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Central Pacific

Tabiteuea reached level 5 airfields and I moved in B-17E bombers to start pounding Japanese positions in the Gilberts/Marshalls. Tarawa and Makin were both heavily bombed on August 3rd and 4th. I'm expecting a Japanese reaction here, which is exactly the plan as noted before. I was also pleased to see a major IJN commitment (a dozen destroyers/cruisers) to escorting a convoy to Nauru Island.

China

Another Japanese attack in northern China. It's relentless, but the Chinese are holding their own thus far.

Ground combat at 82,36 (near Kungchang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 29131 troops, 411 guns, 391 vehicles, Assault Value = 1072

Defending force 21336 troops, 234 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 722

Japanese adjusted assault: 338

Allied adjusted defense: 2038

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 6

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
3796 casualties reported
Squads: 20 destroyed, 160 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 41 disabled
Guns lost 31 (1 destroyed, 30 disabled)
Vehicles lost 36 (2 destroyed, 34 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
413 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 72 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 25 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 33 (1 destroyed, 32 disabled)

Burma

I'm apprehensive about my next move here, but I am pressing ahead. Commonwealth forces will cross the river into Prome where it is obvious the Japanese are preparing some kind of trap. Wirraway has been holding back significant airpower in the Thailand area and last turn when it became clear I may be crossing the river a bunch of additional forces have railed into Rangoon, including hundreds of vehicles (most likely armor). I believe the Japanese are waiting for the Allies to cross into the clear at Prome and then launch a massed counterattack. I am game to duke it out here but there is definitely substantial risk involved, most notably how my supply will hold up under pressure and under Monsoon conditions.

Preparations are accelerating for a new operation that will need full fleet carrier support.

Central Pacific

Allied bombers continue to pound Tarawa and Makin. US Paratroopers land on and take undefended Ocean Island.

Burma

Allied troops, the vast majority of whom are Commonwealth, have crossed into Prome and seized it. I am getting lots of SIGINT hits of Japanese troops moving up towards Burma now. The Japanese also tried to counter with bomber strikes but were met by dense flak. On the first day of the raids the Japanese lost 8 aircraft to flak. On the second day they lost none by raising their altitude but flew high enough that zero damage was inflicted on the Allied troops below.

The best news of all is that supply is flowing very nicely to Prome. I already have 27,000 supply stockpiled there!

Central Pacific

Weather grounds my bombers. Trying to keep an eye out for any surprises from Wirraway here now that I have stepped up my pressure but so far nothing.

Burma

Supply continues to flow nicely into Prome, so much so that spoilage is now a serious issue. I am working on fortifications as a priority but I will soon expand the airfields to negate spoilage.

Japanese bombers came in again today and 10 Lilies were lost to flak. Wirraway has generally been quite averse to sustaining losses so this is a different side of him I am seeing.

Philippines

The Japanese are starting to move in force against my remaining positions in the Philippines. Imperial troops are landing on Cebu and are moving into Clark. I assume he will start attaching soon.

Burma

Japanese forces are moving around all over Burma. He has stopped bombing for now, not sure if it is weather related or the Japanese deciding it was not worth the losses. I am preparing a new advance of my own in Burma, driving southwards with a smaller force to capture Schwebo and force him to come out in the open to contest my advance.

The whole point of this Burma push is to open supply lines to China, and for that I will need to link up the two prongs around Mandalay and clear a path to Lashio.

Operation Atlantis

Just over a week left till my invasion forces set sail for their objectives as part of Operation Atlantis. The fleet carriers will sortie out in support. I don't know where the KB is and I would rather avoid battling it at the moment so no loitering around the objective this time around.

Not much change over the past couple of days. Less than a week left till my convoys sail for Atlantis.

Philippines

The Japanese look set to attack the Allied garrison at Clark sometime in the next few days. My goal is to last until mid-September, while hoping to make it to October. Unfortunately the latter is rather unlikely.

Burma

Wirraway has indeed halted his bombing efforts against Prome and the base is now nearing 40,000 supply. I am going to build up its fortifications and will then move forward again.

China

Relentless Chinese armor attacks near Kungchang continue to be beaten back but the supply situation is growing dire.

Operation Atlantis

Troop convoys are loaded up and will depart from different embarkation points tomorrow. Carrier repairs/upgrades have been delayed for some reason but should be complete in two days. The fast carriers will have to catch up with the transports before they enter enemy waters.

Central Pacific

Wirraway finally challenged my intensive bombing of Tarawa by staging LRCAP from Makin. I had thought Makin's airfield was sufficiently bombed out to preclude such a move but apparently not. For the day I lost 17 aircraft, including 3 B-17Es, to the Japanese 12. The next day I struck back directly at Makin and at the cost of 5 B-17Es I heavily damaged the airfield and destroyed 6 Japanese fighters in the air and another 6 on the ground. With Makin's airfields heavily hit and numerous damaged fighters positioned there, I am hoping tomorrow's turn will be where I really punish the Japanese.

Indian Ocean

The Japanese are starting to really devote resources towards hammering the Cocos Islands. The position is now facing daily Betty bomber raids and over the last two turns was hit by three battleships and four heavy cruisers. With level 6 forts though, the defenses are holding up well to the bombardments and I am happy to see Wirrawar's navy gobble up precious fuel.

Philippines

Wirraway is taking his time against the Luzon defenses, relying on heavy bombardments and bombings. Suits me just fine, the longer I tie down his forces here the better. Looks like I will make it to September!

Burma

A bit of a sitzkrieg here as I wait to develop Prome's defenses and for the arrival in position of the 2nd British Division for the northern pincer. It's all frustratingly slow with Malaria effects, but I am hoping to kick off the next stage of the offensive in about two weeks.

China

Constant bombing, artillery bombardments, and infantry/tank assaults are starting to grind through my defense at hex 82,36. I think I have a decent shot at holding on for some time still (maybe even weeks?) but if he continues the pressure here he will eventually breakthrough and directly threaten Lanchow.

Central Pacific

Already damaged Makin Island was closed down by APDs darting in for a quick bombardment from Tabiteuea. Wirraway deployed additional Zero fighters to Mili however and flew LRCAP from there over both Makin and Tarawa. These fighters however were not enough to seriously dent the heavy bomber strikes on Makin although they did knock out a few medium bombers over Tarawa. Result for the day was very good, and I am satisfied that the Japanese have been punished for sticking out their neck on Makin.

Operation Atlantis

All invasion convoys and escorts are underway. ETA to objectives is 6-7 days.

North Pacific

Heavy bombers from Cold Bay and Umnak Island pulverise Amchitka island's airfield. The bombers encounter no enemy fighter opposition and only meagre flak. Amchitka is the Japanese position in the Aleutians that is the most heavily built up and garrisoned.

Central Pacific

Wirraway attempts to ambush my heavy bombers on the 22nd by sending in what looks like fighter loaded CVEs into the Makin hex. I had detected his ships the day prior however and had stood down my bombers. I am very pleased that I am not only attriting the Empire but I am also drawing Wirraway into the significant use of the IJN. Note that this normally wouldn't be such a big issue for the Empire - except for the fact that I had damaged about a thousand oil wells during this game which further reinforces oil/fuel as the critical weakness of the Japanese economy.

North Pacific

45 Zero fighters from the elite Tainan Group rose up over Kiska today to intercept a gaggle of 18 B-17Es. To my surprise, despite a long fight, I also lost two of the bombers (with one crew WIA) and in return I shot down three Zeros and destroyed seven Val dive bombers on the ground.

Central Pacific

Allied PBYs are picking up very significant IJN movement in the Marshall Islands near Jaliut. I suspect it is a heavily guarded resupply operation but I am also taking precautions in case it is something more.

Philippines

Cebu is finally taken by the Japanese after a very long siege and plenty of bombing/bombarding.

Significant rebuilding of damaged oil supplies is ongoing across the Japanese conquest areas. This is going to cost Wirraway a significant amount of supply but it is the right decision IMO in the long run. The key is to keep finding ways to hit Japanese oil wells and increase their fuel consumption.

Philippines

The first and thus far only Japanese attack goes in against Clark airfield on the 24th of August. Since then he has resumed using only bombing/bombardments.

Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 35206 troops, 337 guns, 467 vehicles, Assault Value = 1270

Defending force 31269 troops, 452 guns, 538 vehicles, Assault Value = 1305

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 1109

Allied adjusted defense: 4045

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4409 casualties reported
Squads: 15 destroyed, 333 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 32 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 30 disabled
Vehicles lost 47 (8 destroyed, 39 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
526 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 25 disabled
Guns lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 17 (5 destroyed, 12 disabled)

North Pacific

D-Day minus 3 for Operation Atlantis as invasion convoys make their final approach towards Adak and Amcitka Islands in the Aleutians. Heavy bomber strikes have been stepped up over the last few days and all Japanese airbases except for Attu Island are now closed with dozens of Japanese aircraft destroyed on the ground. The bombing has also disrupted Japanese naval search and none of my convoys have been spotted yet (although Wirraway did get a SIGINT hit on one of them). I have no idea where the KB is located so there is definitely some risk involved in this op. See map below.

Central/South Pacific

IJN submarines damage an American destroyer and sink a liberty cargo ship with torpedoes over the last couple of days. I had intentionally kept sending supply convoys through known submarine infested waters in order to keep IJN submarines invested in the area and reduce the risk of encounters in the North Pacific.

The major IJN force in the Marshall Islands area is now withdrawing north-westwards, so it does seem to have mostly come out to cover a resupply operation to Mili island. If I can keep forcing a major IJN commitment for every resupply operation that would be great!

Indian Ocean

The spike in Japanese attacks on Cocos Islands has ceased. Looks like Wirraway may have decided it was too hard of a nut to crack after all.

China

The pressure on the Chinese in front of Kungchang continues.

Ground combat at 82,36 (near Kungchang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 29853 troops, 419 guns, 469 vehicles, Assault Value = 1123

Defending force 20044 troops, 210 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 611

Japanese adjusted assault: 839

Allied adjusted defense: 1630

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
914 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 138 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 14 (1 destroyed, 13 disabled)
Vehicles lost 39 (10 destroyed, 29 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
545 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 53 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)

North Pacific

The initial phases of Operation Atlantis have been flawless. Heavy bombers from Umnak and Cold Bay drove away Japanese recon and naval search, allowing my invasion fleets to remain undetected until they began landing their troops on the enemy held islands of Adak and Amchitka. Adak is lightly held and will be taken without any trouble, but Amchitka is strongly held and is on swampy terrain and thus will require considerable effort to reduce:

Ground combat at Amchitka Island (158,52)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8141 troops, 75 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value = 400

Defending force 15091 troops, 181 guns, 523 vehicles, Assault Value = 665

Assaulting units:
86th Naval Guard Unit
303rd Ind.Infantry Battalion
Maizuru 3rd SNLF
85th Naval Guard Unit
302nd Ind.Infantry Battalion
87th Naval Guard Unit
301st Ind.Infantry Battalion
1st Sasebo SNLF Coy
31st Ind.AA Gun Co
44th Ind.AA Gun Co
6th RF Gun Battalion
8th Base Force

Defending units:
148th Infantry Regiment
145th Infantry Regiment
762nd Tank Battalion
763rd Tank Battalion
151st Combat Engineer Regiment
4th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
201st(Sep) Infantry Rgt /1
108th USN Base Force /5

Burma

A resupply convoy was hit by Japanese airstrikes as it was finishing its unloading at Akyab. A dozen small xAKs were sunk, as well as three gunboats and a destroyer escort.

China

Japanese efforts to break through towards Lanchow continue unabated:

Ground combat at 82,36 (near Kungchang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 29704 troops, 416 guns, 491 vehicles, Assault Value = 1558

Defending force 19471 troops, 209 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 549

Japanese adjusted assault: 550

Allied adjusted defense: 781

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
3389 casualties reported
Squads: 56 destroyed, 135 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 8 destroyed, 20 disabled
Guns lost 28 (7 destroyed, 21 disabled)
Vehicles lost 41 (11 destroyed, 30 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
712 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 51 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

North Pacific

Attu Island was bombarded by seven Allied heavy cruisers on the 30th of August, damaging and destroying a large number of Japanese recon and search planes and effectively blinding the Japanese in this theatre for the next few days.

On the next day, American forces launched their first deliberate attacks against both Adak and Amchitka. Adak was immediately taken with the Japanese garrison (Naval Guard Unit and aviation support company) driven into the mountains.

16 heavy cruisers and 6 battleships bombarded Amchitka to soften up the Japanese defense there before the attack. Heavy bombers were also set to strike but their airfields were closed in by bad weather. 200 SBD-3s picked up the slack from the air however with a strike in the afternoon. The bombardments and air strikes greatly helped, allowing the ground attack to cause significant casualties despite level 4 forts on swampy terrain.

Ground combat at Amchitka Island (158,52)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15622 troops, 216 guns, 548 vehicles, Assault Value = 701

Defending force 11823 troops, 88 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 387

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied adjusted assault: 232

Japanese adjusted defense: 1036

Allied assault odds: 1 to 4 (fort level 3)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1234 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 140 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 12 (2 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
558 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled

Assaulting units:
151st Combat Engineer Regiment
148th Infantry Regiment
762nd Tank Battalion
763rd Tank Battalion
145th Infantry Regiment
201st(Sep) Infantry Regiment
4th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
108th USN Base Force /5

Defending units:
Maizuru 3rd SNLF
301st Ind.Infantry Battalion
85th Naval Guard Unit
302nd Ind.Infantry Battalion
303rd Ind.Infantry Battalion
86th Naval Guard Unit
87th Naval Guard Unit
1st Sasebo SNLF Coy
8th Base Force

China

A very big day in the air. Wirraway has been relentlessly pounding the Chinese defenses near Kungchang, so I developed a plan to counter his bombers by sending in almost 200 fighters into China to ambush his aircraft. I wanted to wait for the right time to execute the operation however since I wanted to knock out his bombers at a critical moment and the severely limited supplies in China also greatly restricted my opportunities for sending in massed fighters into the theatre.

The right moment came on the 31st of August. I was swapping battered Chinese Corps for fresh ones and they desperately needed air cover during the delicate manoeuvre. I also began my pincer attack in Burma and knocking out Japanese bombers at this time would be ideal as I move into the open towards Mandalay.

To maintain surprise, I moved in training fighter units to forward airfields around Burma/India (Dutch and Chinese squadrons came in handy in this) which allowed me to show the same number of fighters to Japanese recon as were previously present while seven of my frontline squadrons deployed to China.

The resulting air battles were huge by 1942 standards. Oscar sweeps bit a chunk out of my low flying Warhawks but the American pilots did their job and shot down a massive number of Japanese bombers.

North Pacific

Operation Atlantis is proceeding smoothly with the Japanese garrison on Amchitka Island being steadily weakened by constant air and sea bombardment, as well as the occasional deliberate attack. BB North Carolina struck a mine during a bombardment and BB Maryland was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine as it was returning to Seattle.

Central Pacific

I sent some reinforcements to Tabi and Arorae as I continue to build up forces in the Gilberts. I think Wirraway assumed some of those transports were part of an invasion off Tarawa, since I picked up heavy SIGINT activity south of Ponape Island which I believe is the KB hanging around to ambush the expected Allied invasion in the area.

Burma

Allied forces are on the move. Shwebo has been captured by the northern pincer and its forces are about to enter Mandalay. The southern pincer is moving northwards to link up with the northern one at Magwe. The Japanese have reacted by shifting some forces around, but have mostly relied on airpower in their efforts to interfere with Allied operations in the area. The northern pincer, once detected, was hit by bombers but the Japanese lost 7 bombers to flak during the raids which drove Wirraway to immediately abandon the effort. The Japanese also attempted to sweep the Allied fighters over Akyab (where they were covering Allied supply convoys) which led to intense dogfights on the 7th of September. Only 4 Allied fighter pilots were KIA which I imagine if far less than the Japanese number.

North Pacific

Operation Atlantis is proceeding smoothly. The ten Japanese Naval Guards/Infantry Battalions at Amchitka are a tough nut to crack given the swampy terrain and the dismal weather (which affects air support), but the American assault force has knocked down forts from 4 to 2 and has inflicted disproportionally heavy losses on the garrison. Wirraway is reinforcing the garrison by flying in parts of the 53rd Division but that is a mistake in my opinion as I believe he is merely reinforcing defeat and I am in no rush to pull out the forces devoted to the operation (lack of assault shipping more than lack of forces is my biggest hurdle at this stage). I am in the process of building up Adak Island however which will open the door for intensified airstrikes and round the clock naval bombardments.

Central Pacific

The Allied build-up in the southern Gilberts is almost complete. US forces are basically in position to pursue further invasions - except for the fact that the KB (according to radio traffic) is hanging around west of Nauru Island waiting for me to do just that. I am happy to wait a bit longer and proceed with other plans now that I am fairly confident I know where the KB is located.

China

No real change here since the last update. Japanese forces have arrived in force at Changteh from across the mountains to the southwest but have yet to attempt any attacks beyond air and artillery bombardments. Chinese forces have also thrown back a few more Japanese attacks near Kungchang but the pressure if building here and it's questionable how long I can hold the hex.

Burma

Fantastic progress is being made here in Burma considering this is still 1942. Allied forces have flooded into central Burma and the northern and southern pincers are about to ling up at Magwe. Supplies are also pouring into Akyab and flowing very nicely into Burma through the well developed base at Prome. The Japanese attempted to interfere and stop the supplies but their initial attempts to sweep the air defenses over Akyab were rebuffed with heavy losses and they haven't tried again since. A direct connection from Mandalay to Lashio is still not cleared but supply is already flowing through to China by the circuitous route of Prome-Mandalay-Myitkyina-Paoshan and will only increase further as I develop the central Burmese bases and the monsoon ends.

Hey all,

I'll be covering DW and Wirraway's campaign on my Youtube channel for those of you interested in some audio/visual presentations.

Here are the first two videos for your enjoyment:

Introduction to the Campaign and recap:
https://youtu.be/OO-727TgRdM

October 25 1942 Combat Relay and Analysis:
https://youtu.be/2EIRo4U0efM

More combat in China and Burma!


https://youtu.be/6Ulhja-8W2I

P-38s flexin' over Burma today!

https://youtu.be/teCXVvfLV9A

Jockeying for position all over the map!

https://youtu.be/tOl4Yl2Zrx8

Things heating up in the Gilberts - 29 Oct 1942 Turn Results

https://youtu.be/UWnZioANVAM