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Wow....your "path to glory" seems to be a really fast one! [&o]

Ahhh...

The weekend!

A time to reflect. A time to plan.

Phase I is the initial landings, chasing off any wayward enemy fleet units, and formation of the fleet units. Finished this in mid-Dec.

Phase II is to secure the defensive perimeter. Bativa, Koepang, Broome, Moresby, and Sumatra are all that remain. 4 Divs are gobbling up Java and will be to Bativa soon. This force will reduce Kopang as well. And likely will eliminate him from the rest of northern Oz. The 4th and 14th divs are at Moresby already. The 8th and 9th are in reserve. I can take it with the force at hand, but why hold back? Sumatra is already being taken out from north to south. Medan falls in a turn or 2. I have actually never taken Changsha before, so China opens some possibilities. We just started April, so I expect Phase II to be done by the end of the month.

Enemy Situation:
2 carriers reported sunk by intel.
Yorktown did sink. Was observed.
Saratoga took a bomb, 3 torps, had a fuel explosion, and was never seen again. Also, sent no CAP in on afternoon strikes.
Enterprise took a torp, and 7 bombs and was also never seen again. Im guessing she survived it.

This gives him Lexington, Hornet, Indomitable, Formidable (just came in in the last 2 weeks - probably still off map), and Hermes. I saw Indom/Hermes a while back near Broome. I had a bait transport force off the southern coast of Java and he didnt bite, so Im guessing that Indom either retired to join up with Formidable, or went east to escort a badly shot up Enterprise home. I have had several units prepping for Midway in the hopes that his intel would pick it up. I am guessing thats where Hornet/Lex are.

So what to do in Phase III? The options, pros and cons for each:
Alaska/Aleutians. Pros:
Keep enemy forces from establishing raiding bases for subs and fast carrier strikes at the homeland.
Good for establishing bases to do the same to him.
Easy to supply.
Cons:
Easy for him to interdict with subs as only a single line of bases.
He can land forces quickly and with little warning.
Proximity to US/Canada allows him to use restricted units.
Easy for him to supply.

Hawaii. Pros:
Denys him and provides me with a major repair base near his home.
Forces a long roundabout route to Oz.
Would make the Emperor very happy [:D]
Limited carrier power to support him during the siege. Once the supplies are gone, almost impossible for him to resupply.
Cons:
Very hard to take out (months/years of bombing).
Proximity to west coast based subs.
As above, he can strike with little or no advanced warning.

Ellice/Phoenix Islands. Pros:
He has limited carrier forces to counter moves in this area.
Land air cover available from the Marshalls.
Cons:
Vulnerable to quick carrier strikes.
Deep water all over for his subs to hide in.
Difficult to keep supplied once his advance begins.
(Line Islands are out of the question at this point. He has a major base on Christmas Island and is likely using that as an advanced staging base. Frankly, thats exactly what I do as allies)

New Caledonia/Fiji/Samoa. Pros:
If all are secured, VERY hard for him to retake.
Cuts support to Oz.
Staging base for landings on New Zealand.
Cons:
No air cover for supply convoys/hard to keep supplied.
Can be struck from 3 sides.

Northeastern Oz. Pros:
Easy to supply/reinforce.
Keeps his air power further from Papua/Solomons.
Ties down Aussie units.
Supply convoys have shallow water and air cover.
Cons:
Allows his using restricted Oz units.
No ready made bases. Must be built up, which he can use after their capture.

Western Oz. Pros:
Secures the southern flank of the SRA.
Very difficult for him to retake.
Cuts Oz off from Africa.
Cons:
Very hard to supply.

Maldives. Pros:
Controls the southern Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, including supply lines to Ceylon.
Allows easy access for subs/raiders operating in the Karachi area.
Combined with carrier forces, can eliminate the RN from the Indian sub-continent.
Recon/bomber bases for raids on India.
Cons:
Very hard to supply.
Numerous enemy airfields within strike range.

Ceylon.
Pretty much same as Maldives

What to do next I wonder?

Bataan is out of supplies. Air strikes today met no AA fire.

11 Apr 42. Bataan falls.

Moresby has fallen. The Hiryu/Zuikaku escorted the 8th and 9th divs in. The light carriers have been repaired, and the Soryu/Shokaku will be done in a couple of weeks. The Akagi/Kaga is escorting the 38th div to Derby. Sumatra north of Singapore is flying the rising sun. Batavia will be the next to fall.

Forces are preparing for Operation Bear (the invasion of Alaska), Operation Gooney (invasion of Midway/outer Hawaiian Islands), Operation Dolphin (invasion of Canton), Operation Crocodile (invasion of Cape York), Operation Dingo (invasion of Perth), and Operation Tiger (invasion of Ceylon).

Now just which one of these will kick-off in a month, we will have to wait and see...

Batavia falls. US reports Enterprise was indeed sunk. Cut-off Chinese units continue to die in droves. I have about 12 more corps surrounded in various places awating internment in Japanese priso, err luxury hotels... 38th div lands and captures Derby on Australias northern coast, driving an Aussie bde back towards Broome. Sumatra seems to have had no reinforcement, so I will only commit the 4 regiments and 1 bde that are already in country.

1 base remains on Java. The one 2 hexes SE of Batavia. After this falls, 3 of the 4 divs on Java, plus the 32nd div from China will tackle Koepang. The 38th, 48th and 1 from Java will finish off northern Oz. This will complete Phase II.

Oosthaven falls to the 41st regiment. The final drive on Sumatra has begun. The last base on Java falls next turn. The slow grind of cut off Chinese units continues. Shokaku is 4 days from being repaired. The last of my damaged carriers.

Bases continue to expand on the perimeter. Flying daily sweeps from the Solomons to Luganville and meeting P-39s, P-40s, and P-400s. Organizing outer defense forces in the Marshalls, Solomons, and Paupa.

Flying sweeps out of Darwin and killing Aussie P-40s. 38th div repulsed another Aussie bde that moved into Derby. Just unloaded some base forces and supplies there this turn also. The push for Broome begins now that my air cover is in place.

He has started flying bombing missions from India over Burma. The old Tojo unit is all I have in the area (northern Burma), the remainder are training in Thailand and waiting to upgrade to Tojo IIs and Helens. 3 groups of Helens have been formed and are training in Japan.

The next major operation will begin a few days after the Shokaku rejoins the fight. Forces are already moving to their staging areas...

May nears an end, and here is an update to the current situation:

First off, northern China. I had advanced on a broad front with 1st army on the right, North China army in the center, and 12th army on the left. 1st army came at Loyang from the ne while No China came at Chengchow from the sw. The goal was to encircle the enemy in these 2 cities. I sent armor out to block the hexsides from the west and north west. Chinese moved out of Chenchow before I attacked, but I drove the units out of Loyang and retreated them to the nw (I couldnt cover this escape route in time). 1st army then chewed up the units along the road as it moved to Sian.

12th army advanced on a broad front driving back Chinese units in the open in support of No. China army and turned to Nanyang. Sending units around the west side, it advanced into the city. No. China advanced from the east to join it after Loyang fell. Chinese forces stood tall here with 16 units (9 or so corps). They were completely surrounded and destroyed on the first attack.

North China advanced to join 1st army at Sian, while 12th army advanced to Ichang. Sian was defended mostly by survivors of the road munching that 1st army did on the way and a couple of rear area units he brought up. There were about 20 units total here, which didnt hold the first Japanese attack. The survivors mostly ran off towards Chunking. He left a couple of harasment corps around and has been driving them into my rear. Most of my divisions are badly in need of rest and some of them had no active squads left, the bulk being disrupted. 2 of these badly shot up divisions were released from China command, were transported to Japan for rebuilding and transfer to warmer climates.

He sent some corps DEEP into my rear (I allowed 1 to even get into Manchuria) and they are being chased down by armor and a few of the resting divisions. These forces are circled in purple on the map, and have been attacked and retreated at least once each. They are out of supply and badly shot up, so I will let my armor deal with them. They are of no threat.

In southern China, most of his units east of Changsha retreated to Kukong. My 11th army moved into Changsha (where he had 20+ units) and along the river line to the south west. 13th army advanced behind his withdrawing units and finally with help of a couple of 11th army divisions coming from the north trapped him at Kukong. First attack retreated him to the ne of the city, where he was surrounded and after 2 months, finally destroyed with at least 12 corps.

23rd army advanced to Wuchow, driving those units back. Pakhoi was surrounded and destroyed. He advanced into Vietnam and captured that base which released my Viet Minh units. I sat behind the river at Hanoi, and after a few turns he withdrew.

As in the north, he sent some suicide corps into my rear (he actually captured Hong Kong!) and they were surrounded and destroyed as well.

23rd army, and 3 militia regiments from Hanoi/Haiphong are about to take Naning. The city is surrounded.

Burma:
He did a Sir Robin in Burma. I was slow to advance in this area (mid-Jan), and after I took apart China and Malaya I think he gained some respect, and just pulled back. I have 21st army (4th, 5th, 6th guard Divs, Gd armor div plus support) and elements of the 1st and 2nd armor divs here (the remainder of the divisions arrive in a month). He has been running fighter sweeps over the northern bases and bombed about a third of the refineries in Magwe. Then for some reason he switched to fire bombing Mandalay. [&:]

I have a few Tojo units defending Rangoon. I always figured on just advancing this far and holding. The bases up north are going to be bombed, so I see no point in trying to defend them. After My supplies have caught up with me, and I have more of the air updated, I will move some air up, but for now I am content with letting him amuse himself here.

He had a lot of units at his front line bases, probably anticipating a direct assault, but they have pulled back in the past few days. I have been reconning his bases on Ceylon with Mavis and sub launched Glen searchplanes, so maybe he is shifting to defend this area?

Sumatra: The 41st landed at Ooshaven and has been pushing the base force that was there back. The 4th, 124th and elements of the 58th then landed at Benkoelen and drove those units back. The remainder of the 58th, and the 138th regiments and 2 Yokosuka airborne units are in reserve.

The 4th and 124th regiments will hook around the left and enter Palembang from the northwest while the 58th holds the line. The base southwest of the city will fall to the 41st as they cross the river. After Palembang is entered, airborne forces will drop on Djambi. Then, Palembang will fall. I take it last to make sure he cant bomb it, and if the units cant retreat, the engineers wont blow up the base. I should take it reasonably intact.

A landing force of the 1/33rd reg on its way to parts unknown encountered allied search aircraft in the yellow circled area. They are pulling back and waiting for carrier support.

(Edit: map is wrong about the 124th at Ooshaven. That was the 41st regt)

Northern Oz: Darwin was taken early by forces from Hong Kong (the 38th div plus support). I pushed as far south as I intend to go. He has been running Rat Patrol type raids along the rails with his armor units. He brought up a couple of bdes (I guess assuming that my forces were weak in the area), and a group of Sallys based in Darwin has convinced him to pull back. I have the 33rd div here and the 32nd div (from China) is also here rebuilding (currently at 70% strength) along with a host of base forces, armor, and artillery.

The 38th div landed at Derby and pushed to Broome. The 55th is at Derby and the 48th soon will be. The 38th attacked Broome last turn at 1-2. He has a bde and 2 naval base forces there (6" guns), so I will land at Derby and walk in. He has a few other bdes south of the city. I am assuming they are low on supplies and badly disrupted (2 of them were retreated out of Derby). The 18th, 21st, and 56th divisions are loading for the invasion of Timor. I had planned on using the 32nd and 33rd as reserves for this landing, but I think they will be needed right where they are.

Other news:
He has had a half dozen or so subs surrounding Truk for months. I dont use Truk as a base, but I have been sending some expendable ships in and out to keep appearances up. I'd just as soon keep them subs there. And actually havent even lost any of those ships.

There are 9 currently spotted (so probably double that) subs operating in the lower Solomons. I have a division on Guadalcanal (with 2 more heading there), a division on Munda and expanding that base (with ASW forces there as well), and a division on the expanding Shortlands also. Reinforcements are landing at Buna for the trek to PM.

Recon from PM shows probably 1 bde at Cooktown. the 3 units are still at Horn Island. Cairns is expanding. He has 9 units (including US forces) there and about 15,000 troops. He also has 1 Aus fighter unit stationed there. A convoy loaded with IJA air units of the 2nd air div just unloaded in Rabul in the last few turns, so refitting these with Helens and Tojos is a priority.

Phase III invasion forces are enroute with carrier and BB support. Landings in a week or so. I now have 5 carrier divisions (the Hiyo and Junyo have joined the fleet).

Jun 42. Landed the 18th and 21st divs on Koepang and found exactly what I was expecting the 44th, 45th, and 46th Brit bdes and the 18th div. Attacked at 4-1 and blew out the level 4 forts there. Next day atack went at 1-2. Sending in the 33rd div from Darwin.

48th div started unloading at Port Hedland. Most of the div got down when Brit carriers showed up. Air cover from Derby prevented more than 1 hit. Hiyo group dispatched to deal with this. the remainder of the 48th withdrew to Derby.

Recon of all bases on Ceylon find just 1 unit at each base.

Broome falls without a fight. He pulled back.

Operation Grizzly forces have just been spotted 4 hexes south of Kodiak. Surprise seems to have been achieved.

One of my little secrets...Email exchange:

Rob: played the japs for 8 years. Never seen this abundance of troops spread all over the map. Do you have a special manpower breeding facility.

CV 2: Well, in a way. If you withdraw your air units early, you get PPs for doing that. But most of it is smoke and mirrors though. For example, the 5th div at Adak. It took part in the sacking of Singapore, Manila, Bataan, and now Adak. The 18th at Koepang another example. Also at Singapore, was in every major battle on Java, and then to Koepang. I have released some units, like the 1st, 8th, 9th, and 14th from Korea. 6+ months in, I have had enough PPs to release 7 or so full strength divs I think.

I have also released several chewed up divisions from China, shipped them to Japan, rebuilt them, and sent them out (the 32nd on Koepang was one of these divisions). Doing this costs only a fraction of what a full strength division would cost. If you are wondering why Im not closing on Chungking, its because rather than do that, I starve the Chinese of supply (like taking Sian for example) to the point where I know they CANT attack, then remove excess units (usually those that are shot up and cost less PPs to change command). Right now, China isnt generating enough supply to feed the troops it has, much less have extra for flying missions, digging in, expanding airfields, or replacing losses. And it CERTAINLY doesnt have enough to supply assault forces.

Also, in scenario 2, you get a few more units to work with (like the 21st army - 3 guard inf divs, a guard armor div, a few regts and bdes plus support). With that in place, I havent had to send any additional troops to Burma. I can hold just fine with what I have there now.

Port Hedland and Adak both fall.

Just goes to show you, that no matter how long you play this game, you still can make some rookie mistakes:

His Brit carriers shot up some transports unloading at Port Hedland, with my carrier group 1 hex away . . . . Merrily training its pilots!! DOH!

[X(]

Operation Grizzly nears its end. Anchorage is waiting for the last remaining bases in Alaska to be occupied before the 1st and 2nd division attacks. I want to make sure I kill the units so I dont have to negotiate with Santa Claus as I chase them to the north pole. Only major bases remaining in allied hands are Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, and Nome.

2 full divs are prepped for Kodiak, and elements of the 20th div (at Adak) are prepped for Nome and Dutch harbor. Will pick them off on the way out.

What to take next I wonder?

He has started a major push in China, probably hoping I will pull forces out of Burma to help stop it. He just moved 16 units into Liuchow with more coming. I have the bulk of 13th army, and all of 23rd army in Kweilin 2 hexes away. This force consists of 6 divisions, 3 bdes, and 4 regts. No need to pull troops back. If he continues to throw Chinese units away at this rate, I will win Jan 1, 1943. I already have better than a 3:1 ratio right now...

The war drags on. Mid way through Jul 42 and things have pretty well settled down. He started night bombing Rangoon, but I have a group of Nicks on night CAP and they are keeping him from hitting anything.

In Alaska, the Kodiak invasion force is enroute with the 1st and 2nd divs. The 4th and 5th div are in reserve. He landed another unit, probably a regiment at both Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. No matter. They cant hold back 4 divisions. I will take Dutch Harbor on my way home from Kodiak, and squeeze Nome in there somewhere.

Central Pac has had very little action. He has about a half dozen subs around Truk still and a few in the Marshalls. I have limited fleet movements in these areas, so nothing to report. My island garrisons are all in place (save for a few tweeks here and there), and most are at or nearly fully entrenched. My Bettys are so well trained in torpedo attacks, that I switched them to naval bombing training. I doubt there will be any serious action here for a year, but in the meantime, the pilots train.

South Pac sees my build up continue on Guadalcanal, Munda, and Shortlands. He has it surrounded by subs, but I have about 50 Jakes in the area and simply run over the subs. I dont think he is moving them at all, so the DL on them is high, which means there is very slim chance they will attack anything. I have been running fast transports over them daily, and so far only 2 sub attacks (both missed).

Northern Oz he retook Daily Waters and tried pushing north of it towards Katherine. I had the 33rd and 21st divs waiting for him, and when he got close, I sent my armor units out on his flanks. He left Daily Waters empty, so I dropped a SNLF para on it and was bombing his spearheads with Sallys from Darwin. His fighters are too short ranged to provide air cover, so he wisely backed off.

NEI is mine, he has 1 unit left on Sumatra running around in the swamps that will starve soon enough.

Burma is more of the same. Continuous fighter sweeps over Mandalay and Magwe with bombers hitting here and there. He sent a probe down towards Mandalay and as soon as he got in the clear terrain, I sent armor around to start flanking him, and again he backed off. Seems he has learned his lesson. Well, except for China.

He had one of his big corps that he is trying to push into my rear attack a single AA regiment, and barely managed 15:1 odds! I let him come until he is in a position where he cant move, then I bomb him to make his movement even slower, then I surround and destroy them. His attack at Luichow was successful in that he retreated my units out, but I took Kweilin that same turn and then turned 13th army towards him. He backed off back up the road to the north, except 1 corps he left in the town (which I badly mauled) and at least 1 more that went to Nanking. That unit (or units) just took Lam Son last turn. I have had the Viet Minh for a long time now, and they are fully trained and full strength. Hanoi is a level 5 fort and behind a river. If he tries it, it wont be pretty for him...

I have converted about half my army air to Tojos, and I have 11 squadrons equipped with Helens now. And I just convertted my first 18 plane Emily unit.

Ground combat at 85,46 (near Nanyang)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 7226 troops, 60 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 248

Defending force 558 troops, 24 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Allied adjusted assault: 46

Japanese adjusted defense: 3

Allied assault odds: 15 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: op mode(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-), disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
91 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 27 (5 destroyed, 22 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units retreated 1


Allied ground losses:
78 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
56th Chinese Corps

Defending units:
22nd AA Regiment

And the war drags on. Another carrier has joined the fleet. 5th div is unloading at Kodiak. He has been bombing empty bases up north. A CAP group caught a squadron of Avengers and flamed 6. The initial assault on Kodiak blew out his forts, but left the divs badly disrupted, thus the 5th enters the fight with the 4th still in reserve.

Reinforcements and supplies continue to flow into the central Pacific islands.

As above for the Solomons.

He seems determined to try to drive up to Darwin. No idea why. I have a level 3 airfield on Bathurst Island, and rapidly growing. Air HQ is already in place and 250 Av support and 100,000 supplies. Installing AA guns now. He can have Darwin for all the good it will do him. He wont be able to get supply ships to it, and supplying over land is next to impossible.

I sent some Tojos up to Lashio and tore up some Hurricanes and bombers. 2:1+ kill ratio.

Forces are gathering for the next major push. Im looking at 9 divisions (and 3-4 more in reserve) plus support for this offensive. I always go into a battle with about a third of my force in reserve.