Mostly 'silent turns' - A lot of bombing attacks, mine actions and small surface actions.
A tf under Tanaka reacted to 2 PT boats and a SC at Irau and then went back to base. This actually ruined my planned
mission to intercept FT tf's at Nevea [:o]
Long range fighter-bombers and subs are intercepting barge traffic to and from Irau. This is the cheapest way for me to
ferry troops and supplies - even though I loose a score now and then.
Mike got married on Saturday! Congratulations and cheers mate [:)] This one's on me
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 04/20/43
Weather: Rain
Sub attack at 41,44
Japanese Ships
AG 361, Shell hits 14, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Grayback
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 41,44
Japanese Ships
AG 367, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
The silence after the storm is getting disturbed by heavy bombing raids every single turn now.
Subs are praying on my barge traffic and I'm really not offering much opposition. My navy rests,
trying to prepare for the final round!
Reinforcements are trickling in all the time, but can't be compared to what the other side is getting.
Lily bombers carrying 8*100kg bombs
Zeke fighter bombers capable of delivering a 250kg bomb - might turn in handy. A max range of 8 limits its efficiency though!
Tokyo has also finally released capital ships [&o] My prayers have been heard....
I'm still 5900 points ahead, 100 points are getting 'reeled in' by bombing and sub raids each month now.
So my strategy is simple;
I'll prepare for one last major allied assault - should probably not happen for another 2-3-4 months
Irau is acting as a buffer, absorbing all the heat Crocky can throw at it. Forts are up, but I don't envy the poor buggers defending the malaria pit.
Any assault on Lunga will have to come through here as long as naval air power can't be projected to cover the invasion fleets.
If he comes the same old way, we'll defeat him the same old way [:D]
That's why I'm also upgrading the forts on PM and GG. An invasion here will also be extremely risky unless a new allied carrier fleet can be
put together to provide air cover. I'm having big bases at Lae, Buna, Gasmata, Woodlark etc - and should be able to land a lot of heat on a
wanna be invader!
If I were the ole Crock, I'd feint towards one of these objectives and then launch an all out offensive when the IJN and IJA deployed to meet the threat.
But since I'm aware of this possiblity - I'll be prepared for it [:-]
When I went diving on Stradbroke Island I saw a t-shirt I liked:
There are no Crocs here, cause the sharks ate em all [:D]
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 04/26/43
Weather: Rain
Sub attack at 41,44
Allied Ships
SS Grayback
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 41,44
Japanese Ships
AG 114, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Grayback
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 21
B-25D Mitchell x 21
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 17
Port supply hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-25D Mitchell at 6000 feet
4 x B-25D Mitchell at 6000 feet
3 x B-25D Mitchell at 6000 feet
5 x B-25D Mitchell at 6000 feet
6 x B-25D Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 12
no losses
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 115th Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 37
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 36
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
6 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
4 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
6 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 40,40
The heaviest air raid thus far today, 111 B-17's hit Irau! Allies took 13 op losses + 2 to flak this
turn - including 6 Forts and 2 Liberators.
Something strange happened, I observed 7 LCVP's at Bia - 2 hexes above Irau. It seems like they've
unloaded the 1/12 Naval Construction Bat! [&:] I asked Crocky whether he was returning them after
a little R&R.....
The Allied effort against Irau is quite considerable, I've been evacuating surplus troops with barges,
(Not without losses) and brought in supplies. A couple more months of this, and the place will be one
big crater.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 04/29/43
Weather: Clear
Air attack on Port Moresby , at 10,40
Allied aircraft
Hudson x 14
P-38G Lightning x 41
B-25J Mitchell x 45
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 15
Port hits 7
Port supply hits 3
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
2 x Hudson at 6000 feet
12 x Hudson at 6000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43 - The results of such big raids actually
ain't much better than what is achieved by 10-20 bombers.
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 18
B-17E Fortress x 111
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 70
Port hits 7
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 4
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
7 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Irau at 42,43
Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIC x 18
no losses
Japanese Ships
AG 104, Shell hits 4, on fire
AG 2061, Shell hits 8
AG 5069, Shell hits 16, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 105, Shell hits 4
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 82
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
Hudson x 13
Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
AP Kembu Maru
DD Kazegumo
DD Oboro
Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x Hudson at 6000 feet
3 x Hudson at 6000 feet
4 x Hudson at 6000 feet
1 x Hudson at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 9
Allied aircraft losses
PB4Y Liberator x 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
AP Mikage Maru #20
AP Naniwa Maru, Bomb hits 1
DD Oboro
Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
2 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Irau at 42,43 The Beaufighters is surely an active bunch,
they strike each and every turn.....
Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIC x 18
no losses
Japanese Ships
AG 2067, Shell hits 28, heavy damage
AG 103, Shell hits 4
Hehe would be my pleasure, could you pls move em up towards Shortlands [:)]
But they did unload the partial Naval Construction unit - so maybe they're rid of their 'ghosts'?
"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Lots of LCVP's and LCM's around Lunga to Vila - not to willing to let my bombers take them out since many of the pilots still hasn't reached the 'how to land' part of their basic flight training.... [8|]
PT boats are waiting at Irau for my barges to return - they have to be running on fumes, if not recon reports are correct and there is an AK with em that provides fuel.
A historic first strike today as my brand new Zekes launches a strike against the LCVP's.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/04/43
Weather: Thunderstorms
Air attack on TF at 34,37
Japanese aircraft
A6M5-B Zeke x 11
no losses
Allied Ships
LCVP 12/2ESB
LCVP 9/2ESB
LCVP 4/2ESB, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Caught a couple of small fish today when I was out huntin' PT's [;)]
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/07/43
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Night Time Surface Combat, near Irau at 42,43
The total MSW catch for this game is now 8 MSW's and 3 DMS'
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara
DD Susuzuki
DD Makigumo
DD Natsugumo
DD Yamagumo
DD Hatsushima
Allied Ships
MSW Requisite, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
MSW Heed, Shell hits 26, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 42,44
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara
Allied Ships
SS Guardfish
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 15
A-20G Havoc x 29
A-20G Boston x 15
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 3
Port hits 3
Attacking Level Bombers:
12 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
3 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
9 x A-20G Boston at 4000 feet
3 x A-20G Boston at 4000 feet
3 x A-20G Boston at 4000 feet
14 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
Beaufort x 9
Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort x 1 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x Beaufort at 100 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 24
no losses
Attacking Level Bombers:
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 33,36
Japanese aircraft
E13A1 Jake x 4
no losses
Allied Ships
LCVP 18/2ESB, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 33,36
Japanese aircraft
E13A1 Jake x 7
no losses
Allied Ships
LCVP 18/2ESB, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
LCVP 8/2ESB, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Irau at 42,43
Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIC x 23
no losses
Japanese Ships
AG 365, Shell hits 20, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 363, Shell hits 12, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AG 364, Shell hits 12, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 354, Shell hits 12
AG 2050, Shell hits 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 33,36
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
D3A Val x 14
no losses
Allied Ships
LCVP 18/2ESB, on fire, heavy damage
LCVP 8/2ESB, on fire, heavy damage
Last turn 4 DMS swept mines outside Luganville and Kingfishers reconed over Irau.
I suspected something was in the doing, but didn't send in more than a light Cl/DD tf
to intercept enemy forces at Irau.
Indeed there was a brawl, old US battlewagons, cruisers and destroyers came in
and bombarded/swept mines at Irau.
I had hoped for a surprise Long Lance attack, unfortunately none of my torps hit home.
2 of my dd's were shot out of the water, one of them victim to DD Sims alone. Must have
landed 25 5" hits. (Guess the first ship to go was my radar equipped DD [:'(] )
Outnumbered I was quite happy to get the remaining 4 ships back home in one piece.
Another handful of barges fell victim to the Allied guns, but that's about it. I don't think this
is the beginning of another invasion of Irau - more likely part of a ongoing campaign to
bomb it into rubble before invading in 1-2-3 months time.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/09/43
Weather: Thunderstorms
Night Time Surface Combat, near Irau at 42,43
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara, Shell hits 1
DD Susuzuki
DD Makigumo, Shell hits 1
DD Natsugumo, Shell hits 28, and is sunk
DD Yamagumo
DD Hatsushima, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Irau at 42,43
Japanese Ships
AG 5031, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
AG 5032, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
AG 5033, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AG 5050
AG 5068, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
AG 5087
AG 5089
We're making at least 2 turns a day and we're already halfway into may 43....
Irau has been bombed into the stone ago, and I pity the troops there. Supplies are
trickling in through barge traffic though, and I should be able to keep the men alive
on 1/8 rations until the war ends :p
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/15/43
Weather: Thunderstorms
Night Time Surface Combat at 35,40 - I'm slowly taking out Crockys LCVP's loaded
with ghosts. Jake float planes and PC's is all the effort I could spare.
Japanese Ships
PC Toshi Maru #3
PC Ch 12
Allied Ships
LCVP 12/2ESB, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 40,42
Allied Ships
SS Grayback
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 40,42
Allied Ships
SS Grayback
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
F-5A Lightning x 3
B-25J Mitchell x 16
no losses
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
16 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
Last turn another huge bombardment group with 4 DMS swept mines at Irau, sank the large ML Tsugaru and bombarded the place :p
Today the weather was clear and I ordered a LR CAP over the place as I'd been noticing that rather few Lightnings have been escorting
the daily bombing raids. Managed to down some planes, but my own op losses made up for it....( Approx 10-11 ac lost to each side this turn.
The are a lot of recon missions, both over San Christobal and NG.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/17/43
Weather: Clear
Sub attack at 34,36
Japanese Ships - Subs really infest the waters between Vila and Irau, they're staying in deep waters though.
Can live with it when they spend a full torp salvo on a barge :]
AG 2054, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Albacore
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 34,36
Japanese Ships
AG 102, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Albacore
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 25
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 46
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 7 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 33
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
Allied aircraft
TBF Avenger x 12
P-38G Lightning x 15
A-20G Havoc x 11
A-20G Boston x 9
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
TBF Avenger x 2 destroyed
TBF Avenger x 1 damaged
P-38G Lightning x 1 destroyed
A-20G Havoc x 2 destroyed
A-20G Havoc x 3 damaged
PO2 G.Araki of F1/Tainan Daitai is credited with kill number 4
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 6
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x A-20G Boston at 4000 feet
10 x TBF Avenger at 5000 feet
5 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
4 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 81
no losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell x 3 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 27
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
3 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
14 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
14 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
7 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
4 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
6 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Kirakira at 42,42
Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIC x 24
no losses
Japanese Ships
AG 2062, Shell hits 20, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 111, Shell hits 28, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AG 2053, Shell hits 16
AG 115, Shell hits 12
Those Beau's must have a helluva stamina, cause they've been flying long range strikes for the better part of May without taking many op losses :p
Well, at least I've accomplished much of the re-organization of troops on Irau - I've 'burned' a lot of barges in the process - but they've saved my more valuable shipping a lot of pain.
The waters from Lunga to Shortland are really unsafe, a transport got torpedoed in the slot not long ago. 2 transports of Lunga got bombed yesterdar, one of them met a torp on it's way back to Lunga. Diverted 2 transports outside of the slot to get away from the subs, but still one of em got torpedoed today, scuttled it.
I'm resting my destroyers, so there's only asw ac that can hit back at the subs - they spot em - but doesn't attack them very often. A little strange since my Betty and Nell sqn's got 70-80 in average experience. The problem is that mostly the lower level experience pilots fly the asw missions, and they're just not good enough to accomplish anything. So I guess I have to live with this menace for the rest of the game....(
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/19/43
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Sub attack at 30,39
Japanese Ships
AP Ceylon Maru, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Guardfish
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 40,42
Japanese Ships
AP Kaishi Maru, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
SS Grayback
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 46
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 13
Port hits 5
Port supply hits 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 23rd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 9
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 12
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Kirakira at 42,42
Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIC x 20
no losses
Japanese Ships
AG 5087, Shell hits 8
AG 115, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG 112, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AG 113, Shell hits 8, on fire
AG 2053, Shell hits 12, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Kirakira at 42,42
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 10
A-20G Havoc x 10
A-20G Boston x 10
no losses
Japanese Ships
AG 113, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AG 2053, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
Attacking Level Bombers:
2 x A-20G Boston at 4000 feet
4 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
4 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
4 x A-20G Boston at 4000 feet
4 x A-20G Boston at 4000 feet
2 x A-20G Havoc at 4000 feet
The old crock is up to something, enemy troops have been landed by FT above Irau and a full Para Bat has landed at Taivu below Lunga.
Not sure why the paras land at Taivu, they're very alone and doesn't threaten anything. I havn't spotted any invasion armadas yet. The landing above Irau makes more sense, it can cut of my retreat route. Thar requires him to land the better part of a couple of Marine divisions though.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 43,43
Japanese Ships
SS I-5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 28
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 42
Port supply hits 2
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 23rd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 30
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 37
Attacking Level Bombers:
12 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 23rd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 31
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 57
Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
4 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Taivu
As you might understand, that last move was a little to ambitious - even for Crocky [;)]
So we've redone the last turn!
The red alert has been tuned down to a yellow one as the threat to Lunga wasn't real.
By occupying Kirakira Crocky blocked my retreat route and cut of supplies that might trickle in
from the other 'bases'.
Not sure how seriously I should take this last threat, if I spot any engineers I might
reconsider...until then they can share fate with my poor troops at Irau. Hope the paras
brought plenty of mosquito netting!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kirakira
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 1838 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 63 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 16 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Kirakira base !!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
My thanks to my esteemed opponent for being so understanding .....
Stage 1 is in effect the full force of my land based air will support landings at Kirakira and instead of an opposed landing we will force march to Irau
Will his carriers come out to play? Im expecting Surface forces to intercept the the follow up landings at Kira so there should be a hell of a surface action soon ....... with luck I should have a division ashore withing the next couple of days
His surface forces are going to have to play tag with my subs there are around 10 in the vicinity of Kira
Well, well well - it seems like the so called 'rebuild' period became substantially shorter than
initially stated [;)]
Lots of bombing missions again, as every other day of this last month - an engineer unit landed alone at Irau - not sure if this is another foul up or a suicide run!? They better have a good plan, cause the wrath of quite a few very angry Japs is about to come down on them.....
I've observed a BB tf at Kira and a cv tf made up of a CVL, CV + 3 CVE's is stationed just SE of Irau. Guess they're used to CAP the invasion force. Invasion force? I think it might be the 4-5 tf's that retreated from enemy carriers this turn <G>
Will be interesting to see whether Crocky manages to rally them back - if not he might have to send his cv's in to see what's scaring em; Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? [:D]
Sent in some Mavis recon and bomber sqd's to Luganville in an effort to get a glimpse of what's in there. Found an empty port and a sqd of night fighters. 1 Mavis down and 3 Havoc's damaged - those flying crates can surely defend themselves!
Will Irau change hands a fourth time, or is this the anvil upon which the evil kapitalist empire will finally be smashed?
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/25/43
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air attack on Kirakira , at 42,42 - First appearence of my night fighters
Japanese aircraft
J1N1-C Irving x 4
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53
Japanese aircraft
H8K Emily x 9
Allied aircraft
P-70A Havoc x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
H8K Emily x 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
P-70A Havoc x 3 damaged
Port hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 28,37 - Darned subs...
Japanese Ships
AP Yoshino Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
Allied Ships
SS Sturgeon
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
F-5A Lightning x 3
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 29
B-17E Fortress x 29
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 5
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 115th Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 10
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 5
Attacking Level Bombers:
10 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 115th Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 77
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 34
Guns lost 1
Attacking Level Bombers:
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
5 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
6 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
5 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
4 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
10 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
13 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
9 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
6 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
7 x B-25J Mitchell at 4000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 115th Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 28
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 22
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
8 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
4 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
4 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
F-5A Lightning x 2
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 9
Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
CL Yura
CA Kinugasa
CL Kinu
Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
4 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
1 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
An interesting turn, I'm mostly holding my breath to see where it's all going!
Crocky managed to evacuate the lone eng unit from Irau.
Weather is extremely bad and I stood most of my bomber sqd's down.
It seems like the CV Victorious has been released to the South Pacific.
The Allied cv tf launched strikes at a surface tf at Lunga and scored a couple of hits.
Lots of MSW's swept mines at Irau and there seems to be a gathering there.
More bad weather this turn - seems like someone has bribed the gods [:(]
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/26/43
Weather: Thunderstorms
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
F-5A Lightning x 4
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Irau , at 42,43
Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 15
B-17E Fortress x 34
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 25
Port supply hits 3
Attacking Level Bombers:
6 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Kirakira , at 42,42
Japanese aircraft
E7K2 Alf x 1
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 10
no losses
Attacking Level Bombers:
5 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
5 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 33
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 58
Attacking Level Bombers:
10 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
12 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
6 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
5 x B-25J Mitchell at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on 102nd Regiment, at 42,43
Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 27
no losses
Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 35
Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
3 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
6 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
4 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
8 x PB4Y Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 8
TBF Avenger x 4
no losses
Japanese Ships
PC Ch 12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 32
F4U-1 Corsair x 10
SBD Dauntless x 12
TBF Avenger x 23
Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless x 3 damaged
TBF Avenger x 3 damaged
Japanese Ships
CA Kinugasa, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Kinu
CL Nagara
CL Isuzu, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Yura
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 10
Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
CL Isuzu, on fire
CL Kinu
Attacking Level Bombers:
2 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
4 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
4 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
Hudson x 9
no losses
Japanese Ships
CA Kinugasa, on fire
CL Nagara
Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x Hudson at 6000 feet
4 x Hudson at 6000 feet
1 x Hudson at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 4
Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator x 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
CL Yura
Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Kirakira , at 42,42
Japanese aircraft
E7K2 Alf x 1
no losses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 38,40
Allied aircraft
Hudson x 11
Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
CA Kinugasa, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Nagara
Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x Hudson at 6000 feet
4 x Hudson at 6000 feet
3 x Hudson at 6000 feet
