PzB vs Wobbly - Clash of Steel

[PzB74]

We have gotten into July 1944 - and here is a list of the forthcoming air reinforcements!
Will come in VERY handy!

I have withdrawn/disbandoned 8-10 Oscar units and reformed 3.
Slowly putting the war machine back into shape.

[Naskra]

Congratulations on a nice smackdown at Zamboanga.  It is still hard to believe that Japan can win a war of attrition in the air in '44, but you are managing to do it.  

[Fishbed]

The Kamis found new targets of the Northern tip of PNG!

Day Air attack on TF at 42,72

Japanese aircraft
B6N Jill x 5
Ki-21 Sally x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
B6N Jill: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 6 destroyed

Allied Ships [:D]
AE Pyro, Kamikaze hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AE Lassen
AR Edmund Randolph, Torpedo hits 1, Kamikaze hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B6N Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 42,72

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48 Lily x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48 Lily: 6 destroyed

Allied Ships
AR Benjamin Holt
AR Charles P. Steinmetz

Strange how life is - 5 kami hits out of 6 planes in the first attack, 0 out of 6 in the second - wonder if there is anything like conditions that may help or hamper the dice rolls...
 
Well anyway no comment, I feel like everyone else here. KB did go down with a last mighty cry [8D]

[ChezDaJez]

Unfortunately I haven't gotten any message saying that the
Prince William has sunk.

That was my mistake. I'm assuming it must have sunk due to the damage inflicted however I will refrain from making those assumptions in the future.

Still, BANZAI!

Chez

[ChezDaJez]

It should be Japan complaining about empty pools now, not the friggin allies!

Actually Japan produced more aircraft in 1944 (28000+) than for any other year.. Its pilots and fuel that created the problems for Japan, not airframes.

Chez

[PzB74]

Thx Naskra - I wasn't trying to win a war of attrition - was quite surprised when Andy
told me he was running out of trained pilots and ac. Can't say I like it, creates a lot of noise. But C'est la vie!

A bit sad about the KB Fishbed, but it allowed us to destroy Allied troops and secure the PI.
It also blunted Andy's most powerful weapon: he can only use his carriers offensively very sparingly now [8D]

No problem Chez, I also thought the darn thing would sink...3 hits by Sallys. Should be a RIP!!!
Good point about airframes: in our alternative history fuel and pilot problem has been taken care of.
The most blatant game critics are usually not able to play the game, because they find so many things that pi$$es
the off [:D]

I've reinforced Batan Island with half a brigade. The other half goes to Pescara. Minelayers are busy laying a heavy belt
of mines between Okinawa and Northern PI. Eventually Andy will cut the Empire in two, leaving us with a land connection
through Thailand-Burma-India. when this happens I want the 'Inner Citadel' to be ready for siege warfare!

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/02/44

Air Combat

If Andy invades Banjarmasin he will take a long frog leap...it's a size 3 AF
and got 135 assault points. Cant' remember how many forts.

Day Air attack on Banjarmasin , at 27,64

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
B-29 Superfortress x 85

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-29 Superfortress: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
21 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 41,70

Japanese aircraft
B6N Jill x 3
Ki-21 Sally x 3

Allied aircraft
P-38J Lightning x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 3 destroyed

Allied Ships - this surely finished another 2 special ships!
AR Edmund Randolph, Kamikaze hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AE Pyro, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B6N Jill launching torpedoes at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm planning to wipe out this 'lost' convoy tomorrow: by sea and air!

Day Air attack on TF at 53,61

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 9
Ki-21 Sally x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Florence Luckenbach, Bomb hits 1
AK Steel Mariner

Allied ground losses:
17 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 41,75

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48 Lily x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48 Lily: 3 destroyed

Allied Ships
AK Empire Rainbow, Kamikaze hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Borneo Invasion Force

I'm in the process of hatching out a very cunning plan for dealing with this threat!

[pauk]

Just two days from Balikpapan to Samarinda? Did you check it? Anyway i've noticed that my troops needs more time when they have to reach hex 60 miles far away when there are enemy units present too....

you can avoid eventual miscalculation with setting units march to Samarinda one or two days earlier than enemy arrives at Samarinda. If they moves too fast or enemy doesn't land at Samarinda you can always reset their movement.

[Sneer]

be careful
hex NE of you minefield is passable

[PzB74]

I ordered a unit to march from Balikpapan towards Samarinda yesterday - 1 day later it had covered 30/60 miles.
There is a good road connection. Balikpapan got some 350 assault points before the half bde has moved out of the hex.

Balikpapan is a major base, 9 forts, Air/Army HQ, 270 aviation support and lots of supplies.

Only had one sub with mines nearby Sneer...move on the way [:)]
Perhaps we can block it completely and force the damaged enemy ships to move through?

[AmiralLaurent]

Hi Pzb,

Well good news for Zamboanga, bad for your CVs (I was away for some days and just pickep up). It seems to me you won one more month of life, but more important Andy will now think twice before launching a new para invasion...

Regarding kamikazes, their result seem OK when they met no uber-CAP. Two reactions on what other commenters wrote above:

_ kamikaze aircraft most often had full aircrew aboard, especially gunners as they may be necessary to reach the target.

_ experience was proven to be the decisive factor in kamikaze attack. Diving on an enemy ship among AA is not easy, and the pilots who mastered their aircraft had a greater chance to do it. The conclusion of studies made about the PI campain showed that rookie pilots usually missed their targets or attacked the wrong ones (like PT boats).

[PzB74]

We're not going to loose this war A.L [;)]
The Mighty Combined Fleet and Kamikazed will soon crush the enemy invasion fleet
just as the Divine Wind once destroyed Kublai Khans invasion armada [:D]

Thx for the update though, wasn't sure whether the Japs sent gunners with their Kami ac!
It's self explanatory that it isn't easy for a green pilot to hit a ship under heavy flak fire.
A lot of them over compensated and missed. They were ordered not to close their eyes before impact
as this would most often cause a last minute course change.

The Battle

I will go out for dinner now and return in 2-3 hours. Then I will make one of the most important
decision in this game: Shall I committ the Combined Fleet and attempt to destroy the enemy fleet, or should I hold back.

Andy has spotted us, lots of bombers on naval search, but non on naval attack.
So Andy knows that I will send in the fleet and will try to take evasive action and perhaps put some of his bombers
on naval attack.

Personally I'm in favor of withdrawin and first strike when Andy's invasion is launched.
Then we will take advantage of his frenzied manouvering to move away from our surface fleets most likey intercept vectors.

I just don't one TF to connect, I want all 60 surface combatants to engage the enemy and smash his invasion.
Therefore I don't think we should take any 'blind shots'.

Input PLEASE! [&o]

[LittleJoe]

No. [;)]

Attrit his Carrier airforce further with your LBA, Then hit him!

You must save your forces for the Axis counterattack that will take place in the Winter, The Germans will drive the American/Allied forces into the channel, and you drive the Americans back to the West Coast!

[pauk]

I would say NO too... geography isn't your friend here, me thinks... somewhere you have to stop him, i agree with that...but too risky IMO...

[AmiralLaurent]

Pzb, in my own opinion the best hex to send your fleet is the hex where the most western of Andy's TF are. I will send all TF (able to sail 5-6 hexes) to this hex for a night strike with retire orders and home base set as a base with as much CAP and LRCAP as possible. Tarakan being the best place for it, but beware of Allied surface TF turning the base to a crater.... If BB have been seen with the incoming giant fleet (Andy is short of BB, isn't he), then I will choose as retreat base Jolo (if you have enough air support here). The interest of Tarakan and Jolo is that you can send here directly TF not able to do 5 knots per turn (the slowest BB), so enabling you to offer more targets to Allied AC that will come in smaller raids and you will be able to reach the bombers with your CAP.

The hex I choose is IMOO the best to strike if Andy sails either to Tarakan or SW, as the late TF may sail W and then SW in the latter case, and will sail W in the former..

In both cases, my idea in proposing these targets is to strike the rearguard of the invasion convoy. The simplest way to lead such a great fleet is to have a lead TF (usually a transport one) and all other TF follow it. In fact most of the TF will be delayed by refuleing and SYS damage and so there are always late TF one or two hexes behind. And they are the best targets IMOO. Why ? Because all combat and air TF are faster and will sail with the lead TF, while convoys with relatively small escort will probably be the ones lagging behind. So the objective here is to strike the troopships and not the warships. Because IMOO and in my own experience at this stage of the war Allied surface and CV TF will win a night surface battle... or at least won't be damaged enough to be worth losing a lot of your ships once they will be damaged and at the mercy of Allied LBA all over the area.

By watching your screen of the former days, the Allied fleet is sailing 2-3 hexes a day, so probably includes a lot of slow amphibious TF. By striking where the lead TF are before they move, you are almost sure they won't be there anymore while all slower TF will move probably one hex and so have a good probability to be just at this place during the night. Also the range (5 hexes) will allow your CA and DD to still have op points and so to fight longer. At least that is my impression of how the game behaves.

So my advice will be: go for it, but go for the transports. And only if you think you have a chance to protect your fleet with your CAP after dawn. The best chance for this is as I said to have as many targets as possible to offer to the enemy airmen.

[Rob Brennan UK]

I'd say no .. i'm with Joe on this ..

Its too risky and your surface fleet is still a potential problem for the allies IF you lost it he's a lot more free to operate. By keeping it in being he's potentially hampered a bit more.

just my 2p

[JagdFlanker]

i don't know what your full airpower picture is but from what i'v been seeing his carrier fighters must be in relitively bad shape right now and your fleet might not be this close to such a juicy target again. i will dare suggest that if you can get to this hex by morning and have it covered by a pile of land based CAP you will either hit his slow convoy going to Tarakan or you will be in a commanding position to intercept next turn. depends if you have air assets to cover your grand imperial fleet in case that's not the right hex...

[kkoovvoo]

I would try it.

Dont forget: full speed, retirement allowed.

You must be smart when choosing home base.

Do you believe he might counterattack and move his CVs north? If yes then you might retreat to the East by choosing Davao (or base SW of Davao) as home base. It wouldnt be smart to retreat to the South or West probably.

Of five possibilities you drawed I would chose the western one. Allied transport are faster than japanese and they will probably move 2 hexes.

[AmiralLaurent]

ORIGINAL: kkoovvoo

I would try it.

Dont forget: full speed, retirement allowed.

You must be smart when choosing home base.

Do you believe he might counterattack and move his CVs north? If yes then you might retreat to the East by choosing Davao (or base SW of Davao) as home base. It wouldnt be smart to retreat to the South or West probably.

Of five possibilities you drawed I would chose the western one. Allied transport are faster than japanese and they will probably move 2 hexes.

At this stage of the war, Allied invasion TF are also done of tens of LCT/LCI... that are as slow than Japanese ships. The map aboves shows that Andy convoy moves 2-3 hex a day, in all cases that is only 1 hex at night, so there is a good chance to intercept them.

[pauk]

ORIGINAL: PzB
Andy has spotted us

These are key words... dont you think he will move transport fleet just one hex south and move CVs in position to attack surface ships?

Anyway, doubt that Combined fleet will ever get chance to close to the enemy being unspoted so perhaps is not bad to try luck....

[aztez]

Very intresting turn ahead. I think you might get lucky with this engagement.