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Whats the worst case , if he goes for Oosthaven at this stage you will probably have an extra day warning and the mines as well as the strategic reserve arriving , and it will be difficult to cap ( obviously this will change when Java falls) . If he lands at Palembang now he gets much better air from singapore which probably affects his decision a lot ( cautious IJN players always stay under the umbrella)  , KB is likely to  not be in the plans for Sumatra. Because of this  i would move most of the CDs to Palembang is it possible to leave 6 as a fragment though ?
 
Still with the defensive bonus he will not succeed regardless though you may kill some more ships , id say for both landings his initial will be a failure. 
 
Other likely strategies to consider
 
- A conservative player may land a division in a minor port/hex  which is covered by CAP from Singapore .
- He plans to isolate Sumatra by going onto Biliton and Java.
 
 

Well I've IDed KB moving back into the DEI region and thus am trying to set the operation in the Marshalls into action...

BUT there are massive problems loading troops... The picture below shows a unit I am trying to load onto 19 ships ( 4100 tons of cargo to move the unit, the 19 ships should ensure that I can unload 4250 tons of cargo in a single day of amphibious landings from xAKs )... HOWEVER of the 19 ships only 11 of them are actually loading troops. I have load ONLY troops on and do not load fuel. I also have toggled on USE ALL SHIPS.

So, what am I doing wrong or is there a bug here?

Any amphibious TF I create causes the same problem once I use more than the minimum number of ships...

E.g. If I need 4 ships to load a unit and allocate 7 or 8 then it'll probably go fine but as I add more and more ships some of the ships simply don't get used at all.

They amphib ALWAYS load 3-4 days supplies , is that the problem ?

Just a thought...

I seem to recall you writing that you were sizing your task force so that each ship would contain no more points of troops/cargo than it could unload over a beach in a single turn.

Perhaps, and I stress this is just a guess, the port size allows each ship to load more troops than the point target that you're aiming for, and the unit gets entirely loaded before it gets to the last of the ships in the task force.

I suggest this because when I was playing WITP I noticed, without going into detail, certain things that indicated to me that the computer was loading each ship in a task force individually rather than loading a task force as a collective unit.

If this is the case, you should be able to confirm it by noting how many points of troops the port allows to be loaded by a ship in a single turn and then comparing it with how much each ship has loaded after one turn and the total size of the unit.

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

Well I've IDed KB moving back into the DEI region and thus am trying to set the operation in the Marshalls into action...

BUT there are massive problems loading troops... The picture below shows a unit I am trying to load onto 19 ships ( 4100 tons of cargo to move the unit, the 19 ships should ensure that I can unload 4250 tons of cargo in a single day of amphibious landings from xAKs )... HOWEVER of the 19 ships only 11 of them are actually loading troops. I have load ONLY troops on and do not load fuel. I also have toggled on USE ALL SHIPS.

So, what am I doing wrong or is there a bug here?

Any amphibious TF I create causes the same problem once I use more than the minimum number of ships...

E.g. If I need 4 ships to load a unit and allocate 7 or 8 then it'll probably go fine but as I add more and more ships some of the ships simply don't get used at all.

Check the cargo handling capacity of the port you're using for embarkation. There is a nice table in the manual (Section 9.3.3.)...

Guys, it looks like it is a bug derived from code designed to prevent units being spread over too many ships.

What appears to be happening is that when I try to spread a 4000 point load between 17 ships ( or more ) in order to ensure each ship will have to carry less than 250 points worth of cargo/troops the code sometimes ( but not always ) kicks in and decides "No, I won't allow you to put only 250 points of cargo/troops per ship, I'm going to limit the loading to 12 ships (or some other lower number) ". 4,000 divided by 12 = 333 which means that once that TF hits the beaches it'll take 1.33 days to unload.

And as we all know if you're unloading at an atoll that means that you'll shock attack on both days, utterly wrecking your unit.

I've posted this to the technical support thread, including the ramifications. It seems to be working as designed but that design pretty much cripples any Allied ability to invade any atoll until such time as they have loads of APs and AKs and can unload 600 points of cargo/troops in a day. The problem is that while working as designed this is NOT working in a reasonable way. The ramifications haven't been thought out. Unfortunately I've had no official feedback as to whether they are going to take this finding seriously and disable the bit of code which causes the problem.


So, the invasion of the Marshall Islands has been scuppered by a game bug. I'm thinking about work-arounds and suchlike at the moment. I may just transfer them into the southern DEI where atolls won't be a problem and this bug won't scupper things.



In other news: January 22nd

I spotted KB yesterday about 200 miles east of Singapore and thought they were going to hit Singapore. I had also been in the middle of an operation utilising Force Z aimed at sinking a TF at Singkawang. Why Force Z? Well, I've hit Singkawang before and Mike has shown he was willing to use BBs at Singkawang so I figured that this TF might well be covered by a BB TF. I was quite prepared to swap Prince of Wales and Repulse for two IJN BBs and so I sent Force Z in. Things didn't quite work out as intended as the IJN had no covering force at all.

So, yesterday I had to make a choice as regards Force Z... Did I want to use it to initiate surface combat at a base within about 200 miles of KB or not?
My thinking was as follows:
1. There was a significant risk that any ships crippled in the night surface combat would be sunk by KB the next day.
2. Either I would face BBs - in which case I'd probably have two BBs crippled as well as a couple of CLs but would cripple two enemy BBs, an acceptable exchange to me - OR lightly-escorted transports in which case I'd suffer little damage and get out of range of KB before the morning came.
3. Now that KB had been localised again I really want to keep it focussed in the DEI.
4. I want to show Mike that I can operate surface forces in waters utterly dominated by both his LBA and carrier-based air. Nothing will do that better than hitting a Netty base within a couple of hundred miles of KB.

So, I went in and found that the TF was largely unescorted.

Colinson of the RN crossed the T but still didn't manage to sink all of the enemy shipping. An xAK got away as did the PB Chosa Maru. The vast majority of shell hits were 14 inch shells from PoW. It closed to 2,000 feet and really tore the IJN apart.

Japanese Ships
TB Otori, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
TB Hiyodori, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Chosa Maru
PB Tatsumiya Maru, Shell hits 19, and is sunk
xAK Noto Maru, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Nissyu Maru, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Mogamigawa Maru

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Shell hits 1
BC Repulse
CL Enterprise
CL Ceres
CL Marblehead
DD Barker
DD Edsall
DD John D. Edwards
DD Paul Jones
DD Parrott
DD Electra
DD Express


In other news KB moved a tad unexpectedly and began sweeping Palembang with over 100 Zeroes. I lost about a dozen Hurricanes in return for 3 or 4 Zeroes but the vast majority of my fighter force was in the air over Force Z protecting it from attack as it retreated from its successful attack at Singkawang.


A submarine killed an xAKL retreating from Paramushiro Jima using surface gunfire.


So, time for a strategic re-assessment:

1. The ship loading bug makes it extremely difficult to actually successfully invade atolls in AE before the presence of large numbers of APs and AKs. I can get around that by picking one or two key units and loading them on the few APs and AKs I have available at Fiji BUT I certainly can't load all of the troops I need for atoll invasions onto the APs and AKs. What this means is that due to the bug I'm going to have to either abandon the Marshall operation or run landings in sequence which should, really, be run in parallel. If I abandon the Marshall operation then I will move those troops into the Southern DEI where, combined with Aussia forces and some Dutch troops, I would end up with about 500 AV each at Kendari, Ambon and a little island base about 180 miles west of Kendari ( Samba-something, I can't remember the name right now ).

2. Allied forces at the Kuriles have not been counter-attacked by either surface forces or KB... I'm taking this as a strategic indicator that Mike really is ignoring Allied forces outside of the DEI. Combined with his use of KB at Singapore, Manilla and now Palembang I think Mike may just have decided to forego a Pacific campaign at least until the DEI campaign is finished. This is a HUGE error of judgement in my opinion. Perhaps against some other opponents he could get away with that as they'd be content to sit back and build up a ring of defensive bases but he should know that unless he has me pinned back with a wall to my back I'm going to be circling him, looking for weaknesses and trying to draw blood. Hell, even if he has me pinned with my back against a wall I'll still try to draw blood. I just won't be able to use as much manoeuvre to do so.


At present my thinking is to go ahead with a more limited Marshalls operation in which I leave several bases in Japanese hands until I can free up the APs and AKs to get around the loading bug. I hate to run this operation in series rather than parallel but the bug leaves me little choice. Once the operation is done I will look into moving more garrison troops into the region whilst pulling the invasion cadres out and sending them into the southern DEI in an effort to create two strongpoints in the DEI ( southern Sumatra and the Ambon/Kendari/Salajar/Koepang region ) which squeeze the IJN SLOCs between them and thus require clearing. In this manner I can cede Mike the initiative whilst still being certain that he only uses it to fight on ground of my choosing.


My main problem will be transitting fighter groups north to south or south to north once the IJA holds Java. My current concept is to build up Christmas Island slightly ( it is 8 hexes from Oosthaven ) such that I can fly even Hurris from southern Sumatra, load them onto AKs there and then transition them down to Darwin by sea. It'll be a lot slower than Mike using interior lines to shift forces by air but it'll work and, importantly, if Southern Sumatra falls it'll allow me to evacuate my fighter groups and save them ( and their experienced pilots ) to fight another day.

Obviously KB telegraphs his next move he certainly looks methodical.  Marshals should be gogogo then, also what about the non atol islands there , a multi day unload for these should be fine or are you skipping them ( note i dont have a map at work and i dont know what he has taken).
 
One comment about the Marshals it may shock him out of his methodical pattern and not ignore the pacific .
 
Are you using the new patch ? Looks like CDs are more nasty .

Bklooste,

Methodical or target-fixated to the exclusion of all else? Sometimes it can be a fine line.

Marshalls... Well, multi-day unloads for non-atoll islands means that my shipping will be unloading at the islands closest to Truk for multiple days ( since that's where the non-atoll islands are ). I don't think that's a good idea given the preponderance of Netties at Truk.

As to shocking him out of his pattern. No, I don't think he's methodical, I think he is absolutely fixated on getting the DEI to the exclusion of all else. As such I don't think that hitting the Marshalls will shock him out of his pattern. He may try to race his CVs down to Truk to ambush me again ( as he did last time ) but I don't think it will result in a shift in strategic focus.



No, we're not using the new patch. I would love to as it seems to fix the arty death star problem AND make CD guns nastier AND allow my tank units to upgrade and fill out. Unfortunately Mike seems to not be able to register his Serial Number to get the upgrade and we're stuck with the current patch. While we're stuck with the current patch he is taking full advantage and launching bombardments which kill 50 squads+ a day. I haven't bothered asking him to stop this since I believe him when he says he'd upgrade if he could but suffice it to say I can't wait for the new patch as it will secure my northern flank in China.

I'm still waiting on the turn back from him...

From what I've read of your opponents AAR, he really is playing this as a test game.

That has obvious implications for both strategy and tactics. 

Operations he undertakes may be more heavily dictated by an opportunity to test a certain aspect of the game rather than being subordinate to an overall strategic plan.

DW, based on his emails I'm quite certain he'd take the opportunity to give me a good thrashing. [8D] Since we've agreed to play to the end if we both agree it makes no sense that he is choosing sub-optimal strategies.

No, I think he has IDed the DEI as his primary objective ( which is right ) but has wrongly decided that he can ignore the Pacific and "take care of it" later when he swaps KB to the Pacific and outnumbers my CVs and crushes small atolls with multi-division landings. I think it is a strategy which looks like it could work but I think that if I can pin him back to the DEI for long enough his opportunity to do this will be gone.

A VERY instructive turn today...

KB moves just east of Oosthaven as multiple enemy TFs are found heading west of northern Borneo - either to make for Singers when that falls or, possibly, to land at Palembang... Maybe he has freed a couple of divisions from elsewhere and wants to try for Palembang by coup de main? He hasn't reconned it much yet and so he probably doesn't know what is there. Big mistake.

Anyways I decided yesterday that he was going for Palembang and sent the CM Abdiel in with 150 new mines. It made it in and out under the nose of KB and Palembang now has a new extensive minefield for its defence. Japanese fighter sweeps continued over Palembang but I had withdrawn my fighters and so the Zeroes found nothing - incidentally yesterday I lost 11 planes in return for 7 of KB's elite Zero pilots which isn't a bad exchange rate given the fact that I had the Hurris down low LRCAPing Force Z. I'll give the combat report for the rest as really it is highly instructive...


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jan 23, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 91 encounters mine field at Singkawang (56,88)

Japanese Ships
APD Fuji



1 mine cleared


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Invasion action off Tarakan - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

39 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
xAK Yasukawa Maru, Shell hits 18, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Hakone Maru, Shell hits 5
xAP Haruna Maru

Japanese ground losses:
37 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



Tarakan Coastal Gun Battalion firing at xAK Yasukawa Maru
xAK Yasukawa Maru firing at enemy troops
120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAK Yasukawa Maru at 1,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAK Yasukawa Maru at 1,000 yards
xAP Hakone Maru firing at enemy troops
120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Hakone Maru at 1,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Hakone Maru at 1,000 yards
xAP Haruna Maru firing at enemy guns
120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Haruna Maru at 1,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Haruna Maru at 1,000 yards

Good results from the CD guns - which I couldn't airlift out. I think this shows our HR works well as re: CD guns.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Assault at Tarakan

TF 277 troops unloading over beach at Tarakan, 67,91

Japanese ground losses:
46 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)


47mm Type 01 AT Gun damaged beyond repair during unload of 146th Infantry Rgt
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad accidentally lost during unload of 146th Infantry Rgt
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad lost from landing craft during unload of 146th Infantry Rgt /2
17 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad lost overboard during unload of 146th Infantry Rgt /2
Observor Squad lost in surf during unload of 3rd JNAF AF Unit
10 Support troops lost from landing craft during unload of 3rd JNAF AF Unit
8 Engineers accidentally lost during unload of 44th Road Const Co

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invasion Support action off Tarakan

21 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
xAK Kyusyu Maru, Shell hits 1
CM Itsukushima
xAK Shinanogawa Maru, Shell hits 5, heavy fires
xAP Hakone Maru, Shell hits 5
xAP Haruna Maru

Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAK Kyusyu Maru at 12,000 yards
CM Itsukushima fires to suppress enemy guns at 12,000 yards
xAK Shinanogawa Maru firing at enemy troops
120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAK Shinanogawa Maru at 1,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAK Shinanogawa Maru at 1,000 yards
xAP Hakone Maru firing at enemy troops
120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Hakone Maru at 1,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Hakone Maru at 1,000 yards
xAP Haruna Maru firing at enemy troops

I have a CL-centred SC TF at Balikpapan and will send them in to Tarakan tomorrow to kill a few more transports. Every little bit helps.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 271 encounters mine field at Singkawang (56,88)

Japanese Ships
PB Chosa Maru



1 mine cleared


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Singkawang at 56,88

Japanese Ships
xAK Mogamigawa Maru
PB Chosa Maru

Allied Ships
SS S-40

One torpedo hit but didn't detonate.


SS S-40 launches 4 torpedoes at xAK Mogamigawa Maru
S-40 bottoming out ....
PB Chosa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Chosa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Chosa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Chosa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Chosa Maru fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 35,810 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

From KB.



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
4 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 32810 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Lusu War Area , at 91,50

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
E13A1 Jake x 2



No Japanese losses


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


Aircraft Attacking:
2 x E13A1 Jake bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 16th Group Army, at 80,53 (Hengyang)

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 49 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-36 Ida x 21



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
23 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
21 x Ki-36 Ida bombing from 10000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 30 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 9th Group Army ...
Also attacking 16th Group Army ...
Also attacking 9th Group Army ...
Also attacking 16th Group Army ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 63rd Chinese Corps, at 76,54 (Kweilin)

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 33 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 9



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged



Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 31st Chinese Corps ...
Also attacking 63rd Chinese Corps ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 37th Division, at 86,41

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes


Allied aircraft
A-29A Hudson x 7


No Allied losses



Aircraft Attacking:
7 x A-29A Hudson bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 lb GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 108th RAF Base Force, at 55,55 (Moulmein)

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 33
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 12



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 18 damaged


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


Aircraft Attacking:
33 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 103rd RAF Base Force ...
Also attacking 108th RAF Base Force ...
Also attacking 103rd RAF Base Force ...
Also attacking 108th RAF Base Force ...

Significant IJAAF forces are being committed to break through at Moulmein. Unfortunately for Mike my Chinese troops are arriving just in time to stop this attack.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 25 NM, estimated altitude 33,810 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 39



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
39 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 32810 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 24 NM, estimated altitude 35,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
11 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
11 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11

Those are the 76th sweepers from KB.


No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 161st Infantry Regiment, at 136,48 (Onnekotan-jima)

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6


Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged


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


Aircraft Attacking:
5 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
1 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 161st Infantry Regiment, at 136,48 (Onnekotan-jima)

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 7



Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 damaged


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


Aircraft Attacking:
7 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Overcast

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

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
D3A1 Val x 17


Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 7 destroyed, 3 damaged

The result was actually much worse for KB. Only 3 Vals survived their dives to escape back towards the CVs. My low-level FlAK here is murderous and downed 14 of the 17 Vals.

I won't commit my fighters until the enemy amphibious TF is unloading. When that's done I'll put my fighters into Palembang on CAP and unleash all my bombers for a single day blitz of the amphibious TF. I expect to suffer heavy losses but expect to be able to kill quite a lot of shipping also. Enough to ensure the need for a second amphibious invasion in any case.

Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 10000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
11 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 61st Chinese Corps, at 86,41

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 29



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
42 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Aircraft Attacking:
18 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
11 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Also attacking 57th Chinese Corps ...
Also attacking 61st Chinese Corps ...
Also attacking 57th Chinese Corps ...
Also attacking 61st Chinese Corps ...
Also attacking 57th Chinese Corps ...
Also attacking 61st Chinese Corps ...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 61st Chinese Corps, at 86,41

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 15



No Japanese losses



Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 100 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Palembang , at 48,91

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 35,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 10

No Japanese losses


Aircraft Attacking:
10 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invasion Support action off Tarakan

21 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
xAK Myoko Maru, Shell hits 1
xAP Hakone Maru, Shell hits 8
xAK Kyusyu Maru
xAP Haruna Maru, Shell hits 6, heavy fires

Japanese ground losses:
32 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAK Myoko Maru at 12,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Hakone Maru at 12,000 yards
xAK Kyusyu Maru firing at enemy troops
xAP Hakone Maru firing at enemy troops
120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Hakone Maru at 1,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Hakone Maru at 1,000 yards
xAP Haruna Maru firing at enemy troops
120mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Haruna Maru at 1,000 yards
75mm CD Gun Coastal Battery engaging xAP Haruna Maru at 1,000 yards


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 86,41

The Japanese attacked east of Sian as expected. Their armour did well but, again, it was their artillery which killed the majority of my troops.

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 26729 troops, 361 guns, 759 vehicles, Assault Value = 989

Defending force 79020 troops, 547 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2257

Japanese adjusted assault: 456

Allied adjusted defense: 1465

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3

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

Japanese ground losses:
1035 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 66 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 123 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Vehicles lost 119 (2 destroyed, 117 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
2855 casualties reported
Squads: 118 destroyed, 61 disabled
Non Combat: 107 destroyed, 131 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 13 (6 destroyed, 7 disabled)

The vast majority of these losses occurred to artillery again.


Assaulting units:
5th Tank Regiment
9th Tank Regiment
20th Engineer Regiment
20th Recon Regiment
15th Tank Regiment
37th Division
3rd Tank Regiment
9th Ind.Mixed Brigade
5th Armored Car Co
22nd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
1st Army
4th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
1st Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
9th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
26th Field Artillery Regiment
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion

Defending units:
69th Chinese Corps
17th Chinese Corps
1st Chinese Corps
47th Chinese Corps
36th Chinese Corps
29th Chinese Corps
15th Chinese Corps
43rd Chinese Corps
34th Chinese Corps
61st Chinese Corps
3rd Chinese Corps
40th Chinese Corps
76th Chinese Corps
38th Chinese Corps
57th Chinese Corps
33rd Chinese Corps
8th New Chinese Corps
7th Group Army
4th Group Army
36th Group Army
39th Group Army
34th Group Army
1st War Area
8th Group Army
24th Group Army
57th AT Gun Regiment


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Ground combat at Taytay (75,82)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 1184 troops, 7 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 43

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

Japanese adjusted assault: 42

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 42 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Taytay !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker:


Assaulting units:
III./124th Infantry Battalion


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Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 155 troops, 14 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 10

Defending force 5999 troops, 46 guns, 21 vehicles, Assault Value = 196



Assaulting units:
Tarakan Coastal Gun Battalion
VII KNIL Bn /1
Tarakan Base Force /1

Defending units:
146th Infantry Rgt /1
1st Engineer Co /1
III/66th Nav Gd /1
42nd Road Const Co /1
3rd JNAF AF Unit /2
44th Road Const Co /1

Tarakan will fall as I've pulled everything which can fly out.


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Ground combat at Moulmein (55,55)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 27846 troops, 179 guns, 15 vehicles, Assault Value = 1822

Defending force 19316 troops, 167 guns, 212 vehicles, Assault Value = 621

1822 AV. Most of my guys only have 25 to 30 Exp but the bombardment attacks are allowing them to build experience. In the meantime sheer numbers will have to do.

Japanese ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Assaulting units:
1st Burma Division
14th Chinese Corps
54th Chinese Corps
6th Burma Rifles Battalion
88th Chinese Division
96th Chinese Division
22nd New Chinese Division
200th Chinese Division
4th Burma Rifles Battalion
BFF Brigade
Tenasserim BAF Battalion
36th Chinese Division
66th Chinese Corps
103rd RAF Base Force
1st Burma Auxiliary AA Regiment
107th RAF Base Force
108th RAF Base Force

Defending units:
55th Engineer Regiment
14th Tank Regiment
Imperial Guards Division
1st RTA/C Division
15th Army
55th Mountain Gun Regiment
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion


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Ground combat at Shimushiri-jima (132,51)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 25 troops, 7 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

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

Allied adjusted assault: 2

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Shimushiri-jima !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: leaders(-)



Assaulting units:
161st Infantry Rgt /8


OH and as for using this as a testing ground and not caring too much about winning... I quote from Mike's email to me with the current movie file " The problem with the patches - from my perspective - is that I've based a significant portion of my assault in China with the past artillery ratings. I have 10 arty units east of Sian and another 9 en route from Jehol via rail... In Malaya the point is mute. PI - specifically Manila - is another location where I was hoping to utilize the benefits of artillery. The effectiveness of artillery has since deteriorated from when we started and will get worse with the new patch "

Doesn't sound to me like someone who isn't looking to deliver a good drubbing . From the sound of my email exchanges with Mike he isn't at all pushed to upgrade. He's enjoying the 50 to 100 squads killed per day with his arty deathstar in the north and is in no rush to upgrade and lose that advantage. He has a ticket from Matrix to say they'll get back to him but he's had that for two days and I'm sure he's not rushing to pester them to allow him to upgrade [8D]

That's fine though, when they give him an answer I trust him to upgrade and then arty will stop being such a problem. In the meantime though he is definitely going to take advantage of the lack of patch though.

Well, January 24th 1942 and KB has just had a pretty bad day. I had figured they were going to move south and so set up a number of fighter traps over Oosthaven and Batavia with a few small ships in the port on minesweeping duties etc to draw enemy strikes. I was hoping Mike would have detailed too few planes for escort duties but it looks like he mustn't have detailed any.

The end result was that 91 Kates swanned into view over my two bases as the Dutch fighters orbitted on CAP. Roughly 50 or so Dutch fighters were involved over the course of the day and fully 40 of the Kates were downed. Dutch losses were 0 fighters and 5 or 6 coastal minesweepers, each obliterated by a single 250Kg bomb. Funnily enough the CA Exeter which had been lazing around in Batavia harbour despite orders to disband into the port managed to avoid about a dozen bombs and is still in action at day's end, albeit with a terrified captain.

I'm pretty happy with this result though. Over the course of two day's that's 53 of KB's elite strike pilots killed. Add that to the kills in the first two weeks of the war and KB must have lost about 180 strike planes. Given that KB probably has about 54 strike planes per CV with 6 CVs that should be about 60% of KB's pre-war elite pilots dead. That's a huge victory for the Allies especially as soon I'll have 5 USN and 1 RN CV in action and should be able to meet KB on relatively equal terms... or at least mount the sort of raid KB can't ignore.


In other news Mike's troops in China failed their attack roll and sat quietly doing nothing. This is good as I am quite literally counting the days until we can install the new patch which will prevent his artillery stack steamrolling me in this area. He can't take the ground from me with his tanks and infantry but his artillery can certainly force me back --- at lesat until such time as we upgrade to the beta patch.


My CL-TF from Balikpapan reached Tarakan just before the IJN bombardment TF centred on the CA Nachi. It made short work of the 8 xAKs unloading supplies into Tarakan and sank all 8 of them. Unfortunately the Nachi proved deadly and managed to sink the CL Campbeltown as well as seriously damaging the two other CLs. My own CLs got several penetrating hits with their 6 inch guns on the Nachi and two of the IJN DDs were also left heavily damaged. Overall though these CLs are out of the war for a couple of months. Fortunately I can reconstitute this SC TF with the Exeter and the CLs and DDs from Force Z so all in all things aren't too bad.

I had moved 100 strike planes ( All of my Banshees as well as my Blenheims and a few Dutch bombers into Balikpapan. Unfortunately the weather was bad and so none flew. Pity, I was counting on the Banshees to rough up any SC TF which tangled with the CLs. Ah well... My PBYs flew a few deep penetration raids and managed to put a 500lber into an xAK near the Phillipines.


Tomorrow I'll be pulling my fighters out of Batavia and Oosthaven, letting the IJNAF hit those bases if it wants --- and take the requisite AAA losses to its strike groups. I'll leave forces at Balikpapan on the off chance that he doesn't realise how formidable the strike groups there are ( he has taken Tarakan but it'll be a short while before he can use it ).


Mike has well and truly engaged the outpost line now ( Singkawang, Singapore, Tarakan, Menado ) and will be seeing this level of hit and run raid from now on in an effort to slow his approach to the main line of resistance. Once he hits that forces will no longer hit and run but will stand and fight.

I've got to say though by far the best news of the day was the slaughter of the Kates. Its nice when a CAP trap works out, especially when it results in Dutch BD339s downing some of Japan's best aviators [8D]

Its nice when a CAP trap works out, especially when it results in Dutch BD339s downing some of Japan's best aviators

Can't argue with that! I have to say I'm highly impressed with the blood you've drawn so far. My general rule in Pacific War simulations (I don't have AE as yet) is to wait until the American CV's upgrade to TBF's (improved range for search missions). But it looks like you'll be ready for at least a hit-and-run CV engagement considerably before that. Any thoughts on selecting escort ships for AAA?

Aye, I'm within about 50 planes of him drawing level with me in aircraft losses and for the month of January his losses have exceeded mine by about 1.25 to 1. It would have been more like 1.5 to 1 if I hadn't lose so many dive-bombers to FlAK over his CVLs and BB near the Marshalls.


Basically I'm biding my time and slowly bringing forces into the DEI, including fighter squadrons and even the occasional bomber squadron. Right now I think I have about 600 planes in Southern Sumatra including about 200 fighters so when he lands in Palembang I expect my CD guns and torpedo and level bombers to chop his invasion fleet into little pieces --- assuming KB isn't LRCAPPing it from a hex or two away. A single good day by KB could wipe out 2 months worth of work. My upgrading of select British and USAAF squadrons goes on and I now have a few squadrons who have nothing but 65+ Exp A2A pilots and many more with 60+ Exp A2A pilots. That should minimise the experience gap and combined with the fact that some of my planes have higher altitudes than his Zeroes give me a fighting chance against KB. Against Oscars though I have little hope except that every time an 8 or 12-MG Hurricane tags one it should just explode.

I'm even drafting in the Sea Hurricanes, Fulmars and whatever else is on that newly arrived RN CV. In good news the lacklustre recon of soutehrn Sumatra continues - or rather doesn't. My secret jungle base ( Ooh, I sound like an evil Overlord don't I ? Well, it's only a jungle base, it doesn't reach Dr Evil levels of volcano coolness.) remains undiscovered and is on its way to a Level 3 airfield. Fingers crossed I can get it to Level 4 by the time he lands. That'll take till the end of February but I think there's a chance he might wait that long as his troops from the Phillipines probably won't be available until sometime around then and he should have something to worry about in the southern DEI/Marshalls by then also...

In other news, those fleets have sailed. Slightly over 300 Allied ships are formed up and on their way. An Allied parachute Bn awaits on Wake Island, ready for the PBY4s which are just now being free up from the DEI and the 161st Infantry Regiment is about to unload fully at Paramushiro Jima. I also took another one of the Jimas up there today... I find it difficult to believe that he doesn't see this as a clear threat he must nip in the bud. Once I get a regiment on each Jima it'll be almost impossible for him to shift me short of a full committment of his entire fleet and a division per Jima.

We'll have to see how he co-operates though....
One thing I've noticed though is his air recon in his rear areas is pretty shocking. I've sent some 15,000 tons of supplies to Manilla because for some strange reason just before it got cut off its supplies fell from about 25,000 to about 7,000 in just a day. About 5,000 tons got sunk by subs randomly moving through the DEI and another 3,000 or so got sunk when it ran into the SC TFs milling around near Tarakan but another 8,000 or so should arrive tomorrow. With a little luck that'll boost the defenders for a while. I'm already casting around for faster xAKs so I can make a large trip soon and really unload a significant amount of supplies at Manilla. It has Level 4 forts and I'm interested to see how it stands up to his heavy artillery train - which I know he has brought along.


Escorts for CVs... Same as it ever was in WiTP:
2 CVs per TF, 8 DDs with the best AAA you can manage ( never less than 8, 8 appears to be the magic anti-ASW number ). That leaves you with 5 ship places. I normally pack them out with 2 CLAAs and as many fast BBs as I have. If I have 3 per TF then I put in 3 fast BBs. More normally though I manage 1 fast BB and 2 CAs. The BBs are there mainly as targets as they tend to draw enemy strike planes to them

Wow your resuplying Manilla... I suspect with KB failing he will not attack Palembang it is certainly a test of character ...

That's alot of Chinese troops in Burma. You must not be playing with a HR preventing Restricted troops from crossing national borders.

IMO, I think such a rule is necessary, particularly since there is no way the Chinese would have green-lighted a large commitment that far south in Burma

There has to be some restriction on the Allied Chinese, otherwise, it's a valid strategy to move 5-6 Chinese Corps to Burma, and use the supplies there to get them to full-strength. At that point, the Japanese will probably never even take Burma.

Q-Ball, well Mike wanted there to be no HR preventing the movement of restricted troops from crossing national boundaries. He wanted no HR so he could bring in all of the armour, infantry and artillery from Korea and Manchuria into China. In return I get to the right to bring a similar amount of Chinese infantry into Burma.

Swings and roundabouts.... He wanted freedom of movement to aid his offensive, crush northern China and capture the oil and resources there. If he has that freedom I'd be stupid not to use the freedom it has given me to bolster Burma in order to keep the supplies flowing into China for as long as possible.


Nothing of any significance happened today except:
1. Allied DDs and PTs hit Puerto Princesa deep behind enemy lines and drive off an IJN amphibious TF.
2. Allied xAKLs and xAKs make port in Manilla and begin offloading. Tomorrow all should be sunk by IJNAF and IJAAF bombing raids but the point will have been made - and supplies delivered.
3. I counted and the Allied invasion fleets comprise 350 ships carrying some 350,000 tons of supplies and just under 50,000 troops. All 4 CVs and the vast majority of USN BBs, CAs, CLs and DDs accompany this force.
4. The Japanese finally crossed into Singapore. They found 1st and 2nd Malay Bns, the 3rd SSFV Bde, 2 AAA Regiments, the Singapore BF and Singapore Fort as well as 4 guns from the 22nd Australian Bde which I couldn't fly out. In total about 80 AV didn't get out. Everything else, including the blocking forces he had thought trapped further up the coast by his landing at Mersing, managed to get out. It cost me quite a few ships but I think it was well worth it.

In march I begin getting P40s for the Dutch. It'll be nice to be able to form a few small high-quality ( 65+ A2A Exp ) airgroups from the Dutch and use the rest to train up a reliable group of replacements.

The landing bonus runs out at the end of March doesn't it?


bklooste,
I'm not sure KB is failing per se. It isn't being strategically decisive but a single good day for KB would be decisive in southern Sumatra and could be decisive for a couple of years if he sinks my CVs in the Pacific. One can never forget that reality... Right now I'm like Japan in '44. I can dance around and look skillfull but if I ever mistime it and the juggernaught hits me it is lights out. Of course, that is what makes the game challenging and is the only reason for playing.


I think he will attack, and attack before the end of March. I think he'll feel he has to try it. The only question is whether he does the appropriate thing and lands in Java, consolidates there with minimal force while shipping most of his Malaysian forces to the Phillipines to help Manilla fall more quickly - today the amount of supplies there, despite the landing of a few thousand tons of supplies, fell from over 8,000 to just 3,000 tons. --- just how on earth does the supply model work? It is an uncontested but isolated hex so the supply can't be going anywhere or be used up by bombardments etc. weird. Once Manilla falls he could invade with his entire SRA and that would certainly crack Oosthaven or Palembang. By the end of such a fight though I'd have evacuated cadres and Palembang would be in ruins. His SRA would also be gutted, just in time to receive a thrust into the vitals by US forces moving up from Darwin through the area I am working so hard to build up right now.

I'm preparing for a few eventualities. That's just the one I think he should do and what I plan if he does it. What I think he will do is land directly on Sumatra and suffer grievous losses to his first invasion force.

today the amount of supplies there, despite the landing of a few thousand tons of supplies, fell from over 8,000 to just 3,000 tons. --- just how on earth does the supply model work? It is an uncontested but isolated hex so the supply can't be going anywhere or be used up by bombardments etc. weird.

It does sound more and more like a programming glitch. Is there a possibility that some or all of the units present are sucking up supply to bring themselves to full TOE strength?

No for two reasons:
1. I have ALL units set to replacements OFF and

2. Why would the amount of supplies fluctuate... It drops to 2 or 3,000 one day, then goes up to 8,000+, then the next day it might be 5,000. It sometimes stays at 5,000 for a few days before shooting up to 8,000 and then varying again.

Sadly it never reaches the 24,000 or so I had when Clark fell... I think this is somehow linked to the US holding other territory in the Phillipines. Maybe it is caught in some sort of transport subroutine? Once Bataan falls I'll see if the variation continues. If it does then that's not the cause but if the variation ceases once other Allied territory in Luzon is taken then we may have found a hint to where the bug lies.


I don't mind though if Manilla falls I'll get to test my "two jaws" DEI aggressive defence all the sooner.

You only get a limited number of P40E's & B25's for the Dutch (one or two months production, I believe), so you won't be able to sustain the squadrons for the long haul in heavy combat.