Matrix Games Forums

August 6

Well here we go again. This time around I’m feeling more comfortable with the Allied side. Much more aware of starting early prep for units I want to use and also the importance of using political points wisely. I’ve also got more planes on ASW patrol. As for early strategy I’ll look to take Lunga and Tulagi without suffering big losses. As in my previous US outing I’ll send the troops in straight away…. This seemed to have been a surprise to Todd last time so I do expect an early counter from his cruisers. Todd would know now that I’ll happily move my carriers about the board so this may keep him on the conservative side for a bit. At least until Shokaku and Zuikaku turn up. I want to get fighters on Lunga as soon as and I also want to start B-17 bombing of Tassafaronga quickly as well. Last time it took too long before I realised that I needed a level 4 field at Lunganville before those bombers would start causing discomfort at Tassafaronga. So first order of business after sending the transports and escorts on their way is to get some supply from Noumea to Lunganville and then get moving on an airfield expansion.

Lots of search plane activity also set up, both naval and ASW. Todd is a believer in the old style general search orders. I love the ability to set up search vectors and this scenario works well as there are limited avenues of approach for either side. Townsville airfield also needs a clean out as it is ridiculously overcrowded.


August 7

Sig Int reports 1/55 Mtn Gun Rgt is planning for Port Moresby. In the last game I got the distinct feeling that Todd had changed tack and was planning a move on PM. Strength on the ground here is light and I have 24th USA Rgt prepping as the main defensive unit for PM once I can buy it out.

AO Brazos is on her way to pick up all the fuel (900) on Efate and return it to Noumea. AO Cuyama is, likewise, on her way to pick up the 1128 fuel at Koumac. AO Bishopdale is doing a fuel run to Brisbane to load up fuel and return to Noumea. TK British Fame is enroute fro Brisbane to Sydney also to pick up fuel for Noumea. CL Achilles has gone into the shipyard at Sydney and will have her starting damage repaired in 3 days.

xAKs Nabesna and Willimoto have loaded 9600 supply from Sydney and are bound for Noumea. DDs Arunta and Warramunga sailing from Brisbane will meet these two ships and form their escort.

My transports have left Luganville and are making steady progress towards their destination. So far no indication from aerial naval search of Japanese cruisers coming south to interfere with the landings.

To help out with the air support situation in Australia 123rd ASAAF Base Force has left Townsville bound for Charters Towers to lend some aviation support at that airfield. While in Brisbane 53rd USA Aviation Engineer Regiment has almost finished packing for their move to Townsville where they will add aviation support of 90.


August 8

Covering TFs in position at Lunga and by dawn on 9 August Tulagi will also be covered. Transports are 1 day away from their staging point at 115,138. As for the carriers. I have left them in their original TFs and they will move to 114,142 (4 hexes south of Lunga). Submarines are a constant threat. I don’t want them right next door to one of those Japanese held Islands where they might be sighted and I also want to use them differently from what Todd experienced in our last first round encounters. Apart from that the Enterprise TF was shadowed by recon last time so the enemy now has an idea of where I have at least 1 carrier. The Lunga Surface TF was also sighted so they know the invasion is on.

As for the air combat configuration. I don’t expect Miss Betty to roam so far south but have CAP available plus a small contingent of fighters to escort half the dive bombers should naval targets present themselves. The other half of the dive bombers plus the torpedo bombers are set for land attack at Lunga. I also have 30+ fighters set to LRCAP the transports just in case Miss Betty does show up.

No sighting of Japanese ships and no actions this day.


August 9

The invasion is about to get underway with a morning and afternoon aerial bombardment at Lunga. 30 casualties and 4 disabled sections in the morning and 11 casualties and 2 disabled sections during the smaller afternoon raid. All good except for the 4 Dauntless lost to operational causes…. Thankfully no pilots lost in these mishaps. The landings shall begin overnight on 9/10 August. Will Todd send in his cruisers? I move my carriers 1 hex closer to Lunga.

No shipping seen heading towards Lunga. A TF is spotted heading west from Rabaul towards Lae. The first of the dreaded IJN submarine are spotted with 2 seen lurking to the east Auki and 1 to the west of Fennell Island. Now to try and keep my carriers dancing around them.

TK British Fame arrives at Sydney and begins taking on fuel for transport to Noumea.


August 10

Well done on moving those carriers. A Japanese sub turns up in the exact hex they had been last turn.

All the troops are ashore at Lunga and virtually all their supply. I’m surprised to find AP President Jackson sporting damage of 03 87 28 00. A check of e Op Report reveals that she has hit underwater rocks whilst attempting to unload. She still has 376 supply on board and whilst I am usually loath to scuttle ships I decide that with her major flooding damage of 78 there is no hope for her. Her victory value of 19 also helps plus she has a reasonably decent Captain V. Hodge 41 40 41 17 15 32 31 who ought to be saved. Oh no… No scuttle command. Must be a scenario thing, save ‘em or they sink. Ok then, into an escort TF and let her get off what she can and see how long she lasts. With that the Lunga transports will retire. The Tulagi transports still have land elements to put ashore so they will remain for one more day. During the landings the shore battery scores 2 hits on DD Blue. Lots of smoke in the replay but inspection then reveals only says dam 2 and eng dam 1 with no major damage. A very good outcome.

I order a deliberate attack for the Lunga forces as their disruption is not too bad. The Tulagi troops can content themselves with digging in for a day until they are all ashore.

The carriers will move to the east of Guadacanal to cover the remaining vessels and hopefully stay one step ahead of those subs.

CL Achilles has completed her repairs at Sydney.

Another 4 planes are lost to operational causes today but they are shared across a variety of plane types. I note the first Japanese plane claimed as shot down in air to air action today. It is a H8K1 Emily and credit goes to Ensign I. Cummings from CV Enterprise.

AK Ara has arrived at Luganville and supplies are coming ashore and work gets underway on expanding the airfield.


August 11

Turn complete and first order of business is to see what became of AP President Jackson. She is still afloat and is now at 03 84 28 00 and only has 62 supply left to unload. Flooding has actually come down a tad. I decide to disband her TF and put her in at the newly liberated Lunga. I leave her at readiness with a whopping 121 days to repair let alone the major floatations which stands at 78.

As for Lunga it fell to the deliberate attack after the US forces achieved odds of 10 – 1. 2050 Japanese casualties (62 squads, 43 non combat and 74 engineers destroyed) to 201 Allied casualties (2 squads destroyed). Damage at the base is port 16, AF Service 2 and AF Runway 2. Kure 3rd Naval Guard Unit, 81st Naval Guard Unit, 13th and 11th Naval Construction Battalions all retreat to Tassafaronga. Lunga supplies stand at 1188 but can do with more as required supplies are 2556.

The transports have delivered all troops and supplies to Tulagi. A deliberate attack is ordered here for tomorrow. Time now for the transports and escorts to get out and time to consider bringing in more supply and a base force to Tulagi…. Without losing ships to the Japanese of course. The carriers are ordered to standby for one further day.

PM expands forts to size 3. I’ll keep them going to 4 and likely will go for size 5.

Only 1 operational loss today – an Avenger.


August 12

The attack at Tulagi went off with almost disastrous results. I knew supply for 2nd USMC/2nd Regiment was low but hadn’t anticipated that it would have such a strong negative impact. The raw AV was US 248 to Japan 31. This was adjusted to US 32 to Japan 31! Thankfully no forts and the Japanese sustained 409 casualties (35 squads disabled) to 17 US casualties. Odds, of course, were 1 to 1 and the base wasn’t going to change hands this time around. I’ll let the boys on the ground rest up for a day or two before trying once again…. It will be some time before I can get decent supplies to them! I want to get some supply to these troops so AK Carina gets the green light for a hazardous resupply mission.

My carriers are hovering to the east but with clear skies the Japanese scout planes have been very effective at pin pointing my fleets. Time to move them again. The transports are well to the south with their escorts. Overnight CL Hobart became the first warship targeted by Japanese submarines. RO-68 launched 6 torpedoes at her but they all missed. DD Selfridge led the response but on 1 hit was reported.

Things at Lunga are settled with enough supply for a bit and airfield runway damage now fully repaired.

xAKs Nabesna and Willimoto have arrived at Noumea and begin unloading 6400 of supply.

Re: scuttling ships - I believe damage has to be over 90 in at least one category before you can scuttle.

Re: the fuel you recouped from Koumac - isn't that place on the same island as Noumea? If so, the fuel will flow back
there overland unless you set Noumea to stockpile the fuel.

I do believe you are so on the money there BBfanboy. I hate scuttling so haven't paid much attention for a long while on the parameters for being allowed to do so.

Like your thinking on Koumac. I'm very unskilled in the overland fuel/supply so I shall have to pick up my act in this area.

August 13

Not a single combat report for today. The op. Report did reveal an Avenger from VT-71 attacking a Type KD6B class SS at 123,144 which is 3 hexes away from my carriers. I want my carriers to the north of the reef islands to await a small cargo TF that is ready to leave Noumea for a supply run to Tulagi. AK Carina has just loaded 3800 supply and will set off, with her escort, on a north easterly run to try and avoid the Japanese sub menace. With a dash of luck Todd may just well interpret that avenger attack on his sub as an indication that my carriers are withdrawing to the south.

The troops on Tulagi will wait one more day before they are given the green light to continue their attack.

All damage to airfield Service has now been repaired at Lunga.


August 14

The carrier planes continue to locate Japanese subs. A dauntless from VS71 attacks a TypeA1 class at 121,138. Whilst another dauntless from VS72 attacks SS I-10 at 123,138 and report a hit on the submarine... That would be nice but I’ll count I-10 as still capable of hurting my ships.


August 15

SS I-162 is prowling around Luganville. She is found by the escort shepherding transports to port but avoids any nasty attention. She then sets up a firing solution on APD Colhoun and launches 8 torpedoes which all miss before the wily captain again outsmarts the escort.

Not much else to report for the turn… In fact not even a single plane lost to any cause!

At Tulagi I set the parachute and raider battalions to deliberate attacks. As the 2nd USMC/2nd Rgt is still down on supply I set them to reserve. Given the number of Japanese squads that disabled a couple of turns ago I’m hopeful of a reasonable result.

31st USN Base force begins loading at Luganville for the short hop to Lunga.

TK Bishopdale arrives at Sydney to load on more fuel after loading 3707 fuel at Brisbane.


August 16

At Tulagi the US force gets adjusted AV of 42 to 25. Odds of 1 – 1 and 267 Japanese casualties to 34 allied casualties. The Japanese are reported to have lost 9 squads, 1 non combat squad and an engineer squad. Time for a day or so of rest before another push.


August 17

Near Ouv’ea SS I-168 scores 3 torpedo hits on AO Brazos causing the ship to sink. She is the first ship to go down in this game. The escort is of no inconvenience to the sub.

The TF with 31st USN Base Force inboard is on the way to Lunga. A small TF carrying supply is also bound for Tulagi. I have a couple of surface action TFs on hand plus the carriers to cover these ships.


August 18

Another deliberate attack at Tulagi gets adjusted Assault values of Allied 49 to Japanese 19. Just enough to get 2 – 1 odds and the base falls with 273 Japanese casualties against 23 Allied casualties. 5 more Japanese squads plus 23 engineers are destroyed. The base has supply of 1125 which is good as the base currently requires 806. The port has only 11 damage which is very good. As for the Japanese force; Det-Kure 3rd SNLF, 14th Naval Construction and 129th JNAF AF Unit have all been wiped out by attrition.

The B-17s based at Townsville get a mission together and manage 1 hit on the airfield at Buna. They are met by one A6M2 Zero. One of the bombers is lost to flak damage.

31st USN Base Force has arrived at Lunga and will start unloading overnight.


August 19

Just about all of 31st USN Base Force is safely off the ships and on the ground at Lunga giving me 30 air support. VMF-223 flies in from Lunganville and sets up for the local CAP duties. The TF is offloading supply and then everyone needs to pull out.

9 Rufe do a sweep of Milne Bay. The CAP only has 2 minutes warning so little to achieved here other than note that Todd is active in this area.


August 20

All looking good at Lunga. Supply is now at 4839 and the AK that was unloading at Tulagi will now move to Lunga and add supply there. Work gets underway on building forts at Lunga. The carriers are ordered out of the danger zone and will head back to Noumea to fix minor sys damage and give their planes a rest.

Now that things are on track at Guadalcanal I will focus on improving the defence of Milne Bay and PM.

As for activity during the turn Milne Bay had another visit from 9 A6M2-N Rufe. A mere 1 minute until they were overhead so again the CAP had no joy.


August 21

My returning TFs encounter SS I-121, drop some depth charges before loosing contact and sailing on. Little else to mention as my fleets return and Todd continues to gather his strength.


August 22

My ASW guarding the carriers locates SS I-171 near the Reef Islands. She dives deep and avoids the destroyers.

No planes lost today on either side. Todd is slowly but surely building up his strength and I expect he will turn up when my carriers are at Noumea.


August 23

Simply nothing to report this turn. After our previous action packed openings this has got to be ominous. One more turn and the US carriers will be at Noumea for some repairs and down time for the planes and pilots.

When he is sending in those Rufes are they bombing, sweeping or what? Either mission is a bit unusual for that airframe.

The Rufes come in doing a sweep. Sounds a bit odd but without radar they are in and out before the CAP has time to deal with them. In time I want to get one of those radar equipped base force units onto Milne Bay and then the welcome party might have decent time to set up a welcome. For now the Rufes are nuisance value... Perhaps Todd is just testing the aerial defence to see what I have there. In out previous encounter Todd showed a lot of interest in The New Guinea area and I think the same applies in this version.

August 24

The Japanese take advantage of my current lack of surface ships around Lunga and send in a bombardment TF with CAs Kumano, Suzuya, Haguro, Myoko and CLs Yura and Nagara throwing the shells. 52 casualties (3 non-combat squads destroyed) reported plus airbase hits 7, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 9. No planes destroyed on the airfield so that is good. AF service damage stands at 6 and AF runway damage is 1. After doing lots of recon Todd isn’t overly impressed by the result. The defenders don’t sit idly by either. Haguro is hit by 2 x 155mm shells. One is a deck armour hit while the other smashes into the upper works. Myoko is hit by a 5’ shell but that only finds the armour. I’m glad I have 31st Base Force available to help out. (Todd says that the damage is minor)

The carriers have arrived at Noumea except for Saratoga; she is dragging the chain and is one hex away. Naturally she is the one with 2 sys dam that I want fixed before the carriers sally forth again.

I now have enough PP to buy out 24th USA Regiment at Noumea (433 points) and I'll send them to PM with the carriers performing escort after their rest.


August 25

Todd laments the lack of success he is having with his submarines. SS I-9 is located west of Noumea by one of my ASW TFs. They bang away at her with no effect and then locate her one hex away and have another try… Again no result. Not to worry though as they have kept her occupied while my surface cover group sails through these waters and my PM bound convoy also enters these waters.

I recently flew in VMSB-232 (12 Dauntless) to Lunga. Good move as today the Japanese look to be doing a resupply effort at Tassafaronga. I’d very much feared the ability of an open runway at Lunga when I played the Japanese side. During the morning cycle 11 Dauntless plant 2 bombs on APD-46 and 4 bombs on APD-38 (she sinks). During the afternoon they return and report 2 bomb hits on APD-36 and another 2 on APD-39. One definite sinking and 3 others probably out of the scenario for good.


August 26

No combat today. Plenty Japanese planes snooping Milne Bay and Lunga. The only plane reported downed is a Mavis to flak. This is the 5th Mavis credited to destruction by flak. Given the little ship borne activity going most of these losses must have been flying over bases and low enough for flak to have an impact.


August 27

A minefield of 3 cleared at Luganville.

12 B-17 make the run to Buna from Townsville. 3 A6M2 on hand. The bombers make it through but no reports of damage. A further 3 bombers turn up a little later and contend with 2 Zero. Again no losses nor damage reported to the AF.

Troop convoy is in position to move on PM but is awaiting the carriers. 1 more day and Saratoga will be ready to team up with Enterprise as my carrier cover for this convoy.


August 28

SS Sailfish launches 4 torpedoes at PC CH-24 south of Rabaul and misses. Her skipper then avoids damage although there was a lot of shaking going on during the attack.

Saratoga and Enterprise are ready to proceed on their mission to escort the troop convoy currently enroute to PM.

That is me finally up to date with turns. And at this point Todd isn’t reading… in fact has not read any of the AAR for this current scenario.

August 29

My plan of sending a surface TF to Lunga while my real focus is on NG has come unstuck thanks to the arrival of Yamaguchi and his carriers.

Firstly the overnight action. My DD ASW TF operating near Ouv’ea locates SS I-2 and reports 2 hits.

Near Saidor SS Grayback shoots and misses against PC Ch 17 and then escapes.

Now for my South of Lunga debacle. Yamaguchi sallies forth and launches a big Aristide from the north east. He has amassed 45 Kate and 43 Val escorted by 58 Zero. They blow through my CAP of 16 Wildcat and carry out an high yield strike. BB North Carolina – 6 bombs and 5 torpedoes and is sunk. CA Vicennes – 6 bombs and is sunk (a shame as I developed a liking for her in the last match). CA Pensacola – 1 bomb and 2 torpedoes to leave her reeling at 48 95 (60) 10 01. The scuttle command is there but I’m torn between using it and trying for a valiant rescue at Lunga. The fact that Yamaguchi will only clean her up tomorrow and that 95 is going to be fatal means I will hit the scuttle switch. As for the rest (sadly there is more) CA Salt Lake City 25 17(5) 04(1) 00 took 2 bomb hits and DD Laffey 30 25(20) 04 00 took 1 bomb hit. Lowest speed is 25 so they should be able to high tail it at mission speed for a turn.

As for planes lost it seems that my Wildcats managed to account for 1 Zero while the Zeros accounted for 4 Wildcats. 9 Kates and 2 Vals were lost to flak.

A rough day and one day I will curb my penchant for placing surface TFs in exposed positions. And I think I may have gone and lost an Admiral too…. Have to check that out.

Ouchie. Take heart as no CVs were lost, at least.

Ouchie indeed. It was my own impetuosity that got my into this trouble.


August 30

As Yamaguchi steals off to the north Mutsu, Chokai, Maya, Atago and Takao pay Lunga a visit. 43 casualties (1 non combat squad destroyed) and 1 runway hit. Not too bad and no planes destroyed on the ground. The coastal guns fire back and report 2 hits on Maya and 1 hit on Takao.

During the afternoon and in heavy rain the Japanese carriers send in 39 Val escorted by 57 Zero ANSI they achieve airbase hits 4, airbase supply hits 1 and runway hits 11. 4 zero are downed in exchange for 7 Wildcat (only 2 KIA today so that is good and I note that Lunga has a need for some Wildcat replacements). 5 Val are shot down and another falls to flak. FO Webb G. VMF-223 scores 2, 3 and 4 today. After today's show Lunga has AF service damage 10 and AF runway damage 8…. Shouldn't take too long to fix up.

Washington plus others arrive Noumea.


August 31

SS Sculpin operating north west of Rabaul gets a good shot at xAK Yodogawa Maru only to find a dud torpedo has hit the fortunate merchantman. The escort has no luck finding the submarine.

I-2 continues to trawl the waters north east of Noumea. Today she is near Ouv’ea and takes a shot at DD Frazier and misses. She eludes the escorts.

Near Hanover Island SS Grayback has a shot at PC Ch 16 and misses before sneaking away from the escorts.

Now for the tricky part of off loading 24th USA Regiment at PM. I have plenty of fighters on hand at PM and CVE Long Island in the TF with 16 Wildcat on hand as well. Probably a silly thing to do having Long Island in this TF but if the extra fighters hold back the tide it will be worth the risk. Sara and Ent are available to counter any raid by the Japanese carriers which should be back at Rabaul but close enough anyway to zip across to harass my plans.

September 1

SS Albacore is found operating south of Rabaul. No damage reported.

South of PM SS RO-33 locates the surface TF escorting the carrier TF. Two torpedoes run true and hit CA Canberra. Lucky for me one is a dud and the other causes 06 35(23) 00 00 damage. Shore leave in Sydney if we can avoid any further SS interest.

Over at PM the bulk of 24th USA Regiment is ashore. Support unit and the heavy equipment still has to come off and hopefully this can be achieved within a day and I can order these ships out. I will be very interested to see what Todd does by way of response. My carriers are showing 5/5 detection so their presence has been noted by the enemy.

I have a fast transport on the way to Lunga…. Hope to sneak in some supply even though it has already been sighted. If it comes off I plan on detaching the destroyers to escort the crippled AP President Jackson. She has repaired what can be repaired but will sail with major flooding at 78%.


September 2

After having a number of submarines operating around Rabaul sighted and anticipating a Japanese carrier raid on PM I elect to send them west to operate around the approaches to Buna. It nearly has spectacular success with SS Albacore getting CV Shokaku in her sights only to be rewarded with a dud striking the valuable carrier as she steamed westwards on her overnight passage towards New Guinea. The escorts furiously thrash the ocean with their explosive cylinders of retribution… To no avail.

Near Kirakira SS I-121 locates my fast transport TF, shoots and misses against APD Manley before avoiding the escorts attack.

Better luck though for SS S-37 as she lines up on CVL Ryujo and is rewarded with the sight of one torpedo exploding into the innards of this useful Japanese carrier.

The expected aerial assault over PM begins with a sweep of 7 A6M2. 1 Zero traded for 1 Airacobra.

The morning sweep is followed up by a Rabaul based strike from 35 GM41 Betty escorted by 16 A6M2 and 12 A6M3. It takes a little while to get them into the fur-ball but eventually the CAP will draw upon the services of 11 Kittyhawk IA, 39 P-39D Airacobra, 16 F4F-3P Wildcat and 12 F4F-4 Wildcat. The 16 Wildcat are from CVE Long Island and are the green pilots of VMO-251 who were ordered to get their tails onboard the escort carrier to do exactly what they do today. These pilots will be in the thick of the action. The other Wildcats are from Saratoga; ordered to perform LRCAP.

At one stage the CAP has 60 planes available to counter 20 planes left of the escorting planes. The CAP eventually breaks through the escort to claim a few of the bombers before they start their bombing runs. To a plane every pilot picks out Long Island for attention. Sterling work is performed by the Captain and crew as she avoids 27 torpedoes sent her way.

The action does not abate after the attempt on the Allied shipping. The remaining CAP mixes it with the now 10 plane escort and then homes in on the bombers and where they run amok. Up until now the pilots from Saratoga haven’t got into the action but some of them manage to join in and bring down a couple of Betties which desperately attempt to avoid their tormentors whilst flying at a mere 4000’.

The combat summary reports 2 Kittyhawk, 1 Airacobra and 2 F4F-3P Wildcat destroyed for 5 A6M2, 3 A6M3 and 10 Betty destroyed plus 1 Betty lost to flak.

The coordination dice have not been kind to the Japanese as an unescorted strike of 13 Betty now attempts to press home an attack. 31 fighters are vectored in and the combat summary reports 9 destroyed bombers and the attack falters.

And now for the carrier based plane attack. It is still morning and the CAP has had a very busy day. This will be the 4th air assault they have had to counter. 23 Kate and 26 Val escorted by 21 A6M2 against only 19 fighters available for this round of CAP. This only seems to be half a strike by the Japanese…. Bad die roll again? The CAP manages to punch through the escort (after trading 1 Airacobra and 1 Wildcat for 1 Zero) and get amongst the bombers. 4 Kate and 4 Val are listed as destroyed in the combat summary and then the bombers are through to the shipping.

Long Island is once again the prime target. This time, though, she will not manage to escape as first a 250lb bomb smashes through her flight deck, causing an ammo storage explosion and then in quick succession she is dealt the death blows of 3 torpedoes. She will sink as the action continues around her. The bombers then turn their attention to the next most important warship; CLAA Juneau and she is hit by 1 bomb and 1 torpedo. The transports finally come under attack with AP Zeilin being the only one to suffer damage after 1 bomb finds the target. Almost as if everyone is done with the fighting the bombers and their escorts break off and head for home and the CAP lets them go; content to rest and rejuvenate for any repeat performance in the afternoon.

As it transpires that was the last action for the day. Juneau is in a spot of bother with damage at 44 68(50) 26(12) 00. She will have to sit it out for a bit at PM and try to repair a bit and chance her luck against the enemy bombers before attempting the passage to Australia. Zeilin is a far happier story reporting 07 07(5) 00 00 and will leave PM along with her sister ships.

All in all a good day. Long Island performed as the decoy as well as base for 16 invaluable fighters. Hopefully Juneau will be saved and the transports can get out of the firing line. 24th USA Regiment is safely ashore in PM with their AV of 109 and within a day or two the forts there will move up to 4. Supply is at a reasonable 7692. I’m now confident that in the event of the 30th Australian Brigade being forced to retreat to PM I’ll be in a good position to withstand any siege.

Question. With the sinking of Long Island VMO-251 is listed as destroyed yet her planes are back as a fragment based at PM (12 planes but no pilots). Do the pilots come back if I breath life back into the parent unit or have they returned to the pools and they will only get back together as a group in some post war reunion to tell tales of how these fresh faced inexperienced fighter jocks took on the cream to the Japanese Empire. As you can tell I’m a little taken my their exploits in the skies above PM.

I’m also pleased with the positioning on my carriers. Far enough away not to be in range of the Japanese naval bombers but close enough to offer LRCAP support. VF-3 of Saratoga now now has 10 kills to its name.

Less pleased of course is Todd. His comment on the results; “all of that blood to scratch an AP, hurt a CLAA and sink the CVE Long Island? I’d say that my boys got the short end of the stick.” They did get the short end of the stick but I do think that the number of planes available for CAP had a telling effect. It is one of the things I am learning about this game… Numbers, especially Allied numbers, count!

A screen shot of the Betty strike just to highlight my point.

Screen shot of the respective TF positions and aerial attacks over PM.

September 3

SS RO-34 is snooping around off the coast of Milne Bay. She doesn't manage to target anything and my escorts don’t get anything more than a sniff of her.

After dropping their supplies at Lunga my APD TF runs across SS I-121. They get 2 hits on her, one of which is a penetrating hit so she should be off to visit a port for a bit.

It seems that the Japanese carriers are still at sea but not inclined to attack this turn as no attacks on my cargo ships one hex away from Milne Bay. I’ll send them in overnight so they can start off loading. The carriers will head out to sea to offer aerial protection from a distance and hopefully put some distance between themselves and that Japanese submarine. A bunch of planes from PM are ordered to perform LRCAP of Milne Bay. We see how this plays out and whether I can get supply and 124th USAAF Base Force (with its radar) on the ground. Risky move this one.

CV Hornet arrives at Noumea and for the time being I have all 4 US carriers on the board.

September 4

Todd bemoans the effectiveness of his submarines. I see why. My carrier TF with Hornet, Wasp and Washington has parked itself on top of a Japanese sub. Strangely it appears to have done nothing more than report the TF.

No attacks and most of 124th USA USAAF Base Force is on the ground at Milne Bay. Very little left to off load and frustratingly the radar is amongst the items still to come off. One more day though should see supply at the base looking a lot better and the ships can clear out.

AP President Jackson has started her 3 knots an hour journey. One day down and flooding is steady.

Auki is occupied by the Allies.

Forts at PM go up to 4. I decide to increase the port to size 3. Costly but I want the resupply efforts here to move quicker.


September 5

The submarine woes of Todd continue.

South of Milne Bay SS I-10 locates my carrier TF and launches 6 torpedoes at CA Astoria. They all miss and the escort has trouble finding the sub let alone scoring a hit.

South of PM SS RO-33 locates my cargo TF and launches 4 torpedoes at DD Mugford… Another miss. The escort report 1 hit on the sub.

SS I-10 is dogged and now finds the surface TF sailing in tandem with the carrier TF. She launches 6 torpedoes at DD Gregory… Another miss and again she eludes the escorts.

At Milne Bay the radar is off the ship and operational. In the nick of time too! The fisrt air raid of the day is detected at 78 NM giving the CAP about 27 minutes to do something about it. 23 Betty bombers are on their way escorted by 6 A6M2 and 14 A6M3. Throughout the course of the fighting the CAP has 21 Kittyhawk, 26 Airacobra and 7 Wildcat (from Enterprise) to call upon. The CAP withstands a determined escort and manages to get through to the bombers and claim some of them before they commence their bombing run. 17 make it through and let loose their torpedoes with CL Leander as the favourite target. Not a single hit during this raid. The CAP are into the Japanese planes post air attack and more planes fall. The combat report shows 1 Kittyhawk and 2 Airacobra destroyed for 1 A6M2, 3 A6M3, 5 Betty destroyed and 1 Betty lost to flak.

Coordination issues again pop up as 12 unescorted Betty are detected 32 NM out. The CAP accounts for 5 and the raid dissipates.

The carriers now launch a raid which is detected at 152 NM and the CAP has about 56 minutes to ready itself. Goodness! I’ve not paid too much attention to this before… Radar does make a big difference. 18 Kate and 26 Val fly in escorted by 21 Zero. The CAP has 7 Kittyhawk, 5 Airacobra and 5 Wildcat to draw on. They are effective and after dealing with the escort break through and get amongst the bombers. The CAP lose 1 Kittyhawk, 1 Airacobra and 1 Wildcat. The attackers lose 2 Zero, 1 Kate and 5 Val with 1 Kate lost to flak. A good result for the Allies with only xAP Neleus taking a solitary bomb hit (27 04 (01) 09 (01) 00).

During the afternoon radar picks up a raid of 31 Betty escorted by 1 A6M3 (what's with the escort for this raid?) at 79 NM distant. The CAP of 15 Kittyhawk, 11 Airacobra and 7 Wildcat see off the Zero and then claim 9 of the bombers as shot down. 12 bombers make it through to the ships where another 2 are lost to flak and their efforts are in vain. No ships hit during this raid.

Job done at Milne Bay and the ships are ordered out of the hot zone.

A terrible day, I think, for the Japanese. Hot on the heels of the losses a couple days previous and I think the Japanese should be reeling especially in light of their meagre return. The intelligence screen reports 8 Allied planes lost in air to air for 52 Japanese planes lost in a similar way. 44 Betty and 14 Val are attributed to this total. Up until a couple of days ago total planes lost during the campaign was neck and neck. Now, however, total Allied losses stand at 72 against Japanese losses of 178. Miss Betty has 75 of her number lost in air to air.

AP President Jackson is still moving along with no change in damage status.

Now that I have accomplished some short term goals at New Guinea time to turn the focus back onto Guadalcanal and work on dealing with the IJN.

IMHO he is beating his head against a wall at PM. Better to try for your CVs with his while your carrier fighters are performing LRCAP. Well done on your part, PM is secure.

In our WITP GC Todd would sometimes mention that my planes had flown into a buzz saw. I now appreciate just what he meant and see how this can be achieved.


September 6

Russell Island is occupied by the Allies.

SS I-162 is sighted by US escorts. She dives deep and cannot be located.

SS S-41 is near Gasmata and fires off 4 torpedoes at PB Nikkai Maru. She misses and sneaks away. The PB continues on her westerly heading only to run into the sights of SS S-40. 4 torpedoes launched and 1 is reported to have hit and the PB is reported as sunk.

Damage on AP President Jackson remaining steady after some 200 odd NM of steaming.


September 7

SS S-37 attacks and misses PB Magan Maru near Gasmata and then escapes.

Near Ouv’ea SS I-2 plays cat and mouse with my ASW TF. She fires on DD Frazier and then avoids damage herself during the night cycle. During the day cycle she has another go at Frazier and misses and again avoids damage.

Much needed supply coming ashore at Lunga. The TF is at 2/2 detection so let's see if this provokes a Japanese response.

AP President Jackson still holding steady.

Goodenough Island is occupied by the Allies.


September 8

5 B-17 disturb the skies over Buna. They also disturb 2 Zeros, drop some bombs, ineffectually and then head for home.

Thousand Ships Bay is occupied by the Allies.

I’ve put it on the table for Todd to pull the plug on this game when he no longer wants to continue. He tells me that he has an evil plan brewing before he does so. Something evil is afoot and with no significant warship losses something awful is coming my way.


September 9

Ferguson Island is occupied by the Allies.

A 5 plane B-17 raid on Buna and nothing off other importance happening.

Todd says that until the Japanese warship lose their ability to punch he is happy to play on. Game on until then as the IJN has a stack of ships available.


September 10

CLAA Juneau is enroute to Cairns from PM. She is making heavy weather of it and flooding has increased across the board to 61 73 32 00. Op. Reports also show that she has suffered a power failure. She is a few hexes off Cooktown so she will do a James Cook and continue the history of this location being a shelter for ships in trouble.

The damaged CA Canberra has completed minor repairs at Townsville and is on her way to Sydney.

AP President Jackson makes it safely to Luganville without any change in her damage condition. I decided to keep moving her onto Noumea.

SS I-2 continues playing cat and mouse with the ASW TF tasked with keeping her occupied.

2 Kittyhawk do a sweep of Buna and encounter 2 Zero before 6 B-17 brush off 2 Zero and manage a solitary hit on the runway. A follow up sweep by 14 Kittyhawk meets 1 Zero and shoots it down.

September 11

Temporary repairs on AP President Jackson are failing so she is ordered to return to Luganville (flood damage now at 84!).

Juneau is 1 hex away from safety and flooding has reduced by 1.

SS I-7 tangles with my ASW this turn. She comes out of it with 1 hit.

At Buna 13 Kittyhawk sweep against 1 Zero. One plane lost on both sides. 2 of the raiders which had become detached turn up and take on 2 Zero and down 1 enemy fighter. 9 B-17 now arrive without CAP to worry about and report airbase hit 1 and runway hits 1.


September 12

4 Kittyhawk sweep Buna and find the skies are clear.

Near Buna SS Wahoo launches a dud against PB Kenkon Maru.

AP President Jackson is steady and one hex away from safety.

Juneau has safely docked at Cooktown.


September 13

No action today.

AP President Jackson makes it back to Luganville and the repairs can carry on without the constant motion of the ocean swell.


September 14

On the long haul from Noumea to Sydney DD Warramunga detects SS I-1 in mid ocean and subjects her to depth charge attack. No damage but she keeps the subs head down and does her job of protecting xAKs Nabesna and Willimoto.

Near Efate the ASW TF locates SS I-7 and make sure she keeps her head done too.

Near Koumac SS I-168 is also located and 2 hits are reported. One is a penetrating hit with reports of an internal explosion and engine damage. This sub should be homeward bound now… Hopefully.

121st USN Base Force is unloading at Lunga. I will be able to service more planes at the base now. Supplies are also pouring into the base along with the extra troops.


September 15

Todd has some success with SS I-169 after she finds firstly the carrier TF containing Saratoga – fires and misses. Undeterred she finds the second TF containing Wasp. She launches a full salvo of 8 torpedoes and is rewarded with 1 hit 26 12(7) 09(06) 00. Quite the nuisance as she will be sitting it out at Sydney when the forthcoming big battle takes place.

SS Grayback, operating near Rabaul, scores a hit on PB Kenkon Maru but it is a dud.

6 B-17 bomb Buna for airbase hits 1.

The absence of Wasp will make things a bit more interesting and give Todd some renewed incentive. So far I’ve done well to avoid the IJN sub menace but they have finally caught up with me and I am thankful that the result wasn’t worse.


September 16

SS Grayback launches and misses against DD Uranami escorting a supply convoy near Kavieng.

SS I-1 pops up again nearer to the Oz coast at Newcastle. She misses against DD Mugford.

SS Amberjack is hunted by escorts near Truk.

SS I-9 is successful near Noumea sinking DD Monaghan (escorting merchantmen) with 1 torpedo.

Dauntless based at Lunga bomb Kure 3rd Naval Guard Unit and 81st Naval Guard Unit at Tassafaronga.


September 17

SS I-7 is attacked near Efate.

Near Talasea SS Sculpin fires off a salvo at TK Fujisan Maru. There is a good torpedo amongst the spread and it sinks the laden vessel. Todd is not happy to loose this one as it has been scrounging fuel from various places for weeks. For good measure Sculpin also has a go at PC Ch 23 but misses.

Todd is having trouble again moving a ship. He says if he can’t pull off his operation due to logistical problem that will be the death knell for this particular scenario. I hope we don’t call because of a bug.

September 18

SS I-15 launches torps at DD Dunlap escorting a supply convoy to Milne Bay. They miss. I have my carriers in escort mode for this resupply op and they have been sighted. There are a couple of Japanese subs trying to keep up so it is time to try and dance around this menace again.

Todd has not been overly impressed with his sub results but he has them scattered far and wide and they are keeping me on my toes making sure I’ve got ships escorted and ASW TFs out and about looking to hunt them down.

September 19

SS Wahoo launches at PB Magan Maru without success near Lae.

SS S-37, near Gasmata, scores 1 hit on PB Sozan Maru… Heavy damage reported.

At Rekata Bay 10 Dauntless bomb R-Area fwd Det.

Ignoring signs of shipping in the area the Allied carriers put together a strike of 17 Dauntless and 14 Avenger escorted by 52 wildcat and the head off to bomb Lae AF. 13 zero meet them in an ad hoc manner. 2 zero reported downed for 1 Wildcat and 1 Dauntless lost to flak for airbase hits 3, airbase supply hits 4 and runway hits 7. The coordination is not good as firstly a group of 17 Dauntless fly in on their own followed by another group of 17 Dauntless. CAP is fortunately thin but 7 Dauntless are chewed up in the skies another is lost to flak.


September 20

Near Buna my surface TF with Australia, Hobart, Achilles and Boise as the major warships catch PB SHoei Maru and dispatch her with 17 hits. This clears something up for me. I’ve been getting lots of sighting hits on shipping activity between Rabaul and Lae. I now strongly suspect that the enemy has been flooding the area with single ship Patrol Boats in an attempt to cloak the fact that not really much is going on here at all… Well that is until something does happen.

Near Rabaul SS Pickerel is subjected to depth charge attack.

South of Milne Bay SS RO-63 finds the satisfied Elster’s ships and puts a big dampener on the nights activity by putting 2 fish into Boise 12 47(34) 01 00. Slow trip to Townsville and hopefully avoid those submarines.

As the resupply of Milne Bay is complete all ships are ordered out of the area. There are too many Japanese subs turning up with hopes of making this a happy hunting ground.

The Dauntless return to Rekata Bay and bomb the visitors again.

The Fortresses (10) fly unopposed over Buna and score airbase supply hits 1.

Normanby Island is occupied by the Allies.

September 21

SS RO-68 gets a shot in at DD Sterett which is part of the carrier escort. Sterett survives as does the Japanese sub.

SS Sculpin tries on PC Ch 17 and misses.

Yamaguchi gets his carriers into the perfect position to launch a strike that is out of range for the Allied carriers to launch a return strike. 21 Kate fly in escorted by 22 Zero. Over the course of their steady progress towards the Allied carriers 68 Wildcat throw themselves in the fray. 3 Zero are destroyed and 2 of the Wildcats. The CAP does get through to the bombers but only manages to destroy 3 of them before they are into the final run to their targets… Enterprise and Saratoga. One Kate gets through the flak, which brings down 3 of the Kate's, and scores possibly a fatal blow. The torpedo sets off an ammo explosion so bad that the order goes out to flood magazines. Sara has been hit hard and to make matters worse a second torpedo hits her. By the end of the day she is suffering 31 83(41) 20(08) 03 and it is a long voyage to Townsville.

The Dauntless bomb the troops at Tassafaronga and the B-17s cause airbase hits 1 and runway hits 1 at Buna.

An afternoon raid from Yamaguchi’s carriers by 6 Kate escorted by 17 Zero meets 39 Wildcat. 2 Wildcat are lost for 2 Zero and 4 Kate destroyed and the raid is foiled.

Kiriwina Island is occupied by the Allies.

Wasp goes into dock for repair at Sydney.

Not a good day with Saratoga, at best out if the scenario, but the intel screen indicates that 15 Zero were lost along with 18 Kate. If in any realistic this is a small hit to the enemy offensive capability but, even so, they are still very potent.