Bo...oops in the South Pacific - LST (A) vs SierraJuliet (J) Bottlenecks Mod

[LargeSlowTarget]

Thanks Skyros, that is an excellent poster!

zebratwo, I am quite satisfied for the moment, yes. My opponent shows a curious mix of aggression (Johnston Is, Mersing) and lack of aggression (slow move into the DEI, no move against Rabaul, not even Wake). Perhaps it means a thorough preparation of a really bad surprise to be sprung soon? I still fear a move against PH, although the absence of troops and air assets (naval search) on Johnston Is. is puzzling. Or perhaps my early demonstration of 'fightback spirit' in the Central Pacific has simply injected caution, as intended. The unexpected interception and destruction of Mini-KB is a morale boost and may explain the slow expansion of Japan into the DEI. I have been able to evacuate the initial wave of civilians with few losses. The loss of BC Repulse and a bunch of RN DDs is regrettable, but the IJN has been hurt as well. It will not save Singers, but the "death by a thousand cuts" of the IJN has begun.


Dec 25th, 1941

Bases lost
1TD 1st Tank Regiment CAPTURE Kampar !!!
16ID Kimura Det. CAPTURE Atimonan !!!
Bandasan SNLF CAPTURE Talaud-eilanden !!!

Bases won
Pai" is occupied by the Allies.

Sub War
SS I-155 has sunk xAKL Van Diemen near Toboali.
SS I-158 has launched six torpedoes against CA Cornwall near Tioman Island - and missed.
SS I-1 has sunk xAP Ernest Hinds~ near San Diego.

CONUS
Nothing to report.

NoPac
Nothing to report.

CentPac
Last turn I hoped for a lucky mine hit, in this turn the combat report reveals that CV Akagi has hit a mine at Namu, just SE of Kwajalein. The intel is of more value than the damage. Nice Xmas gift.

SoPac
Nothing to report.

SWPac
Nothing to report.

PI
An SNLF has invaded Surigao on Mindanao.

DEI
Nothing to report.

Malaya / Burma / India
The new Force Z – now comprising BB Revenge~, 3 CA, 5 CLs and 6 DD from six different nations - successfully navigated minefields and enemy subs to deliver gifts to Mersing. Despite LBA flying recon the day before and its Walrus II acting as spotter for BB Revenge~, damage was limited to one lousy port supply hit and 208 casualties inflicted.
The isolated 3rd ISF Base Force has suffered repeated bomb attacks - good, meanwhile Singers is building forts.

China
Kukong bombed repeatedly. There are no planes stationed and no combat troops. Looks more like milk training runs to me. Changhsa bombed as well.
Enemy troops have left Sinyang to attack my stack to the NW, I will feint movement from the stack NE of Sinyang across the river into the base. I hope this will scare SJ enough to keep troops in Sinyang or even prompt a retreat from the NW.

[zebrazwo]

"death by a thousand cuts" - only until the Allied steam roller begins to roll forward.

You confirm my suspicion that you are relatively satisfied with the first few weeks of the war - some things could have gone differently and fewer losses, but in the end, nothing too serious yet.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Dec 26th, 1941

Bases lost
16ID Miura Det.CAPTURE Cotabato !!!
32SBF Sasebo 2nd' Naval Guard Unit CAPTURE Surigao !!!
2nd Sasebo Coy SNLF CAPTURE Jesselton !!!
San Jose (Mindoro) is occupied by the Japanese.

Sub War
SS I-155 has sunk xAKL Bordvik near Batavia.
SS I-153 missed Force Z twice near Mersing and received two hits in the ASW counterattack.
SS I-164 was detected by the escorts of Force Z near Tioman Island and collected three hits.
SS KVII has sunk xAK Meigen Maru near Talaud-eilanden.
SS KX has sunk ACM Shofuku Maru #2 at Koror / Babeldaob.
SS Swordfish~ suffered two hits in an ASW attack near Malita.

CONUS
A small convoy of fast tankers has left LA for the South Pacific.

NoPac
Nothing to report.

CentPac
A convoy carrying a Marine Defense Bn and construction engineers will try to reinforce Christmas Is., an important base for the ferrying of airplanes to Australia and beyond.

SoPac
Nothing to report.

SWPac
Nothing to report.

PI
Nothing to report.

DEI
The evacuation of civilians from Java to India has been terminated, and the evacutation of resources, fuel and oil is in full swing with the arrival of shipping from Africa and Australia.

Malaya / Burma / India
DD Ierax lays defensive minefield at Tioman Island ( 51 , 83) and sets course for Singapore – because that hex is teeming with enemy subs hoping to intercept Force Z on the Mersing run.
Force Z has visited Mersing again – it is just a short sprint from Singers. It dropped a few shells on ships in port - DD RTN Phra Ruang, TB RTN Chandraburi, xAK Nankai Maru are heavily damaged – added 7 port hits and caused light casualties among the 18th Division still at Mersing.

China
Kukong bombed repeatedly, although there is nothing of value. The airfield is out of commission.
In the woods NE of Sinyang, at Tongbai, the Chinese troops have stopped the Japanese stack cold.

Ground combat at Tongbai (85,47)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 31945 troops, 433 guns, 96 vehicles, Assault Value = 1221
Defending force 33403 troops, 224 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1191
Japanese adjusted assault: 687
Allied adjusted defense: 2137
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 4)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2150 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 215 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 37 disabled

Allied ground losses:
464 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 72 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
13th Division
3TD 13th Tank Regiment
39th Division
2nd Ind Engineer Regiment
40th Division
8th Ind Engineer Regiment
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
1st Mortar Battalion
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
11th Army
5th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
41st Chinese Army- Corps
39th Chinese Army-~ Corps
75th Chinese Army Corps
45th Chinese Army- Corps
77th Chinese Army Corps
42nd Chinese Army- Corps
94th Chinese Army- Corps
22nd Army Group
2nd Army Group
#Administration
33rd Army Group

[LargeSlowTarget]

Dec 27th, 1941

Bases lost
32nd Division CAPTURE Guangshan, opening a second road to Sinyang.
18th Division CAPTURE Kluang / Kahang (Malaya).
Bayombong is occupied by the Japanese.

Sub War
SS I-159 has torpedoed xAK Centaur near Pamekasan.
SS Seawolf~ has been hit in an ASW attack near Vigan.

CONUS
Two provisional fighter squadrons have been formed at PH, the intention is to rush them to Australia which has no fighter protection whatsoever. However, the pilots are green as grass.

NoPac
Nothing to report.

CentPac
DM Gamble lays defensive minefield at Midway.
SS Barracuda lays minefield at Wake Island.

SoPac
Three New Zealand battalions have been activated for duty on the Fiji Islands.

SWPac
Nothing to report.

PI
Nothing to report.

DEI
Nothing to report.

Malaya / Burma / India
Minecraft are busy sweeping the coastal waters between Singers and Mersing, couple of mines cleared.
Enemy bombers are still concentrating effort on the 3rd ISF~ Base Force in Central Malaya.

China
Changsha and Kukong bombed again. Free exp for the Japanese and less supplies for China.
At Xingtai, a battalion of Chinese guerilla has conducted sabotage activities around the Peiping-Chengchow railroad. The Japanese have sent the entire 26th Division to deal with them. The Chinese lost almost a thousand casualties and retreated into the countryside.

Intel
Imperial Guards' Division is located at Ipoh.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Dec 28th, 1941

Bases lost
1TD 1st Tank Regiment CAPTURE Kuala Kubu (Malaya)
2nd Sasebo Coy SNLF CAPTURE Balabac (PI)
Hlaingbwe" is occupied by the Japanese (Burma E of Moulmein)

Bases won
Kemapyu" is occupied by the Allies (Burma, E of Toungoo)

Sub War
SS I-155 has torpedoed xAK Salland near Soerabaja, the ship made port.
SS KXIV has collected 4 hits in an ASW attack near Kota Bharu and must RTB.
SS S-38~ has torpedoed DMS W-11 near Mauban (Luzon), ship reported sunk by intel.
SS Seal~ has attacked xAK Kyusyu Maru at Davao. After two dud torpedoes, the skipper surfaced to use the more reliable deck gun. Just to prove a theory, more torpedoes were launched, all misses or duds.
The merchantman collected 31 gun and machine gun hits and was left burning. The war diary of SS Seal~ now contains some colorful expressions.

CONUS
Nothing to report.

NoPac
Nothing to report.

CentPac
DM Montgomery lays defensive minefield at Palmyra.

SoPac
Nothing to report.

SWPac
Nothing to report.

PI
Nothing to report.

DEI
Nothing to report.

Malaya / Burma / India
Task Force 344 lays minefield at Mersing – the destroyers of the Greek Navy have a useful minelaying capacity.
Minesweepers and small craft sniffed enemy mines around Singers and ML P-40 found one the hard way and sank.
3rd ISF~ Base Force isolated in Central Malaya is still absorbing enemy bombs which could be more useful elsewhere.

China
CA Izumo has bombarded Rizhao, an obscure base on the coast just W of Tsingtao. No Allied forces there except civil administrators.
Kukong bombed again.
At Dongyang, the IJA 22nd Infantry Division trying to reach Wenchow overland is blocked by three Chinese Corps.
More enemy reinforcements are landing at Wenchow, the 38th IJA Infantry Divisison of Hong Kong fame and arty. The Chinese defenders are now outnumbered and outgunned.
At Tongbai, just an artillery duel. The Japanese have more and better arty, consequently the Chinese forces took more losses - 6 to 25.
At Kweiteh, Chinese guerillas in battalion strength blocking the LOC to Kaifeng, have been routed. The brave guerillas have occupied two Japanese infantry brigades and a tank regiment.

Intel
CA Nachi is reported to have been sunk near Zamboanga on Dec 19, 1941 - hope it is true!
DMS W-11 is reported to have been sunk near Mauban on Dec 28, 1941.

[zebrazwo]

The war diary of SS Seal~ now contains some colorful expressions.

I bet it does!

[LargeSlowTarget]

Dec 29th, 1941

Bases lost
III/81st Naval Guard Unit CAPTURE Weston / Beaufort.
Divilacan Bay is occupied by the Japanese.

Sub War
SS RTN Blajunbol has sunk AVP Pollux near Lingga.

CONUS
Nothing to report.

NoPac
Nothing to report.

CentPac
SS Dolphin lays minefield at Ebadon.
SS Gar lays minefield at Roi-Namur.

SoPac
Nothing to report.

SWPac
Nothing to report.

PI
A Japanese cruiser SAG build around the old Furutaka class cruisers is busy hunting small fry that tries to smuggle supplies into Bataan. xAP Legaspi has been lost.

DEI
Nothing to report.

Malaya / Burma / India
Task Force 474 – three Greek DDs - lays minefield at Mersing.

China
Unloading continues at Wenchow.
Changhsa and Kukong airbase bombed repeatedly.
Only bombnardment attacks at Tongbai, Dongyang and Wenchow.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Dec 30th, 1941

Bases lost
16ID Miura Det. CAPTURE Iligan.
23SBF Kure 2nd' Naval Guard Unit CAPTURE Wao.
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF CAPTURE Temerloh.
18th/C Division CAPTURE Johore / Tebrau.

Sub War
xAK Mormacmar has been sunk by SS I-20_ near San Diego.

CONUS
Nothing to report.

NoPac
Nothing to report.

CentPac
Wake Island bombed by eight carrier bombers escorted by 18 Zeros. 7 casualties reported.

SoPac
Nothing to report.

SWPac
Nothing to report.

PI
The enemy cruiser SAG has split to hunt down the surviving ships of the Manila shuttle run (which has been terminated) which had been ordered to Cebu.
CA Furutaka has sunk xAP Candesa, xAKL Pahud. CA Kako has sunk TK La Estrella Caltex. CL Nagara plus DDs has sunk xAKL Magallanes, xAKL Lepus.
First enemy recon bombardment at Manila, one Inf Rgt and the Recon unit of the 16th Division participating. The 1st PA Infantry Division and the Constabulary units have been ordered to fall back to Clark Field.

DEI
Nothing to report.

Malaya / Burma / India
The new Force Z – minus the slow R-class battleship - has encountered SS I-156 and SS I-166 near Mersing, dropped a few depth charges and sped on to bombard Kuantan, brushing aside DMS RTN Tachin and sinking DMS RTN Meklong in the process. 4 planes destroyed on the ground, 40+ damaged, 129 Runway hits, 10 Airbase hits, 5 Airbase Supply hits, 3 Port hits, 2 Port fuel hits and 1 port supply hit, 1342 casualties reported. That base will not support air ops against Singers for a while.

China
Changsha, Kukong and Wuchow airbase bombed. Apparently aimed to reduce Chinese supplies?
Just bombardment attacks at the three contested hexes.

[zebrazwo]

Woah! Kuantan got a pasting. That runway must resemble Swiss cheese.

SJ doesn't seem to have a lot of NavSearch going.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Well, the new Force Z packs a few more and faster-firing gun tubes than the original:

CA Australia
CA Canberra
CA Cornwall
CL Leander
CL Achilles
CL Perth
CL Enterprise~
CL Dragon~
CL Ceres~
CL Mauritius~
CL Glasgow~
CL Marblehead~
CL Capetown~
DD Paul Jones~
DD Peary~
DD Pillsbury~
DD Kortenaer
DD Evertsen
DD Witte de With
DD Stronghold
DD Electra
DD Le Triomphant

[zebrazwo]

Sorry I just can't resist this anymore.

DD Pillsbury

DD Pillsbury in action

20260506_193820.png (2.58 MiB) Viewed 730 times

[LargeSlowTarget]

LOL! That's some phat DD! Looks stealthy as well.

[zebrazwo]

If you know the pillsbury doughboy in the us, i just can't stop thinking, you ccan't name a ship like that

[LargeSlowTarget]

Dec 31st, 1941

Bases lost
1TD 1st Tank Regiment CAPTURE Kuala Lumpur !!!
55ID II./143rd Inf Battalion CAPTURE Tavoy" !!!
55ID III./143rd Inf Battalion CAPTURE Mergui" !!!
6th JNAF Coy and 8th JNAF Coy CAPTURE Groot Natoena !!!
32SBF Sasebo 2nd' Naval Guard Unit CAPTURE Butuan !!!
18th/B Division CAPTURE Malacca / Gemas !!!

Sub War
Numerous contacts but no hits.

CentPac
Wake Is. Bombed by 40+bombers escorted by 48 fighters – must be KB.

PI
US and PI Navy PT boats based at have ventured forth to seek battle with the Japanese cruisers roaming the waters off Bataan. – in vain. They managed to spot CA Furutaka but quickly lost contact again.
Meanwhile, CL Nagara sank xAKL Montanes and xAKL Samal. CA Furutaka proceeded to sink xAPc Isla Filipinas. CA Kako sank xAKL Sagoland near Calbayog.
However, the Japanese cruisers got lost in the night and the maze of islands and committed a costly navigational error:
TF 84 encounters mine field at Bataan / Corregidor (78,77)
Japanese Ships
CA Furutaka, Mine hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CL Nagara, Mine hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Isonami, Mine hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Akatsuki, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

DEI
Amphibious Assault at Menado.
Amphibious Assault at Kuching.

Malaya / Burma / India
In the skies above Kluang / Kahang, Zero intercepted sweeps by the Flying Tigers. Both sides lost 3 planes each.
The sweeps cleared the way for a bombing attack by 19 B-17D bombers, which destroyed one Zero on the ground and caused some airbase damage.

China
Tongbai, Wuchow, Kukong, Changsha airbases bombed by the Japanese.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Jan 01, 1942

Bases lost
Elements of the 124th Inf Rgt CAPTURE Kuching !!!
Japanese forces CAPTURE Wake Island !!!

Sub War
SS I-5 has sunk ACM YP-74 near Coal Harbour and PC YP-250 near Alliford Bay.

CentPac
It is finally the turn of Wake Is. The Marine coast defense gunners managed to hit CL Katori once and the small freighter xAKL Uji Maru three times. DD Yayoi managed to hit a mine.
BB Hiei and BB Kirishima, 4 CL and a bunch of DDs provided fire support. KB provided air support.
When the enemy landed in force - Maizuru 2nd SNLF and 51st Naval Guard Unit – the issue wasn’t in doubt for long – Wake Island has been lost.

PI
A DA at Manila by the incomplete 16th Infantry Division (less one Inf Rgt and less Arty Rgt) has suffered 632 casualties while the “police force” – two PA Constabulary Regiments supported by the 1st PA Infantry Division, suffered only 227 casualties.

DEI
A DA at Menado by the 15th Naval Guard Unit has been defeated by the local garrison.

Malaya / Burma / India
A part of Force Z – 3 CA, 4 CL, DDs – have bombarded Malacca / Gemas. 336 casualties were inflicted on the 18th/B, 15 port hits, 5 port fuel hits and 10 port supply hits.
The other part – 6 CL, DD – reinforced the gunboats bombarding Johore / Tebrau. Just 6 casualties were inflicted on the 18th/C Division, but the base got a nice pasting:
Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 30
Port hits 7
Port fuel hits 6
Port supply hits 5

Less supplies and damaged bases to repair for Japan is always welcome.

Kuching has been lost. The British coastal battery managed to land a handful of hits on transports, but since the infantry component had been withdrawn to Singers two weeks ago, Japanese troops quickly advanced and silenced the guns.
The British covering force off Kuching was attacked unsuccessfully by SS Stingray~, but the sub reported the presence of BB Haruna, CA Chokai, CL Yura and several DDs.

China
Chinese river gunboats have bombarded Chinese troops advancing on Wuchang, 30 casualties suffered. Nate fighters used in a bomber role from 8k feet added 33 more casualties.
I have the impression that the Japanese do not like the presence of Chinese troops that close to the Jangtze.
This was underscored by a shock attack of the Japanese Wuchang garrison against the approaching Chinese – which went badly for the Japanese. The IJA 3rd and 6th Divisions plus the 58ID’s 18th Ind.Mix.' Brigade suffered over 3100 casualties, the six Chinese Corps just over 1400.
The aim of this Chinese operation is to create a threat that prevents Japan from sending reinforcements to Tongbai, or even to convince the Japanese to abandon the Tongbai operation altogether.

Chinese ground forces at Dongyang suffered bombing attacks, including attacks from Betty bombers. I wonder if there isn’t a better use for long-range torpedo planes.
Other air attacks have hit Tongbai and Qingyuan. The Japanese air operations in China seem to be rather random affairs with small numbers of bombers and without real Schwerpunkt.

At Wenchow, a Japanese bombardment attack has caused light casualties on both sides. Four Chinese Corps are occupying three of the precious dozen unrestricted Japanese Infantry Divisions and prevent them from doing harm elsewhere.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Jan 02, 1942

Bases lost
Japanese forces CAPTURE Xinfeng !!!
II/84th Naval Guard Unit CAPTURE Guiuan !!!
2nd Sasebo Coy SNLF CAPTURE Taytay !!!
Papun" is occupied by the Allies.

Sub War
SS RTN Sinsamudar collected 5 hits in an ASW attack by Force Z’s DDs.
SS Porpoise~ has been hit three times near Wenchow by DMS W-3 and must RTB for repairs.
SS I-3 has sunk xAP Etolin near San Luis Obispo, taking half a CD unit destined for the South Pacific with her.

PI
A Japanese DA at Cagayan by the 16ID Miura Det. has been defeated by the 102nd PA Infantry Division.

DEI
Stalemate at Menando with both sides losing 40+ men.

Malaya / Burma / India
Force Z bombarded Mersing again, causing 271 casualties and flattening the port:
Resources hits 9
Port hits 53
Port fuel hits 15
Port supply hits 11

A dozen enemy bombers attacked Singers at night, AA claimed two.
B-17Ds from Singers attacked Saigon and Cam Ranh Bay.
Neither side hit anything.

China
Dongyang, Wuchang, Changsha, Yingde bombed.
Apparently, the Japanese are landing even more reinforcements at Wenchow.
At Dongyang, a Japanese DA by the reinforced 22nd Division has been defeated by three Chinese Corps of the 23rd Army Group with 1000:200 casualties.

[BBfanboy]

Good to see those Mersing bombardment results, but don't make it so routine that he can catch you in the act!

[zebrazwo]

Port hits 53
Port fuel hits 15
Port supply hits 11

What BB says - get out while the gettin' is good.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Yes, there is the risk that Force Z gets intercepted, but tradition demands that the RN carries the fight to the enemy.


Jan 03, 1942

Bases lost
Calbayog is occupied by the Japanese.
Xiantao is occupied by the Allies.

Sub War
SS KXIII torpedoed AV Sagara Maru twice off Kuching.
SS I-1 sank xAK Atlanta City near San Diego.
SS I-5 has torpedoed PG Charleston near Coal Harbour, the ship has suffered 81(64) float damage and will try to make port escorted by two DDs.

NoPac
A convoy has been dispatched with ground reinforcements for Kodiak.

PI
DD Shirayuki on a kill streak, she sunk xAKL LaPaz near Tabango, YO-64 near Cebu, xAKL Pacita near Cawayan and xAPc Bohol near Roxas.

Indochina/Malaya / Burma / India
B-17Ds attacked Saigon port at night and managed a bomb hit on SS I-156.
A similar attack at Cam Ranh Bay hit nothing.

China
IJN river gunboats have bombarded the Chinese troops at Wuchang, 6 casualties reported.
Scattered, small-scale bombing attacks hit Dongyang, Zhumadian, Kukong, Changsha.
Reinforcements continue to land at Wenchow., the 21st Division joining the 4th, 33rd and 38th.

[zebrazwo]

What the heck is he planning around Wenchow?