Matrix Games Forums

May 7th-May 8th, 1943

Yesterday I sent CL Leander and a DD to hit cripples. Today they find them and CL Leander manages to put a torp in John's CB, which still survives. No planes destroyed on the ground or sinking sounds, however. CL Leander goes down in return. The CB only shows heavy damage with no fires.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Koggala at 27,53, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Ise, heavy damage
CB Okuhotaka, Shell hits 14, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
CL Agano
DD Hanazuki
DD Amatsukaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Hamakaze
DD Yukaze

Allied Ships
CL Leander, Shell hits 15, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Van Galen, Shell hits 1

I think there will be fireworks in Australia next turn, unless John pulls back. I noticed a few heavies up by Merauke last turn; I had some DMs nearby that had just planted 200 mines north of Horn Island. Figuring John'd come down, my DMs skedaddled and I hoped John would hit some of my mines. He didn't, but a sub scouted one of the TFs. They are now at Horn Island. I have subs moving in and around the island, as well as along the path of retreat. I have a very strong set of surface ships (fast battleships, a battlecruiser, smaller cruisers, and destroyers) at Cairns which I have divided into three task forces. Two of these will go in for surface action while one attempts of bombardment of Horn's airfields. Hopefully, before these move in 3 PT task forces and one MGB task force will move in from Portland Roads and hopefully soak up some ammo and get some torpedo strikes in. We'll see. CAP is provided from Portland Roads.

This turn, heavy bombers bombed the airfields at Port Moresby, but this turn they will move on Horn.

New carriers coming soon.



British CVs finish their conversions to semi-decent carriers soon. I also have a number of slow American BBs in port doing their long conversions.

John sometimes dangles heavy ships as bait for KB. Any D/L on those subs between Darwin and Merauke?

While you were down, Anachro, John's AAR suddenly became active again (coinciding with his carrier victory purely by coincidence, eh heh). I started reading his, so I won't comment in here except in a general way.

I know just how you feel. You work so hard to hit enemy ships. You succeed, but the successes, too often, are limited to damage. Too many of his ships limp away to fight another day, while too many of yours suffer terminal damage.

That's the way it is in this game, at least early on when lower quality Allied ships take on robust, modern Japanese vessels. Bad torps, poor aiming by SBD pilots, and seemingly non-existent damage control add to the woes.

But you're not complaining. You're fighting. Keep up the good work, as John seems to be bleeding pretty seriously.

Too bad the CB got away, but that does indicate one of the BBs went down, which is worth more points.

Good luck at the upcoming Battle of Horn Island.

Cheers,
CB

Next turn happened. No fireworks. John tries to send a bunch of CAs down to bombard Portland Roads but they were turned away by my PTs. My PTs didn't get any strikes.

Interestingly, subs revealed that the BB force at Horn was composed of the BB Yamato and Musashi. So those two sisters are making their appearance now. I decided to keep my BBs half way there back and send in 3 waves of DDs instead (and further waves of PTs). John thinks there will be fireworks this turn. I'm hoping for some lucky torpedoes. The fact that in his email John plans to stick around makes me thing KB or part of it isn't too far behind.

My PM invasion force is just off Townsville, accompanied by surface vesseles and the majority of my big carriers. Should add up to ~800 a/c in total.

Next Day

Night Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato
BB Musashi
BC Chichibu
DD Akizuki
DD Teruzuki
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Shimozuki
DD Yoizuki

Allied Ships
PT-122
PT-123
PT-124
PT-126
PT-127
PT-128, Shell hits 1
PT-142, Shell hits 2
PT-143
PT-144
PT-145
PT-146
PT-147

Night Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato
BB Musashi
BC Chichibu
DD Akizuki
DD Teruzuki
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Shimozuki
DD Yoizuki

Allied Ships
PT-148
PT-149
PT-150
PT-151, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-152
PT-153
PT-154, Shell hits 1
PT-155
PT-156
PT-157
PT-158
PT-159

Night Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato
BB Musashi
BC Chichibu
DD Akizuki
DD Teruzuki
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Shimozuki
DD Yoizuki

Allied Ships
PT-160
PT-161
PT-162, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
PT-163
PT-164
PT-165
PT-166
PT-167, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-168, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-169
PT-170
PT-171, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

Night Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato
BB Musashi, Shell hits 1
BC Chichibu
DD Akizuki
DD Teruzuki
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki, Shell hits 1
DD Shimozuki
DD Yoizuki

Allied Ships
DD McCalla, Shell hits 2
DD Russell
DD O'Brien, Shell hits 2
DD Jarvis, Shell hits 3, heavy fires

ight Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato, Shell hits 2
BB Musashi, Shell hits 2
BC Chichibu
DD Akizuki
DD Teruzuki
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Shimozuki
DD Yoizuki

Allied Ships
DD Cony
DD DeHaven, Shell hits 3
DD Jenkins, Shell hits 5, and is sunk

Night Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 91,128, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamato
BB Musashi, Shell hits 1
BC Chichibu
DD Akizuki, Shell hits 1
DD Teruzuki
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki, on fire
DD Shimozuki
DD Yoizuki, Shell hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
DD Lardner, Shell hits 1
DD Bancroft, Shell hits 4
DD Frazier, Shell hits 13, and is sunk

Sadly no close-in torpedo strikes.

In India, a large smattering of transports seem headed for Ceylon. xAKLs, everything...extraction?

Sub attack near Little Andaman at 41,60

Japanese Ships
AV Sanuki Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PB Kiso Maru
AV Kunikawa Maru
LSD Akitsu Maru
AK Huzikawa Maru
AK Nissyu Maru
xAK Reiyo Maru
xAK Mexico Maru
xAKL Gozan Maru
xAKL Shinsoku Maru
xAKL Ryuto Maru
xAKL Fukkai Maru
xAKL Tama Maru
xAKL Bizen Maru
PB Sozan Maru
PB Nikkai Maru

Allied Ships
SS Seawolf

Sub attack near Little Andaman at 41,60

Japanese Ships
xAKL Fukkai Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
PB Kiso Maru
AV Sanuki Maru, on fire, heavy damage
AV Kunikawa Maru
LSD Akitsu Maru
AK Huzikawa Maru
AK Nissyu Maru
xAK Reiyo Maru
xAK Mexico Maru
xAKL Gozan Maru
xAKL Shinsoku Maru
xAKL Ryuto Maru
xAKL Tama Maru
PB Sozan Maru
PB Nikkai Maru

Allied Ships

Lastly, John attacks transports resupplying bases in the Aleutians. He sinks one xAK, but his bombers get a lot of attrition as a result.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Umnak Island at 170,52

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A2 Val x 18
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 18

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 16
P-40E Warhawk x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 8 destroyed, 3 damaged
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK West Ivis
xAK West Ira

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Umnak Island at 170,52

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 9
D3A2 Val x 12
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 13

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 13
P-40E Warhawk x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
D3A2 Val: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses[/b]

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Umnak Island at 170,52

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 25

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 19
P-40E Warhawk x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 11 destroyed, 3 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
xAK Crown City, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Mokihana

I don't have visuals as John just sent the replay before work. He probably was expecting me to send in my BBs. Overnight, a few more Japanese CL/DD forces and CA/DD arrive to reinforce Musashi and Yamato, though they don't partake in the fighting. Subs swarm the area, one takes a mine hit from Horn. He must have hundreds of mines there, as I have discovered the minefield already and removed a number of mines. I am off camping and won't be back till late Sunday night.

I am back from my camping trip and I have sent the turn back to John. Below is the situation: my invasion forces are approaching Port Moresby, including my main carrier task forces. Given the location of John's big Yamato-class BBs, and under the assumption my invasion force hadn't been spotted, I entertained the idea of sending my carriers up to hit John's BBs coinciding with further PT boat attacks and mass sweeps from Portland Roads. However, cognizant of John's propensity to dangle bait while KB is hidden for surprise strikes, as well as noticing that John had spotted part of my invasion forces including a CV TF when perusing the operations report, I've decided to simply continue on towards Port Moresby instead. My PTs will continue to try and waste John's ammo while hopefully I can get a lucky strike in from my submarines.

Forces should hit the landing beaches of Port Moresby the day after next. Two fast BB task forces will join up with the invasion TFs next turn, coming from Cooktown. A smaller carrier force and CVE force will also link up in a few turns. My replenishment CVs have gotten new planes and are also heading north to provide additional plane reinforcements as attrition takes its toll. 6 slow BBs also depart from Townsville this turn for bombardment purposes.

I'd tread lightly if you don't know exactly where the KB is. KB has long range and can hit your fleet from the north. If I were John thats what I'd do (well, I am John.....just not that John)

It's probably somewhere in the vicinity, but I don't plan to really do any strikes myself. Like in the Marianas, the carriers will be on defensive duties in the early stages. I'll have ~850 a/c. I should note: I can see John trying to retake Milne Bay. Notice, his forces are no longer moving north. Sigint has picked up various artillery units headed for Truk.

May 12th, 1943

Landings at Port Moresby take place with John opting to strike with LBA. In the replay, all of these go after my carriers, but there was a sync bug and it seems one in the actual game went for an AKV I had unloading an a/c unit at Milne Bay. Unfortunate. Regardless, the large majority of my forces land unhindered with John taking tough losses in the air in strikes against my forces (I only lose a few carrier fighters for the day). Initial bombardment shows ~500 AV of Japanese forces facing ~1100 AV of my own forces. Things look pretty good and I'd expect this base to fall. John will no doubt have decent forts and might try to counter-land with reinforcements. We'll see. Besides my AKV getting torp'd, a DD suffers a tough mine hit from mines placed at Port Moresby overnight; it currently is moving at 3 knots with 80 flotation damage.

Given how long John spent on this turn, I'd imagine he is planning something. My carriers will go to very high CAP mode while my forces finish unloading and then skedaddle.

In Ceylon, John's transports continue their slow movement towards Ceylon and they are being escorted by a mini-KB of some sort. Colombo has fully repaired airfields and decent CAP. A transport convoy is unloading an additional American division and an Australian brigade to supplement our push, but John's transports could very well be for extracting is forces. He appears to have given up hopes of taking Colombo as his forces have pulled back. I have some cruisers and destroyers at Colombo that are currently unspotted.

The major positive here is I switch to bombing Trincomalee's airfield again, suspecting John will place new air units there to help with his extraction (on top of which I've been doing ground attack for the past few turns so perhaps he thought they were safe). We destroy a good number of Japanese planes on the ground.

Alrdy sent the turn back to John. A couple of things happened:

1. A sub hit the CV Amagi at Trincomalee with 1 torpedo and then fired another salvo, another hit resulted in no explosion.
2. I forgot to turn off my bombers this turn and sent them in unescorted. My HB stocks are in good shape, but this was not good. I lose a decent number.
3. Forces unload without issue again at Port Moresby; today sees a 1:1 attack against level 5 forts that bring them down to level 4. Recon shows Japanese garrison at PM attempting to flee east to Buna.

Now, tomorrow.. I have a 4xDD TF and a 1CA5DD TF at Colombo, both unspotted. I decided to send them flank speed at Trincomalee to see if I can get John's carriers or his transports. They will get LRCAP from Colombo. The transports are clearly headed for Trincomalee where John has 40k troops. This is probably an evacuation of some sort.

Anachro: 2. I forgot to turn off my bombers this turn and sent them in unescorted. My HB stocks are in good shape, but this was not good. I lose an indecent number.

Fixed that for you ...[:)]

May 14th, 1943

I intercept John's transports, but I don't perform as well as desired. Moreover, my second DD task force fails to engage at all. I will now send 2xDD TFs against Trincomalee, as it appears John hasn't disbanded his ships. Maybe I can sink some of them: my primary goal is to prevent extraction. My other ships will attempt to retire to Colombo. Interestingly, John's CVs were not set to nav strike.



At Port Moresby, no sign of enemy activity and we have a very successful attack for the day.

Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 39274 troops, 613 guns, 622 vehicles, Assault Value = 1186

Defending force 16290 troops, 146 guns, 70 vehicles, Assault Value = 377

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied adjusted assault: 378

Japanese adjusted defense: 239

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 3

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

Japanese ground losses:
2555 casualties reported
Squads: 34 destroyed, 72 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 67 disabled
Engineers: 34 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 25 (16 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (8 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
572 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 51 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 29 disabled

May 15th, 1943

I'll post picks on next update. My CA and 4-5 DDs make it back to Colombo safely. My other 2xDD TFs successfully strike John's transports, sinking an AV and some xAKs/xAPs and damaging more, including an LSD. However, in the process I lose 2 DDs to a CA/DD TF and most likely will lose one more. The key thing here is John has no ships loading at Trincomalee and, indeed, has ships sitting in port. There are still 40k troops at Trincomalee, so he hasn't been able to load any as of yet. My subs pick off some xAKLs and get a shot at the CV Akagi...with no hits.

Port Moresby is down to 2 forts and John suffers 2k casualties there for the day.

The key thing here is John has no ships loading at Trincomalee

Is he waiting until he has cleared your ships out of the way? [&:]