Gen.Hoepner vs. Hawker, Mare Nostrum

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ORIGINAL: Tom Hunter

Hoepner,

Nice work, Hawker should not be steaming around without strong escort, I guess he may have figured that out by now.

Since you only get one round of fire on the CVs the best ships for CV hunting are probably the British Town Class CLs. There are two reasons for this, rate of fire and crew quality. The rate of fire on a 12 gun ship with 6" is quite a bit higher than on an 8 gun ship with 8" and the game gives each shot a chance to hit so in a similar fight HMS Glasgow has a much better chance of hitting the target than HMAS Australia, and a better chance of hitting more than once.

The second reason is crew quality, the British ships are good at night fighting which further increases thier chance of scoring hits.

I'm aware that you don't have Glasgow on map yet, and Mauritius starts the game at 10 sys or more, just pointing out that if you can pull this off again with those ships you might get a better result than you did this time.

That said shell hits on CVs is not shabby, especially if you cruisers live through the next day. This ought to either chase off the CVs or get Hawker to put some of his bombardment ships into the escort group, either of these things is good for you.

nor should he stay in the same place with his cv's. But as Tom pointed out, the RN is better suited to the task with it's better night exp. They also have the added benefit of torpedoes on all of their cruisers. I must admit I got extremely lucky vs pauk as every time my ships launched torpedoes in that engagement they hit with some. It was incredible.

[Gen.Hoepner]

Thx guys for the suggestions.
I fear i only have few british ships in Java. For sure Mauritius CL got hit and now it's in Perth, docked.
I'll take a look however and check...but i have mainly Australian and American warships there
Anyway...If i was hakwer i'd be very scared now. His Screening assets aren't performing that well and most of his CVs should be over the 10-level sys damage, which means problems.
Plus he's keeping his CVs in a coastal hex, whihc is not that good.
It's sure that this EAGLE operation is costing me a lot in terms of planes,ships and points, but the Japs have been slowed down a lot and he cannot go any further in the PAcifc without his CVs and his Divisions.
Another thing to consider is that he failed to close the shipping lanes to/from Java. Now he has betties at Balikapan and Tarakan, but every time they try to get my ships near Java they get punished and we all know how japan cannot efford to lose so many crack pilots so early in the war.
If he doesn't move very carefully now i still feel i'm able to inflict him some heavy losses. I need just a torp in the right place to consider the "EAGLE" operation a success, while he needs time and a lot of resources to close Java an conquer it.
So time in on my side....yes it is[:D]

[Gen.Hoepner]

He moved his CVs 2 hexes eastwards from Merak. I moved 100 SDBs and 50 Torpedo Bombers at Bandoleng.
My torpedo ( even the swordfishes that were in range) didn't launch and only a fragment of SBD took off[:(]
His CAP obliterated my escort and only 1 bomb hit Shokaku but with no damage[:(]
My PTs again didn't even scrap the paint on his BBs....
Then, in the afternoon my SCTF got mauled by his CVs...now 2 hexes closer...lost 1 CL and 1 CA with many more ships badly hit[:@]
Will try something new in the next days....

Manila keeps holding...and this is saving my Day in Java...

A very good ambush over Moulmein brought down several nates and lilies...just a little revange for the slaughterhouse of Java...

However...was real fun![:D]


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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/07/42

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Merak at 19,59

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Hiei
BB Nagato
BB Fuso
BB Ise
BB Hyuga
CA Atago
CA Mogami
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano
CL Jintsu
CL Natori
CL Kuma
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 1
DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Michishio
DD Samidare
DD Akatsuki
DD Hibiki
DD Shinonome
DD Asagiri

Allied Ships
PT TM-4
PT TM-5
PT TM-6
PT TM-7
PT TM-8
PT TM-12, Shell hits 59, and is sunk
PT TM-15

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Day Air attack on Moulmein , at 30,34

GOOOOD MORNING!

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 14
Ki-48 Lily x 50
Ki-49 Helen x 25

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 63

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 13 destroyed
Ki-48 Lily: 10 destroyed, 15 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 1 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 13 damaged


Allied ground losses:
27 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 5


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Day Air attack on TF at 21,59

This man is kissed by the GOD of LUCK!

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 105

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 46
SBD Dauntless x 23
P-40B Tomahawk x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 25 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 43 destroyed
SBD Dauntless: 18 destroyed
P-40B Tomahawk: 10 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 21 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 1[:@]

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
1 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
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Day Air attack on TF at 21,59

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 98

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 11
SBD Dauntless x 5
P-40B Tomahawk x 3
P-40E Warhawk x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 11 destroyed
SBD Dauntless: 5 destroyed
P-40B Tomahawk: 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed

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Day Air attack on TF at 23,64

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
D3A Val x 64
B5N Kate x 93

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged
B5N Kate: 2 destroyed, 11 damaged

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
CL Honolulu, Bomb hits 2
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1
CL Helena, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 3, on fire
DD Hull, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CA Chicago, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1
CA Astoria, Bomb hits 8, on fire
DD MacDonough, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
CL Concord, Bomb hits 1

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Day Air attack on TF at 23,64

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
D3A Val x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Concord, Bomb hits 1
CA Astoria, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Chicago, Bomb hits 1, on fire

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Day Air attack on TF at 23,64

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
D3A Val x 19
B5N Kate x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 8 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Astoria, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Chicago, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CA Indianapolis, on fire, heavy damage



Luckly he was too far away for the torpedos!


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Ground combat at Manila

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 178824 troops, 1045 guns, 521 vehicles

Defending force 61609 troops, 222 guns, 139 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0) [:D]


Japanese ground losses:
4590 casualties reported[8D]
Guns lost 55
Vehicles lost 12

Allied ground losses:
1610 casualties reported
Guns lost 23
Vehicles lost 3


YES Guys...you brave boys!

[Gen.Hoepner]

Look at the stats...
Even today, which was clearly an allied defeat, the air losses are 2-1 in Japan favour...not enough my dear hawker![;)]

It's incredible how much losses can the allies suffer and still stand !

[Gen.Hoepner]

Anyway...31 zero pilots aren't with us anymore[;)]

My dangerous mind is coming up with a new plan.....mmm...very very risky[:D]

[mc3744]

My dear enemy. [:D]

Are you sure you are not paying a bit too much for the slow down?
What's the score now? Could you post the Intel screen?

Sure, Japanese pilots are in short supply, but he still has plenty of time to train new ones.
I know I'm a conservative player, but it looks like you are close to throwing away a good bunch of men, planes and ships for almost nothing in return (of course I'm enjoying it [;)]).
After summertime training new pliots may put a burden on the front line needs of Japan, but it's only March. You sure know he has time and planes to rotate.

[mc3744]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

Look at the stats...
Even today, which was clearly an allied defeat, the air losses are 2-1 in Japan favour...not enough my dear hawker![;)]

It's incredible how much losses can the allies suffer and still stand !

Try to imagine they were men and not Victory Points [:-]

[Gen.Hoepner]

Dear MC....

com'on! The allies have plenty of everything and as long as i keep my air losses below the 4-1 ratio i'm getting victories in 42!
Those ships, for the most part, will be built again in the next years... if i have a chance of hurting the Japs and slowing them down...i take it! I hate to be conservative. It's not in my nature ( when playing the hated allies obviously[:D]).
The score is somewhere between 9500-4500....after Manila's Fall will be probably close to 3-1...or something. But i don't care. Not now.
I'm having so much fun that i really do not care if i lose this match ( but off course i'm playing to win!...i'm not the red cross...not yet[;)])



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/08/42


Today we bombed Merak AF...zeros and nates intercepted. Lost a number of p-40Bs, but managed to close the AF and the planes-Lost ratio is 33-19 in my favour[;)]

My PTs are playing really badly...2 more sunk today[:(]

Moving to Oz more damaged ships from Sosarbaja.
NZ bde will start unloading tomorrow at Sosarbaja[8D]

Today B-25 and B-26s arrived at Alice Springs. In few days we'll be able to transfer something like 130 2Es bombers to Java, plus 30 more fighters.
It's gonna be a REALLY HOT SPRING![:D]

130,000 Japs in Batavia. Tomorrow the base will be Japanese. My 4Es will soon start their new bombing campaign and my BBs will finally come into action......

...then there's this brand new plan.... Is Nimitz ready to lose 300 VPs ?.....yes...using a CV as a bait[:)]

I know...i'm crazy[;)]....But ...."TF xx reacting to TF xx...."....LOL[:D][:D]...


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Day Air attack on Merak , at 19,59

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
Ki-27 Nate x 20

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 35
B-17E Fortress x 61
LB-30 Liberator x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged
Ki-27 Nate: 14 destroyed
Ki-46-II Dinah: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 12 destroyed, 3 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 6 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
107 casualties reported

Airbase hits 13
Airbase supply hits 12
Runway hits 95

[Gen.Hoepner]

So ok....few minutes free before going to Job this friday morning....

What's this new plan?
Simple. Use a British CV...or a CVL( better) as a bait. Form a small CV-TF, one CV/CVL with a couple of DDs. Assign the most reluctant commander, both to ships and to the TF. Someone Veeeeeeeeeeeeery very carefull.
Then, place this TF at Sosarbaja...or one hex north of it, where it can be spotted by his Alfs but not by his Vals....if he has an aggressive commander, when the Alfs will spot the target, he'll move to get closer....so hopefully coming in range of my Beauforts,SDBs etc from Medioen and Sosarbaja. My CVL will be LRCAPped , while i'll give a good escort to my bombers.....probably i'll just need to wait for some more B-25 to come in....or i'll use also the 4Es....

What d'you think?
I really think this trick could work. I need to get some of those damned CVs out of action for some time...and we've seen that the 500lb bombs aren't just enough...we need torps! or at least a 1000lb ordenance!

Another possible option would be a suicidal one....moving back to CVs my carrier trained groups, then wait for them to rest a bit, and attack frontally his CVs....with a combo of Naval attacks from LBbombers....but i do not like this option that much. My CVs are the only thing i now do not want to risk!




I'm also considering my real strenght at Sosarbaja. 2000APs are a lot...but we know Japan can easily put togheder ( once Manila will fall) 6000APs in few days. I have 9 forts at Sosarbaja and a HUGE amount of supplies. I'll probably move in some more 100k convoys from India...gotta see.
With 300-350 fighters and 500/600 bombers hitting his troops, do you think it will be so easy for him?
Everybody tells me i'm crazy about this EAGLE operation. But have you seen in Manila? i had something like 1000APs there...with 3 forts ( yes, ok the city bonus...) ...and altough i've ran out of supplies very soon, with no air cover and altough he brought in everything he had....the city is still holding!

We'll see how his new base in Batavia will change the equilibrium....

stay tuned.....we're all gonna have fun here!

[Bliztk]

Manila cannot be reduced to ashes by BBs

Soerabaja can. That`s the difference. So be careful about gauging the defensive values of Soerabaja and Manila, because Soerabaja is faaaaaaaar weaker than Manila or Bataan.

Once he clears your air force from here, of course [;)]

[Gen.Hoepner]

Manila cannot be reduced to ashes by BBs

Soerabaja can. That`s the difference. So be careful about gauging the defensive values of Soerabaja and Manila, because Soerabaja is faaaaaaaar weaker than Manila or Bataan.

Once he clears your air force from here, of course

True, but nonetheless to naval bomb Sosarbaja he needs to eliminate my 8 BBs,16 CA/CLs and 25 DDs..then he has to be carefull because i have 2 more AFs at level 4 one hex far from Sosarbaja, one of which ( Medioen) cannot be reached by sea....
But anyway...when my air force will be reduced Java will be gone, for sure, but i still fell confident...a little bit. 1000 Planes aren't easy to reduce, even with the zero bonus. My 4Es can make some good success at Batavia or Balikapan...so his AFs won't be so secure to fell free to launch massive Sweep Missions. His naval assets are in costant danger, even if till now they've been really lucky. And i still have to play few "last-minute" cards as i stated above.
So yes....i give Japan a 70/80% chances of getting Java without major losses ( BBs,CVs or massive air losses)....but those 20 points that remain ......well..i'm really willing to play them all...till last man!

BANZAI![:'(]

[Fishbed]

What d'you think?

That was the goal of my ill-Balikpapan, get him closer, so indeed Im with new. A newbie's support is still better than nothing. I may stand the defeat with you too don't worry [:D]

[mc3744]

I don't remember. Do you have any airfield stacking limitation?
If yes, where do you station all those planes? Sorebaja and ...?

Let's talk as an Allied fanboy and not as Hoepner's nemesis [:D]

We both know that achieving 4:1 is VERY difficult anyway. And you said yourself that you play to win. Therefore your long term plan is to get to 2:1 for you.
Now you think any loss better than 4:1 is a victory, but in a few months you'll change your mind (trust me, I know what I'm talking about [;)]).
It is a good result only as long as you still believe he stands a real chance to achieve the 4:1, once that fear is reasonably gone you should start thinking way ahead.

From what we are seeing in our game we know that, if you don't get 4:1 in '42, you certainly won't get a 3:1 in '43 in Japan. I believe you agree with me on this. I feel confident enough to say that you won't get a 3:1 by the end of '43.
Therefore Japan's goal - once the 4:1 is out of the picture - is to get a draw. The Allies one is to win.
So my point is: as soon as you feel confident that 4:1 will not be achieved anything worse than 2:1 in your favor is actually a loss on your long term goal.

Hence, unless you can really hold Java, therefore deny Japan oil and resources, loosing lots af men, ships and troops could not be in your long term interest.

I wish I did not engage you in Timor with my cruisers. Yes, I'm getting them back, but the points are gone.

Was it enough Allied Fanboy talking? [:D] [:)]

[Gen.Hoepner]

I don't remember. Do you have any airfield stacking limitation?
If yes, where do you station all those planes? Sorebaja and ...?

Let's talk as an Allied fanboy and not as Hoepner's nemesis

We both know that achieving 4:1 is VERY difficult anyway. And you said yourself that you play to win. Therefore your long term plan is to get to 2:1 for you.
Now you think any loss better than 4:1 is a victory, but in a few months you'll change your mind (trust me, I know what I'm talking about ).
It is a good result only as long as you still believe he stands a real chance to achieve the 4:1, once that fear is reasonably gone you should start thinking way ahead.

From what we are seeing in our game we know that, if you don't get 4:1 in '42, you certainly won't get a 3:1 in '43 in Japan. I believe you agree with me on this. I feel confident enough to say that you won't get a 3:1 by the end of '43.
Therefore Japan's goal - once the 4:1 is out of the picture - is to get a draw. The Allies one is to win.
So my point is: as soon as you feel confident that 4:1 will not be achieved anything worse than 2:1 in your favor is actually a loss on your long term goal.

Hence, unless you can really hold Java, therefore deny Japan oil and resources, loosing lots af men, ships and troops could not be in your long term interest.

I wish I did not engage you in Timor with my cruisers. Yes, I'm getting them back, but the points are gone.

Was it enough Allied Fanboy talking?

MC, i know you're a far better allied player than me. So i get what you're saying...strategically thinking. However as a long time japanese player i know that the main enemy Japan has in 42 is time. The 4-1 is still doable for Hawker. If he's going for India after Java he will surely get this result. At the same time he needs to get 4-1 also in terms of ships and planes.....so my plan is simple: Attrition everywhere is possible. This provides both an exiting game and also keeps the Japs on the egde...always. At the first mistake, if the allied pressure is high, Japan pays a cost that he cannot efford, while if you simply get back and wait Japan has the means to do whatever he wants in 42...and we both know that!
And...no, we don't have any stacking limitation. I'm limiting myself however with PDU functions. I'll upgrade only the Bolos BGs to 4Es, leaving all others US 2Es to Bostons, B-25s,B-26 and so on.
If i manage to make Japan lose it's superiority in terms of CVs by mid 42, then everything is possible. Operation EAGLE ( or the fight for Java) is directed towards this goal.
You complain about the Cruisers lost at timor...but at Timor you didn't have a chance of holding the ground, having only the evacuated ducth troops...while at Sosarbaja i have something more.
Also...with all his forces concentrated in SRA-DEI, my routes US-OZ are safe...and that means i can fortify my strongpoints in the pacific and at the same time send men, supplies, planes and fuel to Oz...soon...very soon we'll open a new front in Northern Oz.
Also...as long as he has to committ in Java, India is safe...and every week gained means more troops, supplies, planes etc that can be put on line!

So you have not made up my mind...but i thank you for your comments and suggestions. Always appreciated!

[jwilkerson]

The Allies must get through the period of Japanese advantage - that period is mostly measured by time. The time it takes for some of the early war advantages to go away - like zero bonus and high exp pre-war pilots. Also the time it takes for Allies reinforcements to arrive and tip the balance of numbers.

While I don't think there is a magic allied strategy that always wins ( nor a Japanese one ) I think completely running away gives 100% of the initiative to the Japanese - the Allies then give up any ability to channel and thus predict - Japanese actions - As long as KB is "pinned" at Java - GH knows KB is not going for somewhere else. This allows him relative freedom of action in the other areas.

Tom Hunter is perhaps the biggest proponent of early and heavy Allied attrition tactics - and I'm not sure I agree that going that far is always best - but if a player with the success Tom has had believes in that strategy - we must pay some heed.

Certainly giving up the VP of the ground units is a heavy price to pay - and that is the other side of the equation - but what GH is doing is driving attrition - and his overall Java strategy had a chance of inflicting significant damage on the Japanese fleet - the result that happened was not inevitable - if he'd had 10 more SBDs - or gotten a slightly better die roll - things might look quite different now. And then primarilyl to me - GH is gaining time - time for the bonus to disapate and for his reinforcements to arrive. But he does have to calculate how much he is willing to lose in Java and decide what if anything to withdraw - losing everything there now - just because it is there - is not necessarily the best either.

[Gen.Hoepner]

And then primarilyl to me - GH is gaining time - time for the bonus to disapate and for his reinforcements to arrive. But he does have to calculate how much he is willing to lose in Java and decide what if anything to withdraw - losing everything there now - just because it is there - is not necessarily the best either.

Agree. In fact i still have a plan for a general evacuation of Java. I have almost 150 transports at Sosarbaja and something like 20/25 subs. If bad luck or Hakwer's abilities will put in front of my face the inevitable loss of the strategy, i'll try to move out as much as i can ( the 18th UK division and some arty units for example) moving back my planes to Oz and leaving the remenants behind. But that will really be the final card to play....

[Tom Hunter]

My dear enemy.

Are you sure you are not paying a bit too much for the slow down?
What's the score now? Could you post the Intel screen?

-Mc3744

One of the problems (_as in things to figure out-, not as in -reasons he is losing-) that Hoepner faces is how to keep combat this intense.

If the casualty rate looks like this for a few days but drops later then it is a win for Japan, because the Japanese can train up new aircrews.

But if the casualty rate stays at this level for 2 weeks or more the numbers will start moving steadily in favor of the Allies, and eventually be bad for Japan. I managed to do this over Akyab with Hurricanes Vs. Zeros in January-Feb 42 in the Fear and Loathing game. It is important to use Wildcats because of thier large replacement pool.

But the critical thing is follow on. If the battle for Java ends and there is a long pause before the next combat then the Japanese can recover from the attrition, but if another major battle starts right away then the pilot experience will not recover and the Allies will see a faster improvement in their situation than they see in Sir Robin type games.

In Fear and Loathing we accomplished this by first: winning the air battle of Akyab, then; winning the air battle of the Malaya evacuation and now fighting hard over Burma, Port Moresby and using Java as a 4 engine bomber base to attack Singapore and Borneo.

So it is possible Hoepner will gain an important victory even with these losses, but much depends on what occurs after the battle of Java is over.

[Gen.Hoepner]

So it is possible Hoepner will gain an important victory even with these losses, but much depends on what occurs after the battle of Java is over.

In my mind, when battle of Java will be over, it will immediately start the battle for Souther DEI-SRA and the NG bombing campaign.
As i stated before, i'm moving planes and base forces both at Darwin and at Cairns. From these two locations, we'll soon start to threaten his advanced bases and his resources centers( Ambonia,Tarakan etc).
My goal is to keep him busy everywhere and using numbers to overwhelm his superior quality.
He cannot have 200 zeros everywhere. He's already not using zeros in Burma and China, where i managed to stop his advances and eventually inflicting some good air losses with ambushes.
KB has lost a good number of pilots and sooner or later, even if i don't manage to hurt it, his CVs will be forced to stay in repair yards to recover and lower the sys dmage. This is time gained, and IMHO a marginal victory for the allies.

[mc3744]

I'm not saying GH's strategy is wrong.
I'm saying it's risky and it's based a lot on hawker's mistakes (some of them already done, which is of course an important part of the evaluation).
I personally like to keep luck and the opponent's mistakes out of the picture as much as possible.

If I were hawker I would have first secured Timor and Sumatra and made sure Java was isolated.
My personal fear as Allied player is to have the supply/troops road cut: for Australia and for DEI.
In our game with GH he managed to cut DEI very quickly (we all know the results), thanks God not the Pacific [:D].

Hence I definitely believe that GH may succeed, but - at least in part - that is due to a major hawker's mistake rather than to GH's strategy (sorry my dear [:'(], I'm not trying to diminish your accomplishments [:)])
You don't go head to head if the opponent can bring in reinforcements, especially if that opponent is the Allies.

My other point is: when do you - as Allies - stop thinking about "how not to loose" and start thinking about "how to win"?
The way I see this match I think that GH could already start thinking "how to win" and that involves VPs saving or - of course - being able to hold on in Java.

[Gen.Hoepner]

"How to win" Mc? No way...it's too early IMHO. For the moment i only think about how to slow him and to inflict him some heavy losses. Nothing more.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/09/42

BATAVIA finally fell. For what my recon reports oil and resources are badly damaged[8D]. He has brought in 2 divisions and 4 Bdes. Probably something around 2000/2500 APs. He needs at least 4000 APs to start thinking about a direct assault to Fortess Sosarbaja[;)].
And as long as Manila holds ( cannot explain how in the world can those guys still stand) He simply doesn't have enough units.
He invaded thursday Island today. Nothing that worries me.

In China things are pretty interesting. I've not talked about this theatre for a long time, being concentrated only in the EAGLE operation, however i'm doing fairly well in China. His new target is Changsa. I'm using my flexibilty to move in reinforcements and today we achieved a very good defensive victory. In the Swamps N-E of Changsha 40,000 underpowered chinese repulsed the assault of 12 Japanese units ( a total of 100,000 men) causing them a lot of casualities[;)].
The Chinese fighters started to engage the nates at Ichang. 2-2 the A2A ratio[8D]
Pretty confident. He doesn't have enough units to conquer Sian in the North, nor i think he has enough units for Chansgha in the south.
The overall supply situation looks good. the Burma road is open and Burma is quite safe for the moment. A strong air-brigde(using british bombers and few dakotas) from Ledo keeps sending supplies to Chengtu. From Chungking 2 ducth transport groups are moving supplies to Changsha and Sian, which are fully supplied.

Bombers and fighters are massing at Darwin.

9500-4900 the score in his favour




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Ground combat at Batavia

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 121965 troops, 1091 guns, 22 vehicles

Defending force 1476 troops, 11 guns, 2 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese assault odds: 3956 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Batavia base !!!



Allied ground losses:
378 casualties reported
Guns lost 7
Vehicles lost 1


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

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Ground combat at 46,36

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 91627 troops, 978 guns, 7 vehicles

Defending force 40041 troops, 243 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 [:D]


Japanese ground losses:
2556 casualties reported[:)]
Guns lost 72
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
418 casualties reported[;)]
Guns lost 16