Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[Canoerebel]

Bravo!  Grood planning produces gratifying results that lead to great narrative.

[thegreatwent]

Yes, but can they get away[X(].

[Mike Scholl]

ORIGINAL: thegreatwent

Yes, but can they get away[X(].

Yea..., somewhere out there is a very upset TF 58 looking for blood and lots of it...

[Shark7]

Nice to see our hero ship do so well in battle.

[Marc gto]

nice work

[CV Zuikaku]

Impressive planning!
Impressive execution!
Just hope that they will all be safe and far enough when the next morning come.
Hope you provided some CAP for the TFs next morning...

[tocaff]

I've got a gut feeling that all of the damaged IJN vessels limping home will be tagged by the very angry USN CVs as they try to intercept said ships.  I wonder if the option of another port for refueling and rearming might've been an idea worth consideration with a later return to Japan?

[Alikchi2]

I think we also have to credit Nikademus with this result. If this game wasn't running under Nik Mod, there'd be no point to even contemplate this plan.

[kaleun]

I just read this battle. Impressive narrative!

[mdiehl]

I'd find the results more credible if FD (US Mark IV) seemed to make a difference. Still, outstanding plan and execution, Cuttlefish!

[vettim89]

As Arlo Guthrie would say: "We have 8x10 color glossy photographs of the approach, the egress, the getaway ..." Wait, something's missing here

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Alikchi

I think we also have to credit Nikademus with this result. If this game wasn't running under Nik Mod, there'd be no point to even contemplate this plan.

I think this is a perceptive comment. Nik Mod had a big on the carrier portion of the battle; it allowed more Japanese bombers to get through than would otherwise be the case (though it did increase flak losses) by reducing the air-to-air losses and it made fewer Allied fighters available for CAP. Fighter groups set to a high percentage of CAP in this mod quickly suffer a fair amount of disablement.

ORIGINAL: mdiehl

I'd find the results more credible if FD (US Mark IV) seemed to make a difference. Still, outstanding plan and execution, Cuttlefish!

I can't disagree with you. Note that I attributed part of the reason for Ise's victory over California to a lucky early hit knocking out her fire control. The job of translating game results into something approaching a reasonable narrative is occasionally a challenging one.

One of the things the battle did show, I think, was the weight the game gives to crew experience. Hibiki had a daytime experience rating of 82 going into the fight, probably at least 20 points higher than any of her opponents, and was just a terror.

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

CF--When the smoke clears and results get tabulated in Tokyo, could you please provide the best Japanese 'intelligence' as to the losses suffered by the Allies in all phases of your attack?

It will have to be a rough estimate - Allied ships, especially DEs and AKs, kept sinking throughout the next week. But best Japanese estimates are 2 CVs, 1 BB, 1 CA, 8 to 10 DDs, 10 to 12 DEs, and 12 to 15 AKs and APs. Many more ships were damaged enough to be sent home, including 2 CVs, 1 CVE, 2 BBs, and about half a dozen CAs and CLs. Allied DEs seemed to be everywhere and while they were easily sunk they were suprisingly annoying opponents, especially in large numbers.


My opponent, wolffpack, deserves a big nod here. This battle was actually fought twice. In the first iteration the carrier battle went about the same, or even a bit better for Japan, but the game decided all my surface groups needed to refuel their DDs on their way in to Iwo Jima, with the result that they never got there and were all subsequently butchered. Wolffpack thought my plan was too good to come to that kind of end and proposed running the turn again. I made an adjustment and the results were what we have just seen.

I think that showed a lot of class. From the beginning he has been more about having fun and making our contest interesting than about winning or losing. I hope we can get some comments from him about the game when it's all over.

[tocaff]

It's indeed a lucky player who has an opponent who enjoys the game for the game's sake, win lose or draw.  

[CV Zuikaku]

ORIGINAL: mdiehl

I'd find the results more credible if FD (US Mark IV) seemed to make a difference. Still, outstanding plan and execution, Cuttlefish!

You just can't sit down and enjoy the show, don't you? [;)]

[Capt. Harlock]

Gone are most of the supplies for the men in the transports and for those already ashore. The American troops are too strong to be dislodged by the Japanese defenders but their offensive capacity has been crippled. It will take weeks to replace the destroyed supplies and in the meantime the battle for Iwo Jima will turn into a bloody stalemate.

Against all odds Yamamoto’s plan has succeeded.

BRAVO!! And there must be some red faces at Allied HQ . . .

[DW]

ORIGINAL: mdiehl

I'd find the results more credible if FD (US Mark IV) seemed to make a difference. Still, outstanding plan and execution, Cuttlefish!

I'm sorry...

FD (US Mark IV)?

What are you referring to?

[Alikchi2]

I'm just guessing, but I'm thinking FD stands for fighter direction. IE, mdiehl doesn't believe that the American CAP could have been caught out of position.

[mdiehl]

Sorry. Should have said "Mark 4."
 
Centimetric band anti-aircraft radar with design elements (in the upgraded Mark 12 version in wide use by 1943) that allowed accurate and fast tracking of low flying a.c. (such as torpedo bombers) that were by 1943 linked into most US ships fire control systems, allowing for the very very accurate placement of 5"L38 proximity fused shells even in very low-visibility conditions.
 
I also wonder where was the effect of Mark 8 radar.
 
All that was in re a remark about the "mod." File. Discussion should continue somewhere else if it is to continue. CF's AAR is a great read and this subject and remarks about the mod are off-topic here.

[AcePylut]

My opponent, wolffpack, deserves a big nod here. This battle was actually fought twice. In the first iteration the carrier battle went about the same, or even a bit better for Japan, but the game decided all my surface groups needed to refuel their DDs on their way in to Iwo Jima, with the result that they never got there and were all subsequently butchered. Wolffpack thought my plan was too good to come to that kind of end and proposed running the turn again. I made an adjustment and the results were what we have just seen.

I think that showed a lot of class. From the beginning he has been more about having fun and making our contest interesting than about winning or losing. I hope we can get some comments from him about the game when it's all over.

Jus wanna say... .kudo's to wolfpack!

[Cribtop]

Wolfpack has more than once shown himself a worthy adversary, both tactically and in terms of bushido.
 
What adjustments did you make to prevent Lt. AI from re-fueling?  Controlling that annoying "feature" would make my life easier.