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One of the things I should have mentioned is that Japan cannot be strong everywhere. Follow his deployment of LCUs carefully to discern where his main focus will be and reinforce there or keep a force aside that you can use to strike where he is weak.

Initially surface ships are best for the mobile striking force, but Castor Troy recently massed his B-17s and used them as a mobile striking force around the map to hit the IJN in ports. He also concentrated his LBA TBs in the Soerabaja area and scored some great sinkings and heavy damage on Japanese BBs, CAs and CLs. And Lowpe has showed how to hide potent cruiser forces in places unlikely to be reconned - when Japanese invasion forces with poor escort show up nearby the cruisers emerge and do their damage before running away to reload.

Actually, for Java you would be better off defending a base in the mountains near Batavia that has 20 LI to keep some supplies available. No naval bombardments allowed. Get engineers there and start building fortifications. Also, train the Dutch air units for Low Naval. They might only carry one 300 kg bomb maximum or two 500 lbers, but those can seriously damage a cruiser or even sink it. The torpedo planes should not be wasted either and should start training on naval attack with torpedoes. Add some A-24s that start training on Naval bombing and even with relatively low experience and skills you should be able to take out transports and cargo ships unloading if they don't get hit hard by enemy fighters.

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Actually, for Java you would be better off defending a base in the mountains near Batavia that has 20 LI to keep some supplies available. No naval bombardments allowed. Get engineers there and start building fortifications. Also, train the Dutch air units for Low Naval. They might only carry one 300 kg bomb maximum or two 500 lbers, but those can seriously damage a cruiser or even sink it. The torpedo planes should not be wasted either and should start training on naval attack with torpedoes. Add some A-24s that start training on Naval bombing and even with relatively low experience and skills you should be able to take out transports and cargo ships unloading if they don't get hit hard by enemy fighters.

Thanks for the recommendations. I am looking forward to hold Bandoeng until Java's liberation in 1944. Does one month of training really make a difference?

ORIGINAL: huda0816

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Actually, for Java you would be better off defending a base in the mountains near Batavia that has 20 LI to keep some supplies available. No naval bombardments allowed. Get engineers there and start building fortifications. Also, train the Dutch air units for Low Naval. They might only carry one 300 kg bomb maximum or two 500 lbers, but those can seriously damage a cruiser or even sink it. The torpedo planes should not be wasted either and should start training on naval attack with torpedoes. Add some A-24s that start training on Naval bombing and even with relatively low experience and skills you should be able to take out transports and cargo ships unloading if they don't get hit hard by enemy fighters.

Thanks for the recommendations. I am looking forward to hold Bandoeng until Java's liberation in 1944. Does one month of training really make a difference?

The month of training may give the defenders enough edge in morale and experience (and prep) to not collapse in the first Japanese attack. If the attacker fails in the mountains, he usually suffers much more in casualties and has to rest for a while, giving the defenders a chance to recover and put to use their new-found battle experience. Unless the Japanese bring in reinforcements their original force is unlikely to crack the mountain stronghold until its supply runs out.

It was late when my phone notified me about an incoming email from Ale. It was no surprise that the Japanese attacked on this day. We already knew it will be the 7th but we did not know where.

When I saw the first turn playing out in front of me I was shocked about the devastating results.

Pearl Harbor

My opponent did choose Pearl as his port strike target and was very effective. Not a single Battleship got spared. Arizona and Tennessee sunk instantly and the other 6 BBs got heavily damaged. At least my Aircraft losses were moderate.





I felt relieved that the KB was gone on the 8th of December as another day of attacks would probably have sent some of those BBs to the bottom of the seas.

Morning Air attack on Pearl Harbor , at 180,107

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 118 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 44 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 88
B5N2 Kate x 116
D3A1 Val x 135

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 11 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 5 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed, 22 damaged
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed on ground
B-17E Fortress: 22 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
PBY-5 Catalina: 88 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 10 destroyed on ground
B-18A Bolo: 35 damaged
B-18A Bolo: 4 destroyed on ground
A-20A Havoc: 10 damaged
A-20A Havoc: 1 destroyed on ground
B-17D Fortress: 62 damaged
B-17D Fortress: 2 destroyed on ground
SBD-1 Dauntless: 20 damaged
SBD-1 Dauntless: 5 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 56 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 6 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 9 damaged
F4F-3 Wildcat: 5 damaged
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground
C-33: 1 damaged
C-33: 1 destroyed on ground
R3D-2: 9 damaged
OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
DM Montgomery, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Henley, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Downes, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Helena, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AR Medusa, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 27
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 86
Port hits 16

Malaya

The war in Malaya started with a concentrated aerial bombardment of Singapore with moderate losses on both sides but an heavily damaged airfield an port.

The Japanese landed in Kota Bharu and took it on the 8th. He probably wanted to land in Kuantan or Mersing on the 8th but my stupid decision to keep Force Z in Singapore made him obviously change plans. This was probably a good decision as I reinforced Force Z put Palliser, Arthur in charge and made them steam north on the 8th.



Fortunately Force Z was in range of JohoreBahrus CAP when the Bettys were attacking it on the 8th.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 52,80

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 33 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 13

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed, 5 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales
BC Repulse

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

Other Ships which were not so lucky on the 8th when they tried to escape Singapore. For example AMC Manoora which ate 3 fish and will probably sink next turn.

My Dutch submarines were employed aggressively to attack the Japanese landing forces. Hopefully they can do some damage.


Philippines


In the Philippines my troops in Clark Field were woken up by an airstrike which included more than 120 bombers. There was not much left of the airfield after this attack (Airfield Service Damage: 80, Runway Damage: 97).

Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 107 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
G3M2 Nell x 27
G4M1 Betty x 81
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 27

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 20 damaged
B-17D Fortress: 102 damaged
B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 32 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 4 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 22 damaged
O-47A: 2 destroyed on ground

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

Airbase hits 39
Airbase supply hits 16
Runway hits 124

On the 8th I transferred all remaining fighters to Manila to provide CAP but I lost more than 14 to his fighter sweeps at 23,000 feet. After he got rid of my fighters he sent in his bombers to shut down my second airfield and he scored a lot of runway hits.

He landed in Vigan and at Batan Island on the 7th. There were no landings on the 8th. My 3 PGs which I sent to intercept his landing forces were attacked by Zeros an will probably sink.

Last but not least I could achieve a success. My Catalinas which I set to naval attack sunk an xAK with parts of the 14th Army HQ.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Laoag at 81,70

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Allied aircraft
PBY-4 Catalina x 4

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Hokuan Maru, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
1236 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 124 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 60 (58 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x PBY-4 Catalina launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo

I would take all of those damaged BBs out of the shipyard and put them on Pier side repairs. That way, the Naval Support and Port facilities can help repair the minor damage. Once that gets repaired, decide whether or not to put them into the shipyard or send them to major shipyards on the West Coast. In the meantime, use the shipyard for the smaller ships that need it.

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

I would take all of those damaged BBs out of the shipyard and put them on Pier side repairs. That way, the Naval Support and Port facilities can help repair the minor damage. Once that gets repaired, decide whether or not to put them into the shipyard or send them to major shipyards on the West Coast. In the meantime, use the shipyard for the smaller ships that need it.

Thank you for the advice. Actually only 3 of my BBs were in the shipyard 3 went to Lahaina on the 8th as I was afraid of a second day attack. In which shape would you move the BBs to the Westcoast?

What do you think is it a trap or just bad intel? Also Force Z, which is covered by the tooltip has a detection level of 6/10.

ORIGINAL: huda0816

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

I would take all of those damaged BBs out of the shipyard and put them on Pier side repairs. That way, the Naval Support and Port facilities can help repair the minor damage. Once that gets repaired, decide whether or not to put them into the shipyard or send them to major shipyards on the West Coast. In the meantime, use the shipyard for the smaller ships that need it.

Thank you for the advice. Actually only 3 of my BBs were in the shipyard 3 went to Lahaina on the 8th as I was afraid of a second day attack. In which shape would you move the BBs to the Westcoast?

I would fix ALL of the system damage as well as the minor float and engine damage. If they have a long time to repair and a short upgrade, you MIGHT want to do the upgrade but it depends upon where the enemy carriers are.

I personally like the damaged BBs move at least two hexes on cruise in an escort TF so they can move relatively quickly if needed in case of enemy subs. You can also change a cargo and transport TF to an escort TF and move them all together.

Shipping

On the 9th the first convoy with fighter planes departed from Los Angeles for Australia. I hope his submarines will not intercept this convoy as I do not have enough destroyers to screen it. At the same time some AOs are heading towards Penrhyn Island to provide fuel for my convoys. Another convoy with troops is on it's way to pago pago and the 16st infantry regiment is loaded on ships to go to Pearl Harbor. Their final destination is Tabiteuea.

Philippines

I almost gave up to fight an air war in the Philippines as his initial bombardments and effective sweeps destroyed or damaged most of my fighters. Luckily he stopped his air attacks on Manila and Clark for two days (maybe LRCAPing his convoys) and I could repair some of the planes. I moved the Cats to Cagayan on the 9th and to Miri on the 10th (more about that later). He managed to land uncontested in Legaspi even if CA Houston should have intercepted his convoy. In the north Aparri has fallen to the Japanese. I am little bit disappointed about my S-boats as they could not hit a single torpedo yet.

Malaya

After Force Z showed up on the coast of Malaya he did not attempt any landings further south. Everyone is packing up there and moving towards Singapore. I managed to move some Buffalos from Burma to Malaya.

Misc

Guam was invaded. The KB is still moving away from PH and as it is not moving southwest but northwest it will probably support a Wake Island invasion. I am just happy that it is not racing towards SEA.

Force Z

I am really happy about the performance of my reinforced Force Z. After they showed up at the Malayan coast and the near miss of the Japanese airstrike I decided to move it out of harm's way. I did not move it towards Java because: a) there seem to be a lot of submarines which are all undetected b) I was hoping that it could threaten his invasion of the Philippines. So my target was Brunei where it should refuel and the move on. In the evening of December 9 they were almost at their destination when this enemy fleet showed up:



At first I was not sure if this is a trap as it was showing up as a bunch of expendable minesweepers. It was not an easy decision and I was thinking about running away. Luckily I did not:



After multiple engagements a large part of his convoy was "under the seas"



Unfortunately Prince of Wales got hit by a torpedo in the last battle

Night Time Surface Combat, near Miri at 64,85, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
F1M2 Pete: 5 destroyed

Japanese Ships
APD Aoi, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
TB Kasasagi
AMc Wa 19
DMS W-4, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
PB Eiko Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
PB Kantori Maru, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
AV Sagara Maru, Shell hits 39, and is sunk
xAK Kaiko Maru
xAK Eihuku Maru
xAK Mikasa Maru, Shell hits 3, heavy fires
xAK Aso Maru, Shell hits 2
xAK Hokko Maru, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Zinzan Maru
xAK Kinkasan Maru
xAK Giyu Maru, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Kembu Maru
xAKL Kiko Maru, Shell hits 3
xAKL Anbo Maru
PB Fuji Maru #4, Shell hits 32, and is sunk

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1
BC Repulse
CL Danae, Shell hits 1
CL Mauritius
DD Vampire
DD Tenedos
DD Electra
DD Express
DD Jupiter

Which left me in a tight spot at the end of the day as you can see in the next image.



Prince of Wales and Repulse are out of heavy ammunition and Prince of Wales' maximum speed is 17knots. I decided to send in an US SCTF with CA Houston, CL Marblehead and a couple of destroyers. The second problem which I have is that the ships are slowly running out of fuel as I could not refuel in Brunei as planned.

I already got the combat results of this turn and I am not 100% happy. What would you have done in this situation?

It's been five nerve-wracking days since Force Z managed to sink some Japanese troop transports. Fortunately, the BBs were not going to hunt Force Z down but support a landing in Kuantan. The battle I mentioned in my previous post was fought between Force Z without Prince of Wales and without any large-caliber ammunition for Repulse. Yet I managed to damage Chokai heavily and she probably sunk.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Balabac at 70,83, Range 25,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai, Shell hits 11, on fire, heavy damage
DD Fubuki
DD Usugumo
DD Shirayuki, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
DD Hatsuyuki
DD Sagiri

Allied Ships
BC Repulse
CL Danae, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL Mauritius
DD Vampire
DD Tenedos, Shell hits 2
DD Electra
DD Express

There were two more battles with the Japanese taskforce. The first was fought by Forze Z and the second was fought by CA Houston's TF.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Balabac at 70,84, Range 23,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka, Shell hits 3
DD Asagumo
DD Murasame, Shell hits 1
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Samidare

Allied Ships
BC Repulse
CL Danae, heavy fires
CL Mauritius
DD Vampire
DD Tenedos
DD Electra
DD Express, Shell hits 2, on fire

Day Time Surface Combat, near Balabac at 71,86, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka, Shell hits 7, heavy fires
DD Asagumo, Shell hits 1
DD Murasame, Shell hits 2
DD Harusame, Shell hits 3
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Samidare, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 2
DD John D. Ford
DD Peary, Shell hits 1
DD Pillsbury
DD Pope, Shell hits 3

Although I ordered Forze Z to merge with Prince of Wales, it ended up north of Borneo while Prince of Wales went to Tarakan as planned. Unfortunately, another threat appeared from the east. My scout planes identified a carrier racing towards the exposed and worn-out SCTFs. I was lucky that I had a lot of subs, who were supposed to go to Java, close and I sent them to intercept the taskforce.

Houstons Taskforce was ordered to go to Brunei to refuel there and escape on the northern coast of Borneo to Java. Force Z had the same orders but was heading for Miri for refueling. Prince of Wales was ordered to retreat through Makassar Strait.



The next night the CVTF was engaged by SS Sculpin but it did not manage to spot the Carrier only BB Mutso and a couple of destroyers. I was asking myself why Mutso and friends were hanging around east of the Philippines in the first place? I was really happy that my ships were not engaged this day and made some progress to leave the vicinity of the enemy carrier(s). Somewhat related SS I-154 sunk CM Rigel on this day which was on its way to lay mines at Singkawang.



On the next day, the Japanese CVTF suddenly appeared in strike range of Malaya where it thankfully attacked some Minelyers and not the escaping SCTFs south of it.



When I realized that all my TFs managed to evade the enemy carrier but Houstons TF was out of full and stranded East of Borneo my joy was limited. I was thinking about two options and one worse than the other and I chose wrong. One option was disbanding the TF in Ketapang and moving some tankers there. The other option was to merge the taskforce with the Dutch destroyers in the area. I chose to merge Houstons TF with the destroyers as an SCTF and the CVTF were heading south.



In hindsight, this was probably the wrong decision as CA Houston was sunk this night by a sub and the DDs did not manage to merge with Houston's TF. The SCTF and the CVTF are supporting a landing at Singkawang but will be free to crush the remaining ships tomorrow.





RIP

Hi, I really could use some advice here to not lose all my destroyers.

What are my options now? Would the ships be safe if they disband at Tambelan? I could disband the Dutch destroyers there as well and form a taskforce the next day and try to run away. As he probably only has one carrier in his TF I still have more planes in this area for at least one more day until Singkawang falls.

Do you have any tips?

Run away. OR, make a charge at the CV group. It's probably just a CVE. It's the escorts you need to worry about....GP

ORIGINAL: btd64

Run away. OR, make a charge at the CV group. It's probably just a CVE. It's the escorts you need to worry about....GP

Thank you for your advice. The problem is that they cannot run as they do not have any fuel left.

Are disbanded TFs save from SCTF? If that is the case I could disband them at the island and merge them with the Dutch DDs who can provide fuel on the next day.

A destroyer charge with the Dutch destroyers is tempting but I fear that they will end up like my Patrol Boats in the Philipines which charged 4 Japanese destroyers.

Disbanded ships cannot be engaged by SCTFs, so your plan can work.
But disbanded ships can be damaged by bombardments from surface ships and port attacks from bombers.
So if your opponent has a hunch of what you are trying to do, he can do some damage to you.
Though I would consider this possibility fairly low.

What I would be worried about regarding the charge on the CVE is the BB TF in the area, that one will very likely eat your destroyers for breakfast if encountered.
Otherwise there is the following to consider: You will get several hundred modern destroyers through the course of the game, loosing some old ones won't hurt your war effort too much.
The Dutch destroyers especially get barely any upgrades later on, so their usefulness will sink throughout the game fairly quickly.
But still considering risk and reward is important.

ORIGINAL: Maallon

Disbanded ships cannot be engaged by SCTFs, so your plan can work.
But disbanded ships can be damaged by bombardments from surface ships and port attacks from bombers.
So if your opponent has a hunch of what you are trying to do, he can do some damage to you.
Though I would consider this possibility fairly low.

Thank you so much. This was exactly the confirmation I needed to finish my turn. When I started the thread about the refueling problem, I already got the turn from my opponent so he did not know about my situation.

I know that I will get a ton of destroyers later. But right now every ship with some ASW capability is needed.

ORIGINAL: huda0816

The problem is that they cannot run as they do not have any fuel left.

If you have cargo ships running south from the PI, you can tell them to meet the DDs and refuel them.

I was wondering again about the game date. I found the date Dec. 9th on the last post of the previous page and you mention five days have elapsed. So were your latest posts about December 14th? Assessing how things are going depends considerably on game date.

Some comments - you seem to be wanting to push back the Japanese from the start. While you can inflict some hurt, you must then find your Sir Robin spirit and get far away from there. The bases and supply levels in that area are too low to refuel and rearm your ships to keep the pressure on. You don't yet have enough auxiliary ships like AKEs and ADS and ASs to make up for the lack of major ports. Now that you have made your effort against the Japanese tide, it is time to head for a major port to rearm and possibly head west off-map or east to PH to defend your troop convoys. Supply convoys will be pretty much on their own for now. Use AMs, YPs and SCs to meet TFs several hexes from ports and guide them in or take them out. You cannot afford to escort the entire journey. DDs are for major warship escort.

And about Chokai - the biggest shells you could have hit her with are six inch, so 11 hits of various calibers six inch or less is very unlikely to do mortal damage to her. Most likely you did a lot of system damage which can be easily repaired. Japanese CAs are quite tough.

ORIGINAL: Ian R

If you have cargo ships running south from the PI, you can tell them to meet the DDs and refuel them.

Thank you! I used cargo ships to get them safely to Batavia as the fuel of the dutch destroyers was not enough.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I was wondering again about the game date. I found the date Dec. 9th on the last post of the previous page and you mention five days have elapsed. So were your latest posts about December 14th? Assessing how things are going depends considerably on game date.

Some comments - you seem to be wanting to push back the Japanese from the start. While you can inflict some hurt, you must then find your Sir Robin spirit and get far away from there. The bases and supply levels in that area are too low to refuel and rearm your ships to keep the pressure on. You don't yet have enough auxiliary ships like AKEs and ADS and ASs to make up for the lack of major ports. Now that you have made your effort against the Japanese tide, it is time to head for a major port to rearm and possibly head west off-map or east to PH to defend your troop convoys. Supply convoys will be pretty much on their own for now. Use AMs, YPs and SCs to meet TFs several hexes from ports and guide them in or take them out. You cannot afford to escort the entire journey. DDs are for major warship escort.

And about Chokai - the biggest shells you could have hit her with are six inch, so 11 hits of various calibers six inch or less is very unlikely to do mortal damage to her. Most likely you did a lot of system damage which can be easily repaired. Japanese CAs are quite tough.

Yes, it was the 14th. I already moved a lot of ships away from this area but I did want to fight with Force Z and use it how it was intended to be used. I could not stop his landings but disrupt some of his operations. Now the party is over, Prince of Wales needs some quality time in a shipyard, and CA Houston is gone.

I should have listened and used Force Z to stop the Singkawang landing or at least try to. Now he has the airfield there and prevents any shipping towards Singapore.

According to the in-game list, Chokai was killed by "15in/42BL Mk I". I rewatched the battle and I could not see any shots fired from Repulse. Maybe Sir Arthur Francis Eric Palliser made this up.