I'd be interested in knowing a bit more about which forces are involved and what they are doing. A bit of an overview, you're telling us a lot about individual engagements and what certain TF are doing, but it's sometimes hard to keep track of the bigger picture. All in all this is a pretty interesting read.
youre good - full army update and explanation of what and why coming up
One of the newly formed ASW TFs starts its work at Lahaina - the S-34 is found but no attack can be carried out.
A back up ASW force en route from Midway to assist at Lahaina comes across the SS Grayling at French Frigate Shoals but again no attack is prosecuted.
The 144th regiment should land at Lahaina next turn but will just unload and rest, i need the disruption levels of everyone to drop before the big attack goes in a few turns after the 33rd arrives the turn after next.
The KB is making moves to leave, its currently passing between Pearl and Lahaina providing cover for the approaching 33rd Div and the big support TF - once thats done it will return to Tokyo - the mini KB here has almost as many planes now at 110.
An SNLF has left Johnston Is to take Hilo opposite Kona - all airfields will be occupied around Pearl to maximise the impact of the air war.
10 more bombers are damaged attacking the remainder of the BBs at Lahaina - 2 Bolo and 8 Dauntless - no damage is suffered from the bombers.
Lahiana's bombardment attack causes 31 Allied casualties, 119 are suffered in return from the replying Allied bombardment
Midway and Johnston, the final destination for all Zeros, Bettys and Sallys and half the Nells are full of aircraft waiting to land at the newly taken airfields at Hawaii
Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo
An xAK approaching Tarakan loaded with elements of the 11th Base Force is attacked but escapes unharmed by SS Seawolf just north west of Borneos coastline
The big Haruna/Kongo TF is scheduled to patrol a big loop around Celebes - heading south past Ambon, west to Kendari and Maccassar and north towards Balikpapan finishing at Tarakan, looking for the cruiser raiding force containing the Boise and Houston. A number of 139WH-3s try their luck but fall to the massed AA fire from this TF.
China
A large part of the minefield at Hong Kong is cleared.
Malaya & Burma
Malacca falls undefended, the 2nd Tank regiment will wait here for the 5th Div and an engineer regiment and will then move north to Kuala Lumpur.
Tavoy falls to the 3rd Yokusuka Paras, Moulemein was reconned last turn and also seems empty, the 1st Raiding Force will be lifted from Port Blair to here asap.
Forces in play
The Pearl Support force (en route to Kona to build large airfield)
9th Indian Heavy Artillery Btn
21st Indian Engineer Regiment
3rd Indian Engineer Regiment
8th Medium Artillery Regiment
15th Indian Artillery Mortar Btn
2nd Indian Artillery Mortar Btn
3rd Engineer Construction Btn
th Field AF Construction Btn
56th Construction Co.
Lahaina Invasion Force
16th Division - originally only unit to be used but improved defenses meant reinforcements
16th Army HQ
1st, 4th, and 5th Base Force
36th Construction Co.
6th and 7th Naval Construction Btn
4th Field AF Construction Btn
33rd Division - en route from Midway, 2 turns out
144th Regiment - landing next turn
Pearl Invasion Force
Pearl Support Force
Lahaina Invasion Force
4th Div
48th Div
2nd Div
56th Div
Borneo Invasion Force
65th Brigade
124th Inf Regiment
Guards Mixed Brigade
9th Base Force
2 Engineer regiments
(to take Balikpapan, move onto Ambon, Kendari and prep for either Palembang or Port Moresby)
Malaya/Singapore Invasion Force
Force A - At Mersing waiting for Force B -
5th Div - in Malacca moving to Kuala Lumpur
18th Div
38th Div
21st Div
25th Army HQ
1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th Tank Regiments
41st Inf Regiment
15th Naval Guard
1st, 3rd and 18th Medium FA Regiment
3th and 5th Mortar Btn
1st RF Gun Btn
3rd Indian Mtn Gun Regiment
14th Indian Artillery Mortar Btn
20th AA Regiment
34th Fld AA Btn
Force B - en route from Taiping to Kuala Lumpur and then to Mersing
15th Army HQ
Imperial Guards Division
1st RTA Division
112th Infantry Regiment
55th Engineer Regiment
14th Tank Regiment
55th Cavalry Regiment
21st Medium FA Btn
55th Mountain Gun Regiment
These are the major players at the moment and the names by which they are headed will now be their identification name.
The Pearl Support force (en route to Kona to build large airfield)
9th Indian Heavy Artillery Btn
21st Indian Engineer Regiment
3rd Indian Engineer Regiment
8th Medium Artillery Regiment
15th Indian Artillery Mortar Btn
2nd Indian Artillery Mortar Btn
3rd Engineer Construction Btn
th Field AF Construction Btn
56th Construction Co.
Nice AAR so far comrade!
Just a silly question, are these "Indian" units part of the Japanese OOB?! If they are allied, how come they managed to reach Hawaii so quickly?
SS Argonaut launches an attack on the DD Harusame guarding the unloading ships at Lahaina, she is hit once and the already damaged DD sinks. The sub takes 5 hits in return from the nearby ASW force.
The same ASW force spots SS Thresher but cant prosecute an attack properly.
SS Nautilus is hit twice by ASW TF518 patrolling the waters off Lahaina.
S-28 has a rare off day and misses a passing xAK heading out of Pearl.
Limping home for repairs the BB Mutsu comes across the S-27 at French Frigate shoals - she is hit with one torpedo, floatation is upto 62, but she should make it to Midway for patching up.
SS Gar is found on the west coast of Lahaina and hit 7 times by the newly arrived cruiser force escorting the 144th Regiment into the harbour.
The 144th disembark without trouble and join the 16th Div in attempting to reduce disruption to ready for the attack. The 33rd is 2 moves out, this turn the large BB TF off Lahaina moves to meet them in the middle and then will escort the transport TF in.
The Pearl support force heading to Kona is about 6 turns out, on approach it will split and land just engineers at Kona and the artillery will divert to Lahaina. The KB is sitting at maximum range for its Zeros to provide cover over these 2 TFs and will leave when the 33rd is handed over to the BB TF.
4 Dauntless are destroyed and 1 damaged as they attack the Fuso without causing damage - i think a squadron of SBD-3s has arrived at Pearl, im unsure how unless a CV nearby has flown them in, but theyd be safer flown from a deck i would have thought. 3 more are lost in the afternoon but never make it as far as the ships - the CAP from the KB provides cover.
A number of bombers are lost attacking retreating damaged xAKs and other ships. I have lost recon over Pearl so cant see a rough idea of the air force here but his bomber count must be minimal now. Bettys from Johnston are tasked to recon Pearl for more info.
6 B17s find the KB, no CAP is put up to intercept but the AA fire damages all the attackers - it is time to leave - it is only a matter of time before one of the carriers is damaged without an effective CAP above.
The artillery batteries on Lahaina exchange fire again - the IJ Army causes 41 casualties, the Allies cause 152 casualties.
For the first time since the outbreak of war Allied subs are seen off the Japanese HI - the SS Sculpin is seen near Aogashima and attacks one of the newly converted AKEs bound for Midway to provide resupply services for the BB TF but misses.
Undefended Baker Island falls to the 51st Naval Guards, AV Support is flown in, recon will be sent to Canton to check the garrisons here.
Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo
The small TF shipping in a SNLF force to Donggala is spotted by the 139WH-3 force that routinely patrols these waters and miss everything they fire at - not today - both ships of the TF are hit and set on fire - the forces aboard take casualties but bravely head to their coastal destination.
Undefended Sandakan falls, on a clock face Borneo is Japanese from 11 to 3 - the 2 big bases of Samarinda and Balikpapan remain as major buffers in the advance - the 65th is already en route to Tarakan, the Guards are rounding Mindanao, and 124th is already there.
A number of small TFs have now broken past Jolo and will land at the majority of the bases on Celebes from Donggala to Maccassar - recon shows them all to be empty.
China
110 mines are cleared from Hong Kong bay.
A deliberate attack occurs in the south as Japanese forces attempt to clear the rear lines and advance safely west towards Canton and onwards - the Allies are forced to retreat after taking 4:1 casualties.
Malaya & Borneo
The defeated lump of troops attacks Kuantan at odds of 13:1, the airbase falls once again into the hands of the Allies and the IJN HQ and support head north. This in a way is perfect - Yank has sent all his forces here, every base i take now will lead the retreating forces to head here and once surrounded all Malayas northern forces will surrender in one sweep.
The 5th Div and tank regiment now head west to take Kuala Lumpur instead of Temuloh - i cant use the rail road for Malaya Force B to come down the west as this allied base stops it from been used - once opened the Guards will be here in days not weeks.
i dont think Pearl will bog me down as much as Lahaina - i didnt bring enough to Lahaina and he has reinforced it from Pearl. Whereas everyone will be going in at Pearl i tried to be conservative at Lahaina unaware of the reinforcements there - once the airfields are taken and i can disrupt the ground troops and ship over some much needed artillery its over for Pearl - its all a bit if if if at the moment until i can kick the damn reinforcements out!!
Interestingly enough the allied subs hadnt hit a thing until Lahaina, but now with the fish in a barrel effect and the fact that i think there are 5 subs here hes scoring some hits - this has died down since ASW arrived though
S-35 is found by one of the patrolling ASW forces at Lahaina - she receives 2 hits.
The last remanants of the 144th regiment unload - they are escorted and within a TF made up of CLs, CAs and DDs yet still some xAKs insist on tackling the main guns on the beach and suffering fatal damage in return.
The 33rd Div should land next turn - they have been on these boats since Dec 7th so i will rest them a turn or two and then shock attack - unmodified without the 33rd the assault values on Lahaina are 516 to me and 320 to Yank, there is 420 AV unmodified within the 33rd so............ lets see!
A few stragglers are caught by the bombers coming from Pearl and an xAK is hit as it approaches with the last support remanants of the 144th that didnt want to leave Johnston Is.
In a change of approach Yank bombs the ground troops at Lahaina from Pearl causing minor casualties and losing 3 bombers.
The usual exchange of artillery occurs - this time the Japanese gunners cause 61 Allied casualties and 76 Japanese - i can only assume theyre firing themselves at the Allies!!
The return barrage from the Allies scores 170 casualties - until i understand why this has happened the Japanese will purely rest and wait for the 33rd Div before attacking again.
Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo
2 lucky escapes during the night - Yank launches 2 surprise PT and MTB attacks against the weak escorts watching over unloading ships at Aparri and Iba - both transprt TFs and few SCs and PBs would have been devestated, but in the low moonlight and storms the Japanese fleets managed to escape unharmed.
37 Nells launch an airfield attack against Balikpapan in an attempt to disrupt the forces there, damage the airfield and shut down nav search and recon duties to blind Yank in this area - minor damage was caused and the plans were been made for a similar attack tomorrow but a juicier target has appeared.
The cruiser raiding force has reappeared but this time over 90 naval bombers are waiting, and 200 miles south is the Kongo hunting party. It appears to be on a course to try and intercept the landings at Dongolla, but they arent there!!! all the Celebes transport TFs are halted or pulled back and the BB TF is sent to Dongolla to meet them there, all bombers in the area are reactivated and put on naval attack - lets see if we can catch him - a number of bombers see the Haruna and attack in vain.
China
121 more mines are cleared at Hong Kong at the cost of one clumsy PB who is sent straight to the dock yard for repair.
At Singyeng an Allied shock attack reduces the forts from 4 to 0 - this town will lost next turn. However approx 10,000 AV is on trains to the front to redress the balance and a detailed report of the forces involved - once ive seperated them all - will follow shortly.
Malaya & Burma
Singapore airfield bursts back into life with bombing runs against the ships at Kota Bharu sent to pick up the refugees from the Kuantan guerilla attack. No hits are scored, forces will be moved round to close the airfield again shortly.
The aforementioned guerilla attack already is heading west - i need to pen him in here, Force B should get to them before they can leave the area.
Undefended Moulemein falls to a para drop of the 1st raiders from Port Blair. Surrounding bases will be reconned for further drops.
Good luck on this. In AE, I am finding it's much harder to launch invasions outside of LBA range like you are doing, mostly because KB's strike force is only good for a couple rounds, due to torp limits or just flat out losses. Not to mention fuel. But the biggest problem is the Torpedo limitations. It's a looooong way back to Truk from Hawaii to get more torps.
S-27 is found by the cruiser force escorting the 33rd Division into Lahaina - she escapes before any hits land.
The 33rd Division lands relatively peacefully - all the cruisers (5) open fire on the defenses and the suppression is noticable - inevitable unloading casualties occur - but the 33rd arrives almost intact. On inspection there is 0 disruption, the rest of the troops here have rested and their disruption is down to 15-20 and fatigue is low - a shock attack is ordered for the next turn - its important that Lahaina falls now - bombers are clogging up all the airfields in the area, waiting to land here and start the air war over Pearl. A bombardment from the Allies causes 220 casualties but only to non combat troops.
Forces land on undefended Kona, a deliberate attack will take the base and engineers will land next turn with supplies to immediately start constructing a larger airfield. AV support is coming in from Midway and Johnston Is.
The plan is going to plan, but im probably a week behind after running into stronger forces at Lahaina than expected.
There was very little air action over Pearl, 1 bomber was destroyed attempting to take on the landing troops.
The KB for the first time since hostilities began has left the area - it is heading straight back to Tokyo for reinforcements and resupply.
Phillipines/Formosa/South China Sea/Borneo
The evil raiding cruisers just off the coast of Madjene come across the I-153 and hit the sub once before disappearing into the night.
The taking of the Celebes begins with landings at Pare Pare - an undefended base in the south west of the island.
Waiting to ambush the cruisers at Donggala is the Kongo force - 139WH-3s attempt to attack here but all are damaged or destroyed.
The 65th is just short of Tarakan, the Guards Brigade is maybe 2 turns out, and a large transport TF to make up any shortfall is also due to arrive, as is an air HQ and a base force, and a garrison force - all this will land at Samarinda take the base and then march to Balikpapan.
A defeated straggler has appeared behind the lines at Beaufort on the north coast of Borneo - the 91st Guards, left here for this reason will attack and hopefully force a surrender - there is a lot of jungle between here and the next friendly base.
On Luzon Aparri is rapidly heading towards being a size 3 airfield, more engineers are arriving from Takao over the next few days. A proper escort is also heading towards the area to fend off the PTs and MTBs.
China
In the north to clear a big enough space to encircle 5 chinese units a small skirmish takes place to allow a brigade or 2 round the back - at 3:1 the Allies retreat and over the next few turns the encirclement should be complete - the IJA steamroller is starting to take shape, the rear is mainly cleared in the North and everything is heading to the front.
In the south Sinyang falls as expected, the IJA troops retreat to Henckow - this base will be retaken shortly.
Malaya & Burma
Forces are still moving towards Kuala Lumpur to unite the 2 IJA railway stations and allow faster transport down the west of the peninsular.
In Burma forces and transport planes move to allow all the para troops to be recollected and reassigned to unmanned bases in northern Burma.
Recon shows Pago(?) next to Rangoon to have 13 units - if Rangoon is undefended i may drop here, but this could be as far as i go until the Singapore troops are freed from there.
ORIGINAL: Smeulders
Doesn't this leave you without any fighter cover whatsoever ? I'm guessing his carriers will be in the area to strike in just this sort of occasion.
Depending on his bawls, and preparation. He might have sent his CVs elsewhere to raid where KB is not - a likely scenario if I was him I must admit. He might be overly cautious even if his CVs are in position.
Risky though, the window of opportunity will be quite large, Truk is a long way.
I'd at least try to deceive him about KB's whereabouts. Even a cautious commander might get ideas when he sees the place is indisputably bare of Japanese airpower for weeks on end.
As dombo says, mini KB might do fine, specially if he doesn't realise it's only mini KB.
Mini KB is in Tokyo with 115 aircraft onboard waiting for KB - they will join and head to Midway to escort the main Pearl Invasion.
At Johnston Is/Midway/Wake are 86 Zeros, 220 Sallys, 100 Bettys, all very carefully parked and ready to land as soon as the Zeros can provide air cover. I will send the Zeros in first to CAP the base, land the bombers and then sweep Pearl - he has suffered many casualties trying to bomb and escort the bombers towards the invasion fleets. The west is stripped of Zeros and will only use Oscars and Lillys, in the Pacific are all Bettys, some Nells, all Sallys and all Zeros.
Yank is always conservative with his CVs, i have no idea where they are, but he for the last 3 turns has no idea where the KB is. I do suspect something has landed at Pearl from a flat top to fill out the bombers here but im not sure.
