The Imperialism, the war against Blackwatch

[Tom Hunter]

There is now a 269 air support HQ from India in Darwin. This fees up 2 US and one Aussie base force for use elsewhere which means Timor.

Timor has 50% strenghth Dutch base forces in Koepang and Lautem, both ports also have a near full strength US base force, there is a Marine defense battalion in Koepang with some nice coastal defense guns, and a US RTC just unloaded at Lautem. Arau Island has 2 Dutch base forces and another Marine defense battalion. Last game Blackwatch grabbed the island cheap with a battalion or two, but not this time.

Another US RTC is coming up the coast of Australia near Rockhampton now, along with an Engineer battalion. The RTC may go to Java, the engineers will go to Arau Island to speed construction of the airfield.

in mid March Timor was under heavy attack with some bombardment missions and lots of airstrikes. The Allies lost a number of merchant ships in this action and some supplies but all troops got ashore. The Japanese have stopped bombing Timor and Java recently I am not sure if its losses or weather, but losses were getting high, they went as high as 88 planes one day and were running 20-30 planes a day for about a week in mid March. Allied losses were a bit lower but not much.

Timor has a P40E group, a 72 plane P39 group, a 16 plane Aussie Hurricane group, a half squadron of F4F3s and some Dutch junk flying CAP. The first of two 16 plane Australian Kittyhawk groups just landed at Koepang, and the P39s just flew the first hop to the Philipines.

3 more bomber groups just arrived at Darwin, one of A20s, one of A24 Dauntlesses and one of B26s. With the Kittyhawks mentioned above this pushes the Allied air strenth in the area up by about 130 planes if everything is flying. That will allow the Allies to base strong bomber forces in Timor, Java and the Philipines. Until now I have had to pick two of the 3.

There are also Australian troops in Darwin preparing to move to Timor.

There is a big strategic question here still, the two sides are at a moment of equilibrium. If the Allies can sustain that for a bit longer then the rising tide of Allied equipment will start to take serious effect on the Japanese.

But if the Japanese break the defense of either Soerbaja or the Philipines then the problem gets much more serious because the Allied armies in the Philipines and Java cannot re-deploy to meet a threat from another direction.

So moving troops to Java could keep the war in equilibrium or it could be sending them to a giant prison camp. Likewise sending troops to Timor strengthens the defense there, but if the Japanese have 120,000 victorious troops coming down from Luzon another 15,000 Australians is not going to stop them.

The transports with the US troops are still a week or two away so no decision needs to be made, but you all can see the tactical problem

[Tom Hunter]

The Philipines are becoming more and more important for Allied strategy. Strange for an area that is usually a write off at the start.

Over the last 4 days the Japanese have stopped bombing Java and Timor. This worries me because it means that thier strength could be massing for a blow almost anywhere, and I don't want Blackwatch to have the luxury of building up unmolested.

Looking at the options available to the Allies, the best move appears to be re-open the air war in Luzon. The Japanese have had 3 months of a free fly zone and a bunch of Anns have been pounding Allied airbases, shipping and ground troops. But they have little or no escort.

Some of the small Dutch bases in the Celebes are still Allied so a group of 50 P39s just flew into Makale. Next turn they will reach Davao or Cagayan and then its off to the completely intact airbase at Clark. I am going to back them up with twin engine bombers eithe B26s or A20s or both and start bombing the Japanese air bases and ground troops. If the Japanese shift fighters in I may send more myself. Either way its going to further mess with the Japanese plan and that is my main goal.

[CapAndGown]

Very intersting situation. I think Blackwatch must be trying to overreach. Did he go down into the Solomons in a big way? Into SoPac? Just where are his forces concentrated? Burma? It would seem that your opponent has ignored his flanks too much.

[Tom Hunter]

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 88561 troops 744 guns 12 vehicles

Defending force 53033 troops, 441 guns 19 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 5

Japanese assualt odds 0 to 1 (fort level 5)

Japanese ground losses:
597 casualties reported
Guns lost 11
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground lossesL
58 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

That went pretty well.


Cap_and_gown

He pushed as far as Lunga and Gili Gili but has not made a move on Port Moresby, he just bombs it heavily.

There are 120,000 men in the Philipines, about 90,000 in Java and a bit over 90,000 in North Burma.

I can't completely explain why we are stalemated but I have a few guesses.

I have kept all my fronts supplied, Blackwatch has not been very good at blockading.

Japan has lost something like 190 ships with many more damaged. This must be having some effect on his ability to deliver troops and supplies.

I counter attacked a lot in the early part of the Philipine campaign which beat up his army there and gave me time to build up my troops and fortify Clark

In Java we had a long bombardment battle at Kragen which I used to train the Dutch infantry regiments. The guys holding the line in Soerbaja are high 60s xp

I moved a lot of Dutch infantry in from the outlying bases, Java has more or less double the number of defenders that start the war there and they are about 25% better quality than they were on December 7th.

I don't think any one of these things explains it but together they add up to quite a bit.

[Tom Hunter]

The British are attempting to turn up the heat on the Japanese in Burma.

For most of March Myitkyinia has been under siege with 90,000 Japanese outside and just under 48,000 Empire troops defending. Aside from a single Japanese deliberate attack its been artillery all the way. There is also regular bombing by Lysanders and Hurricanes based in the city and Blenhiems and B25s from India

In the last week the British flew in a new Brigade and brought the defenders to 50,000 troops. Another brigade is flying in now so the numbers are slowly moving in favor of the British. This is not going to throw the Japanese out of North Burma but it will help hold the town.

At the same time the Japanese were bombing Akyab flat having forced the withdrawl of the Hurricanes based there weeks ago.

That all changed on the 27th when a British air/sea offensive started with the intention of re-opening Akyab as a fighter base.






The first day of combat opened well with 3 major victories in the air for the British.

Over Akyab the AVG spanked the Japanese pretty hard, notice the lack of escorts for the bombers:

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
Ki-21 Sally x 9
Ki-49 Helen x 48

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 12
P-40B Tomahawk x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 6 destroyed
Ki-49 Helen: 7 destroyed, 13 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 1 damaged

I have not brought the AVG into action until now, so this is probabley a rude suprise for the Japanese.

After 5 days of recon the 4 engine bomber force flew against Rangoon and did pretty well:

Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 20

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 41
LB-30 Liberator x 39
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed
Ki-49 Helen: 2 destroyed
C5M Babs: 1 destroyed
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 19 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 1 destroyed, 7 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported
Airbase hits 5
Runway hits 6

This attack was at 31,000 and 35,000 feet, losses were light and that is important because the goal is not to close the base, its to keep the Japanese fighters from covering the raids on Akyab.

Finally the Japanese attacked the covering force. This was the riskiest part of the operation for the British, good Japanese luck could have hurt but things did not go their way.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 12
Ki-21 Sally x 6
Ki-49 Helen x 51

Allied aircraft
Sea Gladiator x 8
Fulmar x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 1 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 8 destroyed, 19 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Gladiator: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
Fulmar: 9 destroyed, 12 damaged

Allied Ships
CVL Hermes
CV Indomitable
CV Formidable
CLAA Caledon

The only problem now is the low strength of the CAP for this group. I had replacements set off fir the air groups by accident so they started with 18 and 20 Fulmars instead of 24 each and they lost 10 planes in this engagement. As a result instead of continueing in to bombard Rangoon I am sending everyone home to get more planes. I had hoped ot shut down Rangoon with naval bombardment but its too risky.

However the threat of a big bombardment shoudl cause Blackwatch to do one of two things:

Move all his planes out of Rangoon
Set everything for Naval attack, allowing Akyab to recover some.

Either of these two will help the plan, sometimes you can win without firing a shot.

[Cap Mandrake]

Tom;

How are you able to move the Dutch infantry from outlying bases? I cant seem to get them on a boat or plane unless they are already retreated or attcked.

[Tom Hunter]

Here are the air losses for the day:





The only place with air to air combat on the 27th was the Bay of Bengal so this operation has already succeeded in one goal, air to air attrition is way up.

Blackwatch has stopped attacking Timor and Java, I think because of the high air to air loss rate over those islands. I have gone on the offensive in the air over Bali sending big well escorted bombing raids, chewing up the airfield and shooting down a few Zeros, but his forces are not concentrated there so few casualties resulted.

Bringing the British back into the fight makes it harder for Blackwatch to avoid casualties.

The next move is in the Philipines, 36 P39s just landed at Clark along with B25s and B26s. They are going to hit the Japanese airfield at Linguyan gulf tomorrow if the weather is good, that will open up a new theater for the air war.

[Tom Hunter]

Capt.

No tricks I jsut switch the HQ and load them on ships or airplanes. I have switched the units I moved to SW PAC Hq which in now operating out of Darwin.

By the way the Dutch first regiment is at 97% strength, 0 disruption, 5% fatigue, 69xp and 51 moral. Second and third regiments are similar but slightly lower xp and the 25th Australian is 71 XP.

The fatigue and disruption numbers are excellent when you consider that these units just took two days of deliberate attacks. Soerbaja is 58% of the way to fort level 6 and its full of engineers who are not being bombed so they are working away like beavers to get the place entrenched.

I don't see how Blackwatch can take the place without a combined arms operation and he is dispersing the air assets he needs to do it. This is a rough picture of his deployements:

Burma 100k troops, 150 planes
Philipines 150k troops 100 planes
Java 100k troops 200? planes including Kendari
Rabaul ? troops 120 planes

Mine are:
Burma 50k troops, with more coming, about 180 planes that can reach, making the attempt to get another 80 Hurricanes and Mohawks into battle.
Philipines 110k troops 80 planes now including fighters for the first time in months
Java 60k troops 150 planes with another 50 in Timor and 100 in Darwin resting or refitting for combat
Rabual nothing, though Noumea has 70k troops and 90 or so planes.

I don't see the margin of superiority needed to win in these figures, and he is not winning.

However the lull in his attacks does have me really nervous and its one of the reasons I am pushing hard to bring the war to him, I don't want a stronger opponent to have the luxury of un-interrupted planning and preperation.

[Tom Hunter]

Its now March 30th.

On the 28th the Japanese invaded the Philipines at Naga with 17,000 men. They also put the Hyuga at Legaspi as a target. On the 29th Naga fell undefened, a regiment of Marines is on the way to try and stop the attack.

On the 29th there were a number of air battles over the Philipines as the P39s claimed their first victims. F4F3s are also moving into the islands to increase the available CAP in the area and hopefully help supply convoys get through.

Allied bombers went after the Hyuga in a big way hitting it 8 times and setting it on fire. The 30th should be even more dangerous for the Japanese as a group of Beuforts just reached Cagayuan and thier torpedos will be a very welcome addition to the Allied attacks on Japanese warships.

In Burma the 4 engine bombers continue to chip away at Rangoon operating at high altitude. They are not able to close the place down but they have increased Japanese attrition and cause Blackwatch to increase the fighter cover over the base. Akyab has been left unbombed for 3 days now and the first Mohawks have flown in. A 96 support base force has almost finished unloading, and supply convoys are on the way. Currently the airfield has 65 damage and service is at 100, down from 100 / 100 3 days prior. If the operation continues to be successful the British will fly in 50-60 Hurricanes and more troops and supplies will be unloaded there with the eventual goal of making the place a springboard for the invasion of Burma.

At Java the Japanese made yet another deliberate attack. This time they took 957 casualties and the defenders took 40. The Japanese are also under constant air attack from Beauforts and Wirraways and the Allies have air superiority over Soerbaja.

KB is raiding the coast of Australia again. There is even less shipping in the area than last time, so let him raid.

The Philipines are the critical spot. If the Japanese can take the place then it will free up enough troops to take Java, Timor and Port Moresby. If it continues to hold then things will get very bad for Japan. The invasion by Blackwatch is occuring similtaniously with my effort to regain control of the air over the islands. One of us is too late, but we don't know which one.

Of course if Blackwatch gets smart and parks KB off Luzon in a blockade and support role then the place is doomed in a month, but so far he has not shown any inclination to do that.

[CapAndGown]

Maybe war plan Orange might work after all. Time to gather the BBs and set sail into the western Pacific!

[String]

I can't understand why Blackwatch doesn't crack down on you in DEI with his carriers. He could bring them in and decimate your airpower and ships within a week, with comparatively little losses to him (unless his really unlucky).

[Tom Hunter]

I don't understand it either, he should have done it in February.

As time goes by the job gets more dangerous but he still has double the number of planes on his CVs that I have on the islands. Now he has to contend with better quality fighter groups and bombers but I still doubt they would do much of anything.

He says he has been very busy lately so no updated to his side of the AAR.

[Tom Hunter]

The Hyuga left the area with another 5 bomb hits for its trouble, and then the air based at Clark, Cagayan and Legaspi went to work. The crew includes B25s, Hudsons, A24 Dauntlesses and some P39s strafing, this is the consolidated view of three days of attacks:

In three days this ship took 11 bombs and 12 shells from P39s:
March 30: AP Victoria Maru, Bomb hits 1
March 31: AP Victoria Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage + Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
April 1 AP Victoria Maru, Shell hits 12, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage , + Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
WHY WON”T YOU DIE!!! I feel like I am in one of those teen slasher films where the bad guys is unkillable.
This one only took 8 bombs, so I guess its fine that its still floating:
March 30 AP Taian Maru, Bomb hits 2
March 31 AP Taian Maru, Shell hits 4 + Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage + Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
Another 8 bomb ship:
March 31 Tamiki Maru, Bomb hits 1 + Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
April 1 Tamaki Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
These 5 got hit on one of the 3 days
AP Arabia Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Baikal Maru, Bomb hits 1 + Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Toko Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire + Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Atuta Maru, Bomb hits 1 +3
ML Hoko, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage (this is the only one that sunk)


Even though nothing has sunk I bet it has messed up the effort to supply Naga. There are now 24,000 Japanese there facing off against 7,000 marines with some more troops on the way. With luck Naga is now a big prison camp.

The 61st Division has left Iiloio and is on transports to Manila, its getting hit by some air but disrupted or no it will still help the war effort.

On the 30th the Japanese tried for Soerbaja again:

Japanese ground losses:
4226 casualties reported
Guns lost 81
Vehicles lost 4

Allied ground losses:
705 casualties reported
Guns lost 26
Vehicles lost 2


I think this definitively shows that the fortress is not going to fall any time soon. The US 151st RTC is now at Timor on ships and heading for Malang to make things even more difficult.

On April first the Japanese left the hex of Myitkyina heading back towards Mandalay. At the same time Akyab now has 60 fighters and the runway is down to 22 damage though support is at 100% damage. Regardless supply is now flowing to China and the Japanese are starting to retreat. Akyab is going to get lots of supply and be built up as a jumpoff point for the reconquest of Burma starting near the end of 1942.

More supply for the Philipines is about 4 days South of Manila right now, small convoys are on the way to Manila and Davao. There is 23,000 supply at Clark and 10,000 at Manila, 21,000 on the way to Manila soon, and another 35,000 passing Wake on its way through the gap in the Jap patrol system.

KB is raiding Townsville against no opposition, he is sinking a few AKs and that is about it. I put some Wirraways on escort with B17s and Beauforts to counterstrike but I am not expecting much. Evantually I will put fighters there but for now I am happy to let him control the airspace over the great barrier reef while I control it over Java, Timor and the Philipines.

[cookie monster]

Yep I'm enjoying this AAR. It's a nice edited light read.

Although I am new to this game sometimes I find your actions aggressive, for example your carrier use. Would you say this is your style? Or you would in fact use them differently in future?

[Tom Hunter]

I follow Halsey's (the real Admiral, not the guy on our forums) dicutm Hit Fast, Hit Hard, Hit Often, (I may have them in the wrong order).

I have no regrets about my decisions to raid, but if I had planned out Saipan better I would still have the Saratoga. I was busy with other things, playing late to get the turn back and I really blew it.

I would not be less agressive, I am very measured in my use of my major assets, that raid went in when I knew KB was off the coast of Australia, and I will continue to hit the Japanese when I know that I am safe from KB. I am constantly looking for opportunities to get local superiority, and the CVs provide me with one way to do that.

But note that I never, ever raid when I don't know the location of KB.

[marovici]

Great AR Tom. Very interesting situation in SRA and Phillippines. It is nice to see Allies fighting Japanese from the begginning. Good luck!

[racndoc]

Nice AAR Tom. I am seeing some of your experiences in my game with Spooky now at 1-17-42. As in your game , the Japanese have split up their forces trying to take several objectives at the same time. In my game , the Japanese have committed 3 1/2 divisions at Burma and 3 1/2 divisions at Malaya in addition to attacking PI and Borneo. We seem to be in stalemate in ALL areas with Japanese prospects at Johore Bharu not promising with Singapore looking more and more impregnable and with supply an offensive airbase.

Obviously, Java and Sumatra at this time look out of the question for Japan without direct support of KB. I think that with v1.6 the early introduction of modern Allied fighters will slow down the Japanese considerably and with the early presence of Beaufort V-IX the IJN is in serious danger without cover by KB.

I really enjoy the strategy read in your AAR and wish I could reciprocate in mine. Good luck and keep up the great posts!

[Tom Hunter]

Thanks for all the comments.

We have upgraded to 1.6 and nolonger get combat reports (Blackwatch is going to re-install) so here is an update without that information.

The Japanese have noticed the stalemate and are taking action to end it. So far there are these major changes:

1) Retreat in Burma
2) Invasion of Naga in the Phillipines
3) Commitment of Baby KB to the Phillipines
4) Renewed air attack on Soerbaja

Allied intelligence expects that air resources will be pulled out of Rabaul, and some troops will be moved from Burma to Java.

The Allied respones.

Continued air re-inforcements for the Philipines, an F4F group just reached Davao. Allied bombers have been pounding Japanese shipping putting 2 bombs each into Zuiho and Hosho at the cost of significant numbers of planes shot down, especially P39s.

The Philipines 61st Divison has been transported from Illio to Manila by sea, its a little shot up but its there.

Marines are at Naga holding the Japanese.

Australian Kittyhawks are also being moved forward and some of the fighters protecting Timor are being moved to Java, its my feeling that he can't concentrate on the Philipines and hit Timor and Java so I am taking a bit of a risk.

The British have re-opened Akyab its got 60 fighters the runway is repaired and the service is at 63% it was 100% damaged a few days ago. The Royal Navy is going to bombard Sabang, and with luck the Japanese will try a troop convoy to Rangoon. There are search planes at Adaman Island looking for this.

South Pacific and NE Oz will continue to be a backwater.

US 151st RTC is on its way to Malang and an Allied Cruiser group just sunk a PC off Amboina, the Allies will continue looking for ways to increase the pressure in areas that the Japanese are not focused on.

50,000 supply is near or in the Philipines right now but it may be sunk if I can't force baby KB to pull out. If it makes it, or even half makes it, then the Philipines may hold until June, otherwise they are likely to fall in May. Still that is really good, and if I can get more troops to Java then the Japanese may be stalemated there even after the forces from Burma arrive.

[Tom Hunter]

This is the increase in losses since March 4 1942

Aircraft

799 Allied
1066 Japanese A nice trend here

Army
312 Allied
231 Japanese This is also pretty good, though it won't last

Ships
54 Allied
37 Japanese

The raids by KB have bagged a fair number of merchant ships, and more are going to sink in the fight for the Phillipines, it will be a couple of months before this gets better.





I especailly like the air numbers and the casualty rates for frontline Japanese aircraft are going up, they are even starting to lose significant numbers of Zeros. On the Allied side there are plenty of F4Fs and some F3Fs in the mix over the Philipines which is important because they have a high production rate, and the Allies never have enough P40s in the early war.

The situation in the Philipines is rough, there is about 27,000 supply in Luzon and the most recent attempt to get more in has pretty much failed except for 7,000 that is unloading at Davao. 2 more convoys carrying 31,000 are on thier way but it will be had to get them unloaded successfully.

On the flip side the Allied air has been pounding the Japanese supply convoys and the Japs may be having supply problems themselves. Air casualties have been heavy on both sides, but worse for the Americans since the elite CV based air units got involved. Still there is a lot of fight left in the area and it should go on well into May even if no more supply gets through.

In Java Soerbaja continues its successful defense shooting down tens of Japanese planes as they try to bomb the airfield there. The Java Sea is a no-go area for Japanese shipping, and supplies are being unloaded slowly at Malang. In another 3 or 4 days a US RTC will also unload which will be an unhappy suprise for the Japanese when they realize its there.

In Burma Akyab is now in good shape and will be fully repaired soon. Miyitikyina is launching air attacks on Lashio because its within the two hex range of the Hurricanes and there are some Oscars there to fight. Because of the short range of their fighters the British are going to have to be very methodical in thier advance, but once the Chindits show up I am going to go over to the offensive in a limited way.

[Tom Hunter]

Brief update

In the Phillipines the Japanese just hit Clark field with 80 bombers covered by 30 Zeros. Allied CAP has been weakened and demoralized so many bombers got through, and this turn the airforce evacuated all flyable planes to Cagayan and Davao.

Japanese aircarft have control of the waters around Luzon and no more supplies are getting in. There is about 24,000 supply at Clark and Manila, and another 3500 at Legaspi supplying the troops holding the Japs at Naga.

Davao has a pretty good supply situation and there are more ships on the way. My plan is to rebase all the air to Davao and provide as much support as possible to Luzon with longer range air. Allied bombers continue to sink Japanese transports which helps slow the Japanese attack and Allied nusance raiding causes the Japanese army to eat more supply as well. There is also a small amount of supply being flown in Clark and Manlina from the bases on Mindanao which will help the troops hold out a bit longer.

In Burma the Japanese are trying to avoid combat with the RAF, most of which has such short range that it can't reach anything. Every now and then there is a small fight over one of the smaller airfields, and heavy bombers are doing high level raids against Rangoon that cause minor losses to both sides.

Soerbaja remains in good shape, and half the 151 RTC is ashore at Malang, the other half should unload today. I have started moving Hudsons into Java to get longer range attacks on the Japanese shipping that is moving in and out of Batavia. Its not a huge threat but the nuisnace raids slowly wear down the Japanese merchant marine.

In China Chang is moving to Homan to improve the supply situation in that area. Maybe something important will happen as a result, maybe not.

The 3 US CVs and many other ships are in refit at Pearl, the South Pacific is quiet, not much will happen until the numbers of CVs, troops and air units goes up.