Typhoon of Steel: John vs. Bill--RA 3.0

[seille]

@John
Tell me if you discovered the secret to use jap bombardment TF with the accuracy the allies have.
Leaders, recon, detection level etc. won´t help, at least not in my games. In my bombardments my ships spent
80% of their ammo (sometimes more) on troops. When Michael hit Noumea 20 out of 23 ships hit the airfield or port
even i had strong ground forces there. But too bad, that has been only ground forces and no CD guns.
I´ll never understand that. The game is very flexible, but when i send a bombardment TF in the first they wish to fight
are CD guns. Imho it should be my decision if i want to attack the airfield or not even there are CD guns that could hit my ships.
Uhhh, my blood pressure....

[John 3rd]

I SHARE your pain!

[ny59giants]

Do you two some cheese with the whine??

[seille]

And i share yours at Kona and Hilo.
But like you i hope you make his bombardment ships pay as much as possible.
The mines did not work for you so far ? What do you think is a amount thats effective ?

[John 3rd]

I've got about 200 at Kona and will soon have about 250 at Hilo. Since all my ML decide to stay in the hex during daylight hours and GET SUNK I've had to resort to my 3 ML SS as well as 3 other I-Boats.

[seille]

And how many mines are your target per base ?
How many do you think you need for beeing effective ?

Do you have that many in reserve ?

[John 3rd]

I need to check my mine totals but I haven't used that many in the war to this point. Will look into it.

To be effective I think I'll need probably 300+. Problem is with the bombardments if I try to disband some ships to tend the minefields they will be sunk ASAP.

[John 3rd]

Sian FALLS!

2-1 (1249--585)

Japanese 2,069 Casualties
Chinese 30,986 Casualties
Destroyed: 1232 Squads, 1242 Non-Com Squads, 358 Eng Squads, and 219 Guns


Banzai! BANzai!! BANZAI!!!

[Cribtop]

That's a lot of dead Chinamen. Ouch.

[John 3rd]

March 22, 1942

The very next day...

Bataan
Japanese Shock Attack: 2-1 (842-351)
---Japanese Casualties 4,223
---Allied Casualties 57,032

ALL of the DEI through Katha, Burma to Wyndham, Aust is now Japanese!

[John 3rd]

With the end of hostilities in Sian and Bataan it is now a major time of adjustment for the Japanese ground forces. I plan to do a detailed walk through of plan for units, destinations, as well as new goals.

As to action, I plan to bushwhack those CA TF the next turn. Kona gets 3 BC, 2 CL, and 6 DD while Hilo will have BBs Yamato, Ise, a BC, 2 CL, and 5 DD. I shift in CarDiv5 for a bit of LRCAP and will have a 3 hex reach (past the bases) to try and sink any cripples that make it from the ambushes. The next turn will tell.

[John 3rd]

Operations Report
March 20-27, 1942


It is a strange thing to say but I am not sure how things are going. The previous week of gametime has proven to be somewhat confusing and interesting to watch. We'll go around the board so I can explain.

North Pacific
Very Quiet. I need to bring some troops up here and mop-up everything west of Dutch Harbor. Bill is deeply dug-in at Umnak and that poses its own challenge.

Central Pacific
Hawaii
Just about the time I begin to think things are stabilizing the Americans arrive and use their nuclear shells to devastate any field they shell. I've kept track and will list them below:

3-21 Hilo is hit by 2 CA and 2 CL doing 505 Cas and hit the Runway 47 Times
3-23 Kona gets hit by 2 CA ad 1 CL doing 495 Cas and Runway 49 times
3-25 Kona sees 3 CA and 2 CL do 625 Cas and Runway 127 hits
3-26 Hilo sees 2 CA and 2 CL do 671 Cas and Runway 117 times

Just a taste of the bombardments. Aren't they GREAT!

CV Action
My CVs are operating in 4 Groups right now. From North (Junyo and 3 CVL), NE (Hiryu, Soryu, and Ryujo), East (Akagi/Kaga), South (Shokaku/Zuikaku) my CV surround Hawaii. Ships sunk during this period of time:
3-21 1 AKL
3-22 1 YP Boat
3-26 1 AKL, DD's Fanning and Helm

I am about to pull the first two CTF back to Midway for fuel and aircraft. The other two will move to Christmas and do the same. Once everyone is taken care of then I intend to hit PH. This will be a replay of the previous action. A STF will lead to draw in the Fighters and Bombers on Day One and be met by LRCAP. The second day I will close on the target and Sweep in the morning then launch ALL my Kates at PH. I will run the risk of getting close enough for the big ladies to carry either Torps or 800 Kg bombs. MUST damage enough shipping to slow down these bombardment and make them stay in the Harbor. For the Operations I will use ALL my CVs in 2-3 TF.

Surface Attrition
As mentioned in my previous Postings, I send in STF to try to intercept the STF hitting Kona and Hilo. The STF are powerful (3 BC to Kona and BBs Yamato/Ise and the other BC to Hilo). The action occurs on the 25th as my two BBs, BC, 1 CL, and 5 DD find an American TF of 2 CA, 1 CL, and 6 DD. JACKPOT! Lambs to the slaughter BABY! Nine combat round follow and imagine my delighted reaction when I see that Yamato and Ise don't hit the enemy even ONCE---CRAP. BC Kirishima provides a good acount by hitting each CA with 2 14" shells. No US ships are sunk at all. In return CL Kiso is crippled and then sunk by SS Gungeon (2 TT that WORK!) and DD Kuretake is polished off by SBDs just off of Hilo. FUN!

That didn't work out too well...

We'll have to try it again. Order my BB Captains to PRACTICE their gunnery or face summary execution.

On the BRIGHT side, I-169 puts two Torps into the side of CA New Orleans on the 22nd. Seriously damaged at a minimum...

Laysen Isle
My 2 Inf Div have about arrived at this rendezvous for the Lihue Invasion. I've decided to hold the Operation pending on the outcome of the CV Attack at PH.

FUEL
Goodness. I am going through it quickly. My initial supply that I brought aboard AOs and TKs is now gone. I am shuttling two TK Convoys from Soerabaja and Balikpapan to Truk and from Truk my AOs and TKs move it forward with heavy Escort.

South Pacific
My vulnerability to attack in this region is growing. My SS keep spotting shipping at PP, Savaii, Suva, and Noumea. I cannot allow Hawaii to continue to occupy my full Fleet's attention while this threat grows. I will see what the PH Attack reveals and then make a command decision.

Australia
I think Bill planned to leave the NW Aussie area and then changes his mind. Kind of feel like Rommel commanding Armor and Infantry stretching across 200+ miles of hexes. The IJA AF is making its presence known as 50 Fighters and 100 Bombers are hitting targets in the ope with some success. More aircraft will be fed into the area as my AF expand. Troops are heading for Darwin so I can use that base as well. Only the CD unit is present so we'll deal with that and try to get everyone moving SOUTH.

Burma
Same story here. He was pulling out and is now trying to turn and fight. I have all of Burma up through Katha and am trying to grab Myitkyina. Am also moving east towards Lashio and then Paoshan.

Cox's Bizar has changed ownership twice. My Imperial Guards just got kicked out by the 7th Aust Inf Div, 43rd Cav Reg, and 7th Indian ID. Plenty of supply and Forts growing at Akyab so we'll try to entice his boys south to there where I can hit them with my BBs.

Cocos Island
Big surprises here. There are 31 Allied units present in this base and its Fort Lvl is 3. I swung two Bombardment TF (Yamashiro/Fuso and 4 CA split evenly) to hit the base as I moved in the 18th ID. The Bombardments did nothing (145 Cas, 198 Cas, 247 Cas) as the ID landed on the 20th. The initial Shock Attack on landing got a 1-2. Not bad, however, there are about 500 troops left for next day. Though I thought I turned off the landing it continued on the 21st and caused a disaster. A second Shock Attack occurred resulting in a 1-99 result costing the 18th 6,000 troops. CRAP!!! Withdraw the Division on 22nd to rebuild in Singapore.

I SHALL RETURN to this place. Regular visits shall be paid here with my BBs...

SS Action
3-22 I-169 hits CA New Orleans off PH
3-23 I-1 hits AP President Hayes with 2 TT/3 Shells at Noumea

Engineering
Ominato AF-4
Nagasaki AF-6
Singapore AF-8
Adak AF-4
Wyndham AF-2
Pt Arthur AF-5

This is the semi-confused situation around the board...

[Durbik]

Cocos Island
Big surprises here. There are 31 Allied units present in this base and its Fort Lvl is 3. I swung two Bombardment TF (Yamashiro/Fuso and 4 CA split evenly) to hit the base as I moved in the 18th ID. The Bombardments did nothing (145 Cas, 198 Cas, 247 Cas) as the ID landed on the 20th. The initial Shock Attack on landing got a 1-2. Not bad, however, there are about 500 troops left for next day. Though I thought I turned off the landing it continued on the 21st and caused a disaster. A second Shock Attack occurred resulting in a 1-99 result costing the 18th 6,000 troops. CRAP!!! Withdraw the Division on 22nd to rebuild in Singapore.

Bill did exactly the same in our game. All the refugees he could muster ended up in Cocos Island. I say - let them rot!

[John 3rd]

Well...I'll be coming back for them. Call it pure stubborness, Chance to destroy 31 units? Heck YAAAA!

[seille]

Forget the 31 units ! Go and destroy everything in PH first.
There are some "students" following this thread [:D]

[John 3rd]

OK. Next entry is dealing with a couple of good days and planning for the PH Raid.

[John 3rd]

It is the end of March 1942 and I thought the readers might like to see what the Imperial Fleet's CVs look like in RA at this point of the war. I've got my CarDiv arranged, you'll see the name of the ship followed by Full Complement/Zero/Val/Kate:

CarDiv1
Akagi 75--21--27--27
Kaga 81--27--27--27

CarDiv2
Hiryu 69--21--24--24
Soryu 63--21--21--21

CarDiv3
Junyo 58--27--18--12
Ryujo 48--30--00--18

CarDiv4
Zuiho 31--18--00--12
Shoho 31--18--00--12
Nisshin 31--21--00--12

CarDiv5
Shokaku 72--24--24--24
Zuikaku 72--24--24--24

Total Aircraft is 631 broken down into 252 Zero, 165 Val, and 213 Kate

Operation Eastern Wind Two
To increase the punch of this plan, CarDiv1 and 5's Vals will be removed and replaced with the Kanoya and Nagasaki Daitai of Zeros (72 Planes) and the Sapporo K-2 and Nagasaki K-1 Daitai of Kates (54 Planes). The revised plane total for the KB shall then be 324 Zero, 63 Val, and 267 Kate. The entire Carrier Force will be used to attack Pearl Harbor. I will keep the CV organized within their CarDiv in separate TF. Leading them by 3 hexes will be the 2nd Special Attack Squadron of 4 DD. Here is the plan of operations:

Day One
The Special Attack Squadron will try to draw in the American SBDs by approaching from the SW to a range of 5 hexes from PH. The KB will follow 3 hexes behind with CAP set at 40% and LRCAP at 50%. We want to see if Bill will allow his SBDs to be crushed a second time by this manuever. In theory any planes coming in to attack the DDs shall be met with about 150 Zeros...

Day Two
The Special Attack Force folds back into the Fleet as it approaches to a Range of 7 hexes from PH. CAP stays at 40% and the orders go out for a Sweep in the Morning Phase. I will use my 3 largest Daitai for the Sweep of about 100 Fighters. The Kates will be set on Naval Attack/Port Attack. In theory they will attack with Torps and 800Kg Bombs during the afternoon. The results SHOULD be devastating to watch! I'm going to be highly realistic and expect to take terrible losses to AA but the return should be worth it.

Day Three
We'll be flexible at this point and see what happens.


IF (big IF) I can have my Kona/Hilo AF Operational then I think I'll set my Betty/Nells to Naval Attack--Airfield Attack to support the operation and try to get some planes on the ground.

This is the tentative plan. I am open for commentary and thoughts...

[seille]

What fighter types and how many do you expect at PH ?
What about enemy PT boats and/or subs ?

[John 3rd]

There are roughly 80 F4F (different types), 75 P-40, and then P-36, P-39, and P-400. Roughly 200-250 Fighters of all types, however, he is using about 100 or so as escort hitting various bases. There have rarely been more then 25-30 over PH. While this makes ZERO sense I will not complain for the moment.

Some PTs are there and about 15-20 SS. I've been getting a decent number of ASW hits near Christmas, Johnston, and Midway so some are laid up in the harbor.

RECON consistently shows 80-100 ships within Pearl Harbor.

Bill sent me a pretty picture of Cocos last turn! How nice. I'll add it to the gunnery correction data file for the next bombardment...

[seille]

Ok.

Lets say your SBD trap on day one works and he realizes (looking at a 150 plane CAP) that there might be something bigger coming in.
What setup he´ll use for his PH planes on day two ? Especially for the fighters ?
Couldn´t a very high amount of CAP screw your plan or do you think your day 2 sweep is enough ?
There are some factors that might cause problems including uncoordinated, unescorted strikes or maybe your sweeps not starting.

I can remember that i had a "funny" air result over China a while ago. My sweeps started in the morning phase. The weather (or whatever...) over the target airfield
did not allow the enemy fighters to start. In the afternoon my unescorted bombers arrived. The weather was better over the target and the enemy
CAP awaited my poor IJA bombers.