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Not sure how to rate this turn. Got a nicely coordinated strike on Kuching (see picture) and caused some casualties. The Brewsters were beat up pretty bad, but the P-40s did a pretty good job. Of the 5 Jap a2a losses, I think that 4 were caused by the P-40s which only lost two of their own number. I am standing everybody down this turn. I am not sure I can keep up these attacks against Kuching. The Brewsters are pretty much played out. I am also now considering an airfield attack on Khota Bharu. He has tons of bombers there apparently and is relying on Nates for most of his CAP. It looks like a very juicy target that I could actually hurt. With the AVG as escort I could probably even deal with the Oscars and Zeros he has there. Not for another turn however.

No naval attack on my resupply TF. Guess he doesn't want to lose the Bettys killing cargo ships.

The CD guns at Cagayan scored some hits on his shipping this turn. Still no bombardment on his part. I am very happy he invaded rather than walked since I was going to lose those folk anyway. BTW, he used an entire division for the landing.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/28/41

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Coastal Guns at Cagayan, 42,59, firing at TF 17
TF 17 troops unloading over beach at Cagayan, 42,59


80 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PG Kure Maru #5, Shell hits 2, on fire
AP Turusima Maru, Shell hits 1
MSW Musashi Maru
AP Tsuyama Maru, Shell hits 1
DD Yamagumo, Shell hits 1
AP Tainichi Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
420 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

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Coastal Guns at Cagayan, 42,59, firing at TF 43
TF 43 troops unloading over beach at Cagayan, 42,59


12 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PC Showa Maru #3
AP Kembu Maru

Japanese ground losses:
93 casualties reported

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Coastal Guns at Cagayan, 42,59, firing at TF 17
TF 17 troops unloading over beach at Cagayan, 42,59


9 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese ground losses:
182 casualties reported

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Day Air attack on Kuching , at 28,56

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 21

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 19
Blenheim IV x 12
Martin 139 x 34
Hudson I x 11
P-40B Tomahawk x 14
B-17C Fortress x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed, 2 damaged 2 lost a2a, 2 lost on the ground
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 14 destroyed, 2 damaged 3 lost a2a, 6 lost on the ground

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 17 destroyed, 2 damaged 9 actual
Blenheim IV: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged 2 actual
Martin 139: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged 2 lost a2a, 1 op loss
P-40B Tomahawk: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged 2 lost a2a
B-17C Fortress: 2 damaged 1 op loss

Japanese ground losses:
58 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 38 Darn, the rollover says only 1 damage [:(]

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Ground combat at Taytay

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 2719 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 37 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Taytay base !!!

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Ground combat at Butuan

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 819 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Butuan base !!!

While I wait for Grotius to send the next turn, I thought I would post some additional information about a conundrum I am facing.

Grotius has a ton of planes at Khota Bharu. My recon efforts have revealed that it is mostly defended by Nates which the AVG could easily knock down. So I am thinking about bombing the field to kill the bombers and using the AVG as escort to shoot down the Nates. But I have to wonder if I might miss a bunch of bombers that are off flying a ground attack mission. On the other hand, I could LRCAP my troops at Malacca hoping to shoot down those bombers in the air. Either option would leave Singapore exposed on the turn I did this (I would want to use the entire AVG for escort duty). If I LRCAP then I can be certain of killing lots of pilots as well as bombers. But I can't be sure that I will hit him because I might get the timing off. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Grotius has a bunch of TFs moving about. I don't know where they are headed, though one group is almost certainly going to Brunei. I can't do much about that naval-wise, but I have set the Martins based at Balikpapan to naval attack. I was thinking about hitting Kuching again because there is a good chance that the Zeros there are LRCAPing the invasion TF. Also, the Martin pilots are not too bad experience-wise, about 60 average, but this is usually not enough for good results against naval targets, especially CA's and DD's which the AI likes to target. But I decided to chance my luck. Maybe the AI will be kind to me and the Martins will target APs and AKs. I will also have to worry about LRCAP. My Brewster force has been whittled down to almost nothing. But at least the Zeros will be suffering from fatigue.

Grotius also has several TFs entering the Celebes Sea. I have no idea where they are going. I don't think they are going for Menado, but just in case I sent out force Z into the Banda sea to get ready for an intercept. I also sent the Houston group into the Macassar strait in case he is going for Tarakan. Doorman is heading into the Macassar strait as well.

I made up my mind to go ahead and bomb the airfield at Khota Bharu. I guess I should have put that off for one day so the Zero bonus is reduced. We shall see.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/30/41

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Day Air attack on 28th Indian Brigade, at 22,47 Malacca

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 2
Ki-30 Ann x 24
Ki-48 Lily x 16
Ki-15 Babs x 1

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
37 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
16 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 6000 feet
24 x Ki-30 Ann bombing at 2000 feet

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Ground combat at Cagayan

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 22955 troops, 298 guns, 7 vehicles
Defending force 7509 troops, 48 guns, 3 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Cagayan base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
82 casualties reported
Guns lost 8
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
7110 casualties reported
Guns lost 47


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Ground combat at Malacca first attack at Malacca fails to reduce the forts

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 86693 troops, 994 guns, 29 vehicles
Defending force 27200 troops, 230 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese ground losses:
740 casualties reported
Guns lost 40
Vehicles lost 5

Allied ground losses:
482 casualties reported
Guns lost 10

Here is a picture of the situation around Borneo and the PI.

This was the best turn I have had this game. I managed to kill over 65 of his planes this turn for few losses. I also plinked a number of his ships invading Brunei. Though none of this will slow him down in the least, it was a great morale boost.

One depressing bit of new, though. We spotted the Yamato at Davao. I wonder if the best strategy there is to NOT use Prince of Wales and Repulse, but instead use a destroyer heavy force and hope for a torpedo hit? Assuming I have the chance to actually plan such an intercept, of course.

Looks like he is going for Jolo. He has a sub parked in the Macassar strait precisely 6 hexes from Jolo. And the TF headed that way is not very big. I would love to hit this TF, but I deem it to be too risky. Just in case he changes his mind, though, or this is a feint, I am stationing forces for intercepts at Menado and Tarakan.

Generally my airforces are standing down this turn. The one attack I have set up is for a convoy that looks to be headed for Kuching. I moved my Swordfish and my better TIVa squadron to Singkawang and set them to naval attack. They will be escorted by 20+ Tomahawks should they attack.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 12/31/41

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Day Air attack on Khota Bharu , at 24,45

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 20
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 3

Allied aircraft
CW-22 Falcon x 1
Blenheim I x 28
Blenheim IV x 15
Hudson I x 10
P-40B Tomahawk x 60

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 30 destroyed 15 killed a2a
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 6 destroyed, 2 damaged 3 killed a2a, 2 on the ground
Ki-21 Sally: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged 5 destroyed including the attack below
A6M2 Zero: 18 destroyed, 16 damaged 18 destroyed, including the attack below
G3M Nell: 9 destroyed, 7 damaged 9 destroyed, including the attack below
Ki-48 Lily: 6 destroyed, 9 damaged 5 destroyed, including the attack below
Ki-30 Ann: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged 5 destroyed, including the attack below

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 1 damaged
Blenheim IV: 1 damaged 1 destroyed a2a
P-40B Tomahawk: 8 destroyed, 3 damaged 3 lost a2a, 2 op losses

Japanese ground losses:
117 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 28 rollover indicated 25 damage

All Aircraft Attacking at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Khota Bharu , at 24,45

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 5

Allied aircraft
B-17C Fortress x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged 1 shot down a2a!
A6M2 Zero: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 3 destroyed, 13 damaged
Ki-30 Ann: 3 destroyed, 6 damaged
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged


Japanese ground losses:
137 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Runway hits 11

B-17C Fortress bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
Ki-21 Sally x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 4 damaged

Runway hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 9000 feet
6 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Clark Field , at 43,51

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 2
Ki-27 Nate x 3
Ki-21 Sally x 33
Ki-48 Lily x 27

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 2 destroyed
Ki-48 Lily: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
43 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 21
Runway hits 58

Aircraft Attacking:
23 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 17000 feet
27 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 6000 feet
9 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 17000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Brunei at 32,57

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 7
Martin 139 x 26
Hudson I x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Martin 139: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Tatsuho Maru
AP Giyu Maru
AP Kaiko Maru
AP Tatibana Maru
AP Koryu Maru, Bomb hits 3
AP Kiyozumi Maru, Bomb hits 1
MSW Ranzan Maru
AP Kogyo Maru, Bomb hits 1
AP Kaika Maru

Japanese ground losses:
56 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

All Aircraft Attacking from 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Brunei at 32,57

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 2
Martin 139 x 3

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
DD Sagiri

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Martin 139 bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Brunei at 32,57

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Martin 139 x 3

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Asakasan Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Martin 139 bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Brunei at 32,57

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 13
Martin 139 x 36
Hudson I x 5

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 4 destroyed lost 2
Martin 139: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Haguro Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
AP Koryu Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kaihei Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Hokuhi Maru
AP Yamagata Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PC Shonan Maru #7
AP Kogyo Maru
AP Koan Maru
AP Tatsuho Maru
AP Tatibana Maru
MSW Ranzan Maru

Japanese ground losses:
183 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

All Aircraft Attacking attacking from 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Brunei, 32,57, firing at TF 4
TF 4 troops unloading over beach at Brunei, 32,57

42 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PG Uji
PC Shonan Maru #7, Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
393 casualties reported

Had a sync problem this turn. Initially it appeared as if I had lost a bunch of Tomahawks to his Oscars over Kuching. As it turned out I shot down and Oscar at the cost of 1 Tomahawk lost operationally. None of the TIVa's were hurt. They are my best torpedo bombers. The Swordfish did not fly for some reason.

He is landing all over the place in the PI.

Next turn I am going to bomb Kuala Lumpur with an escort of Buffalo's. He is only CAPing the place with Nates and considering how crappy they are, this should be a good training op for my Buffalo's.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/01/42

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Sub attack near Brunei at 32,57

Japanese Ships
AK Asakasan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire [:)]
MSW W.5
PC Kyo Maru #11

Allied Ships
SS KXII

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Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
Ki-30 Ann x 33
Ki-21 Sally x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 46

Aircraft Attacking at 6000 feet

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Day Air attack on TF, near Kuching at 28,56

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 16

Allied aircraft
T.IVa x 4
P-40B Tomahawk x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Kinka Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x T.IVa launching torpedoes at 200 feet

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Ground combat at Brunei

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 5074 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 1708 troops, 9 guns, 3 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Japanese ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
22 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

I have fallen behind in this aar. Try to catch up here.

The raid on Kuala Lumpur went in. Didn't do much and cost me a few Buffalo's. Fortunately, Nates are so crappy that it was not worse. I still think this is a safe training op for the Buffalo's and will probably do it again.

He picked up the 16th division from Cagayan and dropped it on Cebu. This division has taken an awful lot of casualties--over 2000. I would hope that this would reduce its combat power some.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/02/42

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Coastal Guns at Cebu Island, 42,58, firing at TF 71
TF 71 troops unloading over beach at Cebu Island, 42,58


46 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PG Edo Maru

Japanese ground losses:
772 casualties reported

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Coastal Guns at Cebu Island, 42,58, firing at TF 71
TF 71 troops unloading over beach at Cebu Island, 42,58

My goodness, the CD guns really scored!
84 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
AP Fukusei Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire
PG Edo Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire
AP Taimei Maru
AP Turusima Maru, Shell hits 3
AP Teizui Maru
AP Tofuku Maru, Shell hits 1
AP Tohuku Maru

Japanese ground losses:
597 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
12 casualties reported

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Sub attack near Brunei at 32,57

Japanese Ships
AK Atago Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire my subs at Brunei finally score
MSW W.5
PC Kyo Maru #11

Allied Ships
SS KXII

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Day Air attack on Kuala Lumpur , at 23,46

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 27

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 32
Blenheim I x 27
Blenheim IV x 15
Hudson I x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 5 destroyed, 13 damaged I think I only lost 2
Blenheim I: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged
Blenheim IV: 2 damaged
Hudson I: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported

Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 7

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Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
G4M1 Betty x 52

No Japanese losses

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 29000 feet he is apparently afraid of the flak
15 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 28000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 28000 feet
14 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 29000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 29000 feet
3 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 28000 feet
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Day Air attack on TF, near Kuching at 28,56

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 17

Allied aircraft
Swordfish x 9
P-40B Tomahawk x 20

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Swordfish: 8 destroyed, 3 damaged Swordfish got slaughtered
P-40B Tomahawk: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged so did the tomahawks going to have give up on this

Japanese Ships
AK Kinka Maru

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Ground combat at Brunei

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5157 troops, 22 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 1696 troops, 5 guns, 4 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
69 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Crap, I made a noob mistake in not garrisoning Jahore Bharu. He dropped in some paratroops and captured the place. Now my troops at Malacca have no retreat path. If he attacks and forces a retreat there my entire defensive power in Malaya will be gone. This could be the game winning move. Unless I can fix this fast, I am going to resign.

One would have thought, however, that my CAP over Singapore would have intercepted his transport planes. They intercept recon missions over adjacent hexes. Why not a paradrop? Obviously the non-naval, non-air aspects of this game have not been very well developed.

More slaughter over Kuching. My Tomahawks are not working out as well as I had hoped. Everyone talks about the Zeros and their bonus, but it is actually the Oscars that are eating my lunch. [:(]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/03/42

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Coastal Guns at Cebu Island, 42,58, firing at TF 23
TF 23 troops unloading over beach at Cebu Island, 42,58

CD guns at Cebu continue to score nicely
24 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PC Ch 16, Shell hits 1
AP Fukusei Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
51 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Cebu Island, 42,58, firing at TF 71
TF 71 troops unloading over beach at Cebu Island, 42,58


21 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PG Edo Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
140 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 5
Ki-30 Ann x 32
Ki-21 Sally x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann: 2 damaged


Allied ground losses:
43 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 35

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Kuching at 28,56

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 15

Allied aircraft
Swordfish x 7
P-40B Tomahawk x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses [:(]
Swordfish: 12 destroyed
P-40B Tomahawk: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Sasako Maru

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Ground combat at Brunei

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 5159 troops, 24 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 1594 troops, 3 guns, 4 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Brunei base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
23 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
95 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Vehicles lost 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

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Ground combat at Johore Bahru [X(]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 599 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 14 to 1 (fort level 5)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Johore Bahru base !!!

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Ground combat at Mersing [&o]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 105 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 8296 troops, 91 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese ground losses:
57 casualties reported

I see no reason for you to resign over this. Malay is gone anyway, if it goes a few weeks earlier then too bad, the game will only be a bit more interesting afterwards [:D]

I could understand you if you had lost all of your carriers (including yorktown) this early.. but nothing catastrophic in losing singapore a few weeks earlier.

ORIGINAL: String

I see no reason for you to resign over this. Malay is gone anyway, if it goes a few weeks earlier then too bad, the game will only be a bit more interesting afterwards [:D]

I could understand you if you had lost all of your carriers (including yorktown) this early.. but nothing catastrophic in losing singapore a few weeks earlier.

This is scenario #2, not #15. There are no carriers. There is no chance to make up for this "later." There is no "later." The war is supposed to end in 2 months. Looks like it may end a lot earlier now. [:(]

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

ORIGINAL: String

I see no reason for you to resign over this. Malay is gone anyway, if it goes a few weeks earlier then too bad, the game will only be a bit more interesting afterwards [:D]

I could understand you if you had lost all of your carriers (including yorktown) this early.. but nothing catastrophic in losing singapore a few weeks earlier.

This is scenario #2, not #15. There are no carriers. There is no chance to make up for this "later." There is no "later." The war is supposed to end in 2 months. Looks like it may end a lot earlier now. [:(]

Oh.. somehow I assumed it was #15 .. if its #2 then I understand you.

On his first attack on Malacca he gets 2 to 1 odds. Forts are down to level 2. I still haven't gotten anybody to Jahore Bharu yet. I have a brigade coming up from Singapore but they have another 15 miles to go. A brigade in Mersing shock attacks in order to persue into Jahore Bharu, but only travels 15 miles. I was hoping they would teleport the way the retreating units did. [:D]

I spotted a tanker heading in the direction of Ambion. This would seem to be a indicator that his CVL's are in the area. I don't think he will invade Ambion just yet, but he may be sending in CV's to block my attempts to intercept an invasion of Menado.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/04/42

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Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 2
Ki-30 Ann x 31
Ki-21 Sally x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann: 5 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
29 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 35

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

Japanese aircraft
C5M Babs x 3
Ki-27 Nate x 16
Ki-21 Sally x 36
Ki-48 Lily x 26

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 2 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 2 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
135 casualties reported
Guns lost 7
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 21
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 56

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Malacca well, at least we held out this turn

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 87002 troops, 960 guns, 23 vehicles
Defending force 26228 troops, 211 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Japanese ground losses:
998 casualties reported twice as many casualties as me
Guns lost 32
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
490 casualties reported
Guns lost 10


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Cebu Island

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18798 troops, 252 guns, 7 vehicles
Defending force 4340 troops, 36 guns, 1 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 16 to 1 (fort level 1) [X(]

Japanese forces CAPTURE Cebu Island base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
5603 casualties reported [:(]
Guns lost 34


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Mersing

Allied Shock attack I set a shock attack here so I could persue to Jahore Bharu
Attacking force 3914 troops, 47 guns, 0 vehicles
Defending force 37 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 88 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
12 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Generally a quiet turn. One of my Dutch subs scored nicely. The AK Syunko Maru went blub-blub.

I lost contact with the TF that looked like it was approaching Ambion. I am sending the Houston group and Force Z back to Kendari to await developments. He has a TF that looks like it may possibly be heading to Tarakan, but I don't think he is going there yet--he is not bring along his surface combat groups. But it does look like he may go for Tarakan first before Menado--with the capture of Jolo, Brunei, and Davao his air cover over Tarakan is even better than over Menado. I want to be able to move Force Z and the Houston group into the Macassar strait should he go for Tarakan. Kendari makes a good point from which I can cover either Tarakan or Menado.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/05/42

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Sub attack at 39,58

Japanese Ships
AK Syunko Maru, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
MSW Tomozono Maru #3

Allied Ships
SS KXIV



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Ground combat at Malacca
holding on by a thread, now have troops in Jahore Bharu set to attack, but he has troops NE of there on the rail line meaning that I will still be cut off next turn even after a successful attack [:(]

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 87569 troops, 925 guns, 130 vehicles
Defending force 25372 troops, 194 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1) his odds dropped from 2 to 1 last turn

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Japanese ground losses:
1272 casualties reported
Guns lost 31

Allied ground losses:
1460 casualties reported
Guns lost 36

46,000+ men surrendered at Malacca, cut off from retreat by a mere 600 paratroopers. And so ends my misery. I have resigned. Stupid newbie mistake.

Turns out he was going for Tarakan after all. He finally spotted my ships lurking in the Malacca strait.

All through this game Grotius did not gather much intel on the where abouts of my ships. If he had one problem in this game it was in spotting my ships. Perhaps he did not have enough planes on Naval search. OTOH, I had excellent intel on where all his ships were generally and so was able to plan my interdiction missions.

Comments on the scenario: From reading Morrison's account of this phase of the war I thought it might be more fun than it turned out to be. I thought I would be able to run a series of Balikpapan type actions. I did manage a few, but the incredible range of japanese air assets made this very dicey, especially towards the end.

The inability to resist in the air, while no doubt pretty true to life, also made this a depressing scenario. Unfortunately, there was no future time to look forward to when I could make a comeback.

OTOH, scenario #2 is a wonderful learning tool before launching into scenario 15. I would highly recommend this scenario to anyone who wants to play the GC for the first time. It is not too big, it is only 3 months long, and it covers a vital part of the opening phases of the war. If you get hit by some newbie type mistakes, it is no big deal to resign and start over or move on. I would have recommend to Tom Hunter, for instance, starting with this scenario rather than scenario 15.

Finally, I wish to congratulate my opponent for a good game. His concentrated and careful use of air assets and his concentration of land assets to achieve overwhelming odds are especially to be noted.

So Grotius, heres to you: [&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o][&o]