PzB vs Wobbly - Clash of Steel

[String]

ORIGINAL: String

ORIGINAL: PzB


The fast Kongo's all have excellent day/night exp, so does the two Nagato class ships.
A heavy surface battlegroup could consist of 1 Yamato and 1-2 Nagato class ships + 4 ca, 2 cl and 4 dds.
A fast battlegroup made up from 2-3 or even 4 Kongo class ships can move in at full speed (6/6 hexes) and out
again while smashing up enemy cruiser groups or bombarding a base. Otherwise these ships will be used as carrier escorts.

The Fuso/Yamashiro and Ise/Hyuga class ships are slower and not so formidable - mostly to be used in bombardments.

Hmm.. I disagree here on the oldies. Fuso/Yamashiro and Ise/Hyuga both have nice batterlies of 10x14" and have good armor. Nothing special, but good enough to stop 14" rounds from moderate distance. I'd include 1-2 of them in your heavy surface group. The Nagato class already brings the speed down to 4 hexes per phase, and getting any of them damaged, or even sunk isn't catastrophic while heavy damage to Nagatos/Yamatos would be. IMHO

Take care with the fast battleships, they have thin armor, and iirc i've seen their tower armor penetrated by allied CA's at close range during night battles.

edit: Oh and the same goes for Furutaka class cruisers. At close range their armor isn't enough to stop even the 6" guns of enemy CL's. I'd use them and Kongos as carrier escorts only.

[PzB74]

You could be right String, but my personal experience with those ships ain't too good. Somehow they
never seem to hit anything [:'(] Nagato can move 5 hexes at 25 knots...as long as it doesn't get any sys damage!

Speed is of the essence to get quickly into trouble and even quicker out of it again... With the growing
US air supremacy it will be suicide to stage any closer than 5 hexes from a base - especially it there
are carriers around.

I usually move my surface groups under cover of the KB and then unleash them!
The Kongos are superior to US heavy cruisers and in an even battle with them it's unlikely that they will
receive critical damage. This is an advantage that should be pushed as the US will be low on battleships in the
next 6 months.

Two of my newest destroyers now carry almost as much AA as one of the old battleships. The KB may find itself
escorted mainly by large Akitsuki class destroyers and the new type light cruisers shortly.

The Furutaka class got bad endurance...but I consider them as good destroyer leaders. Expendable and they
still carry a punch! The Yamatos are less expendable as you say: I will strive to preserve them for an
'important showdown'. Imagine a good ole battleline against some US bb/ca adversaries..or smashing a US landing
force [8D] The behemoths are also excellent carrier escorts for my slower birdfarms and can swallow up a lot of
punishment.

Btw, repairs on the Kaga are progressing well: down to 67 sys damage. Should be operational by the end of the year.

[wobbly]

I don’t mean to be a “nay” sayer but I remember your use of BBs in bombardment. I completely agreed with this being on the receiving end of some of the bombardments. Your most powerful surface action units, extremely well wielded, were your heavy Cruisers. I would be more wary now about using the BBs – if you want to keep them – in night attacks, the ranges are lethally close, not the best place for a BB, which likes arms length. You are both stating that you don’t have to worry about the enemy BBs anymore and I agree, but don’t forget the allied DDs will now all have SG radar, functional torps and numbers! I would worry more about them than enemy cruisers and you will play into their hands by conducting night attacks.
Since Day attacks will be even riskier due to airpower I think you are down to Carrier escort and possible daylight mid-ocean intercept. There will of course come a time when all caution will need to be thrown to the wind – but while the allies don’t have long lances they do start to become more proficient with their torps and the torp is always the BB’s worst enemy.

[PzB74]

Howdy Al,

True, battleships have always performed best in bombardment or escort roles...
I will not committ them to battle before a good opportunity provides itself. If/when Ken invades the Marianas
the battleships will attempt to hit the invasion fleet. Perhaps after 2-3 destroyer screens have swept the area?

For now the heavy/light cruisers escorted by a moderate number of destroyers will attempt to hurt the enemy.
Their superior night fighting ability should still count! I need a 1-3 exchange ratio of ships though..at least. Not going
be easy.

Take a look at this fascinating photo: You can actually see the 500 lb skip bomb flying over the Jap gun crew!! [X(]

[Mynok]

Yeeiikes! You can almost smell the soiled underwear too!

[PzB74]

That's what you call a 'near miss' [:D]

Quiet before the storm I think. Received another light cruiser in Tokyo!
A strong surface TF made up of the Yamato, Kongo, 1 cl and 5 Akitsuki class destroyers are now in Japan.
They will leave for Truk as soon as the Yamato has finished her 12/42 upgrade.

I've also loaded 2 tank regiments at Rangoon - they are going to the Marianas together. Lots of large troop
and supply convoys moving around the Pacific now. No way I could have manned both an outer and inner perimeter
line in full strength. Will take another 6-10 months before I got all the 'stash' I want in place [;)]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/22/43

Air Combat

Look at these air strikes against Gasmata...it's getting the hammer!

Day Air attack on Gasmata , at 59,90

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 37
P-38G Lightning x 46
B-25J Mitchell x 109
B-24D Liberator x 92

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 71
Port hits 5
Port supply hits 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Gasmata , at 59,90

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 12
Catalina I x 1
P-40N Warhawk x 3
P-38G Lightning x 13
A-20G Havoc x 12
B-25J Mitchell x 55

Allied aircraft losses
A-20G Havoc: 1 damaged
B-25J Mitchell: 3 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is what I called a 'double whammy' to Ken: The LRCAP over Kavieng 'leaked'
to Rabaul - big time....end of that discussion. A fast transport TF also decided to stop
instead of retreating. Could have been worse - one damaged destroyer that should make it.
One of the Oscars even DAMAGED a Corsair...WOooo!

Day Air attack on TF, near Rabaul at 61,88

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 29

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 31
SBD Dauntless x 39
TBF Avenger x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 18 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 damaged <- Who says Oscars can't fight!
SBD Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 19 damaged
TBF Avenger: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Yubari
CA Furutaka
CL Isuzu
DD Natsushio
DD Urakaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Map over historical operations: Lae late 1943

As you can see the historical time line is being followed to a certain extent. Ken is 3-4 months
ahead of schedule - mainly because my attention was fixed on India and not Guinea and the Solomons.

If you look at Arawe - it's an island: that's why there's no land path to Gasmata/Rabaul.
All the smaller land bases that are scattered around e.g. Finschafen also shows how much more easy it
would have been to disperse troops in the area. Allied air attacks could never have hurt Japanese ground troops
as much as it does in WitP.

If supplies could be stored in safe locations and troops less exposed to air attacks
I think the game would have slowed down a bit - which I personally think would have been a good thing.

[Mynok]

Tanks to the Marianas!?!? [X(] I would send them to New Guinea personally.

That's what you call a 'near miss'

Also known as a scatological moment.
[:D]

[Speedysteve]

ORIGINAL: PzB

One of the Oscars even DAMAGED a Corsair...WOooo!

[:D]

[Honda]

ORIGINAL: Mynok
Tanks to the Marianas!?!? [X(] I would send them to New Guinea personally.

It was done. I'm sure about Saipan.

[Mynok]

So Saipan is where NASCAR began. I have visions of tankettes driving in circles on tiny islands........ [:D]

[Speedysteve]

Do you take drugs or drink too much aswell?[:D]

[PzB74]

The tankettes are really Tigers in disguise! A Kurt 'Panzer' Meyer arrived from Germany with his regiment
for a little R&R in the sun [:D]

As a curiosity: In June 1943 the Jap Ambassador in Germany, General Oshima, was shown a Tiger from SPzABT 502.
A single Tiger was sold to Japan but never delivered due to the war situation and was loaned by Japan to the German
Army (sSSPzAbt 101).

I got a tank regiment at Wewak - it will probably be demolished by 500 bombers by the end of the year...
Someone suggested that tanks would be great to help repulse an Allied landing. I liked the idea, so I'm putting
one tank regiments on Pagan, Saipan, Tinian and Guam. I'm also hoping to place a full regiment of combat engineers
on each of these islands. If Ken want's those Allied to bomb the Home Island he will have to fight for them!

Any other approach will buy me more time, so I expect to profit from it whether Ken invades the Marianas or not [8D]

Here's the distribution of the remaining tank units:

Burma: 1
India:2
New Guinea: 1
China: 1
Manila: 1 tank div
Kwantung: 1 tank div

I'm not going to receive more of them and this is the best deployment I could come up with.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/23/43

Bombardments

I appreciate all the time the brave defenders of Buin can give me!

Naval bombardment of Buin, at 64,92

Allied Ships
DD Isaac Sweers
DD Monssen
DD Jenkins
DD Conway
CL Honolulu
CL Hobart
CA Shropshire

Japanese ground losses:
87 casualties reported
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

Ken has received T-bolts - great! [8|]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 52nd Naval Guard Unit, at 64,92

Allied aircraft
P-47C Thunderbolt x 17
PB4Y Liberator x 9

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
54 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Mynok]

Do you take drugs or drink too much aswell?

Apparently hallucinogenic beer is what I drink too much of........ [:'(]

The tankettes are really Tigers in disguise!

Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroooooni...........

[anarchyintheuk]

Great map. There has to be some sort of story behind the name Cape Cretin. I'd never heard of it before.

[PzB74]

I'm not sure Anarchy...there is one Lieutenant Cretin back in the 1770s. He sailed with the explorer
Beautemps-Beaupre in the late 1700th century. Could be that this Cretin was only unlucky with his name [;)]

Cretin (chretien) was originally a French name that meant 'Christian'!

[Mynok]

I guess I don't want to know what Cape Bushing means then.........

[PzB74]

Me neither [;)]

Ken is moving on...to Gasmata! I thought he might have waited for another day or
two, but still - we're ready to strike back! (I'm usually moving my pawns back and forth
on the board and try to pound when a favorable situation appears. Sometimes I simply
back down and there will be nothing to tell. This time it's different!)

My plan is outlined in the situation map and given a closer explanation.
The next turn should be interesting!

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/24/43

Bombardments

There were several bombardment attacks today against Shortland and Buin.
Tomorrow I hope to catch some of these offenders and show them the Bushido
spirit [8D]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Buin, at 64,92

Allied Ships
DD Isaac Sweers
DD Monssen
DD Jenkins
DD Conway
CL Honolulu
CL Hobart
CA Shropshire

Japanese ground losses:
24 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Shortlands, at 63,93

Allied Ships
CL Denver
CL Columbia
CA San Francisco
BB Oklahoma

Japanese ground losses:
81 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 9
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Buin, at 64,92

Allied Ships
DD Isaac Sweers
DD Monssen
DD Jenkins
DD Conway
CL Honolulu
CL Hobart
CA Shropshire

Japanese ground losses:
65 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Invasions

This landing was very quick and took place very late in the turn.
Impressive!

Coastal Guns at Gasmata, 59,90, firing at TF 1063
TF 1063 troops unloading over beach at Gasmata, 59,90

119 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
MSW Champion
CL Nashville, Shell hits 2
DD Strong, Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
32 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
1249 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

Gasmata was again hammered heavily! In return 2 Chinese bases were
hit and more than 20 ac destroyed on the ground. The British bombers there
are still receiving limited replacements.

Day Air attack on Yunan , at 38,32

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 12
Ki-49 Helen x 50

Allied aircraft
I-16c x 1

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
I-16c: 1 damaged
Blenheim IV: 2 destroyed
Wellington III: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
24 casualties reported

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Chungking , at 43,32

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 35
Ki-21 Sally x 78
Ki-48 Lily x 37
Ki-49 Helen x 26

Allied aircraft
I-16c x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 1 destroyed
Ki-48 Lily: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
I-16c: 3 destroyed
SB-2c: 4 destroyed
IL-4c: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
24 casualties reported

Airbase hits 24
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 78
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Gasmata , at 59,90

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 13
Catalina I x 1
Kittyhawk I x 9
P-40N Warhawk x 3
P-38G Lightning x 13
A-20G Havoc x 8
B-25J Mitchell x 45

Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 59
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ken managed to land an impressive number of troops in the afternoon phase...
after it actually [:'(] He's getting good... No way Gasmata can be saved.

Ground combat at Gasmata

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 2737 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 11758 troops, 85 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported
Guns lost 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Buin

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 7978 troops, 91 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 6252 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese ground losses:
12 casualties reported
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Map: Action - Reaction

The map shows the combined air and sea efforts that have been put in place to disrupt the Allied plans.

*) At the Admirality Islands, Emirau and Kavieng Betty bombers and escorts have been placed in readiness
together with my Nick fighter bombers. They will attack enemy shipping of Gasmata tomorrow. Their success depends
on several factors; weather and enemy LRCAP. The first I can do nothing about, the second I'm going to try to affect [;)]

*) A fast carrier group under Yamaguichi will move only a few hexes away from Rabaul with all their fighters put on 90% CAP
and range set to 0. All their bombers have been stood down. The plan is to use my carriers as a threat. I do not want to get
my naval aviators splashed down all over New Britain as Ken put Corsairs on CAP over Gasmata [8|]

*) A heavy surface group will move at flank speed to Buin and attempt to hurt Ken's transports and bombardment groups.
I don't think he's expecting this at this point and night fighting is still our 'specialit'!

*) 2 surface combat groups will move in at flank speed from their position just below the Admirality Islands. Buna is 6 hexes
away and I hope to destroy enemy transports or surface units here. A heavier bombardment group with 7 cruisers has been
ordered to bombard the heavily populated air fields. If all goes according to plan Ken's ability to put LRCAP over Gasmata will
be at least reduced.

*) At Hansa more than 150 Sallys and 27 crack Zeros will take off and hit Salamua and attempt to disrupt the airfields here -
further disrupting Allied air units.

The aim is not to stop the invasion of Gasmata but to make it as costly as possible. I hope to avoid serious naval losses - but
I am expecting the pesky PT boats to make life miserable. A combined and strong effort is usually the most efficient means of
hurting your opponent, I just hope my timing is good and that Murphy is on our side... [&o][&o]

To be continued

[PzB74]

Here is a small piece of last turns operational report. Shows some of the activity
that usually isn't reported in AARs.

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR 06/24/43

B5N Kate attacking Sealion at 35,73

H8K Emily attacking Grenadier at 64,91

H8K Emily attacking Haddock at 86,54

E13A1 Jake has spotted Thomas Nelson at 55,91
SLDR Swales T. of No. 54 RAAF Sqdn is credited with kill number 3

E7K2 Alf has spotted 592G at 55,91
FLT Ellsworth L. of 111 Squadron RCAF is credited with kill number 2

Ki-46-II Dinah takes recon photos of Yunan
1LT Doan G. of 29th CFS is credited with kill number 11

[Alikchi2]

E13A1 Jake has spotted Thomas Nelson at 55,91

That Jake pilot must be a very good spotter, he's IDing individual people now [;)]

[PzB74]

Aye, he was flying at 20 ft when that Kittyhawk got him [;)]

An interesting turn...

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/25/43

Surface Combat

The lousy routines allowed a fat Allied transport fleet to escape from my 30 knot
warship squadrons today..only a few barges left [:(] At least there were no PT boats!

Night Time Surface Combat, near Dobodura at 55,91

Japanese Ships
CA Myoko
CA Ashigara
CL Yura
CL Oi
DD Makigumo
DD Kiyonami
DD Hatsukaze
DD Natsugumo
DD Shiratsuyu
DD Suzukaze

Allied Ships
LCVP 532G
LCVP 532J
LCVP 532K, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
LCVP 532L
LCVP 532M, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
LCVP 532N, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the 'real thing' - seems like the Fleet misses Tanaka cause this great opportunity
was wasted. Really dissappointing!

Night Time Surface Combat, near Buin at 64,92

Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Maya
CA Chokai, Shell hits 1
CA Mogami
CL Agano, Shell hits 2
DD Shimakaze
DD Akigumo
DD Murasame, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Fubuki, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Isonami, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Shirayuki, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Shropshire, Shell hits 1
CL Hobart
CL Honolulu, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Conway, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Jenkins
DD Monssen, Shell hits 1
DD Isaac Sweers, Shell hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ken also wants to play and sank a few barges in return..Strangly enough the
surface TF stayed put!?

Night Time Surface Combat, near Gasmata at 59,90

Japanese Ships
AG AG-108
AG AG-113, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
AG AG-358
AG AG-2050, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
AG AG-2051, Shell hits 6, and is sunk

Allied Ships
BB Indiana
CA Northampton
CA Houston
DD Reid
DD Balch
DD Aylwin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bombardments

Todays best achievement: 30 ac destroyed on the ground and 2000+ casualties!

Naval bombardment of Dobodura, at 55,91

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 2 destroyed
Beaufighter Mk 21: 5 destroyed
B-25J Mitchell: 1 destroyed
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed
A-20G Havoc: 1 destroyed
SBD Dauntless: 1 destroyed
F4U-1 Corsair: 2 destroyed
P-40N Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Nachi
CA Haguro
CL Kitakami
CL Oyodo
CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
CA Mikuma

Allied ground losses:
2009 casualties reported [:D] Yeah, reminds me of the good ole days..
Guns lost 13
Vehicles lost 22

Airbase hits 7 - all these hits can't be making Ken's supply situation any better!
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 46
Port hits 20
Port fuel hits 15
Port supply hits 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Shortlands, at 63,93

Allied Ships - The Allied bombardment TFs are still puny
CL Denver
CL Columbia
CA San Francisco
BB Oklahoma

Japanese ground losses:
97 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 6
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

Todays air strikes were nothing of the ordinary..but I'm SO annoyed because
we missed a great price. The battleship Indiana + cruisers and escorts was left
at Gasmata with a mere 20 ac flying CAP. If more of my naval bombers had coordinated
their attacks they could have got her. If I had deared to order my carriers to strike they
would all have been in serious trouble! But that's all good in hindsight.

Either all the Allied ac on Buna were airborne or my Sallys couldn't hit squat..still quite a bit of
damage left for the engineers to clean up when the day ended. It is good that we can hit back
like this from time to time. I'm the first to admit that it's risky...but it forces Ken to protect his
assets and that equals less offensive power.

Day Air attack on Buna , at 55,90

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
Ki-21 Sally x 141

Allied aircraft
Spitfire Vb x 10
Kittyhawk I x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 3 destroyed, 15 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Spitfire Vb: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
Kittyhawk I: 5 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
27 casualties reported

Airbase hits 30
Airbase supply hits 13
Runway hits 116
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ken continued to hit Gasmata to ensure its capture!

Day Air attack on Gasmata , at 59,90

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 6
Catalina I x 1
Kittyhawk I x 9
P-40N Warhawk x 3
P-38G Lightning x 14
A-20G Havoc x 6
B-25J Mitchell x 40

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
23 casualties reported

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 52
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Dobodura at 55,91 - this raid wasn't too bad..but these ships should have
been sunk by todays surface raiders *annoyed*

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 13

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 6
Hurricane II x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Zachary Taylor, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Stephen M. White, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Gasmata at 59,90

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 19
G4M1 Betty x 15

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 10
P-40E Warhawk x 15

Japanese aircraft losses - the Corsairs were a lot of fun as usual. Not a single one of them even caught a scratch [8|]
A6M2 Zero: 14 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 8 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied Ships - sooo close to hitting this already smoking kettle!
BB Indiana

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reaper has his pay as the wounded are finished of...The 2 destroyers are
todays most unfortunate losses. One sinks right away while another one will
probably follow suit tomorrow.

Day Air attack on TF at 64,88

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 34
SBD Dauntless x 24

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
DD Shirayuki, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 64,89

Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 27

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

I was surprised when the defenders at Gasmata managed to hold of the attackers!
The Australians suffered heavy casualties in a shock attack. Perhaps they will stall
for another few days now? Forts are 0 + 139% and building...!?

Ground combat at Gasmata

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 11740 troops, 84 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 5540 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles

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

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Japanese ground losses:
142 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Allied ground losses: [:D] Not yet, not yet my friend!
656 casualties reported
Guns lost 19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Buin

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8036 troops, 95 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 6179 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 8 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
9 casualties reported

Allied ground losses: [8D] This is going to keep Ken frustrated!
108 casualties reported
Guns lost 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Battle of Buin - indecisive draw