Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Logistics, Patience, and Firepower

[Sangeli]

War in the Pacific Part III

After the First Battle of the Gilberts, both sides spent some time regrouping before things would heat up again. I had a plan to advance in the Gilberts but was thwarted by an 8 strike hex on the Allied Death Star:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 144,137

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 6
A6M8 Zero x 152
B6N1 Jill x 94
D4Y1 Judy x 128

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 28
F4F-4 Wildcat x 139
FM-1 Wildcat x 18
F6F-3 Hellcat x 316

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 9 destroyed, 23 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 6 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 16 destroyed, 24 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 6 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane Ib: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVE Santee, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Wichita
BB Montana
CVL Independence
BB Massachusetts, Torpedo hits 1
CVE Chenango, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CVE Barnes, Bomb hits 1
CV Wasp, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
CVE Hammondsport, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
CVE Pocomoke, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Saratoga, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CVE Corregidor
BB Indiana
CVE Suwannee, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
CVL Varennes, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB Prince of Wales
CVE Kaskaskia, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
CVL Chateau Thierry, Torpedo hits 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 144,137

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 102 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 56
B6N1 Jill x 53
D4Y1 Judy x 23

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 27
F4F-4 Wildcat x 136
FM-1 Wildcat x 18
F6F-3 Hellcat x 306

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 5 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 25 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 17 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVE Corregidor
CV Wasp, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Saratoga, on fire, heavy damage
BB Prince of Wales

Ouch! The Japanese air groups were gutted by my heavy CAP but my planes could not strike at 8 hexes. 2 CVEs would sink immediately. But after the battle the IJN subs would work wonders. Rev Rico managed to track down my damaged carriers in the open ocean and sink 1 CVL and 2 CVEs. The Allied fleet would need more time in the yard before it could challenge the KB. But a showdown was coming nonetheless...

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

What are the LCU vp losses for each side?

Or are you holding off until you get to the current game date.

Fascinating game, btw.[&o]

Ya I'm going to hold off on the VP screen until I catch up. Right now I'm just trying to give some context to my game by going over the most important events. There's still plenty of stuff I'm skipping like big surface engagements and other big land battles but I don't want to spend too much time in past events.

[Lowpe]

Ok, what was the date of the 8 hex carrier strike?

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Ok, what was the date of the 8 hex carrier strike?

Sometime in early July 43. It was shortly after I switched most of my CV fighters to the F6F-3.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Ok, what was the date of the 8 hex carrier strike?

Sometime in early July 43. It was shortly after I switched most of my CV fighters to the F6F-3.

Very nice acceleration of the A6M8![X(] I wonder what the rest of his plane research/supply looks like.

[Sangeli]

War in the Pacific Part IV: Revenge

In early September 1943, I took to the offensive in the Gilberts again. First I would take Tabiteuea in a text book atoll invasion:

Ground combat at Tabiteuea (137,134)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 21022 troops, 505 guns, 529 vehicles, Assault Value = 953

Defending force 11186 troops, 203 guns, 28 vehicles, Assault Value = 270

Allied adjusted assault: 815

Japanese adjusted defense: 138

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 6)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
2831 casualties reported
Squads: 105 destroyed, 70 disabled
Non Combat: 70 destroyed, 30 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 16 disabled
Guns lost 66 (24 destroyed, 42 disabled)
Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
722 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 71 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 20 (2 destroyed, 18 disabled)
Vehicles lost 32 (1 destroyed, 31 disabled)

Assaulting units:
766th Tank Bn /2
138th(Sep) Infantry Rgt /2
4th USMC Tank Battalion
25th Marine Rgt /4
1st USMC Corps Tank Battalion
43rd Infantry Division
87th Mountain Rgt /2
181st FA Rgt /2
30th FA Rgt /2
188th FA Rgt /2
2nd Eng Amph Bde /3
I US Amphib Corps /1
14th Marine Def Bn /1

Defending units:
82nd Naval Guard Unit
2nd China Assault Division
2nd ADU Coastal Gun Regiment
38th JNAF AF Unit
4th JNAF Coy
44th JNAF AF Unit
3rd Guard ADU Coastal Gun Battalion
5th IJN AA Battalion

Took only a single day to capture the base. Having an HQ here really made a difference. And after the battle I pushed forward on my way to Tarawa. But Rev Rico, having noticed I was using Baker Island to replenish my BBs, decided to attack the base with his carriers in a surprise attack:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 154,126

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 78
B6N1 Jill x 25
D4Y1 Judy x 37

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 1 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 2 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
xAK William Prouse, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Stanford Newel, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
SC-981
xAK Thomas Nelson
xAP Gideon Welles, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Sheldon Jackson
xAK James Withycombe, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAK William Vanderbilt, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Stephen Crane, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Robert M. Lafollette, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
xAK William G. Fargo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Thomas Corwin, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
xAP Benjamin Ide Wheeler
xAK S. Hall Young, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
78 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 54 destroyed, 54 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 98 (50 destroyed, 48 disabled)
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK S. Hall Young


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 149,136

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 100 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 14
B6N1 Jill x 3
D4Y1 Judy x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
TK Santa Maria, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AO Schuylkill, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Nikunau at 143,135

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 44 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 14
B6N1 Jill x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 1 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
xAK Cape San Martin, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Mormaclark



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 149,136

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 39 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 44
B6N1 Jill x 5
D4Y1 Judy x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 1 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 4 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 2 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
TK Mexicos H Whittier, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AO Saranac, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Frankford
SC PC-596, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AO Cossatot, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AO Cache, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AO Chepachet, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 154,126

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 6
D4Y1 Judy x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAP Gideon Welles, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK John Burke, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires

But while I had many fleets here, the BBs were not part of them. The reality is that I actually moved their rearmament base from Baker to Nonouti shortly before this attack. The fleet oilers were valuable but not critical in the long run. But in making this attack the Japanese CVs were in a precarious position with my CVs to the west of them. Furthermore, at this time the big KB with the fast BBs was out near Burma trying to slow me down there. With the Japanese having split their CVs across two oceans, I decided to make a bold move and charge with my CVs into the Marshalls to cut off the Japanese CVs. I knew it would bring me under LBA attack as well, but opportunities don't come like this very often. And boy was I glad I made a move;

Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8-J Zero x 27
B6N1 Jill x 2

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 116

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8-J Zero: 15 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CVL Varennes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 93 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M4-Q Nell x 8

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 110

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M4-Q Nell: 6 destroyed



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 43
A6M8-J Zero x 4
N1K1-J George x 5
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 169
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 27
SBD-5 Dauntless x 96
TBF-1 Avenger x 116

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 3 destroyed
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
SBD-5 Dauntless: 3 destroyed, 18 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 10 destroyed, 20 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CV Soryu, Bomb hits 1
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 1
CV Kasagi
DD Momo
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Aoba, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
CA Atago
DD Hagikaze


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 111 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D4Y1 Judy x 25
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 10

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 95

Japanese aircraft losses
D4Y1 Judy: 18 destroyed
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 4 destroyed



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 92
B6N1 Jill x 81
D4Y1 Judy x 76

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 64

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 30 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 12 destroyed, 26 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 10 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 4 destroyed, 23 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 11 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown II, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CVL Independence
CV Enterprise
BB North Carolina, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
CV Hornet, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BB Alabama, Torpedo hits 3
CVL Belleau Wood
CV Yorktown, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
CVL Princeton, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Essex, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
BB South Dakota
DD Gansevoort
BB Indiana
DD Guest
CVL Cowpens
CVL Varennes
DD Walke


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 112 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M4-Q Nell x 30
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 32

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 35

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M4-Q Nell: 13 destroyed, 7 damaged
G3M4-Q Nell: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown II, on fire
CVL Varennes
CVL Princeton, on fire
CVL Cowpens
CV Enterprise



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Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 13

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BB Indiana
CVL Princeton, heavy fires
CVL Cowpens



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 11 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 28
A6M8-J Zero x 2
N1K1-J George x 1
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1

Allied aircraft
SBD-5 Dauntless x 35

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-5 Dauntless: 11 destroyed, 7 damaged
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho, on fire
CV Zuikaku, on fire
CV Hiryu, on fire
DD Haruzuki
DD Kyosuki
CV Kasagi



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 99 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M4-Q Nell x 12

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 61

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M4-Q Nell: 6 destroyed

No Allied losses



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 11
G3M4-Q Nell x 5

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 56

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed

No Allied losses



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B6N1 Jill x 13

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 69

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 2 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CVL Varennes



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 113 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8-J Zero x 9
B6N1 Jill x 11

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 69

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8-J Zero: 4 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 3 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BB South Dakota
CV Essex
CVL Cowpens, Torpedo hits 1



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 39
A6M8-J Zero x 4
N1K1-J George x 5
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 94
SBD-5 Dauntless x 72
TBF-1 Avenger x 52

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed
A6M8-J Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 10 destroyed
SBD-5 Dauntless: 9 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 6 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
DD Fuyuzuki
CV Kasagi
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Soryu, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Arashi
CV Hiryu, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CA Atago
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Yoizuki
DD Susuzuki, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Natsuzuki, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Ozuki
CA Aoba, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 12
B6N1 Jill x 6
D4Y1 Judy x 5

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 63

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 5 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 2 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
BB Indiana
BB South Dakota



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B6N2 Jill x 40

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 50

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 11 destroyed, 9 damaged
B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BB South Dakota
CVL Cowpens, Torpedo hits 1
CV Essex
CVL Princeton, Torpedo hits 1, on fire



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 70 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M4-Q Nell x 11
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 29

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 38

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M4-Q Nell: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 4 destroyed

No Allied losses



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 30 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 12
B6N1 Jill x 17
D4Y1 Judy x 26

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 4 destroyed, 6 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 5 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CA Wichita
CV Yorktown II
CVL Independence
BB North Carolina



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B6N1 Jill x 9

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 3 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown II
CVL Independence



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 21
A6M8-J Zero x 1
N1K1-J George x 4
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 3

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 61
SBD-5 Dauntless x 27
TBF-1 Avenger x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 3 destroyed
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CA Atago
CV Soryu, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Susuzuki, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CV Kasagi, Torpedo hits 1
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Kyosuki, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
CVL Shoho, heavy fires, heavy damage



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B6N1 Jill x 2

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 2 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BB North Carolina, Torpedo hits 1



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 7
B6N1 Jill x 2

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed
B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CVL Belleau Wood



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 118 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 42 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 32
G3M4-Q Nell x 17

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 6 destroyed
G3M4-Q Nell: 3 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Hornet
BB Alabama

Now THAT is what you call a decisive victory! After nearly 2 years from the sinking of the CV Lexington the USN had its revenge. The key to victory here was my fast BBs. They provided devastating AA while soaking up bombs and torpedoes that would otherwise found its way into a carrier. Not a single Allied ship was lost from the action while it appears the Japanese lost 3 CV, 2 CVL, and a CA. It goes without saying that this was the most important event of the war to date.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe
Very nice acceleration of the A6M8![X(] I wonder what the rest of his plane research/supply looks like.

I'm no expert on this part of the Japanese war effort but from what I can tell Rev Rico is really pushing advanced air frames. I encountered the George in spring 43 I believe and I recently encountered the Ki-84 Frank. Don't really know what Rev Rico has in mind for bombers but I doubt that's much of a priority for him.

[jwolf]

Not a single Allied ship was lost from the action

But it did look like your CVs and BBs took a heavy beating. Maybe not sunk but out of action for a long(??) time. Still it was a great victory. I'm curious to see what was next in this bloodbath of a war across the board!

[Lowpe]

You only had a 70 plane CAP over your deathstar![X(]

So did RevRico, though.[X(] It seems he might have been hoping for a better land based air support, but that never works out well.

Japan had the better weather in the AM with thunderstorms protecting the KB while the Deathstar only had rain.

But you really had some killer AA! While Japan was pitifully weak on AA.[:(] In addition, you had the battleships there to catch bombs and torpedoes and poor Japan didn't.

Nicely done.[&o]

The George normally comes in mid 43 with modest acceleration. Some strange to me looking land units for Japan on the atoll.

Frank A is needed in the latter half of 43...and should be a focus of every Japanese player imho.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe
You only had a 70 plane CAP over your deathstar![X(]

So did RevRico, though.[X(] It seems he might have been hoping for a better land based air support, but that never works out well.

Japan had the better weather in the AM with thunderstorms protecting the KB while the Deathstar only had rain.

But you really had some killer AA! While Japan was pitifully weak on AA.[:(] In addition, you had the battleships there to catch bombs and torpedoes and poor Japan didn't.

Nicely done.[&o]

The George normally comes in mid 43 with modest acceleration. Some strange to me looking land units for Japan on the atoll.

Frank A is needed in the latter half of 43...and should be a focus of every Japanese player imho.

No, my CAP started at 116 fighters. Still not a lot but I needed more fighters on escort to reach the IJN CVs. In the end that was the right move. The AA was the real killer for me and it took down more planes than my actual fighters.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Not a single Allied ship was lost from the action

But it did look like your CVs and BBs took a heavy beating. Maybe not sunk but out of action for a long(??) time. Still it was a great victory. I'm curious to see what was next in this bloodbath of a war across the board!

Yea, many are out for a long time. I won't say exactly how long, however. I still have concerns about OPSEC so I don't intend to reveal too much in this AAR.

[Sangeli]

Burma Part II

At the start of 1943 the Allies found themselves in control of Akyab and the jungles to the east and south but nothing in the central Burmese plains. Starting in Spring 43, the British and their allies began pushing east from Akyab into the plains of upper Burma. Here is a screenshot in late March 43:



From there I moved on Magwe and Mandalay to secure upper Burma. Then from there I backtracked towards Prome and took that base. There have been a few battles but nothing too large. Most of the Allied advance is attributed to maneuver and the resultant Japanese withdrawal. By today's date I have reached the outskirts of Rangoon. I will post screenshots of the current situation around the world soon.

[Sangeli]

The Present: October 31st 1943

And now we jump to the present date. First lets review the VP screen:



As you see the Japanese are only just ahead on VPs. I've managed to nearly even the score on ship losses due to an effective convoy raiding campaign.

Now let's review Allied CV/CVE losses:



As you can see the CVEs have taken the brunt of the punishment. My fast CV fleet is relatively untouched. A direct result of conservative carrier use. And CVEs are going to be coming in like hotcakes before long so the loss of a dozen won't be a long term factor.




BB and BC losses are pretty manageable as well. Only a single fast BB lost (Prince of Wales) which was very recently. I intend to use these monsters en masse to plaster airfields deep in enemy territory to clear the air space for the Death Star.

Cruisers took considerable losses throughout this war. USN CAs are simply no match to their Japanese counterparts. Even battles where the Allied cruiser SCTFs outnumbered the Japanese 2 to 1, the Japanese more often than not came out on top. Eventually I decided to not even attempt to battle IJN cruisers with my own.





Having lost so many cruisers hurts because I have to rely more on my BBs which are more costly to lose.

But if there is one reason I am VERY confident about 1944 aside from carrier superiority, its my transport situation. These are the cumulative losses to date of AP and APA type:



I think 2 of those APs could upgrade to APAs so my net APA loss is only 5. Meanwhile I have 36 APAs on hand right with another 11 LSI(L)s. As for AKA losses which are arguably even more valuable than APAs (they are less numerous), I haven't lost a single one to date.

[CaptBeefheart]

Good work. What do the comparable IJN losses look like?

Cheers,
CC

[Sangeli]

Here are the Japanese losses:

CV Hiryu
CV Zuikaku
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku
CV Ryukaku (probable)
CV Junyo
CVL Zuiho
CVL Shoho
CVE Taiyo
CVE Shinyo
CVE Brazil Maru
BB Musashi
BB Haruna
BB Ise
BB Hyuga
CB Kawabachi
CS Mizuho
CA Suzuya
CA Mogami
CA Chokai
CA Maya
CA Takao
CA Kinugasa (probable)
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CL Sendai
CL Oi
CL Kitakami
CL Kiso
CL Abukuma
CL Yahagi
CL Yubari
CL Yura
CL Naka (probable)
CL Otonase
CL Minase
CL Ayase
CL Natori
CL Tatsuta

Those are pretty significant losses so far but the IJN is still a force to be reckoned with. The KB still has 8 CVs and 3 CVLs with 3 more CVLs due to arrive in the future.

[Lowpe]

Auto victory by Jan 44, I surmise.

Well done[&o]

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Auto victory by Jan 44, I surmise.

Well done[&o]

You mean Jan 45? I think it will take me longer than that, however. Even though my VP score is pretty decent, the Japanese empire is still rather large. It's going to be a while before I grab bases with huge VP multipliers for the Allies.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Auto victory by Jan 44, I surmise.

Well done[&o]

You mean Jan 45? I think it will take me longer than that, however. Even though my VP score is pretty decent, the Japanese empire is still rather large. It's going to be a while before I grab bases with huge VP multipliers for the Allies.

Oops, yep. 1/45. Nope, you will get there.

[Capt. Harlock]

BB and BC losses are pretty manageable as well. Only a single fast BB lost (Prince of Wales) which was very recently.

Is Washington a slower design in your scenario?

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

BB and BC losses are pretty manageable as well. Only a single fast BB lost (Prince of Wales) which was very recently.

Is Washington a slower design in your scenario?

Nope. I just have a faulty memory.