Hurt, But Not Beaten! - An Allied '44 Counter-Offensive AAR - SolInvictus202 vs jdsrae - concluded

[Encircled]

A good Japanese player can make it impossible for Allied subs to operate by mid 1943 sadly

I've only ever had good results for subs when there is really heavy fleet actions going on, when the Japanese air force is otherwise engaged

[jdsrae]

I've been waiting to join in until I had some good news to report from the red team.
The 1 torp hit from 6 fired at Lexington II wasn't good enough, but today some great news finally arrived.

1LT N. Bunkichi escaped capture from somewhere in India and has managed to walk himself back to friendly lines.
He went MIA about 2 years ago with 18 kills to his name as one of the top scoring IJAAF aces at the time.
Unfortunately his experience has dropped to 51, but that is still good enough to take charge of a Frank-R and get back into the saddle in the very near future. I will try to remember which unit he is posted to, and keep track of how long he lasts against the B-29 Heavy Night Fighter Sweepers.

[SolInvictus202]

First of all - thanks a lot for all the great comments - I am very happy to see this AAR come to life a bit more

furthermore - welcome to my esteemed opponent!

couple of points: @BBfanboy: I knew about this, unfortunately the ships arrived before I could intervene - much sadness has ocurred over this

as for the lengthy times on ships en route to the actual amphib invasion: indeed - the disruption and fatigue accumulated are quite massive if you go past a certain point - it's even worse if ships are on "landing craft" TFs - I always use quite a few of those too to maximize cargo offloading on turn 1 of any invasion - as I always aim to have everything offloaded within one turn to minimize risk to my transport.

I can confirm the following:

1) the invasions of the Aleutians were staged from San Francisco - I believe about 30 days of travel time.

2) the invasions of Sumatra were staged from Cochin and Albany - respectively from India and Australia - travel time about the same - with Albany slightly longer

3) the invasion of the Kuriles and Shakalin were formed up in Seattle and Prince Rupert. smth around 20-30 days of travel time.

I would have loved to offload and switch to amphib mode at Adak - but due to keeping it as secret as possible, that was not possible - and fatigue was gone after 3 days of resting - so all was fine.

[SolInvictus202]

August 27-28

With the capture of Toyohara being on hold - daily bombardments doing just fine with little interference, we still made the most of our strategic bombing capability, while we had enough planes left.

Afternoon Air attack on Okayama , at 108,58

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 24
Ki-84r Frank x 25

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 47

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 5 damaged

A7M2 Sam factory hits 6
J7W1 Shinden factory hits 4
A7M2 Sam factory hits 10
J7W1 Shinden factory hits 23

------------------
Unless I missed one not a single Shinden factory should be in "production" as of this day - and are being closely monitored as my opponent undoubtedly is trying to repair those first. I am not even sure if the Shinden is going to hurt me any more than the Frank and Sam (as those two are already a tough nut to crack with the plane models available to me) but I am not taking any chances!


The next day I decided to make sure the general population of Honshu was aware of Allied teeth as well and kicked off the manpower runs to inflict casualties on all kinds of industries through fires.
The first target was Osaka - simply because I expected less night cap over this city in contrast to Tokyo (the obvious first choice) - as always - still getting a feel for my - undoubtedly somewhat shaken - opponent.

ight Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 75 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
J1N1-Sa Irving x 24
Ki-45 KAId Nick x 23

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
J1N1-Sa Irving: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged

Manpower hits 16
Fires 7280

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet
City Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet
City Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet
City Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet
City Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb
2 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet
City Attack: 20 x 500 lb GP Bomb

several raids got through:

Manpower hits 6
Fires 14000

Manpower hits 3
Fires 10625

Manpower hits 2
Fires 11875

Manpower hits 1
Fires 12500
--------------------------------


These city raids have proven to be very point-effective - making up for most of the strategic bombing points accumulated so far (we are up to 6000 at the end of September)
I usually attempt to "refresh" the fires to keep the city ablaze and keep the points ticking.


on a different note: after a few over-eager and failed raids in the Sumatra region, we finally managed to a get a few hits on some over-zealous and foolishly brave TKs in - right next to Singers, which failed to provide CAP.
boy do I love those low nav attackers

Morning Air attack on TF, near Palembang at 49,90

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 2 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 0 minutes

Allied aircraft
A-20G Havoc x 6

Allied aircraft losses
A-20G Havoc: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
TK Oyashima Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
TK Kinmo Maru
TK Yamamiya Maru
TK Tsukuba Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x A-20G Havoc bombing and strafing from low level *
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

Massive explosion on TK Tsukuba Maru

[SolInvictus202]

August 29-30:

First of all I realized that the supply moving over land from Shikuka to Toyohara was not enough to sustain any kind of bombardment or even more than one attack with a ensuing break of at least a week.
Not wanting to use any kind of precious amphibs to ships supplies into Toyohara I opted for the good old small barge transport version. I summoned a plethora of LCTs and all their even tinier counterparts in Shikuka and started sending them towards Toyohara - each escorted by one or two SCs or PCs to ensure no I-Boat would be able to use their guns and would have to waste a torp on them.

these transports turned out really well and brought up supply levels from 15k to 100k within a week. plenty to attack when the reinforcements from Shikuka would arrive via land. (many were still enroute at this point)

Pre-Invasion action off Toyohara (124,46)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force

21 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
SC PC-598
LCT-173

SC PC-598 fired at enemy troops
75mm Infantry Gun battery firing at LCT-173


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

every now and then a ship would be hit by a lucky Jap infantry gun round and would ensure that later generations would have some nice artificial reefs to scuba dive at

Pre-Invasion action off Toyohara (124,46)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force

31 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
SC-742
LCT-163, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

SC-742 fired at enemy troops
75mm T94 Mtn Gun battery firing at LCT-163


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


Another morale boost for the Japanese must have been the torp hit on Minneapolis - a ship which has jumped in whenever the two BBs in Shikuka were given a day's rest to R&R their crew.
Luckily enough the damage was minimal and the CA was successfully repaired in Alameda (yes - all the way on West Coast) and is ready to join the efforts for any future operations in Japan!

Sub attack near Toyohara at 126,46

Japanese Ships
SS I-8, hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Minneapolis, Torpedo hits 1
DD Halford
DD Pringle
DD Halsey Powell
DD Stephen Potter

SS I-8 launches 6 torpedoes at CA Minneapolis
I-8 diving deep ....
DD Pringle attacking submerged sub ....
DD Halsey Powell fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Stephen Potter fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub

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

By now I have about 20 Squads of Catalinas and their counterparts flying ASW with newly trained pilots with proper ASW stats . hits are still somewhat scarce but experience can only be gained through mission flying - I expect my pilots to be rather deadly in 45 should the Japsn still have any SS left to send my way.

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

Additionally we decided to start softening up Hokkaido for a possible invasion - it is stil yet undecided whether we actually go for Hokkaido or bypass it altogether - but it never hurts to make the Japs think about reinforcing a huge prison camp island

Night Naval bombardment of Bihoro at 123,51

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
D4Y4 Judy: 45 damaged
D4Y4 Judy: 1 destroyed on ground
B7A2 Grace: 13 damaged
B7A2 Grace: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
CL Denver
DD Halsey Powell
DD Stephen Potter
DD William Porter
DD Richard P. Leary
DD Halford

Japanese ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 82

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


All the while we continued our campaign in Sumatra - capturing the vital air strip which would connect Colombo with Sumatra - finally allowing me to fly in all those bombers and even Thunderbolts desperately waiting to take part in the campaign...
But of course it would have to wait a little longer - because Sibolga turns out to be a lvl 0 AF - so get to it boys - we need a landing strip ASAP!

Ground combat at Sibolga (44,79)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 9299 troops, 215 guns, 91 vehicles, Assault Value = 301

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

Allied adjusted assault: 556

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 556 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Sibolga !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker:

Assaulting units:
II Aus Corps Engineer Battalion
8th Australian Division
2nd RAA Jungle Regiment
8th Mahratta AT Gun Regiment

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

Slowly but surely our troops would arrive at Toyohara - contiuously bringing up our AV ready for an attack - yet still not anywhere near the numbers I would like to see to attempt another attack!

Ground combat at Toyohara (124,46)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 300 troops, 28 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 2311

Defending force 25759 troops, 255 guns, 56 vehicles, Assault Value = 710

Assaulting units:
3rd Marine Division
711th Tank Battalion
6th Infantry Division
670th Tank Destroyer Battalion
77th Infantry Division
4th Marine Division
93rd Infantry Division
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
18th Combat Engr Rgt /3
96th Cst AA Rgt /1
607th Coast AA Regiment
226th USN Base Force /2
48th Aviation Base Force
8th USN Naval Construction Regiment
64th Coast AA Regiment
Eighth US Army /1
17th USN Naval Construction Regiment
190th USAAF Base Force
XI US Corps /1
259th Coastal Artillery Battalion
108th USN Base Force /2
860/865th EAB /3
179th USAAF Base Force /2
15th USN Naval Const Rgt /2
249th Field Artillery Battalion
38th Aviation Base Force
382nd Const Rgt /1

Defending units:
65th Brigade
89th Division
Karafuto Mixed Brigade
177th JAAF AF Bn
27th JAAF Base Force
178th JAAF AF Bn

[SolInvictus202]

August 31-Sept 1:

Today we invested Palembang and found out that this will be a very tough nut to crack. IIRC the refinery should stop producing supplies - but unless I can amass a huge army this will be almost impossible to take in a straight up fight. I expect at least lvl 6 if not lvl 9 forts (Jap players tend to build more forts where supplies are easily accessible) and a swamp hex - awesome. The Australians, Indians and NZ Dudes will love to fight in this dark, dank, tree infested piece of sh** hex. (I am sure some of you caught the Gimli reference )

Ground combat at Palembang (48,91)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 1530 troops, 100 guns, 134 vehicles, Assault Value = 578

Defending force 39417 troops, 598 guns, 346 vehicles, Assault Value = 1089

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

Allied ground losses:
Guns lost 12 (4 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 24 (2 destroyed, 22 disabled)

Assaulting units:
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
24th Infantry Division
763rd Tank Battalion
268th Motorised Brigade
109th Tank Attack Regiment
33rd Medium Regiment
8th Medium Regiment

Defending units:
25th Ind.Mixed Brigade
23rd Ind. Engineer Regiment
24th Ind.Mixed Brigade
21st Division
14th Tank Regiment
26th Ind.Mixed Brigade
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
25th Army
35th Fld AA Gun Co
23rd Special Base Force
35th Field AA Battalion
112th AA Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
5th Mortar Battalion
1st RF Gun Battalion
31st Field AA Battalion
3rd Mortar Battalion
27th JAAF AF Bn
1st Air Defense AA Regiment
18th JAAF Base Force
35th JAAF AF Bn

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

As it turns out bomardments will be very costly for the Allied side - and very one sided too - usually I lose about 50 guns as the initiator of the bombardment with the Japs losing maybe a Dachshund named Colin.
This again reinforces the impression that lots and lots of forts are present.

AA is also very much present as one can see above - meaning air bombardments tend to be high and less effective to reduce losses - I once forgot to set a Barracuda squad to above glide bombing height and lost dearly to AA. - mistakes were made. At least in time those prisoners will be returned back home when Palembang surrenders - which it will - in due time - if those prisoners are still alive at this stage is another matter entirely ^^.



Meanwhile on the Honshu-Front - our Strat Bomb raids often turned out to be more costly than effective - yet it is imperative that advanced fighters not be allowed to R&D any further - dealing with Sams and r-Franks has to be enough for now.

Morning Air attack on Tsu , at 110,60

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 76
N1K5-J George x 18

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 49

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 7 destroyed, 20 damaged

J7W1 Shinden factory hits 6
A7M2 Sam factory hits 1
A7M3-J Sam factory hits 6
A7M2 Sam factory hits 5

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


Meanwhile preparations are made to gather intel on the defenses of Shimushiri-Jima:

Afternoon Air attack on Shimushiri-jima , at 132,51

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Allied aircraft
A-20G Havoc x 12
F4U-1 Corsair x 13
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 9
PB4Y-2 Privateer x 9

No Allied losses

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

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 15

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x PB4Y-2 Privateer bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x A-20G Havoc bombing from 8000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking Maizuru 2nd SNLF ...
Also attacking Shimushiri-jima ...
Also attacking 52nd Naval Guard Unit ...
Also attacking 2nd Amphibious Brigade ...
Also attacking Shimushiri-jima ...
Also attacking 2nd Amphibious Brigade ...



NIce - an Amphib Bde without many AT guns and 2 Naval Gd units.... 300 AV should be enough - exactly the amount curretly en route to the island

[BBfanboy]

My understanding is that presence of the enemy in a hex only stops production of resources and oil. The industries that use those can continue operating until their stockpile is used up.

[SolInvictus202]

My understanding is that presence of the enemy in a hex only stops production of resources and oil. The industries that use those can continue operating until their stockpile is used up.

oh really? that is most annoying - we shall have to storm the refineries then first and hope that the Japs hole up in an area without any accesss to their undoubtedly endless bakeries

[SolInvictus202]

September 2-3:

We lost our first CVE since I took over command today - I know I have plenty of those lying around and with a solid foothold in the Kuriles their existence is somewhat less valuable than before - still - it is a CVE and I was not too happy to see it go.

Sub attack near Ketoi-jima at 135,51

Japanese Ships
SS I-56, hits 18, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CVE Steamer Bay, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
CL Miami
CLAA Reno
DD Hoel
DD Harrison
DD Owen
DD Laws
DD Ingersoll
DD Hutchins

SS I-56 launches 6 torpedoes at CVE Steamer Bay
DD Owen fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Laws attacking submerged sub ....
DD Ingersoll fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Hutchins fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Laws fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Laws fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Laws attacking submerged sub ....
SS I-56 eludes DD Laws by hugging bottom
DD Laws cannot establish contact with SS I-56
DD Laws fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Laws fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Laws fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Laws fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


at least we got the sub in return. I wish my ASW efforts were more effective - but it seems no matter how many DEs, SCs and Catalinas I feed into the area of Shikuka and the Jimas - the Japanese still thrive in these waters - hits may be limited in numbers - but their presences is still most annoying.
The difference between an ASW force honing their skills for 4 years in contrast to my newbies just off the training fields is quite blatant at this stage of the war.

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

although our policy of "let the naval bombers fly" cost us dearly on a regular basis - today - we got lucky again and we got a few nice hits in:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Palembang at 48,91

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 28 NM, estimated altitude 1,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-84r Frank x 18

Allied aircraft
B-25H Mitchell x 6
P-51B Mustang x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25H Mitchell: 2 damaged
P-51B Mustang: 5 destroyed

Japanese Ships
PB Kongo Maru #2
TK Bushu Maru, Shell hits 9, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
TK Teikai Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
TK Shinetsu Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-25H Mitchell bombing and strafing from low level
Naval Attack: 6 x 500 lb SAP Bomb


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

our SigInt is constantly giving us a lot of intel about troops moving back to Japan:

3/102nd Division is loaded on a Akasi Cargo class xAK moving to Nagasaki/Sasebo.

messages like these are provided on a daily basis - I thought about sending in my CVs - but my superiority is still not convincing enough for me to risk my current advantage for a few transports. I opted to send in the subs instead - and failed miserably.
reflecting on my mistakes - my inability to prevent the Japanese of haveing their troops return home is definitely amongst the top 1.

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


on Sept. 3 the landings at Shimushiri-Jima happened - and our LCI(G)s showed how well they would do in any kind of landing suppport capacity:
Pre-Invasion action off Shimushiri-jima (132,51)

77 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Allied Ships
BB New Mexico
CL Vincennes II
DD Sigourney
DD Radford
LCI(G)-468
LCI(G)-467
LCI(G)-466
LCI(G)-465
LCI(G)-464
LCI(G)-463
LCI(G)-462
LCI(G)-401
LCI(G)-398
LCI(G)-397
LCI(G)-396
LCI(G)-373
LCI(G)-372
LCI(G)-366
LCI(G)-365
LCI(G)-220
LCI(G)-82
LCI(G)-81
LCI(G)-80
LCI(G)-79
LCI(G)-77
APA Bowie
DD Stockham

Japanese ground losses:
565 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 28 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

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

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

in our attempt to send in more Subs into the meatgrinder we sometimes made mistakes of not double-checking the routes... luckily enough none of the 3 were lost in this incidence.

TF 36 encounters mine field at Singapore (50,84)

Allied Ships
SS Sturdy, Mine hits 1, heavy damage
SS Pintado, Mine hits 1, on fire
SS Stygian, Mine hits 1, heavy damage

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

[SolInvictus202]

September 4th:

Our intensive NavAir Search identified a possible appearance of Japanese surface ships in the general region of Toyohara, Shikuka. Being the cautious dude I am, I decided to halt our regular BB-TF bombardment of Toyohara for one day and have Mr. Arleigh Burke with his 7 Fletcher DDs throw a few 5inch rounds on the AF and port of the beleaguered base instead.

All DBs were put back on NavB alert and our Escorts were once again equipped to deal with a possible CAP-trap.

As it turns out we got to witness the day, the Japanese actually made a move against my BBs - which failed to make an appearance, obviously. Instead a CA TF, perfectly equipped to hurt or even sink our BBs with its long lance torpedoes tangled with a few Fletcher DDs and lost - badly.
Our DBs and bombers did the rest and I believe we at least managed to sink half the TF sent in.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Toyohara at 124,46, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
CA Mikuma
CA Kumano
DD Natsushio, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Hayashio, Shell hits 6, heavy fires
DD Maikaze, Shell hits 2
DD Amatsukaze, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Hamakaze, Shell hits 8, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Sigsbee, Shell hits 3
DD Stevens
DD Taylor
DD Terry, Shell hits 1
DD Thatcher
DD The Sullivans
DD Twiggs, Shell hits 1

Poor visibility due to Thunderstorms with 96% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 96% moonlight: 3,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
Range closes to 6,000 yards...
Range closes to 4,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 4,000 yards
Allies open fire on surprised Japanese ships at 4,000 yards


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

Morning Air attack on TF, near Toyohara at 125,47

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Allied aircraft
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 20
SBD-5 Dauntless x 14

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x SBD-5 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-5 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-5 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
-------------------
Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Maikaze
---------------------
Allied aircraft
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 20
SBD-5 Dauntless x 16

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
DD Maikaze
DD Hayashio, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
CA Mogami, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
------------------------


Since the other CAs weren't hit in our initial fight, they were able to withdraw it what appears to have a been a full speed run - and ended up outside our NavB range set to not fall into another CAP Trap too easily.

By now all of Hokkaido is completely shut down and the last few turns have actually seen quite a few attacks on what appears to have been xAKs sending supplies into Prison-Island Hokkaido - I am quite happy to see a few Jap ships sunk, as my time reading my opponent's AAR before I took over saw very few ships sunk. so this is a welcome change - even if it's just xAKs. Details on those proceedings when we catch up - we are currently on October 7th and today should make for an interesting turn

[SolInvictus202]

+++FLASH MESSAGE+++HOKKAIDO INVADED++++

Today, October 7th, 1944, - two months after the initial landing at Paramushiro-jima - Allied Troops from US Sixth and Eightth Army made a successful landing on Hokkaido. US 3rd and Fifth Amphib Force were in local command of the respective landings, leading the operation aboard the AGCs Rocky Mount and Mount Olympus. Countless troops stormed ashore at the beaches of Bihoro and Kushiro - supported by the majority of the Pacific Fleet - quickly establishing a beachhead and encountering only token resistance which should be swept away within a day.

The skies were swept clear by over 2000 planes from both the Marine Corps as well as the Army Air Force - with another 3000 from our Naval Air arm in support flying CAP and combat missions as far west as Ominato, sinking countless merchants and small combat vessels that still dare approach Hokkaido from Honshu.

The seas were guarded by no less than 12 battleships and countless cruisers and destroyers, while more than 800 vessels of all sizes capable of amphibious operations ensured a safe debarkations of our brave troops destined to gain a foothold on the next stepping stone in our quest to raise the flag of these United States on the highest building in Tokyo!

Special notice should be given to our brave paratroopers of the 503rd Parachute Bn as well as the 11th Airborne Division, who conducted a combat airdrop at the enemy's airfield of Ashikawa. The goal of this operation was to cut any rail lines leading towards the beachheads - ensuring that no reinforcemnts and or supplies would reach the defenders of Bihoro and Kushiro. While the initial attack was inconclusive - our troops made a successful drop and captured defensive positions overlooking the railway lines - ensuring their successful mission outcome!


+++END+++


Dear readers - planning ahead has paid off - the fact that I already had troops prepping for the invasion of Hokkaido while not even Shakalin or all of the Kuriles were conquered has now given me the opportunity to continue with a higher pace in my operational tempo.
while all details will be discussed as we get to it in due course - I would like to mention the brave personell of our minesweeping divisions as well as our paratroopers:

Bihoro has been correctly identified as a likely landing spot and was thus mined to the teeth by the Japanese - and these minefields were put in range of the reconstituted Wake Defense Gun Bn - making any mineclearing ahead of the opeartion quite costly.
Therefore all our invasion TFs had to be equipped with mine sweeping capability - and additionally a volunteer group of
AMs was formed to support the minesweepeing efforts in the night before the landing - casualties were high - yet the effect ensured that not a SINGLE COMBAT or AMPHIB ship was hit with a mine!

Screenshot - 24.05.2022 , 15_27_38.png (111.17 KiB) Viewed 962 times

Screenshot - 24.05.2022 , 15_27_52.png (114.66 KiB) Viewed 962 times

Further more our constant ground bombardment was successful in enabling our paratroopers to gain a significant foothold in Ashikagawa. Undoubtedly the Japanese respone from Sapporo and other places will be swift - and the future of our paratroopers very much hangs in the balance - yet the task of cutting the rail line was successful I believe - we should therefore see a swift capture of our beachheads in Hokkaido!
more than tripple the numbers already ashore are waiting to exploit the gains made this far and will push inland as early as tomorrow!

Screenshot - 24.05.2022 , 15_30_49.png (132.65 KiB) Viewed 962 times

++++now back to our routine reports++++

[BBfanboy]

Congratulations on a well-executed op! Also on the nasty surprise you gave that CA TF!

[Warofthe2ndWorld]

This GIF perfectly surmises jdsrae's side of things.

[CaptBeefheart]

Well played. The end is nigh.

You may want to consider sending a carrier sweep south of Japan to Okinawa to catch all of those returning troops. Of course, since your AAR is behind, you've probably already done it.

Cheers,
CB

[SolInvictus202]

What are you trying to tell me Warofthe2ndWorld? - that I'll be electro-zapped within a day?

I ordered a deliberate attack onto Palembang to keep the spirits of my opponent up - 4400 AV vs 1100 - in swamp... it will be very bloody for the Allied side

Other than that - the next turn will have to wait until I am back from a short holiday in Italy - a well deserved one that is!

@CB - I did indeed make a move in that direction - however opted against going through with it - CV superiority is all I have in terms of Naval Superiority - so I am still somewhat weary of committing them too hard and too deep. My reasoning for abandoning this operation was that he could have redirected all the way to the Chinese coastline - having spotted them via Nav Search from Marcus (not really any spot to avoid that) - so chances were slim in the first place - and lots of large airfields in range of any attack on shipping near Okinawa.

@BBfanboy - yes - that summarizes my idea perfeclty - never let your opponent recover after having achieved unbalance once. One blow must be succeeded by another one - otherwise the first one was half wasted.

[Warofthe2ndWorld]

More like, what you'll eventually be telling Jdsrae when you invade Japan.

[SolInvictus202]

September 5-6:

In preparation of future landings we begin clearing mines in expected targets: Etorufu - I believe this is the island where KB formed up for the initial PH-strike (at least in-game) - is the first on this list.

TF 265 encounters mine field at Etorofu (128,52)

Allied Ships
DMS Howard
DMS Palmer
DMS Long
DMS Trevor

13 mines cleared

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

bombardments in support of our shore parties are pushed forward, as ships became available more quickly than anticipated:

Night Naval bombardment of Uruppu-jima at 130,52

Allied Ships
BB Mississippi
CA Chicago II
CA Canberra II
CL Phoenix
DD Wilkes
DD Meredith
DD Young
DD Yarnall
DD Wickes
DD Wedderburn
DD Walker
DD Wadsworth
DD Wadleigh

Airbase hits 26
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 44
Port hits 31
Port supply hits 4

OS2U-3 Kingfisher acting as spotter for BB Mississippi

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

...enabling us to capture islands also more quickly than anticipated:

Ground combat at Uruppu-jima (130,52)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 17919 troops, 226 guns, 97 vehicles, Assault Value = 352

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

Allied adjusted assault: 143

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 143 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied forces CAPTURE Uruppu-jima !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker:

Assaulting units:
158th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
298th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
143rd USA Base Force
6th USN Naval Construction Regiment
146th USA Base Force
808th Engineer Aviation Battalion
52nd Marine Defense Battalion
142nd USA Base Force
148th USA Base Force
9th Marine Defense Battalion
164th USA Base Force
XIII US Bomber Cmnd

[BBfanboy]

You just wasted a bombardment on a vacant island?! A little recon would save a lot of supply, and let your bombardments fall on actual enemy enclaves!

[SolInvictus202]

aahhh -finally someone spotted that

believe me - the day before recon showed that there were still units present... even during the ampib landings I saw a few bamboo sticks look my way....

islands were generally always evacuated by the Japanese - either before or during the landing.
personally I believe many of these troops would have better served delaying my invasion forces for a few days - but the enemy CinC opted against.
I hope the evacuees serve him well in dishonor!

PS: wasting supplies? I believe there are more supplies and fuel in Shikuka by now than in all of the Home Islands

[SolInvictus202]

September 7-8:


We are losing the sub war - badly.... no matter how far away from Airborne ASW I act in my attempt to blockade Japan.
These circumstances are my main reason for worrying about attempting to play games more historically. As the mistakes committed IRL are usually not repeated by players - hindsight is simply too overwhelming.

this one is an example of what is going on:

ASW attack near Fukue-jima at 98,59

Japanese Ships
DD Okikaze

Allied Ships
SS Lapon, hits 6

SS Lapon is sighted by escort
DD Okikaze attacking submerged sub ....
DD Okikaze fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Okikaze fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Okikaze fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


-----------

Meanwhile we are ramping up sweeps over Palembang and Hokkaido - I would have loved to start those over Hokkaido AFTER I made Toyohara a lvl 9 AF - but I simply couldn't hold back any more in order to ensure my oppponent doesn't get too comfy. The lull in action until my forces made it into Toyohara via land from Shikuka was killing me and the momentum I had achieved.

Results were not too bad but also not too great - considering my planes had to fly with drop tanks I guess it was the best I could ask for - the report below is again an example of many like it:

Afternoon Air attack on Wakkanai , at 122,48

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 19 NM, estimated altitude 46,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 79

Allied aircraft
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8 Zero: 5 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 3 destroyed

CAP engaged:
6th Ku S-1/B with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 11 on standby, 11 scrambling)
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 37100.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes
Ryujo-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 21 on standby, 21 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 37100.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes

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

Our first ground attack at Shimushiri-jima has made considerable progress and assured our commanders in the field that we had brought along enough troops to ensure a swift capture of the island:

Ground combat at Shimushiri-jima (132,51)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 17030 troops, 233 guns, 370 vehicles, Assault Value = 350

Defending force 3437 troops, 36 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 82

Allied adjusted assault: 164

Japanese adjusted defense: 53

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 5)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 4

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

Japanese ground losses:
621 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 32 (1 destroyed, 31 disabled)
Vehicles lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
271 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
111th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
5th USMC Tank Battalion
46th USN Naval Construction Battalion
16th USN Naval Construction Battalion
1st Marine Defense Battalion
43rd USN Naval Construction Battalion
39th Aviation Base Force
158th USA Base Force
41st USN Naval Construction Battalion
Wake (Det.) Defense Battalion
229th USN Base Force
187th USAAF Base Force
14th Marine Defense Battalion
230th USN Base Force
839/841 Engineer Aviation Battalion
159th USA Base Force
20th USN Naval Construction Battalion
5202nd Eng Con Bde
7th USN Naval Construction Regiment

Defending units:
2nd Amphibious Brigade
Maizuru 2nd SNLF
52nd Naval Guard Unit
52nd JNAF AF Unit /1

AGAIN - troops are already being flown out. I am using LRCAP both during day and night to at least inflict some casualties on the transports - but at least in the reports provided to us in-game these are few and far between.