43+ Allies vs. AI Campaign AAR

[Vaevictis_386]

I thought I would start an AAR so I'd have something to write while the turn plays.

The game is the 43+ campaign, with me playing the Allies and AI as Japan. AI set to Hard.


So far we have played a month and a half, it's about mid July 43 right now.

I'd appreciate any tips or comments that you might have.

Late May, 1943: The US command is sick of the push in the SW Pacific. Sure Guadalcanal was a great victory, but that was just a diversion for the real thing: A full throttled push across the Pacific.

To that end, massive redeployment to Pearl harbor. All US CVs will be stationed there (Essex, Saratoga, Enterprise) and a majority of the battleships. American high command has taken the unprecedented logistical move of simultaneously transporting 5 divisions (1, 2, 3 Marine; 1st Cav, and Americal) towards Pearl... though their arrival is still awaited. Plans are made to move the 25th, "Tropical Lightning" division, one of two formed from the famous Hawaiian square division (the other is the 24th... like the 25th but with much less cool division patch and no snazzy name).

SW Pacific has been turned into a backwater, though it still lays claim to the only major merchant ship sinkings outside of the Sub Command. MacArthur has been sacked, and rumours fly that the High Command's dislike of the American Caesar is one of the reasons his former theater has been written off.

Another reason is logistics. Fuel and supplies are being sent from the US west coast, but the pipeline has not started to produce any results -- 6 weeks and the initial depot at Suva hasn't been stocked, and it is from there that most supply will reach the theater.

Many have accused the High Command of laziness -- little has been done and the Command has not taken much interest in theater operations aside from two areas: 1) A planned invasion of Wake Island and 2) An Indian air campaign against Mytiyanka aimed towards a ground assault which will re-open the Burma road. A sideshow is Kiska Island, which will be harrassed and starved until no enemy is left in the Aleutians. A cruiser TF from Anchorage, the supply hub of Northern Command, makes routine bombardment runs, and planes attack the island daiily.

Others point not so much to laziness, but rather the pernicious influence of Vaevictis, the high command's Supreme Warload. He has crushed individual initiative at almost all levels of operations on this side of the globe, yet he refuses to take the time to maximize the Allied advantage in any theaters but those he has a personal interest in. Others say critics should wait, and point to rumours amongst the elite troops being redirected out of the SW Pacific back to Pearl, rumours which speak of training exercises for an assault on an island that looks uncomfortably like Saipan.

7/16-7/19:
The Wake armada has reached almost the halfway mark of its journey. Its core is an invasion fleet carrying the 40th Infantry Division, a national guard outfit formed from California and neighboring states. Its nickname is the "Sunshine Division" and troops go by the name Sunshiners. Perhaps this is why their training performance has been substandard (60 Exp/60 Morale). Word in the bars at Hilo is that V. noticed their lackadasical, laid back California attitudes and thought a warm up on Wake would turn them into soldiers.

I asked one grizzled Hawaiian prostitute, sipping a rum drink in a bar located in downtown Hilo, far enough from the ocean you might even forget you're in Hawaii, why V. didn't pick on the 27th Infantry. They are a laughing stock among everyone in the know on the islands, and if V. was seeking to challenge some weaker troops to rise to the occaison at Wake, surely they'd be better candidates.

"Yeah whatever." She laughs. "I did a stint over at Pearl a while back, and the 27th ain't worth shit. Bunch of stupid New Yorkers, haven't even seen a gun until they found themselves in the army."

I nodded and bought another round.

"But the thing is," she continued, "I know V., real personal like -- good tipper too! And he mentioned they'd be good for nothing but garrison duty. Or to make the first wave in a real bloodbath, something for the Japs to use up their ammo on before the big boys landed. Said something about an island... started with an S..."

But I digress. Whatever the reasons, the Sunshine Division would have the honors at Wake, and all about their vessels buzzed a proud fleet: two battleship TFs, and air coverage from a TF headed by the Enterprise.

The commander of the Enterprise grumbles at his assignment. "V. hates us... gives all the glamour to the Essex, sending em all fancy-like to rush ahead to Wake, with carte blanche to engage the enemy [reaction 6, retirement allowed, only mission engage anything around Wake]."

But the commander might not have been so jealous had he known the intel reports coming in when Essex reached Wake, about 2 days ahead of the invasion convoy.

Air recon spotted an APD heading west towards Wake, and Essex ran at it hoping to catch a supply convoy. But at the same time US subs operating almost within sight of Tokyo Bay ran into trouble.

SS Shad sent in a desperate last report:

We've stumbled into more than a merchant convoy... lots of DD, CA... my God!! There are 2 CVs!! [Hiyo and Ryuho]. Course is northwest, will engage immediately.

SS Shad was never heard from again.

The same day, SS Muskallunge spotted Zuikaku doing the same thing. This sub learned form its breathern's fate and survived.

7/19
The aerial assault from Essex comes to Wake. The APD proved a phantom, and the last time the Jap CVs were sighted they had changed heading to SE. Two days of easy bomnbing, and the invasion is due tomorrow. Despite rotten weather, the planes do quite well.

A battleship TF splits from escort duties to bombard the island. The 40th waits tensely. What will happen?

V. was in bad mood -- news came from New Zealand that carefully planned transport for 2 Marine divisons there to Pearl got hopelessly botched [seems you cant fill APs with one division, have room for another, sail to a new port and add a second divison even if there is more than enough room].

But that smoudering anger blazed forth into fury when he got reports from Wake. "2 Days!!! Two blasted Days!!! And the invasion fleet has just been sitting there 120 miles away, doing nothing?!??!?!" He started to swear he'd never give antoher commander such freedom again (TF had retirement orders in effect) but as further reports poured in, he began to calm down. While Essex continued a steady diet of bombs for Wake, Indiana's TF, sent in for pre-invasion bombardment, was attacked by twelve Betties. Where did they come from?!?!? Essex had been cruising around the island for almost a week without stirring up the slightest interest from the Japanese, even after it started bombing Wake.

The skipper of the Indiana proved himself a true salty dog, leading his TF on an unbelievable array of evasive manuvers and got away with nary a bomb hit.

Things at Wake still weren't going to go easy, even with that piece of luck. The battleships came in to bombard in daylight. Recon reports had the island lightly defended, no more than 2,000 Japs. No land based planes either. Where the hell did the Betties come from? But then they have SUCH long ranges... The battleships found themselves in a vicious duel with almost 200 coastal defense guns. 3 DD sank outright, the remaining 4 in the TF fled back towards Pearl, all so crippled it will be a miracle if even one makes it. The battleships took many a hit, but their tough hides preserved them from anything but annoyance. Good American steel = good American Battleship. Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that the TF included the Pennsylvania and Indiana. Steel workers from Pittsburgh and Gary had saved those ships.

Wake was looking harder to hit than ever. Perhaps the invasion commander had been wise to be so stand-offish. Especially when updated air recon put the Japs at upwards of 9,000 on the island. For two weeks no reports of anything but 2K troops, and now, once they start shooting, the flyboys see another 7,000. Maybe that APD was real, and brought in reinforcements. Impossible to have avoided the Essex though... it was roaming around looking for anything to kill, right there at Wake. Of course, its Captain had turned back towards Pearl -- a little strange, assumed it was due to anxiety about fuel. Of course maybe he saw something out there and ran...

At any rate, V. was somewhat mollified. Shannon, his Invasion Chief bought him some time to deal with Wake, a harder nut than he though. The Enterprise was called in for bombing, and the other BB TF was taken from escort and told to bombard. Indiana was sticking around, maybe good for one more round of dueling with the shore batteries too. V. lifted the phone. "Order the invasion to commence tomorrow -- and tell them this isn't optional this time! Whatever Shannon's opinion, they are going in tomorrrow!

7/29
Schwanebeck (37/52) led the 40th "Sunshine" division ashore. Massive gun battles continued with the battleships, though now the coastal guns weren't doing much even against the DDs in those two TFs. Not to say all the DDs escaped serious harm though... The Carriers continued bombing raids, which seemed to do little. Perhaps they were overly concerned with chasing the transport task force they discovered some 500 miles south of Wake. Yes, the APD had not been phantom, Imperial Japan was reinforcing Wake right under the Essex's nose. To add insult to injury, the carrier jocks only got 1 torpedo hit in on a merchant ship.

But all that pales beside the horrors the 40th endured. Indeed, there was no sunshine for them this day. California laid-back meant spilled blood at Wake. A few of the boys were heard to joke about surfing the captured beach... and some might have even cracked a joke or two after the first wave went in. 531 were lost on the first wave, perhaps a sign that the battleships had got the coastal defence down to reasonable proportions. Of course, the Jap counterattack was vicious, and that first wave could only cling to the beach waiting for reinforcements. The next day two more waves landed, and each time it seemed the Jap coastal defence got stronger. The Battleships were still duking it out with them, but the two waves each took some 800 casulties. The whole landing was a complete mess. Jap counterattacks were as bloody as the Americans desperate attempts to assault their way on shore. The Sunshine division was on the verge of being shattered. Not even Vaevictis wants to bet on whether their final annihilation would come on the morrow.

But, in for a penny in for a pound. More bombardment was planned. V. dismayed Essex with direct orders to let the Japanese transport fleet go. Its captain complained 'But they made fools of us, slipping right past my blockade... we want them at the bottom of the Ocean!"

V.'s reply was terse: "You missed your chance, and they landed too many SOBs on shore... The Japs have got 10,000 + men now! If you couldn't get em in their boats, kill em now on land!" With that all carrier assets were directed to ground attack.

The situation on land was desperate.

"Who is this jack-ass who led the assault?"

"Schwanebeck, sir." (rating: 37/52)

"Godammit get that SOB out of command. And tell him they'll be no US transport for him back from the island. If he wants to get home for a courtmartial, he'll swim!!! And dammit, if he doesn't then he stay there marooned for all I care."

Waldron, one of the cream of the US officiers (70/70) was given the task to salvage a nearly hopeless situation...


7/31 The attacks continued. Bombardment and bombing kept going strong, and it finally did look like the shore defence was supressed. Final waves coming onto shore took negligible casulties, and Waldron smiled, until he realized that this was probably because the last waves were so small there weren't many men to kill. Little reinforcement, he'd have to do it with what he had on hand. Fortunately the air support was proving murderous, just splendid. Waldron turned to go to battle...

"Where is this Waldron? I want to see him the minute he gets back." Vaevictis shouted to his house boy/orderly.

"Well, sir, the thing is, we don't know. He disappeared on the first day's combat."

"What?!?!"

"Yes sir, the attack went splendidly under his direction, took the heart of the island in one fell swoop -- absolutely amazing. But he's gone. Nobody has seen him since. MIA."

V. looked down and spat into his spitoon. "Got blown to bits most likely. Always happens to the good ones."

[When I checkd the division, the commander was gone and replaced with a random new one. Can commanders get killed or is this a bug?]

The 40th division proved its mettle in an awful test. Perhaps now people will think twice when they call them Sunshiners. 190 Rifle squads were destroyed, and 150 remained. Experience and morale both jumped up 10% (66/67 now). But the battle is far from over, as a reported 9,0000 Japanese are still on the island, and the 40th may be too exhausted to hold onto its glorious conquest. And oh, by the way, Wake has 5 supplies for them to fight with (a lot got used up/destroyed in the fighting, but I guess I was light on supply to start with). How fast can Pearl send new men and supplies to secure the victory? No follow up reinforcements have been planned...

8 DDs have sunk so far, and a few cripples will undoubtedly join them. Other than that, the navy escaped except for several APs that were mauled.

Stay tuned till next time.

[AmiralLaurent]

Good question on the missing commander, not seen this yet, or at least not noticed it, but I paid little attention to ground commanders...

As for not being able to load one division in one port and sail to another to pick another, WITP does not allow to load several units in the same ship. And it seems to me that when you load a division in a TF it will spread in all ships. So the solution is to have two TF, one loading the division, the other following it, later merging, and then the empty transports will load the second division in the second port.

As for the Wake landing, the question is now: was it worth it ? You primary goal should now be to build a big submarine base here.

[Cmdrcain]

ORIGINAL: AmiralLaurent

Good question on the missing commander, not seen this yet, or at least not noticed it, but I paid little attention to ground commanders...

As for not being able to load one division in one port and sail to another to pick another, WITP does not allow to load several units in the same ship. And it seems to me that when you load a division in a TF it will spread in all ships. So the solution is to have two TF, one loading the division, the other following it, later merging, and then the empty transports will load the second division in the second port.

As for the Wake landing, the question is now: was it worth it ? You primary goal should now be to build a big submarine base here.

What I do Is Send sufficent transports for where pickup...

Then divide em up into sub fleets for each Labd group to load, I load only troops onto each AP/ AK and once done I combine them all into one TF while doing that I'll have a YF loading supplies and a TF loading Fuel, I combine those in and the one big TF rolls out..

[Vaevictis_386]

Good question as to whether Wake was worth it. Very messy, but I had to get it sometime and, what's more, I had to get my feet wet trying out some Amphib operation. I learned a lot -- so it's a bit like Dieppe, but with a happier result [:)]

40th Inf. is much closer to a battle hardened division now, but how long will it take to rebuild? It took over 50% casulties and the mopping up is only just beginning...

[Vaevictis_386]

Here we go, it is August 43 in the Pacific.

Vaevictis returned well rested from Hilo where he celebrated his narrow escape to victory on Wake with his grizzled whore.

Wake still had to be secured... he pondered the course of the battle there. Given the desperate straits, which were immediately rectified by a change in command, he wondered if the fight should have been easy given the right command.

At any rate, a supply convoy escorted by CVEs was organized at Pearl, and then the nearly refreshed V. turned his attentions to the rest of the war.

Lots of logistical planning was in order. Tanker routes were tweaked and some attention was paid to getting together the supply routes to the neglected SW Pacific.

A massive Tanker fleet was sent out from LA on a long journey towards India via Melbourne. It is unclear how much fuel can be expected from Karachi and India.

Ah, the supply situation in India. V.s staff is nuts about it. So hard to tell what the ground transport infrastructure can support. They believe that some of the more full forward bases cannot be supplied given current operations and the snails pace of ground travelled supply. But time will tell, and if supply runs short at Imphal and Ledo, units will be transferred out and the bases relegated to low level activity. This would mean the end of the plan to reopen the Burma road. Of course, the supply situation in China is even worse.

V.'s typical laziness was not in as much evidence. He was cleary very refreshed, and he made his staff run ragged. A new project surfaced. A plan for a Royal Navy raid to disrupt oil from the DEI. A TF consisting of all His Majesty's carriers accompanied by one with most of His Indian Ocean Battleships set forth 8/2. They are taking a devious route, far to the west south, and then will pounce on Java at its soft underbelly.

***

Resistance at Wake ended with ease... there is much concern at HQ about the quality of our intelligence. Reports stated that 1,000s of Japs were holing up on the island, but stiff naval fire and air attack wiped them out before the weary 40th had to go dig em out. Wake is secure, much more easily than it was looking.

The Aussies have made it up to Salamaua in PNG, and we'll see how much they are up for the fight!

The big news, however, is a serious IJN deployment to the SW Pacific. Hiyo, Junyo, Ryuho and Yamato have been spotted south of Rabaul. Several air attacks failed to achieve anything against them. Airbases from Lunga to Port Moresby have been put on full alert to deal with the intruders.

***

Well, IJN south of Rabaul has disappeared... Merchant shipping took a beating. V. says it was just a feint, the serious air scared em off. All PNG aircraft now alerted to support 3rd Australian Division at Salamaua, where they've bitten off a little more than they could chew... esp. since Japanese air raids are taking a serious toll on them and they are outnumbered to boot!

The rather neglected northern command received a visit from one of V.s favorite staff officers today.

"Good god, every man on this base seems drunk."

"Awwww... its just the vodka... you should see what's going on at Nome."

"What? Never mind Nome. V. certainly doesn't care about it. But he does care about you, at least a little."

"Good to hear, sir."

"Get that CA TF off night bombardment. You shoulda seen what the big guns did at wake, on post for almost a week, bombarding every day. I want Kiska turned into a parking lot. Oh, and by the way, their Alaska Air hasn't done squat. Get those P40-Ns on strafing missions pronto!"

"Aye Aye Sir."

***

As mid August nears, news of the 3rd Australian Division's retreat reaches HQ. They are just pulling back out of range of enemy artillery to regroup, get more supplies, and let the bombing do its work to soften Salamaua up.

The Chinese have started to make some moves in central China, mostly just looking to attrition the Japanese some.

****

Aussie 3rd taking 3309+ casulties in air raids... can't wait to get them out of there.

Wellington IIIs raiding north Burma from Calcutta have gotten NOTHING done. 77 Wellingtons, can't even get to 100 kills on enemy troops. Range a little far too -- get fatigued much too quickly. Gimme B-24s anyday!

[andytimtim]

do you know what happen with the IJN near Rabaul? looks like the japanease are after a fight!![X(]

[Vaevictis_386]

They've not shown back up, so I'm not sure where the big fleet is or what it is up to...

[andytimtim]

so what are you planning to do?

do you want to fight another decisive battle like midway in the near future?