RE: Second Complete Coral Sea Scenario
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:25 am
I just gave this a runthrough as Allies playing against the Japs on Very Hard, 2-day turns.
The score ended up as a draw - me ahead 200 points - but I think the Japanese AI just trounced me. Wow.
I kept Yorktown and Lexington together at all times - having read the previous AARs here.. the Lunga invasion TF was hammered as usual. Then we swept west towards Gili Gili and found Shoho. The counterstrike didn't penetrate CAP, and we pummeled her to pieces, and heavily damaged several CAs ( they were to sink). Next turn we sunk most of the invasion convoy and the AI turned away the rest. So far so good. I loitered two more days to make sure the transports wouldn't plod on and land even a token force at PM, then headed south.
Then disaster. A long range strike from Rabaul (34 Zeroes/15 Nells, or thereabouts) caught me on the way back to Noumea. A Nell managed to put one torpedo into Yorktown, that's not so bad. Then Shokaku and Zuikaku appeared out of nowhere in behind Y+L (between them and Australia) and launched an alpha strike. Yorktown sunk immediately, CAP torn to pieces, Lexington took enough hits to ruin her flight deck and we fled south. Our return strike managed 3 or 4 bomb hits on Shokaku, but no extreme damage hits. Post game checking showed that she was still fully functional with 30 system damage and could make 29 knots!
Lexington limped south and Shok/Zuik leisurely pursued, bombing coastal Australian towns along the way.. Townsville, Rockhampton, etc etc. Finally they caught up with Lex just off Koumac and put her out of her misery, along with most of my remaining American ships.
So: I sunk Shoho, and saved PM, but lost BOTH Allied carriers and didn't really hurt either IJN CV. Suffice it to say, I'm impressed.. and, apparently, rusty..
The score ended up as a draw - me ahead 200 points - but I think the Japanese AI just trounced me. Wow.
I kept Yorktown and Lexington together at all times - having read the previous AARs here.. the Lunga invasion TF was hammered as usual. Then we swept west towards Gili Gili and found Shoho. The counterstrike didn't penetrate CAP, and we pummeled her to pieces, and heavily damaged several CAs ( they were to sink). Next turn we sunk most of the invasion convoy and the AI turned away the rest. So far so good. I loitered two more days to make sure the transports wouldn't plod on and land even a token force at PM, then headed south.
Then disaster. A long range strike from Rabaul (34 Zeroes/15 Nells, or thereabouts) caught me on the way back to Noumea. A Nell managed to put one torpedo into Yorktown, that's not so bad. Then Shokaku and Zuikaku appeared out of nowhere in behind Y+L (between them and Australia) and launched an alpha strike. Yorktown sunk immediately, CAP torn to pieces, Lexington took enough hits to ruin her flight deck and we fled south. Our return strike managed 3 or 4 bomb hits on Shokaku, but no extreme damage hits. Post game checking showed that she was still fully functional with 30 system damage and could make 29 knots!
Lexington limped south and Shok/Zuik leisurely pursued, bombing coastal Australian towns along the way.. Townsville, Rockhampton, etc etc. Finally they caught up with Lex just off Koumac and put her out of her misery, along with most of my remaining American ships.
So: I sunk Shoho, and saved PM, but lost BOTH Allied carriers and didn't really hurt either IJN CV. Suffice it to say, I'm impressed.. and, apparently, rusty..
