2, stock. As of April 23, 1943 current status of the Japanese CV force is

Active CV's : Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Hiyo, Shokaku, and Zuikaku
Active CVLs: Ryuho, Shoho
Active CVEs: Chuyo, Hosho, Taiyo, Unyo

Sunk Carriers : CV Junyo, CVL Zuiho, CVL Ryujo

On the allied side, my best estimate is Adm Wa lost: CV Lexington, CV Yorktown, and CVL Hermes.

Total BBs lost are IJN BB Fuso and BB Hyuga, with the British BB Royal Sovereign and BC Repulse. I did not do a Pearl Harbor attack, my port surprise attack was at Manila, as I wanted to concentrate on the DEI right off the bat. Looking back, this may have been a mistake? Not sure though as his subs have been non effective up until about 3 months ago, sunk ship list has 15 subs sunk in Manila on Dec 7.

Looking at production of ships, I have been accelerating CV Taiho, CV Amagi, and CV Unryu as much as I can, I have stopped Musashi and CV Shinano. The three CVs are currently expected to arrive first week of August '43. That will let me upgrade the mini KB to a full sized KB. Biggest mistake was not putting more factories into Sam's, as I expect I will really need them in the back end of '43 for any CV battles. I have 14 factories now, but only 7 initially at the start of the war.

[InHarmsWay]

My bombardment TF went in at Umnak and did moderate damage, plus caught a couple xAPs unloading. Only 1 was sunk, and both DMS's that were supporting the TF were sunk by the CD unit Adm Wa landed there a few weeks ago. Not happy with that, as that was the last DMS I had in the region. In the afternoon, several Bettys flew and did sink a DD and SC with a well place torpedo.

The Nagato is headed back to the Home Islands for repairs along with the CA Atago. Both have eaten fish over the past few days so with sys damage and the likely return of the Death Star with Hellcats, time to retreat and repair while waiting for KB to finish upgrades.ds One nice result of the night actions is that the BB Hiei has now reached a day / night exp rating of 76/82 !!

April 23 1943 status North Pacific.jpg (436.3 KiB) Viewed 128 times

Lady Luck smiled on the IJN last night (April 23, 1943). While approaching Deboyne Island south of Rabaul, a Japanese TF prepared to bombard the Allied base. Alert lookouts spotted an American fast transport TF unloading supplies and the battle was on!
----------------------------

Night Time Surface Combat, near Deboyne Islands at 103,135, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CL Isuzu
DD Myojinami
DD Suruyame
DD Yamanagiri

Allied Ships
APD Fox, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
APD Litchfield, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Manley, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Colhoun, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
APD Gregory, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD McKean, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Stringham, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Improved night sighting under 92% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 92% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 23,000 yards...
Range closes to 21,000 yards...
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards

Very nice to catch some APDs. 6 confirmed sunk, and the 7th may sink as well.

[PaxMondo]

... One nice result of the night actions is that the BB Hiei has now reached a day / night exp rating of 76/82 !!

NICE!!!!

Very nice to catch some APDs. 6 confirmed sunk, and the 7th may sink as well.

Maybe, I hate allied damage control. If the fires get put out (likely) and it gets to a port (there are several nearby, right?) you will need to engage it again to sink it .... I HATE that because IJN ships sink at the slightest, merest, tiniest provocation!

[InHarmsWay]

April 26, 1943. Admiral Harmasaki looks over the upgrade reports for the numerous Capital Ships currently being refitted. Can't there be a way to speed up the workers at the docks? He muses... If there was combat damage, the repairs could be put into a high priority. For these upgrades, the technicians demand not to be rushed! How frustrating!

Status of upgrades:
Active CVs: Hiryu, Soryu, Hiyo
CV Shokaku and Zuikaku both will return to service in 1 day!
CV Kaga and Akagi both in 15 days!
CVL Shoho and Ryuho both in 11 days!
CVE Taiyo and Unyo both in 11 days!
9 CAs ranging from 6 to 28 days
2 CLs rangin from 5 to 14 days
19 DDs ranging from 1 to 15 days

Will hold two CLs (Kitakami and Oi) back as they upgrade in May, '43 from a 90 AA to 444 AA value. Looks like the best Japanese CLAA equivalent out there at least mid war. Not worth risking in night actions, as they will be best buddies with the KB.