Turnaround? Lowpe (J) vs Tiemanj (A) Stock

[Lowpe]

Ok, cross your fingers for a big force concentration. If it goes undetected....trying my best here to find a black hole in the Allied naval search...Aoba found it, but it is narrow, really just a sliver, but it was there for Aoba -- but this time the concentration will be very great across 6 task forces. Search exists port, starboard and forward albeit weak search.

A little prayer is in order. Light your candles, tie off you head scarves, pray to your ancestors. We need it all!

[Lowpe]

October 7th, 1943

Allies night bomb some IJN destroyers at Car Nicobar...and then we find Palliser again!

[Lowpe]

Guess my recon wasn't high enough to spot the movement arrow....Allied panzer army crosses the river and forces a general retreat. Not good...

[Mike McCreery]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Guess my recon wasn't high enough to spot the movement arrow....Allied panzer army crosses the river and forces a general retreat. Not good...

Panzer Army? There are Germans in Burma?? That could be quite confusing!!

[Lowpe]

Allies have detection on two of my southern most groups in the Andaman area...not great, but all the forward forces are in a gap in Allied naval search. His best detection is 4/4 on a four ship CL/DD group, but then he has a 3/5 on larger group south of Phuket (a previously safe hex).

Will ponder the next move and see what happens. There is a distinct chance he abandons Port Blair airfield, but then again, there is a distinct chance he heavily reinforces! Since this is the Allies, my guess he will reinforce with everything he has and the winner will be who can bring the heaviest hammer with the proper mission settings.

It could be very, very bloody tomorrow.

[Lowpe]

Destination: Port Blair!

Seek and destroy all enemy shipping; 2 task forces bombard the runways. 2nd wave arriving at staging coordinates. Third wave enroute. Plan for three days of mayhem at Port Blair where the red sun will rise over the smoking hulls and carcasses of Allied ships and planes.

Well, that is the plan. In reality everything will go askew...minefields, stronger than expected Allied shipping, or evacuation...what will greet the IJN on the morrow?

On thing we know for sure is that Palliser is very aggressive.

[ny59giants]

TFs and AI: Unless things have changes, the AI will send your TFs into Port Blair with all things being equal by the lowest number first. Thus, you want the SC TFs to have the lowest TF numbers and then the BB (bombardment) TF to have the higher numbers go in afterwards.

[Lowpe]

Well, the Allies have finally done it...spotted a tanker convoy at Camh Ranh Bay. 10/10 Dection levels. 1/2 DL at Hong Kong. 7/10 at Saigon. I am going to have to rejigger all my shipping. In Sumatra only Sabang is searched, Medan not yet.

If he would combine naval search with subs it could get very lengthy or damaging - probably both.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

TFs and AI: Unless things have changes, the AI will send your TFs into Port Blair with all things being equal by the lowest number first. Thus, you want the SC TFs to have the lowest TF numbers and then the BB (bombardment) TF to have the higher numbers go in afterwards.

Hm., I have seen threads about that with planes sweeping and bombing...didn't know that for task forces: Yamoto first, Cl/DD second, Haruna third and Nagato last. Not the arrangement I would have picked, but not terrible. Haruna might be last, she has 4 op points for being transferred, that would be a little better.

Thanks, we will see what the morrow brings!

[Lowpe]

October 8th, 1943

NyGiants is correct, Yamoto goes in first, and gets two hexes before being jumped by a hoard of Fletchers and other destroyers. 7
Torpedoes later, Yamoto goes down....the worst is the first torpedo hit is from a destroyer that Yamoto just pumped 3 46cm cells into.[X(]

The rest of the battle plan works...

The CL/DD never fight, but they make the full run...

Haruna sinks several ships... tangles with the destroyers.

Nagato bombards and gets about 30 planes on the ground...and also tangles with PTs.

but the Yamoto is gone.[:(][:(]

Providing cover is the KB...and there is Palliser and his 4 cruisers at 6 hexes and the flights are scrubbed.[:(]



Bleak day.

[Mike Solli]

Ouchie. [:(]

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Ouchie. [:(]

Yep. I was warned to look out for destroyer forces, and I paid the price.[:(] I had thought my search was good enough, and the only surface group was Palliser and a couple of cruisers. I was even denied an excellent KB strike on Palliser. Some days.[&:]

The presence of Fletchers here really tilt the battlefield solidly to the Allies. I had hoped to have more time here, but that is life. Now the Fletchers will be bombarding and raiding and they are all but impossible to stop and the Allies can throw them around like candy.

With the Allied tank army heading down the dirt road towards Chiang Mai my days are numbered here. The 1st Tank Division arrives at Chiang Mai in two days, along with 3 tank regiments and 3 art already there but moving them up will prove very slow, the Allied tank army will most likely be at the Chiang Mai/Pisanuloke railroad before I can really reinforce the dirt road further north.

The Exodus from Burma continues...

[Lowpe]

Not much good news after losing the Yamoto, but the Myojo (kamikaze) advanced to 2/44. It will be the IJN kamikaze mainstay, and I look for it to enter production in late November 43. I would rather have Frank r however.

Peggy T is still trying to repair their last point and start research...

Nick d is researching...but the Allies for the most part stopped night bombing once the Irv-s showed up. Not to worry as I am sure the night bombing will make a comeback and the Nick d will prove valuable.

I will get Frank a two months early, 2/44 so until then it is up to George, Oscar and Tony and 1 squadron of Jacks. So far I think I might like Oscar IVs over Tony Ki-100-Is. My KAI Dinah squadrons (2) are going to Tonies now the threat of night bombing is reduced.

Irving -S: I am researching the Sa version and it is currently 5/44 and I look to get them 1/44 or so. The Irving S is a good/great night fighter for Allied 2E bombers, but can't stand up to the 4Es. Hopefully the addition of another cannon, and then radar will make this plane not quite so worthless. The biggest impact of having the Irving S seems to be on Allies as they pretty much have stopped night bombing, but since they control the airspace pretty much perhaps that is a better reason for suspending night attacks. However, I have put my future into the Frances NF for the Navy.

I migrated the game to a new computer, and since doing so it seems my research has slowed to a crawl...must be my perception.[:)]

[Lowpe]

Oct 11, 1943

We flip a couple of turns, and not much good for Japan. The Prome line has broken, Allies have amassed 3000AV and bounce out the 2nd Guards and 2nd Tank Div, all that is left in the hex is some AA...and the Allies never really even bombed me. Just massed troops and took me out.

Everybody is falling back to south of Pegu...where I hope to slow them.

Very poor play on my part costs me a CA and an Iboat, and almost more as a CL force returned to Rossel Island and was strafed by Assault bombers but they dodged. Not doing anymore turns today.[:)]

A midget sub, the slow type, runs into an obstruction and sinks. So I think I am 0-5 with midgets trying to infiltrate ports.[:D]

Allies are reinvigorated, bombing and attacking everywhere. Looks like the big retreat has started...and there is hefty aerial bombardment of Tavoy & Ponape (likely invasion spot).

[Lowpe]

The perils of revealing the location of the KB....

[DanSez]

Exciting times.
Just keep repeating that to yourself...

Good luck tripping up the giant.

[JocMeister]

Ouchi...Fletchers rule!

[ny59giants]

So much treasure invested in building the Yamato and Mushasi for what appears to be little payback. Maybe why I kind of like mods that have all that steel going to CVs and smaller warships.

OT - Fletchers LOVE knife fights!! [8D]

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Oct 11, 1943

... A midget sub, the slow type, runs into an obstruction and sinks. So I think I am 0-5 with midgets trying to infiltrate ports.[:D]

You are not using them optimally. I remind you of what was posted in the following thread last month.

tm.asp?m=3791460&mpage=1&key=midget%2Csub&#3792056

Alfred

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Alfred

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Oct 11, 1943

... A midget sub, the slow type, runs into an obstruction and sinks. So I think I am 0-5 with midgets trying to infiltrate ports.[:D]

You are not using them optimally. I remind you of what was posted in the following thread last month.

tm.asp?m=3791460&mpage=1&key=midget%2Csub�

Alfred

I have one midget sub carrier going deep behind enemy lines, to America. One more is reloading for Australia. The third will hit India once she repairs in a couple of days. I just had some good local targets I wanted to try for combined with good recon..and see what happens. Interestingly, I didn't lose any to enemy action they all ran aground or hit an obstacle, etc. I guess the obstacle could be sub nets. It is all one big experiment.

Now I am going to try to stand off one-four hexes from port, send the slow midget sub in from way offshore, and see what happens. I will be using the 500 endurance slow midgets for this operation. In future all fast midget subs are going to base defense.

I am curious if I can send a midget sub into a port hex, and have it return to the mother ship several hexes away. Perhaps I have to use waypoints...should be interesting. One midget sub might be able to make several runs into a port that way given the 12 hex endurance. I don't see why I can't do this.

I plan to keep launching them for the rest of war...or until I lose the midget sub carriers. They are kind of fun, and add a little excitement to the turn.

I would like to get creative using the 500 endurance midgets more, they have quite the range (12 hexes), but I think their speed makes them only good for harbor infiltration.[&:]