Wrangling Loki - Mind_Messing (J) vs Lokasenna (A)

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

I won't win, but I might not lose...

Ah, spoken like a true JFB![;)]

[Andav]

I think you are doing extremely well so far. You position is much better then mine in July of 44. You are still fighting a long way from the HI which is awesome.

What are your fuel and oil levels like in the HI? How much Heavy Industry do you have banked? And most importantly, how is supply in the Home Islands?

Wa

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Andav


I think you are doing extremely well so far. You position is much better then mine in July of 44. You are still fighting a long way from the HI which is awesome.

What are your fuel and oil levels like in the HI? How much Heavy Industry do you have banked? And most importantly, how is supply in the Home Islands?

Wa

HI Fuel: 1,026,793 (84 days worth) + 325,007 fuel on Hokkaido (1805 days worth - emergency reserve for when things go wrong)
HI Oil: 967,676 (124 days worth)
HI Supply: 2,883,514

HI points: 2,564,554
Armaments points: 290,021
Vehicle Points: 1,660

If there's anything else feel free to ask!

[Lowpe]

What is your vehicle production and for how long has it been at that level?

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

What is your vehicle production and for how long has it been at that level?

90 factories.

Pools were at 20k about two months ago. The arrival of the 4th Tank Division, plus severe losses in Burma/Thailand, caused my nice surplus to collapse, but the decline has tailed off as of the past few weeks. No significant tank reinforcements are due until mid '45, so the pools can recover.

It's the price I've paid for putting my tank divisions on the frontline. They have suffered, and continue to suffer, quite badly but they're doing a good job of pushing the Allies back.

Once things in Thailand are stabilized they'll be sent to the rear to keep them out of harm. I have the notion to try and send them to Manchuria in late 1945 to help fight the Russians, but we will see.

[Lowpe]

90 factories. Incredibly low, but it is working for you!

Pax recommends using the tank divisions against the Soviets....

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

I have the notion to try and send them to Manchuria in late 1945 to help fight the Russians, but we will see.

Lunch!!! [8D]

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

I have the notion to try and send them to Manchuria in late 1945 to help fight the Russians, but we will see.

Lunch!!! [8D]

Interestingly enough, the Soviet infantry squads have the poorer anti-armour values compared to other Allied 44 and 45 squads.

That said, the abundance of the big Soviet AFV's and the hoards of T34's might make up for it.

At this point in the war, everyone bar the Chinese can kill Japanese tanks in bunches. It's just a matter of who can kill the fewest.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

I have the notion to try and send them to Manchuria in late 1945 to help fight the Russians, but we will see.

Lunch!!! [8D]

Interestingly enough, the Soviet infantry squads have the poorer anti-armour values compared to other Allied 44 and 45 squads.

That said, the abundance of the big Soviet AFV's and the hoards of T34's might make up for it.

At this point in the war, everyone bar the Chinese can kill Japanese tanks in bunches. It's just a matter of who can kill the fewest.

Nothing you've seen compares to late 1945. I've just seen AI, but it's something.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58




Lunch!!! [8D]

Interestingly enough, the Soviet infantry squads have the poorer anti-armour values compared to other Allied 44 and 45 squads.

That said, the abundance of the big Soviet AFV's and the hoards of T34's might make up for it.

At this point in the war, everyone bar the Chinese can kill Japanese tanks in bunches. It's just a matter of who can kill the fewest.

Nothing you've seen compares to late 1945. I've just seen AI, but it's something.

I've made a couple of false starts into the Downfall scenario. That was bad.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

90 factories. Incredibly low, but it is working for you!

Pax recommends using the tank divisions against the Soviets....

Its the only way I've found to hold the Korean peninsula which I consider to be crucial. SOV have SO many AFV's ....

IJ essentially has 3 Tank Div's, I use two against the SOV's (rotating them on the front to hold) and then one in the HI as my tactical mobile reserve.

90 ARM will make it tough to keep the Tank Div's at full strength for very long ... you'll have to ignore building MotSupport and keep a couple of HQ's with each Tank Div ...

There are several tank Bde's, but for most of them there is no TOE upgrade so you can't ever get the Type 3 Med tank or the Type 2 Lgt Tank which are actually a decent tanks. Thus, those units will suffer horrendous losses when used.
With only 90 ARM you will have to use those like shotguns ... one and done as you won't be able to afford to build the replacements.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

90 factories. Incredibly low, but it is working for you!

Pax recommends using the tank divisions against the Soviets....

Its the only way I've found to hold the Korean peninsula which I consider to be crucial. SOV have SO many AFV's ....

IJ essentially has 3 Tank Div's, I use two against the SOV's (rotating them on the front to hold) and then one in the HI as my tactical mobile reserve.

90 ARM will make it tough to keep the Tank Div's at full strength for very long ... you'll have to ignore building MotSupport and keep a couple of HQ's with each Tank Div ...

There are several tank Bde's, but for most of them there is no TOE upgrade so you can't ever get the Type 3 Med tank or the Type 2 Lgt Tank which are actually a decent tanks. Thus, those units will suffer horrendous losses when used.
With only 90 ARM you will have to use those like shotguns ... one and done as you won't be able to afford to build the replacements.

I'm planning my first MLR to centre on the good terrain between the three urban hexes in Manchuria. There's not a chance in hell I can hold it, but I feel that the longer the Soviets are out of Korea the better.

The second MLR will be right down the middle of Korea. Excellent terrain, tiny frontline, easy SLOC to Japan proper. Hard to pull an Inchon as it's so close to the Home Islands.

I think my eventual strategy for dealing with the Russians will depend massively on the situation elsewhere on the map, and the strength of the IJN. If I still have the KB intact, I hopefully want to wipe out the Soviet naval force in the Sea of Japan as quickly as possible, and then perhaps follow it up with a strategic bombing foray along the Russian coastal bases to harvest VP's. IJ gets VP's for strat bombing Russia, right?

I've toyed with some other pipe-dream plans against the Russians, but none will likely ever see the light of day.

Regarding my tanks, I'll probably bump VEH up another 60 or so points to tide me over, and turn of motorized support. With China out of the war I'm flush with Army HQ's, so keeping units supported isn't a massive issue. My four tank divisions are constantly on the frontlines, so it makes sense. I'll probably keep the tank brigades in Japan for use as my mobile reserve. At any rate, I've a full year before the Soviets become a serious concern.

[Bullwinkle58]

"Points will only be scored by the Allies for bombing industry in mainland Japan, and by the
Japanese for bombing industry in North America, Australia, and/or Hawaii."

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

"Points will only be scored by the Allies for bombing industry in mainland Japan, and by the
Japanese for bombing industry in North America, Australia, and/or Hawaii."

Cheers. I had a .txt file with the various snippets from the manual that seem to crop up.

Might still firebomb the Russian aircraft centre. It's one base, and hitting the Sov airframe production might pay dividends.

Those that get to play with the Russians, what do their aircraft pools look like come '45?

[PaxMondo]

SOV AC are pretty lousy until '45. Then they get a fair number of pretty good planes. LB's aren't too strong, unlike the USA, but they have good fighters. And a lot of them. If the allied player has been paying attention to pilots, the SOV will have tons of 70 exp pilots for all types.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

SOV AC are pretty lousy until '45. Then they get a fair number of pretty good planes. LB's aren't too strong, unlike the USA, but they have good fighters. And a lot of them. If the allied player has been paying attention to pilots, the SOV will have tons of 70 exp pilots for all types.

My memory of playing them in AI was the air forces were an afterthought for my ops. The IL tank killers were everywhere, the fighters were average versus Japanese 3rd gen, but the Red Army has some fearsome AA units (AA Divisions if you can imagine.) And the armor and motor-rifle divisions are so hairy, and scary fast, that they pretty much shrugged off the AI Japanese air effort. A human would do better of course, but any idea you can stop the Soviets from the air should be left behind.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

SOV AC are pretty lousy until '45. Then they get a fair number of pretty good planes. LB's aren't too strong, unlike the USA, but they have good fighters. And a lot of them. If the allied player has been paying attention to pilots, the SOV will have tons of 70 exp pilots for all types.

The real weakness on the Allied side is the limited production of airframes. I'll need to check what the Soviets get in addition to their on-map production. Firebombing their factories won't stop the fall of Manchuria, but it might help out afterwards.

EDIT: Idea scrubbed. 90% of SOV airframes arrive via replacement pool.

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

SOV AC are pretty lousy until '45. Then they get a fair number of pretty good planes. LB's aren't too strong, unlike the USA, but they have good fighters. And a lot of them. If the allied player has been paying attention to pilots, the SOV will have tons of 70 exp pilots for all types.

My memory of playing them in AI was the air forces were an afterthought for my ops. The IL tank killers were everywhere, the fighters were average versus Japanese 3rd gen, but the Red Army has some fearsome AA units (AA Divisions if you can imagine.) And the armor and motor-rifle divisions are so hairy, and scary fast, that they pretty much shrugged off the AI Japanese air effort. A human would do better of course, but any idea you can stop the Soviets from the air should be left behind.

Oh, there's no chance of stopping the Soviets. My view is that it will be a case of minimizing VP loss and maximizing the time taken to wipe me out in Manchuria. Soviet planes are VP's. Ground bombing attacks force units out of move mode, and that is time.

Part of that is maximizing the two minor advantages Japan has - superior air power and naval superiority. Considering that most of my slow battleship force is down for the next year or so for repairs, I may even have a strong bombardment group left by that point to actually do some good. Hopefully.

My August '45 strategy is one of conservation in that the Soviets will find it easy to take Japanese bases but not to kill Japanese units. My thinking is that every Soviet unit engaged in Manchuria/Korea is one that isn't ready for being used against the Home Islands. The Russians can't redeploy their full strength so long as the Japanese in Manchuria/Korea. The crap stuff will be sent to the cities to die behind heavy forts or in good terrain, the good stuff will hole up along the 38th parallel and pray for a speedy end to the war.

The same strategy is essentially what I intend to apply elsewhere as well. Fortress Shanghai and Canton for China, Fortress Manila on Luzon. By this point in the war, weeks and months matter...

[mind_messing]

Mini Update seeing as I'm waiting on a turn that I hope is important.

A big stack of Chinese have wandered out of the woods in North-West Vietnam after what must have been one long trek and are spotted by a unit marching to Luangprabang. I ask Loka if he put Mao in charge for the irony of it all, but aparently not. I'm confused as to why the Vietnamese garrison units haven't triggered at the Chinese crossing the border and a bit bemused that so many Chinese went undetected for so long, but c'est la guerre.

I'm gathering five brigades and a regiment in Hanoi to form Kampfgruppe Vietnam to get rid of the Chinese interlopers. These units were earmarked for Paoshan or Burma, and I've plenty of units recuperating in Japan to send to Vietnam in a pinch. I've flown some training squadrons of Judy's in theatre for some on-the-job training.

My thoughts on this latest turn for the SEA theatre is that it's more VP's. Things in Central Thailand seem to have stabilized and I'm pulling battered units off the line and replacing them with fresh units. I hope to block hexsides off to maximize the terrain advantage.



Attached are my top pilots. No real exceptional pilots among them, but such is my doctrine. I'll take a squadron of above average pilots over an average squadron with a couple of super-aces. I'm hurting somewhat for trained fighter pilots for the IJN, as they tend to bear the brunt of the fighting, but the resized fighter squadrons on training duty churn out a good number in a quick time. All IJA pools are great.



As a side note, I've found that the low-layered CAP approach is paying off big dividends in fighting off the P-47 sweeps. While it's not always a Japanese victory, I've noticed that the combats no longer turn into the one-sided slaughters that can develop when fighting up high. I'm not really sure what the trick seems to be, but fighting under 15k seems to be the general theme of things.

[tiemanjw]

A big stack of Chinese have wandered out of the woods in North-West Vietnam after what must have been one long trek and are spotted by a unit marching to Luangprabang. I ask Loka if he put Mao in charge for the irony of it all, but aparently not. I'm confused as to why the Vietnamese garrison units haven't triggered at the Chinese crossing the border and a bit bemused that so many Chinese went undetected for so long, but c'est la guerre.

I had in my head that this only applied in 1942 (China incursion into Indo-China). Not sure where it came from, or if it is real as the manual doesn't mention this.
Though on the screen shot, they look more brown - are they Commonwealth?

[mind_messing]

August 1st to August 6th, 1944

What a turn.

North Pacific

Still nothing going on up here.

Central Pacific

The Allied bombing of my abandoned bases continues. Ponape is pretty much suppressed. I did get a nice result when a infantry division fragment was landed on a dot hex that had a naval guard unit on it - the shock attack messed the American unit up nicely.

South-West Pacific

This, in truth, was the main show. I had the inclination that the Allies were moving on past Biak from the large quantity of shipping that was amassing down the New Guinea coast, so I moved everything I could into a position to be ready to strike back.

The Allies came ashore at Sansapor on August 5th, with the KB a days sail away and a IJN CL force ready to intervene with the landings. August 6th saw the Allies land at Sorong as well, and that's when the Japanese counterstrike came together.

The night phase saw little combat, but the numerous IJN floatplanes did a great job in lighting up the Allied ships for all to see. Daybreak saw what every Japanese player wants to see - a surface engagement between Japanese warships and loaded Allied transports.

ay Time Surface Combat, near Sansapor at 83,107, Range 20,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Nagara, Shell hits 5 lost a 14cm gun
CL Abukuma, Shell hits 4 lost a 14cm gun
DD Hatsuharu, Shell hits 9, on fire most of these hits were from APAs! 50 sys damage
DD Nenohi, Shell hits 4

Allied Ships
DD Robinson, Shell hits 1
DD Cassin Young, Shell hits 2, on fire
DE Lovering, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DE Lyman, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APA Frederick Funston, Shell hits 5, on fire
APA James O'Hara, Shell hits 4, on fire
APA John Land, Shell hits 6, heavy fires
APA Winged Arrow, Shell hits 5
APA Herald of Morning, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
APA Storm King, Shell hits 4
APA Cavalier, Shell hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
APA Du Page, Shell hits 2
APA Leon, Shell hits 6, on fire
LSV Catskill, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
LSD Oak Hill, Shell hits 4, heavy fires

Allied ground losses:
556 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 67 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 22 (3 destroyed, 19 disabled)

Their ammo spent, the IJN light cruisers retired, getting clean away from numerous Allied combat ships parked at Sorong. I have two destroyer squadrons that have yet to be sent in to harass the landing.

With the surface ships of the IJN having made an important contribution, it was the turn of the IJN pilots to do their bit. There were a few fragmented strikes during the day, so I will focus on the main combats.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Sorong at 82,107

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 8
A6M5b Zero x 92
B6N2 Jill x 38
B7A2 Grace x 33
D4Y3 Judy x 105

Allied aircraft
Corsair II x 4
Thunderbolt I x 2
Kittyhawk IV x 2
P-38J Lightning x 1
P-40K Warhawk x 3
FM-2 Wildcat x 126
F4U-1A Corsair x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5b Zero: 1 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 7 destroyed, 9 damaged
B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak
B7A2 Grace: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 21 destroyed, 22 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 4 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk IV: 1 destroyed
FM-2 Wildcat: 4 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVE Thetis Bay
CVE Sargent Bay, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage ammo storage explosion
CVE Steamer Bay, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage fuel storage explosion
CVE Shipley Bay, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVE Sitkoh Bay, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Mobile
DD Sigourney
DE Fair
DE LeHardy
DD Yarnall
CVE Petrof Bay, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVE Shamrock Bay, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
DD Haggard
AKA Jupiter, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AKA Almaack, Torpedo hits 1

Not to be outdone, the IJA decide to get in on the action. Escorts or not, a squadron of Helen's decide that fighting spirit is sufficent to overcome CAP. Despite this, they manage to break through and actually score a hit. I had intended for this squadron to be used as a throwaway attack to draw Allied CAP up high, but the fact that they got through is great.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Sorong at 82,107

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 32,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 24 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIb Helen x 15

Allied aircraft
Corsair II x 1
Thunderbolt I x 1
Kittyhawk IV x 1
P-38J Lightning x 1
P-40K Warhawk x 2
FM-2 Wildcat x 74
F4U-1A Corsair x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIb Helen: 10 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CVE Shipley Bay, on fire
CVE Petrof Bay, Kamikaze hits 1, on fire, heavy damage x2 ammo storage explosion
CVE Thetis Bay

Later in the morning, a few aircraft from the KB dispatch two transports wounded in the mornings surface action while some dive bombers hit small craft left without any air cover.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Sansapor at 84,107

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 75 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 8
B7A2 Grace x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
B7A2 Grace: 5 damaged
B7A2 Grace: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
APA Cavalier, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
APA James O'Hara, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires

Allied ground losses:
89 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)


Morning Air attack on TF, near Sansapor at 83,107

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 8 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D4Y3 Judy x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
D4Y3 Judy: 2 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
LST-338, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
LST-122, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AM Gladstone, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
LST-343, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SC-751, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
LST-350, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

The afternoon sees further strikes on the Allied task force, with its CAP much diminished from earlier in the day. Pressing the advantage, the IJN flyers put more hurt on the Allied escort carriers.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sorong at 82,107

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 14
A6M5b Zero x 58
B6N2 Jill x 13
B7A2 Grace x 15
D4Y3 Judy x 43

Allied aircraft
Corsair II x 12
Thunderbolt I x 5
Kittyhawk IV x 4
P-38J Lightning x 4
P-40K Warhawk x 8
FM-2 Wildcat x 34
F4U-1A Corsair x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 5 destroyed
A6M5b Zero: 16 destroyed
B6N2 Jill: 2 damaged
B7A2 Grace: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 4 destroyed, 12 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk IV: 1 destroyed
F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVE Thetis Bay, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CVE Shipley Bay, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CVE Petrof Bay, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DE Levy
DE Bangust, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DE Sanders, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DE Acree


Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sorong at 82,107

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5b Zero x 46
B7A2 Grace x 15
D4Y3 Judy x 41

Allied aircraft
Corsair II x 9
Thunderbolt I x 2
P-38J Lightning x 2
P-40K Warhawk x 3
FM-2 Wildcat x 12
F4U-1A Corsair x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5b Zero: 4 destroyed
B7A2 Grace: 5 destroyed, 6 damaged
B7A2 Grace: 1 destroyed by flak
D4Y3 Judy: 10 destroyed, 8 damaged
D4Y3 Judy: 2 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
FM-2 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVE Thetis Bay, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Lardner
DD McCord
DD Bennett
APA Feland
CL Leander
DD Haggard
DD Yarnall
DD Rowe, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DE Levy
DD Erben
DD Perkins
APA Fuller, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Bitterly disappointed this strike didn't perform better. Bombs wasted on destroyers when there were APA's to hit!

Again, not to be outdone, IJA pilots, with the firm belief that Japanese fighting spirit is sufficent to win victories, attack a task force north of Biak.

fternoon Air attack on TF, near Manokwari at 85,109

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 31,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIb Helen x 19

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk III x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIb Helen: 12 destroyed
Ki-49-IIb Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
AK Phobos, Kamikaze hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Fat Albert, Kamikaze hits 1
AK Caelum, Kamikaze hits 4, on fire, heavy damage Poor target selection, but nearly 25% hit rate with kamis isn't bad!

Allied ground losses:
78 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

In the ground combat phase, I get a good look at what the Allies have ashore:

Ground combat at Sorong (82,107)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5049 troops, 51 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 253

Defending force 1820 troops, 37 guns, 57 vehicles, Assault Value = 55

Allied ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Assaulting units:
2nd Amphibious Brigade
4th Raiding Rgt /1
18th JAAF AF Bn
26th JAAF Base Force
46th JNAF AF Unit
19th JAAF Base Force
27th Special Base Force
77th Field AA Battalion
209th JAAF AF Bn

Defending units: I bet the bulk of Allied troops intended for here were mauled in the morning surface engagement.
34th Combat Engineer Regiment
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
131st Field Artillery Battalion


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Sansapor (83,107)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 13296 troops, 244 guns, 246 vehicles, Assault Value = 558

Defending force 9721 troops, 109 guns, 48 vehicles, Assault Value = 198

Allied adjusted assault: 140

Japanese adjusted defense: 115

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 4) I doubt I can hold - supply is critical. IJN may intervene to stymie the Allies.

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 3

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

Japanese ground losses:
245 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 29 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Allied ground losses:
295 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 33 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
27th Infantry Division
24th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
112th Cavalry Regiment

Defending units:
51st Ind.Mixed Brigade
17th Ind.Mixed Regiment
56th Construction Battalion
16th Field AF Construction Battalion
29th Fld AA Gun Co
13th Field AF Construction Battalion
37th JNAF AF Unit

And that concludes day one of the Battle of Sorong. More details will follow on my future plans in this theatre.

DEI

Lots of Allied sweeps here to distract my attention from the events around Sorong. I'm preparing a resupply mission for Timor that will require the KB, but as events elsewhere require the KB, it's on hold for now.

Thailand/Vietnam

The Allies land at a few dot hexes that I've left ungarrisoned with Chindits. As there's the Chinese wandering around Vietnam, this does start to worry me. I have the troops to deal with it, but it's an unwelcome distraction. The 33rd Division, railing through the open terrain of Thailand, gets absolutely smashed by a big B-29 raid. Painful.

More details to follow, hopefully with pictures, later today.