Matrix Games Forums

Posted: **Mon Jun 06, 2016 7:24 pm**

Sabang suppression - August 8, 1944

Another thing, this one a bit of a gamble. Unfortunately, a lot of my 4Es in this area are a bit worn down right now with a lot of planes repairing. I'm not able to launch as many planes on this strike as I would like. There is another strike of 22 British Liberators in the afternoon, but it's just not enough. I know the reported damage is for service, not runway, but I just don't think that a level 8 field (size is factored in, right?) with only about 70 hits or so is going to be more than 50% damaged.

For some reason I thought, without checking the air unit info screen, that the USMC Mitchells were the same as the B-25D1 version for the USAAF. They aren't. Also, the ACM is shown, for some reason. This happens occasionally. No planes were on port attack at all. So present we have Emily, Judy, Jake, and in the afternoon some Nell. Probably not very many, given the numbers reported the next day. We'll try again, but no escorts are available.

Posted: **Mon Jun 06, 2016 7:35 pm**

Sorong - August 8, 1944

Still extricating that damaged CVE, which makes Biak today. Will pier side for a while.

The Peggy, Lily, and Tony losses shown here are all over Manokwari. You can also see that I had some B-25s in Burma on ground attack that I forgot about, with a range setting. Sigh. So they flew against Uttaradit and about half were shot down. Also, a handful of B-29s lost over Udon Thani as he LRCAPs it.

The 4 Kongos with their 4 DDs bombard Sansapor during the night, and get a whopping 50 casualties.

At Sorong, we lose the 2 FA Rgts to attacks and attrition. We have plenty of the guns for those, so we'll buy them back. They'll go somewhere else in early 1945. The combat engineers - I managed to pick some up using Catalinas at Biak. We'll save the unit, at least, but the 1944 Cbt Engi squad pool is something I want to wait on because I have 2 of the big 252 AV engineer regiments sitting at Pearl Harbor that still have 1943 squads, and I want them to upgrade. So it will be some months before this unit gets fleshed out again.

We have LCTs and LSTs with the 1st Cavalry division and 2 tank units ready to go in to Sorong today. We'll LRCAP it like mad again with the expectation that, with no KB, we'll be fine. Also with little in the way of surface forces for him, since he just sent them all in and now they're retiring. Not exactly what I had planned for this little patch of earth, but it'll do.

At Sansapor:

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 12842 troops, 244 guns, 246 vehicles, Assault Value = 502

Defending force 8968 troops, 106 guns, 47 vehicles, Assault Value = 140

Allied adjusted assault: 47

Japanese adjusted defense: 88

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender:terrain(+),preparation(-),fatigue(-),experience(-)
supply(-)
Attacker:disruption(-),fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
799 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 59 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 13 disabled
Guns lost 11 (3 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
182 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

So the Kongos, plus some medium-strength aerial bombing, hurt my attack. But we'll still take the place soon enough.

Posted: **Mon Jun 06, 2016 9:46 pm**

Ah, forgot to put this in the last one. All of those TBMs from the CVEs (they were on 60% ASW, so were mostly in the air) flew to Kai-eilanden and I disbanded all the fragments, putting the airframes and pilots into my already size-90 group. Out of curiosity, I ordered an attack:

Morning Air attack on 5th Division, at 72,115 (Lautem)

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 18NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 18
TBM-1C Avenger x 117

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
117 x TBM-1C Avenger bombing from 9000 feet
Ground Attack: 1 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking 103rd Division ...
Also attacking 5th Division ...
Also attacking 103rd Division ...
Also attacking 5th Division ...
Also attacking 103rd Division ...
Also attacking 5th Division ...
Also attacking 103rd Division ...
Also attacking 5th Division ...

Didn't notice until now, but they flew with 1x500 lb? I thought TBF/M flew with 2x250 lb? Not that it's really a big deal. I'm mostly going for disruption/fatigue/morale hits here. I know he's got forts high enough (4? 5? Maybe even 6?) that I won't cause casualties right now. It's going to be a supplies game here, and when/how I can get more troops ashore - particularly support and combat engineers.

Posted: **Mon Jun 06, 2016 9:57 pm**

SE Asia - August 10, 1944

Action of the 9th of August. As I thought he might do, fighters appear over Sabang. A handful of bombers lost. Too bad, really. Wish I'd bombed this harder several weeks ago when attention was firmly fixed elsewhere in SE Asia.

At Chengtu, British Thunderbolts shoot down a gaggle of Tojos for the loss of 1, and we bomb the airfield. Might be the last of the IJA CAP there for a while. We also have a few sweeps set up for the clear hex outside Pisanuloke, thinking maybe he had LRCAPed it, but nope. Maybe we'll bomb it, if we can find spare bombers.

Morning Air attack on Sabang , at 44,70

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 11
N1K2-J George x 14
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 24

Allied aircraft
Liberator B.VI x 10
PBJ-1D Mitchell x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed
N1K2-J George: 1 damaged
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Liberator B.VI: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged
PBJ-1D Mitchell: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 7

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x PBJ-1D Mitchell bombing from 100 feet *
Airfield Attack: 1 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x Liberator B.VI bombing from 2000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
254 Ku S-1 with N1K2-J George (4 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes
331 Ku S-1 with A6M5 Zero (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 5000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 6 minutes
87th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (8 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling)
8 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Sabang , at 44,70

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 5 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 7
N1K2-J George x 12
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 18

Allied aircraft
Liberator B.VI x 3
Liberator GR.III x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 2 damaged
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground
N1K2-J George: 2 damaged
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed on ground
E13A1 Jake: 1 destroyed on ground
G3M3 Nell: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
Liberator B.VI: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
Liberator GR.III: 2 destroyed

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 12

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Sabang , at 44,70

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 6
N1K2-J George x 12
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 13

Allied aircraft
Liberator GR.III x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Liberator GR.III: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
Liberator GR.III: 1 destroyed by flak

Airbase supply hits 1

Still moving here.

Posted: **Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:31 pm**

Just about ready here.

I've pointed to where I would like to set up. Ideally, I would like to wait for things to get into position for Sinabang first, and in the meantime I would move my small Fletcher group over 2 hexes to 10 hexes out - which is 2 days of mission speed for LSTs. Super helpful for their YMS/SC escorts.

Some aircraft on the CVs are still repairing from being stood down, but mostly they're DBs. TBs and fighters are 90%+ ready. Turning on some light CAP for this day, just in case.

Posted: **Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:39 pm**

NW New Guinea - August 9, 1944

Remember that big cruiser force at Manokwari? No intel on what unit was present, but Sorong/Sansapor/Waigeo are now effectively removed from his list of useful airbases. Back to the only recently developed Moluccas for him, where he'll also presumably be short on air support. Oh, and Manado...

Night Naval bombardment of Waigeo at 82,106

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 16 damaged
N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-48-IIc Lily: 50 damaged
Ki-48-IIc Lily: 2 destroyed on ground
H8K2 Emily: 39 damaged
Ki-100-I Tony: 30 damaged
Ki-100-I Tony: 1 destroyed on ground
A6M5b Zero: 12 damaged
J2M3 Jack: 41 damaged
J2M3 Jack: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-67-Ia (T) Peggy: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
CA Salt Lake City
CA Pensacola
CL Miami
CL Mobile
DD Morris
DD Bancroft
DD Lardner
DD Buchanan
DD Laffey
DD Uhlmann
DD Miller
DD McCord
DD Johnston
DD Jenkins
DD Hazelwood
DD Halford
DD Guest
DD Chauncey
DD Capps
DD Bullard

Japanese ground losses:
242 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 47 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled

Airbase hits 48
Airbase supply hits 21
Runway hits 96
Port hits 31
Port fuel hits 3
Port supply hits 6

All of the ground combats for the day are around here. Highlights: Engineer fragment at Sorong dies, lots of IJA die at Aitape/Sarmi and some die at Manokwari, although I know this latter bit will enable him to do more paradrops as the squads get replaced in the parent units back at Sorong/Babeldaob/wherever.

Ground combat at Aitape (95,118)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 7001 troops, 70 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 98

Defending force 5917 troops, 28 guns, 164 vehicles, Assault Value = 190

Japanese adjusted assault: 0

Allied adjusted defense: 209

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 99 (fort level 0)

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

Japanese ground losses:
1147 casualties reported
Squads: 59 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
52nd Division
53rd JAAF AF Bn
53rd JNAF AF Unit
13th JAAF AF Bn
4th JAAF Base Force
30th JAAF Base Force
19th Army
55th Construction Battalion
1st Guards Division
Sasebo 6th SNLF
11th JAAF Base Force
79th JAAF AF Bn
49th JNAF AF Unit
54th JNAF AF Unit
56th JAAF AF Bn
5th Shipping Engineer Regiment
108th JAAF AF Bn
101st JAAF AF Bn
42nd Ind. Engineer Regiment
30th Ind. Engineer Regiment
28th Ind.Mixed Bde /1

Defending units:
2/6th Armoured Regiment
14th Australian Brigade
7th USN Naval Construction Battalion
24th USN Naval Construction Battalion
34th USN Naval Construction Battalion

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

Ground combat at Sorong (82,107)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15434 troops, 172 guns, 135 vehicles, Assault Value = 214

Defending force 978 troops, 0 guns, 28 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 139

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 139 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), leaders(-), disruption(-)
supply(-)
Attacker: disruption(-)

Allied ground losses:
718 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 56 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 52 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 19 (19 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

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

Defending units:
34th Combat Engineer Regiment

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

Ground combat at Manokwari (85,109)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5017 troops, 33 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 165

Defending force 2590 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 57

Allied adjusted assault: 85

Japanese adjusted defense: 16

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
110 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
47 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
1st/102nd Infantry Battalion
Port Moresby Brigade
1st Fiji Commando Battalion
11th Australian Div /1
112th Cavalry Rgt /1
33rd Aviation Base Force
10th USN Naval Construction Battalion
22nd USN Naval Construction Regiment
13th USN Naval Construction Battalion
10 Group RAAF
20th USN Naval Construction Regiment
77th RAAF Wing /14

Defending units:
85th Naval Guard Unit
4th Raiding Regiment
1st Raiding Regiment
2nd Raiding Regiment
Yokosuka 1st SNLF /1
1st Raiding Force

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

Ground combat at Sarmi (91,114)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 11340 troops, 237 guns, 247 vehicles, Assault Value = 613

Defending force 4729 troops, 29 guns, 20 vehicles, Assault Value = 56

Allied adjusted assault: 118

Japanese adjusted defense: 49

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), preparation(-), morale(-)
experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1132 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 66 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 4 (2 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 6

Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
1st USMC Tank Battalion
7th Infantry Division
40th Infantry Div /1
179th USAAF Base Force
29th USN Naval Construction Regiment
42nd Aviation Base Force
1st USMC Engineer Aviation Battalion
98th Field Artillery Battalion
34th Aviation Base Force
30th Aviation Base Force
III US Amphib Corps
1st Cavalry (Spec) Cavalry Division
5th USN Naval Construction Regiment
511th Coast AA Regiment
198th Field Artillery Battalion
9th USN Naval Construction Regiment
USN AirCenPac
7th USN Naval Construction Regiment
156th USA Base Force
3rd USA Defense Battalion
839/841 Engineer Aviation Battalion
45th Aviation Base Force
27th Infantry Div /1

Defending units:
11th Ind.Mixed Regiment
3rd South Seas Det.
6th Naval Construction Battalion
3rd Naval Construction Battalion
12th Air Fleet
34th Ind. Engineer Regiment

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

5th Shipping Engineer Regiment Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

Sasebo 6th SNLF Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

55th Construction Battalion Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

30th Ind. Engineer Regiment Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

42nd Ind. Engineer Regiment Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

4th JAAF Base Force Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

11th JAAF Base Force Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

30th JAAF Base Force Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

49th JNAF AF Unit Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

53rd JNAF AF Unit Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

54th JNAF AF Unit Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

13th JAAF AF Bn Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

53rd JAAF AF Bn Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

56th JAAF AF Bn Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

79th JAAF AF Bn Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

101st JAAF AF Bn Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

108th JAAF AF Bn Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

Japanese Unit(s) surrounded at Aitape

Japanese Unit(s) Wiped Out at Aitape by attrition!!!

Posted: **Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:03 pm**

Sorong - August 10, 1944

Budget landings. I had intended the LSTs to go in with the original landing forces, but I didn't set them to Do Not Refuel and they wasted 400 Ops on the day I sent everything else in, so I held them back. If I'd sent them originally, we might not have lost those 2 FA regiments or 75% of the combat engineer unit.

I've got a group of Fletchers guarding the landings, but LCTs/LSTs unload completely in 2 days at most depending on what else they've done during the day. The IJN has all retired to the NW, though, so things are clear for now.

LRCAP over Sorong takes care of 60-70 planes plus more to Ops.

Posted: **Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:05 pm**

Timor - August 10, 1944

Airbase supply hits 1 [8|]. Getting old. Pretty soon I'm going to switch to low-altitude ground bombing (like 2000 feet) to burn his supplies up faster, as his units will be forced to shoot at my planes unless he puts them in Reserve mode.

Casualty numbers at Koepang make me think that maybe forts are low-ish.

Posted: **Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:09 pm**

Lautem - August 10, 1944

Another example of poor play on my part and getting punished for it (the torpedoes into CL Denver and the xAP, I mean).

I have an issue with the game engine on the FA units thing. If they're able to shoot at my guys coming in on landing craft, then my ships should be able to shoot them. They don't seem to be conducting "proper" counter-battery fire, and instead wasting all their ammo/ops on units like the infantry divisions that are also present and doing so preemptively.

When the forced bombardment comes up, it shows him as only having 173 guns engaging this time. So maybe his mortar units are in reserve mode? That seems really strange. It would seem that the divisions, at least, are in reserve mode or else they would be firing in this phase also. So why are my ships shooting at them in the pre-invasion action instead of at the units that should actually be firing at my guys on the beaches? Reserve mode should be preventing the divisions from shooting at the guys coming in.

Really annoying. I'll just have to kill their supply, which is going to take a grossly inflated amount of time.

Posted: **Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:13 pm**

Indian Ocean stuff - August 10-11, 1944

Singapore inset. Don't know what's going on with the planes there. 68 auxiliary seems odd, as he doesn't detect my subs when they're within a few hexes of the place (have attacked several TKs around there lately), so maybe it's a combat unit being upgraded? Damaged/repairing planes show as auxiliary. It's possible it's transports, but many of those are known to be elsewhere (such as Manado and Kendari).

We hit back against the Sabang CAP today with a unit of Brits. Not enough to shut down any search, though.

Posted: **Wed Jun 08, 2016 8:49 pm**

Re: LB attacking at 100 feet - I know attack bombers can use that altitude to strafe AND bomb, but I wonder if your standard level bombers used their bombs at all? I know I have had good success using untrained in (LowN and strafe) LB at 1000 feet to hit ships. The low altitude means even untrained crews should get hits unless there are fighters on their tail or very heavy flak. Of course even with light flak there is a lot of flak damage/loss.

Re: the gun count - it seems to vary by type of report, so a rollover might show a higher gun count because it includes AA, and then the LCU gun count includes A/T guns which can bombard but do not seem to be counted in the auto-bombard at the end of an amphib invasion. I certainly agree that some consistency in what is included in the category should be a goal.

Re: the aux aircraft at Singers, he may be using it as a waypoint for transfer of patrol aircraft between theatres, or simply have them all working recon vs. Nav Search/ASW.

Posted: **Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:31 pm**

I had made a mistake in the settings, not realizing the PBJ was not an attack bomber but instead a standard medium bomber. Next time I send them on a mission it will be at 2000 feet, not 100 feet.

So the thing about the combat report is that the troops/guns/vehicles count only shows those participating in the combat (bombardment or attack), while the AV shows everything in the hex. Only 173 guns bombarded my LCUs, which would seem to be some portion (or perhaps all, but I doubt it) of his artillery units in the hex. This means one of two things:

1) Those 173 guns are the ones causing all the destruction on the beaches, which is certainly possible (918 shots does not mean 918 tubes)
2) All of the guns in all of the units are firing at the beaches, even those LCUs that are in Reserve mode

The reason for this is because, due to the landing code, all of his troops in Combat mode will participate in the automatic bombardment if they are capable of bombarding. This means his other troops must be in Reserve mode, as that's the only way to remove them from the land combat that occurs (the bombardment). 4 divisions plus all of that artillery is far more than 173 guns. That 173 gun count is, so far as I know, completely accurate and has been remarkably consistent between subsequent bombardments here. I am slowly causing casualties and the number is slowly going down, which clues me in that he might be under 2x supply at these bases so can't replace the lost guns.

If #1, then there isn't squat I can do about it because as evidenced from the automatic bombardment, his Divisions are in Reserve yet they are the ones being targeted by my ships in the pre-invasion support action (and this does not knock them out of Reserve mode), as shown by every combat report.

If #2, is that WAD? Somehow, this is actually even less of a problem than #1 because at least in #2 it means the ships are firing at units that are actually impeding the landing whereas with #1 the ships are shooting at units that aren't shooting at the troops, and not conducting counter-battery against units that are actually firing at the troops. That would be borked - to me.

Here's what's at Lautem:
5th Division
56th Division
103rd Division
38th Division
2nd Division
2nd Medium Mortar Battalion
44th Field AA Battalion
10th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion
14th RF Gun (Pack) Battalion
11th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion
17th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion
25th Army
71st Field AA Battalion
15th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
Southern Army
2nd Mortar Battalion
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
6th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Medium Mortar Battalion

Bombardment-capable artillery units are bolded. I will look up the TOE of these later to see if any are in Reserve due to the observed gun count in the combat report. Note that when I bombard, it shows the full stack strength that is present, which means either that things in Reserve are shown in the defending strength on bombardments regardless (wouldn't surprise me) or that they were not in reserve mode for this one (strikes me as unlikely, but is possible):

August 11
Defending force 66814 troops, 714 guns, 583 vehicles, Assault Value = 1873

August 12
Defending force 66766 troops, 712 guns, 582 vehicles, Assault Value = 1872

Also, since I didn't state it before, all of the units I am landing at Lautem (well, fragments at this point to flesh out what's there now) are prepped 100% and have been. The casualties on the beaches are entirely from "Coastal" gun fire, presumably from this stack of artillery units that my ships won't shoot back at.

Posted: **Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:36 pm**

Oh, about the aux aircraft count. I have another screen from the next day that shows updated numbers, which I'll post later as it's part of a larger image. Given that there are no DLs on my bases in the Andamans, and declining DLs in Thailand, I don't think they're flying recon. They could just be a "reserve" of patrol/transport/recon aircraft for transfer to somewhere else. For ASW, he prefers IJAAF 2E (I often see Lily and Helen) and for search he prefers Nells and Emily/Mavis. Sometimes I see Betty or Frances on search. I actually don't really see Jills (or Graces) on ASW, which is odd. Unless KB is around - then I do. So it's either that, or upgrading/rebuilding squadrons. Probably.

Posted: **Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:13 pm**

Am finally up to the screenshots I made 9 days ago. Only a day behind the game now, this is my most recent full turn.

Sansapor - August 11-12, 1944

Action for the 11th. IJA combat capability here is drastically reduced. Still a disruption penalty on our guys, but I'm going to keep going at it over the next few days until it's in our hands. Would be a great step forward here to have Sansapor/Sorong (and then Waigeo) under our control.

Posted: **Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:18 pm**

Sorong - August 11-12, 1944

We try an attack for the 11th when all of our stuff will be unloaded. It doesn't go that badly, despite out really low adjusted AV.

I still don't understand the leaders(-) penalty. Every single stat that I am/we are aware of affecting LCU AV is 60 or higher for every leader present. I mean I guess Aggression on the Cav commander is only 51, but really? Maybe I'll switch him later (his Admin 76 would be really useful in a broken division at some point).

But oh well. We'll break the forts as his combat capabilities decrease. Also looks like I failed a fatigue roll, given the actual fatigue numbers for the units. The writing is on the wall here as well, especially if/when I bring in more guys via LCT.

Posted: **Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:28 pm**

Summary - August 11, 1944

Aside from the actions at Sansapor and Sorong...

Franks from Namlea attempt to sweep Manokwari and they may achieve a slight victory: 14 Franks lost for about 18 Corsairs/Jugs. Allied CAP there is not robust right now as I am resting lots of units from their LRCAP adventures, plus I'm still providing LRCAP over Sorong. Speaking of which, there are LBA raids on both the ground troops and Lily-IIc attempts on the Fletchers. We shoot down 35-40 A6M5b and about 15 Helen-IIb and 15 Lily-IIc for the loss of about 10 Hellcats and 5 Spit-VIII's.

Over Balikpapan, a daylight raid by B-29s gets 44 Oil hits, which seems to have resulted in about 110 points of damage. We lose 6 bombers to the A6M5b's on CAP.

Over in Malaysia, we attempt to divert his attention from Sabang by sweeping Chumphon, where he has only an AF Const Bn as of last intel and is building the AF from 8 to 9. Alas, it is empty. I will probably try to send a bomber group here soon to slow the progress, or I might even try just capturing it with paratroops.

Paratroops, you say? This is about as deep as I can go in Thailand/Indochina with present airfields, but that just means it's time to start flying engineers, AvSupp, supply, and enough shooters to hold them.

Tomorrow we'll drop somewhere else, though.

Posted: **Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:38 pm**

Operation Gibbet - August 12, 1944

Thanks to some bozo on one of these ships, the jig is up, the news is out...

I decided I have to just keep going in, but with D-Day set for the afternoon of August 13. Orders already entered at this point. I know it's just one day of warning, but that can be really important. Without the SIGINT hit, would he have had enough search to see this coming even from 6 hexes out? I have my doubts, although it is possible. But it also means an extra day that he otherwise wouldn't have had to locate troops, ships, and planes to begin shifting his defenses. The chances of SIGINT hits like this occurring are so small it still irritates me and it's been over a week.

Everything in the TF list here is for Sabang. The vast majority is loaded on xAPs because I don't have enough true assault shipping. If I had read up about AGC ships earlier, I would have transferred my smaller ones to this theater long ago. Instead, I only have 2 of the big ones. One of them has an HQm prepped for Sabang, but the other HQm at Colombo is prepped for somewhere else so I am using its AGC empty in a large amphibious TF for one of my secondary targets.

Got a couple of straggling TFs for Sabang here. Part of why I'm so annoyed about the SIGINT hit, because they all would have met up 10 hexes out from Sabang tomorrow and the forces to the south would've been better able to get into position to hit both of my secondary targets instead of only being able to get one of them on D-Day.

Posted: **Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:44 pm**

Operation Gibbet - supporting targets

I am taking Sinabang because it will provide an eventual AF 8 that is on the west side of the island, allowing me to base bombers there in relative safety. Even if things turn sour with our ambitions after this initial landing, Sinabang will provide a sort of aerial redoubt to hedge the bet. At this point he can't kick me out.

Sibolga was meant to secure the Sabang landings and weaken his response by broadening it. Defenses there are weak - just a garrison unit and some engineers. The idea was to cut across the Tandjoeng-whatever and cut off his LCUs from Sabang, and come up on Medan from the south.

We'll see if I can land there after Sinabang, but I have my doubts since at that point we'll be 3-4 days into his reaction.

Without the SIGINT hit, I would've held at 10 hexes out from both for as long as possible or until the CVEs arrived from the SW, which would've ensured being able to get all 3 targets in 2 days of landings.

Posted: **Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:48 pm**

Operation Gibbet - submarines

Initial submarine PZs. 11 subs, with a few more coming after repairs finish. His aerial search/ASW has been lighter here than it has been previously. Lots of overlap here - only 19 green hexes for PZ nodes, but each sub has at least 2 nodes set. If that smaller KB or those BBs spotted at Singapore plan to come up this way, I want them to have to run over a bunch of subs first.

We'll lay mines the day after the landings, just in case he has more surface capability in the area than I anticipate from the combination of forces known elsewhere and recon of bases.

Posted: **Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:01 pm**

Detailed shot of Japanese forces in the area, per recon and SIGINT. I was hoping to get eyes on his 4 missing CVs at Singapore. It's possible they're at one of the 3 smaller ports in the Strait of Malacca, but doubtful. I do have naval search as far south as Medan. Maybe they're based at Palembang - can CVs travel up rivers?

His nearest airfields to northern Sumatra, other than Medan (9) and Georgetown (3, but with little/no air support) are all the way down at Padang, the AF next door, and Singapore.

It's worth nothing that the airfield just outside of Palembang has been built up to level 9, so that could be a sticky situation if I choose to march straight down the spine of Sumatra or try to burn up Palembang with bombers.

According to Tracker, I've sunk over 100 IJN DDs:
7 Akizuki (of 25)
1 Shimakaze (of 13)
27 Yugumo/Kagero (of 45)
23 Asashio/Fubuki (of 40)
14 Shiratsuyu/Hatsuharu (of 18)
26 worth 6 VPs (Mutsuki/Minekaze/Kamikaze/etc.)
6 of the smaller, shorter ones

Of course this is slightly overestimated, and I only track confirmed sinkings of CL and larger, but I can't help but think he's going to be perilously low on escorts for the rest of the war. In Scen 2, Japan only gets 275 DDs. This is Scen 1, so he doesn't get a lot of the Matsu-class (31) or Tachibana-class (51), I think, both of which are built with AA and ASW only. And radar. Basically, KB escorts. I'd be thrilled if he got no Tachibanas, meaning only 224 total DDs. Halfway there!

Matrix Games Forums

Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet

RE: Headhunter - Lokasenna (A) vs. mind_messing (J) - No MM yet