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Well, it seems I got PoW in the end! Michael pulled PoW out of Esperance for fear of another port attack, but one of my subs found him and scored 3 torpedo hits. Add that to the 4 torpedo hits scored earlier and I think 7 are enough to sink PoW. I will know for sure in the next days.

ORIGINAL: Olorin

Well, it seems I got PoW in the end! Michael pulled PoW out of Esperance for fear of another port attack, but one of my subs found him and scored 3 torpedo hits. Add that to the 4 torpedo hits scored earlier and I think 7 are enough to sink PoW. I will know for sure in the next days.

nice! [:)]

ORIGINAL: Mistmatz

Interesting AAR, just finished reading up to the current state of affairs.

Regarding Kalgoorlie may I suggest a suicide LCU walking eastward on the Kalgoorlie - Port Augusta railroad. This way you will not be surprised by huge numbers of troops being railroaded into Kalgoorlie immediately after it falls. This should provide some breathing room for your withdrawal from West Australia.

I wish I had thought of this a bit earlier, good idea! Now his tanks are one hex south of Kalgoorlie and any movement eastward will be observed, but I think it's worth a try.

May 26-30

Western Australia:
I forgot to report important events concerning the air war in this theater. Three things to note:
a) On the 24th, my airforce decided to fly after a week of drinking sake while Esperance was empty. They could have flattened its airfield and port...but noooo, it's better to fly unescorted missions on the face of a 120 strong CAP...A George group swept first achieving 1:1 losses, but my bombers suffered greatly. In the end, the casualties count was 190 to 35, iirc.

b) Michael followed up on the 25th with port strikes on Albany, where I had parked 4 severely damaged submarines, sinking all of them, along with an AMc, two PBs and a DD.

c) On the 28th and 29th, Michael swept Kalgoorlie. My tojos while suffering 1,4:1 losses, held well.

On the ground, the allied spearhead reached one hex south of Kalgoorlie. I sent Guards Tank Division. My airforce was recovered enough to knock out 100 allied tanks, but my shock attack failed, due to the unextpected arrival of the 1st Marine Div. GTD is down to 55 effective AV and it will surely be pushed back tomorrow:

Ground combat at 56,148 (near Kalgoorlie)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 7455 troops, 112 guns, 408 vehicles, Assault Value = 362
Defending force 16391 troops, 286 guns, 591 vehicles, Assault Value = 618
Japanese adjusted assault: 11
Allied adjusted defense: 1090
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 99

Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), supply(-)

Japanese ground losses:
925 casualties reported
Squads: 51 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 58 disabled
Engineers: 18 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 27 (2 destroyed, 25 disabled)
Vehicles lost 137 (51 destroyed, 86 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
Guards Tank Division

Defending units:
1st Marine Division
762nd Tank Battalion
193rd Tank Battalion
2/6th Armoured Regiment
3rd NZ Armoured Sqn
70th Coast AA Regiment

An allied tank battalion tried to cut off my army by occupying a hex between Kalgoorlie and Gunderlin(sp?), but I anticipated this and sent an infantry regiment along with some tanks to deal with it. I still control all hexsides and therefore can withdraw from Kalgoorlie at will. 2nd Guards Div is moving to secure the railroad against further allied incursions.

CV Saratoga: After taking 3 torpedoes, she was spotted heading east to Adelaide/Melbourne. However, daily recon missions report a CV at Esperance. could it be Sara?

China:
More of the same. The unsupplied Chinese at Lanchow continue to be bombed daily and their effective AV is dropping rapidly (now 1200).
4th and 6th Guards Divs are at Shanghai and will soon begin their trip to Java.

Burma:
No progress here either, only my daily air raids.

SE Fleet:
Horn Islands is now defended by 27 Goerges, 42 Tojos and 12 Nicks. No allied attacks since I moved these fighters in. Forts are at 5,71 and growing.
Merauke is attacked by heavy bombers, an AV is damaged, but my 44 Zekes manage to limit losses.

Horn Islands is now defended by 27 Goerges, 42 Tojos and 12 Nicks. No allied attacks since I moved these fighters in. Forts are at 5,71 and growing.
Merauke is attacked by heavy bombers, an AV is damaged, but my 44 Zekes manage to limit losses.

The danger of such an exposed field is getting it bombarded and bombed and having it so closed the groups can't get off, and you end up having to withdraw them. Happened to me much more severely in Rabaul, but I'm not sure in your game if the Allies are in range with enough force to do that.

Be careful Olorin it seems you're walking on a razor blade!
If Allies can conquer Kalgoorlie, they'll surely drop there the complete Australian Army and some big base forces that will make it a major AF. If they start bombing your retreating troops, your movements will be halved and you could find yourself easily enveloped, allied armor units will move four times quicker than your land troops!!
The Allies have already cut your railroad moving that unit between Kalgoorlie and Cunderdin and crushed your armor division. IMO you have to seriously evaluate now if you can resist in Kalgoorlie and send strong quality reinforccements if you have, you need armor and AT units. Continue bombing his stack to hell, it seems he cannot provide a good cap to them from esperance.
if you start retreating to Cunderin it could become very bloody for you, if you decide for retreating you should do it quickest possible.
Maybe I'm too catastrophic because of what happened to me.
[:)] What are your plans and defences in kalgoorlie?

Mr Blizzard,
I think this update will also cover your concerns (which I share). I 'm aware of the risk I 'm taking. If Kalgoorlie falls, I expect an 'anabasis'. My goal is to keep it for another month or more. By then I will have another 3 divisions available. In two months, I'll have 7.


May 31 - Jun 2, 1943

Western Oz:
In the air, Kalgoorlie is swept for two consecutive days. I lose more than Michael, but losses in pilots are very light and Michael keeps losing good airframes. I stand down my fighters for today to take in replacements. A new fighter group (size 42) was bought out from China and is currently upgrading to Tojo at Perth.

On the ground, two days after my failed attack by Guards Tank Division, the allies counter-attack and push GDT back to Kalgoorlie:

Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 14764 troops, 289 guns, 319 vehicles, Assault Value = 963
Defending force 5490 troops, 110 guns, 366 vehicles, Assault Value = 61
Allied adjusted assault: 395
Japanese adjusted defense: 19
Allied assault odds: 20 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1286 casualties reported
Squads: 54 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 80 destroyed, 25 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 28 (20 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 101 (101 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
32nd Infantry Division
193rd Tank Battalion
1st Marine Division
762nd Tank Battalion
2/6th Armoured Regiment
181st Field Artillery Battalion
70th Coast AA Regiment
1st Medium Regiment

GDT is in a very bad state and will need a few weeks to recover. Fortunately, my vehicles pool is up to the task. The American 32nd Inf Div is a new addition to the theater, which brings the allied total to 3 identified divisions (Americal, 1st Mar, 32nd Inf). I believe the Allies must now have 4 full divisions here, plus their 350 tanks and of course loads of support.

In retaliation, I destroyed the allied tank battalion blocking the railway. After two days of air attacks, 2nd Guards Div had no problem wiping out what was left:
Ground combat at 54,147 (near Kalgoorlie)

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 15000 troops, 110 guns, 54 vehicles, Assault Value = 501
Defending force 246 troops, 6 guns, 81 vehicles, Assault Value = 22
Japanese adjusted assault: 440
Allied adjusted defense: 1
Japanese assault odds: 440 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), disruption(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
74 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Allied ground losses:
Guns lost 6 (6 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 98 (98 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
16th Engineer Regiment
2nd Guards Division
9th Base Force
48th JAAF AF Bn

Defending units:
192nd Tank Battalion

My current ground configuration:
Defending Kalgoorlie- 5th, 18th, 48th divs
Defending the railroad to Perth- 2nd Guards Div, 65th Bde, 3rd Tank Rgt, 20th Inf Rgt
Albany- 9th Inf Rgt
Perth- 120 AV (SNFL and base forces). In 5 days GDT will arrive for some R&R.
Geraldon- Kimura Det
Carnavon- Miura Det
Exmouth- 10th Gar

I have to keep the railway open, if I am to avoid disaster and if possible threaten with an envelopment of my own, by pushing the allied left flank back.
I think I have the upper hand in terms of ground troops, for now. I 'm expecting to see allied convoys carrying reinforcements any day now. KB2 is at Geraldon ready to raid the allied SLOCs, KB is at Soerebaja. I have good naval search coverage all the way down to Ceduna, so any convoys will be spotted well in advance.

4th and 6th Guards Divs are loading at Shanghai and will reach Java in 10-12 days.
56th Div is currently at Horn Island and will be replaced by the 42nd Div coming from the HI in two weeks. It will be tricky to do it without losing anything important. If all goes well, I expect the 56th Div to be available for operations in about one month or so.

Carriers:
Shinano, Unryu, Amagi and Katsuragi have arrived and are currently resizing and upgrading air groups and air commanders at Kobe.
Shinano will merge with the main KB. The 3 Unryus will create a KB3 which will remain in reserve at Badeldaob, ready to reinforce KB or KB2.
I expect the other 3 Unryus to arrive in October.

The released naval shipyard capacity will be now devoted to the completion of Musashi (ETA: May 3, '44) and the submarine program, which was sacrificed for the carriers until now.

ORIGINAL: obvert

Horn Islands is now defended by 27 Goerges, 42 Tojos and 12 Nicks. No allied attacks since I moved these fighters in. Forts are at 5,71 and growing.
Merauke is attacked by heavy bombers, an AV is damaged, but my 44 Zekes manage to limit losses.

The danger of such an exposed field is getting it bombarded and bombed and having it so closed the groups can't get off, and you end up having to withdraw them. Happened to me much more severely in Rabaul, but I'm not sure in your game if the Allies are in range with enough force to do that.

Aye, obvert. Michael has demonstrated that he can attack Horn Island at will with heavy bombers and naval bombardments. They have developed Coen and Potland Roads to the max. Twice so far I had to rebase my fighters to PM, to avoid more losses on the ground. Fortunately, I have 180 engineers and 6 engineer vehicle to keep the airfield operational.

It seems you're in a very good shape in Kalgoorlie [:)], how many forts and supplies have you there?
Well done also restoring the rail! now you can resupply and send reinforcements at will!
I think the main menace could only come from sea now, if he lands at Albany for instance with more troops. You could use your CVs in that case. How is the CV balance now, you should be in parity more or less unless sunk CVs ? I've seen he's moving to hellcats, in his last combat there was still a mix with wildcats. So if you want to resist you could be forced to use everithing (In terms of CV) if he commits all his fleet. Providen that he's already committed four divisions here I don't think he'll leave so easily I AGREE WITH YOU THAT it's probable a reinforcement...
I believe it's very difficult to keep W. Australia in medium period 'cause it's too far from His probable lines of advance CEPAC, SOuthPac, DEI, Burma ecc) and you cannot keep your fleet everywhere , more your fleet is becoming inferior than his with the Essex class arriving.
If I were you I'll prepare a complete disengagement to Exmouth zone in next months before it's too late.
But only after crushing his bold divisions [:D]

Jun 4

Forts are at level 3 and will soon reach level 4. There are 20.000 tons of supplies in Kalgoorlie and another 80.000 in Perth. There is no fuel at the moment, but that will soon change.

No carriers have been sunk so far in the war. Saratoga ate 3 torpedoes a few weeks ago and will be out of action for a few months.
Not all American CVs have upgraded to the Hellcat yet. So far I shot down 80 of them (I have to open the game from the allied side to check replacement
rates).

The Allied spearhead is bombed by 50+ Helens and 320 casualties are inflicted. 40 Nells attacked a NZ tank battalion but run into allied fighters. 21 of them never returned home...

The 6th Australian Div is identified south of Kalgoorlie, thanks to my bombing. Could this mean the rest of 1st Aus Corps is also present? The numbers at Esperance (50.000 troops) seem to support this. I think there is at least one -possibly two- divisions defending Esperance from a counter-invasion.

3rd Tank Rgt is advancing in a southwest direction from Gunderin. I want Michael to feel his flank is not secured and thus compel him to leave substantial forces on the Esperance-Kalgoorlie road. I doubt I can seriously threaten an envelopment though, so this is just for show. The reason is, I don't have the fighters to protect my troops against allied bombers, should they decide to attack them.

Mr Blizzard, my short-term goal is to create a delay of at least one month. Two would be better. After that, I will re-evaluate my position. A complete withdrawal from SW Oz (up to Carnavon) is contemplated, among other options. A counter-invasion of Esperance is another option, but it loses its appeal day by day. Reinforcing by land is a third option. [;)]

Jun 5-10, 1943

Important happenings in Oz and China!

Western Oz:
As expected, the Allies made a serious effort to reinforce their position here. Escorts included most American carriers and lots of cruisers for surface protection. The convoys were spotted near Ceduna on the 7th. I decided to interdict them with all my available forces, even if odds seemed to be against me.

I had KB2 (320 aircaft) and a 450 strong LBA, three SAGs (the first led by BBs Hyuga and Fuso, the second by CAs Atago and Takao, the third comprised by 4 DDs) and 7 operational subs. Of these, I lost 400 aircraft, 5 DDs, probably CVL Zuiho and 2 subs. In return, CV Enterprise was torpedoed thrice, CV Lexington ate a 250 Kg bomb, a CVE was torpedoed once, 4 American CAs, 2 DDs and 3 subs are sunk and 140 allied aircraft shot down.

On the 6th, 85 allied modern fighters sweep Kalgoorlie only to find it empty. Bombers inflict minor damage to the airfield, but the next day it's operational and fort building resumes (now level 4).

On the 7th, 35 Corsairs sweep an empty Albany. Two allied subs are sunk; one of them dared to enter Perth only to hit a mine, the other one was attacked by destroyers near Geraldon. SS I-166 torpedoes CVE Chenango once. On the ground, 3 allied units cut off Albany! There is one combat engineer battalion and tank destroyer battalion and another unknown unit.

On the 8th, SS I-1 sinks a destroyer before it is sunk itself. I ordered 84 Tojo to sweep Esperance and they achieved good results only because the Corsairs were sweeping Kalgoorlie themselves (4 George lost against 1 of theirs). 26 Helens escorted by 51 fighters launch a naval strike at 1000 ft against the allied carriers, which are now one hex southwest of Esperance. One bomb hit is scored on CV Lexington, but I lose 16 bombers and 4 fighters. In subsequent unescorted strikes, I lose a further 10 level bombers. In the afternoon, the allied carriers strike Albany with 380 aircraft, causing minimal damage.

On the 9th, all my forces are ready for interdicting the allied reinforcement effort. Not everything goes as planned. The day started well with the Japanese navy emerging victorious in night action at Esperance:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Esperance at 55,154, Range 12,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Atago
CL Isuzu
CL Yura
DD Amatsukaze
DD Hagikaze
DD Shirakumo
DD Murakumo
DD Akebono
DD Ushio

Allied Ships
PT-160, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-161
PT-162, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-163
PT-164
PT-165
PT-166, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-167, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Esperance at 56,153, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsukaze, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
DD Ayanami, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage (sunk later by a sub)
DD Tachekaze, Shell hits 11, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 1
CA Louisville
CA Chicago, Shell hits 2
CA Salt Lake City, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Bache
DD Eaton, Shell hits 3, heavy fires
DD Stanly, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Fanning
DD Mahan
DD Preston, Shell hits 1
DD Reid
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Esperance at 56,154, Range 11,000 Yards

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 2 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Takao, Shell hits 4, on fire
CA Atago, Shell hits 8, on fire
CL Isuzu, Shell hits 1
CL Yura
DD Amatsukaze, Shell hits 1
DD Hagikaze, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 2
DD Murakumo
DD Akebono
DD Ushio

Allied Ships
CA New Orleans, Shell hits 10, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 12, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CA Quincy, Shell hits 1
CL Honolulu
CL Phoenix
DD Meredith
DD Gwin, Shell hits 1
DD Monssen
DD Duncan
DD Hughes, Shell hits 1
DD Anderson, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Hammann, Shell hits 1

Even though my cruiser TF was surprised, it recovered well and caused much sorrow. However, it was unable to get through to the transports. BatDiv3 did not follow through as ordered and stopped its movement one hex west of Albany.[:@]

Later, my brave subs continue to inflict damage to allied warships!

Sub attack near Esperance at 56,154
Japanese Ships
SS I-164, hits 4

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires
CA Indianapolis
CL Leander
CLAA San Juan
DD Gillespie
DD MacDonough
DD Worden
DD Monaghan
DD Aylwin

Fuel storage explosion on CV Enterprise
Ammo storage explosion on CV Enterprise
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Esperance at 56,154

Japanese Ships
SS I-1, hits 2

Allied Ships
CA Portland, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CA Indianapolis
CL Leander
DD MacDonough
DD Worden
DD Monaghan
DD Aylwin

In the air, results were less encouraging. In fact, they were disappointing. First, the ordered sweeps of Esperance by 85 Tojos and 25 Georges didn't happen. Not one aircraft flew! As a result, the allies were able to present a WALL of CAP, 200 aircraft strong, against my badly co-ordinated naval strikes. Not even KB2 managed to put a coherent package in the air. I won't post the many unescorted LBA strikes, which were chewed. I will post the two KB2 strikes and the one LBA strike that actually achieved something meaningful:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 30
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 23

Allied aircraft
Spitfire Vc Trop x 5
P-39D Airacobra x 9
P-40K Warhawk x 55
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 18
F4F-4 Wildcat x 56
F4U-1 Corsair x 41
F6F-3 Hellcat x 71

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 14 destroyed, 1 damaged
G3M3 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 10 destroyed

No Allied losses
Allied Ships
CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 130 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 55 minutes

Japanese aircraft (this is the main KB2 strike...a disgrace)
A6M5b Zero x 100
B5N2 Kate x 13
D4Y1 Judy x 6

Allied aircraft
Spitfire Vc Trop x 3
P-39D Airacobra x 5
P-40K Warhawk x 36
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 12
F4F-4 Wildcat x 28
F4U-1 Corsair x 23
F6F-3 Hellcat x 40

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5b Zero: 11 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 6 destroyed, 1 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses
Allied Ships
CA Louisville

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,154
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 116 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 49 minutes

Japanese aircraft (...)
A6M5b Zero x 91
B5N2 Kate x 29
B6N1 Jill x 18
D4Y1 Judy x 21

Allied aircraft
Spitfire Vc Trop x 2
P-39D Airacobra x 1
P-40K Warhawk x 12
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 6
F4F-4 Wildcat x 93
F4U-1 Corsair x 12
F6F-3 Hellcat x 59

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5b Zero: 24 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 14 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
B6N1 Jill: 10 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 13 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVE Sangamon
CVE Altamaha
CVE Nassa

When all was said and done, I had lost 350 aircraft, mostly land based bombers. The KB2 air arm was down to 40%, but pilot losses were not severe. But the day was not over; the enemy carriers launched a counter-strike on KB2:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Albany at 50,153
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 9
A6M5b Zero x 62

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9
F6F-3 Hellcat x 44
SBD-3 Dauntless x 96
TBF-1 Avenger x 27

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe: 2 destroyed
A6M5b Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 4 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 11 destroyed, 17 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Hiyo, Torpedo hits 1
CV Junyo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Haruna, Bomb hits 2
CVL Ryuho
CVE Hosho, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
CVL Ryujo
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Kongo
DD Makigumo

Surprisingly, Hiyo and Junyo are OK. Zuiho and Hosho, however, are not. Perth was only 7 hexes away, but each hex was occupied by at least one allied sub. KB2 passed over them without incident and disbanded at Perth. Zuiho will probably be lost(fires are at 99 and system damage over 90). CVE Hosho is doubtful, but I think it will survive. Hiyo will need 3-4 months in the shipyards. The rest of my ships will just need a week or two to repair minor damage.


China:
Finally, the attack on Lanchow is launched and it's a successful one. A month of heavy bombing unsupplied Chinese has paid off. Lanchow hasn;t fallen, but forts are reduced and casualties were minimal:

Ground combat at Lanchow (81,34)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 33107 troops, 465 guns, 905 vehicles, Assault Value = 3489
Defending force 46155 troops, 300 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1012

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 4

Japanese adjusted assault: 2542
Allied adjusted defense: 587
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 4)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2438 casualties reported
Squads: 50 destroyed, 60 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 24 disabled
Engineers: 15 destroyed, 17 disabled
Guns lost 40 (21 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Vehicles lost 43 (22 destroyed, 21 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1306 casualties reported
Squads: 82 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 11 (2 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Assaulting units:
2nd Ind Engineer Regiment
110th Division
3rd Division
34th Division
15th Division
27th Division
2nd Tank Division
8th Ind Engineer Regiment
15th Tank Regiment
1st Engineer Co
20th Ind Engineer Regiment
1st Tank Division
5th Guards Division
11th Army
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
North China Area Army
51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th AA Regiment

Defending units:
34th Separate Brigade
100th Chinese Corps
71st Chinese Corps
3rd Chinese Corps
9th Separate Brigade
99th Chinese Corps
12th Construction Regiment
1st War Area
57th AT Gun Regiment
3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment
10th Construction Regiment
8th War Area
56th AT Gun Regiment
19th Chinese Base Force
4th Heavy Mortar Regiment
21st Chinese Base Force

Fortunately, my casualties are evenly spread, so recovering will be fast. The problem is that the hex is very overstacked and supply needs exceed 50.000 tons. The 5th Guards, 1st and 2nd Tank divisions will retire (one month to get to Shanghai). What is left (2200 AV) is enough to slowly subdue Lanchow, considering the fact that they are still unsupplied and losing about 30-50 AV daily, thanks to my bombers.


SE Fleet:
Lots of allied heavy bombers attack Luganville daily.

Jun 11-16, 1943

Lanchow is captured!
The battle for Western Oz continues.

Western Oz:
After the carrier confrontation near Esperance, things settled down. The Allies must have brought 2 additional divisions. My guess is they have 5, maybe 6 divisions at the moment, against my 6 1/2. In terms of quality, they have the crack 1st Mar Div and two American infantry divisions, which at this point, are superior to my infantry divisions.

Anyway, the allied forces that cut off Albany are now inside Albany and have already launched two deliberate attacks, the first of which dropped the forts to 3, but the second failed to do so, due to my air attacks. My effective AV in the base dropped to 110 and supplies are down to 7k. I'm flying in a SNFL unit, which might temporarily help me to hold the base, until reinforcements from Perth arrive, in the form of one infantry regiment and the Guards Tank Division (which is by now back at 75% strength and +80 morale). They will relieve Albany in exactly 5 days and I hope to make PoWs out of the allied troops that dared to venture so far:

Ground combat at Albany (51,153) (On the 15th)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 6549 troops, 59 guns, 366 vehicles, Assault Value = 339
Defending force 9044 troops, 90 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 172
Allied adjusted assault: 224
Japanese adjusted defense: 124
Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 4)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 3

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1259 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 64 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 37 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled
Guns lost 17 (7 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
127 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
2nd USMC Tank Battalion
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
50th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
1st USMC Tank Battalion
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Defending units:
9th Infantry Regiment
21th JNAF AF Unit
31st Fld AA Gun Co
21st Special Base Force
23rd JAAF AF Bn
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Albany (51,153) (On the 16th)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 6202 troops, 59 guns, 362 vehicles, Assault Value = 283
Defending force 8817 troops, 105 guns, 18 vehicles, Assault Value = 152
Allied adjusted assault: 62
Japanese adjusted defense: 199
Allied assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 3)

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+)
Attacker: supply(-)

Japanese ground losses:
659 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 20 (3 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
103 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
2nd USMC Tank Battalion
1st USMC Tank Battalion
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
50th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Defending units:
9th Infantry Regiment
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF /1
31st Fld AA Gun Co
21st Special Base Force
21th JNAF AF Unit
23rd JAAF AF Bn

Meanwhile, I temporarily cut off the allied spearhead in and around Kalgoorlie with a tank regiment, but 3 allied fast units entered Kalgoorlie from the east, to open an additional supply route for them. My tank regiment has now retired behind my lines.

KB2 is resting at Perth. CV Hiyo will need 5 months to be repaired [:(] I think I will soon risk a trip back to Soerebaja. Junyo needs 15 days, Hosho needs 20. Zuiho did not make it, but its air groups are saved.


SE Fleet:
The first part of my operation at Horn Island (i.e. landing 42nd Div) is complete. I lost 2 AKs to air attacks by allied dive bombers, but Yamato and co escaped without a scratch. My CAP downed some 50 enemy aircraft over horn Island. The second part of the operation (i.e. extracting 56th Div) will be more tricky.

Luganville is attacked by heavy bombers daily, but remains open.


China:
Lanchow is captured! After the last attack, which dropped their forts to 4, I extracted the two tank divisions and the 5th Guards Div. The 2250 that remained proved to be enough to beat the unsupplied Chinese:

Ground combat at Lanchow (81,34)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 75742 troops, 676 guns, 196 vehicles, Assault Value = 2250
Defending force 42696 troops, 293 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 823
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3
Japanese adjusted assault: 4985
Allied adjusted defense: 275
Japanese assault odds: 18 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Lanchow !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
3024 casualties reported
Squads: 38 destroyed, 191 disabled
Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 47 disabled
Engineers: 31 destroyed, 68 disabled
Guns lost 15 (2 destroyed, 13 disabled)
Vehicles lost 21 (3 destroyed, 18 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
18827 casualties reported
Squads: 649 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 1330 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 77 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 239 (231 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Units retreated 5
Units destroyed 11

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
8th Ind Engineer Regiment
15th Division
2nd Ind Engineer Regiment
27th Division
15th Tank Regiment
34th Division
3rd Division
110th Division
20th Ind Engineer Regiment
1st Engineer Co
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
11th Army
51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
North China Area Army
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
15th AA Regiment

Defending units:
3rd Chinese Corps
99th Chinese Corps
71st Chinese Corps
100th Chinese Corps
9th Separate Brigade
56th AT Gun Regiment
10th Construction Regiment
12th Construction Regiment
19th Chinese Base Force
8th War Area
1st War Area
57th AT Gun Regiment
3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment
34th Separate Brigade
4th Heavy Mortar Regiment
21st Chinese Base Force

I don't think that exploiting this victory is feasible. I don't think I have the strength to breakthrough the mountains. My major offensive in northern China ends, but it wasn't the victory I had imagined (i.e. making a huge pocket of the Sian region), but denying the Chinese economy of the Lanchow refineries will prevent them from launching any major offensives in China, at least until they liberate Burma.

Concerning my speculated counter-invasion of Esperance:

All my reserves are gathering in Java: Kido Buttai, 21st Army HQ, 4th and 6th Guards Divs, 1st Raiding Rgt.
The 18th Div will arrive there in about two weeks, assuming it will be successfully extracted from Horn Island.
A third of a division was just bought out of the HI and will arrive in Java in about two weeks. The other two fragments will follow.
The Guards Tank Division will be back at full strength at this point.

The stronger part of the 21st Army is currently in China, near Lanchow, marching towards the nearest railhead. My rough estimate is that the two tank divisions will arrive in Java in 6 weeks and the 5th Guards Div in 8 weeks, at which point I will have bought another division from the HI. That will bring my strategic reserve to 9 divisions.

The question is:
If I am to counter-invade Esperance, should I do it with 5 divisions in one month from now, or with 9 divisions in two months from now?
It all depends on how much time can I buy with my current defenses in Western Oz.

Note: Esperance is left with about 20-25 PTs, a minefield and a 30.000 garrison at the moment. Everything else is marched to the front. I hope I 'm strong enough to hold the line.

The aim of this (hypothetical at this point) counter-invasion is to destroy the 6 allied divisions in Western Oz in a swift summer campaign. That will release 15 divisions, 3 of which will remain in Western Oz and 12 will be available to resolve my critical situation in Burma.

June 17, 1943

CV Enterprise is sunk!
The fate of Albany is in balance!

Western Oz:
I spotted a curious carrier TF just east of Esperance, on June 15. The next two days it had only moved 4 hexes to the east and I figured it must have been Enterprise or Saratoga or both, trying to make it back to a safer port. I sent 3 subs to investigate with 'absolute' aggression settings. Two of them were sunk by allied ASW vessels, but the third one managed to score three torpedo hits on Enterprise! I think that sealed her fate.

Albany: The Allies spend the day resting, thankfully. I moved in 25 Georges. A risky move, as the base might fall any day now. I 'm LRCAPing with 100 fighters based at Perth. They fended off allied air attacks today, shooting down 11 Corsairs and some bombers. The SNFL unit that I transported by air has increased my effective AV to 150. Guards Tank Division and 20th Inf Rgt are just 3 days away!

Kalgoorlie: Despite almost daily bombing, the airfield has no damage and fort building is proceeding well. The allied stack south of Kalgoorlie (which contains the 1st MarDiv) is moving to the hex directly west of Kalgoorlie (which is defended by 2nd Guards Div, plus support). If the enemy actually moves into that hex, I will counter by reinforcing it with one division from Kalgoorlie and of course bomb them with every available bomber.


SE Fleet:
The extracting operation was marked by success! Most of the 56th Div is loaded to transports. What remains at Horn Island is just the support squads. I canceled the loading process today and ordered a full run back to Merauke. The support squads will be transported by air.

In the air, 41 P-38s wept Horn Island. I shot down 8 and lost 9 Tojos and 5 Nicks.

The 3 Unryu class carriers are anchored 6 hexes northwest of Merauke, providing additional fighter cover to Yamato. Unfortunately, they were spotted today.
I forgot to mention that CV Shinano was discovered by a sub, during her trip to Java, so Michael now knows it's in service.

China:
The industry in Lanchow is somewhat intact. I will repair the 22 damaged oil centers and nothing else. We 'll see if the oil flows to Port Arthur.
27 Sallies were redeployed to Burma.

Burma:
My usual daily bombing of Shwebo and one hex west of it.

Jun 18, 43

Western Oz:
On the 18th, the allied troops at Albany are attacked by my airforce again. Good results, as Michael's LRCAP is swept aside easily. Another 20-30 AV is knocked out and disruption must be high.

On the 19th, I attack again, but Michael spots my reinforcements coming from the north and sends all his bombers after them! My LRCAP shoots down lots of allied aircraft, but enough get through to knock out 25 tanks, cause +50 disruption and delay their movement southward by a day. The 20th Inf Rgt is also attacked, but escapes without damage or delay; it's now one hex north of Albany.
I will provide better LRCAP tomorrow, to the detriment of Perth's protection.


SE Fleet:
It was a mistae to send these destroyers there in the first place, but I was encouraged by the night engagement. In daytime, a different picture emerged. Damned Fletchers! One things I 'm noticing is that small destroyer TFs are not as effective as I thought they would be.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Asashio, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Natsugumo, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Kasumi, Shell hits 2, on fire

Allied Ships
DD Fletcher
DD Aulick
DD Conway, Shell hits 1
DD DeHaven, Shell hits 1
DD Jenkins, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD O'Bannon

Improved night sighting under 100% moonlight
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 19,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Asashio, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
DD Natsugumo, Shell hits 26, and is sunk
DD Kasumi, Shell hits 22, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Fletcher
DD Aulick
DD Conway, Shell hits 1
DD DeHaven
DD Jenkins
DD O'Bannon

Merauke is attacked at night by heavy bombers. No hits.

China:
My bombers attack the overstacked hex south of Lanchow, inflicting terrible losses! Seeing this, I decided to try my lack in the mountains. Not much to loose and, if successful, it will create a crisis on the Chinese side.

In the far north, my lone tank rgt is still trying to subdue Urumchi...

Jun 19-25, 1943

Western Oz:
After more air attacks from both sides, 2/3 of the Guards Tank Division finally entered Albany and restored communications to Perth. 20k tons of supply were railed in the following day. The last 1/3 of GDT was attacked by air while traversing the trials NE of Albany, trying to claim the last hexside connecting the allied troops at Albany with Esperance.

On the 23rd, I launched a deliberate attack, which failed, despite all factors being in my favour:
G

round combat at Albany (51,153)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18868 troops, 216 guns, 271 vehicles, Assault Value = 535
Defending force 5041 troops, 59 guns, 351 vehicles, Assault Value = 202
Japanese adjusted assault: 254
Allied adjusted defense: 80
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1698 casualties reported
Squads: 15 destroyed, 132 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 30 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 13 disabled
Vehicles lost 13 (7 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
59 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 35 (7 destroyed, 28 disabled)

Assaulting units:
9th Infantry Regiment
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
20th Infantry Regiment
Guards Tank/A Division
Guards Tank/B Division
21th JNAF AF Unit
31st Fld AA Gun Co
21st Special Base Force
23rd JAAF AF Bn

Defending units:
2nd USMC Tank Battalion
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
1st USMC Tank Battalion
50th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Imo, I should have destroyed them with one deliberate attack, but...oh well. I will wait for the GTD to recombine and attack again in a few days.

Meanwhile, around Kalgoorlie the allies are pushing forward. The 1st MarDiv, reinforced by 4 tank battalions entered the hex directly west of Kalgoorlie and attacked without delay. An engineering regiment on move mode was destroyed, but every other unit was virtually intact:

Ground combat at 55,147 (near Kalgoorlie)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 16035 troops, 226 guns, 630 vehicles, Assault Value = 692
Defending force 16239 troops, 182 guns, 191 vehicles, Assault Value = 525
Allied adjusted assault: 331
Japanese adjusted defense: 546
Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender:
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2575 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 33 disabled
Non Combat: 42 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 32 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 30 (5 destroyed, 25 disabled)
Vehicles lost 51 (6 destroyed, 45 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
200 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 26 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 76 (12 destroyed, 64 disabled)

Assaulting units:
762nd Tank Battalion
754th Tank Battalion
763rd Tank Battalion
1st Marine Division
193rd Tank Battalion
3rd NZ Armoured Sqn
97th Coast AA Regiment

Defending units:
16th Engineer Regiment
2nd Guards/B Division
3rd Tank Regiment
2nd Guards/A Division
2nd Guards/C Division
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
19th Field AA Machinecannon Company

My above stack is now reinforced by one division from Kalgoorlie itself.

Two hexes SW of Kaloorlie, the Americal Div is moving against the lone 65th Bde. The enemy will enter the hex in a few days and once that happens I 'm afraid I won't manage to hold them for long.

In the air, Albany is consistently swept and losses are worse than 3:1 against me, but I can afford the attrition.

While my front here is being tested, I decided to strip the 4th Fleet of much of its reserves. An independent tank brigade and an reinforced infantry regiment are on their way to Geraldon, as well as more AA and aviation support. Supplies at Perth are now below 20k tons. I consumed 75k tons in the last month! 190k tons are on their way.


SE Fleet:
I am sick and tired of losing ships trying to resupply Horn Island. I n the last week, I lost 6 PBs, 2 xAKLs, 3 APDs and an ACM. I probably forget some other sunk ships here. Horn Island was bombarded by allied cruisers during the night and attacked by air during the day. It's closed for now and supplies are below 7k tons. 30 modern transport planes are flying in some supplies, but they are not enough to cover needs.


Burma:
My usual air attacks on Shwebo and environs.

At Albany probably your troops can't beat enemy by themselves, even if they are very superior in numbers. What tanks have you got, type 97? If Allies have Shermans and tank destroyers your tanks simply can't match, they can't pierce their armor... In this case you could use naval bombing (big calibers) and air bombing (250 kg). Your opponent hasn't AA regiments in Albany, you could try to use also FB ki-45 against enemy tanks. They're a tough challenge indeed.

Edit: I've just given a look at stats in vehicle database, in Scen1 M4 Sherman tank has 100 of armor and both your tanks type 95 ligth tank and type 97 medium tank have only 50 of anti-armor sooo I confirm you just can't pierce them.
More his TD battalion could have M10 wolverine tanks with 160 of anti-armor, in fire phase they just vaporize your poor armored tanks [:D]
That's why from the report it seems you win the battle (odds 3 to 1 in your favour) but you have many many more casualties than him, I do believe that the combat report is wrong in cases like this...
I strongly advise you to follow air-naval bombing tactics against them [;)]

Mr Blizzard, I opened tracker to have a look at armor stats. Some stats are different than your numbers, maybe because we are playing scen30. The M4 Sherman has 45 armor and 62 penetration ratings. Worse than my Type 1 Medium Tank, which has 50 armor and 80 pen. So, both tanks can destroy each other. The problem as I see it, is the American '43 rifle squad. It can easily pierce my tanks with a 55 penetration rating. In any case, as you say aerial and naval bombardments are in order.

I agree your type 1 tank should be ok... Then I can't really explain these results...[&:] [:o]
Even if you made 3 to 1 (so a victory) you had 200 squads/devices disabled against his only 50 disabled, more he wasn't forced to retreat...[&:]
It seems he hasn't much infantry in the hex.. Probably he has a much larger number of tanks than you or maybe there's a bonus for TD against tanks...

EDIT: I had opened scen01 with RA mod loaded so I had those strange values for armor stats...[8|]

Mr Blizzard, we're playing DaBigBabes scen30, which is scen2 transported to DBB. I wasn't aware this mod had different armor stats.


Jun 26 - Jul 3, 1943

Western Oz:
- The allied troops trapped in Albany are destroyed on June 29th, after 3 deliberate attacks. One American infantry rgt, two USMC tank battalions, one tank destroyer battalion and one engineer battalion are made POWs.

- The 2nd Marine Division is identified on the trails heading west to cut off Albany, along with 3 support units. Guards Tank Div moved in time to block them. They are bombed on July 1st and 2nd.

- The front around Kalgoorlie is rearranged. It now looks like this:
At Kalgoorlie, I now have only two divisions (950 AV), 48th and 18th, versus two enemy divisions (870 AV), 32nd US Div and 6th AusDiv.
One W of Kalgoorlie, I now have two divisions and a tank rgt (1000 AV), 2nd Guards and 5th, versus the 1st Marine Div, reinforced by 4 tank battalions (700 AV in total).
Two SW of Kalgoorlie, I have the battered 65th Bde only (110 AV after a deliberate attack disabled half its squads on the 29th), versus the reinforced Americal Div (450 AV).

- Reinforcements arrive. The next week will see the arrival of 600 AV, in the form of the 7th Independent Tank Bde, 46th Div, 1st and 3rd Raiding Rgts, a small militia battalion, as well as more support units (including a command HQ prepping for Esperance). 140k tons of supply and 120k tons of fuel will soon begin unloading at Perth. It could be argued that the commitment of a significant portion of my strategic reserves is a mistake, because it weakens the force intended to invade Esperance in August. My thinking is that the invasion will not be green lit, until the current front in Western Oz is stabilised, meaning the allied divisions must be pinned where they are now. Then, the invasion will be launched.

- Esperance still has 35.000 troops (along with 300AFVs and 450 guns) defending it. A thick minefield and 20 PTs are there, but no heavy allied warships are seen here for the last month or so.


China:
After the capture of Lanchow, I tried my luck in the mountains and failed. Which means the entire Chinese theater is put on 'defense mode'. There is still Siring and Urumchi in the north to deal with, but they are cut off and their capture is only a matter of time.
I 'm accumulating PPs to buy another divisions from China. In 25 days, I will have enough.


SE Fleet:
I committed CruDiv8 (4 CAs, 5 DDs) to the resupply effort of Horn Island. 2k tons of supply were delivered, but I lost 3 DDs and 2 CAs were torpedoed, by a combination of air attacks, PTs and subs. The CAs will survive. Consequently, I decided to cancel all other resupply convoys by sea and only maintain an air-bridge. So far it seems to work well. Supplies in Horn Islands increased yesterday, despite the airfield being closed and attacked every day.