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If you want more results, you're gonna have to go in lower... From what I am reading in the main forum, 16k is the lower limit for glide-bombing. If you want real dive bombing, you may have to lower their altitude!

Yep, from devs (michaelm):
 
Mission: Bombing
A/c type: DB
(1) Group altitude: 10-15K
A/c are treated as if performing a diving attack
(2) Group altitude: 16-19K
A/c are treated as if performing a glide attack
(3) Group altitude: <10
A/c are treated as if performing a low level attack
(4) Group altitude: 20+
A/c are treated as if performing a normal horizontal attack
The attacks are based on altitude flown.
If I had to do it again, I would probably let the player pick an 'attack tactic' which would allow planes to approach target at the group alt but determine the attack alt and bombing type based on the 'attack tactic'.

Diving attacks have a better chance than gliding attacks to make a hit; pilots with good NAVAL_BOMB skills have a better chance. Exit altitude is 1000-4000'.
Glide attacks have a better chance than level bombing but not as good as diving attacks to make a hit, but; again better skilled pilots have a better chance. Exit altitude is 2000-5000'.

Fishbed & Sardaukar.....thanx for the info on proper divebomber altitude settings...
I had no idea that divebombers would "glidebomb" above 15,000 feet. I used 16,000 feet from the old stock WitP days as I always wanted to be sure that my divebombers would attack in groups of 9 rather than groups of 3.

Question....do torpedo bombers turn into glidebombers above 16,000 feet?




9/11-9/14/42



SUBS


Lots of action and it starting to look to me as if the sub/ASW pendulum is swinging back to neutral:

SS Guardfish is hit by 8 DCs from IJN ASW near Port Arthur.

SS Gar pumps 8 shells into AKL Banshu Maru by Tourane.

SS I-169 takes 15 DCs from USN ASW at Munda.

SS Grampus receives 3 DCs from IJN ASW near Port Arthur...looks like Port Arthur is turning into a dangerous stretch of ocean for Allioed subs.

SS Albacore takes 2 DCs from IJN ASW by Toyohara.

SS I-31 is hit by 11 DCs from USN ASW at Munda.

SS Drum puts a torpedo in AK Takao Maru off Tawau.

SS RO-63 receives 2 DCs from USN ASW near Munda.

SS I-21 sinks AK American off Hilo.

SS I-21 sinks AK Delawarean off Hilo.

SS Drum sinks AK Takao Maru by Tarakan.

SS I-174 lands a fish on CV Wasp near the Treasury Islands...thats the 4th Allied carrier torpedoed so far in the war. I was planning on running 5 CVs in TG 58 while the 6th CV was repairing/upgrading and wouldnt you know it but CV Hornet completed repairs from its torpedo hit today at Sydney and will be taking the place of CV Wasp.



CARRIER STRIKE ON TRUK


Task Group 58 delivers 1 more air attack on Truk before departing for the south Pacific:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Truk , at 112,108

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 2



Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 12
F4F-4 Wildcat x 24
SBD-3 Dauntless x 111
TBF-1 Avenger x 27


Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 44 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 6 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Bomb hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Yamato, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Asanagi, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Maya, Bomb hits 3, on fire
xAP Montevideo Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Inazuma, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AD Koshu Maru #2, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Kuma, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Shonon Maru #15, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Konan Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

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



Port hits 3

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
16 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
12 x F4F-3 Wildcat sweeping at 25000 feet
14 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
11 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
15 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
7 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
15 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless diving from 16000'
Port Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
9 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
4 x F4F-4 Wildcat sweeping at 25000 feet

CAP engaged:
Chitose Ku S-1 with A5M4 Claude (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes


The weather clears and we finally get a decent port attack in. The carriers may be leaving but I have a half dozen subs patrolling north of Truk in case any IJN cripples try to make it back to the Home Islands.



CHINA


Japans 90,000 strong stack captures a nearly empty nanyang. Now it remains to be seen where the IJA troops will go from here.

Sian is in no danger....we are massing Chinese corps in the 3x woods/rough terrain to the north of Nanyang.



BURMA


Nearly 3000 AV from III Indian Corps and 1st Australian Corps shock attack their way across the Salween to invest Moulmein. Another shock attack will be ordered for tomorrow to clear Moulmein. After Moulmein falls Im not sure where Japan will be able to build another defense line.

Farther north, the Burma Road is finally reopened as StoneAge evacuates to the south.

michaelm had slight typo on that altitude list, here is corrected:

Mission: Bombing
A/c type: DB
(1) Group altitude: 10-15K
A/c are treated as if performing a diving attack
(2) Group altitude: 16-19K
A/c are treated as if performing a glide attack
(3) Group altitude: <1K
A/c are treated as if performing a low level attack
(4) Group altitude: 20+ or 1-9K
A/c are treated as if performing a normal horizontal attack
The attacks are based on altitude flown.
If I had to do it again, I would probably let the player pick an 'attack tactic' which would allow planes to approach target at the group alt but determine the attack alt and bombing type based on the 'attack tactic'.

Diving attacks have a better chance than gliding attacks to make a hit; pilots with good NAVAL_BOMB skills have a better chance. Exit altitude is 1000-4000'.
Glide attacks have a better chance than level bombing but not as good as diving attacks to make a hit, but; again better skilled pilots have a better chance. Exit altitude is 2000-5000'.

[Typo after all that - items 3 & 4]

I am not sure if TBs with bombs do other than skip bombing or level bombing. It'd make sense for them to do glide bombing too, though.

16k is really useful if you are pounding air bases and ports, since you avoid excessive casualties to dive bombers and still have decent accuracy.

9/15-9/18/42



SUBS


SS I-4 sinks KV Vancouver(in an ASW patrol) near Anatom.

SS I-171 fires a spread of torpedoes at CV Saratoga but misses by Woodlark Island.

SS I-33 takes 2 DCs from USN ASW off Rennell Island(SIGINT reports SS I-33 sunk).

SS KXVIII is hit by 2 Dcs from IJN ASW near Tioman Island.

SS I-28 receives 4 DCs from USN ASW by Niuatoputapu.

SS S-47 puts a torpedo in AK Taito Maru off Toyohara.

SS KXVIII takes 5 more Dcs from IJN ASW by Kuantan....patrolling off Malaya seems to be increasingly dangerous.

SS KXIII takes 2 DCs from transport DDs near Lomblem.




DEI


Japan captures Merak.

Japanese and Dutch artillery continue to exchange barrages at Batavia.

A-24 Banshees land a 1000 lb bomb on DD Hatakaze while transporting troops to Lomblem.




SWPAC


RAF engineers open a level 1 airfield at Buna.

Amphibious transports move to Mine Bay to pick up more construction engineers for Buna.




BURMA


III Indian Corps and 1st Australian Corps launch a massive shock attack to capture Moulmein.....Japan loses 5300 troops vs 1000 Allied casualties. The road to Bangkok looks open.

I had originally intended a massive sealift to Rangoon of supplies and reinforcements but the loss of the RN carriers prevents this.

There seems to be no shortage of supplies in Burma....I started the offensive with about 100,000 supplies in Myitkina and there still seems to be around 100,000 supplies in Burma as we prepare to invade Thailand.

As far as reinforcements to Burma, everyone is using strategic movement to Imphal and then they hoof it thru the jungles to Shwebo...we have over 300 Aviation support, 2 Air HQs and more ground troops on the march from Kalemyo to Shwebo.....from Shwebo we can rail them down to Moulmein and beyond. These aviation support reinforcements should arrive just in time for the assault on Bangkok.

Burma Corps's effective strength is dropping significantly as we march thru Burma due to garrison requirements....you need 150 AV in Rangoon and 5 AV in 13 other bases....figure 2 brigades at Rangoon and 13 battalions garrisoning the bases so that effectively means the equivalent 6-7 brigades or some 600-700 AV.

Ive attached a map showing the axis of advance of all 3 Allied corps in the Eastern Army.

9/19-9/20/42




SUBS



SS RO-33 is hit by 2 DCs from USN ASW near Munda.

Intel screen reports SS RO-33 as being sunk. If true, that makes 4 IJN subs sunk by ASW in the last 2 turns....like I said a few posts ago, the SUB/ASW pendulum has swung towards neutrality...perhaps now even favoring the hunter(ASW) a bit over the hunted.


Darwin has become the most important advanced sub base for the Allies now that Soerabaja is until Japanese control. There are AS ships in port there along with plenty of supply and fuel. Darwin's advanced position allows us to project Allied subs deep into Japanese backwaters...and we stationed most of the short ranged subs(like the S Class) there so they can actually reach IJN convoy routes.

Unfortunately, much of the SRA is surrounded by "shallow" water so some areas such as the Malayan coast and coastal China around Port Arthur have become quite dangerous. Fortunately with Allied damage control most of the damaged subs make it back to port...the more heavily damaged subs that reach Darwin are staged to Brisbane to complete repairs of major damage.




SOPAC


CV Wasp should reach port at Sydney tomorrow. The Wasp has 17 SYS and 35 FLT(major) from the sub launched torpedo so I will probably place her on "critical" pierside status until all SYS damage is repaired and then she will go to the shipyard. Wasp will complete her 7/42 upgrades while she repairs flotation damage.....she will probably be out of the war for the next 3 months at least.

The other 5 CVs of TG 58 and their escorts will repair all SYS damage before heading out for the next amphibious operation.

BB Washington is now in port at Noumea and BB South Dakota should reach Noumea in 5 days.....then the USN will have 3 fast BBs in action.

The US Army 27th Division completed its march to Shortlands today...we will bombard the IJA defenders here for a few days until the armor and artillery makes it here through the jungle.....then we will launch a combined arms attack.

Ive posted a screenshot of the south Pacific...lots of IJN subs in action in the Solomons with multiple USN ASW hunter/killer groups patrolling.

9/21-9/22/42



SUBS


SS I-170 is hit by 2 DCs from USN ASW near Munda.

SS S-38 sinks SC CHa-10 off Kendari.

SS Amberjack lands a fish on AK Manzyu Maru by Hachinohe.

SS RO-60 sinks DD Grayson while on ASW patrol near Lunga.

SS 019 sinks PB Showa Maru off Kendari.

SS Amberjack surfaces off Ominato to pump 4 shells and 2 torpedoes into AK Manzyu Maru sinking her.



SOPAC


Japan launches a banzai attack on 27th Division at Shortlands:


Ground combat at Shortlands (109,131)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2701 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 53

Defending force 17130 troops, 313 guns, 327 vehicles, Assault Value = 656

Japanese adjusted assault: 9

Allied adjusted defense: 733

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 81

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
1344 casualties reported
Squads: 22 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 24 destroyed, 86 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 3 (0 destroyed, 3 disabled)


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


Assaulting units:
I/84th Naval Guard Unit
II/84th Naval Guard Unit
2nd JNAF AF Unit
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
7th Naval Construction Battalion
35th JNAF AF Unit

Defending units:
161st Infantry Regiment
27th Infantry Division
14th NZ Brigade


Allied armor and artillery should reach Shortlands next turn and then we will finish the Japanese off here.

CV Wasp makes port at Sydney. Originally there was a 15 day repair estimate for SYS damage on Wasp at "normal pierside" mode but we placed her on "critical pierside" mode and got the repair estimate down to 8 days. Then we will put Wasp in the shipyard for repair of FLT damage and completion of 7/42 upgrades.



CHINA


Kind of hard to explain recent action in China so I attached a screenie of the map.

Basically StoneAge has dumped frontal assault warfare in favor of a war of manuver.

In ther north, Japan is running circles around us with their railnet and manuver advantages.

StoneAge massed overwhelming force....100,000 troops, 600 guns. 400 tanks....at Nanyang before we could mass defensive troops so we retreated into the woods. In order for StoneAge to continue his offensive he then had to withdraw from Nanyang.

Now his troops threaten to capture Ichang, isolate Sinyang or reinforce Hankow. StoneAge can take cities in clear terrain here with his manuver advantage but holding them will prove problematic.

StoneAge has also pulled his 55,000 IJA troops from the seige of Tsiaotso to a railhead where thay can be rapidly redeployed.

We are marching some 1600 Chinese AV to Ichang as fast as we can while 2100 Chinese AV threaten Nanyang and 2700 Chinese AV defend Sinyang. StoneAge is moving reinforcements into the battle from Kaifeng and next turn we hope to catch them with a stack of 2800 AV from Chengchow and annihilate them. This is really a game of high stakes poker....whoever can catch the other in clear terrain with a larger stack will exact horrific casualties on the other.

Farther south, StoneAge has a stack of some 1800 AV on the move west....possibly to attack Kukong. Im not so worried in the south as we have the railroads and manuver advantage here. Recon AC are tracking this stack very closely.

9/23-9/24/42



BURMA


Japan starts out the turn with a night bombing attack on Allied shipping in port at Rangoon:


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Sep 23, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 20


Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 3 damaged

Allied Ships
KV Freesia, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AMC Manoora, Bomb hits 1
xAP Glenartney, Bomb hits 1, on fire



Port hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 10000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

Raid spotted at 30 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes


Looks like its time to get all the shipping out of Rangoon.


We see some of the largest aerial battles of the war as StoneAge uses his air force in an attempt to fill the breach:


Morning Air attack on 44th Indian Brigade, at 56,56

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 51
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 57



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 5


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
36 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (0 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (0 destroyed, 4 disabled)


Aircraft Attacking:
11 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
11 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb
5 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar sweeping at 10000 feet *
29 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.60 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 25000
Raid is overhead

Also attacking 25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment ...
Also attacking 3rd Carbiniers Regiment ...
Also attacking 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment ...
Also attacking 28th Gurkha Brigade ...
Also attacking 254th Armoured Brigade ...
Also attacking 44th Indian Brigade ...
Also attacking 3rd Carbiniers Regiment ...
Also attacking 25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment ...
Also attacking 3rd Carbiniers Regiment ...
Also attacking 254th Armoured Brigade ...
Also attacking 44th Indian Brigade ...
Also attacking 3rd Carbiniers Regiment ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 254th Armoured Brigade, at 56,56

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 40
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 23
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 15



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 3
Hurricane IIc Trop x 15


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-48-IIa Lily: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed


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


Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Ki-48-IIa Lily bombing from 10000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb
22 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 10000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
No.79 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 35600
Raid is overhead
No.607 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 35600
Raid is overhead
2 planes vectored on to bombers
No.615 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (9 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
9 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 35600
Raid is overhead
3 planes vectored on to bombers
No.261 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 35600
Raid is overhead

Also attacking 85th British AT Gun Regiment ...
Also attacking 8th Medium Regiment ...
Also attacking 44th Indian Brigade ...
Also attacking 254th Armoured Brigade ...
Also attacking 85th British AT Gun Regiment ...
Also attacking 8th Medium Regiment ...
Also attacking 254th Armoured Brigade ...


Morning Air attack on 93rd JAAF AF Bn , at 56,56

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 43 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 21



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 4
Hurricane IIc Trop x 6
A-20A Havoc x 13
B-25C Mitchell x 12


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed
A-20A Havoc: 2 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)



Aircraft Attacking:
13 x A-20A Havoc bombing from 5000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 5000 feet
Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (16 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
16 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 38500
Raid is overhead
77th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 38500
Raid is overhead

Also attacking Imperial Guards/A Division ...
Also attacking 2nd RTA/C Division ...
Also attacking 1st RTA/A Division ...
Also attacking 93rd JAAF AF Bn ...
Also attacking Imperial Guards/A Division ...
Also attacking 93rd JAAF AF Bn ...
Also attacking Imperial Guards/A Division ...


When the dust settles Japan has lost 37 AC to 19 Allied AC. Individual losses include 20 Oscars, 15 Lilys and 13 Hurricanes.



All the Japanese activity in the air is for naught as the 1st Australian Corps crushes the Japanese rear guard:



Ground combat at 56,56

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12258 troops, 306 guns, 358 vehicles, Assault Value = 874

Defending force 2588 troops, 67 guns, 8 vehicles, Assault Value = 99

Allied adjusted assault: 283

Japanese adjusted defense: 45

Allied assault odds: 6 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1443 casualties reported
Squads: 37 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 32 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 12 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 22 (11 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3


Allied ground losses:
149 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units pursuing 3


Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
267th Armoured Brigade
7th Armoured Brigade
3rd Carbiniers Regiment
2/1 AIF Pioneer Battalion
254th Armoured Brigade
44th Indian Brigade
2/2 AIF Pioneer Battalion
28th Gurkha Brigade
2/9th Field Regiment
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
8th Medium Regiment
2/13th Field Regiment
2/11th Field Regiment
85th British AT Gun Regiment
25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
137/155th Field Regiment

Defending units:
2nd RTA/B Division
Imperial Guards/A Division
55th Mountain Gun Regiment



In the 1st Allied pursuit of the war, 3 Allied armored brigades with an AV of 500 chase the retreating IJA troops across the border into Thailand. Next turn the Allied armor will shock attack the defeated IJA troops and force them back across the river into Rahaeng.

Meanwhile, III Indian Corps in racing down adjacent roads towards Tavoy and Bangkok.

Allied recon show only 18,000 IJA troops in Bangkok and only a single LCU in Rahaeng.

Without an immediate and substantial injection of IJA troops into Bangkok the complete collapse of Japanese resistance in this theatre appears to be certain and total.

In my last email I informed StoneAge that I would be agreeable to a "stop" line in Thailand if he desires to negotiate.

You mean, negotiate about China, or negotiate about his surrendering? ^^

Fishbed....I certainly dont envision negotiation about Japanese surrender....Im still fighting down in the Solomons and the SE tip of New Guinea.

However I think that the game is a bit unbalanced in Burma and perhaps even unfair to Japan in regards to the supply situation. This game started after the 2nd update and its been very easy drawing supplies in from India thru the jungle to Myitkina.

I started the Burma offensive with 100,000 supply in Myitkina and I immediately turned the supply draw in Myitkina down to zero so that supply would flow south thru Burma along with my advance. I brought in maybe 10,000-15,000 supplies in by sea at Rangoon but currently after 2 months of manuver and fighting the Allies still have 80k supplies at Moulmein, 16k at Pegu, 23k at Toungoo, 24k at Rangoon and 5k at Mandalay....so I have almost 50% more supplies now than when the offensive started.
We updated to the 1097 hotfix over a week ago but nearly every time I check it seems as if I have more supplies.

In addition, using only non-restricted troops I have around 4000 AV ready to invade Thailand...and thats not counting the 800 Burma Corps AV as garrison in Burma. That is all of the III Indian Corps including almost all that started in Malaya, all of the British forces that start at sea and enter the game as reinforcements (excluding 18th UK Division), all of the Australian 1st Corps and a couple of restricted Indian armor units purchased with PPs.

StoneAge had 2 divisions in Burma....the 55th and Imperial Guards.....plus another division equivalent of smaller formations so nearly 60,000 troops total. I think that Japan needs a minimum of 4 IJA divisions plus smaller formations for garrison duty to defend Burma so maybe some 100,000 troops total.

Id prefer to defeat Japan by cutting her off from all the oil and resources and by firebombing her cities from Pacific island airfields as opposed to overrunning SE Asia.
Having said that, Id halt my troops in Thailand if Japan made an effort to bring additional forces into Bangkok to restore some semblance of strategic balance....
maybe 3 divisions. I dont want to halt the Allied advance by fiat while SAA formations continue to fight in China.

Anyway, StoneAge responded to my offer by asking me if I thought that I had enough troops to finish the job....that sounded to me like a challenge so the offensive will continue.




9/25-9/26/42




SUBS


SS Sailfish attacks AKL Fukuyo Maru on the surface by Medan....Sailfish is hit by 2 shells while the AKL is hit by 3 shells.

SS Trusty puts a torpedo in freshly loaded TK Itushima Maru near Medan...she lights up like a torch.

SS Gato lands a fish on AK Sinsei Maru off Kushiro.



BURMA


Japanese air attacks break through Allied CAP and cause fatigue and disruption to the Allied armor brigades west of Rahaeng....they can only manage a couple of 1:1 attacks on the IJA rearguard. 1st Australian Corps infantry is rapidly approaching from the west and will assist the push into Rahaeng.

Several Topsys flying to Rahaeng are intercepted by Allied CAP....looks like Japan is bringing in reinforcements by air.

With the delayed replacements in AE most of the Hurricane squadrons in Burma are at half strength so some P-40Es are flown in from China.



SOPAC


Allied troops capture Shortlands:


Ground combat at Shortlands (109,131)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 19391 troops, 346 guns, 621 vehicles, Assault Value = 804

Defending force 2395 troops, 9 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 26

Allied adjusted assault: 567

Japanese adjusted defense: 13

Allied assault odds: 43 to 1 (fort level 4)

Allied forces CAPTURE Shortlands !!!

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
No Japanese losses

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

Japanese ground losses:
572 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 29 destroyed, 25 disabled
Engineers: 57 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)


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


Assaulting units:
161st Infantry Regiment
27th Infantry Division
1st USMC Tank Battalion
193rd Tank Battalion
14th NZ Brigade
154th FA Bn

Defending units:
II/84th Naval Guard Unit
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
7th Naval Construction Battalion
2nd JNAF AF Unit
35th JNAF AF Unit


The capture of Shortlands gives SOPAC another level 4 airfield withing range of Rabaul.

The remaining Japanese troops at Shortlands are surrounded....it will be interesting to see if its as difficult to finish off surrounded Japanese units in AE as it was in stock WitP.

Im encouraged by the new movement mode of "move" in AE. I know that the hexes are only 40 miles in AE but it took less that a week for infantry to march one hex thru the jungle from Torokina to Shortlands. I remember in my last game of CHS that it took me about a month for troops to march one hex from Tassafaronga to Lunga thru the jungle.

This will influence the next phase of Operation Cartwheel for SWPAC in Papua New Guinea. Instead of multiple seaborne invasions up the coast of New Guinea, I envision a single massive landing in Huon Gulf at Lae and then a overland march up the Markham River valley to capture Saidor and Madang...then take the coast road to Hansa Bay....and then maybe even continue the landward march to take Wewak and Aitape.

This would have the effect of freeing up the USN CVs to cover SOPAC ops in the Bismarcks and Admiralties concurrent with SWPAC ops.

9/27-9/28/42



SUBS


SS I-155 sinks KV Freesia off Chittagong.

SS Trusty is hit by 10 DCs from IJN ASW near Georgetown.

SS Halibut sinks AMc Wa5 by Kushiro.



SOPAC


A 5th day of deliberate attacks ends all Japanese resistance at Shortlands.

At Noumea, Allied troops begin loading on APs and AKs for the next phase of Operation Cartwheel.....the massive landings in Huon Gulf.



BURMA


Soon I will have to change the title of this section from "Burma" to "Thailand".

Japan gets a convoy of reinforcements into their last base in Burma at Tavoy...now there are some 16,000 troops there.

Recon now shows a total of just over 60,000 IJA troops spread between Tavoy and Thailand....Ive attached a map showing IJA troop dispositions. StoneAge has decided on a forward defense on the Burma/Thai border. This makes a lot of sense from a terrain standpoint...these positions are on 3x terrain....but it allows the Allies to defeat the IJA forces piecemeal and I intend to start doing that next turn on the border next to Rahaeng. Any IJA troops destroyed in northern Thailand will mean that many fewer troops available for the defense of Bangkok.

Recon shows 10,000 IJA troops on the Burma/Thai border next to Rahaeng...next turn we will shock attack them with 1700 AV from the 1st Australian Corps. Then the 1st Aussie's will pursue the remnants into Rahaeng. We will bypass the 16,000 IJA troops in Tavoy for now...Tavoy is basically isolated from the rest of IndoChina anyway...and send III Indian Corps against the 7000 IJA troops defending the Moulmein/Bangkok highway. Then both corps will march south to take Ayuthia and Bangkok.

The biggest obstacle we have here is Japanese air superiority....it seems like they have concentrated most of their land based air here and Allied Hurricane and P-40E squadrons have been decimated. If anything stops us here in this theatre it will be the disablements and disruptions from air attacks.

9/29-9/30/42



SUBS


SS Trusty is hit by another 5 DCs off Georgetown....this shallow water area to the west of Malaya appears tpo be very dangerous for Allied subs.

SS Seadragon spots a heavily damaged BB Yamato near Chichi-jima and fires a spread of 4 torpedoes that miss....Yamato's escorts land a couple of DCs near the sub. Looks like StoneAge is moving the ships that were heavily damaged in the airstrike at Truk back to the HI.

SS Pollack puts a torpedo in AK Tonegawa maru by Sapporo.

SS Searaven sinks AKL Kuramasan Maru off Fukue-jima.



SOPAC


USMC SBDs based at Torokina hit DD Kagero with 3 1000 lb bombs at Rabaul....looks like the DD was full of troops so apparently Japan is reinforcing here via Fast Transport.



BURMA


1st Australian Corps hammers the Japanese rear guard on the Thai border and forces the ragged remnants back across the river into Rahaeng.

Ill rest the troops for a couple days before storming across the river into the city.

Japan is focusing most of its aerial bombardments on the III Indian Corps units approaching Tavoy.....thats ok because Im putting a halt on these troops just outside the base until Bangkok is taken.


Im transferring most of the P-40E and Hurricane squadrons in China back to Burma to deal with the the heavy Japanese air reinforcements into the area.




COMPARATIVE LOSSES

its the end of the month so its time to post all the intel screenies again.

9-30-42



THE AIR WAR



The Allies have lost 3249 AC to date vs 2947 Japanese AC. Thats a 300 AC difference or about 10%.

In A2A the losses are 1681 Allied Ac to 1356 Japanese AC.

Here is a screenshot of Japanese AC losses. Notable are the Oscar losses which have gone thru the roof.....due to the intensity of the air war over Burma and China currently.

9-30-41....cont



THE AIR WAR


And here is a screenie of Allied AC losses. Notice here how Hurricane losses have ramped up....again due to the fighting in the skiies over the CBI.

You might consider amphibious op to capture Manus in Andmiralties. It would doom the Rabaul and IJ garrisons in New Guinea. And would protect your flank when&nbsp;advancing NW along PNG coast.

Sardaukar.....I totally agree with you about Manus.

While SWPAC is marching up the coast of New Guinea the USN CVs will be covering SOPAC's drive to Feni Island/Kavieng and Mussau island in the Bismarcks/Mussau Island in the Admiralties. The US Army 24th Infantry Regiment is currently prepping for Mussau Island.

The goal is for SWPAC to take Wewak and link up with SOPAC forces taking Mussau Island in early 1943.....thus surrounding New Britain and the Bismarck Sea with a ring of Allied airbases.




9/30/42.....CONT.



THE AIR WAR


Here is a screenshot of the top Allied pilots. When I last posted this 2 months ago the top 10 pilots were 6 Dutch and 4 ex AVG P-40E pilots.

Now when you look at the top 20 pilots, 8 are British Hurricane drivers, 6 US Army(ex AVG) P-40E pilots, 5 Dutch and finally a USN tailhook pilot in a F4F-3.

Again this is reflecting the scale of the air war over the CBI.

9-30-42.....CONT.



THE AIR WAR



Here is a screenshot of the Allied pilot pools:

10/1-10/4/42



SUBS


SS Gato puts a fish in TK Moji Maru off Kushiro and lights her up.

SS Truant sinks AK Taiko Maru near Sangihe.



SOPAC


CV Wasp completes repairs of her SYS damage and is placed in the shipyard at Sydney
with an estimate of 40 days to repair 35 FLT damage.



CHINA


StoneAge is playing Napoleon in the north and places his 100,000 strong army in the "central position" between 4 separate Chinese armies with an aggregate 10,000 AV. This strategy sort of worked in southern China a couple months ago when StoneAge was able to maul 3 separate Chinese stacks of about 400-500 AV apiece around Changsha. Im not going to allow the IJA stack to repeat this in the north...the Chinese will retreat if they are even close to being outnumbered.

Nanyang was in clear terrain when the IJA stack approached so the Chinese evacuated. As soon as the IJA stack left Nanyang the Chinese recaptured it. Now that the IJA stack is moving on Ichang.....also in clear terrain...we will evacuate Ichang next turn. The IJA stack will need to remain here the rest of the war if StoneAge decides to hold Ichang....otherwise we will take it back when the Japanee leave.

In the south a 80,000 strong IJA army approaches Kukong. We continue to ship Chinese troops into the 2x terrain of Kukong by rail.

10/5-10/8/42



SUBS


SS S-44 sinks AMc Kyo Maru off Taliabue.

SS Haddock sinks AK Rakuto Maru near Wakkanai.

SS Spearfish is hit by 11 DCs from IJN ASW by Chefoo.

SS S-45 takes 3 DCs from IJN ASW off Soerabaja.



BURMA


Looks like StoneAge has substantially reinforced Burma....this is as it should be. In addition to the 16,000 IJA troops at Tavoy and Bangkok there are now 20,000 IJA troops at Rahaeng with 10,000 next door at Pisanuloke.

1st Australian Corps with some 2000 AV should shock attack across the river into Rahaeng next turn. The battle for Rahaeng should be very interesting with the 3x terrain. But Im not sure if the 1st Aussie Corps is strong enough to dislodge the Japanese at Rahaeng.

Meanwhile, Burma Corps is marching into the rear of the Japanese defenders at Rahaeng and Pisanuloke and should be able to mount an attack into the clear terrain of Pisanuloke in a few days.

III Indian Corps crushed the IJA border guards on the Moulmein/Bangkok highway 2 days ago. The IJA troops there suffered 2500 casualties before retreating and the road to Bangkok now looks wide open for the III Indian Corps.

In India we received 2 Chindit Brigades in the last 2 turns and they are now being railroaded to Imphal. These troops are amazing.....80 experience and 90 morale....
so now we have another 300 AV of shock troops for the Thailand offensive.

10/9-10/10/42



SUBS


SS Sunfish sinks PB Takunan Maru off Sapporo.



BURMA


1st Australian Corps shock attacks their way into Rahaeng. The IJA defenders at Rahaeng had an adjusted AV of 767 with the terrain bonus. The 2000 AV of the 1st Aussie Corps is ordered to shock attack the Rahaeng garrison tomorrow.

III Indian Corps is ordered to shock attack the IJA roadblock on the Moulmein/Bangkok highway tomorrow.

Looks like Japan has most of their air force concentrated in SE Asia now. The Brits dont get any more of the Hurricane IIa or IIb now....they get only 36 Hurricane IIc per month. Not only are their meagre replacements heavily outnumbered by Japanese Oscar and Zero replacements but they are operating out of only 2 level 4 airfields at Moulmein and Bangkok. Several Air HQ and aviation engineer units have force marched thru the jungle from India to Shwebo and are now just being railed to Bangkok and Moulmein.....once they are in position we should be able to deploy more air over Thailand.

All of the RAF and USAAF fighter squadrons that had been fighting in China have been pulled back to Burma now save 1 Hurricane IIb squadron. In addition, we are retrofitting some of the RAF squadrons to Mohawk IIIs due to the shortage of Hurricanes.

In retrospect I wish I had sent more USAAF fighter squadrons from the East Coast US to India instead of the Pacific.


CHINA

We still have most of the RAF and USAAF bombers in China and they had been wreaking havoc on the 100,000 strong Japanese stack in the north....usually 300-400 casualties per day in the clear terrain and massive disruption.

The IJA stack was split up while marching and Allied sweeps and escorts only flew against 1 of the stacks....the medium bombers that hit the other IJA stack without fighter escorts got savaged....we lost some 11 Blenheim IVs and 8 Hudson A-29s last turn. With the miniscule Allied bomber replacements the affected squadrons will be out of action for awhile.

On a better note, the RAF and USAAF fighter replacements are now Chinese flying the new Vanguards and Lancers. Last turn they engaged a new IJA fighter for the 1st time....the Ki-44-IIa Tojo and held their own.....5 Tojos were shot down vs 2 Vanguards and 2 Lancers.

With the big IJA stack split up just outside of Ichang there is an opportunity for 2800 Chinese AV to crush a single 20,000 strong IJA division in clear terrain....a shock attack is ordered for tomorrow.



SWPAC


The SWPAC invasion force should enter Huon Gulf tomorrow and begin offloading the 112th Calvary Regiment at Lae in 2 days.

This is the largest Allied amphibious operation so far in the war....2 divisions, 4 base forces and 7 seabee units will be landed after the 112th Calvary secures Lae.