Mogami's AAR

[mogami]

Greetings, Phase 2 will be the reduction/capture of the Allied base at Luganville
(The famous L'ville gambit of IChristie)
Allied strength has to be determined. Their transport capicity reduced and the target base isolated.
The IJN carriers operating south of Lunga on the night of 8 July 42 took advantage of rain and approached
L'ville from the N West. not knowing if the allies have received carrier reinforcement or how strong the air defense was I placed all 3 carrier TF in the same hex (so their escort/cap would combine)
Also to avoid ambush I placed half the bombers (the Kates) on Naval Attack while the Vals were given the
Port attack mission. As it developed the US had received at least one carrier. Saratoga reacted to the Japanese carriers and sped north to launch a strike. The Japanese admirals seem to have misunderstood my intentions. They only provided the Port attack with 20 fighters but sent 120 with the strike against the Saratoga. It all worked out in the end.

Two Birds with one Stone

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/09/42

Air attack on Luganville , at 53,53

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
D3A Val x 126

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val x 6 destroyed
D3A Val x 10 damaged


1LT J. Sawyer of 67th FS is credited with kill number 2

Allied Ships
AK Libra, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
APD Colhoun, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
APD McKean, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP Wharton, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Heywood, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DMS Zane, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP President Adams, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP President Hayes, Bomb hits 1
APD Gregory, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
APD Little, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SC 644, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP John Penn, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
APD Manley, Bomb hits 1, on fire


Allied ground losses:
Men lost 10

Port hits 4


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Air attack on TF at 49,53

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
A6M3 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 36
SBD Dauntless x 30
TBD Devastator x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 10 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 15 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 13 damaged
TBD Devastator x 7 destroyed
TBD Devastator x 3 damaged

PO2 M.Nishiura of EII-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 3

LCDR E.Perry of VS-3 bails out WOUNDED and is RESCUED

Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku
CV Soryu
CV Hiryu


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Air attack on TF at 49,58

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 92
A6M3 Zero x 29
B5N Kate x 118

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate x 22 destroyed
B5N Kate x 39 damaged

LT M. Nakamoto of EIII-3 Daitai is KILLED

Allied Ships
CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 8, on fire, heavy damage
DD O'Brien, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Case
CLAA San Diego, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
DD Maury, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CL Phoenix
CLAA Atlanta, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage


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Air attack on TF, near Lea Lea at 9,39 The AI is attempting to bring supplies to the troops who retreated out of PM. I will have to do something about that. I was willing to just leave them alone but I don't want them recieving any more bullets.

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 27 (Rabauls standby bomber group (each day I change the group on standby if no target appears it gets to rest
there are 3 groups 1 ASW 30percent 1 Naval search 30 percent and the standby group (it gets 100 percent rest or 100 percent attack) The groups change jobs every day. (but they all get to rest when it rains)

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Alcyone, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Pierce, Torpedo hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
AK Mercury, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty at 200 feet

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[mogami]

Greetings The date is 21 July 1942. The situation, I have been moving troops from PM/Truk/Rabaul to Lunga. The carriers raided L'ville 3 times sinking many enemy transports. The enemy has the airfield at Gilli Gilli but it does not fly too often. The troops that began at Lae have moved to PM by sea and the base at Lae is closed. During July supply dropped at Rabaul from over 100k tons to 20K Fuel dropped from over 200k tons to 35k tons. This has produced a slowing of operations as I had to release transports from troop movement to return to Truk for more supply. Yesterday enemy carrier based planes attacked my transports north west of Lunga. Hiryu, Kaga, Ryujo and Shoho under Nagumo sailed this morning another CV TF will form and depart soon. I had placed everything in port except transports because the intense ops from mid-June to mid July had every ship suffering system damage I wanted to get them all under 10 pts damage. As they meet this requirement they will return to sea.
Port Moresby has the 2nd Infantry Division defending it (some components still remain waiting transfer from Rabaul) The 38th Infantry division (2/3rds) has moved to Lunga. Also moving there the 21st Mixed and 65th Infantry Bdes. I intend to blockade Gilli Gilli, knock out this new carrier threat, and then establish a forward base on Santa Cruz while interdicting shipping between the 3 main Allied bases in the South Pacific

[mogami]

Greetings, The IJN chased the American carriers all the way to Noumea
on the 27 a long range strike hit both CV (Enterprise and Hornet)
On the 29th they were 5 hexs from safety and another strike hit them sinking Hornet
I spent 4 hours debateing my next move. My carriers are running low on fuel, the replensihment
TF is still several days behind. A TF with Junyo is closer. I did not want Enterprise to escape but
she would be in Noumea . Finally I ordered the carriers to move south of Noumea 7 hexes and set all but
4 bomber groups to Port Attack. Now I have to hope they can be fueled in the next 2-3 days (as long as there are no other enemy carrier groups that can intercept my oilers I plan on the Junyo TF refueling the
other 2 and then all of them refueling when the oilers arrive. Rabauls supply levels are again rising.
But it is taking along time to restock. It has no impact yet on operations since I would not send Transports
into enemy waters while the enemy is still operating carriers and surface units. I am concerned with
the wear and tear on all the ships. The land units that retreated from PM have vanished, I don't think
they were picked up but it remains a possibilty. Current score is Japan 7k+ Allies 3k+



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/30/42

Naval bombardment of Lunga, at 38,40 while the CV's are down south the AI slips in
I am going to try to interecept this group

Airbase hits 10
Runway hits 22


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Air attack on Noumea , at 52,67

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 120
A6M3 Zero x 14
D3A Val x 61
B5N Kate x 45
E13A1 Jake x 1
E7K2 Alf x 4

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
A6M3 Zero x 1 destroyed
D3A Val x 9 destroyed
D3A Val x 13 damaged
B5N Kate x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 8 destroyed

LTJG R.Hori of EIII-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 3

LT K. Notomi of EIII-1 Daitai is KILLED

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
CVE Long Island, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
DM Montgomery, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AO Tappahanock, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AV Thornton, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Hughes, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Hutchins, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Tucker, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AO Kankakee, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Smith, Bomb hits 1, on fire


Allied ground losses:
Men lost 48

Port hits 8
Port fuel hits 1

Attacking Level Bombers:
9 x B5N Kate at 5000 feet
14 x B5N Kate at 5000 feet
11 x B5N Kate at 5000 feet
11 x B5N Kate at 5000 feet

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Air attack on TF at 50,73

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
A6M3 Zero x 3

Allied aircraft
Hudson x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson x 2 destroyed
Hudson x 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Soryu

Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x Hudson at 6000 feet

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Air attack on TF at 50,73

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23
A6M3 Zero x 3

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD Dauntless x 3
Hudson x 9
B-26B Marauder x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 3 destroyed
Hudson x 2 damaged
B-26B Marauder x 1 destroyed
B-26B Marauder x 4 damaged

LTJG L.Minami of AII-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 4

ENS V.Marshall of VS-8 is KILLED

Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CV Hiryu
CV Kaga
CVL Shoho

Attacking Level Bombers:
4 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
2 x Hudson at 6000 feet
4 x Hudson at 6000 feet
2 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
2 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
3 x Hudson at 6000 feet

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Air attack on TF at 50,73

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
A6M3 Zero x 3

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 3


Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress x 1 destroyed
B-17E Fortress x 2 damaged

CPO K.Okura of BI-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 3

Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku

Attacking Level Bombers:
2 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet

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Air attack on TF at 50,73

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
A6M3 Zero x 3

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 6
Hudson x 6
B-26B Marauder x 6
B-17E Fortress x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
Hudson x 1 destroyed
Hudson x 1 damaged
B-26B Marauder x 2 damaged
B-17E Fortress x 1 damaged

LTJG R.Chiyoshima of EIII-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 3

Japanese Ships
CVL Shoho
CS Nisshin
CV Kaga
CL Naka
CA Chikuma

Attacking Level Bombers:
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x Hudson at 6000 feet
3 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
2 x Hudson at 6000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet
3 x B-26B Marauder at 6000 feet

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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 08/02/42
Enterprise sank yesturday, Sent one last raid as I moved north to met Junyo and the oilers
I had the reaction on and as it turned out there still was at least one American carrier. Wasp
came out of no where. I could have been several hexes further north but Nagumo and Yamaguchi
totally disregarded their fuel status and turned into the wind. Today (RL) has been agony. day after day
My carriers remain in range of long range cap. Everyday a veteran pilot is lost. But the results have been
beyond my wildest dreams. Like a gambler on a winning streak I keep pushing the growing stack of
chips back and bet it all. I do not plan on ever sending the carriers back this close to Noumea. (I can not
stand the strain)
Air attack on TF at 44,66

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
A6M3 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 14
SBD Dauntless x 12


Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 3 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Tone
CV Hiryu
CV Kaga


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Air attack on TF at 44,66

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
A6M3 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless x 6 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 7 damaged

PO2 F.Katsuma of BII-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 3

LCDR G.Hardy of VS-71 is KILLED

Japanese Ships
CV Junyo


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Air attack on TF at 44,66

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
A6M3 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
TBF Avenger x 12


Allied aircraft losses
TBF Avenger x 6 destroyed
TBF Avenger x 6 damaged

LTJG R.Tokuda of AII-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 3

Japanese Ships
CV Junyo
CA Suzuya


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Air attack on TF at 49,67

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 23

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate x 14 destroyed
B5N Kate x 11 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged

LCDR T.Edmonds of VF-71 is credited with kill number 2

LCDR V.Sugiyama of DII-3 Daitai is KILLED

Allied Ships
CV Wasp, Torpedo hits 2
DD Fanning, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


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Air attack on TF at 49,67

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
D3A Val x 20
B5N Kate x 14

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val x 2 destroyed
D3A Val x 12 damaged
B5N Kate x 8 destroyed
B5N Kate x 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged

LCDR T.Edmonds of VF-71 is KILLED

Allied Ships
CV Wasp, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
CLAA Juneau
DD Craven


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Air attack on TF at 49,67

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
D3A Val x 17
B5N Kate x 13

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val x 2 destroyed
B5N Kate x 3 destroyed
B5N Kate x 10 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged

ENS G.Keller of VF-71 is credited with kill number 2

Allied Ships
CV Wasp, on fire, heavy damage


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Air attack on TF at 49,67

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
B5N Kate x 8

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate x 4 destroyed
B5N Kate x 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 3 destroyed

PO2 S.Kubota of BI-1 Daitai is credited with kill number 2

Allied Ships
CV Wasp, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


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Air attack on TF at 42,63

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 62
A6M3 Zero x 29
D3A Val x 69
B5N Kate x 47


Allied Ships
AO Cimarron, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AO Cuyama, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AO Platte, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
AO Laramie, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
SC 640, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
PG Tui
SC 637
SC 639


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Air attack on TF at 49,67

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 51
D3A Val x 38

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val x 1 destroyed
D3A Val x 11 damaged

Allied Ships
CLAA San Juan
DD Cushing
DD Craven
CLAA Juneau
CA Quincy
DD Stack


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The 2 CVL have been transfered to Fujitas TF (Junyo) all three should be able to refuel
on the 4th (provided nothing prevents the olers from meeting the TF 9hexes west of the tip of NC


18 Aug 42 After requiring 3 days to refuel and some shuffling of ships The CV's returned safely to Truk where Zuikaku, Hiryu and Soryu were returned to Japan S Nishumara met the USN crusiers for a third time,
This time he had 2 BB's 3 CA's 3 CL's and & DD's against 3 CA and 10 DD 4 US ships were sunk..
Base supplies are growing Lunga can support Level bombers. An advance base is being established on San Cristobol and a further one will be place on Santa Cruz. Supply at Rabaul is over 150k ton full near 200k ton. Port Moresbt has 60k supply Lunga has a massive supply convoy in route (50k fuel 15k supply) another will be sent soon. Still have mamy formations to move. But the bases are all operating bombers and have 2 fighter groups each..

Ships sunk to date
IJN
CA Aoba, Kinugasa Furataka, Kako
CL Tenryu, Yubari
DDx4
other (AP TK and smaller x19
Total point value 337

USN?Allied
CV Enterprise, Lexington, Saratoga, Hornet
CVE Long Island
CA Northampton, Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Australia, Canberra
CL Leander, Hobart, Nashville, Honolulu
CLAA Atlanta, San Diego
DDx11
otherx40
Total point value 2293
Japanese 9320 Allies 3689

[Sultanofsham]

Nice roll of the dice there. Are you going to have an ulcer by the time your done with this game?

[Bosun]

Mogami,
Let's be fair, Yamamoto and all the other IJN commanders were too cautious to send their forces even 1/3 the way south that you did at that time. You are modest. If Roosevelt had had to deal with the casualty reports you've sent the Yanks perhaps Isoroku might have had the negociated peace he was after as the only hope for his Empire.

P.S. Since your namesake survived despite "harm's way", I'll drink sake and toast your health.

[Joel Billings]

What AI difficulty are you playing at? You've done a great job of catching the AI CV's as they arrive and defeating them in detail. Are you still planning an eventual ground assault on Luganville?

Joel

[mogami]

Hi, I left Jap sub doctrine alone, US damage control alone, set FOG to on ,Historical AI, variable reinforcement 100% ship available I think the only item i switched from default was I wanted to control my subs (I'm power crazy those sub drivers are not going to escape my control) L'ville is the ultimate target for Phase 2. (However I am not making any base a target for achiving autovictory, I will attempt L'ville when/if Operations permit and as a means of meeting and destroying the enemy.
I am operating like I have no end date.

[Hartmann]

Mogami-San, this begins to look very comfortable for the Emperor.

Btw. I couldn´t find an explanation of the difficulty and ship commitment levels in the manual. What exactly do these settings do? I play "AI historical", but I would be willing to use harder settings if the AI doesn´t cheat on probabilities then. Also, if playing the Allies, I would maybe give the Japanese more ships (if this is what "ship commitment" does).

Hartmann

[Joel Billings]

It will cheat at the harder levels. The ship commitment adjustment will result in more ships being committed to the theater than "historical" if set over 100%.

[Ron Saueracker]

That was easy, Mogami. This game is over. The USN should abandon the theatre with the exception of heavy LCU and LBA commitment to the defense of Australia proper, pending massive buildup of reinforcements. In reality, anyway.

Here is a question. Since Mogami has established maritime control (so much for AI giving one a run for their money), and there being little chance of an allied naval counter attack anytime soon, does the game have provisions for transferring unneeded victorious ships out of theatre to bolster operations elsewhere (off board)?

[ADavidB]

It will cheat at the harder levels. The ship commitment adjustment will result in more ships being committed to the theater than "historical" if set over 100%.

That leaves me feeling more than a little disquieted Joel. AI "dice roll" cheats were the main thing that would aggrevate and frustrate me about Pacwar. So my direct quetion to you is, at "historical" settings, are there built-in AI dice roll cheats in UV or not? And if there are, is it possible to have a "turn off the cheats" setting?

Thanks -

Dave Baranyi

[Erik Rutins]

The Historical difficulty AI does not cheat. At higher levels it does have some advantages that a human player would not, but Joel/Gary will have to cover what those may be. However, if you play at the Historical level (which seems tough enough for everyone but Mogami , it's a fair game.

Regards,

- Erik

[Ron Saueracker]

Mogami, I've noticed in this and other AARs that the IJN strikes are larger than allied. Is this coodinated? Are the nips better at it? Do the allies suck at it? What say you?

Darn, a whole long holiday weekend and no UV.......

[ADavidB]

Originally posted by Erik Rutins
The Historical difficulty AI does not cheat. At higher levels it does have some advantages that a human player would not, but Joel/Gary will have to cover what those may be. However, if you play at the Historical level (which seems tough enough for everyone but Mogami , it's a fair game.

Regards,

- Erik

Erik - thanks for the info. I've placed my order now with Military Hobbies in Markham, so with any luck ( and as long as they ordered enough copies to start with ) I should be in a position to start to play the game next weekend.

Dave Baranyi

[mogami]

Greetings, Ron I place my CV TF's in the same hex so they combine the stikes. To get the 150 Zeros I used in the first big day light raid on PM I had the CV's remain at Rabaul with their fighter groups on escort. When the Betty's and Nells took off the CV fighters escorted them.

I do not think it has been easy. It would require 3-4 times the size of the program
to have an AI programed in advance for any possible enemy actions. Operational games need
two humans. The only way I see the AI being improved would require scenarios where you basically told
the computer what you intended to do. (example Scenario 50 Human Japan versus Allied AI Japan will move against Port Moresby before committing forces against South Pacific. Then the AI could be programmed not to send bombardment TF against Lunga but instead transfer units to South West Pacific while only building
their South Pacific bases defense. (you could really screw this system but by declaring a Port Moresby first intent and then attacking towards the South Pacific).

It is now 28 Aug 42 Landings on Gilli Gilli on 24 Aug met with stiff resistance.
The Aussie's counter attacked as soon as the first Japanese landed. (hint: when combat loading
transports for landings against prepare enemy forces do not include a HQ they unload faster then infantry)
35th Bde HQ destroyed. In 3 days prior combat Japan has lost 3k troops. On the 27th it appears the beachhead may survive while the transports bring the 2nd Wave. 65th Bde has been added to the force
tasked with capturing Gilli. Transports currently bringing elements of 38th Div to Lunga will offload those units and pick up 65th Bde (basically I want the HQ and need replacement combat formations for the 35th Bde)

Adm. S. Nisamura seems to be getting better at night surface engagements, BB North Carolina is sunk at Lunga (the weather grounded the 2 bomber groups stationed there, I hope they get to fly before the USN TF escapes.)

The supply situation is getting much better. After having 4 ships hit mines I have finally placed MS at Truk, Rabaul, PM and Lunga. Every day they move out and sweep a hex, also putting at least 1 MS in a transport TF seems to help. I will concentrate on reducing Gilli while my ships repair, supply is moved. I don't plan of moving against any further allied bases until the CV's have repaired/returned. (Zuikaku, Hiryu, Soryu went back to Japan) All remaining except Akagi are back at Truk repairing system damage. Akagi doing so at Rabaul. Estimate another 1-2 weeks before I again have operational TF.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 08/27/42

Night Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 38,40

Japanese Ships
CA Takao, Shell hits 7
CA Mikuma, Shell hits 4
CL Yura, Shell hits 2
CL Tatsuta, Shell hits 1
DD Kazegumo, Shell hits 3
DD Takanami
DD Yukikaze
DD Maikaze, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Shiranui
DD Amatsukaze
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 1
DD Arashi
DD Wakaba
DD Ariake
DD Akatsuki

Allied Ships
BB North Carolina, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 8, and is sunk
CA Chester, Shell hits 14, on fire, heavy damage
DD Swanson, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
DD Monssen
DD Aaron Ward, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Buchanan, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Farenholt
DD Case, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Cushing
DD Porter, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Worden
DD Arunta


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Night Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 38,40

Japanese Ships
CA Takao
CA Mikuma, Shell hits 2
CL Yura, Shell hits 4, on fire
CL Tatsuta
DD Kazegumo, Shell hits 1
DD Takanami, Shell hits 3
DD Yukikaze
DD Maikaze, on fire
DD Shiranui
DD Amatsukaze, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 1
DD Arashi, Shell hits 2
DD Wakaba
DD Ariake
DD Akatsuki

Allied Ships
CA Chester, Shell hits 10, on fire, heavy damage
DD Swanson, and is sunk
DD Monssen, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Buchanan, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
DD Farenholt
DD Case, on fire
DD Cushing
DD Porter, on fire
DD Worden, Shell hits 4
DD Arunta

DD Monssen sinks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Gili Gili, at 17,42


Allied aircraft


Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Kittyhawk x 2 destroyed
Wirraway x 1 destroyed
Wirraway x 3 damaged


Allied ground losses:
Men lost 81

Airbase hits 13
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 171
Port hits 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Gili Gili

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 30740 troops, 309 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 12801 troops, 167 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 273
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 179
Guns lost 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[boomboom]

Little late,But happy Birthday.Boomboom's going to have a drink to your good health.Would you say that Port Morsby would stay in allied hands with a human player instead of the AI?
What kind of plane mix do the big carriers on both sides carry?

[mogami]

Hi, Boomboom PM versus human will depend on what they do.
PM is weakly held on May 1st if left in that condition and the Japanese send troops it could be captured. But I think the allies can place a full div there before any Jap convoy could load and move there. If that occurs the Japanese will need to send even more etc etc. I think there was at least 3 Bde in PM when I landed there. (Another 3 were/are at Gilli) Personally as both Japan and Allies I will not bother with Gilli until PM is safe/captured
I sent a diversion to Gilli in one PBEM game and accidently captured the place. (I should have cancelled this operation just so the Allied player would have been more likely to split his forces trying to guard both)

[Joel Billings]

Erik got it right, at the historical level there is no cheating going on with combat probabilities. This only happens on the 2 hard levels (about +-10% and +-20% on many combat formulas). It's for those of you looking for a greater challenge against the AI.
As for Mogami, congrats on discovering the importance of minesweepers. I always put one in my transport TF's, and yes you should do regular minesweeping in your major ports (they will automatically sweep the hex and all adjacent hexes if on patrol in a hex). We are looking into a few things that will make it more dangerous to sow minefields where you expect your own forces to be operating. This would come in WitP and possibly in the patch for UV. We are interested in feedback from players on experience with mines. We don't plan on deleting them, but we are open to dealing with them if it seems to easy and effective to plaster them everywhere. Perhaps someone can start a thread on player experience with mines in UV. Thanks.

[mogami]

Hi, I have struck 4 mines (Chokai, 2 AP 1 TK) I placed mines to the east of Lunga on all the approaches (some places 3 hexs deep) but I have yet to see any enemy hit one (I don't expect the warships to hit them, I placed them for subs and transports) Once I figured out to 'undock' the misnesweeper TF in the ports they cleared them in 1-2 weeks (I had them sitting for over a month before that ) The only real question I have yet to figure out is barges and barge hub. I only find a passing mention (page 106) in the manual what are they supposed to do and do they do it without being told (I will change barge hub from Shortland to Lunga if it has an effect)

[Joel Billings]

Look at section 9.20 on pages 58 and 59 for barge info.