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Thanks! I appreciate the feedback, I'm glad you like the AAR. I would love to visit some of the Pacific islands, I visited Pearl Harbor a couple years ago and it's always fascinating to visit the sites that I have spent so much time reading about.

Following this AAR as well - call it JFB solidarity [;)]

Thanks for the encouragement! it's been a late night, I will post more details tomorrow, but the 15th saw the first major landing, at Tinian. Luckily, my CVs were just in range (but not in range of his CVs). Lots of empty LCIs sunk (they don't take bombs well), but I sank or heavily damaged a CA, DD, 3 LSDs, an AKA, APA, and a couple xAKs. He landed part of 27th Division, but it's not nearly enough to dislodge my 14th Div. Now to avoid his counterstrike, my CVs are pulling back into open ocean.

ORIGINAL: Justus2

Thanks for the encouragement! it's been a late night, I will post more details tomorrow, but the 15th saw the first major landing, at Tinian. Luckily, my CVs were just in range (but not in range of his CVs). Lots of empty LCIs sunk (they don't take bombs well), but I sank or heavily damaged a CA, DD, 3 LSDs, an AKA, APA, and a couple xAKs. He landed part of 27th Division, but it's not nearly enough to dislodge my 14th Div. Now to avoid his counterstrike, my CVs are pulling back into open ocean.

Great! [&o] Get your digs in and back off. Any damage you do to his main amphibious landing forces will augur well when the hammer comes against Saipan per se.

What's your supply situation there?

Catching up, the 14th was a relatively quiet turn. Al bombarded Saipan with a few DDs (which crushed a couple of mini-subs on the way), then Tinian with the BB North Carolina and a CA. Minimal damage, but an indication that he might be coming to Tinian with a real landing. With the new bombardment run, and more TFs just to the east of the main islands, I think he is close to landing. I had pulled my CVs west last turn, and they have no DL now, so I shift them SE so they are just barely in range of the Guam-Tinian-Saipan triangle.

Night Naval bombardment of Saipan at 108,93 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
477 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
DD Hailey, Shell hits 1
DD Haggard, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Albert Grant

Night Naval bombardment of Tinian at 108,94
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 4 damaged
Allied Ships
BB North Carolina
CA San Francisco
CA New Orleans
Japanese ground losses:
83 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 19
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1

To the east, he landed some forces at Jaluit, and heavily bombed it. I think my attempt to refuel a scouting DD there made him decide to shut it down.

Morning Air attack on Jaluit , at 134,120
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 41 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-25G Mitchell x 16
F4U-1 Corsair x 13
No Allied losses

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 13

Afternoon Air attack on Jaluit , at 134,120
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 25 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 11
F6F-3 Hellcat x 24
SBD-5 Dauntless x 18
Allied aircraft losses
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 damaged

Port hits 4

Afternoon Air attack on Jaluit , at 134,120
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 27 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 24
SBD-5 Dauntless x 10
No Allied losses

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Great! [&o] Get your digs in and back off. Any damage you do to his main amphibious landing forces will augur well when the hammer comes against Saipan per se.

What's your supply situation there?

Thanks! Tinian is the lowest of the 3, at 6.2K supply (2 months 'normal' use but I know it will go fast in combat). Guam is at 13.6K and Saipan is at 18.2K. I only have a couple xAKs, but I do have some coming in another week or so. Problem is getting them in. I can try to risk some of my CLs/DDs on Fast Transport, but that will have to wait a few turns until the main surface groups leave the area.

The 15th opened with another DD bombardment, at Tinian (and another mini-sub sunk…), then the landing force:

Pre-Invasion action off Tinian (108,94)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force
294 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
LCI(G)-82
LCI(G)-81
LCI(G)-76
LCI-70
LCI-69
LCI-68
LCI-67
LCI-66
LCI-65
LCI-64
LCI-61
LCI-62
LCI-75
DE Mitchell
LCI-83
LCI-63
LCI-402
LCI-400

Allied ground losses:
130 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Amphibious Assault at Tinian (108,94)
TF 97 troops unloading over beach at Tinian, 108,94

Allied ground losses:
807 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 104 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 113 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 91 (0 destroyed, 91 disabled)
Vehicles lost 77 (0 destroyed, 77 disabled)
13 troops of a USA 44 Rifle Squad accidentally lost during unload of 27th Infantry Div /1

Lots of disabled squads, but for 294 coastal shots, I would have hoped to get at least one hit on an LCI! [:'(]

After watching the usual ASW rounds and Liberator attacks at Truk, my heartbeat quickened, as I see my carrier planes over Tinian – Tora Tora Tora!! [:D]

Morning Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 108,94
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Sen Baku x 9
A6M5 Zero x 57
B6N1 Jill x 23
D4Y1 Judy x 25
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 5 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 4 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied Ships
xAK Admiral Chase, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Hailey
LSD Belle Grove, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
CA New Orleans
LCI-63, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Halford
DD Hudson
Allied ground losses:
18 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Morning Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 108,94
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Sen Baku x 7
A6M5 Zero x 38
B6N1 Jill x 5
B6N2 Jill x 3
D3A2 Val x 14
D4Y1 Judy x 5
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 1 damaged
D3A2 Val: 2 damaged
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied Ships
LSD Epping Forest, Bomb hits 1, on fire
LCI-67
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1
LSD Belle Grove, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
LCI-65, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring LSD Belle Grove

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 108,94
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Sen Baku x 9
A6M5 Zero x 32
B6N1 Jill x 43
D4Y1 Judy x 35
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N1 Jill: 3 damaged
B6N1 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak
D4Y1 Judy: 6 damaged
Allied Ships
xAK Admiral Chase, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Hailey
LSD White Marsh
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
LSD Oak Hill
xAK Defiance, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Albert Grant
LCI-83
APA Warren, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
LSD Ashland, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DE Doneff, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
LCI(G)-81, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
LCI(G)-76, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
LCI-66, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Halford
Allied ground losses:
24 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring LCI(G)-76

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tinian at 108,94
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Sen Baku x 12
A6M5 Zero x 25
B6N1 Jill x 10
B6N2 Jill x 6
D4Y1 Judy x 10
Japanese aircraft losses
B6N2 Jill: 2 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied Ships
LCI-68
DD Hudson, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CA New Orleans, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Defiance, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AKA Thuban, Bomb hits 1, on fire
LCI-435, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Dyson
LSD Epping Forest, Torpedo hits 1
xAK Admiral Wiley
Allied ground losses:
130 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 30 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 23 (19 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 17 (17 destroyed, 0 disabled)

(The results in the bottom graphic are a compilation of the total damage to each ship)
Overall, a lot of hits on his amphib ships, and not many aircraft lost (most of those were in the 'picket wars' I will describe next. Not a lot of ground force losses, so it looks like a lot of his forces already unloaded, but hopefully that leaves him short of supply, and they can't support future landings.

I kept waiting for his CVs to counterstrike, but instead, we each launched an attack on picket ships west of Tinian. I lost an SC (covered by CAP from Guam) and missed his DD, but it was the only air-to-air combat.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Guam at 106,93
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid spotted at 4 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M5 Zero x 21
Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 15
TBM-1C Avenger x 8
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 3 destroyed
TBM-1C Avenger: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
SC Ch 8, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
Aircraft Attacking:
4 x TBM-1C Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Saipan at 107,91
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 64 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 26
D4Y1 Judy x 10
Japanese aircraft losses
D4Y1 Judy: 2 damaged
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied Ships
DD Paul Hamilton

The ground forces he landed don’t look to be nearly enough to dislodge my defenders, based on the bombardment. Good thing I landed most of 14th Division here early. Forts are level 3, about 50% to level 4. Supply is a concern, with only 6K, I will have to try to sneak some in. Meanwhile, he will need to bring more troops!

Ground combat at Tinian (108,94)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 13624 troops, 133 guns, 58 vehicles, Assault Value = 695
Defending force 7516 troops, 194 guns, 142 vehicles, Assault Value = 229

Japanese ground losses:
18 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
50th Infantry Regiment
I./135th Infantry Battalion
56th Naval Guard Unit
18th Indpt Tank Co
14th Division
11th JNAF AF Unit
233rd Construction Battalion
23rd Air Flotilla
20th JAAF AF Bn
7th Naval Construction Battalion
12th JNAF AF Unit

Defending units:
27th Infantry Div /15

I know I caught a good break, with his CVs being out of range for a counter-strike (or CAP coverage). You can see on the map below, he has 6 different CVTFs (with multiple CVs/CVLs in each – Yamamoto was right about the whole sleeping giant thing…). The three to the north I assume will push forward, the three to the east are showing as headed east, maybe to refuel? I don’t want to push my luck, so I am pulling my CVTFs back. The BB TFs are going to head to refuel, I imagine he will be swarming the islands the next couple days with his CVs, so I don’t see much chance of sneaking in a night run.

Speaking of sneaking in… My CVL strike force is past Wake and heading SE into the shipping lanes from Pearl. This is the first turn I got a DL hit, but I’m not sure what he knows from a DL of 1. I have used raiding CAs (both in this game and our previous games), so if it just shows as a generic TF, he may think it’s one of those. I know one of my subs encountered a group with an LSD leaving Pearl a few days ago, so hopefully there are some targets there. I thought about raiding Wake, but that would for sure give them away, and I can’t be sure he has anything of value there.

Finally, one of my mini-subs gets some success! This LSD was already damaged, but I’ll take success! 2 torps, and that satisfying sinking sound afterward. (Unfortunately, I have no way to rearm the minis here, so I return to the pool).

Submarine attack near Tinian at 108,94

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-5
Allied Ships
LSD Belle Grove, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage

LSD Belle Grove is sighted by SSX Ha-5
SSX Ha-5 launches 2 torpedoes at LSD Belle Grove

Unfortunately, one of his subs is successful too… [:(]

Not in danger of sinking, but I have nowhere to repair her. I will need to split Junyo off, I shift her TBs and DBs over to Shokaku and Zuikaku (who have some room after losses on the last strikes). I will probably use Junyo as a CAP/ASW escort when I try my resupply runs.

Sub attack near Yap at 98,88

Japanese Ships
CV Junyo, Torpedo hits 1
DD Isokaze
DD Michishio
DD Nowaki
Allied Ships
SS Paddle

SS Paddle launches 2 torpedoes at CV Junyo
Paddle diving deep ....

No major airstrikes over the Marianas, but Al does have one of his CVs sweep over Truk. I guess the attrition on his Liberators is really getting to him. I spotted a TK TF nearby, I’m guessing he pulled this CVTF back to refuel, and decided to do the sweep while he was in range. No other action, and my CVL TF E of Wake is back to no DL (light rain). Recon (from Marcus) spots a 1-ship TF at Wake, not worth exposing myself, so I will continue south into the shipping lanes.

Morning Air attack on Truk , at 112,108
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Sen Baku x 9
A6M5 Zero x 18
Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 28
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Sen Baku: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 3 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
19 x F6F-3 Hellcat sweeping at 15000 feet *

CAP engaged:
263 Ku S-4 with A6M5 Zero (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 13 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 13000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
501 Ku K-351 with A6M2 Sen Baku (0 airborne, 2 on standby, 6 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 19000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes

My ground forces bombard again at Tinian. You can see below I still have a 3-1 raw AV ratio, but I don’t know how to adjust for Allied firepower in ’44. [&:]

Surprisingly, supply went up since last turn, it seems Tinian is drawing from Saipan (the adjacent port rule), so I am now at 7.5K, while Saipan is at 16K. I am going to stop bombarding to conserve supply. He has an xAK that is still attempting to unload, several disabled support squads and vehicles (same ship, three phases of unloading below). He will definitely need another major landing before he can attack.

Invasion Support action off Tinian (108,94)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force
167 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
xAK Admiral Williams
DD Halford

Allied ground losses:
33 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
49 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
41 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 22 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (10 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Here’s where we stand at the end of the turn. I’m surprised he didn’t try to push his CVs further west to catch mine, but instead they appear to have shifted a little north. I am going to slide mine south to Pelielu to rearm. One turn of strikes used about half my torp sorties. I have reviewed my nav spt totals, I can rearm sorties at Iwo, but not torps. By moving the naval BF from Babel to Pelieu, I can now rearm torps there.

17 June
In my email to Al, I told him we each owed one of our sub commanders a medal from last turn (my Mini-sub hitting the LSD, and his sub hitting Junyo). Today, he needs to upgrade the medal for the commander of the SS Hake, but it will need to be posthumous. [:(]
Junyo didn’t sink, but it’s crippled, no flight ops. I moved the TBs and DBs off last turn, but it still has about 24 fighters trapped on board.

Sub attack near Yap at 95,90
Japanese Ships
CV Junyo, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
DD Michishio
CL Noshiro
Allied Ships
SS Hake, hits 18, and is sunk

SS Hake launches 6 torpedoes at CV Junyo
DD Michishio attacking submerged sub ....
SS Hake forced to surface!
DD Michishio firing on surfaced sub ....
CL Noshiro firing on surfaced sub ....
DD Michishio firing on surfaced sub ....
CL Noshiro firing on surfaced sub ....
CL Noshiro firing on surfaced sub ....
CL Noshiro firing on surfaced sub ....
DD Michishio firing on surfaced sub ....
CL Noshiro firing on surfaced sub ....
DD Michishio firing on surfaced sub ....
CL Noshiro firing on surfaced sub ....
Sub slips beneath the waves

Allies land at Ponape in the east, some DDs open with bombardments, but my coastal guns get some good hits on the xAK Golden Gate, and a penetrating hit on a DD. A bunch of APDs follow up later in the turn. I have one of my CAs south of Truk, I will try to run it in next turn and see if I can catch any stragglers.

He also lands at Pagan, and another wave starts unloading at Tinian. I still have the upper hand at Tinian based on the raw AV, Pagan is lightly defended but hopefully it can hold out a few turns. You can see both bombardments below: