An Aussie Affair.

[Nikademus]

BTW, I believe Nik, was speaking of landing on the east coast and attacking overland to Manila. That what happen historically (specifically elements of the IJA 16th Division landing at Lamon bay on the east coast)

Yep

[Raverdave]

The cowardly sneak attack has sent the western governments in to termoil. The Australian government has order all troops in Malay to withdraw to Singapore in preperation to return to Australia. This move has sent shockwaves through Whitehall and placed the defence of Singapore on a knife edge.....urgent cables to the British army in India have ordered the urgent loading of troops to be rushed to Singapore. Inaddition to ordering all Aussie troops home, Australia has also ordered all RAN ships to sail for home ports.
The cause of this state of affairs is the surprise landing at Rabal of Japanese forces, the loss of which places PNG in threat and thus the Aussie mainland.
RAAF units are to contiune operating but must make plans to withdraw with AIF troops.

Meanwhile the US is still reeling over the complete destruction of it's pacific fleet at PH. And while the enemy lost as many as 60 aircraft in the attack it is small comfort for the loss of so many ships. The Weat coast to the US is in chaos with ships being ordered to surge from port with no orders as to where to go and at times sailing with less the a third of the crew. A Brave attempt by the USAAF was launched against the IJN carriers and a number of hits have been claimed by the crews against IJN carriers, but the losses in this attack were high.
In the Philippines japanese forces have caught the command off guard and landings have been reported at over 10 locations. The attack has taken MacArthur by surprise as it was not planned that the Japanese would attack before April'42. While reports coming out of the Philippines are still confused one thing is clear, and that is the attack on the port of Manila has resulted in the loss of half of the sub force based there.

The Soviets have signaled Tokyo again to warn them of any attacks against the USSR.

Australia, the US and Britain have all declared war on Japan.

The 7th of December closes as a dark day in the pacific.

[Luskan]

Well, in UV it was possible to have good turns, just as it was equally possible to have good turns. Now for all of you out there, you're just going to have to take my word for this: the "good" feeling you got from a good turn in UV . . . well when you have a good turn in WITP it is about 3 times better.

Raver sends me the turn, and on the way, the cheeky devil has written "and by the way . . . BOOM". SO I'm all anxious when I load up the CR. Fortunately, the silly bugger mistimed (or had refuelling destroyers) or didn't set them to full speed, or most likely, didn't expect his ships to take the path they did (avoiding islands, skirting singapore, that sort of thing). Today was a fantastic turn for the IJN, and I'll be taking all the credit.

Turn begins with the sighting of lots and lots and lots of ships - Raver has evacuated every ship from the P.I. and told them to scatter in all directions. If it is confusion he wants to portray, he's got me convinced. He also did a fairly good job of foxing my surface combat groups prowling around the place. Then things start getting warm. Prince of Wales and Repulse are sighted with their destroyers two hexes from Kuantan (the green range circle Raver, not the yellow one!) and therefore about 6 hexes from 250+ijn level bombers of various kinds in saigon and nearby places. Now, although only about 1/5th of those level bombers carry torpedoes - and only that 1/5th launched, there wasn't any cap over the illustrious british ships and well, that as they say, is that. Both were so totally sunk that they made the sunk ship list immediately.

Then I watch in awe as the betties and nells (all set to naval attack, none of this airfield attack crap) go after the transports in the P.I. Only 6 appeared on the sunk list, but there will be more to come for certain. My little cvs in the P.I. launched a few planes, but generally lost more planes than they scored hits, so not a great performance by them. Will need to go home for some replacement planes before they get sent to make sure the aussie troops don't escape singapore.

Then, over on the far end of the map, my cvs are spotted by an enemy float plane. And then my float planes spot the enterprise, and my cvs react 1 hex into range. Now, the US launched first, and put one big damned hole through the Hiryu (ok - hole isn't that bad, but the fires that had started might finish her - she hasn't been slowed down that much so Kwajalein or Truk isn't out of the question.).

Then Kido Butai launched and made sure the Enterprise went under. I lost 41 aircraft, Raver lost his first cv (also on the sunk ship list). Now if only I could remember if Lexington was east or west of enterprise to start wth, I'd have something else to hunt down. Was not expecting to find Raver's CVs until we all merged at Noumea in about 3 turns, but hey, i got lucky. I'll have a brief hunt for Lady Lex, and then Kido Butai gets to pickup aircraft on her way home, and start terrorizing any troop transports located. With Junyo just in service and on her way to lead my little cvs (makes them more effective by a long way) I think Kido Butai can sit between Oz and the rest of the allies and make damned sure the aussie troops there dont get on ships.

Then, all of my invasions that have actually landed (there are a whole lot more on the way still - many of them had a long way to go) paid off - every single one except Rabaul, which will climax next turn anyhow. Kendari, Davao, Vigan, Appari, Khota Bharu, Legaspi and Wuchow (resources thanks!). I'll take Jolo, move some base force troops in around the place, and then settle in and let my LBA strangle all the islands. No transports will escape my all inclusive umbrella, and I'll let allied troops in the phillipines, malaya and borneo starve out before I bother to mop them up.

In china, Raver's chinese troops look to be converging on hanoi, since it is a known weak spot in my line. I'm hoping (but not too certain) that I can find a division to ship in there to bulk up the defence of this critical intersection. Certainly things further up the coast are well in hand (lots of chinese units near the coast, but lots of highly lethal, well supplied divisions have been shipped in there to deal with them on turn 1.

Enjoy.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/09/41

TF 85 troops unloading over beach at Khota Bharu, 24 x 45

Coastal Guns at Khota Bharu (hex 24 x 45), firing at TF 85

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 87 troops unloading over beach at Aparri, 46 x 49


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 88 troops unloading over beach at Vigan, 44 x 49


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 85 troops unloading over beach at Khota Bharu, 24 x 45

Coastal Guns at Khota Bharu (hex 24 x 45), firing at TF 85

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 87 troops unloading over beach at Aparri, 46 x 49


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 88 troops unloading over beach at Vigan, 44 x 49


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 102,82

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 39

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 19
SBD Dauntless x 34

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 destroyed
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 3 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 1 damaged
SBD Dauntless x 12 destroyed
SBD Dauntless x 14 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CV Akagi
CV Soryu


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Rabaul at 61,88


Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 8
Hudson I x 3


Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway x 1 destroyed
Wirraway x 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Daijukyo Maru
AK Kanaiyama Maru
AP Tateyama Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Wirraway bombing at 1000 feet
3 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
3 x Wirraway bombing at 1000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 103,85

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 54
D3A Val x 88
B5N Kate x 102

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 destroyed
D3A Val x 3 destroyed
D3A Val x 9 damaged
B5N Kate x 6 destroyed
B5N Kate x 20 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat x 5 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2 damaged

Allied Ships
DD Dunlap
CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage -
CA Salt Lake City
CA Northampton, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
DD Balch, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
CA Chester


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 103,85

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
D3A Val x 23
B5N Kate x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N Kate x 4 destroyed
B5N Kate x 8 damaged

Allied Ships
DD Gridley, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Salt Lake City, Torpedo hits 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Legaspi at 44,55

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 3 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Governor Wright, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
TK Manatawny, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Taurus, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Escalante R, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Sarangami, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Legaspi at 44,55

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
G3M Nell x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell x 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Si Kiang, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Elcano, Torpedo hits 1, on fire


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Legaspi at 44,55

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged

Allied Ships
TK Manatawny, on fire


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Legaspi at 44,55

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell x 1 destroyed
G3M Nell x 1 damaged

Allied Ships
TK Manatawny, on fire
AK Escalante R, on fire, heavy damage
AK Elcano, on fire


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 36,54

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 31

no losses

Allied Ships
AK Magallanes, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Luzon, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Changsha , at 47,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 15
Ki-30 Ann x 9
Ki-15 Babs x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann x 3 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Songkhia at 24,43

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 9

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 25
Blenheim IV x 4

no losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I x 1 destroyed
Buffalo I x 4 damaged
Blenheim IV x 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Khota Bharu at 24,45

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5

Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 3

no losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I x 2 destroyed
Blenheim I x 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Suzuya

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Blenheim I bombing at 6000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Khota Bharu at 24,45

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I x 5 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Kinka Maru
AP Hakozaki Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet
3 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Rabaul at 61,88


Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 3
Hudson I x 3


no losses

Japanese Ships
AP Tateyama Maru
PG Choko Maru #2

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Wirraway bombing at 1000 feet
3 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 38,54 north of borneo of all places.

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 9
B5N Kate x 41
E7K2 Alf x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude x 1 damaged
B5N Kate x 5 destroyed
B5N Kate x 12 damaged

Allied Ships
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
AK Bisayas
AK Capillo, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Corregidor, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Paz, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
TK Mindanao
AK Sagoland, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
AK Princess of Negros, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP President Madison
AVD Childs, Torpedo hits 1, on fire


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 38,54

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 7

no losses

Allied Ships
AK Paz, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 39,55

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 4

no losses

Allied Ships
MSW Tanager


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 25,47

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
G3M Nell x 66
Ki-21 Sally x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell x 2 destroyed - historical result!
G3M Nell x 39 damaged
Ki-21 Sally x 5 damaged

Allied Ships
BC Repulse, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
BB Prince of Wales, Torpedo hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
DD Stronghold
DD Isis


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Legaspi at 44,55

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 2 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Si Kiang, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Legaspi at 44,55

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
G3M Nell x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell x 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Si Kiang, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Sarangami, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Legaspi at 44,55

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6

no losses

Allied Ships
TK Manatawny, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Sarangami, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 103,85

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 61
D3A Val x 90
B5N Kate x 87

no losses

Allied Ships
CA Northampton, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Fanning, Bomb hits 1, on fire


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Batavia at 19,59

Japanese Ships
SS I-165

Allied Ships
CL Dragon


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Legaspi

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2450 troops, 14 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 782 troops, 7 guns, 3 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 93 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Legaspi base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 8

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 53
Guns lost 3


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Menado

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 4697 troops, 32 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 1439 troops, 3 guns, 1 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 51 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Menado base !!!



Allied ground losses:
Men lost 2937
Guns lost 9


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Rabaul

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2519 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 2296 troops, 9 guns, 2 vehicles

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 25
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 24
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Hong Kong

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 47688 troops, 546 guns, 23 vehicles

Defending force 6951 troops, 54 guns, 3 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 33 to 1 (fort level 7)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Hong Kong base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 163
Guns lost 6

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 4941
Guns lost 40


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Wuchow

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 30766 troops, 370 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 23504 troops, 127 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Wuchow base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 339
Guns lost 8

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 35
Guns lost 2


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Vigan

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 12600 troops, 179 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 783 troops, 8 guns, 3 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 564 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Vigan base !!!



Allied ground losses:
Men lost 200
Guns lost 3
Vehicles lost 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Khota Bharu

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 20193 troops, 231 guns, 14 vehicles

Defending force 8323 troops, 65 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 10 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Khota Bharu base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 126
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 162
Guns lost 16


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Rabaul

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2221 troops, 8 guns, 1 vehicles

Defending force 2479 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles

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


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 56
Guns lost 2


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Aparri

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 13908 troops, 250 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 762 troops, 6 guns, 3 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 145 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Aparri base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 12

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 73
Guns lost 2


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

[Mr.Frag]

It must be hurting to smile that much! Poor Raver! This qualifies for a "When disasters happen" award :p

CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
BB Prince of Wales, Torpedo hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
BC Repulse, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
CA Northampton, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
CA Northampton, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CA Salt Lake City, Torpedo hits 1
DD Fanning, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Balch, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
DD Gridley, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AVD Childs, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
TK Manatawny, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
TK Manatawny, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Governor Wright, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Taurus, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Escalante R, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Sarangami, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Si Kiang, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Elcano, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Magallanes, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Luzon, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Capillo, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Corregidor, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AK Paz, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Sagoland, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
AK Princess of Negros, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Si Kiang, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Si Kiang, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Sarangami, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

[Mike Scholl]

IF the game is accurate, you may have a very long wait for the PI to be
"starved out". Historically, MacArthur's refusal to move supply to Bataan left
a TWO YEAR supply of food and stores to the Japanese when they took central
Luzon. With no invasion, he could well be sitting there in "fine fettle" when the
US returns to the area. And with no Japanese to fight, those Phillippine Units
are going to get fully trained even if they will still lack equipment.

[frank1970]

Hi, The real problem with Manila in the game is the port is open when the city is captured. The city can be captured by landing else where capturing that hex and then marching to Manila and capturing it. There is no reason for the Japanese to ever run the guns. (they didn't) Historically the port was not usable because the Forts remained after the capture of the city.
It will always be easier to capture Manila by marching to it. There is no way to have it built enough to last from Dec to May. The only thing I can think of is require all unloading in the manila hex to be 'over the beach' until the fall of the Bataan Hex. (i know this has nothing to do with the Manila Bay forts. We'd just assume they surrender along with the forces at Bataan. I really don't like special code rules but i can think of anything else. The AI and many Japanese players will always just send convoys to manila as soon as they capture the place and this will greatly ease the supply problems for the Japanese at Clark Field and Bataan. Either you make the city its self too hard or you make the forts too easy. Thats the problem.

I don´t have the maps or anything, but isn´t it possible to create a base near Manila and place there a fortification 9 Coast gun-coast defence unit? The new base should be placed in a way that all convoys which are directed to Manila have to go through the hex and are so target of gunfire. (similar as Gilli Gilli and the island in front of it).

[Raverdave]

I am on the run everywhere ! It is like being crushed by a steamroller....s l o w l y. Those idiots in the RN stall two hexes short of their target, AND the CAP didn't turn up :rolleyes:

Poor old Enterprise got one heck of a shock to find all those IJN CVs so close........how did they get there so fast??????????

He's even got CVs in the Sulu sea !

I am trying to run, but there is simply NO safe escape routes from PI.


1941 is going to be a loooonnnngggg year.

On the bright side the Aussies are the ONLY troops staqnding their ground against the Japs.....and that is in a small place called Rabal.

[TIMJOT]

I don´t have the maps or anything, but isn´t it possible to create a base near Manila and place there a fortification 9 Coast gun-coast defence unit? The new base should be placed in a way that all convoys which are directed to Manila have to go through the hex and are so target of gunfire. (similar as Gilli Gilli and the island in front of it).

Frank,

I have suggested the same, but have been told the code dosent allow for CD units to fire on ships passing through the hex. Personally I dont see why it would be such a huge code fix to add it in, but I guess there is a very long list of suggestions out there.

[pry]

Luskan, I had mentioned to you before that I had questions about the OB for ships in Singapore. I apologize for the length of this but I thought it important.

Order of Battle problem and that is vessels that were undergoing repair at the naval shipyard in Singapore, on December 8, 1941. Yes they were there but several were completely unable to get underway and 2 others that were there left ASAP and have no future bearing in the Pacific. I have seen several AAR’s this one included where these vessels are being used by the allied player. Historically that is just not right and I am not sure how best to account for this in game terms, historical reality verses game practicality.

I am sure that if any of these had any possibility of getting underway they would have accompanied POW and Repulse [Historically]

The 3 that cause me the most heartburn are CL HMS Mauritius, DD HMS Isis and DD HMAS Vendetta.

HMS Mauritius was under repair, her crew was living in base housing, they moved back on board on December 10 so that survivors of POW and Repulse could move in. She got underway December 15 and sailed to Colombo, Simontown, Freetown and home to England never to see the Pacific again. She should not be included in the OB, even though she was there.

HMS Isis was being repaired / refitted at Singapore when the war broke out. She was damaged in the Mediterranean (off Syria) in June 1941. Just before the fall of Singapore HMS Isis was towed to Java and then to Colombo and finally Bombay for repair. She then went to the Atlantic and was sunk there July 1944. She should also not be included in the OB

(This is all I could find on Vendetta, I am sure you Aussies can provide better information on her, she was one of yours.)

HMAS Vendetta had been at the naval dock in Singapore undergoing repairs and a refit following her campaign in the Middle East. She was caught with her engines and other vital equipment dismantled so after quickly collecting together her various dismembered parts, the destroyer was towed from Singapore naval base by the old RN destroyer, HMS Stronghold. Through Japanese air raids, the two ships made slow and difficult passage to Palembang in the Netherlands East Indies. At Palembang, the RN tug HMT St Just and HMAS Yarra (Lt/Cdr, R.W. Rankin), took over the tow to Tangjong Priok. Here the Ping Wo took over the tow and together with the Giang Ann and the Darvel, escorted by HMAS Yarra, the little convoy set sail for Australia. After again eluding the Japanese bombers, Yarra handed over her convoy to the old cruiser HMAS Adelaide some 200 miles south of Christmas Island. Despite many horrowing experiences with tow lines parting, bad weather and both ships violently rolling, after 17 days the convoy arrived safely in Fremantle on 4 March 1942.

Other vessels under repair,

Encounter, Singapore (Under repair) No additional info located yet.
Jupiter, Singapore (Under repair) Finished and got underway December 10,
Stronghold, Singapore (refitting) Finished and got underway December 12,
Not sure if accounting for these 3 is necessary in game terms 2 to 3 days makes little or no real difference.

3 other destroyers I question are, the Local Defense Force, Hong Kong, HMS Scout, HMS Thanet and HMS Thracian. In a few previous AAR’s I have seen them in Singapore on Dec 8, again this is wrong.

All 3 are at Hong Kong on December 8, Scout and Thanet sailed for Singapore via Manila, Balikpappan and Batavia late on Dec, 8.

Thracian was undergoing repair in Aberdeen shipyard, Hong Kong, eventually captured by the Japanese and put into service as Patrol Boat 101. (Not sure if/how this should be addressed)

My thanks to both Raverdave and Luskan the AAR is great…

[Nikademus]

Pry -

Just FYI - OOB info as it current stands in Alpha

Singapore

BB Prince of Wales
BC Repulse
CL Danae
CL Mauritius

DD's

Vampire
Vendetta
Stronghold
Tenedos
Electra
Encounter
Express
Isis
Jupiter

Hong Kong

DD's

Scout
Thanet
Thracian

(additional commonwealth or RN units in immediate SRA)

Palembang

CL Dragon
CL Durban


Refit/repair issue:

Currently all units in the game in commission at start begin at 0 SYS. Though one never knows, i 'doubt' any provision will be made to go through the OOB's to try to determine what ships were in need of or in refit/repair at the time. Its simply a time factor in regards to getting the game out within a reasonable shot at the projected realease date, and the biggest issue with the OOB is making sure all the ships and other equipment are in there and have the correct stats.

However, there is hope, because the handy dandy editor that will ship with the game does allow you to access damage to a warship on an individual basis so it would be a snap to put into effect your ships under repair. Keep in mind though that there is currently no provision to "immobilize" a ship due to being under repair....so in effect the only way to do this is to access enough SYS damage points to either lower max speed or even immobilize it completely. However this of course would leave the ship vulnerable to attack for a long time as the SYS can only be repaired under the standard set of rules.

Only other alternative would be to remove the ships in quesiton from the active list and put them into the oob as "reinforcements" to arrive after a certain date.

[TIMJOT]

IF the game is accurate, you may have a very long wait for the PI to be
"starved out". Historically, MacArthur's refusal to move supply to Bataan left
a TWO YEAR supply of food and stores to the Japanese when they took central
Luzon. With no invasion, he could well be sitting there in "fine fettle" when the
US returns to the area. And with no Japanese to fight, those Phillippine Units
are going to get fully trained even if they will still lack equipment.

Mike,

Well yes, the Philipines were self sufficient in food stuffs, so if the Japanese chose not to invade, then I suppose they could have held out indefinitely. Although not their arms and munitions.

You are however, very much mistaken if you think USAFFE had anywhere near a TWO YEARS worth of supplies and stores for 70,000+ men. I suppose if they had several months to strip Luzon bare of every grain of rice and Carabao they might have enough for a year or so, but then again there were no where near enough storage capacity to handle that much supplies on Bataan.

I dont know what you mean by "REFUSE" to move supply to Bataan. He merely carried out the "APPROVED"' plan to defend the beaches. You might as well blame Marshall and FDR then.

Regardless, even if he had started moving those pre-position supplies on the 8th Dec. about the best you could expect was maybe 6 months worth of supplies which was the max US Army ever expected from the Philipine garrison. At no time were there any contigencies that stipulated holding out longer than that.

The "DEFEAT OF THE PHILIPINES" in Dec 41 was a faint de compli Geography and the USN pre-war plans made it inevitable.

[pry]

Thanks for the information Nik, I do not want to cause anything to delay release
That is why I brought this up now so that whoever is doing the OB can make corrections now instead of at crunch time.

The simplest way would be to remove CL Mauritius and DD Isis from the OB, after leaving Singapore they were never in the Pacific again as far as my sources show.

DD Vendetta could show up as reinforcement in Australia later rather than totally disabled as she was historically on turn 1.

Encounter, Jupiter and Stronghold are no big deal and can start as available on turn 1, like I said 2 or 3 days makes no real difference.

Danae was at sea enroute to Colombo on Dec 8,
Ministry of Defense (UK) War With Japan, Volume 2

Forgot to list sources on last post,

Mauritius
Ministry of Defense (UK) War With Japan, Volume 2
Also http://home.swipnet.se/~w-11578/hms_mauritius.htm

Isis
Ministry of Defense (UK) War With Japan, Volume 2

Vendetta
Ministry of Defense (UK) War With Japan, Volume 2
Also http://members.dodo.net.au/~mervynw/pin ... 20gold.htm

Encounter
Ministry of Defense (UK) War With Japan, Volume 2
Jupiter
Ministry of Defense (UK) War With Japan, Volume 2
Stronghold
Ministry of Defense (UK) War With Japan, Volume 2

[Mike Scholl]

Mike,

Well yes, the Philipines were self sufficient in food stuffs, so if the Japanese chose not to invade, then I suppose they could have held out indefinitely. Although not their arms and munitions.

You are however, very much mistaken if you think USAFFE had anywhere near a TWO YEARS worth of supplies and stores for 70,000+ men. I suppose if they had several months to strip Luzon bare of every grain of rice and Carabao they might have enough for a year or so, but then again there were no where near enough storage capacity to handle that much supplies on Bataan.

I dont know what you mean by "REFUSE" to move supply to Bataan. He merely carried out the "APPROVED"' plan to defend the beaches. You might as well blame Marshall and FDR then.

Regardless, even if he had started moving those pre-position supplies on the 8th Dec. about the best you could expect was maybe 6 months worth of supplies which was the max US Army ever expected from the Philipine garrison. At no time were there any contigencies that stipulated holding out longer than that.

The "DEFEAT OF THE PHILIPINES" in Dec 41 was a faint de compli
Geography and the USN pre-war plans made it inevitable.

"At Cabanatuan, for example, nearly 4,500 tons of rice, enough to feed the 105,000 mouths on Bataan for five months, were left to the Japanese, who also captured nearly 3,400,000 gallons of oil and gasoline and almost 500,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. All over Luzon warehouses and depots full of supplies ranging from food to clothes to drugs were left to looters, locals, and the Japanese." [Willmott; EMPIRES in the BALANCE]

Note that Cabanatuan was not the only store of food left to the invaders---
simply the largest. And that these were supplies that already belonged to the
Military, not including what could have been requisitioned additionally from the
civilian population if there had been no invasion. Any intelligent commander---
I don't include MacArthur in that category---would have been moving these
supplies to the safest location possible (Bataan) when war warnings started
coming out in November and it became obvious that there probably wouldn't be time to train the Phillippine units up to the level needed to make beachhead defense feasible.

And the point of the message you quote was that if the Japanese DIDN'T invade the Islands, but simply blockaded them, they would have a very long wait before any shortages occurred. You mentioned munitions..., but with no invasion, what is there to shoot at? I make no claim that the Phillippines Garrison would have remained much of an "offensive threat" in such circumstances, but months of additional training and entrenchment would certainly have made capturing the Islands a great deal more difficult for the Japanese. And if no attempt to capture them were made at all, then they remain ready to serve as a friendly base when the Allies return.

[Raverdave]

Thanks for the OOB details Pry...........yeah I had forgotten about the Vendetta and I am not full bottle on the RN side of things.

[Raverdave]

Well even though things are bad across most of the board, I am scoring a few hits Caught some of Luskan's ships at Kendari and put some holes in them...OOoooo it felt good. My policy is to try and hit him hard and fast when the odds are with me....and some of his invasions to the south seem to be lightly protected. More good news....the aussies at Rabal are still holding out........THE ONLY ALLIED FORCES THAT HAVE SO FAR HELD THE TIDE.

The other Japanses weakness is in China and in an attempt to through a spanner in the works I have ordered a general offensive across the board to try and catch him off-balance. It is a long shot in most cases..........with the exception of Hanoi which is somewhat exposed....but I have little else that I can do.

In an attempt to reduce ship losses I have ordered all convoys that are fleeing to break-up and make the attempt on there own. The convoys just make to big a fat target for Luskans LRBs.

Efforts are now underway to reinforce Northern and Western Australia which are all somewhat exposed. The only thing in the short term that will protect Australia is the distance of Luskans supply lines.

Who is the idiot who organized the Phillipines defence? All of my troops are in the wrong place (or should I say that Luskan is landing in the right places?
That pompass arse MacArthur has a lot to answer for..............there will be NO MOH for him coming from me!

[Luskan]

Things have resumed their previous momentum with my LBA and cvs having a laugh a minute with Raver's transports. There is a line of fat transports that runs the entire length of Northern Borneo. Targest everywhere at the moment, and was very satisfied to add about 8 or 10 ships to the sunk ship list this turn - including a couple of Sub tenders.


Disappointing that Rabaul is STILL holding out - I was thinking that maybe Raver might try something insane like an early Truk invasion, so I left lots of troops there, and sent even more on turn 1. Those reinforcements will now be split up, half forming the basis of my next push south, the other half to Rabaul to finish things. No sign of the Lexington, disappointingly.

Raver has smacked a few of my ships up, but hasn't sunk any yet - until this turn, when british dds punched some holes in my sub in singapore harbour and sent it to the bottom.

On a side note - why can't Kuhn kick??? South africa would be way ahead if he could. Can't trust them to do anything right - why hasn't someone used a boot to wipe Jonny Wilkinson's face off yet? or more importantly, stick a finger or two in his eyes??? Can't believe I'm cheering for these guys . . .

In other news my troops are landing at Miri and Brunei (finally, they took a damned long time to get there- should have been arriving on turn 1 if they hadn't loaded so many supplies). Troops on Mindanao are organised and moving to crush Raver's few assets on the island, while other troops are streaming onto the Chinese mainland for my own general offensive there (and I think I know just where to strike). Troops continue unloading at Johore Baru and Songkhia and my armies will be moving down the malayan peninsula to slaughter and wreak havoc on my enemies.





AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/11/41

TF 102 troops unloading over beach at Laoag, 45 x 49


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Singapore at 23,50

Japanese Ships
SS I-154, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Scout
DD Thracian


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 95 troops unloading over beach at Miri, 31 x 57


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 95 troops unloading over beach at Miri, 31 x 57


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 102 troops unloading over beach at Laoag, 45 x 49


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Khota Bharu at 24,45

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 18
Blenheim IV x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero x 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I x 2 destroyed
Blenheim IV x 1 damaged


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Brunei at 32,57


Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 3
Beaufort V x 3


Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort V x 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Toyo Maru


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 30,54

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 3
B5N Kate x 34
E7K2 Alf x 3

no losses

Allied Ships
AS Holland, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 30,54

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 6
B5N Kate x 5

no losses

Allied Ships
AK Ethel Edwards
AK Don Jose


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 34,54

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 9
Ki-21 Sally x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell x 4 damaged
Ki-21 Sally x 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Capillo, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Corregidor, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Paz, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 30,54

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 6
B5N Kate x 9

no losses

Allied Ships
AS Otus, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Changsha , at 47,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 12
Ki-30 Ann x 9
Ki-15 Babs x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann x 1 destroyed
Ki-30 Ann x 2 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 4


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on Clark Field , at 43,51

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 14

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 3
P-40E Kittyhawk x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty x 1 destroyed


Runway hits 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 29,47


Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 3
Hudson I x 4


Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I x 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Mikuma


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF, near Menado at 39,67


Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 3


no losses

Japanese Ships
MSW Tomozono Maru #3


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 30,54

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 9
B5N Kate x 26
E7K2 Alf x 3

no losses

Allied Ships
AS Holland, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 33,50

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 12
G3M Nell x 9
Ki-32 Mary x 10

no losses

Allied Ships
MSW Tern, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 33,50

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 5

no losses

Allied Ships
MSW Robin


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 25,47

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 24

no losses

Allied Ships
CL Danae, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 25,47

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 12

no losses

Allied Ships
CL Danae, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 30,54

Japanese aircraft
B5N Kate x 18

no losses

Allied Ships
AS Canopus, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air attack on TF at 34,54

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 6

no losses

Allied Ships
AK Paz, on fire, heavy damage


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 96 troops unloading over beach at Brunei, 32 x 57

Coastal Guns at Brunei (hex 32 x 57), firing at TF 96

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Rabaul

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2330 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 2181 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 7

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 52
Guns lost 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Laoag

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 9851 troops, 15 guns, 125 vehicles

Defending force 1313 troops, 9 guns, 3 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 59 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Laoag base !!!



Allied ground losses:
Men lost 1583
Guns lost 6


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Rabaul

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2085 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 2317 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles

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


Japanese ground losses:
Men lost 27

Allied ground losses:
Men lost 6


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

[wobbly]

You are caught betweeen the devil and the deep blue sea in regards to cheering either the South Africans or the POMs.
You so get the feeling that the wheels would fall off teh English rugby machine if Jonny Wilkinson "couldn't play" anymore...

[TIMJOT]

"At Cabanatuan, for example, nearly 4,500 tons of rice, enough to feed the 105,000 mouths on Bataan for five months, were left to the Japanese, who also captured nearly 3,400,000 gallons of oil and gasoline and almost 500,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. All over Luzon warehouses and depots full of supplies ranging from food to clothes to drugs were left to looters, locals, and the Japanese." [Willmott; EMPIRES in the BALANCE]

Note that Cabanatuan was not the only store of food left to the invaders---
simply the largest. And that these were supplies that already belonged to the
Military, not including what could have been requisitioned additionally from the
civilian population if there had been no invasion. Any intelligent commander---
I don't include MacArthur in that category---would have been moving these
supplies to the safest location possible (Bataan) when war warnings started
coming out in November and it became obvious that there probably wouldn't be time to train the Phillippine units up to the level needed to make beachhead defense feasible.

And the point of the message you quote was that if the Japanese DIDN'T invade the Islands, but simply blockaded them, they would have a very long wait before any shortages occurred. You mentioned munitions..., but with no invasion, what is there to shoot at? I make no claim that the Phillippines Garrison would have remained much of an "offensive threat" in such circumstances, but months of additional training and entrenchment would certainly have made capturing the Islands a great deal more difficult for the Japanese. And if no attempt to capture them were made at all, then they remain ready to serve as a friendly base when the Allies return.

Hey Mike,

In my reply I agreed with you that the Phililpines if not invaded could have held out indefinitely. As far as munitions I was assumeing that under blockade they would still be subject to both air and naval bombardment and thus be expending a finite resource.

I wouldnt get too caught in numbers. Although on paper there would seem an abundance of munitions on the islands. In fact most of it was WWI surplus that had deterioreted substantially. For example it was determined that fully 70% of the 3" motar shells on hand were duds. Good 75mm shells were in such short supply that the PA arty units were only allowed to fire few live shots while training.

Again I agree that the PI could not and should not be starved out. Personally I think in the game the PI should have a certain minimum level of indegenous supply. I only took exception with your post when you seem to imply that had MacArthur withdrew to Bataan on Dec.8th USAFFE could have held out for 2 years. This simply not the case. June/July 42 is about the best that could be expected.

Stockpiling Bataan in Nov.41 was no longer part of the program. The Defend the beaches was now policy. Millions had been allocated and tons of supply were on there way.

In a letter prepared on Dec 5,1941 Marshalled outlined for MacArthur what had been done to strengthen USAFFE.

"Reinforcements and Equipment already approved require 1,000,000 ship tons. 55 ships have already been obtained and approxamtely 100,000 ships tons of supplies are in route. Approximately twice that number is ready for immediate shipment to ports of embarkation.m Request for equiping of the Philipine "except the M1 Garand have been approved and are being shiped as rapidly as they can be assembled and loaded on ships. Not only will you recieve all your supporting Lt Artillery (130 75mm guns), but also 48 155 mm Howitzers, 24 155 guns, and 3 mobile AA regiments. A sum of $269,000,000 had been requested for the PA and early passage is expected. I assure you of my purpose to meet the fullest extent possible your recomendations for personel and equipment neccessary to defend the Philipines." (Morton)

He was further told that by the end of Dec he could expect no less than 240 P-40s and some 72 B-17s. At the outbreak of the war their was a convoy enroute with 52 a-24s, 18 p-40s, 4 Arty Bns., 340 vehicles, 3,500,000 rounds of .30&.50cal ammunition, 600 tons of bombs and 9000 drums of aviation fuel. Additionally the 34th Infantry Regt was embarking at SF with addional supplies and equipmement on that very day.

This isnt a case of MacArthur being delusional, This was adopted strategy and the conerstone of national policy of deterent force against Japan. For every day that past USAFFE was getting stronger and stronger. Now in lue of the Nov. War warnings what was he suppose to do? Say oops never mind, all is lost defeat is certain, we will just go back to the old plan.

[Raverdave]

Hey Mike,

In my reply I agreed with you that the Phililpines if not invaded could have held out indefinitely. As far as munitions I was assumeing that under blockade they would still be subject to both air and naval bombardment and thus be expending a finite resource.

I wouldnt get too caught in numbers. Although on paper there would seem an abundance of munitions on the islands. In fact most of it was WWI surplus that had deterioreted substantially. For example it was determined that fully 70% of the 3" motar shells on hand were duds. Good 75mm shells were in such short supply that the PA arty units were only allowed to fire few live shots while training.

Again I agree that the PI could not and should not be starved out. Personally I think in the game the PI should have a certain minimum level of indegenous supply. I only took exception with your post when you seem to imply that had MacArthur withdrew to Bataan on Dec.8th USAFFE could have held out for 2 years. This simply not the case. June/July 42 is about the best that could be expected.

Stockpiling Bataan in Nov.41 was no longer part of the program. The Defend the beaches was now policy. Millions had been allocated and tons of supply were on there way.

JUst to buy into the discussion from the game POV.........the Japanese player has nearly TOTAL control the air/sea surrounding Phililpines. Any thoughts of hanging on and being re-supplied from the sea would simply reduce your IJN opponent to tears of laughter. Sure some subs can get through, but the whole area is pretty much sown-up..........even more so when Malaya falls.

[Raverdave]

Those brave men at Rabal continue to hold the line in the face of determied attacks by the Japanese....Heros each and everyone of them, those brave sons' of ANZAC.

Well there ends the good news.........I think I have found a weakness in luskans strategic plans.....there is NOTHING in the eastern half of the pacific, and Japan lays wide open. I am now putting togeather a TF to cause him some pain.

It is a hard decision to make....should one leave all the ships in port or try to flee as soon as possible. I have choosen the second route and have lost at least 45 ships of all types so far. Against this I have sunk 5 of Luskans ships.....not a good ratio.