JFB in charge of the USN??? BtS Lite ver. 4.5 Kitakami (A) vs Falken (J)

[Kitakami]

Jan 18th, 1942

The IJN CVEs surried back to where they came from, so the Allied Carrier Force (2x USN CV, 2x USN CLV, 2x ANZAC CAV) did not find any targets. Well, them be the breaks. I do not think they were spotted, so no harm done.

This was the last turn before the storm. With all the IJA forces downloaded in Palembang, and all the IJN ships in the region, it will not stop until I am kicked out of Palembang. I just hope that the oilfields and refineries are damaged enough for all this to be worth it (house rule: Allies can't do strat bombing in originally Allied bases).

There was only one week sunk during the turn, the Dutch HDML P10.

In the air, the strategy of contesting the air only over friendly bases paid off. Many wounded pilots, but few dead ones.

[Kitakami]

Air losses continue to favor the Allies. The Zeroes have stepped back, and it is now the turn of IJA fighters to feel the heat. Although fighter losses are about equal, I am not losing the bombers that my esteemed opponent is losing... at least not yet. Next turn things will be much different.

[Kitakami]

The gap in total losses continues to increase. We will see what Japan does as time passes. Will Falken increase airframe production, consuming his reserves, or will he resist the temptation and keep a level head?

[Kitakami]

The DEI:
Next turn all hell will break lose in Palembang. 38th IJA Inf Div is mostly downloaded (it took them only two days!), and I am sure the Japanese will attack. To help offset Japanese numbers (42k enemy troops), I have ordered everything that can fly to do what they can. All Torp and DB planes will strike, as will all level bombers. I am extremely light on fighters, but I threw it all in too.

We will see what will come of it.

Malaya:
Only Fortress Singapore remains. 17 enemy units numbering 23k troops, 260 guns and 100 AFVs are in Johore Bahru. There is an additional IJA Rgt 1 hex east of Kuala Lumpur. I do not think that will be enough, but we will see.

The Philippines:
There are now 30k enemy troops in Manila, supported by 250 guns and 80 AFVs, so no Allied attacks there. There are another 15k troops in Battan (they just took it), and they will be in Manila soon, no doubt.

In Mindanao, the little supply that flowed into Oroquieta was quickly consumed and not enough. The enemy has also arived at the base. It will not last long.

Burma:
There are 10 enemy units 1 hex SE of Pegu. I see a movement arrow to the NE. I will send a division one hex NE of Pegu, to screen them behind the river. This is cat and mouse.

China:
Running low on supplies. The Burma road is open, and the few transport planes I have available in India are flying supplies over the Hump (and the rest are being transported to the theater), but it is not enough. Chengchow is running very low, while Wenchow and Nanyang are low. Tsiaotso is also not flush with food and ammo, but the enemy seems to be retreating there, perhaps to reinforce Chengchow.

The Solomons, Papua New Guinea, and islands nearby:
Nothing much there, and at this point no news are great news.

Bases Lost:
Bataan, Bacolod, Basilian and Tablas.

[Kitakami]

Jan 20th, 1942

Just got the combat report. Most of what I planned and ordered did NOT go according to plan, and still the turn went to the Allies I think. A taste of what happened on land:

Japanese Deliberate attack at Palembang (48,91)
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 1)
Japanese ground losses:
* 4067 casualties reported
*** Squads: 16 destroyed, 413 disabled
*** Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 31 disabled
*** Engineers: 1 destroyed, 41 disabled
*** Guns lost 49 (3 destroyed, 46 disabled)
*** Vehicles lost 4 (2 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
* 383 casualties reported
*** Squads: 16 destroyed, 42 disabled
*** Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 38 disabled
*** Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Japanese Deliberate attack at Manila (79,77)
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 157 (fort level 1)
Japanese ground losses:
* 5477 casualties reported
*** Squads: 164 destroyed, 97 disabled
*** Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 57 disabled
*** Engineers: 36 destroyed, 33 disabled
*** Guns lost 51 (20 destroyed, 31 disabled)
*** Vehicles lost 22 (5 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
* 311 casualties reported
*** Squads: 1 destroyed, 18 disabled
*** Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 13 disabled
*** Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
*** Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

[Kitakami]

And this is some of what happened at sea:

Day 1:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Batavia at 49,97
Allied aircraft losses
*** A-24 Banshee: 4 damaged
*** A-24 Banshee: 2 destroyed by flak
Japanese Ships
*** BB Yamashiro, Bomb hits 5
*** BB Fuso, Bomb hits 3

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Palembang at 48,91
Allied aircraft losses
*** A-24 Banshee: 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
*** CL Suzuya, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
*** CA Mikuma, Bomb hits 4, on fire
*** CL Ishikari, Bomb hits 2, on fire
*** DD Hatsuyuki, Bomb hits 1, on fire
*** DD Fubuki, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CA Mikuma
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Fubuki

Day 2:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Palembang at 48,91
Allied aircraft losses
*** A-24 Banshee: 10 damaged
*** A-24 Banshee: 1 destroyed by flak
Japanese Ships
*** CL Chikuma, Bomb hits 1
*** CL Ishikari, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
*** CL Sendai, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CL Ishikari
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CL Sendai

All bombs were 1000 lb

[BBfanboy]

Nice results ... except at Palembang. You disabled a lot of his squads but destroyed squads were equal - which is proportionately much worse for you. He can rest a day or two to recover some of his disablements and attack with a better advantage next time. Manila definitely was a victory for you!

Pretty good results with the naval attacks. Four hits on Mikuma puts her in jeopardy but not necessarily sunk. Too bad bombs were wasted on those BBs!
BTW, the Banshees did not deliver torpedoes, so was it Vildebeests that hit Suzuya?

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
Nice results ... except at Palembang. You disabled a lot of his squads but destroyed squads were equal - which is proportionately much worse for you. He can rest a day or two to recover some of his disablements and attack with a better advantage next time. Manila definitely was a victory for you!

Pretty good results with the naval attacks. Four hits on Mikuma puts her in jeopardy but not necessarily sunk. Too bad bombs were wasted on those BBs!
BTW, the Banshees did not deliver torpedoes, so was it Vildebeests that hit Suzuya?

Palembang
Yes, the losses at Palembang are a bit worrisome yes. But after taking a look at who suffered them, I breathed a little easier (though not much):

- 18th Brit Inf Div went from an AV of 397 to an AV of 398.
- Pakanbaroe Cdo went from 30 to 27
- Palembang Cdo went from 29 to 27.
- Padang went from 27 to 26.
- W Borneo Knil Bn went from 18 to 4.
- Riow Cdo went from 18 to 11.
- Lahat Cdo remained at 16.
- Djambi Cdo went from 4 to 0.

At least the Brits are holding their own.

Question: should I withdraw the units that reach an AV of 0? I could withdraw them to the other side of the river to regain some fighting strength.

Manila
Had I been playing Japan, I would not have attacked. Three things I learned NOT to do as a Japanese player. First, not to attack before divisions are reconstituted. Second, not to attack with high disruption and/or fatigue. Third, to bombard enemy supply first, and then go in for the kill. At the very least, two of those are needed to help you succeed. In this case, at most one was present, so the results were terrible (for the Japanese).

The Big Boys are probably in great shape, but one DD, a CL and a CA are most likely in trouble. There is a three-ship TF slowly leaving the area, and those are probably the cripples. I will try to intercept with subs.

Will take a look at the turn, and then post the results.

EDIT: It was the Swordfish planes that scored the two torp hits.

[obvert]

Good job at Palembang!!

A question: Did you train your Abnshee pilots for Naval Bombing? I've just been sequestering mine and using them to bomb land targets until I have the pilots ready at 60-70 Naval skill. They did some impressive work there though!

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: obvert
Good job at Palembang!!

A question: Did you train your Abnshee pilots for Naval Bombing? I've just been sequestering mine and using them to bomb land targets until I have the pilots ready at 60-70 Naval skill. They did some impressive work there though!

Yes, I did. I also decided not to toss them away trying to get a ship here, and a ship there. I kept them in training, as safe as I could, and have used them only twice, both times to good effect. It was the only way to get 50+ of them to fly at the same time and have decent aim.

[ny59giants]

China: Supplies will always be tight until the end of the war. You should attack very rarely. Don't try to repair all that industry. I try to get Chungking to 2x supplies so I can steadily soak up those 350 infantry squads per month. Where is his main push right now?? Find that 3x terrain and allow your troops to build forts there.

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
China: Supplies will always be tight until the end of the war. You should attack very rarely. Don't try to repair all that industry. I try to get Chungking to 2x supplies so I can steadily soak up those 350 infantry squads per month. Where is his main push right now?? Find that 3x terrain and allow your troops to build forts there.

Chungking's supply level is at almost 30k. So far, infantry squads have been reinforcing the units that were bought out with PPs and transferred to Burma/China. I have 55 squads in the pool, with 483 already used.

His pushes were several at start: Wuchow, Wenchow, Nanyang, and Chengchow. He could not advance in so many fronts at the same time. He is now focusing on Chengchow, which he will eventually take, hopefully with most industry destroyed. It will be a costly battle, but one I am fighting to delay, not to win. Same in the other cities in clear I have decided to defend. Delay, delay, delay. Make him spend supplies, make him want to reinforce China, not ship troops out.

Question: does a point come when withdrawing from a battle that will be lost in a Chinese city is best?

As for defensive positions, with very few exceptions my choices are mountain and forest-rough. I also try to use rivers as defenses whenever possible. We will see.

[BBfanboy]

There are two ways of looking at your question:
1. abandoning the city gives the enemy a location they can use as an airfield to attack you and perhaps a rail stop they can use to rapidly bring in more troops and supply - but you get better supply for your troops in non-city terrain.

2. staying in the city gives your AV a terrain boost with UL or UH terrain. If it is on an unimpeded rail line or good grey road set it will get some supply too.
Your units here may be doomed (get surrounded and ground down by siege), but at start most Chinese troops have poor morale and experience so their loss and replacement by new recruits is not a great loss. China gets so many new troops (350 squads a month) that losing a couple of corps is no big deal.

Chungking is your main base for replacement troop arrival and should be your Alamo position.

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
There are two ways of looking at your question:
1. abandoning the city gives the enemy a location they can use as an airfield to attack you and perhaps a rail stop they can use to rapidly bring in more troops and supply - but you get better supply for your troops in non-city terrain.

2. staying in the city gives your AV a terrain boost with UL or UH terrain. If it is on an unimpeded rail line or good grey road set it will get some supply too.
Your units here may be doomed (get surrounded and ground down by siege), but at start most Chinese troops have poor morale and experience so their loss and replacement by new recruits is not a great loss. China gets so many new troops (350 squads a month) that losing a couple of corps is no big deal.

Chungking is your main base for replacement troop arrival and should be your Alamo position.

Ok, I guess the poor Chinese soldiers will have to toughen up. Orders are to stand until the enemy kicks them out. Thanks!

[Kitakami]

Jan 20th, 1942

An interesting turn. I though my air losses would be much higher, so the dice kami must have smiled upon the allies. Pilot losses were a bit higher though, although I can't really complain.

[Kitakami]

Air losses were lower than expected. Still I am losing so many fighter airframes (many more air frames than pilots), that replacements are not enough. I need reinforcements too, but I am unwilling to throw raw recruits to the meat grinder. Fighter losses were 16 Allied to 5 Japanese.

[Kitakami]

Bases Lost:
Zambonga, Emirau Island, and Bengkalis were lost.

The DEI:
Palembang's combat report is a few posts up, but suffice it to say I thought I would lose the base. I didn't, even if few of my bombers flew. Most Allied losses were Dutch, so the Brits can still put up a good fight. We will see what the next few turns bring.

Malaya:
There are almost 69k Japanese troops facing Singapore, so attack must be imminent. 460+ guns and 360 AFVs (plus HQs, I am sure) are with them. All told, 26 enemy units. It is not going to be pretty.

The Philippines:
The Japanese assault on Manila can be found in the same post as the attack on Palembang. Much higher Japanese losses. There are 32k Japanese troops in Manila, along 250+ guns and 90+ AFVs. It is only a matter of time, but I will delay the inevitable as much as I can.

In Mindanao, Oroquieta was bombarded, but still stands. Every turn those troops survive is one more turn I have delayed my esteemed opponent.

Burma:
One Japanese unit is now in the hex E of Pegu, and others (don't know how many) are moving there. An Inf Div will be facing them on the other side of the river next turn.

China:
Japanese bombardment of Pucheng, but not much else.

The Solomons, Papua New Guinea, and islands nearby:
2x Mar Inf Rgts, 1x CD Arty, and 1x AA Arty units are now defending Luganville. HQs, ENGs, and fighters to follow. Got in there before the Japanese did, and now it won't be an easy target. Fortification building has begun.

[Kitakami]

Jan 22nd, 1942

A very good turn for the allies on the ground. In the air it is a losing proposition, but on the ground we are doing ok... for the moment. At least pilot losses continue to be low.

[Kitakami]

Airframe losses are still a touch higher for Japan, but the number is higher because of ops losses. Allied combat losses are higher.

[Kitakami]

I have not shown accumulated airframe losses in a few turns because, frankly, it is just more of the same. I think I will restrict myself to quarterly reports on that from now on. Meanwhile: