Hunting the Hibiki: Q-Ball (Allies) v Cuttlefish (Japan)

[String]

A question about Java, you seem to be doing quite well there, have you sent any reinforcements there?

If not, where did you route all those british and indian brigades on ships on the first turn?

[ny59giants]

FIJI - It seems that you have Suva building up nicely. What about some of the smaller bases around it so CF cannot take them and just isolate those troops at Suva?? Don't want him to make Suva just a big POW camp. [:D]

[Q-Ball]

String: I didn't send anyone to Java. All I did was set everyone Day 1 to Rest/Train; once 100 days passed, all units started to gain experience, even the Landstrom units. I also used the Transport planes to pull in the Barisan Regt, and a couple other Battalions, so I did get some reinforcements there that way. Pulling in the Regt. from Pamakasan should be standard practice for Allied players. (well, until Patch 2 prohibits air transfer of restricted units!)

nygiants: Not a bad idea, I wanted to REALLY secure Fiji first, so now I can secure a couple others. I am building Tongatapu, though I started on the Port, mostly to have a Port that wasn't on the "Front"; Suva and Pago Pago aren't safe enough to dock important ships there. I am thinking about landing a Regt. and some construction troops on Wallis Island, to create some space.

Combat Report, April 24,25 1942

Java: The 38th IJA Division is now at Soerbaya; CF is probably waiting for reinforcements to attack. If that was a Regt I would have attacked out of the city, but a division is too strong.

The other theme on Java is the theme song from the Busch commercial: "Head for the Mountains". Except the only thing there is some Heineken, which we better drink up lest the Japanese get it.

China: 16 Japanese units are sighted with their arrow pointed at Loyang. I had observed the buildup at Tsiotso or whatever that city is. I am moving some reinforcements to Loyang, but I would bet a billion Yen we won't hold it. I hope to make a fight of it, we'll see. If Loyang falls, we will have to abandon Chengyang to the south, and probably Nanning. The biggest loss would be supply production; between them these bases produce over 100 supplies a day; that's more valuable than a Corps at this point.

Southwest Pacific: There are no Japanese aircraft or ships yet at Luganville. I have been reconning the place looking for some. I suspect that a convoy of reinforcements is coming. I am moving a TF of Australian cruisers to just south of Noumea, to see if a target presents itself moving toward Luganville. I have not spotted KB in awhile, but I suspect it's around somewhere, so I don't want to hazard a large number of ships I can't afford to lose.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, April 26,27 1942

A couple brief updates, as it's close to beddy-bye time....

SW Pac: The cruiser TF I sent to bombard Luganville ended up 2 hexes away in daylight......I had set it to REMAIN ON STATION, rather than RETIRE. DAMN! I thought I had checked that. This definitively confirms that CF does NOT have airplanes on Nav Attack at Luganville!

Well, our butt is hanging out there, but with 80 miles to go, we may as well go through with it. We bombard tommorow night, then get out of there. I won't be surprising any ships in the harbor, as a Japanese Level bomber was sighted over the TF; probably a Betty from Lunga. Yet more evidence I probably shouldn't be there.

China: An attack at Wuchow forces me out immediately. But an opportunity presents itself at Loyang, see below.

[ComradeP]

How sustainable is your presence at Noumea?

Garrisoning islands is a good strategy, but if you can't ship supplies there, you only create a starving fortified zone that can be ran over after a short while.

If CF would land at the other side of the island, perhaps with either some Betties in the area coming from an airfield you can't reach or (mini-)KB in the area, how would you hold out?

I've only read AAR's, as I don't actually own AE, but it does seem that many people want to take great risks by trying to get as many troops on certain islands in the Japanese path to searoute between Australia/New Zealand and the US. What if KB shows up, backed by some land based air? Your carriers can't really do much about it at this point, and the air force at Suva is only much of a help near Suva.

I can see why people would want to control those islands, but in the case of Noumea, it seems to be a bit of a gamble, as it isn't really all that defensible with your current amount of troops if CF lands at Koumac. What if CF would land troops, move up to Noumea, but instead of attacking, would sit in the hex while your supplies dwindle through various kinds of bombardment?

[Canoerebel]

Kweilin is an important base, but Liuchow is even more important.  If Cuttlefish take it then his troops are established on the road that leads to Chungking.  That, in turn, threatens Changsha's flank.  The one thing Kweilin has going for it is that it is close enough to Changsha and Hengyang (or is it Hengchow???) that you can shift forces from these two cities fairly easily.

[Q-Ball]

comradeP: I have 60K supplies at Noumea. It will take awhile to starve the garrison out, and that is assuming I don't ship in more (a convoy is unloading tommorow). If it takes awhile to starve the garrison, that serves my purpose; by the time that campaign is over, Fiji, New Zealand, and Pago Pago will be impregnible fortresses, and the Japanese offensive is over.

It will cost me about 35K troops, but so be it. We will remember their sacrifice.

The only way Cuttlefish can take it quickly is if he brings at least 800 or so AV. That would be a major effort. If that's the case, then I will have tougher decisions to make, but that's war.

Canoerebel: Dan, you're right; this offensive is major trouble. I am shifting troops from Hangyang/Changsha, as those points are not threatened. Having to abandon Changsha because the rear is taken would be a disaster. After a slow start, Cuttlefish is on a roll it seems in China. I didn't see that attack at Wuchow until the Japanese were in the adjacent hex, and by then it's too late to reinforce.

Combat Report, April 28 to May 1, 1942

Not a ton to report over these few days.

Java: Cuttlefish is eliminating troops at the West end of Java before investing Soerbaya. This should be complete pretty soon, at which point Soerbaya is toast. I would like to delay as long as possible to support submarine OPS.

Speaking of which, we put a torp into DD Kamikaze off Soerbaya; I detailed several subs to intercept her on the way home. Heads will roll, as we had 2 attacks that missed. Arg!

China: I already commented above, but we are moving troops to counter that southern threat, including ARTILLERY. Yes, the Chinese have some.

Around Loyang, the Japanese are bombarding, we slid a unit behind them, and anothe pincer should take Tsaotso, cutting off the Japanese invaders from supplies. CF will undoubtedly react and drive my guys out, but hopefully I can buy a week or two by this little move. See map above.

Perth: I am loading up troops and engineers for Exmouth, and will probably land at Port Hedland. These bases are mine of course, but are not held in strength; I now intend to hold them in strength. I particularly need Port Hedland if I ever hope to invade Timor.

SW Pacific: Recon over Luganville NOW spots a transport TF. Drat, I just missed it with the surface ships. CF now knows I have a cruiser TF in the area. I don't know yet if Luganville is just pushing out the perimeter, or the first step in a major offensive.

If it is an offensive, Noumea is clearly next. I am running supplies in there, because I may not have too many more chances if CF makes it a focus.

Decisions, Decisions........

[Canoerebel]

Don't feel too badly about Wuchow.  I think it cannot be held - bad roads and easy access for the Japanese early in the game and before the Chinese can get established well.  Look at the map again - Wuchow and Kanhsien cannot be defended, but Liuchow, Kweilin, Hengyang, and Changsha make for a good MLR.

Now, further north, I don't know that there's much to stop the Japanese short of Sian.  If the Japanese player uses Artillery Death Stars and strategic bombing, game over.  Even if he doesn't, the main cities of Nanyang, Chengchow, and Loyang are sorta out in the open and easy to flank.  Against a determined and capable Japanese player I suspect nearly every Allied player will be pushed back to Sian at the very least.

Edited to add: But the Allied player has to strongly fortify Nanyang, Chenghow, and Loyang and hold them as long as possible, which you're doing to good effect.

[ComradeP]

I have 60K supplies at Noumea. It will take awhile to starve the garrison out, and that is assuming I don't ship in more (a convoy is unloading tommorow). If it takes awhile to starve the garrison, that serves my purpose; by the time that campaign is over, Fiji, New Zealand, and Pago Pago will be impregnible fortresses, and the Japanese offensive is over.

OK, sounds like you're pretty secure on the island.

The reasoning behind my questions was that, if you don't control the seas in the area, your island garrison is just that: a bunch of troops on an island they can't leave. In case you lose controls of the seas around it, it's stuck there, and will probably slowly run out of supplies/starve. Many smaller Japanese garrisons that were bypassed by the Allied island hopping campaign suffered that fate. Of course, as long as CF doesn't actually take the island, your troops are still a deterrent simply due to their presence.

Is there any chance you could bring a coastal defence unit, or any thing that could damage an invasion force pretty badly prior to their landing, to the island? As I don't own AE, I don't know if the Allies have some available, but it would make the island a bit less vulnerable and more or less force CF to land at Koumac if he ever wanted to invade.

In the games I do own, I'm usually a fairly "conservative" (which often equals "cautious") player, so I wouldn't risk any decent naval forces in Indian Country pretty far away from the comfort of a decent shipyard as long as there's a chance of KB paying a visit. CF has Luganville, and even though your ships might be a nuisance to him, they're not going to kick him out, so you might as well save them for a more decisive engagement.

Of course, my advise is highly tainted by the fact that in many games, I don't tend to have a lot of luck on crucial rolls, so if I would send cruisers to whack some xAK's at Luganville, the cruisers would not even scratch their paint, the only hit would be the commander of the unit firing his pistol at a Japanese flag, and all cruisers involved would subsequently be send to the other Down Under by an obligatory KB or BB Acte de Présence. Bad luck evolves into caution.

[Q-Ball]

comradeP: Good points. I recommend you play this game. If you played, you would know the answer to some questions, like the CD unit; putting one at Noumea doesn't help. Why? Because it's too easy to land at Koumac or La Foa, and walk on paved roads to Noumea. I do have CD guns in other places, like Pago Pago and Savaii. CD guns aren't all that though, if you take the precaution of including a CL in an invasion TF, that usually limits the damage.

Combat Report, May 1, 1942

TODAY is May 1, got my dates mixed up in the last report.

Java: Soerbaya is attacked at 1-1, dropping the forts. Should hold out until about May 5th, with final surrender on Java around the 10th. If you told me that at the beginning of the game, I would be very happy with that.

Cebu: Japanese troops landed here on the 30th, and easily forced the half-starved garrison of 10,000 troops to surrender on the 1st. I have troops on Iloilo in the PI, but that's it.

BTW, I did let Cuttlefish know that USS Canopus sailed from there 20 days ago and made it home undetected! Didn't say which way she went though.

Lashio: CF attacked the troops that withdrew from Lashio; they had retreated West by the Compass (north on the map I guess) unhelpfully, so I marched them back. They are now marching toward China, and should make it. They are down to 150 AV though and in serious need of rest, so I don't think CF will be threatened by me over the Chinese border for a year at least. I don't expect him to follow into the mountains either.

Other than Akyab, where I have 20,000 troops, that's it for the Burma campaign!

China: See map below on Loyang; this is heating up. I don't seriously expect to hold the place in the long-term, but would like to delay as long as I can. I have decided to go "All-In" on Loyang, and if the place falls, I will be abandoning that entire plain and fall back on Sian.

CF is irritated by my unit sliding behing him, I told him they're just looking for a square meal![8D]

Elsewhere in China, I am moving units like crazy to Liuchow and Kwielin. It will take a few days for me to tell which one he is headed to, as he nears the "crossroads" south. I am also moving some Cav units toward Kukong, to hopefully ride on the trail in his rear and cut supplies.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

crsutton: I recently figured out you can use the Mitchells, but I didn't know that on the DB-7s!!! I will stop throwing them away then, because I agree: You really need 2E bombers, and they're aren't enough.

Combat Report, April 15,16 1942

Java: Thanks to crsutton, I am disbanding the remnants of the Dutch bomber force. Overall, I lost about 100 bombers over Java, and in return, as far as I can tell, I acheived the following:
SUNK: CL Tama,DD Namikaze, 1 AK
HEAVILY DAMAGED: CVL Ryujo, DD Fuyo

Not too bad in the end......actually, CL TAMA was really finishing off a cruiser heavily damaged by a Dutch Submarine.

On the island of Java, however, the land war continues. The Japanese attacked Batavia again, at 2-1 and inflicting 3000 casualties. It should fall tommorow. The units there are already pretty spent after 4 days of attacks. Another force is approaching Soerbaya, where a dozen Allied subs are picking up Fuel and Torps. When the 48th Division approaches, I will retreat to the mountains of Malang for a last stand.

On SUMATRA, I came within a hair of retaking Djambi with the refugees from Palembang. CF just got a tank Rgt. there ahead of me. Probably gave him a scare though.

China: The IJA is starting to bomb Wuchow. Not sure yet what that means...but CF did not pursue north toward Hengyang after taking Kukong. Maybe Wuchow is the next target?

Kido Butai Tour: The tour continues......I posted a screenshot which says it all, and detailed dispositions like I did to the east. Not sure why the raid, once he got that one convoy there weren't going to be high-priority targets in the way, which there aren't.

Strangely, there were no attacks this turn. I doubt he was running "dark", so probably weather.

I took a closer look and confirmed that there are two squadrons that can use the Dutch Mitchells. One is a RAAF Hudson unit that arrives in the early months and one is a "US squadron" based in the US. The US squadron must be a mistake or deliberately left that way to reflect that the US would have used these bombers themselves if the Dutch went down. Anyway, we are talking about 90 mitchell bombers at a time when the Allies have little or no bombing force, so I have decided not to use them up in Java but to save them.

However, my only question is my Japanese opponent is racing through Java and Java might fall before these planes even come on line. I hope I don't lost the production but I don't think that will happen.

As for the Dutch A20 type bombers, I can't find any unit that can use them. Too bad as there are about 50 0f them and 60 P40s that go to the Dutch that I won't get a chance to use.

If I were the scenario designers (Hint, hint) I would allow one or two US squadrons (perhaps Aussies) to take the Dutch P40s and one or two to take the A20s. To reflect that if planes would were not used in Java they would have most likely gone back by the US air force and ended up in Oz. This can easily be done with the editor. I might negotiate that before starting my next game.

[Q-Ball]

crsutton: Thanks, actually I just got a Dutch RAAF unit in Canberra that DOES use the Dutch A-20s, so that's nice. I have a USAAF unit in India that also accepts the Dutch Mitchells. So, there is some use it seems. We'll count it all up. Thanks for the help though, based on this I disbanded all the Dutch bombers; I do have 24 P-40s at Medan.

Combat Report, May 2,3 1942

SW Pacific: Cuttlefish is up to something. 2 days in a row, Kirishima ran over an S-boat around Luganville. Her screen chased the boat off, but not before we counted a couple cruisers and a whole bunch of DDs in there, and the captain surfaced and radioed a contact report.

Kirishima is one of the Kongos that starts with KB. Although she could have been switched, Cuttlefish knows I have DBs on Noumea, and he does not have any aircraft at Luganville; I don't think he would have her there without Aircover. Thus, I have to conclude, with 75% degree of certainty, that Kido Butai is in the New Hebrides.

This isn't a huge shock, based on last months' events, but leads me to beleive that this is a major effort on the part of the Japanese. If so, I will need to make a decision with the USN. I will detail further if I get a visual sighting, but in general I think we need to choose between:

1. Not contest in New Hebrides. Keep the fleet safe, and pick another day.
2. CONTEST in New Hebrides; go get the 5 BBs at Pearl, and bring together all 5 CVs
3. Not contest in New Hebrides, but launch an operation in the Central Pacific, like a landing on Wake or Majuro

Not sure yet.

China: Japanese troops are marching on Tsiaotso. Not a surprise, as we have one unit there, and he needs to clear the supply line. We are drinking up all the Sapporo and Sake we can lay our hands one, before being kicked out.

Java: More units surrendered, and we are pretty much down to Malang and the East tip of Java. Won't be long now.

[ckammp]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

crsutton: Thanks, actually I just got a Dutch RAAF unit in Canberra that DOES use the Dutch A-20s, so that's nice. I have a USAAF unit in India that also accepts the Dutch Mitchells. So, there is some use it seems. We'll count it all up. Thanks for the help though, based on this I disbanded all the Dutch bombers; I do have 24 P-40s at Medan.

Combat Report, May 2,3 1942

SW Pacific: Cuttlefish is up to something. 2 days in a row, Kirishima ran over an S-boat around Luganville. Her screen chased the boat off, but not before we counted a couple cruisers and a whole bunch of DDs in there, and the captain surfaced and radioed a contact report.

Kirishima is one of the Kongos that starts with KB. Although she could have been switched, Cuttlefish knows I have DBs on Noumea, and he does not have any aircraft at Luganville; I don't think he would have her there without Aircover. Thus, I have to conclude, with 75% degree of certainty, that Kido Butai is in the New Hebrides.

This isn't a huge shock, based on last months' events, but leads me to beleive that this is a major effort on the part of the Japanese. If so, I will need to make a decision with the USN. I will detail further if I get a visual sighting, but in general I think we need to choose between:

1. Not contest in New Hebrides. Keep the fleet safe, and pick another day.
2. CONTEST in New Hebrides; go get the 5 BBs at Pearl, and bring together all 5 CVs
3. Not contest in New Hebrides, but launch an operation in the Central Pacific, like a landing on Wake or Majuro

Not sure yet.

China: Japanese troops are marching on Tsiaotso. Not a surprise, as we have one unit there, and he needs to clear the supply line. We are drinking up all the Sapporo and Sake we can lay our hands one, before being kicked out.

Java: More units surrendered, and we are pretty much down to Malang and the East tip of Java. Won't be long now.

RE option 3:

How big an operation are you thinking about?
A small, temporary raid to distract Cuttlefish, or a full-scale invasion?
What units do you have available for the operation?

Either way, I think option 3 is your best bet; IMHO KB is too tough an opponent in early May 42, even if you have a lot of LBA support.

[Canoerebel]

Q-Ball, don't do it!  Don't commit to a major confrontation at the New Hebrides nor to an invasion of an isolated atoll in the Pacific.  You can't face the Japs one-on-one yet, nor can you reasonably hope to hold one of those islands this early in the game.
 
Even if Cuttlefish does evil things in New Caledonia, you're fine as long as you haven't lost your main assets.  While he's fixated there, use your mobile assets to sting Cuttlefish!  Send your carriers someplace where they can hit and run, or consider leaving them as a force in being to keep him honest.
 
The loss of New Caledonia really won't hurt you.  Use some feints and bluffs their to make him think a big fight is in the offing - meanwhile, use the quiet elsewhere to build and strengthen.  Also, you'll be getting lots of troops soon so you can begin positioning troops where you'll eventually want to use them.
 
In summary - don't do what I did!  You'll regret it.

[Chickenboy]

Keep the fleet safe, pick another day.

That's not to say you can't sting a little. I really like the KB fighter degradation that you inflicted with your fighter heavy CAP from a few days ago. A few more days of attrition like that and his KB fighter arm will be significantly less capable, setting the table in a few months for your CV battle.

[jrcar]

I agree, abandon Noumea if you have to, makes no real impact. Unless you can safely handle 3 Japanese divs (i.e. with forts, guns, and significant AV and prep) fall back... be where he isn't.

A raid can be nice for morale, but don't commit anything you can't afford to loose... and KB in the New Hebrides isn't that far from anywhere in the South Pacific, even Wake is only 3-4 days hard steaming. Which means you will get ashore, but probably not reload and get away...


Cheers

Rob

[crsutton]

I concur. The main goal for the Allies is to keep their carriers intact until all the avengers are aboard, the fighter groups have expanded, the AA has upgraded and you have some fast BBs and modern CLs for escort. Ideally, you want to have all six of them (or whats left). The ideal time for a tangle with KB is July of 1942. Then with the help of a couple of British carriers you are more than a match for KB. Look to damage one or two of his carriers with a sub or lucky LBA hit. If one of his six big carriers is missing then I think the Allies have the odds.

I strongly disagree with the IJN player using his KB planes to attack fixed installations. Likewise, he can not afford to dilute his 1st team pilots until he can fight the American carriers.

My opponent is very skilled and is just racing accross the map. (I gave him scen. 2) It is Feb 15th and he has cleared Burma, most of China, Malaya, the PI and is just invading Java with a sledgehammer. He must wake up in the moring and sh*t fuel for his ships because I don't see him slowing down. I got nothing to stop him but I am not losing much. I know I have to fight somewhere soon but it is not going to be with my carriers. Your AAR is helping me a great deal. Nice to find out that there is an Aussie squadron for the Dutch A20s well. Now I am convinced that this was done on purpose by the scenario designers. That is 140 more medium bombers that I was not counting on.

[ComradeP]

Follow Guderian's maxim, for a different kind of war, but a valuable lesson all the same: deploy technology and resources only when they can make a significant impact, and only when you have the forces to advance after the attack.

The risk that you'll lose ships is too high for the fairly small gain that could be expected. You could land somewhere in the Pacific, but you wouldn't be able to move on afterwards as you currently don't have the equipment or the resources to do so. The forces you land will be yet another garrison on an island that won't win you the war.

Island invasions are usually only of any long term use if you can keep the momentum and initiative on your side, in the case of the war in the Pacific, that would translate to: island invasions are most effective during an island hopping campaign, where the enemy doesn't have the time to recover. Dumping forces on Wake isn't an island hopping campaign, it's like painting a giant "kick me" sign on your island garrison.

[Q-Ball]

Everyone: I had pretty much resolved on letting it go, but good to hear everyone's thoughts. A confrontation with KB is unwise until you have TBMs, and particularly if you are temporarily down a CV like I am (Enterprise is still under repair at Capetown, and figures to be out of action until August).

Combat Report, May 3,4,5 1942

New Caledonia: Japanese troops are landing at Koumac. A BB TF hit Noumea harbor, sinking 3 xAKs and a PG that were unloading supplies. That might be the last supply drop in awhile. We have enough to withstand a medium-length siege, we will see how long this goes.

Tommorow I should have a good idea how many troops are unloading. It appears to include 53rd Div. so far, not sure what else. I expect my fighters to be overwhelmed fairly shortly, but to give a good account before going under.

This is a major Japanese move it seems, maybe the major move of the war. I am going to steer clear at the moment, and keep my head down for better days.

Canton Is.: I have taken the opportunity to drop a Regt. at Canton Island, and occupy this spot. It's not a great base, but a good stopover, and can shorten my supply lines.

China: A 1-2 Japanese attack on Loyang failed, but did drop the forts. I think CF will bring in more guys to break it. I am thinking of evacuating Chengyang, before it gets cut off with the fall of Loyang. Hate to leave 60 supply points a turn though.

[Q-Ball]

Combat Report, May 6-10, 1942

New Caledonia: Japanese troops have safely unloaded and taken Koumac. 3 days of attack by Marine Vindicators out of Noumea produced nothing more than dead Vindicators; actually there wasn't alot of CAP, but flak was intense. We acheived a single bomb hit on Aoba, but that's it. Otherwise, he got ashore cleanly.

Zeros out of Luganville sweep Noumea constantly, although we have shot some down mostly we are on the losing-end. My airgroups there are fairly wrecked, and much more of this will required me to withdraw all aircover.

Forces so far are 4th Division, but I know 53rd Division is at Luganville, and probably on it's way.

China: The Japanese kicked me out of Tsaosto, but not before I drank all the Sapporo. That clears his supply line, and allows him to resume attacks at Loyang. I have reinforced Loyang; last IJA attack was 1-2, so this is turning into a meat grinder. That probably means I will lose, but we'll see.

Meanwhile, Japanese are advancing in the South, I'll post a map in a couple days.

DEI: On Java, we are down to 2 mountain redoubts. I'll update when they fall, which should be soon. On Sumatra, heavy air attacks destroyed the 24 P-40s I had there in A2A and bombing. I went ahead and disbanded the remnants; the KNIL airforce is now down to a handful of floatplanes.

South Pac: Here is the most interesting thing below: Warships are sighted off New Zealand. What are they doing there? Is that KB, or just surface ships?

As you can see, I am in a position to counter. I can't identify what they are though, which is critical. If that's KB, taking it on will be BAD. If it's not, I could get a nice hit. Decisions, decisions..........

It could also be that he knows he is spotted, and will turn that around. At any rate, here is what I am going to do:

1. Empty Auckland harbor, and send everyone SOUTH toward Wellington.
2. The CV's will linger about where they are, out of range of Kate/Val, to ascertain what that is. I may slide a bit north, if it's surface raiders, that will maybe give me a chance to intercept.

Until I am sure what it is, I am going to move the CV's NE to Raoul Island area, and wait there for a positive ID. Then, I will either attack, or RUN.

I'm glad I set up an airbase at Norfolk, it was spotted via Hudson flying off Norfolk.