[font="Times New Roman"]5 July 1942[/font]
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SUBS: [/font] The subs catch nothing in spite of 7-8 patrolling the area.
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BURMA: [/font] The phase of this battle I had hoped to engineer did in fact take place on July 5th. After the CV exchange the Allies were only 3-4 hexes from the IJN SAGs. I sent in everything, and the battles raged throughout the night. At one point a SAG of BBs engaged the US CVs, but couldn't get good hits for inexplicable reasons.
Still there was some success.
First an IJN SAG with 4 CA 4 DD met the Repulse and 4 CA 3 DD. The IJN left two CA in poor condition without serious damage to any ships.
Then the part that angers me, when Kongo, Haruna, Hiei and Kirishima plus Haguro and Nachi met the US CVs and didn't sink ANY of them. [:-][:@] The Lex did get another fish in her belly, which proved important, but this should have been a massacre, especially when it got to 5k yards at 53% moon!! Of course the BBs didn't even fire their secondary batteries which is a bunch of BS considering they had the chance to even the CV score in one fell swoop. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I'll include the entire combat report to hopefully give an idea of the close range and length of this battle that should have gone much more our way.
How does that battle even break off when it does at 8k yards (!!!) when visibility is listed to 11k???
I then had DDs AVOID combat with the Brit CVs. [8|]
The BBs then shot up the two wounded Allied cruisers further, so there was some good ammo left that could have been used on the CVs, apparently.
Then the BBs find the Lex detached from the CV TF and give her a little push before the CLs come in and put another fish in.
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RESULT: [/font] The attack I wanted materialized, and one US CV was taken down. It should have been a lot more. Those fast BBs caught the US fleet and had them at point blank range. This game simply doesn't allow for extreme circumstances to over-ride it's usual method of playing out those battles. Every piece of ammo in the Japanese fleet would have been unleashed on those CVs in any scenario approaching reality, and at least 3-4 should have been heavily damaged or sunk.
Instead, after two days of battling, the IJN comes out the supreme loser in this engagement. It's too bad it's not possible to over-ride certain functions like CV reaction, to say NEVER DO IT. In effect creating doctrine and drilling it into commanders that they have to stick to the plan. (I know not all did, but it sucks to lose everything because of this one small feature that is speculative at best in it's relevance to the game. Too much is at stake with CVs to let that much chance play a part). It's also too bad there is no special condition during which a ship will expend ALL of it's ammo, as in a surface engagement with CVs, rather than saving some for later. Even damaging those others could have let them be caught by other TFs and a few TT throne in to pile on.
I took a risk, set up a trap, and failed miserably. Of course I could have been more careful, played the game to not lose as quickly, let the Allies slowly grind me down, but this seemed a golden opportunity, and it turned out in that respect I was right. Whether it would work if run numerous times over and over taking chance differences into account is up to speculation. We'll never be able to control CV reaction, which is too bad. It leaves too much to chance.
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR July 5, 42
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 8,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Atago, Shell hits 1
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 3
CA Aoba, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
CA Kinugasa
DD Nowaki
DD Shigure, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Murasame
DD Harusame, Shell hits 3, heavy fires
Allied Ships
BC Repulse, Shell hits 3
CA Portland, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
CA Northampton, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
CA Houston, Shell hits 1
CA Salt Lake City, Shell hits 2
DD Patterson, Shell hits 2
DD Jarvis, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Maury
DD Tjerk Hiddes
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 53% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 20,000 yards
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 8,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 8,000 yards
CA Salt Lake City engages CA Kinugasa at 8,000 yards
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna, Shell hits 1
BB Hiei
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 1
CA Haguro
CA Nachi, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Arare
DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 1
DD Inazuma, Shell hits 1
DD Isonami
DD Shirayuki, Shell hits 1
Allied Ships
CV Lexington, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CV Yorktown
CV Enterprise
CV Hornet, Shell hits 1
CA Astoria, Shell hits 1
CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Scout
DD Tenedos
DD Thanet
DD Express, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Nestor
DD Nizam
DD Norman, Shell hits 1
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 53% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 21,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 21,000 yards
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
BB Kirishima engages CV Hornet at 11,000 yards
BB Haruna engages CV Enterprise at 11,000 yards
BB Kongo engages CA Minneapolis at 11,000 yards
BB Kongo engages CA Astoria at 11,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages CV Hornet at 11,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages DD Nizam at 11,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages CV Enterprise at 11,000 yards
DD Express engages DD Akatsuki at 11,000 yards
DD Nizam engages DD Arare at 11,000 yards
DD Arare engages DD Tenedos at 11,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages DD Scout at 11,000 yards
Range closes to 9,000 yards
BB Haruna engages CV Enterprise at 9,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages CV Yorktown at 9,000 yards
CA Nachi engages CA Minneapolis at 9,000 yards
CA Haguro engages CA Minneapolis at 9,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages DD Tenedos at 9,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages DD Nizam at 9,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages DD Nizam at 9,000 yards
DD Arare engages DD Express at 9,000 yards
DD Arare engages DD Tenedos at 9,000 yards
DD Tenedos engages DD Inazuma at 9,000 yards
DD Arare engages DD Scout at 9,000 yards
Range closes to 7,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages CV Hornet at 7,000 yards
BB Kongo engages CV Enterprise at 7,000 yards
BB Haruna engages CV Yorktown at 7,000 yards
BB Kongo engages CA Astoria at 7,000 yards
CA Minneapolis engages CA Nachi at 7,000 yards
CA Haguro engages CA Astoria at 7,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages DD Norman at 7,000 yards
DD Nizam engages DD Inazuma at 7,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages DD Tenedos at 7,000 yards
DD Express engages DD Akatsuki at 7,000 yards
DD Scout engages DD Arare at 7,000 yards
DD Tenedos engages DD Inazuma at 7,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages DD Scout at 7,000 yards
Range closes to 5,000 yards
BB Kirishima engages CA Astoria at 5,000 yards
BB Hiei engages CA Astoria at 5,000 yards
BB Haruna engages CV Yorktown at 5,000 yards
Fuel storage explosion on CV Lexington
DD Arare engages CV Lexington at 5,000 yards
CA Nachi engages CA Minneapolis at 5,000 yards
CA Astoria engages CA Nachi at 5,000 yards
DD Norman engages DD Inazuma at 5,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages DD Nizam at 5,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages DD Nestor at 5,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages DD Express at 5,000 yards
DD Express engages DD Arare at 5,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages DD Scout at 5,000 yards
Range increases to 8,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages CV Hornet at 8,000 yards
BB Hiei engages DD Tenedos at 8,000 yards
BB Haruna engages CA Minneapolis at 8,000 yards
DD Arare engages CV Lexington at 8,000 yards
CA Minneapolis engages CA Haguro at 8,000 yards
CA Nachi engages CA Astoria at 8,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages DD Scout at 8,000 yards
DD Shirayuki engages DD Nizam at 8,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages DD Express at 8,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages DD Express at 8,000 yards
DD Thanet engages DD Inazuma at 8,000 yards
Allied Task Force Manages to Escape
Task forces break off...
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 26,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Yugumo
DD Akigumo
DD Natsugumo
DD Shinonome
DD Usugumo
Allied Ships
CV Indomitable
CV Illustrious
CV Formidable
CA Louisville
CA Pensacola
CLAA Van Heemskerck
DD Craven
DD Gridley
DD McCall
DD Benham
DD Dunlap
DD Balch
DD Stuart
DD Vendetta
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 53% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range increases to 26,000 yards...
Range increases to 26,000 yards...
Both Task Forces evade combat????
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CL Natori
CL Yura, Shell hits 1
CL Kinu, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Abukuma
DD Yudachi
DD Umikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Nenohi
Allied Ships
CV Indomitable
CV Illustrious, Shell hits 1
CV Formidable
CA Louisville, Shell hits 1
CA Pensacola, Shell hits 1
CLAA Van Heemskerck
DD Craven
DD Gridley
DD McCall
DD Benham
DD Dunlap
DD Balch
DD Stuart
DD Vendetta
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 53% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 22,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 22,000 yards
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 20,000 yards
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 16,000 yards...
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
CL Kinu engages CV Formidable at 11,000 yards
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Hiei
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 1
CA Haguro
CA Nachi, on fire
DD Arare
DD Akatsuki
DD Inazuma
DD Isonami, Shell hits 1
DD Shirayuki
Allied Ships
CA Portland, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Northampton, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Maury
DD Tjerk Hiddes, Shell hits 2
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 42% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 22,000 yards...
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 20,000 yards
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 16,000 yards...
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 14,000 yards
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
BB Kirishima engages CA Portland at 11,000 yards
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Hiei
BB Kirishima, Shell hits 1
CA Haguro
CA Nachi, on fire
DD Arare
DD Akatsuki
DD Inazuma
DD Isonami
DD Shirayuki
Allied Ships
CA Portland, Shell hits 12, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Northampton, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Maury, Shell hits 1
DD Tjerk Hiddes, Shell hits 1
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 42% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 22,000 yards...
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 16,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 16,000 yards
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
Kamiyama, T. crosses the 'T'
BB Kirishima engages CA Portland at 11,000 yards
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 11,000 Yards
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 2 destroyed
Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Hiei
BB Kirishima
CA Haguro
DD Arare
DD Akatsuki
DD Inazuma
DD Isonami
Allied Ships
CA Portland, Shell hits 22, and is sunk
CA Northampton, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Maury
DD Tjerk Hiddes
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Hiei
BB Kirishima
CA Haguro
DD Arare
DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Inazuma
DD Isonami, Shell hits 1, on fire
Allied Ships
CV Lexington, Shell hits 3, heavy damage
DD Norman
Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 42% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 21,000 yards...
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 17,000 yards
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
BB Kirishima engages CV Lexington at 11,000 yards
BB Kongo engages CV Lexington at 11,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages DD Norman at 11,000 yards
Kamiyama, T. orders Japanese TF to disengage
Range closes to 9,000 yards
DD Norman engages DD Isonami at 9,000 yards
DD Akatsuki engages DD Norman at 9,000 yards
Range increases to 12,000 yards
BB Hiei engages CV Lexington at 12,000 yards
DD Inazuma engages DD Norman at 12,000 yards
DD Norman engages DD Akatsuki at 12,000 yards
DD Norman engages DD Akatsuki at 12,000 yards
Task forces break off...[:-][:@][&:]
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Little Andaman at 43,59, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara, Shell hits 1
CL Isuzu
DD Hayashio
DD Oshio
DD Arashio
DD Kasumi
Allied Ships
CV Lexington, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Norman
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[font="Trebuchet MS"]Imagine 4 BB, 2 CA at 5k yards from a CV TF at night. Boom![/font]
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