Sitrep Jan. 1, 1944
Minor delay. I had Chiang convinced to rename 1944 as the "Year of the Supply Truck" instead of "Year of (whatever critter it historically was named for)", but I'm still a while from blowing the last two small Japanese units off the Burma Road. It's just the terrain. I have them surrounded, they haven't seen supply in months, and I've been bombing the bejeebers out of them with British second-line bombers. Hump is going OK as possible.
Chiang has reconquered enough of the productive part of China that China is actually producing some supply and units are getting stronger. I have a gang of BF moving to Canton and when they get there I will commit the CAF to discouraging the Japanese nuisance air raids there.
I took Manaus but slow-unloading Australian xAPs just separated from the escorted assault TF and AI's subs got a couple of them. AI is beefing up sub operations in the Coral Sea. I would, too. That's where the targets are. I have to up my ASW game. I have 30 modern DEs heading for Noumea to escort ships across Torpedo Junction.
You gotta like Tambor-class subs. They have 5"/51 guns and those are murder on the LBs that AI is having to use - particularly in the Formosa Straits. It take 5-7 hits from a 3"/50 carried on most fleet boats but 2-3 hits from those big, obsolete guns sends the barge to Davy Jones' Locker.
My carrier strike force has pretty much flattened the Marshalls bases although AI did sneak a few Betties in and torpedoed my battleships. Invasion force for Maloelap is prepped and loaded at Pearl.
I Have Returned
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: I Have Returned
Don't forget to use Night Naval Search as well as Day Naval Search. Set your ASW flights to 1000 feet or less but give them a percentage of rest as well.
If the enemy is using Glen subs, try a little LRCAP to shoot down those Glens. The Glens should fly at 6k so a couple of thousand feet above them should work very well.
If the enemy is using Glen subs, try a little LRCAP to shoot down those Glens. The Glens should fly at 6k so a couple of thousand feet above them should work very well.
Seek peace but keep your gun handy.
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!
“Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).”
; Julia Child
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!
“Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).”
; Julia ChildRE: I Have Returned
Good points including night naval search. Night ASW patrols?
I do use 1000 feet for day ASW patrols and I try to get pilots 60+ EXP in hot spots. I keep ops for ASW to 50% except in emergencies. Tired ASW pilots have operational losses.
Glens are not my problem. The AI sub activity is in areas where I have routine fighter patrols (good for building EXP). I've shot down a few Glens.
Since last post I got two confirmed (as much as anything is confirmed in this game) sub kills. One poor schmuck picked on a big task force and took 149(!) hits. Fortunately the TF was less than a day away from a port with ADs and AKEs.
I think I will concentrate my Tacoma-class PF (American-made River-class) into service groups escorting stuff between Noumea and the Torres Strait. High ASW rating and long range suits them to the job.
I've been playing this game for years and always new details reveal themselves.
I do use 1000 feet for day ASW patrols and I try to get pilots 60+ EXP in hot spots. I keep ops for ASW to 50% except in emergencies. Tired ASW pilots have operational losses.
Glens are not my problem. The AI sub activity is in areas where I have routine fighter patrols (good for building EXP). I've shot down a few Glens.
Since last post I got two confirmed (as much as anything is confirmed in this game) sub kills. One poor schmuck picked on a big task force and took 149(!) hits. Fortunately the TF was less than a day away from a port with ADs and AKEs.
I think I will concentrate my Tacoma-class PF (American-made River-class) into service groups escorting stuff between Noumea and the Torres Strait. High ASW rating and long range suits them to the job.
I've been playing this game for years and always new details reveal themselves.
RE: I Have Returned
Several experienced players use a single small tanker [bait] with heavy ASW escort as a sub trap. [:)]ORIGINAL: Taxcutter
Good points including night naval search. Night ASW patrols?
I do use 1000 feet for day ASW patrols and I try to get pilots 60+ EXP in hot spots. I keep ops for ASW to 50% except in emergencies. Tired ASW pilots have operational losses.
Glens are not my problem. The AI sub activity is in areas where I have routine fighter patrols (good for building EXP). I've shot down a few Glens.
Since last post I got two confirmed (as much as anything is confirmed in this game) sub kills. One poor schmuck picked on a big task force and took 149(!) hits. Fortunately the TF was less than a day away from a port with ADs and AKEs.
I think I will concentrate my Tacoma-class PF (American-made River-class) into service groups escorting stuff between Noumea and the Torres Strait. High ASW rating and long range suits them to the job.
I've been playing this game for years and always new details reveal themselves.
I find that ASW ships need skippers with both high Naval and high Aggression skills. The aggression seems to equate to persistence when contact is lost while the naval skill obviously helps get the hits (and dodge torpedoes).
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
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justinevans
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RE: I Have Returned
Agree
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep Jan. 28, 1944
A wild and woolly month.
At the beginning of the month I hadn't seen KB since late 1942. AI did not scatter his forces but rather concentrated them. I did much the same we brushed and both ran to base. At that point he still had a lot of tactical superiority and I was doing OK with land based air. Forward to Jan. 1944.
At this point I have won in the Coral Sea/Solomons area. Rabaul is merely a target range. It took a while but I have shifted my offensive to go north from Darwin. I watch Truk like a hawk but it never seems to contain KB. Not even much in the way of land-based air. I have so much in the way of search planes on Midway, Tarawa (it fell without much of a fight), Johnston and Baker Islands certain members of Congress might worry about the island capsizing.
I sent out a raid on Maloelap and Wotje and they he more stuff there than I had thought. Even with my whole carrier force out there I had to empty the magazines down to Sorties = 0. Suddenly AI had his whole carrier force behind me. Land-based Betties caught two modern BBs out from under the Hellcat cover and torpedoed them. Now I'm held hostage by two cripples and the fact my dive bombers had no ordnance. I had enough torpedoes for two raids per squadron. We brush again and both of us take some damage. I got torpedo hits on two big carriers but didn't sink them. He hit three of my carriers with torpedoes and sank the Yorktown and damaged the Wasp pretty badly. (FLT=75) But my well trained Hellcats and powerful flak murdered his attack planes. So I have to postpone my invasions of Maloelap and Wotje for now and am dragging back to Pearl.
It looked like AI was retiring as well but he turned around and started wandering around between Johnston, Baker and the Gilberts. So far all he did was have a small air battle with two squadrons of P-39s garrisoning Tarawa. I was actually pleased. One would think KB Zeros vs P-39s would be a rat slug but it was about a draw and more importantly they beat up his strike planes. He is still wandering around out there but now all my ships are within range of the PH airfields. At least a thousand planes. All he is going to find is submarines. I suspect he has every TK available fueling his relatively short-legged ships this far east. Sooner or later he will have to retire if only to fuel up. When he does, I'm gonna hit Wake. I have a Marine Division two battalions of tanks, two combat engineer regiments and some artillery all prepped up with a YHQ on a command ship. Early 1944 I have plenty of sealift. Last recon showed 14,000 men on Wake. This may not be fun but I think he is surprising me by running through the Midway-Wake gap. The loss of two BB (Alabama and South Dakota) is not pleasant but my fleet upgraded as two Iowas appeared and are now at Pearl. A bunch of ships will be in shipyards for about six weeks.
However...now I know where KB is. So I greenlighted my "Malta Convoy" to Hong Kong/Canton. Chiang took both cities and has repaired both ports and airfields. Eleven CVEs (about 200 planes) my PH survivor BBs with Brooklyns and a horde of Fletchers is escorting about 150,000 tons of supply. I just took Lautern and have bombed Kendari. The only intact base I'll have to fight past is Menado. Two hundred Wildcats should fend off his planes and I'll peel off the battleships to flatten Manado for the return trip. If I can get half this supply into Hong Kong/Canton that will be as good a six months of the Burma Road. Chiang has re-taken enough of southern China that he is actually generating some supply on his own. Chiang has a modest fighter base at Canton. If I can make a second trip soon I'll I'll have about 150 P-47B to provide air cover.
My longer-term plan is to supply Chiang enough so he can drive up the coast to Foochow. Then US dive bombers (and maybe some old cruisers) will close off the Formosa Strait once and for all.
Silly question: Why is it my second ARD will not go anywhere? Not even Pearl of San Francisco. It make Portland into a fairly good repair shipyard but I's really like to move it further west. My first ARD is now at Darwin and is really useful and the third one is handy at Midway.
A wild and woolly month.
At the beginning of the month I hadn't seen KB since late 1942. AI did not scatter his forces but rather concentrated them. I did much the same we brushed and both ran to base. At that point he still had a lot of tactical superiority and I was doing OK with land based air. Forward to Jan. 1944.
At this point I have won in the Coral Sea/Solomons area. Rabaul is merely a target range. It took a while but I have shifted my offensive to go north from Darwin. I watch Truk like a hawk but it never seems to contain KB. Not even much in the way of land-based air. I have so much in the way of search planes on Midway, Tarawa (it fell without much of a fight), Johnston and Baker Islands certain members of Congress might worry about the island capsizing.
I sent out a raid on Maloelap and Wotje and they he more stuff there than I had thought. Even with my whole carrier force out there I had to empty the magazines down to Sorties = 0. Suddenly AI had his whole carrier force behind me. Land-based Betties caught two modern BBs out from under the Hellcat cover and torpedoed them. Now I'm held hostage by two cripples and the fact my dive bombers had no ordnance. I had enough torpedoes for two raids per squadron. We brush again and both of us take some damage. I got torpedo hits on two big carriers but didn't sink them. He hit three of my carriers with torpedoes and sank the Yorktown and damaged the Wasp pretty badly. (FLT=75) But my well trained Hellcats and powerful flak murdered his attack planes. So I have to postpone my invasions of Maloelap and Wotje for now and am dragging back to Pearl.
It looked like AI was retiring as well but he turned around and started wandering around between Johnston, Baker and the Gilberts. So far all he did was have a small air battle with two squadrons of P-39s garrisoning Tarawa. I was actually pleased. One would think KB Zeros vs P-39s would be a rat slug but it was about a draw and more importantly they beat up his strike planes. He is still wandering around out there but now all my ships are within range of the PH airfields. At least a thousand planes. All he is going to find is submarines. I suspect he has every TK available fueling his relatively short-legged ships this far east. Sooner or later he will have to retire if only to fuel up. When he does, I'm gonna hit Wake. I have a Marine Division two battalions of tanks, two combat engineer regiments and some artillery all prepped up with a YHQ on a command ship. Early 1944 I have plenty of sealift. Last recon showed 14,000 men on Wake. This may not be fun but I think he is surprising me by running through the Midway-Wake gap. The loss of two BB (Alabama and South Dakota) is not pleasant but my fleet upgraded as two Iowas appeared and are now at Pearl. A bunch of ships will be in shipyards for about six weeks.
However...now I know where KB is. So I greenlighted my "Malta Convoy" to Hong Kong/Canton. Chiang took both cities and has repaired both ports and airfields. Eleven CVEs (about 200 planes) my PH survivor BBs with Brooklyns and a horde of Fletchers is escorting about 150,000 tons of supply. I just took Lautern and have bombed Kendari. The only intact base I'll have to fight past is Menado. Two hundred Wildcats should fend off his planes and I'll peel off the battleships to flatten Manado for the return trip. If I can get half this supply into Hong Kong/Canton that will be as good a six months of the Burma Road. Chiang has re-taken enough of southern China that he is actually generating some supply on his own. Chiang has a modest fighter base at Canton. If I can make a second trip soon I'll I'll have about 150 P-47B to provide air cover.
My longer-term plan is to supply Chiang enough so he can drive up the coast to Foochow. Then US dive bombers (and maybe some old cruisers) will close off the Formosa Strait once and for all.
Silly question: Why is it my second ARD will not go anywhere? Not even Pearl of San Francisco. It make Portland into a fairly good repair shipyard but I's really like to move it further west. My first ARD is now at Darwin and is really useful and the third one is handy at Midway.
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep Jan. 31, 1944
Last banzai in Burma - at least in the important part.
My Indians, British, Burmese ROFLstomped the last starving regiments along the Burma Road.
The Rangoon screen announces that the Burma Road is now open and supply at Tsuyung increased by 500 points. I have 400,000 tons of supply at Rangoon and all the bases along the road and railroad are fully repaired. BTW, Magwe oil/refinery are repairs to 25% output.
I'm still running The Hump. That may change if the Malta Convoys are successful
I'm rallying my north Burma army at Mandalay. Units are scattered all over the place and especially WAAAAY out into the jungle. Rally may take a couple weeks due to terrain.
I've recovered all my damaged CVs except Wasp. The crew has the FLT damage down to 70. KB is 2,000 miles away, lollygagging around Tarawa.
In a couple days, B-24s escorted by P-38s are going to start pummelling Truk.
My "Malta Convoy" has pulled up just off Menado. No opposition so far.
Dropping off lots of engineers at Lautern. I trashed the air base and the port.
Last banzai in Burma - at least in the important part.
My Indians, British, Burmese ROFLstomped the last starving regiments along the Burma Road.
The Rangoon screen announces that the Burma Road is now open and supply at Tsuyung increased by 500 points. I have 400,000 tons of supply at Rangoon and all the bases along the road and railroad are fully repaired. BTW, Magwe oil/refinery are repairs to 25% output.
I'm still running The Hump. That may change if the Malta Convoys are successful
I'm rallying my north Burma army at Mandalay. Units are scattered all over the place and especially WAAAAY out into the jungle. Rally may take a couple weeks due to terrain.
I've recovered all my damaged CVs except Wasp. The crew has the FLT damage down to 70. KB is 2,000 miles away, lollygagging around Tarawa.
In a couple days, B-24s escorted by P-38s are going to start pummelling Truk.
My "Malta Convoy" has pulled up just off Menado. No opposition so far.
Dropping off lots of engineers at Lautern. I trashed the air base and the port.
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep: Feb 5, 1944
The Second Battle of the Gilbert Islands ended inconclusively which makes it a win for me. AI sank Yorktown and damaged five carriers and mauled my Avenger squadrons. I have airedale and sub reports of sinking one carrier and damaging three more. I decimated his dive bomber and torpedo squadrons.
Wasp is in the Pearl Harbor shipyard with 46 FLT damage. When I can get it down to 40 I'll run her to the West Coast. I hate having a long-term project in the PH yard. I may need it for battle damage. All of the damaged ships spent a few days there getting ready to go to The Coast. Independence is almost to Frisco Bay. The rest are in Alameda or Mare Island.
Now, if I can just get my amphib force destined for Wake to move...
My carrier fighter pilot pool is a little thin. Good thing I used CVEs to carrier-train some Marine fighter squadrons. They are a odd size but are handy. After they passed their C-Quals I put them in land bases in the Solomons flying point defense. Now, they are rated pretty good.
The "Malta Convoy" made it to Hong Kong/Canton. In about three days they will have unloaded 150,000 tons of supply. AI killed about 15% of my Carrier Wildcat drivers but the survivors are growing aces like crazy. Next run I'll include some US BF and P-47 fighter groups. The Chinese forces are getting strong quickly.
Victory in Upper Burma made my orders phase a lot shorter. I've staked out a screen of small units to protect the Burma Road and the rest of the Upper Burma army is on trains headed for Pegu. I'm gonna stomp Moulmein and proceed at a leisurely pace against Bangkok. With ships bringing hundreds of thousands of tons into China, I won't be so dependent on the Burma Road.
In a week or so, Chiang will drive up the coast to Wenchow then turn up the Yangtze Valley and kill off most of AI, remaining troops in any degree of supply.
The Second Battle of the Gilbert Islands ended inconclusively which makes it a win for me. AI sank Yorktown and damaged five carriers and mauled my Avenger squadrons. I have airedale and sub reports of sinking one carrier and damaging three more. I decimated his dive bomber and torpedo squadrons.
Wasp is in the Pearl Harbor shipyard with 46 FLT damage. When I can get it down to 40 I'll run her to the West Coast. I hate having a long-term project in the PH yard. I may need it for battle damage. All of the damaged ships spent a few days there getting ready to go to The Coast. Independence is almost to Frisco Bay. The rest are in Alameda or Mare Island.
Now, if I can just get my amphib force destined for Wake to move...
My carrier fighter pilot pool is a little thin. Good thing I used CVEs to carrier-train some Marine fighter squadrons. They are a odd size but are handy. After they passed their C-Quals I put them in land bases in the Solomons flying point defense. Now, they are rated pretty good.
The "Malta Convoy" made it to Hong Kong/Canton. In about three days they will have unloaded 150,000 tons of supply. AI killed about 15% of my Carrier Wildcat drivers but the survivors are growing aces like crazy. Next run I'll include some US BF and P-47 fighter groups. The Chinese forces are getting strong quickly.
Victory in Upper Burma made my orders phase a lot shorter. I've staked out a screen of small units to protect the Burma Road and the rest of the Upper Burma army is on trains headed for Pegu. I'm gonna stomp Moulmein and proceed at a leisurely pace against Bangkok. With ships bringing hundreds of thousands of tons into China, I won't be so dependent on the Burma Road.
In a week or so, Chiang will drive up the coast to Wenchow then turn up the Yangtze Valley and kill off most of AI, remaining troops in any degree of supply.
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep. Leap Day (Feb.29) 1944
After the Second Battle of the Gilbert Islands my subs chased KB back to Tokyo Bay. So now I have him located. I have a dozen subs patrolling the outfall of the bay.
I turned my carriers around (less numerous than before the battle) and have amphib TFs bearing down on Maloelap and another departing Pearl for Makin.
B-24s, escorted by P-38Gs have chased all the shipping out of Truk. The airfield has been reduced to 52% damage. Nothing there but some auxiliaries.
Rabaul has been flattened and for good measure I air-mined the port. Tranquility reigns in the Bismarck, Solomon, and Coral Seas. Heavily escorted transport and cargo convoys plus a CVE hunter-killer TF are slowly whittling down AI's subs.
I have a amphib TF halfway to Ambon. B-25s have pulverized the place. The US 32nd ID should be quite adequate. Follow-up convoy now departing Darwin. I have TFs fetching the Australian 6th and 9th Divisions from East Timor. I should be using them at Kendari shortly.
I am mopping up in southern Burma and NW Thailand. The terrain is a pain. British and Australian fighters are now mostly Spitfires with strong pilots. AI did open kamikaze warfare yesterday hitting the HMS Buttler. She'll get home but her deck is fouled. Air wing at Bassein. Moulmein is surrounded as is Chiang Mai. My Indian Army has nothing better to do right now so I'll push AI far enough back to cut down of kamikazes around Rangoon. Burma Road is operating at rated capacity.
Since I got the first "Malta Convoy" into Hong Kong/Canton, Chiang Kai-shek's army has perked up considerably. I have a big Chinese Army (seven corps averaging 525 AV each is pushing up the coast.
AI has upped his ASW game. I had to get Wasp out of Pearl (to Mare Island) because I have so many subs in Pearl's shipyard.
Logistical situation is A-OK.
After the Second Battle of the Gilbert Islands my subs chased KB back to Tokyo Bay. So now I have him located. I have a dozen subs patrolling the outfall of the bay.
I turned my carriers around (less numerous than before the battle) and have amphib TFs bearing down on Maloelap and another departing Pearl for Makin.
B-24s, escorted by P-38Gs have chased all the shipping out of Truk. The airfield has been reduced to 52% damage. Nothing there but some auxiliaries.
Rabaul has been flattened and for good measure I air-mined the port. Tranquility reigns in the Bismarck, Solomon, and Coral Seas. Heavily escorted transport and cargo convoys plus a CVE hunter-killer TF are slowly whittling down AI's subs.
I have a amphib TF halfway to Ambon. B-25s have pulverized the place. The US 32nd ID should be quite adequate. Follow-up convoy now departing Darwin. I have TFs fetching the Australian 6th and 9th Divisions from East Timor. I should be using them at Kendari shortly.
I am mopping up in southern Burma and NW Thailand. The terrain is a pain. British and Australian fighters are now mostly Spitfires with strong pilots. AI did open kamikaze warfare yesterday hitting the HMS Buttler. She'll get home but her deck is fouled. Air wing at Bassein. Moulmein is surrounded as is Chiang Mai. My Indian Army has nothing better to do right now so I'll push AI far enough back to cut down of kamikazes around Rangoon. Burma Road is operating at rated capacity.
Since I got the first "Malta Convoy" into Hong Kong/Canton, Chiang Kai-shek's army has perked up considerably. I have a big Chinese Army (seven corps averaging 525 AV each is pushing up the coast.
AI has upped his ASW game. I had to get Wasp out of Pearl (to Mare Island) because I have so many subs in Pearl's shipyard.
Logistical situation is A-OK.
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep: April 4, 1944
The grinding of ol' AI continues but he is fighting back better than any AI I've seen.
KB is cornered in Tokyo Bay. I have a dozen and a half subs watching the outfall. Before long that might be the only place I can use subs. AI has really upped his ASW game. I'm losing a sub every other day. The coastal waters off Kii Suido and Bungo Suido are particularly deadly. Maybe I need to fire my overly aggressive skippers and get some wimps.
Further, I'm compressing the hunting grounds. I've pretty much driven AI out of the eastern DEI. Plus,in a month or so, I'll have surface and dive bomber patrols operating in the Formosa Strait. Chiang's infantry just took Foochow and I have three corps marching for Wenchow. I've scrounged up some old four-pipers and an Omaha for patrolling the strait. They'll never operate away from Corsair cover. I have P-47s at Hong Kong. Betties find Hong Kong a wonderful place to die. AI is operating kamikazes out of Manila and Makassar for now but the B-24s are roto-tilling Makassar and Manila's days are numbered.
If I get Wenchow I'll be able to bomb Kyushu with B-25s and SBD-5s with good fighter escort.
I've put together a "service group" The Wasp and some CVLs with their attack squadrons stripped off and loaded with fighters. Add some good flak cruisers and DDs, that should make the kamikaze problem bearable.
In the Central Pacific the biggest enemy is the sheer distance. It's ten days steaming for an amphib TF from Pearl to the Marshalls. AI dug in pretty well in the Marshalls. Maloelap took five weeks to take and develop. Airedale recon shows lots of troops at Wotje. I have a two-division assault force prepping for Wotje.
The grinding of ol' AI continues but he is fighting back better than any AI I've seen.
KB is cornered in Tokyo Bay. I have a dozen and a half subs watching the outfall. Before long that might be the only place I can use subs. AI has really upped his ASW game. I'm losing a sub every other day. The coastal waters off Kii Suido and Bungo Suido are particularly deadly. Maybe I need to fire my overly aggressive skippers and get some wimps.
Further, I'm compressing the hunting grounds. I've pretty much driven AI out of the eastern DEI. Plus,in a month or so, I'll have surface and dive bomber patrols operating in the Formosa Strait. Chiang's infantry just took Foochow and I have three corps marching for Wenchow. I've scrounged up some old four-pipers and an Omaha for patrolling the strait. They'll never operate away from Corsair cover. I have P-47s at Hong Kong. Betties find Hong Kong a wonderful place to die. AI is operating kamikazes out of Manila and Makassar for now but the B-24s are roto-tilling Makassar and Manila's days are numbered.
If I get Wenchow I'll be able to bomb Kyushu with B-25s and SBD-5s with good fighter escort.
I've put together a "service group" The Wasp and some CVLs with their attack squadrons stripped off and loaded with fighters. Add some good flak cruisers and DDs, that should make the kamikaze problem bearable.
In the Central Pacific the biggest enemy is the sheer distance. It's ten days steaming for an amphib TF from Pearl to the Marshalls. AI dug in pretty well in the Marshalls. Maloelap took five weeks to take and develop. Airedale recon shows lots of troops at Wotje. I have a two-division assault force prepping for Wotje.
RE: I Have Returned
Last report I mentioned that AI has upped his ASW game.
I had two days like what Karl Doenitz is facing in the Atlantic.
AI killed four boats in a single day and two more the next. And to add insult to injury he left a parade of beat-up boat limping back to Midway and Darwin. All this in deep water.
Kamikazes force me to extravagantly escort every thing. Fortunately, I have enough B-24s to pulverize his bases. A kamikaze out of Makassar got a troop transport. After a couple days of hundreds of B-24 attention they are less of a problem.
But now I have four ships in the Hong Kong shipyard for at least a couple weeks. At least my ships are in no danger in Hong Kong. Clouds of Corsairs and P-47s just run up kills on kamikazes.
I had two days like what Karl Doenitz is facing in the Atlantic.
AI killed four boats in a single day and two more the next. And to add insult to injury he left a parade of beat-up boat limping back to Midway and Darwin. All this in deep water.
Kamikazes force me to extravagantly escort every thing. Fortunately, I have enough B-24s to pulverize his bases. A kamikaze out of Makassar got a troop transport. After a couple days of hundreds of B-24 attention they are less of a problem.
But now I have four ships in the Hong Kong shipyard for at least a couple weeks. At least my ships are in no danger in Hong Kong. Clouds of Corsairs and P-47s just run up kills on kamikazes.
RE: I Have Returned
I have a carrier escort group heading toward Darwin. Six CVEs loaded with FM-2 fighters and 33 Hellcats. Very few Avengers.
Have these escort my "Malta Convoys" Darwin to Hong Kong. When the kamikazes come out to play they meet 120 fighters with very experienced and well-trained aircrew.
I may go with a improved version as soon as the Wasp gets out of drydock. She only carries 78 planes. Make 'em all fighters. I do have four Marine carrier-trained 18-plane fighter squadrons.
Not ahistorical. As the war went on the air wings became more and more fighter-heavy to combat kamikazes.
Now what do I do about my submarines?
Have these escort my "Malta Convoys" Darwin to Hong Kong. When the kamikazes come out to play they meet 120 fighters with very experienced and well-trained aircrew.
I may go with a improved version as soon as the Wasp gets out of drydock. She only carries 78 planes. Make 'em all fighters. I do have four Marine carrier-trained 18-plane fighter squadrons.
Not ahistorical. As the war went on the air wings became more and more fighter-heavy to combat kamikazes.
Now what do I do about my submarines?
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep Cinco de Mayo 1944
Satisfactory progress since last sitrep. Moulmein, Kendari, Ambon, Namlea, and the tough nut at Wotje have fallen. Doors are opening.
I am running two "Malta Convoys" to and from Canton/Hong Kong at any given time. Between 100,000 tons a week through those two ports, 500/day over the Burma Road and whatever The Hump can chip in, the Chinese are pretty well supplied. The Japanese pocket outside Foochow is down to <1,000 troops (AV=3). I hope 80,000 Chinese can polish that one off shortly.
Moulmein opens the door to Bangkok. I may be threatening that city within a week. I've taken Port Blair (mostly as a sub base for short-legged British subs to dominate the Malacca Strait down to Singapore. The plan is to render AI incapable of molesting my Rangoon convoys and I'll transfer the Tenth Air Force to SW Pacific to drive on Formosa.
The Marines can get a rest. Kwaj, Roi-Namur and Eniwetok are garrisoned, but those invasions are scheduled to be Army shows. I already have troops planning to invade Saipan and Guam. B-29s are training in Hawaii. P-51Bs are appearing.
I'm backing down my sub campaign. Targets are hard to find and those damn E-class escorts are murder on my subs.
With Kendari fallen Makassar is the next place scheduled to waltz Matilda. That's the curtain-raiser for a campaign up the Makassar Straits (Balikpapan, Samarinda, and Tarakan).
KB remains bottled up in Tokyo. I have five TF of two big carriers each.
Fun times.
Satisfactory progress since last sitrep. Moulmein, Kendari, Ambon, Namlea, and the tough nut at Wotje have fallen. Doors are opening.
I am running two "Malta Convoys" to and from Canton/Hong Kong at any given time. Between 100,000 tons a week through those two ports, 500/day over the Burma Road and whatever The Hump can chip in, the Chinese are pretty well supplied. The Japanese pocket outside Foochow is down to <1,000 troops (AV=3). I hope 80,000 Chinese can polish that one off shortly.
Moulmein opens the door to Bangkok. I may be threatening that city within a week. I've taken Port Blair (mostly as a sub base for short-legged British subs to dominate the Malacca Strait down to Singapore. The plan is to render AI incapable of molesting my Rangoon convoys and I'll transfer the Tenth Air Force to SW Pacific to drive on Formosa.
The Marines can get a rest. Kwaj, Roi-Namur and Eniwetok are garrisoned, but those invasions are scheduled to be Army shows. I already have troops planning to invade Saipan and Guam. B-29s are training in Hawaii. P-51Bs are appearing.
I'm backing down my sub campaign. Targets are hard to find and those damn E-class escorts are murder on my subs.
With Kendari fallen Makassar is the next place scheduled to waltz Matilda. That's the curtain-raiser for a campaign up the Makassar Straits (Balikpapan, Samarinda, and Tarakan).
KB remains bottled up in Tokyo. I have five TF of two big carriers each.
Fun times.
RE: I Have Returned
The Duke of the Pacific (Taxcutter hisself) sent some combat cameramen to sail with cruisers operating in the DEI.
Morale in the Silent Service were in the dumps. Aggressive skippers were getting pounded by "E" class escorts. COMSUBPAC pulled away from the outfalls of Kii Suido and Bungo Suido because of losses.
Supporting the Hong Kong "Malta Convoys" I have inserted a bunch of Brooklyn and Cleveland class cruisers. This keeps my big convoys (typically 100,000 tons or so) from being molested by smaller surface ships and they also provide good flak support. (Most of these ships are due a 4/44 upgrade that will boost flak by ~50% but I mostly rely on Corsair cover to keep the kamikazes away.) Four times in the last couple days my cruisers have bumbled into convoys escorts by E escorts in the Davao area.
The combat cameramen were stationed on the aft director and in the Seagull spotter planes. Needless to say the Brooklyns and Clevelands did exactly what they went designed to do. E-class escorts evaporated under the hail of 6" gunfire. Copies of the film were sent to sub bases at Midway, Darwin, and Milne Bay. At least the sub boys now know the skimmers have their backs. Nine E-class sunk in two days.
Morale in the Silent Service were in the dumps. Aggressive skippers were getting pounded by "E" class escorts. COMSUBPAC pulled away from the outfalls of Kii Suido and Bungo Suido because of losses.
Supporting the Hong Kong "Malta Convoys" I have inserted a bunch of Brooklyn and Cleveland class cruisers. This keeps my big convoys (typically 100,000 tons or so) from being molested by smaller surface ships and they also provide good flak support. (Most of these ships are due a 4/44 upgrade that will boost flak by ~50% but I mostly rely on Corsair cover to keep the kamikazes away.) Four times in the last couple days my cruisers have bumbled into convoys escorts by E escorts in the Davao area.
The combat cameramen were stationed on the aft director and in the Seagull spotter planes. Needless to say the Brooklyns and Clevelands did exactly what they went designed to do. E-class escorts evaporated under the hail of 6" gunfire. Copies of the film were sent to sub bases at Midway, Darwin, and Milne Bay. At least the sub boys now know the skimmers have their backs. Nine E-class sunk in two days.
RE: I Have Returned
ORIGINAL: Taxcutter
The Duke of the Pacific (Taxcutter hisself) sent some combat cameramen to sail with cruisers operating in the DEI.
Morale in the Silent Service were in the dumps. Aggressive skippers were getting pounded by "E" class escorts. COMSUBPAC pulled away from the outfalls of Kii Suido and Bungo Suido because of losses.
Supporting the Hong Kong "Malta Convoys" I have inserted a bunch of Brooklyn and Cleveland class cruisers. This keeps my big convoys (typically 100,000 tons or so) from being molested by smaller surface ships and they also provide good flak support. (Most of these ships are due a 4/44 upgrade that will boost flak by ~50% but I mostly rely on Corsair cover to keep the kamikazes away.) Four times in the last couple days my cruisers have bumbled into convoys escorts by E escorts in the Davao area.
The combat cameramen were stationed on the aft director and in the Seagull spotter planes. Needless to say the Brooklyns and Clevelands did exactly what they went designed to do. E-class escorts evaporated under the hail of 6" gunfire. Copies of the film were sent to sub bases at Midway, Darwin, and Milne Bay. At least the sub boys now know the skimmers have their backs. Nine E-class sunk in two days.
Did Commander John Ford manage this production?
Your subs can also lay minefields as well. The enemy might get a blast from those.
Seek peace but keep your gun handy.
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!
“Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).”
; Julia Child
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!
“Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).”
; Julia ChildRE: I Have Returned
The noose tightens around Japan's resources and oil coming from the DEI.
My HEAVILY escorted "Malta Convoys" have lots of CVEs that have their own squadrons of TBDs. Now they prowl the South China Sea, fighters swarming to kill kamikazes and TBDs seeking merchant ships. The passage south of Davao swarms with subs and now cruisers. My airbase at Ambon provide Corsairs to fend off kamikazes.
My latest convoy sailing from Darwin has lots of base forces and aircraft to cover the Formosa Straits with Marine Dauntlesses from bases in Amoy, Swatow, and Foochow. Won't need subs once I have enough dive bombers. Already I have enough fighters in China to reduce AI to nuisance night air raids.
My HEAVILY escorted "Malta Convoys" have lots of CVEs that have their own squadrons of TBDs. Now they prowl the South China Sea, fighters swarming to kill kamikazes and TBDs seeking merchant ships. The passage south of Davao swarms with subs and now cruisers. My airbase at Ambon provide Corsairs to fend off kamikazes.
My latest convoy sailing from Darwin has lots of base forces and aircraft to cover the Formosa Straits with Marine Dauntlesses from bases in Amoy, Swatow, and Foochow. Won't need subs once I have enough dive bombers. Already I have enough fighters in China to reduce AI to nuisance night air raids.
RE: I Have Returned
Taxcutter vs AI. Sitrep June 1, 1944
Admiral King was right. The distances are almost as much of an enemy as the Japanese.
I am cleaning out the Marshalls. Two invasion TFs are en route to the two biggest prizes in the Marshalls - Roi-Namur and Kwajalein. Each is carrying a reinforced USA division (2 battalions armor and 1 regiment combat engineers.) While I was earlier pummelling Wotje, I reconned them thoroughly. An Army division should suffice for each but I do have two divisions fully prepped at Pearl in case some IJA escaped the gaze of my airedales. Next stop, Eniwetok. I have two divisions prepped for it. Units prepping for Wake, Ponape, and beginning to prep for the Marianas. Wotje put up a pretty good fight but isolated islands are tough to hold onto.
I'm using bombardment TFs consisting of CVEs loaded with only SBDs and TBFs (one squadron of FM-2 as these TFs never venture out from under the protective CAP of five big CVs.) At Wotje that softened the island quite nicely. Should work at Roi and Kwaj. I have follow up TFs a couple days behind the assault TFs so I can free up my big CVs fairly quickly while the eternal ceremony of loading and unloading on small ports proceeds.
I have Makassar invested from the land side and the Australian 6th and 9th divisions are enroute. I think I'm gonna reinforce the Aussies with TD battalions from the Central Pacific. I hate to see these excellent infantry formations wearing down because they don't have much firepower, and the TD are just sitting around. I have the 7th Division prepped for Balikpapan. Then the Makassar Strait will become the Taxcutter Strait.
China is proceeding as fast as I can offload my mega-convoys. I have a small airbase at Wenchow and it should grow fairly soon. I have a huge army (6 corps) of Chiang's army bearing down on the lower Yangtze Valley.
Having some surface action fun at Port Blair. Something about this rock goaded AI in action. His surface units had been hiding out for most of the game. I've had two surface engagements between various components of the British and Japanese BBs that usually never get into the game. Nagato and a Kongo slugging it out with two Queen Elizabeths and the Richilieu. Some damage but nothing that justifies pulling back. I have POW, Renown and Repulse (big flak refit finished) headed there to contest the island. AKE almost there to provide staying power. IJN surface units seem to be basing in Singapore. Why the hell not? I have the Malacca strait choked with RN "S" class subs. AI sinks those rust-buckets even easier than the Dutch subs.
B-29s are at Lahaina training.
If the land AI would watch its flanks this would be the best WitP AI ever.
Admiral King was right. The distances are almost as much of an enemy as the Japanese.
I am cleaning out the Marshalls. Two invasion TFs are en route to the two biggest prizes in the Marshalls - Roi-Namur and Kwajalein. Each is carrying a reinforced USA division (2 battalions armor and 1 regiment combat engineers.) While I was earlier pummelling Wotje, I reconned them thoroughly. An Army division should suffice for each but I do have two divisions fully prepped at Pearl in case some IJA escaped the gaze of my airedales. Next stop, Eniwetok. I have two divisions prepped for it. Units prepping for Wake, Ponape, and beginning to prep for the Marianas. Wotje put up a pretty good fight but isolated islands are tough to hold onto.
I'm using bombardment TFs consisting of CVEs loaded with only SBDs and TBFs (one squadron of FM-2 as these TFs never venture out from under the protective CAP of five big CVs.) At Wotje that softened the island quite nicely. Should work at Roi and Kwaj. I have follow up TFs a couple days behind the assault TFs so I can free up my big CVs fairly quickly while the eternal ceremony of loading and unloading on small ports proceeds.
I have Makassar invested from the land side and the Australian 6th and 9th divisions are enroute. I think I'm gonna reinforce the Aussies with TD battalions from the Central Pacific. I hate to see these excellent infantry formations wearing down because they don't have much firepower, and the TD are just sitting around. I have the 7th Division prepped for Balikpapan. Then the Makassar Strait will become the Taxcutter Strait.
China is proceeding as fast as I can offload my mega-convoys. I have a small airbase at Wenchow and it should grow fairly soon. I have a huge army (6 corps) of Chiang's army bearing down on the lower Yangtze Valley.
Having some surface action fun at Port Blair. Something about this rock goaded AI in action. His surface units had been hiding out for most of the game. I've had two surface engagements between various components of the British and Japanese BBs that usually never get into the game. Nagato and a Kongo slugging it out with two Queen Elizabeths and the Richilieu. Some damage but nothing that justifies pulling back. I have POW, Renown and Repulse (big flak refit finished) headed there to contest the island. AKE almost there to provide staying power. IJN surface units seem to be basing in Singapore. Why the hell not? I have the Malacca strait choked with RN "S" class subs. AI sinks those rust-buckets even easier than the Dutch subs.
B-29s are at Lahaina training.
If the land AI would watch its flanks this would be the best WitP AI ever.
RE: I Have Returned
From reading these AARs, it seems that many players rarely venture deeper that the fall of 1942.
There is a lot of interesting stuff going on in 1944.
There is a lot of interesting stuff going on in 1944.
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep June 16, 1944.
Been two bad weeks for AI. Makassar fell after a two day fight. Roi-Namur fell in one day. Kwajalein fell in a two day massacre. The Indian Army has the RTA bottled up in Bangkok and a pocket at Chang Mai. The IJAAF base at Tavoy (plus 18,000 troops) is encircled. Merrill's Marauders and the Chindits are running amok in central Thighland. My British sub base at Port Blair is sorta operational. Chiang Kai-shek's army is at the doorstep of Shanghai but not in sufficient force for a coup de main. I have at least fighter bases at Wenchow, Foochow, and Amoy and a big base at Hong Kong. My last "Malta Convoy" was 500,000 tons and there is another en route. Chiang's army is now almost all 575 AV each. I'm building up a US army force to blitz Formosa. Gotta punch out Menado and take Puerto Princessa/Tay Tay to build an air base to neutralize Manila.
Distances are a bigger enemy than the IJA.
Big activity is moving peripheral operations to the main scene. I'm reducing all the island bases of the SouPac command to nominal garrisons (most ASW). I'm transferring the Tenth AF to SWPac to beef up control of the straits. I'm getting a couple of British divisions to garrison Hong Kong. Twentieth AF has already been transferred to Hawaii and is training B-29 crews at Lahaina til I grab the Marianas.
Not all is sugar and spice. Two surface actions at Port Blair reduced PoW to floating junk. Repair estimate at Colombo was 154 days. That yard is too useful to fill up with one ship. PoW is headed to Blighty for repairs. She's probably out of the war. That battle wrecked Ise. I did spot her limping back to the Inland Sea. AI seems to have a bottomless pool of I-boats. My big hunter-killer groups and the mammoth escorts on "Malta convoys" kill them OK but they never seem to get less numerous. AI continues to work over my subs but I'm still killing the AKLs his merchant marine is reduced to.
The Ching An Tui organization must have bottomless reserves of men. Chairman Mao kills 'em like flies but the units (though never strong) never seem to attrit down.
Been two bad weeks for AI. Makassar fell after a two day fight. Roi-Namur fell in one day. Kwajalein fell in a two day massacre. The Indian Army has the RTA bottled up in Bangkok and a pocket at Chang Mai. The IJAAF base at Tavoy (plus 18,000 troops) is encircled. Merrill's Marauders and the Chindits are running amok in central Thighland. My British sub base at Port Blair is sorta operational. Chiang Kai-shek's army is at the doorstep of Shanghai but not in sufficient force for a coup de main. I have at least fighter bases at Wenchow, Foochow, and Amoy and a big base at Hong Kong. My last "Malta Convoy" was 500,000 tons and there is another en route. Chiang's army is now almost all 575 AV each. I'm building up a US army force to blitz Formosa. Gotta punch out Menado and take Puerto Princessa/Tay Tay to build an air base to neutralize Manila.
Distances are a bigger enemy than the IJA.
Big activity is moving peripheral operations to the main scene. I'm reducing all the island bases of the SouPac command to nominal garrisons (most ASW). I'm transferring the Tenth AF to SWPac to beef up control of the straits. I'm getting a couple of British divisions to garrison Hong Kong. Twentieth AF has already been transferred to Hawaii and is training B-29 crews at Lahaina til I grab the Marianas.
Not all is sugar and spice. Two surface actions at Port Blair reduced PoW to floating junk. Repair estimate at Colombo was 154 days. That yard is too useful to fill up with one ship. PoW is headed to Blighty for repairs. She's probably out of the war. That battle wrecked Ise. I did spot her limping back to the Inland Sea. AI seems to have a bottomless pool of I-boats. My big hunter-killer groups and the mammoth escorts on "Malta convoys" kill them OK but they never seem to get less numerous. AI continues to work over my subs but I'm still killing the AKLs his merchant marine is reduced to.
The Ching An Tui organization must have bottomless reserves of men. Chairman Mao kills 'em like flies but the units (though never strong) never seem to attrit down.
RE: I Have Returned
Sitrep July 1, 1944
Invasions galore.
Took Roi-Namur and Kwajalein simultaneously. Already have operational bases there. Roi is the air base and Kwaj is for support ships. Fleet is back in Pearl clearing up minor damage and refitting. Probably venture out for Wake middle of the month, and Eniwetok a little later.
I'm gonna pull a fast one on AI when I hit Wake. His E class patrol boats are still kicking my subs' butts, so I'm gonna split off six CVs from the Wake operation and lay about 9 hexes outside the sea lanes south of Tokyo Bay. I'll leave a few subs there as bait and will hit the convoys with about a hundred carrier attack planes. See how tough his E-class boats are with thousand pounders raining down on them.
I took Makassar and within three days I was pulverizing Soerabaja. It's down to 80% damaged airfield and 75% damaged port. AI left the CVE Chuyo in Soerabaja and now my airedales are claiming 13 hits on her. I've already hit their repair shipyard hard with the overspray off the port attack. After reducing the port by 100% (gets all the minesweepers) I'll mine it and start on the oil and refinery. In any case it is no threat even to lightly escorts TFs.
China is going well. I have air bases at Canton, Hong Kong, Amoy, Foochow and Wenchow. Not enough bombers there yet to start bombing Kyushu just yet but I can bear down of Taipei.
Invasions galore.
Took Roi-Namur and Kwajalein simultaneously. Already have operational bases there. Roi is the air base and Kwaj is for support ships. Fleet is back in Pearl clearing up minor damage and refitting. Probably venture out for Wake middle of the month, and Eniwetok a little later.
I'm gonna pull a fast one on AI when I hit Wake. His E class patrol boats are still kicking my subs' butts, so I'm gonna split off six CVs from the Wake operation and lay about 9 hexes outside the sea lanes south of Tokyo Bay. I'll leave a few subs there as bait and will hit the convoys with about a hundred carrier attack planes. See how tough his E-class boats are with thousand pounders raining down on them.
I took Makassar and within three days I was pulverizing Soerabaja. It's down to 80% damaged airfield and 75% damaged port. AI left the CVE Chuyo in Soerabaja and now my airedales are claiming 13 hits on her. I've already hit their repair shipyard hard with the overspray off the port attack. After reducing the port by 100% (gets all the minesweepers) I'll mine it and start on the oil and refinery. In any case it is no threat even to lightly escorts TFs.
China is going well. I have air bases at Canton, Hong Kong, Amoy, Foochow and Wenchow. Not enough bombers there yet to start bombing Kyushu just yet but I can bear down of Taipei.