Wild Sheep Chase - obvert (J) vs JocMeister (A)

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26 Feb 1942

China: Air attacks on Sian are definitely taking a toll there. Just an example from all of today's attacks compiled together. I hadn't thought we were doing so well until adding all of these up!
[font="Trebuchet MS"]
Allied ground losses:
815 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 60 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 44
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Also tanks did their work in two separate battles today. The weakening of the 4 units near Henyang continued with another 63 squads destroyed.

Near Sian 3 more tank units attacked the 3 Corps pushed away from our supply lines across the river and in spite of a big disadvantage in AV got a 1 to 1 and disabled 71 squads with no damage taken to themselves.

Near Loyang in the woods we attacked a large group of weakened Chinese. Our AV advantage didn't get us more than a 1 to 1 with even casualties. This will hurt the Chinese more than us though and we'll go again in several days.

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Ground combat at 85,43 (near Loyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 38112 troops, 294 guns, 214 vehicles, Assault Value = 1424

Defending force 20385 troops, 58 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 490

Japanese adjusted assault: 1042

Allied adjusted defense: 1033

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1843 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 210 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled


Allied ground losses:
1841 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 196 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled


Assaulting units:
27th Division
15th Division
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
9th Tank Regiment
59th Infantry Brigade

Defending units:
51st Chinese Corps
98th Chinese Corps
7th New Chinese Corps
69th Chinese Corps
15th Chinese Corps
8th New Chinese Corps
15th Group Army
24th Group Army
39th Group Army
1st War Area
Jingcha War Area
36th Group Army
4th Chinese Base Force
14th Group Army
10th Chinese Base Force

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DEI:The 38th is nearly done in E Java. The Dutch remnants are pushed to the last base on the island. SNLFs are in Bandoeng now and will DA tomorrow.

Also, we'll try at Medan again tomorrow.

SO PAC: Bombarding from air and ground at Port Moresby. The attack will commence tomorrow.

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27 Feb 1942

DEI: At Bandoeng 3 SNLFs attack and get a 1 to 1 dropping forts to 0. Good territory to defend here, so I'm glad he only put one unit in the hex. We'll wait and do it again soon.

A Medan our 5th Division still only gets 1 to 1, but gets 70 squads destroyed or disabled, so this base should fall soon.

SO PAC: At Port Moresby the attack came out 1 to 1 as well. At least we're consistent. One small unit and 16 squads were destroyed, so this should fall soon as well.
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Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8327 troops, 99 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 302

Defending force 2853 troops, 37 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 76

Japanese adjusted assault: 164

Allied adjusted defense: 99

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
183 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
348 casualties reported
Squads: 16 destroyed, 14 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Units destroyed 1


Assaulting units:
Maizuru 1st SNLF
144th Infantry Regiment
Kure 2nd SNLF
Sasebo 2nd SNLF

Defending units:
C Coy/NG Rifles
A Coy/NG Rifles
D Coy/NG Rifles
Port Moresby Brigade
15th RAAF Base Force

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NO PAC: In the north 3 SNLFs are prepping for Dutch, and HQ has decided to give it a go. Shoho will give air support, and several BBs and CAs will bombard. The troops will arrive in a fast transport, so should be able to protect against the guns. Launch date is sometime after March 1 if the coast looks clear.

Burma: Hurricanes showed up at Rangoon today. OUr Oscars on sweep did well shooting down 8 of the 12 that showed up. The remainder seemed to be there to interdict our transports work into Bassein, as during the transport phase 5 intercept messages were shown. No transports were lost to air to air, but 5 were lost to ops. 1 Oscar lost to ops, but none air to air!

12 B-17Ds also tried to bomb the troops at Bassein, but were met by 12 Oscars and 2 zeros. 6 were damaged and no bombs hit anything.

Oscars and zeros will be set to LR CAP Bassein tomorrow.

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28 Feb 1942

DEI: Medan falls. Oil and refineries are intact. We've been lucky so far with this. This concludes the use of the 5th Division on Sumatra. It will move to Java to hasten the fall of Batavia.

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Ground combat at Medan (46,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12445 troops, 124 guns, 67 vehicles, Assault Value = 388

Defending force 3797 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 96

Japanese adjusted assault: 149

Allied adjusted defense: 10

Japanese assault odds: 14 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Medan !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
138 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled


Allied ground losses:
2523 casualties reported
Squads: 182 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 62 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 12 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 36 (35 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 4
Units destroyed 2


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
5th Division

Defending units:
NS KNIL Territory Regiment
Korps Marechausee Battalion
Medan Coastal Gun Battalion
Sabang Base Force
Langsa Base Force
Medan Base Force

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At Bandoeng we suffer a 1 to 2 and we'll bring in another SNLF to try again soon. Only 8 squads disabled, so it shouldn't be too long before we break through.

SO PAC: Port Moresby falls today as well. All units here surrender, which will help let us focus on the next step. Recon of OZ will begin as soon as possible, both to see what is happening there and increase uneasiness about our next steps. Kates and zeros from the KB will move in as soon as the base force (2 days away) is landed.

Units here will begin prepping for Horn Island.

China: The 110th Division crossed the river toward Yenan today. We put the hurt on one Chinese Corps here and will move on toward the base immediately.

Elsewhere somehow one Brigade continued to attack against Chinese troops in the woods. Not a good result. 65 squads disabled, but we did destroy 11 Chinese squads and disabled 15 more, so it wasn't completely futile.

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Ground combat at 88,38 (near Yenan)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 12407 troops, 102 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 446

Defending force 3185 troops, 41 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 88

Japanese adjusted assault: 606

Allied adjusted defense: 9

Japanese assault odds: 67 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
179 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 18 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled


Allied ground losses:
1947 casualties reported
Squads: 64 destroyed, 18 disabled
Non Combat: 34 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 12 (3 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Units retreated 1


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
110th Division

Defending units:
19th Chinese Corps

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[obvert]

1 Mar 1942

Another month beginning in game. Time to assess our progress. While things are going well, and early conquests have pushed the schedule forward, the end of the invasion bonus is looming. Plans in China are progressing well, but we must make decisions about other possibilities.

1. Should we take advantage of the invasion bonus to try for Ceylon or Perth?

I'm leaning against both of these unless something very positive frees some extra troops.

2. Should we commit extra Divisions to N OZ or wait for Batavia to fall and use the troops there even if the bonus is over?

Again, I think China is first and N OZ can be taken fairly easily by the 2 Divisions committed to Java +5-7 SNLF units.

3. Are there any other possible invasions to consider while the bonus is in effect?

It seems a bit late now to thikn about anything else, including Fiji, Kodiak, Line Islands, or Midway. If we want any of these later to kill troops there and set the Allies back, we can prep and prepare better by waiting. Most quick lightly defended options have been taken, and at this point it seems to make more sense to continue to push toward goals in China while keeping other options open based on opportunities.

subs: DDs near Rabaul catch up with SS Sargo and drop 3 damaging hits on it. They find it once more but can't finish her off.

China: More bombing. More jockeying to get armor in position. More rest.

2 Base forces arrive in Kwangchowan. One will soon move to attempt to take Pakhoi, which seems unoccupied based on recon.

PI: We have about 50 more AV at Bataan than the Allies, but the forts here are high and there is still supply, based on flak. It will be a waiting game. We're moving the 250 AV Brigade (which has been resting at Clark) and 2 15 AV ENG units to take the rest of the PI. They are heading for Legaspi to be picked up by transports.

Burma: Supply is building now at Bassein, and the two Rgts are nearly completely transported. If possible we'll push to Prome. The 33rd Div is at Moulmein. A few more days to Rangoon.

DEI: The mini-KB will unite for the first time at Singapore and wait for more DDs to finish conversions before heading to the Indian Ocean to patrol. We'll send a small SCTF out first to make sure we're not walking into something. I want to assess what is at Diego and if there are any movements out here before deciding whether Diego could be picked easily and if this is worth the risk and effort.

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2 Mar 1942

Fuel and Oil: Tankers are moving extensively now during the lull before subs return from new bases in OZ and India. Hong Kong and Shanghai are getting a needed top-up. Some oil and fuel made it all the way back to the HI. Only one sub working the approaches to the HI now, near Nagasaki.

Palembang has a ton of fuel. Balikpapan quite a bit. Miri is slowly recovering, and Tarakan is being used for small tankers to fill bases in the DEI. I can't imagine not having access to Palembang as Japan. It would stop nearly all offensive operations even now without being extremely careful about allocation and usage. Truk, which starts flush with fuel, is nearly out, and Rabaul needs more to fill the KB. Kawaijalein is low and only Babeldaob is really where I want it to be as a hub port, at 45,000 fuel. Actually Singapore also has a lot which was captured there intact.

subs: I-20 sights CL Mauritius and a DD near Sydney, but of course misses with 6 torps. Not much luck hitting combat ships. We're about 1 for 10 right now.

China: Near Loyang in the woods the armor has almost arrived. These Chinese units are showing movement to the SE, trying to get onto the supply line to Sian again. We're trying to kick them out before they are able to do this as that would mean committing the now nearly healed troops just ready to move into Sian again or moving all the way around on the roads to get to the spot, not only taking precious time but leaving our troops cut off for up to a week.

DEI: At Bandoeng the navy guys finally take the base, nearly wiping out the Dutch armored car unit with 58 vehicles destroyed. Now these will move to within one hex of Batavia and wait for the 38th Division to rail in and the 5th to land and also rail over. Our healing Rgt, now about at 80% in Soerabaja will form a reserve to defend against the 10 units in Tilitjap should they become frisky.

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Ground combat at Bandoeng (50,100)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 4600 troops, 51 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 269

Defending force 722 troops, 7 guns, 86 vehicles, Assault Value = 48

Japanese adjusted assault: 209

Allied adjusted defense: 52

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

Japanese forces CAPTURE Bandoeng !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
139WH-3: 3 destroyed
CW-22 Falcon: 4 destroyed

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), leaders(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
45 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
91 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (6 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 58 (58 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1


Assaulting units:
Yokosuka 4th SNLF
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
16th Naval Guard Unit
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
1st Raiding Rgt /2

Defending units:
Mobiele Eenheid Battalion

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Overview map

A look at the view so far and some probable and possible targets coming up.

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3 Mar 1942

China: Another good day at Sian bombing destroying several inf squads and disabling over 60, plus a bunch of support. Even though forts are at least 3 here the bombing is more and more effective.

DEI: At Banjoewangi the 38th Div finally finishes off the remnants of forces from Soerabaja. It will immediately head for Batavia.

Small AF Coy that have been here since the early conquests will be picking up and moving to outlying spots in the SO PAC area or small bases in N OZ once that is invaded. These are nearly expendable since they can be bought back, and can be flown in quickly and easily to provide places for search and recon to be stationed temporarily.

SO PAC: Interestingly a recon goes over Cooktown and finds nothing there. This might be worth a snap invasion just to see if there is a reaction, and to possibly lead to wondering about defenses for OZ. Horn Island will be next, and I sent a fast transport down to get ready for something at Cooktown as well. Recon will go to Townsville next to check for air units and troops.

Burma: UNits have moved out of Rangoon onto the road to Prome. Others have moved out from Prome toward Bassein. Our supply is getting better here and we should be able to move within several days toward Prome. There is one more para unit I could use here and I'll drop it on Prome if one of the remaining two units moves out. They look to be small Burmese forces, under 1,000 troops there.

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4 Mar 1942

subs: Near San Diego I-9 aims at a decent convoy with a few AKs and an AP but gets tangled up with DD Crane. It takes 2 damaging hits and has 12 sys 11(7) float 4 engine damage. Back home for this one. That leaves me with no subs on the west coast. I may have to re-organize sub tactics if no contacts appear soon near PH. Maybe just leave 3-4 there, 3-4 on the west coast.

Burma: Trying to hit the 1st Burma Division hard as it looks like it's sneaking out of Rangoon. The 33rd Div is still a few days away. Almost enough supply in Bassein to start things moving to Prome from there.

China: The tanks have arrived in our stack in the woods near Loyang and we'll DA tomorrow. These are weak Corps for the most part, and the goal is not to destroy them but to firstly keep them off the road they are moving toward and secondly to wreck them just a little further so they might just vaporize on their own struggling to make it back to CHinese lines.

The 110th Div captures Yenan today, giving the knockout blow to the Corps it's been chasing. Almost 200 squads destroyed, including 157 infantry. Now we'll get some garrison in here and get this Division back to its reserve role in a base on a rail line.

SO PAC: There are 4,000 troops and 2 units at Cairns. So some stuff is making it up to the north. It looks lightly garrisoned if I wanted to commit to it though. But we'll just think about picking off easy targets first and probably then feint a bit before settling into a defensive posture here.

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5 Mar 1942

subs: Bad luck with subs continues. Actually this could be my fault for leaving this one sitting a few hexes outside Brisbane for a while. I-1 hits AM Launceton with a torp but then takes a brutal DCing from PG Moresby and PG Swan. She is forced to surface where the deck gun manages to land a few hits on Swan before the sub succumbs.

I-3 is also attacked near Port Kembla. One non-penetrating hit taken, only 3 system damage.

RO-66 misses a good sized convoy heavily escorted moving into Suva. Gridley is here. This reminds me Cuttlefish's passage hunting subs near Fiji. Where is his AAR anyway? I miss it.

DEI: Dutch fighters were airborn over Batavia today!!! That's the first sighting in over a month! So he does have a few pilots left. Our Oscar sweep for some reason did not engage with them even though they were all at 20,000. Maybe they were as shocked as I am and worried these were captured B-339s out for a joyride.

China: To spice things up we take a risk with the Tainan boys today. The took a sightseeing mission over Chunking. It turns out one part of the AVG is indeed here, and 20 of them came up to face 40 crack zero pilots. The battle was decisive, with 9 H81-A3 shot down to two zeros lost. Only one Tainan pilot KIA and 1 MIA. Not bad. 3 more AVG planes listed as ops losses as well. This means two things. Firstly his pilot quality is not quite there yet to put these into the fray often. Secondly we can continue our bombing missions and stagger some of our escorts and sweeps to give the guys a rest. Some Oscar escort groups are getting a bit tired of accompanying the bombers everywhere day after day. Think they need a day of in Shanghai.

Finally we managed an attack on the Chinese in the woods. It's okay, with good losses, but only a 1 to 1, meaning they aren't pushed back. A bit of waiting now.

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Ground combat at 85,43 (near Loyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 40373 troops, 302 guns, 516 vehicles, Assault Value = 1452

Defending force 27811 troops, 142 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 413

Japanese adjusted assault: 1136

Allied adjusted defense: 733

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1249 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 91 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Vehicles lost 17 (1 destroyed, 16 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
3530 casualties reported
Squads: 111 destroyed, 133 disabled
Non Combat: 40 destroyed, 83 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 10 disabled


Assaulting units:
20th Recon Regiment
3rd Tank Regiment
15th Division
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
59th Infantry Brigade
27th Division
9th Tank Regiment
23rd Tank Regiment
1st Recon Regiment

Defending units:
7th New Chinese Corps
5th New Chinese Corps
98th Chinese Corps
27th Chinese Corps
15th Chinese Corps
69th Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Cavalry Corps
51st Chinese Corps
40th Chinese Corps
8th New Chinese Corps
24th Group Army
36th Group Army
Jingcha War Area
1st War Area
15th Group Army
39th Group Army
4th Chinese Base Force
14th Group Army
10th Chinese Base Force

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6 Mar 1942

subs: I-122 finds a big juicy AS Lucia steaming along the West Indian coast near Goa. She launches only 2 torps, which miss, and is then mercilessly pounded by AM Romney. The sub is left with 24 system 78 (51) float and 12 engine damage. This shouldn't make it far, but I'll set a course for Port Blair just in case they can plug the holes with some old loincloths.

Disappointing not only to miss this choice target but then also to possibly lose this sub. Not a good week under the water.

China: We decided to go ahead and keep attacking in the woods to try to get a good result and push these troops back. The result is not what we'd hoped. Our tanks bear the brunt with 2 destroyed and 36 disabled. More Chinese are destroyed though, so it's not all bad. Now we will have to wait for sure.

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Ground combat at 85,43 (near Loyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 38730 troops, 298 guns, 474 vehicles, Assault Value = 1361

Defending force 25147 troops, 142 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 268

Japanese adjusted assault: 478

Allied adjusted defense: 586

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
1008 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 64 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Vehicles lost 38 (2 destroyed, 36 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
716 casualties reported
Squads: 52 destroyed, 89 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 103 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 21 (7 destroyed, 14 disabled)


Assaulting units:
27th Division
3rd Tank Regiment
9th Tank Regiment
59th Infantry Brigade
23rd Tank Regiment
15th Division
20th Recon Regiment
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
1st Recon Regiment

Defending units:
40th Chinese Corps
27th Chinese Corps
98th Chinese Corps
15th Chinese Corps
69th Chinese Corps
8th New Chinese Corps
39th Group Army
24th Group Army
36th Group Army
Jingcha War Area
5th New Chinese Corps
15th Group Army
7th New Chinese Corps
4th Chinese Base Force
1st War Area
2nd Chinese Cavalry Corps
14th Group Army
51st Chinese Corps
10th Chinese Base Force

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DEI: The B-339s come up again at Batavia. This time the Oscars get a shot at them and take down 2 of them. One comes up solo against 26 Nells later in the day but doesn't get any of the bombers.

NO PAC: The Ise and Fuso have almost arrived to join the SC/bombardment TF. Shoho is ready, and a group of 9 Mavis are brought in for search and recon to Adak. The Jake unit here is heading back to get more planes. The fast transport is nearly ready to go.

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7 Mar 1942

A quiet turn. Not much to report.

China: Again, bombing is strong at Sian. Some Chinese appear to be leaving the city. I hope he's not completely abandoning it as we'd like to ruin some of these decent Corps while taking the city.

SO PAC: The Horn Island invasion force is loading on fast transport at Port Moresby.

Burma: The 33rd Division is approaching Pegu. Enough supply is a Bassein now that 1 Rgt and a small Cavalry unit will attempt to move across the river toward Prome.

Mini-KB: The Mini-KB has moved out of Singapore and is at Port Blair refueling. It will move into the IndianOcean to stay on patrol for a short period to see if there are any convoys there to hit.

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8 Mar 1942

Another fairly quiet turn.

subs: SS Pickerel launches 2 torps at a couple of TKs North of Borneo. TBs escorting fight it off but score no hits.

I-173 attacks a convoy near French Frigate Shoals that is escorted by PTs. Or is providing fuel to PTs to get to Midway. Either way in two attempts the sub can't get a shot off. The message states 'cannot acquire firing solution on enemy PT.' This message comes with both attacks but sub also escapes detection both times. Why are they trying to shoot at the PTs anyway?

Does this also mean my opponent does not see this part of the combat replay?

Burma: Bombing starting to have effect on the British troops in Rangoon. Here are today's compiled results from 3 separate raids by about 60 IJA Sallys and 25 Nells.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------

Allied ground losses:
169 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

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9 Mar 1942

subs: The 10 knot sub chasers of the IJN are performing only one positive function thus far, which is to help Allied subs use up their torpedoes. Two are attacked near Luzon by SS Sturgeon and cannot locate the sub afterward to make use of their enormous loads of DCs.

China: The day's bombing at Sian. This is a typical day currently, plus or minus as one or another group does not fly due to weather.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]-----------------------------------------------
Allied ground losses:
576 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 43 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 37 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled


Airbase hits 17
Airbase supply hits 12
Runway hits 54
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Ground combat near Loyang resumes with heavy Chinese losses but still a 1 to 1 attack. I know a shock has better chances of moving them out but after several failed attempts in the last month I'm not willing to take the risk here.

These are poor Chinese units, most starting woefully undermanned and disabled, and we may just end up unfortunately destroying some of these units. It could be possible to get many of them low enough on supplies though that they disappear on their own, which would mean they don't come back. If more units are destroyed we will stop attacking and move around them in the hope they are so weak as to not be able to move or fight any longer.

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Ground combat at 85,43 (near Loyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 39725 troops, 302 guns, 516 vehicles, Assault Value = 1376

Defending force 24038 troops, 134 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 222

Japanese adjusted assault: 801

Allied adjusted defense: 580

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
819 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 64 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled


Allied ground losses:
2240 casualties reported
Squads: 103 destroyed, 46 disabled
Non Combat: 18 destroyed, 119 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 17 (7 destroyed, 10 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Assaulting units:
3rd Tank Regiment
59th Infantry Brigade
20th Recon Regiment
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
27th Division
15th Division
9th Tank Regiment
23rd Tank Regiment
1st Recon Regiment

Defending units:
15th Chinese Corps
51st Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Cavalry Corps
98th Chinese Corps
27th Chinese Corps
69th Chinese Corps
8th New Chinese Corps
39th Group Army
1st War Area
36th Group Army
14th Group Army
15th Group Army
24th Group Army
4th Chinese Base Force
40th Chinese Corps
7th New Chinese Corps
5th New Chinese Corps
Jingcha War Area
10th Chinese Base Force

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PI: At Bataan the AV shown by bombardment is dropping ever so slightly, and there are fewer IJA casualties now. This bodes well for running them out of supply ad beginning the long process of attacking the fort. The Brigade leaving Luzon to mop up other PI islands is just now arriving at Legaspi and will await transport.

Burma: British troops are still in the city and the 33rd Div is only two days away now. With the continued bombing we should be able to slow them up even if they do get out of Rangoon before we arrive, and hopefully get a foothold at Prome before they get up the road there as well. It's not huge, but it would be great to surround and take out this Division and the accompanying Indian Brigade. It also might scare the other Allied forces into retreat giving a quicker pace to the rest of the Burma campaign. We'll see.

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10 Mar 1942

subs (and PTs): PTs are a menace! Have I mentioned I hate them?

A sad loss today as a scouting team comprising a brand new AMC and an E came too close to Batavia (my bad, as I set them from the HI thinking they'd pick a safer route to the Indian ocean, but waypoints were apparently required). 5 PTs launched and reacted 2 hexes to sink the AMC with 2 torps. The E left untouched.

I-157 missed CM Abdiel today near Trivandum. Our subs are having a lot of trouble hitting things these days. Lots of contact, very few scores.

To highlight our inneffiency, the next replay showed KVIII hitting an escorting PB Kanko Maru near Balikpapan, sinking her immediately.

RO-66 then redeemed the IJN by hitting DD Anderson new Fiji (and reportedly sinking her, although this was very close to Suva, so she might have made it back there).

I-157 then decided to get serious and hit something, taking out one lone AKL.

On a good but tentative note, our wounded sub hit near Goa, I-122, has reduced her float damage to 71 (from 78) and is still limping along along the west coast of India.

Burma: Some of our Sallys diverted to hit the small unit left in Prome today (miraculously identified from the air by our eagle eyed pilots as the 3rd Burma Rifles Battalion) destroying 1 and disabling 7 infantry squads and disabling 10 more non-combat squads.

This was followed by our Yokosuka 3rd SNLF paratroops dropping in and easily overwhelming the disoriented defenders. Our troops from Bassein will cross the river to one hex south of Prome in 2-3 days. The Burma Div and Indian brigade are still in Rangoon. The timing seems right here. The 33rd Div will move into the city tomorrow. Boosting our AV there to over 1300 and giving a much needed quality boost as well.

China: Near Loyang the attacks continue to deplete Chinese forces. No units were destroyed today, but our forces are approaching untenable levels of fatigue and disruption. We'll try at least one more day and then may need to rest up and move around to where these troops are trying to go on the gray road to Sian.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 85,43 (near Loyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 39161 troops, 302 guns, 516 vehicles, Assault Value = 1308

Defending force 21745 troops, 129 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 143

Japanese adjusted assault: 590

Allied adjusted defense: 397

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
352 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 52 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled


Allied ground losses:
2190 casualties reported
Squads: 158 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 95 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 20 disabled
Guns lost 20 (1 destroyed, 19 disabled)

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NO PAC: The BBs arrived here and joined the SCTF. They will head off to bombard Dutch Harbor, and the fast transport will be given orders to move ahead as well. Shoho and her escorts will hang to the NW a few hexes to both avoid detection and stay out of the way of any Allied forces that may arrive.

SO PAC: The Horn Island Invasion force is off and moving.

DEI: The 5th Division is nearly at Soerabaja to shore up the attack on Batavia. A small Cavalry unit has blocked the rail line near Bandoeng and stopped the progress of our brigade there. Unfortunately for it we'll crush it for it's trouble tomorrow. The 38th Div is one hex out of Batavia and will be joined by two SNLFs while moving into the city.

The 2 remaining B-339s came up to contest a raid on Batavia today but were both damaged and left the combat. None listed as ops losses though.

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11 Mar 1942

subs: Nearly lost another AMC today! These things are torpedo magnates! SS-45 finds our scout ships in the N Pacific and throws 2 torps at AMC Awata Maru. Luckily both miss in the swirling choppy water. (When I send back the turn I forget to move the patrol, however, so this might be a day's delay unless this sub is enroute elsewhere).

DEI: As our brigade unpacks to fight, the IJN MB groups crush the Dutch Cavalry near Kalidjati. This unit won't be worth much in a few days.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Lijfwacht Cav Sqn , at 51,100 , near Kalidjati

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 30
G3M2 Nell x 26
G4M1 Betty x 19



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
132 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 57 (26 destroyed, 31 disabled)


Aircraft Attacking:
26 x G3M2 Nell bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
19 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

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Burma: As suspected both British units leave Rangoon today. It's taken them a while to get out, so they're going slow enough that we can catch them. The 33rd Division walked in and claimed the city today, which immediately abdicated to Japanese control giving us a much needed supply boost as well as leaving the fuel, oil, resources and facilities untouched.

The 33rd is in good shape and will continue north immediately to catch the British stack with a good portion of the Thai units, some armour and arty. One Thai Division and some armor will move up the other road toward Toungoo. This was previously lightly defended, and recon will begin scouting up this road to see what we'll face. We'd like to get this spot in case after a battle the British need to retreat. We don't want them in this good defensive territory if possible, and would like them to retreat north up the road or to simply be surrounded. The armor should ensure we can outmaneuver these units.

We suspect B-17 raids will commence and thus CAP will increase as sweeps are no longer needed here.

[obvert]

12 Mar 1942

This catches me up to game time, as we've managed to do a lot of turns lately, 3 just last evening! It's fun to get past this part of the game as the Allies feel they can't do much to stop the IJ and we're getting bored just bombing the crap out of everything and cleaning up Dutch East Indies bases.

subs: I-166 surfaces and takes out the AKL Dumra near Calicut with 19 shell hits (!) and 2 torps during two attacks. Wow. Overkill?

NO PAC: Fuso and Ise bombard Dutch taking out only non-combat personnel with 8 disabled. Not too encouraging, except that maybe there aren't many combat personnel here. Only two units are present, and I think one is a big engineer unit judging by the number of vehicles.

The recon spotting was working, so this must just not have as much to hit. We'll see soon when the fast transport TF arrives in a day or two.

China: About 50,000 troops (4 units, so decent sized Corps) have moved out of Sian to the clear hex to the north. Maybe this is to protect the refugees arriving from Yenan that are entering that area now from our Armour across the river, or maybe they're leaving. We'll see soon.

Near Loyang the AV of Chinese units is down to 87 for today's attacks, and we'll need to rest now. IJA units here will move around the Chinese position over the roads and try to meet them on the other side in 7-10 days.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 85,43 (near Loyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 38846 troops, 302 guns, 516 vehicles, Assault Value = 1278

Defending force 18260 troops, 124 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 87

Japanese adjusted assault: 530

Allied adjusted defense: 370

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
144 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled


Allied ground losses:
2650 casualties reported
Squads: 79 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 51 destroyed, 119 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 12 (2 destroyed, 10 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Assaulting units:
3rd Tank Regiment
23rd Tank Regiment
9th Tank Regiment
15th Division
20th Recon Regiment
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
59th Infantry Brigade
27th Division
1st Recon Regiment

Defending units:
27th Chinese Corps
69th Chinese Corps
14th Group Army
51st Chinese Corps
8th New Chinese Corps
39th Group Army
15th Group Army
5th New Chinese Corps
4th Chinese Base Force
24th Group Army
2nd Chinese Cavalry Corps
36th Group Army
40th Chinese Corps
1st War Area
15th Chinese Corps
Jingcha War Area
98th Chinese Corps
10th Chinese Base Force

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DEI: Dutch forces moved into Batavia today. We'll bombard tomorrow.

Near Kalidjati the 124th Rgt wiped out the Lijfwacht Cav Sqn completely after several days of bombing. The rail is now open for the 5th Division just landing at Soerabaja.

SO PAC: The Horn Island Invasion goes off without a hitch.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Horn Island (91,128)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2647 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 121

Defending force 904 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 21

Japanese adjusted assault: 36

Allied adjusted defense: 5

Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Horn Island !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(-), fatigue(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-), disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
43 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
1319 casualties reported
Squads: 20 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 98 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 3


Assaulting units:
32nd Nav Gsn Unit
Kure 2nd SNLF /7

Defending units:
Thurday Island Det. Battalion
Torres Strait Battalion
Horn Isl Det.

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[font="Times New Roman"]13 Mar 1942[/font]
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subs: Dodged a bullet when 024 got a sight of our fast AOs slipping through south of Macassar toward Soerabaja. It launched 4 fish at DD Kiku, all of them missing.

Again, we got lucky when S-43 sighted our fast transport heading into Dutch Harbor, but it was sighted by our escorts before launching and forced to submerge.

NO PAC: Out in the churning waters of the North Pacific our scouting group took one for the team, but provided good intelligence while suffering another loss. We're not doing well with AMCs this game, but maybe this is their nature if used in their intended role. AMC Awata Maru and AV Kimikawa Maru ran into Warspite, Colorado and four DDs. Awata Maru fought well putting 4 shells into Warspite but took 12 hits and went down eventually. Kimikawa Maru was somehow able to use the darkness and poor visibility to get out of dodge and took only one shell for minimal damage.

I was worried the BBs would stick around and find us in the day, but they must have retreated after the combat.

Also the troops arrived at Dutch Harbor and unloaded easily with few losses thanks to our support team of naval firepower. Almost 20 guns were disabled or destroyed during the shooting phase before unload. Of course while unloading the rest of the guns targeted the most vulnerable ships, the two AMCs. One took two hits from 155mm guns and is on fire with 25 system and 30 float damage.

Shoho will head SE of Dutch tomorrow in case the Allied BBs turn around and come back in looking to fight our ammo depleted ships still unloading. Two ASW DD groups will also form to protect against the 3 subs sighted in the area. Both Nishin and Chiyoda are with Shoho providing recon and ASW especially.

Burma: The 33rd Division and other units attack the British in the jungle and come out slightly the worse, although we do take one unit off the board completely, most likely the small Viper unit. We'll keep bombing and delaying, and hopefully the supply situation will become worse for these units, as they are nearly surrounded now, and our next attack up the road or in Prome will be more successful.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 55,52 (near Rangoon)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22533 troops, 206 guns, 225 vehicles, Assault Value = 909

Defending force 12522 troops, 167 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 477

Japanese adjusted assault: 477

Allied adjusted defense: 307

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1518 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 105 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
942 casualties reported
Squads: 34 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 26 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 30 (11 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Assaulting units:
33rd Division
14th Tank Regiment
1st Tank Regiment
2nd RTA Division
3rd RTA Division
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion

Defending units:
1st Gloucestershire Battalion
RM Viper Force
1st Burma Division
16th Indian Brigade
103rd RN Base Force

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/font]

Up the road the Para unit at Prome are fleshing out as more support arrives, and supply is growing. We're also flying in a small construction unit which will begin fort building tomorrow.

The Rgt and Cavalry unit are about to cross and shock against two small British units one hex south of Prome.

Two DMS have been clearing Rangoon harbor which is nearly free of mines, and our supply ships should arrive tomorrow to top up much needed stores here. Nearly every base is either yellow or red flagged.

Today 16 B-17Ds hit Prome and disabled a 1/4 of our para unit, but once supply is more plentiful CAP should reach here easily to at least minimize the effect of any bombing.

China: Near Sian armor across the river from the city hit more communist troops, this time 2 HQ units, roughing them up for nearly 100 squads destroyed before the scarpered across the river.

DEI: At Batavia we have a good idea of what we're facing now. It's good the 5th Division has landed and will be railing over. We're just above even with troops in Batavia. My guess would be forts at 2-3, so we'll need at least double the AV to begin wearing them down, even though the troops are not high quality.

Tomorrow our Rgt near Kalidjati will DA opening up the rail to Bandoeng and the good road to Batavia.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Batavia (49,98)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 16868 troops, 162 guns, 73 vehicles, Assault Value = 606

Defending force 19374 troops, 193 guns, 121 vehicles, Assault Value = 553

Japanese ground losses:
26 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


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


Assaulting units:
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
38th Division
Yokosuka 4th SNLF

Defending units:
1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion
4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion
2nd KNIL Regiment
Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion
1st KNIL Regiment
Mobiele Eenheid Battalion
1st Regt Cavalerie
Roodenburg Battalion
1 ML-KNIL Aviation
1st KNIL AA Battalion
Batavia Base Force
Merak Base Force
ML-KNIL
ABDA
KNIL Army Command
Kalidjati Base Force

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/font]

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[obvert]

[font="Times New Roman"]14 Mar 1942[/font]
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

subs: S-45 tries for our retreating wounded AMC near Dutch but Urukaze again spots it before it can shoot. Good eyes on that boat. SS Swordfish wastes a few torps on another useless 10 knot SC.

NO PAC: Secured Dutch Harbor easily. Now we need an engineer unit here to get the forts up. A slew of Naval Guard units just arrived which means all of these forward islands will now be allocated with at least some troops.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Dutch Harbor (171,50)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 4406 troops, 43 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 180

Defending force 2387 troops, 25 guns, 104 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 152

Allied adjusted defense: 25

Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Dutch Harbor !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
71 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
552 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 217 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 17 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 26 (26 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 133 (133 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2


Assaulting units:
Maizuru 2nd SNLF
53rd Naval Guard Unit
62nd Naval Guard Unit

Defending units:
103rd USN Base Force
2/250th Coastal Artillery Battalion
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------[/font]

Burma: Our river shock against two small British units went very well. Now the Cavalry unit will hold position while the Rgt moves forward to Prome.

In other news 4Es went after our troops moving across the river in a well timed hit. Fortunately we had a good CAP of zeros and Oscars up and downed 4 B-17D (+1 ops loss) for 1 zero lost (+1 ops loss). I'll take that trade any day. The most interesting part is that these are newly trained pilots, not our early war elites.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 54,51 (near Bassein)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 3943 troops, 28 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 148

Defending force 1057 troops, 17 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 56

Japanese adjusted assault: 85

Allied adjusted defense: 13

Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-), morale(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
169 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Allied ground losses:
644 casualties reported
Squads: 28 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (4 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 2


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
143rd Infantry Regiment
55th Cavalry Regiment

Defending units:
Railway BAF Battalion
Rangoon BAF Battalion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/font]

Ships sunk

Tracker informs me this turn that the Prince of Wales was not actually sunk on turn 38. Interesting. It was hit long before turn 38 near Soerabaja by Netties. If I recall correctly it took 3 torpedoes. The sunk list has always given erroneous ordnance, placement and timing for this sinking.

So, I still don't really know what happened. It seems this could be another FOW or that it somehow escaped all of my search in the area and healed up somewhere. We'll find out for sure one day I'm sure.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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[font="Times New Roman"]Economy[/font]
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Another interesting tracker report.

My supply globally was in free fall during the first month as I threw it everywhere to stimulate building and feed the troops. Now it seems to be in slow recovery, although it still feels in the HI as if I have to take care how many convoys with troops also fill with supplies. At time I have to use troops only loading to make sure not to starve my R n D factory repair.

Gifu has been particularly hard to keep at good levels. It's stuck below 10,000 right now and won't come up for another few days I think as Tokyo is barely at it's own optimum level.

Naval production seems at the right level, but after beginning a surplus in merchant building, it's now losing over 50 points from our surplus each day. I have 3 CVEs accelerated, which I'm sure is causing the problem, but I'm not even sure how to check to see for sure if that's it.

I'll just wait a while and see what happens.

[SqzMyLemon]

The love/hate relationship I have with Japanese subs and ASW platforms is echoed in your recent posts. In my experience, Japanese AMC's, CM's and PB's are also torpedo magnets.

Train those air groups in ASW from day one and get them into critical areas to interdict enemy submarines. It's taken a year, but my air ASW seems to be much more effective. Sometimes a SC or E will get lucky too with a solid DC attack scoring a hit or two.

I don't know if previous patches have toned down Japanese submarine capabilities, but I've noticed a marked reduction in perfomance resulting in fewer attacks, let alone hits. Each game seems to be different though. Some AAR's show fantastic Japanese submarine performance coupled with effective ASW. Perhaps it's just a combination of all the variables and such that make each game so different, particularly in submarine warfare.