Crash&Burn: Timtom's view of history: Scn.5, toraq VS timtom

[timtom]

Well, nothing to be had at Gili Gili. But if I've compelled Toraq to withdraw his carriers, that's a victory of sorts, I guess, and the only thing I've lost is fuel. I've only just come to realise (by running a test) that bombardment TF's will actually shell ships on port, of which there are 25-odd at Gili Gili. A good player would have smacked Gili Gili with bombardment, then followed up with an air strike - just goes to show...

However, Im preparing a little hurt for Toraq, hopefully and with luck, turn after next. The weather for coming turn is thunderstorms, although previous experience has shown this to be a somewhat flimsy cover. Toraq ran recon missions against most of my forward air bases, which could be the harbinger of evil tides. But with Munda going fast, I can't afford to wait. In view of the easy with which Toraq has achieved recent results, Im hoping he'll relax his guard a bit...

On another note, the I-177 depth charged af few turns ago has made it back to Shortland Island, and, once emptied of water, will be playing target to Toraq's DD's.

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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/01/43 Weather: Clear
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Japanese Naval Attacks:

Sub attack SE Gili Gili *ASW TF, 6 DD's + 2 SC's*

Japanese Ships:
SS I-36, Shell hits 1, on fire *minor damage*

Allied Ships:
DD Smith
DD Flusser
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at Treasury Islands:

Japanese Ships:
DD Mochizuki, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Allied Ships:
SS Drum
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Salamaua) from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:
P-40E Kittyhawk x 28
P-47C Thunderbolt x 15
P-39D Airacobra x 89
SBD Dauntless x 34
A-20G Havoc x 28

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 145
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Munda:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 20087 troops, 270 guns, 0 vehicles *129th, 145th, 148th (37th ID), 27th, 161st RCT (25th ID) + 3 Eng. Bn's + 1 CD bn.*

Defending force 12469 troops, 167 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 5

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 5)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 4

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 210

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 191
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Salamaua:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12930 troops, 119 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 5256 troops, 56 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)

Allied forces CAPTURE Salamaua base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 363

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Not a single airstrike this turn. Looks like Toraq's invasion fleet buggered out of Munda. His carriers, however, turned up again north of Rossel Islands, no doubt looking for my surface TF west of Bougainville threatening Gili Gili. So the strikes planned against the fleet off Munda will go looking for the carriers. I'm throwing the kitchen sink at Toraq. The worst possible thing that could happen now is that Toraq withdraws his carriers, leaving my primed aircraft to wreck themselved in useless pennypacket strikes against shipping in heavily capped ports. We'll see...

In another development, Toraq FT'd half a brigade to Finschafen. I've sort of been expecting something like that, but is now kicking myself for not moving a CD unit there. It's barely defended, but hopefully the fort will hold long enough for me to rush in some support...I'm trying to do too much with too little.


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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/02/43 Weather: Thunderstorms
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Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Munda:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 19970 troops, 270 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 12267 troops, 166 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 505
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 110
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Salamaua:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12893 troops, 119 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 4713 troops, 66 guns, 0 vehicles *102nd Rgt. just received replacements*

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 2

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Well, Toraq clearly saw me coming, 'cos he did everything right. I'm not quite sure how he spotted my forward concentration, as he ran no recon missions against the bases in question last turn. Anyway, the day opened with the strikes against Rabaul, Buka, and Shortland, closing down all the but the latter. His carriers retreated to about 150 miles south of Gili Gili, and, well the rest is history. Suffice to say that I lost 82 aircraft, half of which were Zero's and Val's. Toraq lost 20 aircraft in total, incl. 10 P-38's.

As a sob to me, at least it seems that my AC TF caught him by surprise, which netted my three DD's. In terms of points, I've been set back about 40 VP's. The loss of aircraft I can live with, except for 9 Nell's and 9 Lily's, which won't be replaced any time soon.
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/03/43 Weather: Partly Cloudy
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Japanese Naval Attacks:

Night Time Surface Combat at near Munda:

Japanese Ships:
CA Takao
CA Atago, Shell hits 7
CA Maya
CA Chokai
DD Akitsuki
DD Shimotsuki
DD Suzunami
DD Hatsukaze
DD Arashi

Allied Ships:
PT 66, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
PT 67
PT 68
PT 110
PT 107, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
PT 115
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Munda

Japanese Ships
DD Suzunami, Shell hits 1

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 85
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Finschhafen:

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 23
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Air attack on TF N Woodlark from AC TF WSW Buka: *not actually sure what this TF is doing here - maybe it's the ASW TF that's been sniffing round the Gili Gili area*

Japanese aircraft: *multiple strikes*
A6M2 Zero x 31
A6M3 Zero x 4
D3A Val x 86
B5N Kate x 50

Japanese aircraft losses:
D3A Val x 13 damaged
B5N Kate x 12 damaged

Allied Ships:
DD Monaghan, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Farragut, Bomb hits 10, and is sunk
DD Smith, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Russell Islands from Shortland Island:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M3 Zero x 18
D3A Val x 48

Allied aircraft:
F4U-1 Corsair x 21
P-40E Kittyhawk x 9
P-38G Lightning x 46

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M3 Zero x 11 destroyed
D3A Val x 26 destroyed, D3A Val x 3 damaged *actual loss 23*

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair x 1 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 7 destroyed, P-38G Lightning x 6 damaged

Allied Ships
PT 122, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk *laugh or cry?*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Gili Gili from Rabaul:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 6
A6M3 Zero x 4
G3M Nell x 9
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 11

Allied aircraft:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 14
F4U-1 Corsair x 20
P-38G Lightning x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 1 destroyed
G3M Nell x 6 destroyed, G3M Nell x 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 destroyed, F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair x 1 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 2 destroyed, P-38G Lightning x 1 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Strikes:

Air attack on Rabaul airfield from Port Moresby & Dobodura: *these strikes actually preceded my strikes on TF's*

Japanese aircraft:

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 33
B-17E Fortress x 66
PB4Y Liberator x 27
B-24D Liberator x 18
F-5A Lightning x 1

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed, A6M3 Zero x 2 damaged
G3M Nell x 1 destroyed, G3M Nell x 10 damaged
G4M1 Betty x 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses:
B-17E Fortress x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 601 *at this rate, it's a wonder anyone still alive at Rabaul *
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 23
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 180
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Air attack on Buka airfield from Lunga:

Japanese aircraft:

Allied aircraft:
B-17E Fortress x 36
B-24D Liberator x 21

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-21 Sally x 1 destroyed, Ki-21 Sally x 12 damaged
Ki-48 Lily x 8 destroyed, Ki-48 Lily x 7 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 32

Airbase hits 15
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Shortland Island airfield from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
Hudson x 26
P-38G Lightning x 26
B-25J Mitchell x 75

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 93
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Salamaua) from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:

P-47C Thunderbolt x 9
P-39D Airacobra x 60
SBD Dauntless x 24
A-20G Havoc x 18

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 15th Naval Garrison Unit (Lae) from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft
P-47C Thunderbolt x 7
A-20G Havoc x 9

Allied aircraft losses
A-20G Havoc x 3 damaged
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Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Munda:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 19810 troops, 270 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 11803 troops, 163 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 484
Guns lost 3

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 126
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Salamaua:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12805 troops, 119 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 4696 troops, 66 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 48

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Finschhafen:

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 2200 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles *25th Oz Brg. + Pioneer Bn.*

Defending force 3297 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles *NG Bn.+ Pioneer Bn. *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Munda fell this turn, after what...five days of fighting. Not very impressive. Toraq kept punding Buka and Shortland, stranding my aircraft. Material damage is slight, the effect on morale isn't. Toraq also tried something new, in hitting the harbour in Rabaul, finishing off some cripples.

With 40 turns to go, it seems only a matter of the extend of my defeat. Toraq has offered my at least three open invitations to land telling blows on him, and I've failed to capitalise on any of them. If Lae goes as easily as Salamaua and Munda, Toraq can close the VP gap in no time. He still got at least two div's to commit offensively, and I've barely made a dent in the combat power of his already commited units. My only hope short of a massive blunder by Toraq is to some how stall Toraq at Lae and Vila, but with Allied air power reigning supreme, what the chance of that?


Score at start: Toraq: 3004/Timtom: 4440 = 1.00/1.48
Score after 10 turns: 3294/4716 = 1.00/1.44
score after 20 turns: 4076/4697 = 1.00/1.15

Naval Losses:

Japanese:
Sunk: 1xCL, 2xDD, 1xMSW, 5xSS, 4xAP
Damaged: 1xBB, 1xCL, 4xDD, 2xAP

Allied:
Sunk (confirmed): 4xDD, 7xPT, 1xAK, 1xLST
Damaged (estimate): 1xBB, 1xCVE, 2xDD, 1xDM, 2xAP, 2xAK

The air game in no.'s:

Allied/Japanese:

Sorties Flown: 27,858/6,505

Air-to-air: 55/154 = 1.00:2.80
Destroyed on field: 0/84 *as previous*
Destroyed by flak: 53/18 = 2.94:1.00
Operational losses: 144/98 = 1.47:1.00

Total: 252/354 = 1.00:1.40

Loss pr. sortie 0.0090/0.0544 = 1.0000:6.0444

Japenese Aircraft types lost:

Fighters, Fighter-bombers, and Nightfighters:
79 A6M3 Zero
31 Ki-43IIa Oscar
25 Ki-45Ib Nick
17 Ki-61 Tony
1 A6M2 Zero

= 152 (42.9%)

Level bombers:
44 G4M1 Betty
26 Ki-48 Lily
12 Ki-49 Helen
12 G3M Nell
7 Ki-21 Sally

=101 (28.5%)

Dive- and Torpedo-bombers:
32 D3A Val
5 D4Y Judy
4 B5N Kate

= 41 (11.6%)

Recon planes:
12 Ki-46 Dinah
10 J1N1 Irving

= 24 (6.8%)

Patrol- and Float planes:
11 E13A1 Jake
9 H6K Mavis
5 H8K Emily
4 E7M2 Alf
2 F1M2 Pete
1 E8N Dave

= 32 (9.0%)

Tranport planes:
5 Ki-57-I Topsy

= 5 (1.4%)

Allied aircraft types lost:

Fighter, Fighter-bombers, and Nightfighters:
52 P-38G
10 F4U-1
8 P-40E Kittyhawk
8 P-39D Airacobra
8 F4F-4 Wildcat
3 F4F-3 Wildcat
2 Beaufort Mk VIC
1 Spitfire Mk VIII
1 P-70A Havoc

= 93 (36.9%)

Level bombers:
21 B-17E Fortress
20 B-25J Mitchell
12 B-24D Liberator
6 Beaufort
5 Hudson
4 PB4Y Liberator
2 A-20G Havoc

= 70 (27.8%)

Dive- and Torpedo bombers:
17 SBD Dauntless
7 TBF Avenger

= 24 (9.5%)

Recon planes:
6 F5-A Lightning

= 6 (2.4%)

Patrol- and Float planes:
20 PBY Catalina
3 SOC-3 Seagull

= 23 (9.1%)

Transports:
30 C-47 Dakota

= 30 (11.9%)
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/04/43 Weather: Partly Cloudy
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Japanese Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at Port Moresby:

Japanese Ships:
SS I-27

Allied Ships
LST 464, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack SSE Rabaul:

Japanese Ships
AG 5049, Shell hits 8, and is sunk

Allied Ships
SS Raton
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at SSE Rabaul:

Japanese Ships:
AG 5051, Shell hits 3, and is sunk

Allied Ships:
SS Albacore
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Japanese Air Attacks:

air attack on Buna port from Gasmata & Madang:

Japanese aircraft:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 37

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Virgo, Bomb hits 1

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 4
Port hits 4
Port fuel hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Rabaul port from Lunga & Dobodura:

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 40
B-17E Fortress x 43
B-24D Liberator x 16
F-5A Lightning x 1

Allied aircraft losses:
B-17E Fortress x 1 damaged

Japanese Ships:
AP Heiwa Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage *scuttled*
AP Chihaya Maru, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage *scuttled*
AP Kisaragi Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage *scuttled*
AP Takunan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 2053, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 2056, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 5090, Bomb hits 1, on fire, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 68

Port hits 10
Port fuel hits 1
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Air attack on Buka airfield from Dobodura:

Allied aircraft:
B-25J Mitchell x 24
PBY Catalina x 1

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed, A6M3 Zero x 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally x 1 destroyed, Ki-21 Sally x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 19
Guns lost 1

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 14
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Air attack on Shortland Island airfield from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 24
Hudson x 27
B-17E Fortress x 30
B-24D Liberator x 24
F-5A Lightning x 4

Japanese aircraft losses:
D3A Val x 2 destroyed, D3A Val x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 30
Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 68
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Air attack on 25th Naval Garrison Unit (Finschafen) from Dobodura:

Allied aircraft:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 23
Wirraway x 18
SBD Dauntless x 36
TBF Avenger x 30

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Munda:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 19678 troops, 270 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 11409 troops, 160 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)

Allied forces CAPTURE Munda base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 419
Guns lost 10

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 60
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Salamaua:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12783 troops, 119 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 4656 troops, 65 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese ground losses: *it seems defending behind fortifications increase rather than decrease casualties*
Men lost 10

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 13
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Ground combat at Finschhafen:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2996 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 3290 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 29

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 10
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[timtom]

Another heartbreak turn...at least Antonio's having fun. 'Nuff said.
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/05/43 Weather: Partly Cloudy
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Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack NW Rabaul:

Japanese Ships:
AG 375, Shell hits 4, and is sunk

Allied Ships:

SS S-37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack SE Rabaul:

Japanese Ships:
AG 5091, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships:
SS Raton
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF E Madang from Nadzab:

Allied aircraft:
SBD Dauntless x 4

Allied aircraft losses:
SBD Dauntless x 2 damaged

Japanese Ships:
AG 2068, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Gasmata from Dobadura:

Allied aircraft:
SBD Dauntless x 3 *strafing SBD's - there's a first!*

Allied aircraft losses:
SBD Dauntless x 1 damaged

Japanese Ships:
AG 361, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF N Gasmata from Nadzab, Buna, & Dobadura: *ohh no...*

Allied aircraft:
SBD Dauntless x 47
TBF Avenger x 31
Beaufort x 12

Allied aircraft losses:
SBD Dauntless x 1 destroyed, 21 damaged *actual loss 12 SBD's*
TBF Avenger x 2 destroyed, TBF Avenger x 15 damaged
Beaufort x 11 damaged

Japanese Ships: *surface escort to FT TF for Finschafen - they'll all live barring further damage, but the Haruna, Ashigara & Nachi are out of the battle*

BB Haruna, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA Ashigara, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
CA Nachi, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA Suzuya, Shell hits 8
CA Kumano, Shell hits 4, Bomb hits 2 *wrecked both rear 8" turrets, otherwise no damage [X(]*
DD Hamakaze, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Strikes:

Air attack on Madang airfield from Port Moresby & Dobodura:

Allied aircraft:
Spitfire VIII x 11
P-38G Lightning x 13
B-25D Mitchell x 24
B-25J Mitchell x 49
PB4Y Liberator x 25

Allied aircraft losses:
B-25D Mitchell x 1 damaged

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 1 destroyed, Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 26
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 79th Regiment (Madang) from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:
P-47C Thunderbolt x 13
A-20G Havoc x 33

Allied aircraft losses:
A-20G Havoc x 1 destroyed, A-20G Havoc x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses: *increased disruption from 5 -> 34...impressive *
Men lost 18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Shortland Island airfield from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
Hudson x 27
B-25J Mitchell x 68
F-5A Lightning x 4

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed, A6M3 Zero x 1 damaged
D3A Val x 3 destroyed, D3A Val x 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
Hudson x 1 destroyed
B-25J Mitchell x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 59
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 78
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 229th Regiment (Munda) from Russell Islands:

Allied aircraft:
SBD Dauntless x 61

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Salamaua) from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:
P-39D Airacobra x 75
P-47C Thunderbolt x 3

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Munda:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 19673 troops, 270 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 5415 troops, 60 guns, 0 vehicles

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

Japanese ground losses: *229th rgt. retreat to Vila*
Men lost 487

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Salamaua:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12777 troops, 119 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 4593 troops, 65 guns, 0 vehicles

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

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 33

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 26
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Finschhafen:

Allied Shock attack *hmm, interesting...*

Attacking force 3950 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 5478 troops, 59 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 115

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 58
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Ups, I did it again...this turn I was handed the the third major defeat in four days. I was hoping for a little bombardment run on Buna, but the TF was spotted last turn in a position that could only mean it was headed for either the Lae area or the Dobodura area, so presumably Toraq moved his BB's up from Gili Gili, bringing a gun to knife fight.
A glaring example on intellectual lazyness on my part - I should have called the missionn off or at the very least moved it into a less obvious position - which netted Toraq 200 VP at the cost of a couple of DD's. My only excuse is that rock-bottom morale has lead to a certain despondency.

I wonder whether there's any way I can forfeit without looking like a total wimp. "The dog ate is" ?
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/06/43 Weather: Thunderstorms
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Japanese Naval Attacks:

Night Time Surface Combat at Buna:

Japanese Ships:
CA Takao, Shell hits 29, and is sunk
CA Atago, Shell hits 7, on fire
CA Maya, Shell hits 27, and is sunk
CA Chokai, Shell hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
DD Akitsuki, Shell hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
DD Shimotsuki, Shell hits 14, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Suzunami, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Hatsukaze, Shell hits 12, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Arashi

Allied Ships:
BB Washington, Shell hits 5
BB South Dakota, Shell hits 4
BB Indiana, Shell hits 2
CA New Orleans, Shell hits 4
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 4
CA Australia, Shell hits 1
DD Gwin, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Sterett, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Flusser, Shell hits 1
DD Dale
DD Aylwin, Shell hits 8, ans is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at Buka

Japanese Ships:
AG 119, Shell hits 8, and is sunk

Allied Ships:
SS Grayback
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF NE Buna from Dobodura, Gili Gili & Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:
Spitfire VIII x 11
P-47C Thunderbolt x 18
F4F-3 Wildcat x 24
P-40E Kittyhawk x 36
F4U-1 Corsair x 47
SBD Dauntless x 18
TBF Avenger x 22
Beaufort x 4

Allied aircraft losses:
TBF Avenger x 2 damaged
Beaufort x 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage *scuttled*
DD Akitsuki, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on Madang airfield from Gili Gili:

Allied aircraft:
B-25D Mitchell x 21

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 24

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Shortland Island airfield from Lunga:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M3 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 21
Hudson x 28
B-25J Mitchell x 73
F-5A Lightning x 4

Japanese aircraft losses:
D3A Val x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses:
P-38G Lightning x 2 damaged
Hudson x 1 destroyed
B-25J Mitchell x 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 41

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Salamaua) from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:
P-47C Thunderbolt x 18
P-39D Airacobra x 111
A-20G Havoc x 36
PB4Y Liberator x 24

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 136
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Salamaua:

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 12742 troops, 119 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 5023 troops, 69 guns, 10 vehicles *51st Recon arrive from Marilinin, or whatever the base west of Salamaua is called*

Allied assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0) *I find this a bit puzzling - my troops have been doing a lot better after being booted out of Salamaua base, in spite of defending with fewer troops*

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 50

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Toraq's pilots were on steroids this turn, it seems, gettting many more hits than usual.
Other than that, the only notable thing to happen is the 115th Rgt. at Finschafen has mysterious disappeared. I haven't really experienced any bugs before in UV, but hey...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/07/43 Weather: Overcast
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at Rabaul:

Japanese Ships:
AP Kaito Maru, Torpedo hits 1

Allied Ships:
SS Blackfish
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack S Rabaul:

Japanese Ships:
AG 370, Shell hits 7, and is sunk:

Allied Ships:
SS Gato
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Finschhafen:

Japanese Ships
AG 2059
AG 2060
AG 2061, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
AG 2062, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
AG 2063
AG 2064
AG 2065, Shell hits 8, on fire, heavy damage
AG 2066, Shell hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
AG 2067
AG 2081
AG 2082

Allied Ships
BB Washington
BB South Dakota
BB Indiana
CA New Orleans
DD Flusser
DD Dale
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Finschhafen:

Japanese ground losses:
Runway hits 4
Port hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF N Vila from Munda:

Allied aircraft:
SBD Dauntless x 6
P-38G Lightning x 3

Allied aircraft losses:
SBD Dauntless x 4 damaged

Japanese Ships:
ML Tsugaru
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Buin from Russell Islands:

Allied aircraft:
P-40E Kittyhawk x 3
F4U-1 Corsair x 6
P-38G Lightning x 6
SBD Dauntless x 9

no losses

Japanese Ships
ML Ikitsushima, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
ML Niizaki, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Rabaul from Nadzab:

Allied aircraft:
Beaufighter VIC x 22

no losses

Japanese Ships:
AP Tarushima Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kamoi Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Ryotaku Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
ML Ishizaki, Bomb hits 1, on fire
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Finschhafen from Dobadura:

Allied aircraft:
Wirraway x 19

no losses

Japanese Ships:
AG 2064
AG 2060, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AG 2067
AG 2081
AG 2063, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Air Strikes:

Air attack on Buna port from Gasmata:

Japanese aircraft:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 16

no losses

Allied Ships:
AK Aquarius, Bomb hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Strikes:

Air attack on Rabaul airfield and port from Port Moresby:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 30
A6M3 Zero x 29
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 3

Allied aircraft:
B-17E Fortress x 60
PB4Y Liberator x 30
B-24D Liberator x 30

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M2 Zero x 14 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 16 damaged
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses:
B-17E Fortress x 5 damaged

Japanese Ships:
AP Takunan Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 327

Airbase hits 21
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 98
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Shortland Island airfield from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:

P-38G Lightning x 3
Hudson x 27
B-17E Fortress x 32
B-24D Liberator x 21
F-5A Lightning x 2

Japanese aircraft losses:
D3A Val x 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 100

Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 71
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Lae) from Port Moresby & Gili Gili:

Allied aircraft:
P-47C Thunderbolt x 6
P-39D Airacobra x 108
A-20G Havoc x 20
B-25D Mitchell x 9
B-25J Mitchell x 31

Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 54
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 16th Coastal Gun Battalion (Shortland Island) from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 20
B-25J Mitchell x 41

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 115th Regiment (Finschafen) from Dobodura:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 16 *LR-CAP from Gasmata*

Allied aircraft:
Wirraway x 20
SBD Dauntless x 32
TBF Avenger x 52

Allied aircraft losses:
Wirraway x 1 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 76
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

The weather seems to have kept most of Toraq's sqd's grounded, which finally gave me a chance to pull mine off Shortland Finschafen predictably fell, putting Toraq ahead on point. Multiple TF's are sighted near Vila, headed for, I think, Shortland Island. I'm considering concentration for a final blow against these, just to go out with a bang...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/08/43 Weather: Overcast
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack SE Momote

Japanese Ships:
CL Naka, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships:
SS S-44

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at Shortland Island:

Japanese Ships:
AG 120, Shell hits 10, and is sunk

Allied Ships:
SS Silversides
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack NW Rabaul:

Japanese Ships:
AG 369, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships:
SS S-37, Shell hits 1, on fire
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat at Shortland Island:

Japanese Ships:
AG 104
AG 106
AG 110, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
AG 111
AG 112
AG 120
AG 123
AG 354

Allied Ships:
PT 109
PT 157
PT 159
PT 169
PT 170
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF NE Buin from Munda:

Allied aircraft:
F4U-1 Corsair x 9
P-38G Lightning x 17
SBD Dauntless x 67

no losses

Japanese Ships:
ML Ikitsushima, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk *already crippled*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on Lae airfield from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:
B-25J Mitchell x 65

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 172

Airbase hits 21
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Lae) from Gili Gili:

Allied aircraft
B-25D Mitchell x 6

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D Mitchell x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 115th Regiment (Finschafen) from Dobodura: *troops rushed in by FT TF*

Allied aircraft:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 8
Wirraway x 20

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Finschhafen:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5690 troops, 93 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 5026 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Finschhafen base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 88

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Toraq landed troops east of Lae this turn (and a bit surprised to find a minefield there, hehe). Presumably he's marching the troops up from Salamaua as well. It also looks like he's about to land at Shortland...

Lost a sub to a LST - hate it when they decide to engage on the surface. Anyone ever hear of a sub being sunk by a 40mm AA gun?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/09/43 Weather: Partly Cloudy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at SSE Munda:

Japanese Ships:
SS I-166, Shell hits 15, and is sunk *kinda sums up this game*

Allied Ships
LST 472, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack SE RAbaul:

Japanese Ships
AP Tarushima Maru, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships:
SS Gato
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Air Attacks:

Air attack on Port Moresby (night attack) from Wewak:

Japanese aircraft:
Ki-21 Sally x 3

no losses

Allied aircraft:
P-70A Havoc x 4

no losses

Allied ground losses:
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on Rabaul airfield and port from Port Moresby:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 32
A6M3 Zero x 35
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 20

Allied aircraft:
B-17E Fortress x 61
B-24D Liberator x 21
PB4Y Liberator x 27

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed, A6M2 Zero x 6 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 3 damaged
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses:
B-17E Fortress x 1 destroyed, B-17E Fortress x 10 damaged *four destroyed*
PB4Y Liberator x 2 damaged

Japanese Ships:
CA Atago, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
ML Ishizaki, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AG 364, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 351
Guns lost 1
Airbase hits 18
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 81
Port hits 6
Port supply hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Lae airfield from Port Moresby:

Japanese aircraft:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 10 *LR-CAP from Madang*

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 30
B-25J Mitchell x 81

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses:
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 157
Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 79
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Lae) from Port Moresby, Nadzab & Gili Gili:

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 12

no losses

Allied aircraft:
P-40E Kittyhawk x 24
P-39D Airacobra x 60
A-20G Havoc x 24
Beaufort x 12
B-25D Mitchell x 5

Allied aircraft losses:
P-39D Airacobra x 1 damaged
B-25D Mitchell x 1 damaged
Beaufort x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Buka airfield from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
B-17E Fortress x 30
B-24D Liberator x 23

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-21 Sally x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses:
B-17E Fortress x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 59
Airbase hits 15
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 71
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 16th Coastal Gun Battalion (Shortland Island) from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 12
B-25J Mitchell x 28
Hudson x 17

Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Finschhafen:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5681 troops, 93 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 2514 troops, 10 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 0)


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 234
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 17
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

At least the LST which sank the I-166 went too this turn. Toraq's multiple TF's sitting at Shortland are, well, just sitting there. No idea what he's up to. His carriers reappered northeast of Gili Gili, reported as 4xCV, 3CVL, 2xCVE [X(]. Somebody's been a bit deep in the sake, methinks...I could use some myself. Toraq's been taking it easy with the air strikes lately, - maybe he's feeling sorry for me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/10/43 Weather: Partly Cloudy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Naval Attacks:

Sub attack ESE Shortland Island:

Japanese Ships:
SS I-177, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack NW Russell Islands:

Japanese Ships:
SS I-159

Allied Ships
AP Doyen, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at Madang:

Japanese Ships:
AG 2064, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AG 2067, Shell hits 3, on fire
AG 2081, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, and is sunk

Allied Ships
SS S-31, Shell hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Lae) from Port Moresby & Nadzab:

Allied aircraft:
P-40E Kittyhawk x 18
P-39D Airacobra x 72
Beaufort x 15
A-20G Havoc x 30

Allied aircraft losses:
P-39D Airacobra x 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 16th Coastal Gun Battalion (Shortland Island) from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 17
B-25J Mitchell x 37
B-24D Liberator x 8

Allied aircraft losses:
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 53
Guns lost 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Hopei:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 929 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles *troops falling back from Finschafen*

Defending force 1425 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles *24th something*

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 0


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 26

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Toraq is busy landing troops at Shortland - two rgt's + support. I've got a SNLF & two NG bn's there, fort level 8. However, Toraq has gone in without the usual hammering from the air, so it'll be interesting to how it will take him to finish me.

The Allied AC TF's have drawn level (west) of Shortland. I've brought the kitchen sink out again. Next turn's weather is thunderstorms, so it's a complete roll of the dice. Should be interesting...how does "The Great Shortland Island Turkey Shoot" grab you?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/11/43 Weather: Clear
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at Kavieng:

Japanese Ships
AG 5087, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
APD 34

Allied Ships:
SS S-43, Shell hits 4, and is sunk *at last! - I can die a happy man*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on Rabaul from Gili Gili (fighter sweep):

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 27
A6M3 Zero x 73
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 27
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 5
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 3

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 6 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 1 destroyed
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 1 destroyed, Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 7 destroyed, P-38G Lightning x 6 damaged *actual loss 11 P-38's*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Lae) from Port Moresby & Dobadura:

Japanese aircraft:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 16 *LR-CAP from Madang*

Allied aircraft:
P-40E Kittyhawk x 21
P-39D Airacobra x 82
TBF Avenger x 30
A-20G Havoc x 21

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra x 2 destroyed, P-39D Airacobra x 1 damaged
P-40E Kittyhawk x 1 damaged
TBF Avenger x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 16th Coastal Gun Battalion (Shortland Island) from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 17
B-25J Mitchell x 48
B-17E Fortress x 30

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 104
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Hopei:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 918 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles *correction: 186 RCT, 41st ID*

Defending force 1395 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

Well, I got very lucky with the weather, both Lunga and Port Moresby being clouded in. Buka got creamed first thing in the morning by 90-odd B-25's from Gili Gili. Toraq's carriers struck first, at extended range, with multiple small strikes. My CAP did a fairly good job at handling the escorts, but failed miserable against the bombers. He scored two hits both of which are insubstancial. The return strikes rolled off one after the other. Can't say I'm very impressed with the bombers out of Rabaul and Kavieng. Rabaul put but six bombers up out of 70 available to fly, Kavieng 32 out of a 105, of which 15 actually went for the AC TF - 11 Betty's even managed to hit Buna, an impressive feat of mis-navigation. Again Toraq's amazing Marine Corsair pilot carrier operations crash-training program proved its worth (I guess he needs the added advantage [:)]). The Wildcat, on the other hand, showed that it is vulnerable even against Zero's flown by mediocre pilots. The power of the Corsair lies equally with its ability to survive: While the defending Wild- and Hellcats were being worn away, 4 out 27 defending F4U's were lost. Were they really this über? I lost about 225 aircraft, including 168 air-to-air. Toraq lost about 125. I might have damaged the CVE's, but I think that's all.

I've decided to stick around, and will pay for it, no doubt...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/12/43 Weather: Thunderstorms
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Naval Attacks:

Air attack on TF at Treasury Islands from AC TF NNE of Buka, Rabaul, Kavieng & Buka:
*four strikes, Allied starting CAP 90 aircraft ->50*

Japanese aircraft:
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 3
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 25
A6M2-N Rufe x 16
A6M2 Zero x 107
A6M3 Zero x 93
A6M5-B Zeke x 20
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 19
D3A Val x 118
D4Y Judy x 16
B5N Kate x 53
Ki-21 Sally x 3
Ki-48 Lily x 3
G3M Nell x 4
G4M1 Betty x 11

Allied aircraft:
F4F-3 Wildcat x 44
F4F-4 Wildcat x 72
F4U-1 Corsair x 102
F6F Hellcat x 37

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 2 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 12 destroyed
A6M2-N Rufe x 9 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 65 destroyed, A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 19 destroyed
A6M5-B Zeke x 15 destroyed, A6M5-B Zeke x 7 damaged *virtually the entire sdq.*
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 1 destroyed, Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 8 damaged
D3A Val x 42 destroyed, D3A Val x 41 damaged
D4Y Judy x 5 destroyed
B5N Kate x 3 destroyed, B5N Kate x 3 damaged
Ki-21 Sally x 1 destroyed, Ki-21 Sally x 2 damaged
Ki-48 Lily x 2 destroyed, Ki-48 Lily x 1 damaged
G3M Nell x 1 destroyed
G4M1 Betty x 4 destroyed, G4M1 Betty x 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
F4F-3 Wildcat x 4 destroyed, F4F-3 Wildcat x 2 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat x 24 destroyed, F4F-4 Wildcat x 11 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair x 4 destroyed, F4U-1 Corsair x 1 damaged
F6F Hellcat x 12 destroyed, F6F Hellcat x 4 damaged

Allied Ships:
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CA Louisville, Shell hits 4
CVE Altamaha, Bomb hits 1
CVE Copahee, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVL Cowpens, Bomb hits 1
CV Essex, Bomb hits 2, on fire
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Buna from Kavieng:

Japanese aircraft:
G4M1 Betty x 11

Allied aircraft:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6

Japanese aircraft losses:
G4M1 Betty x 3 destroyed, G4M1 Betty x 9 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Vella Lavella from Kavieng:

Japanese aircraft: *at least these guys had the grace to hit something*
G3M Nell x 6

Japanese aircraft losses:
G3M Nell x 1 destroyed, G3M Nell x 5 damaged

Allied Ships
AP McCawley, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Night Time Surface Combat at Lae:

Japanese Ships:

DD Shimakaze, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Yugumo, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Akigumo, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Fumizuki, Shell hits 1
DD Yuzuki, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Nokaze, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships:
BB Washington, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire *gotta love the Long Lance*
BB South Dakota
BB Indiana, Shell hits 1
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 2
CA Australia, Shell hits 2
DD Helm, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Drayton
DD Flusser
DD Dale, Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 445
Guns lost 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Lae:

Allied Ships:
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 2

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 104
Runway hits 3
Port hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at Kavieng from Nadzab:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft:
Beaufighter VIC x 23

no losses

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufighter VIC x 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
APD 34, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF NNE Buka from AC TF at Treasury Island:

Japanese aircraft: *six strikes, CAP never greater than 40 Zero's*
A6M2 Zero x 125
A6M3 Zero x 45

Allied aircraft:
F4F-3 Wildcat x 15
F4F-4 Wildcat x 38
F4U-1 Corsair x 33
SBD Dauntless x 32
TBF Avenger x 24

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M2 Zero x 16 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 5 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2 destroyed, F4F-3 Wildcat x 1 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13 destroyed, F4F-4 Wildcat x 5 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair x 2 destroyed, F4U-1 Corsair x 1 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 24 destroyed, SBD Dauntless x 15 damaged
TBF Avenger x 6 destroyed, TBF Avenger x 15 damaged

Japanese Ships:
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 1
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 1, on fire
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on Buka airfield from Gili Gili:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M3 Zero x 4
A6M5-B Zeke x 2
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 1

Allied aircraft:
P-38G Lightning x 26
B-25D Mitchell x 9
B-25J Mitchell x 94

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M5-B Zeke x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
B-25J Mitchell x 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 29
Guns lost 1
Airbase hits 11
Runway hits 67
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

The weather favoured Toraq this turn, and he wasted no time sending me the message.
He pulled all his shipping back from Shortland, and the carriers are spotted west of Russell Islands...spoilsport, I was up for another round! Because Toraq is teaming his CV's with his CVE's, the TF is slow moving, and my subs might just catch him. Similarly, a BB is reported in the Rossel Island area, which might be the Washington, torpedoed last night...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/13/43 Weather: Thunderstorms
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Naval Attacks:

Air attack on TF at Lae from Rabaul: *this wasn't what I had in mind!*

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 6
A6M3 Zero x 35
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 21
Ki-21 Sally x 3 *jeez, if ya gotta do it, at least do it right...[8|] *

Allied aircraft:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9
Boomerang x 22
Wirraway x 5
P-40E Kittyhawk x 5
P-38G Lightning x 32
P-47C Thunderbolt x 60

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 18 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 12 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally x 1 destroyed, Ki-21 Sally x 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 destroyed, F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
Boomerang x 2 destroyed
Wirraway x 6 destroyed, Wirraway x 2 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 3 destroyed, P-38G Lightning x 3 damaged
P-47C Thunderbolt x 2 destroyed, P-47C Thunderbolt x 2 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF E Gili Gili:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 4
G4M1 Betty x 6

Japanese aircraft losses:
G4M1 Betty x 7 damaged *two Betty's lost, so it's minus one VP for me [:)]*

Allied Ships:
SC 518, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Sub attack at Kavieng:

Japanese Ships:
DD Shimakaze, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships:
SS S-44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at NNE Buka:

Allied Ships:
SS Raton, Shell hits 2, and is sunk *I take it all back...*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Lae:

Allied Ships:
CA Pensacola, Shell hits 3
CA Salt Lake City, Shell hits 1
DD Pringle, Shell hits 2
DD Anthony, Shell hits 1
DD Brownson, Shell hits 2
DD Henley, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Eaton, Shell hits 1
DD Mullany, Shell hits 2
DD Brownson, Shell hits 2

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 32

Runway hits 7
Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 4
Port supply hits 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF SW Kavieng:

Allied aircraft:
SBD Dauntless x 27
Beaufort x 27

no losses

Japanese Ships:
DD Nokaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on Rabaul airfield and port from Lunga:

Japanese aircraft:
A6M2 Zero x 2
A6M3 Zero x 10
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 6
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 16

Allied aircraft:
B-17E Fortress x 54
PB4Y Liberator x 29
B-24D Liberator x 31
F-5A Lightning x 1

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed, A6M3 Zero x 2 damaged
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 1 damaged
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 3 destroyed, Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 2 damaged
Ki-48 Lily x 1 destroyed, Ki-48 Lily x 3 damaged
Ki-21 Sally x 1 destroyed, Ki-21 Sally x 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
B-17E Fortress x 3 damaged
B-24D Liberator x 2 damaged

Japanese Ships:
CA Atago, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 342
Guns lost 1
Airbase hits 20
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 61
Port hits 14
Port supply hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Buka airfield from Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
B-17E Fortress x 24
B-24D Liberator x 22

Japanese aircraft losses:
A6M3 Zero x 6 destroyed, A6M3 Zero x 7 damaged
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 1 destroyed, Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 1 damaged
Ki-21 Sally x 1 destroyed
A6M2-N Rufe x 2 destroyed, A6M2-N Rufe x 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses:
B-17E Fortress x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 96
Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment (Lae) from Port Moresby:

Allied aircraft:
P-40E Kittyhawk x 9
A-20G Havoc x 28

Allied aircraft losses:
A-20G Havoc x 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Ground Attacks:

Ground combat at Lae:

Japanese Shock attack *Banzai!!!*

Attacking force 15106 troops, 184 guns, 9 vehicles

Defending force 4550 troops, 52 guns, 2 vehicles

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

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 399

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 52
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[timtom]

And with that, gentlemen, I call it quits...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/14/43 Weather: Thunderstorms
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied Naval Attacks:

Naval bombardment of Lae:

Allied Ships:
BB South Dakota, Shell hits 1
BB Indiana, Shell hits 1
CA Australia, Shell hits 3
DD Dale, Shell hits 2

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 6
Port hits 1
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Allied Air Attacks:

Air attack on Buka airfield from Gili Gili & Lunga:

Allied aircraft:
B-25D Mitchell x 9
B-24D Liberator x 21

Japanese aircraft losses:
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 2 destroyed
D3A Val x 2 destroyed, D3A Val x 1 damaged
D4Y Judy x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses:
B-25D Mitchell x 1 destroyed, B-25D Mitchell x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 32
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 31
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Sub attack at SE Port Moresby:

Japanese Ships:
SS I-27, Shell hits 2, and is sunk *wow, I've never seen a SC sink a sub before*

Allied Ships
SC 642, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
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Japanese Ground Attacks: *ehh? I didn't ask for this!*

Ground combat at Lae

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 1142 troops, 48 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 20537 troops, 209 guns, 45 vehicles

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 15
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[timtom]

The Final Tally:


Toraq/Timtom:

Bases: 3623/3924
Aircraft: 769/500
Army: 91/19 *incl. 2,978 casualties at Rabaul* [X(]
Ships - sunk: 384/98
Ships - damaged: 166/248

Total: 5031/4789

Score at start: 3004/4440 = 1.00/1.48
Score after 10 turns: 3294/4716 = 1.00/1.44
Score after 20 turns: 4076/4697 = 1.00/1.15
Score after 30 turns: 5031/4789 = 1.00/0.95

Naval Losses:

Japanese:
Sunk: 3xCA, 1xCL, 8xDD, 1xML, 1xMSW, 8xSS, 7xAP
Damaged: 1xCVL, 2xBB, 3xCA, 3xCL, 9xDD, 1xAPD, 1xML, 4xAP

Allied:
Sunk: 7xDD, 2xSS, 1xAP, 1xAK, 2xLST, 2xSC, 7xPT
Damaged: 1xCV, 2xCVE, 2xBB, 1xCA, 6xDD, 6xAPD, 1xDMS, 1xDM, 2xSS, 10xAP, 8xAK, 1xLST, 2xLCI, 1xPT *most of the damaged transports was the result of CD fire*

The air game in no.'s:

Allied/Japanese:

Sorties Flown: 43,018/11,335 = 3.79:1.00

Air-to-air: 170/387 = 1.00:2.28
Destroyed on field: 0/124 *as always*
Destroyed by flak: 122/74 = 1.65:1.00
Operational losses: 208/182 = 1.14:1.00

Total: 500/769 = 1.00:1.54

Loss pr. sortie 0.0116/0.0678 = 1.0000/5.8448 *so the effective loss rate was six to one. Cute...*

[timtom]

(penned by Admiral Timtom-san, in the capacity of his new career as a gold-fish pond tender, having been sent back to Tokyo in disgrace.)

First of all, I'd like to recommend this scenario (as the Japanese). While not always "fun", it is both challeging and interesting. I wouldn't mind having another go at it some time, after my morale has recovered a bit.

This is not a scenario to be won. If you get a draw you're doing very well.

I don't think there are any solutions proper to the Japanese problems, short of copying the F4U and training some decent pilots. Air superiority is everything. I think we can agree that the ground combat model isn't the strong point of UV. One problem is that no provision for the extremely difficult nature of the terrain in the South Pacific is made. Ground combat seems to be envisioned along some sort Napoleonic lines: Both sides line their forces up and blaze away at each other. It was never possible, of course, to achieve this kind of concentration. Thus when Toraq lands five RCT's at Munda, it's those against my one Rgt., not one RCT at a time. This is compounded by the rather über air attacks on ground units. To my knowledge, CAS was never an important factor in the South Pacific, and it's not difficult to see why: How do you strike a target you can't find, let alone see? These factors work to make the strong stronger, and we all know who that is in this scenario. As a point in case, Toraq took Salamaua in 6 days, and cleared it in 11. Munda fell in just 5! days, and was cleared in 6. As you know, historically it took the US over a month to take Munda with forces not dissimilar to those deployed by Toraq.

It doesn't help that you start the scenario off balance. Several bases, incl. Rabaul, are deficient in air support, eng.'s, AAA, some are whole without (Buka, Buin). All the forward bases likely to be invaded are insufficiantly defended, some pityfully so (Finschafen, Shortland). Shipping at start is also insufficient for the task at hand, and generally in the wrong place (AP's in Rabaul, DD's in Truk).

The sub game represents a micro-cosmos of the Japanese dilemma: Fight, and you will suffer negative attrition, and fast. Don't fight, and you've virtually surrendered. I lost eight subs against 1 DD, 1 AK, and 2 LST's sunk, 1 BB, 1 DD, 3 AP damaged. Not a good exchange rate. However, as the knocked-out BB indicated, there are advantages beyond the mere scoring of VP's. Other than at least the potential of scoring it big (strategically), the sub presence at least put restrains on Toraq's freedom of movement, - to a point, granted. He was also forced to divert resources to ASW, which is worthwhile. One pleasant surprise was the relative ineffectiveness of Toraq's subs, in spite of him using them quite aggressively. That part of the game was an odd stand-off, me being unable to much hurt him, and, as fate would have it , visa-versa.

Main lessons learned (ie, all the things I didn't do):

1) Forget about defending both New Guinea and New Georgia. You only have a prayer at one. New Georgia is obviously easier to supply, so write off Lae - and you can afford to. Even forget about the replacements received for the 51st ID: Good money after bad. Priority no.1 is to reinforce Munda, then Shortland. Supply is also an issue.

2) For the love of God, disperse your aircraft! Withdraw most of your bombers to from Rabaul to Truk, but leave a token force there big enough to attract the heavies. Every pound of explosives dropped on Rabaul is a pound less dropped somewhere else. This also means that enough Eng's will have to be invested in Rabaul to maintain the threat of Rabaul. If you're feeling lucky, station Ki-45, K-61 + a few A6M3 sdq's + AAA at Rabaul and do the attrition thing. If you can knock down six heavies per strike, that's half a sdq.! Expect to pay the penalty, but fighters you can spare. Build more smaller bases - Momote, Green Island, Bonis fx. Shift your bombers down from Truk en masse for a concentrated blow, then get out of Dodge.

3)Think of the IJA air units as lose change, your IJN units as your savings. Use small teams of IJA air to harass targets of opportunity from your smaller forward bases. Experience suggests that this can be done without crippling losses. The aim is to A: Manifest an air presence/threat in forward areas (you cant just surrender) B: Lure the enemy into bombing bases like Wewak, Madang, Gasmata, Momote. Every bomb dropped is one less dropped on somewhere important. Remember, you're playing for time more than anything C: Inflict losses. Don't expect much, but every point counts.

4) YOUR PRIMARY TARGET IS HIS BATTLESHIPS! Surface units is the area where you have the closest thing to parity. If you got BB's, and he ain't, it takes a brave Allied player to park a transport TF at, say, Munda, and of course all those aircraft of his will be worth little. I think this is perhaps the key. If that means swapping your air force and CV's for his BB's and CV's, go for it. You don't have to destroy them, mind, just put them in the dock. By the same token, maintaining a surface fleet in being is important, something I failed miserable at...

[Fux]

Thank you for this exzellent AAR and interesting read! As nearly everyone moved to WITP it is always good for us Newbies to see some good AARs for UV.

Greetings,
Daniel

[timtom]

You're welcome. It's my first AAR, and writing it has been as much fun as having my butt kicked by Toraq. Really! I've played UV for a while, but this is only my third ever PBEM. As you all know, it's a WHOLE different ball game, and for me anyway, a point of no return: What's the point of playing the AI? (you should try it, Marky [;)])

[timtom]

My esteemed opponent and I had a little exchange about house rules and such that I thought might be of wider interest. All the points here have been debated to death in the past, but still...
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Hey Tony...

Just a few things about our upcoming game. I hope you take this the right way, but I didn't appreciate you cramming you CV's full of fighters, much less Marine F4U's, which 1)weren't trained in carrier operations 2) plane had been rejected by the USN for carrier ops.

I like to play a game with a degree of fidelity to historical constrains and OOB - USN SBD's belong on carriers, not on some base on New Guinea, the USMC (exc. 1st Div.) fought in the Solomons, etc. I know this is a tricky area, - fx I don't mind you smacking the hell of Lunga every other night, even though this was positively impossible in reality. Some players like an "everything goes" game, but I'm not one of them, or, rather, I'll accept it in something like scn.19, which is hypothetical anyway, but not in the more historically minded scn's. My definiton of a power-gamer or fanboy or what have you, is someone who will use all the exploits that the game system allows to defeat his opponent. I don't ultimately play to win (within reason), otherwise I would never have offered to play such a grossly lopsided scn. as no.5.

Another example is setting up decoy TF's to deliberately draw off air strikes. To my mind, this is very gamey, exploiting one of the more silly features of the game, in that you've got no direct control over anti-shipping air strikes. Of course there should be a (big) element of randomness to this, but within reason...those Betty's were 450 miles off target, for heaven's sake. I don't like the 90% carrier CAP ploy much either, and would like to see a max. of say 70%. Land-based IJN & USMC (but not USN) sdq.'s belong on the ground. I'll accept one-off deployments of carrier based aircraft to airfields, as fx a VF was deployed to Henderson field for a while, or the IJN moved its carrier sdq's down from Truk for Op.Ichi-Go or whatever in spring of '43.

I'm not complaining really, just setting the record straight. I enjoyed the game, and think that you're a more than worthy opponent, if a bit rash! I would never disband shipping with in range of enemy LBA's unless absolutely necessary or expose my carriers the way you did when going after the Kongo. Had I been stronger, you would have been severely punished. Then again maybe you wouldn't have done it, but your play style in your other game suggest an aggresive play style regardless. What would you have done if the Saratoga got crippled (it only takes one hit) and I sent my carriers cruising the Coral Sea? Not that I didn't make mistakes, mind...

As you probably now know, carrier CAP's in shallow or port hexes are reduced 50%

The I-177 was not sunk, but almost...LOL: It almost sounds like you thought that it
was somehow unfair that not every IJN sub hit was sunk

Looking forward to our next game, Tom
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I´ll try to answer some of your questions, same as you, I hope you take my words the right way.

but I didn't appreciate you cramming you CV's full of fighters, much less Marine F4U's. which 1)weren't trained in carrier operations 2) plane had been rejected by the USN for carrier ops. USN SBD's belong on carriers, not on some base on New Guinea.

Agree. Of course I did because there was no rule against it. Our game was free of home rules.

I like to play a game with a degree of fidelity to historical constraits and OOB - USN SBD's belong on carriers, not on some base on New Guinea

Disagree partially. Sometimes naval bombers and figthers were deployed (temporally) in foward bases. Fx. Wildcat squadron in Wake and Midway island, or Jap. carrier based planes would have been tranferred to Lunga if Henderson filed had been taken.

Another example is setting up decoy TF's to delibrately draw off air strikes. To my mind, this is very gamey, exploiting one of the more silly features of the game

Disagree in some way. Using decoys doesn´t mean that they will be attacked always. This happend when

1) recon planes spot a ship (ie LST) but they believe they have seen a CA, BB or CV. Thus an air strike is ordered. This happened in the Coral Sea battle. The entire force of Vals and Kates were sent to strike the USN CV that turned out to be the Neosho and the destroyer Sims

2) there is no other valuable objective. Sometimes recon planes don´t spot the CV but the decoy ships so the strike is launched

This is part of the game (I think) and it happens not only with the decoy ships but with other types also. Fx I didn´t want my B-25 to strike your DD because they were costly missions and without success but it happened again and again. This is another kind of "decoy" mission.

those Betty's were 450 miles off target, for heaven's sake

Don´t know what you are talking about. I guess it was one strike your planes launched against some DD in Buna (CAP present). They were not a decoy however. They were a FT TF.

I don't like the 90% carrier CAP ploy much either, and would like to see a max. of say 70%

Don´t know what to think about this....

and think that you're a more than worthy opponent, if a bit rash!

Rash= aggressive. Maybe. I only try to exploit my opponents mistakes (or what I think it´s a mistake). Fx: disband CV in Rabaul´s port.

What would you have done if the Saratoga got crippled (it only takes one hit) and I sent my carriers cruising the Coral Sea? Not that I didn't make mistakes, mind...

We can discuss more things about the battle. I like to but I don´t know if this is your desire. Just to say something, land based bombers only attack when they are very heavily escorted. So I had many chances of hitting without being attacked. And of course I had the F4U, a powerful plane which I was aware of.

Anyway I´m open minded so if you want to set some home rules, just tell me. In scenario 8, you still want to play as Allies?

Regards

Toraq
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We played the game by the rules agreed - Im not complaining

By 90% CAP ploy I mean: Some players seem to hold back a maximum of their TOTAL available fighters for defence. You didn't do that, granted. But just in case, I think this is gamey. "Sorry boys, we've decided to send you off with minimum escorts. Have fun!"

Now - and as I believe I stated in my last mail - I complety agree that there should a big element of randomness in the execution of strikes on TF's , and, indeed in any simulation of combat operations. I have no beef, fx, with the Nells that went for those transports off Vila, but the ones off for Buna I find difficult to explain away. There's a difference between limiting control and surrendering control. As it stands, you're essentially limited to ordering your sqd's to "go find something that floats" and hope for the best (not so in WITP!) It's not that I'm sore, but I think it's a weakness in the game, and one that will effect you rather more than me in our upcoming game. Indeed, it's a problem mainly with the Nells & Betty's what with their long range and all. Unfortunately, Nells & Bettys are an central part of the Japanese striking power.

In your AAR (very interesting read!) you state that, and I quote, "I had many ships around as decoys to avoid major strikes against CV". To me this signifies (and forgive me if I'm wrong) that you deliberately formed TF's with the specific purpose of drawing off airstrikes. This I think is an exploit, and one that I'd rather be without.

ATB Tom
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We played the game by the rules agreed - I'm not complaining

Of course, of course.

your AAR (very interesting read!)

Thanks but if I have to be honest your AAR is much more interesting than mine!

you state that, and I quote, "I had many ships around as decoys to avoid major strikes against CV". To me this signifies (and forgive me if I'm wrong) that you delibritely formed TF's with the specific purpose of drawing off airstrikes. This I think is an exploit, and one that I'd rather be without.

Yes, you´re right. But for me decoys ships are part of the game as I told you. They become targets only if your recon planes believe they are valuable ships or if there is no other ship to attack

Regards

Toraq
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So I guess these are the house rules

1) No more than 70% of CAP over CV TF

2) No decoy TF (but I think this is difficult to set because fx, my DD were NOT a decoy TF but you may think so)

I believe you! It's doing it on purpose that I object to, ie TF's that are there only for that reason.

3) Marines and Land based datais are not allowed to lauch strikes from CV TF (but they can be transported into CV to fly somewhere else later)

Sure.

Night-bombing thing still stand? Or do you want to be visited in Rabaul by 60 B-17's flying at 1,000 ft? Said to be very effective!

Wanna do another AAR?

ATB Tom

[timtom]

Antonio and I are about to start another game, and we'll do a duel AAR as well. Perhaps I could ask you, gentle reader, to provided me with some criticism of this AAR. What worked, what didn't, what would you like to see more of (screenies, statistics etc), what was irrelevant? Does anyone actually read the combat results? Should they be done away with, heavily condensed, or posted in full? Do you get an feel of the overall situation, or is greater detail necesary? Would you like OOB & deployment information? Thx! Tom