A Canuck in the Pacific - ADavidB vs Treespider

[ny59giants]

What did you do with the 7th BG that starts on the West Coast?? It is the one that usually ends up in India and also the one that has to be converted to LB-30's first before any other. The B-17/LB-30 situation really sucks if playing a Nik Mod. [&o]

I have tried to use my PBY replacements from day one to convert at least two of the Canadien squardons to PBY's and send them across the Pacific to India to help with search capabilities. In my latest PBEM with non-histrorical set up, I found a Jap sub two hexes off of Karachi. [X(][X(]  The British/Indian had no search available and only a few PG/MSW capable of ASW TF work (seems like AK/TK don't work too well [:D]).  They have a few nice DD's with a ASW factor of 8, but they have almost 20 sys damage and have to leave Singapore and get back to India for some repairs first (high DL).

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

What did you do with the 7th BG that starts on the West Coast?? It is the one that usually ends up in India and also the one that has to be converted to LB-30's first before any other. The B-17/LB-30 situation really sucks if playing a Nik Mod. [&o]

I have tried to use my PBY replacements from day one to convert at least two of the Canadien squardons to PBY's and send them across the Pacific to India to help with search capabilities. In my latest PBEM with non-histrorical set up, I found a Jap sub two hexes off of Karachi. [X(][X(]  The British/Indian had no search available and only a few PG/MSW capable of ASW TF work (seems like AK/TK don't work too well [:D]).  They have a few nice DD's with a ASW factor of 8, but they have almost 20 sys damage and have to leave Singapore and get back to India for some repairs first (high DL).

I take a different approach to developing my defensive areas, so I don't move forces across the Pacific in the early stages of the game. Therefore, I leave all my LRB on the West Coast in the West Coast bases and develop them there. I want all that extra search capability along the West Coast. It paid off well early in this game when Treespider sent a horde of subs to the West Coast.

My number one concern early in a campaign is to protect the Hawaiian Islands. By having the various US LBA sitting in the West Coast bases, accumulating experience by being on patrol, I have a reserve of full strength 4E bombers available to fly to the H.I. in one day to bolster my defenses. As the risk to the H.I. decreases with time and I get more support into the H.I and the bases there get larger I then fly my 4Es into the various H.I. bases to augment my patrol planes and allow me to move my patrol planes further afield.

I don't move out the Canadian forces other than to fill in gaps in my defense of Alaska. They are my first line of reserve against an invasion of Alaska and the Aleutians.

As far as patrol capability in India goes, the first thing that I do in any game is to move the Brit Patrol planes out of Malaya and into the Bay of Bengal. Then as the Brit bomber squadrons become worn out in Malaya I move them back to India and put them on Naval Search/Attack to allow them to rebuild. I also split the Dutch patrol units between India and Northern Australia, moving them out as the Japanese move forward.

The main decision I make, and this varies from game-to-game, is where to put the Philippines B-17s. Sometimes I move them to Oz, other times to India. There are good uses for them in either location. The big advantage of using them in India is that you can base them in multiple good inland bases that are mutually supporting. In Oz you are always looking "over your shoulder" for Japanese BBs sailing in to bombard your coastal air bases. Also, it isn't hard to fly other bomber squadrons into Oz from the West Coast if and when there is an opportunity for a bombing campaign.

BTW - I don't play the mod versions of the game. I admire all the work that folks like Nik put into the mods, but I always feel that I paid the Matrix/2x3 Folks for this game, so they owe me a good game; I shouldn't have to use a "kit bash". [;)]

Thanks again -

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 6, 1942 -

My aerial "hit-and-run" tactics didn't pay off so well this time, although they did create a certain amount of distraction for the Japanese. I had moved my Dutch bombers from Batavia to Palembang and set them to "Naval Attack" for this turn. As I expected, Treespider sent a strong force of 40 Zeros and 62 Nells to hit Batavia (with surprisingly weak results). My Dutch bombers then proceeded to first locate a large number of potential targets. (I had all of the bomber groups set to 10% "Naval Search", and as well I had a Dutch Patrol squadron in Palembang.) The Dutch bombers then took off.

But the result was not quite as I had planned. The Dutch bombers had too many targets and went "madly off in all directions", attacking almost any and every Japanese TF within range, with most of the attacks flying against CAP over targets in Singapore. Fortunately, I didn't lose too many bombers, and one AP at Singapore was hit, but overall it was a disappointing result. Probably the most important result was that Soerabaja was given a bit of a respite from really heavy Japanese air attacks.

So now I've flown my bombers out of Palembang to yet another of the half dozen or so Level 4 Dutch air bases with plenty of supply that are still in my hands. Treespider's "cherry picking" approach to capturing select forward Allied air bases in the DEI has enabled him to interdict any Allied shipping with his LBA, but it has also meant that I still have a number of other bases from which to stage air attacks. And while Treespider has plenty of air power in the region, he doesn't have enough to blanket all possible remaining Allied air bases without spreading his forces too thinly.

So I'll "enjoy" the opportunities that this situation presents to me while I can, before Treespider sends troops to capture my remaining bases. However, the time delay is making the remaining bases more defensible, so Treespider won't be able to capture them with fragments of LCUs any more. And the longer that Japanese Divisions are wandering around the DEI, the longer I have to build up my defenses in other regions.

In other "less than successful" Allied news, my Australian Hudsons finally took off from Darwin and attacked Lautem, accompanied by P-40Bs from one of the former Philippine air units. Unfortunately, Treespider had a good squadron of Zeros at Lautem and drove off the Hudsons before they could attack, while shooting down two of my nearly irreplaceable Tomahawks. It looks as if the Japanese Bases in Timor will remain relatively "safe" for Treespider until, and if, I bring 4E bombers to Australia.

Speaking of Timor, the Japanese invasion TFs look to be heading for Koepang, which makes sense because it has the largest airfield and port in the region. I don't see any Japanese carriers nearby, but I have no doubt that Treespider is protecting his TFs well, so I'm not going to try to interfere in the invasion, given the weak surface naval forces that I have in the region. My CVs are off getting system damage repaired, and I am also getting my Northampton class cruisers upgraded. US combat ships that don't have radar are effectively "sitting ducks" in any night combat, so I want them to have as good a chance as possible before I commit them. Anyway, all of the US ships in the Western Pacific picked up a lot of system damage in their high speed jaunts during the first couple of weeks of the War, and I want them to get below sysdam "10" so that they aren't as detectable.

In the general Air War, Manila was hit repeatedly again, and strong air raids hit PM and Koepang. Treespider also sent a Zero sweep against Chungking. It looks as if I'll have to move other Allied planes into China or give up control of the air. It's an added pain having lost the Burma Road bases because that limits my ability to bring the short-legged Brit fighters into China, and I have no intention of moving the AVG there. So I'll try to wait until I get some Mohawks and see how well the Chinese can hold out for a while.

In the land war, Macassar and Cagayan finally fell to deliberate attacks, and Changsha and Manila received bombardment attacks. Treespider is moving troops back into the Changsha region, so it looks as if the war in China will become much more intense over the next while.

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 7, 1942 -

Having figuratively "caught his breath", Treespider has his forces on a roll again and is pressing most everywhere in the Far East. The Central and Eastern Pacific remain suspiciously quiet, but I'll take every break that I can get. So, for example, from the Allied p.o.v., the big news of the day was that the Marines have started to land at Pearl Harbor. That, along with the other on-going reinforcements, helps to solidify the Allied hold on the Hawaiian Islands. And even if Treespider has no intention of invading the H.I., having troops and planes safely ensconced in Hawaiian bases brings them that much closer to the Front.

As far as the Japanese intentions go, a bombardment TF lead by two BBs hit Koepang during the night, reinforcing my decision not to bother to interfere with the invasion with my surface forces. Japanese troops started to land during the day, and bombers continued to hammer the base. It will be interesting to watch how Treespider treats Timor once he has the entire island; will he build it up as a fortress, thus depriving himself of forces that could be used elsewhere? Or will he keep minimal forces there and depend upon his naval strength to keep away any counter-invasions?

What is more bothersome is Treespider's renewed interest in China. Bombers and escorts hit Chungking again, followed by yet another Zero sweep out of Luang Prabang. I'm sending the long range Chinese bombers to hit the air base at Luang Prabang next turn, and if that doesn't "discourage" Treespider I'll raise the ante by first bringing in the Brit bombers, then as a last resort, the B-17s. But I'm very close to being able to replace the double handful of B-17Cs that I currently have with B-17Es, so I would love to be able to wait for that before I move. Maybe the weather will intervene on my behalf.

In other action, Palembang was swept by Zeros, but the Dutch bombers had already "bugged out", so it was just a waste of avgas for the Japanese. Batavia was hit again, as was Soerabaja, but with the air attacks being split up the effects were fairly small. A Japanese surface combat TF is cruising off of Balikpapan, so I pulled the Dutch bombers out of there this turn and moved them to yet another Level 4 base where they can rest for another turn before trying another strike. I don't want to allow Treespider to catch those bombers in a waterfront airbase with his bombardment TFs.

In ground combat, Changsha and Manila received artillery bombardments again, and Treespider is moving Japanese troops into the countryside south of Changsha as part of his overall attempt to envelop and isolate the base. I already have one Chinese LCU there and I'm sending another in to reinforce it. This is my absolutely least favorite part of WitP, but I refuse to just "roll over" and let a Japanese player get "easy points" from a bad design decision.

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 8, 1942 -

It looks as if I chose the "wrong time and wrong place" to try to slip some supplies into Broom. Things are getting much "livelier" around Timor, and are poised to get even more so, with the Japanese having a clear upper hand. At the same time, I am even gladder that I resisted any temptation to try to interfere in a serious manner with the current invasion of Koepang.

Things started out okay; the last Philippine PT boat made it to Waingapu just in time to scare off an incoming Japanese invasion fleet. A Japanese bombardment TF with a couple of BBs then bombarded Koepang, but that was to be expected. Next, sub KX put a torpedo into one of the APs at Koepang, although the escorts did cause some light damage to the sub.

But as daylight arrived, it was clear that things were much nastier than had seemed at first. The Japanese invasion TF returned to Koepang, and this time it wasn't scared off by the lone PT. Instead the escorts put a ton of hits into the PT and sank it. Next I noticed a TF sitting a couple of hexes to the west of Koepang and started to see reports of my subs in the region being spotted by Vals and Kates. Uh oh… guess what had moved into position to whack any incoming Allied TF, surface combat or air combat? Yes, a good portion of the KB, from the looks of the patrol reports.

Now, since I hadn't been planning a counterattack, this normally wouldn't have bothered me. But a couple of turns ago I split off three AKs full of supplies from a south-bound TF and sent them towards Broom with a couple of Australian DDs as escorts. Unfortunately, they are still a couple of days away from Broom and due south of the Japanese carriers. Fortunately, the AKs haven't been spotted yet. But there is a Japanese sub heading in the direction of Broom and will likely stumble into the little TF.

The transport TF is too far along to try to make a run for Perth, and anyway, the KB can do three times the speed of the transports. So I've decided to "make a stand" and have ordered one partial group of ex-Philippine P-40Es to fly LR CAP over the TF as it tries to "race" for Broom. I've also moved into Broom the other partial P-40E group and the partial P-40B squadron into Broom to provide general air cover. If Treespider sends his carriers south, those planes won't be enough, but if he leaves the carriers near Koepang then the P-40s ought to keep unescorted carrier bombers away. I'll probably end up losing the ships and my P-40s, but I want to take the chance anyway.

And just in case Treespider decides to "turn the corner" and make a visit to Perth I've ordered my transports and slow auxiliary ships out of the harbor and towards Adelaide. If they can make the turn to the southeast they ought to be safe.

In other Fronts, as expected Balikpapan was hit with a naval bombardment. But I had already flown my remaining Dutch bombers back to Sumatra so the damage was minimal. This coming turn I'm sending my Dutch bombers back out again against a Japanese air field. I'm running out of bombers, running out of bases in which to "hide", and running out of luck, so I may as well do as much as possible before all of my options are used up in the DEI.

There were a couple of Japanese air attacks on Sumatra. Zeros swept Madioen for no reason that I can figure, because I don't have fighters there and haven't for a long time. Another attack by bombers and fighters on Soerabaja was repelled by the Dutch CAP, but with more losses to the Dutch. The Dutch fighter squadrons are slowly being bled to death.

Things are really heating up in China. Zeros swept Chungking again, shooting down more Chinese fighters. My Chinese bombers hit Luang Prabang but didn't catch any planes on the ground and caused little overall damage. There was then a large, well escorted air attack on Hengchow that hammered my Chinese CAP quite hard. The Chinese air force will soon be totally out of action. And three big Japanese units drove my lone Chinese LCU out of the non-city hex south of Changsha, opening the way for them to cut off the road between Changsha and Hengchow. I've got a unit in that connecting hex right now, but I doubt that it can stand up to the Japanese either.

And in PNG, a large air attack hit PM again. There is no sign of any ship movement, so I wonder if Treespider is using these attacks as practice as much as anything else. There were a number of other air, naval and ground bombardments, so all-in-all it was a day of no respite for the Allies anywhere in the Far East.

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 9, 1942 -

This was a "Good News, Bad News" turn for the Allies. The Good News was that the transport TF got into Broom harbor safely without being detected. The Bad News was that the Japanese AC TF disappeared. Is it heading back to port? Is it heading towards Oz? Is it heading out into the Indian Ocean on a "fishing trip"?

In any event, the Japanese operations in the Timor area continued to go smoothly. Koepang was bombarded again, more troops landed, and eventually it was captured by an entire Japanese Division. That was definitely overkill, but I guess that Treespider didn't want to take any chances. Troops started to land on Waingapu, which means that it will be captured in a turn or two, cutting off my last air base for short range planes between Oz and the central DEI.

There was plenty of other action in the DEI. Miri received a naval bombardment again. I'm not sure why Treespider just doesn't send in some troops; the only forces in Miri are the remnants of the Brit base force that was driven out of Brunei. Palembang was first swept by Zeros, and then hit by escorted Japanese bombers. Once again, I'm surprised that Treespider is handling Sumatra with "kid gloves".

I am keeping him "honest" by means of those few Dutch bombers that are left:

Day Air attack on Banjarmasin, at 27, 64

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 3

Allied aircraft
Martin 139 x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-15 Babs: 2 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
80 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 21

I grouped those bombers into three squadrons from the original half dozen or more. I moved them again after this raid; this time they are back to Soerabaja and scheduled to try to raid Banjarmasin again. Sure, this is only a nuisance, but it does keep Treespider guessing where I will send those planes, and where they will attack next. Fortunately, they have enough range to be able to eventually escape to Oz.

In other "nuisance" news, my Chinese bombers hit Luang Prabang again, only this time running into some CAP. They had some trouble, but the Zeros didn't wipe them from the sky, and it did keep those Zeros from going on a sweep of Chungking again. Things were generally quiet in China, although Treespider now has five big Japanese LCUs sitting south of Changsha.

Manila was hit hard repeated from the air again. There is little supply left and there is no way to improve the fortification while all the facilities are totally destroyed. But a deliberate attack this turn was still repelled with ten times the casualties for the Japanese as for the beleaguered defenders. Never-the-less, it's still just a matter of time, and likely not much of that.

In other news was that after repeated Japanese recon flights, Finschafen finally was automatically occupied this turn, saving Treespider the trouble of sending in some troops. I'm doing nothing to try to reinforce PNG, so Treespider can do pretty much what he likes.

Dave Baranyi

[Grotius]

So do you expect him to land in Port Moresby?

Enjoying the cat-and-mouse north of Oz. Are those transports going to unload in Broome and just park there, or what?

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

So do you expect him to land in Port Moresby?

Enjoying the cat-and-mouse north of Oz. Are those transports going to unload in Broome and just park there, or what?

I presume that he will, only he hasn't moved any TFs in the area for some time. And I also have one of the ex-Rabaul units in Gili-Gili, which makes things a little more complicated for the Japanese.

If I get to unload the AKs safely in Broom I'll disband them and let them sit quietly for a while until I find out where the Japanese carriers are at. I don't want AKs steaming at 11 knots right into a couple of Japanese TFs around the "corner"... [X(]

And anyway, if he does a port attack the odds are less that he will get to use torpedoes, and I will be able to attack his naval bombers with the best fighters that I have right now.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 10, 1942 -

There was action everywhere this turn, with Japanese bombers, ships and troops attacking all over the Far East. But hardest fight by far was in the afternoon when the Japanese AC TF that had disappeared off of Timor reappeared off of Broome and attacked:

Day Air attack on Broome, at 21, 85

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 2
A6M2 Zero x 32
D3A Val x 27
B5N Kate x 18

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 5 destroyed, 9 damaged
B5N Kate: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 10 destroyed

Allied Ships
DD Vendetta, Bomb hits 2
CL Sumatra, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 2

I was really surprised that the Japanese planes went after the port. Was Treespider hoping that I had my US CVs hiding there? And he must not have had any planes set to Naval Attack because the three AKs that were unloading in the port were left alone.

The next surprise was that the defenders staged a counterattack:

Day Air attack on TF at 19, 81

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 8
A6M2 Zero x 50

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 5
P-40B Tomahawk x 8
P-40E Warhawk x 39

Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude: 3 destroyed
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-40B Tomahawk: 4 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 25 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 2, on fire


Was that ever lucky!!! [&o][&o][&o] But all-in-all this was a very costly day as I lost 42 P-40s. That really hurts after I had husbanded them so carefully. Never-the-less, I still have fighters left in Broome, and I've moved more Hudsons in just in case I can get lucky again. I'm also sending every sub I have in the area to try to find the Zuiho.

So, will Treespider press the attack, or retreat?

Dave Baranyi

[Grotius]

Perhaps he did spot your little transport TF after all? I've always been a little fuzzy about just what units of mine have been spotted by the enemy, but then I tend to run the replay kinda fast. Bodhi's utility can help with spotting.

Or maybe he had intel about your ships heading there? I know IJN intel is lousy to say the least, but who knows. It just seems odd that he'd attack a relative backwater like Broome without some foreknowledge that you had ships there.

By all means, press your attack. A burning CVL is easier to hit than a non-burning CVL, so you might indeed get lucky again.

[witpqs]

Hudsons hitting a carrier? [X(]

Quoting the movie (In Harms Way) "By God, that's cutting them down to size!!!"

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Perhaps he did spot your little transport TF after all? I've always been a little fuzzy about just what units of mine have been spotted by the enemy, but then I tend to run the replay kinda fast. Bodhi's utility can help with spotting.

Or maybe he had intel about your ships heading there? I know IJN intel is lousy to say the least, but who knows. It just seems odd that he'd attack a relative backwater like Broome without some foreknowledge that you had ships there.

By all means, press your attack. A burning CVL is easier to hit than a non-burning CVL, so you might indeed get lucky again.

He has been scouting that area heavily with subs, so he knew that I had been moving ships in and out of Broome. Remember, I also hit him a few weeks before with one of my CVs, so he had reason to suspect that a CV might still be around.

Thanks -

Dave

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Hudsons hitting a carrier? [X(]

Quoting the movie (In Harms Way) "By God, that's cutting them down to size!!!"

And getting past 50 Zeros too!!! [:D]

It was just lucky that they picked the CVL - if it were the CV the bombs would have bounced.

In any event, it just shows that the old saying is still true:

"Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut." [;)]

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 11, 1942 -

Broome received a breather this turn as the Japanese CVs pulled back. They are now due north of Broome and due west of Koepang. My biggest concern now is that Treespider might decide to park his undamaged CV along the Map Edge; I have several transport TFs on their way south and I don't want them to be caught.

So those AKs continue to unload as if they didn't have a "care in the world". The Dutch cruiser and the Australian DD are being repaired in harbor, and my air units are being sent back to their usual bases. The next problem will start when Treespider gets a base force in Koepang and gets to base LBA there. Fortunately, Koepang is a malarial base, while the northern Australian bases are not any longer, so it will be harder for him to maintain his units than for me.

This setback aside, Japanese forces continue to be on top everywhere else in the Far East. All of the Dutch level four bases were bombed, although the remaining Dutch bombers were still able to get off and hit Banjarmasin again. There was a big air raid on Kweilin; it looks as if this may be Treespider's next major target in China.

In land action, Manokwari was occupied automatically, Makale was captured against no opposition, and Waingapu surprisingly enough successfully repelled an attack. Changsha and Manila received artillery attacks.

There are a number of Japanese TFs on the move and it looks as if Batavia, or one of the smaller bases on Java, is going to be invaded. There are still Japanese troops landing at Miri, but again surprisingly, they haven't attacked yet.

In Allied news, I received some very welcome reinforcements, particularly in India. I am moving those Indian units to various inland bases to continue my buildup of my defense-in-depth. The fortifications at Pearl Harbor also finally reached level 9, so I am moving that engineering unit out and to another of the bases in the H.I. so that I can speed up the rest of the defensive development. I can't wait until I start to get Seabees.

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 12, 1942 -

As things continue to quiet down in the Timor region, the new focus of Japanese aggression turns out to be Java. Treespider is skipping Sumatra in favor of an early assault on Java. All air bases in Java received heavy Japanese air attacks, but the primary invasion point looks to be Kragen. Minesweepers came in first to start to clear mines, followed by a naval bombardment TF. Then after a number of air raids, paratroops were dropped on the base. Their initial shock attack was repelled, but the painfully built fortifications were reduced from 2 to 0 in that first attack.

Fortunately, I already have the bulk of my combat troops in Soerabaja, so I don't have to worry about them being cut off. But Treespider has been preparing a number of units for quite some time for an assault on Soerabaja, so I expect the battle to quickly become fierce. The Dutch air force is just about finished, but I have set the remaining Dutch bombers to Naval Attack anyway, just in case they get lucky. BTW - the undamaged carrier from the Broome attack is moving up to Sumatra to add to the assault.

But Treespider is being aggressive most everywhere, and any mistakes that I make are punished swiftly and thoroughly. For example, I didn't notice that Japanese troops had moved in against Bataan, because I assumed that he would leave that base until Manila was capture. So I never bothered to pull out the Catalinas that I had there to keep an eye on the Japanese naval movements in the region. Well, a deliberate attack captured Bataan in one try this turn, destroying my Catalinas on the ground. Sure, I'll get them regenerated at some time in the future, but what a careless waste that was for now!

Japanese forces also captured Miri and Waingapu, but I had already pulled my Patrol planes out of both bases. The DEI is quickly becoming a "playground" for the Japanese forces.

So while the closing chapter on the Philippines and Dutch East Indies starts, I continue to focus upon building up my defensive structure to allow me to plan where and when I'll stop the Japanese advance.

Dave Baranyi

[ny59giants]

Do you disband some of your Dutch units into others and thus get them back at Sydney in 90 days (free Political Points) or do you consider it "gamey" ?? The recon are nice because they upgrade to F-5A's and the bombers to B-25's in 7/42. Unfortunately, the fighters come back as Kittyhawks III's and those aren't available to early '43.

What are your fortification levels at the four north Oz bases?? Just in case he makes that jump. [:-]

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Do you disband some of your Dutch units into others and thus get them back at Sydney in 90 days (free Political Points) or do you consider it "gamey" ?? The recon are nice because they upgrade to F-5A's and the bombers to B-25's in 7/42. Unfortunately, the fighters come back as Kittyhawks III's and those aren't available to early '43.

What are your fortification levels at the four north Oz bases?? Just in case he makes that jump. [:-]

Disbanding is simply part of the Game Design. If your planes are captured, they come back in 180 days, if you disband them, they come back in 90 days. There's nothing "gamey" about either. I disband my air units if they become too small to be effective and if I don't have a reasonable replacement or upgrade supply.

F-5As are a "dream" - they are only built at 5 per month. Just normal operational usage will eat up that many a month.

The northern Oz bases are not defendable in early 1942. If the Japanese player wants to come in with a Division or two, they are his, no questions asked. Fortification levels are irrelavent until you get enough divisions of your own. But even beyond that, the four northern bases are not mutually defendable. One BB bombardment run and your runways are toast.

If the Japanese player wants to take northern Oz, you may as well let him. He will then have to defend it, and troops sitting there aren't fighting against you somewhere else. Southeastern Oz, on the other hand, should be fought for to the death and beyond, just like the Hawaiian Islands.

And in this game, because of the non-historic start, Treespider has a several month jump on the Historic timetable, which means that I have even fewer forces with which to try to stop him. So while it's fun to try to do nuisance raids, there's no point in throwing away good forces against massed Japanese attacks at this time. The current invasion of Java will demonstrate that clearly.

Thanks -

Dave Baranyi

[BrucePowers]

THank you for the indepth AAR. You have given me some idea to try on defense that I had not thought of. Good Luck. I will keep reading.

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

THank you for the indepth AAR. You have given me some idea to try on defense that I had not thought of. Good Luck. I will keep reading.

Be careful of taking any advice from me... [:D] [;)]

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

[ADavidB]

February 13, 1942 -

The story this turn was again Java, as more Japanese carriers joined in the action and helped to pound the remaining air units at Soerabaja into the ground. I've now flown most everything out; there is no point in sticking around any longer. Surprisingly enough, Treespider hasn't landed any troops at Kragen yet; he is still depending upon his paratroops to capture the base, and they aren't having an easy time of it - once again the Japanese attack was repulsed.

The remaining Dutch bombers at Soerabaja bravely flew out and attempted to attack a number of the many tempting targets which were available, but without any luck. CAP and flak beat them every time. However, at Lautem, some Australian Hudsons flew unescorted to Lautem, blasted past the CAP, and hammered an AP very hard:

Day Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 33, 78

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 11

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Arugun Maru, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage

I'm hoping that this helps to discourage Treespider even further from bothering with northern Australia for a while. [;)]

In other news, Salamaua was occupied automatically and Japanese troops started to land at Pomala. In China there were a fair number of air attacks and artillery attacks against Changsha and Wuchow. Things remain quiet in Burma, which is fine with me, because last turn I was finally able to upgrade my partial group of B-17Cs to a full group of B-17Es and it will take them a couple of weeks to be fully ready to go.

Dave Baranyi