Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side

[BlitzimX]

Very very little but i do have some, flown from PM.

[RangerJoe]

If they can't get the parts then how can they repair?

[BlitzimX]

December 30th

The main event for this day is China. We've gained a bit of intel on enemy troop movements and get a better picture of what's happening.



In the East, a big troop movement has been detected bypassing Chengchow and Loyang. The lack of attack in the area and troop positioning could mean he wants to cut those off , and stop the northern oil supply as quick as possible by not bothering to take the two cities. I'd say clever move, because it also ties up a large pool of units on my part in the area. I'm contemplating abandoning those cities all together to retreat in the mountains right now.

Given the number of units zooming for Siam, this is a matter of time before East China is cut off, a week or two i'd say. As a desperate measure, i'm trying to cut out Nanyang from the troops, but my units won't be here before a while (4 days minimum).Those ground units are lost anyway so i should try to use them as i can. I've ordered some Recon runs on Nanyang in the meantime with some bombers, hopefully having a vision on potential units in the area. Hopefully this can slow him down. I really wanted to start a heavy bombing campaign on those units, but most of Chinese bombers are one hex short and can't reach them.

At least the positive point is that most of his units are tied in this area, allowing the rest of China some breathing room and more time to prepare. Bombers have however been softening up units around Changsha, and i am sensing a near Para drop in the area. I am not too worried, given most of my bases here are guarded by quite hefty units.

Further south, i have 700+ AV about to attack Ichang on the 31st. The rest of the group are heading back accross the river to a more safer zone. Only one unit is in Ichang, but I've now learnt that one unit can be deceptive; enters the Sinyang massacre, or how to be too eager with too few information.

Ground combat at 87,48 (near Sinyang)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15683 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 437

Defending force 11946 troops, 102 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 336

Allied adjusted assault: 315

Japanese adjusted defense: 351

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), fatigue(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
573 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 45 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1650 casualties reported
Squads: 60 destroyed, 40 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Assaulting units:
12th Chinese Corps
85th Chinese Corps
3rd Group Army

Defending units:
116th Division

That one definetly hurt. Now i know a single Japanese unit can be quite a big piece. I suspect the same kind of thing awaits me in Ichang.

---------

Near PH, a catastrophe has been avoided as the CVTF of Enterprise and Saratoga dodge 4 torps from a sub, while sailing south to Christmas island. Now he knows i have at least one CV out in the area, thought i don't think he knows in which direction they were heading. I intended to station it in SOPAC, given the high number of APD and transports spoted in the Marshalls by my subs, sensing an invasion is coming. I will set one of the TB squadrons to full ASW by night, and the other by day, with full 360 search area.

Those enemy subs are a pain in the butt, they are swarming all my main bases and i barely have any defenses against them. They also nearly sunk an AP full of troops near San Diego, despite the sh*t ton of ASW in the area.
I am really hesitant to have Yorktown out of the harbor to join PH.

No idea where the KB is though, which is worrying. It hasn't been spoted in any basis, despite the hoard of subs i have in the areas, some even inside the ports. I suspect it is covering the invasion of the Solomons.

On an other subject, my surveillance chain is finaly complete. I have Catalinas searching from Noumea all the way up to Midway. I'm going to move some extra to Luganville to get a better vision toward the Solomons, and some in the Elice Islands for the Gilberts surveillance.
---------

In the PI, Clark field has fallen and most units retreated to Battan. I have a very confortable set of supply there and a level 3 fort, so hopefully i can hold for a month at least.

---------

In Malaya, i was wondering why he kept bombing the airfield and all, but i just noticed this clearly is meant to disturb the fort construction; in 4 days, only 3% progress has been made to level 4, despite everything ready to build them fast.


Nothing else of importance to report.

[BlitzimX]

December 31st

Main point of focus today is the fall of Rabaul, and the capture of Milne Bay. Most of the Solomon bases have fallen, and build ups already started. However, Milne Bay is in range of mu B17th, so it will be a good target practice for my pilots, and to stall his construction in the area. I don't think he'd have air coverage for a while in the area.

PM is a bit more worrying, as it's running out of supplies. I'll finish building up the 2nd Fort level and leave it here, just shipping some goods to it. The base is doomed to fall anyway, i don't want to invest to much in it.

-----

In China, my units have reached Ichang and 2 enemy units have been located in the city. I just order a Bombardment for now, to check which unit is in the area and if i can try to push them out. Unless he takes the first action and kicks me out, hopefully towrard the main road (which would ease my retreat to Changsha.

----

In San Diego, Yorktown is leaving for PH with 5DDs and a CL, plus almost all her planes on ASW duty. Hopefully i can slip past the SS nest in the area without damage or getting spoted.

------

Question for the day; i'm starting to get quite a lot of units in Burma/India, and i was wondering which ones i should focus on reinforcing? For now, only support is cleared to go through, and only ENG are set to replacements on.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: BlitzimX

December 31st

Question for the day; i'm starting to get quite a lot of units in Burma/India, and i was wondering which ones i should focus on reinforcing? For now, only support is cleared to go through, and only ENG are set to replacements on.

Good question, I am not the expert, but here is what I would pick to get your limited replacements:

1. A Division-Sized Unit; something with some heft
2. A unit that is unrestricted. If you don't have an appropriate Indian Division that is unrestricted, you may consider buying one out now; they will be cheap before they fill out
3. Prioritize one with higher morale; probably won't be usable anyway for 3-4 months, use that time to reach 100% on Prep and start training them up to 50-ish morale before committing them. By then they should also be filled out to a full division.

Will take time, but you can slowly build up the Indian Army this way

[BBfanboy]

Re: Yorktown's aircraft - their ASW skill will be very low, almost useless. Better to use Naval Search to spot the subs and make them dive. Subs have a much lower chance of a sneak attack if they have been spotted.

If you DO spot a sub with carrier aircraft, he may guess that it means a carrier is headed for PH and he may set subs along the path. Don't hesitate to use waypoints to divert your course and approach PH from a different direction from the normal NE or E. I like to go into one of the lower HI and follow the shallow waters north to PH.

[BlitzimX]

After a long pause due to my oponent's serious health issues, we're back in the game, probably at a slower pace to settle back in.

January 1st,1942

The main event of the last day of 1941 is the huge defeat near Suva, as Japanese troops keep rolling over my poor Chinese soldiers with no sign of mercy. Suva will probably fall faster than expected, despite the lvl3 fort.

Ground combat at 84,43 (near Nanyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 82707 troops, 751 guns, 113 vehicles, Assault Value = 2266

Defending force 27173 troops, 138 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 516

Japanese adjusted assault: 1660

Allied adjusted defense: 349

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1024 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 62 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 9 disabled

Allied ground losses:
9666 casualties reported
Squads: 460 destroyed, 86 disabled
Non Combat: 236 destroyed, 30 disabled
Engineers: 13 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 30 (16 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Units retreated 7

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
2nd Ind Engineer Regiment
40th Division
1st Ind.Mixed Brigade
6th Division
13th Division
14th Ind.Mixed Brigade
8th Ind Engineer Regiment
3rd Division
35th Division
13th Tank Regiment
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion

Defending units:
92nd Chinese Corps
90th Chinese Corps
41st Chinese Corps
13th Chinese Corps
7th New Chinese Corps
5th War Area
22nd Group Army

At Ichang, as expected, 2 japanese units are still guarding the city. Given the size of the enemy, i changed my strategy; all the troops still not going for the city are redirected to it for an all out assault to kick out the japs from the town. If i succeed, it will be a nice point to temporaly controle. If i fail, hopefully i'll be pushed back on the main road. In both cases, it will be much faster to pull back the troops than going through the grindy jungle/mountain/river.
Until the 11K extra troops arrive in 2/3 days, those already in the city are set to defend.

Ground combat at Ichang (83,48)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16466 troops, 116 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 549

Defending force 28862 troops, 150 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 768

Japanese adjusted assault: 386

Allied adjusted defense: 350

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
714 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 59 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled

Allied ground losses:
579 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
34th Division
13th RGC Temp. Division

Defending units:
32nd Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
75th Chinese Corps

I have also decided to completly abandon Loyang, appart from on CAV division. My oponent is clearly bypassing it, so for the time being i retreat everythig i can in the mountains. Not sure what i'll do with them, given that Siam is soon going to fall, but maybe it can be the base for a somewhat defensive line to hinder a northern progression.


-------

In Suva, the 3 Btn of the 14th NZ brigade have arrived. One will be sent to Noumea for extra defense, and the second one to Espiritu Santu to at least prevent the Japanese from taking it, until i can bring some ENG to the site.

The ENG from NZ start unloading on Va'vu to work on the construction of the base.

A convoy loads in Sydney to try and fill up PM which is dangerously drying down. A second one is also getting ready to load supplies and fuel for Espiritu Santu.

Hopefully all of this will be rather smooth; i have no idea where the KB is right now, and it's a lot of shipping at once in the area.

-------

Near Java, i bought up an ENG unit and 2 small INF units from SO. to guarison Chrismas island. I don't want any sneaky landing back there. I may do the same thing and unload a very small unit on Coco island as well.

-------

Last news, the stranded TF stuck in the Indian ocean finaly made it to Colombo. All its british troops are set to unload at Calcutta, after refueling of course.

[Alamander]

Charging up the road to Sian (or most roads in China) with a big stack should be a recipe for disaster for Japan. You are right to move in behind that stack. Cut that main road through the wood/rough terrain, and that big stack will get little supply if it must travel through 2 hexes of wooded rough terrain: probably once every 4 or 5 days. A good strategy would be to bait him to advance to Sian, out into the clear terrain, cut the road, wait a few days for supplies to dwindle, bomb the stack, and then attack it. Units without supply or low on supply, regardless of difference in ToEs, are overmatched in combat by an equal-sized force unless they are behind substantial forts and in good defensive terrain. The best way to take the sting out of higher experience Japanese armor, artillery, and machine guns in China is to cut their supplies.

[BlitzimX]

Exactly, however i think he sniffed out the trap and saw my moving troops, as he has 2 units already on the go to guard Nanyang (i suppose). It's a race against my unit, which has the benefit of the road, but if those units are vehicles, i don't have much chance of closing the gap.

[BlitzimX]

January 2nd

An other counter attack at Ichang, with about the same result as yesterday. The good point is that he's using supply,and each squad lost on his side is worst than mine. I expect the other troops to arrive tomorow, and in 2 days we'll do an attack on our own to probe at the defenses.

Ground combat at Ichang (83,48)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15926 troops, 116 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 484

Defending force 28327 troops, 150 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 700

Japanese adjusted assault: 146

Allied adjusted defense: 394

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), fatigue(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1506 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled

Allied ground losses:
773 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Assaulting units:
34th Division
13th RGC Temp. Division

Defending units:
32nd Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
75th Chinese Corps

Unfortunatly, as i feared, a unit has moved into Nanyang to protect the city. However my troops are still on the way and should enter it in a day or two to contest it. Other than this, other units are moving along the road to Siam, so even if i can't take the city he'll be forced to leave a few units to protect the road if he doesn't want to be cut of. I expect him to be in Siam in about 2 or 3 days, given the speed and strengh of his units.

Below a screenshot of the major troop movements in the area, to give a better idea.

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

The rest of the day is mostly marked by progress in the Solomons by the Japanese, and a few stupid moments on my sides, mostly forgeting to allow unloading for some TFS which are now leaving the area.

An other thing i'm wondering is that i have 2 TFs docked in port at Midway and Adak island, but they've been stuck unloading troops with barley any progress. In Adack they are unloading CD artillery, and Midway some Motorized divisions. Even if docked, does the port size matter for those? Both are LVL1 forts.

My 2 CVs and their refuel fleet are soon reaching their parking spot near Manihiki. They'll move to NZ in a few days.


Finaly the 3 P40-E squadrons from the PI have been unloaded in Darwin and will be dispatched in bases which can host them. Which are not a lot, given the lack of Aviation support for now in Australia.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: BlitzimX

January 2nd

An other counter attack at Ichang, with about the same result as yesterday. The good point is that he's using supply,and each squad lost on his side is worst than mine. I expect the other troops to arrive tomorow, and in 2 days we'll do an attack on our own to probe at the defenses.

Ground combat at Ichang (83,48)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15926 troops, 116 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 484

Defending force 28327 troops, 150 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 700

Japanese adjusted assault: 146

Allied adjusted defense: 394

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), fatigue(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1506 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled

Allied ground losses:
773 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Assaulting units:
34th Division
13th RGC Temp. Division

Defending units:
32nd Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
75th Chinese Corps

Unfortunatly, as i feared, a unit has moved into Nanyang to protect the city. However my troops are still on the way and should enter it in a day or two to contest it. Other than this, other units are moving along the road to Siam, so even if i can't take the city he'll be forced to leave a few units to protect the road if he doesn't want to be cut of. I expect him to be in Siam in about 2 or 3 days, given the speed and strengh of his units.

Below a screenshot of the major troop movements in the area, to give a better idea.

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

The rest of the day is mostly marked by progress in the Solomons by the Japanese, and a few stupid moments on my sides, mostly forgeting to allow unloading for some TFS which are now leaving the area.

An other thing i'm wondering is that i have 2 TFs docked in port at Midway and Adak island, but they've been stuck unloading troops with barley any progress. In Adack they are unloading CD artillery, and Midway some Motorized divisions. Even if docked, does the port size matter for those? Both are LVL1 forts.

My 2 CVs and their refuel fleet are soon reaching their parking spot near Manihiki. They'll move to NZ in a few days.


Finaly the 3 P40-E squadrons from the PI have been unloaded in Darwin and will be dispatched in bases which can host them. Which are not a lot, given the lack of Aviation support for now in Australia.

Check the manual chart about port size and unloading rates. At a level one port, a docked vessel cannot be larger than 6000 tons and only 6000 tons of vessels total can be docked. A cargo or transport ship docked there can only unload 200 points per day. If undocked, the cargo ship will unload 100 points and the transport unload depends on the size of the equipment. At a level 1 port, you are better off having troops arrive loaded amphibiously so they can unload without docking. But that does not mean everything will unload.

CD guns are very heavy and can take up to three days to unload a single gun, if it will unload at all. If it doesn't unload after three days of constant effort, it isn't going to. At that point you need a larger port or naval support to get it unloaded. USN and RN BFs are very useful for small ports. So are the 6 Port Service Dets. that you get.

[BlitzimX]

I'll check that, thanks.

Related to the Northern Japanese push in China toward Siam, i also realized that taking the city would put about 20 Japanese units or so at the backdoor of China's capital. To prevent an easy access and provide closer range for my bombers, i've decided to move some ENG units from my back areas to Kienko to build up the base and airport.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: BlitzimX

I'll check that, thanks.

Related to the Northern Japanese push in China toward Siam, i also realized that taking the city would put about 20 Japanese units or so at the backdoor of China's capital. To prevent an easy access and provide closer range for my bombers, i've decided to move some ENG units from my back areas to Kienko to build up the base and airport.

Not to be too picky since I understand what you mean but Siam is modern Thailand. Sian is a city in China in this game.

[BlitzimX]

January 3rd

As expected, he saw through my moves and left some units in Nanyang, and one unit guarding the road to Sian. One Hex is still free , but i don't think he'll leave it empty. Anyway, i don't stop my troops from moving there and try to do some damage. They wouldn't have anything else to do anyway so better put them to use.

In Ichang, all my troops have arrived. I'll throw a deliberate attack and see what comes out of it. I got a good supply, higher numbers and good preparation, it shouldn't be too much of a slaughter.

Progress is also being made in Malaya with the fall of Kuala Lumpur. Due to daily bombing, the forts at Singapore will remain stuck at lvl 3, but he seems to clean out the peninsula for now so i still have a bit of breathing room.

[BlitzimX]

January 4th

New day, new defeat near Sian. Troops have been pushed back in a single sweep, nothing can stop this army for now.
I had moved some planes in Sian to bomb the incoming waves, but the planes didn't take off. I'll have to pull them back next turn, as Japanese units will probably enter the city in a day. Not sure if the LVL 3 forts will help.

Ground combat at 84,42 (near Sian)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 76387 troops, 714 guns, 113 vehicles, Assault Value = 2097

Defending force 27790 troops, 159 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 535

Japanese adjusted assault: 1733

Allied adjusted defense: 646

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1299 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 131 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 20 disabled

Allied ground losses:
8284 casualties reported
Squads: 339 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 228 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 17 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 56 (37 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Units retreated 8

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
35th Division
13th Division
13th Tank Regiment
8th Ind Engineer Regiment
40th Division
6th Division
1st Ind.Mixed Brigade
3rd Division
2nd Ind Engineer Regiment
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion

Defending units:
41st Chinese Corps
90th Chinese Corps
36th Chinese Corps
92nd Chinese Corps
13th Chinese Corps
7th New Chinese Corps
5th War Area
22nd Group Army

Do you need to own the HEX to block the flow of supply, or is having a unit in it enough, even if it's not yours?
If having a unit in is enough, i'll just leave my unit sitting in Nanyang and not try kicking him out.

No fighting in Ichang this turn, as i simply forgot to set my troops to attack. We'll see next turn.


Further south, Tulagi has been captured. I myself started building up Lugainville, and positioned my first PBYs there for patrolling. Hopefully i can have a better view of his intentions. I'm sensing something big is going to come my way given i haven't seen any of the KB or Mini KB in a while. Wake is still uncaptured, but i sense a big operation. Either a push on Midway or a surprise swing in Australia. Hopefully with all the recon and search i have on the Midway/PH/Noumea line, i can see him coming.

[RangerJoe]

Own the hexsides that the supply needs to cross. Hit "W" to see hexside control.

[BlitzimX]

January 5th

Once again main action of this surprisingly light turn is in China.

First good news, the unit guarding Nanyang and easily got kicked out, giving me back controle of the city. That means i can go all out with my bombers once again, given he doesn't have any base for his fighter nearby anymore, at least until the fall of Sian in about 2 days. 2 units are however heading for the city, and given the lack of supplies i'm not sure i'll hold out for very long.

Fight in Ichang went..okay. It wasn't a slaughter, but i'll go on fighting for a day or two. Despite the lack of supplies, we got a nice numerical advantage and i think i can kick him out.

Ground combat at Ichang (83,48)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 50159 troops, 272 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1375

Defending force 14828 troops, 116 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 372

Allied adjusted assault: 1433

Japanese adjusted defense: 481

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker: op mode(-)

Japanese ground losses:
716 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 94 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1000 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 107 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
67th Chinese Corps
45th Chinese Corps
68th Chinese Corps
32nd Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
75th Chinese Corps
26th Group Army

Defending units:
34th Division
13th RGC Temp. Division


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

Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8115 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 281

Defending force 1274 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 41

Allied adjusted assault: 85

Japanese adjusted defense: 5

Allied assault odds: 17 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Nanyang !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(-), preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
498 casualties reported
Squads: 16 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 21 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1

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

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
29th Chinese Corps
30th Chinese Corps

Defending units:
12th RGC Temp. Division

Below a map of the situation in China which is, i admit, a bit confusing.



Basicaly, appart from the action toward Sian with a massive 15 units push, all the other fronts are calm. The only other fights are Jap units bullying the few Chinese units i move here and there to block roads and a few bombers hitting West of Changsha. Even in Chengchow and Loyang, where he has around 12 units in the area, have not seen any fight what so ever. A few units are also moving north in Paotow, but that's it.

I'm a bit more confident with the push on Sian that i can bleed him out a bit. Even if he captures the city, all those units will be stuck here, and i for now controle all the roads to it so supplies may be scarce. My units may be sacrificed up there, but they'll still have some bite to bleed him bit by bit and force him to use supply. At least, that's the plan i'll try to put in place, granted i'm not kicked from Nanyang too soon.


In the rest of the world nothing much to report. I sent a bunch of American base units to CT via Eastern US, and a full division is embarking for a long Pacific trip to Auz. Enterprise and her sister are nicely parked in the southern islands, just in case. If nothing much happens, i'll move them back up to PH.

[BlitzimX]

January 6th

Very very quite turn. Only one sortie from the Japanese, even Singapore got some rest.

Fighting in Ishang continues. Despite our losses, i think we can claim the city in 1 or 2 days at this rate.

Sian will be attacked next turn, and lost in about 2 or 3 days. Meanwhile, two or three units are converging on Nanyang; i don't think we will hold more than 1 or 2 days.

It may be too late at this point, but i'm going to try and evacuate some troops for PM instead of leaving them to die. I may leave only a basic ENG force in it. Likewise, i'll try and deliver some INF on Wake from PH, but i doubt i can gether the transports and troops in time before it falls.

Still no idea where any of his CVs are atm.

[BlitzimX]

January 7th

A storm is brewing on the horizon, and soon enough we're going to feel its wrath.
Multiple signs suggest that something is going to fall on us on multiple fronts, so we have to hope we'll manage to save some things.

First with the easy part, China.

Ichang has fallen faster than i expected, with relatively limited losses. Troops are shown moving down toward Hankow, probably to intercept the HQ i sent to cut the road between Hankow and Sinyang. This gives the city some breathing room, and allows me to pull back big units to the rear more easily. I am also considering attacking Sinyang, where only one unit is reported, but i don't see much benefit to this. Plus it could be a big bad unit.

Ground combat at Ichang (83,48)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 47733 troops, 272 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1089

Defending force 13054 troops, 116 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 181

Allied adjusted assault: 1058

Japanese adjusted defense: 93

Allied assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 1)

Allied forces CAPTURE Ichang !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4986 casualties reported
Squads: 129 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 119 destroyed, 32 disabled
Engineers: 27 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 55 (47 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 21 (21 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Allied ground losses:
625 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 95 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
67th Chinese Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
32nd Chinese Corps
68th Chinese Corps
45th Chinese Corps
75th Chinese Corps
26th Group Army

Defending units:
34th Division
13th RGC Temp. Division

In Sian, the first enemy units have reached the city. I've ordered a full attack against them, not only to use the numerical superiority we have for now, but also the rest of the enemy units are bound to arrive next turn. I am not sure they'll arrive in move mode, but it's worth trying; my units are dead anyway. If it fails, i'll try to hold and force him to use his supplies while i bomb him.

Enemy units also reached Nanyang, we'll see if i can hold there despite the lack of supplies.

Lastly, taking a bit of a bet, i am pulling out the biggest units from Chengchow, west toward Nanyang. They haven't fought since the begining, and they'd be more usefull over there. I originaly ordered them North, but my oponent may have seen the move and sent his units toward Loyang. Change of plan then.

------

The first real move is in the Sumatra Area. Japanese captured Benkalis, meaning that he'll very likely try going for Djambi and Palembang soon enough, even with Singapore still intact. Taking the threat, i decide top pull back my ENG unit and transport unit from Djambi back to Palembang (they were still flying units from north Soumatra). I have quite a force down here, but mostly made of NL forces so not very efficent. Still, could be a bump in the road.

Further south near Ambon, 10 enemy ships have been reported. Very unlikely that he's pushed that far, and with no visible ship, i doubt the report. Still, i send my fleet near Ambon..just in case. It won't stop a full blown invasion, but can fend of a small fleet (no radar thought..).

------

Second interesting zone is SoPac. We have our first report of Heavy transmissions in Truk and Kwajalein, plus a small invasion raiding fleet in Jaluit. I send subs to scout right in the bases to have a look, this may be sign of a push East toward the islands. I have good hope to see them coming, given the patrols i run.

An other small fleet of 2 ships has been located a bit north toward Wake. Despite the southern path, i don't think those are mere merchants. Probably a refueling TF for the assault on Wake, or something further East like Midway.

I won't move my carriers up, yet, until i have a firm idea of where the KB is. The two in PH stay here for now as well.


Things will soon heat up.

On a side note, would you advise for the recall of the 8th Indian division, which has just been destroyed?

[RangerJoe]

Yes, recall the division as it will take awhile for it to arrive. When it does come, turn off the infantry replacements as those are precious but let it take other replacements. Any device that you are short of should be stockpiled for the combat capable, front line capable units.