Bloody Pacific: Undercovergeek (Japan) vs. Yank (Allies)

[undercovergeek]

Pacific

More sub activity around Pearl and the other islands - an ASW TF finds SS Thresher off Molokai but only hit her once.

At Pearl itself, it is now the artillery and last engineers turn to board the evacuation ships, the regiments arrive in Lahaina for a rest - this has all been done very stealthily so far but this turn Yank ordered a bombardment and he can see from the results there are only 8k troops left on the island and they are all non combat squads, i suffer 36 casualties to Yanks 11 - i would imagine he will order a deliberate attack to destroy any stragglers - i hope i can get them all off the island in time.

Yanks aircraft take to the skies above Pearl again and 3 Dauntless and 2 Warhawks attempt to bomb the shipping here, a Zero is lost but 3 bombers are destroyed.

The DD raiders arrive at Christmas probably 1 turn too late - they catch a TK unloading and sink her but a TF of TKs is seen 3 hexes east heading back to the west coast - they will try and intercept - this many TKs here must mean Christmas is fully loaded and very important to Yank - more recon needs to be done here to guage the size of the garrison.

At Suva a westbound DD group of Scout and Thanet first try and catch the I-17 and hit her once and then fail to prosecute an attack on the inbound I-26 - there are now 2 subs back at Suva and i hope to catch some more TKs here - although the DDs westbound path suggest their services are no longer needed and Suva is fully loaded.

Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo

The innocent Allied force that popped up and down in Dadjangas for 2 months finally gets some AV back and takes the undefended base.

Borneo is quiet as troops gather to take the last base, and fuel and oil is shipped from Balikpapan to Badelbaob uninterrupted by Allied subs.

There are plenty of engineers at Madjene, i only wait for the amalgamation of the TFs and a suitable garrison force before the attack on Samerang begins.

Malaya & Burma

Everyone should be in Johore Bharu by next turn and then the crusade to Singapore will set off.

China

The encirclement expands - but at the southern end near Singyang Yank pushes out a small recon force that was blocking the road - they retreat back to Singyang and north at Kweisui he tries again to take the base but fails causing 252 casualties but suffering 1500 - i will post pics of China later as i find it the hardest theatre to describe

[undercovergeek]

Pacific

More sub action at Hawaii this turn - DD Yugao hunts SS Tautog at Molokai but runs out of ammo and scores no hits, the sub in return fires 6 torps at the Yugao's ASW team and misses the DD Mochizuki.

SS Tambor fires 10 torps at 2 passing xAKs at Pearl Harbour - none detonate.

2 Warhawks are destroyed over Pearl as 43 Zeros sweep the area - the Zeros at Hilo are going to rest in a few turns - there are 69 in the pool but i cannot get any replacements for some reason.

All the bombers at Lahaina and Kona are also rested, airframes are increasing and there is a demand now for new pilots - with Naval attack as their newly intended mission they will rest for a few more turns and i will send subs out to scout for any approaching ships from the west coast.

It is clear now after the last ground attack that im no longer at Pearl - Yank did a full scale bombardment and the only target was 4 guns left over from the 7th Ind Hvy Art Btn that didnt fit on the ships - a TF is on its way to try and rescue these poor stragglers - with this in mind it must be Yanks proirity to come back to Pearl - i have purchased with PP a division from Japan and this will be shipped to Lahaiana which will be garrisoned then by 2 Divisions and the 7th Division will garrison Hilo/Kona - the KB is currently at Truk and was tasked to sail to Fiji to interupt the supply operation occuring at Suva - im sending her back to Pearl via Christmas Island on an eastern sweep that will finish in a northern route past Pearl and she will be stationed 9 or 10 hexes east of Pearl to attack any shipping i suspect is coming this way.

I suppose this is a major defeat in some ways - but on the other hand i have successfully extracted the assault troops their AV is almost back to preinvasion levels and after 2 days of official rest at Lahaina there is 0 fatigue and disruption - to the extent that next turn 3 to 4 divions are loading on ships and heading to Christmas Island to take what i suspect is becoming the new SoPac hub for Yank.

The Christmas Island raiders find a sole xAK and sink here 2 hexes east of the island.

Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo

Not much to report - the TF containing the new SNLFs from Tokyo reaches northern New Guinea and splits into seperate TFs to conduct the first part of the landings here.

The Samerang Invasion regiments are inbound to Madjene.

The Zeros give the strafers a bloody nose at Lucena, damaging 2 and destroying 1 Aircobra.

Timor

Yank bombs uncapped Lautem's port - 3 points of damage effect the port and an xAK is sunk in the harbour - Oscars from nearby Koepang will CAP the base next time.

Malaya & Burma

Everyones on the train heading for Johore Bharu - the Imp Guards are last just coming past Taiping.

At Rangoon Yank bombs again with B17s but the CAP of 5 Oscars oddly damages 2 and destroys 1 of the bullet proof behemoths.

China

The encirclement race continues

[CapAndGown]

I wonder if you could give us a general survey, preferably in map form, of the progress of your forces in the DEI, Philippines, Malaya, Burma area. I believe you only had a diversionary force on Luzon and that is not retreating. And you are now at Johore Bahru. I am less clear as to where you are on Borneo and the rest of the DEI.

Also, could you clarify what forces you are using where in regards to the Burma/Malaya/DEI/Solomons theaters?

Thanks.

[undercovergeek]

Pacific

This is one of the smallest combat reports ive seen generated yet led to one of my longest turns -

SS Trigger and SS Tuna both try and sink ships amongst the 100k tonne supply convoy coming into Lahaina - Tuna misses, Trigger bags one xAKL.

Ships arrive to collect the last of the guns at Pearl.

The 56th, 33rd, 4th and 16th Divisions, completely rested and reformed board ships once again to do battle with the Allies - they will rendevous with the 1st Kure SNLF just south of Hilo, along with a handful of cruisers and destroyers and head to Christmas Island - i will keep 2 divisions in reserve in the hope that 2 Divs plus a SNLF is enough to take Christmas, AV support is also on its way, but the other 2 are there just in case - after this attack i need to source a good group of combat engineers for the Fiji attacks.

After Christmas the troops will meet at Canton Is and then move South to the Tongan islands taking in Pago Pago, build up the airstrips there and let me recon Fiji properly before moving on Suva - when this is done the smaller regiments from Lahaina - basically the unformed 2nd division will be shipped out to the smaller islands in the Society Group and others further south - when this is done most of the SoPac is Japanese and its time to contemplate Noumea - at the same time there are 2 invasion regiments that will be working their way through the Solomons. This turn spare shipping is taking the 2nd Raiders into Rabaul with the 155th regiment right behind them - i still dont trust the recon reports.

The SNLFs are just about to arrive in their first wave of landings across northern new guinea and timor.

Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo

Not much - Samerang still shows as empty, there are no subs in the area, the attack is on hold while all the shipping sorts its self out and then the Javan expedition can get going.

Timor

8 Oscars fend off 4 B17s - no losses on either side but no bombs dropped

Malaya & Burma

Choo-choo!!!!!

China

March march march

[undercovergeek]

sorry cap and gown, i missed your post there - of course i will, firstly ill list the forces in theatre and then take some pics - its a slow day at work i should be able to post pics of the theatres you need - not a problem.

[undercovergeek]

Borneo - only the northern base remains with a garrison - it shows 6 units that i imagine to be DEI base forces and garrison troops - Pontiniak on the west coast is empty i just havent had the chance to take it yet.

In the North West corner at Singkawang is the 41st Guard Battn on garrison duties, across from them at Kuching are the Yokosuka 2nd and Kure 2nd SNLFs with ships should any guerilla forces reemerge from the jungle.

Out to the North East at Beaufort is the 91st Naval Guard unit and an AV support unit, just a AV support unit garrisons at Brunei.

On the East Tarakan has a small base force and an AV support unit.

Samarinda has the 31st Special Base Force on garrison, and at Balikpapan are 8 AV support units, 21st Air Flotilla HQ, and the 11th Special Base Force.

Thats it for Borneos forces.

[undercovergeek]

Burma is my weak spot in all instances - historically, in forces, in interest and in knowledge. I know nothing of the necessity for Burma, i have no intention of attacking India and therefore do not need to invest my forces in Burma - there is nobody here really - at Rangoon is the 6th RTA Division, 143rd Infantry regiment and the 1st Raiders. Somewhere just North is a stack of 15 Allied units - i will only take here what Yank gives me by withdrawing - i will recon surrounding areas and advance into unheld areas only.

[undercovergeek]

The Celebes & Timor - a theatre of action for a change!!

Boela, Babo, Manokwari (furthest east on NG), and Taberfane will all be Japanese in the next turn, these units will then pack up and start on the chain of islands from Dobo - Endeh in the West.

The units landing are all single SNLFs but the landings have all been heavily reconned.

Koepang is home to the 5th Air Division, 4 AV support units, and the 9th Base Force, Dili is garrisoned out of necessity by the Sasebo 3rd SNLF.

Ambon houses the 2nd Base Force.

The fleets seen sailing past Kendari are the invasion regiments that are the main fist of the Emporer in this region - they are the 65th Brigade, 124th Regiment, Guards Mixed Brigade, 66th Infantry Regiment and the 90th Infantry Regiment - altogether about 900AV - they are sailing to Samarang above Soerbaja to begin the Javan campaign, at Kendari is the 3rd Base Force.

Makassar on the left of the pic houses 8 AV support units, the 81st Naval Guards, and the 23rd Air Flotilla, North of there at Madjene is a combined TF of AV support troops and engineers who will meet the invasion regiments before the Samarang landing.

[undercovergeek]

DEI - errrr a work in progress, Samarang is the target for the aforementioned invasion regiments where they will scatter to the outlying bases all the way up to Batavia - recon shows Yank has massed everybody at Soerbaja - it will take the Singapore divisions to take the base.

[undercovergeek]

Malaya, soon to be finalised i hope!

Singora, Patani, Kota Bharu and Taiping are all AV support forces to supply and repair any localised recon that is required.

Kuantan is home to the 1st RTA division and the 112th Infantry regiment which is plenty to hold off the surrounding Alled forces that can be seen - in the base itself is a RN Base force with no AV, to the west are 3 previously defeated, supply less forces and to the North are 13 supplyless, previously defeated forces, collectively they have very minimal AV - they can stay out there and starve for me!!

To the North of Kuala Lumpur is the Imp Guards making their way to Johore Bharu, and to the North of Malacca are artillery forces and the 15th HQ.

Waiting at Johore Bharu is:-

38th, 18th, 21st and the 5th Divisions
41st Inf Reg
6 Tank Regiments
10 Heavy Artillery units
4 groups of combat engineers
25th Army HQ

[undercovergeek]

and finally Manilla/Luzon:-

In the South is the 84th Naval Guards and the I/33rd Inf Reg - the units that keep getting strafed - Zeros protect them now.

Between Aparri and Manilla is the 8th Sasebo SNLF.

At Aparri is a construction btn and a AV support unit

Thats it - these units did go all the way up to Manilla itself but Yank has realised the scarcity of forces and has pushed me back to here - taking the place isnt important - surpressing the airforce is - and its nearly all gone.

[undercovergeek]

Pacific

I-175 patrolling off Christmas Island gives advance warning of an incoming transport TF with escort to the Christmas Island Raiders - she spots 2 DDs and an xAP but misses with the toperdo attack run.

The raiders are on it and attack the incoming TF as they are patrolling the base itself - the raiders consist of 7 DDs and from out of the moonlit night come CA Portland, CLs Trenton and Concord, 3 DDs, and a huge AP, 3 xAPs, and 2 xAKs - uh oh - its going to be messy - the raiders perform perfectly and attack the transports which is exactly what i wanted - the AP takes 4 hits, the other APs share 5 hits, 2 are on fire - 98 casualties are inflicted upon the passengers and then both TFs disappear into the night - the raiders head North to Palmyra and the TF heads east - the combat report says the Allies flee - so strike 2 to the Christmas Island raiders who will continue north to meet up with the south bound divisions and their CA, DD escort - the Allied TF is dangerous and i dont want it anywhere near the troops heading south. This looks like a major build up of troops for Yank and im glad ive brought the number of troops i have.

95k tonnes of supplies arrive in Lahaina and there are still 30k tonnes of fuel being unloaded here - this is enough to last quite some time.

At Molokai an xAK is sunk by SS Plunger - i have stationed all the undamaged, empty transports here as Lahainas port is clogged and i need the fuel and supplies on the island ASAP.

At Lahaina Yank comes in with 10 B17s and 7 Liberators but unescorted - the CAP loses 1 Zero but damages 4 B17s - the CL Natori just out of drydock at Lahaina takes a bomb hit!!! She heads for Japan

At Truk the KB heads immediately east to Hawaii via Christmas - there is a lot of shipping around this area and i need to support the landings in this area.

I owe my recon pilots from Kavieng an apology - Rabaul is indeed empty - the 115th regiment unloads into the base and all engineers who were en route to Kavieng are now routed to the new base - it will be captured next turn - recon will be flown in to check Gasmata - if theres noone on the island Yank must have moved them all to Port Moresby.

The first wave of landings occurs on northern New Guinea - Manokwari will fall next turn and this SNLF will be tasked with taking Aitapi on the east coast of New Guinea.

Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo

Again, not much happening, Borneo is quiet, Luzon is quiet - the main activity is further south, Boela, Babo and Taberfane are all occupied and will be in Japanese hands next turn.

The invasion regiments will shortly join up with the engineers and then the Java campaign is on.

Malaya & Burma

Everyone is in Johore Bharu except the Imp Guards - who for some reason appear to have quite literally come off the rails - ill see what happens next turn but strategic movement was greyed out and they appeared to be on move orders but didnt unpack - shrug - this whole Malayan campaign has just dragged and dragged - im desperate to get started to free up the divisions and move on Sumatra and Java.

China

Map tomorrow - in essence a huge movement of troops south of Kaifing towards Singyang and Nanning - Nanning is the next target of the steamroller

[jackyo123]

hey am enjoying your AR, but is tough without dates for the various actions. Can you post them when you put up the reports?

thnx!

[CapAndGown]

^
|
Look at the title of the post for turn number and date.
[quote]ORIGINAL: jackyo123

hey am enjoying your AR, but is tough without dates for the various actions. Can you post them when you put up the reports?

thnx!

[/quote}

[undercovergeek]

Pacific

SS Grayling is still stalking the shores of Kona, she misses one xAK in the morning and damages another in the afternoon - one of the ships carrying the 1st Kure force to Christmas Island.

In reply SS Trout is attacked by an ASW team but no hits land on the sub.

The Christmas Island invasion force is united into 1 TF with the arrival of the Kure 1st and heads off to Palmyra to meet up with the Christmas Island raiders for a larger escort and will then set off for Christmas.

3 seperate, unescorted bomber runs go over Hilo but no hits are scored on shipping here, 3 B17s are damaged and a Liberator.

At Christmas the I-175 spots the return of the transport fleet again, which is a brave move because Yank would have been unable to tell whether i was also returning for round 2. The size of this force suggests it will take a while to unload and may still be there when i arrive with the invasion force.

The 63rd Naval Guard Unit at Manokwari is attacked by B17s from presumably Port Moresby - they miss.

Undefend Rabaul falls to the 1st Raiders and engineers

Timor

Saumlaki and Aru Island are invaded - both are undefended and will be Japanese next turn.

Manokwari, Babo, Boela, and Taberfane all fall under the Empoerers rule - the SNLFs here are reloading and all heading west to the next set of islands in the chain.

The invasion regiments round Makassar and prepare to join up with engineers at Madjene - Samarang awaits.

Malaya & Burma

The Imperial Guards did get de-railed but are 4 miles short of Malacca where they will board the train again and start the final journey to Johore Bharu.

China

A division heading to Sinyang crosses a river in the face of 2 Chinese corps and triggers a shock attack - the odds are 1:2 and 586 casualties are suffered for 370 to the Allies.

[undercovergeek]

A slight haitus as Yank goes on a business trip and i send the wrong turns but were back in business:-

Pacific

Off Pearl ASW finds but misses SS Grayling again.

North East of Pearl an incoming TF is spotted by Mavis' and then the outlying picket of subs - replenishing ASW forces are hurriedly combined at Lahaina and turned into a SCTF and head to Pearl to block the TF and the subs line up to make the advance difficult for the approach - I-22 hits one xAKL 3 times and she sinks.

Just before they disappear out of reach the south bound divisions on board the ships are attacked by 7 B17s but 1 is damaged and the rest miss - Palmyra is on the horizon for the invasion TF.

New Guinea

The invasion transport ships at Saumlaki come into range of B17s at presumably Port Moresby and they attack the unloading naval guard unit here but miss - the undefended base is captured without incident.

Marauders, presumably also from PM attempt to bomb the TF carrying the Rabaul Invasion force now diverted to Gasmata in case everyones hiding there instead - recon says no and the 2nd raiders will be dropped here tomorrow - the Rabaul invasion regiment will return to Rabaul to wait for the 6th Regiment just approaching Truk, before embarking on a campaign of capturing the Solomons.

Timor

Aru Island falls - the Naval Guards reembark and set off for the Southern tip of Java.

Phillipines

Its the battle of the small ships at both Vigan and San Fernando - at San Fernando 2 PB, 6 SC and 1 DMS attack 4 MTBs, the DMS is sunk by a torpedo and one MTB is heavily damaged by a direct hit, the TFs both head for Vigan and the remaining 2 PB and 6 SC attack 4 Allied MTBs hitting one once and then retiring.

Very low on the action this turn as Singapore gets ready for invasion, the Imp Guards board the last train for the last leg of their epic journey and will be in Johore Bharu shortly.

Samerang is still empty but im dubious about the large unguarded port - minesweepers will accompany the invasion.

Christmas is still receiving reinforcements.

[undercovergeek]

A round up, as the turns are quite quiet at the moment:-

Im worried because at this stage in the war i shouldnt be quiet!!! its just taken a while to sort out the Pearl mess..... the Christmas Island invasion TF is still on its way to Palmyra to meet up with more DDs before heading to this new hub of Yanks.

The TF seen heading to Pearl has disappeared, the 'ASW now SCTF' DDs sent to intercept them have drawn a blank but also pulled out a number of escorted bombers from Pearl - 6 Liberators and 2 B17s but the AA of the DDs is enough to damage 4 of them and put them off target - no hits land - this TF is now capped from Lahaina as is the approaching first wave of the 7th Division.

Most of the SoPac islands now have forts of 3 and are still plodding onto level 4. I think that Yank may think ive stopped in the SoPac at Canton as nothing much as happend since i took Tabiteau but there just arent the same number of engineers and troops to throw around as there was in WitP. Once the islands are taken in Timor/Java these Naval Guard units will be dispatched to the rest of the SoPac, plus the Pearl divisions and regiments will be ready to set sail and attack too.

Elsewhere the Samerang invasion fleet sets off at last, undefended Gasmata falls and the KB steams to Tabiteau - shes about 5 turns from Christmas Island, i hope i can catch any transport TFs here.

[undercovergeek]

Im going to stick with the round up style unless something momentus happens or anyone here, if anyones here wants it presented any other way - i sometimes think the reports are too long.

A very 'subby' turn as either the Allies receive a rake of new subs or im just driving over them more often!!

SS Grampus attacks and misses and is then attacked twice and missed by an ASW force off Pearl who were guarding the last transport TF trying desperately to get the 7th Ind Hvy Art unit off the island - the last IJA combat troops here- they simply refused to get on the boats and are wiped out by attrition today.

SS Narwhal, previously reported to be sunk by IJN intelligence reappears to attack a passing xAK at Lahaina but misses.

A large air battle takes place over Pearl, unseen since the days of the invasion - 37 Zeros v 24 P400s - 1 Zeros is lost for 7 Aircobras - i can manage those odds all war [:'(]

Bombers cant resist the SCTF DDs off Pearl again but this time the CAP of 16 Zeros destroys 2 bombers and damages 5 for the loss of 1 Zero.

At Christmas the I-173 spots the entire TF unloading at the island but is distracted by the large ASW presence there too and doesnt attack - the KB is still heading here - i hope this TF stays - Yank must wonder where the CVs are.

Hoardes of mini TFs are heading to Rabaul from the HI with engineers and independant SNLF companys on board ready to occupy the Solomons that Yank appears to have abandoned - i sometimes wonder whether im taking land that was taken historically and not because i need it - if i own Fiji eventually do i need the solomons? - 1 of the TFs is spotted at Torishima by the SS Sculpin and after a brief engagement on the surface 1 xAK is sunk while the sub takes two hits and retires.

Elsewhere Allied sub activity is seen off Tourane but the attacks are unsuccesful, B17s bomb Lautem again but are intercepted by the Oscars here and retire early, the Samerang invasion should land next turn, if not then definitely the next, and in China, south of Singyang in an attempt to push Yank west beyond Canton divisions are moving in this direction - the first engagement of this strategy sees 2 corps beaten badly and pushed west taking 2500 casualties to the IJAs 105

[CapAndGown]

ORIGINAL: undercovergeek

Hoardes of mini TFs are heading to Rabaul from the HI with engineers and independant SNLF companys on board ready to occupy the Solomons that Yank appears to have abandoned - i sometimes wonder whether im taking land that was taken historically and not because i need it - if i own Fiji eventually do i need the solomons? - 1 of the TFs is spotted at Torishima by the SS Sculpin and after a brief engagement on the surface 1 xAK is sunk while the sub takes two hits and retires.

You especially need the Solomons if you are thinking about Fiji. How else are you going to secure your LOC between Truk and Fiji? The Solomons are your west flank guard to such an advance. Holding the Solomons will also slow down an advance up the north coast of New Guinea that can be supported by LBA.

[undercovergeek]

i think Yank has abandoned the whole lot - theres no one here - Rabaul was empty, i imagine everyone is at PM - is that because he considers PM to be key for a plan he has or because he doesnt want to lose it?