Defeating the Devil !!! ( aka Damian )

[Capt. Harlock]

The 10 x Ki-44 IIIs made a massive difference to this raid.

IMHO, the difference was significant but not massive. I humbly suggest that the biggest factors were numbers and percentages. Note that, in addition to having four times as many escorting fighters as in the ill-fated strike, you also had a bomber-to-escort ratio of just under 1.9 : 1 this time. Previously, you had roughly 7 : 1 . Possibly this allowed your inferior Allied fighters (Lancers in Dec '42??) to attck the bombers while the first string held the escorting Zekes at bay.

[Nemo121]

Harlock, in real life this would be what happens but not in WiTP. In WiTP pretty much every fighter gets a shot at every fighter. What this means is that if you have 200 P-40Es to hold off the enemy Tojo IIIs they will still ( unless wiped out by the P-40Es ) manage to make attack runs on the Lancers BEFORE those Lancers get to fire on enemy bombers.

Basically there's no recognition that planes can slip into the bomber stream while the escorts are occupied. Its a game design oversight. Relatively minor but with pretty major consequences. Sure ratios also play a role but I think that the ability of 10 ueber-planes ( relatively speaking ) to dominate a fight is very much over-represented in WiTP ).

We're up to January 2nd 1943 now and I've begun receiving Hellcats ( 170 per month ), Corsairs ( 54 for USN squadrons per month and 120 for non-USN squadrons per month ) and about 160 top-flight Soviet fighters per month.

So, with a little luck in about 3 weeks time I should have enough top-line fighters available to give my outnumbered CVs a chance against the Japanese juggernaut. At that point in time I plan to launch a major assault on the enemy lines.

In the meantime I have a two-Brigade assault force making for Port Moresby/ Rabaul, am organising another assault force at Soerabaja in order to continue the advance along southern Borneo, am continuing operations to surround Canton and have managed to surround 2,800 AV of IJA infantry in the Soviet Union. I am putting some pressure on their rear echelon to try to prevent their rescue but, unfortunately, movement rules are preventing my movement in spite of their being clear LOCs.

I'm also continuing to quietly develop the atolls I captured near northern Japan. When the time is right and the enemy is under severe pressure I intend to bring Allied fighters into these islands and use sweeps to clear the way for major bomber raids into Northern Japan. It isn't yet time for that though. It'll be at least 3 months more before I can do this. Once it happens though I believe fighter IJA/IJN bomber losses will rise massively.

I won't bother updating until the time comes for the next "Great Leap Forward"--- eat your heart out Mao.

[Nemo121]

Logistics, the ball and chain of mobile warfare.
 
Basically this post is going to deal with the refitting of my CVs with F6Fs and Corsairs.
Current state of play:
USMC: 112 slots available in USMC fighter squadrons. Currently these are less than 50% occupied by F4F4s, the other 50% are empty due to massive losses of F4F4s.
 
USN: 236 slots available. Currently fully filled with F4F4s.
 
British RN: 46 slots - fully occupied with Seafires.
 
 
At present, per month, I get 54 Corsair CVs ( which can fill USN slots ), 120 Corsairs ( which are for USMC units but can fly from CVs if needed ) and 170 Hellcats per month. The inescapable math here is that I need 1 month to fill my CV fighter groups. USMC has 112 slots which can be filled with the 120 per month Corsairs, the USN has 236 slots which can be filled by (170 Hellcats + 54 USN Corsair CVs - 224 fighters ).
 
At the end of January this means I ought to be able to sortie with a fleet comprising 174 Corsairs, 170 Hellcats and 46 Seafires for a total of 286 fighters. That ought to give me fighter parity with the IJN KB - although, obviously, I'll need to trigger a few combats elsewhere to see how the Corsair does against Ki-44 IIIs. I think that this will necessitate a further small delay while I convert a fighter group in Malaysia to Corsairs and send it in against the Ki-44 IIIs over Canton... I need to know how they'll perform before risking my entire fleet. For all I know they might be a bit of a let-down like the P-38s.
 
So, overall, there'll be very little activity for a month unless deceptive manoeuvring etc can create an opening where there is really no right for there to be one.

[Capt. Harlock]

So, overall, there'll be very little activity for a month unless deceptive manoeuvring etc can create an opening where there is really no right for there to be one.

So, we'll have to wait until February for another Big Ball O' Ships.

But the prohibition against HI attack has now expired. (Does that stand for Heavy Industry or Home Islands?[;)]) I would think that would cause some re-shuffling of air assets on both sides. Do you have a read on where the factories crucial for Ki-44III production are?

[Nemo121]

Aye, it'll be at least 1 month before there's another huge "Big Ball O' Ships" but in the meantime I am encircling Canton, the Japs are going to take Pucheng, I am going to take Port Moresby and we're going to possibly see a move on Rabaul. So, there will be a lot of action, just not as much as the usual frenetic pace of this game.
 
My various attacks  mean his CVs are scattered into 4 fleets:
1 guarding the Aleutians etc ( 2 CVs ),
1 guarding Formosa ( Musashi and at least 1 CVL )
1 guarding against me moving from Amboina ( at least 2 CVs )
 
His other Shinano class CV should be out of action with torpedo damage still so that leaves him with about 6 CVs, 6 CVLs and 2 or 3 CVEs for his fleet vs the Marshalls. Since each CV can only carry an average of 20 fighters I should be looking at no more than 300 fighters. So, we should have parity in a month.
 
In the meantime though I will have to conduct some raids to test the Hellcats and Corsairs in combat. I can't afford to find they suck the first time I use them only to lose a fleet because of that.
 
Home Islands... Well, I don't have the airbases for such attacks --- yet. I can make a few pinpricks but nothing really decisive yet. Over the next 3 months I will get a lot more medium bombers and will be able to dedicate my heavy bombers to purely strategic missions. So that'll make a major difference as, up until now, my raids have been greatly constricted by my low replacement rates.

[ny59giants]

Any plans to base hop along the northern coast of New Guinea?? It would allow you to more easily transfer assets from one axis to another.
 
It will be interesting to see how Damian uses this slightly slower pace of operations by you. Will he dig in more or try to hit you someplace to get temporary tactical advantage and have you reacting to him on something??

[Nemo121]

Well I already have bases on the eastern coast of New Guinea allowing me to link from Oz to Amboina. The problem is that enemy Bettys can interdict that route fairly easily. With Rabaul removed their ability to interdict that route is almost completely removed and that's why Rabaul is so important.
 
What will he do? He'll try to hit back. He SHOULD consolidate but he'll try to hit back and he'll tell himself that in so doing he'll attack something of mine which will "shore up" his defences. But in reality it'll just waste troops. He hasn't pulled his troops from Cagayan so it wouldn't surprise me to find another 1,000 AV being dumped there to try to retake it.
 
If he's really ambitious he might try to retake Hainan but that's more obviously suicidal so I doubt it. Personally I think we'll either see an attempt at Cagayan or Ponape. Either of these is fine with me. Supplies are very low at Cagayan - I've been flying them in for a while but obviously I need to make a serious resupply effort soon just to be on the safe side.

[Nemo121]

Today the landings at Cagayan continue. this is an interesting situation as I'm flying supplies in to try to maximise my AV and I have to judge the moment he'll launch his attack such that I fly a few ground attack raids that day and bomb his ground troops JUST as they attack . If I get it right it should help me save the base. If wrong the base'll fall and I'll lose a hundred bombers, such is life.
 
My B-25, B-26, B-17 etc pools are pretty low at the moment which is why it is a good thing that PB4Ys and Venturas are coming on-stream. Over the next two months my sustainable strategic bomber capability should increase markedly.
 
In the meantime I am bolstering Ponape and continuing to waste my carefully husbanded Pe-2s over Canton with a view to wearing down his Ki-44 III units. The goal is to kill enough Ki-44 IIIs on the ground in Canton and shoot enough down over Ponape that he cannot upgrade his CV airwings to Ki-44 IIIs prior to the major battle coming in 3 weeks time.
 
Today his Tojos faced Wildcats and Hurri IIs. I lose at a rate of slightly over 2:1 in his favour BUT my planes are old, his aren't and I saved my pilots.
 
3 weeks to go...

[Capt. Harlock]

My B-25, B-26, B-17 etc pools are pretty low at the moment which is why it is a good thing that PB4Ys and Venturas are coming on-stream.

Out of curiousity, how are you handling the 2E bomber production? Specifically, are you trying to switch B-26's over to B-25's as soon as practical, or maintaining a B-26 pool? (IMHO the B-26's are better for penetrating defended air-space.)

[Nemo121]

Well, to be honest with bombers I have more slots available than I have bombers to fill them in the USAAF. The British can fill all their squadrons if I use Blenheims ( but they are so useless I generally just use them for training ).

With the Americans I don't have enough bombers to fill all the slots. I am awaiting sufficient numbers of A-20Gs and, after another 3 or so months, significant increases in B-25 and B-24 delivery and once those happen I'll be able to mount major bomber raids into the teeth of fighters and be able to replace my losses. Right now though I am getting sbout 100 USAAF bombers per month ( 4-engined and twin-engined ) and that's not enough to be taking a lot of losses.

E.g Damian often focusses on B-17s and Pe-2s but the reality is that I get about 20 x B-17s per month and only 40 Pe-2s per month. What that means is that with a 1% loss rate per sortie to mechanical causes and another 1% to FlAK/distance etc I can fly 1000 sorties per month ( or 10 x 100 bomber raids ). A 100 bomber raid might score 20 or so runway hits. In effect over the course of a month very few fields are going to be closed by high-level B-17 raids as attempting to do so actually uses up B-17s quicker than they can be replaced.

So if you look at my tactics I've worried him with B-17s up high and then launched 200 or so bombers at 6,000 feet and closed the base in a day with THEM while he's worrying about B-17s at 32,000 feet. Damian doesn't focus on the low-level threat nearly enough. It is the EFFECTIVE threat but he focusses on the flashy threat.

Same thing with the Pe-2s. I've played the Japanese in this mod several times and I've NEVER been troubled by Pe-2s. Sure they mightn't be interceptable but I just let them fly in, drop their bombs and go away crowing about their "success". Against good AAA defences ( 4 to 5 low-level AAA units with lots of 40mm and 20mm FlAK ) they lose 1/4 of their planes per strike. To close a big field you need to be hitting it with 100 of them. So, after day 1 you lose 25 Pe-2s but the field is closed.

Now it is just a numbers game. It takes 18 to 19 days to replace those Pe-2s ( the Allies get 40 per month ). Even the Japanese should be able to re-open that field ( assuming no further attacks ) long before those 18 days are up.

In addition look at the latest Pe-2 attack. I hit him with some 60 or so planes. I lost 17 ( about 1/4 of the planes committed which is right on the money ) and destroyed 54 or so planes on the ground. I replace those 17 planes in 13 days or so. He is building about 300-400 ( call it 350 ) Ki-44 III per month and at least another 100 to 150 Ki-43 II per month. In addition he is building at least another 100 Ki-109s per month. So 350 + 125 + 125 = 600. He'll replace his 54 planes in under 3 days.

His focus on the Pe-2s and their supposed field-closing ability is a major strategic error on his part. He's focussed on the flashy instead of the effective. The ONLY reason I'm wasting Pe-2s over Canton is because I want to prevent him upgrading his A6M2 CV-based squadrons in Truk before the big carrier battle in 3 weeks time. Canton is shaping the battlefield at Truk. It is nothing to do with closing the airfield ( which the Pe-2s CANNOT do ) or even the exchange rate ( which he thinks is in my favour but is actually, attritionally, in his favour ). It is about me being very Soviet and throwing planes and lives away at the tactical level because this is gaining me a strategic advantage which may prove priceless.

He also seems to think that the Pe-2s are a major reason behind my speed of advance as he feels I bomb a base into oblivion and then occupy it. However this is a massively faulty viewpoint. The Aleutians and the Kurile invasions didn't see any real Pe-2 action, the invasion of the Marshalls didn't feature any Pe-2s, the invasion of Malaysia didn't see Pe-2s in action, the clearing of Vietnam didn't rely on Pe-2s, the capture of bases in Borneo didn't require Pe-2s... ONly in the taking of Palembang did Pe-2s feature strongly really. Amboina - NO Pe-2s again.

What has been effective is using ordinary forces effectively and quickly while distracting him with extraordinary forces ( Soviet terms ) and it has led him to blame the extraordinary forces for the victories won by the grunt work of ordinary forces.


Much the same reasoning is going on over Ponape. I might lose 50 planes to 15 Ki-44 IIIs but I'm losing Hurri IIs and Wildcats ( neither of which will feature in a fleet battle ) and thus, in reality, the exchange rate is 15 first-rate CV-based planes lost vs ZERO first-rate Allied CV-based planes lost.



As far as B-26s etc go. Compared to the Ki-264 everything sucks. What I really want is a production run of 150 Ki-264s with stars and stripes on them per month. With that I'd lay waste to the Japanese everywhere. Short of that I just need to wait for more Corsairs etc, launch another great leap forward and be flying fighter sweeps over the Home Islands themselves by the end of April 1943... Yes, that's the aim, multiple bases within fighter range of the Home Islands so I can sweep his fighters from the sky and then send the bombers in.

It'll be tough to move that quickly but I have a rather audacious multi-phased plan percolating in my head which will make the invasion of the Marshalls and Aleutians look positively pedestrian. It'll either go well with huge losses or badly with huge losses but either way Khorne will be sated - and that's what counts .

Nah, seriously, I expect the rate of loss to be high but the overall losses will be significantly lower than they would have been had I bulled through each line of defences on the way methodically. Probably Damian will still remain focussed on Pe-2s, B-17s etc when, instead, this victory will be won with APs, AKs, B-24s and infantry squads... as is usually the case. In the final reckoning logistics will win this, not Pe-2s or other technical/tactical characteristics of weapons systems.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/08/43

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Ponape [Nanyo] at 73,80

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna
CA Tone
CA Chikuma
CA Takao
CA Chokai
CA Haguro
CA Suzuya
CA Kinugasa
CA Furutaka
CL Jintsu
CL Abukuma
DD Shiratsuyu
DD Shigure
DD Harusame
DD Kawakaze
DD Hayate
DD Yunagi
DD Namikaze
DD Kiji

He's willing to risk BBs this far forward eh? Unfortunately I can't really linger here with my own shipping as I can't keep Ponape open. Over time though as his Ki-264s get shot down over Ponape, the DEI and the Soviet Union I'll try again.

In other news another USN Fighter squadron converts to Hellcats, the first USN CV squadron converts to Corsairs and a 2nd USMC fighter squadron converts to Corsairs.

Allied Ships
PT -178
PT -179
PT -180
PT -181
PT -182
PT -183
PT -184
PT -185
PT -186

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Shimushiri Jima [JP] at 79,36

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai
CL Yura
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Arare
DD Suzukaze
DD Fubuki
DD Okikaze
DD Shiokaze
DD Yukaze
DD Ootori
DD Mansyu
DD RTN Trad
DD RTN Chunphorn
DD RTN Patani

Allied Ships
DD SN Baku, Shell hits 23, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
241 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Baku was a fast transport trying for another surprise capture of an island behind the enemy lines. It failed.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Shimushiri Jima [JP] at 79,36

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai
CL Yura
DD Susuzuki
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Arare
DD Suzukaze
DD Fubuki
DD Okikaze
DD Shiokaze
DD Yukaze
DD Ootori
DD Mansyu
DD RTN Trad
DD RTN Chunphorn
DD RTN Patani

Allied Ships
AK Tunni, Shell hits 58, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Shimushiri Jima [JP] at 79,36

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai
CL Yura
DD Susuzuki, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Arare, Shell hits 4
DD Suzukaze
DD Fubuki
DD Okikaze
DD Shiokaze
DD Yukaze
DD Ootori
DD Mansyu
DD RTN Trad
DD RTN Chunphorn
DD RTN Patani

Allied Ships
PT -66
PT -67
PT -73
PT -74
PT -77, Shell hits 12, and is sunk

That's the first torpedo hit on IJN warships by PTs so far this war ( to the best of my memory ).

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Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 27
D3A2 Val x 14
Ki-32 Mary x 7
Ki-15II Babs x 3

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 13

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Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 5

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 4

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Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
Ki-32 Mary x 14

No Japanese losses

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 8

In a couple of days time he's going to capture Pucheng. I'm not even trying to resist it at this stage as all of my efforts are aimed at flying supplies into Cagayan. I am flying roughly 2,000 tons of supplies in per day at present. It is costing me about 20 planes per day but that's well worth it.

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Day Air attack on Soerabaja [Java] , at 23,66

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 6
G4M1 Betty x 22
H6K2-L Mavis x 6
Ki-48-II Lily x 37
Ki-49 -I Helen x 22

Allied aircraft
Hurricane I x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged
Ki-48-II Lily: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane I: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
17 casualties reported

Airbase hits 21
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 38

Interesting, if I had to guess I'd say this presages an attack on either Amboina or Jesselton. I think he's trying to get me to disperse my fighters. As a response I'm re-concentrating them at Jesselton and Amboina. If he does attack it should cost him quite a few losses.

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Day Air attack on Makassar [Celebes] , at 30,70


Allied aircraft
Beaufort VII x 23


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported

Runway hits 17

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Day Air attack on Cagayan [Mndno] , at 43,59

Japanese aircraft
F1M2 Pete-FF x 2
Ki-44III Tojo x 17
G4M1 Betty x 22
Ki-44IIa Tojo x 6
Ki-109E Mike x 12

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
17 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 13

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Day Air attack on Cagayan [Mndno] , at 43,59

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 3
Ki-21-II Sally x 7

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported

Runway hits 5

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Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 7
Ki-49 -I Helen x 7

No Japanese losses

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Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 7
E13A1 Jake x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

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Day Air attack on Ponape [Nanyo] , at 73,80

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 50
Ki-264 Angel x 95

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-264 Angel: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-51B Mustang XP: 5 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 destroyed
Seafire II: 3 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 187

Hmm, where are the othe 100 Ki-264s? I'm guessing they are in the Phillipines aimed at either Amboina or Jesselton.

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Day Air attack on Tarawa [Gilberts] , at 84,95


Allied aircraft
Beaufort VII x 8


No Allied losses

Runway hits 2

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Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 15
B-25D Mitchell x 9


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 21

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Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 8
B-24D Liberator x 3


No Allied losses

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 17

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Day Air attack on RTA 4th Division, at 32,36


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 9
Buffalo/F2A x 84
Hurricane I x 10
Lancer x 12


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
34 casualties reported

Purely training missions

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Day Air attack on IA 99th Brigade, at 50,40

Japanese aircraft
Ki-32 Mary x 8
Ki-48-II Lily x 11

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

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Day Air attack on TF, near Cagayan [Mndno] at 43,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 26
Ki-44IIa Tojo x 13

Allied aircraft
Vengeance I x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Vengeance I: 3 destroyed

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Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
Ki-15II Babs x 2

No Japanese losses

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Sub attack near Swatow [South China] at 45,42

Japanese Ships
AG Kaijo Torakku SD-36

Allied Ships
SS Rover


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Ground combat at Cagayan [Mndno]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 105591 troops, 1209 guns, 835 vehicles, Assault Value = 3088

Defending force 23820 troops, 175 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1087

Japanese max assault: 794 - adjusted assault: 1004

Allied max defense: 829 - adjusted defense: 1570

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)


Japanese ground losses:
593 casualties reported
Guns lost 17
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
707 casualties reported
Guns lost 12

Damn, it looks like he could get a 2:1 odds here. I have raised supply levels from 1,000 tons to 5,000 tons in 2 days. I need another 10,000 tons to get my full AV but every bit helps. 5 days, I need to dissuade attacks for 5 days. Fortunately the 700 AV which attacked today is going to need at least 3 days to recover so that gets me most of the way to my target. It would be a big loss to lose Cagayan at this stage.


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Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 25924 troops, 557 guns, 490 vehicles, Assault Value = 2844

Defending force 129177 troops, 1804 guns, 450 vehicles, Assault Value = 3606



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Ground combat at Kwajalein [Nanyo]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4450 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 100

Defending force 112797 troops, 3248 guns, 1412 vehicles, Assault Value = 1758



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Ground combat at Cagayan [Mndno]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 12528 troops, 143 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1024

Defending force 104874 troops, 1189 guns, 831 vehicles, Assault Value = 3062



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Ground combat at Mataram [Lombok]

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3221 troops, 20 guns, 280 vehicles, Assault Value = 92

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Allied max assault: 83 - adjusted assault: 162

Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 162 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Mataram [Lombok] base !!!



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Ground combat at Bankha [Sumatra]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 1836 troops, 24 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 84

Defending force 6036 troops, 0 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 196



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Ground combat at 25,44

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4975 troops, 71 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 179

Defending force 4929 troops, 14 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 77



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Ground combat at 32,36

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3625 troops, 174 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 95

Defending force 2276 troops, 0 guns, 25 vehicles, Assault Value = 7


I have 1700 AV on Kwajalein, about 200,000 tons of supplies and a similar amount of fuel. My CVs are in good shape and my repair efforts are finally bringing significant numbers of DDs and CLs into the theatre. In the meantime the massive loss rate on both sides is being maintained... the key here is that if I can bleed 75 planes a day on average from his airforce when I'm only using outdated planes then when I bring the best of the best into action en masse with enough supplies and reserves to keep them in action long-term his loss rate should skyrocket while mine plummets.

I'm planning to commit about 500 aviation support squads, about 1,000 engineer squads ( equivalent ) and about 1200 AV to this next phase. I have 4 targets picked out spread over about 1500 miles of ocean and plan to hit them all voer the course of 2 weeks. *Fingers crossed* Now its time to get back to my upgrading of USN and USMC units.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/11/43

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Coastal Guns at Cagayan [Mndno], 43,59, firing at TF 108
TF 108 troops unloading over beach at Cagayan [Mndno], 43,59


55 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese ground losses:
89 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

His offloading at Cagayan is almost done. I figure he'll attack on the 13th, 14th at the latest. With just a little luck I should have enough supplies at Cagayan by then.

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Sub attack near Palau [Nanyo] at 51,68

Japanese Ships
AK Teikai Maru
DE RTN Tachin

Allied Ships
SS Scorpion

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Sub attack near Saipan [Nanyo] at 64,64

Japanese Ships
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki

Allied Ships
SS SHCH138

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Coastal Guns at Cagayan [Mndno], 43,59, firing at TF 102
TF 102 troops unloading over beach at Cagayan [Mndno], 43,59


26 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PC Ch 21

Japanese ground losses:
297 casualties reported

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Coastal Guns at Cagayan [Mndno], 43,59, firing at TF 108
TF 108 troops unloading over beach at Cagayan [Mndno], 43,59


Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported

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Sub attack near Palau [Nanyo] at 51,68

Japanese Ships
DD Amagiri
DE Fuyo
DD Numakaze
DD Ushio
DD Shirakumo

Allied Ships
SS Scorpion

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Sub attack near Davao [Mndno] at 43,61

Japanese Ships
AK Kuramasan Maru, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS KIX

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Day Air attack on Canton [S China] , at 43,41

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 23
Ki-43-II Oscar x 39
Ki-109E Mike x 12

Allied aircraft
Pe-2 x 100

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44III Tojo: 8 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-43-II Oscar: 6 destroyed, 7 damaged
Ki-109E Mike: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Pe-2: 11 destroyed, 20 damaged

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 17

Not bad, about a dozen Pe-2s lost in return for 16 Ki-44IIIs ( losses on the ground are usually halved when shown in combat reports ). At this rate I might actually put in a P-51/P-38 sweep plus some heavy bombers. I'd be willing to take the losses 50 fighters can inflict in order to close Canton.

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Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
D3A2 Val x 5

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 2 destroyed

Just putting a little crimp in his training plans.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 23
D3A2 Val x 13
Ki-32 Mary x 7
Ki-15II Babs x 3

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zeke: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed
Ki-32 Mary: 1 destroyed

And again.

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Runway hits 13

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 4
Ki-27 Nate x 22

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 7 destroyed

That's a dozen Japanese pilots ( probably very low quality though ) killed today in the air over Pucheng at no cost. This helps increase the EXP of the P38 pilots too.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Makassar [Celebes] , at 30,70


Allied aircraft
Beaufort VII x 23


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
12 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Cagayan [Mndno] , at 43,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 16
G4M1 Betty x 20
Ki-109E Mike x 17

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Cagayan [Mndno] , at 43,59

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 4
Ki-21-II Sally x 6

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Cagayan [Mndno] , at 43,59

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 23
G4M1 Betty x 36
Ki-48-II Lily x 41
Ki-21-II Sally x 71
Ki-49 -I Helen x 103
Ki-264 Angel x 68

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 362

Cagayan takes a BIG hit. But while these bombers are keeping Cagayan closed they aren't really forcing me back. There's still about 60 or so Ki-264s unaccounted for. I'm expecting deep raids so am spreading 50 or so fighters to every airbase I have ( except soerabaja. I'm happy to have him divert effort needlessly there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Taytay [Palawan] , at 40,54

Japanese aircraft
D3A2 Val x 5
Ki-32 Mary x 6
Ki-51 Sonia x 5
Ki-48-II Lily x 24
Ki-21-II Sally x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 2 damaged
Ki-48-II Lily: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged


Allied ground losses:
27 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 48

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Taytay [Palawan] , at 40,54

Japanese aircraft
D3A2 Val x 6
B5N2 Kate x 12
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 10
Ki-46-II Dinah x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed

Runway hits 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jolo [Jolo] , at 39,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-II Lily x 5

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jolo [Jolo] , at 39,59

Japanese aircraft
D4Y1-C Judy x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Uruppu Jima [JP] , at 77,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 2
D3A2 Val x 46
G4M1 Betty x 21
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 3
Ki-21-II Sally x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 11

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Shimushiri Jima [JP] , at 79,36

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 47
Ki-46-II Dinah x 3

Allied aircraft
LaGG-3 x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 15 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
27 casualties reported

Runway hits 7

A good day for the LaGGs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 4
E13A1 Jake x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Majuro [Nanyo] , at 84,88


Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 148

These are new arrivals from the US and have only 40 EXP or so. They will train up over Majuro and then be used to transition to better planes as they become available.

No Allied losses

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ponape [Nanyo] , at 73,80

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 36

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Runway hits 13

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 14
B-25D Mitchell x 13


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 7
B-24D Liberator x 3


No Allied losses

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72


Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 27


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 19

Just keeping Wake closed and making it seem like I might hit it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on IJA 3rd Tank Brigade, at 32,36


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 11
Buffalo/F2A x 92
Hurricane I x 12
Lancer x 12


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on BA 1st Burma Brigade, at 50,40

Japanese aircraft
Ki-32 Mary x 6
Ki-48-II Lily x 15

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
Ki-15II Babs x 2

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 5

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Jolo [Jolo] at 39,59

Japanese Ships
DD Uranami
DD Sazanami
DD Hato
DD Yamakaze

Allied Ships
LCT LCT-58, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
LCT LCT-59, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
LCT LCT-60
LCT LCT-61, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
LCT LCT-62, Shell hits 1, on fire
LCT LCT-63
LCT LCT-64
LCT LCT-65, Shell hits 1, on fire
LCT LCT-66, Shell hits 1
LCT LCT-67
LCVP LCP(L) No. 17
LCVP LCP(L) No. 36
LCVP LCP(L) No. 204
LCVP LCP(L) No. 205
LCM 532E


Allied ground losses:
61 casualties reported

An attempt to bring more engineers into Jolo fails rather miserably .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Davao [Mndno] at 43,61

Japanese Ships
DD Tomozuru
DD Sagiri

Allied Ships
SS KIX

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack at 66,73

Japanese Ships
DD Oite
CVE Kaijo [Brazil Maru]

This is important. If he has CVEs intermingled with his CVs then their maximum speed will be damned low. I might be able to use this to my advantage.

Allied Ships
SS SHCH124


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Cagayan [Mndno]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 92939 troops, 1158 guns, 544 vehicles, Assault Value = 3201

Defending force 22528 troops, 147 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1021



Allied ground losses:
27 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 25816 troops, 555 guns, 491 vehicles, Assault Value = 2849

Defending force 116628 troops, 1741 guns, 49 vehicles, Assault Value = 3215



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kwajalein [Nanyo]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4435 troops, 44 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 98

Defending force 113696 troops, 3295 guns, 1429 vehicles, Assault Value = 1773



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Cagayan [Mndno]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 16572 troops, 145 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1019

Defending force 109289 troops, 1241 guns, 917 vehicles, Assault Value = 3201



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bankha [Sumatra]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 1848 troops, 24 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 83

Defending force 6043 troops, 0 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 195



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 25,44

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4981 troops, 72 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 179

Defending force 5114 troops, 13 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 88



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 32,36

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3633 troops, 173 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 95

Defending force 2194 troops, 0 guns, 22 vehicles, Assault Value = 5

[Capt. Harlock]

ASW attack at 66,73
Japanese Ships
DD Oite
CVE Kaijo [Brazil Maru]
This is important. If he has CVEs intermingled with his CVs then their maximum speed will be damned low. I might be able to use this to my advantage.
Allied Ships SS SHCH124

A sound point -- but is there any chance this was a hunter-killer ASW group instead of a carrier TF?

[Nemo121]

Harlock,
 
I doubt it as by now Damian knows better than to divert resources from essential missions ( the coming CV battle ) to non-essential missions ( sub-hunting ) when our fleets are in such close contact ( 20 hexes or so, either of us can be at the others main CV base ( Kwajalein and Truk ) within just over a day -- IOW, there would be no warning of a full-speed, fangs-out attack ) .
 
It would be a major tragedy if he was hunting a couple of subs with 4 CVEs and those 100 planes would have made a difference to the main fleet engagement.

[BJStone]

Hi Nemo121,

I'm having some difficulties in figuring out the Japanese production system. They really start out over-spending...

With the initial start-of-game production - is there a recommendation on reducing HI needs by throttling back air production naval/merchant production, or armament? Or is it best to just jump in and try to sack the closest allied bases that have hi HI production? I'm guessing a combination of both is the option.

This mod looks like you have to have a heck of a first turn.

Also, almost all ground units produced are assigned to Home Defense Force. It looks like I have to be really carefull about how I spend Political Points - especially during the beginning stages of the war. In fact it looks like I really need to burn most of it on T1. Can you share with me your thoughts on initial use of the PPs? I guess I'm trying to figure out the pros and cons of moving most of the Chinese/Kwantung air units to SAA command plus some of the ground units currently assigned to the Home Defense Force for use in the PI.

I don't suppose you have written a briefing on the starting needs of the Japanese economy in this mod somewhere - have you?

This is a really balls-out mod you have here. Just curious - how long does it take you to do a turn?

Regards,

BJ Stone

[Nemo121]

BJ, the concept behind this mod was that most mods constrain players into certain historical pathways through their design. IOW the mod is designed to be played one way and one way only. I felt that in history the one thing that was omnipresent was options. There were lots of options but limited resources so that's what I tried to do here.
 
On Turn 1 you can invade the Soviet Union OR make for Oz with an additional 5 or 6 divisions OR push more divisions into the Pacific OR go for India or push ground troops into China and be happy with moderate advances in the Pacific. Which you choose to do depends on you.
 
As to the economy.... Well you can try to build more than you can afford and then after 2 or 3 days you will end up not building much of anything useful. So, you have to trim your desires down and focus on what you NEED and can AFFORD. Then once you've decided on what you can afford you need to go back and review your war aims and decide if they need to be modified.
 
In the end the player who can succesfully integrate his production into his strategic plans both in terms of quantity and temporality will succeed.

E.g. In my game vs 2ndACR I decided to forego early production in order to concentrate on production from mid-43 onwards. Why? Well, i decided I could achieve what I needed with very few planes but would need lots of top-line planes in mid-43 when Allied numbers really began to count.
 
If I guessed wrong I'd collapse in '42, if I guessed right it would pay benefits in 43 when I had more supplies available to really ramp up production of warplanes.
 
 
Personally I think that you need to try to reduce plane construction to the bare minimum until '43 since planes become utterly obsolete and that you can make do with relatively limited troop production but need to build as many CLAAs etc as possible in order to provide escorts for the multiple CVs you will have in 43/44 - as they are the best option for holding off the Americans.
 
 
Turn 1:
Lots of Kwantung/ Chinese air units can hit useful targets in China and the Phillipines from where they currently are. I'd use them there as I love to bomb resources in China.
 
Apart from that I think it really depends on what you want. Are you going for the Soviet Union or not?
 
Personally I think you are best buying as many troops as possible on Turn 1 since they can load onto ships and receive the move bonus ( this allows your phase 2 amphibious invasions to follow quickly after phase 1 ). Once you have the troops bought out to their maximum extent then I'd buy such airgroups as one can afford.
 
In terms of PP it will be mid-43 before you have enough PP to buy out all the support units from the HI.... So be careful or you'll run out when you really need them.
 
 
As to the starting needs of the Japanese economy. No, I don't have a brief. Sure it would be useful but my purpose behind this mod was not to make things easy, it was to provide a really challenging testing ground for players in which they would find their logistical and strategic abilities pushed to the limit in a mod which, by design, featured multiple traps for the unwary.
 
E.g. A simple trap was the Ki-45 I. It is a reasonably OK twin-engined fighter but it isn't great and, as such, the Japanese shouldn't build many of them. They get shot down too easily and cost too much for their effect. On the other hand about a fortnight after you can start building them a big group of about 48 comes in. If you can build 48 planes before the group arrives you get 48 free pilots. That means you need to build 96 airframe factories = 960,000 tons of supplies and need to divert 200 engines from your pool/production ( again at a significant cost in terms of supplies spent on increasing production ).
 
Many Japanese players are tempted into the reflex reaction of "I need to build enough production to get all those planes" without examing the 2nd lair of information and forming an independent assessment. Those players get 48 free pilots at a cost of 960,000 tons - 20,000 tons of supplies per pilot.
 
Now, that's one of the more obvious traps, the whole map and production scheduling is riddled with such traps. So giving you a brief-in would remove the ability fo those traps to catch you out and remove some of the fun. I continually get emails from people telling me of traps they've spotted. Some are correct, others are spotting a surface issue but neglecting a deeper problem which may yet catch them.
 
What I will say is that I think this mod results in a real fangs-out game and is, I think, a mod which really rewards the better players by giving them options they otherwise wouldn't have but also does nothing to prevent the unwary from utterly cocking up and getting themselves into terrible trouble ASAP.
 
It may not suit someone, which is fine, but it definitely provides a different challenge.
 
 
I know there's been some talk of an AE mod... I doubt it, I think I'll probably move on then... Possibly though, I'll have to see how AE goes... I was disappointed that AE, which goes on and on about how it has every plane imaginable ( planes with tiny production runs etc ) so that what could have been can be modelled decided to just leave torpedo-carrying B25s and B-26s ( and B-26s made at least TWO torpedo drops on IJN CVs which qualifies as pretty significant action IMO ) out completely.

[Nemo121]

Well, well, well, Damian's launching a counter-offensive of sorts. He has retaken Cagayan ( costing me about 3 divisions worth of troops, mostly Chinese and due to return in 30 days, so no big loss ) and is sending CVs into action all around the Phillipines. From what I can see he has at least 2 CVs and 4 to 6 CVEs ( maybe CVLs but I imagine he is saving the CVLs for action around Truk ) in action around the Phillipines.
 
I'm perfectly happy with this as killing quite a few Ki-44 IIIs and B5Ns, D3As/D4Ys now means less "ready reloads" for his CV flight decks around Truk. My one major concern with my upcoming invasion/CV tour was that I'd simply be ground down over time as he flew additional Ki-44 III squadrons onto his carriers such that after winning 2 or 3 major CV battles I'd find my forces out of Hellcats and Corsairs and yet another 200 Ki-44 IIIs screaming in escorting a raid.
 
 
So, what's the plan... Well, its pretty much to:
a) find and force combat with his CVs around Truk - either killing his strike groups entirely or possibly even launching a counter-strike which kills a few of his CVs/CVLs. The key point though is to kill his strike groups when they impale themselves against my CAP.
 
b) force landings on 3 islands in the Guam to Palau chain. This will allow me to have sufficient land bases to overwhelm his land-based aerial forces.
 
c) extend this with an immediate extension either northward or westward. If going north I will focus on securing airbases within fighter sweep range of Japan, if extending westward the goal will be to secure a limited lodgement on the Philippines which I can then extend on by bringing several thousand AV of Australian, New Zealand, British and Indian troops into the fray.
 
 
The overall idea is to roll my CVs through 3 phases of an offensive with almost no halt in operations once they get started. I have about 1500 AV available and that is most assuredly enough for the first two phases AND for the invasion of the near-Japan Iwos. If I have to go for the Phillipines I might have to rejig things a bit... On the other hand it might be possible to just "tour" the Phillipines using my CVs and kill most of his shipping there. This will remove any amphibious capability he might have just as easily as actually landing and taking his bases.
 
With a little luck by the end of February I'll have a base within P-51 sweep range of Tokyo.  Of course this is all on a knife edge and even if only 2 phases work out it'll still unhinge his entire defensive line. It'd be nice if the third phase would be possible also though.

[BJStone]

Hi Nemo121

Can you list the carrier-capable air units for each side?

I was suprised to see that the ki-44III Tojo is carrier-capable so I'm wondering what other aircraft can be used on the CVs.


Regards,

BJ Stone

[Nemo121]

I believe that carrier-based aircraft are relatively unchanged with the following exceptions:
 
1. IJN develops long-range recon aircraft for its CV fleet and thus the C3N and D4Y recon variants are present.
 
2. Ki-44 III - based on a real variant to the Ki-44 which there was talk of making carrier-capable. At 394mph, with a manoeuvrability of 34, 4 x 20mm cannons PLUS armour its a real beast. I like to think of it as the Fw-190A8 of the Pacific.
 
3. The Allies get a small run ( about 54 per month ) of CV-modified Corsair Is and can use the other 120 Corsair Is they get per month in USMC squadrons ( which allows them to base off carriers albeit with higher operational losses ).
 
4. Near the end of the war the Allies also get F7Fs and F8Fs which both look like very interesting and useful planes.
 
Lastly the Ki-115 suicide plane is available in all forms ( land-based plane, seaplane and CV-based ). Basically this means that they can be put on airbases, floatplane squadrons basing from islands or BBs/CAs or can be carried on the decks of carriers. It doesn't require an engine ( to simulate its designed-in ability to use "any old engine lying around" ), has terrible speed and ceiling, terrible durability ( something like 8 IIRC ) but carries an 800 Kg AP bomb. Basically fighters and FlAK should blow it from the sky quite easily BUT if it survives and hits even a CV or BB will be seriously damaged by a single plane.
 
Given that I'm expecting production of Ki-115s to be on the order of >1000 per month  that should give a pretty strong kamikaze ability, allowing other production ( A7Ms, torpedo bombers, dive-bombers etc ) to be reserved for non-kamikaze squadrons.
 
Due to some interesting design decisions Damian either already has the Ki-115 in production or it is very close to being produced. This makes it a year early. He is, I think, happy with this but I think once it enters production and he realises that it is one of the few aircraft to which factories auto-upgrade he's going to howl a bit about some of the planes which upgrade to it ( particularly the D3A as he doesn't begin production of the D4Y for quite a few months ).

I believe he hasn't anticipated this consequence in his headlong rush to the Ki-115. As I've said previously traps abound and I love manipulating the law of unanticipated consequences to complicate decision-making. The thing he is getting for nothing is actually going to cost him something he doesn't expect.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/19/43

Things are looking good for an end of January departure.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Wake Island [USA] at 85,72

Allied Ships
SS Hake

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Wake Island [USA] at 85,72

Japanese Ships
LCM AG-1711A, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
SS Hake

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Jolo [Jolo] at 39,59

Japanese Ships
DD Uranami
DE Hasu
DE Kuretake
DE Asagao
DE Karukaya
DD Hato
DD Yamakaze

Allied Ships
LCVP 532F
LCVP 532G, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
LCVP 532H, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
LCVP 532J, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
LCVP 532K
LCVP 532L
LCVP 532M
LCVP 532N, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
LCVP 532P

IJN DDs have taken up position at Jolo attempting to isolate it by sea. IJN LRCAP is covering it from the air and today the invasion fleet arrives. This is a massive improvement in co-ordination over earlier ripostes by Damian. He's definitely improved massively. I may lose Jolo but I'm betting that he hasn't fully taken into account that its an atoll and that this landing force is from Cagayan - if it is then it has hit Jolo too quickly to be properly organised for an atoll invasion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Saipan [Nanyo] at 64,64

Japanese Ships
DD Kasasagi
DD Asagiri

Allied Ships
SS SHCH138

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Jolo [Jolo], 39,59, firing at TF 30
TF 30 troops unloading over beach at Jolo [Jolo], 39,59


263 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
AE Kashino

Japanese ground losses:
557 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jesselton [BrNBno] , at 35,56

The CV strike....

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 67
D3A2 Val x 15
B5N2 Kate x 53
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 35

Allied aircraft
P-51B Mustang XP x 16
P-38G Lightning x 13
P-40E Warhawk x 19
Hurricane IIc x 37
Kittyhawk I x 14
Spitfire VB x 62

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44III Tojo: 36 destroyed
D3A2 Val: 6 destroyed, 3 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 23 destroyed, 7 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 33 destroyed

My forces didn't do too badly. 36 top-line Ki-44 IIIs were downed. Obviously, I lost more but most of what I lost was most definitely 2nd-line equipment.

Allied aircraft losses
P-51B Mustang XP: 8 destroyed
P-38G Lightning: 6 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 16 destroyed
Hurricane IIc: 27 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 8 destroyed
Spitfire VB: 31 destroyed

Allied Ships
AK Demodocus, Bomb hits 1


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

In the end the leakers were so disrupted and weakened that the damage inflicted was trivial. I have enough fighters in the region to accept two additional days of losses like this. Hopefully that will outlast Damian's committment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jesselton [BrNBno] , at 35,56

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 11

Allied aircraft
P-51B Mustang XP x 3
P-38G Lightning x 3
Hurricane IIc x 4
Kittyhawk I x 2
Spitfire VB x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44III Tojo: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 4 destroyed
Hurricane IIc: 1 destroyed
Spitfire VB: 3 destroyed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jesselton [BrNBno] , at 35,56

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 15
G4M1 Betty x 25
Ki-21-II Sally x 47
Ki-49 -I Helen x 81
Ki-264 Angel x 104

Allied aircraft
P-51B Mustang XP x 8
P-38G Lightning x 3
Hurricane IIc x 9
Kittyhawk I x 6
Spitfire VB x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zeke: 7 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed
Ki-21-II Sally: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged
Ki-49 -I Helen: 13 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-264 Angel: 3 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-51B Mustang XP: 2 damaged
P-38G Lightning: 1 damaged
Hurricane IIc: 9 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 4 destroyed
Spitfire VB: 6 destroyed, 9 damaged
Pe-2: 6 destroyed
C-47 Skytrain: 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
34 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 32
Airbase supply hits 18
Runway hits 95

Quite a few bombers got through and hit my airfields destroying quite a few Pe-2s and fighters on the ground. No matter, only 150 or so airbase hits were secured and this means there's a good chance that the airfield will be serviceable tomorrow and ready for replacements to be flown in.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Bandjermasin [BNO] , at 27,64

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 3
G4M1 Betty x 19
Ki-48-II Lily x 44
Ki-49 -I Helen x 15

Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIF-NF x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufighter VIF-NF: 4 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 94

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Roxas [Panay] , at 43,55

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 1 destroyed


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Roxas [Panay] , at 43,55

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 3
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 21

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 2


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Taytay [Palawan] , at 40,54

Japanese aircraft
D3A2 Val x 2
Ki-32 Mary x 12
Ki-51 Sonia x 5
Ki-48-II Lily x 20
Ki-21-II Sally x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 52


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Taytay [Palawan] , at 40,54

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44III Tojo x 6
D3A2 Val x 7
B5N2 Kate x 12
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 5
Ki-46-II Dinah x 3

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 3


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jolo [Jolo] , at 39,59

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-II Lily x 2

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Jolo [Jolo] , at 39,59

Japanese aircraft
D4Y1-C Judy x 3
A6M2 Zeke x 13
G4M1 Betty x 20
H8K2 Emily x 1
Ki-43-II Oscar x 3
Ki-48-II Lily x 7
Ki-21-II Sally x 7

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 11

He's just keeping the airfield closed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Uruppu Jima [JP] , at 77,36

Japanese aircraft
D3A2 Val x 38
B4Y1 Jean x 22
B5N2 Kate x 54
G4M1 Betty x 24
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 3
Ki-21-II Sally x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 34

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 7
Ki-49 -I Helen x 14

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 12

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 11

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Ulithi [Nanyo] , at 57,68

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 46

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Majuro [Nanyo] , at 84,88


Allied aircraft
P-35A Hawk x 5
P-39D Airacobra x 75
P-40E Warhawk x 45


No Allied losses

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 13
B-25D Mitchell x 14


No Allied losses

Runway hits 10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Wake Island [USA] , at 85,72


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6


No Allied losses

Runway hits 4

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Day Air attack on IJA Chishima Fortress, at 82,33


Allied aircraft
P-35A Hawk x 15


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported

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Day Air attack on Jolo [Jolo] , at 39,59

Japanese aircraft
D4Y1-C Judy x 1
H8K2 Emily x 1

No Japanese losses

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ASW attack near Saipan [Nanyo] at 64,64

Japanese Ships
DD Kasasagi
DD Asagiri

Allied Ships
SS SHCH138

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Sub attack near Saipan [Nanyo] at 64,64

Japanese Ships
DD Kasasagi, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Asagiri

Allied Ships
SS SHCH138

There's a lot of sub vs DD/DE action on-map. He is aggressively hunting those few subs I still have at sea. Most of ym subs are repairing damage at Kwajalein or Pearl right now.

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Sub attack near Wake Island [USA] at 85,72

Japanese Ships
LCM AG-1777N, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Hake


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Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 25635 troops, 544 guns, 483 vehicles, Assault Value = 2831

Defending force 116688 troops, 1743 guns, 50 vehicles, Assault Value = 3205



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Ground combat at 68,22

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 8504 troops, 33 guns, 485 vehicles, Assault Value = 256

Defending force 6625 troops, 102 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 245

Japanese max assault: 470 - adjusted assault: 111

Allied max defense: 192 - adjusted defense: 15

Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
341 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 8

Allied ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

He has cleared the blockade behind his troops in the Soviet Union. He should withdraw them now but seems to be reinforcing them. This is going to run foul of the 3 tank brigades I have flanking this relief force. More IJA troops to be trapped.

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Ground combat at Kwajalein [Nanyo]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4237 troops, 37 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 93

Defending force 121439 troops, 3440 guns, 1466 vehicles, Assault Value = 1910



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Ground combat at Skovorodino [SIB]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 88838 troops, 1609 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3205

Defending force 135436 troops, 1788 guns, 804 vehicles, Assault Value = 2831


Japanese ground losses:
43 casualties reported
Guns lost 2


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Ground combat at Jolo [Jolo]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 2620 troops, 39 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 266

Defending force 6318 troops, 39 guns, 50 vehicles, Assault Value = 225



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Ground combat at 25,44

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 4951 troops, 71 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 177

Defending force 5387 troops, 13 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 107



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Ground combat at 32,36

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3645 troops, 175 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 95

Defending force 2296 troops, 0 guns, 26 vehicles, Assault Value = 6



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Ground combat at Jolo [Jolo]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 4534 troops, 35 guns, 50 vehicles, Assault Value = 225

Defending force 5957 troops, 141 guns, 10 vehicles, Assault Value = 266

Japanese max assault: 182 - adjusted assault: 15

Allied max defense: 212 - adjusted defense: 181

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)


Japanese ground losses:
679 casualties reported
Guns lost 6
Vehicles lost 16

Allied ground losses:
155 casualties reported
Guns lost 4
Vehicles lost 1

Well, a major IJA invasion of Jolo ends in disaster as they are forced to Shock Attack and my troops chew them up. I may toy with counter-attacking them tomorrow. Probably though, in order to conserve supplies, I'll just continue flying reinforcements and supplies in and fortifying Jolo against counter-invasion.

It is looking more and more likely that my CVs would profit from making a detour toward the Philippines and scouring the seas around them free of IJN shipping.

Another USN CV is ready for action today and I'll begin filling it with my strikegroups --- 1 Corsair sqdn, 1 Hellcat sqdn + 2 SBD squadrons. Whenever possible the 2nd SBD squadron will get replaced with another Corsair squadron but that may not be possible for all CVs before I sail.

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IJN 1st Construction Battalion Wiped Out at Ponape [Nanyo] by attrition!!!

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IJN 14th Construction Battalion Wiped Out at Ponape [Nanyo] by attrition!!!

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IJN 15th Construction Battalion Wiped Out at Ponape [Nanyo] by attrition!!!