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12-9-41

It was calm and dark as the Battleship Prince of Whales and her accompanying smaller ships of task force Z slipped in behind the Japanese task forces unloading troops at Khota Bharu. Suddenly the primitive allied radar picked up a large formation of Japanese ships steaming towards them at high speed. Japans keen eyed lookouts had spotted the Allied task force almost as soon as they had entered the coastal waters around Khota Bharu.

Now with little time to prepare both fleets opened fire. In the dizzying confusion of the opening salvos, water spouts rose up 4 and 5 stories above the ships of both task forces as gunners tried to find their range. Japanese training paid off though, as their shells began to land after the fleets had closed to just 5,000 yards. Soon several allied ships were afire and the sky was aglow for miles in all directions.

But at these ranges, the allies couldn’t miss and several hits were scored on the Japanese ships as well. Things looked as if they could go either way until the Japanese managed to score with a Long Lance torpedo against the proud Allied Battleship. The ship was hurt and afire and the fleets broke contact after four punishing rounds.
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Kota Bharu at 24,45

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo, Shell hits 3
BB Haruna, Shell hits 1
CA Takao
CA Atago
CL Jintsu
DD Asashio, Shell hits 1
DD Oshio, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Michishio, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
DD Arashio
DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Hibiki

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Danae, Shell hits 2
DD Electra, Shell hits 1
DD Encounter
DD Express, Shell hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
DD Jupiter, Shell hits 23, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk


Alas but this was just the beginning of a very long night. Battle Cruiser Repulse, late in arriving at her scheduled link up with force Z at Singapore on the 7th, had been steaming at full speed to try and catch up and she now quietly slid into the waters off Khota Bharu. With ships afire in all directions, the BC and her two small escorts desperately scanned the night sky for any sign of the enemy fleet. The first sign of the enemy was when lookouts reported water spouts bracketing the small group.

By the time firing solutions could be passed below decks, all three ships had already taken heavy damage and the next few minutes proved fatal as more shells continued to pound the hapless group. A few shots were returned, but in the end the small group was almost completely wiped out.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Kota Bharu at 24,45


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Walrus: 2 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo, Shell hits 1
BB Haruna, Shell hits 2
CA Takao
CA Atago
CL Jintsu, Shell hits 1
DD Asashio
DD Oshio, on fire
DD Michishio, on fire, heavy damage
DD Arashio, Shell hits 1
DD Akatsuki, on fire
DD Hibiki

Allied Ships
BC Repulse, Shell hits 18, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Tenedos, Shell hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
DD Vampire, Shell hits 47, and is sunk


Japans reserve cruiser force then entered the fray and began mop up operations. By the time the sun broke the horizon not an allied ship remained in the waters off of Northeast Malaya.

I must admit it was very painful to watch all this, but man what a blast too. Surface actions like this are awesome even when it’s your ships going down.
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Kota Bharu at 24,45

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano
DD Maikaze
DD Nowaki
DD Arashi
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
DD Tenedos, Shell hits 23, and is sunk

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Kota Bharu at 24,45

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Shell hits 1
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya, Shell hits 1
CA Kumano
DD Maikaze
DD Nowaki
DD Arashi
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Danae, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
DD Electra, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
DD Encounter, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Express, Shell hits 11, and is sunk

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Kota Bharu at 24,45


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Walrus: 3 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Shell hits 2, on fire
CA Mikuma, Shell hits 3
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano, Shell hits 1
DD Maikaze
DD Nowaki
DD Arashi
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Shell hits 31, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk


Just outside of Rangoon harbor, Japanese sub I-122 puts several torpedoes and shells into AK Thedens. The ship was lost along with a large detachment from the No. 107 RAF Base Force based out of Tavoy.

Japans first large air strike was seen in the skies above Manila. Although the airfield saw little damage, several valuable P-40’s were lost.

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Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 53
G3M Nell x 50
Ki-46-II Dinah x 2

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
G3M Nell: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 9 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
48 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x G3M Nell bombing at 20000 feet
25 x G3M Nell bombing at 20000 feet
5 x G3M Nell bombing at 20000 feet

A large Japanese bombardment task force pounded Wake Island causing massive damage to the troops stationed there. The Marines were not asleep at their posts though, as they managed to land several hits on two of the large naval vessels conducting the bombardment with their heavy Coastal Guns.

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Naval bombardment of Wake Island, at 85,72 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

21 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 10
BB Nagato
CA Kako, Shell hits 2
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Aoba


Allied ground losses:
1075 casualties reported
Guns lost 15
Vehicles lost 4

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 9
Port hits 2
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 4


The poorly trained troops at Cagayan managed to repulse an early Japanese assault on that city. Local commanders on scene said, “It appears the Japanese thought no one was about. They simply jumped out of their landing boats and charged our positions without even a preparatory bombardment first”.

With such disdain for allied fighting prowess, the cream of the Japanese empire will soon find itself impaled on the cold steel of allied resolve!

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Ground combat at Cagayan

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2772 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 1035 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1


Japanese ground losses:
96 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Guns lost 1




The Japanese landings at Naga without taking Legaspi first proved a bit of a surprise. Luckily Reinforcements rushed forward from Manila managed to arrive at the vital little town just as a major Japanese assault was launched. Although the poorly trained Philippine troops were pushed out of their last foxhole, they held firm as reinforcements arrived just in time to bolster their lines. Allied commanders are confident Naga can hold against its current opposition indefinitely now as long as supplies don’t run out. Washington has promised a relief convoy will be sent any day now…

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Ground combat at Naga

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 24343 troops, 259 guns, 27 vehicles

Defending force 17941 troops, 88 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 1)


Japanese ground losses:
412 casualties reported
Guns lost 9

Allied ground losses:
96 casualties reported
Guns lost 4



Japanese troops storm ashore and capture the unoccupied atoll of Tarawa. Landings have also been reported at Admiralty Is., Kavieng and Lunga.

Jim

I must admit it was very painful to watch all this, but man what a blast too. Surface actions like this are awesome even when it’s your ships going down.

I got physically ill watching my ships get hit like that. Fortunately after the smoke had cleared the damage was not as severe as I had anticipated. Apparently Force Z had the good luck of finding a squall line just east of Singapore and my aircraft never launched a strike. But alas their luck ran out as I assume they steamed at full-speed through the night to arrive at Kota Bharu before daylight. The entire combat replay took somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 minutes to play through on the time settings I am using.

The Japanese landings at Naga without taking Legaspi first proved a bit of a surprise. Luckily Reinforcements rushed forward from Manila managed to arrive at the vital little town just as a major Japanese assault was launched. Although the poorly trained Philippine troops were pushed out of their last foxhole, they held firm as reinforcements arrived just in time to bolster their lines. Allied commanders are confident Naga can hold against its current opposition indefinitely now as long as supplies don’t run out. Washington has promised a relief convoy will be sent any day now…

Apparently the 16th Division's HQ staff were issued faulty maps...at least that's what they're telling IHQ in Tokyo. Hopefully this won't turn into too great of a fiasco.

Japanese troops storm ashore and capture the unoccupied atoll of Tarawa. Landings have also been reported at Admiralty Is., Kavieng and Lunga.

Some more faulty intell provided by IHQ. From previous wargames and planning exercises IHQ assumed Kavieng was not garrisoned...ooops.

12-10-41

USN SS S-36 scores a kill on the Japanese barge AG-134 by surfacing and using their deck gun northeast of Luzon. With her torpedo bays still full to bursting the sub silently slipped beneath the waves to continue prowling the waters between Japans landings in Northern Luzon and her supply bases in Formosa.

Not a big kill I know, but hey, any successful USN sub kill in the early game is note worthy in my book. Even if they did have to use their deck guns to achieve it. [:D]

Japanese troops storm ashore at Tulagi, the undefended base is expected to fall tomorrow. It looks like he’s going for a quick expansion into the South Pacific with all these early landings in New Britain and the Solomon Islands.

The hammering of allied shipping trying to flee the Japanese onslaught continues. A total of 34 allied ships have been sunk now in just the first few days of war and there is no sign of this punishment letting up anytime soon.

Japan storms Davao on Mindanao only to find the base evacuated as the 101st Reserve Philippine division conducts an orderly withdraw across the river to Cotabato to set up a defense there.

The battle raging at Manado in the northeast Celebes is winding down. Japans troops reduced the last fortification today and the base is expected to fall any day now.

Cagayan fell to a 3-1 deliberate attack and the remnants fled to Butuan.

The allies manage to conduct another orderly withdraw in the face of 24,000+ screaming Japanese who charged into Khota Bharu on the Malay peninsula only to find it deserted. The Commonwealth FMSV and Indian 8th Brigades are conducting a fighting withdraw southwest along the rail line.

Japan launched an attack against the unexpected defenders found on Kavieng and was repulsed by the 2/1 Independent Company under Australia Command. Numbers on the island appear to be about even, so Japan may have to bring in reinforcements.

Jim

Here’s the score to date. Japan dominates all casualty scores and has only lost 2 subs sunk, hmm where's my barge kill?

Jim....you spilled some mustard or something on the Intelligence briefing...I used MS Spot Remover 2000 to get it out.

Nice description of Land Force capabilities in India/Burma. My planning horizon tends to be about 3 days so it was very useful.

12-11-41

Wake Island falls. Previously undetected assault forces sail into the hex behind another massive bombardment by the battleship group and almost 9000 fanatical Japanese troops storm ashore. The desperately outnumbered marines didn’t have a chance and the base falls to a 4-1 shock attack.

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Naval bombardment of Wake Island, at 85,72 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

8 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu
BB Nagato, Shell hits 3
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Aoba


Allied ground losses:
176 casualties reported
Guns lost 3
Vehicles lost 3

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


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Coastal Guns at Wake Island, 85,72, firing at TF 20
TF 20 troops unloading over beach at Wake Island, 85,72


255 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PC Ch 29
PC Ch 30, Shell hits 21
PG Shoei Maru, Shell hits 2
PG Shotoku Maru, Shell hits 4

Japanese ground losses:
441 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
2 casualties reported


--------------------------
Ground combat at Wake Island

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 8690 troops, 52 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 2174 troops, 41 guns, 2 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Wake Island base !!!



Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 5 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
2060 casualties reported
Guns lost 42
Vehicles lost 1


Japanese troops finally land at Legaspi. With their troops at Naga probably short on supplies, allied commanders expected this move.

Even after many of their compatriots have failed to return from their missions thus far, stalwart allied PT boat crews again sailed north to try and appose the Japanese forces building up in Northern Luzon. Lt. F. Galbraith commanding a British MTB detachment spotted the Japanese PG Seisho steaming full speed towards Appari. Before the gunboat could see the small wooden torpedo boats, Lt. Galbraith managed to put a fish into her side. Both MTB’s strafed the deck with machine gun fire as they withdrew from the battle area before the gunboat crew could respond. It’s just another small victory I know, but it’s the first success the PT’s have had since the game started.

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Day Time Surface Combat at 46,48

Japanese Ships
PG Seisho Maru, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
PT MTB 10
PT MTB 11


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Manado falls as expected, allied troops retreated in good order towards Tomini.



Japanese engineers continue to chip away at the fortification level at Hong Kong, reducing them to level 5 in a deliberate attack. Casualties were about 200 for both sides.

The allied undefended bases of Tulagi (Solomons) and Laoag (northern Luzon) both fall.

The pounding continues as merchant ships flee the battle zone, the allies now have 39 reported ship losses to date. Many more ships are near dead in the water and presumed lost.

Jim

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake
Jim....you spilled some mustard or something on the Intelligence briefing...I used MS Spot Remover 2000 to get it out.

[:D][:D][:D] Too funny, I wish I had so many Political Points. With Cagayan gone so quickly, the Philippine division slated to appear there is now scheduled to appear in SF. It'll be a long time before I have the PP to be able to afford to bring that one into any useful theatre, as the expense is near the same as a US division but the unit is far from as useful.

Nice description of Land Force capabilities in India/Burma. My planning horizon tends to be about 3 days so it was very useful.

No problem, I wish I would have had time to do an analysis of all the key theatre's troops, but less than a week barely gave me time to look over India/Burma. Then as they say it was "GAME ON".

Jim

Great read guys. I'll be following this one closely.

Steven

12-12-41

Japanese recon aircraft were sighted over Palmyra and Canton Islands. Task forces were sighted west of both islands and landings are expected to occur in the next day or two.

As I had suspected, Treespider is showing some aggressive tendencies in his style of play (a good thing for a Japanese opponent). Rushing forward like this is doable in the early game, but it remains to be seen how much I can make it cost him in the long run. Already allied planners are sitting down at the operations table drawing up plans to “bring the war to our enemy”.



Japanese battleships conduct an ineffectual bombardment off Naga. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this low of a result from Battleships before, if this is the result of changes in version 1.6 it is a good thing in my book. It may just be an anomaly though.
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Naval bombardment of Naga, at 44,53

Japanese Ships
DD Wakatake
DD Yukaze
CL Oi
BB Yamashiro
BB Fuso


Allied ground losses:
18 casualties reported


A Japanese sub sinks an empty tanker just outside of San Francisco, several allied ASW groups are ordered to set up a multi-hex screen to counter the threat.

Japanese air attacks on Singapore and Manila cause little strategic damage, but do whittle away at allied fighter strength a bit.
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Day Air attack on Singapore , at 22,51

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 14
Ki-21-II Sally x 14

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 5 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 20000 feet
3 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 20000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 52
G3M Nell x 52
G4M1 Betty x 52

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 5 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
155 casualties reported
Guns lost 6

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 10

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x G3M Nell bombing at 15000 feet
13 x G3M Nell bombing at 15000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 20000 feet
15 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 20000 feet
7 x G3M Nell bombing at 15000 feet
9 x G3M Nell bombing at 15000 feet
16 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 20000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 20000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 20000 feet
3 x G3M Nell bombing at 15000 feet
3 x G3M Nell bombing at 15000 feet
2 x G3M Nell bombing at 15000 feet

Another Japanese naval bombardment at Cotabato causes some damage to the facilities there, but fails to hit the 101st reserve Philippine division stationed there at all. Japanese troops then disembark and take high casualties. The Japanese appear to be attempting to avoid a costly river assault by conducting an amphibious op, but the price paid turns out to be a high one anyway.
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Naval bombardment of Cotabato, at 43,60

Japanese Ships
DD Shiokaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Umikaze
DD Kawakaze
DD Yamakaze
CA Nachi
CA Haguro
CA Myoko

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 6
Port hits 1
Port fuel hits 4


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Coastal Guns at Cotabato, 43,60, firing at TF 44
TF 44 troops unloading over beach at Cotabato, 43,60


45 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese ground losses:
530 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1



Hong Kong falls to a 9-1 assault. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hong Kong last even close to the historical surrender date, perhaps CHS should up the PP for both units in the hex to 100 to help strengthen them some.

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Ground combat at Hong Kong

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 34401 troops, 338 guns, 17 vehicles

Defending force 15016 troops, 77 guns, 2 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 5)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Hong Kong base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
375 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
14710 casualties reported
Guns lost 50



As expected the undefended base at Legaspi falls.

Total reported allied ships sunk rose to 43 (9 of these are PT’s lost in the fight around Luzon) this turn as several previously damaged ships succumbed to their wounds. Japans LBA and baby flat tops however find it hard to locate many new targets.

Operation Scoot is considered to be over for the most part (several ships are still in danger) and allied planners are happy with the results of the op. Over 2/3rds of allied ships in the danger zone escaped intact, many others are damaged, but overall things could have been much worse. A rough estimate looks as if the allies saved well over 100 ships from certain destruction. CHS really adds a lot of shipping to this game.

Jim

12-13-41

More naval bombardments this turn, they again prove ineffectual against ground troops. But I notice the facilities at Cotabato again get hammered while Naga’s do not, even though larger caliber guns are slamming Naga. It leaves me wondering what the determining factor is then for facilities getting damaged by naval bombardment, perhaps terrain in the hex. Apparently it’s a little too all or nothing, perhaps it needs some tweaking.

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Naval bombardment of Cotabato, at 43,60

Japanese Ships
DD Shiokaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Umikaze
DD Kawakaze
DD Yamakaze
CA Nachi
CA Haguro
CA Myoko


Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 7
Port hits 3
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 4

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Naval bombardment of Naga, at 44,53

Japanese Ships
DD Sawakaze
DD Mikazuki
CL Kitakami
BB Hyuga
BB Ise


Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

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Naval bombardment of Naga, at 44,53

Japanese Ships
DD Wakatake
DD Yukaze
CL Oi
BB Yamashiro
BB Fuso


Japanese sub I-162 sinks an AK northeast of Borneo that was attempting to shuttle some supplies into Manila.

Australian Wirraways based out of Rabaul again prove their worth by landing a 250 lb bomb into a Japanese AK taking parts in the landings at Kavieng. This is the second Japanese ship to suffer at the hands of the Rabaul Wirraways since the war started.

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Day Air attack on TF at 62,87


Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 6
Hudson I x 2


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Kinrei Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Kenryu Maru

Japanese ground losses:
27 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x Wirraway bombing at 2000 feet
2 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet

Japanese Nate fighters strafe an allied PT boat task force near Lingayen and MBT 10 is sunk. Lt. Galbraith the hero of the action on Dec. 11th which put a torpedo into a Japanese PG off northeast Luzon is killed.
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Day Air attack on TF, near Lingayen at 43,49

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 19

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT MTB 10, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PT MTB 11

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet


A Japanese assault at Naga is easily repulsed by the four Allied units defending that town as armor support has now arrived to help bolster the defense there.

Japanese troops capture Cotabato on Mindanao and force the 101st Reserve Philippine division to retreat towards Butuan in an 11-1 attack. Allied planners do not expect the beleaguered Philippine defenders to hold on much longer against the overwhelming Japanese forces on Mindanao.

In a very bizarre occurrence, the Australian 2/1 Independent company defending Kavieng hold off a Japanese 1-1 attack and then counter with a bombardment attack of their own. However when I started to do my turns orders, the 2/1 co. was retreated 1 hex southeast of Kavieng. I have never seen this before, where the turn’s results do not match the ground battle replays at all. Has anyone else seen this before? Fog of war should not be the case, as we both were fighting and a retreat would be obvious to both sides.

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Ground combat at Kavieng

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 1338 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 808 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0


Japanese ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kavieng

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 797 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 2154 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles

Here is a screen shot of the area around Kavieng:



Jim

In a very bizarre occurrence, the Australian 2/1 Independent company defending Kavieng hold off a Japanese 1-1 attack and then counter with a bombardment attack of their own. However when I started to do my turns orders, the 2/1 co. was retreated 1 hex southeast of Kavieng. I have never seen this before, where the turn’s results do not match the ground battle replays at all. Has anyone else seen this before? Fog of war should not be the case, as we both were fighting and a retreat would be obvious to both sides.

You have suffered the effects of the dreaded sync bug. Have your opponent send you the Combatreport.txt file along with the replay.

Jim I forwarded this to you...

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/13/41

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Coastal Guns at Cotabato, 43,60, firing at TF 44
TF 44 troops unloading over beach at Cotabato, 43,60


Japanese ground losses:
128 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 28,46

Japanese Ships
AK Meiu Maru
MSW Wa 3

Allied Ships
SS KXIII

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Wake Island at 85,72

Japanese Ships
PG Shotoku Maru
PG Shoei Maru

Allied Ships
SS Triton

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Naval bombardment of Cotabato, at 43,60

Japanese Ships
DD Shiokaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Umikaze
DD Kawakaze
DD Yamakaze
CA Nachi
CA Haguro
CA Myoko


Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 7
Port hits 3
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Naga, at 44,53

Japanese Ships
DD Sawakaze
DD Mikazuki
CL Kitakami
BB Hyuga
BB Ise


Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Naga, at 44,53

Japanese Ships
DD Wakatake
DD Yukaze
CL Oi
BB Yamashiro
BB Fuso

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Kavieng, at 62,88

Japanese Ships
CL Kashima
CL Katori


Allied ground losses:
71 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Cotabato, 43,60, firing at TF 44
TF 44 troops unloading over beach at Cotabato, 43,60


3 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Kavieng, 62,88, firing at TF 80
TF 80 troops unloading over beach at Kavieng, 62,88


1 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese ground losses:
53 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 36,55

Japanese Ships
SS I-162

Allied Ships
AK Hanyang, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 62,87


Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 6
Hudson I x 2


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Kinrei Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Kenryu Maru

Japanese ground losses:
27 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x Wirraway bombing at 2000 feet
2 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Tavoy , at 28,37

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 18
Ki-30 Ann x 18

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 17

Aircraft Attacking:
18 x Ki-30 Ann bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Georgetown , at 23,44

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 15
Ki-21-II Sally x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 15000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Kavieng at 62,88


Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 2


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Chichibu Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Kavieng at 62,88


Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 5


Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Kashima

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x Wirraway bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Vigan at 44,49


Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 5


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Mansei Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x P-40E Warhawk bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Lingayen at 43,49

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 19

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT MTB 10, Shell hits 8
PT MTB 11

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet
4 x Ki-27 Nate attacking at 100 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Naga

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22395 troops, 225 guns, 27 vehicles

Defending force 18777 troops, 83 guns, 65 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 2)


Japanese ground losses:
444 casualties reported
Guns lost 15

Allied ground losses:
253 casualties reported
Guns lost 4


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Cotabato

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 6510 troops, 37 guns, 18 vehicles

Defending force 2671 troops, 14 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese assault odds: 28 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Cotabato base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
134 casualties reported
Guns lost 2


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

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Ground combat at Kavieng

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 1338 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 808 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kavieng base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

12-14-41

Well I have completed my orders phase for my next turn, so I’ll have to try and fix this sync problem with the next turn I receive. I’ll keep this AAR short, because after looking things over I’ve found a lot of what I’ve written about didn’t actually happen. For instance Lt. Galbraith and his MTB are still around. This is very disconcerting to me; can anyone explain to me what causes this?

As far as I can tell this is what happened on 12-14-41.

Two Japanese CL’s bombarded Rabaul and destroyed 1 Wirraway. They also caused minor damage to the facilities there. After the bombardment a large unescorted air strike of Nells and Bettys hit Rabaul from 20k feet, causing no damage. Looks like those Wirraways are annoying the Japanese enough that he’s trying to shut them down. I doubt he’ll succeed without KB’s support.

A large Japanese air strike at Singapore destroyed some planes and caused minor damage as well.

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Day Air attack on Singapore , at 22,51

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 15
Ki-21-II Sally x 50

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 3 destroyed, 22 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 7 destroyed
Blenheim I: 1 destroyed
Hudson I: 1 destroyed
Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
46 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
13 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
8 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
6 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
3 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
5 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
2 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet

An AK and AO are sunk near Luzon by Japanese surface groups. The ships were heavily damaged and trying to make their way back to Manila for repairs.

I’ll forgo any screen shots until/if we can get the game synced again.

Jim

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

... Lt. Galbraith and his MTB are still around. This is very disconcerting to me; can anyone explain to me what causes this?

Resourceful, those Brits! [:D]

12-15-41

Ok I hope we’ve got things synced now. Question to the group, do we have to use the Japanese players combatreports file every turn, or will just the one sync things up?

Japanese sub I-156 sinks AK Kanlaon II west of Sumatra. I believe there were troops aboard but I’m not sure. So many ships have evacuated through the narrow straits (Sunda straights) between Sumatra and Java, I simply cannot remember which ships were loaded with cadre evacuees and which were empty in that region.

Japanese DD’s jump an already stricken PC west of Manila and finish her off.

The Japanese CL’s continue to bombard Rabaul causing negligible damage.

Manila is struck by a small flight of zeroes and Anns, the minor damage caused is repaired instantly.

A naval engagement off of San Marcelino in Luzon sees many more allied PT boats go to the bottom without doing much in return.

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Day Time Surface Combat, near San Marcelino at 43,50

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
DD Natsugumo
DD Minegumo
DD Asagumo, Shell hits 1
DD Murasame
DD Harusame

Allied Ships
PT PT-34, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT PT-35, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT PT-41
PT MTB 10, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
PT MTB 11, Shell hits 8, and is sunk


It turns out the task force I saw a few turns ago near Palmyra is a couple of PG, they managed to intercept an AO mid ocean (allied air had failed to detect them over the past few turns) southeast of Christmas Island and caused heavy damage to the ship which is not expected to make port.

I assume the task force I saw near Canton Island is of a similar makeup, as landings have not materialized at either base yet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat at 124,97

Japanese Ships
PG Aikoku Maru, Shell hits 3
PG Hokoku Maru, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
AO Sepulga, Shell hits 14, on fire, heavy damage


Japanese troops move in and capture the unoccupied town of Alor Star in Malaya. Allied troops have successfully pulled back from Northern Malaya to prevent Japanese units marching down the rail from Khota Bharu and cutting them off from Singapore. With allied units intact and supply being sucked into Singapore from the northern bases, Singapore may well hold out till March or April.

In a move to rival all bonehead moves (don’t even ask me why I thought this was a good idea, the plan was hatched very late last night after several beers and for some reason I followed through on it today… D’OH!!!), allied troops reoccupied Lingayen after the unoccupied base had automatically changed to Japanese control. The allies tried a deliberate attack in hopes of damaging the resource there when the base was re-captured. Of course Japanese troops arrived the exact turn we attack and the Philippine troops are roughly handled by an overwhelmingly superior force. Stupid… stupid… stupid…

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Ground combat at Lingayen

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 4213 troops, 31 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 31546 troops, 422 guns, 100 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)



Allied ground losses:
1193 casualties reported
Guns lost 16





Total reported allied ships sunk to date are now 54, 13 of which are PT boats.

I cannot say how much of what I have described before is true or not. For instance the troops I reported being sunk outside Rangoon (No. 107 RAF base force detachment out of Tavoy) are in fact in Rangoon. The ship shows as being sunk near Rangoon, so perhaps it had managed to deliver the troops and was leaving the port when attacked, I’m not sure.

Lt. Galbraith (MTB 10) is now finally deceased having died this past turn in the large PT boat action off of San Marcelino.

The first turn or so where Treespider reported air strikes hitting his ships in and around the Luzon area, never showed up here, so I have no idea if the strikes I did report over the past turns were accurate or not.

Suffice it to say it ‘appears’ we are on track now, but I will be keeping a very close eye on things as this is a lot of extra effort and if all my posts are based on false data…

Jim

The first turn or so where Treespider reported air strikes hitting his ships in and around the Luzon area, never showed up here, so I have no idea if the strikes I did report over the past turns were accurate or not.

There were several times when you reported a ship sinking that I saw get hit but did not sink. My assumption was that the damage was more severe than I imagined and you scuttled it. I guess I was mistaken. For the most part your AAR is accurate. I do continue to see your P-40's out of manilla strafing my TF's around Luzon.

12-16-41

Japanese DD’s pound a Dutch sub off the Malay coast, damage his high.

Japanese sub I-157 hits a loaded tanker in the Sunda straights causing its cargo of unrefined oil to spill into the sea and catch fire.

A Japanese CA force bombards Kuantan causing minor damage in preparation for a landing.

In an attempt to close down Singapore airfield, a large Japanese air strike hits the base causing moderate damage, but not enough to close down operations.

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Day Air attack on Singapore , at 22,51

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
Ki-27 Nate x 19
Ki-21-II Sally x 77
Ki-46-II Dinah x 3

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 destroyed, 28 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 6 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
42 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 14

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
9 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
24 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
9 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
8 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
6 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
3 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
2 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
3 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
3 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet
3 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 12000 feet

Japanese planes fly over Manila again today and an allied ace shows himself to be a truly deadly flyer. 1st Lt. Kiser, G. E. of the 17th fighter squadron shoots down 4 zeros in air to air combat bringing his total kills to 5 for the war so far. The only other ace of the war Lt Dobbs, R. (also of the 17th squadron) was recently killed in action with a total of 6 kills to his credit.

The large air strike hitting Manila only caused light to moderate damage as the effective allied air defense broke up the raids coordination.

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Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 44
G3M Nell x 51
G4M1 Betty x 52

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
G3M Nell: 3 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 6 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
87 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 17

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x G3M Nell bombing at 12000 feet
15 x G3M Nell bombing at 12000 feet
13 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 12000 feet
11 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 12000 feet
4 x G3M Nell bombing at 12000 feet
7 x G3M Nell bombing at 12000 feet
6 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 12000 feet
16 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 12000 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 12000 feet
3 x G3M Nell bombing at 12000 feet
2 x G3M Nell bombing at 12000 feet
2 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 12000 feet

Allied planes in Malaya fly to the defense and hit Japanese task forces moving in to unload troops at Kuantan. Multiple allied strikes were flown but limited hits were scored. “Our boys just don’t have enough combat experience to expect more of them yet,” said Brigadier General Astin, U. commander of the 224 RAF air group headquarters stationed in Singapore. “Give them a few more weeks and Japan won’t be able to sail within 300 miles of Singapore without having every ship sunk.”

Here are the strikes that scored hits, many more missed:

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Day Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 24,48

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 13

Allied aircraft
Vildebeest IV x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest IV: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Mitsu Maru #3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AP Kanayamasan Maru

Japanese ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Vildebeest IV launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x Vildebeest IV launching torpedoes at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 24,48

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 9

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 6
Buffalo I x 16
Blenheim I x 12
Blenheim IV x 8
Hudson I x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 1 damaged
Buffalo I: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
Blenheim I: 1 destroyed
Hudson I: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Kashiwara Maru
DD Shikinami, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Tsuruga Maru, Bomb hits 1
PG Kongosan Maru
DD Hatsuyuki
AP Kanayamasan Maru
AP Sakido Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Otori Maru
AP Fukko Maru
AP Kyosei Maru
AP Kensyo Maru

Japanese ground losses:
18 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Blenheim IV bombing at 6000 feet
2 x Blenheim I bombing at 6000 feet
4 x Blenheim I bombing at 6000 feet
3 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
4 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
3 x Blenheim I bombing at 6000 feet
2 x Wirraway bombing at 2000 feet
3 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
3 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
3 x Blenheim IV bombing at 6000 feet
2 x Blenheim I bombing at 6000 feet
4 x Blenheim IV bombing at 6000 feet
4 x Wirraway bombing at 2000 feet

Wirraways flying out of Rabaul sink a Japanese MSW that was escorting a small transport ship. The small task force is headed southeast into the “slot”, possibly to land at another unoccupied base there.

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Day Air attack on TF at 62,91


Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 4
Hudson I x 2


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
MSW Tama Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kaijo Maru #2

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Wirraway bombing at 2000 feet
2 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet

Japanese troops capture the unoccupied base of Tuguegarao and also throw back the Philippine troops from Lingayen in Luzon.

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Ground combat at Tuguegarao

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 13991 troops, 5 guns, 6 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 534 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Tuguegarao base !!!



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Ground combat at Lingayen

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 26117 troops, 481 guns, 100 vehicles

Defending force 2706 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 281 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
445 casualties reported
Guns lost 4


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Total allied ships reported sunk remains at 54. Japan has 5 ships reported sunk to date.

With armor to rival most heavy Cruisers and guns more powerful than 9.2 in guns (320 penetration) and almost as powerful as 12 in guns (500 penetration), if the allies can just succeed in training up this crew, this PG could really cause the Japanese some nasty surprises in and around the SRA.



Jim

With armor to rival most heavy Cruisers and guns more powerful than 9.2 in guns (320 penetration) and almost as powerful as 12 in guns (500 penetration), if the allies can just succeed in training up this crew, this PG could really cause the Japanese some nasty surprises in and around the SRA.

Scare tactics will get you nowhere

Now for some thoughts on an earlier incident....

On 12/11/41....

Japanese troops finally land at Legaspi. With their troops at Naga probably short on supplies, allied commanders expected this move.

Jim had me quite frazzeled. I had hoped to be able to storm the town and capture the size 2 port on day 1, the assault didn't materialize as I had hoped. At the time the landing was my only presence in Southern Luzon as I hadn't planned to take Legaspi until later.

Fortunately he did not follow up with a counter attack. I was at 88 disorganization and low on supplies with no reinforcements on the horizon for at least two days.

The division commander on scene had the wherewithal to observe the situation and loaded a reinforced company back onto the tranports and send them to Legaspi to seize the much needed port.

It wasn't until later that I remembered I was the Japanese and that we neither retreat nor surrender. Had it been an Allied unit the jig would probably have been up.

Everyday is a learning experience with WitP.

Forest