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821Bobo suspected a landing at Kavieng and moved the Adelaide there to cover the base. His suspicions were well founded when the Adelaide encountered a Japanese amphibious TF led by the Kashima. Badly outgunned and outmanuevered and with a large group of cargo ships to cover, the Kashima advanced boldly and won the engagement by virtue of a lucky torpedo hit. This was a very fortunate turn of events for Japan.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kavieng at 106,122, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Kashima, Shell hits 1
PB Chiyo Maru #4
PB Choko Maru #2
PB Keijo Maru
xAK Kunitu Maru
xAK Ryunan Maru
xAK Kazan Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Eizan Maru
xAK Yae Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
xAK Daihachikyo Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
xAK Daijukyo Maru
xAKL Kaijo Maru #2
xAKL Tateyama Maru
PB Kosin Maru #3

Allied Ships
CL Adelaide, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
145 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled

I checked the captain of the Kashima after the battle, and he is awful. I will credit the crew for this well-placed fish. I feel a little badly for 821Bobo in this one. He caught me at a severe disadvantage and was defeated. I am sure, however, that it will go the other way at some point.

Over Luzon, Japanese forces advanced from Mauban to Batangas as Anns from Iba interdicted the allied unit at Lucena. Betties went in for a second time against the Grants at Cabanatuan. 821Bobo smelled a trap from the moment that he moved his tanks into Cabanatuan and immediately had them plotted to return to Clark, rather than stay and try to capture the base at Cabanatuan, so they were able to retreat to the high ground after this second attack.

Morning Air attack on 194th Tank Battalion, at 80,76 (Cabanatuan)

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 48 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
G4M1 Betty x 50

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 21 (2 destroyed, 19 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
25 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 6000 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

This was very quick thinking on his part. Had he not immediately plotted those tanks to return to Clark, I would have sent my units from Iba and Lingayen directly into Clark and tried to take the base immediately. They were on the road and 1 day away, when the order came to cancel the immediate attack on Clark.

South of Luzon, Japanese forces landed at Cotabatu, Dadjangas, and Davao. These task forces had moved through the same storm front as Chokai for 3 days and were undetected. (In reality, Chokai was covering 4 small amphibious TFs, which is why she received the best commander available). The whole of Mindanao should be mostly in Japanese hands on the morrow.

In CentPac Nagumo continued to move around the periphery of the long storm. He did not commit the same mistake as yesterday and launched his fighters once again to sweep Pearl, who found some clear sky to fight amidst the tempest. The air battle was decisive, and the A6M2 and their pilots performed admirably.

Morning Air attack on Pearl Harbor , at 180,107

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 83

Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 22
P-40B Warhawk x 36
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 8 destroyed
P-40B Warhawk: 13 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
12 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
6 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
12 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet

West, and American carrier appeared in the Marshalls and found 2 Japanese minesweepers fleeing at full speed from Makin. The allied DB pilots acquitted themselves well.



Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Nauru Island at 128,126

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 10
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CM Okinoshima, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CM Tokiwa, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage

If Graflin Zeppelin reads this AAR, she will be very upset with me.

In Malaysia, the Japanese took Sambas. Bombers struck the ground forces at Alor Star and the airfield at Georgetown again.

Dec. 11th.

Luzon

Betties and Nells struck the airfields at Clark and Manila again as well as the port at Manila, which recon shows harboring some damaged ships. The attack on Manila was hampered by bad weather, and little damage was reported. The airfield at Clark may now be inoperable. The Japanese took Batangas and moved to within 3 days of Manila.

Ground combat at Batangas (79,78)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12140 troops, 94 guns, 84 vehicles, Assault Value = 875

Defending force 3038 troops, 52 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 132

Japanese adjusted assault: 258

Allied adjusted defense: 17

Japanese assault odds: 15 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Batangas !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
123 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1433 casualties reported
Squads: 55 destroyed, 30 disabled
Non Combat: 45 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 20 (20 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
20th Infantry Regiment
4th Division
9th Infantry Regiment
16th Engineer Regiment
16th Recon Regiment
2nd Engineer Regiment
2nd Recon Regiment

Defending units:
41st PA Infantry Division

821 Bobo opted not to retreat this unit to Manila. I think his plan was to move the division in Lucena north and try to hold the line here for a moment, thereby rescuing both units. The unit at Lucena made very slow progress north, however. It must have failed numerous leadership checks for extra movement and was interdicted by air every day after Dec. 7th. The division at Lucena is now cut off. The division at San Fernando and the regiment at Tugarao are also cut off by the landing at Lingayen and the paradrop at Cabanatuan. He has decided not to try to move the division at San Fernando south and is moving instead into the x3 defense hex next to San Fernando to hold out.

In Mindanao, the landings at Cotabatu, Dadjangas, and Cagayen came off well for the Japanese, and they took all three bases. The landing at Cagayen netted a haul of B-17s. 4 appear on the combat report, but the aviation losses report 10 B-17s lost to "ops." I like the number 10 better and have decided that that is the number that were captured. The P-40s that were caught by the naval bombardment were also captured on the overrun airbase.

Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 4022 troops, 51 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 143

Defending force 2491 troops, 4 guns, 50 vehicles, Assault Value = 67

Japanese adjusted assault: 90

Allied adjusted defense: 25

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Cagayan !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Warhawk: 2 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed
B-17D Fortress: 4 destroyed

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

Japanese ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
862 casualties reported
Squads: 26 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 95 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 34 (34 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Assaulting units:
Kimura Det
Kure 1st SNLF
1st Naval Construction Battalion

Defending units:
3rd PA Constabulary Regiment
Cagayan USAAF Base Force
Mindanao Force Corps

In Malaysia, Japanese air attacks continued on the units trapped at Alor Star when the Japanese cut the railline and the two units that were 50 miles down the railway on trains before discovering the break in the line. A nighttime Japanese naval bombardment and daylight ground strikes by Sallies also preceded an invasion of Kuantan.


Night Naval bombardment of Kuantan at 51,79

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
CA Mikuma
CA Mogami
DD Hagikaze
DD Arashi
DD Nowaki
DD Maikaze

Allied ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Vehicles lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 53
Port hits 16
Port fuel hits 6
Port supply hits 7

The units at Kuantan have been trying to make their way northwest for several days. They have been interdicted by Sallies several times and are making slow progress. It is not clear if they will escape or be overrun by the invasion.

Dec. 12th Phillipines. A second Japanese landing at Davao reinforces the position there and both units advance on the base taking Davao. Davao, Dadjangas, Cotabatu, and Cagayen are all in Japanese hands. Japanese forces also land at San Jose, adjacent to Iloilo. Betties bomb the airfield at Clark once again. It is now certainly inoperable and the Kingfisher terror has abated for the moment, not before sending a third of an armor regiment and a set of mortars to the bottom of the ocean.

Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
G4M1 Betty x 30

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 20 damaged
Vildebeest III: 1 damaged
Stearman 75M: 1 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 2 damaged

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

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 37

You ask why I keep bombing this airfield. The answer is that those B-17s will not be escaping any time soon. If I can net the 19 B-17s that start at Clark, along with the 3 or 4 destroyed at Pearl, and the 10 that were overrun at Cagayen, that is 32 4-engine bombers that will not be ransacking my bases for the next 6 months.

In Malaysia, allied planes sortie from Singapore to contest the landing at Kuantan. A host of Japanese fighters are flying long range CAP, and this time storms plague the allied attack. The air battle and the attack produce little, except for some damaged buffalos.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 51,79

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 18
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 11
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 4

Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 11
Buffalo I x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 2 destroyed, 8 damaged
Blenheim I: 1 destroyed by flak
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Atago
BB Haruna

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Blenheim I bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

orning Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 51,79

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 14
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 6
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 4

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x Wirraway bombing from 1000 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 100 lb GP Bomb

The Ryujo and the "Heavy Cover" fast battlships are shown to be covering the attack. They have been very busy ships rushing down to Borneo to support the Sambas landing, then back to Malaysia to cover the Kuantan landing. The Ryujo is accompanied by the Taiyo, which picked up 2 squadrons of A5M4s: one from Babeldaod and the other from the 24th Air HQ at Saigon. Yes, I use my A5M4s. Why not? They match up well against buffalos.

The allied forces retreating from Kuantan are interdicted by Sallies again, despite the heavy storms. So, good job by the Sally squadron commanders and the 5th air HQ commander. A few more allied planes are captured as the base is overrun.

Ground combat at Kuantan (51,79)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10796 troops, 61 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 329

Defending force 2813 troops, 42 guns, 35 vehicles, Assault Value = 99

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 264

Allied adjusted defense: 13

Japanese assault odds: 20 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kuantan !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 5 destroyed
Hudson I: 1 destroyed

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), leaders(-), disruption(-)
preparation(-), fatigue(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
324 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 20 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled

Allied ground losses:
900 casualties reported
Squads: 27 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 91 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 24 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 30 (29 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 25 (25 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Assaulting units:
11th Infantry Regiment
5th Engineer Regiment
4th Ind. Engineer Regiment
15th Ind. Engineer Regiment
41st Infantry Regiment
54th Const Co

Defending units:
22nd Indian Brigade
3rd HK&S Light AA Regiment
1st ISF Base Force

Near Alor Star, the allies were able to get the artillery off the trains and shell the Japanese position. The unit that cut off the railway with the rapid move from Patani is revealed as the 5th Recon. It has been reinforced by the 1st armor, which participated in the battle at Kota Bharu, and additional Japanese reinforcements from Kota Bharu are en route.

The units that were held in reserve and pursued the broken British brigade at Kota Bharu, overran the fleeing Brits on the railine.


Ground combat at 51,76 (near Kota Bharu)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 7201 troops, 52 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 252

Defending force 1309 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

Japanese adjusted assault: 172

Allied adjusted defense: 7

Japanese assault odds: 24 to 1

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

Allied ground losses:
755 casualties reported
Squads: 35 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 48 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
42nd Infantry Regiment
114th Infantry Regiment

Defending units:
8th Indian Brigade
3rd ISF Base Force


So far, so good in Malaysia. Everything came off as I had hoped. I separated out the 5th Recon from the other units and placed it in its own magic move TF routed for Patani in my opening move. Both ships were small enough to dock, one at a time, at the small port. When it arrived in Patani, I changed the commander to the highest leadership commander available. Units, when moving, will make leadership checks to gain additional movement. Units, when entering strategic move, must also make a leadership check. A failed check results in an additional day of "packing." In testing this move, I discovered that 5th recon, if it makes its leadership check, can cut off any of the units from Alor Star that fail their leadership check to enter strategic move.

In my attack on Kota Bharu, I was careful not to ravage the airfield, because I wanted to immediately rebase the Oscars there to cover the Kuantan landing. The Kuantan landing is heavy with engineers to get that airbase operational as quickly as possible.

With the units at Alor Star cut off from Singapore and subject to continuous air bombardment and with the units at Kota Bharu and Kuantan routed, the back of the British Malaysian army is broken, and the road into Singapore becomes much easier. In effect, this accomplishes everything that the Japanese can hope to accomplish by landing at Mersing, without landing at Mersing.

The Japanese also landed a SNLF and several airfield Coys at Miri and took the base. The undamaged oil and refineries were intact. Now for one of the more difficult decisions that Japan must make early: to repair the oil at Miri or not. It is not necessary to repair the refineries as Japan has excess refinery capacity. To repair the 150 oil is 150,000 supply. The decision cannot really be postponed, because the point of repairing the oil is to draw out the oil every day. I have never been able to make up my mind whether it is better to spend the supply and repair the oil or save the supply. 150K supply is a tremendous amount of supply.

December 13th and the Japanese land another Dutch tanker: this time southeast of Java.

Sub attack near Denpasar at 57,109

Japanese Ships
SS I-164, hits 1

Allied Ships
TK Manvantara, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

SS I-164 attacking on the surface

Once again, it was laden with fuel. So while the tankers are going down, they are taking my oil and fuel with them. It has been a nice haul of tankers so far: 6 tankers and 2 oilers, and the Japanese submarine fleet has impressed to start the war. I will enjoy it while it lasts. Soon, allied escorts will make the lives of the Japanese submarine crewmen miserable indeed.

In the Phillipines, as Japanese ground forces close in on Manila, a heavy Japanese bomber raid over the city, striking the port, ground forces, and airfield.

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 100 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
G3M2 Nell x 33
G4M1 Betty x 75

Allied aircraft
P-35A x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 1 destroyed
SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Shark, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Sculpin, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
84 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 11

The bomb hit on the Soulpin was an 800 Kg, so she is probably at the bottom of Manila bay and not coming back up. The Japanese paratroopers encounter the small allied detachment from Tuguegarao on the road from Cabanatuan to Tuguegarao and bloody them.

Ground combat at 81,75 (near Tuguegarao)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 643 troops, 8 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 31

Defending force 484 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 22

Japanese adjusted assault: 29

Allied adjusted defense: 4

Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: op mode(-), leaders(+), experience(-)
Attacker: leaders(+)

Allied ground losses:
263 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
Yokosuka 1st SNLF

Defending units:
3rd/12th PA Inf Battalion

In the southern islands, the Japanese advanced on Iloilu and begin moving out to mop up Mindanao.

In China, ground support air bombardment and artillery bombardments of the allied positions at Hong Kong continue. In the plains west of Sinyang, a large Japanese column smashes through a Chinese corps.

Ground combat at 85,48 (near Sinyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 33201 troops, 337 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1164

Defending force 9468 troops, 74 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 222

Japanese adjusted assault: 1092

Allied adjusted defense: 13

Japanese assault odds: 84 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-), fatigue(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
160 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
6220 casualties reported
Squads: 341 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 409 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 43 (25 destroyed, 18 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
9th Armored Car Co
14th Ind.Mixed Brigade
3rd Division
13th Division
13th Tank Regiment
58th Infantry Regiment
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
30th Chinese Corps

North of Chengting, a badly depleted Chinese corps is destroyed as both Japanese and Chinese units move to form a coherent front in northern China.

Ground combat at 91,39 (near Chengting)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10806 troops, 76 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 361

Defending force 741 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 211

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 211 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(-), disruption(-), fatigue(-)
morale(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Allied ground losses:
719 casualties reported
Squads: 77 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 63 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
6th Ind.Mixed Brigade
9th Ind.Mixed Brigade

Defending units:
83rd Chinese Corps

In the west, Japanese units continue to advance on the railine south of Alor Star and also to advance on Alor Star from the northeast, down the trail. The allied units from Alor Star also attempt to advance south to link up with the units that had started down the railine on trains. Sallies from Thailand and Sonias, based in Singora, continue the aerial bombardment of the allied forces in and around Alor Star. The pursuit of the allied retreat down the railine from Kota Bharu continues, and the Japanse begin to advance up the trail from Kuantan in pursuit of the allied units that were routed at Kuantan.

At Pearl, after a week of storms, Nagumo finally finds a break in the weather to launch a proper strike on Pearl. The allies are still able to muster a credible defense and once again allied pilots prove themselves. Outnumbered 2 to 1, several allied pilots manage to get in among the Kates and get some kills.

Morning Air attack on Pearl Harbor , at 180,107

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 105 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 44 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 64
B5N2 Kate x 122

Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 9
P-40B Warhawk x 27

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 8 destroyed, 17 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 2 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed
P-40B Warhawk: 3 destroyed

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AVD Hulbert, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 5, heavy damage
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 5
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
AD Rigel, Bomb hits 1

Port hits 4
Port fuel hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
21 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
17 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
16 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
19 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 15000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

Magazine explodes on BB Oklahoma[X(]

About half of the bomb hits on the BBs were 250 Kg, which were able to knock out some the smaller turrets, but otherwise caused no significant damage. Arizona and Nevada were hit hard, and several bombs penetrated the deck and exploded in the lower decks. Nevada took 3 bombs and 4 torpedos on Dec. 7th, so she is in very bad shape, and Arizona took a bomb and 5 torpedos on the 7th, so her condition is also precarious. A bomb penetrated the deck of the Oklahoma amidships and ignited the main magazine. Oklahoma joins California and West Virginia as allied casualties.

The allies sortied PT boats from Pearl and guessed well the position of First Air Fleet. They missed contact with KB by only 50 miles and were harried throughout the day by Vals. 7 different Val pilots reported scoring hits on the PT boats.

About half of the bomb hits on the BBs were 250 Kg, which were able to knock out some the smaller turrets, but otherwise caused no significant damage. Arizona and Nevada were hit hard, and several bombs penetrated the deck and exploded in the lower decks. Nevada took 3 bombs and 4 torpedos on Dec. 7th, so she is in very bad shape, and Arizona took a bomb and 5 torpedos on the 7th, so her condition is also precarious. A bomb penetrated the deck of the Oklahoma amidships and ignited the main magazine. Oklahoma joins California and West Virginia as allied casualties.

Well all the BBs are in bad shape from the initial attack. Otherwise lurking around PH so long would had been punished.
I am disappointed with the subs around PH not getting a shot on KB [:(]

ORIGINAL: 821Bobo

About half of the bomb hits on the BBs were 250 Kg, which were able to knock out some the smaller turrets, but otherwise caused no significant damage. Arizona and Nevada were hit hard, and several bombs penetrated the deck and exploded in the lower decks. Nevada took 3 bombs and 4 torpedos on Dec. 7th, so she is in very bad shape, and Arizona took a bomb and 5 torpedos on the 7th, so her condition is also precarious. A bomb penetrated the deck of the Oklahoma amidships and ignited the main magazine. Oklahoma joins California and West Virginia as allied casualties.

Well all the BBs are in bad shape from the initial attack. Otherwise lurking around PH so long would had been punished.
I am disappointed with the subs around PH not getting a shot on KB [:(]

You have anticipated my post-Pearl harbor discussion about the benefits of follow-up attacks or 1 follow-up attack on Pearl, so I will have the discussion now. First, I will say that I think that you did the most prudent thing as the allies: just weather the storm, so to speak, and not do anything drastic.

I have tried this against another human opponent and the AI. The results are similar every time. Each additional strike on Pearl Harbor port results in 1 more BB sunk. This is the best way that I can think of to handle the follow up strike... by fighter sweeping and then just using the Kates flying above 40mm AA ceiling. It is unrealistic for the Japanese to expect a follow-up strike or strikes to accomplish a dramatic victory. If the allies commit to defend, Kates will go down, and very good pilots will be killed to sink BBs. The loss of additional BBs and the loss of P-40 airframes is hard medicine for the allies, but the loss of Kate pilots is hard medicine for the Japanese at this point in the war.

Should the Japanese follow up at Pearl? I think it is an open question, and there is no correct answer. Nothing will be achieved without cost, and the allies will force the Japanese to pay a high price for each additional BB sunk. In this game, I have lost over 25 Kate pilots in the follow-up strikes at Pearl (in addition to those that I lost the first day). That effectively reduces first airfleet's strike capability by 1 carrier, and carrier torpedo pilots are the hardest pilots to train in the game. Those pilots will not be replaced with comparable replacements for months, and thoee replacements will have to come from Nells and Betties. Hard medicine for the Japanese.

Should the Japanese follow up at Pearl?

Besides the direct cost as you said (lost Kates among other things), you have the "opportunity cost" of keeping the KB (or much of it?) on station near Pearl for several days, during which time you aren't using KB to do other things in other areas. It gives the Allied player some strategic freedom with his own carriers -- for a while, at least. But I agree with you that "there is no correct answer" and in any case it makes for some exciting action for the fans!

No turn today, so I thought I would make a few comments on early game political point use for the Japanese. On Dec. 7th, my first priority was the Air HQs, both naval and army, so I have already dealt with these. My first action on turn two in this game was to change the commander of 14th army as it hit the beaches at Iba. No Bataan death march for my Japanese. I like to put Hideheko Tojo in charge of Southern Army at some point very early in the war. His high inspiration and the large command radius of Southern Army does wonders to reduce the effects of the Malaria zone. I also like to get Yamamota out of Combined Fleet early in the war and use him as a SCTF or CVTF commander. His air rating is not as high as the traditional CV commanders, but I have had great success with him as a CVTF commander. Indeed, I would say that he has been my best, and I often put him in charge of First Air Fleet.

As the divisions go into action, I check their generals. The Imperial Guards and a few others are in need of new generals. Also, I like having the recon and the armor separated out from the divisions, but the Japanese have so many good generals and so few good colonels that reconstituting the divisions from their component parts is often a good idea, especially before large assaults, such as Singapore. As I rebuild divisions, I review their commands. I do tend to leave a few divisions in regiments.

As ships return to port from the initial sorties, I began to review all of my ship commanders. The first priority are the Cruiser captains (the CV commanders were all reviewed and one or two changes made on Dec. 7th). Second priority are the CL captains, especially Oi and Kitakami. For Oi and Kitakami, I like the highest aggression commanders with decent naval skill that I can find. This increases the likelihood of torpedo attacks. Kitakami and Oi will serve in SCTF for as long as they are afloat, either with BBs, or much more often with CAs. I use these two CLs as often as possible, and my best SCTF will not leave port without one or the other. They can even the odds very quickly if my heavy cruisers run afoul of British BBs.

For the other CLs, I generally choose a mix. For many, I like low aggression, high naval skill commanders. These CLs often will serve as the flagships for my amphibious TFs. For a handful of other CLs, I like high naval, decent aggresion commanders. These CLs will either lead surface combat TFs or support CA and BB TFs as screening vessels. Wholesale changes to the CAs and CLs does not require much more than 50 or 60 political points. The CLs draw from a different pool of captains than the CAs.

Once the CLs and CAs are dealt with, I move on to the fast BBs, the Kongo Class. These four get my best overall commanders for naval, aggression, and leadership. The rest of the BBs are not a priority, in my opinion, at this point in the game. The Japanese do not have fuel enough to use most of their BBs often. Other than the Kongo class, the BBs will spend the majority of the war at port. Several additional commanders are available for the BBs who will not lower themselves to command cruisers. This usually leaves a pool of a few good commanders available for the fast BBs whom I did not use for the CAs. In one or two cases, the best BB commanders can be found by combing through the Japanese base forces in search of good naval commanders. I find these and remove them, assigning the base forces the best inspiration and administration commanders available, because troops will often be withdrawn to the bases with the base forces to rest and recuperate.

After the capital ships are assigned their commanders, the next priority are the large tankers. I try to give every tanker a low aggression, naval 60+ commander. I have found that this will reduce losses to submarine attacks.

Only after these ships have been assigned commanders do I begin buying units out of Manchuria. First priority obviously goes to the highest experience units, especially the 90th regiment (which begins with 90 exp), and the heavy artillery. It will be early February before all these units are bought out. What I buy out next depends on circumstances, but usually proceeds with the 80 exp regiments there and then the armor.

In January and February, Japanese DDs begin to be due upgrades. As the DDs return from action to refit and upgrade, I review their commanders as well. The Kageros and Futubuki receive the better commanders, followed by the Asahio class. Two DDs are worthy of mention, and these are the Yugumo class DDs. You begin with two, and they are your best. I review their commanders the first time that they return to port after the initial operations of the war, just as if they were CLs. These DDs are typically assigned to First Air Fleet and the CVs ASAP. One begins with the carriers, the other at Hiroshima. The Japanese receive several more of these DDs throughout the war and each is immediately sent to KB to replace the Futubukis.

One advantage to immediately reviewing your ship commanders is that you will not need to assign as many TF commanders, since your flagship captains already will possess the attributes that you want in you TFs. There is one notable exception to this, and that is Raiza Tanaka. Tanaka will improve the performance of any non CV TF. He should be at sea the entire war either as the commander of your most important SCTF or your most valuable amphibious TF. I have seen Tanaka get amphib TFs with 2 CLs and a handful of DDs out of close-in fights with allied heavy cruisers taking no damage to the APs. He is capable of rescuing a division from disaster. If you mess up, but Tanaka is there, he will often bail you out.

What you have not factored in your day two attack against Pearl Harbor is what if he sorties his surviving fleet elements? I have done this as the Allies and sunk 2 Japanese CVs and Damaged two others for the loss of 1 BB and 2 CAs and a few others vessels damaged. It is a good trade for the Allies so you have to take that into account on planning to stick around for a 2nd day.

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

What you have not factored in your day two attack against Pearl Harbor is what if he sorties his surviving fleet elements? I have done this as the Allies and sunk 2 Japanese CVs and Damaged two others for the loss of 1 BB and 2 CAs and a few others vessels damaged. It is a good trade for the Allies so you have to take that into account on planning to stick around for a 2nd day.

I suppose that I am not revealing anything, since Bob has already spotted the SCTF, that throughout the Pearl operation, KB has been screened by the fast BBs. I also withdrew KB 11 hexes from Pearl on day 2. The chances of an allied SCTF encountering KB 11 hexes from Pearl are remote, and if they did stumble upon the correct path from Pearl, it is far more likely that they would have encountered the BBs. A surface engagement between allied CAs or CLs and fast BBs is an engagement that I would invite at this point in the war. Furthermore, had alled SCTFs come with 6 hexes of KB, far more likely than actually engaging KB, they would have been hammered by Vals set to naval search and naval attack. 8 Submarines also formed a picket around first Air fleet. Finally, in this particular game, all the BBs took multiple torpedo hits. It is unlikely that any BB could make more than 16 knots after Dec. 7th.

Sortieing SCTFs from Pearl could, with blind luck, produce dramatic results. The far more likely result is that the allies will lose CAs, CLs, and DDs, in addition to the BBs. For these reasons, I think Bob was prudent to sneak his CAs and CLs out of Pearl to the south, fly his CAP, take a toll on the Kates for the BBs, and not rish any further surface assets in the battle.