The last charge: Toraq´s fight against Timtom

[toraq]

Well guys I´m sure that Timtom will cry because in last turn I shot down the hell of F4F. But this time I ask for my turn.
His bloody CAP over Irau, increased with new F4F wiped out my bombers. 22 lost[X(][X(][X(][X(][X(][X(][X(][X(].
I´ve tried soooo many times to archive the same results in my scen. 19 game (with 100 fighters CAP) but never got this success, by far.
I´m soooo fu**** that I´m gonna say this in Spanish. "Me han puesto el culo como la bandera del Japón"[:o]. It is a nasty sentence, very funny, but unless someone will ask me, I´m not going to translate it.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/19/42

Weather: Clear

Submarine warfare
My retreating MSW are caught without mercy...I have to look after my boys a little MORE!

Japanese Ships
MSW W21, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
MSW Toshi Maru #2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS S-47
SS Sturgeon

Disaster over Irau
Fighter sweep
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35
J1N1-R Irving x 1

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1
F4F-4 Wildcat x 39 ***This is a lot!!***
P-40E Warhawk x 4
P-38G Lightning x 15 [X(]

Japanese aircraft losses ***VT-6 present***
A6M2 Zero x 5 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 3 damaged
Bombers attack
My escort fighters take off in little numbers (got 30 or so in this task). They perform quite well but enemy´s CAP just annihilate my bombers. However, they, brave men, forget to flee and keep the raid, destroying 8 planes on the ground (at last[:(])

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15
G3M Nell x 41
G4M1 Betty x 38

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1
F4F-4 Wildcat x 30 ***VT-6 able to shoot down most bombers***
P-40E Warhawk x 4
P-38G Lightning x 15 ***some of them turning back***

Japanese aircraft losses [X(][X(]
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
G3M Nell x 10 destroyed ***11 lost***l x 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty x 8 destroyed***11 or 12 lost*** x 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6 destroyed x 5 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 8 destroyed x 9 damaged ***on the ground****

LT J. Smith of VF-6 is credited with kill number 6 ***I want to kill this guy***

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 55
Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 23
Since my BB or CA can´t not force Irau due to mines, Irau air offensive is called off. A more defensive role will be followed, cos now I´m up 1200 points. I wonder if I can even try to invade Tulagi. Lunga´s engineers working hard...

Rabaul attacked
Well at least Timtom suffered heavy losses during his raids. Look at this aggresive attack to Rabaul´s port from GG.

Allied aircraft
PBY Catalina x 1
B-25D Mitchell x 26


Allied aircraft losses
B-25D Mitchell x 2 destroyed ***Due to flak...8 lost!!!***
B-25D Mitchell x 14 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 2 ***Not a single damage point***

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 13

Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 2

Attacking Level Bombers:
All attacking at 6000 feet

Buna express

Allied aircraft (two raids)
P-39D Airacobra x 72
P-40E Kittyhawk x 14
P-40E Kittyhawk x 28
B-26B Marauder x 88

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra x 1 destroyed x 9 damaged
B-26B Marauder x 5 damaged

Lae express
Not visited today! [;)]

[toraq]

I quite turn after the bombers massacre. I´m moving my bombers and fighters to different airbases just to prevent a massive bomber attack.

Enemy movements
Timtom has 230 bombers at PM. It seems his B17s are around just to close whatever base he wishes. Last day he again used his naval bombers over Lunga. This also has sense with the B17 moving to PM.
I´ve been watching aircraft losses...he lost 166 F4F which means that he´s running out of F4F...100 planes received, he got 2 naval sqds and 4 VMF (at least)...This means he has around 90 to 100 F4F. Enough to shoot down my bombers again [:(]

My movements
I decided to move my CVs and BBs to Short, just to threaten Timtom. Since his subs are spread over, I guess this is not a dangerous trip. Not for this MSW!
My fleet stays docked at Short or Rabaul to avoid port attacks.
Generally speaking my engineers work quite well repairing ships. Every BB is now below 10 sys damaged. Tomorrow, I will ride GG to sink PTs (if I´m lucky)

Japanese Ships
MSW Toshi Maru #2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Amberjack

My attempt to sink a SS at Tulagi´s port
Japanese aircraft
F1M2 Pete x 6
Port hits 1

Lunga express
I only have one AA unit in Lunga. Maybe I could move a couple around...
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 37
TBF Avenger x 14
P-38G Lightning x 19

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 310
Guns lost 2

Attacking Level Bombers:
14 x TBF Avenger at 6000 feet

[toraq]

A quiet turn, as I decided to cancel further air attacks to Irau. Lae was not bombed today and now the planes there are free to flee somewhere else. Good news!

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/21/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Night combat in GG
Send some ships to kill PTs.

Japanese Ships
CL Isuzu
DD Makinami
DD Kiyonami
DD Kuroshio

Allied Ships
PT 40
PT 43, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
PT 44
PT 59, Shell hits 9, and is sunk--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine warfare
ASW patrol (recently reformed) finds a sneaky sub.

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 16
DD Murasame

Allied Ships
SS Sailfish, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heavies appear
I was expecting some kind of big attack like this. Fortunately, my planes are dispersed.

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 61
B-24D Liberator x 6 ***much less than 15 aircraft***

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 2 destroyed ***poor guys, even here are mauled***
G4M1 Betty x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 209
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 21
Runway hits 107
Attacking Level Bombers:
All attackig at 10.000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Buna , at 12,38

Japanese aircraft ***CAP, just to attract some resources frm Timtom***
A6M3 Zero x 17

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed
P-38G Lightning x 2 damaged***not very aggressive guys***
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Irau sweep
Try to venge my last defeat
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 17
J1N1-R Irving x 1

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunga express
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 41

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 125

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[toraq]

Nothing happened but some fierce air battles over Lunga and Rabaul. I lost 13 Zeros (too many) but my enemy lost 9 heavies and 6 SBDs.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/22/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Submarine warfare
My ASW tries again but this time without depth charging the sub.

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsushimo

Allied Ships
SS Sturgeon

Rabaul attack
7 heavies lost due to this attack. My CAP played a beautiful role. For the first time I´m quite pleased with the results obtained by Zeroes against B17
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 17

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 52

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty x 2 destroyed ***On the ground***
G4M1 Betty x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 9 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 77

Airbase hits 18 ***Of course, the base is closed***
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 67

Lunga express
P-38 showed their teeth and clearly beated my fighters. 8 lost...a lot. However, I intercept the SBD, shooting down 6.
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 38

Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 44
TBF Avenger x 2
P-38G Lightning x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 8 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless x 3 destroyed x 3 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 2 destroyed

Buna express
They attack the land forces
Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 80
P-39D Airacobra x 45
Some of them damaged. Today, I think 5 aircraft were lost due to flak.

My enemy is trying to locate my bombers. Today Timtom send recon aircraft to most of my bases.
THis last turns shows that US power is increasing day by day. I was so lucky to invade Lunga!!. He got enough aircraft numbers to keep 3 offensives at the same time
a) Keep Lunga closed
b) Attack Buna daily
c) Close airfields using B17
But even with his huge power, this is too much for the Allies. It is still nov 42, and my pilots are still in good shape. Lunga is open again, so maybe in a couple of turns I could get some troops out. Buna is Ok...AA is strong to his 6000 feet attacks. And finally, yes, his B17 are invulnerable, almost!.
So, I guess I still can surprise him a little...

[toraq]

A strange naval battle occurred in Lunga. I don´t know who´s the winner. I guess me but I don´t like the idea of losing half a dozen minor ships.

Night naval battle
Well, my ASW TF was patrolling the slot, while a TF of APD were on a supply mission. My aggressive leader reacted to a enemy TF which was going to bomb Lunga or was looking for my APDs. In any case this is the result

Japanese Ships
DD Akitsuki, Shell hits 8, on fire
DD Urakaze
DD Murasame
DD Hatsushimo
DD Yugure, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Nagatsuki, Shell hits 6, on fire
PC Takunan Maru #10, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
PC Takunan Maru #2, Shell hits 1
PC Ch 4, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
PC Ch 5, Shell hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
PC Ch 6, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
PC Ch 11, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
PC Ch 12, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
PC Ch 16
PC Ch 17, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA Louisville, Torpedo hits 1
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA San Francisco, Shell hits 1
CL Achillies, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Phoenix, Shell hits 1
DD Benham
DD Wilson
DD Phelps
DMS Zane

And during the day, damaged ships were spotted and attacked by aircraft from Irau.

Allied aircraft (three attacks)
SOC-3 Seagull x 3
SBD Dauntless x 61
TBF Avenger x 24
P-38G Lightning x 9
P-40E Warhawk x 11

Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless x 5 damaged
TBF Avenger x 1 destroyed x 2 damaged
SOC-3 Seagull x 4 damaged
Japanese Ships
PC Ch 6, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (by seagulls) (sunk)
DD Nagatsuki, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
PC Ch 12, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
PC Ch 5, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
PC Ch 4, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)

Final results
Jap losses
6 PC sunk
2 DD sunk
1 DD damaged

US losses
2 CA on fire
1 CL on fire
1 CA torpedoed
So, it depends on the damaged suffered by the CA but it seems the ones on fire are going to be out the war (scenario).

Naval bombardment of Lunga, at 38,40

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 155

Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 66

Night attack on PM
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 10

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 11

Airbase hits 1 ***poor results, PM is packed with 600 aircraft or so***
Runway hits 1

Submarine warfare
Sub attack at 7,54

Japanese Ships
SS I-27
SS I-26

Allied Ships
AK Diomed, Torpedo hits 2, 1 shell hit, on fire, heavy damage
AP Manunda, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (and sunk)

B25 attack Kavieng
I was expecting the heavies but I guess last US losses forced Timtom to rest his pilots.

Allied aircraft
B-25D Mitchell x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell x 1 destroyed ***he is always lucky with this little attacks***

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D Mitchell x 1 damaged

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 15

I´m extremely surprised by th e results. B25 are at extended range but they manage to cause some damage to the airport.

[toraq]

NG situation

[toraq]

Well, nothing important to mention except

Submarine warfare
SS Pollack sunk between Irau and Lungaville. I guess this is the one that was inside Tulagi´s port.
My subs are mainly concentrated in NG...quite disperse...which is not a good idea. However thank to this they had some contacts (some of them successful)
His subs are spread all over: near Truk, along the slot, Buka and lately a lot of them detected in the middle of the Solomon Sea. I suppose they´re trying to catch one of my FT TF.

Air warfare
Not much action due to the huge losses suffered lately. I was thinking that I started my offensive to Irau too early so now, which is the moment when I need the results, I find myself a little bit dissapointed.

Naval warfare
The TF pointed in my last screenshot, managed to take off some floatplanes which have damaged seriosuly my sneaky AV. [:(]He will sink! and no counterstrikes were launched!

However I´m about to start a major naval operation which should confuse and delay Timtom operations in NG. It is probably the last ofensive operation carried out by IJN carriers. Soon (I´m sure) he will receive CVEs or even one CV and I don´t want another carrier battle.

Land combat
Two bdes at Salamaua...If I don´t send reinforces there, Salamaua will fall in a matter of days (or hours)

Reinforces
Three rgts now unloading in Rabaul´s port. Supplies, engineers and AA unit also reinforce the weak garrison there.

[toraq]

GG is caught by surprise and some aircraft written off. [:)]. Some other important naval movements (see screenshot)

Night attack over PM´s arifield
Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 9 (from a total of 17)
G4M1 Betty x 7 (from a total of 18)

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
A-20B Havoc x 1 destroyed
A-20B Havoc x 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 13
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 15 ***Not bad***

GG Tokyo Express

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort x 5 destroyed
Beaufort x 7 damaged
PBY Catalina x 1 destroyed
PBY Catalina x 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 28

Airbase hits 21
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 102

Buna express
Maybe I should LCAP this base but since my A6M3 were mauled at Lae, I´m still reforming those sqd. Oscars are only 9 (from a total at the beginning of the scen) of 36.

Allied aircraft
P-40E Kittyhawk x 31
B-26B Marauder x 99

Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder x 6 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 144

Land combat

Should I attack here before he got superiority?
Ground combat at Buna
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 24191 troops, 315 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 23786 troops, 247 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 37

This is a base just on the left side of Salamaua.
Ground combat at Marilinan
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 1689 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Marilinan base !!!

In Salamaua he only gets a 0:1 odd. This is poor. I decided to reinforce Salamaua with an entire Rgt. recently arrived at Rabaul. This should stop his offensive. If I can hold Salamaua, a total of 3 places would become objectives for his bombers at PM (Lae, Buna and Salamaua). Timtom will have to divide his LBA if he wants to support land combats.

Ground combat at Salamaua
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 10265 troops, 78 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 3885 troops, 51 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 79
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 26

General overview
I must admit some kind of passivity or negligence in the IJN HQ. My forces are still good but many ships are damaged or heavily damaged, including 1 CV, 1 BB and 2 CA. I don´t want to risk my forces in operations that I don´t see clear: no reason for this. In this "passivity" environment is where op. splash was born. IUt should be the prelude for the invasion of Tulagi

[toraq]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 11/26/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Well operation Splash under going. GG again visited, while my CVs taka some risk while moving in the middle of nowhere.

Submarine warfare
Lately, his subs are being harassed...5 already sunk
Japanese Ships
DD Asagumo
DD Suzukaze

Allied Ships
SS Trout, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

GG express
I guess I could put GG out of action...or even ivade it. But I need the troops trapped at Lunga.
Naval bombardment of Gili Gili, at 17,42

Allied aircraft losses
F-5A Lightning x 1 destroyed
F-5A Lightning x 3 damaged
Beaufort x 4 destroyed
Beaufort x 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 141

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 93

Naval bombers bomb GG
My Kate pilots are poor guys...hope this could serve as a real training
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
D3A Val x 36
B5N Kate x 44
J1N1-R Irving x 2
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate x 1 damaged
D3A Val x 1 destroyed x 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed
Beaufort x 1 destroyed x 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 30

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 44

B24 attack Shortland
Trying to destroy some aircraft on the ground. I think his b17 have been retired from PM
Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 12
A6M3 Zero x 21 ***This is my best land based datai***

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe x 1 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 3 damaged ***only 9 attacked, 1 lost***

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 6

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 2

Naval attacks to APs near Kavieng
My escort fighters were LCAP another AP convoy, with reinforces for Rabaul.
No much success. I guess his pilots need more practise

Allied aircraft
B-25D Mitchell x 24
Beaufighter VIC x 18

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D Mitchell x 2 damaged ***5 lost-***
Beaufighter VIC x 1 damaged***2 lost***

AP Aki Maru, Shell hits 16
AP Shinano Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Land combat at Salamaua
One Rgt. about to come (next turn). They are needed as you may see...If he had attacked with aircrafts, he would have overun by little garrison.

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10234 troops, 78 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 3813 troops, 49 guns, 0 vehicles

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 239
Guns lost 2
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 85

Enemy movements
It seems that he has not seen my intentions yet. But, his bombers are out of Irau, which worries me. I still got one more turn before I have to withdraw quickly

[toraq]

Today, proved how dangerous are the LB from PM. Splash and Go next turn. I don´t like this operation...too risky and the only gain will be a few aircraft.
However, there are other objectives behind this movements
a) Delay his convoys
b) Cover APs movement to Lunga
c) Cover the supply and fuel convoys which are now at Rabaul and Short
Anyway...too risky I can loose some VP without a good reason. But I decided to keep on cos the weather for tomorrow is Thunderstorms.

Night attack on PM
Useless

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 13
G4M1 Betty x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 1 destroyed
Airbase hits 6
Runway hits 15

GG express
Allied aircraft losses
F-5A Lightning x 1 destroyed
F-5A Lightning x 1 damaged
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 154
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 122 ***But P-38 managed to fly CAP over GG...surely they come from PM***
Port hits 3

Shortland attack
Timtom keeps on and suffers a new (minor) defeat...
Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 18
A6M3 Zero x 16

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe x 2 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 1 destroyed
B-24D Liberator x 2 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1

FT attacked by LB from PM
Arggggggg.! This LB are sooo accurate! 1/3 of his LB scored hits (although some bombers scored more than one hit). This is amazing and makes operation Splash and Go more risky.

Allied aircraft
A-20B Boston x 18
B-26B Marauder x 16

DD Kuroshio, Bomb hits 10, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
CL Isuzu, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 142 ***AA unit***
Guns lost 5

Attacking Level Bombers:
All attacking at 1000 feet

Land combats

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Buna

Japanese & Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 24146 troops, 315 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 25071 troops, 247 guns, 52 vehicles

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 85
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 14

Ground combat at Salamaua

Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 8438 troops, 78 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 7675 troops, 129 guns, 0 vehicles ***45 Rgt arrived and avoided an easy conquest. A little surprise for Timtom***

Allied assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 218

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 200

[toraq]

God!. Why do I have to continue with these stupid operations?
Splash & Go finished with the Yamato lightly damaged due to a Mk 16 mine. Not only the name but also the operation itself has been quite stupid. But, in some way it managed to divert some Allied forces. These are the "strategic" gains:
a) APs arrived at Lunga safely and have started to load two Rgts
b) Slot is free of subs, allowing my APDs to evacuate some troops from Lunga
c) Allied convoys retreated to a safe place far away from PM, thus gaining time for the Garrisons of Buna and Salamua

PM bombardment
The poorest thing I ever seen in time. I only destroyed 3 planes, causing only 53 runaway hits. Tanaka did a good job avoiding air raids but I guess he performed poorly in the night attack

GG express
2 PT destroyed but again light damaged was done to the airport

Submarine warfare
My vals scored a hit to the Wahoo sub. The entire sub. fleet is looking for my CVs. I hope I can flee without being attacked

Heavies return to Lunga
59 B17, one was lost. they attacked the port. Moderate damaged. Zero are flying CAP.
Still no naval bomber presence in Irau.

Salamaua
Heavily attacked by LB and wirraways. 23 Rgt severely disrupted and fatigued. Maybe I need another rgt. there.

[toraq]

Op. Splash & Go finished. Uffffffff. Only the Yamato lightly damaged.

Heavies visit Lunga
For a very strange reason I lost 10 A6M3 today. 9 were op. losses!. Incredible!. I think all of them belonging to this datai flying LCAP over Lunga. He lost 4 B17

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
A6M3 Zero x 10

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 53

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 416
Guns lost 1

Port hits 4 ***Poor results, port without damage***
Port supply hits 8

My APs keep loading troops at Lunga. But it is slow. Two more turns and I´ll have to get out of there!. No naval bombers in Irau. APD (don´t know why) didn´t move or FT troops from Lunga [:@]

Buna & Salamaua
Artillery unit having fun shooting the other ones. Nothing new. Weather avoided further air attacks

[toraq]

A long and exciting turn!. Naval bombers based at Irau attacked my APs at Lunga. Fortunately weather avoided the morning attack so I thin I was lucky. LCAP zeros vaused some casualities to the intruders.

B24 over Shortland
It has become a routine. Few bombers attack Short with poor results. However Timtom is always lucky and they always destroy some palnes on the ground.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 12
A6M3 Zero x 16
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe x 1 damaged
A6M3 Zero x 1 damaged
G3M Nell x 1 destroyed x 2 damaged ***On the ground***

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 9 damaged ***Only 1 lost***

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 8

Lunga express
DEspite the difficult missions carried on by heavy bombers, they usually suffer little casualities. Today only 1 B17 didn´t return!
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36 ***only managed to attack two or three times***
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed [:@]

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 4 damaged ***half due to AA fire***

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 47
Port hits 1***Absolutely nothing***

Barges attacked
Many attacks to AGs on a supply mission to Gasmata. They put a fierce AA barrage and beaufort on a skip bombing mission took the worst part. [:)]

Allied aircraft
Beaufort x 10
Beaufighter VIC x 37
A-20B Boston x 8
A-20B Havoc x 13

Allied losses
Beaufort x 2 destroyed x 3 damaged ***This is a outstanding result, 4 lost***

3 AGs sunk

APs loading troops at Lunga attacked
Again a major air to air combat. My Zeroes shoot down many escorts but only 6 or 7 attacks were made to the bombers.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 33

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 24
SBD Dauntless x 41
TBF Avenger x 10
P-39D Airacobra x 15
P-40E Warhawk x 11
P-38G Lightning x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 3 destroyed x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 5 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 5 destroyed x 2 damaged ***two due to flak**
P-39D Airacobra x 1 destroyed x 1 damaged
P-40E Warhawk x 4 destroyed x 2 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed

LTJG D.Sugiyama of F2/252nd Daitai is credited with kill number 4

CPT G. Smith of 44th FS bails out and is CAPTURED ***This is not the Smith I want to capture. Anyway I´ll torture him

Japanese Ships ***poor results***[;)]
MSW Fumi Maru #2
AP Shinwa Maru, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Tamashima Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
MSW Toshi Maru #1
AP Tarushima Maru, Shell hits 20, Bomb hits 1 ***dud***
AP China Maru
DD Murasame, Shell hits 4
AP Asakasan Maru, Shell hits 12
MSW Rokko Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage***tomorrow its last dawn***

Total losses
Allied
7 SBD
6 F4F
3 P40
3 P38
2 P39
4 beauforts
Japanese
4 A6M2
3 Emily [:@]Mostly in air to air combat [&:]
1 Nell

33 Allied losses vs 8 IJ losses. Not bad [8D]

Buna
Today Buna was attacked by B26: 111 of them flying over there!. Heavily escorted. I guess I can´t try to shoot them down- Again infatry Rgt exchanged artillery fire.

[toraq]

Well due to my scen. 19 game I was not able to update this AAR.
Three days battle with a night battle between my BB and his CAs.

Night battle at Lunga
I went to protect my ships (although they had been withdrawn before, but who knows. Poor results. Enemy crossed the T and my ships failed most of the shoots.

Japanese Ships ***Many 8 inch. shells hit my BB without effect, only minor damage***
BB Kongo, Shell hits 7
BB Nagato, Shell hits 27
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 4
CA Suzuya, Shell hits 3
CA Kumano, Shell hits 3
CA Kinugasa, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Portland, Shell hits 1
CA Northampton, Shell hits 12, on fire, heavy damage (sunk) ***with some 16.1 inch shells***
CL Leander
CL St. Louis, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Bagley
DD Helm
DD Conyngham
DD Selfridge
DD Phelps, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage ***these two are now at Tulagi***
DD Farragut, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
Later on
Japanese Ships
SS I-121, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CL Leander, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Naval bombers attack APDs
I don´t know what they were doing there. I´ve had several problems with this TF (not moving or not transporting troops). Next turn, the survivors just stayed at Lunga again without moving. These little bugs are nasty!![:@][:@]

F4F-4 Wildcat x many
SBD Dauntless x many
TBF Avenger x many
P-39D Airacobra x many
P-40E Warhawk x many
P-38G Lightning x many

Japanese Ships
APD 2, Shell hits 4, Bomb hits 8, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
APD 1, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)
APD 31
APD 34, Shell hits 4
APD 35, Shell hits 16, Bomb hits 4 (sunk)

Salamaua attacked
Wirraways, B26, coming from PM and escorted by P38 and P40 fly offensive missions against my 23th Rgt. Poor guys, disruption 100, fatigue 89. But they still hold on!!. This is last day ground attack:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8159 troops, 77 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 10851 troops, 181 guns, 0 vehicles

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

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 168
Guns lost 1
Allied ground losses:
Men lost 222

Lunga attacke by heavies
A similar attack in my scen 19 game cost me 5 B17 lost (no CAP, almost no AA, and 16 hex. far) and 5 were lost!!!!!!!. Timtom only lost 1 [:@]

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 55

no losses

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 1046
Guns lost 1

Port hits 12
Port supply hits 8

Enemu movements
2 Rgts moving towards Buna...but they are going to arrive late. Does Timtom know that only 25 turns left?. Many escorted convoys finally unloaded his cargo in PM.
Irau empty of naval bombers again. No bomber presence in GG...quite calm considering that I´m up 1100 points!

My movements
My Zero are resting or LCAP supply or fuel convoys. Naval bombers on ASW missions. Most of the ships docked at Rabaul or Short ports.
Two things are being prepared

a) A port attack on Noumea: using Nells and Betties from Short, they can reach this vital port where his CVs rest (or at least my last recon mission said so). 250 Kg won´t penetrate the flight deck, but who knows!

b) Invasion of Tulagi: first I have to reduce supplies there and supress the guns of the CD unit based there. Then, using my Zeroes, LCAP the invasion transports and land there 3 Rgts with two more (the ones evacuated from Lunga) acting as a reserve.
I still got 4 BB ready plus the Yamato (16 sys) and Mutsu (11 sys) that are being repaired at Rabaul. They should be enough for a counter attack. And my fresh pilots should avoid a disaster in the air.

[toraq]

Quite turns. I´m preparing my next invasion: Tulagi. Tomorrows my Betties and Nells will try to surprise allied shipping in Noumea.[;)]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/06/42

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Submarine warfare
Better forget it...

Sub attack at 34,36

Allied Ships
SS Amberjack ***And again attacked by the same ASW TF but nothing

Lunga express
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 50 ***3 lost [:)]***

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 691

Port hits 5 ***40 damage***
Port supply hits 4***almost no supplies***

Salamaua
Tomorrow I receive a Oscar Sentai. I a few days I´m planning a fighter offensive in NG, mainly to avoid these easy attacks.

Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 75

Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder x 1 damaged ***Only one AA unit, the other one was almost sunk a few turns ago***

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 46

Ground combat at Salamaua

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 7737 troops, 76 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 11294 troops, 195 guns, 0 vehicles

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

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 234

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 96
Guns lost 1

Still very far from a 1:1 odd. But my Rgts are quite tired and disrupted. And many IJN squads are disable. We need Zeroes here!!

[toraq]

Everything quiet in the last two days. My invasion forces have almost finished and now they´re loading supplies. However, their "trip" will be long (only 10 knots).
Meanwhile, my BB didn´t reacted to the bombardment party which visited Lunga yesteday. One or two BB present and the damage there is serious.
Tomorrow, partly cloudy, so I put my Betties in port attack. Noumea is targered (again).
My A6M3 have been tranfered to NG to put up some fight against his incoming raids over Salamaua. More FT to NG bringing supplies and troops.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/08/42

Weather: Thunderstorms

APD almost sunk near Lunga
Lunga is the most dangerous place (together with PM) and weather just could not prevent Timtom´s P39 to attack my poor APDs.

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 24
P-39D Airacobra x 23
P-40E Warhawk x 11
P-38G Lightning x 5

Japanese Ships
APD 34, Shell hits 24, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damaged
APD 31, Shell hits 56, Bomb hits 1, on fire

[toraq]

Nothing important, but my A6M3 intercepting incoming B26 over Salamaua. Good news, I got 72 Oscar, since my old Ki-43 Ib sentai (only 8 planes left) received Mk. IIa aircraft.[:)]. They now rest in Lae, waiting for another surprise.

B24 over Rabaul
I don´t know why he doesn´t want to attack Vella Lavella since it is my major base at the moment.

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 116

Airbase hits 6
Runway hits 24***airport open***

B17 over Lunga
I prefer this...than seeing Vella Lavella or Shortland reduced to ashes
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 43

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val x 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 516

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 34

Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIC x 18
Wirraway x 42
P-39D Airacobra x 72
P-40E Warhawk x 12
B-25D Mitchell x 16

Buna attacked, IJ flak makes him to pay a high prize

Air attack on 41st Regiment, at 12,38
Allied aircraft losses
Beaufighter VIC x 1 destroyed x 1 damaged
Wirraway x 1 destroyed x 8 damaged
P-39D Airacobra x 1 destroyed x 9 damaged
B-25D Mitchell x 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 58

Ground combat at Salamaua
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 9348 troops, 73 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 10623 troops, 187 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0) ***54 assault value vs 150, still far from 1:1***
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 125

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 46

Salamaua attacked
My Zeroes bounce enemy CAP and damage some B26[:)]

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 28 ***My elite datais, 74 experience, flying from Lae***

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 24
B-26B Marauder x 65

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk x 3 destroyed x 2 damaged
B-26B Marauder x 8 damaged ***difficult to shoot down***

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 83
Guns lost 1

[toraq]

It´s been a rule to have naval or air battles, even sub contacts everyday during the last weeks. But I guess today was the most peaceful day of this scenario. Maybe the US soldiers are remembering Pearl Harbour or Guadalcanal. In this one I had the main role[;)].

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/10/42

Weather: Thunderstorms

Ground combat at Salamaua

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 9292 troops, 73 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 11849 troops, 196 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 171

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 155
Guns lost 4
Tomorrow I´ve ordered my Level bombers to attack Irau, just to surprise Timtom [:D]. 200 planes spotted there. I hope weather (thunderstorms) won´t avoid this little present.
Meanwhile, I got 48 A6M3 and 72 Oscar ready to fight for the air supremacy.
If I have time I´ll post the forces prepared for the Tulagi invasion. My scen 19 game needs some planning!!

[toraq]

Weather avoided my level bomber attack. [:@]. Tomorrow (thunderstorms again) we will try again. Some air combats over Buna.

Submarine warfare

Sub attack at 28,36
Japanese Ships
DD Arashi
DD Takanami

Allied Ships
SS Albacore, Shell hits 40, on fire, heavy damage (sunk)[:)]...using 5.5 inch guns!!!

Buna air battle
Only 1 datai flying...weather ALWAYS favour Timtom

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 18

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 6
P-38G Lightning x 21
A-20B Boston x 11
B-26B Marauder x 62
A-20B Havoc x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 2 destroyed x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk x 3 destroyed
A-20B Boston x 1 damaged x 1 damaged

LCDR S. Sugita of F1/6th Daitai is credited with kill number 2 ***97 pilot exp.***

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 63

[toraq]

Air battle over the Buna skies. Weather finally aborted my attack mission to Irau. Since I´m not quite sure if he´s going to CAP the base, I ordered my planes to stand down.
In two or three turns my APs will be ready for the Tulagi invasion.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/12/42

Weather: Thunderstorms

Buna
And it won´t be the last day to report air battles

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 30

Allied aircraft
P-40E Kittyhawk x 33
P-38G Lightning x 23
B-26B Marauder x 101
A-20B Havoc x 28
A-20B Boston x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero x 4 destroyed ***P38 victims***

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Kittyhawk x 6 destroyed x 3 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed
B-26B Marauder x 1 destroyed x 3 damaged
A-20B Boston x 1 destroyed x 4 damaged

LCDR S. Sugita of F1/6th Daitai is credited with kill number 4***Last 3 vic. in the last 2 days**

Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 27