Matrix Games Forums

Bolter you are in danger

not for me

ORIGINAL: zuluhour

It,s just me, but I might have those boat skippers pull on their big boy pants
and wade into the shallows; the hunting looks good. Have you used any PPs to
for skippers?

Every time I form a sub TF I check the sub commander and if not aggressive enough I assign the most aggressive commander available.

I am glad to hear it. (as fcharton, my esteemed opponent is also reading this)I used
PPs in my current adventure for choosing COs and skippers as well, and far more often
than I used to. I have also banked quite a few to date as I have not released some of
the larger formations while waiting for developments.

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

Your opponent seems to have made a significant push through the Solomons while ignoring the DEI.

What does your defense of Palembang look like?
Pathetic. Only a little more than starting.

Are you seeking to contest it given his slowness in moving on it?
I have not sought to set up any degree of Fortress Palembang. Those units either stayed in Singapore to extend that resistance or went to Ceylon/India. I am actually a little surprised given about one month left before the bonus expires. I'm sure a major move is coming soon especially given the fall of Singapore, but maybe he has also prepared units to land at ports on Java and Sumatra so the landing date there won't matter.

I pulled the TB's out thinking I could make use of them to the east, but Port Moresby was overwhelmed too quickly for that. They are in NE Australia but so far no incursion onto the Australian mainland. With no further activity to date in the JAva Sea I did at least avoid wasting them sitting there.

The RN is still there, two TF of cruisers/DD's at Soerabaja and one at Darwin. He has strong air cover north of Tarakan over to south of Ambon so my cruisers can't really go hunting.

If you aren't contesting the DEI he has given you ample time and a clear path to evacuate even the short legged auxiliaries to Oz by hopping down the island chain.
The auxiliaries left are the really short legged ones and I didn't give much thought to pulling them out beyond "nah" but I should have a look as it would deny 1 VP each. I doubt there is fuel in enough places.

ORIGINAL: zuluhour

I am glad to hear it. (as fcharton, my esteemed opponent is also reading this)I used
PPs in my current adventure for choosing COs and skippers as well, and far more often
than I used to. I have also banked quite a few to date as I have not released some of
the larger formations while waiting for developments.

I am saving - need about 7 more days - to buy out that last Chinese Army unit heading for India. I will have it bought long before they reach the Chinese/Burma border. After that I will bank and hold enough to pull out the Chinese Air Force bombers (fighters already out) when that needs to be done.

Because of that I'm a little behind the curve of buying out US units, but it helps I did not spend PP buying units to evacuate from Singapore. In spite of that I'm happy with the state of affairs at Pago Pago: definitely a hard target. Reinforcement of Fiji coupled with squad upgrades of NZ units there means a serious force would need to work up a sweat there. I will try to get more supply in there too.

Miri and Tarakan are supplying lots of oil and fuel to the Empire for a while now, but at some point he will have to grab Palembang, and I presume that will be somewhat soon. I haven't checked but Palembang must be at or close to maxed out on fuel and oil storage since I haven't been able to pull out any in quite a while. If so or when that happens the Empire will essentially be losing production days from those facilities.

There has been no strategic bombing in China. Last time the Empire's offensive bogged down for quite a while and the Empire bombed supply generation to reduce resistance. This time I doubt that will be needed, so the Empire will be getting more production from China. I know fuel/oil form China is minor compared to Palembang but lots of supply and heavy industry points will be flowing out of China if I am right about that.

ORIGINAL: Zecke

Bolter you are in danger

ORIGINAL: Zecke

not for me

I don't understand???

I relinquish these little AMc to their fate as well. There
are more concerning items on the agenda than trying to get tankers
back to the DEI. 2 cents

ich aucht nicht
that was puzzling ....Herr Bolter??

ORIGINAL: zuluhour

ich aucht nicht
that was puzzling ....Herr Bolter??

"...in danger"??? Eh?

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Zecke

Bolter you are in danger

ORIGINAL: Zecke

not for me

I don't understand???

Hans edited his post, so I am guessing he had something in there that gave away Op Sec or suggested a risky tactic and Zecke was warning him. Zecke's second post might mean "not in danger from me..." , i.e. he is not the one who will be ticked at him for the breach/advice.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Zecke

Bolter you are in danger

ORIGINAL: Zecke

not for me

I don't understand???

Hans edited his post, so I am guessing he had something in there that gave away Op Sec or suggested a risky tactic and Zecke was warning him. Zecke's second post might mean "not in danger from me..." , i.e. he is not the one who will be ticked at him for the breach/advice.

Ah!

Walter hasn't updated his AAR in a while AFAIK but maybe he covered current strategy back then. For my part way back when I came to anticipate an early capture of Palembang and was thinking in terms of a USN carrier raid on the oil facilities there. That is still theoretically possible but even if captured tomorrow I think Palembang would be protected by strong CAP right from the start.

1942 March 05

INVADED
Amphibious TF 290 offshore of Djailolo
Bataan, Changsha, Lanchow are also invested.

CHANGED OWNERSHIP



Overall
• No carrier contacts.


West Coast USA, Alaska, Hawaii
• All convoys in the area proceeding without incident.


Pacific
• Morale in this region is soaring!

Night Naval bombardment of Nauru Island at 127,128

Allied Ships
CL Trenton
CL Concord
DD Downes
DD Conyngham

Port hits 7
Port supply hits 2

CL Trenton firing at Nauru Island
CL Concord firing at Nauru Island
DD Downes firing at Nauru Island
DD Conyngham firing at Nauru Island

• Pago Pago airfield is size 5 and building will now switch to fortifications.


New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Solomons, Papua New Guinea, New Britain
• KB1 has slipped our search net.


Philippines
• Same.


DEI, Dutch new Guinea, Borneo, Malaya
• Our subs are encountering ASW TF's of DD's near Singapore.

• Our patrol planes pressed home an attack on invaders at Djailolo but made no hits. Zero's were on CAP.


China
• Our airbase at Chungking has a little more damage than yesterday but should handle our maximum CAP effort tomorrow without difficulties. 27x P-40B 50% CAP 28,000 ft; 27 P-40B 50% CAP 10,000 ft; 8x H81-A3 50% CAP 5,000 ft.


India, Burma, Thailand, Indochina
• Waiting for contact in middle Burma.


Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Russia
• 2 subs on station.


Complete combat report attached.

1942 March 06

INVADED
Bataan, Bacolad, Changsha, Lanchow are also invested.

CHANGED OWNERSHIP
Djailolo is occupied by the Japanese



Overall
• KB1 is 1 hex east of Hansa Bay.

• This is good:

VMF-221 attains carrier trained status on Saratoga
VMSB-241 attains carrier trained status on Lexington

• CV Hornet has arrived at the Panama Canal and will proceed to Pearl Harbor with CL Nashville and 3 destroyers.


West Coast USA, Alaska, Hawaii
• No problems for convoys in motion.


Pacific
• No enemy sightings.


New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Solomons, Papua New Guinea, New Britain
• KB1 is 1 hex east of Hansa Bay and is moving NW toward an oiler TF.


Philippines
• Bacolad might see an assault tomorrow.

DEI, Dutch new Guinea, Borneo, Malaya
• Our subs continue to battle ASW forces near Singapore. There are some heavy cruisers and smaller warships at Singapore.

• More of our mines being cleared at Miri.

• Our forces from Tarakan are being pushed toward Samarinda. They held well in the jungle but now have little infantry remaining although they are still in possession of some very useful guns.

Ground combat at 66,93 (near Tarakan)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3898 troops, 32 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 117

Defending force 1330 troops, 14 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 11

Japanese adjusted assault: 93

Allied adjusted defense: 25

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
45 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
178 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 16 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 3

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
21st/B Division

Defending units:
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Defenses
Tarakan MLD Base Force

They are ordered to pass through Samarinda and move into Balikpapan.

• There is a convoy 4 hexes east of Djambi heading southeast. Ketapang is a possible destination. Even though Ketapang is in range of our bombers it is likely the convoy will have heavy CAP from nearby bases.


China
• Our ambush at Chungking went well enough taking 11x Zero's and 6x Lily's for 10x P-40B's. Tomorrow our P-40B's will all be at 28,000 ft and our H81-A3's will be at 10,000 ft. We do not have enough supply to take replacements at Chungking - or anywhere in China - so as the squadrons get worn down they must move to India to R&R. With only 8x H81-A3's the 1st Sqn will have to move soon.

Morning Air attack on Chungking , at 76,45

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 25

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 3
P-40B Warhawk x 41

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 5 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Warhawk: 4 destroyed

CAP engaged:
AVG/1st Sqn with H81-A3 (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
AVG/2nd Sqn with P-40B Warhawk (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 13 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
AVG/3rd Sqn with P-40B Warhawk (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 28000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes

Morning Air attack on Chungking , at 76,45

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 18

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 3
P-40B Warhawk x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 5 destroyed

No Allied losses

CAP engaged:
AVG/1st Sqn with H81-A3 (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 5000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes
AVG/2nd Sqn with P-40B Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 14000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 121 minutes
AVG/3rd Sqn with P-40B Warhawk (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 28000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 101 minutes

India, Burma, Thailand, Indochina
• Building and moving.


Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Russia
• 2 subs on station.


Complete combat report attached.

1942 March 06

KB1.

1942 March 06

Convoy - target Ketapang?

Wouldn't some place in Sumatra be a more natural destination for that Jap convoy?

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Wouldn't some place in Sumatra be a more natural destination for that Jap convoy?

Maybe. 1) It's heading SE not SW. 2) With two airbases very close by Ketapang likely has good air cover. Allied cruisers venturing intercept would face air attack. 3) Ketapang will provide an air base right on the Java Sea for further air cover. 4) Ketapang seems in keeping with the gradual advancement of air bases into Allied territory. When KB1 and major Japan ground forces (now available since the fall of Signapore) are committed they will - I think - invade Java to eliminate the bombing threat to Palembang. Sending that convoy to Sumatra now would help less with that.

My thoughts. Might be totally wrong.

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Wouldn't some place in Sumatra be a more natural destination for that Jap convoy?

Maybe. 1) It's heading SE not SW. 2) With two airbases very close by Ketapang likely has good air cover. Allied cruisers venturing intercept would face air attack. 3) Ketapang will provide an air base right on the Java Sea for further air cover. 4) Ketapang seems in keeping with the gradual advancement of air bases into Allied territory. When KB1 and major Japan ground forces (now available since the fall of Signapore) are committed they will - I think - invade Java to eliminate the bombing threat to Palembang. Sending that convoy to Sumatra now would help less with that.

My thoughts. Might be totally wrong.

On point 1) - The TF heading you get at the beginning of a turn is the direction it was going when it moved into the hex at the end of the last turn. So this TF came from the hex NE of it, but if it is going mostly south it is usual for the TF to alternate SE/SW as it changes hexes.

If Ketapang is the target it should have stayed one level higher or further E so it would be in the line of hexes that runs directly SE to Ketapang (unless a routing waypoint was set for some reason).

I guess that it is going somewhere further south, like Oosthaven. Could the other TF near Groot Natoena be a covering force catching up with the other TF?

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Wouldn't some place in Sumatra be a more natural destination for that Jap convoy?

Maybe. 1) It's heading SE not SW. 2) With two airbases very close by Ketapang likely has good air cover. Allied cruisers venturing intercept would face air attack. 3) Ketapang will provide an air base right on the Java Sea for further air cover. 4) Ketapang seems in keeping with the gradual advancement of air bases into Allied territory. When KB1 and major Japan ground forces (now available since the fall of Signapore) are committed they will - I think - invade Java to eliminate the bombing threat to Palembang. Sending that convoy to Sumatra now would help less with that.

My thoughts. Might be totally wrong.

On point 1) - The TF heading you get at the beginning of a turn is the direction it was going when it moved into the hex at the end of the last turn. So this TF came from the hex NE of it, but if it is going mostly south it is usual for the TF to alternate SE/SW as it changes hexes.

If Ketapang is the target it should have stayed one level higher or further E so it would be in the line of hexes that runs directly SE to Ketapang (unless a routing waypoint was set for some reason).

I guess that it is going somewhere further south, like Oosthaven. Could the other TF near Groot Natoena be a covering force catching up with the other TF?

The devious one could always have used waypoints to specify the course.

But... see below.