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BBfanboy wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2024 12:55 am Darwin is not a good place to send Force Z. It is a trap if the IJN comes in from East and West with KB and Mini KB, and it does not have the size to rearm or repair big ships. And of course fuel is scarce in OZ. I send Force Z first to Colombo and, if that looks unsafe, up to Bombay or west to Capetown to get their refits done. Note that in March 1942 Real Life, KB raided Darwin!

Some sage advice there as always, BB Fanboy.

I’ve split off Prince of Wales from Force Z, PoW is with Indomitable and Warspite about 5 days south of Colombo. Force Z now consists of Repulse and the heavy cruisers Australia and Dorsetshire, based out of Port Hedland. Darwin is a temporary expedient because at the moment that is where the fuel is.

It’s a good point about not getting trapped in Darwin though, I’ve made a note for Force Z not to linger there and probably head back to Port Hedland.

At Port Hedland there is AE Lassen for rearming, a repair ship, and the US Asiatic Fleet HQ with it’s naval support, although any serious repairs would have to be done elsewhere. The nearest (I think only) floating dock capable of handling Repulse is the 55,000 dock brought out of Singapore which is currently at Melbourne.

I intend to make the Japanese fight for Timor, Saumlaki and Darwin (if they want it), although keeping Allied surface forces in fuel may become an issue. A Japanese carrier strike on Darwin would be a right PITA at the moment, but drawing Japanese forces into this area is exactly what I’m trying to achieve.


[EDIT - For future clarity I'll drop the term 'Force Z' unless referring to Repulse and Prince of Wales operating together.]

Your campaign is certainly a new one to me. Usually the KB is very busy and only unseen for a week or two as it shifts fronts or sheds a few damage points in port.

Against Ironman AI, Darwin is pretty much untenable. I think of it as an island, but with a massive barrier to the south, so geographically speaking, it's worse than a normal island. I usually don't bother to hold it. However, against your opponent, who hasn't even cleaned up the DEI, so far, so good.

The other thing is bringing fuel from Oz to the DEI. That's like taking a six-pack to a brewery, a six-pack from a country where alcohol is banned. In your case, it appears to be a great move. Keep up the good work.

In terms of SigInt, is there any hint at all of a grandiose offensive? Say an attack on Canada, Hawaii or NZ? Do you have a good handle on where each of his starting divisions are? I keep waiting for the hammer to fall.

Cheers,
CB

A grandiose Japanese offensive at distant places should be highly improbable in this mod by design - unless the Japanese player wants to crash his economy in 1942. Japan needs to employ a maximum of merchant ships to haul ressources to the home islands from the beginning or risk running short pretty quickly, esp. if HI / LI have been expanded. Shipping is a bottleneck from the beginning and it can only get worse for the Empire.

LargeSlowTarget wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2024 8:31 am A grandiose Japanese offensive at distant places should be highly improbable in this mod by design - unless the Japanese player wants to crash his economy in 1942. Japan needs to employ a maximum of merchant ships to haul ressources to the home islands from the beginning or risk running short pretty quickly, esp. if HI / LI have been expanded. Shipping is a bottleneck from the beginning and it can only get worse for the Empire.

Thanks for the feedback, LST. That makes sense considering the name of the mod.

Cheers,
CB

Thanks for the input and explanation LST.


CaptBeefheart - I think I should have paid more attention to the mod’s title as well! Logistics are harder for the Allied player too, though nowhere near as bad I gather as for the Japanese side. It is something perhaps I should have considered more closely when deciding to make a stand north of Darwin. At the moment there’s 80,000 fuel in Darwin, about 20,000 at Koepang and maybe 6,000 at Port Hedland. I intend to make Port Hedland the main fuel hub when I can expand the facilities there.

Remember, what I’m trying to achieve here is to draw in and tie up as much Japanese force in the DEI as I can, and hopefully wear it down too. For this I don’t need to actually hold Darwin (though that would be a definite bonus), just convince my opponent that this is what I’m trying to do. Similarly, any future Allied offensives in this area don’t have to be successful in advancing, they just have to be convincing enough. I think I can logistically sustain enough force in theatre to achieve this….but….well, we’ll see. If I can’t then I’ll probably put more emphasis on operations in New Guinea and the Bismarcks. Whether my opponent will be fooled by any of this is of course another matter.

As for KB’s absence - let’s imagine for a moment that my assessment of Fokko’s strategy is correct, i.e. no attempt at a 1943 auto-victory, not risking heavy losses and becoming overstretched, but rather keeping to a limited, more easily defended perimeter, possibly something similar to what the Japanese achieved historically. If this is correct, then he doesn’t really need to use KB more than he has done in covering invasions out of range of land-based air (Rabaul, Wake, Eastern New Guinea) or chasing away my carriers/heavy surface forces. Sure, he could use KB to raid my sea lanes and disrupt the buildup of Allied forces, but is it worth the risk of attritional losses to KB’s elite pilots and the possibility of an unlucky encounter with an Allied submarine just to retard my defensive buildup in places he doesn’t intend to take anyway? This could also explain the Japanese slow rate of advance. If Fokko doesn’t intend to take places like Canton Island, Fiji, New Caledonia, Port Moresby, Darwin, Calcutta etc, then what’s the hurry? Japan already has Rabaul, Palembang, Singapore, Manila and Rangoon, and will soon clear out the Philippines and take Java. Hopefully I can make Japan’s slow advance pay the price at Timor and Saumlaki, but I can see the sense in Japan’s approach. A tight, well defended perimeter with an intact KB, avoiding a Midway-type disaster and the grinding attrition of the Solomons will be a tough nut to crack, I think.

There is of course another explanation. The brilliant Allied double-strike on the Japanese build-up at Manado, the masterful way the Allies have reinforced their positions in the Pacific, and the clever way I feigned ineptitude during the Malayan campaign in order to lull Fokko into a true sense of security has rendered the Japanese situation completely hopeless.

Obviously the latter explanation is the one I prefer and if I try very hard I might be able to convince myself……

Re Intelligence: There’s no sigint on any attacks that would come as a surprise - Batavia, Soerabaja, Kendari, Wuchow. I was going to familiarise myself with the Japanese OOB, but I changed my mind - I decided to ‘role-play’ it and, apart from the Japanese Carriers, Battleships and Heavy Cruisers (which I understand the Allies would have been well aware of), I’ve relied on Sigint and contact in battle to build up a picture of Japanese forces. It was a right pain to do at first, but now it only takes a few minutes each turn and I don’t often now come across a unit I’m not already aware of. I haven’t looked at the Japanese reinforcement queue, although obviously there are some things I can’t help but know. This way I can keep a reasonable grip on what I’m likely to face, but there should still be a few nasty surprises for me to deal with.

With that caveat, 4th Div (last seen Manila), 48th Div (San Fernando) and Imperial Guards Div (Singapore) are all currently unaccounted for. First Raiding Regiment is available at Legaspi.

There is one thing I’m pretty certain about. Every so often some over-excited ferret bursts into the room babbling on about how they’ve managed to track down the Royal Thai Army HQ to somewhere in Bangkok, and then seems to expect some kind of medal……

“Yes, I know.... the Royal Thai Army HQ is in Bangkok….yes, I know that….yes….yes, I know the Royal Thai Navy HQ is in Bangkok too, yes..I know.….do close the door on your way out…….”

RTA HQs ...

14th March 1942



INDIA/BURMA

13th Indian Bde attacks and captures Pegu, pushing out the 55th Mountain Gun Rgt which had either just arrived or somehow been there undetected. It looks like the Japanese are moving forces from Rangoon to retake Pegu, so 13th Indian Bde is going to beat a hasty retreat. If Japanese units are being diverted from Rangoon then that is good.

Japanese have taken a sudden interest in the track from Thailand to Taung Gyi/Meiktila, with aerial reconnaissance having been spotted int two locations along the track. Whether the Japanese are concerned of an Allied counterattack this way, or whether they are considering an advance of their own I don’t know. I have the 13th Burma Rifles Bn on picket along the track so I should get sufficient warning of an advance here.



ABDA

There’s no Japanese assault at Pontianak today, much to the relief of handful of Dutch troops there- can they really have done what the British failed to do at Singapore and beaten off the might of the IJA?


PHILIPPINES

Following the usual intense artillery and air bombardment, the Japanese try another deliberate assault, which is thrown back with heavy casualties on both sides.


SWPAC

Marblehead arrives at Melbourne and enters the floating dock for repairs


SOPAC

Jubilee Dock finally reaches Aukland for repairs, having been torpedoed just off of Suva.

Norfolk Island Bn and Norfolk Island Coastal Artillery Bn embark at Aukland bound for Suva (as the potential threat to Norfolk Is is judged as minimal). The Coastal Artillery will remain at Suva, but I’m thinking of using Norfolk Island Bn to occupy and establish a permanent base on Nukufetau in the Ellice Islands. I’ll need to find some engineers too.


SUBMARINE WARFARE

Growler torpedoed and damaged CL Isuzu at Medan.

O-24 torpedoed and sank PB Fuji Maru 3 off of Saigon.

In the end the meeting did not go that much worse than Roosevelt feared it would. The President made two things abundantly clear. One, that Blackadder is responsible for implementing the agreed strategy, and not for devising strategy himself. Two, Blackadder will not be choosing his own advisors; Roosevelt and Churchill have already chosen a team for him, and he can like it or lump it. Blackadder accepted this with as much bad grace as he could muster, but at least he accepted it. Thank God for that, thought Roosevelt, who knows what bunch of idiots he would have come up with if left to his own devices……




Generalissimo Prince Edmund Blackadder:

Interesting plot twist! My British humor experience is limited to watching Benny Hill and Monty Python on PBS as a teenager, but I've certainly heard of Blackadder and my daughter went through a Mr. Bean phase.

Some of those SigInt reports are great, like Keijo Base force is in Keijo. Still, nuggets pop up now and then. Now the coastwatchers I'm convinced are either on homemade hooch or locally grown wacky tobaccy all the time. I don't bother reading their reports.

Cheers,
CB

Blackadder was definitely one of the great characters of British television. The original series (and in my opinion the best series) set in late medieval England after Blackadder had mistakenly killed Richard III. It’s hard to believe it must be around forty years since I’ve watched it - where does the time go? The fourth and final series, set in the First World War, is also very good, although I can’t say I really watched or cared for the middle two series.

I’ll probably only wheel on Blackadder and the other characters I intend to introduce very occasionally; to lighten up the AAR when things are a little slow and the reports too dry for too long.

I apologise in advance for the cultural references being rather limited both geographically and temporally, and that some of the characters I’m thinking of introducing may be something of a mystery to those that don’t reside in these isles.




15th March 1942



CHINA

Chinese forces complete their retreat from Ningsia, unmolested by the Japanese.



INDIA/BURMA

Checking my notes, it appears the Japanese do intermittently recce the Thailand-Taung Gyi road, but as there is never any sign of Japanese movement this way I wonder if it’s more in concern that the Allies might try a flanking move. If this is the case then I’m going to try and feed those concerns. ‘B’ Squadron, 3rd Hussars has just arrived back in Toungoo, but they needn’t have thoughts of getting any rest. They’ve been ordered to Taung Gyi and from there to move down the trail, hopefully to be spotted by Japanese aircraft. There are some guerrillas forming up in the Karen Hills; they are being ordered to Kuching where they can join the ‘advance’.



ABDA

The Japanese occupy Toboali

The Miracle of Pontianak continues. The Japanese brought up the Kawaguchi Detachment of 31st Div to assist 6th Tank Rgt in its assault, but the Dutch hold firm.


PHILIPPINES

Here too the Allies survive another Japanese Deliberate Assault - just.


CENPAC

Aboard the light cruiser USS Helena, Captain Hoover was not happy with his mission, considering it nothing but a wild goose chase. For almost a week now he’d been hunting for the German Blockade runner KM Ramses - but “somewhere in the North, East or Central Pacific” is not a lot of information to go on. It’s rather a large (and vague) area to search.

This afternoon’s message changed all that. A small Hawaii-bound convoy reported an encounter with a suspicious merchant ship some 680 miles north of USS Helena, and the sighting was just 18 hours old! Someone must really want that ship caught. Assuming the blockade runner is making for Cape Horn, a new course is plotted and Helena moves to intercept. The chase is on!

Unbeknownst to Captain Hoover, at San Francisco USS Nashville and the New Zealand AMC Monowai have now been ordered out to sea on the same hunt. Who, if anyone, will succeed in capturing the prize?

NORPAC

259th Coastal Defence Rgt embarks at Dutch Harbor bound for Adak.

Personally, I don't mind the lighthearted cultural references. If nothing else, I can look them up if I want to educate myself.

Agreed. Keep the Blackadder coming.

Cheers,
CB

Ditto. Have to admit, I liked the middle two Blackadder seasons the best.

Thanks for the encouragement guys! Although I fear I may be raising expectations I cannot meet; I've got some creative ideas for about half-a-dozen posts, and this game has got a good thousand turns to go, I think.

anarchyintheuk wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2024 10:01 pm Ditto. Have to admit, I liked the middle two Blackadder seasons the best.

Hi anarchyintheuk;

Thanks for that; I think perhaps I should go back and watch the middle two series sometime.

16th March 1942


CHINA

The Japanese occupy Ningsia. Will they press on towards Lanchow straight away, or will they pause and establish an airfield at Ningsia first? I suspect the latter; partly to provide air support, and partly to raise the supply cap there.


INDIA/BURMA

A Japanese force arrives in Pegu - possibly in regiment/brigade strength.


ABDA

The Japanese finally break through in Pontianak, forcing the Dutch to retreat.


PHILIPPINES

The defenders endure further air and artillery bombardment before the final attack….which doesn’t come. Not for the first time in this war, Japanese pressure relents at the crucial moment. A lesson perhaps for when the Allies go on the offensive? It’s a difficult balance to strike, I know.


SWPAC

The Japanese are starting to pay more attention to Port Moresby. Two enemy subs have been detected between New Guinea and Australia, and the Enterprise/Lexington group has been spotted by search aircraft. Actually, the timing isn’t too bad; 6th Division has almost completed its unloading at Port Moresby, so I can pull back the two USN carriers now, just a day or two earlier than planned. They’ll head south and then afterwards back to the US West Coast and hopefully leave the Japanese with the impression I have at least two carriers operating in the Coral Sea.


The last elements of Lark Bn have been airlifted from New Britain, and the battalion is resting at Port Moresby. After all they’ve been through, they deserve to go back to Australia for some R&R. They’ll probably get shipped off to join the rest of the Brigade at Saumlaki though - needs must.


CENPAC

USS Helena steamed hard through the night. She received her reward just two hours after dawn: Smoke on the horizon! KM Ramses tried to break for it, but had no chance. The real race was between Helena and USS Nashville, now just a few hours away. Helena’s captain accepted the congratulatory messages with some pride in both his and his crew’s performance. It should be remembered that this episode started with YP-108’s reported sighting of the blockade runner between Midway and Adak exactly a week before. Of course, no-one will remember, and the task of picket duty in the North Pacific will remain a thankless one.


SUBMARINE WARFARE

Surcouf leaves Pearl Harbor on her first Pacific patrol - she’ll cruise south of Japan

I used Surcouf to resupply Luzon (from Kwangchowan), she can carry over 100 supply - 150 IIRC?

I managed to run the gauntlet from Pearl too a few times, with the Banana boats (the 17 knot fast xAKL's). If they run singly, they can avoid detection and even if they 'blip', air attack hardly ever targets single ships.

JanSako wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2024 8:15 am I used Surcouf to resupply Luzon (from Kwangchowan), she can carry over 100 supply - 150 IIRC?

I managed to run the gauntlet from Pearl too a few times, with the Banana boats (the 17 knot fast xAKL's). If they run singly, they can avoid detection and even if they 'blip', air attack hardly ever targets single ships.

I didn't stop to check Surcouf's cargo capacity; I must have gotten over-excited about her gun calibre and didn't look any further.

I assume the French torpedoes work better than the US ones? That alone is good enough reason to use her to attack shipping. IIRC, the only AAR I read with Surcouf in it showed that her formidable guns could not score hits very often (low rate of fire, inexperienced crew) while she took lots of hits from the merchant vessels she was attacking!

BBfanboy wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2024 1:52 pm I assume the French torpedoes work better than the US ones? That alone is good enough reason to use her to attack shipping. IIRC, the only AAR I read with Surcouf in it showed that her formidable guns could not score hits very often (low rate of fire, inexperienced crew) while she took lots of hits from the merchant vessels she was attacking!

I assume the French torpedoes work, and I certainly hope to find out