Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A)

[Aurorus]

I just watched the replay. A good day for the IJN.

What a turn. Where to begin. Surface action everywhere. In the night, Chokai's group encountered a small AP and one of the AS from Manila and sunk them. Yamashiro group encountered 6 large AKs and sunk them. Furutaka group SW of Babeldaob encountered a TK and sunk it. DD Thanet hit a mine in a sneaky minefield on the coast of Borneo. Tanaka's fast BBs encountered 2 TKs in the night and sunk them, as well as driving off some PTs that would have engaged Akagi grp. otherwise. In the most substantial action, Ashigara grp. which was covering the Koepang landing, encountered Houston, Boise, and Marblehead in the night. The night action was indecisive. Kora, in command of Ashigara and the TF, pursued and the two forces then fought a daytime action. Maya distinguished itself in the battle scoring several penetrating hits on the Houston. While the battle was not decisive, the IJN came off the victor, without question. Maya, Ashigara, and Naka emerged virtually unscathed. Houston took a pounding with mutiple fires burning in the superstructure, hull, and bridge.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Endeh at 65,114, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 1
CL Naka
DD Murasame
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare

Allied Ships
CA Houston
CL Marblehead
CL Boise, Shell hits 2
DD Barker
DD Bulmer
DD Stewart
DD Paul Jones
DD Parrott, Shell hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Koepang at 67,117, Range 21,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Shell hits 2
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 1
CL Naka, Shell hits 2
DD Murasame
DD Harusame, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 8, on fire
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 1
CL Boise, Shell hits 1
DD Barker, Shell hits 1
DD Bulmer, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Stewart
DD Paul Jones, Shell hits 1
DD Parrott, Shell hits 1, on fire

In the daylight, Betties from Kendari sunk the 2 ARDs trying to flee Soerabaja, Vals from Shokaku group sunk another AK at Medan, while Kates from the Shokaku group struck the remnants of the ships at Singapore. Vals from Akagi group sunk a number of small AMcs off the coast of Java. Kates from Hosho sunk the Pecos, and Kates from Ryujo sunk an AVP off the coast of Celebes. Attached is the full combat report.

[Aurorus]

The next turn is away. I expect the action to start winding down. Most allied forces seem to be fleeing. 2 Brit CLs, Repulse, and 3 or 4 Brit DDs are sunk. CL de Ruyter took a torpedo and appears to be withdrawing. Houston, Boise, and Marblehead are smoking and should be out of the action for some time. About 50% of the thundering herd has been destroyed along with all of the ships that begin at Singapore.

Ryujo grp. will move to Kendari and use the large supply depot and the air HQ there to try to upgrade her fighters to Zeros. After upgrading to Zeros, Ryujo and Taiyo will move back to Babeldaob to link up with Zuiho and Hosho and the great reoganization of Japanese forces will begin: getting my DDs, CAs, and CLs sorted out into the proper task groups; linking up a CS of the appropriate speed with the CV groups; and so forth. Akagi grp. will move to the southern coast of Borneo to catch any remnants fleeing down the slot between Borneo and Celebes. Hopefully she can avoid PT boats sortieing from Java or Tanaka's grp. can ward them off again. Shokaku and Zuikako will cover the Mersing landing one or two more days.

The air HQ is at Truk, and A5M4s are upgrading to Zeros. Gnells are on station ready with torpedos, though I need one more day before enough Zeros are upgraded to deal with a US CVTF. Vals are at Saipan waiting to see what the last few ships from the herd do. We are building an airstrip at Mersing and a squadron upgraded to Oscars will transfer down to cover the landing once the airstrip in completed. 24 Aviation support is at Kota Bharu with more inbound.

A few subs are chasing after the remnants of the Manila herd. Chokai is nearly out of ammo and will link up with the Yamashiro grp. (which lacks escorts) and move to Babeldaob so the CAs and CLs can reload. The most important ship in the Japanese navy for the moment, the AKE Kushima, is two days from Babeldaob. Two small raiding CL groups have been dispatched: one from Truk to try to hunt down some smaller ships fleeing Mindanao along the coast of New Guinea and another are the escorts from the Koepang amphibious TF which still have most of their ammunition. They will head due west from Koepang and try to intercept Dutch TKs or APs en route to Australia. The standing order to the whole fleet is that no one is to return to base until all ammunition has been fired at the enemy. Kushima will be a very busy ship. She will re-arm Chokai and then move south to Ambon, which should fall today, to rearm the other CAs, CLs, and DDs.

[MakeeLearn]

ORIGINAL: Aurorus

Using supply and fuel efficiently are keys to playing Japan well. Japan does not have enough supply to support large-scale engagements, maintain heavy air activity, and repair industry every day of the war. Japan must make decisive, quick moves in force at key moments and try not to rely on slow grinds to make advances or to counter allied advances.

Heavy Industry uses fuel. The Home Islands need imports of appoximately 5000 barrels of oil per day to run the refineries and produce fuel plus an additional 5000, or so, barrels of fuel. Fleets also use fuel. Japan will not produce enough fuel during the war to keep her whole fleet active every day or to fight extended battles far from home. To retain some strategic flexibility and allow for naval support for operations in Ceylon, India, Australia, or far into the South Pacific, fuel must be conserved at every opportunity. The best way to conserve fuel is to only refuel non-combat TFs when absolutely necessary. This is mostly a matter of muscle memory in TF creation: setting every non-combat TF to "do not refuel," "tactical refuel," or "minimal refuel." There is no reason to have support ships sitting in port with full fuel tanks. It is also a much greater loss when a cargo ship, with tanks overflowing with fuel, is sunk as opposed to a cargo ship running on near empty. Japan will lose many ships in the war, and if each one goes down full of fuel, the losses will mount substantially over the course of the war.

Very good info. Playing as Allies supply and fuel have been the least of my concerns, Iam getting ready to start a game as Japan so Iam compiling a "Do and Don't" list.

[Aurorus]

Your maps look good.

[Aurorus]

One of the most interesting and versatile class of ships in the IJN is the CS. The various CS can be converted, or in one case, upgraded to CVLs. For those that must be converted, they can only do so in Tokyo and require a repair shipyard of 50. The one that can be upgraded to a CVL does not need to upgrade at Tokyo. Tokyo begins with a repair shipyard sized 10, so 40K supply must be spent to increase the repair yard at Tokyo. Normally, I do not expand Tokyo's repair shipyard. This game I have decided to spend the supply. The airgroups for the CS also convert from Jakes and Petes into Zeros and Jills if these airgroups are on the CS when it begins its conversion.

Without the conversion, however, the CS is still one of the most useful ships in the Japanese navy. I use my CS in CV TFS and try to place a CS of appropriate speed in each CV TF. The CS picured below is Mizuho. It has a top speed of only 22 knots. Later in 1942, it will accompany a small CVE and CV TF that includes Junyo, Hiyo, Hosho, and CVEs, which all have speeds of 25 knots or less. I remove the Pete squadrons from the CS at the beginning of the game and use these squadrons to train fighter pilots. I expand the Jake squadrons to 10 or 12. (I think making float-plane squadrons of a size greater than 12 or so is a little gamey). These Jakes then provide additional naval search capacity for my CVTFs. Another thing to notice about the CS is it has a good AA rating (for a Japanese escort, anyway). This is especially important in DBB when many Japanese naval guns are no longer dual purpose and have no AA rating.

Once the A6M2-Rufe becomes available, it just so happens that there is exactly 1 Rufe squadron for every CS in PDU:off. The Rufe is a float plane that can base from a CS. I move one Rufe squadron onto each CS. Each CS then will provide an additional 10-12 fighters for every CV group. I use these Rufes on CAP at low altitude, usually 3K-6K altitude. This helps to provide layered CAP over the CVs. I usually do not like flying my Zeros this low, though there are exceptions (such as when my opponent has a habit of flying his CV planes too high and I believe that I may be able to sneak a torpedo strike in under his CAP).

[Aurorus]

Just watched the replay and pondering my next move.

Dec. 12th was another night of surface action. The CL group, which had been escorting the Koepang landing, encountered de Ruyter, which looked undamaged from the torpedo. The two CLs groups fought an indecisive night action.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Mataram at 58,115, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Kuma, Shell hits 3
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki, Shell hits 1
DD Nagatsuki

Allied Ships
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1
DD Piet Hein, Shell hits 2
DD Kortenaer
DD Witte de With
DD Banckert, Shell hits 1

Then in battle that has presented me with a dilemma, Furutaka grp. encountered two allied TFs in the same hex: 3 U.S. DDs and then another Dutch CL group. Two indecisive night actions ensued, though the IJN came out the victor, but without inflicting substantial damage on an outclassed enemy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Djailolo at 79,100, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Aoba
CA Kinugasa, Shell hits 4
CA Furutaka
CA Kako, Shell hits 1
DD Oboro
DD Uzuki
DD Kikuzuki
DD Yuzuki

Allied Ships
CL Dragon, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL Durban, Shell hits 1
DD Tenedos
DD Electra
DD Express, Shell hits 1

The Dutch CLs escaped after the battle and no search plane spotted them the next day. The Mavis from Kendari were flying the other direction. There were 16 Jakes on various ships in the area around Kendari, but none spotted the Dutch CLs. So, there is a Dutch CL TF somewhere in the middle of the entire Japanese navy. The problem is that they are 1 day from numerous amphib groups. The larger amphib groups are well escorted, but the Oilers, and the support units are not. I want to destroy these CLs, but do not want them to get at my AOs, APs and AKs, and I have no idea where they went after the battle. It seems likely that they are not within 8 hexes of Kendari or the Jakes (which were set to random search arcs) would probably have spotted them. I think they may have been trying to hide in one of the small ports or dot bases. They may have left command control after the battle and fled to their home port, which means they either fled to one of the small bases in that cluster and disbanded or they may have fled toward Tarakan.

[Aurorus]

The turn is away. The CA grps around Kendari will move SE. I think that CL TF was moving east from Balikpapan or Tarakan and either trying to intercept the rear elements of the blitz or flee: either along the southern or northern coast of New Guinea. The CAs will move to try to cut them off. Tenryu and Tatsuta Grp. are moving up the coast of northern New Guinea. These are not the best CLs for a surface engagement, but Yubari is with them so that should have the advantage on Dragon and Durbin. Dragon took a hit from Aoba in the battle that caused severe engine damage, so the allied CLs should be slowed.

Ryujo was unable to upgrade to Zeros at Kendari. The vagaries of air unit upgrades still sometimes escape me. In this case, however, the reason was obvious. Only 19975 supply had landed at Ambon; 25 supply short of what was needed: not a major problem. The A5M4s will serve for now. Ryujo will start falling back to link up with Zuiho behind the CA screen. Her Kates will go on naval strike with a secondary strike on the port at Ternate, in case the CLs fled there and disbanded. Akagi grp. will move up the slot near Balikpapan and her bombers will target every port in range to try to flush out any allied ships hiding in small ports. Yamashiro will move SE to cover the amphib groups as they enter the DEI. Tanaka's grp will move east to cover the amphib groups approaching Makassar. Lots of moving parts and possible surprises for the allies. 2 allied ships have been spotted west of Chich Jima. The AO Trinity is still out there somewhere, and I want that AO.

A fast amphib group has been formed from ships disbanded at Kendari. I have decided to load 11th Air fleet and move it south to Koepang along with additional aviation support. Houston is in bad shape and may take refuge for emergency repairs along the coast of N. Australia. I intend to hit those ports ASAP with Betties from Koepang.

[Aurorus]

The weather has been excellent in China, but in the PM phase thunderstorms moved over much of China. The forecast calls for more bad weather tomorrow. Every available air asset that can be supported in range has been devoted to interdicting the movement of the Chinese units in the plain for the past 3 days, including Nells and Betties from Takao. I expect AVG to appear over the plain today. There is not much I can do about that, and they will, no doubt, score some kills on unescorted bombers. The price is worth it, however, if I can keep these units in combat mode for another day or two. If the Japanese can gain the road between Kaifeng and Nanyang, we can trap and destroy 5 or 6 Chinese corps utterly. The object of the game is to arrive at the hexes along that road first and gain control of all 6 hexsides.

Here is the situation in China. The blue Xs mark the air strikes plotted for tomorrow.

[Aurorus]

Just watched the replay.

Dec. 13th saw more surface action across the Pacific.

Mutsu, with DD escorts, had moved to Pescadores to cover TFs moving SW toward Malaysia and the DEI. She encountered PT boats sortieing from Hong Kong and chased them away from the transports, sinking about half the PTs. Tenryu grp. encountered a few AKLs, an AK, an AP, and the three DDs ahead of the allied CLs. Her grp. sunk all these ships, but is low on ammo (as is most of the IJN at this point), and the allied CLs are spotted nearby. I broke off a group of escorts, led by the CL Tama, from an amphib group to hunt the two ships spotted west of Chich-Jima. Tama made contact with two more TKs and sunk one. The other, Gertruke Kellogg, managed to escape, but was burning after a few hits. Kuma fought another indecisive battle with de Ruyter, but was unable to intercept a ship identified as a TK as a result of de Ruyter's interference.

The heavy bombing of Hong Kong in good weather paid dividends as the intial attack went in at 3-1. My units show almost no disruption, so we will attack again tomorrow. The base may fall, as I expect the allies to be heavily disrupted and in not in suffient order to give a good fight. Attached is the combat report for the day.

Certainly, the naval action in and around the DEI must wind down now. I can think of no allied ship of consequence (save the AO Trinity) which is not accounted for, and almost every Japanese ship has fired upon the enemy. Many ships are very low on ammo. The Makassar landing should come off tomorrow. There are PT boats scattered throughout the DEI. Otherwise, there are no signs of resistance. The skies are mostly empty, and soon things will slow as the ground troops move in to secure the region.

[Aurorus]

Some of the initial invasion groups have returned to base. At Saigon, a new amphibious TF is loading up the Southern Army to move to Mersing. I like to put Tojo himself in command of this HQ. His high inspiration helps units within 9 hexes of this HQ recover fatigue and morale. This is very helpful in malaria zones, and I have noticed a marked reduction in fatigue and disruption levels in units moving in malaria zones when in command range of Southern Army HQ with Tojo in command. It is also helpful in reorganizing units that have been depleted and have a large number of disabled squads. Tests seem to show that the administration level of unit commanders does not affect the speed at which a unit recovers disabled squads, but in my experience (which is anecdotal and not empirical) units in command range of an HQ with a high-administration leader do recover disabled squads faster.

Placing Tojo in command of Southern Army HQ is the first of many command and organizational changes that I will make to the IJN and IJA in the coming days. As ships return to base to re-arm, I will review ship captains and make changes where necessary. Another major task will be sorting the ships into mission groups, and I will post a guide to Japanese DDs in the coming days. Not all DDs are created alike, and each has their function and purpose.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: The Kagero Class.

The Japanese have a large number of Kagero Class DDs to start the war. These are larger DDs, 2500 tons, with decent armament: 6 12.7 cm guns, mounted forward and aft. In DBB, these guns are not dual purpose so they contribute nothing to AA rating. The DD also has a good range of 5000 miles on full tanks. The Kageros begin the war with racks modified for the type 2 depth charges which will descend below 150 feet. At the start of the war, these are Japan's best ASW platforms. (The type 2 racks are more important than the "ASW" rating assigned by the game editor).

Because of its good durability, good range, decent armament, good depth charge racks, and lesser AA capability (in both stock and DBB), this DD is my favorite for SCTFs or bombardment groups. Another thing to notice about the Kagero is the number of torpedo tubes. These DDs can be lethal with their long-lances. There are enough Kageros to form 3 or 4 escort groups for either Heavy CAs or fast BB groups. The DD also has a higher speed than some of Japan's other DDs, which also makes it well suited as an escort for CAs.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: Shikanami (Akutsaki or Fubuki III)

The second type of DD that I want to examine is the Fubuki III, which is divided in DBB into the Shikanami and Akutsaki sub-classes). For most purposes, the Shikanami and Akutsaki classes are identical. This is a smaller, less durable DD than the Kagero at 2000 tons. However, it's main guns are dual-purpose and it also has 13.7 mm AAMG mounts in addition to the 25 mm AA mounts. This makes the Fubuki III, or the Shikanami/Akatsuki class, the best AA platform among the DDs to start the war. I use these in CV TFs in early 1942. It has sufficient range, at 4750 miles on full tanks, to accompany CVs. Eventually, I replace the Fubuki IIIs in the CVTFs with Yugumo class DDs as the Yugumos become available. The DD has a nice compliment of AA and anti-surface capabilities and is one of the most versatile of the Japanese DDs.

The biggest problem with this class of DD is that it does not have the type 2 modified racks and does not receive these until 1943, which makes the DD of limited utility as an ASW platform.

[Shellshock]

Thanks for the in depth analysis into the fortes and foibles of Japanese destroyers classes. When it comes to DDs, I often find myself scratching my head as to where to put each type to work to the best advantages of their class. This certainly helps. [8D]

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: Shiratsyu and Asahio

I use these two classes interchangeably. The Asahio is slightly larger at 2000 tons against 1750 tons for the Shiratsyu, and the Asahio is slightly more durable. The Asahio is also slightly better armed. Both, however, are heavier, long-range DDs with good anti-surface and anti-sub capabilities: comparable in some respects to the Kagero. Both classes begin with the type-2 modified racks. Like Kagero, both classes lack substantial anti-air capability. My most common use for these DDs is for major amphibious groups or fast transports groups that are going into dangerous situations. One thing to notice about these DDs is the fuel capacity. They can run at full speed longer than any other DD and have a good carrying capacity. When you need to deliver a unit to a dangerous spot and you need to do so now, these are the DDs that you use. I also use these as a compliment to Kageros in SCTFs.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: The Hatsuhara

A real gem among Japanese medium DDs. This is a 1700 ton DD with a good mix of capabilities. It has some dual-purpoe main armaments giving it decent AA capability. It begins with the type 2 modified racks. It's upgrade path is excellent as non dual purpose guns are removed and replaced with 25 mm AA. In mid 1942, it becomes a very good AA platform.

Unfortunately, Japan only has 6 or 7 of these DDs in total. This is a sufficient number, however, to serve as an escort for a CVE TF. The Hatsuhara, especially after upgrading, is perfectly suited to this role, having the combination of ASW, AA, and range that one wants in a light CV group. I group all my Hatsuharas together and use them with Junyo, Hiyo, Mizuho, and the CVEs as a light CV group to support amphibious operations, usually in the Indian Ocean.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: The Mutuki

The Mutuki is in the same class and comparable to the Hatsuhara. Unfortunately, the Mutukis are nearly useless for the first three months of the war. They have limited AA capabilities, no ASW capabilities, and their anti-surface capabilities are inferior to the heavier DDs. Once they upgrade, however, they start to shine as AA platforms and become interchangeable with the Hatsuharas. They brim with 25 mm and have Dual purpose main guns. Unfortunately, they do not receive the modified racks in their first upgrade, so they remain, in my opinion, inferior to the Hatsuharas into 1943.

In 1942, I often use these in conjunction with CLs for fast transport TFs in the South Pacific because of their good troop capacity and mix of AA and anti-ship capabilities. ASW is less important to fast transport TFs because these TFS have less to fear from submarines than typical amphibious or transport groups. Because these DDs upgrade to improved depth charges later than most other DDs, because they lose less speed and manueverability in the converting to APDs than the other medium DDS, and because they have a longer range than either Kamakazes or Minekazes, Mutukis are a good candidate for conversion to APDs.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: The Kamikaze

The crown jewel of the 1500 ton Japanese DD class. These begin the game as versatile DDs and remain versatile through much of the war. They fill out quickly, on the first upgrade, with 25 mm AA guns, and all of their main guns are dual-pupose. Unlike the other 1500-ton classes, however, they do not lose most of their anti-ship capabilities on upgrade. They retain 4 torpedo mounts and retain the potential to sting capital ships in a surface engagement. At 35 knots maximum speed, they are also the fastest DDs available to the empire. Like the other 1500-ton DD classes, however, they are slow to upgrade their ASW capabilities. Because of their good speed, manueverability, and their torpedo launchers, I do not convert these to APDs. Rather I use them primarily as escorts for transport groups or in fast transport groups.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: The Minekaze

Among the more numerous of the Japanese pre-war DDs, along with the Kageros and Fubuki IIIs. The Minekaze is comparable to the Kamikaze, though inferior in several ways. It is fast and manueverable with some versatility, but upon upgrade, lacks the ant-surface capabilities of the Kamikaze. It loses most of its torpedo tubes and retains only 2 main guns to 3 for the Kamikaze. Converting the Minekazes to APDs deprives of them of their best advantages: speed and manueverability. Therefore, I do not convert them to APDs. Rather, I use these as my 2nd-tier DDs: escorts for the second wave of a large amphibious operation, for example.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: The Wakatake

The light Japanese DD classes (1000 tons and under) include the Momi, Momo, and Wakatake. The Wakatake is the heavier of the three and is, despite its small size, in many ways comparable to the Minekaze. The Wakatakes make for excellent APDs. They lose little speed and remain very manueverable after the conversion. They upgrade late, but can convert to APDs in February 1942. There are many reasons to convert the Wakatakes to APDs. As DDs, they lack the versatility of the larger DDs, with few anti-ship capabilities and poor ASW. Combine this with the fact that they do not upgrade until 1943, and there is really no good reason not to convert the Wakatakes to APDs. Their small size allows them to escort TFs that must dock at small ports. There is no faster way to move troops into and out of small ports than with TFs composed of Wakatake APDs. You can fit 6 of these into a size one port and load all 6 in one day.

[Aurorus]

Japanese DD guide: Momi Class

At first glance, it seems a good idea to convert these little DDs to APDs. This is, in my opinion, a mistake. Upon conversion their speed reduces to 18 knots, and they become far less manueverable. This makes them fodder for coastal guns, surface ships, and especially submarines. They become very much like APs with negligible carrying capacity. I have already lost 2 Momi APD conversions (which start the game as APDs) to one submarine in this game. Rather, their best use to escort TFs that must dock at small ports. Later, they upgrade to Es with good ASW capability. They make good escorts for TKs and AOs, especially those that must enter Palembang, Tarakan, Miri, Brunei, and the other oil centers.