Tora Tora Tora - EdM is welcome too!!!

[2ndACR]

Only problem with the Alf's is they carry very small bombs that will do no damage except to DD's. Are your para's still holding strong?

[dennishe]

The Alfs are the only option I have. Attu (0) and Kiska (1) do not have major airfields. Unless Jakes are better(?).

Yes, the paratroopers are holding on and I expect to relieve them very soon. I have one division (48th) assigned to this task. Between the paratroopers and this division there are only 3 base forces and an AA regiment, with only Tjilitjap and Djokjakarta to take. Should be a piece of cake. The other troops that landed at Kragen will first go for Soerabaja. For some reason some troops quickly march to Soerabaja, while others take forever to get out the Kragen hex. This is slowing things down considerably if I wait for these units. Therefore, I just commence the attacks without them. The 2nd division, 4th mixed regiment and 14th army HQ are through and will commence the assault on Soerabaja asap. Then they join the 48th div. in the assault on Batavia. Java will not hold long......

Edit: I found a daitai of Vals on the home islands. I sent them nord.

[2ndACR]

Vals are much better. Alf's and Jakes are about the same bomb load wise. 1 or 2 100lb bombs.
 
Sounds like a sound force for Java. The slow down will be fatigue and disruption, or that is what it sounds like anyway. How much supply did you land in Java? Unless he moved ABDA HQ, most of Java's supply will be in Batvia. I always move ABDA to Soerabaja ASAP to suck the supply down there. Have you been flying in supply to the para's?

[dennishe]

Yeah, the paras got quite some supply. They are not short on supplies and should hold on for a while. I do not know where ABDA command is. Will find out in the next turn. The 48th division has reached the Djokjakarta hex and will probably take it in the next round. They should release the paras by the end of the week. The 2nd division, 14th army and the 4th mixed regiment made it to Soerabaja and will commit a deliberate attack in the next round.
 
Further I took Lunga and the invasion of Malaya is going very well. My troops made it to Singapore and the odds were in my favor upon the shock attack while entering the hex. It may fall soon.....

[dennishe]

This last round was really really good for me. It is 01/28/1942. The 25th Japanese Army took Singapore and thereby neutralized the entire Malayian army. Further the last Allied base at Mindanao (big southern Philippinian island) was taken. The 48th division pushed further and is now 60 miles away from Tjilitjap and only 120 miles away from my paratroopers which are still holding on great. Further the 14th Japanese army took Soerabaja. Things are going great and I'm actually ahead of schedule.

For next month I plan to secure the DEI and start transporting resources and oil to Japan. The Burma campaign will start. My troops are on the doorstep of Rangoon now. Further, I want to secure my position in the Aleoutins and increase the pressure on the Philippines.

[dennishe]

The war in the SRA is going pretty well. Java is about to fall, my troops are starting the Burma campaign and Malaya is already mine. The Philippines are isolated and my troops are starting to secure the other yet unuccupied bases in the SRA. Further, I'm in controll in the southwest pacific. Rabaul, PM, the Shortlands, Gili Gili and Lunga (and some smaller bases) are mine.

The problem is in the northern Pacific. EdM knows that KB is far away and that I can't strike back (yet). My scouts have spotted the Yorktown in the north. I do not know whether the TF in the attachment includes indeed a CV or whether it is a different TF, possibly with troops on board. I send several squadrons Zero's north. The Vals are shortlegged and cannot fly to Kiska island. There on an AK and it will take forever to get them to Kiska. And I will definitively not bring them with an enemy CV there. I don't think the Alfs will be a match for the planes on the Yorktown, but some may get trough the cap (especially when escorted by Zero's) and scratch some paint of the carrier, scaring the Allies and make them pull back.

To sum up, the Allies don't leave me another choice than to start a full scale northern campaign. It seems that it is the weakspot of my front. For now I leave KB at Rabaul for a while to support landings at Tulagi, Tassaferonga and Munda. After that, I will fly in Betty and Nell bombers and zero fighters from the SRA and move KB north.

[dennishe]

The bombardement of Kiska island did not make a big impact:

Day Air attack on Kiska Island , at 92,35

Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 12

Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 5 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet

I have 36 Zero's at Kiska now. If he attacks tomorrow, he is up for a suprise. Hopefully, the floatplanes now dare to attack as well.

Below are the results of the first two months of war:

[dennishe]

It is 02/01/1942 and my progress is going great. I pretty much reached the outer
defense perimeter where I'm planning to start my defense. I took Malaya, Java is about
to fall and Eastern Borneo and the Philippines have been completely isolated and will
soon be completely smothered. Time for further planning. Since the Allies are getting
stronger these plans mainly involve the defense of the new Empire (see the map below,
circles are major bases, double lines are stabilized fronts and small lines are general
fortified areas)

Outer defense line (ORANGE): This will be the
first line where the Allies have to punch trough. I already started mining these areas and
to build fortifications. Troops are moving in or are about to move in. The majority
of these bases lie outside the range of American LBA, which makes defense easy
and requires EdM to use his carriers. Only at the Burma front and the NE OZ front my
troops are within reach of his fighters. All these locations are already in my hands except
for Burma. My troops are on the doorstep of Rangoon though and a lot of troops have
been encircled near Tavoy. His troops can not be that strong yet. He may have brought
in the Chinese divisions though. We will see. The divisions in Burma are currently being
reinforced by the Imperial Guards and several tank regiments.

Second defense line (RED): When the outer
defense line falls there will be a second defense line to hold the Allied troops of the real
valuable areas: Japan and the SRA. When one of the bases of the outer line falls I will
withdraw all my troops to the 2nd defense line (depending on the situation of course, I
will not withdraw my troops in Burma if Wake falls). These 2nd defense line bases are not
yet being mined and fortified yet. I do not expect the forward positions to fall soon. Again
in the Pacific the red and orange bases are far apart from each other, which requires EdM
to use his carrier force. In NE OZ and Burma the red and orange bases are very close to
each other. I must hold these positions as long as possible since the SRA will be
wide open when the 2nd defense line falls. Since the NE OZ front and the Burma front are
the most fragile, I will concentrate a lot of my troops here. I cannot allow the Allies to
gain much territory here, until I got enough resources and oil out of the SRA to make it
into 1946.

Third defense line (YELLOW): When the 2nd
defense line is taken by the Allies there is a last defense line to stop the Allies before the
battle of Japan starts. Since all bases in the SRA are now within reach of the Allied
bombers I'm not planning to defend these areas. Getting resources out will be difficult
now even if I hold it. Hopefully, I will have gotten out enough
resources and oil when this happens. Since cutting off the SRA from Japan is a tread here,
all Japanese troops from the SRA will be withdrawn to Japan when possible. These
locations will be heavily fortified, mined and guarded by lots of troops.

Forward defense (GREEN): Of course I'm not
going to sit and wait for the Allies to fight back. I do not want to give him the opportunity
to organize his troops and prepare for invasions. I will keep him under pressure as much
as possible. Further I will try to move my outer defense forwards a bit. This will stall his
advances considerably. And preferably I want to lure his carriers out and destroy them.
There are a few possible locations for the next offensive:

- India: I'm not great at land based war and honestly I think this is the least interesting
feature of WITP. For these reasons there will not be a large scale invasion of India. I
want to stabilize my positions in Burma and at least take Mandalay, Lashio and Mytlika
(???), but probably stop after this.

- NE OZ: Here my defenses are most critical. If the Allies take Timor, they can marsh on
right into the SRA. I have to keep these positions. If I can push back the Allies out of
Darwin, Wyndham, Derby and ....(4th base), my front will be save and out of reach of
the Allied planes. However, there is this unhistorical railroad, which enables the Allies to
move in troops quickly. I think these positions will be extremely difficult and expensive to
defend when the Allies get stronger.

- Thursday Island: For graps and easy to defend. I will definitively go for it soon.

- Santa Cruz islands & New Caledonians: These will be excellent bases to cut off
OZ. Due to three bases on the Noumea island, it is easy to take but extremely difficult to
defend. However, if I take everything, these bases will be out of reach of the Allied LBA
again. Need to think about this option.....

- Baker island and further: Taking Baker island is an excellent option for a forward
base to defend Tarawa. Further, if he leaves Canton island open, I can cut off the supply
route to OZ. Further, like the previous option, I might provoke a carrier war here.

- Midway: The Wake-Marcus-Marianas-IwoJima-route is the shortest one to Japan.
It would be avantageous to make it one more stop. However, Midway is awfully close to
Japan and may already have been reinforced. On the other hand, it is likely that EdM commits
his carriers here.

- Aleoutins: EdM has been active here and I'm going to reinforce Kiska isl.
no matter what. Although the Aleoutins are close to Japan, its climate prevents a lot of
operations here. I will just increase my defenses and leave the possibility to fight here
open to EdM. For now two mixed regiments, an aviation regiment and 36 Vals are being
transferred to these locations.

I need about a month time to secure the SRA and further isolate the Philippines. I need a
strategic reserve for the siege of the Philippines for quite a while since there are no
Japanese troops on land yet. I have 3 divisions (one from the Kwantung Army) reserved
for this and some supporting troops that are still at Pescadores. Future offensives can
start halfway march 1942. I expect the Allies still to be weak by then, but have to be
careful not to run into a full size division and into a battle fought on attrition (like the
historical battle for Guadacanal), since I can't win these in the long term..........

[dennishe]

Tjilitjap has been taken by the 48th division. The paratroopers at Bandoeng can now be supplied via the railroad system. The situation at Java is getting really bad for the Allies.....

[dennishe]

The Allies did not engage an invasion in the north. It was just a hit and run. Perhaps it was a distraction, perhaps he did it because he can. I don't know. Anyway, within two days the island will be guarded by 36 Val dive bombers. I would like to see the Yorktown return......[:D]
I cancelled the northern campaign. There is just too little to gain there. Instead Kiska isl. will be reinforced.
 
The major campaign will take place in Caledonia. Noumea will be my next target. I have three divisions, one tank regiment, the 16th Army HQ and several engineer units prepping for Noumea and some of them are already on there way to Truk, from where my strike will be coordinated. I plan to attack around 03/15/1942. He cannot be strong by that time. The Philippines campaign is posponed further. The Allied troops at the Philippines are not dangerous for my shipping in the area. He has abondoned all his airfields, which are completely destroyed and will be bombed daily for the next months. I will use my less experienced pilots for this. The Philippine campaign will start after the Noumea campaign. There is no reason to rush the invasion of the Philippines. There is little to gain there in terms of oil and resources anyway.
It is pretty likely that the Allies will know of my attack at Noumea and bring in forces. In fact, I think the 2nd USMC division is already there. It doesn't matter. One or two divisions I can handle. If he brings in more, other places in the pacific must be undefended. When the time is right my Glen patrol planes will recon all major bases in the pacific at the same time and the definitive object will be chosen. If Noumea is fortified too well, I will go for the Canton, Pago Pago, Fiji area or for Midway. I prefer the first alternative, because it will cut off OZ from the USA just like the Noumea campaign and indirectly weaken the Allied front at NE OZ.
 

[marky]

If u go straight for hawaii without attacking Wake or Midway or Johnston, hell be caught off guard, and right now Hawaii is weak

if u go for and blockade hawaii and let it starve a bit u can take it and hold it and certainly prolong the war greatly

[dennishe]

If u go straight for hawaii without attacking Wake or Midway or Johnston, hell be caught off guard, and right now Hawaii is weak

if u go for and blockade hawaii and let it starve a bit u can take it and hold it and certainly prolong the war greatly

 
Going for Hawaii instead is a very interesting idea. I want to recon things a bit more. I have time for this since a lot of the troops are still at HK and Singapore. My Glen subs are already reconning Noumea, Suva and Canton island. In addition I can recon PH, Midway, Palmeyra and Dutch harbor. He won't expect an attack at PH after this, especially with my troops prepping for Noumea. Perhaps it will even make him try to defend everything, which he can't. Not yet.
 
Problem with a Hawaii invasion is that it is risky and can be very costly. And the Japanese player can't afford to loose to many of his capital ships. Not with what the Allies are about to get. If I would take PH I'm fine, but if I don't I have a huge problem! I'll postpone the Hawaii alternative until I know more about the whereabouts of his troops...

[marky]

indeed, but then any operation carries risk and risk of cost [;)]

but this operation, with a proper amount of force, and a degree of surprise, can have a profound impact on the course of the war

Hawaii is very weak now, and the PacFlt is crippled, and he has very few carriers correct?

and also, u dont have to invade Pearl directly [;)]

always think outside the box, as 1 of my friends and mentors once told me

This map ive created for ya shows an example of how an operation to secure Hawaii could take place




the red circles represent the air cover Lihu, Lahaina and Hilo would provide you if you took them, of course it would be far greater with Bettys

look familiar? [;)]

it should, its more or less the same planning map i used for our game [;)]

under this plan you have multiple choices. your troops could be landed at Lihu, and or, they could land at Lahaina

additionally they could land at Hilo, and at the south coast of the big island. if you opted for the big island, youd have to fortify the southern end. if you focused on Lahaina and Lihu, theyd be easily defended since theyre single hex bases and he'd have to land directly, in the face of heavy fire and mines. but with the big island, he could land in the south and march north, unless u fortified it both in the north and in the south

my advise would be to take at least Lihu and Lahaina, but you could subsititute them easily, since if i remember right they all have good potential for betty and nell bases. take as many land based zeroes, and park em there, and you can create an aerial blockade of Pearl, that would be impossible for him to break at this stage.

after several months of bombing, blockade, and naval gunfire, you could invade Pearl Harbor and Oahu itself, and fortify it. from there you could control most of the Pacific, and the US PacFlt would have to withdraw to the west coast, and it would prolong the war for at least a year, particularly if you turned it, and the Hawaiian islands, into a bastion of heavy forts and mines, and mutually supporting airfields

only with the Big Blue Fleet and the USN Deathstar, YEARS away, could he hope to challenge a Japanese occupied Hawaii...

[dennishe]

Hi Marky. Thanks! I would come in from the north, since the change of detection will be less. Palmeyra is in the south and he has probably Catalina's there. I don't want his ships to escape. This is indeed the way to take PH. I also studied the AAR of admiral Laurent. He did a great job.
 
The war is going great for me and even in the current situation, I think I will be able to hold off the Japanese for quite a while. Taking on a very risky situation does not make sense now. I first need to know if he brought in additional divisions to PH or whether he moved divisions forward to lets say Midway. Not all my Glen subs are in position yet and the others didn't fly. As soon as I have the info that I need I will decide whether to go for PH or not....
 

[marky]

oooh yes i forgot about palmyra [:D]

once you have good bases in Hawaii, you can send Bettys escorted by Zeroes to hit the ships and Nells to hit the port and destroy guns and supplies

having the majority of the battleships will also greatly help

wouldnt reccomend sending in anythign smaller than a BB on gunfire missions cuz the guns at Pearl are pretty heavy

also you can send in night Betty missions, since the crews are highly experienced

just remember that you will take losses, but it CAN be done, i know it can be done, and ive seen it done before

[dennishe]

just remember that you will take losses, but it CAN be done, i know it can be done, and ive seen it done before

 
If I decide to attack PH it is not a question of it CAN be done, but it MUST be done. Going for PH and not succeeding means that you will loose the war. The Japanese can not replace their capital ships and all other assets that they will loose in the PH campaign. I will only go for PH if I think I will have a very good change to succeed. Things are going so great now, that I don't want to ruin my winning streak by taking unnecessary risks. There will be more games and I will definitively go for PH in one of those. Taking PH in a campaign starting in december 1941 in a combination with skipping the Philippines can be an awesome strategy!
 
In the current game I can also make things extremely difficult for the Allies by a series of much less risky operations. Like Noumea followed by a NZ campaign. However, if he leaves PH for graps I will go for it....

[marky]

it can deffinitely be done, Tekk has done it multiple times with a minimum of losses

as japan ya cant wait for opportunities, ya gotta make em happen

that reminds me, we should start a game sumtime, you as Japan me as Allies [:)]

[dennishe]

Hey Marky, I liked our game until you stopped sending me turns. For now I'm playing 3 games and that is more than enough for me. Although there are days that I'm waiting for turns, I do not want to start up another game at this point.
 
If I start another game I want to play it until the end of the war (1946 or when one of the players clearly has been defeated). If you are willing to commit to that, we can start one when I have more time....

[marky]

indeed my apologies, it slipped my mind cuz i was buried in so many games [X(][&o] and by the time i realised it youd snuck into my AAR for a peak, so most of my plans were ruined [:D]

and now im the 1 waiting for turns [:D]

and i would indeed be willing to commit to that [:)]

[dennishe]

Hi Marky. It's all forgotten and forgiven. I will contact you when I'm looking for a new opponent.