RADM Yamaguchi's Diary (Pls no affins or cheesesteak)

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

am i even looking at it right?

[jdsrae]

ORIGINAL: RADM.Yamaguchi

Here is a look at part of my industry from 12/7/41 to 1/1/42

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

First thing I notice is I think you need more vehicles.
I also think you might not need so many armaments. You can change arms factories to vehicle factories but they do cost 1000 supply/point to repair.
I’m tracking these things closely in my current game at July 42 and have been producing 240 vehicle points a day from day 1.
Even with that, when the IJ armoured divisions formed recently I used up all my vehicle points on the new components that arrive.
Motorised support squads burn up vehicle points like crazy, and lots of land units need them that aren’t tank units, eg HQ and some artillery units.

It all comes down to what other things you want to spend HI points on. More vehicles without reducing armaments might mean you have to reduce aircraft and engine production or you could burn through your HI points too fast.

It is a whole game within the game.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

i realized i can get it all in one

jd you are so fast i couldn't complete my post

thanks for the help

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

[/quote]

First thing I notice is I think you need more vehicles.
I also think you might not need so many armaments. You can change arms factories to vehicle factories but they do cost 1000 supply/point to repair.
I’m tracking these things closely in my current game at July 42 and have been producing 240 vehicle points a day from day 1.
Even with that, when the IJ armoured divisions formed recently I used up all my vehicle points on the new components that arrive.
Motorised support squads burn up vehicle points like crazy, and lots of land units need them that aren’t tank units, eg HQ and some artillery units.

It all comes down to what other things you want to spend HI points on. More vehicles without reducing armaments might mean you have to reduce aircraft and engine production or you could burn through your HI points too fast.

It is a whole game within the game.

[/quote]
i like that idea because i would like to reform those tank divisions i think the supply is worth it - scen 2.

[Bif1961]

Singapore didn't fall until 15 Feb 42, so you are doing well to be on Java already and will take Singapore well before historical.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

Singapore didn't fall until 15 Feb 42, so you are doing well to be on Java already and will take Singapore well before historical.

Thanks Bif. I get mad at myself pretty easily. I had an extra divsion in johore bahru that i sent northwest because i thought i could get singapore with only 2 divs. Still so much to learn.

[RangerJoe]

You can always stockpile motorized support before the armor forms up. Then release the stockpile when you have enough tanks. [;)]

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jan 04, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Koggala at 31,57

Japanese Ships
SS I-155

Allied Ships
xAK Demosthenes, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
50 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
caught some evacuees from Singapore i think
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Ternate at 78,102, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
DD Asagao
DD Fuyo
DD Karukaya

Allied Ships
MTB 7, Shell hits 1
MTB 8, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
MTB 9
MTB 10
MTB 11
MTB 12
MTB 26
MTB 27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Ternate at 78,102, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
DD Asagao
DD Fuyo
DD Karukaya

Allied Ships
MTB 7, Shell hits 1
MTB 9
MTB 10
MTB 11
MTB 12
MTB 26
MTB 27, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
i think these guys are from hong kong or manila trying to make their way to australia. still trying to hunt them down
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Sydney at 91,168

Japanese Ships
SS I-7

Allied Ships
CA Houston
DD Parrott
found the Houston again and missed again
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Sydney at 91,168

Japanese Ships
SS I-7

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
DD Parrott
got a piece of her this time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Suva at 132,160

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 39 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 40
B5N2 Kate x 75
D3A1 Val x 53

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
DM Tracy, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMC Monowai, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Irenee Du Pont, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CA Northampton, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Chester, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Henley
DD Rathburne, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Lawrence
DD Bagley
DD Blue, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK William Luckenbach
DM Sicard
DD Gridley
AD Rigel, Bomb hits 2
DD Patterson
KB was down covering the Noumea invasion and managed to sneak over to suva undetected. my AKE didn't rearm everybody but i've got torpedoes left if i want to pursue
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Suva at 132,160

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 40
B5N2 Kate x 91
D3A1 Val x 95

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 4 damaged

Allied Ships
CA Northampton, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
DM Sicard, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Chester, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK William Luckenbach, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DM Preble, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
AD Rigel, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Etolin, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Lawrence, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Bagley, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Walter Luckenbach, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Henley
DD Patterson, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Gridley
I was lucky enough to get an afternoon attack too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 40
B5N1 Kate x 30
B5N2 Kate x 30
D3A1 Val x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

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

Repair Shipyard hits 1
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
City Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
19 x B5N1 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
6 x B5N1 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
City Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
5 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
City Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
5 x B5N1 Kate bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
6 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Port Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
City Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
i thought there might still be some ships at soerbaja, gesnot. look at those 800kg bombs?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Benkoelen (45,91)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 3812 troops, 21 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 143

Defending force 315 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Japanese adjusted assault: 124

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 124 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Benkoelen !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), leaders(+), preparation(-)
morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)

Allied ground losses:
318 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 45 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
124th Infantry Regiment

Defending units:
Palembang Base Force
slowly working my way through sumatra
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Tavoy (54,60)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 104 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 9

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 9

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Tavoy !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)

Assaulting units:
1st Raiding Rgt /2
paras take Tavoy

[RangerJoe]

Against DDs and unarmored shits, Kates at 1000 feet are effective with two bombs. DDs are hard to hit with torpedoes.

Against MTBs and PT boats, fighters at 100 feet are more effective than bombers. Why waste ammo and OP points from your big ships against them.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

Hi Joe,

sometimes i'm too cautious. i don't know where their carriers are. i don't know if they have CAP avail at suva. should i pursue towards pago pago? or do i go back and reload my carriers and play it safe. I'm working with a weakened KB - kaga is out east, airgroups are depleted because i couldn't add any pilots or planes since the PH attack. It is what it is. I'm a lot more comfortable when i have full kb, full groups, full fuel and full ammo.

[RangerJoe]

They blanked out S H I P S?[&:]

Your KB is a powerful force but brittle. Depending upon the time, he could have 3 or 4 carriers against your 5. If he is backed by land based air, it could be close. You do not want close. If you are going to do that, flood the zone with subs where you are going as well as where his carriers should be coming from. Have SCTFs ahead with night searching aircraft to try to detect any enemy TFs so yours can get close and surprise his ships with torpedo attacks. Two or three fast, capable DDs with low threat to launch torpedoes and leave fast. Always check the DL on your ships and especially your subs. If it is high where there is no reason for it to be high, then expect enemy carriers to be around. Also, check Sigint for radio transmissions in the open ocean which would indicate a TF. Plan an ambush accordingly.

If you do not know where his carriers are, have yours go silent and not show them unless you need to. The threat of the KB should be enough to keep the enemy honest. If he knows where your carriers are, he knows where they aren't and can attack accordingly.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

They blanked out S H I P S?[&:]

It doesn't take much of a typo to get a forbidden word from that. You know - chips or whips ... [;)]

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

I had a number of updates in my latest operations report:

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR Jan 05, 42
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CA Northampton determined to have been sunk on or about Jan, 4, 1942
CA Houston is reported to have been sunk near Sydney on Jan 05, 1942
AM Lark is reported to have been sunk near Manila on Dec 08, 1941
SS KXI is reported to have been sunk near Soerabaja on Jan 03, 1942
xAK Boero is reported to have been sunk near Batavia on Dec 29, 1941
xAP Le Maire is reported to have been sunk near Soerabaja on Jan 03, 1942
xAP Rooseboom is reported to have been sunk near Soerabaja on Jan 03, 1942
PT TM-8 is reported to have been sunk near Pamekasan on Jan 05, 1942

are these reports any more valid than those in the combat report from the day they occurred? I generally mistrust any reports of sinkings

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jan 05, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Sydney at 91,168

Japanese Ships
SS I-17

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
DD Parrott
So far so good.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Sydney at 91,168

Japanese Ships
SS I-3

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
DD Parrott
Yes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Gau Island at 133,162

Japanese Ships
SS I-170

Allied Ships
CA Chester
DD Henley
no
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Sorong at 82,107

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 5 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
MTB 26, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
MTB 11, Shell hits 1
MTB 12
MTB 7, Shell hits 3
Hey Joe (a good song by the way) is this what you were talking about?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sorong at 82,107

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 3 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 0 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
MTB 12
MTB 9, Shell hits 2
MTB 11

Aircraft Attacking:
23 x A6M2 Zero bombing from 100 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 60 kg GP Bomb
Working a little bit

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

5 SOC-1 Seaguls ground losses today[:)]

and 2 of them yesterday[:D]

[RangerJoe]

Yes, those A6M2 have cannons and little bombs. They work nice down low and the pilots like to have a little fun.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Yes, those A6M2 have cannons and little bombs. They work nice down low and the pilots like to have a little fun.

thanks again. i usually waited until i had some nicks. seems i learn something new every turn.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

i was thinking of dropping some paratroops deep in australia to hold a base til i can get there with force. I think i can take it with paras but will need more to hold it. They will probably need to be airdropped and supplied for some time before i can get there. what units can i move in their entirety by air. I know i have moved air support units completely and i think i have moved some smaller AA. but i assume i can't move a whole division no matter how many planes because some of the components are too large. How about some of those independent brigades or regiments? what kind of things do i need to look for? I would rather avoid using any SNLFs or NavGd units. Thanks

[RangerJoe]

You can move smaller cannons like 75mm. But don't send the entire unit in case it gets wiped out, leave a clerk or two behind.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

Good Morning Joe

Joe's byline is that he is not a complete idiot. Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, i am a complete one.

I usually save the turn right after i run the combat as premove save and then when i am done moving as aftermove save. That way i can always go back and change things. Last move i thought there was something i forgot to do so i didn't run the turn when i was done and just did the aftermove save. hours later i figured out that i forgot to move some submarines. i did my usual and opened up the turn again to move the subs, then ran the turn and sent it to my opponents. Only problem is i opened the premove save instead of the aftermove save. Thus all i did was move my subs. the rest of the turn was a complete waste.

sometimes that wouldn't be a big issue but in this case i had an amphibious tf headed for Koepang. I had 3 surface TFs available to cover but i was waiting until i had to decide how many to commit. since i didn't end up issuing any orders (although i had in the afterturn save) it went in virtually naked.

and my opponents certainly took advantage and made my pay for it. as they should.

as i say my idiotness is complete. no surprise there.