Notes from a Small Island

[BillBrown]

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

But your engineers didn't do the fort-reducing, it was just your attack that did it more generally



I'm not sure what you mean. I have two small combat engineer units present. I think they play a key role in reducing forts, though perhaps not as much as usual given their respective sizes. Am I wrong?



What he is saying is that is no line in the Combat Report that says Fortifications reduced by Engineers.

[Canoerebel]

Oh. Teachers, tutors and mentors must be very explicit in explaining things. There are vast gaps in my knowledge of this game.

I didn't realize that kind of information (fort reduction generally as opposed to by engineers) appeared in a combat report. I've probably read through 3,000 combat reports through the years and it never registered.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Oh. Teachers, tutors and mentors must be very explicit in explaining things. There are vast gaps in my knowledge of this game.

I didn't realize that kind of information (fort reduction generally as opposed to by engineers) appeared in a combat report. I've probably read through 3,000 combat reports through the years and it never registered.

I'm fairly sure the phrase would read "Combat Engineers reduce forts to 5" if it was solely the engineers that did it. When it says the "Allied Assault" did the reductions that means the general combined attack of all the units involved.

[Canoerebel]

Erik has decided to stick to the original turn, so we'll proceed as we were.

During the discussion, I mentioned that in the end this movement issue probably won't matter. He'll draw some conclusions that might tip him off that he doesn't have enough time to rescue Wakkanai by land (or so I think). So the discussion might be another prompting for him to try to reinforce by sea.

Erik is busy this weekend with important domestic duties, so it may be a day or two before he completes the turn. Pending that, I have the 001, will run it, and will make some posts for Christmas Day 1944.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: Allied supply coming ashore at the key wooded hex south of Wakkanai. This should be the focus of alot of Allied activity today and tomorrow...and a major battle to take place in four or five days.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: Erik has stout elements of the Kaigun at Wakkanai that will attack sooner or later.
I have four or five DD TFs patrolling at Wakkanai and the hex to the SW, serving as my forward line of defense (with most of my combat power centered on Death Star).

The DD TF in this graphic is a bit low on ammo and is ordered to retire to Toyohara and replenish. Before doing so, it sortied SW, towards Sapporo, to scout and to look for opportunties to disrupt enemy naval or merchantmen movement. This little action resulted.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: Decent Allied bombardment.

Enemy gunfire has increased considerably since L-Day, resulting in enhanced casualties to bombarding ships.
I saw the same phenomenon at Uruppu. What's going on? I have several thoughts:

1. Erik had his CD unit(s) in reserve mode on the day of invasion, choosing to keep them safe from heavy fire. He changed it to combat mode a day or two later.
2. The unit he had there started in a "depleted" state without the OOB filled out. At the moment it became clear the base was under attack, he turned on upgrades and reinforcements.
3. The commander had low aggression or land ratings. He changed them.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: A small amphibious TF begins unloading a small unit of halftracks at Wakkanai. The objective is to trigger an enemy counter-battery bombardment.

I thought it likely Erik would send a combat TF or more to Wakkanai today, so I beefed up Allied DD patrols and limited the landing to this small (ie, expendable) unit.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: I believe this is the reinforcing division coming ashore in the hex south of Wakkanai. 127 combat squad disablements - that's probably an acceptable number. I'd have suffered more had I landed the unit at Wakkanai with 35% prep.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: Testing for mines at Bihoro. This was prompted in part by a Peanut Gallery suggestion a few days back about making a feint to Bihoro to possibly throw Erik off the scent.

With the developments today at Wakkanai, I don't think a diversion will be helpful or necessary. But knowing whether or not there are mines here will help in considering a raid of the port by PT boats or DDs.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: Enemy CM finished off. Another enemy TF sighted. Erik is out here on the margins doing something. My hypothesis is that he's testing detection levels and considering the merits of a carrier or combat TF raid towards the Aleutians.

[Canoerebel]

12/25/44

L+4: If the Allies hadn't achieved a 2:1 and managed to drop forts to 1, I might be a bit discouraged by these results. The Allied AV looks rather suppressed. But the fact is that it was a 2:1 (remarkable considering the time Erik had to fortify and that this is the first attack by the infantry) and it did drops forts by 1.

I think Erik will be highly agitated and pull out all stops now.

There are things he can do, but there are ways I can counter the things he is most likely to do.

And if he's relying on ground movement to get a relief force to Wakkanai, I think he's already lost that battle. At least, that is, if the final reinforcing division comes ashore south of Wakkanai tomorrow in good shape.

[BillBrown]

I do not see a Corps HQ in Wakanni, that would help a lot in all kinds of ways.

[Canoerebel]

A few noteworthy things:

1. There were additional Allied landings in the PM phase with heavy disablements to combat squads and artillery guns. I am anxious to view the division that landed. If it's gutted, the rosy picture I'm painting isn't quite as rosy.
2. There were almost no air ops today by either side. Since I issues scores of orders for sweeps, escorts, bombing, etc., I know weather shut down my guys. Weather may have shut down Erik's, too, or perhaps he is resting his guys.
3. No enemy navy sorties.
4. So the combat action today was limited to the important developments at Wakkanai.
5. There was a small Ki-83 sweep over Death Star's hex and a sortie by about 14 unescorted Peggys. Allied CAP handled both easily...but oddly Allied CAP was limited to a handful of fighters where there should have been roughly 1,100 on CAP. I don't think weather affects CAP. I'm hoping the CAP numbers were minimal simply because the incoming raid was minimal. I hope there's not some kind of combination of factors where Death Star could be basically unprotected. It's not likely but it's something else to be paranoid about.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

I do not see a Corps HQ in Wakanni, that would help a lot in all kinds of ways.

I think the Corps HQ, prepped only about 40%, landed in the hex south of Wakkanai today. It'll report to Wakkanai directly.

SWPAC HQ, 100% prepped, is at Toyohara.

[Canoerebel]

The troops landing south of Wakkanai today:
1. I Corps HQ (35% prepped for Wakkanai)
2. 25th Division (36% prepped for Wakkanai)
3. 200th and 501s AA Regiment (45% prepped for Wakkanai)
4. XIV Corps Combat Engineer Regiment (96% prepped for Etorofu)

Bringing in unprepared troops wasn't the original plan. Originally, I thought the Wakkanai campaign would take weeks or months. But developments began suggesting the compaign could be compressed in time...and previous landings in the wooded hex suggested troops came ashore in acceptable condition despite lack of prep. So I decided to expedite the landings, both to beaf up what's at Wakkanai and to bolster the strength of the army protecting the hex to the south.

I believe it will succeed, ultimately, but today's landings looked pretty darned ragged from the 001 movie. I'll know more when Erik sends the next-turn file, which may not be until Monday.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

But your engineers didn't do the fort-reducing, it was just your attack that did it more generally [:)]

I'm not sure what you mean. I have two small combat engineer units present. I think they play a key role in reducing forts, though perhaps not as much as usual given their respective sizes. Am I wrong?

They do play a key role in reducing forts, but they don't always reduce forts when they participate in attacks.

The combat report says "Allied assault reduces fortifications", not "Allied engineers reduce fortifications" - which means it was your attack itself, not your engineers (although maybe they played a role; don't know if there are partial fort reductions in this particular circumstance). Your attack had odds of 2:1 so they reduced the forts by 1 level, but it's also possible to reduce forts with assaults that don't get 2:1 or greater odds.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

I do not see a Corps HQ in Wakanni, that would help a lot in all kinds of ways.

I think the Corps HQ, prepped only about 40%, landed in the hex south of Wakkanai today. It'll report to Wakkanai directly.

SWPAC HQ, 100% prepped, is at Toyohara.

And it likely has a command radius of 1, so...

[Canoerebel]

I Corps has a radius of one, which means it must be in Wakkanai to exert its influence (if I remember correctly).

SWPac HQ has a command radius of 9, so Wakkanai is within its range of influence.

[BillBrown]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I Corps has a radius of one, which means it must be in Wakkanai to exert its influence (if I remember correctly).

SWPac HQ has a command radius of 9, so Wakkanai is within its range of influence.

No, if it has a range of 1 then it affects the hex it is in and the 6 surrounding hexes.
What you mostly need now is the support squads it has to help your disabled troops to recover.