Vettim89 vs Greasylake - Reversal of Fortunes

[Capt. Harlock]

Then SS pogy feeling left out finds BB Kirishima in her crosshairs and puts a TT into her. Huzzah. Larry must really be missing those sub minelaying missions now.

Second the huzzah! I don't suppose there's any chance of Kirishima going up like her sister ship Kongo IRL?

Stand by for higher priority given to IJN ASW missions . . .

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Then SS pogy feeling left out finds BB Kirishima in her crosshairs and puts a TT into her. Huzzah. Larry must really be missing those sub minelaying missions now.

Second the huzzah! I don't suppose there's any chance of Kirishima going up like her sister ship Kongo IRL?

Stand by for higher priority given to IJN ASW missions . . .

Well no as Kongo is lining the bottom of the Bay of Bengal right now[:D]. Yes but I have two fleets of subs now: one in the South China Sea wreaking havoc on Resource/Oil shipments and one in the Gilberts and Marshalls interdicting movement to and from Tarawa. I think Larry has a serious DD shortage. Don't know how many are in the Japanese OOB but 38 are confirmed sunk. Also I have sank dozens of PC's/PG's which while marginal do provide some ASW punch

[vettim89]

13 March 1943

The IJN is out in the Centpac. Hard to say what is up here. The cursor intel says TK are in one of the TF. SBD's did some damage but took a lot of losses. Changed some things around and have more escort a/c available now. I forgot to reset the homeport of my fast transport TF and it left Abemama heading for Samoa instead of Nanumea where there is lots of CAP. SO two US CA's got hit by Miss Betty. May lose one but the other is probable safe. I think Larry is being bold here but he may just be frustrated from being on his heels for so long. Have to see what the next turn brings.

[vettim89]

14 March 1943

Its official: I am a dufus! I moved my CVE's to protect damaged CA Pensacola. Larry moved his CV's east and intercepted. I lost all three of my CVE's and then had to scuttle Pensacola anyway. That said, Larry is kinda hung out to dry now. His is within range of a lot of LBA now. I am learning the hard way that assuming anything is a good way to get a bloody nose. I assumed the IJN CV's were covering a counter invasion of Abemama and felt safe movign my CVE's. I think Larry now assumes I have only F4U's and SBD's at Nanumea and feels safe. Well due to our house rule about standing down a/c that trasnfer, he did not see the P-38's and B-25's that I transferred in last turn. Hopefully he will this turn. Also, if he drifts any further south, he will be in range of B-24's in Samoa. Right now he won a tactical victory by sinking my CVE's. IF he ends up losing or having his remaining CV strength severely damaged, I will have won a small strategic vitory. At this stage of the game, I am more interested in strategic than tactical victories. My heavy losses of ships around Rangoon proves this out as a way based approach. Yes I lost a lot of ships but I now hold the base. Trading men and materials for an improtant strategic goal is fine, trading them for a short term gain that in the long run means little is a bad idea especially for the Japanese. I am moving Essex and Princeton a little further north in case my LBA gets through and damage some ships enough to create some cripples.

Speaking of Rangoon, Larry sent Betty's and Sally's out of Bangkok to attack my shipping ther. It was a complete wipe out. No bombers survived to even make a run.

Game is in flux right now but I am approaching critcial mass

[vettim89]

15 March 1943

A much better day. Us subs hit CS Chiyoda again. She is limping towards Kwajalein. In addition, they hit AK's in three separate TF's. The IJN CV's drifted a little SE and one small attack with B-25J's went out for no hits. The carriers are going SE still according to cursor intel. They are now in range of B-24's from Samoa.

CV's Enterprise and Yorktown make PH. I am leaving Enterprise there and sending the rest of the damaged ships to WC.

[Capt. Harlock]

The carriers are going SE still according to cursor intel. They are now in range of B-24's from Samoa.

Very odd. Maybe Larry has forgotten to reset some orders? How did the P-38's do against the CAP?

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

The carriers are going SE still according to cursor intel. They are now in range of B-24's from Samoa.

Very odd. Maybe Larry has forgotten to reset some orders? How did the P-38's do against the CAP?

Not very well I'm afraid. My problem with Larry's lack of advancement in this game is that he has kept his units out of the battle of attrition to this point. The one exception to this is the units commited to CBI. I looked at my top pilots list and they are mostly British (especially the 605 sqaudron whsoe average experience is in the 80's). There are more Chinese aces than USAAF aces. Likewise very few USN pilots with high kills or experience. The USMC is just now entering the fray. So the bulk of my air units are in the high 50's/low 60's range. The 20th FS now flying P-38's out of Samoa has experience from the PI, NEI, and Oz campaigns but unfortuntely is just a 24 plane unit. Of course the low exp of Japanese Aviators in CBI only compounds Larry losses as they are fighting my best pilots. Given time and some more combat the units commited in the CentPac will eventually build up.

16-17 March 1943

Very slow couple of days. Larry has started a counter air offensive in China focusing on Kweilen and Pukoi. He is losing lots of a/c. Air losses for the 17th were 67 to 32 with over 30 frontline Japanese fighters lost. At this point, a bad day for me is equal a/c losses. Good days are in the 8 to 1 range. The Allies have shut down Lautem again on Timor. No a/c stationed there now. I have been moving supplies into Darwin unharrassed now. Larry knows if he moves bombers into Lautem or Kopeng, I will just shut the bases down.

The Japanese CV's retreated north once Larry saw the B-25's at Nanumea. He must have realized these plus the P-38's really reduced his freedom of motion in the area. Larry left behind one of his AO's which was sunk off Tarawa by US subs. CVL Princeton is on week out of Pago Pago. In 120 very short days I will have 5 more CVL's plus two CV's plus whatever of the currently damaged CV's are repaired by then. That is a potential of 6 CV's and 7 CVLs in four months. That is enough to strike fear into the heart of any Japanese player.

US subs are sinking on average one or two AK's a day now. On the 17th, one found a tanker full of oil off Palembang and sank her in two separate attacks. That is two full tankers in the last week. Once the IJA remnants are clear from Rangoon, I will rebuild my air units and go after the HI in Indochina/Thailand. HI first becasue it doesn't need to be transported if I understand it correctly.

[vettim89]

18-22 March 1943

Only event in the last five days is Larry tried to sneak a SCTF into Lunga to attack shipping there. For the first time, my patrol planes finally saw them coming. All shipping was moved out. The PT boats just died but I am sure Larry was nervous for a few minutes there. My LBA attacked this TF but they all went for the BB (Kirishima I think). Three hits - all bounces. Stupid Army pilots.

Now daily deliberate attacks at Rangoon. Odds are approaching 100 to 1. Only the 55th ID has any AV left and it is falling quickly. Just a few more days and this campaign will be wrapped up. I studied the map and realized with the abyssmally slow trail movement, any large scale repositioning of UK/Commonwelath units in the CBI is pure folly. That is unless I want to take six months or more off from this theatre. So it will have to fall to modest amphibious landings in this order: Tavoy, Victoria Point, Sabang, and finally Georgetown. Perhaps I should transfer some AP's to this theatre.

Looking at the sub war: two months ago there were a grand total of four Japanes ships that listed the Mk 14 21 inch torpedo as there cause of death. Today there are 36 including three DD's, three AO's (all loaded with fuel), and three TK (all loaded with oil). I have lost two subs. With FOW on, this total is likely much higher.

[Capt. Harlock]

Today there are 36 including three DD's, three AO's (all loaded with fuel), and three TK (all loaded with oil). I have lost two subs. With FOW on, this total is likely much higher.

I assume you mean the total of Japanese ships sunk is likely higher. (Does FOW interfere with seeing your own sub losses? I can see how it might: since subs typically went down with all hands, it could take some time of silence before the loss was confirmed.)

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Today there are 36 including three DD's, three AO's (all loaded with fuel), and three TK (all loaded with oil). I have lost two subs. With FOW on, this total is likely much higher.

I assume you mean the total of Japanese ships sunk is likely higher. (Does FOW interfere with seeing your own sub losses? I can see how it might: since subs typically went down with all hands, it could take some time of silence before the loss was confirmed.)

Excellant point. Most subs lost were at first listed as overdue, then missing, and finally presumed lost. I think the game engine as it is now reports them immediately. As to the original post, yes I was referring to the delay between actually sinking and it being reported on the "Ships Sunk" screen. My assumption is that with 36 currently listed, the number is actually higher. That also does not count ships crippled near ports that are not lost but out of the war.

[JeffroK]

Vettim,
 
I studied the map and realized with the abyssmally slow trail movement, any large scale repositioning of UK/Commonwelath units in the CBI is pure folly.
 
If you want a smaller scale relocation, dont forget that the RAF/USAAF can put togeter about 100 Dakota/C47 which can airlift reasonable numbers of troops. Getting any Chinese from Burma plus some well trained and experienced Britiash/Indian Brigades into Nanning/Pakhoi might stiffen the Chinese.

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

Vettim,

I studied the map and realized with the abyssmally slow trail movement, any large scale repositioning of UK/Commonwelath units in the CBI is pure folly.
 
If you want a smaller scale relocation, dont forget that the RAF/USAAF can put togeter about 100 Dakota/C47 which can airlift reasonable numbers of troops. Getting any Chinese from Burma plus some well trained and experienced Britiash/Indian Brigades into Nanning/Pakhoi might stiffen the Chinese.

I thought about that but don't they leave all their heavy equipment behind? Especially large caliber artillery?

[JeffroK]

I am sure that its carried, but at a lot slower pace than Infantry squads.

The Chindit Bdes are lighter than standard and most Chinese Units only have 75mm Arty. If it comes to it, the Arty & Suport can walk, only takes 2-3 monthes

If you can get some 70-90 exp units amongst the dross of the Chinese it might be a big improvement.

If you think that the CBI has reached its peak, have a think about moving 2-3 Divs plus support down to OZ and use them to push into Timor/Celebes. Again it take time which you have plenty of.

[vettim89]

23-25 March

These turns are pretty non-eventful of late until today. The Silent Service runs amok. The sub attack screen kept opening on the Combat Replay. Us subs hit an APD, a DD (the hunter became the hunted), a TK, a ML, and an AK. This is all on the 25th turn. Other than Rangoon attacks now coming off at nearly 200 to 1, not much else happening. CV Wasp falls below 20 Syst damage. He will most likely be the first to return to action. Yorktown is still three or four days out of SF. BB Arizona sits at 4 Syst damage and will neither budge nor undergo her 4/42 upgrade.

Toying with the idea of a Solomon's offensive. Probably about the time I got the units in position, my CV's will be ready for the CentPac Offensive. One idea I did have is that the UK CV's can upgrade to Corsair II's in June. Perhaps I'll send them south to cover my invasion of Timor. I sit and stare at the map and drool at Lautem. With that in my hands, I could dominate the entire SE portion of the NEI

[vettim89]

26 March 1943

Things are about to heat up again. I ran recon over Hanoi and discovered it had no a/c stationed there at all. Sending in about 150 4e to hit the HI next turn. The last attack at Rangoon came off at 154 to 1 but what is notable is 21K casualties for the Japanese. I think only the 55th ID remains. Since the first of the year, Allied forces have now eliminated 3 full ID's (48th, 33, 10th) and have a fourth one on the ropes.

US subs sink another AO today - this one in the Bismark Sea. A TK is hit NW of Kwajalein and an AK is hit off Leyte. It has been a really good four or five days for the Silent Service

[vettim89]

27 March - 2 April 1943

Quite a few turns have gone by. Most of the action has been with subs. Larry has organized his ASW forces. I have lost two subs in the week. My ASW has continued to be stellar and he has lost three subs. Larry has not defended Hanoi and my 4e's have gone three times. The HI is nearly all damaged there now. This one escapes me. Rangoon is now a level 7 AB. AS soon as my Av support is in place, I will start a counter air offensive against Larry's bases in Siam and Malaya. Bangkok is a particular thorn in my side as LBA regular raids shipping around Rangoon.

Nukefutau is approaching a level 4 AB. I have Av support in Samoa that will move there to allow 4E to strike Tarawa at reduced load.

Updat on my CV status. Wasp has been dropping a point about every two days. Up at Seattle, North Carolina is in the green again. CVL Belleau Wood arrives in 17 days

[Capt. Harlock]

Updat on my CV status. Wasp has been dropping a point about every two days. Up at Seattle, North Carolina is in the green again. CVL Belleau Wood arrives in 17 days

By that time Wasp should also be in the green. Sounds like you'll have enough CV power to do something interesting in the Central or South Pacific. Any tempting-looking targets?

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Updat on my CV status. Wasp has been dropping a point about every two days. Up at Seattle, North Carolina is in the green again. CVL Belleau Wood arrives in 17 days

By that time Wasp should also be in the green. Sounds like you'll have enough CV power to do something interesting in the Central or South Pacific. Any tempting-looking targets?

I could go straight for Tarawa of instead feint towards it and instead land a large reinforcement force on Abemama. Previous experience shows SeaBeas can take it to a level 4 AB in about two to three weeks. From there, I could base SBD's and Corsairs to pummel Tarawa coupled with 2E Army Bombers from Nanumea (with P-38 escort) and 4E from Nukefutau. Other option is that Buin on Southern Bouganville is lightly held with just 8 k troops. I have 1st Marines at Koumac waiting for a Target. Thing is if I were patient, I could probably take Buin withou CV support by just island hopping up the Solomons. There are no other Japanese land forces in the Solomons chain at all! Third option would be to go for Lautem on Timor. Disadvantage there is that I do not have the large stockpile of supplies and fuel anywhere near there at this point. Also, my lift is almost all out of position. I think I am going to wait for my UK CV's to repair and then use them to support the Timor op. That leaves Tarawa and Abemama left for consideration. I am leaning towards the original plan of jumping off from Abemama and using it to crunch the AB at Tarawa and Port to crap before proceeding with the invasion. If I do it that way I will likely have two more CVL's plus one or two CV's in theatre. As I said last week, critical mass is approaching. I am looking at this as a huge sling shot, the further you pull it back, the more energy you will ultimately release. So, if I just hold off a little longer, I may be able to steam roll the entire Gilberts and Marshalls chains in two to three months. LCU are all prepped for most of the bases I intend to take.

[vettim89]

3-5 April 1943

This inaction is killing me. AV support will arrive at Nukufetau next turn. I have about 120 4E bombers waiting. trying to figure out a way to squeeze two squadrons of B-25 and two FG of P-38 into Nanumea. Alas, it cannot happen as we have a HR that no AB can have more the sizex50 (+50). So a level 4 AB cannot hold more than 250 a/c. WHat I could do is divide one of the P-38 groups and rotate them in and out - 128 B-25 +96 P-38 and a PBY squadron

Rangoon is now a level 7 AB and has enough AV support present to support over 500 a/c. SO even at level 9 which is its max, I should be able to support the maximum load. Bad weather has hindered me in this theatre. The Liberator III/B-24D at Akyab have not flown for two days. AT present Victoria Point has 38 bombers and no fighters. Need to make Larry pay for this oversight. I think about 180 4E's should remind him to be more careful. P-38's are repping up at Rangoon for counter air against Bangkok. The two units (AVG and 51st FG) have avg EXP in the high 70's.

CV Wasp is down to 11 Syst but I looked and she is due for upgrade this month. I think I should let her upgrade as I don't know how long it will be before she sees a major port again. Larry has a SCTF at sea south of Tarawa. Either he is going to bombard Abemama of try to interdict supplies going into nanumea. I have two PT TF's at Nanumea and am sending two small SCTF's in to help cover this base. If he keeps coming at least he'll get a warm welcome.

[vettim89]

6-9 April 1943

Turns run, yada yada yada. He bombs LCU's in China and SRA, yada yada yada. I close another Japanese AB (Vicotira Point) yada, yada, yada. I repair a/c at Rangoon for the big bomber offensive, yada, yada, yada.

But what is this???? Action????? No it couldn't be!!!!!!!

My esteemed opponent has had a SCTF lurking around Tarawa for a week. I feared he was going to try another run at my transports like he so successfully did around Rangoon. SO I moved two USN SCTF to nanumea and an AGP for some PT's. Finally the hammer fell except this time I was doing the pounding. The PT's didn't engage, the smaller SCTF didn't engage. Instead the Japanese SCTF built around Tone and Mogami and the US SCTF built around Indianapolis and New Orleans tangled four (count em boys, four!) times. I lost New Orleans but everybody else is ok. Indi and two CL's have moderate damage and are disbanded at Nanumea just to be safe. I will wait until the fires go out and they are pumped out. Three DD's died as a result of the SCTF then the LBA had a field day. CL Natori is sunk, CL Noshino is sunk, CL Kinu is floundering one hex away from Nanumea. CA Mogami took 5 bombs, CL Yubari took 10 bombs and CA Tone took 3 bombs. Only Mogami is not listed as on-fire, heavy damage.

The combat reports:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Nanumea at 84,103

Japanese Ships
CA Tone, Shell hits 1
CA Mogami
CL Noshiro, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL Natori, Shell hits 6, on fire
CL Kinu, Shell hits 8
CL Yubari, Shell hits 5
DD Hayashio
DD Hamakaze, Shell hits 1
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 1
DD Uranami, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Akebono, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Nokaze

Allied Ships
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 1
CA New Orleans, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Richmond, Shell hits 2
CL Columbia, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Montpelier, Shell hits 2
CL Denver
DD Grayson, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Laffey, Shell hits 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Nanumea at 84,103

Japanese Ships
CA Tone, Shell hits 1
CA Mogami
CL Noshiro, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL Natori, Shell hits 6, on fire
CL Kinu, Shell hits 8
CL Yubari, Shell hits 5
DD Hayashio
DD Hamakaze, Shell hits 1
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 1
DD Uranami, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Akebono, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Nokaze

Allied Ships
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 1
CA New Orleans, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Richmond, Shell hits 2
CL Columbia, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Montpelier, Shell hits 2
CL Denver
DD Grayson, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Laffey, Shell hits 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Nanumea at 84,103

Japanese Ships
CA Tone, Shell hits 3, on fire
CA Mogami, Shell hits 1
CL Noshiro, Shell hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
CL Natori, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CL Kinu
CL Yubari, Shell hits 1
DD Hayashio
DD Hamakaze
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
DD Uranami, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
DD Akebono, Shell hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
DD Nokaze, Shell hits 2

Allied Ships
CA Indianapolis, Torpedo hits 1
CA New Orleans, on fire
CL Richmond
CL Columbia, Shell hits 1, on fire
CL Montpelier
CL Denver, Shell hits 1
DD Grayson, on fire
DD Laffey, Shell hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Nanumea at 84,103

Japanese Ships
CA Tone, Shell hits 3, on fire
CA Mogami, Shell hits 1
CL Noshiro, Shell hits 11, on fire, heavy damage
CL Natori, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CL Kinu, Shell hits 13, on fire, heavy damage
CL Yubari, Shell hits 5
DD Hayashio
DD Hamakaze, Shell hits 2
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
DD Uranami, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Akebono, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
DD Nokaze

Allied Ships
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 2, on fire
CA New Orleans, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Richmond
CL Columbia, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Montpelier
CL Denver, Shell hits 1
DD Grayson, on fire
DD Laffey