RADM Yamaguchi's Diary (Pls no affins or cheesesteak)

[Alamander]

On the radar, you can probably get the entire IJAAF radar-equpped at this point. The Tai-Chi 1s upgrade to the 2s and then the 3s. Your production of each model is limited to about 6 or 8 per month. You can set a couple key units to upgrade to the tai-chi 1s. Then leave them on upgrade to upgrade to the 2s, then the 3s. This will return the tai-chi 1s and 2s to the pool. Other units can then upgrade to the 1s, many to the 2s, and a few to the 3s.

On the Home Islands, you have 9 or 10 base forces that have sound detectors that upgrade to the Tai Chi 6. These are the only units that upgrade to the Tai-Chi 6, so you may as well upgrade them. They are the named IJAAF base forces, static, and fixed to major bases in Japan. There are also, in stock, I believe, a couple that upgrade to the Tai-Chi 13. I have yet to find a unit in Dababes that upgrade to the 13, so I think it is just a couple units in stock. I am not sure which units those are, however, sicne I haven't played stock in years.

[Lowpe]

Do a search on night fighters by user: obvert, mind-messing, me. We have beat this horse to death and beyond.

You can lose the game if you are not prepared for night bombing in 4/44. And you need to prepare well ahead of time. There are counters to everything, but night bombing counters are not intuitive and Japan can win/draw the night campaign.

[Alamander]

I saw you ask about A6M5c and A6M8. Opinions vary, but I will give you my experience. I don't bother with the A6M5 variants (b and c) at all, and I play PDU:Off, where you must produce just about everything. I make 2 planes of each just to upgrade squadrons. The variants trade armor for speed and manueverability. First, we are talking about the A6 as a carrier fighter. If the CV is sunk but the pilot survives because of armor, it really isn't very helpful. The A6 is built for speed and manueverability (which go hand in hand since manueverability is reduced when a fighter encounters faster fighters), and whatever utility it has is based on these 2 things. The A6M8 can handle a Hellcat, at a slight disadvantage, but can handle it. It is really the only A6 model worth producing in numbers after the A6M3a, in my opinion, except for a squadron, maybe 2, of A6M5s.

As a land-based fighter, its primary utility, after 1942, is the low-level fighter in layered CAP, flying beneath better land-based fighters: N1Ks, J2Ms, Ki-84s, or even K1-61KAIs. For this, you want, again manueverability (with as much speed as possible). Once again, the A6M variants detract, rather than add, to the role in which I use A6Ms after 1942. The A6M3s and even the A6M5 outperform the A6M5 variants.

These are just my opinions. If you want to fight a CV battle in 1943 and come out ahead, I think the A6M8 is important. The A6M5c adds nothing to your ability to do this beyond what the A6M3a and the A6M5 offer. In fact, it detracts.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Do a search on night fighters by user: obvert, mind-messing, me. We have beat this horse to death and beyond.

You can lose the game if you are not prepared for night bombing in 4/44. And you need to prepare well ahead of time. There are counters to everything, but night bombing counters are not intuitive and Japan can win/draw the night campaign.

Just to add that much of the frustrations IJ players have from night strategic bombing campaigns is that they don't know what winning looks like.

If the Allies are doing massed B-29 raids every week, and then that changes after a month or so to every two weeks, that's victory.

ORIGINAL: Alamander

I saw you ask about A6M5c and A6M8. Opinions vary, but I will give you my experience. I don't bother with the A6M5 variants (b and c) at all, and I play PDU:Off, where you must produce just about everything. I make 2 planes of each just to upgrade squadrons. The variants trade armor for speed and manueverability. First, we are talking about the A6 as a carrier fighter. If the CV is sunk but the pilot survives because of armor, it really isn't very helpful. The A6 is built for speed and manueverability (which go hand in hand since manueverability is reduced when a fighter encounters faster fighters), and whatever utility it has is based on these 2 things. The A6M8 can handle a Hellcat, at a slight disadvantage, but can handle it. It is really the only A6 model worth producing in numbers after the A6M3a, in my opinion, except for a squadron, maybe 2, of A6M5s.

As a land-based fighter, its primary utility, after 1942, is the low-level fighter in layered CAP, flying beneath better land-based fighters: N1Ks, J2Ms, Ki-84s, or even K1-61KAIs. For this, you want, again manueverability (with as much speed as possible). Once again, the A6M variants detract, rather than add, to the role in which I use A6Ms after 1942. The A6M3s and even the A6M5 outperform the A6M5 variants.

These are just my opinions. If you want to fight a CV battle in 1943 and come out ahead, I think the A6M8 is important. The A6M5c adds nothing to your ability to do this beyond what the A6M3a and the A6M5 offer. In fact, it detracts.

All good points. Not quite sure I buy all of them.

I think the armour and the extra durability is critical for the Zero tree - especially considering you're wanting your CV fighters to be able to stick around through a bit of battle damage.

The main crux for me with the A6M5c is that it provides the most balanced Zero model at the earliest possible date. Get it, tick the boxes for a decent enough CV fighter, and move the R&D over to the Sam for a marked improvement over the Zero rather than an incremental improvement.

I'll also defend the M5c for it's flexibility. The extra range versus the M8 makes a lot of difference in practice, and the performance differential is a fair trade off. Plus, you get a free machine gun.

In short, the M5c is "good enough", and the A6M8 doesn't represent a significant enough improvement to merit investing in it over the Sam (which shares roughly the same arrival date).

[RangerJoe]

The advantages that the M8 has over the SAM is that it is on the upgrade path from the the initial A6M2s/Rufes and it uses an engine already in production at the beginning of the game. That way, a player can plan accordingly with his engines to get the maximum engine bonus for research and a good fighter the soonest that he can.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

The advantages that the M8 has over the SAM is that it is on the upgrade path from the the initial A6M2s/Rufes and it uses an engine already in production at the beginning of the game. That way, a player can plan accordingly with his engines to get the maximum engine bonus for research and a good fighter the soonest that he can.

Keep in mind that the M5c has a default arrival date of 10/44 versus the 8/45 date on the M8. That's ten months worth of R&D acceleration "saved" by settling for the M5c model, so there's substantially less work needing done to bring forward the M5c versus the M8.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

The advantages that the M8 has over the SAM is that it is on the upgrade path from the the initial A6M2s/Rufes and it uses an engine already in production at the beginning of the game. That way, a player can plan accordingly with his engines to get the maximum engine bonus for research and a good fighter the soonest that he can.

At least in my game the M8 uses a different engine, making it exceedingly expensive to get the bonus early.

The M8 has no advantage over the Sam except time. And the M-M rightly points out the 5c can almost see you thru to it. A lot of it depends upon Japan's skillful use of the KB and not just as a bigger wrench tactic.

5c is a good plane, especially late war against B29s even. There is a lot of firepower in it.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

Thank you to everybody here for your thoughts on the zero line. Alamander you make some good points about the 8 and i think i've seen Lowpe talk about the advantages in his own AAR. Nice to see him with the comments about the 5c here.

Mind messings thinking sounds a lot like mine. I like the fact that somebody with a lot more experience than i have looked at something in a similar way. I think that i should just be thankful that i had a major CV fight in Sept '42 where i had the 5c available. I might have gotten the 5c early for no good reason if that didn't happen and in that case maybe i should have gone for the 8.
As always, especially in my game so far, a lot of things come down to luck - i think.

As for bringing on 5c production and switching factories to A7 i did a little of that. I now have 8 factories on A7 with a hight of 15 repaired and a low of 2 repaired. With my low end supply count perhaps i should refrain from switching over any more factories. I've got 8 more on george and 2 of them are really close to repaired here in 10/42. Maybe that was too many too.
That was a major surprise to see your comment about 5c vs B-29s Lowpe. Really makes me feel a little better about my lack of preparation for night bombing. have to work on that.

Oh, and i already have >500 Nak-45 engines so i'll be in the bonus right away on the george (and frank) when repaired.

[Alamander]

ORIGINAL: RADM.Yamaguchi

Morning Air attack on Chittagong , at 55,41

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 24,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 23

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 6 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
22 x Ki-44-IIc Tojo sweeping at 20000 feet *
Nice sweep here. They almost seem invulnerable at this point - too bad thats going to change

The Tojo is such a great plane. Remember that is has an climb rate unmatched by almost any Japanese fighter until 1945. Even once it starts to lose effectiveness as a sweeper, it is still a very helpful CAP fighter. The Tojo remains useful to me through 1944 as the army version of the A6M3 or A6M5: the low-level CAP fighter in a layered CAP. It starts as the high fighter in 1942, then moves to middle, then to low. I can't even imagine having the IIc in 1942; the IIa is lethal enough.

PDU:on and skipping steps in R&D really is a different game than what I play, so keep that in mind with regard to my comments and opinions on the air-war. I have never played a PDU:On game and I view skipping steps as gamey, so I haven't really thought out all the possibilities that skipping steps and changing upgrade paths can produce.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

Pretty uneventful turn except i fall for a CAP trap - AGAIN! What's new?

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Oct 09, 42
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Night Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 35 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 7

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 1 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 4000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Magwe , at 57,47

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 19 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 12

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 6 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 5000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Shwebo , at 59,45

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 5

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 4

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 5000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Shwebo , at 59,45

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 5

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 5

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 5000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Shwebo , at 59,45

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 5

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 8

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 5000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
All in all a pretty painless night of heavy and medium bombing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Naval bombardment of Adak Island at 162,52

Japanese Ships
BB Yamashiro
BB Fuso
BB Yamato
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Amatsukaze
DD Shiranui
DD Kuroshio

Allied ground losses:
139 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
The usual bombardment of Adak
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Cold Bay at 174,48

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 27 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 12
D3A1 Val x 56

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 11
F4F-4 Wildcat x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 1 destroyed
D3A1 Val: 13 destroyed, 3 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
APD Manley, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
7 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
12 x D3A1 Val releasing from 10000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
Simple math 13 Val > 1 APD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sanak Island at 173,49

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 7 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
ACM Trapper, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
Still doesn't even it out
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 85,43 (near Nanyang)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 1275 troops, 0 guns, 194 vehicles, Assault Value = 111

Defending force 10055 troops, 37 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 427

Japanese adjusted assault: 101

Allied adjusted defense: 925

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 9

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

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 61 (1 destroyed, 60 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
186 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
9th Tank Regiment
17th Tank Regiment

Defending units:
76th Chinese Corps
Yeah, i know, what are you doing a shock here for. Well i really don't know what to expect so i thought 2 armor units vs 1 larger sub par unit in favorable defensive terrain - what the heck

[RangerJoe]

Bomb and bombard those units in rough terrain then let the tanks slowly grind them down.

The next time there is an obvious CAP trap at a nonbase, send in a few Kates at 1000 feet. They might just fly below the CAP.

If it is at a base, then take out your broom and use it to sweep. Sweep high, then Kates come in low when the fighters are out of position and tired.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

Thanks joe, i'm really bad about that "slowly" thing.

I'm thinking escort doesn't work anywhere nearly as effectively as sweep.

[Alamander]

Escort works. Almost every time I expect CAP, I have fighter escorts: specific planes (manueverable with range- I don't use Tojos or Nicks for escort). As to Joe's point, it is a good one. Spreading out the CAP over various altitudes is key. Here is a series of attacks from a similar situation in my game at almost the same date as your game (albeit at the opposite side of the map). I am attacking a group of APDs, with a small CAP, from Suva and from a CV flotilla stationed nearby. First, I am lucky in the order, but LBA often goes before CV strikes.

The LBA is set to go in unescorted at 1000 feet with torpedoes. In this case, there is no radar, and the CAP is flying LRCAP, so this is the exact result I had hoped to achieve. The LBA flies in under the CAP and they are uncontested.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Hoorn Islands at 138,157

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 33

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
APD Colhoun
APD Manley
APD Gregory, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Waters
APD Stringham
APD McKean

Aircraft Attacking:
33 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp

CAP engaged:
18th FG/78th FS with P-40E Warhawk (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 10000.
Raid is overhead

Notice that the "raid is overhead," and that the detection time is 4 minutes: not enough time for the fighters to descend from 10,000 feet to attack.

Then... a strike comes in from the CV flotilla at DB altitude: 11K.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Hoorn Islands at 138,157

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 84
B5N2 Kate x 28
D3A1 Val x 30

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
APD McKean, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
APD Manley, Bomb hits 1
APD Little, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
APD Stringham, Bomb hits 2, on fire
APD Waters, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
APD Colhoun

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
18 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
3 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
10 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
8 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

CAP engaged:
18th FG/78th FS with P-40E Warhawk (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 4450.
Raid is overhead



Notice that the fighters are now at 4,450 feet. They dived to try to intercept the Betties and failed and as a result, they did not time to react to the 2nd strike coming in above them. The Zeros dived on the Warhawks and shot down all 3 of them.

A series of strikes in the afternoon played out the exact same way with the LBA coming in first at 1K and the CV strike 2nd at 11K. The results were the same. The fighters were caught out of position for both and 5 more Warhawks were downed by the diving Zero escorts in the afternoon with no losses to the IJN.

This only works if the low-level bombers are unescorted and is therefore a risky play, because escorts usually will climb to engage the CAP and create a dogfight from a disadvantaged position. With more warning time, the fighters will react better to both raids, so this is best used against LRCAP over non-base hexes against TFs with limited radar capacity. Radar does fail, sometimes, to detect raids, so it can be used against radar, but is more risky. Whatever the case, sending in multiple strikes at multiple altitudes, whenever possible, tends to scatter CAP all over the sky and be effective even against radar, albeit much less effective.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

Wow, i've never seen an explanation like that before. Thanks Alamander. I'm sure for a lot of players this sort of thing is well understood and just 2nd nature. I'm begining to understand a little more and the example certainly helps.

[Alamander]

The time to target is a function of the distance at which a raid is detected divided by the speed of the incoming raid. Speed matters, even for bombers, and even cruising speed. This is a major reason why the D4 Judy series are the best dive bombers in the game. Of course, a raid is limited to the speed of its slowest component.

Also, escorts can be induced, sometimes, to "sweep ahead," functioning almost like a fighter sweep as well as an escort group. This typically occurs when there is a major difference between the fighters' cruise speed and that of the bombers and when there are more escorts than bombers. I think, though I am not sure, that climb factor and the altitude of the strike also influence the possibility that escorts with "sweep ahead" (i.e. the escorts arrive at the desired altitude long before the bombers, get impatient, and set off ahead of the bombers. The air skill of the various commanders no doubt plays a role as well).

All of this opens up other possibilities, of course, and you can use your imagination and the plane information to come up with new ways to plan strikes. When it works, you can feel very good about yourself. When it does not, you can feel very foolish. All part of the fun of the game.

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

ORIGINAL: Alamander

The time to target is a function of the distance at which a raid is detected divided by the speed of the incoming raid. Speed matters, even for bombers, and even cruising speed. This is a major reason why the D4 Judy series are the best dive bombers in the game. Of course, a raid is limited to the speed of its slowest component.

Also, escorts can be induced, sometimes, to "sweep ahead," functioning almost like a fighter sweep as well as an escort group. This typically occurs when there is a major difference between the fighters' cruise speed and that of the bombers and when there are more escorts than bombers. I think, though I am not sure, that climb factor and the altitude of the strike also influence the possibility that escorts with "sweep ahead" (i.e. the escorts arrive at the desired altitude long before the bombers, get impatient, and set off ahead of the bombers. The air skill of the various commanders no doubt plays a role as well).

All of this opens up other possibilities, of course, and you can use your imagination and the plane information to come up with new ways to plan strikes. When it works, you can feel very good about yourself. When it does not, you can feel very foolish. All part of the fun of the game.

That's some great stuff Alamander. You are contributing some great stuff all around. I don't remember seeing your name very often before the last few weeks. did i miss your previous postings

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

Another fairly quiet turn

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Oct 10, 42
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Night Air attack on Magwe , at 57,47

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 8

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 8 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed by flak

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 5000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
i got one of those bigger AA units with the TaiChi 3 radar in there now
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 35 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 6

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 1 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 4000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 5

Allied aircraft
B-17F Fortress x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17F Fortress: 5 damaged
B-17F Fortress: 1 destroyed by flak

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x B-17F Fortress bombing from 3000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
another bigger AA unit with the TaiChi 3 there too
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Naval bombardment of Chittagong at 55,41 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
PBY-4 Catalina: 8 damaged
PBY-4 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
CA Ashigara
CA Nachi
CA Haguro
CA Myoko
DD Mochizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Kikuzuki
DD Satsuki

Allied ground losses:
220 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 40 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Manpower hits 1
Fires 286
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 22
Port fuel hits 1
These CAs always had pretty good Exp esp night Exp, but twice weekly BB runs to Chittagong have pushed that near 80.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Naval bombardment of Adak Island at 162,52

Japanese Ships
BB Yamashiro
BB Fuso
BB Yamato
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Amatsukaze
DD Shiranui
DD Kuroshio

Allied ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 79,55 (near Hengyang)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 91339 troops, 860 guns, 234 vehicles, Assault Value = 2877

Defending force 6194 troops, 72 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 19

Japanese adjusted assault: 2813

Allied adjusted defense: 3

Japanese assault odds: 937 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
177 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
6380 casualties reported
Squads: 341 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 549 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 21 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 33 (33 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 8

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
15th Division
116th Division
17th Division
70th Division
22nd Division
104th Division
60th Division
51st Division
2nd Ind.Mixed Regiment
23rd Army
4th Mortar Battalion
13th Army
21st Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
25th Chinese Corps
65th Chinese Corps
13th Chinese Base Force
18th Chinese Base Force
12th Group Army
63rd Chinese Corps
49th Chinese Corps
11th Construction Regiment
i knew these guys were beat up pretty good so i shocked em
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 58,130 (near Port Hedland)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 720 troops, 0 guns, 106 vehicles, Assault Value = 59

Defending force 649 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

Allied adjusted assault: 13

Japanese adjusted defense: 6

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
227 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 1

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
2/5th Armoured Regiment

Defending units:
144th JAAF AF Bn
allied troops that landed at port hedland are pushing us out to curruna downs - i'm pretty sure i'll have fun taking it all back fairly soon

[Alamander]

ORIGINAL: RADM.Yamaguchi

That's some great stuff Alamander. You are contributing some great stuff all around. I don't remember seeing your name very often before the last few weeks. did i miss your previous postings

No. With the quarantine and a new game against Mike, I had the inclination and time to start posting some thoughts and spend more time reviwing forum. I don't see myself having as much time in the future to post, with the world reopened and flipping 2-3 turns a day. However, it is habit-forming, and it is interesting to follow the AARs that are at the same point in the game that I am.

[Alamander]

At least you don't have to worry about 6 U.S. and British regiments, about 700 tanks, and about 300 AA guns sitting at Prome, like I do. Looks like Mike bought out the whole British tank corps, reinforced them with about 1/3 of all the U.S. unrestricted units available at this point in the game and sent all of it into Burma... lol.

Of course, I asked for it, having cut off the Pacific route to Australia... lol. It is an interesting game that Mike and I have going right now, and an interesting experiment for both Japan and the allies. What if the allies just send everything to Burma from early on and make a focused offensive on Burma?

[RADM.Yamaguchi]

That's pretty interesting. My mouse over shows over 1500 AFV at Akyab and Cox's Bazaar together. I wonder?