Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J) DBB-B

[apbarog]

27 May 42

45 Zeros and 45 Oscars sweep Paoshan in western China.

Near Hengyang, in the Chinese pocket, lots of Sonias bomb Chinese troops in the woods, without escort. A dozen or so Oscars do sweep the hex later in the day. There is no CAP, but there will be tomorrow. P-40Es and Hurricanes are brought in from Ledo for a 4 hex LRCAP mission.

The Gilberts armada is now 2 hexes SE of Tabiteuea. Some task forces are spotted, but not the carriers, but they'd been seen yesterday. Lots of shipping will unload at Tabiteuea with the night phase. Remember, Tabiteuea is and has been a US base. The enemy hasn't come further south than Tarawa.

Just one enemy sub is spotted in the area today, well east of the armada. Carriers will stay in place, and will LRCAP Tabiteuea with a squadron tomorrow, and a couple of fighter squadrons will range CAP also. I want to unload ASAP and leave ASAP, then misdirect Aurorus as to which way they are retiring, to set up for the next operation.

Enemy carriers have not been seen in weeks. Plenty of SigInt of troops prepping for Luzon. Some troops that were used in Java are still there, including some of the good artillery. I think some of that is earmarked for Bataan.

Heavily damaged CL St. Louis pulls into Sydney today. Gravely damaged CL Durban gets to Auckland today or tomorrow. Hurrah!

[apbarog]

28 May 42

Sub Haddock fires 2 torpedoes at xAK Kurogane Maru near Makin, but misses.

My CAP trap works, sort of, near Hengyang. 7 Hurris and 7 P-40Es intercept 12 Oscars sweeping. A couple of Oscars are downed. 57 Sonias then arrive unescorted, and 6 P-40Es intercept, but time to target was just 5 minutes, and no intercept actually occurs. The same happened with follow-on raids of 16 Sonias and 9 Sonias. A great chance to down some bombers, but it didn't happen.

Most troops unloading at Tabiteuea have done so. The good APs should leave tomorrow, with some xAKs staying to unload supply.

CL Durban is at Auckland with SYS 43/FLOT 73-60/ENG 18-14/FIRE 0. It had FLOT damage in the 90's when at Noumea, but it is now safe.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

26 May 42

An interesting piece of SigInt today: 1/1 Raid Regiment is at Taung Gyi in Burma. This base is in central Burma, and has an airfield size 1. The interesting part, to me, is that this is a fragment of the unit. Why is the unit fragmented? This isn't a case of being loaded on ships. Not sure what to make of this. Extreme ideas are that the unit was loaded on ships, and a fragment was left here, and the bulk of the unit is off somewhere else on a secret mission. Just a paranoid thought though.

A Raiding Regiment is a paratroop unit. He likely was flying it in and didn't have enough transport aircraft to lift all of it.

EDIT: PS - congrats on saving those cruisers. Like you, I like this "game within a game". When you succeed it gives you the comfortable illusion that you have control over some aspects of what happens! [:D]

[apbarog]

29 May 42

Sub Trout spots a carrier task force just NW of Nauru Island. 6 torpedoes are fired at CV Hiryu, but all miss. Sub Trigger then spots the same task force, which moved one hex to the NE, but there's no engagement. Hiryu is here, and probably not alone. This is danger close to Tabiteuea, so it's time to leave. It's worth noting that none of my subs got detection levels, so the carriers may have been approaching in silent mode.

Near Onotoa, I-24 spotted 3 US destroyers, and fired 6 torpedoes at DD Farragut, but missed.

30 Zeros from Tarawa swept Tabiteuea, and found 11 F4F-3As and 34 F4F-4s capping the amphibious and escort task forces there. The combat report showed approximately even losses, but actual losses were 7 F4F-4s, 6 F4F-3As, and 6 Zeros.

With all troops and support unloaded at Tabiteuea, and enemy carriers within one day's travel, the supply convoy and cruiser escorts will leave, as will the Allied carriers. The fast APs left during the day already, and are already leaving the area. Tabiteuea will be left to build and fend for itself for awhile.

The Imperial Guard Division is now adjacent to Paoshan in western China. It appears to be alone, and the other units at Lashio appear to have not left Lashio. With the forts at Paoshan, and the mountainous terrain, the base is safe against the lone division.

The enemy's Southern Army HQ is reported to be at Magwe. This is a forward deployment of the HQ, and could support an enemy offensive into India from there. It could be further south if the intentions of the enemy were just to defend Burma.

An enemy infantry division moved NW from La Foa, and was replaced with an infantry regiment.

With the upcoming June 1st turn, many ships will be due upgrades. Lots of cargo ships, and support ships. Most ships not needed in the next operation will upgrade immediately.

[apbarog]

I think you are right BBfanboy. That raiding regiment was previously further south, in Thailand, before the enemy went to Burma. It was probably being flown to the front. I think I've done a pretty good job covering potential paratroop drop bases behind my lines, so I'm not too concerned. I'm not seeing a general offensive towards India, yet.

[apbarog]

30 May 42

South of Norfolk Island about 4 hexes, 4 huge Allied transports are carrying an infantry division to Sydney. Midget sub SSX Ha-8 spots xAP Wakefield, fires 2 torpedoes, but misses. Then I-16, in the same hex, fires 6 torpedoes at xAP Mount Vernon, and gets one hit. Mount Vernon is now SYS 17/FLOT 33-17/ENG 0/FIRE 0, so it should be ok, and will procede to Sydney on its own, going a bit slower. The other 3 ships now make full speed to port. Got to get the division landed. 3 destroyers are patrolling these waters, but haven't found any of the many subs here yet. It was interesting to see a midget sub being used in mid-ocean.

In the pocket in southern China, near Hengyang, the enemy air force concentrates. There is one Chinese corp here in the woods, and no CAP. This is the hex that I CAP trapped yesterday but failed to intercept. Today, many enemy show up:

11 Oscars
27 Nates
26 Oscars
27 Sallys
27 Lilys
33 Sonias
29 Sallys
9 Sonias
3 Nates
18 Sonias
11 Nates
13 Sonias
9 Sonias

No sign of Hiryu near Nauru Island today. All Allied shipping left Tabiteuea. Carrier SBDs lit up a sub or two while withdrawing south. Today, all Allied ships ground their search and ASW planes and change course.

[Blackhorse]

apbarog,

I read this gripping AAR over the weekend. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I've gleaned a lot of tips on how to play this monster. The New Caledonia actions read like the actual Guadalcanal campaign, but on steroids, and months earlier. Have you seen a substantial increase in the experience for your ground units on the island?

Key question: where are Wedge Donovan and the Fighting Seabees these days?

[apbarog]

Thank you Blackhorse. I'm not much of a writer, so I let the day-to-day actions tell the story.

There has been very little combat on New Caledonia, actually. The enemy pushed south from Koumac, had superior numbers, but knew that it didn't have the numbers to take Noumea, so didn't really try. I was then able to reinforce and supply Noumea to it's stacking limit, but don't have the forces to move to La Foa and attack north. So not much combat, so not much experience gained. The 2nd Marine Division, now fully formed, is very experienced. The Americal Division is not, and has been in rest mode at Noumea since the enemy pulled back to La Foa. Americal is therefore gaining some experience slowly through training.

Wedge Donovan, with the 1st US CB's is still at Noumea, helping to dig in and build the airfield and port. Once the enemy saw Wedge coming at them with his bulldozer, they turned tail and retreated to La Foa. Yes, he has won the war. So far.

[apbarog]

31 May 42

Near Jaluit in the Marshalls, sub Grayback fires 2 torpedoes at xAK Kurogane Maru. One hits, but it is a dud. The only other ship spotted is a patrol boat.

Near Funafuti, south of the Gilberts, I-168 fires 2 torpedoes at DD Balch, but misses. The enemy sees Prince of Wales, 5 cruisers, and 5 destroyers during the night phase. This is one of the carrier task forces. The attack happened at a fortunate spot for me. It's exactly at the point where I doglegged the carrier task force paths. It looks like they are heading due south of Tabiteuea, towards either Pago Pago or Suva. But they are not. The carrier task forces are not spotted during the day.

I don't remember enemy air attacks at Chittagong before today. 45 Zeros swept, finding 27 P-40Es, one of the Flying Tiger squadrons. 6 P-40s are lost, and no Zeros are shot down. This is the best I have to offer for pilots. 54 Sallys with 30 Oscars escorting arrive. 2 Oscars are downed. The bombers targeted ground units, and mostly hit the fortress unit there. Clear terrain but light rain. 150 casualties. I have to either load up 100+ fighters, or leave. For today, I leave. The AVG squadron needs time to recover, and rails to Madras. Finally, 42 Oscars arrive with a late sweep, downing a couple more P-40Es.

Enemy recon looks at Calcutta for the first time.

The hex near Hengyang gets the enemy treatment again today. Many fighters and bombers.

Many ships go into refit today. Lots of Australian infantry units upgrade.

[apbarog]

1 Jun 42

S-31 spots a task force of tiny yard oilers near Luganville.

Sub Plunger spots an xAK and a PB near Makin, fires at the PB, but misses.

The isolated Chinese corp near Hengyang gets all of the fighter and bomber attention in China again today.

The enemy squadrons that hit Chittagong yesterday hit Imphal today. 3 groupings: Sallys with Oscars escorting, sweeping Zeros, and sweeping Oscars. There was no CAP, and the airfield took minor damage. Will be hard to stop with over 100 enemy fighters committed, and guessing where the next strike will be. At least the strikes seem to be being done just because they can be, not part of some offensive.

S-23 sinks a tiny minesweeper near Rangoon.

And the big news for today: Luzon is finally invaded by the enemy, with SNLF units landing at unoccupied Naga and Atimonan. Bataan is heavily defended, and still has 20,000 supply. Manila is lightly defended. All of the other units, mostly Philippine units, are in the inland jungle hexes of Luzon. They have been resting for 6 months, and have become somewhat capable units with good morale and somewhat better experience. They will have to be dug out of the jungle, off of the roads. This will take time, but it will happen, as they will run out of supply quickly once isolated. For me, Luzon is already a win. Skipping the early Luzon landing didn't make a significant difference to the war, in my opinion. And Luzon will hold out as long as possible. Whatever forces attack there now aren't being used elsewhere. And it will take some divisions to conquer. (SigInt just today says that 38 Division is planning for Bataan). It's too early to know, but a landing at Luzon now means less of a chance of a big invasion of Australia or India.

It has crossed my mind over the past few months to put together a Luzon rescue armada, but it just doesn't make sense. It probably wouldn't be a war winning move, with, at best, it prolonging the defense of Luzon, and it could very easily be a war losing move, risking the fleet and lots of cargo ships far from safety. Fun to think about, but not something I'd be comfortable doing.

[apbarog]

2 Jun 42

Sub Sturgeon spots an xAK near Phuket, but there's no engagement.

The usual enemy air activity over the woods near Hengyang.

Sallys from Mindanao bomb a small Philippine unit at Boac on Luzon. The enemy continued landing an SNLF unit at adjacent Antimonan, where the empty base falls. The SNLF units that landed there and at Naga were not prepped for these bases, and took some disablements. Besides Boac, there's no Allied defenses all the way to Manila. A few Philippine PT boats are still at Bataan. Enemy Kates spotted them today, so there's probably enemy carriers covering the landings.

In the morning, 16 B-17s from Calcutta bombed the airfield at Myitkyina. There was no CAP. Good thing, as the fighter sweeps from Ledo flew in the afternoon. 6 Oscars were destroyed on the ground.

[apbarog]

Luzon - June 1942

[CaptBeefheart]

Well played in New Caledonia. I must admit I didn't think you'd pull it off.

You may just have to load up Chittagong with engineers and AA.

Cheers,
CC

[apbarog]

3 Jun 42

Sub Plunger spots a convoy with 3 AKEs, fires 2 torpedoes at a patrol boat, and misses. This is SE of Kwajalein a few hexes. I suspect that the AKEs are moving SE, to Tarawa or Makin or something nearby. This movement implies more enemy interest in the Gilberts. Tabiteuea is probably drawing more attention soon.

2 hexes east of Kirakira in the Solomons, sub Porpoise spots battleships Mutsu and Nagato, along with destroyer escorts. 4 torpedoes are fired at DD Nowaki, and they miss. This TF is probably headed east toward Tabiteuea, or southeast toward Luganville.

Paoshan gets lots of enemy air activity, with heavy sweeps and some bombing. I've seen the Imperial Guard Division just to the west of Paoshan, but now there are 3 units there. Definitely a push into western China from Burma. Defenses are helped with the mountainous terrain, but few defending units mean that flanking is possible, however slow it would be moving through the mountainous terrain.

The daily sweeps and bombing near Hengyang.

No new enemy landings on Luzon. With no search or recon planes (or any other for that matter), I won't see enemy movement until it actually occurs. Same for any other amphibious landings.

Up north near the Kuriles, sub Flying Fish spots a couple of enemy patrol boats, but misses one with two torpedoes.

Carrier Wasp will appear at Panama in 3 days. A new CLAA is there waiting to join the carrier for the trip to Pearl Harbor.

[BBfanboy]

I think Wasp gets met with the CLAA plus BB North Carolina and six DDs that show up at Panama at the same time as Wasp.

[apbarog]

I think that is true. In my game, we're playing with reinforcements +/- 60 days, so sometimes the big boys show up without escorts, and some extra planning is needed to provide them at the right time. I don't have North Carolina yet.

[apbarog]

3 Jun 42 - Ship Reinforcements

This is the ship reinforcement list for the entire next 12 months, for US CVs, CVEs, and BBs. It isn't until later in 1943 that the Essex class carriers start appearing, and from then on, things just get better and better. But for the next year, carrier-wise, what I have is what I will have. It is important not to waste them.

[apbarog]

Probably no turn from Aurorus until Monday. He is having internet problems, and has to travel to an internet cafe to send and receive turns. He hopes that all is resolved by Wednesday. Things will be slower till that happens.

[apbarog]

4 Jun 42

Dutch sub KXI is spotted by a DMS between Port Moresby and Milne Bay. No engagement.

Lilys bomb Malaybalay, as usual. 3 enemy units spotted at enemy base next to Boac on Luzon, so there's more landing there.

Usual bombing near Hengyang, with far fewer fighters today. Could be the weather.

See the map for activity in the Gilberts.

[apbarog]

Aurorus has resolved his internet issues, so we should be back to our usual one turn a day.

5 Jun 42

What looks like a sizable transport force is spotted by Dutch sub O23 north of Tulagi. 2 xAPs, 2 APDs, and AK, and 2 DDs are spotted. Probably more there. 4 torpedoes miss APD Tade.

Paoshan is swept and bombed to little effect. There are now 5 enemy units just to the west, led by the Imperial Guard Division. The Chinese wait, dug in at the base in the mountains.

The usual daily sweeps and bombings near Hengyang.

No movement seen yet on Luzon.

Plenty of enemy movement seen on the map. Allied carriers had been in this area recently, but they aren't here now. The enemy intentions are not known.

In the past couple of weeks, 2 US infantry divisions have traveled from the West Coast to Sydney: 40 Division and 32 Division. Both are prepping for Koumac.