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sval: I did not order an ground assault. Instead my troops are moving out of the battle in combat mode. I don't mind if he tries to assault these troops since I think he get slapped once more. This battle took place near Pucheng which is an wooded + rough terrain.

The fortification level is 2 here but as said this is not an base hex.

jrlans: Definately. Now that I reset my supply needed options troops are getting their share at Manila. I think the ground assault is still a week or so away. He hasn't stopped bombing my troops from air though but than again this was not agreed.

Currently some 1000av points here with about 50% of them resting after the disaster at Clark Field.

He has not made any moves towards Midway or Johnston. Instead his carriers or part of it showed up near Fiji. More about that situation shortly.

seydlitz: Ok. I see what you are getting at and I have adjusted my defensive plan / perimeter in China. I actually spend nearly 2 hours looking at the situation and decieded on a new strategy.

To be honest I would hate be againts you in anykind of an land combat situation since I think I would get my arse kicked around a lot!

The Chinese bombers have been quiet so far but now I have moved quite a few of them in frontline and given them ground bombing missions at 5000 feet.

I will post an pic regarding the new Chinese defensive positions shortly. It is total revamp of things here and hopefully we are now much better off!

I really appreciate your thoughts and insights. An good debate is always more than welcomed and it can open your eyes into new possibilities. I actually think that I have avoided the disaster here for time being and he has tough times moving forward,

medicff: Thank you! Yeah, the supply lesson was harsh but that is what this forum is about! They have acklowed the issue and hopefully this fix will be on the 1st patch.

There is nowhere to go in Malaya since Singapore is the only base left standing there. Than again the battle is not over before he captures it and I'am hoping for much better results there. I changed quite a few leaders there too last turn. So fingers crossed and maybe we can stop him cold due to river crossings etc.

I would actually love know what kind of damage those mines have done. Than again I doubt Dave is going to share this info with me at least not yet anyways!

I actually have now completely revamped my defensive perimeter at China. As said more about this shortly.

The prep points seem more important now and every units has its target set accordingly! I would never overlook such a thing!

Yes, some of the units seem to be having "crossbows" and only time will heal this. I'am not that familiar with new replacement rates though.

..oh and welcome aboard ofcourse!

traskott: Glad to help out eventhough it was an harsh bug to discover. You should be ok with the supply required option if you use it as I described.

Good luck with the forthcoming PBEM. It is really going to be diffrent journey than AI games. Lets hope you found reliable opponent which is the most important thing in PBEM. I have been lucky on that "department" mostly.

Chinese defensive plan launched 20th january 1942

I took 2 pics from china. The maps show roads and terrain types here.

This plan was inspired by the reader comments made. Especially seydlitz kind of stated the obvious but sometimes you are too involved to see things clearly.

I will be moving forces out of Nanyang, Chenchow and Loyang in order to obtain better defenseive positions using the terrain instead. Intresting to see whether this actually works as planned since I haven't done much out of the base defenses in my campaign games.

The way I see those cities above would be killing zones due their terrain types which do not give much bonuses and by loosing all these troops the road to north is open. I pretty much will do what was suggested. Leave around 800av points into each of them and start moving rest of the troops out of harms way.

I don't think Yenen should be defended from base up and so I have moved 2/3av points out the city. These guys will be using the terrains in order to inflict maxium casualty levels into the advancing enemy.

Chinese bombers are moved into position at Lanchow, Sian and Kweilin. The squadrons will start bombing enemy ground units at 5000 feet immediately.

...and the 2nd pic from china!

Fiji's (january 20th 1942)

Allied recon planes spotted what appears to be some remnants of the japanese carrier power.

I have some 80 fighters now 80% CAP and 20% LRCAP.

There are significant troop reinforcements just south of Suva moving 3 hexes at a time.

Now lets just hope we can put an real dent to his carrier aviators if these are carriers indeed!

Basically we need all the luck and good dice rolls here and now!

Great AAR and great style! I like your overviews quite a bit. Helps us all learn the game that much faster!

Be careful with the high cap percentages. It ties your pilots to the cockpits and you will run a very high fatigue. If he doesn't attack this turn you will probably have to go to 40% cap and 40% rest to get the fatigue down.

Also, set your altitude higher than you think he will be flying. Getting the bounce from higher altitude seems to make all the difference in the new combat model.

Remember, he starts with zero Kate production and only 62 in the pool (total between both variants). He has 24 Vals in pool and a build of 12 per month at start, and Zeroes have 26 in pool and 56 per month build. Even if he has expanded industry it will be every bit as tough for him to quickly replace some of his losses. Granted, he can increase production and build replacements, but this will take time. Assuming that you are playing with PDU on, he can scrape together about 30-50 more Kates by downgrading some landbased Kate Units to jeans. However, he has no option regarding Vals, and in all likelihood he has spent his initial zero pool upgrading Claudes on the Ryjuho, at Soc Trang, and at Kwaj into Zeros. If he has, Zero losses will hurt also.


Good luck with China. Hopefully you will give him all kinds of fits there. I am currently playing a PBEM (scenario 1) as Japan but we are only up to December 21st. Most of my analysis comes from me thinking how I would like to attack my opponent and what I would not want him to do. From the Japanese side, you can either totally ignore China initially or you can try to push hard there. Either way, the need for heavy garrison requirements in most of the places slowly sap you down. Unlike your opponent, I elected to land strong forces in southern China around Pakhoi with the trade off being greater delay in the Phillippines. I am still finding that the Chinese can delay you and even tie you up if they play the terrain game correctly. I am in the process of invading Soviet territory (been moving troops, air units, and naval units since turn 0). The first troops should cross the border on the next turn, after which I will have a good fight on my hands. However, if I can win this fight in less than 6 months (hopefully half that) I can free up all of the Kwangtung army to join the fight in China. These are highly experienced troops and should make a huge difference in the fight there. The Soviets won't be a pushover, but they will never be weaker than at the start of the game. It also gives me the chance to capture the soviet oil centers on Sakhalin Island which would greatly assist the Japanese oil situation without the need for long transport routes. This will help greatly until I take Palembang. [Hint: as the allied player, you need to go through the Soviet bases and set them to train/rest as appropriate and also to build fortifications. If you fail to do this and your opponent attacks there you will be in a much worse position than you could have been if you had taken the time to check the units early on. Granted, he may well leave the Soviets alone, but do you want to take that chance? This will be the first time that I have done this type of attack in either witp or AE, but historically it was only a miracle that Japan didn't go to war with Russia in 1941-42 based on what had been transpiring in that theater for the past few years.

Any chance you will be doing an AAR as well ? I'd love to see an attack on the Soviets play out.

@ Aztez: Your opponent is certainly being very aggressive if he is now even going after Fiji, hope you manage to put some hurt on his carrier forces.

Graymane: Thank you! I still remember when I first was introduced to the game by reading wobbly vs PzB AAR.

To be honest I'am learning too. You get so used to the old habits that it a fresh feeling to get new ideas from fellow gamers. You really do get so blind that many times you will miss the obvious part and flaws of your own thinking!

seydlitz: Yeah. I will definately keep an eye on fatigue levels. As allies the pools are almost dry anyways.

I was actually trying to achieve the bouncing bonus by higher alltitudes but AVG pilots performed even worse! I think it is down to the fact that some aircraft do not perform well in high alltitudes even with good pilots!

We are actually playing with pdu on option! I think I have downed something like 120 zeros at the moment. Last turn there was an bloody engagement at Fiji's. More about this on a bit. But by taking into consideration those figures I think that this battle hurt his offensive capabilities eventhough I was unable to hit any carriers.

Thanks! I need all the luck I can get! It is becoming quite obvious that Nanykiang is the 1st major objective for him! Than he will start advancing towards Sian for sure. Your opinions game me fresh ideas and as said earlier it is hard to get your mind working out of the box.

That is an very intresting strategy you got ongoing there! I did look at the soviets and decieded that it would be quite massive task to undertake. I actually have once played as an japan in the old witp vs ctangus. I did invade soviet union but made some rookie mistakes!

I completely agree with your reasoning on the benefits! That was actually pretty much my own goal there too. I have wondered many times why on earth many opponents let the "bear" gain strenght silently. The power unleashed in 1945 is massive and looks to be even greater with AE. All I can say that good luck with the operation! I wouldn't mind reading about it either if you have spare on your hands. These AAR's can demand quite a lot of time to do.

As for Dave attacking soviets. Well, I have ruled that option out but I will definately doublecheck that I have set all the key areas building up forts and set the CAP levels. Actually I would love to fight it out there and the russians seem to be recieving nice amount of subs if activated!

Smeulders: He is aggressive and the last turn cost us both. As expected he showed up knocking at Fiji's.

The battle of Fiji (january 22nd and 23rd 1942)


Allied recon was correct but I wasn't expecting this much carrier firepower to pop up here due the fact that DEI is yet to be conquered.

Here is the battle report regarding combat:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Suva at 132,160

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 11



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 15
P-39D Airacobra x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 17


Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 4 destroyed




CAP engaged:
50th PG/11th PS with P-40E Warhawk (11 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(10 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
11 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
51st PG/16th PS with P-40E Warhawk (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(10 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 7 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 20 minutes
35th PG/70th PS with P-36A Mohawk (15 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(14 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
15 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Suva at 132,160

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
B5N2 Kate x 53
D3A1 Val x 66



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 15
P-39D Airacobra x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 16


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed, 9 damaged
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed, 11 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK Suva, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
AP U.S. Grant, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk
DD Fox
xAP President Tyler, Bomb hits 2
xAK Horace Luckenbach, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Matsonia
DD Brooks
xAK Utahan
xAP Monterey, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
xAK Eldorado
xAP President Fillmore, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Chatanooga City, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP President Buchanan, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires


Allied ground losses:
303 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 18 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 17 (6 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Vehicles lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)


Aircraft Attacking:
22 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
22 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
25 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
18 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
24 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

CAP engaged:
50th PG/11th PS with P-40E Warhawk (9 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
9 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers
51st PG/16th PS with P-40E Warhawk (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
4 planes vectored on to bombers
35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (8 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
8 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
35th PG/70th PS with P-36A Mohawk (15 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
15 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
2 planes vectored on to bombers

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Suva
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP President Buchanan


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Kandavu Island at 132,162

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
B5N2 Kate x 27



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 11
P-39D Airacobra x 9
P-40E Warhawk x 8


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK Liloa, Torpedo hits 1



Aircraft Attacking:
20 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

CAP engaged:
35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (7 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
7 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
2 planes vectored on to bombers
35th PG/70th PS with P-36A Mohawk (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(12 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 8 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes
5 planes vectored on to bombers
50th PG/11th PS with P-40E Warhawk (7 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(7 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
7 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
3 planes vectored on to bombers
51st PG/16th PS with P-40E Warhawk (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead

Liloa caught transferring cargo ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Suva at 132,160

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
B5N2 Kate x 56
D3A1 Val x 39



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 10
P-39D Airacobra x 7
P-40E Warhawk x 13


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 15 damaged
D3A1 Val: 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 2 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAP President Buchanan, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Tuscaloosa City, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Fox, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Brooks
xAK Eldorado, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Henry S Grove, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAK K.I. Luckenbach, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAP Monterey, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP President Tyler, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Matsonia, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Dorothy Luckenbach
xAP President Fillmore, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Utahan, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Horace Luckenbach, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
DD Lawrence


Allied ground losses:
325 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 29 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 11 (4 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 40 (9 destroyed, 31 disabled)


Aircraft Attacking:
20 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
19 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
20 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

CAP engaged:
50th PG/11th PS with P-40E Warhawk (9 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(8 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
9 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
2 planes vectored on to bombers
51st PG/16th PS with P-40E Warhawk (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
4 planes vectored on to bombers
35th PG/70th PS with P-36A Mohawk (10 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
10 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
2 planes vectored on to bombers

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP President Buchanan
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Monterey
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Fox
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP President Fillmore
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Horace Luckenbach
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Matsonia


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kandavu Island at 132,162

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
D3A1 Val x 20



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 1
P-39D Airacobra x 1
P-40E Warhawk x 4


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK Liloa, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk



Aircraft Attacking:
20 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
50th PG/11th PS with P-40E Warhawk (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
35th PG/70th PS with P-36A Mohawk (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
51st PG/16th PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes

Liloa caught transferring cargo ...
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Liloa
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Suva at 132,160

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 21
B5N2 Kate x 63
D3A1 Val x 64



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 5
P-39D Airacobra x 18
P-40E Warhawk x 25


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed, 11 damaged
D3A1 Val: 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAP President Tyler, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
DD Lawrence, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Diamond head, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
xAK Ensley City, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
DD Fox
DD Brooks
xAK Dorothy Luckenbach, Bomb hits 7, and is sunk
xAP President Fillmore, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk


Allied ground losses:
627 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 67 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (3 destroyed, 2 disabled)


Aircraft Attacking:
22 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
22 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
1 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 17000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 17000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
8 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 17000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
12 x D3A1 Val diving from 10000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
50th PG/11th PS with P-40E Warhawk (15 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(14 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
15 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
4 planes vectored on to bombers
51st PG/16th PS with P-40E Warhawk (6 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000 , scrambling fighters to 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes
35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (10 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
10 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes
8 planes vectored on to bombers
35th PG/70th PS with P-36A Mohawk (5 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
5 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring a Wakefield class xAP
Diamond head caught transferring cargo ...
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Diamond head
Ensley City caught transferring cargo ...
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Ensley City
Dorothy Luckenbach caught transferring cargo ...
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Dorothy Luckenbach
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Lawrence
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP President Fillmore
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Suva at 132,160

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 43 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
B5N2 Kate x 25
D3A1 Val x 20



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 1
P-39D Airacobra x 13
P-40E Warhawk x 15


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
DD Fox, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
DD Lawrence, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk



Aircraft Attacking:
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 17000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
16 x D3A1 Val diving from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val diving from 10000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
50th PG/11th PS with P-40E Warhawk (7 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(8 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
7 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes
6 planes vectored on to bombers
51st PG/16th PS with P-40E Warhawk (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead
35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (9 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(12 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
9 plane(s) intercepting now.
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
8 planes vectored on to bombers
35th PG/70th PS with P-36A Mohawk (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 16000
Raid is overhead

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Fox
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Lawrence

...and that is how two days of air to air dogfights ended.

We lost the transport TF carrying US 41st division into Suva. All in all around 70% of the troops were killed in this slaughter. The rest are safely in Fiji and preparing for possible invasion of the island.

You might ask why I didn't divert the TF out of Suva? Well, simply because they would have been slaughtered completely if not done so. This is quite obvious if you look at the position of the enemy carriers. That TF was low on fuel and moving just 3 hexes per turn.

This battle really is an mixed bag. I lost valuable infantry and he lost valuable carrier pilots and we did shoot down quite a few of them! Those carriers need replenish their crews soon! We still have operational fighters on 90% CAP, I counted there to be around 30 of them so the losses were around 50! I did move an bomber unit there and it was set on 6000 feet naval strikes.

There are two TF's that are unknown. Maybe it is an invasion fleet or than again it might be tankers or another carrier TF, I guess we shall see soon enough.

Oh..another thing to note is that IJN invaded Canton Island, This was to be expected though.

China (january 22nd and 23rd 1942)

It became quite obvious that he is moving towards Nanyang. There extra 19 units heading towards the area.

This just shows that Dave has taken those prep points seriously as I stated earlier allied signit indicated that the city would be an target for quite an many units.

The good thing is that we actually achieve another ground combat "victory" near Nanyang.

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Ground combat at 86,46

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 22877 troops, 172 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1114

Defending force 37433 troops, 303 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 874

Japanese adjusted assault: 209

Allied adjusted defense: 492

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
2265 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 176 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 135 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
874 casualties reported
Squads: 59 destroyed, 42 disabled
Non Combat: 74 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 9 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)


Assaulting units:
20th Ind.Mixed Brigade
6th Division
3rd Division
12th RGC Temp. Division

Defending units:
12th Chinese Corps
48th Chinese Corps
13th Chinese Corps
84th Chinese Corps
29th Chinese Corps
7th Chinese Corps
85th Chinese Corps
31st Group Army

...the chinese forces continue their march towards Nanyang.

When those shock attacks fail his losses are huge ! and all dead experienced japanese troops can only help your cause ... bravo !

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

When those shock attacks fail his losses are huge ! and all dead experienced japanese troops can only help your cause ... bravo !

What's up with new avatar? A new girlfriend or are you dreaming about things after few beers? [:D]

Bravo indeed! Allthough it might be a bit early to launch anykind of party's at least not regarding this issue!

Losses for the Japanese do seem to be primarily disablements, while you are actually losing a lot of squads, still that number of disabled won't be recovered any time soon.

Good decision on dumping the survivors on Suva. Much better than losing the whole unit.

Good job in China at fending off his first attack. Since he was shocking, he had a lot of disabled squads. That is pretty good because it will take a while for them to get undisrupted and they will still be consuming his supply.

For him to be moving 19 units into attack that could mean that he has pulled some units out of Korea. Japan has over 3,000 excess AV at game start that can be marched out without triggering Soviet activation.

re: The action around Suva.  I like the blitzkrieg assault on Noumea and Suva because of the delays it will cause in subduing Rabaul later, BUT KB has to be getting a little weak right now and sys damage from running all over the ocean could be piling up.  If you can hold onto Suva somehow, it could make those daring moves of his moot.  [:)]

ORIGINAL: aztez

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

When those shock attacks fail his losses are huge ! and all dead experienced japanese troops can only help your cause ... bravo !

What's up with new avatar? A new girlfriend or are you dreaming about things after few beers? [:D]

Bravo indeed! Allthough it might be a bit early to launch anykind of party's at least not regarding this issue!

Better eye candy than a hanging frog [:D], and most definately on my 'wish list' not likely mind you.

Thanks again for the comments. I had one of those days that you really want to forget. Well, managed to do the turn though.


Smeulders: Yeah, I noticed the same thing.You really have to be lucky that Chinese are inflicting even those disablements at this point of the war.

seydlitz: Definately. It actually saved the division for future use and build the av values nicely at Fiji's.

It seems that he is moving more bombers into china. My guess is that he is using this as an training ground and definately Dave has cranked up his bomber production. I do expect some ground combats to start soon. Meanwhile my troops are moving into their designated defensive positions so this suits me very well.

Hmmm, additional 3000av points. Dave plays "safe" so I would assume that he would take out maxium of 2500av from Manchuko, Even that spells blood in forthcoming weeks.

offenseman: Welcome. Yes, that is one hell of an blitzkrieg he has done. As for KB well it actually did withdrew towards Noumea and no signs of those 2 unknown TF's either.

It is very hard to tell how much damage we did to the carrier pilots due to the new FOW system. It must have been something or otherwise he would have parked his carriers near Fiji's.

As for daring moves... well I got on glimpse of 10 ships nearing Palmyra and Christmas Island. This was done by submarines so whether this was true remains to be seen.

Rob: What can I say! [:D]

Burma (january 24th and 25th 1942)

All in all very quiet turn. KB withdrew towards Noumea, No significant developments on Luzon nor in China.

Lets take a look at the burmese front. This has been secondary to those more important ones but it doesn't mean it has been all quiet.

As discussed the really was no point in fighting it out in southern Burma. I pulled bulk of my units out and enemy have had no problems seizing Rangoon area.

This country is basically complete wasteland since Dave moved into this area very late. It seems he doesn't value this area too much.

At the moment my army is grouped near Mandalay. We have level 3 forts there but really I might even abandon this area too since the terrain does not give any bonuses for us. It is clear hexes and with the poor experience levels might not be worth defending this either.

So basically I'am thinking whether to regroup near Myithkina. It has natural bonus defenses due to terrain and It might be the toughest nut to crack here. This issue is yet to be decieded.

I have significant reinforcement into Chittadong so there is no easy passes towars India!

Here is an pic from magnificent Burmese frontlines...

Late start in Burma may not indicate a lack of interest on his part, but rather the difficulty in just getting there. It takes a good 2 weeks just to get to Moulmein from the railhead at Pisanoluke, and equally long from Chian Mai to Pegu. That army HQ also only starts with one division attached, with another in Japan.

Looking at Burma, I still see chinese units at Paoshan. Did you move the chinese corps (6 divisons) from china to burma? you can use pp's to buy them out and move to burma (historically they fought there). Once you march to burma you can use the bigger supply factor to fill them out to a helpful fighting force 400-600 av.