Last Stand at San Diego (no Richard please)

[ADB123]

February 15, 1943 -

The US Submarine Fleet finally got back into action this turn. First off USS Peto whacked an SC with a torpedo off of Ominoto. The SC was one of six in the TF, so I suspect that my opponent was attempting to use a Surface Combat TF to get around the 4-ship limitation in ASW TFs. But since Peto spotted the SC before the SC spotted Peto, the Japanese effort went nicely to the bottom.

Then USS Shark hit a small Tanker with a torpedo in the Yellow Sea near Moppo. The Tanker went down and Shark got away from the escorts with only a scratch. I wonder why my opponent was bothering to send out a 1-Tanker TF – maybe he was just planning to put some fuel into a local island base.

Daylight brought the usual flurry of Air Recon Flights, followed by the Allied 4E attack on the Air Base at Myitkyina. The Bombers went in in two waves. First in were 12 B-24D1s, 15 B-17Es, 10 Liberator IIs, and 10 B-24Ds. They hammered the base hard in the absence of CAP, and surprisingly, pretty much in the absence of Flak too, although the planes flew in at 11K feet.

Then the rest of the Attack flew in, consisting of 20 more B-24Ds and 14 B-17Fs. Once again the Air Base was hammered. What was particularly satisfying about this attack was that a couple of Dinahs were destroyed on the Ground. My Air Attacks on enemy air bases rarely catch any planes on the ground.

The Allied bombers all got home safely, with minimal damage and fatigue. I could send them out again next turn, but instead I set a bunch of British 2Es to hit some of the Japanese troops in the jungle near Kalemyo.

So it was a good turn and continues to put psychological pressure on my opponent. He doesn't know where or when I will attack, and I keep on mixing things up.

BTW – I've decided to do something a bit different in a turn or two – I've sent a CV TF off to Recon one of the occupied Indian Ocean Islands that are west of Java. That ought to get my opponent thinking...

[DanielAnsell]

Heh, that is pretty fiendish, especially if the KB extends out from Singers, trailing its supports, to engage your CVTF

[ADB123]

February 16, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn, and the only Day Action was the Air Attack by the British Wellingtons on a Japanese Division that is in the jungle near Kalemyo. The Brits did quite well and roughed up the Japanese troops nicely.

My long-awaited Long Range Recon over the Kuriles got snowed-out this turn. Once they start to fly it ought to give my opponent something to consider because the Recon Libs can reach mid-chain Kurile bases that my opponent hasn't built up.

I found out something quite surprising this turn – I was able to send a British CL back to Britain from Perth! I thought that it had to be in one of the bigger Indian ports, or off-map. It was sure nice to be able to do that instead of sending the ship back to Cape Town.

I set the latest collection of Support units on their way to the Central Pacific. They will be busy at work in a few weeks setting up the Fourth Front.

And I continued moving Engineer Units out of maxed-out Aleutian bases to others that still need to be maxed-out. I love being able to put hundred and hundreds of Engineers and their equipment wherever I like.

Finally, some Japanese subs appeared again for the first time in a while. One showed up off of the west coast of Australia – my bombers there will get more practice chasing subs. And a sub showed up off of Colombo for the first time in months. I've ordered out a bunch of high-powered ASW TFs along with setting the local Bomber units to low-level ASW. The sub shouldn't stick around too long.

[ADB123]

February 17, 1943 -

Usually when opponent and I send turns to each other we put in some little comment of some sort along with the turn. Occasionally my opponent will send a turn back without a comment. This usually means that he is about to do something, or that he has learned something, and that he doesn't want to let it slip. I figured that I had a pretty good idea of why this turn. [;)]

The Night Phase brought no action again.

Daylight started out with the usual flurry of Recon and Patrol reports, but then a very different report came out of the blue – a Japanese Patrol plane spotted USS Hornet some 4 hexes southwest of Cocos Island in the Indian Ocean.

That must have given my opponent quite the jolt since my CV TF appeared out of nowhere. For some reason the Avengers that were set to Recon Cocos Island didn't appear to do so, but I still get a feeling that it is empty and that the Patrols came from Christmas Island (IO).

In any event, my opponent now has to consider the possibilities and his options; I'm hoping that this looks like the precursor to an invasion. So will my opponent:

Send out the “Cavalry” immediately to intercept my ships?
Wait to see what is really happening?
Ignore it altogether?

The fact that my opponent went silent makes me suspect that he will act in some manner. So my TF is quietly sailing away in an odd direction while I await my opponent's response. The next couple of turns ought to be interesting.

This was followed by the only action of the day as Japanese bombers flew against the Chinese troops that are parked on the Chinese-Burmese border on the road to Lashio. The attacks didn't do much. My opponent usually doesn't send out the same attack twice, but just in case I ordered some nearby Chinese Lancers to provide Fighter coverage next turn.

After the turn a number of rather interesting things showed up in the various INTEL reports. For example, there were several reports of heavy Radio traffic at Koepang. And the subs that I had around the base reported that there are more than 70 enemy ships in the harbour. (I only wish that I already had some B-29s to use...)

And my Very Long Range Recon flew in the Kuriles this turn. The report said that the third island in the chain is empty, but I won't trust that until that particular Air Squadron gets more practice at flying Recon. More interesting were the reports from the experienced P-5 squadrons that the numbers of planes in the two closest islands have gone down significantly. I wonder where those Fighters have gone?

In any event, I decided that this was a good opportunity to send out some B-24Ds again, just to check things out and see if they get lucky and catch some planes on the ground.

Finally, back in Burma, I ordered some B-24Ds to fly Recon over Rangoon for the first time in quite a while. I'm hoping that my opponent has become complacent and has left some ships in the Port. We'll see next time.

[ADB123]

February 18, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn.

Daylight brought what I expected over the Chinese-Burmese border – the Chinese Lancers flew in but there were no Japanese planes around. I set the Lancers back to CAP just in case my opponent decides to try to counter-attack their Air Base.

Otherwise there was no Day Time Action either, other than plenty of Recon, thanks to Weather grounding the planned Allied Air Strikes. My B-24s flew Recon over Rangoon, and as I expected, my opponent isn't leaving any ships in Port. However, another heavily defended Transport TF was spotted, and more Japanese troops were spotted moving away from Rangoon, so the Japanese reinforcement of Burma continues. That's fine – I don't mind my opponent spending Fuel and Supplies to move his troops away from other regions.

Things will be livening up soon in China as a couple of Japanese units are on the move to try to cut the road between Nanning and Liuchow. I've got two good Chinese LCUs dug in there, so the Japanese won't have an easy time. I also ordered what's left of the Chinese Bomber Corps to attempt to bomb the Japanese troops. I'm a bit surprised that my opponent hasn't started to bomb my troops on the road yet. Perhaps he has moved too many of his Air units to Burma.

INTEL reported high levels of Radio Traffic in Batavia and Soerabaja this turn. That is likely Japanese moves in response to Hornet being spotted last turn. Hornet vanished into the Indian Ocean, so the Japanese can spend as much time as they like searching off of Java.

More interestingly, there were also reports of high levels of Radio Traffic at Shikuka and Wakkanai. Is my opponent moving up forces in response to my actions south of the Bering Straight? In any event I've ordered some subs to check out both bases just in case some Japanese TFs have shown up.

Speaking of subs, almost a dozen of my subs were spotted by Japanese Air Patrols this turn. That's several times the usual number. My opponent must be upping the number of Air Units on Naval Search.

In other news, Corunna Downs is now operating as an Air Field. I moved in an F-4 squadron to provide some Search and Recon capability, along with a small Australia Fighter Squadron to provide protection from Long Range Japanese Bombers.

And Finally, two 21-knot US BBs re-entered service after Upgrade and Refit. They are being moved out to be in position to support Amphibious Operations in the Spring.

[ADB123]

February 19, 1943 -

There was Night Action this turn, but not the sort I wanted to see, as HMS Trusty ran into a mine at Koepang. Trusty is now limping back to Port, but I know know that there are some Japanese TFs at Koepang. So I've readjusted my Air Defenses around northeastern Oz in case any of those TFs move southwards.

Daylight brought Tojos Sweeping over the Chinese and Japanese troops that are facing each other along the Lashio Road. The Chinese Lancers were happily back at Base. Japanese bombers followed the Tojos, but the bombers did little against the dug-in Chinese troops.

Then it was the Allies' turn as Air Attacks took place all around the Pacific. Unfortunately, the Weather was Bad Everywhere, so all of the Allied Air Attacks went in piecemeal. Never-the-less, it was still good to see the bombers fly and hit their targets.

First off the pitifully few Chinese Bombers flew and hit the Japanese troops that are moving southwest of Liuchow. Given the motley nature of the attack, it was a pleasant surprise that the Chinese actually caused some damage.

Next, British and US 2Es hit the Japanese troops near Akyab and also at Bhamo. All of the attacks flew in separately and most didn't hit their targets. But in the end the damage did add. It is interesting that there is only an Artillery unit at Bhamo. I've got a Chinese LCU attempting to climb the mountains to get to Bhamo and kick the Arty unit out, but I suspect that my opponent will be able to get troops there faster and reinforce the base. Oh well, it will still be good to tie-up more Japanese troops there.

Then the Allied 4Es flew in and hit the Air Base at Mandalay. For once my planes were lucky and there were some Japanese Fighters on the ground, although there was no CAP. So a couple of Tojos were destroyed on the ground, which is a nice but rare event for me. Even the 4Es flew in a few squadrons at a time. Usually they all fly together.

The Action then switched from Asia to Australia where US 4Es hammered the Air Base at Katherine again. There was no CAP so the bombers had an easy time and got lots of nice practice. Now my opponent has to spend more Supply to repair the Air Fields once again.

Finally, the Action moved to the Far North as B-24Ds flew across the frozen seas to hit the Air Base at Onnekosan-jima. The first attack saw 23 B-24Ds face 6 Tonys and 6 Oscar IIs. The bombers fought off the Japanese Army Fighters and hit their target well, destroying a Tony on the ground. Then 8 more B-24Ds flew in against 5 Tojos and hit the Air Fields again.

So I'm now quite confident that I can close the Air Fields at the Japanese bases in the Eastern Aleutians, as long as my opponent doesn't move too many good Fighter Squadrons with good pilots to those bases. However, if he does that, I'll just attack somewhere else where he has fewer planes and lessor pilots.

[ADB123]

February 20, 1943 -

The only Night Action this turn was USS Grouper being chased away from Shikuka by some SCs. Grouper wasn't damaged and so will hang around in the region for a while.

Daylight brought a Japanese “tit-for-tat” air raid on Daly Waters. First in were some Tojos that Swept at Max Alt, then Nicks and Helens flew in. The Japanese bombers didn't do much damage.

Next it was the turn of the Allied Air Units in Burma as Mandalay was hit for the second day in a row. First various P-38 squadrons Swept the empty skies, then British and US 4Es hammered the Air Base. The Allied Air Attacks were better coordinated than the previous day, but they were still staggered-out a bit.

Then I was bitten again by a mistake that I've made in the past as the main Air Attack on Paramushiro-jima was grounded due to weather and instead two relative Rookie squadrons of 4Es flew in to find a very good Japanese Air Defence. The Rookies came in with 2 PB4Y-1s and 8 B-24Ds and had to face 27 Oscar IIas and 2 A6M2s. These were probably the same Oscar II pilots who shot up my CV raid some time back.

The Japanese pilots fought hard and shot up the 4Es badly. At the end of the day both PBY4-1s were lost as were 3 B-24Ds. But the US pilots fought hard too, shooting down 3 Oscar IIas and a Zero and even hitting the Air Fields with a few bombs. But it was a painful lesson that I learned before in Burma and I should have remembered before I planned this attack.

After that debacle Tojos Swept the empty skies over Kweilin and then Japanese bombers hit the Air Base at Liuchow, causing little damage but causing a surprising number of casualties.

Finally, Japanese Paratroops captured the empty DEI base of Babar. INTEL passed along the word that the few remaining unoccupied bases in the Philippines are also being targeted.

All-in-all, the day left me with a sour taste in my mouth as I continue to be unable to achieve any significant edge over the Enemy Forces. The Best of what I have still isn't good enough to be able to gain Local Superiority.

So I decided to see if Brute Force against Brute Force can be made to go my way, and I ordered a Mass Air Attack against the massed Enemy Air Forces at Toungoo. I'm sending in P-38s, Corsairs, and all of the 4Es in India. Can I destroy more than I lose? Can I finally catch significant numbers of Enemy planes on the Ground? Or will my forces attack in dribs-and-drabs and be wiped out piecemeal?

Stay Tuned...

[ADB123]

February 21, 1943 -

I knew something had happened this turn from my opponent's comment about “acceptable attrition losses” that came with the turn, but it took running the Combat Replay to see the details.

There was no Night Action, but Daylight Air Action more than made up for it.

First off it was the turn of the Japanese to go after my Chinese troops near Liuchow and more importantly, the ones on the Lashio Road. My Massive Air Attack on Toungoo this turn depended upon my opponent flying at least some of his Fighters and Bombers after my Chinese troops along the Chinese-Burmese border, and fortunately, my opponent did so, Sweeping with Tojos twice and bombing with around a hundred Helens. Despite the numbers of Japanese bombers the damage to the Chinese troops was minimal.

Then the Air Battle of Toungoo started.

First off 16 USMC Corsairs Swept in at Max Alt. They were met by 29 Tojos, 42 Oscar Is, 36 A6M2 Zeros, and 21 Oscar IIs. The Flying Leathernecks lived up to their reputation for toughness and fought the Japanese hordes hard, eventually exchanging 1 Corsair for 1 Oscar II.

Next the USAAF took over with 24 P-38Es Sweeping in at Max Alt. The Lightnings faced 28 Tojos, 36 Oscar Is, 33 Zeros, and 17 Oscar IIs. The Army Air Corp pilots had a good time, shooting down 3 Zeros and 1 Oscar I with no US losses.

Then 25 P-38Gs flew in and faced 22 Tojos, 26 Oscar Is, 23 Zeros, and 16 Oscar IIs. The “G” pilots fared even better, shooting down 3 Zeros, 2 Oscar IIs, 1 Oscar I, and 3 Tojos for the loss of 2 P-38Gs.

And then 25 P-38Fs flew in and faced 12 Tojos, 16 Oscar Is, 14 Zeros, and 11 Oscar IIs. Once again the Lightning pilots did well, shooting down 3 Zeros, 1 Oscar I, 1 Oscar II and 2 Tojos, for the loss of 2 P-38Fs.

At that point 2 Marine Latecomers arrived in the Corsairs and found themselves facing 6 Zeros, 8 Oscar Is, 5 Oscar IIs, and 7 Tojos. The Flying Leathernecks shot their way out of the cloud of Japanese planes, downing a Zero on the way out.

Now there was a lull in the Action and I became a bit concerned that my 4Es might not fly and take advantage of the opportunity. Numerous Allied 2Es flew and hammered the Japanese troops near Akyab without interference, but the Day wouldn't be complete without the Big Boys hitting Toungoo.

Well, my concerns vanished next as 11 B24D1s, 16 B-17Fs, 12 Liberator IIs, and 21 B-24Ds flew over the Air Base at Toungoo. The now tired Japanese CAP consisted of 7 Tojos, 7 Oscar Is, 4 Zeros and 5 Oscar IIs. The Battle Hardened 4E pilots and crew blasted past the Japanese Fighters and hit the Air Base Hard. Japanese Fighters fell down from the sky and were crushed on the Ground.

Next 15 B-17Es flew in and faced a decimated Japanese CAP of 2 Oscar Is, 1 Zero and 3 Tojos. The Fort pilots laughed their way past the Japanese Fighters and hammered the Air Base again, destroying more planes on the Ground.

Finally, Late-to-the-Party, 12 more B-24Ds flew in against 2 Oscar Is, 1 Zero and 3 Tojos. The 4Es blasted past the Japanese planes and hammered the Air Fields one more time.

The Action then shifted to the Far North as my Experienced 4E squadrons took off in the miserable cold light of the western Aleutians and went after Paramushiro-jima again, leaving the Rookies to fly Recon.

First in were 12 B-24Ds who were met by 10 Oscar IIs and 12 A6M2 Zeros. The Oscar IIs fought hard against the Liberators and only a few hits were made on the Air Base. Then 7 more B24Ds flew in and faced 2 Oscar IIs and 11 Zeros. Once again the Enemy Fighters fought hard and the results were minimal.

It had been a Bloody day in the Air, but the End-of-Day results were satisfying:

Planes lost:

A6M2 – 26 A-to-A, 4 Ground, 1 Ops
Tojo – 18 A-to-A, 1 Ground, 3 Ops
Oscar II – 7 A-to-A, 2 Ops
Oscar I – 5 A-to-A, 2 Ground, 2 Ops

P-38F – 9 A-to-A
P-38G – 5 A-to-A
Corsair – 3 A-to-A
P-38E – 2 A-to-A, 1 Ops

B-24D – 2 A-to-A
B-24 D1 – 1 A-to-A

Overall Day Total Air Losses: Japan – 57, Allies – 27

No experienced pilots were lost, 5 USAAF became Aces, 2 more achieved their 6th kills, and 2 earned their 7th kills, pushing them into top spot in the Aces List. I believe that if the distances were shorter I would have lost fewer planes on the return.

So everything worked as well as I could hope in Burma. I am now resting my Air Units and awaiting my next opportunity. My opponent is becoming convinced that he should retire his A6M2s from Combat.

However, things are still not looking good in the Aleutians. The extra distance involved in bombing the eastern Kuriles is negating any experience my pilots might be gaining due to the increased losses. I may not be able to conduct a Long Range Air Campaign in that Region for some time yet. Perhaps I have to wait until Spring.

[DanielAnsell]

Congratulations on a successful air battle. You attacked hard and got the rewards for it. Do you see any possibility of keeping up the pressure, now that you've got a little momentum?

One thing that occurs to me is that you might want to shift those planes that are fighting in the Kuriles to the Burma front. Maybe not the rookies, who can do good work flying recon and ASW/Naval missions in the ice and snow, but the good, heavy, experienced stuff.

You've got lots of power in Burma already, but the more heavies you can bring to bear, the more fighters of his you'll draw, and the better chances you'll have of chewing up his good pilots and airframes. He'll also need to keep more bases going, giving you a better chance of catching airframes on the ground.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: Carny

Congratulations on a successful air battle. You attacked hard and got the rewards for it. Do you see any possibility of keeping up the pressure, now that you've got a little momentum?

One thing that occurs to me is that you might want to shift those planes that are fighting in the Kuriles to the Burma front. Maybe not the rookies, who can do good work flying recon and ASW/Naval missions in the ice and snow, but the good, heavy, experienced stuff.

You've got lots of power in Burma already, but the more heavies you can bring to bear, the more fighters of his you'll draw, and the better chances you'll have of chewing up his good pilots and airframes. He'll also need to keep more bases going, giving you a better chance of catching airframes on the ground.

I've actually got more 4Es all over the map. I intend to move on four fronts in 1943, and I want to have 4Es in all of them. So I've been working to determine what I need to do to get the "most out of the least". Right now I feel that what I have in Burma right now is enough to meet my needs. But I don't feel that way in the Aleutians and so I want to find out just what is the right mix to be able to have a good chance of gaining local control. The same thing holds everywhere I have forces.

Essentially, I want to make my opponent stretch to the point where his defences break at some point, and to do it in such a way that he can't move forces from other regions to compensate. I don't want to get into a massive multi-thousand AC war in one location.

Let's look more closely at Burma. I actually have relatively small forces at Akyab and Kalemyo. They can't break past the ever-increasing numbers of Japanese troops that are moving into the region. But at the same time, the Japanese troops can't recapture either base, and they can't pull back. So I am using minimal forces to create a very large p.o.w. camp for multiple Japanese LCUs.

My next move will be to advance on more of the Japanese outposts in Burma. My opponent will have to stretch more, bring in more troops from the outside, and bring in more and more supply. That's all effort that can't be used elsewhere.

I sent out the bombers in the Far North the past two turns precisely because my opponent pulled out most of his Air units. He has now brought them back, so I'll rest my 4Es again. But I've now got the longer-range Liberator Recons flying over more bases in the Kuriles, which causes more dilemmas for my opponent. Just where does he send his forces? How thin should he spread them?

Soon he will notice that I am building up in the south-central Pacific. What will he do there? How will he start to prepare that region, given all of the island bases? What happens when 4Es start flying over his bases in the Gilberts?

Will he split the KB to add wider coverage? Will he send the KB to one place and let me have free rein elsewhere? He is already getting gun-shy about using the KB against LBA.

So for now I will continue to push in as many places as possible and continue to use as many mirrors and as much smoke as I need. And every so often I hope to send Death through those reflections and smoke in order to keep my opponent guessing.

Thanks for the comments!

[DanielAnsell]

ORIGINAL: ADB123

I've actually got more 4Es all over the map. I intend to move on four fronts in 1943, and I want to have 4Es in all of them. So I've been working to determine what I need to do to get the "most out of the least". Right now I feel that what I have in Burma right now is enough to meet my needs. But I don't feel that way in the Aleutians and so I want to find out just what is the right mix to be able to have a good chance of gaining local control. The same thing holds everywhere I have forces.

Essentially, I want to make my opponent stretch to the point where his defences break at some point, and to do it in such a way that he can't move forces from other regions to compensate. I don't want to get into a massive multi-thousand AC war in one location.

That sounds reasonable, though I'd be wary of him using his long legged fighters and medium bombers, plus 'interior lines' to be able to mass forward airpower against you faster than you can shift to compensate. If I were him, that's what I'd be trying to do.

ORIGINAL: ADB123
Let's look more closely at Burma. I actually have relatively small forces at Akyab and Kalemyo. They can't break past the ever-increasing numbers of Japanese troops that are moving into the region. But at the same time, the Japanese troops can't recapture either base, and they can't pull back. So I am using minimal forces to create a very large p.o.w. camp for multiple Japanese LCUs.

My next move will be to advance on more of the Japanese outposts in Burma. My opponent will have to stretch more, bring in more troops from the outside, and bring in more and more supply. That's all effort that can't be used elsewhere.

In Burma, given what's been going on, I'd be expecting him to soon start thinning out his front lines, not pouring more troops in. If its as clear to him as to you that he can't push forward, there really isn't any reason to stay in Burma north of the railheads in strength. Were I him, I'd start falling back, first to prepared and strongly fortified positions at the northern railheads, and then eventually to the Rangoon area to make his stand and keep the Burma Road closed as long as possible.

On the other hand, if he does feel he can still advance, despite the bad terrain, increasing numbers of allied reinforcements, and bombers darkening the sky over him, he better get at it soon. The sooner he can take that first line of Indian air bases, and get headed for Chittagong and Calcutta, the better it will be for him, both in terms of supply and forward airbases.

ORIGINAL: ADB123
I sent out the bombers in the Far North the past two turns precisely because my opponent pulled out most of his Air units. He has now brought them back, so I'll rest my 4Es again. But I've now got the longer-range Liberator Recons flying over more bases in the Kuriles, which causes more dilemmas for my opponent. Just where does he send his forces? How thin should he spread them?

Soon he will notice that I am building up in the south-central Pacific. What will he do there? How will he start to prepare that region, given all of the island bases? What happens when 4Es start flying over his bases in the Gilberts?

Will he split the KB to add wider coverage? Will he send the KB to one place and let me have free rein elsewhere? He is already getting gun-shy about using the KB against LBA.

So for now I will continue to push in as many places as possible and continue to use as many mirrors and as much smoke as I need. And every so often I hope to send Death through those reflections and smoke in order to keep my opponent guessing.

Thanks for the comments!

Thank you for the reply and the very useful look into your strategy. I think it has a good chance of success, the only real danger in it being that he does manage to mass power against one of your four big efforts, and hand you a serious reverse.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: Carny

That sounds reasonable, though I'd be wary of him using his long legged fighters and medium bombers, plus 'interior lines' to be able to mass forward airpower against you faster than you can shift to compensate. If I were him, that's what I'd be trying to do.

My intention is to push at all locations so that he can't bring in totally overwhelming forces in any one place. If he weakens one area, I move there. If he strengthens another area I lay low for a bit. Essentially, I'm playing a bit of "Stop Light" here... [;)]

In Burma, given what's been going on, I'd be expecting him to soon start thinning out his front lines, not pouring more troops in. If its as clear to him as to you that he can't push forward, there really isn't any reason to stay in Burma north of the railheads in strength. Were I him, I'd start falling back, first to prepared and strongly fortified positions at the northern railheads, and then eventually to the Rangoon area to make his stand and keep the Burma Road closed as long as possible.

On the other hand, if he does feel he can still advance, despite the bad terrain, increasing numbers of allied reinforcements, and bombers darkening the sky over him, he better get at it soon. The sooner he can take that first line of Indian air bases, and get headed for Chittagong and Calcutta, the better it will be for him, both in terms of supply and forward airbases.

I think at this point he is still trying to "stop" me because he thinks that I am trying a major push.

Thank you for the reply and the very useful look into your strategy. I think it has a good chance of success, the only real danger in it being that he does manage to mass power against one of your four big efforts, and hand you a serious reverse.

That is always a concern, although I feel that the odds of a serious reverse will lessen as 1943 goes onwards.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

[ADB123]

February 22, 1943 -

Last turn when I wanted the Marine Corsairs to join the attack on Toungoo I moved them to Akyab so that they would be closer. I haven't been keeping Air Units in Akyab because it is exposed and a frequent choice for my opponent to attack. The downside of putting planes in Akyab is that it isn't on a Rail Line, so it isn't easy to pull out damaged planes. But I felt it was worth the chance. Never-the-less, for this turn I set the undamaged Corsairs at Akyab on High Alt CAP and also set the Hurricane IIcs in nearby Cox's Bazaar to a 4 hex range so that they could provide some cover too in case of a Japanese Air Attack on Akyab. I was right in my guess.

There was no Action in the Night Phase.

Daylight brought a bit of a surprise to me as 12 Oscar Is and 15 A6M2 Zeros Swept over Cairns. I had a USAAF P-40K squadron in place at Cairns, mainly to discourage unescorted Betty and Nell attacks. But the older-generation Japanese fighters were able to bridge the gap from PNG. Radar picked up the Japanese Attack and 23 P-40Ks scrambled into the air. The newer USAAF fighters handled the Japanese attackers quite well, shooting down 3 Zeros and 2 Oscars for the loss of 1 P-40K. Then 2 more Oscars flew in and faced 11 P-40Ks with no results.

But this lead the way for the Main Japanese Attack as 25 Bettys and 28 Nells, escorted by 36 Zeros, now faced only 9 P-40Ks. This time only 1 Zero was shot down against the loss of 3 P-40Ks, and the Japanese bombers got through to hit the Air Base. All things considered, this wasn't bad considering that the USAAF squadron wasn't a “crack” unit by any means. I was only expecting Bombers to show up. In any event, Cairns is on the Rail Line so I moved out the P-40Ks and will replace them with Spitfires with more experienced pilots.

Then the Main Event started in Burma, and as I had suspected, Akyab was the target.

The First Sweep consisted of 24 Tojos. They were met by 7 Corsairs and 8 Hurricane IIcs. The results were quite satisfactory – 3 Tojos were shot down for the loss of 1 Hurricane.

Then the Main Attack flew in consisting of 44 Helen IIs, 25 Helen Is, 26 Nicks, and 22 Tojos. They were met by 3 Corsairs and 1 Hurricane. Despite the odds the Allied pilots fought well, shooting down 1 Tojo and 1 Nick for the loss of 1 Hurricane in the Air, and 1 Corsair on the ground. The Japanese Bombers hit the Air Base reasonably hard.

I then got a Second Surprise of the turn as my 2E Attack on the Japanese troops that are east of Akyab was surprised by some Tojos on CAP. However, First In were 16 Beaufighter VIcs. I expected the Beaufighters to get hammered, but they held their own well and shot down 1 Tojo while losing only 1 Beaufighter. After this the 2Es flew in and only had to skirt around 1 Tojo in order to attack their target.

The End-of-Day Results were quite satisfying – Air Combat Losses:

Tojo – 11 A-to-A, 3 Ops
A6M2 – 11 A-to-A
Oscar I – 6 A-to-A, 2 Ops
Nick – 4 A-to-A

P-40K – 8 A-to-A, 4 Ops
Hurricane IIc – 2 A-to-A, 1 Ops
Beaufighter VIc – 1 A-to-A, 1 Ops
Corsair – 1 Ground

I'm particularly pleased about the Corsair results. But any day I get a 3:1 Kill ratio Fighter-to-Fighter is a good day. The overall Air Losses for the day were Japan 37, Allies 21. (I'm not going to talk about my Transport Air Ops losses – I may be the first player to ever run out of C-47s in a Pacific War game! [;)])

I'm not doing anything about the Cairns attack at this time. Most of the Japanese planes came from Buna, and I'm not interested in flying into a Fighter Trap.

In Burma the 4Es are going out next turn. There appear to be some Japanese planes in Magwe again, so I'll have to discourage my opponent there once more.

[ADB123]

February 23, 1943 -

Allied subs got into a bit of unsuccessful action during the Night Phase. First off USS Grampus hit an “E”-class ship with a dud torpedo near Tarawa. The USS Wahoo was chased and hit by a 2 DD 1 E Class ASW TF south of Koepang. Wahoo had been detected by Japanese planes last turn so I was moving it away, but the Japanese ASW ships found the sub anyway. Now Wahoo is limping back to Port for repairs.

Daylight brought some very “funny” Air Action, so I'm going to list it chronologically so that the reader can get a feel for what happened.

First off, some Oscars Swept over the Chinese troops that are one hex to the west of Lashio along the road to Nanning. The Oscars found no CAP, which surprised me a bit because I had set Chinese Fighters to Sweep over the Japanese troops in that hex too.

Once the Oscars went away a squadron of Japanese Vanguards showed up and Swept the empty skies over the hex.

Then some Tojos came by and Swept the same hex, followed by a Japanese Bomber attack on the Chinese troops.

Finally, the Chinese 2Es flew in and hit the Japanese troops in that hex.

So the opposing Fighters didn't find each other, nor the opposing Bomber Attacks, because they were all set to “Sweep”.

Meanwhile, out at the Chinese-Burmese Border, Chinese Lancers Swept Lashio but found no CAP. Eventually Allied 2Es flew in to hit the Air Base at Lashio.

Then on the Bay of Bengal Tojos Swept in over Cox's Bazaar. This time there were Hurricanes on CAP, and the Tojos shot one of them down. A second Tojo Sweep later on didn't find any more Allied planes on CAP.

All the while I was waiting for my planned Air Attack on Magwe, and getting more agitated by the moment. Finally, P-38 Squadrons started to Sweep over the base, but there was no CAP, despite Recon having reported plenty of Japanese Fighters there ahead of time. I had to wait even longer and almost gave up on getting my Attack, when 55 4Es finally flew in at the end of the day. They found Japanese planes on the ground and for once actually destroyed 9 Tojos. A little while later 21 more 4Es flew in and hit the Air Base again.

Air Action wasn't over in Burma as more Allied 2Es hit the Japanese troops near Kalemyo again.

And there was more Air Action over northeastern Australia this turn as Japanese Fighters and Bombers attacked the Air Base at Cooktown. I didn't have any CAP there – only some Australian Mitchells that have been flying Search and Recon Missions from there. The Japanese Air Attacks didn't cause a lot of damage, although they did destroy one Mitchell on the Ground.

So it seemed like an “alright” sort of day until I saw the End-of-Day Air Losses Report:

Total Japanese losses: 29
Total Allied losses: 9

!!! 27 Tojos destroyed on the Ground! My 4Es did more than they thought. [X(]

2 Hurricane IICs lost A-to-A, 5 to Ops. That particular Hurricane Squadron has been taking an unusually high number of Ops losses in battle, particularly when you consider that the planes were flying over their own base.

INTEL and Recon report that there are still lots of Japanese planes at Magwe. I find it hard to believe that my opponent didn't Railroad them out. But just in case it is true I left the 4Es to Attack again next turn. I just sat down the P-38s so that I don't tire them out too much. I've also set the various Allied 2E squadrons to hit other targets in Burma too.

But more importantly, since it appears that my opponent has decided to Raise the Ante in Northeastern Australia, I moved up 6 experienced 4E squadrons and ordered them to hit the Air Base at Port Moresby next turn. Depending upon how that attack goes, I'll go after Buna next. My opponent may regret having all those A6M2s and Oscars in PNG.

BTW – in one last bit of odd News, a USA Cavalry unit showed up in San Diego. We're not talking about a “mechanized cavalry” unit here – we're talking about Horses and Oats. I'm not sure what they are going to do there – perhaps ride around the local hills and valleys playing “Zorro”?

[ADB123]

Febrary 24, 1943 -

There was no Night Action.

Daylight started out with that Message That No One Wants – the morning Air Attacks on Magwe were cancelled due to Weather. So my Big Opportunity was Missed again...

Off in northeastern Australia the Allied Air Forces didn't miss their opportunity to attack the Air Base at Port Moresby. First in were 18 P-38Fs. They found themselves facing 3 Tojos, 2 A6M3s, 17 A6M2s, 9 Oscar Is, and 5 Tonys. The P-38 pilots were experienced, but not like their colleagues in India, so the fight was rather even, with 1 A6M2 and 1 A6M3 shot down on the Japanese side, while 2 P-38s were lost.

The USAAF 4Es then started to arrive at Port Moresby. First in were 11 B-17Fs, 24 B-17Es, and 16 B-24Ds. The were faced by 8 A6M2s, 7 Oscar Is, 1 Tojo and 4 Tonys. The 4Es blasted in nicely and shot down a Tony on the way by. They hit the Air Base at PM hard, although they didn't catch any Japanese planes on the Ground.

This was followed by 15 B-17Es and 8 B-24Ds, who faced 5 A6M2s, 4 Oscar Is, 1 Tojo and 1 Tony. Again the 4Es blasted past the Japanese CAP and hit the Air Base hard.

Next 6 B-24D stragglers flew in and were faced by 4 A6M2s, 2 Oscar 1, 1 Tojo and 2 Tonys. The 4Es went straight through the Japanese Fighters and again hit the Air Base.

Finally, 3 straggler P-38s showed up and were met by 2 Zeros, 2 Oscars, 1 Tojo and 1 Tony. The USAAF pilots shot down 1 Oscar and 1 Tojo.

In the meanwhile, Allied 2Es and British Fighters started to attack Japanese troops near Kalemyo and also the Air Base at Myikyina. There was no CAP so the Allied planes were able to do a fair amount of damage, despite being badly spread out by the Bad Weather.

I kept on hoping that the Indian 4Es would make a last minute appearance like the did the previous day, but their planned attack was washed-out for the Afternoon too. So my opponent was able to retrieve all of his planes from Magwe without further losses on the Ground.

The End-of-Day results were tolerable: 15 total Japanese planes lost versus 11 Allied losses. The Combat Losses were as follows:

Oscar I – 1 A-to-A, 2 Ops
Tojo – 2 A-to-A
A6M3 – 2 A-to-A
A6M2 – 2 A-to-A
Tony – 1 A-to-A

P-38Fs – 6 A-to-A

Most of those P-38 losses were “write-offs” back at the Base, so I didn't lose any good pilots. I also didn't lose any Bombers. The Air Base at Port Moresby is now heavily damaged and Empty, but then I already knew that my opponent was staging most of his planes out of Buna.
So I am resting the Australian Air Units next turn. Depending upon the Weather and the Repair Rates I'll send them out against Buna in another turn or two. In the meanwhile, the 4Es in India are still set to hit the Air Base at Magwe next turn. We'll see if the Weather cooperates.

[ADB123]

February 25, 1943 -

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought out Oscars Sweeping over Daily Waters and the Chinese troops near Liuchow. There was no Allied CAP and so the follow-on Japanese Bomber attacks only had Flak to bother them. Never-the-less, the attacks accomplished little of consequence. I find it interesting that my opponent has started to use Oscars again. Has he lost confidence in his Tojos, or has he lost more Tojos than I have assumed so far?

Cooktown was also raided by A6M2s and Nells. The Air Fields suffered minor losses. I'm only using Cooktown to base Recon planes, so I don't care if my opponent spends his time trying to attack it.

The Indian 4Es took off and hit Magwe this turn, and did so in a fairly organized manner. First in were 75 mixed 4Es, which hammered everything in sight quiet nicely. The 11 stragglers flew in and finished off what wasn't already turned into craters. Once again the 4Es took no losses, suffered very little damage, and maintained very low levels of fatigue, so they are going out again next turn after another base.

BTW – I'm continuing to rest my 4Es in northeastern Oz until some odds-and-sods planes arrive by Train. Once they are all together and back to full strength I'll start a serious campaign against the Japanese Bases in PNG.

At the end of the day the two Japanese Infantry Divisions, along with the 2 thirds of another Infantry Division, that have been in contact with my two Chinese Infantry Corps on the Liuchow Road tried a Deliberate Attack again. The achieved a 1:1 result, but the Japanese troops suffered around 20% more casualties. I've ordered the Chinese Air Force out again next turn to attempt to make things even harder for those Japanese troops.

Otherwise, things continue to build as I have planned. It's just that moving troops around the World takes quite a while. For example, some US Engineering troops have just started to unload in India, and I set them on their way 89 days before. (I know, because when I sent them off I set their “objective” to their future Indian Base objectives.)

[ADB123]

February 26, 1943 –

The Night Phase was quiet, other than an Australia DD that whacked IJN I-29 a couple of times off of Perth. The DD was returning to Port after escorting some Transports out of the region, and it was in ASW mode. That sub ought to be heading home now.

Daylight saw the Chinese Air Force, such as it is, attacking the Japanese troops on the road to the west of Liuchow. First some Vanguards Swept in, but they found no CAP. Then the remaining handful of Chinese bombers flew in at 1000 feet, but even at that altitude they missed their target.

Japanese bombers returned to the region, but they hit the Air Base at Nanning instead of the Chinese troops out on the Liuchow road. I guess that my opponent was trying to avoid a Fighter Trap.

Next, Myitkyina was hit by British 2Es again. I forgot to stand those bombers down after the last turn, but it turned out alright because there was no Japanese CAP.

And the 4Es took the Day Off again for no particular reason. But they are set to fly next turn. We’ll see what they do.

Then Port Hedland received some long distance Japanese Recon again for the first time in a while. I can’t see any Japanese ships in the region, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be lurking outside the range of my LBA Naval Search. So I increased my Search percentages in the Region and remained On Alert.

But the Biggest Alert came off of northeastern Oz as LBA Naval Search planes spotted a couple of Japanese TFs off of the southeast coast of PNG. INTEL reported that the western TF is a BB/CA TF while the eastern TF is a CV TF. The TFs are headed west and southwest, respectively.

So, is my opponent sending out a Bombardment TF to hit one of the northeastern Australian coastal bases, with a CV TF providing Cover? If so, where is he planning to hit?

Portland Roads is due west of the Bombardment TF, but why bother bombarding there? The only Air Unit there is a small Catalina detachment. I guess that he could hit Cooktown, but there aren’t any planes there anymore. The only planes that were there were an Australian Mitchell squadron that I just moved out to Coen and set to 1000ft Naval Attack.

My 4Es in the region are in Coen, which is a Level 5 AF that is not on the coast, and at Charter Towers, which is a Level 9 AF with a big Air HQ, and which is also not on the coast. Townsville is a Level 7 AF and benefits from the Air HQ next door in Charter Towers, so I’ve moved Australian Torpedo bombers there.

I’ve also moved up Fighters to CAP the Air Bases, and as well have a P-38 Squadron that is in position to escort the Australian Low Naval Attack Bombers. I also have mines at Cooktown, subs are swarming the region, and I’ve got a conga-line of PT TFs on their way up there. In addition, I’ve got more surprises on their way.

Oh yes, and Cooktown, Townsville and Cairns all have Shore Guns in position.

So it will be interesting to see what happens. I’m hoping to damage a few Japanese ships in order to give my LBA a shot at them. Will luck be on my side?

[DanielAnsell]

It seems kind of late in the war to risk his heavy surface and carrier assets on what seems like a fairly quiet area. I'd be wary that he might have a couple more task forces hovering out there, like maybe an invasion force headed for Townsville, and a support force to haul in supply and aircraft.

Admittedly, it seems kind of late for that kind of attack, too. But it could happen.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: Carny

It seems kind of late in the war to risk his heavy surface and carrier assets on what seems like a fairly quiet area. I'd be wary that he might have a couple more task forces hovering out there, like maybe an invasion force headed for Townsville, and a support force to haul in supply and aircraft.

Admittedly, it seems kind of late for that kind of attack, too. But it could happen.

I've been wondering about that too. Given the forces that I have in Townsville and the surroundings, even a major Japanese attack is going to have a very, VERY hard time of it. And it is very easy for me to move in even more forces very quickly. So I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of major attack instead of a raid.

But my feeling is that I am seeing a Raid in operation. My opponent is feeling frustrated by my 4E attacks, and he hasn't located my 4E bases so far, so I'm guessing that he is hitting one of the coastal bases in the hopes of getting lucky.

In any event, this sort of Raid makes my life much easier elsewhere as I move up the next pressure points. All those Japanese ships and planes hovering around northern and northeastern Oz aren't keeping track of my comings-and-goings elsewhere... [;)]

Thanks for the comments! [:)]

[ADB123]

February 27, 1943 –

The Night Phase saw the USN Subs in action. First off S-32 shot four torpedoes at a Japanese DD in the Bombardment TF that is approaching Cooktown. The torpedoes missed, but S-32 got away from the Japanese escorts.

Next USS Saury hit an xAK with two torpedoes to the west of Ponape Island. The freighter went down with a loss of troops as a bonus. Saury also got away from the Japanese escorts.

Then USS Grampus hit an xAKL off just west of Makin Island. Again the freighter went down, but this time Grampus received a minor hit from an escort.

Daylight brought out Allied Naval Search planes in force over the Coral Sea, and they found the Japanese Bombardment TF 1 hex to the east of Cooktown, with the relatively small Japanese CV TF a few hexes further to the east.

But while the Allied Search planes got off, the Allied Bombers and Fighters were rained out in the morning, despite the presence of such juicy targets nearby.

So the Morning Air Attacks were limited to Asia. Japanese Bombers hit Chinese troops in Liuchow while Allied 2Es hit the Japanese troops that are to the east of Kalemyo. Then the Allied 4Es took off and hammered the Air Base at Taung Gyi.

It appears more and more that my opponent has pulled back his planes to Rangoon, other than some Recon planes in odd locations such as Lashio. So I ordered the 4Es to go after Lashio next turn.

The Afternoon brought slightly better weather to northeastern Oz, but most of the Allied Fighters and Bombers were still rained out, and those that finally flew were scattered.

First in over the Japanese Bombardment TF were 10 Beaufort VIIIs. Unfortunately for the pilots of those bombers, 11 A6M2 Zeros showed up on LR CAP over the Bombardment TF while the Allied Fighters stayed home. Despite losing 5 Beauforts on the way in 2 bombers did make torpedo runs at BB Haruna, but missed.

Next in were 6 more Beaufort VIIIs, this time escorted by 8 Kittyhawk IIIs. They were met by 10 A6M2s and 2 A6M3as. The Kittyhawks did their best and shot down one A6M2 for the loss of 1 Kittyhawk and 1 Beaufort. The attack was then pressed by 6 Beauforts who launched torpedoes at CA Ashigara and BB Hiei. All of the torpedoes missed.

At the End-of-the-Day the costs were added up:

Beaufort VIIIs – 8 A-to-A, 2 Flak, 2 Ops
Kittyhawks – 1 A-to-A

A6M2s – 1 A-to-A

Totalling in all of the other losses came up to 16 planes lost for the Allies versus 7 for the Japanese. And there were no hits on any of the ships in the Japanese Bombardment TF.

So the Japanese bombardment TF will hit Cooktown during the night next turn. We will see if the mines at Cooktown and the submarines and PT Boats that I am moving into position will have any luck. I’ve also move up more planes in the hope of getting another shot or two before the Japanese TFs depart.