What has happened to Akagi? Your bombers claimed a few hits... Did she hit the bottom?
BTW: Splendid AAR!
Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
Read the latest update. It would appear that my bomber crews reports were not entirely accurate! [;)]
The ship is still afloat and fighting, although she hasn't been able to launch a strike of more than about eight planes. So at least her airgroup has been decimated apparently. Now if only my veteran Dutch airgroups with their 80's and 90's skill levels could hit a moving ship. [:@]
The ship is still afloat and fighting, although she hasn't been able to launch a strike of more than about eight planes. So at least her airgroup has been decimated apparently. Now if only my veteran Dutch airgroups with their 80's and 90's skill levels could hit a moving ship. [:@]
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
Well... what a shame... The air crews are always overreacting: once in my game they've shoot down 12 out of 6 japanese planes. [:D]
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
Time for you to take on a wily human.[:-]
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
ORIGINAL: 2ndACR
Time for you to take on a wily human.[:-]
I'm not reliable enough these days to consider a PBEM game. Got to close out my father's estate, I've promised myself a long (two months I think) road trip vacation and then I've got to find a job. So its not really a viable option.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
<Somewhere in a different part of the cosmos, two beings wait while a third approaches. Trying to describe them would take a great deal of time and risk the sanity of both the writer and the reader. It is easier and safer to just say their appearance is much like a nightmare version of a human size bat, only much, much worse.
The third being reaches the other two, where they appear to be gazing at a projection of a planet, floating between them. The planet has the blues and greens of a life-bearing world. The being manipulates a, call it a tool, then waves it over the projection. As it does so, a subtle change comes over the globe. The viewer cannot tell what has changed, he just knows it is different. The being examines its tool for a moment and then puts it away.
It turns to the other two. Some form of communication takes place, incomprehensible to a human. But the gist of the message is "Its patched to 1.4 now."
The first two beings return their attention to the globe as the third begins moving away.>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
28 Jul 42
The S-32 avoided a lone enemy destroyer north of Rabaul. The Sculpin hit a freighter along the north coast of Borneo.
East of Townsville the surviving three minesweepers continue to try to pin down the enemy sub that has torpedoed two of their sister ships. To the north, about two hundred miles south of Gili Gili, three US destroyers sink another sub.
27 Squadron continues to bomb Tavoy at night.
Chinese SB-2 bombers continue attacking Chengting. It was a bad day as two of the bombers were lost to flak.
Almost thirty B-24s bombed the enemy air base at Bangkok. They did heavy damage to the field and destroyed some half-dozen enemy aircraft.
One of the Bomb Groups at Batavia has stood down, so only a bit under thirty B-17s were able to attack Singapore. They were briefly annoyed by a pair of enemy Zeroes, but the fighters failed to press the attack. A dozen more transports are hit, at least one of them sinking. A dozen Beauforts followed to bomb the airfield, destroying about half-a-dozen enemy planes.
More than thirty Forts bombed Kwajalein. The three Nates that they encountered did attack but were unable to do any substantial harm to the raid. Many of the bombers were damaged by flak as they dropped their payloads. Another half-dozen enemy aircraft were destroyed.
Seventeen B-17s attacked Rabaul, where they were met by a nearly equal number of Zeroes. While only one bomber was lost, almost all of them were damaged to varying degrees by either the fighters or AAA. Only a few enemy aircraft were caught by the bombs and damage to the base was light.
The bombers in Burma continue to hit enemy troops around Rangoon and Moulmein.
A section of Hudsons followed up on a PBY's report and tried to hit the Akagi at Davao, but were unable to hit the ship. Other attacks on shipping in the Celebes Sea also came up empty.
A hundred B-25s and B-26s hit Shortlands. They caught a freighter in port and hit it with almost half-a-dozen bombs. The rest of the aircraft concentrated on a supply dump, doing substantial damage to the stores.
The convoy carrying the 4th SeaBees to Gili Gili was attacked just short of their goal. Some Kittyhawks from the base tried to provide some cover but were only able to engage the enemy briefly. They only shot down one of the twenty Bettys attacking. One freighter was hit by a torpedo and the destroyer Hatfield blew up and sank after taking several torpedo strikes.
No serious action at Canton today. The Japanese regained control of the roads near Moulmein, the partisans fading back into the jungle rather than risking a full scale battle with enemy regulars. Chinese forces near Hanoi are having problems pinning down the enemy forces there, launching an attack that netted nothing.
The freighter Peter Kerr, despite making it to Townsville, was unable to bring her flooding under control and sank.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
29 Jul 42
The Growler, already heading home due to damage, was forced to evade a pair of minesweepers west of Tori Shima. The Trout hit a freighter with several torpedoes in a surface attack near Bonin. The S-32 was pursued again by an enemy destroyer, so she swatted it with a pair of torpedoes. The IJN ship sank when her magazines exploded.
The Blenheims had a good night over Tavoy.
Two dozen B-17s bombed Sinapore's port again today. They hit at least ten enemy transports as well as warehouses and the like. Intelligence confirms another transport sinking. A dozen Beauforts hit the airfield again today. They destroyed or damaged more than their own numbers of enemy planes.
Only a little more than a dozen bombers were able to hit Kwajalein. About half of them were damage by flak. A bit under fifty were able to attack Rabaul today. We lost three of them to the sixteen Zeroes but the gunners did well, shooting down almost twice as many of the fighters. Heavy damage and casualties were inflicted.
Chinese bombers attacked enemy troops at Canton and near Hanoi. Bad weather kept Mandalay socked in but the Hurricanes continued to strafe enemy forces.
The bombers at Balikpapan and Samarinda kept Tarakan under heavy attack all day. Three different freighters all received at least two bomb or torpedo hits. A section of Hudsons also hit a freighter near Tawi Tawi. Two more sections slipped past the Akagi's CAP. But two of the planes were lost to AAA and the rest were unable to hit west of Davao.
In return the Akagi launched half-a-dozen bombers to attack the damaged freighter Edgar Allan Poe at Menado, hitting it with three more bombs.
Our freighters trial hasn't ended now that they've reached Gili Gili. A decade of Bettys surprised the CAP and got thru with only one plane lost. A second freighter was hit by a torpedo.
More target practice at Pontianak. Only about half the numbers from yesterday were able to attack Shortlands today. They hit the same damaged freighter with several more bombs and destroyed more enemy stores.
There was more minor fighting at Canton. The jungles of northern Indo-china is are proving to be a bigger opponent than the enemy troops. It looks like the Vietnamese militia also tried to launch an attack at the same time the Chinese did, but all that occurred was a scattered series of small unit actions. The weak Chinese bombers are doing more harm than the infantry on the ground.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
30 Jul 42
The Sculpin made a couple of unsuccessful attempts on a tanker near Brunei. Having cleared the area by sinking a destroyer yesterday, the S-32 hit a transport today. East of Batan Island the Pompano shot up a freighter.
The minesweeper Cowra failed to make port, sinking this morning. The sub that sank it is now being hunted by a fresh group of minesweepers lead by a gunboat.
27 Squadron continues to do well over Tavoy. They are doing good amounts of damage, especially considering how few of them we have.
The Chinese continued bombing Chengting. Thirty-six Liberators hit Bangkok again. Although their performance was a bit disappointing today. The Bomb Groups at Batavia have swapped, so thirty B-17s hit Singapore's shipping today. A dozen ships were hit, including one patrol boat. Intelligence confirms more ships sinking. Let them learn to dread the sound of four-engines. Thirty more B-17s fought their way thru a dozen Zeroes to bomb Rabaul's airfield. Two of them were lost and several more were forced to turn back by damage. But between the bombs and the gunners more than twenty enemy aircraft were destroyed.
Hurricanes, Wellingtons and Mitchells continue to rain death on Japanese troops around Rangoon. The British have deceided to be more aggressive. Two task forces are setting out from Trimcomalee, one lead by the battleships Warspite and Valiant, the other by the carriers Illustrious and Formidable. The surface combatants will risk the mines we have laid around occupied Andaman Island to shell it before moving towards Malaya. The carriers will move to strike Tavoy and cover the shipping of additional troops into Rangoon. The 14th Chindit Brigade is boarding ships at Diamond Harbor to be transported to Rangoon. Additional troops will be moved as shipping becomes available.
Some Hudsons attacked the Akagi at Davao but are still not able to score any hits. Another pair hit a freighter near Tawi Tawi.
Today's attack on Shortlands was back up to strength, with a hundred medium bombers hitting the port. Heavy casualties are being reported among the garrison and more damage done to the enemy's supply stockpiles.
More attempts were made by the Chinese to attack the enemy near Hanoi, but no serious action was reported. Artillery fire was exchanged around Canton.
I have to agree with the British decision. I have been a bit too passive recently, although with some excuse. The American carriers have almost finished refitting their torpedo bomber squadrons with new TBF Avengers. While the Lexington is still undergoing repairs at Pearl, once this re-equipping is completed the three carriers in Australia will move against the Japanese in the Solomons. We also have a RCT that has been prepping to land on Munda. We have already moved two surface combat groups to Guadalcanal, one lead by the battleships New Mexico and North Carolina, the other a cruiser/destroyer group. Unfortunately ground troops for offensive action are a bit lacking. Many of our troop transports are in port undergoing refits to improve their AAA capability. We are also moving understrength units around with what ships we can so that they can fill out. Many of these are aviation and military engineering units. This is a category in which we are feeling a desparate need for more, so I will be keeping close track of their progress so that they can be moved as quickly as they can be made ready. The need is most being felt in the DEI, where the front line bases are already at their limits in terms of aircraft they can support. We are beginning to stack up squadrons and groups in Australia because there is insufficient support for them farther forward.
I am also shifting some command responsibilities. Australia Command has moved north to Townsville. This places it closer to Port Moresby and the Solomons, so it can act as a rear area refit and replenishment center for the upcoming actions there. SWPAC is currently boarding ships at Port Moresby and will move to Darwin, where it can support the rebuilding of units for action in the DEI. Some additional artillery and AAA batteries are already in place or are enroute to bases on Borneo and Java. Infantry will follow as soon as possible. I am looking at putting together an offensive from Balikpapan aimed at Tarakan once we can do so. Because of the good overland connection between the two, we can stage units from Darwin to Balikpapan one at a time. They can then move overland en mass without needing large amounts of sea lift that we desparately need everywhere. Additionally, re-capturing Tarakan will deny the enemy raw materials that we believe he desparately needs.
More reports to follow.
The third being reaches the other two, where they appear to be gazing at a projection of a planet, floating between them. The planet has the blues and greens of a life-bearing world. The being manipulates a, call it a tool, then waves it over the projection. As it does so, a subtle change comes over the globe. The viewer cannot tell what has changed, he just knows it is different. The being examines its tool for a moment and then puts it away.
It turns to the other two. Some form of communication takes place, incomprehensible to a human. But the gist of the message is "Its patched to 1.4 now."
The first two beings return their attention to the globe as the third begins moving away.>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
28 Jul 42
The S-32 avoided a lone enemy destroyer north of Rabaul. The Sculpin hit a freighter along the north coast of Borneo.
East of Townsville the surviving three minesweepers continue to try to pin down the enemy sub that has torpedoed two of their sister ships. To the north, about two hundred miles south of Gili Gili, three US destroyers sink another sub.
27 Squadron continues to bomb Tavoy at night.
Chinese SB-2 bombers continue attacking Chengting. It was a bad day as two of the bombers were lost to flak.
Almost thirty B-24s bombed the enemy air base at Bangkok. They did heavy damage to the field and destroyed some half-dozen enemy aircraft.
One of the Bomb Groups at Batavia has stood down, so only a bit under thirty B-17s were able to attack Singapore. They were briefly annoyed by a pair of enemy Zeroes, but the fighters failed to press the attack. A dozen more transports are hit, at least one of them sinking. A dozen Beauforts followed to bomb the airfield, destroying about half-a-dozen enemy planes.
More than thirty Forts bombed Kwajalein. The three Nates that they encountered did attack but were unable to do any substantial harm to the raid. Many of the bombers were damaged by flak as they dropped their payloads. Another half-dozen enemy aircraft were destroyed.
Seventeen B-17s attacked Rabaul, where they were met by a nearly equal number of Zeroes. While only one bomber was lost, almost all of them were damaged to varying degrees by either the fighters or AAA. Only a few enemy aircraft were caught by the bombs and damage to the base was light.
The bombers in Burma continue to hit enemy troops around Rangoon and Moulmein.
A section of Hudsons followed up on a PBY's report and tried to hit the Akagi at Davao, but were unable to hit the ship. Other attacks on shipping in the Celebes Sea also came up empty.
A hundred B-25s and B-26s hit Shortlands. They caught a freighter in port and hit it with almost half-a-dozen bombs. The rest of the aircraft concentrated on a supply dump, doing substantial damage to the stores.
The convoy carrying the 4th SeaBees to Gili Gili was attacked just short of their goal. Some Kittyhawks from the base tried to provide some cover but were only able to engage the enemy briefly. They only shot down one of the twenty Bettys attacking. One freighter was hit by a torpedo and the destroyer Hatfield blew up and sank after taking several torpedo strikes.
No serious action at Canton today. The Japanese regained control of the roads near Moulmein, the partisans fading back into the jungle rather than risking a full scale battle with enemy regulars. Chinese forces near Hanoi are having problems pinning down the enemy forces there, launching an attack that netted nothing.
The freighter Peter Kerr, despite making it to Townsville, was unable to bring her flooding under control and sank.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
29 Jul 42
The Growler, already heading home due to damage, was forced to evade a pair of minesweepers west of Tori Shima. The Trout hit a freighter with several torpedoes in a surface attack near Bonin. The S-32 was pursued again by an enemy destroyer, so she swatted it with a pair of torpedoes. The IJN ship sank when her magazines exploded.
The Blenheims had a good night over Tavoy.
Two dozen B-17s bombed Sinapore's port again today. They hit at least ten enemy transports as well as warehouses and the like. Intelligence confirms another transport sinking. A dozen Beauforts hit the airfield again today. They destroyed or damaged more than their own numbers of enemy planes.
Only a little more than a dozen bombers were able to hit Kwajalein. About half of them were damage by flak. A bit under fifty were able to attack Rabaul today. We lost three of them to the sixteen Zeroes but the gunners did well, shooting down almost twice as many of the fighters. Heavy damage and casualties were inflicted.
Chinese bombers attacked enemy troops at Canton and near Hanoi. Bad weather kept Mandalay socked in but the Hurricanes continued to strafe enemy forces.
The bombers at Balikpapan and Samarinda kept Tarakan under heavy attack all day. Three different freighters all received at least two bomb or torpedo hits. A section of Hudsons also hit a freighter near Tawi Tawi. Two more sections slipped past the Akagi's CAP. But two of the planes were lost to AAA and the rest were unable to hit west of Davao.
In return the Akagi launched half-a-dozen bombers to attack the damaged freighter Edgar Allan Poe at Menado, hitting it with three more bombs.
Our freighters trial hasn't ended now that they've reached Gili Gili. A decade of Bettys surprised the CAP and got thru with only one plane lost. A second freighter was hit by a torpedo.
More target practice at Pontianak. Only about half the numbers from yesterday were able to attack Shortlands today. They hit the same damaged freighter with several more bombs and destroyed more enemy stores.
There was more minor fighting at Canton. The jungles of northern Indo-china is are proving to be a bigger opponent than the enemy troops. It looks like the Vietnamese militia also tried to launch an attack at the same time the Chinese did, but all that occurred was a scattered series of small unit actions. The weak Chinese bombers are doing more harm than the infantry on the ground.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
30 Jul 42
The Sculpin made a couple of unsuccessful attempts on a tanker near Brunei. Having cleared the area by sinking a destroyer yesterday, the S-32 hit a transport today. East of Batan Island the Pompano shot up a freighter.
The minesweeper Cowra failed to make port, sinking this morning. The sub that sank it is now being hunted by a fresh group of minesweepers lead by a gunboat.
27 Squadron continues to do well over Tavoy. They are doing good amounts of damage, especially considering how few of them we have.
The Chinese continued bombing Chengting. Thirty-six Liberators hit Bangkok again. Although their performance was a bit disappointing today. The Bomb Groups at Batavia have swapped, so thirty B-17s hit Singapore's shipping today. A dozen ships were hit, including one patrol boat. Intelligence confirms more ships sinking. Let them learn to dread the sound of four-engines. Thirty more B-17s fought their way thru a dozen Zeroes to bomb Rabaul's airfield. Two of them were lost and several more were forced to turn back by damage. But between the bombs and the gunners more than twenty enemy aircraft were destroyed.
Hurricanes, Wellingtons and Mitchells continue to rain death on Japanese troops around Rangoon. The British have deceided to be more aggressive. Two task forces are setting out from Trimcomalee, one lead by the battleships Warspite and Valiant, the other by the carriers Illustrious and Formidable. The surface combatants will risk the mines we have laid around occupied Andaman Island to shell it before moving towards Malaya. The carriers will move to strike Tavoy and cover the shipping of additional troops into Rangoon. The 14th Chindit Brigade is boarding ships at Diamond Harbor to be transported to Rangoon. Additional troops will be moved as shipping becomes available.
Some Hudsons attacked the Akagi at Davao but are still not able to score any hits. Another pair hit a freighter near Tawi Tawi.
Today's attack on Shortlands was back up to strength, with a hundred medium bombers hitting the port. Heavy casualties are being reported among the garrison and more damage done to the enemy's supply stockpiles.
More attempts were made by the Chinese to attack the enemy near Hanoi, but no serious action was reported. Artillery fire was exchanged around Canton.
I have to agree with the British decision. I have been a bit too passive recently, although with some excuse. The American carriers have almost finished refitting their torpedo bomber squadrons with new TBF Avengers. While the Lexington is still undergoing repairs at Pearl, once this re-equipping is completed the three carriers in Australia will move against the Japanese in the Solomons. We also have a RCT that has been prepping to land on Munda. We have already moved two surface combat groups to Guadalcanal, one lead by the battleships New Mexico and North Carolina, the other a cruiser/destroyer group. Unfortunately ground troops for offensive action are a bit lacking. Many of our troop transports are in port undergoing refits to improve their AAA capability. We are also moving understrength units around with what ships we can so that they can fill out. Many of these are aviation and military engineering units. This is a category in which we are feeling a desparate need for more, so I will be keeping close track of their progress so that they can be moved as quickly as they can be made ready. The need is most being felt in the DEI, where the front line bases are already at their limits in terms of aircraft they can support. We are beginning to stack up squadrons and groups in Australia because there is insufficient support for them farther forward.
I am also shifting some command responsibilities. Australia Command has moved north to Townsville. This places it closer to Port Moresby and the Solomons, so it can act as a rear area refit and replenishment center for the upcoming actions there. SWPAC is currently boarding ships at Port Moresby and will move to Darwin, where it can support the rebuilding of units for action in the DEI. Some additional artillery and AAA batteries are already in place or are enroute to bases on Borneo and Java. Infantry will follow as soon as possible. I am looking at putting together an offensive from Balikpapan aimed at Tarakan once we can do so. Because of the good overland connection between the two, we can stage units from Darwin to Balikpapan one at a time. They can then move overland en mass without needing large amounts of sea lift that we desparately need everywhere. Additionally, re-capturing Tarakan will deny the enemy raw materials that we believe he desparately needs.
More reports to follow.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
Did you change the map in any way then?
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
No, just applied the 1.4 patch.
Let's just say that I have already written the last post for this AAR.
Let's just say that I have already written the last post for this AAR.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
ORIGINAL: dtravel
No, just applied the 1.4 patch.
Let's just say that I have already written the last post for this AAR.
Eh? What happened? Problems with game? Out of time? Problems with Life? Restarting from scratch? Starting PBEM?
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
ORIGINAL: rtrapasso
ORIGINAL: dtravel
No, just applied the 1.4 patch.
Let's just say that I have already written the last post for this AAR.
Eh? What happened? Problems with game? Out of time? Problems with Life? Restarting from scratch? Starting PBEM?
No, no, nothing like that. I will continue this game and its AAR for some time. I actually wrote the "end" a few months ago. Just think of that interlude as a preview for an in-joke.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
31 Jul 42
The Nautilus spotted an IJN cruiser at the south end of the Philippine Sea before being forced to dive to avoid a large number of destroyers in escort. The KXVIII used her 88mm and 40mm guns to riddle a freighter near Singapore.
More night time bombing of Tavoy.
Various issues kept the heavy bombers from doing well today. Poor weather interfering with navigation was a major factor. Eighteen B-24s bombed Bangkok, doing only minor damage to the airfield. Only five B-17s made it to Singapore, hitting two transports. Eight Forts attacked Rabaul, having little problem with eight Zeroes on defense. They did good damage but one bomber was lost to flak.
Japanese troops in southern Burma continue to get hammered from the air. It was not entirely one-sided though, as they shot down a Hurricane.
The Akagi has set sail from Davao, again. A section of Hudsons missed her and the two Vals she sent against Menado missed the freighter there. This situation is beginning to become embaressing.
Beauforts hit the airfield at Singapore, destroying a dozen enemy aircraft. An attack on the base at Tarakan cost us a Beaufort to AAA fire. A couple of strikes against freighters around the Celebes Sea failed to score.
The bombing of Shortlands continues. Damage today appears to be very light for nearly a hundred bombers but Intelligence indicates heavy casualties among the garrison.
There were some more small clashes west of Hanoi today. Another assault on Canton did not do well, suffering over 2,000 casualties.
More reports to follow.
The Nautilus spotted an IJN cruiser at the south end of the Philippine Sea before being forced to dive to avoid a large number of destroyers in escort. The KXVIII used her 88mm and 40mm guns to riddle a freighter near Singapore.
More night time bombing of Tavoy.
Various issues kept the heavy bombers from doing well today. Poor weather interfering with navigation was a major factor. Eighteen B-24s bombed Bangkok, doing only minor damage to the airfield. Only five B-17s made it to Singapore, hitting two transports. Eight Forts attacked Rabaul, having little problem with eight Zeroes on defense. They did good damage but one bomber was lost to flak.
Japanese troops in southern Burma continue to get hammered from the air. It was not entirely one-sided though, as they shot down a Hurricane.
The Akagi has set sail from Davao, again. A section of Hudsons missed her and the two Vals she sent against Menado missed the freighter there. This situation is beginning to become embaressing.
Beauforts hit the airfield at Singapore, destroying a dozen enemy aircraft. An attack on the base at Tarakan cost us a Beaufort to AAA fire. A couple of strikes against freighters around the Celebes Sea failed to score.
The bombing of Shortlands continues. Damage today appears to be very light for nearly a hundred bombers but Intelligence indicates heavy casualties among the garrison.
There were some more small clashes west of Hanoi today. Another assault on Canton did not do well, suffering over 2,000 casualties.
More reports to follow.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
01 Aug 42
A couple hundred miles south of Kagoshima, the Guardfish attacked a troop transport. She hit with two torpedoes and several deck gun shots, but had her torpedo tubes damaged by a lucky shot from the Nip gun crew and has turned back for Pearl. The Trusty slammed three torpedoes into a freighter in the Malacca Strait. Her crew added insult to injury by surfacing and putting a single gun round into the ship.
The Blenheims continue to make overnight visits to Tavoy. The Liberators returned to bombing Tavoy in the morning. They did some serious damage to the airfield but report no sign of enemy aircraft on the ground.
The Royal Navy battleships spent the day standing off and bombarding Andaman Island. They were surprised by a pair of Bettys in the afternoon but the bombers stayed at high altitude and missed the ships. Strangly, the task force reports no sign of a Japanese garrison on the island.
Chinese bombers bombed Chengting.
Enemy shipping at Singapore continues to suffer. Twenty six B-17s had no trouble at all from the few Zeroes they spotted. Another decade of transports and a gunboat suffered bomb hits, with at least one sinking. A section of Beauforts hit a freighter at sea nearby.
Chinese bombers attacked Canton. Wellingtons and B-25s bombed enemy positions north of Rangoon.
ABDA's bombers were busy today. They launched a number of strikes on and around Tarakan. One tanker was torpedoed, a second hit with a pair of bombs.
Wellingtons and Hudsons also caught a pair of freighters near Singkawang, hitting both of them. The Australian B-25s hit a freighter and a transport docked at Pontianak. (I am becoming very confused by the Aussie bomber crews. With no enemy ships docked there, they have trouble even locating Pontianak. But as soon as a ship docks their navigation and accuracy shoot thru the roof. Very strange.)
The bombers at Lunga continue to blast away at Shortlands in strength.
The Edgar Allan Poe sank. But her entire cargo and crew were able to get off the ship at Menado before she went under.
The Chinese began regrouping again at Canton. Near Hanoi they were able to ambush an enemy company but still can't locate the main body.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
02 Aug 42
The KXIV torpedoed a freighter at sea northwest of Kuching. The Nautilus used her large deck guns on a small freighter in the approaches to Davao, setting the ship on fire. The Sturgeon missed a heavily escorted tanker near Tarakan.
Move explosions overnight at Tavoy.
The battleships North Carolina and New Mexico and their escorting cruisers attacked Shortlands during the night. Intelligence is that they inflicted a large number of casualties on the enemy. The Japanese return fire was enthusastic but not much else. The Adelaide had a small deck fire to deal with, but otherwise damage to our ships was neglible. We'll send them back to do it again.
Chinese bombers continue to attack Chengting. It looks like they managed to hit a fighter on the ground today.
Two dozen Liberators bombed Bangkok. Despite their numbers and the damage they did, it looks like only a few enemy aircraft were destroyed. Where are the Japanese planes?
The Chinese launched a couple of attacks on Japanese positions around Canton and Hanoi. We continue to bomb enemy forces around Rangoon.
A transport was torpedoed by a section of Beauforts outside Tarakan.
One Beaufort was destroyed by ground fire over Singapore. The attack destroyed several enemy bombers on the ground.
There was no serious action at Canton. West of Hanoi the Chinese may be closing in on the enemy forces. There was a large jump in the number of contacts today and they are claiming over a hundred enemy casualties in scattered fighting.
The USN 122 Base Force has arrived at San Francisco. We are in great need of these troops, which makes all the more disappointing that it showed up at only half strength. I'm not sure which is worse, not having them at all or having them sitting around unable to do anything while personnel trickle in to bring them up to strength.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
03 Aug 42
The Sturgeon had a busy day, first she missed a freighter outside Tarakan. Then she avoided a pair of small ships on ASW patrol before surfacing to shoot up a small freighter with her 20mm guns. The KXVIII got into a gun duel with a freighter near Singapore.
A group of destroyers on ASW patrol due east of Cairns were attacked by a sub. The torpedoes missed but the ships were unable to find the Jap.
The RN's battleships shelled Tavoy without opposition.
Forty B-17s bombed Singapore's port. They hit nine transports and a patrol boat. Several sections of Beauforts followed up with an attack on the airfield, destroying half-a-dozen enemy planes.
The Chinese sent several raids against Canton. They also bombed the Vietnamese near Hanoi. Hurricanes straffed the Japanese in Burma.
Attacks on Japanese shipping in the Celebes Sea continue. A freighter was hit by two torpedoes from a pair of Swordfish. A second suffered a bomb hit. A section of Beauforts also hit the airfield at Tarakan.
A pair of Bettys approached Balikpapan. The second one quickly ran when the P-40s shot down the first one.
The Japanese did better at Gili Gili. While the SeaBees have disembarked, the ships are still docked unloading supplies. Two raids attacked them, the first was almost twenty Bettys escorted by a dozen Zeroes. The defending Kittyhawks were able to shot down one of the Bettys and several of the Zeroes, losing two of their own in the process. However, the rest of the bombers were able to hit two of the freighters with torpedoes. A second raid was almost exactly half the strength, losing a fighter and a bomber to score two more torpedo hits.
The bombers at Guadalcanal continued hammering the port at Shortlands, again concentrating their efforts on the supply dumps.
Artillery fire was exchanged around Canton. The Chinese forces west of Hanoi continued to press the militia forces in the jungle. They must be getting close as a small group of the enemy launched a suicide charge in an attempt to drive the Chinese back.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
04 Aug 42
A large Japanese ASW force has moved into the Celebes Sea. The KX and S-39 had encounters with it east of Tarakan, but both subs were able to successfully evade. The Sculpin torpedoed an escorted tanker near Brunei. Her torpedoes missed when she attacked a lone second tanker. The KXVIII avoided a trio of subchasers near Singapore. She then got into a gun battle with a freighter. She was fortunate that the enemy's gun crew didn't hit anything critical. The S-39 put two torpedoes into a freighter east of Tarakan before her encounter with the ASW group.
The Blenheims continue their night work at Tavoy. (Time to start that pool on when I run out of ways to say this.)
(Extend that pool to cover the Chinese and Chengting, by the way.)
The Liberators bombed Bangkok again.
The Slaughter at Singapore continues. Nearly forty B-17s hit eight merchant ships and a patrol boat. Sources confirm that the patrol boat and two transports sank in the harbor.
The Chinese lost an IL-4 over Canton and a Hurricane was shot down near Rangoon in attacks on enemy troops. A raid also hit VM troops near Hanoi.
Two sections of Hudsons hit a freighter near Mindanao. Another freighter at Tarakan took a hits from half-a-dozen bombs and a torpedo. Two minesweepers took bomb hits and a third freighter was torpedoed in further strikes.
Another attack on the ships at Gili Gili failed to hit our freighters. The dogfight beforehand cost us a Kittyhawk and the enemy a Zero and a Betty.
The Royal Navy's carrier planes co-ordinated with the AVG in attacking Tavoy. They shot down all three of the Zeroes they met in the air and destroyed three more on the ground.
Two sections of Beauforts bombed Tarakan's air strip.
The enemy lost more supplies at Shortlands as the medium bombers on Guadalcanal continued their campaign.
More artillery fire was exchanged at Canton. The Chinese failed to follow up on their success near Hanoi yesterday.
More reports to follow.
A couple hundred miles south of Kagoshima, the Guardfish attacked a troop transport. She hit with two torpedoes and several deck gun shots, but had her torpedo tubes damaged by a lucky shot from the Nip gun crew and has turned back for Pearl. The Trusty slammed three torpedoes into a freighter in the Malacca Strait. Her crew added insult to injury by surfacing and putting a single gun round into the ship.
The Blenheims continue to make overnight visits to Tavoy. The Liberators returned to bombing Tavoy in the morning. They did some serious damage to the airfield but report no sign of enemy aircraft on the ground.
The Royal Navy battleships spent the day standing off and bombarding Andaman Island. They were surprised by a pair of Bettys in the afternoon but the bombers stayed at high altitude and missed the ships. Strangly, the task force reports no sign of a Japanese garrison on the island.
Chinese bombers bombed Chengting.
Enemy shipping at Singapore continues to suffer. Twenty six B-17s had no trouble at all from the few Zeroes they spotted. Another decade of transports and a gunboat suffered bomb hits, with at least one sinking. A section of Beauforts hit a freighter at sea nearby.
Chinese bombers attacked Canton. Wellingtons and B-25s bombed enemy positions north of Rangoon.
ABDA's bombers were busy today. They launched a number of strikes on and around Tarakan. One tanker was torpedoed, a second hit with a pair of bombs.
Wellingtons and Hudsons also caught a pair of freighters near Singkawang, hitting both of them. The Australian B-25s hit a freighter and a transport docked at Pontianak. (I am becoming very confused by the Aussie bomber crews. With no enemy ships docked there, they have trouble even locating Pontianak. But as soon as a ship docks their navigation and accuracy shoot thru the roof. Very strange.)
The bombers at Lunga continue to blast away at Shortlands in strength.
The Edgar Allan Poe sank. But her entire cargo and crew were able to get off the ship at Menado before she went under.
The Chinese began regrouping again at Canton. Near Hanoi they were able to ambush an enemy company but still can't locate the main body.
More reports to follow.
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02 Aug 42
The KXIV torpedoed a freighter at sea northwest of Kuching. The Nautilus used her large deck guns on a small freighter in the approaches to Davao, setting the ship on fire. The Sturgeon missed a heavily escorted tanker near Tarakan.
Move explosions overnight at Tavoy.
The battleships North Carolina and New Mexico and their escorting cruisers attacked Shortlands during the night. Intelligence is that they inflicted a large number of casualties on the enemy. The Japanese return fire was enthusastic but not much else. The Adelaide had a small deck fire to deal with, but otherwise damage to our ships was neglible. We'll send them back to do it again.
Chinese bombers continue to attack Chengting. It looks like they managed to hit a fighter on the ground today.
Two dozen Liberators bombed Bangkok. Despite their numbers and the damage they did, it looks like only a few enemy aircraft were destroyed. Where are the Japanese planes?
The Chinese launched a couple of attacks on Japanese positions around Canton and Hanoi. We continue to bomb enemy forces around Rangoon.
A transport was torpedoed by a section of Beauforts outside Tarakan.
One Beaufort was destroyed by ground fire over Singapore. The attack destroyed several enemy bombers on the ground.
There was no serious action at Canton. West of Hanoi the Chinese may be closing in on the enemy forces. There was a large jump in the number of contacts today and they are claiming over a hundred enemy casualties in scattered fighting.
The USN 122 Base Force has arrived at San Francisco. We are in great need of these troops, which makes all the more disappointing that it showed up at only half strength. I'm not sure which is worse, not having them at all or having them sitting around unable to do anything while personnel trickle in to bring them up to strength.
More reports to follow.
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03 Aug 42
The Sturgeon had a busy day, first she missed a freighter outside Tarakan. Then she avoided a pair of small ships on ASW patrol before surfacing to shoot up a small freighter with her 20mm guns. The KXVIII got into a gun duel with a freighter near Singapore.
A group of destroyers on ASW patrol due east of Cairns were attacked by a sub. The torpedoes missed but the ships were unable to find the Jap.
The RN's battleships shelled Tavoy without opposition.
Forty B-17s bombed Singapore's port. They hit nine transports and a patrol boat. Several sections of Beauforts followed up with an attack on the airfield, destroying half-a-dozen enemy planes.
The Chinese sent several raids against Canton. They also bombed the Vietnamese near Hanoi. Hurricanes straffed the Japanese in Burma.
Attacks on Japanese shipping in the Celebes Sea continue. A freighter was hit by two torpedoes from a pair of Swordfish. A second suffered a bomb hit. A section of Beauforts also hit the airfield at Tarakan.
A pair of Bettys approached Balikpapan. The second one quickly ran when the P-40s shot down the first one.
The Japanese did better at Gili Gili. While the SeaBees have disembarked, the ships are still docked unloading supplies. Two raids attacked them, the first was almost twenty Bettys escorted by a dozen Zeroes. The defending Kittyhawks were able to shot down one of the Bettys and several of the Zeroes, losing two of their own in the process. However, the rest of the bombers were able to hit two of the freighters with torpedoes. A second raid was almost exactly half the strength, losing a fighter and a bomber to score two more torpedo hits.
The bombers at Guadalcanal continued hammering the port at Shortlands, again concentrating their efforts on the supply dumps.
Artillery fire was exchanged around Canton. The Chinese forces west of Hanoi continued to press the militia forces in the jungle. They must be getting close as a small group of the enemy launched a suicide charge in an attempt to drive the Chinese back.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
04 Aug 42
A large Japanese ASW force has moved into the Celebes Sea. The KX and S-39 had encounters with it east of Tarakan, but both subs were able to successfully evade. The Sculpin torpedoed an escorted tanker near Brunei. Her torpedoes missed when she attacked a lone second tanker. The KXVIII avoided a trio of subchasers near Singapore. She then got into a gun battle with a freighter. She was fortunate that the enemy's gun crew didn't hit anything critical. The S-39 put two torpedoes into a freighter east of Tarakan before her encounter with the ASW group.
The Blenheims continue their night work at Tavoy. (Time to start that pool on when I run out of ways to say this.)
(Extend that pool to cover the Chinese and Chengting, by the way.)
The Liberators bombed Bangkok again.
The Slaughter at Singapore continues. Nearly forty B-17s hit eight merchant ships and a patrol boat. Sources confirm that the patrol boat and two transports sank in the harbor.
The Chinese lost an IL-4 over Canton and a Hurricane was shot down near Rangoon in attacks on enemy troops. A raid also hit VM troops near Hanoi.
Two sections of Hudsons hit a freighter near Mindanao. Another freighter at Tarakan took a hits from half-a-dozen bombs and a torpedo. Two minesweepers took bomb hits and a third freighter was torpedoed in further strikes.
Another attack on the ships at Gili Gili failed to hit our freighters. The dogfight beforehand cost us a Kittyhawk and the enemy a Zero and a Betty.
The Royal Navy's carrier planes co-ordinated with the AVG in attacking Tavoy. They shot down all three of the Zeroes they met in the air and destroyed three more on the ground.
Two sections of Beauforts bombed Tarakan's air strip.
The enemy lost more supplies at Shortlands as the medium bombers on Guadalcanal continued their campaign.
More artillery fire was exchanged at Canton. The Chinese failed to follow up on their success near Hanoi yesterday.
More reports to follow.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
05 Aug 42
The Nautilus shelled a freighter near Davao. The S-39 torpedoed a transport in the Sulu Sea. The Sturgeon hit a freighter outside Tarakan. The Guardfish shot up a freighter west of Marcus Island. In the Malacca Strait the Trusty hit a subchaser with a pair of torpedoes. The Skipjack used her guns on another freighter outside Canton. All in all, a busy day for Sub Command.
A destroyer group had an inconclusive skirmish with a sub in the Coral Sea.
The Blenheims committed nocturnal mayhem on Tavoy.
Twenty B-24s bombed Bangkok. They may have caught a plane on the ground.
More than fifty B-17s attacked Rabaul. A dozen Zeroes put up a fanatical defense, costing us several bombers. Many others were forced to abort, resulting in only half the planes reaching their target. The gunners did down several of the enemy fighters. Damage Assessment believes that several more aircraft were destroyed on the ground.
The Chinese launched several attacks on Canton's defenders. One Hurricane was lost in attacks on Japanese troops near Moulmein. The Vietnamese forces near Hanoi were bombed.
The British carriers launched a strike on the airfield at Moulmein.
Two sections of Beauforts attacked the airfield at Singapore. A pair of Zeroes shot one of them down, but the enemy lost several aircraft on the ground.
There were obviously no ships docked at Pontianak today, because the Australians couldn't hit the base.
Apparently there is an IJN carrier docked at Hong Kong, because several Kates and some naval Zeroes flew from there to attack the Chinese at Canton.
More ships at Tarakan and in the Celebes Sea were subjected to attack by our bombers. Two transports were torpedoed near the port. A section of Hudsons scored multiple bomb hits on a freighter near Cotabato. Another freighter was hit by a pair of Hudsons near Davao. And a damaged minesweeper was hit again outside Tarakan.
No action at Canton and the Chinese continue to slowly tighten the noose around the Vietnamese militia near Hanoi.
More reports to follow.
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06 Aug 42
The Nautilus continues to prey on shipping going into and out of Davao, putting a torpedo into a damaged freighter. The S-39 hit a freighter in the Sulu Sea with three torpedoes. The Sturgeon missed a transport east of Tarakan and was forced to evade a subchaser escorting it.
27 Squadron continues their night bombing of Tavoy.
The Japanese Navy caught us by surprise at Palembang. Several cruisers and their escorting destroyers started by sinking the three torpedo boats on patrol and the tanker Huguenot. They continued on to bombard the base. They were followed by at least two battleships and more cruisers, who did further damage. More than twenty aircraft were destroyed and the airfield is basically shut down due to the damage. The port also suffered heavy damage.
Twenty-five Liberators bombed Bangkok. They did some damage and destroyed under half-a-dozen enemy aircraft.
Forty B-17s bombed Singapore today. They only found one ship in port, a transport which they promptly sank.
Forty six Forts went after Rabaul again. They did much better today, not losing any aircraft. It helped that the enemy only had half as many fighters on defense. Bombs heavily cratered the runways and destroyed half-a-dozen enemy planes.
Japanese gunners claimed two Hurricanes during their attacks around Rangoon. Wellingtons and B-25s also bombed enemy forces in southern Burma. The Chinese bombed the Japanese at Canton and around Hanoi.
Tarakan was the focus of attention for our bombers around the Celebes Sea. Two freighters and two transports were torpedoed, and two freighters and two more transports were bombed during the course of the all day attacks.
The RN's carriers hit Tavoy again.
The Australian B-25s proved there are no enemy ships at Pontianak by hitting only jungle.
The port at Shortlands was hit again by Lunga's bombers.
More Japanese carrier aircraft from Hong Kong attacked the Chinese around Canton. Given that this attack has been by less than a decade of aircraft two days in a row, I think we know where the Akagi had ended up. A section of I-16s managed to slip past the Zeroes and shot down one of the Kates.
The Chinese found another company of the enemy forces west of Hanoi and destroyed it as fighting force. Another assault on Canton did relatively well. Losses were about 1600 casualties and they estimate enemy losses at around six hundred. This is better than most previous attacks have done.
More reports to follow.
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07 Aug 42
We have lost contact with the KXV. She was on patrol near Kuching. The Pickerel hit a freighter with two torpedoes. When she closed and used her .50 caliber machineguns on the ship she was able to verify that it was carrying troops.
Tavoy go boom in the night.
Wake has built up its airfield as large as possible, which is just large enough to handle B-17s. The 39th Bomb Group has flown in and launched their first mission, an attack on the air base on Marcus Island.
The B-17s at Port Moresby attacked Rabaul again, thirty-four of them today. They destroyed three aircraft on the ground without any losses. It doesn't look like there are many enemy aircraft remaining here.
Our attacks on enemy troops around Rangoon cost us three Hurricanes today. The Chinese continued to bomb west of Hanoi.
Attacks around the Celebes Sea netted bomb and torpedo hits on two freighter and two transport.
Nine Bettys attacked the ships docked at Gili Gili. The Kittyhawks shoot five of the unescorted bombers down, but the survivors manage to hit two of the freighters with torpedoes.
Royal Navy carrier planes bombed Rahaeng. It looks like we have achieved complete air superiority in the Burma theatre, at least temporarily. This bodes well for our ability to move the troops and supplies already enroute to Rangoon.
One hundred and forty bombers from the carriers Yorktown, Enterprise and Hornet bombed Shortlands. Given the apparent weakness of the enemy's air forces in the Solomons, the carriers will continue north to come within range to attack Rabaul. We already have a Regimental Combat Team boarding ships for Munda Point. Once they have secured the island we can move engineers in to build up the facilities.
The B-25s in the Solomons took a rest, but the B-26s continued bombing Shortlands.
Assuming it is the Akagi at Hong Kong, she is rebuilding her airgroup. Two raids, totalling about two dozen aircraft, attacked the Chinese at Canton.
The Japanese at Canton launched an attack. The Chinese were still routinely preparing for these sallies and hammered the Japanese hard. For under seven hundred casualties of their own it appears they inflicted over seven thousand on the enemy. It also looks like the Chinese have finally destroyed the Vietnamese unit west of Hanoi.
More reports to follow.
The Nautilus shelled a freighter near Davao. The S-39 torpedoed a transport in the Sulu Sea. The Sturgeon hit a freighter outside Tarakan. The Guardfish shot up a freighter west of Marcus Island. In the Malacca Strait the Trusty hit a subchaser with a pair of torpedoes. The Skipjack used her guns on another freighter outside Canton. All in all, a busy day for Sub Command.
A destroyer group had an inconclusive skirmish with a sub in the Coral Sea.
The Blenheims committed nocturnal mayhem on Tavoy.
Twenty B-24s bombed Bangkok. They may have caught a plane on the ground.
More than fifty B-17s attacked Rabaul. A dozen Zeroes put up a fanatical defense, costing us several bombers. Many others were forced to abort, resulting in only half the planes reaching their target. The gunners did down several of the enemy fighters. Damage Assessment believes that several more aircraft were destroyed on the ground.
The Chinese launched several attacks on Canton's defenders. One Hurricane was lost in attacks on Japanese troops near Moulmein. The Vietnamese forces near Hanoi were bombed.
The British carriers launched a strike on the airfield at Moulmein.
Two sections of Beauforts attacked the airfield at Singapore. A pair of Zeroes shot one of them down, but the enemy lost several aircraft on the ground.
There were obviously no ships docked at Pontianak today, because the Australians couldn't hit the base.
Apparently there is an IJN carrier docked at Hong Kong, because several Kates and some naval Zeroes flew from there to attack the Chinese at Canton.
More ships at Tarakan and in the Celebes Sea were subjected to attack by our bombers. Two transports were torpedoed near the port. A section of Hudsons scored multiple bomb hits on a freighter near Cotabato. Another freighter was hit by a pair of Hudsons near Davao. And a damaged minesweeper was hit again outside Tarakan.
No action at Canton and the Chinese continue to slowly tighten the noose around the Vietnamese militia near Hanoi.
More reports to follow.
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06 Aug 42
The Nautilus continues to prey on shipping going into and out of Davao, putting a torpedo into a damaged freighter. The S-39 hit a freighter in the Sulu Sea with three torpedoes. The Sturgeon missed a transport east of Tarakan and was forced to evade a subchaser escorting it.
27 Squadron continues their night bombing of Tavoy.
The Japanese Navy caught us by surprise at Palembang. Several cruisers and their escorting destroyers started by sinking the three torpedo boats on patrol and the tanker Huguenot. They continued on to bombard the base. They were followed by at least two battleships and more cruisers, who did further damage. More than twenty aircraft were destroyed and the airfield is basically shut down due to the damage. The port also suffered heavy damage.
Twenty-five Liberators bombed Bangkok. They did some damage and destroyed under half-a-dozen enemy aircraft.
Forty B-17s bombed Singapore today. They only found one ship in port, a transport which they promptly sank.
Forty six Forts went after Rabaul again. They did much better today, not losing any aircraft. It helped that the enemy only had half as many fighters on defense. Bombs heavily cratered the runways and destroyed half-a-dozen enemy planes.
Japanese gunners claimed two Hurricanes during their attacks around Rangoon. Wellingtons and B-25s also bombed enemy forces in southern Burma. The Chinese bombed the Japanese at Canton and around Hanoi.
Tarakan was the focus of attention for our bombers around the Celebes Sea. Two freighters and two transports were torpedoed, and two freighters and two more transports were bombed during the course of the all day attacks.
The RN's carriers hit Tavoy again.
The Australian B-25s proved there are no enemy ships at Pontianak by hitting only jungle.
The port at Shortlands was hit again by Lunga's bombers.
More Japanese carrier aircraft from Hong Kong attacked the Chinese around Canton. Given that this attack has been by less than a decade of aircraft two days in a row, I think we know where the Akagi had ended up. A section of I-16s managed to slip past the Zeroes and shot down one of the Kates.
The Chinese found another company of the enemy forces west of Hanoi and destroyed it as fighting force. Another assault on Canton did relatively well. Losses were about 1600 casualties and they estimate enemy losses at around six hundred. This is better than most previous attacks have done.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
07 Aug 42
We have lost contact with the KXV. She was on patrol near Kuching. The Pickerel hit a freighter with two torpedoes. When she closed and used her .50 caliber machineguns on the ship she was able to verify that it was carrying troops.
Tavoy go boom in the night.
Wake has built up its airfield as large as possible, which is just large enough to handle B-17s. The 39th Bomb Group has flown in and launched their first mission, an attack on the air base on Marcus Island.
The B-17s at Port Moresby attacked Rabaul again, thirty-four of them today. They destroyed three aircraft on the ground without any losses. It doesn't look like there are many enemy aircraft remaining here.
Our attacks on enemy troops around Rangoon cost us three Hurricanes today. The Chinese continued to bomb west of Hanoi.
Attacks around the Celebes Sea netted bomb and torpedo hits on two freighter and two transport.
Nine Bettys attacked the ships docked at Gili Gili. The Kittyhawks shoot five of the unescorted bombers down, but the survivors manage to hit two of the freighters with torpedoes.
Royal Navy carrier planes bombed Rahaeng. It looks like we have achieved complete air superiority in the Burma theatre, at least temporarily. This bodes well for our ability to move the troops and supplies already enroute to Rangoon.
One hundred and forty bombers from the carriers Yorktown, Enterprise and Hornet bombed Shortlands. Given the apparent weakness of the enemy's air forces in the Solomons, the carriers will continue north to come within range to attack Rabaul. We already have a Regimental Combat Team boarding ships for Munda Point. Once they have secured the island we can move engineers in to build up the facilities.
The B-25s in the Solomons took a rest, but the B-26s continued bombing Shortlands.
Assuming it is the Akagi at Hong Kong, she is rebuilding her airgroup. Two raids, totalling about two dozen aircraft, attacked the Chinese at Canton.
The Japanese at Canton launched an attack. The Chinese were still routinely preparing for these sallies and hammered the Japanese hard. For under seven hundred casualties of their own it appears they inflicted over seven thousand on the enemy. It also looks like the Chinese have finally destroyed the Vietnamese unit west of Hanoi.
More reports to follow.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
08 Aug 42
The KXVIII made an unsuccessful attack on a freighter near Singapore.
The nocturnal flights over Tavoy continue.
The US Navy battleships North Carolina and New Mexico shelled Shortlands, doing heavy damage to the airfield. At the same time the Royal Navy's Valiant and Warspite bombarded Victoria Point, although it appears there was less to hit there.
More than eighty B-17s bombed Singapore harbor. There were no ships docked but reports are that casualties among the garrison were heavy and a large amount of war materials were destroyed. Ah well, the slaughter was enjoyable while it lasted. Wake's heavy bombers targeted Eniwetok. Twenty-two B-17s did light damage to the air base. Kwajalein was hit by almost fifty bombers, doing some damage to the air base there and destroying maybe half-a-dozen aircraft.
The Hurricanes continued bombing enemy troops around Rangoon. The Chinese bombers at Haiphong shifted their attention to a Vietnamese attempt to force the northern Mekong crossings.
The RN carriers bombed Tavoy. Faced with 18 to 1 odds, the lone Zero in the air declined to engage the escorting Fulmars. The Swordfish did some additional damage to the field. The carriers are heading back to Ceylon now to restock their aircraft stores.
A dozen Beauforts bombed the air strip at Tarakan, destroying a pair of transport aircraft.
The Marauders addedsome craters to what the battleships did to the airfield on Shortlands.
Our pilots got their chance to try out their new TBF Avengers. The carriers in the Solomons launched attacks on enemy shipping around Rabaul. Eight Zeroes lead the fifty plus Wildcats in a prolonged aerial dance, keeping them engaged most of the morning. Only one fighter was lost on each side. Four freighters took multiple bomb and torpedo hits from the bombers.
Several days ago I approved a mass movement of tankers and some freighters from Darwin to Palmebang, Batavia and Balikpapan. It appeared that we had secured the Java Sea, at least for now, and there was no enemy air activity. By having each of the ships sail separately we hoped they would avoid notice or if any were spotted, that they would not draw undue attention. One of the tankers, the Samuel Q Brown, lost that bet today. She was blown apart by half-a-dozen torpedoes from a strike by Bettys just short of Palembang. I'm just glad that Japanese naval attack on Palembang took place before the the tankers began arriving. Five ships have already docked and more are due in the next day or two. The B-17s will be ordered to shift their attention from Singapore's harbor to its airfields to try and suppress the enemy aircraft. But even with some losses I feel this has to be done. There is nearly half a million tons of crude oil in storage at Palembang. We need to get as much of it out as possible, both for our own use and to deny it to the Japanese if they are planning an attack on the base. I don't think we're going to have a better opportunity in the near future.
A pair of Bettys also attacked our ships near Shortlands. The New Mexico was hit by a torpedo. But damage is light, a few compartments flooded and one minor fire, no threat to the ship. But the task force is returning to Lunga anyways, no reason to risk further losses just to shell an empty airfield.
Artillery fire at Canton while the Chinese regroup for another assault. They also threw the Indochinese forces back across the Mekong river when they tried to cross. It seems highly unlikely any survivors from the force they were probably trying to rescue, now identified as the VM 4th Division, made it to their lines.
More reports to follow.
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09 Aug 42
The Pickerel took a shot at a minesweeper near Saigon but missed. The Silversides hit a freighter near Tokyo.
As falls the sun over Tavoy, so falls the explosive ordinance.
Liberators bombed the airbase at Bangkok, doing seious damage and destroying a few aircraft.
Forty Flying Forts (say that quickly ten times) bombed airstrips around Singapore. They destroyed some two dozen enemy aircraft and did very heavy damage. Once again a lone Zero was spotted but did not engage.
Wake's bombers switched back to Marcus Island today, but report no significant damage. Forty B-17s hit Kwajalein, destroying a decade of enemy planes, mostly transports.
The Port Moresby Fortresses sortied against Rabaul. Thirty four of them were intercepted by half-a-dozen Zeroes. One bomber was lost and half-a-dozen enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground, along with substantial damage to the field.
The Chinese launched several raids on Canton. The Hurricanes were grounded by bad weather but the Mandalay bombers attacked enemy forces in south Burma.
It appears that a large convoy of troop transports has arrived at Rabaul. The carriers air wings pounded on them today. The Wildcat escort accounted for three of the six Zeroes on defense, but one SBD was lost. The hundred and thirty bombers hit almost twenty transports, which was still only about two-thirds of the convoy.
A section of Hudsons hit a tanker outside Tarakan. Nine Beauforts did trivial damage to the airfield there. A mixed Hudson and Swordfish strike scored torpedo hits on a tanker and a patrol boat.
The Aussie B-25s bombed the jungle around Pontianak.
Four Sallys tried to hit a freighter loading raw materials at Toboali but missed. A second strike by four more against a transport disembarking the 5th SeaBees also missed. Nell bombers bombed Morotai from high altitude, but missed the base completely. A pair of strikes against our ships at Palembang slipped past the CAP. One of them, a section of Sallys, scored three bomb hits on the tanker Agwiworld. I am very glad that one of the ships that has reached port is unloading the US 97th Coastal AA Regiment. Hopefully the additional anti-aircraft guns will help protect the ships.
The Wasp reached position and launched a strike against the airbase on Eniwetok. They did some damage but there don't appear to be any enemy aircraft based here. We'll send the group south and see if they can do some damage to the enemy on Kwajalein.
Shelling continued at Canton, but that was the extent of ground combat today.
More reports to follow.
The KXVIII made an unsuccessful attack on a freighter near Singapore.
The nocturnal flights over Tavoy continue.
The US Navy battleships North Carolina and New Mexico shelled Shortlands, doing heavy damage to the airfield. At the same time the Royal Navy's Valiant and Warspite bombarded Victoria Point, although it appears there was less to hit there.
More than eighty B-17s bombed Singapore harbor. There were no ships docked but reports are that casualties among the garrison were heavy and a large amount of war materials were destroyed. Ah well, the slaughter was enjoyable while it lasted. Wake's heavy bombers targeted Eniwetok. Twenty-two B-17s did light damage to the air base. Kwajalein was hit by almost fifty bombers, doing some damage to the air base there and destroying maybe half-a-dozen aircraft.
The Hurricanes continued bombing enemy troops around Rangoon. The Chinese bombers at Haiphong shifted their attention to a Vietnamese attempt to force the northern Mekong crossings.
The RN carriers bombed Tavoy. Faced with 18 to 1 odds, the lone Zero in the air declined to engage the escorting Fulmars. The Swordfish did some additional damage to the field. The carriers are heading back to Ceylon now to restock their aircraft stores.
A dozen Beauforts bombed the air strip at Tarakan, destroying a pair of transport aircraft.
The Marauders addedsome craters to what the battleships did to the airfield on Shortlands.
Our pilots got their chance to try out their new TBF Avengers. The carriers in the Solomons launched attacks on enemy shipping around Rabaul. Eight Zeroes lead the fifty plus Wildcats in a prolonged aerial dance, keeping them engaged most of the morning. Only one fighter was lost on each side. Four freighters took multiple bomb and torpedo hits from the bombers.
Several days ago I approved a mass movement of tankers and some freighters from Darwin to Palmebang, Batavia and Balikpapan. It appeared that we had secured the Java Sea, at least for now, and there was no enemy air activity. By having each of the ships sail separately we hoped they would avoid notice or if any were spotted, that they would not draw undue attention. One of the tankers, the Samuel Q Brown, lost that bet today. She was blown apart by half-a-dozen torpedoes from a strike by Bettys just short of Palembang. I'm just glad that Japanese naval attack on Palembang took place before the the tankers began arriving. Five ships have already docked and more are due in the next day or two. The B-17s will be ordered to shift their attention from Singapore's harbor to its airfields to try and suppress the enemy aircraft. But even with some losses I feel this has to be done. There is nearly half a million tons of crude oil in storage at Palembang. We need to get as much of it out as possible, both for our own use and to deny it to the Japanese if they are planning an attack on the base. I don't think we're going to have a better opportunity in the near future.
A pair of Bettys also attacked our ships near Shortlands. The New Mexico was hit by a torpedo. But damage is light, a few compartments flooded and one minor fire, no threat to the ship. But the task force is returning to Lunga anyways, no reason to risk further losses just to shell an empty airfield.
Artillery fire at Canton while the Chinese regroup for another assault. They also threw the Indochinese forces back across the Mekong river when they tried to cross. It seems highly unlikely any survivors from the force they were probably trying to rescue, now identified as the VM 4th Division, made it to their lines.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
09 Aug 42
The Pickerel took a shot at a minesweeper near Saigon but missed. The Silversides hit a freighter near Tokyo.
As falls the sun over Tavoy, so falls the explosive ordinance.
Liberators bombed the airbase at Bangkok, doing seious damage and destroying a few aircraft.
Forty Flying Forts (say that quickly ten times) bombed airstrips around Singapore. They destroyed some two dozen enemy aircraft and did very heavy damage. Once again a lone Zero was spotted but did not engage.
Wake's bombers switched back to Marcus Island today, but report no significant damage. Forty B-17s hit Kwajalein, destroying a decade of enemy planes, mostly transports.
The Port Moresby Fortresses sortied against Rabaul. Thirty four of them were intercepted by half-a-dozen Zeroes. One bomber was lost and half-a-dozen enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground, along with substantial damage to the field.
The Chinese launched several raids on Canton. The Hurricanes were grounded by bad weather but the Mandalay bombers attacked enemy forces in south Burma.
It appears that a large convoy of troop transports has arrived at Rabaul. The carriers air wings pounded on them today. The Wildcat escort accounted for three of the six Zeroes on defense, but one SBD was lost. The hundred and thirty bombers hit almost twenty transports, which was still only about two-thirds of the convoy.
A section of Hudsons hit a tanker outside Tarakan. Nine Beauforts did trivial damage to the airfield there. A mixed Hudson and Swordfish strike scored torpedo hits on a tanker and a patrol boat.
The Aussie B-25s bombed the jungle around Pontianak.
Four Sallys tried to hit a freighter loading raw materials at Toboali but missed. A second strike by four more against a transport disembarking the 5th SeaBees also missed. Nell bombers bombed Morotai from high altitude, but missed the base completely. A pair of strikes against our ships at Palembang slipped past the CAP. One of them, a section of Sallys, scored three bomb hits on the tanker Agwiworld. I am very glad that one of the ships that has reached port is unloading the US 97th Coastal AA Regiment. Hopefully the additional anti-aircraft guns will help protect the ships.
The Wasp reached position and launched a strike against the airbase on Eniwetok. They did some damage but there don't appear to be any enemy aircraft based here. We'll send the group south and see if they can do some damage to the enemy on Kwajalein.
Shelling continued at Canton, but that was the extent of ground combat today.
More reports to follow.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
10 Aug 42
The KX torpedoed an escorted freighter in the passages between the Celebes and Sulu Seas in two separate attacks, hitting both times. Near Shimizu the Pollack missed a damaged freighter. Near Hong Kong the KXIV hit a freighter. North of Rabaul the S-28 spent the day avoiding a stubbern IJN destroyer.
Due east of Cairns and almost due south of Gili Gili, a Jap sub torpedoed the destroyer Witte de With. The ship suffered heavy damage and is trying to make it to Townsville. The other four destroyers in the group did eventually track the offending sub down and report a large number of hits on it.
The B-24s bombed Bangkok. Only two enemy aircraft are believed to have been destroyed. Singapore's air field was hit by B-17s. Again, only a couple of enemy aircraft were caught on the ground. Two dozen B-17s bombed Kwajalein and nearly thirty bombed Rabaul. Only at Rabaul were there signs of enemy aircraft hit.
The Chinese continued to heavily bomb Canton. They added some insult to the Indochina militia by bombing the forces that were just forced back across the Mekong. We lost another Hurricane in attacks on IJA forces near Rangoon. Despite these losses among the fighter-bombers, I still feel that the air attacks on the Japanese troops here is worthwhile. It is, of course, hard to determine the full effect of such attacks on the enemy but circumstantial evidence is that his troops are suffering losses and are having at least some difficulty making headway against such concerted bombing.
The Japanese attacked our ships at Palembang again. Two small groups tried to slip past the CAP but failed. The Hawks shot down two Sallys and a Dinah while preventing any hits on the tankers below.
We were not as lucky at Gili Gili where the Kittyhawks only got one of six Bettys. One of the freighters was hit, again, by a torpedo.
RADM Fitch, in command of the Wasp task force, launched his aircraft against Wotje. One SBD and one TBF were lost to AAA. Still no evidence of enemy aircraft on the ground.
The Japanese carrier aircraft at Hong Kong continue to fly against the Chinese at Canton. Unfortunately for them, a section of I-16s from the Chinese 11th Fighter was overhead. The three fighters cost the enemy five Vals, a Kate and a pair of Zeroes with only minor damage to one of the Chinese fighters.
RADM Clark moved his carriers somewhat closer to Rabaul and it appears to have paid off. The morning strike's escorts tangled with the half-dozen Zeroes in the air, shooting two down but losing four Wildcats. They did however keep the Japs away from the hundred and fifty bombers who proceeded to hammer away at the transports in port. Debriefings indicate some twenty ships were hit, most by multiple bombs or bomb/torpedo combinations. The pilots also confirmed that there are troops on board the ships. The afternoon strike did not fair as well. The aircraft got separated and the bombers ended up going in without escort. This cost us several bombers, mitigated only by the very low number of Zeroes. They none the less did more heavy damage to enemy shipping. A destroyer appears to have suffered a magazine explosion after being hit by three 1,000 lb bombs and a dozen transports were hit again. Three ships were seen sinking in the harbor.
As twilight fell, a Japanese sub fired on the carrier group. The destroyer Bagley was hit by one torpedo and suffered very heavy damage. The rest of the screen dropped depth charges but there is no evidence they hit the sub. The Bagley will attempt to reach the nearest friendly port, Gili Gili.
No land combat to report today.
More reports to follow.
The KX torpedoed an escorted freighter in the passages between the Celebes and Sulu Seas in two separate attacks, hitting both times. Near Shimizu the Pollack missed a damaged freighter. Near Hong Kong the KXIV hit a freighter. North of Rabaul the S-28 spent the day avoiding a stubbern IJN destroyer.
Due east of Cairns and almost due south of Gili Gili, a Jap sub torpedoed the destroyer Witte de With. The ship suffered heavy damage and is trying to make it to Townsville. The other four destroyers in the group did eventually track the offending sub down and report a large number of hits on it.
The B-24s bombed Bangkok. Only two enemy aircraft are believed to have been destroyed. Singapore's air field was hit by B-17s. Again, only a couple of enemy aircraft were caught on the ground. Two dozen B-17s bombed Kwajalein and nearly thirty bombed Rabaul. Only at Rabaul were there signs of enemy aircraft hit.
The Chinese continued to heavily bomb Canton. They added some insult to the Indochina militia by bombing the forces that were just forced back across the Mekong. We lost another Hurricane in attacks on IJA forces near Rangoon. Despite these losses among the fighter-bombers, I still feel that the air attacks on the Japanese troops here is worthwhile. It is, of course, hard to determine the full effect of such attacks on the enemy but circumstantial evidence is that his troops are suffering losses and are having at least some difficulty making headway against such concerted bombing.
The Japanese attacked our ships at Palembang again. Two small groups tried to slip past the CAP but failed. The Hawks shot down two Sallys and a Dinah while preventing any hits on the tankers below.
We were not as lucky at Gili Gili where the Kittyhawks only got one of six Bettys. One of the freighters was hit, again, by a torpedo.
RADM Fitch, in command of the Wasp task force, launched his aircraft against Wotje. One SBD and one TBF were lost to AAA. Still no evidence of enemy aircraft on the ground.
The Japanese carrier aircraft at Hong Kong continue to fly against the Chinese at Canton. Unfortunately for them, a section of I-16s from the Chinese 11th Fighter was overhead. The three fighters cost the enemy five Vals, a Kate and a pair of Zeroes with only minor damage to one of the Chinese fighters.
RADM Clark moved his carriers somewhat closer to Rabaul and it appears to have paid off. The morning strike's escorts tangled with the half-dozen Zeroes in the air, shooting two down but losing four Wildcats. They did however keep the Japs away from the hundred and fifty bombers who proceeded to hammer away at the transports in port. Debriefings indicate some twenty ships were hit, most by multiple bombs or bomb/torpedo combinations. The pilots also confirmed that there are troops on board the ships. The afternoon strike did not fair as well. The aircraft got separated and the bombers ended up going in without escort. This cost us several bombers, mitigated only by the very low number of Zeroes. They none the less did more heavy damage to enemy shipping. A destroyer appears to have suffered a magazine explosion after being hit by three 1,000 lb bombs and a dozen transports were hit again. Three ships were seen sinking in the harbor.
As twilight fell, a Japanese sub fired on the carrier group. The destroyer Bagley was hit by one torpedo and suffered very heavy damage. The rest of the screen dropped depth charges but there is no evidence they hit the sub. The Bagley will attempt to reach the nearest friendly port, Gili Gili.
No land combat to report today.
More reports to follow.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
11 Aug 42
The S-28 scored two torpedo hits on a transport north of Rabaul. Off the south coast of Formosa the Pompano made a surface attack on a freighter. She hit with a torpedo and several gun rounds.
The Blenheims bombed Tavoy overnight.
SB-2s bombed Chengting.
Two dozen Liberators bombed the Bangkok airfield. They caught a lone transport with their bombs. I think its time to switch them to other targets for now. Maybe the Japs will move some more aircraft into range for us.
Maybe half-a-dozen aircraft were destroyed by the B-17s at Singapore. We lost one bomber to AAA fire. Two sections of Beauforts followed up with some more warheads for the Japanese. Only two sections of Wake's B-17s flew today, bombing the supply dump on Marcus Island. A dozen Forts hit Kwajalein. Thirty B-17s bombed Rabaul, meeting no opposition in the air. They did some heavy damage to the field and may have destroyed one enemy plane on the ground.
Chinese bombers continued dropping on Canton. Two Hurricanes were shot down near Rangoon. Ground fire also claimed a B-25 and a Falcon recon plane. We've moved another squadron of Wellingtons and a squadron of Blenheim IVs into the area, basing them at Pagan. They joined the bombers from Mandalay in attacking Japanese troops.
Our aircraft in the DEI launched a few strikes in the Celebes Sea, but targets have been lacking for the last few days. A squadron of Beauforts caught a couple of planes on the ground at Tarakan.
The Wasp bombed Kwajalein as well, but did much better than the Flying Forts. They added to the airfield's damage and bagged half-a-dozen aircraft. Having had a chance to blood its airgroup and finding little worth remaining in the area for, they will steam back to Pearl now.
The Chinese at Canton were bombed by a little over a dozen Vals and Kates.
A pair of Bettys tried to attack Lunga. One was shot down by the P-39s and the other chased off with damage.
With no enemy CAP to deal with over Rabaul, our carrier planes were able to spread out their attacks some. They hammered a pair of newly arrived freighters, hitting each with a torpedo and half-a-dozen 1,000 lb bombs. They continued bombing the transports, hitting nine of them, and attacked the warehouses. The pilots were reporting difficulties finding targets thru all the smoke from the burning ships, so the rest of the carriers' planes bombed Shortlands. Forty B-26s added to the damage there.
After dogging our carriers all day, including a failed attack on one of the cruisers early in the morning, the Jap sub snuck in close and hit the Hornet with a torpedo. However, this brought it in close enough that the destroyers were able to pounce on it. Debris and oil were spotted after depth charges were dropped. The Hornet was lucky, with minor damage and not much flooding. None the less, the group will have to pull back for a bit. They are almost out of munitions for their aircraft and need to restock.
The Chinese launched another assault on Canton. They suffered some 2200 casualties and may have inflicted 500 on the enemy. This attack is not working. Most of the forces will remain around the city and use their artillery but we need to think of something else to breach the defenses or bring in a great deal more troops. I don't know where the Chinese could pull more units from.
I mentioned a few days ago that a large number of troops are being moved around. While these are continueing, there are a few that are of particular note. The 808th EAB has been moved to Menado to build up the facilities there. The 32nd Naval Base Force is boarding ship at Darwin to follow them. We will also try to move some combat troops to add to the Dutch infantry already there. The US 37th is at Darwin but is still replacing its losses when two transports sank. There are three Australian divisions also at Darwin, we will just have to convince the Australian government to release one of them. This will allow us to base a great many more aircraft here, making life more difficult for the enemy around the Celebes Sea. It may also serve to support an eventual landing on Mindanao.
Ships are enroute to Wake to pick up the US 25th Division and take them back to Hawaii. A Regimental Combat Team has already arrived on Wake from the Aleutiens and it seems unlikely the enemy will make an attempt on the island. This move will give us three divisions at Pearl. I will have to think carefully about what to do with them, but the weakness the enemy is showing in the Marshall Islands is very tempting.
The 52nd Base Force is now passing Canton Island on their way to Rossel Island, south of New Guinea. Rossel is currently undeveloped and the engineers will begin construction on an airfield there. A base there will allow us to provide additional fighter cover for the convoys moving thru the northern Coral Sea enroute to Darwin or the DEI.
The US Navy's 121st Base Force is almost up to strength. We should be able to start shipping them from San Francisco to Guadalcanal soon. Some of the West Coast's transport aircraft are crated on a freighter making its way to Australia. They will eventually make their way to India to join the transports already flying supplies to the Chinese. There is another squadron of Dakotas in Hawaii that I am considering sending to India also.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12 Aug 42
The KXIII has finally dealt with her flooded compartments at Sinkep and will soon be setting sail for the sub base at Soerabaja.
Trees explode around Tavoy in the darkness.
Twenty-two B-24s bombed the industries at Bangkok.
Forty-five B-17s did heavy damage to the airfield at Singapore, destroying several aircraft. A section of Beauforts followed up, destroying another. Twenty Forts from Wake bombed Marcus Island. Fifteen of them hit Kwajalein, catching a pair of aircraft on the base.
The attacks on enemy troops around Rangoon continue.
A section of Hudsons hit a tanker at Davao. The runways at Tarakan were cratered by some Beauforts. A section of Beauforts going after a ship sighting in the Malacca Strait near Singapore were intercepted by a number of improved Zeroes. Two of them were lost, although the survivor reports that they managed to shoot down one of the fighters.
A pair of Bettys attacked our ships at Gili Gili. The Kittyhawks shot one down and the other missed. Despite this, one of the freighters damaged earlier succumbed and sank in port today.
The Chinese shelled Canton. They also report that they are moving forces from northern Indochina and bases in the rear areas of western China to Wuchow. From there they will make another attempt on Canton, but it will take some time for some of their units to arrive.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13 Aug 42
The S-38 hit a troop carrying freighter with three torpedoes and a couple of rounds from her deck gun near Kuching.
Nocturnal ground contact fireworks were delivered to the Japanese at Tavoy via non-retarded air drop.
Only a section of SB-2s flew to bomb Chengting.
Eighteen B-17s bombed Marcus again. A decade of Forts bombed Kwajalein. Thirty-four of the heavy bombers attacked the port at Rabaul. While the five Zeroes on defense failed to shoot any of them down, two of the bombers were too heavily damaged upon landing to be repairable. However, even if the enemy was aware of this I doubt he would consider it a good trade. It looks like twenty ships, almost all of them troop transports, were hit in the attack.
The attacks on enemy troops outside Rangoon continue. A section of Beauforts bombed the airfield at Singapore. The Aussie B-25 crews hit two freighters and a transport at Pontianak.
Almost thirty carrier bombers attacked Chinese troops at Canton.
The Royal Navy bombarded Andaman Island again. Still no sign of a garrison or any defenses.
Chinese forces exchanged artillery fire with the Japanese at Canton.
More reports to follow.
The S-28 scored two torpedo hits on a transport north of Rabaul. Off the south coast of Formosa the Pompano made a surface attack on a freighter. She hit with a torpedo and several gun rounds.
The Blenheims bombed Tavoy overnight.
SB-2s bombed Chengting.
Two dozen Liberators bombed the Bangkok airfield. They caught a lone transport with their bombs. I think its time to switch them to other targets for now. Maybe the Japs will move some more aircraft into range for us.
Maybe half-a-dozen aircraft were destroyed by the B-17s at Singapore. We lost one bomber to AAA fire. Two sections of Beauforts followed up with some more warheads for the Japanese. Only two sections of Wake's B-17s flew today, bombing the supply dump on Marcus Island. A dozen Forts hit Kwajalein. Thirty B-17s bombed Rabaul, meeting no opposition in the air. They did some heavy damage to the field and may have destroyed one enemy plane on the ground.
Chinese bombers continued dropping on Canton. Two Hurricanes were shot down near Rangoon. Ground fire also claimed a B-25 and a Falcon recon plane. We've moved another squadron of Wellingtons and a squadron of Blenheim IVs into the area, basing them at Pagan. They joined the bombers from Mandalay in attacking Japanese troops.
Our aircraft in the DEI launched a few strikes in the Celebes Sea, but targets have been lacking for the last few days. A squadron of Beauforts caught a couple of planes on the ground at Tarakan.
The Wasp bombed Kwajalein as well, but did much better than the Flying Forts. They added to the airfield's damage and bagged half-a-dozen aircraft. Having had a chance to blood its airgroup and finding little worth remaining in the area for, they will steam back to Pearl now.
The Chinese at Canton were bombed by a little over a dozen Vals and Kates.
A pair of Bettys tried to attack Lunga. One was shot down by the P-39s and the other chased off with damage.
With no enemy CAP to deal with over Rabaul, our carrier planes were able to spread out their attacks some. They hammered a pair of newly arrived freighters, hitting each with a torpedo and half-a-dozen 1,000 lb bombs. They continued bombing the transports, hitting nine of them, and attacked the warehouses. The pilots were reporting difficulties finding targets thru all the smoke from the burning ships, so the rest of the carriers' planes bombed Shortlands. Forty B-26s added to the damage there.
After dogging our carriers all day, including a failed attack on one of the cruisers early in the morning, the Jap sub snuck in close and hit the Hornet with a torpedo. However, this brought it in close enough that the destroyers were able to pounce on it. Debris and oil were spotted after depth charges were dropped. The Hornet was lucky, with minor damage and not much flooding. None the less, the group will have to pull back for a bit. They are almost out of munitions for their aircraft and need to restock.
The Chinese launched another assault on Canton. They suffered some 2200 casualties and may have inflicted 500 on the enemy. This attack is not working. Most of the forces will remain around the city and use their artillery but we need to think of something else to breach the defenses or bring in a great deal more troops. I don't know where the Chinese could pull more units from.
I mentioned a few days ago that a large number of troops are being moved around. While these are continueing, there are a few that are of particular note. The 808th EAB has been moved to Menado to build up the facilities there. The 32nd Naval Base Force is boarding ship at Darwin to follow them. We will also try to move some combat troops to add to the Dutch infantry already there. The US 37th is at Darwin but is still replacing its losses when two transports sank. There are three Australian divisions also at Darwin, we will just have to convince the Australian government to release one of them. This will allow us to base a great many more aircraft here, making life more difficult for the enemy around the Celebes Sea. It may also serve to support an eventual landing on Mindanao.
Ships are enroute to Wake to pick up the US 25th Division and take them back to Hawaii. A Regimental Combat Team has already arrived on Wake from the Aleutiens and it seems unlikely the enemy will make an attempt on the island. This move will give us three divisions at Pearl. I will have to think carefully about what to do with them, but the weakness the enemy is showing in the Marshall Islands is very tempting.
The 52nd Base Force is now passing Canton Island on their way to Rossel Island, south of New Guinea. Rossel is currently undeveloped and the engineers will begin construction on an airfield there. A base there will allow us to provide additional fighter cover for the convoys moving thru the northern Coral Sea enroute to Darwin or the DEI.
The US Navy's 121st Base Force is almost up to strength. We should be able to start shipping them from San Francisco to Guadalcanal soon. Some of the West Coast's transport aircraft are crated on a freighter making its way to Australia. They will eventually make their way to India to join the transports already flying supplies to the Chinese. There is another squadron of Dakotas in Hawaii that I am considering sending to India also.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12 Aug 42
The KXIII has finally dealt with her flooded compartments at Sinkep and will soon be setting sail for the sub base at Soerabaja.
Trees explode around Tavoy in the darkness.
Twenty-two B-24s bombed the industries at Bangkok.
Forty-five B-17s did heavy damage to the airfield at Singapore, destroying several aircraft. A section of Beauforts followed up, destroying another. Twenty Forts from Wake bombed Marcus Island. Fifteen of them hit Kwajalein, catching a pair of aircraft on the base.
The attacks on enemy troops around Rangoon continue.
A section of Hudsons hit a tanker at Davao. The runways at Tarakan were cratered by some Beauforts. A section of Beauforts going after a ship sighting in the Malacca Strait near Singapore were intercepted by a number of improved Zeroes. Two of them were lost, although the survivor reports that they managed to shoot down one of the fighters.
A pair of Bettys attacked our ships at Gili Gili. The Kittyhawks shot one down and the other missed. Despite this, one of the freighters damaged earlier succumbed and sank in port today.
The Chinese shelled Canton. They also report that they are moving forces from northern Indochina and bases in the rear areas of western China to Wuchow. From there they will make another attempt on Canton, but it will take some time for some of their units to arrive.
More reports to follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13 Aug 42
The S-38 hit a troop carrying freighter with three torpedoes and a couple of rounds from her deck gun near Kuching.
Nocturnal ground contact fireworks were delivered to the Japanese at Tavoy via non-retarded air drop.
Only a section of SB-2s flew to bomb Chengting.
Eighteen B-17s bombed Marcus again. A decade of Forts bombed Kwajalein. Thirty-four of the heavy bombers attacked the port at Rabaul. While the five Zeroes on defense failed to shoot any of them down, two of the bombers were too heavily damaged upon landing to be repairable. However, even if the enemy was aware of this I doubt he would consider it a good trade. It looks like twenty ships, almost all of them troop transports, were hit in the attack.
The attacks on enemy troops outside Rangoon continue. A section of Beauforts bombed the airfield at Singapore. The Aussie B-25 crews hit two freighters and a transport at Pontianak.
Almost thirty carrier bombers attacked Chinese troops at Canton.
The Royal Navy bombarded Andaman Island again. Still no sign of a garrison or any defenses.
Chinese forces exchanged artillery fire with the Japanese at Canton.
More reports to follow.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
Okay, I've lost my mind and its Christmas, so time for something completely different. I am (un)officially announcing the first WiTP AAR poetry contest! (Don't overthink it.) I am looking for a haiku describing the constant night time bombing of Tavoy by the 27 Squadron using Blenheim IFs. First prize gets ..., hmmmm, what does first prize get? Ah, I know! First prize is getting to put the fact that you won in your sig! [:'(]
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
AAR poetry contest! (Don't overthink it.) I am looking for a haiku describing the constant night time bombing of Tavoy by the 27 Squadron using Blenheim IFs. First prize gets ..., hmmmm, what does first prize get? Ah, I know! First prize is getting to put the fact that you won in your sig!
First try![:D]
Bombs over Tavoy
Darkness rended, skies aglow
Nipponese unbowed
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)
Now this is just sad. Almost twenty-four hours and only one entry? I'd threaten to withhold further reports until there were more entries, but with only one entry obviously not enough people are paying attention for that to have an effect. *sigh* All right, I'll make it easier for all of you. It doesn't have to be a haiku. Any poetry will be accepted, as long as it isn't NC-17.
This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy
Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.
-
Hornblower
- Posts: 1361
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 1:02 am
- Location: New York'er relocated to Chicago