Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy(A) vs KenchiSulla (J)

[Mundy]

Back on October 27 with the failed Baker Island thing. Actually exactly a month ago. I ID-ed carriers in one of the two carrier groups which were there. (Shokaku, Zuikaku, etc) No idea who was in the 2nd carrier group. Nov 1 was my last spotting by name of them, probably halfway between Baker and Christmas. About 3.5 weeks ago. They probably needed some yard time, since he probably firewalled the throttles to get there.

Speaking of which, my troops trapped on that island have been bombarding every turn. I'm killing 3-4 squads per turn, on average. The IJA has about a 1.5 - 1 AV ratio on me right now. My guys are holding up well enough that I've got some fast transport groups on the way to put more supplies in. Argonaut's also on the way. I'm tempted to run more troops in. My dive bombers at Canton will watch for his re-supply efforts.

If his carriers are in the Noumea - Truk region, it's still a *long* way to Ceylon. I can probably have most everything dumped on the beach within a few days. I won't let them linger around. My PBYs and such can probably give me a day or so of warning. If I take my objectives quickly, I'll be bringing in the support forces ASAP. I want air strength to be brought up to speed quickly.

If he just has subs near Ceylon, I'm not too afraid of them. At this point in the war, my ASW capabilities are getting very good. I do have two ASW groups escorting the mob.
Usually CF and I get two turns a day in. He hasn't been getting the second one out this week. I'm wondering if he knows the hammer is about to drop and is putting it off. I'm making an effort not to talk about anything regarding the game right now. I was hoping the landings would happen by Thursday, but I'll probably be waiting until the weekend.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Mundy
Speaking of which, my troops trapped on that island have been bombarding every turn. I'm killing 3-4 squads per turn, on average. The IJA has about a 1.5 - 1 AV ratio on me right now. My guys are holding up well enough that I've got some fast transport groups on the way to put more supplies in. Argonaut's also on the way. I'm tempted to run more troops in. My dive bombers at Canton will watch for his re-supply efforts.

It is a bit disconcerting to me that the KB was not brought in here to finish the job. That leads me to believe he's keeping it back in deep reserve but its really hard to say for sure. But if you run in more troops you might generate a shock attack I think. For now I would keep running supply but don't bring more soldiers that could be destroyed.

ORIGINAL: MundyMy PBYs and such can probably give me a day or so of warning.

Don't count on that. KB can zoom in ~8 hexes with full speed with an 8 range strike radius. So you'd need to have patrols 16 hexes from Colombo to ensure the KB can't come in undetected. But of course your closest base for patrol is in India so its even further away.

Given what I've seen so far, I don't really think you can discount the possibility of the KB showing up to spoil the parade in Ceylon unless you can draw it out right now. Kind of unfortunate you brought all your CVs and CVEs here...I think you could used some of them elsewhere to make a distraction.

[jwolf]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

KB can zoom in ~8 hexes with full speed with an 8 range strike radius.

In my game I got surprised and ambushed twice by carrier strikes this way. My opponent held the MKB or KB back out of search range and then did a full speed run in one turn to get him close enough to the target to nail me with no warning. In one case he attacked an island that he knew had some stuff around it; in the other, he had a line of subs as a tripwire to "activate" the KB to zoom in and strike. His tactics worked pretty well.

[Mundy]

Hard to say at this point.

I'm reasonably certain KB is out east, but with FoW, you never know. You guys are making me paranoid. After Baker, I sure they didn't do 30 kts back to base, which means about a week transit. After that some time to repair the wear and tear suffered by the run. I haven't been seeing naval searches off of India. The odds are good he won't see this until the ramps drop on the beach.

I suppose raiding Baker with Hornet would be distracting enough, but she still has about 20 days in the yard left. I took her out of drydock a few days back just to flip her Hellcats over to F4U-1As. She's also packing Helldivers too.

Any new carrier arrivals are enroute to Pearl now. CVL Cabot left Panama about two days prior. I know at least one more Essex is due in December. Then I have a dry spell until about April. It'll be better when I get a good carrier force out of Pearl. Then I can do the "make noise in east, attack from west" thing.

[jwolf]

ORIGINAL: Mundy
You guys are making me paranoid.

That's what friends are for. [:D]

[Mundy]

[:D]

[Sangeli]

Does that mean you have delayed the invasion of Ceylon?

I think you need to do more than "make noise in the east". A simple CV sortie isn't necessarily going to bring the KB out. It needs to be a credible threat. Maybe an invasion or at least an invasion feint.

[Mundy]

No, it's still on. I'm three days away.

28 November 1943

Airfields on Ceylon are still being hit. Both at 100%. A port raid on Colombo bagged four ACMs. Nothing appears to be docked now. It's a pretty sure thing he has a goodly sized minefield there. I have a few minesweeping TFs with the invaders and there are DMSs with some of the amphib groups.

Recon is indicating only 6 planes left on the entire island. I'm wondering if they've been withdrawn.

Subs have bagged three xAKs in the last couple days. One near Formosa, one near Okinawa and the other near Chichi Jima. I have subs everywhere at this point.

Looking at the air withdrawal schedule, a bunch of transport squadrons are leaving on Dec 1. Most are at Pearl, which I've pulled out. Probably got a couple hundred PPs for that. Three at Madras will be due in three days. If I need them a little longer, so be it. I'm swimming in PPs anyway right now, since there's nobody I need to un-restrict.

[HansBolter]

Four ACMs is a likely sign of a large minefield.
Hope you have plenty of sweepers in the van.

[SqzMyLemon]

Everything is looking good so far. I'm surprised how easy it was to shut down Ceylon's airbases, but then again the force you brought to bear was substantial.

Four ACM's indicate to me a large minefield as Hans has mentioned. You could be facing a total of 600 mines so I hope you brought enough DMS's. It's getting down to D-Day and what will CF do, if anything? Exciting.

[Mundy]

Yeah, that was my conclusion. I have some minesweeping TFs with the group, and I think a few DMSs in some of the amphib groups.

I just used raw numbers to shut them down. That worked before when Fuso and Yamashiro died by fire. Both took over 100 500 pounders each, which show that getting capital ships in port is probably the most efficient way of killing them.

Thanks to weather, Trincomalee was spared bombing last turn. They healed to 85%. I don't think it matters much at this point, as it looks like he's withdrawn all his air that was on the island.

[Mundy]

Plodding along.

I overestimated my speed a bit. Since I have something like 10 TF in the hex at a time, I was looking at one of the faster ones, showing three hexes per segment. The main amphib group is only doing two, unless I move them to flank speed.

Once I'm about two days out, I'll cut the anti-mine groups loose to get a head start on that job. I'm unsure whether or not to send the ASuW group with them, as I don't see any ships there. I don't want the warships to show up early and start hitting mines, but I don't want the ASW forces to get clobbered by something unseen either. Over the next turn or so, SB2Cs from the carriers should bolster the PBY searches and firm things up. He's probably departed, and I'm surprised he ran the sub gauntlet as well as he did. The whole Ceylon area is smothered in subs. I have over 30 dedicated to the area.

ADs and ASs have been arriving in the area, and they'll go to Colombo once taken. I'm also loading up the support troops to send now.

CF's been doing one turn days this week. He's probably trying to set me on edge by drawing this out.

I'm eager to cut the paras loose. Recon's been consistently showing about 800-900 troops at Dambulla. I've enough for the job. The recon flashes on the screen seem to indicate one division broken up amongst the bases on the island. Or maybe the whole division isn't there. I'll be consulting the Intel Monkey today to try to piece things together.

[Mundy]

30 November 1943

The up is jigged.

Long range IJN search planes have arrived and have spotted most of the invasion convoy. They're one hex W of Calicut. Still 2.5 days away. I've cut the minesweepers loose towards Colombo. I've also cut loose the paras at Madras. About 7 assorted USA/USMC/UK units are going across, transported by 21 squadrons of transports. Four of these are 25 planes strong, while the rest have about 13 planes each. I'm hoping two days will do the job. Surprise is gone, so there's no reason to hold them back anymore.

Meanwhile, the bombardments continue. I'm smacking the troops at Colombo pretty good.

Colombo:

Afternoon Air attack on 15th Division, at 29,48 (Colombo)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Allied aircraft
A-20G Havoc x 25

Allied aircraft losses
A-20G Havoc: 8 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
63 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x A-20G Havoc bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x A-20G Havoc bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb

----------

Morning Air attack on 19th Ind.Mixed Brigade, at 29,48 (Colombo)

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 65 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 24

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
138 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking 15th Division ...
Also attacking 4th/B Division ...
Also attacking 19th Ind. Mixed Brigade ...

Trincomalee

Afternoon Air attack on 104th Division, at 31,47 (Trincomalee)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 28 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 11

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet *
Ground Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

----------

Afternoon Air attack on 18th JAAF Base Force, at 31,47 (Trincomalee)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 25 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 11

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 2 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 13000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Heavies are still pounding the airfields with hits on both. No more planes smacked on the ground, as they're gone now.

[Mundy]

01 December 1943

Ick...

Yay! A two turn day.

The invaders are five hexes away. All the amphibs are taken off follow mode and are now headed straight to Colombo. Those who can't make it next turn naturally are set to full speed in order to make it. My big surface force is flipped to bombardment and will remain in-hex.

I punched through the first sub line. He has 13 subs in the area that I can see. My searches are ferreting them out fairly well. One sub started the turn with a torp shot at Enterprise (the Essex one) How come my subs attack his escorts turn after turn while his go straight to the meaty part? At this point, I wish I had sent a bunch of ASW groups here ahead of time to cleanse the waters. I was rather obsessed with OPSEC at the time, and didn't realize how many he's got camped here.

I did pack plenty of destroyers with each group. Regardless, I sank one sub outright and beat up two more with goo hits. Seagulls claimed two more hits. As SOP, I usually set all cruiser and battleship floatplanes to ASW at 1,000 feet and range zero.

Paras easily take Dambulla. Just one base force there. I'll wait for the rest to arrive before deciding where to go from there. Dambulla wasn't really loaded with supply when I took it. What's nice is he can't use the rail network to do much now, between Colombo or Trincomalee anyway. All my land based bombers are set to hit troops at Colombo. I want to make the landings that much easier.

Ground combat at Dambulla (30,47)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 4374 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 247

Defending force 828 troops, 0 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 10

Allied adjusted assault: 161

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 161 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Dambulla !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
579 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 21 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 6 (6 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
182 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
111th LRP Bde /1
1st USMC Parachute Bn /1
503rd Parachute Rgt /1
3rd USMC Parachute Bn /1
50th Indian Para Bde /1
2nd USMC Parachute Bn /1
77th LRP Bde /1
2/9 Commando Bn /1

Defending units:
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment

[Sangeli]

Nicely done with Dambulla! That's an excellent start to your operations.

Did you have ASW patrol air groups along the coast of India? In the future I highly recommend using a combination of ASW plans and TFs wherever you plan on using your CVs. But really it should go further than that; you should be trying to kill Japanese subs wherever you can find them. Because if you are always trying to go after subs then it won't give any hints away about your actual plans.

Have you tried making Fletcher ASW TFs? I have had good success with Fletchers in this role. Typically I have 2-3 Fletcher ASW TFs patrolling near critical front line areas in conjunction with some air ASW. And if for some reason a surface threat emreges, I can combine the ASW fleets into a single Fletcher SCTF that can take on just about any Japanese SCTF. Great for accompanying your Death Star such that they have ASW and surface protection.

[Mundy]

Thanks. I feel like I was pressured to kick it off slightly early, but with the time needed to get the whole para groups across, that was probably a good thing.

I haven't got ASW air along the coast, mostly due the lack of supply on the SW coast bases. I can probably flip the two PBY units I have at Cochin over to anti-sub. I've never really felt confident in airborne anti-sub ops. Maybe I could flip all my TBF/TBMs over to that mission.

I had over 15 destroyers sitting at Bombay yet -- nearly all Fletchers. Three groups of them are currently enroute. I've made sure to have DEs involved, as I'm hoping the Hedgehog will be useful and most of my shots with them resulted in near miss damage.

I'm more worried about his subs nailing a carrier. There's no way they'll stop the invasion or make a dent in it. My anti-mine groups will have half a day to do some work. His subs took a couple shots at a YMS group. They missed, but so did mine.

I have one British para brigade I forgot about in Bombay which I've just railed to Madras. Once they're unpacked, they'll get sent to that northern port on Ceylon. About two days out.

Intel has 40,000 troops at Colombo and 22,000 at Trincomalee. Considering that I'm landing about 10 divisions plus armor and artillery, I think I have enough. I'm going to get a supply convoy out of Cape Town for Colombo next turn, just in case I don't have anything to work with.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Mundy
I haven't got ASW air along the coast, mostly due the lack of supply on the SW coast bases. I can probably flip the two PBY units I have at Cochin over to anti-sub. I've never really felt confident in airborne anti-sub ops. Maybe I could flip all my TBF/TBMs over to that mission.

You really need to get air ASW going. That's how you sink those subs; aircraft detect them and then ASW TFs finish them off. And occasionally the patrol planes may even hit a sub with a bomb. Though I would use something other than PBYs for this...surely you have a lot of 2E bomber groups that have almost no other use at this point. And TBFs are a good option as well if you have them. I generally train my TB pilots in ASW and operate my fleets with 10% ASW for each TB group so it is useful for that as well.

[jwolf]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli
But really it should go further than that; you should be trying to kill Japanese subs wherever you can find them. Because if you are always trying to go after subs then it won't give any hints away about your actual plans.

Really good idea. Make it SOP and this activity says nothing about any other plans. Also from my admittedly very limited experience ASW needs to be a team effort, air and naval assets working together as Sangeli described it.

[Mundy]

I'm truly wondering what the difference is between search and ASW missions for aircraft. Two of my searching SB2Cs hit a sub this turn.

02 December 1943

What a turn this was. I can happily say it appears to be going well so far.

As expected, two minesweeper groups reached Colombo first. Over the course of the turn they removed over 500 mines from the harbor. I still has some fallout from them, as Oklahoma ate two. Fortunately, damage is relatively minor, with 8 sys and 15 flt.

As mentioned, Helldivers claimed two ASW hits. I damaged two more and sank a third. Forced her to the surface where she took a shot at Colorado. Fortunately it missed and the sub ate some 5"/51 for her trouble. The RN cruiser then raked it over good with her main armament of 7.5" guns. I did lose a DE to a sub, suffering a magazine explosion, but if that's the price I pay, I'll happily take it.

Submarine attack near Trivandrum at 27,45

Japanese Ships
SS I-164, hits 18, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CL Kenya
DE Levy
DE Fox
AM Robin
AM Grebe
APA Du Page
APA Bolivar
APA Wayne
APA Warren
APA Calvert
APA President Monroe
APA President Adams
APA Barnett
APA McCawley
APA William P. Biddle
APA Fuller
APA George F. Elliot
APA Heywood
APA Leonard Wood
APA W.A. Holbrook
APA Harris
APA Wharton
LSI(L) Glenartney
LSI(L) Westralia
APD Dickerson
APD Humphreys
APD Kilty
APD Stringham
AKA Jupiter
AKA Aquarius
AKA Thuban
AKA Alcyon
AKA Titania
AKA Algorab
LSD Carter Hall
LSD Belle Grove
AP William Ward Burrows
LST 11
LST-484
LCI-335
LCI-83
DE Bebas
DE Osterhaus
DE McConnell
DE Arrow
BB Colorado
BB Maryland
CA Hawkins

SS I-164 is sighted by escort
I-164 diving deep ....
DE Bebas fails to find sub, continues to search...
DE Osterhaus fails to find sub, continues to search...
DE McConnell fails to find sub, continues to search...
DE Arrow attacking submerged sub ....
DE Bebas fails to find sub and abandons search
DE Osterhaus fails to find sub, continues to search...
DE McConnell fails to find sub, continues to search...
DE Arrow attacking submerged sub ....
SS I-164 forced to surface!
DE Arrow firing on surfaced sub ....
BB Colorado firing on surfaced sub ....
BB Maryland firing on surfaced sub ....
CA Hawkins firing on surfaced sub ....
Sub slips beneath the waves

Bombers led the way against forces at Colombo. Results here were mediocre. After this turn, I'm standing down all my land based bombers to rest and recover. Active numbers are down a bit, but the pools are mostly keeping up. I'll probably be turning them loose in India proper at some point. I'll only show the ones that got results.

Morning Air attack on 18th JAAF Base Force, at 31,45 (Jaffna)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-25D1 Mitchell x 27

Allied aircraft losses
B-25D1 Mitchell: 5 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
14 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking 22nd JAAF AF Bn ...
Also attacking 18th JAAF Base Force ...
Also attacking 22nd JAAF AF Bn ...
Also attacking 18th JAAF Base Force ...
Also attacking 22nd JAAF AF Bn ...

----------

Morning Air attack on 4th/A Division, at 29,48 (Colombo)

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 72 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 24 minutes

Allied aircraft
Seafire IIC x 2
Wildcat V x 1
B-17E Fortress x 4
B-24D1 Liberator x 9
B-24J Liberator x 35
F4F-4 Wildcat x 8
FM-1 Wildcat x 11

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 3 damaged
B-24D1 Liberator: 4 damaged
B-24J Liberator: 12 damaged

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

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
10 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
4 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
5 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking 4th/B Division ...
Also attacking 4th/A Division ...
Also attacking 4th/B Division ...

----------


Morning Air attack on 4th/A Division, at 29,48 (Colombo)

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
Seafire IIC x 2
B-24D1 Liberator x 15
FM-1 Wildcat x 5

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D1 Liberator: 6 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 12000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking 19th Ind. Mixed Brigade ...
Also attacking 4th/A Division ...
Also attacking 19th Ind. Mixed Brigade ...

Bombardments led the way.

Naval bombardment of Colombo at 29,48

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania
BB Arizona
CA Frobisher
CA Suffolk
CA Shropshire
CA Quincy
CA Minneapolis
CA Indianapolis
CA Portland

Japanese ground losses:
541 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 48 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 12 (3 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Manpower hits 3
Light Industry hits 1
Fires 648
Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 13
Port hits 4

BB Pennsylvania firing at 15th Division
BB Arizona firing at 15th Division
CA Frobisher firing at 15th Division
CA Suffolk firing at 15th Division
CA Shropshire firing at 15th Division
CA Quincy firing at 19th Ind. Mixed Brigade
CA Minneapolis firing at 15th Division
CA Indianapolis firing at Colombo
CA Portland firing at Colombo

And then the landings...

Amphibious Assault at Colombo (29,48)

TF 239 troops unloading over beach at Colombo, 29,48

Allied ground losses:
178 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (0 destroyed, 4 disabled)

15 Support troops lost overboard during unload of 5th Indian Div /20
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad accidentally lost during unload of 2nd Marine Div
12 troops of a M1917 MMG Section lost overboard during unload of 2nd Marine Div
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad accidentally lost during unload of 2nd Marine Div /4
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad accidentally lost during unload of 2nd Marine Div /5
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad lost overboard during unload of 1st Marine Div /2
12 troops of a M1917 MMG Section accidentally lost during unload of 1st Marine Div /3


---------------------------------------------

Amphibious Assault at Colombo (29,48)

TF 396 troops unloading over beach at Colombo, 29,48

Allied ground losses:
296 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 27 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (2 destroyed, 2 disabled)

11 troops of a Brit Inf Section 41 lost overboard during unload of 2nd British Div
11 troops of a Brit Inf Section 41 lost in surf during unload of 18th British Div /11
15 Support troops lost overboard during unload of 268th Motorised Bde
12 troops of a African Rifle Sqd lost overboard during unload of 11th (East African) Div /12
11 troops of a Brit Inf Section 41 lost in surf during unload of 2nd British Div /12
2pdr AT Gun accidentally lost during unload of 11th (East African) Div /13
11 troops of a Brit Inf Section 41 accidentally lost during unload of 18th British Div /17
15 Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 18th British Div /18
Motorized Support lost in surf during unload of 268th Motorised Bde /19
11 troops of a Brit Inf Section 41 lost from landing craft during unload of 2nd British Div /17
12 troops of a African Rifle Sqd accidentally lost during unload of 11th (East African) Div /18
Motorized Support accidentally lost during unload of 11th (East African) Div /19
12 troops of a African Rifle Sqd accidentally lost during unload of 11th (East African) Div /20


---------------------------------------------

Amphibious Assault at Colombo (29,48)

TF 408 troops unloading over beach at Colombo, 29,48

Allied ground losses:
557 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 64 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 77 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 38 (0 destroyed, 38 disabled)
Vehicles lost 23 (1 destroyed, 22 disabled)

13 troops of a USA 43 Rifle Squad lost from landing craft during unload of 7th Infantry Div
Motorized Support accidentally lost during unload of 33rd Infantry Div /4
15 Support troops lost in surf during unload of 7th Infantry Div /5
13 troops of a USA 43 Rifle Squad lost from landing craft during unload of 24th Infantry Div /1
12 troops of a M2HB HMG Section lost overboard during unload of 25th Infantry Div
15 Support troops lost in surf during unload of 25th Infantry Div /6
13 troops of a USA 43 Rifle Squad lost overboard during unload of Americal Infantry Div /10


---------------------------------------------

Amphibious Assault at Colombo (29,48)

TF 410 troops unloading over beach at Colombo, 29,48

Allied ground losses:
102 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

M4 Sherman Tank accidentally lost during unload of Provisional Tank Bde
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad lost overboard during unload of 4th Marine Div /4
12 troops of a M1917 MMG Section accidentally lost during unload of 4th Marine Div /5
11 troops of a Ind Inf Section 43 lost in surf during unload of 5th Indian Div /10
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad lost from landing craft during unload of 3rd Marine Div /3
14 troops of a USMC 43 Rifle Squad lost overboard during unload of 3rd Marine Div /6
3" Mortar 43 damaged beyond repair during unload of 5th Indian Div /13
Motorized Support lost in surf during unload of 5th Indian Div /15
6pdr AT Gun lost in surf during unload of 5th Indian Div /16

----------

Pre-Invasion action off Colombo (29,48)

367 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
CL Richmond
CL Newcastle
AKA Oberon
DD Roebuck

Japanese ground losses:
75 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
176 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 24 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

CL Richmond firing at 15th Division
CL Newcastle firing at 15th Division
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 5,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards


---------------------------------------------

Pre-Invasion action off Colombo (29,48)

291 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
BB Oklahoma
BB West Virginia
CA Astoria
CA New Orleans
CA Salt Lake City
DD Conyngham
SC Dynamic
SC PC-1085
LCI-435
LCI-443
LCI-448
LST-34
xAP Empress ' Australia
DD Litchfield
LCI-436

Japanese ground losses:
630 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 27 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 41 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
68 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

BB Oklahoma firing at 4th/B Division
BB West Virginia firing at 15th Division
CA Astoria firing at 4th/B Division
CA New Orleans firing at 19th Ind.Mixed Brigade
CA Salt Lake City firing at 4th/A Division
DD Conyngham firing at 15th Division
SC Dynamic fired at enemy troops
SC PC-1085 fired at enemy troops
DD Conyngham fired at enemy troops
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 6,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards


---------------------------------------------

Pre-Invasion action off Colombo (29,48)

395 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
BB Colorado
BB Maryland
CA Hawkins
CA Baltimore
CL Kenya
CL Ceylon
LCI-332
LCI-83
LCI-336
LCI-334
LCI-84
DE Bebas

Japanese ground losses:
318 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 26 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
203 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 34 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

BB Colorado firing at 4th/B Division
BB Maryland firing at 15th Division
CA Hawkins firing at 15th Division
CA Baltimore firing at 19th Ind.Mixed Brigade
CL Kenya firing at 4th/A Division
CL Ceylon firing at 15th Division
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 6,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards


---------------------------------------------

Pre-Invasion action off Colombo (29,48)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force

273 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
DD Hobby
DD Doyle
LCI-21
LCI-22
LCI-23

Allied ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

DD Hobby firing at 15th Division
DD Hobby fired at enemy troops
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 6,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards

Losses were a bit higher than I would like, but the bombardment support going in was excellent. I would have thought the Amphib Force HQ in the AGC would have helped. His troops bombarded at the end of the turn, which showed me what I was facing. He has one division, one independent brigade and 2/3 of another division there -- essentially two divisions worth of troops. I have 13 divisions ashore, so this shouldn't be a problem. I'm set to attack next turn. I'm estimating I have about 80% of my forces ashore at this point.

I'd say his bombardment was a disaster.

Ground combat at Colombo (29,48)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8331 troops, 76 guns, 10 vehicles, Assault Value = 846

Defending force 101851 troops, 1766 guns, 2302 vehicles, Assault Value = 4853

Japanese ground losses:
252 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled

Assaulting units:
15th Division
19th Ind. Mixed Brigade
4th/A Division
4th/B Division
35th Field AA Battalion
20th AA Regiment
21st Fld AA Gun Co
34th Field AA Battalion
26th Fld AA Gun Co
4th Air Defense AA Regiment
63rd JNAF AF Unit

Defending units:
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion
24th Infantry Division
11th (East African) Div /10
632nd Tank Destroyer Battalion
4th Marine Div /9
3rd Marine Div /8
767th Tank Battalion
762nd Tank Battalion
1st Marine Div /5
25th Infantry Division
2nd Marine Div /1
Americal Infantry Division
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
33rd Infantry Division
1st (Spec) Cavalry Division
18th British Div /8
268th Motorised Bde /12
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
766th Tank Battalion
2nd USMC Tank Battalion
2nd British Div /9
7th Infantry Division
Provisional Tank Brigade
1st USMC Tank Battalion
5th Indian Div /9
96th Coast AA Regiment
251st Cst AA Rgt /1

I now have two fast transport forces unloading at Baker. Interestingly, the message says they're unloading troops. I guess they might as well be, as my AV values of the troops there are rising. I may not take the island right now, but he can't get rid of me either.

At Cape Town, I'm loading a USMC defense battalion, two squadrons of Jugs and recon Lightnings for Ceylon. A big cargo convoy was almost done loading and I've re-tasked them for Ceylon also. Base forces and engineers are already making their way down along the Indian coast.

I'm getting my fleet carriers out of those sub infested waters. I'm punching them through to the SW and out a bit, about 10 hexes away. I'll keep them nearby, in case support or rescue is needed.

[BBfanboy]

Good job overall on your approach and landings! I also thought the losses on landing were rather high. Were the units prepped 100%?

Mundy: Bombers led the way against forces at Colombo. Results here were mediocre.

I think your bombing results may indicate high levels of forts at Colombo. I would make my first attack a Deliberate Attack rather than Shock Attack. Once the forts are lower and he is beat up a bit more, the SA can be ordered.