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ORIGINAL: seydlitz


Be aware that you are engaged with local forces on your salient. He still has a lot of troops at Vladivostok to use and if he is smart he will drive due north through Rashin and cut the southern leg of your rail supply. He can then move NNW and cut your other major rail line. This may not happen depending on what he has moved, but in my game I found that the Soviets have far more experienced units than anticipated. I suggest that you keep a couple of divisions off the front line as a reserve that can move where needed. You will most likely need them at some point.

Thanks, good point. The Russian forces from Khabarovsk are engaged in the swamp, but he should have around 3000 AV in the Vlad pocket. I have about 3 divisions equivalent in reserve guarding against a possible breakout. Combined with the border fortresses, I imagine this should be enough. I would actually like him to try something like this, because it wold use up his supplies faster.

He seems pretty well contained at the moment. My goal is to deny him supplies in the pocket in the long-term (could take all year), but he produces about 200 per day. I'm considering strategic bombing the industry in Vlad to reduce his supply production in the pocket. Even though I hope to eventually capture these factories, this is still probably a necessary evil.

June 7-13, 1942.

The battle of the swamp south or Birobidzhan (henceforth refered to as the "Battle of Birobidzhan") rages on. Russian units are next to the strong blocking force on the rail (see map on the previous page), and might try to break in to relieve the city soon. Who will win the race to Birobidzhan? My money is on the Soviets, but there is still hope. And even if we lose, we can still keep the pocket closed.

The Southern Army has finally arrived and joined the battle! After consecutive attacks, the Japanese might be finally grinding down the Russians at heavy cost. However, the casualties are starting to become closer to even, and more importantly, Russian AFV losses are mounting, and these are irreplaceable:

Ground combat at 118,40

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 154017 troops, 1803 guns, 1168 vehicles, Assault Value = 5656

Defending force 30601 troops, 900 guns, 976 vehicles, Assault Value = 1158

Japanese adjusted assault: 2560

Allied adjusted defense: 3721

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4156 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 229 disabled
Non Combat: 34 destroyed, 428 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 72 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 96 (25 destroyed, 71 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
3213 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 252 disabled
Non Combat: 44 destroyed, 347 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 26 (1 destroyed, 25 disabled)
Vehicles lost 227 (40 destroyed, 187 disabled)


Assaulting units:
1st Division
6th Tank Regiment
18th Division
27th Electric Engineer Regiment
28th Division
2nd Engineer Regiment
9th Division
7th Tank Regiment
14th Tank Regiment
48th Division
71st Engineer Regiment
38th Division
5th Tank Regiment
56th Engineer Regiment
29th Division
12th Division
8th Division
4th Garrison Unit
4th Division
55th Engineer Regiment
57th Division
25th Division
24th Division
10th Tank Regiment
33rd Division
1st Tank Regiment
11th/B Division
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
16th Army
3rd Mortar Battalion
5th Army
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
4th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
Tonei Hvy Gun Regiment
9th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
20th Army
3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
15th Army
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
5th Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
205th Rifle Division
422nd Rifle Division
8th Cavalry Division
34th Rifle Division
171st Tank Brigade
258th NKVD Regiment
203rd Tank Brigade
1121st Cannon Regiment
1137th Howitzer Regiment
1131st Hvy Howitzer Regiment
424th Hvy Howitzer Regiment
362nd/367th OM Gun Battalion
1123rd Cannon Regiment
190th/398th PVO AA Battalion
1128th Howitzer Regiment
52nd Cannon Regiment
145th Howitzer Regiment
187th Cannon Regiment
1194th BM Howitzer Regiment
1130th Howitzer Regiment

June 15, 1942

Meawhile, the Allied heavies have diverted to airfields in the far north and seem to be content with bombing small Japanese infiltration detatchments. I have begun to organize some long range Nettie/Zero raids on these airfields for harassment, but they are too far away to trully shut down.

Another good turn in the air for the Japanese grinds down the Russian fighter force even further (see air losses). He must be facing some fighter shortages by now.

Good luck - i think its a, courageous move to attack Russia Prove me wrong! [8D]

June 17-19, 1942.

Allied heavies continue to pound Japanese airfields and units in the north of Manchuria. A few zeros take to the skies to oppose them, but their efforts are mostly innefectual.

Meanwhile, the IJAAF continues to bomb airfields and ground troops, and has also started pounding heavy industry in Vlad. So far more than half the factories in the city are reported destroyed. This should reduce supply production in the pocket.

An assault force has begun its assault on Soveytskaya Gavan, and is soon expected to take the city. Following this operation, they will move on to Nikolaevsk. A similar force continues to battle with the border defenses on Sakhalin, so far without success. Once Nikolaevsk falls, they will be reinforced from the mainland.

The first part of the Battle of Birobidzhan ends in Japanese victory. Most Soviet units have withdrawn to the city, and the IJA rout the remnants and commence pursuit. Meanwhile, powerful Russian forces have been gathering and now seem poised to assault the Japanese units blocking the rail lines. Their strength is currently unknown, but reports indicate that they have around 1000 AFVs - this poses a problem to our primarily infantry-based defenders. Will the Japanese blocking units be able to hold out long enough to give the IJA further south a chance to take Birobidzhan? Time will tell.

/////////////////////////////

Ground combat at 118,40

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 174220 troops, 2059 guns, 1170 vehicles, Assault Value = 5284

Defending force 12570 troops, 483 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 337

Japanese adjusted assault: 1847

Allied adjusted defense: 460

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1536 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 105 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 97 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 20 disabled
Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 27 (7 destroyed, 20 disabled)
Units pursuing 1

Allied ground losses:
6959 casualties reported
Squads: 360 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 374 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 43 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 98 (83 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 4

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

June 21-25, 1942.

The Japanese are grinding down Birobidzhan. Meanwhile, the Russians are grinding down the Japanese blocking the rail line. The race is on! the Japanese can probably only hold out another couple turns. How long Birobidzhan can hold out without assistance is uncertain.

Actually, I made a huge error. If I had made every effort to reinforce the blocking units as soon as I saw what the Russians were doing, I would have been almost guaranteed to take Birobidzhan. Now, he will probably be able to reinforce it. Once that happens, Japanese efforts will refocus on containing and reducing the Vladivostock pocket. I don't forsee any problems doing that, but it could take a while.

The heavy industry in Vladivostock is getting pounded every day, and is now down to the 10 or so. Once gone, his supply production in the pocket should be down to 60 or so per day - there is no way that can sustain the troops for long.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Here's the Japanese assault:

Ground combat at Birobidzhan (117,39)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 150134 troops, 1768 guns, 1120 vehicles, Assault Value = 4700

Defending force 39205 troops, 1249 guns, 1082 vehicles, Assault Value = 1138

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Japanese adjusted assault: 2480

Allied adjusted defense: 4669

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 3)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
3321 casualties reported
Squads: 50 destroyed, 308 disabled
Non Combat: 165 destroyed, 316 disabled
Engineers: 33 destroyed, 55 disabled
Guns lost 3 (0 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 139 (102 destroyed, 37 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
2095 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 159 disabled
Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 389 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 27 disabled
Guns lost 30 (4 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Vehicles lost 127 (9 destroyed, 118 disabled)

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


And here's the Russian assault:

Ground combat at 116,38

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 53310 troops, 1062 guns, 1371 vehicles, Assault Value = 2226

Defending force 28480 troops, 244 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 911

Allied adjusted assault: 787

Japanese adjusted defense: 1417

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1149 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 128 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 141 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Vehicles lost 6 (0 destroyed, 6 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
1766 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 90 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 216 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 12 (1 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Vehicles lost 52 (4 destroyed, 48 disabled)

June 27-29, 1942

Three battles rage. On June 27, the Russians finally pushed the Japanese units off the rail line. The Japanese retreated to near the town of Luobei "Lopei" along the Machurian border. Some of the Russian units are following up the routed units, intending the finish them off. However, I have decided to stand on the riverbank. A Japanese division and regiment has already arrived to reinforce them, and several other units, including armor, are on their way. The Russians are more numerous, but the larger part of their force will need to reinforce Birobidzhan to prevent it from falling.

My reasoning is that even though my defense will be comprimised by the fact that I am in clear terrain, now my air power can really come into play. Being 1 hex from a large fighter base at Lopei, I can now provide a strong CAP. And since the Russians will be exposed in the clear, I should be able to bomb them mercilessly. And by holding the bridgehead across the river, I can continue to threaten Birobizhan's flank.

In the south, the Russians in the pocket seem to be trying to force a breakout along the rail line near Khabarovsk. I am actually quite pleased with this. I've got 2000+ AV heavily supported and dug in (2-3 forts) there. He can't have much more than 3000 AV, so I doubt he'll be able to budge the defenders. And nothing would please me more than see the pocketed Russians expend supplies trying to break out.

Meanwhile, the Japanese continue to grind away at Birobidzhan. With Russian support arriving next turn, I doubt we will be able to take it.

Ground combat at Birobidzhan (117,39)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 142046 troops, 1762 guns, 986 vehicles, Assault Value = 4222

Defending force 35418 troops, 1272 guns, 1138 vehicles, Assault Value = 976

Japanese adjusted assault: 2069

Allied adjusted defense: 3988

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
6336 casualties reported
Squads: 27 destroyed, 121 disabled
Non Combat: 104 destroyed, 231 disabled
Engineers: 78 destroyed, 55 disabled
Guns lost 10 (2 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 99 (38 destroyed, 61 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
2057 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 105 disabled
Non Combat: 33 destroyed, 267 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 13 disabled
Guns lost 27 (2 destroyed, 25 disabled)
Vehicles lost 103 (8 destroyed, 95 disabled)

Meanwhile in the North, the Japanese and Allied air forces continue to spar trying to shut down each other's airfields.

The Japanese close Choybalsan, but it is almost deserted.

The B-17s come in to close Hailar but are met with swarms of fighters and Flak. However, B-17s are tough. Most of the ones lost were merely damaged, but they hopefully didn't make it home.

Think it would be an HR against putting any kind of no Soviet A/C at Soviet bases.

If u wanna play a historic game so to say.

Anyway gl against the Red horde.

June 30 - July 9, 1942.

The Japanese have won the first phase of the battle of Lopei! Japanese reinforcements are pouring across the river, and airpower preved decisive in the great victory. Several Russian divisions were shattered, and now the Japanese forces present a serious threat to Birobidzhan's flank. This battle has sucked up most Japanese reserves, with just enough ringing the Vladivostock pocket to keep it closed. There probably won't be an assault to clean it out for a while. Russian HI in Vlad has been destroyed, and we are probably just going to starve them out for several months.

Meanwhile, the battle for Birobidzhan rages on. Japanese deliberate attacks every other turn continue to grind down the defenders, with both sides taking about even casualties. I can live with this kind of attrition, and we should prevail in the long run. Especially nice is the Russian AFV casualties, which won't come back for a long time. Japanese unmodified AV in the city stands at around 4000, while Russian is about 2000.

Allies bombers continue to pound the Japanese airfields in the North, but Japanese fighters aren't giving up the fight. The B-17s are proving to be tough customers, but the Russian fighter and bombers are easier meat. Russian air losses are mounting.

Skirmishes continue in the West, and the Russians have sent a couple of probing units to cut the rail to Hailar and to the vicinity of Hailar itself. We are engaging them to push them back and clean up the area, or at the very least keep them busy.

Meanwhile, the Chinese are invading Indochina with around 8 corps! They are taking advantage of several Japanese divisions skirmishing along the Mogolian border. Only a single division is located in the area, but I'm rushing reinforcements in. But they might do some damage before we can stem the tide. We have sent bombers to harrass their progress.

The IJN remains on alert in case the Allies try to make any moves on the Japanese perimeter. Japanese high command is anxious to see what they are planning. Emily overflights have detected major Allied troop concentrations in Perth, but no ships there as far as we can tell. Where will the allies strike?

July 12, 1942.

The first stage of the Battle of Birobidzhan ends in Japanese Victory! The Russian army has abandoned the city, and Japanese forces are in pursuit. Will the Russian army be able to stem the tide, and hold back the Japanese forces from the Kuibishevka region?

Meanwhile, a Japanese sub has managed to put a torpedo into the CVE Long Island. The damage looked minor though, and she'll probably make it back to port.

July 13-21, 1942

In the south, the Japanese are slowly trying to wear down the Russian defenses around Vladivostok, but the main priority is on moving North. Uterly surrounded with the fall of Birobidzhan, the Russian defenders of the Vladivostock pocket will be mostly starved out.

In the far west, the war of maneuver continues. Neither side can exert effective air control, and the battle rages back and fourth as each side tried to outmaneuver the other.

In the North, Russian probes have been pushed back from Hailar. A strong Russian force (~1000 AV) has reduced some of the the Japanese border defenses near Kuibyshevka, but we are sending reinforcements to prevent them from moving any further.

On the main front, 7000 Japanese AV faces 4000 Russian. A Japanese deliberate attack resulted in high casualties for both sides, but significantly higher for Japan. Since Birobidzhan has already fallen, there is no need to press the attack any more on this front. We will leave enough forces to hold the road, and the remaining Japanese forces will move back across the river to finish off the pocket and open another front.

Heavy losses this turn in the air, but we finaly managed to shoot down a decent number of B-17s! Those Nicks really are the best we've got.

July 22-August 8, 1942.

[:(] We lost the CVE Hosho! She was out raiding near Panama with a DD and was hunted down by allied cruisers and carriers. This marks the first carrier loss on either side.

In Russia, the Japanese main army made one attempt at shoving the Russians out of the way before I decided the bloodshed wasn't worth it. With Birobizhan secured, we are redeploying the main army to finally deal with the Vladivostock pocket. Crushing the pocket should free up enough troops to resume the offensive on other fronts. Hopefully it won't take all winter!

The Russians had advanced on 3 fronts (see map), but in all cases were turned back with heavy losses. The allied air forces haven't been showing themselves over the battlefield recently, and the IJAAF rules the skies.

On other fronts, Japanese and Chinese troops are sparring inconclusively near Pakhoi on the French Indo-China border, and the IJA has almost finished clearing northern Burma which was largely abandonned by the British.

August 9-22, 1942.

The Russian bombers decided to come out to play today. Luckily we guess their motives and managed to get some bombs away on their airfields.

August 9-22, 1942.

Lots of skirmishing in the Northwest as the Japanese push the Russians back into Mongolia.

The Russians have been assaulting the Japanese blocking force North of Birobidzhan for the last couple turns without much success.

In the south, the Japanese have reduced the first fort blocking the way into the Vladivostok pocket.

Wow, impressive progress. You really took advantage of the Soviet Union's exterior lines. Do you think you'll be able to meet your objectives?

Also what kind of AV do you and the soviets have in the western skirmishes?

As far as the push north from Khabarovsk, we met our objective as soon as we took Birobidzhan. I expect the Vladivostock pocket to fall pretty easily during the winter once their supplies run out.

As far as taking the Kuybeshevka region, we'll see... That's what we're working on now (see below).

ORIGINAL: JonReb

Wow, impressive progress. You really took advantage of the Soviet Union's exterior lines. Do you think you'll be able to meet your objectives?

Also what kind of AV do you and the soviets have in the western skirmishes?

August 23-September 9, 1942.

In late August, the Japanese high command suddenly reversed the decision to liquidate the Vladivostock pocket. Instead, we want to push north and make as much progress as possible before winter sets in. We can come back and deal with the pocket in the winter, and their supplies should have dwindled by then.

The Western skirmishes have developed into a full scale battle as the Russians have decided to make their stand at Choybalsan. The Japanese force has pursued, and are now at the very limit of a tenuous supply line. Nevertheless, an assault is ordered in conjunction with heavy ground support. The first attack comes off at 1:1, but the second drops to 1:2. Losses are about equal on both sides:

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 38255 troops, 312 guns, 299 vehicles, Assault Value = 1505
Defending force 43222 troops, 664 guns, 2015 vehicles, Assault Value = 1566
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese adjusted assault: 1519
Allied adjusted defense: 1508
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2
Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-)

Japanese ground losses:
1039 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 94 disabled
Non Combat: 22 destroyed, 121 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 4 disabled
Vehicles lost 182 (15 destroyed, 167 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1016 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 97 disabled
Non Combat: 44 destroyed, 112 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 8 (0 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 111 (25 destroyed, 86 disabled)

Second attack:

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 36767 troops, 312 guns, 287 vehicles, Assault Value = 1389
Defending force 41152 troops, 663 guns, 1977 vehicles, Assault Value = 1459
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese adjusted assault: 872
Allied adjusted defense: 1077
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)
Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-)

Japanese ground losses:
1667 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 114 disabled
Non Combat: 24 destroyed, 98 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 64 (33 destroyed, 31 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1012 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 57 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 171 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 7 (0 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 133 (7 destroyed, 126 disabled)

The Japanese have sent their main force across the river into the Russian flank, fording the Amur river near Kuybishevka. The Japanese air forces have complete dominance of the region, and this plays a big role in disrupting the defenders.

First, the Japanese shock attack completely overwhealms the Russian defenders, putting them to rout:

Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 91389 troops, 834 guns, 227 vehicles, Assault Value = 3182
Defending force 21377 troops, 359 guns, 1156 vehicles, Assault Value = 1111
Japanese adjusted assault: 3313
Allied adjusted defense: 420
Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1
Combat modifiers
Defender: op mode(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
2409 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 194 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 134 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
5674 casualties reported
Squads: 237 destroyed, 75 disabled
Non Combat: 488 destroyed, 166 disabled
Engineers: 27 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 94 (56 destroyed, 38 disabled)
Vehicles lost 353 (133 destroyed, 220 disabled)
Units retreated 6

The next day (we're playing 2 day turns), Russian reinforcements arrive from across the river, initiating their own shock attack that doesn't go so well:

Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 3003 troops, 181 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 243
Defending force 153816 troops, 1384 guns, 653 vehicles, Assault Value = 4897
Allied adjusted assault: 13
Japanese adjusted defense: 5709
Allied assault odds: 1 to 439
Combat modifiers
Defender:
Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-), supply(-)

Japanese ground losses:
353 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2428 casualties reported
Squads: 249 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 30 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 46 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 68 (51 destroyed, 17 disabled)

Now, the Japanese army will press towards Kuybyshevka. Can we make it before Russian reinforcements rail in? (Probably not, but we're going to try!)