Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J) DBB-B

[apbarog]

My concerns in Northern China.

[apbarog]

27 Dec 41

S-38 gets hammered by destroyer escorting transports near Semarang. 2 good depth charge hits and some minor flooding hits. SYS 23/FLOT 50-33/ENG 4-4. Will go to Soerabaja for a brief fixup and hopefully not get bombed.

3 enemy DMS move through a minefield adjacent to Balikpapan, then move to Balikpapan and get hammered by guns there. Mines are swept though, and nothing appeared to have hit mines on the way through, when other ships passed. Balikpapan is invaded.

Some bombing of the Chinese in the plains, where AVG could not possibly reach, but noticibly fewer bombing missions today.

A few Wirraway from Oosthaven attack shipping unloading at Palembang, but all bombs miss. No CAP.

Near Nanyang, 9 B-17s bomb the 41st Infantry Division, causing a bit over 100 casualties. Not a lot, but I'm sure this will get Aurorus' attention. The B-17s fly back to India, and the AVG pulls back closer to the Burma border. I will use them all in a hit-and-run fashion.

Port Swettenham, on the west coast of Malaysia, is lost.

Another bombardment attack at Djokjakarta. Lots of troops have arrived from Semarang, including 4 tank regiments.

Namlea is lost.

US carriers and lots of cargo ships are coming back together west of Christmas Island. Another US carrier arrives in 2 days. That will make 4.

[apbarog]

28 Dec 41

More troops land at Palembang. I'm still showing my minefield in the shallows adjacent to Palembang, and no sweeping today. But most of the enemy ships have come and gone, without finding the mines, apparently. Palembang is bombed. Then Palembang is lost to the enemy. I need to check the map for the possibility of oil damage.

Singapore's airfield is bombed. Minor damage. I've stopped building forts at 2, with limited supply left.

Dutch fighters sweep Semarnag, finding about 20 Zeros. Dutch losses are heavy, but they soften up the CAP for the bombers to come. 19 B-17s hit Semarang's port. With over 60 ships spotted in port, I was expecting good results, but I got just one bomb hit on xAK Tosei Maru. I send the B-17s out of Java back to Australia.

Sambas on Java is lost. An enemy stack is moving SE in the open. I switch things up and send the Dutch bombers on ground attack here.

Several Chinese units are rounded up and destroyed in the plains. The bulk of the enemy forces haven't committed to the north yet.

Another attack at Tarakan fails, but makes progress. The Dutch here have enough to hold for a few days.

CL Mauritius (64/13/2/0), DD Jupiter (25/15/0/0), and DD Isis (37/5/0/0) made it to Capetown and start repairs.

Looking at the big picture, it's still too soon to say where Aurorus is going to commit. I did searchplane recon of Truk today. The quality of the recon wasn't great, so I will continue doing this for awhile, but I saw few ground troops. With absolutely no enemy activity in the Solomons or the Marshalls, I just feel that Aurorus is going "all in" somewhere. I just don't know where. At first, I thought that it probably isn't Australia, with no activity in the Solomons, not even Rabaul. But he could easily roll Darwin (I think that is coming soon) and then head southeast through Horn Island. I can't stop a big push with KB now. He could go straight for northeastern Australia, and maybe hope to cut off whatever I through into the void in the Solomons. (I haven't, and won't)

My gut says India. He hasn't shown any interest in Burma yet either. Maybe hoping I pile into Rangoon. I'm not.

I prepare for both India and Australia. I've started some long range planning for the Marshalls. If the whole area remains ignored, there may be an opportunity for an early advance there. Maybe a chance to get him to react to me instead of vice versa. But that is not in the near future. It's still December '41.

[apbarog]

29 Dec 41

Increased bombing in China. Worth noting that 40 Zeros swept a hex in China near Pingsiang. This was a hex he shock attacked today, and was a likely place for AVG to show up. So yes, Aurorus reacted quickly and sent Zeros to China. Based on the size of the unit, it may be the same one that started the war at Takao and swept the Philippines repeatedly. Excellent pilots with lots of kills already.

The Dutch air offensive to bomb the 4th Division advancing in clear terrain was about as successful as it could be. A couple of Zeros tangled with escorting Dutch fighters, downing a couple, but the bombers got through and caused 108 casualties. Won't make a difference, really. Maybe slows the unit by a day. The enemy has landed a lot of force on Java and will clear the island, eventually. Aurorus appears to be heading toward Soerabaja first.

The shock attack near Pingsiang, China easily pushes back 2 Chinese corp. There's now a real threat south of Changsha and the other central cities (in clear terrain). Units were already scrambling to form a line in the woods.

Another attack at Tarakan fails, again at 1 to 2, with 96 enemy losses and 74 Dutch losses. The attritional battle will go the way of the enemy. Just a matter of time.

CV Yorktown is now available. It will head out from the West Coast. Next carrier reinforcement is Hornet in 50 days or so.

It's easy to see disaster in China as a possibility. There is no reserve. I will continue to try to form defenses in defensible terrain, but if Aurorus is willing to commit enough forces, China could be hard to hold onto.

[pontiouspilot]

It looks like full court press in DEI for opponent. I like the Pensacola troops in Savu. Unless he lands with several reinforced regiments he will get bogged down there, especially if the artillery hits while he unloads. Given his apparent direction of advance I would land them there.

Le triumphant is arguably the best DD in the game at surface combat...I would have a go at the AMCs!! I have never checked to see what her skipper is like.

[apbarog]

If the AMCs had gone to the NW instead of to the S of Christmas Island, Le Triumphant could have engaged. As it was, the AMCs went down to carrier SBDs.

30 Dec 41

The Dutch subs continue to do better than the US subs. Today, KXVII finds a transport convoy near Singkawang, probably headed towards Saigon. It hits big transport xAP Hakozaki Maru with one torpedo. The ship appears to be empty. Then the sub reengages, and fires 4 torpedoes at escorting light cruiser Isuzu, but misses.

Near Hong Kong, US sub Skipjack spots destroyer Mikazuki, fires 2 torpedoes, and gets a hit! And it's the first dud of the war. Probably not the last.

Dutch sub KVIII spots a convoy southwest of Kendari, fires 2 torpedoes at AK Sado Maru, but misses.

The 40 Zero group in China sweeps Hengyang, but does not find AVG. AVG is back in India already.

Enemy troops get closer to Soerabaja. Troops land at Balikpapan. Another Chinese corp is erased in the plains south of Nanyang.

2 pieces of useful SigInt today: 56 Recon is at Kendari, and the 4th Infantry Battalion is planning for Horn Island. I doubt that Aurorus will be stopping at Horn Island. My prediction is a quick landing at Normanton with lots of troops (and armor). Enemy carriers have moved south of Kendari, and may around Timor to the west or to the east. A landing at Darwin is probably coming very soon.

[Bif1961]

Actually both the early Mk-1 torpedo on S-boats and the MK-14 on fleet boats missed frequently because they were runing deeper than set, The Mk-10 was running about 4 feet too deep. That was discovered quickly and corrected and then it started to hit regularly. The fleet boats with the Mk-14s were running about 11 feet too deep and frequently never struck their target. It took almost a year before the Navy accepted that they were not working properly. Once that was corrected then the magnetic triggers were defective and it took another 6-9 months before that was fixed by not using them and relying on the mechanical trigger. However, they later discovered that too was defective as it was the same trigger as on the much smaller and lighter Mk-10s and the MK-14s were deforming the mechanical trigger so it would frequently not work. I know in the database the MK-14 issues are resovled sooner than historic, but a dude isn't always the ones that hit and don't explode in the early war it is also those that frequently miss as well.

[apbarog]

31 Dec 41

More troops unload at Balikpapan.

AM Latrobe, on ASW duty west of Carnavon, Australia finds I-166 lurking. The sub attacks with 2 torpedoes but misses.

Nells bomb the mountain base of Bandoeng, Java doing moderate damage. A few fighters will CAP tomorrow. The Dutch have retreated a lot of units to the two mountain hexes on the island. Might as well make the enemy dig them out, if they aren't ignored entirely. Pulling supply in also, to make the stand last as long as possible.

Lots of Dutch bombers fly from Samarinda to adjacent Balikpapan to hit invasion shipping. No CAP, but no bombs hit a target.

KB (or part of KB) moves south of Timor and hits Darwin's airfield with Kates escorted by Zeros. I've noticed a tendency by Aurorus. He likes to hit a new invasion sight with Kates at range 7. Sometime in the future, I think this tendency is going to give me an opportunity to predict where he may be.

Yes, a Dutch bomber hits! 3 Wirraways, flying out of Oosthaven, hit xAK Tokiwa Maru at Palembang. The single bomb hit is just a 100 pound bomb, but the ship has heavy fires. Something at least. The Dutch air force is getting fewer and fewer bases to operate from, as bases are lost.

Kuala Lumpur is lost to the enemy, as is Loyang in China and Tjepoe on Java. Taiping holds for a day, but the Dutch take unsustainable casualties. Balikpapan is lost. Another enemy attack at Tarakan fails, and the odds are getting worse for the Japanese. This time it was 1 to 4, with the attackers being fatigued. Tarakan will hold for awhile longer.

With KB moving south of Timor, and other task forces spotted, Darwin is about to be invaded.

[apbarog]

End of 1941 - Northern China

[apbarog]

End of 1941 - Southern China

[apbarog]

End of 1941 - Malaysia and Sumatra

[apbarog]

End of 1941 - Philippines

[apbarog]

End of 1941 - Java, Celebes, Timor

[apbarog]

1 Jan 42

28 Nells attack Bandoeng's airfield. Just one Dutch Hawk is flyable. A Nell is damaged, and the airfield damage is very low.

More bombing in China in the plains.

Bettys bomb Darwin, as do 90 of KB's Kates. They are hitting troops.

Taiping in Malaysia is lost. Remnants retreat south, into the clear. Outcome already known.

An enemy attack at Pontianak on Borneo fails with even losses.

Important SigInt for today:

2 Engineer Rgt is planning for Port Moresby
Mongolian Army is planning for Lanchow

An invasion of Port Moresby will probably follow after Horn Island.

Lanchow is in NE China, is an oil production spot, and the loss of it would cut China in two. The enemy would approach from the desert to the east. Chinese preparations are being made, but whether it will be enough remains to be seen. This confirms that an enemy offensive in the far NE will occur. Probably.

[apbarog]

2 Jan 42

Dutch sub KVIII fires 2 torps at xAK Nittai Maru near Kendari, but misses. The sub then attacks PB Showa Maru #5 near Makassar, but again misses with 2 torpedoes.

As predicted, lots of enemy bombers hit the already defeated and depleted units in the clear near Taiping. Sallys literally destroy the rest of an AT gun regiment. 106 bombers total target these already crushed units. All good with our house rules, but it's one of those things that "just doesn't feel right". And as I've said, the favor will be returned ten times over in the future.

Some Dutch planes bomb enemy troops at Balikpapan. 48 casualties, as just 8 planes bombed. A couple of bombers go after an AMc moving into Balikpapan to sweep mines.

4 Vals escorted by Claudes sink a tiny HDML near Soerabaja. Small carrier nearby.

9 Vals sink a tiny AMc at Darwin. KB has moved closer to the base. No other task forces seen today, but they are out there. Bettys bomb ground troops.

Another Chinese corp is crushed at Loyang.

Soerakarta, Java falls to the enemy.

Two regiments of the US 2nd Marine Division will arrive at Sydney today, on fast transports.

There are 3 squadrons of P-40s on Luzon. I've been training pilots with them for weeks. If there had been a Luzon invasion, I was prepared to disband these units and save the pilots. The units are restricted, but can be purchased for 50 points each. The down side is that the units go away in June 1942. I now have the points for these units, and could really use some fighters in Australia, so I bought all 3 units out today. 2 squadrons will hopscotch their way to Australia, with the other transferring to China today. The pilots aren't trained yet, but they have had a few weeks of training, so they are better than nothing.

[apbarog]

3 Jan 42

The enemy efficiently clears the mines at Balikpapan. S-39 misses a DMS near Koepang. KB disappears (headed over to Horn?), but DMS's appear at the Aussie base west of Darwin.

I will no longer highlight the daily enemy bombings of troops in clear terrain. I'm started to sound like I'm complaining. I'm not. It's just different from the games I've been playing for the past decade. There's nothing wrong with the tactic. I will use it myself. I'm just not used to the heavy use of it.

I apparently mistakenly clicked for a unit of mine at Tarakan to attack. It goes poorly, and I probably screwed up one of the few defenses I have that is actually holding until more enemy are delivered.

With DMS's on the northern Australian coast, an invasion is imminent.

[apbarog]

4 Jan 42

Sub Sealion fires 2 torpedoes at a patrol boat near Peleliu. There's at least one xAK in this task force. The torpedoes miss.

Wyndham, Australia, just west of Darwin, is invaded. A couple of task forces are spotted in the area between Wyndham and Darwin. Not the carriers though. They disappeared a couple of days ago. No sign of an approach to Horn Island either. Subs are on the lookout.

Bombing in China and Malaysia.

A few Dutch bombers go after shipping near Semarang, but find Zeros and Oscars, and all bombers are shot down. Enemy fighters have been based at Semarang.

A handful of Vals sink tiny AMc Holland at Soerabaja. Enemy ground troops are now adjacent to Soerabaja and heading that way. Most of the Dutch troops have left town and are in the mountains at Malang.

In an unfortunate random encounter, 2 xAKLs fleeing the Philippines are found by carrier aircraft. The cargo ships had left Legaspi, gone east, then southeast toward Ulithi, then south, and were about to pass between Truk and Sorong. Their bad luck was that a carrier task force appears to be heading directly from Sorong to Truk, and the ships were to the north and in range. These are the last 2 ships to leave the Philippines.

[apbarog]

5 Jan 42

Four enemy cruisers bombard Darwin. CD guns are ineffective. A couple of Catalinas are damaged. I need them operational as long as possible, to help track KB.

30 Nells bomb Bandjermasin's airfield, finding a bunch of Dutch planes. A couple are destroyed.

Bombing in Malaysia and China. More cleanup deliberate attacks of Chinese units in the plains.

US sub Tautog is patrolling near Wessel Islands, east of Darwin. It finds a tranport task force, eastbound, escorted by KB. 4 torpedoes are fired at xAP Shanghai Maru. One hits, and it's not a dud. The first good torpedo hit by a US sub. The transport is carrying troops, and it's on fire and heavily damaged. The transports and KB are going to Merauke and/or Horn Island. Both are in range of being invaded today.

Wyndham is lot. The first Australian base has been lost.

[apbarog]

6 Jan 42

Darwin was invaded today. The good news is that the coastal guns there were effective against invasion shipping. They didn't hit anything yesterday when the base was bombarded by cruisers. Mostly 6 inch gun hits, some 9.2 inch. Here's a listing of what the CD guns did:

Round 1:
CL Nagara
DD Asakaze, Shell hits 1
AK Sado Maru, Shell hits 1
DD Hatakaze
xAP Kitano Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire

Round 2:
CL Nagara, Shell hits 1, on fire
xAP Kitano Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Hatakaze
xAP Kanzyu Maru
DD Matsukaze
AK Sado Maru

Round 3:
xAP Kanzyu Maru, Shell hits 2
DD Matsukaze
DD Harukaze
xAP Kitano Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CL Nagara
AK Sado Maru

Round 4:
CL Natori
DD Umikaze
DD Kawakaze, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Yamakaze, Shell hits 6, heavy fires
xAP Kongo Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Suzukaze
AK Sagami Maru, Shell hits 1
xAP Horai Maru

Two enemy infantry regiments unloaded. Way more than what is needed to take Darwin. I had pulled back the bulk of the defenders. Aurorus almost always brings enough to the party to do the job.

Sub Grayling is patrolling near Horn Island. Grayling spots CV Hiryu, fired 6 torpedoes, and misses. The sub then evades all ASW efforts. Lots of enemy ships around Horn now. A surface group is adjacent to Horn, and in the hex that Argonaut mined, but didn't seem to hit anything today. Maybe carriers tomorrow?

Madioen is conquered by the Japanese. More Dutch flee to the mountains.

Brunei is lost to the enemy.

[apbarog]

7 Jan 42

Destroyer Amagiri spots Argonaut's mines north of Horn Island. No mine hits as the enemy carriers and surface group steams through.

But Horn Island does put up a fight against the invaders. At least the coastal guns do. Here's a listing of the CD gun results:

Round 1:
CL Tama, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Numakaze
xAP Ukishima Maru
DD Yuzuki

Round 2:
DD Tachikaze, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Namikaze

Round 3:
xAP Brazil Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Tama
DD Yuzuki
xAP Kobe Maru
xAP Ukishima Maru

Near Taberfane, sub Shark spots a convoy heading SE, and fires 4 torpedoes at big AV Kamikawa Maru, but misses. This AV has been attacked before, but no hits so far. You can bet it is loaded with troops.

Sadly, poor little PC Formalhaut is sunk by RO-66 just south of Milne Bay. Formalhaut had escaped the Philippines to the east and then southeast, then came south east of New Guinea. It made it to Milne Bay, rounded third base and headed for home at Townsville, but was found.

Sallys bomb Batavia's port. There were a couple of already damaged ships there, ones too damaged and with too short of a range to go anywhere safe. An AGP and AG is sunk, as well as an HDML.

The airbase at Port Moresby is bombed by the usual 90 Kates from the carriers. I expect this treatment to be given to Australian bases very soon. He used 28 Zeros. With so few fighters in Australia now, and almost no decent pilots, it will be tough to counter, but we shall try.

Darwin is lost. Horn Island is lost to a shock attack. I forgot about that occurring due to the island size. 4 Catalinas are lost on the ground.

An enemy attack at Pontianak, Borneo almost succeeds. This base is about to fall.

The Sasebo 2nd SNFL moves from Balikpapan to Samarinda, crossing a river and shock attacking. It goes off as a 1 to 2 attack against level 1 forts. 303 enemy casualties and 158 Allied. Will need more troops to take it. Or bombing.

Now the dilemma about what to do with the enemy carriers between Horn Island and Port Moresby. 3 US carriers refueled today at Auckland. They would be outnumbered and outclassed by the enemy carriers, so I cannot engage. I don't know, right now, what the enemy's intentions are. Could be just covering a Port Moresby invasion, but I doubt that. They are in striking range of Townsville now, with just one's days move. This could be the start to what one reader referred to as "the world tour", where the Japanese carriers visit all the Australian bases north to south, driving everything before them. I have to assume that this could happen. Most ships had already left Townsville. The few remaining left today. US carriers will move to the northern tip of New Zealand today, limited by having just fueled, then they will head toward the southeastern part of Australia. If the enemy carriers go on the world tour, I will fly the carrier planes to Australia, and have the carriers leave the area. They would have a fighting chance against the carriers from land. And it could be an unpleasant surprise for the enemy. However, this would be a bad move if the carriers don't go down the Australian coast, and head toward Luganville or Noumea. Getting my big convoys to Australia is a high priority right now, and an enemy rush south would interdict them.

So it is a tense time. If I have to, I will reroute convoys to New Zealand, but that could keep some valuable air units from getting to Australia, where they almost certainly will be needed.