December 22 -
Tophat got my attention, and one last turn out of me this evening, by writing; "Here we go then.....some action!!! finally some ACTION". So I went through the Combat Replay, then checked the Combat Report, and am still wondering what he saw that I didn't. [&:] Sure, his troops captured Laoag, and his ASW sank yet another of my subs, and his Zeros went up against my Buffalos over Singapore, but this isn't the sort of "action" that really grabs my attention. I was worried that he had been able to sneak the KB into my shipping lanes or something like that.
One worrisome thing that did come out of this turn is that Tophat's Nells from Tavoy were able to spot some of my transports off of the coast of India. So I need to move more CAP around to keep unescorted bombers away from my ports. I'm still unloading lots of troops and supplies and I don't need to be interupted by long distance aerial raiders.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention last time that Tophat was able to capture Apamama just by being next door in Tarawa. Tophat's planes also bombed Manila and Clark Field again this turn - he does seem serious about trying to take Clark by January 1, 1942.
So all those distractions aside, the rest of my plans continued on nicely - all I need is time for them to come to fruition.
Dave Baranyi
Tophat vs ADavidB - Back at It
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
RE: Third Week at War
December 23 -
Tophat wrote; "Well we are finally fighting in China and Malaya. Nice retreat you are conducting, but remember I have a lot of good Jap pilots not getting nickel and dimed away either. But I'd of tried the same thing....."
Well, my philosophy in this situation is, "You can't nickel and dime with only pennies and slugs…" [;)] But one my groups of "pennies and slugs" stood up and was counted this turn:
Night Time Surface Combat, near Cagayan at 42, 59
Japanese Ships
CA Myoko
CA Aoba
CA Kinugasa
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Oboro, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Uzuki
DD Kikuzuki
DD Yuzuki
Allied Ships
PT PT-31
PT PT-35
PT PT-41
That ambush didn't prevent the Japanese TF from bombarding Cagayan, but it was still nice to see my guys get in a shot and get away scot-free.
Elsewhere, Tophat is continuing with his assaults. He took Tuguegarao but I had already pulled the troops out, and he also air dropped paratroops into Kuantan, but again I had already pulled out my troops. And he has started the attack on Yenen:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 96663 troops, 1183 guns, 153 vehicles
Defending force 33299 troops, 210 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1
Japanese ground losses:
1178 casualties reported
Guns lost 45
Vehicles lost 2
Allied ground losses:
1040 casualties reported
Guns lost 13
Obviously, with that force he will grab Yenen quickly, but I wasn't expecting to hold it anyway. Tophat has also landed a lot of troops at San Marcelino, so he appears to have hopes of ending the Philippines campaign fairly quickly. We'll have to see what I can do about that. Tophat has started a land campaign in Malaya too:
Ground combat at Alor Star
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 19287 troops, 281 guns, 6 vehicles
Defending force 2915 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 5)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 4
Japanese ground losses:
336 casualties reported
Guns lost 10
Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
And finally, Tophat has started to march some troops out of Tavoy and towards Burma proper, so I started to move away some of the nearer Brit troops in tandem. But while Tophat has to actually stop to grab bases that I have abandoned, my troops are taking the train to the Indian border and then marching towards the inland bases. By the time that Tophat decides what to do about Mandalay, I'll already have a good defensive position set up far into the jungle.
I'm not forgetting about India proper either. I am still landing troops there and distributing combat troops. If Tophat decides to venture into that region he will find that I have "all my bases covered".
Dave Baranyi
Tophat wrote; "Well we are finally fighting in China and Malaya. Nice retreat you are conducting, but remember I have a lot of good Jap pilots not getting nickel and dimed away either. But I'd of tried the same thing....."
Well, my philosophy in this situation is, "You can't nickel and dime with only pennies and slugs…" [;)] But one my groups of "pennies and slugs" stood up and was counted this turn:
Night Time Surface Combat, near Cagayan at 42, 59
Japanese Ships
CA Myoko
CA Aoba
CA Kinugasa
CA Furutaka
CA Kako
DD Oboro, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Uzuki
DD Kikuzuki
DD Yuzuki
Allied Ships
PT PT-31
PT PT-35
PT PT-41
That ambush didn't prevent the Japanese TF from bombarding Cagayan, but it was still nice to see my guys get in a shot and get away scot-free.
Elsewhere, Tophat is continuing with his assaults. He took Tuguegarao but I had already pulled the troops out, and he also air dropped paratroops into Kuantan, but again I had already pulled out my troops. And he has started the attack on Yenen:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 96663 troops, 1183 guns, 153 vehicles
Defending force 33299 troops, 210 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1
Japanese ground losses:
1178 casualties reported
Guns lost 45
Vehicles lost 2
Allied ground losses:
1040 casualties reported
Guns lost 13
Obviously, with that force he will grab Yenen quickly, but I wasn't expecting to hold it anyway. Tophat has also landed a lot of troops at San Marcelino, so he appears to have hopes of ending the Philippines campaign fairly quickly. We'll have to see what I can do about that. Tophat has started a land campaign in Malaya too:
Ground combat at Alor Star
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 19287 troops, 281 guns, 6 vehicles
Defending force 2915 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 5)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 4
Japanese ground losses:
336 casualties reported
Guns lost 10
Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
And finally, Tophat has started to march some troops out of Tavoy and towards Burma proper, so I started to move away some of the nearer Brit troops in tandem. But while Tophat has to actually stop to grab bases that I have abandoned, my troops are taking the train to the Indian border and then marching towards the inland bases. By the time that Tophat decides what to do about Mandalay, I'll already have a good defensive position set up far into the jungle.
I'm not forgetting about India proper either. I am still landing troops there and distributing combat troops. If Tophat decides to venture into that region he will find that I have "all my bases covered".
Dave Baranyi
RE: Third Week at War
Good to see you back David. Interesting Strategy with withdrawal from Malaya. Looking forward to see if it does provide so much more advantage to Japanese when it comes to further expansion. Best of luck!
RE: Third Week at War
ORIGINAL: marovici
Good to see you back David. Interesting Strategy with withdrawal from Malaya. Looking forward to see if it does provide so much more advantage to Japanese when it comes to further expansion. Best of luck!
Hi - it's nice to be back! [:)]
I've got a number of reasons for a limited withdrawal from Malaya:
1 - I'm going to lose it anyway unless Tophat ignores it (which isn't likely)
2 - Any units that I withdraw mean fewer points for Tophat when he captures Malaya (one of my main goals for the first year of this game is to minimize the points that Tophat can gain)
3 - I'm removing non-combat troops: the Air HQs and base forces - they don't really contribute to the defense against ground attack anyway
4 - India is too empty - I am sending the base forces to fill in the small coastal towns as well as the empty inland towns. I don't want Tophat to land a group of raiders at some empty port and use that as an invasion toehold.
5 - The Air HQs will help alleviate my lack of support troops, and as well will help my air units fight and recover better. My air units need all the help that they can get
6 - I'm still contesting the major bases where I can field reasonably good troops - I haven't pulled everyone back, particularly from the West Coast of Malaya
7 - My British air units cannot not stand up to sweeps by the crack Japanese pilots, so there is no point in letting them get shot down for no reason. By having them back in India they can rest up, get replacements, improve morale, and get pratice on any long range bombers that Tophat might send without escorts over India.
So I don't expect this to give any significant advantage to Tophat - he may gain a few days on his conquest schedule but he will not get as many points from the troops that he kills/captures. And later on, if he tries an invasion of India I will be much more ready for him.
Thanks for the comments -
Dave Baranyi
RE: Third Week at War
December 24 -
Tophat wrote; "...so you sent the Hiuston to Australia, interesting."
I wondered how he found out about that until I saw the end of the Combat Replay:
Sub attack at 48,91
Japanese Ships
SS I-159, hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Stewart
DD Whipple
DD Pope
DD Pillsbury
DD Peary
DD Parrott
So Houston and I-159 found out about each other the "hard way". I think that Houston will make it home - as long as there aren't more Japanese subs in the area it ought to.
Yes, I'm pulling the Asiatic Fleet out of the DEI and sending it to the South Pacific. Historically, the US and Australian attempts to reinforce the DEI were "too little, too late" and I don't intend to try to duplicate the mess that they both got into in that theater. I've got better uses for those ships than to leave them around as fodder for the KB when it eventually appears.
The KB hasn't appeared anywhere recently. Tophat has sent his CVL back to the Philippines to help with the invasion of Cagayan - one of my subs ran into its TF with unfortunate results for my sub:
ASW attack at 46,58
Japanese Ships
DD Amatsukaze
DD Hayashio
DD Natsushio
DD Hatsukaze
DD Oyashio
DD Kuroshio
CVL Ryujo
Allied Ships
SS Permit, hits 2
If the Permit doesn't run into any more Japanese TFs it ought to make it back to port, but it won't be shooting torpedoes for a while.
Elsewhere, Tophat added an assault on Changsha to his ongoing assault on Yenen:
Ground combat at Changsha
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 128199 troops, 1454 guns, 156 vehicles
Defending force 56511 troops, 419 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2
Japanese ground losses:
2300 casualties reported
Guns lost 58
Vehicles lost 2
Allied ground losses:
3102 casualties reported
Guns lost 69
and:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 95106 troops, 1123 guns, 148 vehicles
Defending force 31951 troops, 188 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
1102 casualties reported
Guns lost 27
Vehicles lost 5
Allied ground losses:
984 casualties reported
Guns lost 3
I'm curious as to how far Tophat will try to go in China, but I'm not very concerned about it simply because there is little I can do about it at this time.
Tophat also continued with his daily aerial bombardments of various locations and units in the Philippines. The following will give you an idea of why I'm not trying hard to "stand and fight" with my current air units:
Day Air attack on Cagayan , at 42,59
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
G4M1 Betty x 20
C5M Babs x 2
Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 5
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged
C5M Babs: 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 6 destroyed
PBY Catalina: 2 destroyed
Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9
I'm much better off pulling that unit back and letting it rebuild far from the front. It will also be months before I have sufficient quantities of fighters to have a decent chance to "stand and fight" successfully.
In other news, the final part of "Operation Quinine" got underway. I am very happy with the result of this operation - I will soon have a number of troops sitting safely in non-malarial bases, building strength for the future and protecting the present that would have otherwise been wasted uselessly.
Dave Baranyi
Tophat wrote; "...so you sent the Hiuston to Australia, interesting."
I wondered how he found out about that until I saw the end of the Combat Replay:
Sub attack at 48,91
Japanese Ships
SS I-159, hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Stewart
DD Whipple
DD Pope
DD Pillsbury
DD Peary
DD Parrott
So Houston and I-159 found out about each other the "hard way". I think that Houston will make it home - as long as there aren't more Japanese subs in the area it ought to.
Yes, I'm pulling the Asiatic Fleet out of the DEI and sending it to the South Pacific. Historically, the US and Australian attempts to reinforce the DEI were "too little, too late" and I don't intend to try to duplicate the mess that they both got into in that theater. I've got better uses for those ships than to leave them around as fodder for the KB when it eventually appears.
The KB hasn't appeared anywhere recently. Tophat has sent his CVL back to the Philippines to help with the invasion of Cagayan - one of my subs ran into its TF with unfortunate results for my sub:
ASW attack at 46,58
Japanese Ships
DD Amatsukaze
DD Hayashio
DD Natsushio
DD Hatsukaze
DD Oyashio
DD Kuroshio
CVL Ryujo
Allied Ships
SS Permit, hits 2
If the Permit doesn't run into any more Japanese TFs it ought to make it back to port, but it won't be shooting torpedoes for a while.
Elsewhere, Tophat added an assault on Changsha to his ongoing assault on Yenen:
Ground combat at Changsha
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 128199 troops, 1454 guns, 156 vehicles
Defending force 56511 troops, 419 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2
Japanese ground losses:
2300 casualties reported
Guns lost 58
Vehicles lost 2
Allied ground losses:
3102 casualties reported
Guns lost 69
and:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 95106 troops, 1123 guns, 148 vehicles
Defending force 31951 troops, 188 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
1102 casualties reported
Guns lost 27
Vehicles lost 5
Allied ground losses:
984 casualties reported
Guns lost 3
I'm curious as to how far Tophat will try to go in China, but I'm not very concerned about it simply because there is little I can do about it at this time.
Tophat also continued with his daily aerial bombardments of various locations and units in the Philippines. The following will give you an idea of why I'm not trying hard to "stand and fight" with my current air units:
Day Air attack on Cagayan , at 42,59
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
G4M1 Betty x 20
C5M Babs x 2
Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 5
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged
C5M Babs: 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 6 destroyed
PBY Catalina: 2 destroyed
Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9
I'm much better off pulling that unit back and letting it rebuild far from the front. It will also be months before I have sufficient quantities of fighters to have a decent chance to "stand and fight" successfully.
In other news, the final part of "Operation Quinine" got underway. I am very happy with the result of this operation - I will soon have a number of troops sitting safely in non-malarial bases, building strength for the future and protecting the present that would have otherwise been wasted uselessly.
Dave Baranyi
RE: Third Week at War
December 25 -
I got a painful "Christmas Present" from Tophat this turn - the KB popped up in the shipping lanes half-way between Hawaii and the West Coast and smashed a transport TF that was bringing supplies to the South Pacific. He obviously took the "long route" to the north between my patrols in Alaska and Midway. Fortunately, I don't have a lot else in that neighborhood, and what is around is being redirected in various directions (cockroach scatter...). I've also put all of my aircraft on the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii on full alert. This means that I've turned on "replacements" on a number of them before I had planned to do so, but it can't be helped. And once again I've sent my ships in Hawaii out to sea. But they are not all running away - just in case Tophat has a replenishment TF floating around up north, I've sent some "little friends" that direction.
BTW - Tophat's gambit is one of the reasons why I don't send ground troops from the West Coast into the Pacific in December 1941 - not only are they not at full strength, but it is too easy for the KB to pop up unexpectedly. I can replace supplies and AKs fairly readily - I don't want ground troops or air units sinking on the way to the front.
This does mean that I can relax a fair amount in other theaters - I only have to deal with the usual overwhelming Japanese advantages instead of having the KB there to wipe out any hope of the smallest gain. So Tophat's surface combat ships got rid of the last of my PT boats at Cayagan - I expect that ground troops will land next turn. And Tophat's troops took Naga, which I had abandoned a few days ago. On the other hand, Yenen, Changsha and Alor Star are still holding up against Tophat's assaults, but I don't expect that to continue for long.
The tough times continue, but my redeployment actions continue to procede nicely.
Dave Baranyi
I got a painful "Christmas Present" from Tophat this turn - the KB popped up in the shipping lanes half-way between Hawaii and the West Coast and smashed a transport TF that was bringing supplies to the South Pacific. He obviously took the "long route" to the north between my patrols in Alaska and Midway. Fortunately, I don't have a lot else in that neighborhood, and what is around is being redirected in various directions (cockroach scatter...). I've also put all of my aircraft on the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii on full alert. This means that I've turned on "replacements" on a number of them before I had planned to do so, but it can't be helped. And once again I've sent my ships in Hawaii out to sea. But they are not all running away - just in case Tophat has a replenishment TF floating around up north, I've sent some "little friends" that direction.
BTW - Tophat's gambit is one of the reasons why I don't send ground troops from the West Coast into the Pacific in December 1941 - not only are they not at full strength, but it is too easy for the KB to pop up unexpectedly. I can replace supplies and AKs fairly readily - I don't want ground troops or air units sinking on the way to the front.
This does mean that I can relax a fair amount in other theaters - I only have to deal with the usual overwhelming Japanese advantages instead of having the KB there to wipe out any hope of the smallest gain. So Tophat's surface combat ships got rid of the last of my PT boats at Cayagan - I expect that ground troops will land next turn. And Tophat's troops took Naga, which I had abandoned a few days ago. On the other hand, Yenen, Changsha and Alor Star are still holding up against Tophat's assaults, but I don't expect that to continue for long.
The tough times continue, but my redeployment actions continue to procede nicely.
Dave Baranyi
RE: Third Week at War
December 26 -
The KB is still sitting in the shipping lanes between Hawaii and the West Coast. It didn't launch any more air strikes against my remaining fleeing transports, but its patrol planes did spot some of them. One of the two heavily damaged AKs sank on its own. The other is limping towards the West Coast. (I really doubt that it will ever make it, even if the KB ignores it.) The two AKs that escaped the attack last turn are heading away from the area. My intel says that the KB is heading East - true or false? In a case of "...after the horse is out of the barn", I sent my short range subs out from Pearl last turn to set up a picket line of sorts - although realistically, since they don't carry scout planes its more a matter of dumb luck than anything else that I will spot Japanese TFs in the "blind zone". And in order to try to reduce the "blind zone" a bit I am sending an AVD to the further Aleutian Islands to provide support for another PBY group up there. My patrols are usually pretty close to useless, but it beats nothing.
In other news, the noose continues to tighten in the Philippines as Japanese troops captured uncontested Lingayen. Now all my troops are in Bataan/Clark/Manila. Tophat also started to land troops in Cagayan. In China, Tophat resorted to bombardments against my troops at Yenen and Changsha. And my troops at Alor Star repulsed another attack:
Ground combat at Alor Star
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18612 troops, 248 guns, 5 vehicles
Defending force 2700 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1
Japanese ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Allied ground losses:
28 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
I've never figured out what it is about Alor Star that allows the otherwise mediocre Alled Malayan troops to fight so well.
My ASW continues to be as close to useless as is imaginable. My ships don't even detect the Japanese subs, let along hit them. This turn one of Tophat's subs hit the last of my transports to be leaving Singapore:
Sub attack at 18,58
Japanese Ships
SS I-164
Allied Ships
AP Westralia, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
MSW Deloraine
MSW Cairns
Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
I've now got that TF limping back towards Java. That TF had a couple of escorts, and I had swept that area with a dedicated ASW TF the same turn. [:(] Oh well, back to the practice fields.
Dave Baranyi
The KB is still sitting in the shipping lanes between Hawaii and the West Coast. It didn't launch any more air strikes against my remaining fleeing transports, but its patrol planes did spot some of them. One of the two heavily damaged AKs sank on its own. The other is limping towards the West Coast. (I really doubt that it will ever make it, even if the KB ignores it.) The two AKs that escaped the attack last turn are heading away from the area. My intel says that the KB is heading East - true or false? In a case of "...after the horse is out of the barn", I sent my short range subs out from Pearl last turn to set up a picket line of sorts - although realistically, since they don't carry scout planes its more a matter of dumb luck than anything else that I will spot Japanese TFs in the "blind zone". And in order to try to reduce the "blind zone" a bit I am sending an AVD to the further Aleutian Islands to provide support for another PBY group up there. My patrols are usually pretty close to useless, but it beats nothing.
In other news, the noose continues to tighten in the Philippines as Japanese troops captured uncontested Lingayen. Now all my troops are in Bataan/Clark/Manila. Tophat also started to land troops in Cagayan. In China, Tophat resorted to bombardments against my troops at Yenen and Changsha. And my troops at Alor Star repulsed another attack:
Ground combat at Alor Star
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18612 troops, 248 guns, 5 vehicles
Defending force 2700 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1
Japanese ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Allied ground losses:
28 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
I've never figured out what it is about Alor Star that allows the otherwise mediocre Alled Malayan troops to fight so well.
My ASW continues to be as close to useless as is imaginable. My ships don't even detect the Japanese subs, let along hit them. This turn one of Tophat's subs hit the last of my transports to be leaving Singapore:
Sub attack at 18,58
Japanese Ships
SS I-164
Allied Ships
AP Westralia, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
MSW Deloraine
MSW Cairns
Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
I've now got that TF limping back towards Java. That TF had a couple of escorts, and I had swept that area with a dedicated ASW TF the same turn. [:(] Oh well, back to the practice fields.
Dave Baranyi
RE: Third Week at War
December 27 -
A fairly quiet turn. The KB has disappeared again - it may be near where it was, it may be heading towards the West Coast, it may be going any direction. So I'm keeping the Eastern Pacific fairly empty for the next few days and keeping my air units in the region on full alert. There isn't much else I can do.
Tophat did ground bombardment attacks again at Yenen, Changsha and Alor Star. He also landed more troops in Cayagan. I personally think that he could run over all four places at once if he really put some effort at it, but I'm not going to "encourage" him. He'll take them soon enough.
Tophat also did another fighter sweep of Davao. Sorry Charlie - I'm not leaving P-40s around to act as target practice for Zeros. When Tophat's units see these US fighters again, the story will be rather different.
BTW - my subs and ASW continue to be as ineffectual as my fighter air craft.
Dave Baranyi
A fairly quiet turn. The KB has disappeared again - it may be near where it was, it may be heading towards the West Coast, it may be going any direction. So I'm keeping the Eastern Pacific fairly empty for the next few days and keeping my air units in the region on full alert. There isn't much else I can do.
Tophat did ground bombardment attacks again at Yenen, Changsha and Alor Star. He also landed more troops in Cayagan. I personally think that he could run over all four places at once if he really put some effort at it, but I'm not going to "encourage" him. He'll take them soon enough.
Tophat also did another fighter sweep of Davao. Sorry Charlie - I'm not leaving P-40s around to act as target practice for Zeros. When Tophat's units see these US fighters again, the story will be rather different.
BTW - my subs and ASW continue to be as ineffectual as my fighter air craft.
Dave Baranyi
Fourth Week of War
December 28 -
Still no sign of the KB, so I'm keeping the Eastern Pacific pretty empty for now until I have a better idea of where the KB is and why Tophat is sending lots of TFs towards the "South East" from Japan.
Elsewhere, Tophat started a bombing campaign against Rangoon:
Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
Ki-27 Nate x 28
Ki-30 Ann x 23
Ki-15 Babs x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann: 1 destroyed, 9 damaged
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 12
My AA fire took care of those Anns, but they won't have to worry about that in the future because my troops pulled out right afterwards. The fighter units are already back in India. Tophat tried sweeps at Davao and Singapore again, but he came up empty once more because I have no intention of sacrificing any air units in either location. In the meanwhile, a CV TF showed up southeast of Davao. Is it the CVL again, or did Tophat split the KB? (I had the feeling that I wasn't seeing all the planes that the complete KB can launch in that attack on my transports.)
This turn Tophat's troops took Cagayan and drove my pitiful little base force out. I'll march those troops away, but they won't be able to escape to anywhere safe. Tophat also grabbed an empty Moulmein Tophat continued with ground bombardment attacks at Changsha and Alor Star, but tried a deliberate attack at Yenen:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 108990 troops, 1272 guns, 143 vehicles
Defending force 29810 troops, 196 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
1081 casualties reported
Guns lost 35
Vehicles lost 1
Allied ground losses:
1611 casualties reported
Guns lost 15
I'm quite pleased with those troops at Yenen - they are holding very well, particularly when you consider that I didn't bring the "communist" troops back to support them.
BTW - "Operation Quinine" finished successfully - I pulled all of the troops out of Rabaul and Port Moresby and brought them back to Townsville to rest up, build strength and prepare for the future in malaria-free comfort. Sure, Tophat can now do what he wants in New Britain and PNG, but in reality, if he commits the full KB to the area he could do the same even if I left the troops in place. And Townsville will be signficantly harder for Tophat to attack than Port Moresby.
Dave Baranyi
Still no sign of the KB, so I'm keeping the Eastern Pacific pretty empty for now until I have a better idea of where the KB is and why Tophat is sending lots of TFs towards the "South East" from Japan.
Elsewhere, Tophat started a bombing campaign against Rangoon:
Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
Ki-27 Nate x 28
Ki-30 Ann x 23
Ki-15 Babs x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann: 1 destroyed, 9 damaged
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 12
My AA fire took care of those Anns, but they won't have to worry about that in the future because my troops pulled out right afterwards. The fighter units are already back in India. Tophat tried sweeps at Davao and Singapore again, but he came up empty once more because I have no intention of sacrificing any air units in either location. In the meanwhile, a CV TF showed up southeast of Davao. Is it the CVL again, or did Tophat split the KB? (I had the feeling that I wasn't seeing all the planes that the complete KB can launch in that attack on my transports.)
This turn Tophat's troops took Cagayan and drove my pitiful little base force out. I'll march those troops away, but they won't be able to escape to anywhere safe. Tophat also grabbed an empty Moulmein Tophat continued with ground bombardment attacks at Changsha and Alor Star, but tried a deliberate attack at Yenen:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 108990 troops, 1272 guns, 143 vehicles
Defending force 29810 troops, 196 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
1081 casualties reported
Guns lost 35
Vehicles lost 1
Allied ground losses:
1611 casualties reported
Guns lost 15
I'm quite pleased with those troops at Yenen - they are holding very well, particularly when you consider that I didn't bring the "communist" troops back to support them.
BTW - "Operation Quinine" finished successfully - I pulled all of the troops out of Rabaul and Port Moresby and brought them back to Townsville to rest up, build strength and prepare for the future in malaria-free comfort. Sure, Tophat can now do what he wants in New Britain and PNG, but in reality, if he commits the full KB to the area he could do the same even if I left the troops in place. And Townsville will be signficantly harder for Tophat to attack than Port Moresby.
Dave Baranyi
RE: Fourth Week of War
December 29 -
I think that I've located the whereabouts of the KB:
E7K2 Alf sighting report: 2 Allied ships at 121, 54, Speed 16, Moving Northeast
Notice - that was an Alf, not a Glen! And the Alf spotted one of my subs that are out there on picket duty in the "blind zone". Sure, that may just be a combat TF out there, or a spy TF with a CS in it, but I doubt it. (And unless Tophat is able to upgrade from Glens to Alfs, it can't be coming from a sub.) So Tophat is keeping the KB around just in case I get careless and start to send TFs back across the main shipping lanes. The real question is - where is his replenishment TF? Is it with or near the KB, or is it further away in the Blind Zone? And is it just a pure refueling TF, or has he made a true replenishment TF including CVEs and replacement aircraft? I haven't seen his CVEs around the Philippines for quite some time - only his CVL. In any event, I'll just keep my air units on alert in that region and avoid sending TFs into harms way for now. As long as I know where the KB really is its effectiveness is cute at least in half.
I am also improving my patrol capability in the region. Tophat has been aided a lot in his hiding by the fact that I start out with few air units in the Northeastern Pacific region and those that are there are rather short-legged. But I am gradually changing that situation. I have also reached that very satisfying moment in the early part of the game when I receive those two full 72-planes groups of P-39s and P-40Es in Seattle. I can now bring over 300 fighters to bear at any base in the West Coast within a day. Sure, they aren't the best fighters in the game, but I would still love to see the KB go against them. [:D]
In other news, one of my subs finally got a hit on an ASW TF:
Sub attack at 25, 48
Japanese Ships
DD Yugiri, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Asagiri
DD Ayanami
DD Shikinami
Allied Ships
SS KXVII
Tophat has a number of combat ships sitting off of the southern tip of Malaya. I don't know what he is doing - maybe planning another bombardment of Mersing, or a fast transport invasion? Later, one of my planes in the region also got a hit on the same ship:
Day Air attack on TF at 24, 49
Allied aircraft
Martin 139 x 8
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
DD Yugiri, on fire
DD Ayanami
Tophat is still doing sweeps where I don't have aircraft:
Day Air attack on Davao, at 41, 61
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
No Japanese losses
And:
Day Air attack on Rangoon, at 29, 34
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
Ki-15 Babs x 1
No Japanese losses
And:
Day Air attack on Singapore, at 23, 50
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 9
No Japanese losses
But his bombers keep on taking damage from flak:
Day Air attack on Manila, at 43, 52
Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 9
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 9 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
PBY Catalina: 1 destroyed
Allied ground losses:
71 casualties reported
Guns lost 7
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 7
My Chinese bombers keep on being a useful nuisance:
Day Air attack on Nanning, at 40, 38
Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 6
No Allied losses
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 1
Tophat has had to put CAP in all of his ports in the region to keep me from bombing them. But I keep on finding undefended bases.
Tophat is getting a bit frustrated at China; "…quiet again......I'll win at Yenen someday..." What is ironic is that a while back he mentioned how an opponent in another PBEM has been bogged down in China because of splitting up the Japanese forces too much.
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 107634 troops, 1225 guns, 141 vehicles
Defending force 26969 troops, 175 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
746 casualties reported
Guns lost 31
Vehicles lost 3
Allied ground losses:
706 casualties reported
Guns lost 10
Tophat stuck with ground bombardment attacks at Changsha and Alor Star.
My Indian defensive strategy continues to work out nicely. I now have RAF Air HQs in each of Diamond Harbour, Calcutta, Chandpur and Dacca. I like to do this for several reasons:
- I like to have support in the "black" in all of my bases because units build up faster
- HQs "attract" supplies, which aids in building up units
- Air HQs add some measure of capability to the air units that I have there.
I've also got base forces and combat units in all of the other coastal bases in India and will soon have the same in the various inland bases that are near the coast. I like to be able to base air units where they can't be hit by bombardment TFs. And my air units in India continue to get better. ("Everyday, in every way, we get better and better…"
)
Now, realistically, what I have in India wouldn't stop a serious attack at this time, but it would slow it down, which is what I want.
Dave Baranyi
I think that I've located the whereabouts of the KB:
E7K2 Alf sighting report: 2 Allied ships at 121, 54, Speed 16, Moving Northeast
Notice - that was an Alf, not a Glen! And the Alf spotted one of my subs that are out there on picket duty in the "blind zone". Sure, that may just be a combat TF out there, or a spy TF with a CS in it, but I doubt it. (And unless Tophat is able to upgrade from Glens to Alfs, it can't be coming from a sub.) So Tophat is keeping the KB around just in case I get careless and start to send TFs back across the main shipping lanes. The real question is - where is his replenishment TF? Is it with or near the KB, or is it further away in the Blind Zone? And is it just a pure refueling TF, or has he made a true replenishment TF including CVEs and replacement aircraft? I haven't seen his CVEs around the Philippines for quite some time - only his CVL. In any event, I'll just keep my air units on alert in that region and avoid sending TFs into harms way for now. As long as I know where the KB really is its effectiveness is cute at least in half.
I am also improving my patrol capability in the region. Tophat has been aided a lot in his hiding by the fact that I start out with few air units in the Northeastern Pacific region and those that are there are rather short-legged. But I am gradually changing that situation. I have also reached that very satisfying moment in the early part of the game when I receive those two full 72-planes groups of P-39s and P-40Es in Seattle. I can now bring over 300 fighters to bear at any base in the West Coast within a day. Sure, they aren't the best fighters in the game, but I would still love to see the KB go against them. [:D]
In other news, one of my subs finally got a hit on an ASW TF:
Sub attack at 25, 48
Japanese Ships
DD Yugiri, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Asagiri
DD Ayanami
DD Shikinami
Allied Ships
SS KXVII
Tophat has a number of combat ships sitting off of the southern tip of Malaya. I don't know what he is doing - maybe planning another bombardment of Mersing, or a fast transport invasion? Later, one of my planes in the region also got a hit on the same ship:
Day Air attack on TF at 24, 49
Allied aircraft
Martin 139 x 8
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
DD Yugiri, on fire
DD Ayanami
Tophat is still doing sweeps where I don't have aircraft:
Day Air attack on Davao, at 41, 61
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
No Japanese losses
And:
Day Air attack on Rangoon, at 29, 34
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
Ki-15 Babs x 1
No Japanese losses
And:
Day Air attack on Singapore, at 23, 50
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 9
No Japanese losses
But his bombers keep on taking damage from flak:
Day Air attack on Manila, at 43, 52
Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 9
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 9 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
PBY Catalina: 1 destroyed
Allied ground losses:
71 casualties reported
Guns lost 7
Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 7
My Chinese bombers keep on being a useful nuisance:
Day Air attack on Nanning, at 40, 38
Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 6
No Allied losses
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 1
Tophat has had to put CAP in all of his ports in the region to keep me from bombing them. But I keep on finding undefended bases.
Tophat is getting a bit frustrated at China; "…quiet again......I'll win at Yenen someday..." What is ironic is that a while back he mentioned how an opponent in another PBEM has been bogged down in China because of splitting up the Japanese forces too much.
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 107634 troops, 1225 guns, 141 vehicles
Defending force 26969 troops, 175 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
746 casualties reported
Guns lost 31
Vehicles lost 3
Allied ground losses:
706 casualties reported
Guns lost 10
Tophat stuck with ground bombardment attacks at Changsha and Alor Star.
My Indian defensive strategy continues to work out nicely. I now have RAF Air HQs in each of Diamond Harbour, Calcutta, Chandpur and Dacca. I like to do this for several reasons:
- I like to have support in the "black" in all of my bases because units build up faster
- HQs "attract" supplies, which aids in building up units
- Air HQs add some measure of capability to the air units that I have there.
I've also got base forces and combat units in all of the other coastal bases in India and will soon have the same in the various inland bases that are near the coast. I like to be able to base air units where they can't be hit by bombardment TFs. And my air units in India continue to get better. ("Everyday, in every way, we get better and better…"
)Now, realistically, what I have in India wouldn't stop a serious attack at this time, but it would slow it down, which is what I want.
Dave Baranyi
RE: Fourth Week of War
December 30 -
It definitely is the KB out there to the northeast of Hawaii:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 121, 55, Speed 16, Moving Northeast
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 123, 58, Speed 17, Moving Northeast
B5N Kate attacking S-34 at 121, 55
E13A1 Jake attacking S-34 at 121, 55
D3A Val attacking S-34 at 121, 55
S-34 is reported HIT
B5N Kate attacking S-34 at 121, 55
B5N Kate attacking Narwhal at 123, 58
E13A1 Jake attacking S-34 at 121, 55
So I've got those subs "racing" (as much as "S" boats can "race"…) to crisscross that region in an attempt to find the actual location of the KB. And who knows, maybe one of those subs will actually find something to shoot at. [;)]
Elsewhere, Tophat moved some transports off of Mersing to join those combat ships my subs and planes went after last time:
Sub attack at 24,49
Japanese Ships
AP Kashiwara Maru
PG Sozan Maru
PC Shonan Maru #7
PC Ch 9
PG Muro Maru
MSW Ranzan Maru
MSW W.3
Allied Ships
SS KXVII
And:
Sub attack at 24, 49
Japanese Ships
AP Fusemi Maru, Torpedo hits 1
PG Sozan Maru
PC Shonan Maru #7
PC Ch 9
PG Muro Maru
MSW Ranzan Maru
MSW W.3
Allied Ships
SS KXVII
Japanese ground losses:
18 casualties reported
SS KXVII used up all of its torpedoes and has to go back to base for a refill, but I have a bunch of other subs in the area waiting to see if they can get in a shot too. I'm guessing that those TFs are heading for Mersing, but if not they are going in a direction that has caught my attention. Therefore, I "gave in to temptation" [:D] and put those "Stringbags" back into Singapore, just in case they get off a couple of lucky shots. Hopefully, Tophat will be ignoring Singapore airfield again next turn. He did do sweeps at Singapore and Davao this turn but without any effect:
Day Air attack on Singapore, at 23, 50
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 9
No Japanese losses
And:
Day Air attack on Davao, at 41, 61
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged
It's nice to see the mudsloggers in Davao get a few hits on those Zeros.
On the ground front, Tophat used ground bombardments at Changsha and Alor Star again and also tried another deliberate attack at Yenen:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 106800 troops, 1191 guns, 135 vehicles
Defending force 25882 troops, 169 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
528 casualties reported
Guns lost 16
Allied ground losses:
538 casualties reported
Guns lost 6
Tophat has also been sending out a fair number of aerial bombing missions in the Philippines, China and Malaya, but it's nothing unusual. Otherwise, things are going along as planned, with the exception of the delays in shipping in the Eastern Pacific due to the presence of the KB.
Dave Baranyi
It definitely is the KB out there to the northeast of Hawaii:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 121, 55, Speed 16, Moving Northeast
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 123, 58, Speed 17, Moving Northeast
B5N Kate attacking S-34 at 121, 55
E13A1 Jake attacking S-34 at 121, 55
D3A Val attacking S-34 at 121, 55
S-34 is reported HIT
B5N Kate attacking S-34 at 121, 55
B5N Kate attacking Narwhal at 123, 58
E13A1 Jake attacking S-34 at 121, 55
So I've got those subs "racing" (as much as "S" boats can "race"…) to crisscross that region in an attempt to find the actual location of the KB. And who knows, maybe one of those subs will actually find something to shoot at. [;)]
Elsewhere, Tophat moved some transports off of Mersing to join those combat ships my subs and planes went after last time:
Sub attack at 24,49
Japanese Ships
AP Kashiwara Maru
PG Sozan Maru
PC Shonan Maru #7
PC Ch 9
PG Muro Maru
MSW Ranzan Maru
MSW W.3
Allied Ships
SS KXVII
And:
Sub attack at 24, 49
Japanese Ships
AP Fusemi Maru, Torpedo hits 1
PG Sozan Maru
PC Shonan Maru #7
PC Ch 9
PG Muro Maru
MSW Ranzan Maru
MSW W.3
Allied Ships
SS KXVII
Japanese ground losses:
18 casualties reported
SS KXVII used up all of its torpedoes and has to go back to base for a refill, but I have a bunch of other subs in the area waiting to see if they can get in a shot too. I'm guessing that those TFs are heading for Mersing, but if not they are going in a direction that has caught my attention. Therefore, I "gave in to temptation" [:D] and put those "Stringbags" back into Singapore, just in case they get off a couple of lucky shots. Hopefully, Tophat will be ignoring Singapore airfield again next turn. He did do sweeps at Singapore and Davao this turn but without any effect:
Day Air attack on Singapore, at 23, 50
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 9
No Japanese losses
And:
Day Air attack on Davao, at 41, 61
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged
It's nice to see the mudsloggers in Davao get a few hits on those Zeros.
On the ground front, Tophat used ground bombardments at Changsha and Alor Star again and also tried another deliberate attack at Yenen:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 106800 troops, 1191 guns, 135 vehicles
Defending force 25882 troops, 169 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Japanese ground losses:
528 casualties reported
Guns lost 16
Allied ground losses:
538 casualties reported
Guns lost 6
Tophat has also been sending out a fair number of aerial bombing missions in the Philippines, China and Malaya, but it's nothing unusual. Otherwise, things are going along as planned, with the exception of the delays in shipping in the Eastern Pacific due to the presence of the KB.
Dave Baranyi
RE: Fourth Week of War
December 31, 1941 -
Here are Tophat's comments on the general situation after I kidded him about him celebrating in Clark on January 1:
"Nope. I really never expected to be at Clark on Jan 1st.....but I am ahead of schedule and things are seeming too easy......way too easy. So you have done a general pullout throughout the SRA................my boys are coming and Singapore will definitely fall by the end of the month. I can't see the PI holding for long either now, though I'm sure it'll be at least 2 more weeks........"
Tophat may be a bit too optimistic - after all, the KB is still sitting there in the Blind Zone northeast of Hawaii:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 57, Speed 12, Moving West
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 120, 58, Speed 10, Moving West
B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 52, Speed 13, Moving West
B5N Kate attacking S-23 at 118, 52
D3A Val attacking S-34 at 118, 57
But in general Tophat's forces aren't doing too badly. He wiped out the PTs that I had sitting at Davao:
Day Time Surface Combat, near Davao at 41, 61
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara
DD Yukikaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Yamakaze
DD Kawakaze
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Shiokaze
Allied Ships
PT PT-32, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
PT PT-33, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
PT PT-34, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
Daylight is very bad for PT boats…
And his forces started to land at Mersing, although my Vildebeests did get in one hit:
Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 3
Allied aircraft
Vildebeest IV x 2
No Japanese losses
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
DD Kamo, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
I've left the Vildebeests in Singapore for one more day, just in case they can get in any more shots.
Tophat was satisfied to use ground bombardments again this turn at Changsha, Yenen and Alor Star. He still hasn't moved any troops against Clark Field, Bataan or Manila, and now all of the Luzon troops are in one of those three bases. I continue to build up the fortifications in each base, but I'm not allowing replacements for the troops. I don't want to use up supplies any faster than I need to do, and I don't want more troops to be caught in the fall of the Philippines than I need to either.
BTW - One of my ASW ships finally did its job:
ASW attack at 98, 96
Japanese Ships
SS I-2, hits 2, on fire
Allied Ships
DD Cushing
What was neat about this was that was a single ship ASW TF.
BTW II - in my reply to Tophat I commented that "I am ahead of schedule too." [;)]
Dave Baranyi
Here are Tophat's comments on the general situation after I kidded him about him celebrating in Clark on January 1:
"Nope. I really never expected to be at Clark on Jan 1st.....but I am ahead of schedule and things are seeming too easy......way too easy. So you have done a general pullout throughout the SRA................my boys are coming and Singapore will definitely fall by the end of the month. I can't see the PI holding for long either now, though I'm sure it'll be at least 2 more weeks........"
Tophat may be a bit too optimistic - after all, the KB is still sitting there in the Blind Zone northeast of Hawaii:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 57, Speed 12, Moving West
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 120, 58, Speed 10, Moving West
B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 52, Speed 13, Moving West
B5N Kate attacking S-23 at 118, 52
D3A Val attacking S-34 at 118, 57
But in general Tophat's forces aren't doing too badly. He wiped out the PTs that I had sitting at Davao:
Day Time Surface Combat, near Davao at 41, 61
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara
DD Yukikaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Yamakaze
DD Kawakaze
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Shiokaze
Allied Ships
PT PT-32, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
PT PT-33, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
PT PT-34, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
Daylight is very bad for PT boats…
And his forces started to land at Mersing, although my Vildebeests did get in one hit:
Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 3
Allied aircraft
Vildebeest IV x 2
No Japanese losses
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
DD Kamo, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
I've left the Vildebeests in Singapore for one more day, just in case they can get in any more shots.
Tophat was satisfied to use ground bombardments again this turn at Changsha, Yenen and Alor Star. He still hasn't moved any troops against Clark Field, Bataan or Manila, and now all of the Luzon troops are in one of those three bases. I continue to build up the fortifications in each base, but I'm not allowing replacements for the troops. I don't want to use up supplies any faster than I need to do, and I don't want more troops to be caught in the fall of the Philippines than I need to either.
BTW - One of my ASW ships finally did its job:
ASW attack at 98, 96
Japanese Ships
SS I-2, hits 2, on fire
Allied Ships
DD Cushing
What was neat about this was that was a single ship ASW TF.
BTW II - in my reply to Tophat I commented that "I am ahead of schedule too." [;)]
Dave Baranyi
A New Year's Eve Nightmare...
I was browsing some of the other AARs while waiting for Tophat to return the January 1 combat replay and January 2 turn, when I was stopped in my tracks by Admiral Laurent's "Bloody Pacific" AAR. There they are in late January and AL has invaded the Hawaiian Islands.
Hmmm - Is Tophat thinking of trying the same thing? Is that why he has the KB sitting off to the Northeast of Hawaii, intercepting traffic?
But wait a minute, his BBs are off in the PI and Malaya area - would he try such a thing without heavy surface combat presence?
But it has been very odd that Tophat hasn't "done a bloody thing all day" in the South Pacific.
I currently have a carrier TF prowling to the west of the Hawaiian Islands - that is starting to look like a very good idea to continue. And I've got that other carrier TF coming up from the south west. Maybe that second TF should join the patrol. And what about that third carrier on the West Coast? Maybe I need to start to move it into position too. I would love to intercept a transport fleet out at sea with the KB on the other side of Hawaii.
Come on Tophat, send me my turn - I have moves to make...
Dave Baranyi
Hmmm - Is Tophat thinking of trying the same thing? Is that why he has the KB sitting off to the Northeast of Hawaii, intercepting traffic?
But wait a minute, his BBs are off in the PI and Malaya area - would he try such a thing without heavy surface combat presence?
But it has been very odd that Tophat hasn't "done a bloody thing all day" in the South Pacific.
I currently have a carrier TF prowling to the west of the Hawaiian Islands - that is starting to look like a very good idea to continue. And I've got that other carrier TF coming up from the south west. Maybe that second TF should join the patrol. And what about that third carrier on the West Coast? Maybe I need to start to move it into position too. I would love to intercept a transport fleet out at sea with the KB on the other side of Hawaii.
Come on Tophat, send me my turn - I have moves to make...
Dave Baranyi
A New Year of War...
January 1, 1942 -
The KB is still up to the Northeast of Hawaii, and while it has been finding my subs, I haven't found it yet:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 56, Speed 9, Moving Southeast
B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 119, 55, Speed 13, Moving Southeast
E7K2 Alf sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 120, 52, Speed 13, Moving Southwest
What is more irritating, however, is the presence of a sub with a Glen down south:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 137, 68, Speed 9, Moving Northeast
Now, will the KB head south to go after that TF? What a pain!
Otherwise, there were no big surprises in the turn. Tophat did ground bombardment attacks at Yenen, Changsha and Alor Star again, and did aerial bombardments of a number of other places. He also sent a fighter sweep to Rangoon, but there was no one home.
In the main area of action, Tophat's troops continued to land at Mersing and my bombers continued to fly in after the task forces:
Day Air attack on TF at 24, 49
Allied aircraft
Vildebeest IV x 6
Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest IV: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Shirakumo
And:
Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 6
Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 9
Martin 139 x 6
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
CW-21B Demon: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Kamo, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
were the two successful attacks. I'm leaving the remnants of the Vildebeest squadron in place for another shot next turn. But despite the aerial assault, Tophat's ships remained organized enough to whack one more of my subs:
ASW attack at 24, 49
Japanese Ships
DD Shirakumo
DD Usugumo
DD Shinonome
DD Fubuki, on fire
Allied Ships
SS KXVI, hits 1
In any event, my main headache right now is to figure out a way to get the KB out of my hair in the Eastern Pacific.
Dave Baranyi
The KB is still up to the Northeast of Hawaii, and while it has been finding my subs, I haven't found it yet:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 56, Speed 9, Moving Southeast
B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 119, 55, Speed 13, Moving Southeast
E7K2 Alf sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 120, 52, Speed 13, Moving Southwest
What is more irritating, however, is the presence of a sub with a Glen down south:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 137, 68, Speed 9, Moving Northeast
Now, will the KB head south to go after that TF? What a pain!
Otherwise, there were no big surprises in the turn. Tophat did ground bombardment attacks at Yenen, Changsha and Alor Star again, and did aerial bombardments of a number of other places. He also sent a fighter sweep to Rangoon, but there was no one home.
In the main area of action, Tophat's troops continued to land at Mersing and my bombers continued to fly in after the task forces:
Day Air attack on TF at 24, 49
Allied aircraft
Vildebeest IV x 6
Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest IV: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Shirakumo
And:
Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 6
Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 9
Martin 139 x 6
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
CW-21B Demon: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Kamo, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
were the two successful attacks. I'm leaving the remnants of the Vildebeest squadron in place for another shot next turn. But despite the aerial assault, Tophat's ships remained organized enough to whack one more of my subs:
ASW attack at 24, 49
Japanese Ships
DD Shirakumo
DD Usugumo
DD Shinonome
DD Fubuki, on fire
Allied Ships
SS KXVI, hits 1
In any event, my main headache right now is to figure out a way to get the KB out of my hair in the Eastern Pacific.
Dave Baranyi
RE: A New Year of War...
January 2 -
I still haven't located the KB exactly, but it isn't really moving very much - it just whacks my subs when they wander too close:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 53, Speed 17, Moving East
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 119, 53, Speed 14, Moving Northeast
D3A Val attacking S-18 at 119, 53
D3A Val attacking S-35 at 118, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 118, 53
I forgot to mention last post that Tophat took Victoria Point last turn by land. This turn he took Mersing. I tried to interfere with the landing with some PTs, but they were whacked by a small DD squadron and never got to close with the transports. Likewise, a number of my air units attacked the ships at Mersing, but they didn't have any luck this time.
Elsewhere, Tophat's troops finally took Alor Star in a deliberate attack. That Indian unit fought well. But my Chinese units at Yenen are fighting even better:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 107091 troops, 1198 guns, 139 vehicles
Defending force 25266 troops, 167 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
858 casualties reported
Guns lost 35
Vehicles lost 5
Allied ground losses:
590 casualties reported
Guns lost 9
At the same time Tophat did another ground bombardment attack at Changsha. The one new thing that Tophat did was to send a bombardment fleet into Menado. It caused some damage, but there isn't a lot there to be damaged. I guess that an invasion fleet will follow sometime in the near future.
The biggest change I did was to order the majority of my subs to move to picket positions in the Central Pacific in an attempt to detect any passing Japanese task forces. It's a low probability activity, but it beats just sticking with my current patrol capabilities.
Dave Baranyi
I still haven't located the KB exactly, but it isn't really moving very much - it just whacks my subs when they wander too close:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 53, Speed 17, Moving East
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 119, 53, Speed 14, Moving Northeast
D3A Val attacking S-18 at 119, 53
D3A Val attacking S-35 at 118, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 118, 53
I forgot to mention last post that Tophat took Victoria Point last turn by land. This turn he took Mersing. I tried to interfere with the landing with some PTs, but they were whacked by a small DD squadron and never got to close with the transports. Likewise, a number of my air units attacked the ships at Mersing, but they didn't have any luck this time.
Elsewhere, Tophat's troops finally took Alor Star in a deliberate attack. That Indian unit fought well. But my Chinese units at Yenen are fighting even better:
Ground combat at Yenen
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 107091 troops, 1198 guns, 139 vehicles
Defending force 25266 troops, 167 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
858 casualties reported
Guns lost 35
Vehicles lost 5
Allied ground losses:
590 casualties reported
Guns lost 9
At the same time Tophat did another ground bombardment attack at Changsha. The one new thing that Tophat did was to send a bombardment fleet into Menado. It caused some damage, but there isn't a lot there to be damaged. I guess that an invasion fleet will follow sometime in the near future.
The biggest change I did was to order the majority of my subs to move to picket positions in the Central Pacific in an attempt to detect any passing Japanese task forces. It's a low probability activity, but it beats just sticking with my current patrol capabilities.
Dave Baranyi
RE: A New Year of War...
January 3 -
My hunt for the KB continues. I get the feeling that the TF moved a bit to the west, but I can't be totally certain:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 116, 53, Speed 13, Moving West
D3A Val attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
E13A1 Jake sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 51, Speed 13, Moving Northwest
E7K2 Alf attacking S-35 at 116, 53
Fortunately, S-35 avoided all those attacks. That sub with the Glen is still south east of Hawaii:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 135, 70, Speed 5, Moving Northeast
What a pain it is not having a CS with float planes available as the Allies![:@]
Otherwise, this was a fairly quiet turn. Tophat is licking his wounds at Yenen and so didn't do any sort of attack, although I did bombard him:
Ground combat at Yenen
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 22760 troops, 140 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 110107 troops, 1164 guns, 135 vehicles
Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 2
My bombardment attacks there usually don't accomplish anything, so this is a nice change of pace. The only other ground action was the two of us exchanging bombardments at Changsha.
My planes attacked Tophat's ships at Mersing again, but he has brought a lot of planes in, so this wasn't too successful:
Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15
Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 6
Martin 139 x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
CW-21B Demon: 2 destroyed
Japanese Ships
AP Ryugi Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
I've now pulled back the Vildebeests - they won't get through that CAP any more. Tophat can now bomb Singapore to his heart's content. He has also landed a lot of troops at Mersing, so he will be attacking Singapore soon.
The big thing that I am waiting on now is the arrival of a lot of forces in 9 days. That will help me feel a lot happier in India and allow me to extend some force a bit forwards from the West Coast. I did notice from Sigint that Tophat is finally moving a base force to Wake. (I think that my subs near Japan spotted that TF.) I may be tempted to try to intercept it.
Dave Baranyi
My hunt for the KB continues. I get the feeling that the TF moved a bit to the west, but I can't be totally certain:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 116, 53, Speed 13, Moving West
D3A Val attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53
E13A1 Jake sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 51, Speed 13, Moving Northwest
E7K2 Alf attacking S-35 at 116, 53
Fortunately, S-35 avoided all those attacks. That sub with the Glen is still south east of Hawaii:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 135, 70, Speed 5, Moving Northeast
What a pain it is not having a CS with float planes available as the Allies![:@]
Otherwise, this was a fairly quiet turn. Tophat is licking his wounds at Yenen and so didn't do any sort of attack, although I did bombard him:
Ground combat at Yenen
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 22760 troops, 140 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 110107 troops, 1164 guns, 135 vehicles
Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 2
My bombardment attacks there usually don't accomplish anything, so this is a nice change of pace. The only other ground action was the two of us exchanging bombardments at Changsha.
My planes attacked Tophat's ships at Mersing again, but he has brought a lot of planes in, so this wasn't too successful:
Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15
Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 6
Martin 139 x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
CW-21B Demon: 2 destroyed
Japanese Ships
AP Ryugi Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
I've now pulled back the Vildebeests - they won't get through that CAP any more. Tophat can now bomb Singapore to his heart's content. He has also landed a lot of troops at Mersing, so he will be attacking Singapore soon.
The big thing that I am waiting on now is the arrival of a lot of forces in 9 days. That will help me feel a lot happier in India and allow me to extend some force a bit forwards from the West Coast. I did notice from Sigint that Tophat is finally moving a base force to Wake. (I think that my subs near Japan spotted that TF.) I may be tempted to try to intercept it.
Dave Baranyi
RE: A New Year of War...
January 4 -
Yes, it does look like the KB is very gradually moving westwards:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 115, 51, Speed 17, Moving Northwest
D3A Val attacking S-35 at 115, 51
The poor crew of the S-35 must think that there is a big bull's-eye on their conning tower - they get attacked so often.
That @#$%^ Japanese sub with the Glen is still tracking my TFs to the south:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 10 Allied ships at 142, 58, Speed 12, Moving Northeast
I did find and hit a number of other spy subs, so maybe it's just a matter of time for that one down south. First attack near Hawaii:
ASW attack at 105, 72
Japanese Ships
SS I-175, hits 1, on fire
Allied Ships
DMS Elliot
DMS Dorsey
The next crew comes in:
ASW attack at 105, 72
Japanese Ships
SS I-175, hits 1, heavy damage
Allied Ships
DD Phelps
DD Ellet
DD Cummings
DD Dunlap
The Dutch get in on the act in the DEI:
Sub attack at 29, 66
Japanese Ships
SS I-155, hits 1
Allied Ships
DD Witte de With
DD Kortenaer
DD Banckert
And have a second kick-at-the-cat later on:
ASW attack at 29, 66
Japanese Ships
SS I-155, hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
DD Witte de with
DD Kortenaer
DD Banckert
There is one more sub in the Hawaii/Palmyra/Johnson triangle that my planes have spotted, so I've sent ships after it too. I want to have some freedom of movement without having my every more reported back to Tokyo.
Additionally, my picket line subs are getting into position so I am starting to feel a lot happier with what I know about the East-Central Pacific.
Otherwise, things were fairly quiet. We took turns bombarding each other with our ground troops in Yenen and Changsha and Tophat did some aerial bombing in a few places.
I'm waiting until I get that big mid-January delivery of reinforcements in a week or so before I begin to set up more organized traps and start to move forces and supplies forward. India, Australia and the West Coast are all developing nicely as planned and Tophat's rather leisurely approach to the Far East is allowing me to establish reasonable defenses in the DEI and China. Interestingly enough, Tophat hasn't gone after any of the fuel/resource bases in the DEI yet.
Dave Baranyi
Yes, it does look like the KB is very gradually moving westwards:
D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 115, 51, Speed 17, Moving Northwest
D3A Val attacking S-35 at 115, 51
The poor crew of the S-35 must think that there is a big bull's-eye on their conning tower - they get attacked so often.
That @#$%^ Japanese sub with the Glen is still tracking my TFs to the south:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 10 Allied ships at 142, 58, Speed 12, Moving Northeast
I did find and hit a number of other spy subs, so maybe it's just a matter of time for that one down south. First attack near Hawaii:
ASW attack at 105, 72
Japanese Ships
SS I-175, hits 1, on fire
Allied Ships
DMS Elliot
DMS Dorsey
The next crew comes in:
ASW attack at 105, 72
Japanese Ships
SS I-175, hits 1, heavy damage
Allied Ships
DD Phelps
DD Ellet
DD Cummings
DD Dunlap
The Dutch get in on the act in the DEI:
Sub attack at 29, 66
Japanese Ships
SS I-155, hits 1
Allied Ships
DD Witte de With
DD Kortenaer
DD Banckert
And have a second kick-at-the-cat later on:
ASW attack at 29, 66
Japanese Ships
SS I-155, hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
DD Witte de with
DD Kortenaer
DD Banckert
There is one more sub in the Hawaii/Palmyra/Johnson triangle that my planes have spotted, so I've sent ships after it too. I want to have some freedom of movement without having my every more reported back to Tokyo.
Additionally, my picket line subs are getting into position so I am starting to feel a lot happier with what I know about the East-Central Pacific.
Otherwise, things were fairly quiet. We took turns bombarding each other with our ground troops in Yenen and Changsha and Tophat did some aerial bombing in a few places.
I'm waiting until I get that big mid-January delivery of reinforcements in a week or so before I begin to set up more organized traps and start to move forces and supplies forward. India, Australia and the West Coast are all developing nicely as planned and Tophat's rather leisurely approach to the Far East is allowing me to establish reasonable defenses in the DEI and China. Interestingly enough, Tophat hasn't gone after any of the fuel/resource bases in the DEI yet.
Dave Baranyi
RE: A New Year of War...
January 5 -
Is the KB now moving southeast now?
B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 116, 53, Speed 17, Moving Northwest
B5N Kate attacking S-23 at 116, 53
S-23 was the furthest SE of the "pack" and the one that the KB's planes picked up on. I'm a bit concerned because of this:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 6 Allied ships at 144, 54, Speed 7, Moving Northeast
That's a TF that is returning to San Diego, just a couple of days steaming to the southwest. Would Tophat send the KB all the way down there?
In any event, I've put all of my aircraft in the region on higher levels of patrol and sent out every ready combat ship out of San Diego and LA to cross the area out to the limits of they one-day-travel ring. I've even taken the chance and sent out a BB with escorts in order to get its patrol planes into the fray. I want to get that sub!
In the meanwhile, my ASW in the Hawaii/Palmyra/Johnson triangle missed their chances at that one sub that was spotted the last time:
ASW attack at 108, 74
Japanese Ships
SS I-171
Allied Ships
DD Humphreys
The Humphreys missed a second time, and the other ships in the area missed altogether. But I'm just sending more ASW out this time. And at the same time my patrols spotted another sub closer to Palmyra:
PBY Catalina sighting report: 1 Japanese ship at 112, 80, Speed 5, Moving Southeast
I'm sending more ASW after that one too. What is doubly irritating is that the sub that was hit twice the last time in the DEI is trying to limp away. Now I'll have to send the Dutch after it again.
In other news, Georgetown surrendered to a single attack. The rest of Malaya is awaiting the eventual Japanese assault, as are Bataan, Clark Field and Manila. Tophat and I also exchanged barrages again in Yenen and Changsha.
Tophat sounds a little bored with the way that things are progressing, but I find it very exciting to try to maneuver, hunt subs and save important units right under the nose of the Japanese forces. Maybe I can "bore" Tophat enough that he will take some dumb chances.
Dave Baranyi
Is the KB now moving southeast now?
B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 116, 53, Speed 17, Moving Northwest
B5N Kate attacking S-23 at 116, 53
S-23 was the furthest SE of the "pack" and the one that the KB's planes picked up on. I'm a bit concerned because of this:
E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 6 Allied ships at 144, 54, Speed 7, Moving Northeast
That's a TF that is returning to San Diego, just a couple of days steaming to the southwest. Would Tophat send the KB all the way down there?
In any event, I've put all of my aircraft in the region on higher levels of patrol and sent out every ready combat ship out of San Diego and LA to cross the area out to the limits of they one-day-travel ring. I've even taken the chance and sent out a BB with escorts in order to get its patrol planes into the fray. I want to get that sub!
In the meanwhile, my ASW in the Hawaii/Palmyra/Johnson triangle missed their chances at that one sub that was spotted the last time:
ASW attack at 108, 74
Japanese Ships
SS I-171
Allied Ships
DD Humphreys
The Humphreys missed a second time, and the other ships in the area missed altogether. But I'm just sending more ASW out this time. And at the same time my patrols spotted another sub closer to Palmyra:
PBY Catalina sighting report: 1 Japanese ship at 112, 80, Speed 5, Moving Southeast
I'm sending more ASW after that one too. What is doubly irritating is that the sub that was hit twice the last time in the DEI is trying to limp away. Now I'll have to send the Dutch after it again.
In other news, Georgetown surrendered to a single attack. The rest of Malaya is awaiting the eventual Japanese assault, as are Bataan, Clark Field and Manila. Tophat and I also exchanged barrages again in Yenen and Changsha.
Tophat sounds a little bored with the way that things are progressing, but I find it very exciting to try to maneuver, hunt subs and save important units right under the nose of the Japanese forces. Maybe I can "bore" Tophat enough that he will take some dumb chances.
Dave Baranyi
RE: A New Year of War...
January 6 -
Nuts!!! The KB has disappeared! I don't know if Tophat has finally "turned off" his patrols in order to avoid attacking my subs, or if the KB has dashed away from my turtle-slow S-boats in some direction that is still within the Blind Zone. He may be dashing towards the Southeast and those ships off of Southern California, but I decided that I don't care because I finally spotted that @#$%^ sub with the Glen:
B-25C Mitchell sighting report: 1 Japanese ship at 144, 57, Speed 7, Moving East
I've got eight DDs in individual ASW TFs surrounding that sub, and they are all going after it at full speed. I intend to sink that s.o.b.!
Elsewhere my ASW was missing again, both in the Hawaiian waters and in the DEI. But Tophat's subs certainly aren't getting much of a chance to spy - they are too busy ducking depth charges. Sadly, another of my subs that was hit by the bombers off of the KB a couple of turns ago finally sank while on the way to the West Coast.
In other news, Tophat's forces captured the abandoned base of Taiping in Malaya. I'm still pulling back troops for a final stand in the South. We also continued to exchange bombardments in Yenen and Changsha. And my first unit moved into the outskirts of Tabun-Nor this turn, with more to follow. I'll start a bombardment campaign there too. This will keep Tophat from pulling too many units out of Manchuria.
Finally, my IL-4Cs continue to bomb Nanning airbase unopposed:
Day Air attack on Nanning, at 40, 38
Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 8
No Allied losses
Runway hits 2
They aren't causing much damage but they are gaining experience. Once their experience level gets a bit higher I'll send them against City targets nearby. Oh yes, and one of my Chinese fighter squadrons tried a strafing attack on Tophat's troops besieging Changsha. It wasn't pretty - they were intercepted by Nates and ran into a lot of ack-ack. They won't try that again.
Dave Baranyi
Nuts!!! The KB has disappeared! I don't know if Tophat has finally "turned off" his patrols in order to avoid attacking my subs, or if the KB has dashed away from my turtle-slow S-boats in some direction that is still within the Blind Zone. He may be dashing towards the Southeast and those ships off of Southern California, but I decided that I don't care because I finally spotted that @#$%^ sub with the Glen:
B-25C Mitchell sighting report: 1 Japanese ship at 144, 57, Speed 7, Moving East
I've got eight DDs in individual ASW TFs surrounding that sub, and they are all going after it at full speed. I intend to sink that s.o.b.!
Elsewhere my ASW was missing again, both in the Hawaiian waters and in the DEI. But Tophat's subs certainly aren't getting much of a chance to spy - they are too busy ducking depth charges. Sadly, another of my subs that was hit by the bombers off of the KB a couple of turns ago finally sank while on the way to the West Coast.
In other news, Tophat's forces captured the abandoned base of Taiping in Malaya. I'm still pulling back troops for a final stand in the South. We also continued to exchange bombardments in Yenen and Changsha. And my first unit moved into the outskirts of Tabun-Nor this turn, with more to follow. I'll start a bombardment campaign there too. This will keep Tophat from pulling too many units out of Manchuria.
Finally, my IL-4Cs continue to bomb Nanning airbase unopposed:
Day Air attack on Nanning, at 40, 38
Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 8
No Allied losses
Runway hits 2
They aren't causing much damage but they are gaining experience. Once their experience level gets a bit higher I'll send them against City targets nearby. Oh yes, and one of my Chinese fighter squadrons tried a strafing attack on Tophat's troops besieging Changsha. It wasn't pretty - they were intercepted by Nates and ran into a lot of ack-ack. They won't try that again.
Dave Baranyi
RE: A New Year of War...
January 7, 1942 - Second Month of War -
I wish that I knew what was really going on in the Central Pacific. My patrol planes just told me that there is a TF with 4 APs in it, sitting north of Hawaii and moving to the Southwest. Huh? Not bloody likely. And another sub just appeared halfway between that "ghost" TF and Hawaii. In the meanwhile, all my ASW outside of Southern Cal went deaf, dumb and blind and missed that sub, even though the sub launched its Glen again. Oh well, Tophat is up to something in the Eastern and Central Pacific and I'll find out sooner or later.
Elsewhere things continue to be rather quiet, with small air raids and some land bombardments. We are getting really short combat reports. In any event, I may have amassed more fire power in the Central Pacific than Tophat thinks, so we'll see what happens. If he does happen to have invasion TFs sailing around, he had better be very willing to defend them in a big way.
Dave Baranyi
I wish that I knew what was really going on in the Central Pacific. My patrol planes just told me that there is a TF with 4 APs in it, sitting north of Hawaii and moving to the Southwest. Huh? Not bloody likely. And another sub just appeared halfway between that "ghost" TF and Hawaii. In the meanwhile, all my ASW outside of Southern Cal went deaf, dumb and blind and missed that sub, even though the sub launched its Glen again. Oh well, Tophat is up to something in the Eastern and Central Pacific and I'll find out sooner or later.
Elsewhere things continue to be rather quiet, with small air raids and some land bombardments. We are getting really short combat reports. In any event, I may have amassed more fire power in the Central Pacific than Tophat thinks, so we'll see what happens. If he does happen to have invasion TFs sailing around, he had better be very willing to defend them in a big way.
Dave Baranyi