Great Tides that Ebb and Flow: Apbarog (A) vs Walker (J) DBB-B Scen 28

[jwolf]

Hmm, damage is really not too bad, very surprising. Shoho doesn't even have fires after a fuel storage explosion -- if that won't start fires, nothing will. I guess the only really serious dangers are the small fires on Kaga and Ryujo; as long as those get controlled and put out quickly, you should be OK.

Strategically, with KB in the Bay of Bengal then apbarog should have the initiative in the Pacific. He's probably not in position yet for a really major operation, but he may be able to nibble at the edges a bit. This looks like a very interesting time in the game, with neither side firmly in control and potential disaster -- for either side -- just one big air strike away.

Good luck!

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Hmm, damage is really not too bad, very surprising. Shoho doesn't even have fires after a fuel storage explosion -- if that won't start fires, nothing will. I guess the only really serious dangers are the small fires on Kaga and Ryujo; as long as those get controlled and put out quickly, you should be OK.

Thanks jwolf! You did point something very useful out as I just checked and had missed the fact that there is still a minor fire (6) to put out on Kaga, which is clearly a worry given the Japanese record with damage control. I may have to divert to a minor base now.

I agree that it is a very interesting time in the game. Apbarog and I are both cautious players so it can feel a bit like shadow-boxing at times. However this is the second big carrier raid he has pulled off now, the first at Palembang only netted a few transports.

One thing that occurs to me is that Apbarog is bound to think that the damage to my carriers was a lot worse so I may be able to use this to my advantage later on. Just need to put the fire out on Kaga now and avoid any sub attacks en route to the HI...

[Walker84]

June 12, 1942

SW Pac

DD Akizumo sinks in Shortlands Harbour. Having borne the brunt of the recent US air attack the vessel's system and fire damage was just too great for the damage control crews to overcome. Meanwhile, in partial consolation, the newly commissioned DD Akizuki arrives at Kobe. As long as Kaga survives, the final toll in naval ships from Apbarog's raid looks set to be limited to three DDs.

Naval search confirms that a large Allied SCTF is still in residence at Luganville. Otherwise, most of today's action involves cat and mouse games between US subs and my transports. In one tussle involving xAKL Tateyama Maru and SS Seawolf the merchant takes 7 shell hits, dealing out one in return, before reaching the sanctuary of Rabaul.

Action stations are called when SS Silversides launches 4 torpedoes at xAP Brazil Maru, part of a convoy carrying the first division of my newly-formed SWPac Reserve to Rabaul. Fortunately the sub misses.

DEI

More troops are landing at Semarang each day, and a force is being assembled to clear the ports along the northern coast in preparation for a quick assault on Batavia.

India / Burma

All quiet on the Western front. Well, not quite: daily Allied bombardment attacks at Calcutta with minimal losses on either side. Diamond Harbour port will reach size 2 tomorrow which provides slightly more options. As its a clear hex, I am going to build the forts and airfield up to size four at least, in order to create a 'redoubt' in case I need to evacuate Calcutta.

My air groups at DH are almost fully repaired after the prolonged fighting of recent weeks. Today's 'featured unit' is the Navy's crack 3rd Ku-S1, which has downed 231 Allied planes in the campaign so far at a cost of 75 air-to-air losses.

[Encircled]

I see you have an ace with nine kills called "Hide".

Is his real name "Hide behind my comrades and take pot shots"?

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

I see you have an ace with nine kills called "Hide".

Is his real name "Hide behind my comrades and take pot shots"?

I'm not sure that that sort of approach would fit in with the code of Bushido that all of my pilots have sworn to uphold. But I guess whatever works best is the right approach to take. [:D].

[Walker84]

June 13, 1942

A very quiet day, the only item on the combat report is the daily bombardment attack at Calcutta which causes 26 Japanese casualties.


Truk

Despite the sub risk I have had to order my carriers to steer a course for Truk as Kaga's fire damage has crept up to eight points overnight. All available ASW assets have been deployed to meet the TF and Kaga should reach port tomorrow.

Here's what I know about fire control (courtesy of Alfred):

Relevant considerations for fire fighting are as follows.

1. A ship on fire in a task force with other undamaged ships will receive some help in dousing the fires from the other undamaged ships in the TF.

2. High system damage limits the fire fighting ability of the ship's crew.

3. In a port the normal fire fighting routine is based on:

(a) port size (less port damage). The bigger the port, the greater the fire fighting assistance
(b) naval support. Again the more present, the greater the assistance
(c) ship crew experience
(d) the level of ship system damage. A ship's systems abstracts the presence of fire fighting equipment such as fire hoses
(e) luck, aka die rolls

4. With the exception of point 6 below, all ship fire fighting occurs outside of shipyards or offline in pierside/tender repair modes. This means that shipyards/pierside/tenders provide no assistance to combat ship fires and a ship already on fire cannot be placed in those facilities.

5. A ship's flotation damage also plays a role. At a certain level (undisclosed), of flotation damage, fire fighting efforts degrade. This level varies depending on whether the ship on fire is

(a) at sea alone,
(b) in a small or big port

So, Kaga's 61 sys damage is clearly not helping matters but, given that Truk is a size 6 port with 147 naval support, I'm hoping that we can put the fires out once we arrive. Any readers are welcome to pitch in with advice. I really don't want to lose this ship and hope I am just worrying unnecessarily...

[Walker84]

Kaga damage

[Walker84]

June 14, 1942

SW Pacific

Great relief is felt at High Command as the carrier TF limps in to Truk and both Kaga and Ryujo are able to dock and transfer their planes to the base. Kaga's fires are now at 12 and, having studied Alfred's advice, I have decided that rather than disbanding Kaga will remain docked in a TF in the hope that the undamaged ships can lend some support in addition to the effect of port size and naval support.

My opponent has kindly been lending me sympathy along the lines of: "I had ships on fire at Pearl and you should have seen how they burnt despite everything I tried to put the fires out."[:D] Of course he won't know how bad it is for some time, and he won't get any reports of carrier planes going down with the ship now - even if the worst happens. Tomorrow's turn will be eagerly awaited to see what effect being in port has had on our ability to control the fires.

Otherwise, I am redeploying my LBA to maximise coverage of my bases in the region. I fully expect some opportunistic attacks now that he knows the carriers are out of action. I wouldn't be surprised to see a raid on Kwajalein at some point so have moved non-essential naval assets further back. The main bases to cover will be Rabaul, Port Moresby, Buna, Buin and Shortlands. I did have LBA present when the raid took place but he was in and out so fast that I did not have time to optimise the settings. In future we will assume that we may get no advance naval search warning as was the case this time.

Burma / India

Allied units are moving towards Imphal so I am going to pull my regiment back from there and look to stabilise the front line with the reinforcements that are now arriving.

DEI

We are closing in on the last Allied remnants on Sumatra. Batavia will be invested in a matter of days. My opponent seems to have built a redoubt at Bandoeng so I will need to deploy a blocking force until I am ready to take it.

[jwolf]

I am just a rookie player but as far as I know what makes fire deadly is high system damage, and the fact that no repair will be attempted until the fire is put out. I had a CL bombed at a port; flood and engine damage were low but there was high system damage and 3 points of fire. I watched helplessly day by day as the fire rose 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 21, ... then going out of control, eventually into the 90s and the ship finally sank.

Kudos to your opponent for his "sympathy" [:D]

[Walker84]

June 15, 1942


SW Pacific theatre, Truk

EDIT - go to next post...

[Walker84]

Kaga out of danger? - has anyone ever seen fires come back after they are put out?

[Walker84]

SW Pacific

So, who said Japanese damage control sucks? Just hope that the repair crews are careful where they point their blowtorches from now on...

An Allied SCTF composed of 5 cruisers and 5 destroyers is hovering north of Ndeni which puts it within striking distance of Tulagi. I have withdrawn a flight of Jakes from the island and put 45 Netties and 45 Zeroes based at Buna on strike alert. Mind you, there's not much I can do about a night time bombardment - unless the cruisers run over one of my screening subs...

DEI

Kalidjati on Java falls.

Bay of Bengal

SS KXIV launches 6 torpedoes at BB Fuso SE of Ceylon. I doubt if I will catch any major surface assets in the vicinity but I'm thinking it might be time to bombard the island to show some commitment.

[jwolf]

Good news on the Kaga. Looks like she should be OK with enough repair time and if nothing else happens to her.

[Walker84]

June 16, 1942

Raid on Ceylon

Having approached Ceylon from the south I decide to take up position to the west of Colombo so that if there are ships there I will be in a position to cut off their escape route. Our morning air patrols spot shipping in Colombo harbour and an air attack goes in during the afternoon.The Kates are flying extended range which suits me fine as I'd rather not expend torpedoes on merchant shipping. While the Zeroes deal with the Allied CAP, the Kate pilots show their naval bombing skills...

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Colombo at 29,48

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 29 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 50
B5N2 Kate x 42

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK Shirala, Bomb hits 11, and is sunk
xAK Don Isidro, Bomb hits 8, and is sunk
DD Thanet, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Steaua Romania, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 12000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
7 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet *
17 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 12000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet *
4 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet *
4 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet *

CAP engaged:
No.258 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (2 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Shirala
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Don Isidro
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Steaua Romania
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Thanet
Massive explosion on xAK Shirala
Massive explosion on xAK Don Isidro

Intel shows the three xAKs and DD Thanet sunk, although I suspect Thanet is still afloat so it hardly counts as revenge for Shortlands. The question is what to do next. There are 7/8 ships in Colombo, probably merchants, tenders and the odd escort. Hardly worth risking my seasoned pilots over if my opponent flies in a ton of CAP next turn. It's tempting to go in and bombard Colombo, the risk being how heavily mined the harbour is these days, and whether there are CD guns. As those ships won't be going anywhere in a hurry, I might just steam north for a turn or two to seek out other targets of opportunity. Its also tempting to peel off a cruiser force to see what is happening at Addu and Diego Garcia.

[Walker84]

Burma / India

In a sign that the war along the frontier is heating up, I set Oscars to sweep Imphal and they shoot down a brace of P-40Es for a loss of one. An Allied armoured unit is spotted heading towards Imphal and I expect the front line to solidify all along the border pretty soon as my opponent deploys reinforcements pulled from Calcutta. I have been quietly airlifting the 33rd division from Diamond Harbour for the past few weeks and its full AV is now deployed in Burma, bar a few motorised squads left behind.

SW Pacific

The Allied TF spotted south of Tulagi appears to have withdrawn, perhaps because it was heavily spotted. In response, have moved a SCTF nearer to Shortlands where it is under the protection of my LBA - at least that's the theory!

China

[>:] apart from a limited offensive that is aimed at clearing the route from Canton through to Kwangchowan on the southern coast.

[Walker84]

June 17, 1942

KB's adventures in the Indian Ocean

As will be appreciated from the map below, there are very few Allied ships spotted and I think I made the right call in sweeping Colombo with 18 Zeroes from Hiryu rather than launching a further air strike on the port. More Hurricane reinforcements had clearly been flown in, and a total of 15 were reported shot down or lost operationally for the loss of one Zero.

I am going to move north now, hopefully to cause more Allied merchant shipping consternation; meanwhile a cruiser TF will pay a visit to Diego Garcia.

SW Pacific

A small Allied TF is spotted at Ndeni and a larger one at Luganville. Still building my defences. Kaga remains fire free and I am now working on reducing the ship's system damage.


China

The 2nd Prov Chinese Corps is subjected to a DA in the hex directly west across the river from Canton. Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1 are sufficient to cause a tidy rout of the defenders:

Japanese ground losses:
209 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Allied ground losses:
2130 casualties reported
Squads: 75 destroyed, 60 disabled
Non Combat: 47 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 12 (4 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Units retreated 1

I need to maintain the pressure in China to try to discourage my opponent from moving any more Chinese forces across to support the British forces in India. The 5th Chinese Corps with approx 600 AV is one of the units investing my forces at Calcutta.

[Walker84]

June 18, 1942

Indian Ocean

KB moves north as planned and hits the 8-ship convoy that was spotted the previous day near Mangalore. All of the vessels are either heavily damaged or sunk. Two AMcs are also attacked near Goa and one is sunk.

The cruiser TF nears Diego Garcia and a 2-ship Allied TF is spotted. No info on the types of vessel, but I'm guessing they will be small.

My recon reveals that a lot of Allied fighters have departed Calcutta and Jessore, so I'm guessing that Colombo and other Ceylonese airfields have now been reinforced. As fuel levels are still good, KB will continue to steam north supported by the heavy SCTF.


SW Pacific

SS I-1 launches 4 torpedoes at CL Trenton, part of a small TF near Ndeni but misses and takes some damage necessitating a return to base.

Several turns ago, a strong SCTF based around the battleships Yamato and Hiei left Rabaul to counter a perceived bombardment threat to Tulagi. The force was in a position yesterday to mount a fast bombardment raid on Ndeni but after careful consideration I decided to abort this. Rationale: 1. I will need to keep my powder dry to counter any Allied incursions in the Solomons 2. I can't afford more damaged ships after the carrier force departed for the HI; 3 I don't know the whereabouts of the Allied carriers.

[Walker84]

June 19, 1942

Indian Ocean

The detached cruiser TF surprises and sinks a small Allied TF at Diego Garcia. The AP was still unloading so Allied guns and vehicles are lost.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Diego Garcia at 11,62, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano
DD Fubuki
DD Shinonome
DD Shikinami
DD Oboro
DD Akebono
DD Sazanami

Allied Ships
DD Arunta, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Denbighshire, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
Guns lost 61 (59 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 24 (22 destroyed, 2 disabled)

The action is followed by a bombardment attack on the incumbent 17th Indian Division and the TF will now proceed to Sabang, and then to Georgetown to refuel and rearm.

The KB spots additional Allied shipping near Goa and Bombay and strikes are launched. Two xAKLs and two AMcs are sunk, and others heavily damaged. Both TFs will turn back today to mop up any damaged targets between here and Ceylon. If the Allies have a fleet in the area it will undoubtedly have withdrawn as far as Karachi by now, and I don't want to expose my LOCs with the tankers excessively. The purpose of the mission was to throw my opponent off balance and demonstrate that there remains a viable threat to Ceylon and Southern India while his carriers are concentrated in the Pacific. So far, I think that this objective has been achieved.

I will have to recon Colombo on the way back but expect the CAP there to be pretty fierce. KB then needs to perform a fast rearming so that it can resume providing overwatch against Allied naval TFs attempting to bombard Diamond Harbour. After the current mission I'm pretty confident that they won't try anything too soon however.

[Walker84]

India / Burma

Oscar Ics based at Diamond Harbour mount a probing sweep against Jessore and find that the RAF's Mohawk IVs are the only defenders home. Six defenders are lost for three of the attackers.

My opponent has brought up the 254th Armoured Brigade to reinforce Imphal and launches a deliberate attack on the 143rd Infantry Regiment which is already withdrawing in combat order to a 'prepared defensive position'. The battle goes rather well for the highly-experienced Japanese unit in good defensive terrain.

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5637 troops, 24 guns, 300 vehicles, Assault Value = 310

Defending force 3873 troops, 25 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 126

Allied adjusted assault: 195

Japanese adjusted defense: 121

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
96 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
432 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 72 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

Assaulting units:
254th Armoured Brigade
75th Indian Brigade
103rd RN Base Force

Defending units:
143rd Infantry Regiment

DEI

SS S-41 launches two attacks on a tanker TF near Balikpapan. Fortunately all six torpedoes miss.

On Java, I have decided to clear Malang before attacking the two main cities, the reason being that I can then free up the full division that has been tied down there for the past month. It will take another couple of days for the reinforcements to arrive there.

[Walker84]

June 20, 1942

Indian Ocean

As the KB heads south Allied naval bombers escorted by P-40s launch a naval attack near Cochin. I can't tell exactly which base they flew from, possibly Madras or one of the other bases in the vicinity. There are a few tense moments until it becomes clear that the carriers' CAP has the situation under control.

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 35 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22

Allied aircraft
A-24 Banshee x 2
P-40E Warhawk x 21
SB2U-3 Vindicator x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
A-24 Banshee: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 7 destroyed
SB2U-3 Vindicator: 3 destroyed, 5 damaged
SB2U-3 Vindicator: 2 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna
BB Kongo
CV Soryu
CV Shokaku

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
9 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Akagi-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes
Soryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes
Hiryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes
2 planes vectored on to bombers
Shokaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes

An unescorted wave of A-24 Banshees tries its luck again in the afternoon but with no greater success:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Cochin at 27,39

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 23 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13

Allied aircraft
A-24 Banshee x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
A-24 Banshee: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged
A-24 Banshee: 2 destroyed by flak

Meanwhile, KB launches three separate air attacks near Jaffna, Mangalore and Calicut sinking an AMc and 3 xAKLs.

Although it would have been a black day if another precious carrier had been hit, in the event today's intel report indicates that 24 fewer US dive bombers will be available to threaten my convoys plying the Bay of Bengal.

SW Pacific

The Allied carriers are back in action as they take out a small supply convoy near Tabiteuea:

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
SBD-3 Dauntless x 30

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Uji Maru, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
xAKL Katsura Maru, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
PB Hakozake Maru, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
11 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Uji Maru
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAKL Katsura Maru
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring PB Hakozake Maru