Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

[apbarog]

I've used barges in the Solomons as the Japanese, but I don't think I've used them anywhere as the Allies. I'll look into that.

[Bif1961]

Dud rate for US Fleet subs is suppose to be about 80% on hits, so you did a slightly better than average, believe it or not.I usually keep track when I am the Allies and have had results in line with yours. The S-boats do much better as they only had one major flaw in their torpedoes and it was corrected much sooner than the 3 major flaws in the Mk-14 torpedoes.

[apbarog]

2 Jan 43

Near Namlea, north of Ambon, Seawolf fired 4 torpedoes at xAP Naminoue Maru. Two torpedoes hit and neither was a dud. There are men loaded on the ship. Seawolf immediately reattacked the transport, firing 4 more torpedoes and getting 2 more hits. One was a dud. Sinking audio was heard immediately after the combat. It was nice to get some good hits right after the torpedo dud improvement date.

24 P-38Fs swept Magwe and found 42 Ki-43-IIa Oscars on CAP. It was a tough fight, and no cake walk this time for the Lightnings. The enemy pilots were very good. 8 Lightnings went down and took 9 Oscars with them.

Heavy enemy bombing of the Chinese troops just south of Sian, as in most days. B-17s bombed Myitkyina and some light bombers hit enemy troops north of Myitkyina. Just showing activity.

The armada from Australia will get to Colombo today. 2 huge transport convoys from Capetown will move onto the map today, then move to Colombo. Loading for the big operation will start when these ships get to Ceylon. British carrier Illustrious is due to withdraw in 2 days. I'm still undecided whether to withdraw her immediately. If I use her, it will be to CAP Port Blair after the first day of landing, allowing the other CVs and invasion ships to continue to move to their targets. I'd have to pay about 3 weeks of political points for her to remain on the map. I'll decide with the next turn.

[Bif1961]

You don't get a lot of P-38s E, F or G and the service rate is low so it will be awhile before that Squadron will be up for another sweep.

[apbarog]

Here's the number of ships by type that will be used for the upcoming Burma operation:

6 CVs(counting Illustrious, if I use her)
7 BBs
1 BC
14 CAs
5 CLs
4 CLAAs
38 DDs
297 xAPs,xAKs,AKs,xAKLs,APDs

It's going to be big. I'm going to force in as much supply as I possibly can, as fast as possible. Troop unloading won't be fast using xAPs, but I'm going to overwhelm the defenses with number of units, particularly at Rangoon.

After all the shipping gets to Ceylon, I'll list out the order of battle for what ground units will go where.

Back in October '42, I previewed my thinking for a Burma operation. Most of what you see there still applies. The invasion forces have grown larger though.

See the last post on this page:
tm.asp?m=4463298&mpage=24&key=

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

The invasion forces have grown larger though.

It's the SPAM and Bully Beef ...

[apbarog]

3 Jan 43

Some enemy bombing in China, nothing unusual.

Allied carriers and shipping arrive at Ceylon. Some transport shipping will move to Trincomlee. Both Trincomlee and Colombo will be ports of embarkation for the invasions. All ships at Colombo will do some minor damage repair. A few ships enter the shipyard for some quick repairs. Shipping from Capetown entered the map, and will need about 5 days to get to Colombo. They'll unload, then the invasion loading will begin.

I've decided to keep Illustrious on the map and pay the political points to do so. It has dropped off its torpedo bombers and will load only fighters.

As far as I know, none of the task forces were spotted going to Ceylon.

[apbarog]

Order of Battle

Most units are fully prepped for their targets, including base support and engineer units. All units that are fully prepped will land with the invasion wave at their target. Combat troops prepped for inland bases and support units that aren't fully prepped for coastal bases will wait for a captured port to unload.

Fully Prepped for Rangoon:

2 British Division
18 British Division
XXXIII Indian Corp
3rd Carbineers Rgt
2/11 Fld RAA Rgt
623 Tank Destroyers
103 RN Base Force
11 Indian Division (not full strength, just enough for garrison of Rangoon)
95 Hvy AA Rgt
221 Group RAF

Followup for Rangoon:
341 Base Group
24 CB
US 43rd Infantry Division
2/13 Fld RAA Rgt

Fully Prepped for Little Andaman:
1 Gloucester Bn
106 RN Base Force
42 CB

Fully Prepped for Port Blair:
17 Aust Brig
US 147 Infantry Rgt
US 24 Infantry Rgt
2/1 Lt AA Rgt
111 RN Base Force
16 Spec CB
276 Coastal Artillery

Followup for Port Blair:
112 RN Base Force
503 Para Rgt (prepped for air drop on Chumphon to cut rail from Singapore)

Fully Prepped for Pegu:
5 Chinese Corp
167 Base Force
2 Burma Bat

Followup for Pegu:
35 Port Maint
21 CB

Followup landing at Pegu, troops prepped for Chiang Mai:
US 32 Infantry Division
150 RAC Rgt
Kowloon Brig (Remember Hong Kong?)
134 Field Artillery
170 RAF Base Force

Followup landing at Pegu, troops prepped for Toungoo:
16 Aust Brig
XV Indian Corp
177 RAF Base Force

Air Drop at Chiang Mai, from Chittagong (timing TBD):
77 LRP

Air Drop at Toungoo, from Chittagong (timing TBD):
111 LRP

Fully Prepped for Moulmein:
6 Chinese Corp
209 Field Artillery

Followup for Moulmein:
50 Tank Brig
16 Spec CB
165 Base Force

Followup landing at Moulmein, prepped for Rahaeng:
50 Tank Brig
(This is the weak link of the plan. Rahaeng may be too much to hope for with just an armor unit)

[CaptBeefheart]

[Large buttered popcorn bucket]

Good luck.

Cheers,
CB

[apbarog]

4 Jan 43

The enemy cruiser force north of Darwin went to Taberfane. They ran into 3 PT boats there. One PT boat was sunk. A torpedo was fired at an enemy destroyer but it missed. The enemy ships then bombarded Taberfane, to decent effect.

Night Naval bombardment of Taberfane at 82,117

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 5 damaged
P-40K Warhawk: 26 damaged
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
CA Myoko
CL Yura
CL Nagara
DD Asashio
DD Hayashio
DD Oyashio
DD Kuroshio

Allied ground losses:
187 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 8
Runway hits 46
Port hits 11
Port supply hits 2

The base is still operational. I'd moved shipping away just in time.

There's an enemy sub watching the southeastern corner of Australia. I-15 sank AM Pirie just south of the coastal route between Sydney and Melbourne. The positioning implies that the enemy is looking for ships, not targeting them, at least today. The sub is about 3 weeks late to see the armada that went past here on the way to Ceylon.

Ground combat at 84,42 (near Sian)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 102671 troops, 803 guns, 179 vehicles, Assault Value = 3193

Defending force 38124 troops, 134 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1265

Japanese adjusted assault: 1816

Allied adjusted defense: 895

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
11064 casualties reported
Squads: 183 destroyed, 592 disabled
Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 78 disabled
Engineers: 8 destroyed, 30 disabled
Guns lost 85 (14 destroyed, 71 disabled)
Vehicles lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1894 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 170 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 36 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled

Assaulting units:
37th Division
1st Ind.Mixed Brigade
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
4th Ind.Mixed Brigade
9th Ind.Mixed Brigade
35th Division
36th Division
41st Division
69th Division
24th Division
1st Army
6th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
84th Chinese Corps
80th Chinese Corps
66th Chinese Corps
5th War Area
4th Group Army
34th Group Army

OPilot did everything he could to take this hex. Months of aircraft bombing. Months of artillery bombardments. The Chinese are out of supply. This is a catastrophic loss for him. The only explanation I can come up with is the massive overstacking in the hex.

Illustrious was at Colombo. I resized the fighter unit on it, and left the ship in a task force. For the first time in months, an enemy sub spotted ships at Colombo, spotting Illustrious with 4/4 DL. Not much else was spotted. Surprise will be lost if OPilot does recon of Colombo's port.

[apbarog]

6 Jan 43

DE Starling was tasked to find the enemy sub near the southeastern tip of Australia. I-15 had moved a bit east from yesterday, still not on the coastal convoy route, but there to observe. Starling didn't get a depth charge hit, but it got a number of near misses, with some minor flooding reported. The destroyer escort will continue the hunt.

Some minor bombing for both sides in Burma. Some enemy bombing in China. Thunderstorms at Colombo, so my hundreds of ships in port are still not spotted.

6 Fletcher class destroyers had been defending Darwin. Today they moved west southwest towards Wyndham, but getting within high speed range of Koepang. The Fletchers were not spotted, so the feint towards Wyndham mattered none. I'm seeing multiple task forces at Koepang, and no combat ship task forces. The interesting task force there has support ships, ships that OPilot is afraid to disband in port for fear of port bombing. Let's see what the destroyers can do, and hopefully avoid mines.

[Bif1961]

Good luck on your planned operation in Burma, I am about 2 months behind you in game time and our maps look pretty much the same, so I am following your AAR closely.

[apbarog]

6 Jan 43

Coastwatchers tracked a task force moving west from Rabaul. It ended up going to Lae. I think this is a regular supply/troop run, using fast transport. S-47 identified the ships as light cruisers Kiso and Tama, with 5 destroyers.

6 Fletcher class destroyers stormed into Koepang's port. They didn't hit any mines. First, they ran into patrol boat Urashio Maru, and quickly hit the PB with 9 shells and sank it. Then the interesting task force that I had spotted was engaged.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Koepang at 68,116, Range 4,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe: 6 destroyed

Japanese Ships
PB Shosei Maru, Shell hits 5, on fire
PB Okiyu Maru, Shell hits 10, on fire
AV Kamoi, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
AV Sanuki Maru, Shell hits 3
AKE Taifuku Maru, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Nanrei Maru, Shell hits 6, on fire
AG Koyo Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
AD Ryuzin Maru, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Fletcher
DD Chevalier
DD DeHaven
DD Nicholas
DD O'Bannon
DD Waller, Shell hits 2

Reduced sighting due to 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 0% moonlight: 4,000 yards

With reduced visibility due to no moonlight, the fight ended sooner than I would have liked. 3 additional torpedo hits were duds. Waller was hit by shells from an AV, and is now SYS 17/FLOT 12-3/ENG 3-0/FIRE 0.

With daylight, the US destroyers were still at Koepang. They engaged the remaining ships.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Koepang at 68,116, Range 22,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
F1M2 Pete: 7 destroyed

Japanese Ships
PB Shosei Maru, Shell hits 33, and is sunk
PB Okiyu Maru, Shell hits 45, and is sunk
AV Sanuki Maru, Shell hits 15, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PB Nanrei Maru, Shell hits 19, and is sunk
AG Koyo Maru, Shell hits 34, and is sunk
AD Ryuzin Maru, and is sunk

Allied Ships
DD Fletcher
DD Chevalier
DD DeHaven
DD Nicholas
DD O'Bannon
DD Waller

Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards

12 Petes were destroyed, as were 11 A6M2 Rufes, "on the ground". They were presumably on the AVs. Taking out AKEs, ADs and AGs is particularly noteworthy. There's a limited number of them, and not having them in an area limits combat ship capabilities. The US destroyers made it out of Koepang, moving about 7 hexes towards Darwin, and they weren't spotted during the day air phases.

An enemy task force with a patrol boat and an xAKL was spotted at Babar, 7 hexes from Darwin. Divebombers from Darwin attacked. Some without escort. Some with escort, which didn't help.

First 18 SB2U-3 attacked, without escort, and ran into 39 Oscars. Every Vindicator was shot down. Then 18 SBD-2s with 18 F4F-3s escorting attacked, running into the same 39 Oscars. 9 Dauntlesses and 14 Wildcats were shot down. No Oscars were downed in either fight. Ugly. 2 500lb bombs from Dauntlesses did hit xAKL Natsukawa Maru. I don't think this was an intentional trap, but it was an effective one. I need to be more careful with the naval strike settings. OPilot hasn't been aggressive with combat ships within range of Allied bases. I need to avoid striking into his fighter-protected bases. The P-38s that had been at Port Moresby went to Lunga. Now they are headed towards Darwin, stopping at Gove on the way. From Darwin, they can sweep Babar or Koepang.

The final two convoys headed to Colombo will arrive there today. One has the US 43rd Infantry Division. It'll need a day to unload, and then two or three days to switch from Strat to Combat mode. Then the troop loading for the invasions will begin. Some supply loading has already started. Colombo had clear weather today, and no Allied task forces or ships in port were spotted there. Lots of ships continue to fix up very minor SYS damage there.

[apbarog]

7 Jan 43

I-28 fired 2 torpedoes at destroyer Gridley south of Rennell Island. All missed. Gridley and friends are searching for subs, and maybe appearing to be something else.

Sonias bombed Chinese troops at the most western base of Paoshan. This happens occasionally, more frequently lately. The runway is wrecked but there's been no planes there. Wellingtons bombed the part of an infantry battalion just west of the base. Not meaningful, but I'm varying the attacks. B-17s bombed the airfield at Lashio in the afternoon, and caught the Sonias on the ground. 2 were destroyed and others damaged. No CAP there today.

The Fletcher class destroyers made it to Darwin. The lightly damaged one will repair minor damage at Darwin; the others move out and head to Brisbane for minor repairs and an upcoming upgrade in February.

US 43rd Division starts unloading at Colombo. More xAKs load supply in amphibious mode. Just counting down to the 43rd being in combat mode, and then the massive troop loading starts.

[jwolf]

I'm surprised you're still flying any Vindicators. That was a good Fletcher raid at Koepang.

[apbarog]

This is a PDU-OFF game, so there's all sorts of older models still being used. The SBD-3 build rate is slow. I had a bad SBD-3 attack last month, and lost a month and a half of production. Replacement rates won't improve until the SBD-5 comes online in a few months.

[apbarog]

8 Jan 43

The Australian 13th Armoured Regiment has been traveling west from Katherine, headed to enemy occupied Wyndham. The enemy has been watching this unit, and it was just a matter of time until the unit was bombed, in the clear terrain, with bombers from Koepang. That time was today. I could LRCAP the unit from Katherine. I choose not to do so immediately. Anyhow, 26 Bettys with 36 A6M3a Zeros hit the unit today, causing 232 casualties. I have a bigger unit prepping for Wyndham, but I don't have immediate plans for an amphibious invasion. It just isn't important.

OPilot switched up bomber targets in China today, hitting Changsha and Hengyang, and a unit in rough terrain south of Changsha, as well as units in jungle near Sian, and ones by Ningsia.

US 43rd Infantry Division has unloaded at Colombo, and needs two days to switch to combat mode. Then hundreds of ships will form up in Ceylon and load for Burma.

It is noted that troop numbers at Lae have now exceeded 10,000. The CL/DD task force making regular runs from Rabaul have been bringing in troops. I have a sub that will drop some mines on that route in the next week.

[DOCUP]

Love the AAR.

[apbarog]

Some Data Updates

[jwolf]

The Japanese have lost a lot of cruisers.