With the Old Breed: RA 4.5 Allied Side

[ny59giants]

John "should" do well here. No economy to run.

[John 3rd]

Combat Report
Turn ONE
Dec 7, 1941

Turn one is in the books and it is a fairly reasonable turn by Allied standards. If I was the Japanese player I would be happy and somewhat mad at the same time.

OK. Here we go folks:

Pearl Harbor
Viberpol tells me a lot when he lands the HAYMAKER at Pearl. All SIX CVs of the KB participate in the attack. The Strike Force numbers 103 Zero, 141 Val, 145 kate. Just nine of my Fighters get caught up in the attack. The frightening part is that FOUR Daitai of Kates delivered Torps: CRAP!

Results:

Battleline
SUNK--Oklahoma (5 Bombs--3 TT) and West Virginia (6 B--5 TT)
Heavy Dam: Arizona (7 B--4 TT), Nevada (5 B--5 TT), California (4 B--4 TT)
On Fire/Heavy Fires: Pennsylvania--On Fire (4 Bombs--5 TT), Tennessee (9 B--3 TT), California (4 B--4 TT)

Why can't I get results like this? Oh...that is easy. I only use 4 CVs at PH for any attack. Got it. NASTY attack on the Battleline!

I usually weigh the true success of the PH Attack not by BBs sunk but by how I do against the more valuable ships--the Cruisers. With all six CVs attacking, he does well here also:

Cruisers
SUNK: CL Raleigh (3 TT)
Damaged: CAs New Orleans (2 B--1 TT) and San Francisco (1 B) and CLs Detroit (1 TT), Helena (1 TT), and Phoenix (1 B)

Hate losing Raleigh as she and her sisters shall be immediately recalled to be converted into CLAA. We'll have to see how damaged the other are and see if I am way short on CA--CL for the CV Escorts.

Aux Shipping:
SUNK: 3 PT, an AVP, DD Conyngham
Damaged: CM Oglala (! TT), 2 DM, 2 AV, 1 AR, DD Jarvis (1 TT)

He goes after the Airfields but they are not TOO damaged. I lose a surprisingly light number of planes.

RESULTS: Excellent attack. The Pacific Fleet is well and truly mauled. Surprisingly Viberpol expressed his desire to launch a 2nd Attack since this one didn't do too well. REALLY? Wow. OK. If he wants to attack again and lose a bunch of aircraft to AA then I WELCOME that! I, personally think hitting PH twice is a Fool's Errand. For minimal results one will lose pilots and planes when the KB should be sprinting elsewhere. If he does stay near PH, I will unleash Enterprise to do some serious damage. Course he could also be trying some disinformation with me too...

Philippines
A surprisingly pleasant opening round of hostilities here:

Clark is hit by two raids for a total of 48 Zero and 93 Betty-Nell. I only lose about six aircraft and the base is not too heavily damaged. Am sure he isn't happy about that!

No MANILA Strike! Man this is good news. I should be able to pull out all the useless SS and the DDs present without too much issue. Am toying with the idea of moving all my fighters to Manila, set a CAP Trap and LEAVE the shipping in Manila for the first day. Perhaps I'll send a few ships out to see what he has around? Hmmm...need to think about it but I'd love to clock some planes coming for Turn Two.

Landings occur at only Atimonan (TK Reg and portion of the SNLF Para Brigade) and Naga (Base Force Bn and SNLF Para Brig). Hmmm...interesting...wonder what his plan is here? I fight aggressively in the Philippines. He'll be in real trouble if he doesn't bring the kitchen sink. I plan to move all my engineers to Manila for the Forts. This will be the redoubt. With stacking limits, Bataan is not as strong as it should be so we'll fight in Manila to the end. Until he pushes my Infantry BACK that is...

Ro-34 hits CL Boise with a DUD! [:D]

Hong Kong is clobbered by about 150 bombers of all types and one of the British DDs (Thanet) takes a TT from a Betty

Malaya
No LANDINGS at all along the coast! He does use Paras to grab Port Swettenham and Pt Dickson. I need Dickson so I can pull back towards Singapore so I will destroy the Paras there. My engineers will DIG at Kloung and Johore Bharu to set a defense-in-depth back towards Singapore. Grabbing those bases is probably a lead-in for a Mersing Gambit but this will be highly dangerous since he used all of the KB at Pearl. There will be no LR CAP if he comes in here. My Swords, Vildebreest, and A-24 will eat him for lunch. Air Search should give me a pretty good idea as what he is up to within a couple of days.

Viberpol commented that Force Z did not make an appearance. Did I retreat it? I said heck no! It was sent to sweep Singkawang just in case he tried something dangerously bold.

The only other landing for the Japanese occurs at Miri.


That is the opening. I've only seen the replay to this point so I don't have anymore details at this point. Commentary?

[John 3rd]

Initial thoughts for moves:

I will concentrate my warships at Soerabaja and create 2-3 STF. There be a strong British TF with PofW, then a combined Brit--Dutch TF with Repulse, and then an American TF centered around Houston, Pensacola, and Boise. They will shuttle between the left, center, and right of Java seeking to jab wherever possible. ALL these ships are expendable.

The Wing of A-24s and Squadron of P-40s at Darwin (dropped off by the Penscola TF) will rest and get all aircraft ready for operations and then move to Java. The start with woeful experience so I will train them whenever possible.

The two Base Force and two Artillery units with the Darwin TF will move to Port Moresby and strengthen its garrison.

Ships at PM will pick-up the small CD unit there (added in RA) and move it to---LUNGA--I am going to try and secure my right flank in the Coral Sea by moving small Inf, Engineers, and the CD unit there to really throw him a curve ball. Course he needs to give me about 7-14 days for that to be set and all. Lexington will be near there within 3 days so that should prevent any early moves into the Coral Sea.

Burma will see the concentration of the Burma Inf Div plus two Indian Brigades and every engineer possible to begin digging in at Pegu. All Infantry will be set to rest so their morale comes up.

One Squadron of AVG will move to Singapore to help there and a second AVG Squadron will move to Port Blair to help hold it.

Port Blair gets a Brigade of troops to help the CD and BF already present.

Cocos gets a Brigade of troops to help the CD that is present.

I will try to move troops to Palembang and into Timor. Want to wreck Palembang if possible and make him really have to fight for Timor.



Those are some initial thoughts...

[Lecivius]

"Commentary? " 

I've been on the recieving end of a much worse PH strike [;)]
 
Not sure why he dropped an anvil on Hong Kong & left Manila alone.
 
Looks like his rolls were all over, IMHO he should have done a lot better against Clark.
 
Gonna watch this with interest [8D]

[Kitakami]

Interesting turn 1. Just make sure you know where KB is heading, and move your CVs at flank!

[John 3rd]

If he stays at PH for another Day then I will kick Enterprise to FLANK SPEED and look to hit a Wake Invasion Force if possible. No matter what I will get those Marine F4Fs and then head for Truk.

Wake, for me, is always a great opportunity to deliver some really bad news to the Japanese. I will try to run some supply in and, perhaps, some more troops. REALLY want him to have to commit more then what is needed to take the base. Will use my SS to load mines to create a small MF there as well. To do all this I shall need roughly 3-4 days of relative peace around the atoll. If he doesn't provide that then I will simply get the fighters and move on.

He didn't hit Guam which is surprising. The Japanese start with Saipan and Tinian FILLED with troops and support units. Had to do this due to Truk being overstacked. What will he do with those troops? Hmm...

Keeping the KB together bespeaks a bit of conservativeness within his play style. If he is then I am going to have FUN. Not smacking Manila (our HR allowed for Port Attacks anywhere if using CV-Based Planes) is a gift for me. I shall be able to place 50-60 P-40 over the base tomorrow. They will be fodder for the Zeros but I will be able to blood some of his air units and begin the attrition process. What do people think of keeping the Thundering Herd in port for a day? Should I release them and see what survives?

[Cribtop]

Run like Hades but leave enough sacrificial lambs that he will see the anchor symbol IMHO.

[DOCUP]

I agree with Cribtop.

[ny59giants]

Just make sure the first TF formed at Manila is a mine sweeping one and goes to Bataan at full speed. Anything else and they may become a mine sweeping TF, once. [:D]

[FatR]

The most surprising part is lack of landings in Malaya. Paratroops, IMO are better used on Luzon to seize airfields on Day 1 and ensure CAP over the landing zones next turn, assuming conventional approach to Philippines. Abscence of attack on Manila might be explainable by intent to knock out Allied aviation fist.

I wouldn't stay around after doing this much damage at Pearl. While I do believe that PH attack should involve entire KB to ensure surface superiority in the expansion phase, a second-day strike is very risky. Particularly after various scary flak updates. I would only attempt that in case of a really weak port strike and at least decent airfield strike.

[John 3rd]

Got the turn done and here is the screenshot for what remains at Pearl. Oklahoma and West Virginia are sunk and Nevada is hanging by a thread. Realistically he sank 4 of 8 for the Opening Attack. To attack again would be GREAT because of what I could do to his planes. I set all PH Fighters at CAP 60% and staged the planes at 10-15-20,000 Ft.

Results:

[John 3rd]

I surged out all the SS and about 80% of the shipping from Manila. Over 80 American Fighters are set for CAP tomorrow. I will lose a bunch of them but at the same time I'm gonna take a good number with me...

[kjnoel]

Loving your takedown of Australia in another universe so I had to follow here as well.

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

I set all PH Fighters at CAP 60% and staged the planes at 10-15-20,000 Ft.

Results:

I'm intrigued, why would you set them to only 60%? Surely you are ensuring that 40% of the squadron is always going to be on the ground and almost certainly take too long to get engaged with the incoming raid? KB raids are usually well co-ordinated so it's unlikely there will be multiple raids in one day.

Isn't it better to set them to 100% CAP? Of course, if you did this for days on end your fatgue and Ops losses would be terrible, but this is only for tomorrow.....

Have I missed something?

[John 3rd]

Thanks for reading both AARs.

I put them like that because the Japanese will shoot them down in droves. My intention is to put up the fight and then rely on the AA to take down planes. If I didn't put up a decent fight over the air then that wouldn't tire the pilot more and wear them down some. Want to put up a fight but not sacrifice all of them. Those P-40s will be shipped all over the Central and South Pacific. need the pilots so they can train up and fight the Sons of Nippon another day.


Notice at Manila I went with a higher CAP. THOSE planes I will lose ALL of no matter what so put 'em up and see what happens. Always a good chance for an unescorted raid to come in and get chewed up.

[Q-Ball]

Looking forward to how you do from the "Dark Side"..[:D]

Nevada is toast, methinks. That should be it, though.

2nd strikes on Pearl Harbor now are not wise. DivePac did something against me though; he didn't attack, but 2nd day he did conduct sweeps over PH, which shot down a couple dozen of my fighters easily. Not a bad day-2 idea, if you are not going to attack the port.

I don't understand why he wouldn't land at Kota Bharu. No matter what you do, that's a good landing; you secure a size-4 airbase immediately within bombing range of Singapore, and maul 2 Brigades in the process. 2 Regts are sufficient to accomplish this, if you want to commit stuff elsewhere, like Mersing. The fact he didn't do this leads me to believe your opponent lacks understanding of air power basics. We'll see.

I do think that means a Mersing landing........and without aircover, that's not very smart. I would start moving the Dutch PTs and everything else toward Singapore, and hit that landing with so many surface TFs the escorts are overwhelmed. Torp bombers are a good idea of course as well. I would also re-size the Swordfish group on HERMES, and put her to sea immediately; you can fly-off those Swords to Sinagpore in event of a landing. The more the merrier. Don't set Buffalos on CAP, they will just die; their function is to die as escorts, so the torp bombers get through.

I would station Force Z south of Singers ready to pounce, but I would move all the cruisers you can to Singers itself. Those old RN CLs are excellent for sacrificing on a landing, and I would start moving EXETER and other cruisers from Ceylon. If you focus on this one area, you can actually overpower the IJN, and slaughter the invasion.

If he doesn't land at Mersing (but why would he drop the paras if not), but if he doesn't, then those surface ships will be key for Palembang. Load-up one of the RAF HQs and put it at Palembang to make it torp-capable (OR, alternatively, the FarEast COMMAND HQ in Batavia).

Move a base force unit along the rails to Talenb-whatever (the size-2 airbase south of Medan). This will allow you to fly some Dutch B-10s over Mersing, for a little extra punch. Set the B-10s on LOWN, 1000 ft, and they will actually score a hit or two. They carry 300kg bombs, which actually hurt if they hit something. A handful of Dutch buffalos can escort them.

Also, look at the Vindicator unit on Lexington. That unit can stage from Wake-Rabaul-Darwin-Java; you may need to pause to collect stragglers, but you can have that unit in Singapore in a week. The Vindicator has amazing staging range.

Start getting some transports together in the Bay of Bengal. If he is really determined, he can probably take Mersing and cut you off from Singapore despite horrific shipping losses. If he does that, and still hasn't taken Kota, move everyone to Georgetown and evacuate them. Send them to Port Blair or whever, but you may as well move them out of Malaya.

[John 3rd]

Damn Qball that is quite a Post. Let me hit it point by point:

1. Let him hit PH again and take the losses. Sure I'll lose stuff but he'll hurt his air groups for later operations. It will also mean that he must retire to Truk for replacements.

2. Am already moving units back to get at that Paras in Malaya. I will use some troops to keep him honest and fight a rear-guard action while I dig-in at malacca, Kloung, Johore Bharu, and Singers. Not taking anything in Malaya also means I get a few valuable days to rest My Singers planes and grow morale some. Moved a Squadron of AVG to Pt Blair. It will get to Singers as fast as possible. Remember that RA starts with a decent Hurricane Squadron at Singapore. This will help some.

3. It must be a Mersing Landing. I've got all the Vildebreest and Swordfish already at Singers and shall move Dutch to assist. The Hermes Swords are an EXCELLENT idea and I shall follow that. Remember that I've got 3 full Squadrons of A-24. The first just hopped from Darwin to Koepang. Given 2-3 days I will have at least one Squadron ready to deliver 1,000lb bombs in a very NICE way!

4. Force Z shall wait near Batavia. Already have the CLs concentrated at Singers WAITING for a chance to hit the Landing. Have got the Indian CA--CLs--Hermes together at Columbo right now and shall move them to supporting range. May actually bring the Dutch over from Soerabaja to add to the attack. IF we can break-up a Mersing Assault then there is a real chance to immediately throw his plan into chaos. MAYBE....

5. Already planning on moving RAF HQ for Torps.

6. The Vindicators will stay in the Rabaul--PM area for maximum chaos potential there.

7. Concentrating the APs for an evac of Georgetown is a fine idea to work with. Shall do that.

Great ideas!

[Q-Ball]

I didn't know about the A-24s.......that's quite a package around Sinagpore. A landing without aircover would be suicidal. If you use the Swords from Hermes and pull together all Vildebeests, that's 60+ torpedo bombers. Over 100 attack planes total, and that's not including Hudsons and B-10s.

Maybe he's going to cap this from CVs. I am not familiar with RA, so I don't know what's available around the DEI. In other scenarios, you can get Mini-KB there in maybe 10 days or so. It would be alot easier to land in Malaya, or even Singkawang.

I still don't understand why he isn't landing at Kota......am I wrong about this? Seems like a no-brainer.

[John 3rd]

Since all of KB hit PH he has Ryujo, Shoho, and Zuiho at Babeldoap. They all start with modern planes and at full complement. The two CVEs are at Hiroshima to start. Moving the 3 CVLs to get into position would take nearly a week so I doubt if he'll do that. If he does try this without aircover he is going to lose a lot of ships and men...

[khyberbill]

John, do the AK's in your game upgrade to AKA's? In my version of RA they do not.

[John 3rd]

Bill--can you list the class and where?

We got the 2nd turn in and I will Post after church is done. Things are slow at the moment but my opponent thinks we can roll at 1 a day so that is fine with me.