Recklessness Abounds - Cruft vs Alikchi

[Captain Cruft]

ORIGINAL: String

great move in the Baker island area I hope you'll shoot him up good..

Well, results are currently unknown but I am optimistic I'll be running the turn tonight (Thurs 16th Dec, GMT).

What this shows is how important recon and search are, and also how useful the long-range Mavises/Emilies are. If I hadn't seen the excessive activity at Canton Island I wouldn't have had a clue that something might be going on ...

[Captain Cruft]

Appendix to 27th-28th Dec report ...

China

Chinese were as predicted driven out of Sian. The force had increased to 8 units by the time combat actually occurred but they did not do well, presumably because they had few or no supplies. They're retreating towards Chungking now anyway, which is where I would keep them were I in charge

Once all the troops from Homan have passed through the attack on Kungchang can commence.

Philippines

The siege of Manila continues. Forts are now reduced to zero. The airfield is now showing 100% damage so the Lilies have been switched to ground attack.

---

Back home the expanded naval shipyards finally seem to be keeping up with the schedule. All warships are now on Normal (this is vital for my Marianas defence plan).

To my delight the first unit of Rufes has also arrived (FF6/Yokohama Chutai) in Tokyo. These will be despatched to Makin atoll via the CVE Taiyo as soon as I can scrounge together some destroyers for escort.

[Captain Cruft]

1st-2nd Mar 1942

Well, not the results I was hoping for but still pretty good.

DEI

The marines took Kendari at first asking. Unfortunately, and to my great surprise, during the first day PM air phase the Saratoga & Yorktown popped up to the SW and attacked their transport/escort fleet. CL Nagara went down and several DDs, PGs & APs are damaged. All ships have been disbanded in port except the remaining fit destroyers which have been directed to Mindanao at top speed (can't afford to lose DDs!).

I doubt there will be further attacks though since, after watching 2 nail-biting air phases go by without a response, finally the Betties at Amboina woke up and had a go. Unfortunately they were somewhat lacking in fighter escort since one of the two Zero groups was flying LRCAP to little effect over the Kendari landings. Anyway, despite taking heavy losses, single 18in torpedos were delivered into both US carriers. Woot.

Now it's extremely unlikely that either CV will sink from this but ... it should mean that they turn tail rather than hang around. The nearest size 3 ports are Koepang and Darwin. I have moved a Dinah group into Kendari (along with an Oscar Sentai and 2 groups of Anns) - they will immediately start recon'ing Koepang whilst the Mavises & Emilies will continue their daily trip to Darwin. You never know, I might even get lucky and the CVs may be slowed down enough to still be in Betty range next turn ...

Over at the Palembang end the Enterprise & Lexington have disappeared. Not surprising, my opponent has used this hit and run tactic several times before. My troops have finally managed to march into Pontianak from Singkawang. Assuming they take the base next turn I can finally start to sort myself out and do the Palembang/Batavia thing properly. The grunts on the beach at Palembang are getting hungry but otherwise unperturbed.

Burma

Further AVG sweeps over Pagan. Oscars once again took a beating - I have now removed all planes from both Pagan and Taung Gyi except for recons. The fighters will only return when overwhelming force has been gathered. The "flattening of Mandalay" will involve 150+ fighters, 100+ dive bombers & 250+ level bombers. This is going to have to wait until Palembang is sorted though.

Central Pacific

Well, since we have discovered that there at least 4 US carriers in the DEI region my wish to beat them up at Baker Island was not granted ... Instead, the KB completely annihilated the unescorted (???) APs & AKs which were unloading the 2nd USMC Div. 873 casualties were reported from the sinkage, I suspect it was actually more though since recon is only showing 9,000+ troops at the base.

Anyway, not bad. At the very least it should put him off sending any more troops for a while. I'm not too worried about Baker since B-17s can reach Tarawa from Nanomea Atoll anyway ...

My idea of re-taking the island has been dismissed - it would just take too long. Better to just blockade the place for a while and sink anything that dare approaches

[String]

Go you

Nice job at Baker

[Captain Cruft]

3rd-4th Mar 1942

Well, apart from taking absolutely horrendous losses in the air (55 planes in total) this was another good turn.

PI

Manila finally fell, taking with it c.80,000 troops. Allied army loss points are now over 5,000. Not much fuel left in the base, which is not really a problem since there are large stockpiles in Hong Kong and Takao which can be shipped in quickly once Bataan has been taken.

Speaking of which ... Of the five divisions at Manila, three (+ arty/tanks) will now proceed to Bataan via a rest stop at Clark Field. One division will remain at Manila for the duration of the war whilst another has been given Soerabaja as its objective.

The reason for keeping a division at Manila is that I am paranoid about an Allied thrust up from Darwin towards Luzon and its plethora of heavy bomber accommodating airfields. It seems to me that this is a real alternative to the Marshalls-Marianas route for achieving strategic bombing nirvana. Not to mention the havoc that Allied airbases in the Phillipines could cause to Home Island bound shipping.

DEI

Once again I get a surprise. Whilst the Saratoga/Yorktown disappeared to lick their wounds (as expected) who should pop up to the west of Kendari but the Enterprise/Lexington combo. Luckily, since I had either disbanded ships in port or moved them to Mindanao the SBDs and Devastators went on a port attack. The results of which were a) shed loads of Oscars shot down and b) one MSW sunk. The brave Anns attempted to retaliate and, if they had been carrying 250kg bombs instead of 100kg ones, the Lexington would probably no longer be with us. 10 bomb hits, all of which bounced off. They did manage to destroy the CXAM radar and a 5 in gun though

At the other end the 91st Naval Guard unit successfully took Pontianak at the first attempt. The 11th Base Force is on its way from Kuching. Once installed the Oscars and Dinahs can move down from Singkawang to provide CAP and Recon services. Pontianak is a size 3 port and close enough to Palembang, Batavia and Soerabaja to mount invasions from. Large portions of the fleet will soon begin arriving from Singapore and Kuching in preparation.

As well as all this I will shortly start moving down the undefended southern coast of Borneo - Tarakan first stop. Preparations are under way at Davao.

---

Score is now 12,000 odd to 4,000 odd in Japans favour. Everything going well except in the air ...

[Captain Cruft]

Code: Select all

 		Allies		Japan
 		------		-----
 
 AK		  55		  1
 AP		  12		  9
 AO		   0		  0
 TK		   9		  0
 AS		   2		  0
 AV/AVD		   2		  0
 MSW/DMS		  11		  5
 ML		   3		  0
 PC/PG		   2		  3
 PT		   9		  0
 SS		   7		 11
 DD		  13 		  6
 CL		   4		  2
 CA		   2		  2
 BB/BC		   8		  0
 CV		   0		  0
 CVL		   0		  0
 CVE		   0		  0
 

[Captain Cruft]

Just a note about The Allied sub tactics.

I have been sinking or damaging subs nearly every turn for a while now. This is because they keep popping up at my bases and in other coastal locations. ASW TFs are not my thing but every TF anywhere near the front line gets an escort of MSWs, PGs and/or DDS. So far it's working well, with very few torpedo hits on my ships.

[Mynok]

I have had excellent success against Allied subs using 6 ship ASW TFs composed of one experienced DD with ASW ability, plus a mix of fast MSW and PC (both having 3 ASW factors). This is in both deep and shallow water. The PG's don't work well in deep water because their type 91 DC's don't reach deep enough to hit the subs (I suspect).

[Captain Cruft]

No turns over holiday period. Alikchi has hardware problems and I have not been able to get online. Hopefully we should be able to resume within a week or so ...

---

Meanwhile I have been doing some testing of and musing about my Marianas defence tactics. I don't want to give too much away at this point but I really think it can work. Once the tedious invasion phase is over and done with I can start preparing properly, I enjoy the defensive side of the game far more than the offensive

[Captain Cruft]

I have also been thinking about the Philippines, which is the other potential strategic airbase cluster I need to worry about. China I can deal with - it produces insufficient supply for a sustained bombing campaign, especially with my conquests taken into account.

Anyway, here is the plan: the IJA gets to defend the Phillipines, whilst the Marianas is the responsibility of the IJN.

That's it in a nutshell. I'll have to see about transferring some divisions from China to the Philippines. It's at least 18 months or so before I have to worry about it, plenty of time to build those PPs up.

Now, reading some of the other AARs is making me paranoid about holding onto Java. Palembang must not get bombed. Not too sure how to deal with this yet, I will wait until I have actually taken Java before worrying too much ...

[LittleJoe]

Im also having the problems your having in Dei.

The allies are fortifying Java very strongly and maybe a little unrealistically, with the Avg b-17s and many Australian and British troops. Im worried that the invasion of it will be long and bloody fight for the island. My fears were confirmed as the islands strong bomber forces have already claimed one of my Battleships and damaged the Zuikaku and Kaga.

Its 19th of Feb and the score is 7,500 Jap to 4600 allies, as i didnt sink anything larger than a pt boat at pearl [:@] and force Z escaped and is a constant pain in my side.

I will watch your aar on how you deal with it, i am contemplating landing at Batavia if i can neutralise the airfield there, which may be a lot harder after American carriers are know to be in the area and i fear they might of actually tranfered there fighters and divebombers/torpedo bombers to Batavia airfield which would make the air battle for Batavia airfield a lot bloodier for my zeros, so the other option is to land at Soerjaba which is the furthest point from Batavia which would make most bombers at the airfield have to fly at extended and some not able to fly at all. But this would mean transfering the 4 divisions that are prepping for the invasion from singapore to Kendari my nearest base to Soerjaba.


Decisions Decisions... I look at your aar for help....no pressure then [;)]

Good luck!

[String]

send heavy cruisers and fast battleships to bombard batavia at night. Batavia is known to be vunerable to bombardments (just check the pzb vs wobbly AAR and a few others) ... a dozen or so heavy cruisers with fast battleships and zero cap to cover them the day before and day after should put the airfield out of use for some time...

[LittleJoe]

ORIGINAL: String

send heavy cruisers and fast battleships to bombard batavia at night. Batavia is known to be vunerable to bombardments (just check the pzb vs wobbly AAR and a few others) ... a dozen or so heavy cruisers with fast battleships and zero cap to cover them the day before and day after should put the airfield out of use for some time...

Could also put more of my more valueable ships under danger the day before and the day after the attack. I can muster about 80 or so Zeros from Singapore and Kuching, and i have depleted his fighter force heavily over the past few days, shooting down the mainstay of his escort force in his p40-e fighters, but if the american carriers have dropped off wildcats or is it hellcats im not sure [&:] at Batavia my zeros will have a hard time breaking through the escort let along shooting down the sbds and tbds.

I had a quick flick through the mannual and i presume all i have to do for the Bombardment taskforce to bombard at night then flee is set retirement allowed?

Thanks for the advice, i might do a dummy run with a few non depth charge destroyers and see if they get in and out ok, then if its succesfull ill bring in the heavier guns.

Thanks again for the advice sorry to turn this into a question and answer thread [:(]

[String]

ORIGINAL: LittleJoe

ORIGINAL: String

send heavy cruisers and fast battleships to bombard batavia at night. Batavia is known to be vunerable to bombardments (just check the pzb vs wobbly AAR and a few others) ... a dozen or so heavy cruisers with fast battleships and zero cap to cover them the day before and day after should put the airfield out of use for some time...

Could also put more of my more valueable ships under danger the day before and the day after the attack. I can muster about 80 or so Zeros from Singapore and Kuching, and i have depleted his fighter force heavily over the past few days, shooting down the mainstay of his escort force in his p40-e fighters, but if the american carriers have dropped off wildcats or is it hellcats im not sure [&:] at Batavia my zeros will have a hard time breaking through the escort let along shooting down the sbds and tbds.

I had a quick flick through the mannual and i presume all i have to do for the Bombardment taskforce to bombard at night then flee is set retirement allowed?

Thanks for the advice, i might do a dummy run with a few non depth charge destroyers and see if they get in and out ok, then if its succesfull ill bring in the heavier guns.

Thanks again for the advice sorry to turn this into a question and answer thread [:(]

Indeed they should. If set retirement allowed then a bombardment TF will move at max speed near the target hex. It will also adjust so that it will reach the target at night. Now your heavy cruisers should be able to make 6 hexes per phase. This means the day before they are 6 hexes out (this is beyond most allied fighter range and certainly beyond TBD and SBD range) then they steam in at night, level the place and by morning they are again 6 hexes out.

edit: just make sure that the base you retire to is in the right direction ie. away from batavia towards areas under your control.. you dont want to retire along javas coastline now do you [;)]

[LittleJoe]

Thanks A LOT this will make the eventual invaison of Java a lot easier for my troops to gain a beachead.

So the tf will retreat to its set home base?, so would you advise setting it to Saigon rather than Singapore, so they can zoom out of there due NE instead of going up Sumarta to Singapore.

[&o][&o][&o]

[String]

ORIGINAL: LittleJoe

Thanks A LOT this will make the eventual invaison of Java a lot easier for my troops to gain a beachead.

So the tf will retreat to its set home base?, so would you advise setting it to Saigon rather than Singapore, so they can zoom out of there due NE instead of going up Sumarta to Singapore.

[&o][&o][&o]

Well i'm a bit unaware of the current situation in SRA, if you hold Sumatra then there should be no difference but if you don't i'd suggest saigon..

[LittleJoe]

Opps my bad i just landed the 5th and Imperial guards division at Jambi and they are marching down to Palembang, ill set it to Saigon just to be safe.

Thanks once again, ill watch this aar a bit more closely now

[Captain Cruft]

Woo! We have a discussion group

I'm not worried about taking Java it's holding it that may be a problem.

As to how I'm going to invade the sucker it will be via frontal assaults on Batavia and Soerabaja. Yes some troops will drown and be shot on the way in but I can't be arsed with the indirect approach, it takes too long ... Hopefully I should be able to bring 4-6 divisions to bear with assault and bombardment TFs forming up at Pontianak (and possibly Balikpapan when I get there).

My opponent was obviously aware of the "flattening Batavia by bombardment" problem so did not concentrate his air there. He has dispersed the Dutch groups all over Java, including at inland bases. This is a good idea since it means that the force cannot be wiped out by a single naval bombardment. He had also "imported" some US and Australian air but this now seems to be concentrating at Koepang and Darwin. US carrier groups have not detached from their carriers as far as I know.

As far as fearing the carriers is concerned, I don't. If you look at the last few turns of this game you can see that in total they have managed to sink a CL, a DD, a MSW and a few APs. Hardly an awesome score. More importantly, they have not prevented any landings. Also, whilst my LBA is unlikely to sink the US CVs, the fact that it has achieved two torpedo and ten bomb hits on them should act as a deterrent to future interference.

I am basically trying to do the whole DEI thing "on the cheap", saving the important naval assets for the important defensive battles in the future ...

[Captain Cruft]

I never use naval bombers for airfield attack. Their torpedos are much better directed at ships

As to how to shut down or suppress Allied airfields:

1) Bombardment with BBs - this is the best but can be difficult due to slow speed of BBs.
2) Bombardment with CAs/CLs - the next best.
3) Massed IJA bombers - needs at least 100 "heavy" bombers i.e. Sallies or Helens plus enough fighter escorts to deal with the CAP.

Vital for maximum effect - Recon the target base beforehand. If you don't have any actual Recon planes to hand, use some spare level bombers or floatplanes from cruisers and battleships.

Ideally with a naval bombardment you should have a port within 4 to 6 hexes of the target so your TF can pop out at night and return to base all in one turn. It is far better to be sheltering under a standard 90% CAP than a LRCAP (many more planes fly).

With the IJA heavies you need a size 4 (at least) airbase within 6 hexes of the target.

For Batavia I will be using option 2 with Pontianak (size 3) as the "port of safety".

Important Note for Reference

Come later on (1943 ish) when the Allies have engineering units coming out of their ears you basically cannot shut down an airfield using any means whatsoever. Any amount of damage will repair instantly given enough "engineers" and "engineering vehicles" at a base. Of course you may still destroy planes on the ground but this may not be enough reward for the risk taken.

[Captain Cruft]

We have resumed. Alikchi has successfully discombobulated his PC into a functional form and off we go again!

Little happened on latest turn apart from preparation for the afore-mentioned current and future ops. Oh yes and me forgetting just about everything that I was doing ... lol.