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Intense action! And generally favorable to the IJN. Ent and Saratoga will indeed be out for a good while. IIRC the Allies don't have any big shipyards to use.

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: obvert

Just wanted to say I'm enjoying this AAR. I've been messing with the scenario for fun, and it's great to see a real game using it written up.

Nice work on the convoy attack.

Thanks! It's been great fun, and I'm also aiming to provide a point of comparison for others playing as there are only a couple of other Guadalcanal AARs up here. Are they all this bloody?

Sometimes my notes for one day take up an entire page. In a campaign game, I would either need a new system for recording or be swamped simply by running turns, taking notes, and sending the turn back. I wonder if voice notes would be of any use...

By about mid-42 you start to get a lot more concise. [:)]

In my H to H test it's also fairly bloody. I'm trying to play each side objectively based on recon/search knowledge and known objectives. There are just a lot fewer places for a lot of ships to go than in a campaign. It's also fairly easy to see when your opponent will have new stuff, so you might try to get somewhere before a new CV arrives, etc.

I'm reading 'Islands of Destiny' now which is why I started to take a look at the scenario. Great to read and play in conjunction. If you haven't read that, have a look at it.

Nice AAR. Enjoying the conflict as it unfolds.

September 10
More ASW action against Wahoo outside of Rabaul. And then a second action with her - she hits a PC with a dud. Good ol' Mush Morton... Amberjack is hit by another depth charge as well, which should send her scurrying back to port. Then Gudgeon hits and sinks an E-class on ASW duty outside of Truk. Mixed day for the IJN ASW today.

Raw AV for the deliberate at Tass is 139 USMC/138 IJA. 1:42 odds result in 172(3) IJA vs. 162(9) USMC.

September 11
No changes in orders today, except to send an amphibious supply TF to Buna. The landing of an artillery regiment and another SNLF at Tassafaronga will occur today.

TBFs from Henderson put two bombs into an xAK after she has unloaded there, starting serious fires. She sinks at dusk.

During air recon, and Allied TF is spotted 3 hexes SSE of Lunga. Ishikawa, who has been holding 5 hexes north of Tassafaronga to cover the amphibious landing, will go patrol Lunga/Tulagi/Tass to be sure he catches something. 9 ships were seen, composition AP/CL/DD and 6 others.

The daily deliberate is 134/185 raw AV (finally in the IJA's favor!) with 1:99 odds, for 112(3) vs. 428(18). Good day on the ground.

September 12
Tanaka sorties from Rabaul with BBs Hiei and Kirishima; CAs Atago, Haguro, and Kumano, and 4 DDs. Destination: Port Moresby's airfield, skirting 5 hexes ESE of Milne Bay to avoid Allied submarines. This turns out to be a fateful course...

During the first naval movement phase, the "mine struck" is heard - my present at Lunga has been unwrapped! I wonder what got hit. No sunk sound is heard. 2 TFs are seen at Lunga, so whatever struck the mine must be damaged enough to form an escort TF.

The RO-61 sinks AK Celeno south of Lunga with supplies on board.

Ishikawa ends up at Tulagi, and spotting with DL 10/10. Not good... 2 SBDs and 3 TBFs sink an xAK offshore of Tassafaronga during the AM, and attack CA Kako in the PM for no results.

Of the 30 Zeroes sent to sweep Lunga, 3 arrive early...and shoot down or drive off the entire Allied CAP! Banzai! 2 of 6 Wildcats shot down, 2 more lost to ops. 1 Zero is lost in the air.

The B-17s from Moresby visit Tassafaronga today, hitting an xAK once. She'll survive, so long as she's not hit again. Tomorrow, I will break off CLs Sendai and Yura with some DDs to complete a circuit of Guadalcanal, sweeping for vulnerable transports.

Today's deliberate assault has a raw AV of 109/193, with 1:1192 odds (ouch!). Casualties are 138(0) IJA vs. 203 (42). Another good day, for now. If I had about 100 more AV to set to reserve and pursuit, I would do a deliberate attack of my own tomorrow and drive the USMC right back to Lunga. Not doing so turns out to be a decision I later regret, somewhat.

Tanaka's TF is unsighted near Rossell, he will move to within 6 hexes of Port Moresby. Tomorrow, I'll sweep Milne Bay and Port Moresby.

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

Intense action! And generally favorable to the IJN. Ent and Saratoga will indeed be out for a good while. IIRC the Allies don't have any big shipyards to use.

There is a size 50 in Sydney. Even still, with 3 fleet CVs AND a BB to repair, it's going to take him quite some time. I'll bet I see Wasp back out in the action first. I think he has Hornet by now (we're up to 9/16), or at least he does very soon.

ORIGINAL: comsolut

Nice AAR. Enjoying the conflict as it unfolds.

Thanks!

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: obvert

Just wanted to say I'm enjoying this AAR. I've been messing with the scenario for fun, and it's great to see a real game using it written up.

Nice work on the convoy attack.

Thanks! It's been great fun, and I'm also aiming to provide a point of comparison for others playing as there are only a couple of other Guadalcanal AARs up here. Are they all this bloody?

Sometimes my notes for one day take up an entire page. In a campaign game, I would either need a new system for recording or be swamped simply by running turns, taking notes, and sending the turn back. I wonder if voice notes would be of any use...

By about mid-42 you start to get a lot more concise. [:)]

In my H to H test it's also fairly bloody. I'm trying to play each side objectively based on recon/search knowledge and known objectives. There are just a lot fewer places for a lot of ships to go than in a campaign. It's also fairly easy to see when your opponent will have new stuff, so you might try to get somewhere before a new CV arrives, etc.

I'm reading 'Islands of Destiny' now which is why I started to take a look at the scenario. Great to read and play in conjunction. If you haven't read that, have a look at it.

I haven't looked at the Allied OOB for a while, but with the 3-stack in the jungle NE of Port Moresby leaving just a 5-stack at Moresby, I wonder about my chances. Also, I've successfully prevented any reinforcements from reaching Milne Bay thus far, so I'll have to look it up soon.

I saw an AAR titled Islands of Destiny. It's a book as well? One of my favorite books is on the Guadalcanal campaign, by Jack Coggins.

September 13 - The Second Battle of the Solomon Sea, and more action at Tassafaronga

First, I discover that my opponent has left me a present of my own at Buna - it is mined! Luckily, my APDs discover and destroy several mines rather than hitting them. I will have to send some DMS hulls over here.

Several USN submarines waste torpedoes firing at ASW TFs outside of Rabaul.

Skirmishes off Guadalcanal
Sendai sights and sinks AK Cetus with a surprise Long Lance attack in 17% moonlight.

Then, west of Guadalcanal, Ishikawa is surprised by an Allied TF at 8,000 yards in 28% moonlight and partly cloudy conditions (so much for IJN night-time superiority on this particular evening). During the opening salvo, CA Aoba is crippled by several shell hits and a torpedo from DD Selfridge. The very first shell fired by a USN DD destroys one of Chokai's main battery guns. CL Yubari and DD Akigumo also take a couple of bad shell hits that start fires. Throughout the rest of the melee, 6" shells from the Australian CL Hobart achieve penetration after penetration against Aoba's armor, dooming what would otherwise have been a salvageable ship. In exchange, Hobart is sent away on fire and sinking, and DD Mugford is sunk outright. Chokai appears to fire every torpedo she has in this engagement, along with her escorts, but no hits are achieved. Rough.

Japanese aircraft losses
E13A1 Jake: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai, Shell hits 3, on fire
CA Aoba, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CA Furutaka, Shell hits 2
CA Kako, Shell hits 2
CL Yubari, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Akigumo, Shell hits 6, on fire

Allied Ships
CL Hobart, Shell hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Mugford, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
DD Ralph Talbot
DD Patterson
DD Jarvis
DD Conyngham, Shell hits 2
DD Selfridge, Shell hits 2
DD Hull, Shell hits 1

When dawn comes, Ishikawa and his remaining combat-worthy ships react back from Tassafaronga to find DD Hull by herself, presumably having just rescued survivors from Hobart. Chokai sinks her without remorse with two immediate 8" shell hits below the waterline from 17,000 yards. Then, apparently attracted by the gunfire, a second Commonwealth CL and 4 DDs are sighted at 26,000 yards.

The 4 USN DDs corner and destroy the already wounded Akigumo, but this leaves the IJN CAs free to send Achilles on her way. In the exchange, Chokai takes a hit that destroys one of her torpedo mounts. As if the crew was using it anyway [8|]. One USN DD is sunk as well.

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai, Shell hits 6
CA Furutaka, Shell hits 6
CA Kako, Shell hits 8
DD Akigumo, Shell hits 31, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CL Achilles, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD McCall, Shell hits 1
DD Maury, Shell hits 2
DD Benham, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
DD Phelps

The Second Battle of the Solomon Sea
Tanaka's bombardment TF happens across a supply convoy protected by BB Washington and 2 DDs. Tanaka's force is comprised of 2 Kongos, 3 CAs, and 4 DDs - superior on paper, except for the armaments on the battlewagons. If the USN BB lands any serious hits with her superior weaponry, one or two of my extremely valuable fast BBs could be out permanently. The coming action is nail-bitingly intense.

Kirishima opens fire first, bouncing a shell off of Washington's tower armor. Washington responds by putting a 16" shell straight through Hiei's deck armor - this does not bode well. As the USN battlewagon and Hiei (Tanaka's flagship - attaboy Tenacious Tanaka!) begin a gunnery duel, the IJN CAs run amok through the rest of the convoy and the USN DDs team up on DD Sazanami. 5" Shell after 5" shell penetrates the IJN destroyer's side, and she eventually succumbs. Even the APs Crescent City and President Hayes get in on the action, destroying several main battery mounts on Sazanami and some torpedo tubes.

Hiei finally finds the sweet spot at 7,000 yards and one of her shells explodes in Washington's machinery compartments, with belt armor penetration. (I didn't think this was going to happen, at all. I had no faith in the ability of WW1-era 12" guns to penetrate modern fast BB armor belts.)

The APs begin shooting at the CAs that are sinking them, with an AA mount on Haguro being swept away and Crescent City destroying one of Atago's depth charge racks just before she goes under - what kind of ace merchantman gunners are these?!

Washington penetrates Hiei's tower armor with a main battery shell, causing severe damage to her electrical systems, but the battlecruiser-turned-battleship responds by hitting her more modern adversary in the engines once more. Numerous shells from both Kirishima and Hiei have made a mess of the superstructure on the USN BB.

By the time the task forces finally break off, both of the IJN fast BBs are out of main battery ammo, but nearly the entire convoy is sunk or sinking. No troops on board, so it must have been full of supplies for Milne Bay (APs for the unload bonus at the small port, I guess)

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei, Shell hits 5, on fire Damage next day: 38/29(1)/25(2)/1 - wow!
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 5 12/0/4
CA Atago, Shell hits 1
CA Haguro, Shell hits 2
CA Kumano
DD Akebono
DD Sazanami, Shell hits 22, and is sunk
DD Yayoi, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Yuzuki

Allied Ships
BB Washington, Shell hits 13, heavy fires
DD Bagley, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Henley, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP Barnett, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP Henderson, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP President Hayes, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP President Monroe, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP Crescent City, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
AP Monrovia, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
AP Heywood, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP President Wilkerson, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AP Cambria, Shell hits 16, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Crater, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage

Next, the RO-64 sinks DD Cushing south of Lunga.

The sunk sound effect is heard in the PM - my guess is that this is one or both of the USN DDs damaged in the Solomon Sea action, possibly also the Achilles.

During the air phase, the only real action is a Zero sweep against Port Moresby. 26 Zeroes meet 15 Kittyhawks and 5 P-39s; 4 Zeroes are shot down with pilots for 5 Kittyhawks and 3 P-39s, with 3 and 2 more Allied ops losses, respectively. Not bad.

Saratoga's airgroups at Lunga launch against the light surface force offshore, and score 2x500kg GP bomb hits against Yura, destroying a main battery turret.

At dusk, xAK Atlantic Maru sinks in the Slot from a prior bomb hit.

And then:

Sub attack near Milne Bay at 100,136

Japanese Ships
SS I-171

Allied Ships
BB Washington, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage

SS I-171 launches 8 torpedoes at BB Washington

No DDs are sighted, so they must have sunk from the damage sustained in the naval battle. Washington should be finished after this.

No attack at Tassafaronga today, but bombardment reveals that the AV is 200 USMC vs. 115 IJA.

September 14
Aoba's chutai of float planes is bought back for the queue - can never have enough recon, and I have plenty of float planes in the pools. A Rowboat Corps is created at Rabaul with E Hakaze; destination Tassafaronga; ETA 6 days; cargo Maizuru 2nd SNLF. xAKs and AMCs are despatched from Rabaul to Truk...

2 LCUs are noticed in the mountains due west of Buna. What's going on here? There are no movement dots, so they may just be there to keep tabs on Buna? Regardless, I'll have to make sure Buna's got some defenses. 18 Zeroes are flown in to Buna as well, to provide CAP for the minesweepers and incoming supplies.

CL Leander and 4 DDs are sighted by I-4 east of Sydney, which is attacked before she can launch torpedoes.

On his way back to port, Tanaka (now onboard Kirishima, with Haguro, Kumano, and 2 DDs) encounters Washington again with DD Bagley, an AP, and AK Crater. With no big shells left in his guns, 8" shells from the cruisers hit Washington's armor enough times that she succumbs to her wounds. First blood has been achieved! The AP is also sunk, and I'll be surprised if the AK makes port after this. Bagley is going to have quite the horror story to tell when she gets back to civilization. Although, she did manage to put a torpedo into Kirishima, which is now at 27/34 (15)/6 damage - far better than I expected, given that "Critical Damage" was seen on the torpedo hit.

After the action, the Wahoo hits Haguro with a torpedo. Tanaka just can't catch a break! But the I-15 sinks DD Stack south of Lunga, the I-10 hits DD Farragut outside of Sydney (not sunk), and the I-121 hits CL Leander twice (also not sunk), so I think my subs came out on top today.

Sendai fires a few parting shells at Henderson Field and only gets 2 runway, 1 port, and 1 port supply hit. Better than nothing, but I should have set escorts to bombard as well.

A bombardment at Tassafaronga by my artillery unit reveals that the 112th USA Cavalry Regiment is now present, and the raw AV is now 239 US vs. 209 IJ.

September 15
The Wahoo is still at 103,133 - two subs are seen here during the night phase. 2E and 4E bombers from Moresby begin bombing the Support TF of Chitose and AV Kamikawa Maru at Buka, but they can't hit anything.

A deliberate attack at Tass shows 258 US AV vs. 219 IJ AV - I must not have interdicted much supply, +19 AV in a day in malarial zone vs. only +4 for me...not good. He achieves 1:17 odds for 114(4) IJA vs. 256 (6) US. I'm amazed at how long he's been able to keep up the assaults without suffering massive losses.

September 16
My supply situation at Tass is getting low - not critical, but needs attention. Some Fast Transport TFs are formed and sent on their way. 9 days until Zuiho arrives, and I'll need to readjust submarine PZs soon.

The I-15 finds and sinks CL Achilles with 3 more torpedoes, while the RO-61 is driven away by escorts. Gudgeon is located by my ASW TFs outside of Rabaul and she takes 2 hits - perhaps enough to send her packing.

Another Allied amphibious TF shows up off Tassafaronga, unloading troops. These turn out to be the 25th USA Regiment, which has 52 AV in my bombardment attack.

All mines are swept at Buna, and 22 Zeroes shoot down 7 Kittyhawks + 1 ops loss and 3 P-39s + 1 ops loss for no IJNAF losses - Banzai!

The Daily Deliberate has 1:15 odds, and forts are now at 5 (crap - how did I not notice that?). He gets 230 (7) casualties on the IJA vs. 156 (4) for him. Raw AV was 280 against 202.

September 17
I order my Bettys and Zeroes at Rabaul to strike at Tassafaronga. Hopefully I can at least sink the transports, but with these being commissioned amphibious assault ships I don't have a prayer of catching any troops still on board. The subs at Rabaul finally have fuel for their tanks, and I send 6 of them back out on patrol. Let's see if they can keep up their stellar performance.

6 Zeroes on CAP at Buka shoot down 2 Beauforts, damage 2 others, and damage a B-17.

3 raids strike the TF at Tass, for a total of 47 Zeroes and 50 Bettys. VMO-251 and VF-3 with 4xF4F-3P and 7xF4F-4 rise to meet them. 1 USMC and 2 USN Wildcats are shot down for the loss of 1 A6M2. 5 Bettys are lost to flak throughout, and they only achieve 3 torpedo hits. AP Zeilin will live, while AKA Betelgeuse and AKA Libra are each heavily damaged by the hits on them. I'm not sure either will sink, but at the very least it's going to keep overloading the shipyard in Sydney.

The Daily Deliberate does not go well for me. 284 AV vs. 184 AV results in 1:23 odds, with 628 (19) against 297 (4). Ouch. Despite being prepped 50+, I still have a preparation (-) while he does not, and I know his units did not start prepped for Tassafaronga.

I am also shocked he can keep up these low odds attacks day in and day out. Still, you had his first LCU on the ropes, so he just brought in two more. Can you fly in an SNLF with seaplanes in addition to the one you plan to drop with the FT TF?

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

I am also shocked he can keep up these low odds attacks day in and day out. Still, you had his first LCU on the ropes, so he just brought in two more. Can you fly in an SNLF with seaplanes in addition to the one you plan to drop with the FT TF?

The only thing I can figure is that he's got enough support to combat the fatigue decently well - while I see a disruption (-) for him a fair amount, I haven't seen the fatigue penalty more than twice. In the combat animation, all of his units have 0's, so the results are even more confounding to me... Although, I do know that the firepower of his units has got to be better than mine, given that mine are mostly comprised of SNLF and Naval Guard, with only one Army artillery unit and a 2/3 disabled Kawaguchi Brigade and 2/3 disabled Ichiki Battalion.

I should actually be dropping off some heavy hitters in this turn that's sitting in my inbox... [8D] They've been a long time coming because I wanted to have CV escorts for them, but it might enable me to push him back if not retake the island entirely - there are only 2-3 units at Lunga and only 2 units at Tulagi.

I might be able to drop some SNLF squads via flying boat from Shortlands, but flying boats are in short supply - one of my three squadrons is supposed to withdraw within a day or two, but with my ~900 PPs I'm thinking I'll keep them around for a while.

September 18
My PBs on Fast Transport are turned away from Tassafaronga because of air/surface threat. Oops, I forgot to set threat tolerance.

My Bettys and Zeroes against Lunga don't do all that well this time - I lose 5+1 Bettys and 2 Zeroes to shoot down 1 F4F-4 to put a torpedo each into AVD Ballard and AKA Alhena. No sunk sound effects are heard.

The Deliberate has 287 vs. 153 raw AV for 1:42 odds. 533 (8) losses for me, 587 (4) losses for him. Much improved over yesterday, but I still don't want to sustain that level of loss. Thankfully, my reinforcement convoy sortied from Truk today [:)]. KB will follow tomorrow when Zuikaku has her Sys damage at 0.

September 19
The 1st Tank Division is "recombined" because I have no idea what to do with the sub-unit, and I may as well have it slowly rebuild until I decide where to send it, right?

Zuikaku's Vals fly off to Rabaul instead of the ship (oops...), but KB sorties without incident.

USN Subs: Pickerel duds on CL Nagara off of Tassafaronga, and Sailfish misses Chikuma while catching sight of Mutsu, 3 CAs, and 2 DDs. All of these latter ships are in my bombardment TF. The former is in my resupply TF. Sailfish fires at Chikuma again. The first depth charge penetrates and 3 others result in near misses. She'll probably live, but she's hurting.

My subs:
RO-62 hits DD Hutchins and sights AP Zeilin 2 hexes south of Lunga. No sunk sound is heard, but heavy damage is seen.

I-168 was sighted SW of Lunga, but she puts 2 torpedoes into AKA Betelgeuse anyway. She sinks, and I-168 escapes with just one near miss.

An Allied TF is sighted just east of Lunga, and I wonder what it is. Turns out to be 3 ships with an AP, so probably an escort or small amphibious TF.

10 Wildcats and 8 SBDs bomb Sendai and Jintsu at Tassafaronga to no avail.

The Deliberate has 258 vs. 185 raw AV for 1:65 odds. 227 (2) casualties for me, 377 (17) for him. Back to favorable results.

September 20
I order my Zeroes to sweep both Port Moresby and Milne Bay. I get another 27-plane Zero daitai tomorrow, looking forward to the edge in fighters that will give me. I also need to send more fuel to Rabaul, the navy is thirsty.

Tassafaronga supply levels are at 5300 vs. 1500 required after the fast transport TFs finish unloading. Another 17k supply is on the way on the reinforcement TF, of which I will unload as much as possible before forced to retire. I set Ryujo's Zeroes to LRCAP at 70% and plan to have KB within 2 hexes while unloading.

The I-9 hits Hutchins with 2 more torpedoes and she goes down. The I-16 launches on DD Fanning for a whole lot of nothing, for both sides.

24 Zeroes meet 8 Kittyhawks and 4 P-39s over Port Moresby, and 16 Zeroes find 3 Kittyhawks and 7 P-39s over Milne Bay. All in all, 8 P-39s and 7 Kittyhawks are destroyed this day in exchange for 4 Zeroes. Almost 4:1 kill odds, I like it.

One more Daily Deliberate today. 232 vs 181 raw AV results in 1:109 odds, for 229 (3) vs. 576 (21) casualties.

September 21
I need more Av. Support at Buka if I want to project fighter power down the slot with any reliability. The flight from Rabaul, while historical, is just so far... Shortlands would also be handy, but the airfield there is only about 40% of the way to level 1. Unsure if I will use this for much, and I may stop using supplies to build it entirely.

Nothing happens today except for a lot of air recon, and 2E/4E bombing missions that hit nothing. My reinforcement TF is spotted, but the DL on it is low. It will reach the shallow waters off Guadalcanal tomorrow.

20 Bettys arrive at Truk at the end of the day. They will be sent to Rabaul to help with the air strike efforts tomorrow, when I should have over 200 aircraft bearing down on Lunga and Henderson Field.

The IJN subs are inflicting pretty heavy losses on his assault shipping. This could be cutting down on the enemy's operational capabilities for future amphibs.

Indeed, I am pretty happy with my subs. I think I will need to go through the OOB and compare with what I believe I've sunk thus far.

September 22
SS Albacore attempts to interdict the landing of reinforcements at Tassafaronga, but the ASW escorts are on top of her. She takes 3 penetrating hits and the next near miss forces her to surface, which ends as it always ends. First she puts a shell into an APD, disabling one non-combat squad.

The I-10 sinks xAK Willimoto outside of Brisbane.

Lots of fierce air action today. Cactus Air Force launches against the ships unloading next door, and APD-34 is hit after unloading has finished. She sinks at dusk. In total 10 F4F-4s, 18 SBDs from two groups (8+10), and 8 TBFs fly against the IJN ships, vs. 23 A6M2s on LRCAP. The second USN wave comes in unescorted, and at least 5 SBDs and 8 TBFs are shot down.

43 Zeroes and 40 Bettys encounter 10 F4Fs at Lunga. The bombers get through at 15,000 feet and achieve 9 airbase, 3 supply, and 15 runway hits. Not enough...

...but KB launches their strike in the PM, revealing their position just 3 hexes to the north, in the first open ocean hex. They do a bit more damage, getting 2 airbase, 1 supply, and 24 runway hits with their bigger payloads.

<<<Placeholder for total air losses screenshot>>>

Almost all troops were unloaded at Tass today, along with about 3500 supply. Going well. I will remain another day at least to unload what I can, as Lunga's airforce should be fairly neutralized after yesterday's air-to-air losses, so the only threat is 4E bombers from Luganville and Port Moresby. I am confident that KB's 80+ Zeroes can hold them off well enough to minimize shipping losses. Plentiful and vectored Nav Search ranging from bearing 120 to 270 relative to KB comes up empty.

Detection level 9/10 on Lunga reveals 34 airfield damage.

September 23
KB shows a 4/4 DL, so I move them 2 hexes E-SE. I move DDs from Buna to Lae to transport the naval guard unit there, for extra defense at Buna.

The I-7 sinks xAK Santa Pita midway to Noumea, the first sighting in this sea corridor for a long time. xAKL Kentuckian is sunk in the day phase - no escorts for this small convoy.

I-169 sinks AKA Alhena as she attempts to retire towards New Caledonia, and suffers a fairly substantial fuel leak from a near miss.

Only 4 F4Fs rise to greet the air raid on Lunga today, which puts more holes in the airfield for no losses. KB doesn't launch, I think due to weather. However, they also remain unsighted. With luck, he thinks I've retired them after getting off yesterday's strike.

No attack comes at Tassafaronga today, so he still doesn't know what I've landed. I have 516 AV present in the hex with 13876 supply vs. 1799 required. I will stay to unload one more day, which should get everything off of all but the largest xAKs. Support is 1005 vs. 665, but my fatigue levels remain steady at 22-26. I think I may need to bring in an HQ to see if that will help a little.

September 24
Just subs today.

I-175 sinks xAK Nabesna outside of Milne bay. RO-63 hits xAP Charles McCormick once nearby, but she doesn't sink.

The I-174 hits AM Lark with 2 torpedoes near Port Moresby and she promptly goes down. Only one AM remains operating in this area on ASW, to my knowledge.

7 B-17s raid Tassafaronga during the afternoon but achieve nothing. KB fails to launch once again due to weather. But today they are sighted, with 7/7 DL.

I decide that tomorrow, I will attack at Tassafaronga. I hold one fresh regiment and one fresh Naval Guard (~200 AV) in reserve, thinking that 170 IJA AV plus 150 or so IJN AV will be enough to inflict losses and possibly force a retreat if I get lucky. My supplies are at 16706 / 1848. 3940 supplies are still aboard various ships, but I will drop them at bases in need along the Slot as I retire.

CVL Zuiho has arrived and will resize to 21 A6M2/9 B5N2s (upgraded from B5N1, which are needed to fill out KB's TB units while I wait for more 2's). She will join KB after transiting to Rabaul with escort.

September 25
KB launches against Lunga, which is in heavy rain today. 10 Kates and 1 Val are damaged to destroy 2 F4F-4s on the ground and put more holes in the runway, and destroy some more supply.

My first deliberate assault at Tassafaronga is a miserable failure. I should not have kept that 200 AV in reserve:

Ground combat at Tassafaronga (113,137)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14850 troops, 116 guns, 144 vehicles, Assault Value = 536

Defending force 13617 troops, 331 guns, 81 vehicles, Assault Value = 326

Japanese adjusted assault: 159

Allied adjusted defense: 523

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2635 casualties reported
Squads: 86 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 47 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 13 (9 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
435 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 39 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
14th Naval Guard Unit
35th/2nd(Kitao) Battalion
81st Naval Guard Unit
Maizuru 4th SNLF
2nd/29th Inf Regiment
35th/124th Infantry Regiment
Maizuru 2nd SNLF
2nd/16th Inf Regiment
Kure 3rd Naval Guard Unit
2nd/2nd Engineer Regiment
13th Naval Construction Battalion
11th Naval Construction Battalion
2nd/2nd Arty Regiment

Defending units:
24th USA Regiment
1st USMC/1st Regiment
112th USA Cavalry Regiment
1st USMC Amphb Tank Battalion
1st USMC/5th Regiment
3rd USMC Defense Battalion

Is inferior Japanese firepower to blame here? Or was it entirely due to holding some in reserve? I will have to rethink my position on the island. This isn't a disaster, but it does raise the question of whether I can dislodge him at all without completely foregoing all other territorial goals.

Despite the heavy losses, the picture post-turn is not as bad as the combat report led me to believe. I am only down to 455 AV from 516. Almost all casualties were concentrated in the Ichiki Battalion and Naval Guard units, leaving the regiments untouched (in fact Kawaguchi's brigade recovers some disabled AV).

9/10 DL at Lunga shows 54 airfield damage. I like that number.

Checking the Allied OOB, I see the following totals up through 10/1/42 for Allied shipping, and what I see as sunk with FoW on (totals might be higher, in particular I might have sunk a couple of other cruisers, destroyers, and merchantmen that didn't go down right away)
Air/Surface assets
4 CV - 1 probably sunk, 2 heavily damaged (Saratoga shows as sunk 8/29/42 as of 10/2/42, but I have doubts). 1 unaccounted for.

1 CVE - damaged

3 BB - 1 sunk, 1 heavily damaged. 1 unaccounted for.

12 CA - 2 showing as sunk. Probable kills, as they show sunk at dates/places they were not hit. Several others damaged.

5 CL - 3 showing as sunk (Leander, Boise, and Helena - to a mine, probably). I believe Hobart is also sunk, making it a total of 4.

60 DD - 20 showing as sunk.

Amphibious/transport assets
2 AMC - 1 sunk
6 AKA - 2 sunk
22 AP - 9 sunk
14 AK - 2 sunk
17 xAP - 6 sunk
14 xAK - 9 sunk
2 xAKL - 1 sunk
This looks to be about 40% (30 of 77 ships) of the Allied sealift at this point in the war. Of these 30 ships, 18 were sunk by subs. Can you imagine if the IJN submarine forces had achieved this level of success during August/September 1942 in the real war? And it's not like all of these ships were unescorted - with his plethora of DDs, there have usually been 2-4 accompanying trips up to combat zones at least.


Submarines
16 SS, diesel - 4 sunk. Unsure if it's actually 4. I believe it to be 2, possibly 3.
5 SS, electric - 1 sunk


Untouched (mostly) assets
3 CLAA
5 PG - 2 sunk by subs
19 SC
4 DM
4 DMS
38 AM - 2 sunk by subs
1 AR
1 AS
3 AD
2 AV
3 AVD
1 AG
7 AO
1 AE
5 TK


Assuming Astoria sank (showing as "Chicago" on the sunk ships list - that ship was never hit), then my subs have sunk a total of 25 ships including a CV, CA, and BB if you count Washington. This is nuts.

September 26
Aside from working out some planning questions for a future operation, I do nothing different this turn. My sweeps of Milne Bay and Port Moresby net enough P-39Ds that it is now the most-lost aircraft in A2A combat, surpassing the Betty. Finally. 15 are shot down plus 1 ops loss, as well as 2 Kittyhawks, in exchange for 1 Zero and 1 ops loss.

September 27
Zeroes over Buka decide to shoot instead of giving the bombers a pass, shooting down 4 Beauforts.

Tassafaronga is up +21 AV to 476.

September 28
SS Triton shows up in Buka harbor, sinking AV Kamikawa Maru. I thought I had ASW here! I must have sent it somewhere else. I immediately send some from Rabaul.

8 B-17s visiting Shortlands are disrupted by 4 Zeroes on LRCAP. 2E bombers visit Lae and Buna.

September 29
Triton stays at Buka and gets another shot at Chitose before the ASW arrives and merges - a torpedo hits the big tender, but it isn't enough to make her run for home.

The component units of 38th Division arrive at Truk.

September 30
Still lots more recuperating - building up fuel and supply stocks for the next thrust. KB received CVL Zuiho as a reinforcement a couple of days ago.

An Allied convoy is sighted near Lunga, subs are sent to intercept.

51 Zeroes and 50 Bettys bomb and sweep Port Moresby in 3 waves, inflicting slight airfield damage. His 2E bombers continue to strike but keep suffering flak/ops losses - only 11 fly this turn, and 2 are shot down at Lae.

Good to see this continuing!

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

Good to see this continuing!

We've both been out of action due to unforeseen events IRL. Up to 10/9 now. Turns will probably be a bit slow for a few days but we're plugging along.

October 1
The Bettys are set to rest, while Milne Bay is swept and sub patrol zones are adjusted.

27 Zeroes meet 1 Kittyhawk and 28 P-39s at Milne. Over a dozen P-39s are shot down for no loss. Banzai!

2 A-20s are shot down at Lae, and a B-26 by flak at Buna.

Allied ships are sighted at Lunga. 10 ships - 7 CA, 3 APD. Yesterday it was APDs and AKAs, which I tried to intercept with my I-boats. Severe storms seem to have prevented any attacks from occurring before they reached Lunga. Too bad - lucky Allied dogs.

October 2
Jintsu, Nagara, and 3 DDs leave Shortlands for Lunga to "visit" the resupply convoy. This turns out to be a major miscalculation.

Bettys will strike Lunga as well, with the Vals at Buna to strike Milne Bay's airfield.

The Surface Combat TF reaches Savo Sound first and finds:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 114,138, Range 26,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Jintsu, Shell hits 30, heavy fires, heavy damage - All 3
CL Nagara, Shell hits 19, heavy fires, heavy damage - sink at
DD Maikaze, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage - noon
DD Isokaze, Shell hits 3, heavy fires - hit with 1000 lb. bomb in afternoon, sinks next day
DD Ariake, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Chicago, Shell hits 4, on fire
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 2
CA Australia, Shell hits 1
CA Canberra, Shell hits 3
CL Helena, Shell hits 1
DD Monssen
DD O'Brien
DD Sterett
DD Dunlap
DD Dewey
APD Manley
APD Colhoun
APD McKean
AK Carina
AK Draco
AK Albireo
AK Eridanus
AKA Bellatrix, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

Ouch!! So much for 10 ships, and so much for APDs/AKAs. Tons of torpedo launches from the IJN at Allied CAs, but Savo was not to be repeated this morning - absolutely none hit. DD Ariake manages to put some hurt on AKA Bellatrix, but that's it.

The sole remaining Allied CV makes an appearance today. Hornet's SBDs hit Ariake 5 hexes ESE of Lunga, but she gets lucky and escapes with 29/25 (14)/5 (2)/1 damage.

4 Bettys and 15 Zeroes (.......[8|]) strike the Allied ships at Lunga, and the Bettys drop torpedoes on a DD ([8|][8|]). Over 80 Bettys are sitting at Rabaul with 60+ Inspiration commanders and an Air HQ.

October 3
I vector RO-61 towards the Allied CV TF, but KB will remain at home. I doubt the CV will stick around long enough for me to get there, and I want to save my fuel.

Turns out that the resupply TF remains at Lunga today, with 2 USN subs at Tulagi. All 4 of my I-boats around Guadalcanal are detected. They'll have to be repositioned.

No other action.

October 4
KB will sortie after all, and the Bettys will strike the ships if they stay at Lunga.

S-44 and S-37 are located outside Rabaul and Buna respectively, and attacked.

20 Zeroes sweep Lunga to start the action today, shooting down 3 F4F-4s. 13 Zeroes and 28 Bettys then arrive and achieve 2 torpedo hits on CA Canberra. 27 Bettys in a followup strike get 1 hit on CA Minneapolis.

Then KB strikes: Canberra and Minneapolis are both put down by more torpedoes and 2 bombs penetrate Australia's decks, one of which destroys her torpedo tubes. 2 more bombs strike Helena, one of which penetrates while the other destroys her radar sets. 2 AKs are damaged.

Total air losses are 7 Bettys and 6 Vals to flak, along with 1 Zero, 1 Val, and 1 Kate to ops. Not bad at all.

October 5
Junyo arrives at Truk. Her air groups will resize to 19/15/18 Zeroes/Vals/Kates. I stand down my strikes and have KB hold in shallow water near Ontong.

18 Zeroes and 9 Bettys strike at a TF near Milne Bay and face 13 Kittyhawks with 12 P-39s. I shoot down 5 Kittyhawks and 2 P-39s in exchange for 6 Zeroes.
I notice "elements of X unit break off the attack!" in regard to one of his P-39 units - what does this mean/why does it occur? They had just arrived!

All that is sighted during the air strikes are CA Vincennes and 2 DDs. I manage to put one torpedo into the CA with later unescorted Betty strikes, but it costs me 10 Bettys lost in air combat plus 2 to ops.

RO-63 finds the TF afterwards and it is:

Japanese Ships
SS RO-63, hits 4, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD MacDonough
CA Vincennes
DD Phelps
DD McCall
DD Gridley
PG Swan
AMC Kanimlba
xAP Manunda
xAP Largs Bay
xAP Idomeneus
DD Warramunga
DD Arunta
DD Aylwin
DD Monaghan

Bad luck for RO-63. She sinks a week later on her way back to Rabaul.

The Lunga TF from yesterday is seen just east of Lunga.

October 6
Sortie Yamato and Mutsu with Chikuma, Atago, and Kumano plus 5 DDs to hunt down the Milne Bay TF under Tanaka.

Junyo is sent to Rabaul with Suzuya, both Kitakami CLs, and 5 DDs.

Tanaka doesn't quite make it to Milne Bay - 1 hex away and spotted during the air phases, 10/10 DL. Well, surprise is lost. The Allied TF is sighted unloading at Milne Bay. I'll have to chase them at high speed, as I expect them to run for cover. He probably sees 10 ships with accurate force composition...

October 7
The Allied TF escapes Tanaka due to radar and 3% moonlight. Nor does Tanaka catch them in the second movement phase due to ops limits. Bah!!! The Allies appear to be running for Noumea. Tanaka will continue to chase at high speed. DL on Tanaka's forces is only 2/10, but he has to know it's the same fleet.

The I-157 fires twice on the retreating supply TF from Lunga, sinking AKA Bellatrix and putting 2 torpedoes into Australia, which doesn't seem to sink.

The sunk sound effect is heard at noon, but no idea what it was.

October 8
4 units are now spotted at Milne Bay, with 14340 troops, 69 guns, and 6 AFVs - probably division landed as reinforcements as the troop level is about 10k higher than it has been previously. There go my chances of taking it with Naval Guard units...

KB is sent hurrying SW, passing Guadalcanal to the south, to help hunt the retreating supply and reinforcement TFs.

Tanaka is foiled again by Allied radar and 0% moonlight - 3 times! Then he finally catches them at dawn, and blood is spilled:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Rossel Island at 106,140, Range 24,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu
BB Yamato, Shell hits 8
CA Chikuma
CA Atago, Shell hits 1
CA Kumano, Shell hits 1
DD Kagero, Shell hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Oyashio, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
DD Shigure, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Umikaze, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Gridley, Shell hits 1
DD McCall
DD Phelps, Shell hits 2
DD MacDonough
DD Worden, Shell hits 2
DD Dale, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Monaghan
DD Aylwin, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Arunta
DD Warramunga, Shell hits 1
PG Swan, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
PG Warrego, Shell hits 1
AM Mildura, Shell hits 1
xAP Mungana, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Demodocus, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Diomed, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Idomeneus, Shell hits 2, on fire
xAP Lycaon, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
xAP Neleus, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
xAP Moreton Bay, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Esperance Bay, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Largs Bay, Shell hits 17, and is sunk
AMC Kanimlba, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Maori, Shell hits 1, on fire
xAP Manunda, Shell hits 8, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
768 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 38 destroyed, 48 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 43 (25 destroyed, 18 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 26,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 24,000 yards

Bad news bears for all of my DDs - they will all sink over the next day or two. 4-9 xAPs, an AMC, and DD are sunk on the Allied side though, along with a small portion of whatever troops were landed at Milne Bay. Mutsu and 3 CAs will continue the chase tomorrow while Yamato heads back to Rabaul. I guess Vincennes was damaged enough that she had to retreat before the battle.

The I-15 hits 2 AKs south of Lunga just before midnight.

October 9
Mikawa sorties from Rabaul to bombard Port Moresby - repeated recon shows that a large portion of Allied bombers are based there. They must be destroyed.

KB continues to vector in on the retreating TFs.

The loaded LCUs at Truk are repurposed for Lunga and sent to land at Tassafaronga.

Tanaka and his 2 CAs (Atago has yet to rejoin them) find the remnants - no more radar!

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 5
CA Chikuma, Shell hits 2
CA Kumano, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
DD Monaghan, Shell hits 1
DD Warramunga, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
PG Warrego, Shell hits 2, on fire
AM Mildura, Shell hits 1
xAP Idomeneus
xAP Maori, Shell hits 1

I guess the DD should sink. Kumano lost an AAMG, but other damage is insignificant.

RO-64 hits and sinks AO Sabine south of Lunga. Why was she up here? This is my first tanker kill of the campaign.

Atago rejoins Tanaka in the morning and they find the remnants again - both xAPs should sink, as well as the PG Warrego.

The sunk sound effect is heard before both the AM and PM air phases.

KB is revealed when it strikes at a 3x AM ASW TF in the sea lane between Noumea and Lunga. 1 sinks outright and the other 2 should be finished. Something sinks at dusk as well.

Mikawa is sighted, but he's only 2 hexes outside of PM. Mission is still a go.

October 10
KB is sent to the middle of the Coral Sea to hopefully evade detection.

Amphibious TF with 2 regiments of 38th Division and bits of a Naval Guard detachment, as well as 16.8k supplies, sets sail for Tassafaronga from Truk. KB will remain in the area to cover when it arrives in a few days.

Recon of Port Moresby reveals 2 fighters, 68 bombers, and 21 auxiliary aircraft on a 9/10 DL. Despite the high DL, only minor results are achieved:

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 5 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
A-20A Havoc: 13 damaged
A-20A Havoc: 2 destroyed on ground
B-26 Marauder: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Kinugasa
CA Maya
CA Takao

Allied ground losses:
90 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 24 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 23
Port hits 4
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 1

I-174 sinks AM Starling outside of PM. This ship has been sighted repeated patrolling the area. I'm amazed how many minesweepers my subs have sunk this game.

KB sinks DD Aylwin and PG Swan in the morning, and xAP Diomed as well as probable kills on DDs Gridley and Phelps in the afternoon. B-17s hit Shokaku once from 8000 feet. Damage is moderate at 18/10 (9)/6 (3). I guess now she's similar to Zuikaku again! I love the durability of the Shokaku class.

Something sinks at dusk...

i second the vote on nice work with the subs so far!!