The Battle Under: Japan looks to the South

[SierraJuliet]

19 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Bombardment attack at Johore Bahru causes 81 allied casualties and 4 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Bombardment at Changsa causes 492 allied casualties and 3 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Japanese forces at Wuchow launch a deliberate attack and gain 1 to 1 odds and reduce forts to level 3.  Japanese losses are reported at 1103 with 25 guns and 1 vehicle lost to 254 Chinese casualties and 7 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Japanese deliberate attack at Clark Field ends with reports of 1895 Japanese casualties and 35 guns and 7 vehicles lost to 674 allied casualties and 32 guns and 1 vehicle lost.  Assault odds of 1 to 1 are achieved and fort level reduced by 1 to level 4.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: Troops are ashore at Shortlands.  Talasea and Hansa are captured unopposed.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Central Pacific[align=left] [/align]Sea:  The hunt goes on.  Nagumo has stripped KB of light escorts and the plodders and moves south at full speed.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]No reported activity.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]Nil[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]Apart from the land action around the place this seems to have been a relatively quiet turn.  My focus though has been on the hunt for the American fleet.  The die is cast now with Nagumo spending at fretful night onboard Akagi trying to second guess his plan.  On board the carriers the pilots are ready for an early morning and the hope of finally bringing the Americans to battle.

Thanks for the input guys.  Damian... I thought hard on the south or even south east option but really didn't want to be too close to Johnson come daylight so somewhat south west it has to be.  As for hindsight.... Nagumo should have put KB on holiday 3-4 days ago and sat it out and saved a stack of fuel and simply waited for the Americans to show up.  [:D][8|][:D]

[SierraJuliet]

Nagumo, despite his misgivings about the wisdom of his plan, was managing to enjoy the morning.  His 5 carriers were going about their business in a purposeful manner and the first strike of the day was forming up.  Word had recently come in from the scouts of not 1 but 2 formations of warships.  One not far to the north and the other somewhat farther away to the south east.  Based on the reports it was determined that the American carrier was likely to be the group of ships to the south east and the first strikes had orders to proceed in that direction.  60 Zero fighters had been assigned to CAP duty over the fleet.  For the time being all was well.  The plan had worked and the wolf was in the chicken coop.  Would anyone show up to protect the chickens?[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]The answer was not long in coming.  Soon all eyes were trained to the skies in the south east where dots were to seen in the sky and those dots were soon growing in size until it was easy to make out the shapes of war planes.  The CAP appeared to be doing wonders and American planes began falling from the sky.  It seemed that not a one would get through to torment the ships.  The sound of agitated voices and cries of alarm alerted Nagumo to a group of dive bombers that had managed to form up above Hiryu and make a run on her.  Nagumo looked her way just in time to see an explosion burst from amidships.  Soon Hiryu was wreathed in plumes of black churning smoke.  Damage reports soon made their way to Akagi and Nagumo was assured that whilst the damage was serious Hiryu had matters under control and could maintain her position.  Within minutes of starting the American attack was over and only a few of the enemy carrier’s planes were heading back to base.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Now it was time to await the results of the first strike.  The reports when they came back in were most encouraging.  1 carrier, believed to be Enterprise, hit by 10 bombs and 3 torpedoes.  1 heavy cruiser hit by 5 bombs.  1 destroyer hit by 2 bombs and a light cruiser, believed to be Helena, hit by 1 torpedo.  The gamble sounded like it was paying off.  As the day wore on further strikes set out.  The last large strike of the day comprising 48 Val and 44 Kate reported 1 bomb hit and 3 torpedoes on a cruiser believed to be Astoria.  Another heavy cruiser was reported to have been hit by 2 bombs and 3 torpedoes.  Helena was reported to have been blasted by 11 bombs and 5 torpedoes whilst a destroyer in the group was reported to have been hit by 5 bombs.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]As for the American ships to the north… Nagumo had insisted that a least one strike set out in that direction.  11 Val set out and it soon became apparent that this was the American replenishment fleet.  For reasons best known to the pilots they picked out a single destroyer as this one ship was reportedly hit by 7 bombs.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]By the end of the day Nagumo had confirmation that Enterprise was sunk along with 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer.  Yet again, with night fall fast approaching Nagumo had a decision to make…. How best to deploy his fleet in order to make the most of this situation.  Kaga entered his thoughts… she wasn’t that far away.  Order her to resume a south easterly course.  That should bring her within range of that replenishment fleet if it decides to head away to the north.  Now what to do with the rest of the fleet……

[n01487477]

Steve,
bet there were a few quick heartbeats in the action ... welcome to WITP PBEM!

Ok, just a few thoughts
1. The Allies usually go around in single CVTF's esp at the beginning of the game, how many airgroups attacked Wake or alternatively just now in this engagement ? This is where watching the combat turn is good intel.Were there multi- groups FT/TB/DB's? If so there could be a second CVTF waiting.
2. Look after Hiryu, you are a bit of a way from Kwajalein.
3. Next Turn, the Allies will stack Johnson and Palmyra LRCAP and LB ... the AO's will escape, which is a pity, cause apart from CV's they are a good prize. But I think they are too close to Johnson now.
4. If he refueled last turn, the CVTF still moved a fair distance, but it means he'll probably get max this turn.
5. I'd probably follow one more turn, if you break off Hiryu, I'd probably LRCAP the main TF (but this is a gamble that there isn't another CVTF to the West)
6. LRCAP from Kaga, might be a possibility too ...
7. Maybe set the cap 10% higher next time you battle, check your AA TF rating, in future try to get a good mix of BB's as alternative targets and high AA ships into the mix ....
8. Don't push the fuel too much, nothing like a one hex movement to really reinforce this.

Cheers and congrats.
--Damian--

[ny59giants]

You might want to break off Hiryu and a DD to head back for Kwajelien, but have Kaga met her and escort her back to safety. Meanwhile, the other 4 CVs of KB can continue the hunt. You may have to face Saratoga and Lexington at most. Good hunting!! 

[SierraJuliet]

Hi Damian[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Thanks for the comprehensive round up of things to think about.  As you would expect the issue of what to do with KB now is a vexed issue and the issues you have raised have helped.  The problems with having such a spectacularly good result are the desire to follow-up and finish things off and expose the fleet to unjustified harm.  In a way I think I was very lucky to get past Johnson twice without giving the game away.  Must admit though the thrill of the hunt was fantastic and even when things go bad I’ll still have this exploit to look back on.  From Todd’s last post, where he made reference to the ocean being a big place, he was feeling pretty good about getting away…. I’ll be posting the next turn to him soon so listen out for wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from Brazil.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Re your points.[align=left] [/align]1.        I have been wondering about the likes of Sara, Lex and Yorktown.  They have to be somewhere and until Enterprise turned up at Wake Island I had no idea where any of them were.  Todd seems to have had the same problem with KB too.  We are playing without animations on so I only have the operations reports to go off.  At Wake there were 2 strikes.  The first one was made up of 9 Wildcat and 30 Dauntless with the 2nd being made up of 9 Wildcat, 15 Dauntless and 18 Devastator.  That to me seems to make up the best part of 1 carrier worth of strike planes.  As for the single strike against KB it was made up of 14 Wildcat and 30 Dauntless (5 appear to have made it through).  As Todd had his replenishment fleet in the area I would not be surprised to find at least another carrier task force sniffing around.[align=left] [/align]2.        Hiryu is currently at 28 07 35.  Thankfully flotation is not too bad although some dock time is now in order.[align=left] [/align]3.        Would love to get the TK and AO.  The only strike against them was 11 Val and it looks like 7 of them picked on Cassin and sent her to the bottom.  The other ships gone, by the way, are Astoria and Helena.  Minneapolis should be a loss with reports of her taking 5 bombs and 3 torpedoes.  Can’t fault you on your thinking re air out of Johnson and Palmyra…. Frankly I was surprised to see nothing coming at me from Johnson.[align=left] [/align]4.        What was the CVTF seems to have broken into a couple of task forces…. Probably to look after the damaged ships so some should move quick and others not so quick.[align=left] [/align]5.        Would love to follow for more success.  Don’t want to break off Hiryu and really have no escort for KB other than 2 cruisers and 1 destroyer….it was the only way to get the quick carriers there given the fuel situation.  I am also very aware given the slim escort that with the fleets so close together an unexpected surface action is probably the last thing I would want out of this.[align=left] [/align]6.        I think Kaga is just a bit too far away for LRCAP.[align=left] [/align]7.        Good points on the AA mix….. How do the Japanese manage to capture a couple of Iowa class for this purpose![align=left] [/align]8.        Back to fuel again…… the final point to help me decide that I have scored a good victory and it is time to head for home and leave the hornets nest alone for the time being.

Michael... I read your post after I had written the above response to Damian.  Made me think about it very hard and very tempting to go a hunting a little longer.  The thought of damaged Hiryu running into some nasty surprise would take the gloss off a good victory so ships have been ordered home.

[n01487477]

Steve,
I think given the situation esp. regarding Hiryu and the lack of escort that heading for home is sensible. The fire damage on Hiryu would have made her a bomb magnet and your detection level would have increased substantially. Also The fire damage is pretty high and if the dice gods are fickle then that will equate into a load of float damage - I rarely double guess the system esp with CV's.

As for animations off ... why ? Turn them back on, if not for just seeing the pleasure of an Allied CV under fire.

Kongo Class BB's have the speed and some good AA, look at the ship screen on TRacker to see AA ratings for more, but I'd pick 1 or 2 CA's, CL Oi or Kitakami for radar another CL or two with speed and AA, then Mutsuki class DD for AA and after the upgrade in Feb for ASW. Start sending them back soon for upgrades.

Have you ordered some more AR's ? If you have some, send one out to Kwajalein, another to the SRA, Naval HQ's should also be employed... Also start thinking of rotating CV's back home as their sys damage increases.

--Damian--

Also think about those AO's, and combine SS's, AO's, CV's and land based search planes in any future operations ... I know it is difficult to organise, but it gets results.

[SierraJuliet]

20 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Bombardment attack at Johore Bahru causes 47 casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: Sweep over Singapore by 25 Zero brings down 1 of 3 Buffalo on CAP.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Burma[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Taung Gyi causes 6 allied casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Bombardment at Changsa causes 91 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Deliberate attack at Wuchow causes 1650 Japanese casualties and 55 guns and 2 vehicles lost to 410 Chinese casualties and 6 guns lost.  Forts are reduced to level 2.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Kweilin 16th Army Group is bombed by 24 Sonia and reports 23 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Bombardment attack at Clark Field causes Allied 59 casualties and 4 guns and 1 vehicle lost.[align=left] [/align]Allied bombardment causes 39 Japanese casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: Troops are ashore at Buna.[align=left] [/align]Shortlands is captured and Salamaua is occupied.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Air: A small force of PT operating near Toboali is attacked by 10 Oscar with PT TM-11 strafed and reported to have been hit 8 times.  Only small damage but fun to see the Oscar being useful.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Central Pacific[align=left] [/align]Sea:  In the first of a number of air strikes today the Americans get in the first punch with 30 Dauntless escorted by 14 Wildcat taking on a CAP of 60 Zero in the skies over and around KB.  The CAP/flak is magnificent and destroys 13 Wildcat and 25 Dauntless.  5 Dauntless get through and land 1 bomb on Hiryu.[align=left] [/align]The first strike from KB contains 49 Val and 40 Kate escorted by 30 Zero.  13 Wildcat on CAP meet this force.  By the end of this action 2 Val and 3 Kate have been lost and in return 11 Wildcat are swamped by the fighter cover and destroyed.  Enterprise is set upon and reported to have been hit by 10 bombs and 3 torpedoes.  San Francisco is reportedly hit by 5 bombs, the destroyer Cummings by 2 bombs and CL Helena is struck by 1 torpedo.[align=left] [/align]15 Val managed to set out without locating the task force and return without result.[align=left] [/align]Next a smaller flight of 15 Val and 17 Kate escorted by 4 Zero find Minneapolis and this cruiser is struck by 3 bombs.  Flak accounts for 3 Val out of the attacking force.[align=left] [/align]Next 17 Kate escorted by 9 Zero locate San Francisco and without scoring any hits lose 3 of their number to flak.[align=left] [/align]Another flight of 12 Kate misses the target.[align=left] [/align]In the afternoon strike 48 Val and 44 Kate find the task force.  Enterprise doesn’t seem to be around and the attack concentrates on the escorts.  Astoria is hit by 1 bomb and 3 torpedoes, Minneapolis is hit by 2 bombs and 3 torpedoes whilst Helena is mauled with 11 bombs and a reported 5 torpedo hits.  Destroyer Ellet is also reported to have been hit by 5 bombs.  Flak is still lethal with 3 Val and 2 Kate being destroyed.[align=left] [/align]The replenishment task force to the north of KB is not entirely overlooked with 11 Val escorted by 33 Zero paying them a visit.  The Val pilots seem to have destroyer fixation as Cassin is singled out and is subjected to 7 bomb hits.[align=left] [/align]20 Kate escorted by 7 Zero also pay the replenishment task force a visit but this time the attackers leave without results and leave behind 2 Kate claimed by flak.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]In the end a good result with 1 fleet carrier, 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer confirmed as sunk.  Excellent results for the fighters and not too many Val and Kate lost.  Only blemish is the damage to Hiryu.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]PO1 Kurihara and PO2 Hamano both record 5 kills each to achieve the distinction of becoming aces in a day.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]No reported activity.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]CV Enterprise, CA Astoria, CL Helena, DD Cassin[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]The end result of the chase was very satisfying.  I didn’t think that I was going to do it but it seems that holding my nerve and stripping KB was the way to go in the end.  Todd and I have exchanged some details of how it all panned out and it seems that Enterprise and escorts had just topped up and were moving away at cruise speed.  Seems to me that if Enterprise had of moved at mission speed I would have missed her again but the replenishment task force would have been there to be destroyed.  All in all a great result and no matter how things turn out this is one victory in the bag. 

[ny59giants]

KUDOS!!
 
If you haven't started it yet (no HR against it), then it would be a good time to crank up your pilot training program in China to get some pilots trained up to refill KB. There is a way to disband your pilots from a chutai or daitai into another daitai and refill the depleted daitai with inexperienced piolts to start training up. Keeping your pilots in KB with high experience levels is a must.

[SierraJuliet]

ORIGINAL: n01487477

Steve,
I think given the situation esp. regarding Hiryu and the lack of escort that heading for home is sensible. The fire damage on Hiryu would have made her a bomb magnet and your detection level would have increased substantially. Also The fire damage is pretty high and if the dice gods are fickle then that will equate into a load of float damage - I rarely double guess the system esp with CV's.

As for animations off ... why ? Turn them back on, if not for just seeing the pleasure of an Allied CV under fire.

Kongo Class BB's have the speed and some good AA, look at the ship screen on TRacker to see AA ratings for more, but I'd pick 1 or 2 CA's, CL Oi or Kitakami for radar another CL or two with speed and AA, then Mutsuki class DD for AA and after the upgrade in Feb for ASW. Start sending them back soon for upgrades.

Have you ordered some more AR's ? If you have some, send one out to Kwajalein, another to the SRA, Naval HQ's should also be employed... Also start thinking of rotating CV's back home as their sys damage increases.

--Damian--

Also think about those AO's, and combine SS's, AO's, CV's and land based search planes in any future operations ... I know it is difficult to organise, but it gets results.

Thanks Damian. I'm a few game days behind in the AAR but Hiryu is about to make port at Kwajalein. Just 1 known sub(being hunted) and a mine field (being cleared) to get past. Her flotation is normal and fires are out but system damage is at 49.... a bit of R & R coming up for the crew.

Todd requested we play with animations off. I know it means losing stuff but it does make things a bit quicker. I'm rather used to it now and get to see animations in my game with Ambassador so I'm ok with the animations or lack thereof in our game.

I am a believer in the Kongos for KB but only went to sea with Kirishima on the last sortie as Hiei had 6 system damage and I wanted to give her a rest. Haruna is repairing torpedo damage at Shanghai and Kongo is near Borneo. I had meant to get Oi or Kitakami married up with KB at the start but then went and forgot about their radar. Kitakami is currently in Shanghai repairing damage and I think Oi is somewhere around Borneo as well.

Ordered a bunch of AK conversions to AR etc at the start and have been moving what I do have around the map. Rotations already... this game is big but I am enjoying very much!

Thanks for the heads up on upgrades. Just had a look at the Mutsuki upgrade and it looks well worth the effort. Mochizuki is currently at Tokyo repairing damage so she is in line for the first upgrade.

Thanks again.

Steve

[SierraJuliet]

21 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Bombardment at Johore Bahru causes Japanese casualties of 1378 with 46 guns and 2 vehicles lost to 228 allied casualties and 10 guns lost.  Forts are reduced to level 4 with assault odds of 1 to 1 achieved.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Bombardment at Changsa causes 178 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Bombardment at Wuchow causes 84 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: 10 Sonia bomb 57th Chinese Corps at Changsa and cause 16 casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Bombardment at Clark Field causes 176 Allied casualties and 9 guns lost.  The Allied counter bombardment causes 73 Japanese casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: Buna is captured.[align=left] [/align]Air: Near Buna 3 Hudson locate a small transport fleet and hit AP Kaijo Maru #2 which causes damage of 23 10 23.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Air: Near Toboali 6 Martin 139 and 5 Brewster 339D attempt to bomb a surface action task force without result and loose 1 Martin to flak.[align=left] [/align]Near Brunei 7 Martin 139 attempt to bomb Shoho.  They are met by a CAP of 6 Zero and 2 Martin are destroyed.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Central Pacific[align=left] [/align]Sea:  KB is now well out of the action zone and heading towards Kwajalein at cruise speed.  Hiryu is being nursed along and her damage now stands at 39 06 13 with the fires under control but system damage on the rise.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]Off shore from Brunei SS O24 puts 2 torpedoes into AP Zenyo Maru which has damage of 83 97 49.[align=left] [/align]SS O24, still offshore from Brunei, locates AP Shinyu Maru and puts 2 torpedoes into this ship causing 71 67 25 damage.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]Nil reported.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Ouch, SS O24 packs a punch this turn.  Things are looking good for KB and Hiryu in particular. 

[flaggelant]

ORIGINAL: SierraJuliet

Thanks Damian. I'm a few game days behind in the AAR but Hiryu is about to make port at Kwajalein. Just 1 known sub(being hunted) and a mine field (being cleared) to get past. Her flotation is normal and fires are out but system damage is at 49.... a bit of R & R coming up for the crew.

i believe its normal to count a point of system damage for every fire-point that goes out
don't know the rules of thumb for it since i haven't been in the position yet (i did get a CV bombed in the guadal scenario, but with no repair facilities in the scenario i didn't monitor her situation after making port)

so to say a carrier with 50 fires isn't likely to make port if she has a lot of system damages as well
(depending a bit on distance to port & the facilities over there)

[SierraJuliet]

ORIGINAL: flaggelant

ORIGINAL: SierraJuliet

Thanks Damian. I'm a few game days behind in the AAR but Hiryu is about to make port at Kwajalein. Just 1 known sub(being hunted) and a mine field (being cleared) to get past. Her flotation is normal and fires are out but system damage is at 49.... a bit of R & R coming up for the crew.

i believe its normal to count a point of system damage for every fire-point that goes out
don't know the rules of thumb for it since i haven't been in the position yet (i did get a CV bombed in the guadal scenario, but with no repair facilities in the scenario i didn't monitor her situation after making port)

so to say a carrier with 50 fires isn't likely to make port if she has a lot of system damages as well
(depending a bit on distance to port & the facilities over there)

Hi flaggelant

Just to help out here are the day be day damage stats for Hiryu up the current turn where she has one day of sailing before making Kwajalein.

28 07 35 day she was hit by planes from Enterprise
39 06 13 fires now well under control(fires down 22 but system damage only up 11)
47 07 06 fires now down by 7 and system damage up by 8
49 01 02 fires now down by 4 and system damage up by 2
49 00 00 Situation stable

Seems that as fires go out system damage does rise but the worst system damage is when the fire is at its worst then as the crew get a handle on the fires less system damage should be expected. I would also expect that the system damage will rise albeit at a slower rate as the crew have time to discover how much of the ship's systems were destroyed by the fires.

[SierraJuliet]

22 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese deliberate attack at Johore Bahru causes 204 Japanese casualties and 8 guns lost to the Allied 116 casualties and 3 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: Regular as clock work 24 Zero perform another sweep over Singapore and bring down the 1 Buffalo CAP.[align=left] [/align]At Johore Bahru 32 Sally and 20 Lily drop their bombs on 12th Indian Brigade causing 62 casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Burma[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese shock attack at Taung Gyi causes 690 Japanese casualties, 17 guns and 3 vehicles lost to 27 Allied casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Deliberate Japanese attack at Changsa brings fort level down to 1 and causes Japanese casualties of 2486 with 66 guns and 2 vehicles lost for 1385 Chinese casualties and 38 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Japanese bombardment attack at Wuchow causes 2 Japanese casualties and 11 Chinese casualties with 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Kweilin 24 Sonia bomb 16th Group Army causing 42 casualties.[align=left] [/align]At Changsa 6 Sally bomb 57th Chinese Corps and cause 28 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Japanese bombardment attack causes 105 casualties and 5 guns lost for the defenders.  The return Allied bombardment causes 132 Japanese casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: Troops are ashore at Buin.
Air: 3 Hudson locate a small transport task force and one bomb hits AP Katsuragisan Maru causing 51 14 15 damage.[align=left] [/align][align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Land: Troops are ashore at Toboali.[align=left] [/align]Sea: PTs TM-10, TM-11 and TM-12 locate a small transport task force near Singkawant and between them put one torpedo into AP Meiten Maru.  See subs for more grief visited upon this ship.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Central Pacific[align=left] [/align]Sea:  Hiryu still looking good.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]Near Singkawang SS O21 puts one torpedo into AP Meiten Maru which brings total damage up to 75 96 32.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]AP Zenyo Maru, AP Shinyu Maru[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]The attack at Taung Gyi was a little too ambitious.  The troops here will dig in for a while and wait it out while the more important attempt to take Mandalay is played out.  Deliberate attack at Johore Bahru was not meant to happen today and the damage to the Japanese forces is less than I expected it might have been has not all forces went in on this attack.  Changsa continues to look promising with fort level coming down again.

[SierraJuliet]

23 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: At Johore Bahru Japanese bombardment causes 54 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Singapore the 1 Buffalo CAP is destroyed by 25 Zero flying sweep.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Burma[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Mandalay causes 13 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Taung Gyi 23 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 6 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Land bombardment at Changsa causes 126 Japanese casualties and 2 guns and 4 vehicles lost to 184 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Japanese bombardment at Wuchow causes 33 Chinese casualties.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Kweilin 16th Group Army is bombed by 21 Sonia and loses 27 casualties.[align=left] [/align]At Changsa 11 Sally bomb 51st Chinese Corps and cause 3 casualties whilst 8 Ann hit 89th Chinese Corps and cause 19 casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Japanese deliberate attack at Clark Field causes 847 Japanese casualties and 31 guns and 4 vehicles lost to 1584 Allied casualties and 40 guns and 2 vehicles lost.  Assault odds are at 0 to 1 but fort levels are reduced to level 3.  [align=left] [/align]At Naga Japanese bombardment attack causes 26 Japanese casualties and 8 guns lost to 45 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Clark Field 43 Betty and 15 Helen bomb 71st PA Division and cause 47 casualties with 1 Helen being destroyed.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: The undefended base at Buin is captured.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Land: The undefended base at Toboali is captured.[align=left] [/align]Sea: 10 Oscar operating out of Kuching locates 2 Dutch PTs and put 8 shell hits into PT TM-10.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]Off shore from Brunei DDs Fumizuki, Satsuki, Minazuki and Nagatsuki locate SS O24 and report 4 hits on this sub.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]AP Meiten Maru[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Land action a plenty going on across the Pacific.

[SierraJuliet]

 24 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese at Johore Bahru bombardment attack causes 34 Allied casualties.[align=left] [/align]Air: Singapore is bombed by 20 Nell escorted by 22 Zero.  1 Buffalo is destroyed and on the ground the Allied forces sustain 50 casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Burma[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese deliberate attack at Mandalay achieves assault odds of 142 to 1 and reduces the forts to level 1.  Japanese forces suffer 109 casualties with 2 guns and 1 vehicle lost.  Allied casualties amount to 66 with 5 guns lost and the minimal Allied forces present retreat across the river towards Lashio.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Changsa causes 385 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]At Wuchow Japanese bombardment causes 9 Japanese casualties for 178 Chinese casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Kweilin 24 Sonia hit 16th Group Army and cause 69 casualties.[align=left] [/align]At Changsa 15 Sally bomb 51st Chinese Corps and cause 61 casualties and 3 guns lost.  9 Sonia joins in and hit 57th Chinese Corps causing 13 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  At Naga Japanese deliberate attack at 0 to 1 odds causes 544 Japanese casualties with 19 guns and 2 vehicles lost.  Allied forces sustained 64 casualties and 1 gun lost.  Forts here are at level 3.[align=left] [/align]Japanese bombardment at Clark Field causes 265 Allied casualties and 3 guns lost.  The return fire from the Allied forces causes 31 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: Dobodura is occupied by Japan.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Sea: Near Singkawang 3 Martin 139 locate an ASW fleet and hit PG Saga with 1 bomb causing 19 03 04 damage.[align=left] [/align]Also near Singkawang a force of 8 Martin 139 and 7 Blenheim locates the covering surface task force here.  The CAP doesn’t appear and CA Ashigara suffers 4 bombs hits causing 06 00 15 damage.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]Near Kuching SS O24 puts 1 torpedo into AP Hakasika Maru causing 66 33 29 damage.[align=left] [/align]At Singkawang PG Hasidate is hit by 2 torpedoes fired from SS O21 and she sustains 37 64 27 damage.  PCs Shonan Maru # 7 and Shonan Maru #6 along with PGs Eifuku Maru, Uji and Saga take up the attack and report 3 hits on the sub.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]Nil reported.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]I haven’t reported the unsuccessful air attacks but this turn saw a very concerted effort and a couple of very well coordinated air attacks on my naval forces around Singkawang by Todd’s Dutch air force.  Fortunately Ashigara and Saga were the only casualties and will return after some port attention.  [align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Mandalay was given only a token defense and has now fallen.  My forces in Burma are much stretched and will need to time to regroup and await reinforcement after some of the other land campaigns have concluded.  A very good result though in such a short space of time.

[SierraJuliet]

25 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment attack at Johore Bahru causes 41 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: 20 Sally, 11 Nell and 20 Lily attack 6th Indian Brigade at Johore Bahru causing 62 casualties and 1 gun lost.  A follow-up raid by 9 Sally causes another 12 casualties and 1 gun lost for this unit.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Changsha causes Chinese loses of 265 casualties and 3 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Japanese forces at Wuchow undertake a deliberate attack reducing the fortifications to level 1 and achieving assault odds of 3 to 1 and the base is captured.  Japanese loses amounted to 1209 casualties, 22 guns and 1 vehicle lost.  The Chinese had reported loses of 677 casualties and 11 guns lost.  The 4th War Area, 9th Group Army, 4th Chinese Corps and 65th Chinese Corps retreat in the direction of Hengchow.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Japanese bombardment attack at Clark Field causes 102 Allied casualties with 4 guns and 1 vehicle lost.  The return Allied fire causes 13 Japanese casualties.[align=left] [/align]Air: 14 Betty and 12 Helen attack 31st USA Regimental Combat Team at Clark Field and cause 25 casualties and 1 gun lost.  A further strike at this location by 60 Betty and 13 Helen against 200th USA Coast AA Regiment causes 143 casualties and 4 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: Troops are ashore at Sag Sag.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Land: Troops are ashore at Tarakan.[align=left] [/align]Sea: Hyuga and Ise bombard Tarakan causing 362 casualties, 7 guns and 1 vehicle lost along with 1 airbase hit, 8 runway hits, 3 port hits and 5 port supply hits.  During the daytime bombardment the same ships cause 94 casualties and 1 vehicle lost as well as 6 runway hits, 1 port hit, 1 port fuel hit and 2 port supply hits.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]At Tarakan SS KXVIII shoots 1 torpedo into PG Saiko Maru causing 52 84 20 damage.  [align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]DD Ellet is reported sunk as a result of the carrier action against the Enterprise task force.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]The fall of Wuchow was a welcome result.  The action here was only meant to be a diversion from the main action at Changsa but I now have a useful base to work out of and put some further pressure on the Chinese forces in this sector.

[SierraJuliet]

26 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: At Johore Bahru a Japanese deliberate attack reduces the forts to level 3 and achieves assault odds of 3 to 1.  Japanese loses are reported at 1732 casualties with 72 guns and 8 vehicles lost to 538 Allied casualties and 11 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Burma[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Taung Gyi causes 5 Japanese causalities and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Taung Gyi 18 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 46 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Changsa causes 424 Allied casualties and 5 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Changsha 9 Sonia bomb 57th Chinese Corps causing 28 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Japanese bombardment at Clark Field causes 216 Allied casualties and 8 guns lost.  The return Allied fire causes 14 Japanese casualties.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Clark Field 49 Betty and 13 Helen escorted by 5 Zero bomb 31st USA Regimental Combat Team causing 167 casualties and 1 gun lost.  The attack was opposed by a CAP of 2 P-35A and 1 of these planes was shot down.[align=left] [/align]In a further attack at Clark Field 15 Betty and 14 Helen target 45th Regimental Combat Team and cause 33 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: The undefended base at Sag Sag is captured.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese deliberate attack at Tarakan reduces the forts to level 1 and achieves assault odds of 90 to 1 and the base is captured.  Japanese loses are 103 casualties and 1 gun lost to 309 Allied casualties and 6 guns lost.  VII Garrison Battalion and 2nd DAF Base Force retreat whilst Tarakan Coastal Battalion surrenders.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Tarakan 3 Martin 139 make it through the 2 Claude CAP and land 1 bomb on BB Hyuga causing no damage.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]At Tarakan my ASW task force obtains 1 hit on SS KXVIII.[align=left] [/align]At Tarakan SS KXVIII then strikes with 1 torpedo hit on DD Ayanami causing 45 48 12 damage.  KXXVIII is then hunted by other destroyers in the task force and 2 hits are reported on the submarine.[align=left] [/align]Off shore from Mersing SS Trusty puts 1 torpedo into AK Atago Maru causing 31 55 18 damage.  The escorts in this troop convoy locate the sub and report 4 hits on Trusty.[align=left] [/align]Off shore from Brunei SS O23 hits DD Satsuki with 1 torpedo causing 39 71 26 damage.  The other destroyers in this ASW task force returns fire and report 2 hits on this submarine.[align=left] [/align]Southwest of Pearl Harbour SS I-1 is hit 8 times by a mixed DMS and DD task force.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]Nil reported.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]Sub action has moved up a notch with hits being traded on both sides.  I-1 is just south of Pearl hoping to make contact with any stragglers from the Enterprise group but it seems that she has become the hunted.

[SierraJuliet]

27 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Johore Bahru causes 73 Allied casualties and 4 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Air: At Singapore 8 Nell bomb 2nd ISF Base Force and cause 5 casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Air: At Wuchow 21 Sonia strike at 16th Group Army and cause 10 casualties.[align=left] [/align]At Changsha 9 Sally bomb 89th Chinese Corps and cause 8 casualties and 2 guns lost.[align=left] [/align]Land: At Changsha Japanese deliberate attack reduces forts to level 0 and achieves assault odds of 2 to 1 and the base is captured.  Japanese loses are 2224 casualties with 86 guns and 7 vehicles lost to 1530 Allied casualties and 40 guns lost.  1 I-16c is destroyed on the airfield.  22nd Group Army, 4th and 2nd New Chinese Corps and the 44th, 191st, 81st, 51st, 57th and 89th Chinese Corps are seen retreating towards Hengchow.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Japanese deliberate attack at Clark Field reduces forts to level 2 and achieve 1 to 1 assault odds and cause 1412 Japanese casualties with 65 guns and 14 vehicles lost to 1093 Allied casualties and 47 guns lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land:  Troops are ashore at Wewak.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]No reports[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]PG Saiko Maru, AP Atuta Maru (succumbs from bomb damage 11 days previous) and SS Trusty reported sunk from the attention received the previous day.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]Success in China!  Masses of troops now released to move on Hengchow.

[SierraJuliet]

28 January 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Land: Japanese bombardment at Johore Bahru causes 86 Allied casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Philippines[align=left] [/align]Land:  Japanese deliberate attack at Clark Field achieves 0 to 1 odds and without effect on the level 2 forts.  The Japanese report 183 casualties and 4 guns lost to 196 Allied casualties and 11 guns lost.  The Allied return fire causes 11 Japanese casualties.[align=left] [/align]At Naga Japanese bombardment attack cause 2 Japanese casualties against 15 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]South Eastern Pacific[align=left] [/align]Land: The undefended base at Wewak is captured by Japanese forces.[align=left] [/align]Air: Near Sag Sag 3 Hudson locate a small force of transports and land 1 bomb on AP Zukai Maru for 20 07 13 damage.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Air: 3 Martin 139 attack the surface action task force at Tarakan.  1 Martin is destroyed for 1 bomb hit on Ise which causes 00 00 01 damage.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]No action to report[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]Nil reported.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]Not a great deal happening this turn with China going through a reorganization of troop deployments.  The assault at Clark Field wasn’t meant to happen.  I suspect I missed a unit and off it went… Good thing about the Japanese Army – you can always find a hot head to blame.  [8|]

[flaggelant]

about China;
 
have you considered an assault on Chungking before marching on Henchow, to cut the army in half?
 
if you just push them back all the time they'll end up piling up in Chungking, 
If you'r able to split the army into fragments you might be able to crush them one at a time (without doing so in a city hex)
 
 
 
And on your Clark Field hot head, thats probably a very disrupted unit right now, might want to  check his disruption lvl before the next assault
 
and a screenshot would be nice to see, China will be looking a bit different from the last screeny i believe [8D]