Speedy vs Swift - Jap perspective. Fight to the death

[Rob Brennan UK]

Never seen th chinese invade vietnam before .. and 4 free divs for you , cool ! .. they are about equal to chinese units i believe but add in a jap unit and its massively strenghened. I suspect hes going for the HI etc in hanoi in a quick strike. He takes it , you recapture and its permanently 1/4'rd ! argh.

Looking at that map of china he must be absolutely desperate !

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

Never seen th chinese invade vietnam before .. and 4 free divs for you , cool ! .. they are about equal to chinese units i believe but add in a jap unit and its massively strenghened. I suspect hes going for the HI etc in hanoi in a quick strike. He takes it , you recapture and its permanently 1/4'rd ! argh.

Looking at that map of china he must be absolutely desperate !

Desparation-driven diversions are always a waste... never divert from your plans to react to them.

Have fun -

Dave

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Dave - a very well made point. It's easy to let cetrain things focus your attention in this game.

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A 2 day report.

On 9th July Werner foolishly sent Marauders and P40's over Luganville. He admitted thta he didn't mean to and thought he had grounded them all. Whatever. It cost him 30 planes to 3 Zeros.........

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On the 10th action occured in Luganville area and China........

At Luganville the 65th Brigade + 2 large SNLF units are boarding transports. Destination: Efate. They will leave on 11th.

Also KB 1 + 2 left Luganville bearing NW. Time for the hunt to begin.......

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In China. The rag tag assembly of battered Chinese forces was routed almost at an instant by my advancing men. Only 60 miles to Kunming now......

[Rob Brennan UK]

I do like your china approach .. nice going .. and SW pacific too. glad im not fighting you !

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

The northern prong in China nears Kungchang. Today they swept aside the pultry formation of 3 Chinese units and smashed them back into Kungchang. Only 60 miles to go and 12 units await us........

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Just checking on production and in 3 weeks time i'll start churning out Tony's and Tojo's at 52 and 50 p/m respectively. Do the Oscar I factories upgrade to either of these automatically? [8D]

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In the South Pacific a resupply convoy bound for Luganville was attacked by SS Tautog. The git put a fish into a loaded TK which exploded in a pall of flames. I had to scuttle her since she was 1/2 way between Lunga and Luganville!

Tomorrow the invasion fleet leaves Luganville for Efate. The 65th Brigade will spearhead the attack along with 2 large SNLF's. According to intel only 1 unit is there (probably a BF). Lets hope it's correct. Nagato, Mutsu and Yamato will provide fire support......

KB changed its course due west today.....before turning south and then into open waters to feed [:)]

Below shows the location of KB at present.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Just checking on production and in 3 weeks time i'll start churning out Tony's and Tojo's at 52 and 50 p/m respectively. Do the Oscar I factories upgrade to either of these automatically?

Fraid not imo. they auto convert to oscar2 then frank i think .

Nice sensible A/c production there , i see too many people building 300+ tonys /mo .. that has got to kill jap HI for any long term gameplay.

maybe head south to between sydney and NK with KB as i bet he;s diverted a lot of convoys much further south, got any LR float planes to luganville yet ? a dozen emilys would give him the screaming heebie jeebies .. not much escapes them recon wise.

and dont forget MSW for efate ops .. i know granny n eggs .. but i never hurts .. i still forget bombard escorts about 1/4 of the time [:(]

[fabertong]

Steven.....do you know what he has at Nomea?

[Speedysteve]

Hi guys [:)]

Rob -

Tojo's/Tony's - Yeah I may increase if needed. The plan is to upgrade 4 x Oscar Sentai in Burma to Tojo's/Tony's. I will probably change production of the Oscar I's to Tony's/Tojo's too. In fact I may do now. I have about 200 in the pool from memory.

KB - Thats the plan for starters. Inbetween Aus and NC. I may even do some port raiding on Sydney or Auckland (both show as heavy shipping in port). I like doing that and that move has been successful against both Nik and Dadman. We'll see what we find. The key for starters is to remain 12 hexes from Aus or NC to avoid Catalina detection.

Luganville - Yes I have 9 x Emily's there. I plan to move another 1 or 2 groups down.

Efate - Yup. I have 8 x MSW's to escort the convoy through [8D]

Faber -

Recon indicates 17 units. I expect several divisions. I think i'll land at La Foa and march down. It is to be a long operation though (3-4 months potentially). I know this means it drags upto 43 but it will be the decisive battle with regard to AV. The plan is to subject the place to waves and waves of bombers and sea bombardments to nullify it for any offensive action. When suppressed the transports will move to La Foa.

Of course the first key stage is to capture Efate to secure that flank (I don't plan to base much there (maybe an SNLF as guard)) and to expand Luganville to a level 6 airfield and port. At present it's at level 3 (30% to level 4). Once expanded. Nells and Sallies/Helens will be moved in also.

Thanks for the comments guys [8D]

Steven

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Well the invasion of Efate has started on schedule! What was not exopcted was for a NZ Bde, USMC Para and USMC CD Bn + BF to be there! No major concern my men should be able to survive against this but I will need additional forces to take the place. As such 48th Division + 15th ENG Rgt at Luganville are boarding transports as we speak......

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Actually Efate was an interesting place all round. Firstly as expected mines were present but the MSW's cleared those buggers.

Secondly, SS S-45 which had been hit by a FP previously popped up to say hello and put a gish into a loaded AP. No serious damage sustained though. Hit again later in the day by a Pete. Sink you bugger! [;)]

Thirdly, Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu & Co found a lurking PT which was blown up and proceeded to blast the place throughout the day. 29 planes had been destroyed by the end of the day (22 P39, 7 SBD) and 700 Allied men hit.

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Other news -

SS I-165 patrolling near the coast of India was found by 4 Brit DD's and sunk with all hands.

KB - starts her move south inbetween Australia and NC. Undetected as yet.

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Here's Efate:

[Rob Brennan UK]

You may want to switch over the Oscar2 RnD factory as well. just swop over a smaller one so the Oscar2 new arrivals will have planes.

Ohh even more prisoners at efate .. great news

I think you will get a nice haul of points from this little operation.. congrats

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay. RL has recently taken over!

Yesterday was a mixed fortunes day.

Werner unleashed his LBA from Noumea for a varierty of anti-shipping strikes at both Luganville and Efate. I assume he figured that since my CAP was divided between covering Luganville and the Efate invasion fleet he had more chance of success. A logical decision.

As it turned out he was not overly successful and only succeeded in sinking an AK at Luganville and achieved a few insignificant hits on Nagato/Mutsu and Yamato.

The Zero's did struggle with the heavies though and 14 were lost. Werner did lose 44 planes over the day though.

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The other frustration - KB was spotted by a PBY. Curses. The following KB TF took a route that led it 1 hex within PBY range from Noumea! Ah well. We carry on south and if no TF's are found Sydney port will be bombed and maybe a strike on Auckland too and then back upto Luganville.

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My men on Efate attempted to storm the place today. Only level 1 forts were encountered but the men lacking supplies did not achieve much. The division, ENG Rgt + supplies are leaving Luganville tomorrow to bolster the attack.

Here's the daily air loss tally:

[Rob Brennan UK]

1-1 Zero vs B17 isnt bad at all .. and the p40B's are a bonus as the replacment rate for these planes suck.

good luck with the KB raid .. maybe set a few float planes on recon before you risk a port strike. no point hitting an empty port after all. [:D]

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

Both Werner and I have been busy with RL of late so apologies..........

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Today the 48th Division and 15th ENG Rgt reached Efate and were protected by the big guns of Ise and Hyuga. No shipping was hit. The men should be on land within 2 days.

Werner used his heavies today to attempt to hit shipping at Luganville and Efate. The Forts and Libs faught valiantly whilst downing 8 Zero's. My boys returned the favour with lead and downed 26 enemy aircraft today (13 Forts, 4 Libs....)

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China - The Army is 20 miles from Kunming. One of the last key place s to fall before China is decapitated.

Burma - From Akyab the men have marched 110 miles of the first 120 miles. It leaves 70 more miles of trail to be navigated. The gopod news is that I have 3 crack Oscar Sentai's in the region. Within 2 weeks i'll be producing 50+ Tojo's and Tony's. These boys will receive the planes first and will probably be based at Akyab to provide CAP.

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KB was NOT spotted today which is good news.....she continues to proceed south......her current position is shown below.

[ADavidB]

KB was NOT spotted today which is good news.....she continues to proceed south......her current position is shown below.

What's your fuel situation for the KB? How far south can you go before you start to refuel your DDs? You don't want to be too far south and have daily ship-to-ship refueling required on the way back. That's bad news if your opponent gets behind you with his carriers.

Good luck -

Dave Baranyi

[Speedysteve]

Hi Dave,

A valid point for sure. It's ok for now. I have attached a screenie of KB1 below. I have an ethical dilemma. As it stands in game you can judge what your opponent has where by the airfield and port symbols. You'll see from the screenie that Auckland appears to be packed with aircraft and ships. I'm VERY tempted to move KB down there and attack the place. But it does strike me as a little unfair to base this attack purely on MAP intel rather than REAL intel. What are your thoughts readers?

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Today was an intersting day logistic wise.

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At Efate 3/4 of the troops are ashore and all should be by tomorrow. CD fire was still heavy and 2 MSW will probably sink and 3 AP's are moderately damaged.

Yamato, Nagato and Mutsu & Co move in tomorrow to shell the place.

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Akagi is empty of water at Tulagi [8D]

Escorted by 4 DD's she'll move to Truk to refuel and then onto Maizuru to be repaired.

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Also today CA Atago had been repairing at Hong Kong after being hit by a Dutch Sub torp in early January 1942. She was lucky to survive then and was at Kuching for weeks. Now fully repaired she is moving with DD Ushio to Truk for further operations.

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To keep Werner on his toes the A6M3's based at Akyab have been ordered to sweep Imphal tomorrow. Recon indicated 12 Hurri's flying CAP today.

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SS I-11 had success today in the Pacific Ocean inbetween PH and San Fran. The 2 convoys that had been moving from Fuji area and had been tracked by subs and attacked (with losses to my subs) over the past 3 weeks. 3 further subs had been ordered on an interceot course and today the empty TK Byron D Benson was hit by a torpedo. The subs survied. Well done lads. 2 more subs await.....[8D]

[ADavidB]

A valid point for sure. It's ok for now. I have attached a screenie of KB1 below. I have an ethical dilemma. As it stands in game you can judge what your opponent has where by the airfield and port symbols. You'll see from the screenie that Auckland appears to be packed with aircraft and ships. I'm VERY tempted to move KB down there and attack the place. But it does strike me as a little unfair to base this attack purely on MAP intel rather than REAL intel. What are your thoughts readers?

It's been part of the Game design since the beginning, and was part of the Game design in UV too. I never agreed with it, but the Designers have always liked it for some reason. Therefore, since both sides benefit from it, it isn't gamey at all to use that knowledge.

Don't forget, in two more days your DDs will start to slow down your TF by sucking fuel from your cruisers. By Day 4 from now you will only be able to do half of your usual speed. If you use a lot of air points at Auckland and your opponent brings a carrier TF to your current position, odds are that he will get the jump on you in a battle if you return by the same route.

That said, I'd still go for Auckland anyway, and maybe "lose" my DDs afterwards in order to maintain speed of my carriers.

Good luck.

Dave

[Speedysteve]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your thoughts. Much appreciated [:)]

I have ordered KB to move SE. I had ordered them to move SE anyhow (to find TF's). I predict within 3-4 days they could be in range of Auckland. I'm not overly worried by his CV's to be honest. He can only have a maximum of 2 US CV's. Apart from Akagi all of mine are present and fully equipped.

The current plan is to move against Auckland and then upto Luganville to refuel. From there the target will be the suppression and capture of Noumea.

Thanks again for your thoughts [8D]

Steven

[witpqs]

My $.02 on the intel. The map symbols vary somewhat by the intel your side has - sigint, etc. - and sometimes it's wrong. Not gamey at all.

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

A 2 day update since things are generally slow moving......

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In China one of the key battles is about to begin. THe main army has reached Kunming. The first Japanese artillery shells will begin raining death tomorrow [:)]

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The sweep of 27 A6M3 from Akyab to Imphal worked a treat. Werner appeared to be totally surprised and only 5 Hurricanes rose to meet my trained aviators. All 5 were despatched to the ground with no losses on my side.

I rested the men on 18th but it's Kohima's turn on the 19th.........

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At Efate. I still haven't manged to capture the place! Almost all the additional men have landed but i'm a little low on supplies so 16000 more tonnes are to leave Luganville tomorrow.

Here's the results of the latest deliberate attack:

Ground combat at Efate

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 30328 troops, 242 guns, 1 vehicles

Defending force 8011 troops, 89 guns, 4 vehicles

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


Japanese ground losses:
921 casualties reported
Guns lost 11

Allied ground losses:
321 casualties reported
Guns lost 8
Vehicles lost 1

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KB is nearing Auckland! I wonder what (if anything is based there). We'll soon find out.........

[Speedysteve]

Hi all,

An interesting day with action across the whole theatre of operations.

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Starting in Burma the 27 A6M3's based at Akyab flew over Kohima today to intercept any enemy air presence. 9 Hurricanes were flying CAP and were totally surprised. This being the 1st air raid on Kohima since the war's start! Within 12 minutes the experienced Zero pilots had downed 7 of them and left the scene without losing a single plane or pilot. Average experience is now upto 72 [8D]

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In China the first shells were thrown at the Chinese in Kunming today. The place looks weak and ready for the taking. 42 enemy units may have been detected but they are a disorganised rabble that is outnumbered 3.5:1 (350,000 vs 100,000). My men will launch an attack tomorrow.

In the north the army has reached Kungchang. Tomorrow probes and artillery barrages will be launched.

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In the South Pacific LBA from Noumea attacked shipping at Efate and Luganville. In total 18 enemy mediums and heavies were shot down for the loss of 3 Zero's. The only damaged sustained on shipping was the DD Manazuru which took 5 bomb hits and sank just off Luganville.

Also 3 x MSW's sank today due to damage sustained by CD fire at Efate. More supplies are unloading at Efate and an attack will probably go in in about 2-3 days time. Every day battlewagons are shelling the place to keep the Allied men 'honest'.

I can't wait for the 20th July. KB will be in range to attack Auckland! Today a Hudson spotted my approaching ships but I don't overly care. With my projected course no shipping will be able to move far enough in the night to escape my planes. All the Vals and Kates have been ordered to attack enemy TF's and the port as a secondary goal.

To 'scare' the populace an Alf flew over today to 'fly the flag' [:)]