Rob vs. 2ndACR .. Divine intervention needed NIK mod 5.2

[Rob Brennan UK]

ok 1st off .. whoops and sorry i forgot to take screnies.. my bad

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/26/42

been a day of major sub ops and ASW all round

I'll concentrate all sub related combat reports 1st

Sub attack at 25,54

Japanese Ships
AK Shinzui Maru
PC Ch 6
PC Ch 10
PC Ch 7
PC Ch 2

Allied Ships
SS O23, hits 2 SHE:S OK

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 22,51

Japanese Ships
AP Keisho Maru, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Sculpin

Japanese ground losses:
41 casualties reported

anothere full ship in the singapore region .. not bad

and another later on in the day

Sub attack at 22,54

Japanese Ships
AP Heiyo Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
SS Truant

Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported

also i finally sank that dratted sub off townsville .. at long last

ASW attack at 48,104

Japanese Ships
SS I-30, hits 15, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Monssen
DD O'Brien
DMS Southard
DMS Hovey
DMS Hopkins
MSW Kalgoorlie
MSW Benalla
MSW Castlemaine
MSW Horsham
MSW Caraquet


confirmed sunk in later messages.




RRob .. heres a typical burma strike

Day Air attack on 5th Engineer Regiment, at 31,31


Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 5
Wellington III x 63
B-26B Marauder x 38


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
112 casualties reported


Boosting the increased AV in PM i.e 60 .. several allied bombers started operating and today made a big impact

Day Air attack on TF at 56,88


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 14
Hudson I x 6
B-25C Mitchell x 9


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 1 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Shinonome
DD Shirayuki, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Koshu Maru #2, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kunimitsu Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Katsuragisan Maru

Japanese ground losses:
30 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Day Air attack on TF at 56,88


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 7
Hudson I x 6
B-25C Mitchell x 9


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Koshu Maru #2, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Mikage Maru #20
AP Tateyama Maru
DD Shirakumo
AP Kyuma Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Tonei Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Kidokawa Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
30 casualties reported

im not sure whats in any of them .. but im happy with the result [:D]

pics tomorrow ..

[Rob Brennan UK]

V late update today ,,and agin forgot scrrenies .. but its 3.30 AM .. so i have an excuse

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/27/42

Soerbaja gets hit again .. virtually no a./c left here .. just one damaged dakota .. need to turn on replacements again .. and try and get 1 a/c out

Day Air attack on Soerabaja , at 22,65

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 44
Ki-49 Helen x 94

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49 Helen: 1 destroyed, 9 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
C-47 Dakota: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
21 casualties reported

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 36


Allies finish off the resources in bulla

Day Air attack on Bulla , at 40,75


Allied aircraft
PBY Catalina x 2
B-17E Fortress x 35


No Allied losses

Resources hits 3


and for RROB .. another good burma attack .. this unit is retiring to rangoon it seems

Day Air attack on 2nd Tank Regiment, at 32,32


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 63
B-26B Marauder x 35


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
110 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 12

Allies again strike from PM .. the wellies are badly hurt with 1/2 damaged at days end

Day Air attack on TF, near Lae at 54,87

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 6
Hudson I x 3
B-25C Mitchell x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 6 damaged
Hudson I: 1 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Shoko Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AK Tsurugisan Maru

Also a speculative raid from koepang hits kendari .. and much to my suprise the escorts did ok

ay Air attack on TF, near Kendari at 33,71

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 15
Martin 139 x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed


Japanese Ships
AK Yosida Maru #1
AK Ussuri Maru

Fianlly today a most unexpected and very welcome result

Day Air attack on 30th Chinese Corps, at 38,37

Japanese aircraft
Ki-51 Sonia x 83
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 21 destroyed, 33 damaged



Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
18 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing at 2000 feet

WOW .. this sint LR cap either .. just regular leaking CAP from kweilien .. according to scot few pilots lost but its great exp for my guys all the same.

21-0 .. means an average of infinity-1 .. odds i do like very very much [:D]

end of day reported 25 dead .. so that dratted armour helps a lot ..

and i lost 2 in ops losses so realistically 23-2 .. still cant complain .. 4-1 is a Long long way off.

[06 Maestro]

Rob

It looks like this is getting close to a big turning point. I'm wondering what a typical Allied player decides at this point regarding the commitment of CV's to a major battle. Is it better to wait another couple of months for the upgrades or are you ready to pounce at a good opportunity?
An interesting time for the Allies, eh?

[Rob Brennan UK]

Hello maestro, i'm not sure we are at a turning point quite yet, but japan will get no easy victories from now on. Thats the plan anyway[;)].

I'm an opportunistic player i suppose. My Cv's can pounce or run away depends on the amount of force i see coming. As you know the bulk is in derby but im now down to just 2 brit Cv's ( dratted churchill).LBA is plentyful here, mostly the best fighters i can muster P40s' + hurricanes with P39's aimed at bomber destrioy role i.e low altitude if he tries to slip under the CAP. 8K.P39 15k ish for the rest upto 20k .

I have another 64 mitchells due in brisbane soon too . will rail them to derby as thats quite a big bomber base now its size 8. With the Brit aviation regiment now in N Oz .. AV support is quite good if not quite what id like it to be. with the new rules on cadre evacuation ( i forget the absolute amount) evacuating troops is a lot tougher but more realisitic. It will make the initial allied defence of malaysia a lot differant than before. As a side note im sending down a british Air Hq too, loading up in karachi right now as part of a supply/fuel convoy to perth. the extra 25% flyable a/c will be welcomed in australia. although it will take time to get here.

Scotty is a bit busy at work these days and he's busy for out of work stuff too, i'll let him talk about it if he wants to. So I'll do a synopsis of allied deployments in each theatre and short term and long term goals ( if i have any long term ones for the area).

I'll go 'round the clock' as this is the way i actually do my turns so i dont miss anything (hopefully). this is from memory by the way and no turn means no screenies for this post. I'll catch a bunch for the next few.

North Pacific.

I've sent more here than usual ( most NotPac troops bar one RCT and some engineers ). Shoty term is just to build up the aleutians in a linear fashion. I.E make a series of size 4 and 5 airfields on most islands. I'm landing and building up the islands just to the west of Dutch harbour for now. one RCT Prepped and engineers massing at Anchorage. I make the mistake of railing the base from juneau to anchorage without realising that some new a/c arrive at juneau so ive had to send it back. but i have pinched the BF from that useless island on the canadian border. So plenty of AV support ready to move out.

This really is a long term proposition and while not planning to have a northern attack on Japan i will have the infrastructure to do so if circumstances make if favourable. very light air here , some canadian fighters and some small mitchell groups along with a lot of PBY's make up the airforce in anchorage with PBY's flying from forward bases too. Dutch harbour and Kodiak. i'm pre prepping troops for attu and kiska already so when they land japan will have trouble dislodging them should he so wish.

Another long term is a plan to use the Aleutians as a main submarine staging area to stifle japan proper with shorter transit times than PH. also means Wake is of less importance to allied plans overall.( i already have the requires AS's here )

USA Mainland and Canada.

1st Canadian brigade sent via the atlantic to karachi last week, when PP allows it im thinking of sending one to china as an experiment in late 42. I'll keep one in vancouver just in case he tries a long range landing but i very much doubt it. american reinforcements are attempting to be moved as soon as possible but with shipping 1/2'd or 2/3d of standard this is putting some strain on the allied convoys. Escorts as ever are in very short supply DD's reserved for troop convoys only. some big AK/TK supply convoys unescorted and the small MSW's seem to slow them down too much , and i sent them well behind the lines where i have yet to see and japanese sub activity yet. The West Coast airforce is training or flying cap from san francisco and some bombers have been assigned to central pac and moved to PH. I'll not denude the place completely and all US West coast troops are still in place. come 43/44 this may well change as the threat becomes negligable. PBY and coranado ( i love them ) fly search up and down the coast from Prince rupert to Seattle. no japanese sub activity detected in a long time.

I'll try and keep a few MSW here in case of long range mining ops on the west coast ports.

Central Pacific.

Quiet .. seen a couple of subs transiting .. damaged one .. other is now not seen. Land defences are regiment in Midway/johnson/palmyra.. support too one CD and AA each. as well as christmas island which is a great size 5 when built. Im starting to build up jarvis is. too now as its a good transit stop from PH to Canton for fighters.

No long term plans here. eventually i'll think about wake but its too far inside japanese territory untill i get more carriers.

South Pacific.

The main line Canton/pago/tonga/suva .. garissoned min RCT ( except tonga which i recently removed for use on thursday island on New Guinea). Canton is the main base with a full division ( agreed max defence on atolls) along with many AA and support troops. its the hub for the area now. all bases have 20k+ supply and enough fuel for transiting convoys . Canton is the main naval base and will soon house some recent arrivals from america ( 2-3 BB's + escorts). also host to B17 and P39 wings. along with mitchells ( good ASW a/c imo).. Baker is in no mans land .. neither of us want to land there for fear of the others air capacity. Again Long term plans are for the build up of Baker then an island hopping campaign through the marshalls. this is feasable even with shorter range fighters once the first base is secured.

South West Pacific.

Centered on Noumea/Luganville\Efate. again all defensive here, Ground troops less than i'd like after the marines were shipped out but i dont think he'll go for here and im gambling on it as my airforce is relatively weak especially in fighters . kittyhawks and thats about it .. hudsons and mitchells on shipping search and destroy .. nothing seen recently. the Fleet in Noumea went to Aukland for its 4/42 refit but isnt repairing at all .. sent on to sydney with a bigger repair yard.

No plans for a long range invasion of guadalcanal. way too exposed imo. This may of course change based on what happens in New Guinea.

Side note .. one EAB ehgineer tasked with fortifying the bases north of noumea just in case.

Eastern Australia/New Guinea.

This will be a very active theatre i believe quite soon. Especially around PM. PM hold a full div along with 60AV support along with the original troops. I'd like to get the PM defence brigade out to rebuild but no dakaotas available. I have prepping/prepped both 6th and 7th aussie divs for here and the 1st USMC ( in transit ) too. I am very very tempted to throw in the 6th , currenty in townsville, before lae becomes operational. But that will compromise my ground forces on the mainland as the original townsville DIV is now in Derby. Along with one from brisbane now in Darwin.

the airforce is weak here too, very bomber heavy ( inc b17x48). However both cairns and cooktown boasting useful size 5 fields and AV support for 100 ish a/c. Brisbane is the main base with full AV support which could be pushed north in an emergency.

Tazmania has been emtied of all troops. the CD guns protect luganville and noumea, and the small ground units probably heading iirc to cairns/cooktown as only base forces here right now. a japanese para drop would be disasterous if unlikely.

I would like to try and hold PM .. and use it to launch attacks into the area come early 43. but holding it will depend on what japan does. I'm stockpiling supply in PM too as it will in all probability become air locked some time in the future. hence building up thursday is. to harass lae ( its within mitchell range and can be a size 4 .. size 2 as of now).

Central/North Australia and Timor

Perth has a full DIV. 100% prepped. the south is a bit bare but not empty. Ayres rock is a great transit base as its good to rail in/rail out with out needing large AV support.

Derby/Wyndam/Darwin area is the support areas for Timor as well as being defended in thier own right. derby is 270 AV support .. Darwin almost upto 250. I have massed allied fighters in N aus and Timor, darwin is a main bomber base and derby is great at repairing both troops and aircraft squadrons. A constant supply of AK's deliver supply to derby from perth and im not at 50k ish .. which i can then send out to timor is ness. Darwin annoyingly remains at 19k supply. I'm hopeing that some AK's sent to clear out the southern aussie bases will transfer to darwin the extra supply . LR cap will cover from Derby to Darwin. Melbourne does not need 50k supply [;)]

I have discussed the Timor defence many times so long term i want to be able to island hop up to hinder japanese oil centres as a main line of approach, and i need to keep timor alive to do so.I have never tried this approach before ( been succesful in marshalls/gilberts but never tried the DEI). I think this could be the most damaging attack plan for japan as i would like to starve the main island early so he cant make better aircraft later on.

DEI


Will die very shortly .. but will hopefulyl become a thorn for japan.


Burma/India

Its too late i think for an proper invasion India strategy. but i'll keep the coast garrisoned for a while longer. Burma has only its original troops , albeit reformed and flown back so mandalay is a tough proposition. the only exception is the small carabiniers tank force heading here as japan has a lot of armour in burma. i need some to reduce its effect. I've never lost mandalay in a PBEM before and i'll fight for it here too. keeping the burma road open is crucial for China. Mandalay now fort 9 with HQ support from SE aisa HQ down to army level prepped for it. Backup HQ in Mythilinka just in case it goes badly. want level 6 fields here too. so i can pump in 300 fighters to destroy the japanese air force. I have 300 fighters/FB's available too. Jorhat/kohima/myth air fields building just in case .. so i can fly in LR cap if needed. he'll have a job closing all 4 fields at once. and the commonwealth is not short on AV support unlike the rest of the map. British bombers are harassing and gaining good exp .. some are over 80 now. and the B26B's are good vs zero and oscar cap. Rangoon has a very heavy fighter presence and is unasailable fight now. Akyab lies in a dead zone but when built up will be invaluable as a base to strike into japanese held territory proper.

the rescued Malaysian forces are repairing well in madras with good supply and HQ support helping it along .. the BF;s fill back quick apart from the inf squads. when they get 30/60 AV back i tend to turn off replacements to concentrate the fighting men in the fighting units. this usually leaves them short on support squads but i can live with that as many commonwealth HQ's take up the slack.

I have alays thought of doing an invasion into north sumatra as opposed to a slugging match through burma as an interesting approach () never doen it before) .. britain has many many AK's just doing nothing early war ( sent a lot to the pac untill i get more american ones).

I'm not paying much attention to ceylon either and taking the prepped units elsewhere on the continent instead. I think of ceylon as a big POW camp if japan attacks .. and when allies come back its reversed into a bit japanese POW camp as its hellish to keep supplied by the japanese. hence ignoring it ( do have one div in colombo as a flag waving exercise but nothing else).

So long term .. burma ties up a lot of japanese land troops . Britain invades north sumatra and builds it up .. then invasion malaysia .. its a long coast to defend.

China.

Current stalemate is fine by me .. i have no offensive plans here unless he takes away too many troops for deployment elsewhere. china is supply short , although not critical. and i find bombarding with ground forces very wasterful of supply so i just hunker down and the targetted troops slowly get better experience with few losses.

I do like my massed fighter ambushes though . good for my morale early on .. and while the AVG has been effectively destroyed at 1/2(30 ish) strength . the RAF is doign just fine on occasioanal forays. supply though is a problem and ive dedicated a few dakotas to ledo to fly supply directy to kweiyang (i think). wher my airforce is based.

I have probed in force the very north of china ( 3 corps and the tanks) but come up against a brick wall .. 2 regiments backed by a mobile reserve DIV .. cant batter that away and rampage in the rear with the tanks . as was the original plan. However he didnt advance on Yenen while i was off with 50% of the troops so he cant launch an offensive either.

Homan can boast a level 4 airfield now.. good for raiding against infrastructure with the IL4's .. i wont send allied heavies here as i feel its gamey .. we both agree this. 2E however is another matter, but supply level will not allow for a big air offensive in china right now.

Russia ..

Nothing unless he activates it .. bases set to build and aircraft to train/accept replacemnets and upgrades so i can effectively ignore it . periodically check on new arrivals .. troops also set to recieve replacements. I have read a lot about russia being very supply short when at war. hopefully i'll not have to test this theory. untill 45 anyway. [:D]

Well after that long post i feel the need for a cool drink and wee rest to stop me from getting RSI [:D]

Bye bye all

pls feel free to comment on any of the above .. i tried to weed out the worst typos .. but i bet some clangers remain ..

[06 Maestro]

The approach though the DEI's could be a reasonable alternative to the historical route. The IJN CV's would have be nuetered first so as to prevent any surprise move in central/south Pacific. I suppose if the Alled player chose that route, it would be the primary AO for all available forces, rather than as just one of 4 concurrent advances. I'm just speculating, as I'm not quite an expert yet with this game.

It appears that "around the clock" method for carrying out each turn is the way to go- several have mentioned it. I am afraid I need to implement it in my "Rising Sun" vs. ai game.

[Rob Brennan UK]

I think a DEI approach would work well. and much better if Tomor can be held. I'm sort of giving him a choice of Tomor or PM. if both are well guarded he'll have to concentrate on one or the other and be open to LBA in either case.

agreed his CV's would be good to neutralise either by sinking ( preferred obviously) or nullified be heavy LBA threat and atrittion while using the allied CV's as a temporary shield for the next short advance.

I believe that a main thrust from timor with a secondary marshall/NG approach is possible and would force japan to split up all over . couple this with a well developed northern flank and his problems multiply all over the place.

I'm far from an expert in the game and im way less organised than most, i guess im more of a gut felling player than meticulous and using spread sheets etc .. that sounds like work to me and not fun at all [:D]. i have for example bhodi's utility loaded but i always forget to run it [;)]

EDIT - I dont have to neutralise the jap CV's as such, just thier ability to interfere in my operations , a scared KB is a good as a dead one really. and if im threatening the DEI oil ,, is he really going to bother with a few small atolls in the south pacific that neither of us realty care much about [;)]

[Nemo121]

Rob,

Is it possible to post a picture of the strategic map showing front line trace and suspected/confirmed enemy deployments.

I'd have to look at it to be sure but, depending on forces available, I would suggest a three prong approach centred around maximal utilisation of each of your three primary strengths AND each forcing the Japanese to commit a different force mix thus preventing the Japanese from using one force component to shield others. This way you maximise his attrition and resource/pilot usage such that the collapse of his air force comes all the sooner:


1. Central Pacific:
Operations supported by the entirety of your CV force in the pacific massing overwhelming force against a particular, isolated, island. Once taken, move in some engineers, supplies, rest and refit your troops in this new forward base, bring up your LBA to bomb the next base in line and then invade that. Since you won't need your entire ground force for each island you can maximise the momentum of your invasions by creating 2 to 3 separate invasion TFs with the first capturing the initial target while the 2nd and 3rd prep for the 2nd and 3rd targets in line. Once the initial target is taken your 1st invasion TF begins prepping for the 4th target.

To stop this thrust the enemy would need to commit significant air and naval assets, allowing you to attrit them. Your main combat power here would be provided by your CVs.


2. DEI:
A thrust upwards from Australia would force the enemy to commit significant ground, light naval and air forces to the region. Everything he commits to this area will come within easy range of your LBA and be slowly but surely worn down. Interdiction of SLOCs by LBA and reduction of resources/oil would also be possible.

The enemy's navy can be occupied in the pacific leaving his army and naval bombers and fighters supported by strong infantry garrisons to attempt to hold you at bay here. With some good dislocatory moves and some bold strikes to bases inside his defensive perimeter you could quickly dislocate his entire DEI defensive strategy.


3. Northern Route:
No need for major naval or air committments here. It can be an area in which light surface forces and limited-risk invasions move you inexorably closer to the Japanese mainland. Not a decisive theatre UNLESS he fails to adequately garrison it. So, it acts to draw off ground troops from the much more decisive DEI and Pacific theatres.


4. India/Burma:
This is a purely dislocatory theatre really. Bomb the supply and resources and keep a couple of divisions loaded in APs in order to take advantage of enemy movements to counter the thrust upward from DEI... Getting some troops onto the western coast of Sumatra could provide very useful airbases which would be a real pain to recapture.


What this strategy would accomplish is:
a) to spread the Japanese ground and air forces as thinly as possible in defensive deployments ( allowing you to maximise your opportunities for many on one engagements )

b) to encourage the committment of his navy in the central pacific to blunt one of your invasions ( even if you lost 2:1 in this battle it would, strategically, be a victory for you as, after a short pause, your central pacific strategy could continue and the Japanese ability to prevent the northern and DEI strategies would be greatly lessened if their ability to strike your convoys/bombard is thus reduced.)

c) Provide multiple threats to resource-rich areas all of which must be countered by committment of air units ( Burma/Sumatra, DEI, Northern pacific) allowing you to accelerate the wearing down of his air units.

d) The more of his ground troops are tied down in garrisons across the map the less he has available to decisively reinforce any critical sector.

e) it would maximise the contribution of each of your cardinal strengths in theatres which minimise the risk to them ( Central Pacific - naval, DEI - + ground and a lot of air, Northern Pacific, few infantry but a lo of LBA so that he draws off forces to meet this threat, India/Burma- a constant threat of invasion to tie down forces required elsewhere. if he takes a risk then the threat becomes real).


You need to integrate these four theatres ( even if you're only integrating the THREAT of decisive attack in 2 of the theatres ( northern pacific and India/Burma) and phase the operations to achieve maximum dislocation and I think the benefits will become obvious. Of the 4 theatres the DEI should have absolute priority in ground, aerial and light to medium naval units. It attacks the enemy centre of gravity and therefore should dispose at least 2/3rd of your air and offensive-capable ground units if at all possible.

[Rob Brennan UK]

wow Nemo , i think you just explained in detail exactly what my wooly mind was thinking, bar the central pacific starategy, Its too early to be able to threaten wake/gilberts yet but the marshalls will become operational in autumn 42.

I have seen far too many early allied attempts on wake fail horribly to be convinced that this is the way to go early on. knowing how meticulous 2ndACR is he will have adequate garrisons everywhere, i cant trust to luck to find a place ill defended.

the main thorn in the allied side is lack of LR recon aircraft. i currently have no F5's yet but they are invaluable to check garrison levels before thinking of invasion imo.

Allied air combat power is defensively deployed near Timor right now, backed up with 200+ fighters and Land bombers its quite a force here.

Future use for the CV's will depend on how well my defence works, yup atrittion is the way to go and i do my best to hurt training missions in china, however he's doing a lot of training in the PI against two island gassisons he left alone. I'm currently sub evacuating an entire PI div to prevent or slow down free training.

He just sent another CV probe into the coral sea and its heading SW to brisbane. he might catch a supply convoy but all else is small AK runs north and nothing much of value is here. 2 large oil convoys heading to sydney however are valuable, but i doubt he'll head this far south. CV hornet is in brisbane and will remain there. Looks like my flag waving has at least brought baby KB here , as CVE taiyo was identified. LBA in East Oz is pretty pitiful unfortunately.

to answer you point by point

1) Central pacific does require concentrated land power projection which i do not have here in any measure. the good units are being defensively deployed to timor (2nd US marines) and PM (1st USMC).
and the CV's are far away. wake will be a 43 operatrion at the earliest.

2) Agree 100% .. hence the heavy defence of Timor. and the build up in N australia at the expence of east Oz. Holding timor as a springboard is my main strategic defensive operation. even if he comes here in overwhelming force ( and he could ) It will certainly hurt him badly. If he does not commit enough it again will hurt him for zero gain ( my best option).

3) again agree 100% .. it does not hurt to prepare the ground here and will force him to spread out. which is the entire point of the plan.

4)again agreed , im not too sure about keeping divs loaded on AP's at this stage however its too early and i have no CV support for any invasions. Defence is paramount right now. Mandalay will become a quagmire is he attacks here. and its a great level 6 base for hiting factories and res all over SE asia ( when it builds L4 55% right now). The idea of invading west sumatra is a good one IF he hasnt developed bases in the North else interdiction will become a big problem hence the north 1st strategy. keep the convoy routes from Ceylon much much shorter too.

Again points a)-e). Yes thats the overall idea, keep pressure all over the map. Central pacific can be scaled down however as he wont have any intel on the region and will have to assume the worst case scenario.

Cant do a overall piccie as just ran a turn ' i'll get one next turn , which incidentally will be 30th June .. my birthday. [:D]

EDIT .. i was mid turn .. so can take an overview

[Rob Brennan UK]

OK time marches on and so does my sumbrine arm .. gret dat for them both in the solomons and off sumatra.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/29/42

Sub attack at 65,95

Japanese Ships
AP Juko Maru, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS S-28

Japanese ground losses:
98 casualties reported

just North of Guadalcanal .. the S-boats work well in shallow water .. troops
on board too. bonus .

SS sargo 180 miles off palembang was ultra agressive .. both surface attacks in daylight ..
good show boys .. back for ammo and biscuits.

Sub attack at 23,54

Japanese Ships
AP Meiu Maru, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
SS Sargo

Japanese ground losses:
66 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 23,54

Japanese Ships
AP Taibun Maru, Shell hits 7, on fire

Allied Ships
SS Sargo

Japanese ground losses:
45 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

I seem to be attracted to troops ships today !

In the air today .. and engineer regimeent was plastered in Burma

Day Air attack on 5th Engineer Regiment, at 31,31


Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 16
Wellington III x 67
B-26B Marauder x 42


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
246 casualties reported


this happened over Pagan, the allied bomber force is rightly pround of this

Then the small AF in PM took several small actions against shipping heading to
and leaving Lae. this is exactly what they are here for.

Day Air attack on TF, near Sag Sag at 57,88


Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 3


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Tsurugisan Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Day Air attack on TF at 56,88


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 6
Hudson I x 6
B-25C Mitchell x 10


Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Tonei Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Kunimitsu Maru, heavy damage
AP Kembu Maru, Bomb hits 1
AP Chichibu Maru
AP Katsuragisan Maru
AP Mikage Maru #20

Day Air attack on TF at 56,88


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 4


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Kyuma Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Day Air attack on TF at 56,88

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 3
Hudson I x 7
B-25C Mitchell x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Shinonome, Bomb hits 1
DD Shirakumo
AP Kowa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Katsuragisan Maru, Bomb hits 1
DD Shirayuki, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP Chichibu Maru, Bomb hits 1

2 DD's hit is a great bonus too. long way to truk ..

Ground combat was the usual shelling .. however I have cut off nanning finally.

and pics galore

china 1st

[Rob Brennan UK]

Burma next

[Rob Brennan UK]

Timor

[Rob Brennan UK]

East OZ
thats baby KB on a raid

[Nikademus]

Sounds like you've got your bases covered though i still would fret about such a forward defense poking into the SRA at this date. With so much airpower in northern Oz too, I would worry about Eastern Oz. (In this area too, i agreed with AB's map change.....Northern Oz should be a logistical nightmare during this period of time)

[Sardaukar]

On Ardrew Brown's map that kind of concentration to Timor and Northern Oz would be hard to sustain. I like his map very much, since it forces to supply Darwin etc. by sea if planning to stack lot of units and air power there.

[Nikademus]

Yes....that was my motivation for removing resources from northern Oz. Knew it wouldn't solve it completely but at least would make it a little harder. I'm still wary however of Andrew's change for Burma. While technically correct (the harsh terrain at the southern border), its already very hard for Japan to do what she did historically in Burma as is (and demonstrated very well in this AAR....and my own game with Speedy)

Japan needs to move quickly currently to prevent Burma from becoming a fortified camp from Central Burma on up.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Hi guys ..

Im being converted to AB's map for my next game, also would like to look at CHS and RHS in more detail ..

would either be compatible with your mod nik ? im hopeing RHS might include your air and flak changes .. combined with AB's map would be great.

EDIT ,, NIK i am having to ship up resources from perth to derby and koepang to keep the place running .. darwin sits on 19k supply and does need some AK's to come along once in a while.
OK my forward defence is a bit risky but it sure is FUN .. i hate running away as allies makes for a dull game for both players.. and after all its all about enjoying the game not clicking end turn 100 times for allies then starting to play [;)]

[Nikademus]

Nope...CHS is a seperate OOB based scenario as is mine. RHS is....whatever it will be. [;)]

EDIT ,, NIK i am having to ship up resources from perth to derby and koepang to keep the place running .. darwin sits on 19k supply and does need some AK's to come along once in a while.
OK my forward defence is a bit risky but it sure is FUN .. i hate running away as allies makes for a dull game for both players.. and after all its all about enjoying the game not clicking end turn 100 times for allies then starting to play

Yes, thats good (i'm doing the same in my game) No argument about the fun factor. Having experienced it, its not alot of fun playing an Allied opponent who won't come out till 43. As Allies i feel somewhat obligated to keep things interesting given the resource advantage. Thats why i staged two carrier raids in my game with Speedy. Risky but FUN.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Yuppers your raid on Truk was a gamble .. but zero nerf did help a bit [;)].

I am starting to get worried about him doing a big invasion well behind my lines .. humm #

he's taunting me with baby KB .. discovered one oddity .. CV hornet planes cant unload as they are West coast HQ based ! yikes and i just got negative PP's .. winnie wants more ships back now ! bugger .. CL +2DD's .. he can have a CL .. enterprise class .. not having the DD's though ..

interesting turn and not good for the allies !

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/30/42

Speculative industry raid over china .. not much really

Day Air attack on Nanchang , at 49,37


Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 7


No Allied losses

Heavy Industry hits 1

Then this arrived over my main airbase in china ! .. i was away running LR CAP .. so no fight took place but the brits returned to find a cratered ruin .. most landed ok .. refuelled and left fast !
a few damaged frames left behind. could have been much worse .. or much better ??? no idea what might have happened .. 7k alt though would have gone under most CAP.

then baby KB hit a brisbane bound convoy .. heres a taster .. only 2 AK and one TK left floating and under powere . several more are drifting and burning.

I did divert south and didnt expect a raid this far .. humm im paying for not garissoning the east coast better ..

Day Air attack on TF at 51,116

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
D3A Val x 16
B5N Kate x 63

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied Ships
TK William H. Berg, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
TK S.C.T. Todd
AK Mauna Loa, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
MSW Rail, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
TK Cathwood, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
TK Huguenot, Torpedo hits 3, on fire
PG Vancouver, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
TK M.E. Lombardi, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Manini, Torpedo hits 1
TK California Standard, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

PM based units had a further few raids

Day Air attack on TF at 58,88


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 9
Hudson I x 6
B-25C Mitchell x 9


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Katsuragisan Maru, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
DD Shirayuki, heavy damage
AP Chichibu Maru, on fire, heavy damage

Ive sent the flying ones back to Oz. i expect a retaliation soon . dont want to lose experienced aircrew if possible.

Still no ground attack on soerbaja ! .. oddly the dakotas arent repairing at all ! 3 days running and none 16 damaged .. annoying.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Big turn !

Havnt got time to explain much .. port attack on brisbane

Day Air attack on Brisbane , at 46,114

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
D3A Val x 13
B5N Kate x 70

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 2 damaged
B5N Kate: 8 destroyed, 20 damaged


Allied Ships
CV Hornet, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Anderson, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1


Day Air attack on TF at 49,114

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 29

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9
B-17E Fortress x 31

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 16 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVE Taiyo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Junyo, Bomb hits 1
CV Hiyo
CVE Unyo, Bomb hits 1
CVL Ryujo

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 11000 feet



Day Air attack on TF at 49,114

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27

Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 18
TBD Devastator x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 7 destroyed, 4 damaged
TBD Devastator: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVE Taiyo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Hiyo
CVE Unyo


Ground combat at Soerabaja

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 91165 troops, 662 guns, 7 vehicles, Beginning Assault Value = 1600

Defending force 15786 troops, 82 guns, 2 vehicles, Beginning Assault Value = 208

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 8

Japanese max assault: 1327 - adjusted assault: 1179

Allied max defense: 198 - adjusted defense: 889

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 8)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 8


Japanese ground losses:
463 casualties reported
Guns lost 18

Allied ground losses:
740 casualties reported
Guns lost 32
Vehicles lost 1

EDIT :- .. ok im back with a bit more time to explain ..

Basically we have been swotting turns back and forth so much today i made an error in not
reinforcing bribane with the fighters i have in townsville and cairns .. not to mention the beauforts and experianced hudsons .. IF i had the result might have been very differant.

Brisbane is a size 9 .. so she might survive if the flot can be brought under control

not being able to rebase the CV aircraft was a major pain ( needed PP's at just the wrong time )

The taiho looked badly damaged from animations and suffered 2 fuel explosions ( so did Hornet). Not a great exchange .. but i suspect she'll sink going home .. you have all warned me about basing too far forward and looks like i paid for it today. I was geting way over confident which is a bad
mistake vs someone of 2ndACR's ability .. whoops ! [:D]

[cantona]

nice aar[:D]