The Imperialism, the war against Blackwatch

[Tom Hunter]

We are up to May 19th, and I have not taken a look around the map in a couple of game weeks. Since I just covered China and India in depth here is a look at the other theaters.

In the North I have started moving North Pacific command troops into the Aelutians. If the forces up here get large enough maybe I will do something, but mainly its a question of getting some of the land units out of San Francisco and perhaps creating a diversion for Blackwatch. I am sure any attacks coming out of Adak will just add to his nightmares, even if they don' amount to anything in the long run. Don't expect another update on this area for months.

CenPac has started attacking Baker Island. 2 US CVs launched air attacks and some cruisers got training in shore bombardment:

Naval bombardment of Baker Island, at 94,92 May 16 1942

Allied Ships
CL Honolulu
CL Raleigh
CA Astoria
CA New Orleans
CA Pensacola

Japanese ground losses:
34 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 3
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 2

I suspect this means the garrison is not very big. This is a dual purpose mission, I do want to retake Baker since it will allow me to shorten the convoy route to the South Pacific. That will take place in the fall, but every bombardment helps. The other important mission is getting the night fighting XP levels up on the US Navy. They are still in the 50s, some are even in the 40s and there is a pretty good chance they will meet the IJN in the next few months.

South Pac also sent a bombardment mission in:

Naval bombardment of Lunga, at 67,97 - Coastal Guns Fire Back! May 18 1942

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
No Japanese losses

2 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
CL Nashville
CL St. Louis
CL Concord
CL Perth
CL Achilles
CA Canberra
CA Vincennes

Japanese ground losses:
2774 casualties reported
Guns lost 92

Airbase hits 20
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 153
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 2

Air recon says there are only 14,000 Japanese on the island, but judging by the numbers that flew up into the air during this bombardment that cannot be true. By the way for those who are outraged by shore bombardment this is the first time I have ever had this kind of result, and who knows what FoW did to it.

Unlike the Baker bombardment which was done by Carrier Escort group that was detached for bombardment, this attack is from and independent Cruiser group. These guys are at Noumea to stay (until they need a big refit) and will continue to look for opportunities to do mischief. There are also 4 US BBs in the Noumea area to support the coming advance, so if the Japanese do come South there will be battles.

The Japanese have become active again as well, they just invaded Thursday Island:

aval bombardment of Thursday Island, at 49,90 May 18th 1942

Japanese Ships
DD Kikuzuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Minazuki
DD Satsuki
DD Uzuki
DD Ushio
DD Akebono
DD Oboro
DD Hibiki
DD Samidare
CA Mikuma
CA Mogami
CA Ashigara
CA Haguro
CA Maya
CA Chikuma
CA Tone
BB Kirishima
BB Hiei
BB Haruna


Allied ground losses:
113 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 37
Port hits 10
Port supply hits 11

Ground combat at Thursday Island May 19, 1942

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 570 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 5288 troops, 39 guns, 0 vehicles


Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
9 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Its not going to hold, and niether will Port Moresby. This is actually a really smart move by Japan, as I was starting to run in supply to PM on ADPs and was looking for ways to activate the base. If he can eliminate them both it will help him hold Rabual and also stop me from moving troops across the top of Australia to support operations in the NEI.

In the NEI the Allies continue to get more aggresive. There is a 3 ship convoy heading for Makale with Dutch fighter flying long range CAP. If they make it the 4 Dutch units located there will begin to grow, and they might build up the base a bit. PT boats also moved into the Celebese ports and hit the Japanese at Balikpapan:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 31,64 May 19 1942

Japanese Ships
MSW W.4, Shell hits 6, on fire
MSW W.5, Shell hits 24, on fire, heavy damage
PG Shosei Maru, Shell hits 5, on fire
AK Hakonesan Maru

Allied Ships
PT PT-20
PT PT-22
PT PT-24
PT PT-28
PT PT-29
PT PT-30

All the torpedos missed. The IJN has started moving bigger warships into the area so the PTs are off to a safer location, but the plan is to keep them forward and continue raiding.

Soerbaja is up to 34,000 supply with more on the way, and there is 10,000 at Malang. This has the Dutch, Aussies and US unit drawing replacements, the airfield is about to hit size 5 and the fort is between level 7 and level 8. Recently the IJN has been seen operating in the area so the twin engine bombers that have been devastinging the Japanese airfields just switched to naval attack. There are now over 100 bombers with range of 8 (B25s) or 10 (Hudsons) flying around looking for shipping.

This is a result from May 19th with only 16 B25s on Naval instead of the 80 that are now set for it:
Day Air attack on TF, near Toboali at 22,57


Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 7
B-25C Mitchell x 4


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Assam, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
AK Kinryo Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire

The Japanese are bombing isolated base forces and fragments in the area to train up aircrews, but are not enganging the Allied airforces. There are three (predicatble) exceptions to this, Palambang, Batavia and Kendari. US B17s hit Batavia last turn at 30,000 feet not much happened. B26s raided the port at Kendari and 12 Zeros shot down 8 out of 40, so we are not going there again.

Over all the air offensive in the NEI and Burma is costing the Japanese 10-12 planes a day so the pressure is on, but not yet decisive.

The Phillipines are still a big problem for the Allies. Clark field does not attack any longer and is down to under 9,000 supply inspite of some being flown in from Mindanao. Naga has over 10,000 and is pounding away at the Japanese but its a real race.

Here is a little history via the combat reports:

The Japanese invaded in April, and the US sent and RTC to contain the attack. At this point Clark was well supplied and I was concerned about the Japanese sending lots of troops there so Naga was a defensive area for the Allies.
Ground combat at Naga
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 5718 troops, 51 guns, 6 vehicles
Defending force 20528 troops, 174 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Exactley one month later the Allies have supply in Legaspi, and Clark is slowing running lower, though still has over 10,000. The Americans need to destroy the Japanese force blocking the flow of supply to Clark, and send reinforcement:

Ground combat at Naga
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 22423 troops, 232 guns, 254 vehicles
Defending force 16712 troops, 59 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Naga base !!!
Japanese ground losses:
901 casualties reported
Guns lost 8
Allied ground losses:
193 casualties reported
Guns lost 9
Vehicles lost 2

In the 9 days since then Allied bombers and American and Phillipine troops have destroyed another 3,000 Japanese.

May 19, 1942
Ground combat at Naga
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 20832 troops, 221 guns, 6 vehicles
Defending force 13248 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese ground losses:
75 casualties reported

The Japanese have not been supplied for over a month, they have lost fully 33% of their forces but they are still fighting hard, and at this rate it could be a month before they are gone. The problem for the Allies is that there is not enough supply for this to go on for a month.

More ships are being sent, but the Japanese are putting in serious efforts to stop them. The Allies are also sending more fighters to try and keep the shipping safe from Japanese air. Its a tight race, and either side could win.

Anyone care to place a bet on how long the Japanese at Naga can hold out? Where is the fabled banzi suicide attack when you really need to see one?

[Tom Hunter]

May 20th and the Japanese offensive in the Netherlands East Indies starts going into gear.

The Japanese hit the major Allied airbases at Soerbaja and Malang hard:

Day Air attack on Malang , at 22,66

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 45
Ki-21 Sally x 43
Ki-48 Lily x 12

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 5 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
19 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 14

ay Air attack on Soerabaja , at 22,65

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 130

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 7
P-40E Warhawk x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 29 destroyed, 40 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 3 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 7 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed
Wirraway: 1 destroyed
PBY Catalina: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Runway hits 16

Fog of war was slightly reversed, the modest Japanese bomber pilots only claimed 5 B25s destroyed at Malang and they actually got 10 [:@].

The Allies did not have CAP in the air over Malang and CAP was weak over Soerbaja. The fighters have been off pounding Japanese airfields to train up. Still the 15 planes that met the Betties over Soerbaja shot down 26 enemy bombers which did a lot to keep the loss rate for the turn favorable to the Allies. On May 21s there will be 48 additional fighters in the air over the two airbases, and there are over 150 more American and Australian planes in reserve at Timor and Darwin.

Allied bombers attempted to hit some Japanese warships in the Java sea but came up empty, the Japanese attempted to hit the convoy bringing supplies into Makale and also came up empty. Tommorow the merchant ships will be unlaoding at Makale covered by 24 Dutch fighters, we will see what happens when the Japanese try to interfere.

The big concern for the Allies is the apparent massing of Japanese shipping at Toboli, including some CVs. Blackwatch has been unwilling to bring the CVs into battle but that may change and it will make winning much harder for the Allies. Toboli is also the place nearest to any Japanese units pulled out of Burma or China, which implies that the unfortunate 5th division finished its land march and got on transports.

The Japs are also working hard on cutting off the NEI from help, they took Thursday Island today and will likely grab PM soon. There are 4 US and 2 Australian divisions on the wrong side of Oz now, some are needed for the operations in the Solomons but I need others for the NEI and Phillipine efforts. They will still come, but it will take a lot longer now.

The other big move in this shifting balance of forces took place on the 18th of May when the Royal Navy left Trimcomalee in two TFs one built around 4 BBs +Hermes and another with 3 CVs. A third TF of cruisers and DDs is forming up to follow a few days behind. Fuel, Supply and and AD have been prepared at Broome. If the Japanese keep pushing long enough for the RN to show up we could have some big battles.

Last time Blackwatch took heavy casualties in air battles in this area he broke off, but if he is going to win he needs to do it soon, he knows that I will have enough power to start counter offensives by June or July and he has enough power to destroy my preperations if he acts soon. So maybe this time he will keep coming inspite of losing so many Betties in his first attack.

The attack on Thursday Island shows that Blackwatch is planning something big, so he is attempting to isloate the battle area. Things will likely get a lot more interesting in the next few game weeks.

[Tom Hunter]

2 waves of 3 Hudsons each flew against the 106 Zeros providing CAP for KB. Blackwatch must have put CAP at 80-90% because as can be seen below nothing escorted the Kates as they flew into the Allied CAP covering Soerbaja.

[Tom Hunter]

The result was something of a disaster for the Japanese. The two CV group are the Royal Navy coming down to play once the Japanese have tired themselves out on the defenses.

[Tom Hunter]

By the way this is the kind of organizational effort that cost me the Saratoga.

A day ago Japanese LBA started the offensive against a somewhat suprised Allied airforce.

Today the INJ launched its carrier planes, but the LBA did not manage to hit Soerbaja at all. The Allied airforce was ready this time and CAP was much larger both over Soerbaja and over Malang where 18 Wildcats shot down about 10 Japs.

Tomorrow the Japanese BBs (in the Southernmost TF above) will bombard Soerbaja which is not empty but has been stripped of many aircraft. Most of the Beauforts have been moved to Malang and set to 4 hexes range and 4,000 feet altitude so if any Japanese shipping is still close to Soerbaja at dawn there will be large scale torpedo attacks.

A better way to do it would be to run the IJN TFs in at full speed the same day the LBA started attacking. This would have caught the Allies off balance and inflicted much more damage at lower loss. I'm loving it, but there is a lesson here.

In other moves the Americans have pushed up the timetable for operations in the Solomons, B17s will start hitting Lunga tomorrow, 4 BBs are on the way to bombard it as well, the first move by land forces is happening at the end of the month when some SeaBees unload at Vanakolu. In June the US CVs will be brought down to support a more ambitious attack that will go after Munda if things continue to go well in the NEI.

[CapAndGown]

I hope you are going to allow Blackwatch to resign soon without making him feel guilty. [;)] He's been whupped!

[Tom Hunter]

I doubt he wants to resign, he is still on the offensive and he still has a big margin of superiority in carriers. This turn the air to air was much closer, 44 Allied destroyed to 46 Japanese, the Allied LBA flew into KBs CAP and got shot up pretty bad.

It is still possible for him to pull off a victory in the Phillipines or Java and if one goes the other will follow. He also controls the waters off Northern Oz. If he does destroy the Allies in the NEI and Phillipines then we are back to a big fight in the Solomons and a British advance through Burma.

It's very much up in the air right now.

[String]

ORIGINAL: Tom Hunter

2 waves of 3 Hudsons each flew against the 106 Zeros providing CAP for KB. Blackwatch must have put CAP at 80-90% because as can be seen below nothing escorted the Kates as they flew into the Allied CAP covering Soerbaja.



*snip*

Ouch.. that must have been painful, very painful.

[Tom Hunter]

Two days stince the last update and the Fury continues around Java.

Allied aircraft have yet to make a massed attack but small groups of Beauforts have been going after the IJN forces in the area:
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 13
Allied aircraft
Beaufort V-IX x 5
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort V-IX: 4 damaged
Japanese Ships
BB Ise, Torpedo hits 1

The Japanese launched two large air raids on Soerbaja, one with 64 Betties and the one pictured. For obvious reasons they both failed with heavy casualties for the Japanese.




It took a long time but that P40 unit was built up to full strength and just brought in from Koepang.

The Japanese are clearly going for Malang, it has 3 base forces and a level 3 fort, the Allies are sending a US RTC and the Australian 30 Brigade at the double. Hopefully they will get there before the Japs unload and stop thier movement.

The RN is still 4-6 days away so right now its an air sea battle. That is actually good, becuase I want the British to fight a tired and weakend KB, not a full strength version.

In the Phillipines Wildcats at Clark are taking a toll of Japanese bombers but have not been able to halt the raids. 3 merchant ships carrying 15,000 supplies are getting close to Lingyan, Naga and Legaspi, I am hoping that one ship to each place will help them avoid detection. Clark is down to about 7,000 supply so its important they get some through.

In the last 3 days Japan has lost about 150 planes, mostly twin engine bombers and CV based dive bombers and torpedo planes. The Allies have lost about 90 in the same period. I can keep this going for a while, there are reserves in Koepang and Darwin, I wonder how long he can.

[Tom Hunter]

The Japanese are ashore at Malang. They have bombarded the base and shut it down, about 25 planes were smashed up on the runway, a number escaped and some are still there. The Aussie and US troops that were sent to the place did not arrive before the invaders so Malang is being defended entirely by base forces. I think Blackwatch sent an entire division, maybe more so I doubt the place will hold for long.

There has been a lot of bad weather in the area, stopping flights by the Japanese at Batavia and the Allies at Soerbaja. In one of those terrible ironies of the game a 60 bomber strike launched on May 25th but instead of hitting something useful it went after a single AK in the Java Sea. Needless to say that AK is nolonger with us.

The Japanese main airbase is Bali and the Allied bombers in Soerbaja are set to hit it as soon as the weather clears. There are also 31 B17s at Keopang set to attack as well so hopefully the Japanese will get hurt.

The situation in the Phillipines has gotten a bit better, a single AK is in the port East of Manila and has already unloaded about 1,500 supplies one AK each arrived at Naga and Legaspi this turn as well, together the 3 ships were carrying just over 15,000 which will help the army at Clark and also support the offensive against the Japanese slowly dieing in the jungle near Naga.

At Sydney 2 Australian divisions are boarding transports for the long trip around the bottom of Oz. Someday they will either help defend Timor or launch the first allied conter-offensive in Java. I suspect it will be Timor, Java is in trouble.

Looking at the rest of the world:

China is the same, 18,000 Japanese are stuck between Kweilin and Canton but the Chinese are having real trouble killing them. Train service is running from Yenen to Chengting which is an important victory but only a logistical one. The Chinese are chasing a few small Japanese units through the countryside, mothers don't let your childern grow up to be Mongolian Cavalry, one of the 1,500 man divisions finally reached saftey with 300 or fewer troops left. But nothing decisive is happening. One interesting note, the Chinese have nearly complete control of the air, the Japanese have pulled most of their planes from China.

Burma is all about bombing, and waiting for the Armies to get into place. The 5th Indian just started loading at Karachi bound for Akyab, the 18th Division is somewhere between Ledo and Mitiyikiyna, many other units are on the move.

In the South Pacific 4 US BBs bombarded Lunga on Guadalcanal. Still no response by Japan and still no aircraft there. It makes me wish I had my CVs in the area to go direct for Munda. Troops will come ashore at Vanukolo soon and start turning it into a base, at the same time I am going to push the move to Munda forward because it looks as if the Japanese do not have the forces to contest an American move in the Solomons.

Finally the RN is still days away from Java. Given the very large forces the Japanese have in the area I doubt I will attack, however if Blackwatch knows that the RN is lurking somewhere in the area then he will have to keep the bulk of his fleet near Java and that give the Americans a free hand to gain a strong position in the Solomons.

[Tom Hunter]

So the planes take off, and then they start falling out of the sky...

74 Allied planes were lost on May 26th, and 78 Japanese 20-25 on the ground for each side and the rest in the air.

The firt big fight was over Soerbaja as Jap bombers continue to try to shut it down:

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 17
Ki-21 Sally x 51
Ki-48 Lily x 28

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 3
F4F-4 Wildcat x 3
Wirraway x 3
Brewster 339D x 3
Kittyhawk I x 7
P-39D Airacobra x 4
P-40E Warhawk x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 11 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 23 destroyed, 5 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 9 destroyed, 10 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 damaged
Wirraway: 2 destroyed
Brewster 339D: 2 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed, 10 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 1 destroyed
Beaufort V-IX: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
26 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 11

Sally's are the most shot down plane of the day, followed by P40s and then Zeros and Oscars. These Japanese planes all came out of Bali

Then the counter strike went in, B26s with plenty of escorts:

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 11

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 13
Brewster 339D x 3
Kittyhawk I x 3
P-40E Warhawk x 8
B-26B Marauder x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
41 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 16

Not as much damage to the Japanese airforce but its a start.

Then there was a huge fight over Malang as the Allied airmen struggled to get through the CAP over the Japanese landing force:

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 44

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 6
Wirraway x 3
Brewster 339D x 4
Kittyhawk I x 5
Hudson I x 5
Beaufort V-IX x 23
P-40E Warhawk x 32
A-20B Boston x 17
I-16c x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 5 destroyed
Wirraway: 3 destroyed
Brewster 339D: 4 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed
Hudson I: 1 damaged
Beaufort V-IX: 2 destroyed, 8 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 17 destroyed
A-20B Boston: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVE Taiyo
CV Hiyo, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
CL Kitakami
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Wakatake, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 1, on fire

This is a major victory for the Allies, these ships are a long way from home, and much of that route is in range of Soerbaja. The Royal Navy is now 3 days away from Malang but if the Japanese run for Batavia they can be intercepted by the British fleet carriers. We will see what happens, but after losing to US CVs early its about time we began to even the score.

[AdmNelson]

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVE Taiyo
CV Hiyo, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
CL Kitakami
CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Wakatake, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 1, on fire

That had to hurt!

[Tom Hunter]

All these things hurt but they hurt me too. The damage to the CVLs is the price he pays for Java, unless I can somehow regain air superiority in the area.

Not that Japan has air superiority either, we are at parity now but I am down to one big functioning air base and its always possible to smash one airbase. The RN will help, but its a very brittle weapon, unlike the USN which is getting larger by the day the RN is a one shot deal, once its gone you never get another.

Blackwatch should have done this months ago, he would have won quicker and lost less.

Still if he wins I lose a lot, hundreds of planes, thousands of troops. Its a big fight.

As I write this the combat replay is running on my other machine. It looks like there may be over 100 planes down on each side this turn. If the numbers don't go that high it will still be close to the losses yesterday.

[CapAndGown]

He will no doubt take Java. But then he has to clean up the Phillipines. And there is still Timor, which I doubt he can ever take. And Timor is a knife aimed at the the heart of the SRA.

If he goes for Timor in a big way, you go up the Solomons. If he tries to stop you in the Solomons, he won't be able to take Timor.

He has simply run out of time. The size of his airstrikes indicates just how weak he is. I was surprised to see just how few fighters and bombers he had in his attack on Sorebaja. He should easily have over 100 bombers and something like 50 fighters. He is nohwere close to that. I assume that large portions of his airforce are off training somewhere. Or maybe, even, his production system is not keeping up with the losses.

[AdmNelson]

Not that Japan has air superiority either, we are at parity now but I am down to one big functioning air base and its always possible to smash one airbase. The RN will help, but its a very brittle weapon, unlike the USN which is getting larger by the day the RN is a one shot deal, once its gone you never get another.

In one my games as the Allied player I brought the RN down and used them to support the Dutch. Japanese players who wait 6-7 months or more to take Java run into a more organized ABDA air force. The draw back to the RN is the long haul back India. But it sure helps to have more planes that fly with torpedos. The lessons are --smash airfields or ships will sink.

[Tom Hunter]

Here is a map showing where the airstrikes are going. There are a few small ones that I ignored.
I am switching the 44 B26s and two depleted Wirraway groups (4 flyable planes each) to Naval attack in the hopes of smashing up his transport or maybe putting more bombs into the crippled CVEs that are retreating past Bali. The B17s in Koepang will keep bombing Bali though they are not killing many planes or slowing him down much.

In addition to these fight the Japanese are trying to smash up a supply convoy at Lautem and that is also causing attrition.

Two Japanese BBs also got hit with one bomb each, but I doubt that made much of an impression. The play for the RN is for the CVs to hit the IJN bombardment groups and the British BBs to shut down Bali. That could turn the tide and allow me to get supply convoys into Soerbaja. Soerbaja has 40,000 supply right now but always needs more.




Here are some of the big air attacks of the day:

This attack on Soerbaja was repulsed
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 6
Ki-21 Sally x 18
Ki-48 Lily x 18

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2
Wirraway x 3
Brewster 339D x 2
Kittyhawk I x 14
P-39D Airacobra x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 2 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 4 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 2 damaged
Brewster 339D: 1 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged

This one was not, I think these Zeros are pretty high quality:
Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 19
G4M1 Betty x 81

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2
Wirraway x 3
Brewster 339D x 1
Kittyhawk I x 13
P-39D Airacobra x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 7 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 18 destroyed, 21 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
Wirraway: 3 destroyed
Brewster 339D: 1 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 7 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed, 3 damaged
Beaufort V-IX: 2 destroyed
B-26B Marauder: 2 destroyed

These two groups hit base forces at Malang:

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 6
Ki-21 Sally x 16

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 22
Ki-48 Lily x 42
Ki-49 Helen x 77

Here is my feeble counter attack on Bali:

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 15

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 9
B-26B Marauder x 27
B-17E Fortress x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 4 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 2

And a representative naval attack:

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 5
Hudson I x 3
Beaufort V-IX x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 16
A-20B Boston x 10


Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 2 damaged
Beaufort V-IX: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
A-20B Boston: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Yamashiro
BB Ise, Bomb hits 1
BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 1

This is pretty typical of what flies against everything. I wish the Beaforts were carrying torpedos but that is the way it goes.

[Tom Hunter]

Here are the air losses to date





In addition to the Japanese groups hitting Java there are about 120 bombers flying training missions out of Singapore and another 100 supporting his army in the Phillipines.

There was a force of 100 or so Bettys flying missions against Port Moresby but that group was last seen in action on the 25th, and I think they may be the source of the 81 Bettys that attacked Soerbaja today. I am now within 107 planes of passing the Japanese in kills, at the rate we are going that should take about 5 more days. Since May 14th (the last time I showed this screen shot) the Japanese have lost 847 aircraft and the Allies have lost 525. I hope he starts to run out soon, because I sure as hell did not build 525 aircraft in the last 14 days.

[Bliztk]

It`s not the production system. Tom has exhausted his pilot pool.

Even if we take a generous rate of 50% survivors, he has lost 1000 fighters (Zero and Ki43), and 1200 bombers (Bettys,Nells,Sallies), and that`s 1100 pilots.

Look at B5N Kate losses, that amount to nearly 150 % of initial KB aircrew in losses. Vals worry me, but I fear Kates.

He has replaced 1200+ pilots with 80s in exp, with pilots in 40s in experience. That`s the problem, not airframes.

If he send his fresh squadrons to fight vs the Allies they are going to be slaughtered.

While Tom is replacing 60-70s pilots with 60s exp pilots, and he is getting more and more modern aircraft. 50 Spitfires, 100 B24 in June, in 10-12 days those crappy Australian flying Wirraways will have Supermarine Spitfires instead, plus more VMFs with F4F (high replacement rate) to throw.

Basically he has run out of steam instead in Midway, the Solomons and Port Moresby at Java and Timor three months early.

[Tom Hunter]

Bliztk,

The pilot issue is certainly important, but at this loss rate its not the only thing that is important. In the battles we are fighting its possible to run out of planes.

Bliztk: "It`s not the production system. Tom (I am Tom, I think you mean Blackwatch-the Japanese player) has exhausted his pilot pool."

I know in the long run I get ton's of stuff and the Japanese lose thier quality edge. But in the short run I can lose Java and the Phillipines and that is what is important now. When your losing 500 or 800 planes in two weeks the production numbers become important. In 3 days I lost a months production of P40s and I can lose the battle for Java by running out of planes.

IF the Japanese win the battles for Java and the Phillipines then they get time to train more air groups. Also at these loss rates my pilot pool gets exhausted pretty fast too.

Net I don't agree that pilots are the be all and end all, if you actually run out of aircraft then pilot quality does not matter. Unlike the big battles in 43-44 which have a kind of inevitability to them, these battles can go either way and one of the decisive factors will be the raw numbers of aircraft available in the combat area. I am trying hard to manage the battle in a way that keeps the Allies flying but its not easy. If I can't keep planes in the air then I will lose, and its an open question.

Correct me if I misunderstand your (and other peoples) arguement but I think you are looking long term, where the game will be in a year. My point is I don't care where the game will be in a year, I need to win now with what I have and my current situation is very difficult. I am not complaining about it, its very exciting and lots of fun to play. I am just questioning the conventional wisdom that the game is always about Japanese pilot pool depletion. Sometimes its about being able to get birds into the air, and that is what is going on now. We are going to fight until one of us can't fly any more, and the one who can't fly is going to lose Java and then lose the Phillipines.

Because the stakes are so high we are going to fly good pilots, bad pilots and green pilots. If you think the Japanese replacements are bad you should see the new guys the Dutch are putting into the cockpit. Some of them go straight from takeoff to ops loss without any time in between.

Thanks for all the comments and discussion, I really appreciate it.

[NemRod]

The Japanese can build as many planes as they want until the exhaution of their initial stockpile of oil and ressources. Obviously your opponent expanded greatly his production plants ( he has lost more Helens and Betties than I produced in my game by the end of April ), but even more obviouly he is producing planes just to lose them for the reasons Bliztk explained very well. He needs a couple of months to improve exp of a significant part of his squadrons.By then, you will have vaporized oil and ressources production at Palembang, Balkpapan, Kendari, Amboina etc...because you won't lose Java.He has too much troops in Luzon and Burma and,IIRC, Soerabadja has a x2 bonus in defence ( forest terrain ).
It would be interesting to know what are the destructions at Palembang, Balikpapan etc...and to estimate the stockpiles he found there.It would answer all your questions about airframes production and help to know if your game will reach 43 or just end within three months.