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Your mild overstacking didn't cause your planes to fail to fly. I agree with the assessment that it was likely weather. Do you have clouds turned on so you can see when your TFs are mired in heavy weather?

I hope you had the presence of mind to sortie and scatter every last ship in the ports along the coast and RUN LIKE HELL while the KB was busy going after your SAGs. A couple of turns of breathing space while they are occupied can make all the difference in the world if you use it to your advantage. You DON'T have the land based fighter strength necessary to prevent every last ship that stayed in port from being sunk there.

And don't forget to get your planes out of PM before it falls.

- They also caught up to PoW who for some bizarre reasons stayed formed in a TF until the end of the day when it disbanded as instructed. She took 7 bombs and is left with with 49/60/26/0 damage. 34 of the FLT and 16 of the ENG damage are "major." I tried to hint to him that she sunk, but he'd be a fool to believe it and I expect her to be finished off in port tomorrow. What he might not know is that Repulse is hiding in port nearby as well.

Disbanding ships is one of the last things that happens in a turn. I guess most of us had to learn it the hard way, but every airstrike happens before this event.

Still, its good luck!
It is not unlikely, that he will finish her off, which gives your CVs more time to flee. To trade PoW against two carriers is a good deal, no?
Also, you have the chance to scrap together every fighter that doesn't have the "-r" behind his transfer to PoW's port and set it to 100% CAP, which you layer between 20 and 5k. This will cost him valuable carrier planes that have to be repelensihed before he gains full combat efficiancy, again.

ORIGINAL: marbakka

I have now seen the replay, and it turns out that it didn't much matter what I told Houston to do because the commander had his own ideas. He attacked the KB (which only had 3 CVs in the TF that they engaged). They scored several hits on the Shokaku and a couple on one of the BBs but nothing to write home about. DD Barker was pretty badly damaged. After the battle, they figured that without anything better to do they would obey my orders and sail to Cooktown. Unfortunately, that was parallel to the KB1(?) and they suffered several air raids which damaged Houston and (I think) sunk Marblehead. Boise escaped without a scratch.

The real surprise was the carrier group that appeared out of nowhere north of Darwin (straight through my Naval Search umbrella again, I might add). That carrier launched against a group of AKs that were fleeing Darwin to the west. IF they were the ones I'm thinking of, they were carrying a fighter group.

I have to see the turn to know whether my carriers made it far enough to the west to have a chance of getting away. I seriously doubt it and I suspect I will have to choose between turning and engaging the 3 that are giving chase or engaging the 1 (or 2 or 3) that are trying to cut me off.

I suspect that Enterprise and Lexington are about to meet their end or something like it.

I missed that.
Even better!

You can now teach him the lesson, never to divide the KB. Two US carriers against 3 Jap is almost equal. Even if you loose both - and that's not certain at all - you can take one to three of his carriers with you!

You could also steam your ships to Normanton and disband them. I've hidden whole fleets hunted by the KB this way in other games, as no opponent anticipated that move, so far.


If you decide to fight, you have to find out if he intends to go for your carriers with his small CV-TF. If he does, take the initiative and bring your CVs as close as possible. The Devastators may be bad TBs and short-legged. But better bad and short-legged TBs joining the fight than no TBs at all! But to get them to fight, you have to be close enough, so YOU have to go for his carriers!

Combat Report - 1/13/1942

- Houston's TF charges into the KB hex with the following result

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku, Shell hits 5
BB Kongo
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 1
CA Chikuma
DD Akizuki
DD Teruzuki
DD Akigumo
DD Shiranui
DD Hatsuharu
DD Nenohi
DD Hatsushima
DD Wakaba

Allied Ships
CA Houston
CL Marblehead
CL Boise
DD Barker, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Whipple

All but one of the shell hits on the CV bounced off the belt-armor. The other hit the deck armor with little result.
- Houston's group then fled toward Cooktown where they were the recipients of two separate care packages from the KB. The first raid put another bomb into Barker who is ablaze and barely afloat (I'll probably scuttle this turn) and 3 bombs into Marblehead, causing her severe danger (again, probably scuttle worthy). The second raid put 2 bombs into Houston causing around moderate to heavy damage. Houston has 9 fires still going but once she puts those out, she may be ok to move down to the AR at Townsville. Boise was apparently painted blue and making whale noises or something because she hasn't been touched despite all that has happened this week.
- MEANWHILE, just south of Timor a new threat slides out of the rainy mists. A carrier group launches a morning raid of 21 Zeros and 15 Kates against a TF trying to flee Darwin to the west. There were three AKLs in that TF, one of which is carrying a fighter group. Between the morning raid and the afternoon raid (4 Zeros/8 Kates), he sunk 2 of the 3. I got lucky. They are high tailing it to Wyndham.
- At Port Moresby, 21000 of his troops attacked 11000 of mine. The odds were 1 to 2 in my favor and we did ok. He will take it, of course, but it will be a week or so, I think.

----

In PH, I'm almost ready to transfer BBs California and Nevada to the Bay area for their long-term dry dock time. They will be escorted by the last of the escorts for Saratoga. It will be nice to have those two CVs at sea as they will likely be the only ones I have left by that point. The BBs that I sent toward the WC a couple weeks ago should arrive at SD very soon.

----


As I suspected, I am left with a choice for Enterprise and Lexington. I really don't think fleeing to the north or south is an option, so I have to choose between turning and attacking the KB, or continuing west and launching against the mini-KB instead. There really isn't much choice to it, to be honest. What I'm calling the 'KB' consists of 3 CVs (Shokaku, Soryu, and Hiryu) and at least 1 other CV/E/L in the other TF. I actually suspect there are 2 CVs there. On the other hand, the TF to the west does not appear to be anything more than a CVL or two. You will recall that my submarine torpedoed one of the CVEs a couple weeks ago, and I suspect that is still sitting in Cam Rahn Bay.

Fuel also comes into the decision. Darwin may as well be the moon where fuel is concerned, and the closest fuel sources are Soerabaja, Perth, and the replen fleet that is slowly making its way north from Perth. That fleet is small and will only be able to get us the rest of the way to Perth should we need it. Another replen fleet is near Melbourne and coming as fast as it can. So, if I were to turn and engage the KB, I would then have to turn fight my way through the other fleet to get to the fuel. Better to do that from the start. Moreover, the KB has really stuck his nose out. I have not spotted any oilers, so it is possible that he is running low himself. It has not escaped my attention that he has not used full speed to chase me.

Combat Report - 1/14/1942

The eye of the storm

- In Singapore, I lost a TON of Buffaloes to his Zero sweeps. Why on earth would anyone name an aircraft 'buffalo'?
- In Changsha, I had changed out the front line AVG unit with the one that had been resting in the rear. They rocked it all day long and scored something like 7-8 to 1 kills each battle.
- Prince of Wales is almost relocated to Townsville. When she gets there, I might attempt to move she and Repulse both down the coast port by port until I get to Perth. Then I will have to figure out how to get them to Colombo or Cape Town for their lengthy repairs/upgrades.

[Today, we will refer to the two enemy carrier fleets as "western" and "eastern." The western fleet is the weaker of the two and hasn't launched more than a couple dozen planes each turn. The eastern fleet is probably the full or almost full KB.]
- The western carrier(s) moved closer to the Australian shore and launched against shipping trying to fleet to nearby ports. One of the ships sunk was carrying a squadron of P40s. The other is just some supplies being salvaged from DEI.
- The eastern carrier group vanished, but I have no reason to believe that they did not continue their pursuit of my CVs. Unless I learn otherwise, I have to assume that they are still on my trail.

Unless his western group flees north or west, we will encounter them in the morning. Unfortunately, the forecast calls for rain in that entire area.

Question: I'm having trouble getting BB Warspite from Balboa to Cape Town. I thought I could just assign CT as the home port and tell it to return, but it turned red for fuel. I finally gave up and sent her to the East Coast thinking that maybe it would be shorter for there. However, it was my impression before that off-map movement assumed fueling stops along the way. Is this not the case for the extended map? Am I doing something wrong?

I think Balboa is on the Pacific side and has no direct connection with Cape Town. If the computer was sending it all the way across the Pacific toward Cape Town instead of the Atlantic, fuel would definitely be an issue! Try getting it to Cristobal and then to CT. It could also help to change the home port, although I am not sure if you can do this from an off-map location to another off-map location.
At any rate you are right about enroute refuelling being assumed. If you try sending it again from Balbo to CT and the track does not go across the Pacific, just let it go ahead. If it does go trans-Pacific you will have to use a turn to get it to Cristobal first.
PS - Eastern USA is virtually equidistiant from CT as Cristobal to CT [based on transit days in the game].

I've actually been meaning to ask about Warspite for a week but with all the excitement...

She's about 6 days out of the Eastern US so I'll try again when she gets there.

ORIGINAL: marbakka


Question: I'm having trouble getting BB Warspite from Balboa to Cape Town. I thought I could just assign CT as the home port and tell it to return, but it turned red for fuel. I finally gave up and sent her to the East Coast thinking that maybe it would be shorter for there. However, it was my impression before that off-map movement assumed fueling stops along the way. Is this not the case for the extended map? Am I doing something wrong?

I think what you want to do here in this case is not use the "return to" button but rather manually do a move-to from Balboa. I think the red warning for fuel comes about because the computer is trying to route her from Balboa to CT using on map movement. ie. Balboa to on-map, on-map to CT.

As for your CVs, keep going west and then south towards Perth. You're going to come in contact for sure and I agree with Historiker, if you're going to fight might as well pick one you have a chance of winning. Also, once you get to Perth, I'd assume the worst and keep going right around unless you want to do a spell in the DEI (which puts you out of position and opens up the whole pacific to him if he chooses to capitalize on you're being on the wrong side of the map). Good luck!

Get those buffaloes the heck out of that death trap called Singapore.

I typically have every last air squadron out of there before the end of December.

As soon as I'm done covering the evacuation of III Indian Corps or the evac route is cut off, the planes come out.

Stage them to Java. Get the British and Kiwi ones to a port on the Indian Ocean side such as Tijilitjap and ship them to some place else. Stage the Australian ones across the DEI to Timor and on to Darwin.

Get them out!

Combat Report - 1/15/1942

Another surprisingly quiet turn.

- Japan tries a shock attack in Clark Field (I know he is reading PH's AAR, so you'd think he would know better). The adjusted AV was 619 against my 343. The odds were 1 to 1 with 0 forts. The results, however, were overwhelmingly in my favor. He lost 143 squads and had another 547 disabled. I lost 6 squads and had 89 disabled. Win.
- He started snatching up bases in Celebes using his airborne units. "Radio chatter" a week ago indicated that his airborne troops were going to attack soon, but I had expected something like a move on Baker Island. In fact, I moved a small squadron of fighters for the sole purpose of intercepting that attack. It may still come, but I think I'll pull the fighters back to where they have support.
- He evidently viewed my cutting his supply line to Changsha as a bad thing. He sent the 22nd Division to attack (and nearly massacre) my placeholder unit. I have about 1100AV that is just one hex away, though, so I think I'm going to push right back into the hex and fight for it. He hasn't pressed an attack in Changsha for some time yet
- He is evidently about to land in Merak. The transport ships are in the hex but did not unload last turn. Alternatively, they may be there to load troops from Oosthaven to cross the strait. I have almost nothing over there with which to resist. Even my aircraft are in disrepair as there is very little aviation support left on that side of Java.

And of course, the Battle of the Timor Sea...didn't happen.
- Only three hexes separates the mini-KB from my CVs. I assume that weather is what prevented either group from launching their attacks. The weather is supposed to be partly cloudy tomorrow, so we should see some morning attacks, unless he runs.
- The big news is that the KB has stopped giving chase (fuel? fear of Torres?). They have moved back into the Coral Sea and appear to be making a run down the Australian coast. I have moved most of my valuables into Townsville where there will be 2 squadrons of P40 flying 100% CAP by the morning. It isn't much, but I hope it will be enough to blunt his attack. PoW is tied up to a repair ship and Repulse is parked next to the pier. Houston and Boise are here as well. I'm sad to report that Marblehead will remain a permanent feature of the Cooktown harbor.

This leaves me in a MUCH more comfortable position. I'm not forced to flee westward each turn and can even make a juke to the north in case he tries to back his CVLs off. I know this may still end very badly for me, but I feel much more optimistic about my chances without the KB just over the eastern horizon. Tomorrow's weather should be ok, and we are certainly close enough.

Nice AAR and good to see you try RA.

I would check the range setting on your CV aircraft. I have made the mistake of having them set to "0" due to training, or another low number to avoid nearby CAP traps, and then forgetting to put them at full range when on the open sea about to engage the KB.

I'm pretty sure red range or not you should be able to move off map without suffering. I've never had trouble, at least with the stock map.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
CC

ORIGINAL: Commander Cody

Nice AAR and good to see you try RA.

I would check the range setting on your CV aircraft. I have made the mistake of having them set to "0" due to training, or another low number to avoid nearby CAP traps, and then forgetting to put them at full range when on the open sea about to engage the KB.

Welcome to the AAR CC!

I'm absolutely certain that it wasn't the range (though I'm sure I'll make that mistake at some point). I'm certain because I have already seen the replay for the next turn which includes the first day of The Battle of the Timor Sea! I'm waiting to get the turn before I tell you THAT story! [:-]

Combat Report - 1/16/1942

- Japan snatches up some more bases around Celebes using paratroopers
- What appears to be an abnormally large number of troops land at Atka Island (Aleutians). I'm unsure why he is invading with that size force. Is he trying to pull something like what he has read in PH's AAR? Surely not.
- The Java invasion begins with troops landing in Merak. They will find a little resistance at Batavia and then nothing at all until they get down to Soerabaja. I've pretty much abandoned this area.
- Lest this be missed in the coming description of the Battle of the Timor Sea, I will point out here that he also invaded Timor at Koepang. Another invasion TF appears to be NE of the island and headed for the Dili area. I have almost nothing here to resist.
- At Port Moresby, his deliberate attack results in 1 to 2 odds in my favor and he takes a modest beating. Not enough to send him packing, though.

The Battle of the Timor Sea (Day One)

Two days ago, it became clear that I would have to fight my way out of the Timor Sea as the KB had chased me through the Torres Strait and the mini-KB had moved to block my flight west. I chose to take my chances with the mKB in the west, and subsequently, the KB moved back into the Coral Sea (though it has disappeared over the last 24 hours...more on that later). For the last two days, weather has prevented either my own CVs (Enterprise and Lexington) or the mKB from launching air attacks, but the weather cleared up today...

In the first attack of the day, a combat TF that had been escorting the mKB broke off and entered the hex that separated his carriers from mine. The result was not devastating, but good enough that I don't worry too much about these BBs hurting my carriers:

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 34



Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 9
F4F-3A Wildcat x 11
F4F-3 Wildcat x 33
SBD-2 Dauntless x 36
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18
TBD-1 Devastator x 15


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 3 destroyed
SBD-2 Dauntless: 7 destroyed, 1 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed
TBD-1 Devastator: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Ise, Bomb hits 8, on fire
CL Kuma, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 5, on fire
CA Maya, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Samidare
DD Murasame, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Asagumo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage

Notice that he had many Zeros flying CAP. They blunt some of this attack, but it also splits in half the CAP that should have been over his carriers...

Then, my CVs launched an attack on his Koepang invasion TF. The results were not especially impressive, but I'm pretty sure I sunk one or two troop transports - hopefully with troops on them. In hindsight, it was good target practice for later in the day.

Then came the two scary parts of the afternoon...

The first was when LBA out of Kendari showed up to play. Thankfully, it was only 6 Betties and 15 Zeroes. My CAP dealt with the threat swiftly, and they never even got to make a run at my ships.

But then came the mKB's bombers. This led to some very long, tense moments when groups of 4-5 bombers were making runs on Lexington. (I've got to turn the message delay down a little as it can't be good for my heart to sit there and look at it wondering if those bombs will hit). The end result, however, was that only ONE torpedo found its target and that target was CA Astoria.

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 32 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 37
B5N1 Kate x 13
B5N2 Kate x 23



Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 7
F4F-3A Wildcat x 9
F4F-3 Wildcat x 20


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
B5N1 Kate: 5 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 8 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed
F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Lexington
CA Astoria, Torpedo hits 1
CA Portland
CA Chicago

In his defense, notice that the weather was "severe storms" in the hex with the CVs

Having survived that, it was time to grab the tiger by the ears:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sawoe-eilanden at 62,119

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 32



Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 8
F4F-3A Wildcat x 11
SBD-2 Dauntless x 38
SBD-3 Dauntless x 16
TBD-1 Devastator x 12


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-2 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 8 damaged
SBD-2 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
TBD-1 Devastator: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVE Hosho
CA Haguro
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Oyashio
DD Natsushio
CA Myoko, Bomb hits 1, on fire

11 Devastators slipped in a little bit later and dropped torpedoes aimed at the Hosho but none of them were recorded as hits. I'm curious as to whether his carriers are able to continue flight operations. There were reports of a fuel storage explosion aboard Shoho and an ammo storage explosion aboard Zuiho. Tracker reports that Shoho went down, but I don't dare believe it. If he can't conduct flight operations, then Day Two may see the end of these guys.(Note: Notice that CVE Taiyo is not around. This helps to confirm that the torpedo my sub put into her a couple weeks ago kept her in port)

Obviously, I'm very pleased with the results of what I am calling "Day One" of the battle. Astoria is in no danger of sinking and though she evidently wishes to stay with the fleet, her speed is down to 29 and I'm inclined to send her with a DD escort to the coast to stabilize everything. However, as pleased as I am, I recognize that this battle is not over. For one thing, I cannot say for a certainty that the CVLs are crippled to the point that they can't launch an attack, and Hosho wasn't even touched. I imagine that the combat TF isn't in THAT bad of shape either, so there's that to worry about. But most importantly, the KB disappeared this turn. It is possible that they continued into the Coral Sea and toward the Solomon Sea and that my search planes just didn't see them, but it is also possible that he decided to resume the chase and entered the "blind spot" to the west of the Torres Strait. If that is the case, then whatever the results of tomorrow's battle, I may find the KB waving at me in the rear view at the end of the day.

I don't think the possibility of the KB's presence changes what I have to do so much as the nervousness with which I do it. I cannot move west without continuing to deal with the mKB, so that is that.

It ain't over till he surrenders...


(Screenshot at the position at the end of the day)

Congrats on an excellent day for the USN. Some things to help your next decision:

Ryujo carries 48 aircraft and has a top speed of 29 knots. For Zuiho the figures are 30/27 and for Hosho 20/25.
Taiyo is 27/21 so there is a chance she was left behind because of her slow speed - not sure how much time has elapsed since that torpedo hit.

Ryujo probably can carry on ops unless her fires get bigger during the night. Zuiho and Shoho are likely out of it but I would not count them sunk yet. An ammo storage explosion is not the same as a magazine explosion - I think it assumes bombs and torps in the hangar deck waiting to be loaded, so figure the equivalent of several bomb hits. I don't have any experience with Zuiho/Shoho to go on but I did hit Ryujo with 3 torps and got 2 "fuel storage explosions" that slowed her to a crawl but she did not sink until my subs caught her again and put two more torps into her.

About the BBs damaged - in this game bombs do not penetrate their deck armour and they will not be slowed by the hits they got, nor will their main guns be affected. RUN AWAY!
But try to deke around them to cut off the damaged carriers to finish the job. He is sure to move more Netties into the area to try to get your carriers so you have at best one more day to have at them. I would try to end up south west of mini KB in daylight to have an open escape route and to be as far as possible from his LBA.

Rotsa Ruck!

Combat Report - 1/17/1942

- Merak and Koepang both fall giving IJ a foothold in both Java and Timor. The end is near for the DEI
- In China, he has dedicated 2 full divisions and a mixed brigade to Kweiteh. This is a little dot base on the rail line between Kaifeng and Suchow. I have about 700 AV there as a result of sending anyone who got cut off from the main line over to here. The odds were 3 to 1 with a fort level of 3, but I still did pretty good, disabling 300 of his squads. I'm satisfied knowing that he's having to dedicate those divisions there instead of at Changsha or Loyang
- Singapore takes a heavy bomber attack every day now. I disbanded/withdrew most all of the air units because there simply isn't anywhere for them to flee too (with Palembang taken, there is no escape route). 3 units, including 2 squadrons of torpedo bombers made it to Sabang, but it will be tricky getting them loaded on ships.

The Battle of the Timor Sea (Day Two)

I set Pensacola loose to run a screen for the CVs and added CA Portland to her TF to give her a fighting chance. They did their job, but took a real beating for it. The enemy heavy combat TF which included 3 BBs surprised them at 2,000 yards. It wasn't an absolute disaster, but CL Danae was sunk, and Pensacola will almost certainly go to the bottom. She's trying desperately to get to Soerabaja, but with 67 fires, I'm not hopeful. Portland escaped unharmed, but she is now in danger of the KB (see below)

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 5
BB Ise, Shell hits 2
CA Maya, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Portland
CA Pensacola, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Leander
CL Danae, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Drayton
DD Lamson
DD Tenedos, Shell hits 3, on fire

I had hoped the CVs would attack his wounded mKB, but they moved rather quickly to the north and out of range. They are sitting SW of Bima now and headed toward Kendari. May they each and every one settle into the seabed before they reach home.

If they do, they may have some company. As I suspected, the KB has resumed its chase. I spotted an AO in trail of them, so it appears that he had to let them catch up to refuel before proceeding. They are NE of Darwin now and sinking everything they can as they move. My own carriers desperately need to refuel. I'll send the little replen fleet out of Port Hedland, but it will be cutting it close to get down to Perth. From Perth, if he is still chasing, I may make a run to Cape Town.

Not out of the woods yet.

Ahhh - ç'est la guerre! [:(] I had hoped you had enough fuel for a high speed run SW and then NW to get within range of Mini KB, but it moved further than I thought it would with all that damage. How many CVLs does the mouseover show? That may tell you if one of them sank.

He may have refuelled KB but I doubt he replenished his ammo, so it is good that he is attacking everything in sight before he gets to your CVs. At some point his op cycles will be used up and he will have to run like hell to the north. If you have any subs in the DEI head them for the choke points now.

Combat Report - 1/18/1942

Not much happened.

- Heavy bombing of Singapore, Clark Field, and Changsha
- A division or more has left Canton and appears to be marching on Kukong. I don't have a ton there to defend at the moment, but I anticipated this and there is about 1000 AV that I'd moved up to Changsha that will be swinging back down via rail.
- Intel suggests that he is planning for an attack on Ichang.
- The KB continues to terrorize the Timor Sea. I lost several DDs that were escorting a cargo fleet along the coast (trying to get to port). He seems to be sailing them pretty far north, and I wonder if he has lost contact with my Carriers which are now turning the corner and heading for Perth. They finished off that little replen fleet in a hurry! My remaining surface combat ships are following but they seem to be lagging behind a bit
- USS Pensacola sunk attempting to make it to Soerabaja. The two DDs that were escorting her will now break west away from what remains of the mKB (which tried twice to attack them with no effect). They will then circle around and rejoin the fleet near Perth.

I have tons of fighter and bomber groups arriving in Cape Town from the east coast. For now, I'm leaving them where they are and training them, but I need to move them to either Australia or India soon. I just have to figure out where he is going. Does the presence of the 2nd Fleet in Singkawang (NW Borneo) mean anything to anyone, maybe? His foray along the Australian coast hurts, but I'm not sure I should take that to mean that he has his eye set on taking Australia.

Japan has a number of fleet HQ that are scattered around different map sectors. AFAIK there are no ships and IJN air squadrons specifically attached to that HQ [as in restricted to it], so it may have been moved there to provide naval support for unloading until the port gets built up. I am also not sure if they have anything to do with enabling torpedo replenishment for ships and subs. At any rate, I don't think it tells you much about his intentions toward India or Austrailia. Keep monitoring the SIGINT.

Combat Report - 1/19/1942

It appears that everything has calmed down a bit. This is the first turn in a while where there were no CV-based air attacks.

- Continued heavy bombing of Singapore and Changsha. I wish I could put a CAP over Changsha, but he has the airfield practically unusable and in any case both of my AVG squadrons are at half strength and refuse to take reinforcements even when they are in the same hex with the HQ. I'm going to have to investigate this.
- Another massive attack against Kweiteh, the little dot-base that could. He will probably take it next time, but I'm proud of these guys for hanging on back there for this long. He has them surrounded, so they will either fight to the death or surrender.
- An invasion force has landed at an undefended Dili. Timor will be his in very short order. Ambon is virtually surrounded (but well supplied ahead of time)
- Johore Bahru fell today (no resistance). I assume he will march the rest of his troops south before crossing the causeway. I have 2 stranded units north. One is sitting on his rail line just SW of Kota Bharu and has been there for days without him noticing (apparently). The other is marching west through the jungle to cut off the other rail. My hope is that he forgot about these guys and will have to send units back to deal with them.
- My CVs should reach Perth tomorrow or early the next day. I'm a little concerned for the combat TFs that are trailing behind, but I'm no longer concerned that the KB will be catching my carriers. That said, the KB did disappear this turn, however the fleet that has been trailing it the whole time is still visible up near Timor which may indicate that he turned north toward where he had the mKB parked. My CVs will refuel and Perth and then head either south or west. I haven't decided if I will bring them back to link up with their sisters or send them to Ceylon to work with HMS Indomitable who is due in Trincomalee in the morning. I do feel a bit skiddish about sending them to India if only because I lack any good naval search coverage there.

A tiny bit more info about 2nd Fleet HQ - it starts out on the island of Hainan and has naval support of 240 squads. This would enable loading heavier guns at Kuching than the actual port size supports.

The standard rearm levels for port size are as follows:
Pt. size/ rearm level: 1/15 2/25 3/40 4/110 5/300 6/700 7/5500 8/6000 9/6500 10/9999

Here is the part of the manual about rearming weapons:

Rearm Level uses a rearm cost for each device aboard a ship. For Mines, ASW devices and
Torpedoes, the load cost is used (this is usually the weight of the weapon). For guns (Naval,
DP, flak), double the effect (as load cost does not reflect the size of ammo) Aircraft Sorties has
a flat cost of 500.



About the air reinforcements, here is the section of the manual about this:

16.2 AIR UNITS
Air units will automatically gain replacements under certain circumstances if aircraft are
available in the replacement pool and the air unit has been set to Accept Replacements. To get
replacement aircraft to flow automatically into an air unit, there must be planes in the pool and
one of the following cases must be true (the first true will take effect):

»» The air unit is located at a base with an airfield size of 1+ (or 0 if a
float-equipped group and the base is in a coastal hex) and the base
has over 20,000 supplies. Supplies will be expended at the base
and the unit will receive damaged planes from the pool (they may
repair before the next orders phase during the repair phase).

»» The air unit is located at a base and the HQ that the group is
assigned to is within transfer range of the air unit’s aircraft type,
and the HQ is located at a base with an airfield size of 1+ and has
over 20,000 supplies. Supplies will be expended at the HQ base
and the unit will receive damaged planes from the pool.

»» The air unit is located at a base and the Command level HQ that
the group is assigned to is within transfer range of the air unit’s
aircraft type, and the Command HQ is located at a base with
over 20,000 supplies. Supplies will be expended at the HQ base
and the unit will receive damaged planes from the pool.

»» The air unit is located on a ship and a replenishment air unit
is within normal range of the ship, the unit will receive planes
from the replenishment unit instead of the pool.

»» The air unit is located on a ship in the same hex as a base with an airfield size
of 1+ (TF or at anchor) and the base has over 20000 supplies. Supplies will be
expended at the base and the unit will receive damaged planes from the pool.

If none of these conditions apply, land based air units may automatically have a sub unit
created for it at the base containing the HQ that the air unit is assigned to or the Command HQ
of the air unit’s HQ if it is not in the base. The base with the HQ must have supplies that are at
least equal to twice the base’s supply needs plus the supplies that will be expended in creating
the sub unit, the supply base must be within twice the maximum range of the aircraft type, and
there must be planes in the pool equal to:

»» 10 + (plane build rate / 2)
If these conditions are met, a sub unit of damaged planes will be placed at the HQ’s location
and supplies will be expended from the base. Note Japanese build rates are usually 0 when
production is on. Another subgroup will not be formed for the air unit until at least 7 days have
elapsed.
A maximum of 12 planes will be added to a group as replacements every 7 days.

A group may take replacements in their national home base, subject to the above conditions.
It acts as a Command HQ base.

In scenarios with production set to On, all new air units (including reinforcements, reformed
disbanded and withdrawn groups) must take planes from the replacement pool to fill out the
air unit when it arrives. Note that reinforcement units will arrive with the number of planes
specified in the editor. These planes are not drawn from the pool as they are deemed to have
been supplied elsewhere.

Aircraft units may receive replacements during the Supply Operations Phase. Air units on
airfields only check for replacements 2 out of every 3 days, while air units on ships check
for replacements every day. Any unit, excluding fragments, with less aircraft (Total Ready,
Repairing, and Reserve) than its maximum aircraft level is eligible for replacements (the main
unit’s maximum ready aircraft level is checked versus the total number of aircraft from the
main unit and sub-units). Air units with more losses will receive priority for replacements.

Air groups on carriers with more than 50% system or flood damage cannot receive
replacements.
Bases with more than 59% of service or runway damage cannot be used as a source for
replacements or upgrades.

Replacements are taken from the replacement pool if the appropriate planes are available
(fighter aircraft for fighter squadrons, carrier-capable aircraft for carriers, etc.). To view the
number of planes currently in the replacement pool, access the Aircraft Replacement Screen
from the Intel Screen. Also, the expected average rate of monthly replacements (and/or
production) by plane model will give you an idea of how quickly losses can be made up.

The Aircraft Replacement Screen lists the number of available planes and the number of planes
used so far during the scenario. The number used can become negative if more planes have
been returned from upgrading air units than have been used as replacements.
Destroyed air units can return as reinforcements by expending political points. Destroyed air
units can be accessed from the Aircraft Losses on the Intel Screen.

Edit: - Corrected info about rearm levels.