One quick point:
Suva is worth a nice chunk of VPs to the Japanese.
Surely he will seek to grab it even if his main objective is New Zealand.
Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy(A) vs KenchiSulla (J)
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
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HansBolter
- Posts: 7457
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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
Yeah, Hans, that's kind of what I would think.
CF's ships had kept up a continuous rotation of bombardments going, including 4-5 battleships (Nagatos and Kongos), on Noumea. Towards the end, I was enduring 3 bombardments a turn. Added to this, KB has been on station the entire time, keeping the CAP up and hitting any ships coming near. Their fighters have been nickel and dimed a bit, between the original fighter cover and the B-17 raids. I think my bombers alone have accounted for nearly 10 fighters. My guess is he'll have to recuperate all those ships before hitting the next objective. I have a feeling he might have had an AKE (Japanese have AKEs, right?) at Lunga or Luganville to keep the surface guys topped off. They were around too long doing too many bombardments.
Suva will not be an easy nut to crack. Fighter strength at least equals that of KB. Naval attack strength is probably a bit light with 2 B-26 squadrons and at least 2 dive bomber squadrons. (I'm running on memory now) I have at least 40 heavy bombers there, too. I'll probably start pounding Noumea's airfield soon. I also have two VP squadrons and one of recon Lightnings. There's probably close to 2 divisions worth of troops there.
In a perfect setup, I would like to see him burn a few turns with KB against my fighters there before sending my carriers in. It could push me over the top, fighter-wise and see my bombers through while fighting his off. The Babes scenarios are not very nice to dive bombers facing medium sized flak, I've noticed. In an old game, I have overloaded Port Moresby with 40mm, and they took like a dozen Vals in a day.
If this does take a while to develop, SARA will be able to join the other four carriers. I would guess that combined, they'd outnumber KB in raw air strength. Nevertheless, as is always the case, it will be a roll of the dice. I just want to shave the dice a bit.
Suva's nearing 200k in supplies, with supply and fuel unloading as we speak. Convoys from Oz are taking the long way to get there. I also have 2 out of three battalions making up a USA regiment there. The last is enroute from Cape Town. Just under 30 squadrons of planes are there, which is probably near the sweet spot before it goes red. A USMC MAG HQ is on the way from Pearl. I have lots of them on hand at this point. If KB stays there and/or gets pounded, my Marshalls project may kick off sooner rather than later. I have lots of militarized transports at Pearl -- all of them, in fact. All my USN BBs are there or enroute, barring the lost New Mexico. Warspite's also in the bunch. I'm planning on hitting four islands simultaneously, with bombardments on each and a battleship accompanying each landing force. All this is contingent on whether I have any carriers left.
Despite having my butt handed to me thus far, I'm grateful to be playing an aggressive Japanese player. It's opening my eyes to a lot of things, and my previous games have made me complacent in areas. His moves have kept me rather fascinated.
I have a squadron of Wellingtons enroute from Aden. They should add to the fun.
Ed-
CF's ships had kept up a continuous rotation of bombardments going, including 4-5 battleships (Nagatos and Kongos), on Noumea. Towards the end, I was enduring 3 bombardments a turn. Added to this, KB has been on station the entire time, keeping the CAP up and hitting any ships coming near. Their fighters have been nickel and dimed a bit, between the original fighter cover and the B-17 raids. I think my bombers alone have accounted for nearly 10 fighters. My guess is he'll have to recuperate all those ships before hitting the next objective. I have a feeling he might have had an AKE (Japanese have AKEs, right?) at Lunga or Luganville to keep the surface guys topped off. They were around too long doing too many bombardments.
Suva will not be an easy nut to crack. Fighter strength at least equals that of KB. Naval attack strength is probably a bit light with 2 B-26 squadrons and at least 2 dive bomber squadrons. (I'm running on memory now) I have at least 40 heavy bombers there, too. I'll probably start pounding Noumea's airfield soon. I also have two VP squadrons and one of recon Lightnings. There's probably close to 2 divisions worth of troops there.
In a perfect setup, I would like to see him burn a few turns with KB against my fighters there before sending my carriers in. It could push me over the top, fighter-wise and see my bombers through while fighting his off. The Babes scenarios are not very nice to dive bombers facing medium sized flak, I've noticed. In an old game, I have overloaded Port Moresby with 40mm, and they took like a dozen Vals in a day.
If this does take a while to develop, SARA will be able to join the other four carriers. I would guess that combined, they'd outnumber KB in raw air strength. Nevertheless, as is always the case, it will be a roll of the dice. I just want to shave the dice a bit.
Suva's nearing 200k in supplies, with supply and fuel unloading as we speak. Convoys from Oz are taking the long way to get there. I also have 2 out of three battalions making up a USA regiment there. The last is enroute from Cape Town. Just under 30 squadrons of planes are there, which is probably near the sweet spot before it goes red. A USMC MAG HQ is on the way from Pearl. I have lots of them on hand at this point. If KB stays there and/or gets pounded, my Marshalls project may kick off sooner rather than later. I have lots of militarized transports at Pearl -- all of them, in fact. All my USN BBs are there or enroute, barring the lost New Mexico. Warspite's also in the bunch. I'm planning on hitting four islands simultaneously, with bombardments on each and a battleship accompanying each landing force. All this is contingent on whether I have any carriers left.
Despite having my butt handed to me thus far, I'm grateful to be playing an aggressive Japanese player. It's opening my eyes to a lot of things, and my previous games have made me complacent in areas. His moves have kept me rather fascinated.
I have a squadron of Wellingtons enroute from Aden. They should add to the fun.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
ORIGINAL: Richard III
Thanks for the AAR, still lurking here with much interest.
What is the points score please ?
Hi Richard. He's at 28,169 while I'm at 6,843. Most of his points are from Allied LCU losses, followed by ships and then bases.
15 April 1942
Lots of the focus seems to be Asansol this turn. I only got 1-2 odd, but I still dealt out more punishment:
Ground combat at Asansol (53,34)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 622 troops, 56 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 289
Defending force 25997 troops, 410 guns, 280 vehicles, Assault Value = 705
Allied ground losses:
64 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Assaulting units:
5th/C Division
18th/A Division
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
2nd Raiding Regiment
Defending units:
7th Australian Division
I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
70th British Division
2/2 AIF Pioneer Battalion
23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
---------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Asansol (53,34)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 25942 troops, 410 guns, 280 vehicles, Assault Value = 700
Defending force 9715 troops, 138 guns, 59 vehicles, Assault Value = 289
Allied adjusted assault: 162
Japanese adjusted defense: 210
Allied assault odds: 1 to 2
Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-)
Attacker: disruption(-)
Japanese ground losses:
812 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 85 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 17 (2 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
334 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 34 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 16 disabled
Assaulting units:
7th Australian Division
I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
70th British Division
2/2 AIF Pioneer Battalion
23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
Defending units:
5th/C Division
18th/A Division
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Raiding Regiment
He's focused his air there this turn and did plenty of damage to the UK division. All my fighters at Ranchi will LRCAP this turn. I have plenty with a USAAF P-40 unit at half strength. A fresh RAF P-40 unit just arrived and three strong Hurricane squadrons. This will probably get him good. he had 33 Oscars escorting last time, so I should outnumber them. I'm also going to try an attack at Howrah. I have one strong tank unit involved there.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
16 April 1942
My planned ambush at Asansol went nowhere. CF probably foresaw this and led things off with a hundred Oscar sweep. Both sides lost about 16 planes. He's hitting the troops there pretty hard, inflicting about 250 casualties per turn. More Japanese are on the way in.
I need to wrap up things in the north and feed them into the meat grinder. An armored unit from Diampur is one hex from Tespur. There's one IJA unit there, strength unknown. If the tanks can't handle it, the infantry behind them should.
Next turn, I'll be able to buy out the last Americal regiment from Cape Town and get them to Oz.
Two IJN task forces are spotted about 3 hexes east of Lunga, heading NW. One has battleships, the other unknown. I think I'm off the hook for awhile. All my heavies at Suva are going to hit the port at Noumea tomorrow. This should be a big raid. I'm hoping to catch some ships.
Ed-
My planned ambush at Asansol went nowhere. CF probably foresaw this and led things off with a hundred Oscar sweep. Both sides lost about 16 planes. He's hitting the troops there pretty hard, inflicting about 250 casualties per turn. More Japanese are on the way in.
I need to wrap up things in the north and feed them into the meat grinder. An armored unit from Diampur is one hex from Tespur. There's one IJA unit there, strength unknown. If the tanks can't handle it, the infantry behind them should.
Next turn, I'll be able to buy out the last Americal regiment from Cape Town and get them to Oz.
Two IJN task forces are spotted about 3 hexes east of Lunga, heading NW. One has battleships, the other unknown. I think I'm off the hook for awhile. All my heavies at Suva are going to hit the port at Noumea tomorrow. This should be a big raid. I'm hoping to catch some ships.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
19 April 1942
I hate to make a boring update, but not a lot exciting has happened.
In India, we're down to trading bombardments, as well as Wuchow and Canton in China.
My units in Howrah, I'm going to pull out to the NW back to Jamshedpur. His flag is on it, but I suspect little to nothing is there. He has units from two directions moving in and I don't want to get trapped.
I have more units moving into Asansol. Two good flak units are also there now -- The 35th Light with 38 Bofors and the mighty 23rd AA Brigade with 36 Bofors and 72 3.7" guns. Hopefully, this will inflict some pain on his incessant raids. I'm too fearful to put up a CAP yet, since he's sweeping with 70+ Oscars a turn.
I don't expect much activity out of Noumea yet. The airfield's at 89% damage while the port's at 97%. 40+ Heavies will do that. I have a feeling it's mostly to keep me out rather than use it himself.
My mob of infantry are approaching Tezpur. The tank squadron that was there got the snot beat out of it and driven out. He has a single regiment there in the hundred range for APs.
The rest of the USA 27 Div is two days out from Karachi. They'll eventually catch up with the rest who are also advancing on Tezpur from the west.
The last regiment of Americal is also bottled up and on the way to Oz.
Three real APs and an AE arrived in Panama. I'll have a real invasion force built up at Pearl. 12 battleships are also parked there to help them in.
Ed-
I hate to make a boring update, but not a lot exciting has happened.
In India, we're down to trading bombardments, as well as Wuchow and Canton in China.
My units in Howrah, I'm going to pull out to the NW back to Jamshedpur. His flag is on it, but I suspect little to nothing is there. He has units from two directions moving in and I don't want to get trapped.
I have more units moving into Asansol. Two good flak units are also there now -- The 35th Light with 38 Bofors and the mighty 23rd AA Brigade with 36 Bofors and 72 3.7" guns. Hopefully, this will inflict some pain on his incessant raids. I'm too fearful to put up a CAP yet, since he's sweeping with 70+ Oscars a turn.
I don't expect much activity out of Noumea yet. The airfield's at 89% damage while the port's at 97%. 40+ Heavies will do that. I have a feeling it's mostly to keep me out rather than use it himself.
My mob of infantry are approaching Tezpur. The tank squadron that was there got the snot beat out of it and driven out. He has a single regiment there in the hundred range for APs.
The rest of the USA 27 Div is two days out from Karachi. They'll eventually catch up with the rest who are also advancing on Tezpur from the west.
The last regiment of Americal is also bottled up and on the way to Oz.
Three real APs and an AE arrived in Panama. I'll have a real invasion force built up at Pearl. 12 battleships are also parked there to help them in.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
21 April 1942
More of the same.
CF must have noted my units bailing from Howrah and attacked, driving them out with casualties. They got herded towards Cuttack instead of NW, like they were heading.
My air at Ranchi is gearing up to LRCAP Asansol. I have roughly 60+ fighters stacked at four different altitudes.
My recon Mitchells at Hyderabad started snooping Jamshedpur, where the Howrah gang was moving. My guess is a base unit and a smallish armored unit is there.
Ed-
More of the same.
CF must have noted my units bailing from Howrah and attacked, driving them out with casualties. They got herded towards Cuttack instead of NW, like they were heading.
My air at Ranchi is gearing up to LRCAP Asansol. I have roughly 60+ fighters stacked at four different altitudes.
My recon Mitchells at Hyderabad started snooping Jamshedpur, where the Howrah gang was moving. My guess is a base unit and a smallish armored unit is there.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
23 April 1942
Two ground battles of note...
I guess my guys were too greenhorny to resist. They'll pull back to Ranchi and stonewall from there.
Out east more, at Tezpur:
Not a bad start. More units will be trickling in over the next few turns. Having a big ballsy Chinese unit will help out here. Once I take this base, the road to Diampur should open back up.
Also of note. The 2nd Oz Division finally made it to Normanton. There were two base units already there building up. This should eventually open up some coverage to the sea, to the north. I would love to slip an AS in there and run subs out of there.
I'm sending the heavies at Suva out to foil his repair of Noumea's airfield. I'm not really afraid of his fighters.
Ed-
Two ground battles of note...
Ground combat at Asansol (53,34)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 46351 troops, 450 guns, 313 vehicles, Assault Value = 1525
Defending force 38394 troops, 702 guns, 586 vehicles, Assault Value = 1053
Japanese adjusted assault: 927
Allied adjusted defense: 251
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Asansol !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
1301 casualties reported
Squads: 35 destroyed, 219 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Guns lost 39 (3 destroyed, 36 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
14672 casualties reported
Squads: 432 destroyed, 257 disabled
Non Combat: 416 destroyed, 78 disabled
Engineers: 118 destroyed, 13 disabled
Guns lost 411 (316 destroyed, 95 disabled)
Vehicles lost 383 (358 destroyed, 25 disabled)
Units retreated 8
Defeated Allied Units Retreating!
Assaulting units:
144th Infantry Regiment
5th/C Division
18th Division
7th Ind.Tank Brigade
124th Infantry Regiment
4th Guards Division
38th/B Division
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
Defending units:
70th British Division
7th Australian Division
84th Indian Brigade
26th Indian Division
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
85th British AT Gun Regiment
35th Light AA Regiment
23rd AA Bde
I guess my guys were too greenhorny to resist. They'll pull back to Ranchi and stonewall from there.
Out east more, at Tezpur:
Ground combat at Tezpur (60,36)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 10364 troops, 66 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 400
Defending force 4673 troops, 39 guns, 20 vehicles, Assault Value = 159
Allied adjusted assault: 234
Japanese adjusted defense: 81
Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)
Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 0
Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), preparation(-)
Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-), supply(-)
Japanese ground losses:
312 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 40 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Allied ground losses:
215 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Assaulting units:
1st Gloucestershire Battalion
5th Chinese Corps
Defending units:
5th/B Division
Not a bad start. More units will be trickling in over the next few turns. Having a big ballsy Chinese unit will help out here. Once I take this base, the road to Diampur should open back up.
Also of note. The 2nd Oz Division finally made it to Normanton. There were two base units already there building up. This should eventually open up some coverage to the sea, to the north. I would love to slip an AS in there and run subs out of there.
I'm sending the heavies at Suva out to foil his repair of Noumea's airfield. I'm not really afraid of his fighters.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
24 April 1942,
Mostly quiet in the air this turn, except for China.
SARA is a couple days out of Pearl, bound for Wellington to meet the others. A bunch of cruisers are with here which were also doing upgrades at the time. My escort situation should be up to snuff once they meet. A couple subs showed up just east of PH, so I'm siccing a couple ASW groups on them... with aggressive commanders. One AP is inbound towards Pearl, so a couple DDs will meet to escort.
My bombers hit Noumea's airfield -- mostly some base and runway hits. I may take the Liberators and 17Ds to Koumac. Only Nicks contested the bombings. Just damage on the action report, but I forgot to check the daily losses to see if there were any.
I attacked at Tezpur, since more troops were crossing the river anyway. Only 1-2 odds this time, but his losses were still higher. Saw his AP plummet during the battle. I may need a final shock attack to finally finish him.
He's finally landing on Cebu. After this the only US presence in the PI will be at Puerto Princesa.
CF's been pretty thorough grabbing little islands. He used something like a regiment to grab Belep Is, right off of Koumac.
I've got a fast transport TF set up with Oz commandos to grab Rossel Island back. I don't think this will swing VPs any, but I'll have some practice with raids. I'll probably start a big raid at Tassafaronga at some point. I pulled it off once in a previous game about a week before an invasion of Lunga. It did pull troops away at the time, so If/when I invade, I may repeat this trick.
Ed-
Mostly quiet in the air this turn, except for China.
SARA is a couple days out of Pearl, bound for Wellington to meet the others. A bunch of cruisers are with here which were also doing upgrades at the time. My escort situation should be up to snuff once they meet. A couple subs showed up just east of PH, so I'm siccing a couple ASW groups on them... with aggressive commanders. One AP is inbound towards Pearl, so a couple DDs will meet to escort.
My bombers hit Noumea's airfield -- mostly some base and runway hits. I may take the Liberators and 17Ds to Koumac. Only Nicks contested the bombings. Just damage on the action report, but I forgot to check the daily losses to see if there were any.
I attacked at Tezpur, since more troops were crossing the river anyway. Only 1-2 odds this time, but his losses were still higher. Saw his AP plummet during the battle. I may need a final shock attack to finally finish him.
He's finally landing on Cebu. After this the only US presence in the PI will be at Puerto Princesa.
CF's been pretty thorough grabbing little islands. He used something like a regiment to grab Belep Is, right off of Koumac.
I've got a fast transport TF set up with Oz commandos to grab Rossel Island back. I don't think this will swing VPs any, but I'll have some practice with raids. I'll probably start a big raid at Tassafaronga at some point. I pulled it off once in a previous game about a week before an invasion of Lunga. It did pull troops away at the time, so If/when I invade, I may repeat this trick.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
25 April 1944
The USA 27th Inf Div is one hex NE from Rajashashi. The Indian 75th Brigade is approaching one hex NW. There appears to be nobody there. I'm surprised, since it seems to be a fairly major rail hub. Supplies to the north might get a bit choked.
Monkey says part of the IJA 27th Div is prepping for Port Moresby.
I'm getting miffed that my bombers at Patna aren't bombing Asansol like they should. It's been like that for about 5 days. I probably have one too many squadrons there, but there is a squadron of Fulmars for escort purposes. I'm also a little overloaded at Ranchi, but the Mitchells there are flying -- with no escort.
Ed-
The USA 27th Inf Div is one hex NE from Rajashashi. The Indian 75th Brigade is approaching one hex NW. There appears to be nobody there. I'm surprised, since it seems to be a fairly major rail hub. Supplies to the north might get a bit choked.
Monkey says part of the IJA 27th Div is prepping for Port Moresby.
I'm getting miffed that my bombers at Patna aren't bombing Asansol like they should. It's been like that for about 5 days. I probably have one too many squadrons there, but there is a squadron of Fulmars for escort purposes. I'm also a little overloaded at Ranchi, but the Mitchells there are flying -- with no escort.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
26 April 1942
My mob drives the IJA out of Tezpur. Don't be fooled. All the non-Indian/Chinese forces are pretty much nothing.
I tried a similar shock attack at Wuchang. Despite raw APs favoring me nearly 3 to 1, I kill 2,000 and lose 14,000. I have another thousand APs enroute.
I hit Luganville's airfield. Got some hits. 40+ Zekes opposed them, to no losses.
Intel Chimp lists the 12th IJA Division as prepping for Cairns since December. My latest location fix on them was at Yenki back in December. He seems to be using the Manchus for any future Oz mission. Maybe he'll miscount his AP total there.
SARA's about to round Christmas Island. CLAA Atlanta showed up in Panama and is enroute to Pearl. I'll be sure to get her with my carriers. She's already due for an upgrade, adding another 1.1 mount and swapping the .50s for 20s.
Ed
My mob drives the IJA out of Tezpur. Don't be fooled. All the non-Indian/Chinese forces are pretty much nothing.
Ground combat at Tezpur (60,36)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 13911 troops, 68 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 470
Defending force 3899 troops, 39 guns, 20 vehicles, Assault Value = 82
Allied adjusted assault: 307
Japanese adjusted defense: 18
Allied assault odds: 17 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Tezpur !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), preparation(-)
Attacker: shock(+)
Japanese ground losses:
1922 casualties reported
Squads: 65 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 48 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 17 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 23 (15 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 22 (22 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1
Allied ground losses:
297 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!
Assaulting units:
4th Burma Rifles Battalion
9/10 Baluch Battalion
13th Burma Rifles Battalion
4th Assam Rifles Battalion
Railway BAF Battalion
1st Assam Rifles Battalion
9th Burma Rifles Battalion
1st Gloucestershire Battalion
2nd Assam Rifles Battalion
5th Chinese Corps
Burma Corps
Defending units:
5th/B Division
I tried a similar shock attack at Wuchang. Despite raw APs favoring me nearly 3 to 1, I kill 2,000 and lose 14,000. I have another thousand APs enroute.
I hit Luganville's airfield. Got some hits. 40+ Zekes opposed them, to no losses.
Intel Chimp lists the 12th IJA Division as prepping for Cairns since December. My latest location fix on them was at Yenki back in December. He seems to be using the Manchus for any future Oz mission. Maybe he'll miscount his AP total there.
SARA's about to round Christmas Island. CLAA Atlanta showed up in Panama and is enroute to Pearl. I'll be sure to get her with my carriers. She's already due for an upgrade, adding another 1.1 mount and swapping the .50s for 20s.
Ed
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
I'm fighting the urge to send a carrier or two to the Noumea-Luganville area. I know he's got some transport activity going on without the air support while Noumea was under siege.
I'll have to recon Koumac, Luganville and Efate a bit more. I probably won't do this, just to keep a hidden "fleet in being".
I'll keep my fleet at Wellington for a couple months. My "A" plan is to let him batter KB against Suva if he goes there. My fighter strength at least matches them -- most like outnumbering KBs fighters. With that, I'll spring my forces on them. Showing my CVs now might provoke KB to a dedicated search and destroy mission, which I want no part of. I suck at grand strategy, and my hope this falls together like this is probably a pipe dream. If he's serious about Suva, this is probably the only way I can picture it.
If it stays quiet, I'll look at my Marshalls plan. I have units prepping for four different bases there. I'll wait for Wasp, Washington and South Dakota to show for this event. Six carriers and 12-14 battleships should do the trick. Ed Doctrine is to have a bombardment force accompany the invasion (and stay) and also keep a BB with the transports. I'll also keep subs in the area to rescue pilots. With the stacking limits there, I'm sorta stuck to a regiment plus extras at each. I'll need time to get units flipped to unrestricted commands. I'm building up lots of base forces and USAAF fighter squadrons at Hawaii to run the bases after their taken. I could have sent more to Australia/Suva, but I'm pretty much filled up with my ability to support aircraft. Eniwetok will probably be included in the grabbings. That would probably put Truk in heavy bomber range. I don't know offhand how high it can be built.
This wouldn't be soon. I'm looking late summer at best -- probably along the timeframe Watchtower happened.
Ed-
I'll have to recon Koumac, Luganville and Efate a bit more. I probably won't do this, just to keep a hidden "fleet in being".
I'll keep my fleet at Wellington for a couple months. My "A" plan is to let him batter KB against Suva if he goes there. My fighter strength at least matches them -- most like outnumbering KBs fighters. With that, I'll spring my forces on them. Showing my CVs now might provoke KB to a dedicated search and destroy mission, which I want no part of. I suck at grand strategy, and my hope this falls together like this is probably a pipe dream. If he's serious about Suva, this is probably the only way I can picture it.
If it stays quiet, I'll look at my Marshalls plan. I have units prepping for four different bases there. I'll wait for Wasp, Washington and South Dakota to show for this event. Six carriers and 12-14 battleships should do the trick. Ed Doctrine is to have a bombardment force accompany the invasion (and stay) and also keep a BB with the transports. I'll also keep subs in the area to rescue pilots. With the stacking limits there, I'm sorta stuck to a regiment plus extras at each. I'll need time to get units flipped to unrestricted commands. I'm building up lots of base forces and USAAF fighter squadrons at Hawaii to run the bases after their taken. I could have sent more to Australia/Suva, but I'm pretty much filled up with my ability to support aircraft. Eniwetok will probably be included in the grabbings. That would probably put Truk in heavy bomber range. I don't know offhand how high it can be built.
This wouldn't be soon. I'm looking late summer at best -- probably along the timeframe Watchtower happened.
Ed-
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
The question you should ask before sending your carriers to hit transports is - "Could this alter the course of the war in my favour?"
A successful raid means you sink a few xAKs and maybe some small escorts, perhaps get a few troops on board too.
It might also make him more cautious about having air cover for each operation. Nothing that changes the overall war effort.
An unsuccessful raid means you get a carrier sunk or heavily damaged and change the course of the war for several months - in Japan's favour.
Not worth the risk.
I know DDs are precious in 1942 (cue Gollum here), but you have a half dozen of the old US CLs and about a dozen old British & Australian CLs that make good raiders.
Maneuverable enough to dodge most bombs and torpedoes and able to punch it out with Japanese DDs and CLs. I would send a pair for CLs if the Japanese air search is spotty. Just monitor the DL on the way in and bug out if spotted.
A successful raid means you sink a few xAKs and maybe some small escorts, perhaps get a few troops on board too.
It might also make him more cautious about having air cover for each operation. Nothing that changes the overall war effort.
An unsuccessful raid means you get a carrier sunk or heavily damaged and change the course of the war for several months - in Japan's favour.
Not worth the risk.
I know DDs are precious in 1942 (cue Gollum here), but you have a half dozen of the old US CLs and about a dozen old British & Australian CLs that make good raiders.
Maneuverable enough to dodge most bombs and torpedoes and able to punch it out with Japanese DDs and CLs. I would send a pair for CLs if the Japanese air search is spotty. Just monitor the DL on the way in and bug out if spotted.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
I don't think it would help in the long run. That's why I probably won't. I'll keep them for the "Decisive Battle".
I've never thought much about the "convoy raider" scheme. With Netties about, it's so hard to pull off. To be honest, I don't think he has them deployed past Rabaul. I figure it's hard for him to get bases built up quickly with the weakling base units he has. Most of my Omahas are back in San Francisco or Pearl, dedicated to convoy duty. I've been burned by IJN AMCs in the past roving between Suva and Pearl Harbor. (although I enjoyed watching Charleston beat a couple off nicely). I've got a good cruiser force at Townsville, so maybe they'll pay a visit. Thanks for taking my blinders off. I think Koumac needs a nighttime visit.
I think my Rossel Island raid is only a day out. I'll leave them there long enough to flip the base and bug out. I've had to keep an ASW group near the Townsville reef as a sub's been lurking there, already claiming one APD. Milne Bay will probably be on the short list of next objectives. I would like to send a larger group to Tassafaronga. That would force him to hike a bunch of guys through the jungle for little purpose. Normally I would do something like this like a week before invading Lunga, but I'm not keen on an ugly pig-wrestling match in the mud through the Solomons. If I can splatter KB across the sidewalk while keeping some carriers, I plan to island hop to the north, overwhelming isolated bases. I just need to come up with a large enough base to stage out if, as I don't think any in the Marshalls can hold that many.
Ed
I've never thought much about the "convoy raider" scheme. With Netties about, it's so hard to pull off. To be honest, I don't think he has them deployed past Rabaul. I figure it's hard for him to get bases built up quickly with the weakling base units he has. Most of my Omahas are back in San Francisco or Pearl, dedicated to convoy duty. I've been burned by IJN AMCs in the past roving between Suva and Pearl Harbor. (although I enjoyed watching Charleston beat a couple off nicely). I've got a good cruiser force at Townsville, so maybe they'll pay a visit. Thanks for taking my blinders off. I think Koumac needs a nighttime visit.
I think my Rossel Island raid is only a day out. I'll leave them there long enough to flip the base and bug out. I've had to keep an ASW group near the Townsville reef as a sub's been lurking there, already claiming one APD. Milne Bay will probably be on the short list of next objectives. I would like to send a larger group to Tassafaronga. That would force him to hike a bunch of guys through the jungle for little purpose. Normally I would do something like this like a week before invading Lunga, but I'm not keen on an ugly pig-wrestling match in the mud through the Solomons. If I can splatter KB across the sidewalk while keeping some carriers, I plan to island hop to the north, overwhelming isolated bases. I just need to come up with a large enough base to stage out if, as I don't think any in the Marshalls can hold that many.
Ed
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
In the Caroline group, south of the Marshalls, there are several bases that can take 60,000 troops (at least in the stock game).
I think Tabituea is one which can be built up decently.
I think Tabituea is one which can be built up decently.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
Yeah... the Carolines. That would require a good Hailstone job on Truk. It would be a good indirect way to deal with Noumea and the Solomons.
I'll worry about that after the first step. I wish I had more USMC defense battalions laying about. Pago Pago and Suva have a good portion of them consumed.
I can't wait to see what develops.
Ed
I'll worry about that after the first step. I wish I had more USMC defense battalions laying about. Pago Pago and Suva have a good portion of them consumed.
I can't wait to see what develops.
Ed
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
28 April 1942
Things are toughening up in India.
He's moved troops into Ranchi and started a bombardment. In raw APs he has me at 2-1, so I'm getting concerned. I've moved all the fighters based there out and sent the base troops packing.
The 75th Indian Bgd takes Rajshashi. The USA 27 will be there tomorrow. The Indians are going one hex SE. There's a big rail intersection there, but no base, so I'll cut supplies to everything he has to the east.
The USA 27th Div fragment is unpacking and hoofing it to its mother.
Still no activity from Patna. I've reassigned the planes to the 225th RAF which is there to see if that helps.
Ed
Things are toughening up in India.
He's moved troops into Ranchi and started a bombardment. In raw APs he has me at 2-1, so I'm getting concerned. I've moved all the fighters based there out and sent the base troops packing.
The 75th Indian Bgd takes Rajshashi. The USA 27 will be there tomorrow. The Indians are going one hex SE. There's a big rail intersection there, but no base, so I'll cut supplies to everything he has to the east.
The USA 27th Div fragment is unpacking and hoofing it to its mother.
Still no activity from Patna. I've reassigned the planes to the 225th RAF which is there to see if that helps.
Ed
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
Rail is not the only path for supply in India. The Indus valley has first class road(s) running the length of it and branching off here and there.
Sometimes they coincide with the rail line, but sometimes they allow a way around a blocked hex.
Sometimes they coincide with the rail line, but sometimes they allow a way around a blocked hex.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
Well you really don't need USMCS defense battalions in Suva. More likely than not if the Japanese land in Fiji they will land to the west of Suva and march. The defense of Suva should primarily fall to USA or USMC infantry regiments early on so those USMC can go defend atolls which typically cannot hold an entire regiment anyway (except Pago Pago and a few others).ORIGINAL: Mundy
I'll worry about that after the first step. I wish I had more USMC defense battalions laying about. Pago Pago and Suva have a good portion of them consumed.
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
1 May 1942
This sucks...
I had my own Battle of Savo Island handed to me.
This was the group that was a day away from bombarding Koumac. I should have dealt up a lot more punishment that I did. 8" gunnery was atrocious. Most of my hits on his CAs were 6", and therefore minimal. The few 8" shells that did hit his cruisers tended to hit the superstructure. Suzukaze went down to a single magazine hit, which is of little consolation to me.
This was followed up by Betties from Koumac finishing off most of the rest. One crippled DD is left. Koumac is like one hex beyond recon Lightning range, so I couldn't keep sharp tabs on it. I didn't think it would be built up enough to support torpedo bombers yet.
More distressing was the sudden appearance of carriers intercepting my fast transports retrieving the commandos from Rossel Is.
I had pretty thorough searches with PBYs from Moresby covering the East, and they still popped up like that. I don't think this is all of KB. I would like to send my carriers up from Wellington to settle the matter, but I am seriously short of cruiser escorts for them right now. SARA's about 4 days away, with a bunch of CAs. All my air at Townsville and Brisbane are on alert.
In China, CF's snuck around the north and taken Chengtu, north of Chungking. I'm falling asleep at the wheel here. I must not have noticed Kienko falling earlier. I have over 3,000 APs at Ichang (currently quiet). I'm stealing about a third of them and sending them to the hex south of Chengtu. That will take awhile. I'm not really loaded heavily at Chungking with infantry right now. I think I'll get my bombers moved up from Liuchow and start pounding him. I doubt he has any real air cover there.
Ed
This sucks...
I had my own Battle of Savo Island handed to me.
Day Time Surface Combat, near Belep Islands at 110,153, Range 17,000 Yards
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Seagull V: 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
CA Atago, Shell hits 5, on fire
CA Chokai, Shell hits 5
CA Kako, Shell hits 3
DD Amatsukaze
DD Yudachi
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
DD Ayanami, Shell hits 2, on fire
Allied Ships
CA Louisville, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Canberra, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Leander, Shell hits 8, heavy fires
CL Achilles, Shell hits 5, on fire
CL Perth, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Jarvis, Shell hits 5, heavy fires
DD McCall, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Le Triomphant, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
This was the group that was a day away from bombarding Koumac. I should have dealt up a lot more punishment that I did. 8" gunnery was atrocious. Most of my hits on his CAs were 6", and therefore minimal. The few 8" shells that did hit his cruisers tended to hit the superstructure. Suzukaze went down to a single magazine hit, which is of little consolation to me.
This was followed up by Betties from Koumac finishing off most of the rest. One crippled DD is left. Koumac is like one hex beyond recon Lightning range, so I couldn't keep sharp tabs on it. I didn't think it would be built up enough to support torpedo bombers yet.
More distressing was the sudden appearance of carriers intercepting my fast transports retrieving the commandos from Rossel Is.
Morning Air attack on TF, near Tagula Island at 102,142
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 57 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 66
B5N2 Kate x 47
D3A1 Val x 31
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 3 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged
Allied Ships
APD Chew, Bomb hits 1
CL Marblehead, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD Manley
DD Patterson
APD Ward, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD Gregory
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CL Marblehead
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Ward
---------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tagula Island at 102,142
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid detected at 60 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 66
B5N2 Kate x 45
D3A1 Val x 76
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged
D3A1 Val: 3 damaged
Allied Ships
DD Patterson, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD Chew, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CL Marblehead, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Ward, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Gregory, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD Manley, Bomb hits 8, and is sunk
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Ward
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CL Marblehead
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Patterson
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Gregory
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Manley
I had pretty thorough searches with PBYs from Moresby covering the East, and they still popped up like that. I don't think this is all of KB. I would like to send my carriers up from Wellington to settle the matter, but I am seriously short of cruiser escorts for them right now. SARA's about 4 days away, with a bunch of CAs. All my air at Townsville and Brisbane are on alert.
In China, CF's snuck around the north and taken Chengtu, north of Chungking. I'm falling asleep at the wheel here. I must not have noticed Kienko falling earlier. I have over 3,000 APs at Ichang (currently quiet). I'm stealing about a third of them and sending them to the hex south of Chengtu. That will take awhile. I'm not really loaded heavily at Chungking with infantry right now. I think I'll get my bombers moved up from Liuchow and start pounding him. I doubt he has any real air cover there.
Ed
-
Jorge_Stanbury
- Posts: 4345
- Joined: Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:57 pm
- Location: Montreal
RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
Well you really don't need USMCS defense battalions in Suva. More likely than not if the Japanese land in Fiji they will land to the west of Suva and march. The defense of Suva should primarily fall to USA or USMC infantry regiments early on so those USMC can go defend atolls which typically cannot hold an entire regiment anyway (except Pago Pago and a few others).ORIGINAL: Mundy
I'll worry about that after the first step. I wish I had more USMC defense battalions laying about. Pago Pago and Suva have a good portion of them consumed.
I have been lurking on this AAR [;)]
The USMC defense battalions at Suva can help in defending the airbase and planes from naval bombardment:
lots of mines to counter capital ships, guns to counter minesweepers.
I don't think they can stop or slow any serious assault attempt, as they are too small caliber (5in/ 6in) and any major invasion fleet will include BBs or CAs.