Aussie Affair, Beta's Twilight

[Luskan]

Not a good turn to be an allied CL!!!

I lost 10 betties this turn as my level bombers launched at extremely long ranges to strike at Raver's surface fleet(s). Off Timor my betties caught the 2 CLs Adelaide and Durban and sank them, while betties from Truk found the Boise at anchor on the northern shore of PNG under some awrhawks (which culled a few of my betties on the way in) and smacked a torp into her.

2 sunk, 1 damaged, all in all another good turn for me in a row.

[Raverdave]

What a moron ! The Adelaide and Durban were in serious trouble anyway, having suffered damage from the raid on Kendari, and it was touch and go that they would be able to make it back to Oz, so no real suprise there. Boise has been hit by a torp, but she is steaming under her own power for light repairs in PM.

And as for waiting till '43 to attack, well why would you? The fact is that you are such a piss-poor player that it is worth the odd risk here and there.[;)]

[Raverdave]

I may have been somewhat embarrased at sea these last few turns, but I am proving to be a master of the airwar, in the last turn Luskan lost a large number of his evil torp bombers. Just as well that Luskna's production is running at 100% cpacity because he is going to need it!
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/19/42

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Day Air attack on Lanchow , at 45,25

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 22
I-153c x 12
SB-2c x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
I-153c: 2 destroyed
SB-2c: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
6 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
4 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
4 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
3 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
3 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
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Day Air attack on TF, near Dobodura at 55,91

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 9

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged


Allied Ships
CA Salt Lake City

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
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Day Air attack on TF, near Wetar Island at 32,76

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Adelaide, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Durban, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
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Day Air attack on TF, near Dobodura at 55,91

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 26

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 18 destroyed, 10 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Boise, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA Salt Lake City
DD Gridley
CL Leander
DD Piet Hein

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
2 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
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ASW attack near Dobodura at 55,91

Japanese Ships
SS RO-61, hits 6, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Piet Hein
DD Tjerk Hiddes
DD Whipple
DD Peary
DD Bulmer

[Raverdave]

Well I wish that I had something to report, but the truth be told it is very very quite, as the combat report shows.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/23/42

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Day Air attack on Lanchow , at 45,25

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 24
I-153c x 12
SB-2c x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
I-153c: 4 destroyed
SB-2c: 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
10 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 3

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
6 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
3 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
3 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
3 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet
3 x SB-2c bombing at 6000 feet

[Luskan]

Very quiet. Raver did a nuisance sub launched raid at an empty base at Iwo Jima. No biggie, landed 1000 troops 2 days later and culled 400 of his for no real loss.

I think that Raver may have spotted two out of my 4 cv divisions on station last turn - so I've re oriented my defence network - and all cv divisions are moving to new forward bases/positions.

In the north things have quietened down now that Admiral Yamata has returned home to a hero's welcome - and then had his fleet divided into 3 and sent off to other cv divisions.

Fortunately i'm starting to churn enough tonnage out of my shipyards to start replacing my dd losses, and actually increase on the amount of merchant shipping to what I started the game with.

Raver keeps bombing Rabaul and it costs him a few b17s every turn. The base is repaired 1 turn later and my little zero squadron there keeps launching at them. Good exp for the once rgeen squadron. They're now veterans with green tinges.

Hyuga and Ise arrived at their new station last turn after having their in dock rotation to repair sys damage. This allows my two biggest repair yards to concentrate on the Kirishima (going to be a long one) and Hiei - who suffered damage in a thunderstorm previously.

I have a plan - operation albatross - in the making. Conferring with my "generals" (certain WITP players who wish to remain anonymous) as to the exact details. It is about wounding Raver's pride and forcing him off balance, as opposed to a vital war winning strike. It does involve sacrificing some hardware and troops however so I'm not 100% convinced yet.

[Raverdave]

"I have a plan" Pfft ![8|] Yeah right, might as well read tea-leaves as well.

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Raverdave

"I have a plan" Pfft ![8|] Yeah right, might as well read tea-leaves as well.

Why does that remind me of Eddie Izzard...."I haff invented a manuuuver". [:)]

[Luskan]

To be honest, this plan is gutsy, daring, full of aplomb and superbly designed . . . unfortunately I'm just not sure I'd get away with it.

[Raverdave]

Well I am game if you are.......sounds like fun.[:D]

[Raverdave]

Sorry guys but there is still nothing to report. We are now at 30/9/42 and both sides seem to be doing little except waiting and plotting and digging and supplying. Really boring stuff. But I do get some new shiney carriers in the next three months [8D]

[Luskan]

What is boring for the allied player is actually quite stressful for the jap player. I'm shuffling supplies, resources and oil every which way.

E.g., at a certain undisclosed base I've suddenly got Oscars upgrading to tonies - but halted halfway through the upgrade process due to supply restrictions.

I've got many many pilots on training cycles that need to be supplied and monitored (esp in bad weather). Suffice to say I think the quality of my pilots is better now than at any other stage of the war. I have been diligent about keeping a strategic air reserve of all types of planes, always training (and never fighting) so my "reserve" pilots are now amongst the very best - even thought they haven't seen much action.

Raver's ships continue on the north coast of PNG under heavy fighter support, and the b17 super raids have stopped for now in favour of large heavy bomber raids out of india. Personally I welcome the idea of 200 allied heavies eating up supplies before those supplies can feed chinese troops.

[Raverdave]

I have so many supplies banked up in India that I can well afford to have very large bomber raids operating without effecting resupply to China. The oil plant in Mandalay is now nothing but a slag heap.[:D]

[Luskan]

The war continues - Raver is bombing mandalay repeatedly from his bases in Dakka (sp) but there isn't a lot there to bomb.

The concern is the uncontested practise his level bombers are getting (Even if half of them regularly get lost on the way in).

In naval matters repairs to my some of my damaged capitol ships are all complete. They've been complete for a while sitting in dock as a "reserve" but now that I've got a couple of operations rolling forward once again, I've had to use this reserve (Is easy to forget you have them. I had 17 destroyers fully ready to go at hong kong for 2 weeks before I checked them.

Several older, damaged BBs have been repaired and upgraded, and even a few CV upgrades. I am trying to be careful and split my radar equipped dds and cls evenly throughout my surface combat net.

In other news, the new sub net I designed for my very small, withered sub force has failed pretty much entirely. Haven't heard from my subs in a long time and neither has raver.

Tempted to load them all into a tf, pack them with troops and send them off to invade NZ>

[Luskan]

A little action today as my betties hit a couple of Raver's transports at Lae - both badly damaged by bombs - but I doubt they'll sink (and they've already offloaded the engineers I was expecting).

Seems Raver is working his airbases slowly closer to Rabaul in order to bring his firepower to bear. Rabaul being my only foothold in the solomons worth anything.

[Raverdave]

Truth be told Rabal is only one of a number of "footholds".............you are living on borrowed time mate. We are now into October'42 and come '43 I am going to be pounding you from one side of the map to the next.

Two of my CVs have now completed their 10/42 upgrade and have already slipped their hawsers bound for support operations somewhere.[;)]

[Guderon]

Hmmm.... This is the quietest this AAR has been since it started. You guys got something big in the planning stages? If you're both planning large operations of some sort and they come off at the same time, this could get *very* interesting....

[Raverdave]

Yeah it has been quite, we have been swapping turns but little combat worth reporting. I'm rotating my CVs and CLAA's, CLs through their 10/42 upgrade cycle, and so have been only consolidating what I am still holding. Luskan is doing much of the same, and is pretty much simply waiting for me to make a move.

However, the last turn that I sent Luskan * WHICH I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE REPLY* I have tried a new tactic, not sure if it worked or not, and I don't want to say anything till I get the turn back.

[Luskan]

Raver's new tactic worked ok. He sent bombers in against Rangoon at night.

Now previously Raver has been after accuracy and firepower - and although the liberators and mitchells didn't do any permanent damage, and they didn't really hurt my squadrons too bad (lost a few planes on the ground - plenty damaged though) it would work if he could get 400 bombers overhead in the one raid.

Raver has been packing troops and supplies into Lae and Buna - my betties have had a few goes but no really brilliant results (torped a couple that is it). Of course, once Raver knew I knew they were there I could never go in after them. PM has been turned into a very powerful spot on the map - and Raver has invested considerable effort into the place.

Every turn I snatch another little base on the southern end of the DEI chain, just too keep my lines moving forward. Happy to say I've finally farrisoned Java to my satisfaction.

I ahve a couple of little ops in the offing - one would be considered a big op - but in order to pull it off I have decided I need to rearrange my sub picket lines into lines of float plane capable sub recon lines - a lot will depend on Raver's reaction time.

[Raverdave]

ORIGINAL: Happy to say I've finally farrisoned Java to my satisfaction.

Farrisoned? [/size] What kind of ratbrained word is that?
Headsup bannanananana boy the bombers are coming again, but this time in force.

Yes PNG is now a huge war base full of lots and lots of nasties just waiting to have a crack at Luskan.

This is what I did to him last turn:-

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/08/42

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Night Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
55 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Wellington III bombing at 6000 feet
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Night Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 4 destroyed, 6 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 8 destroyed, 11 damaged
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 5 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
49 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 7

Aircraft Attacking:
20 x B-24D Liberator bombing at 6000 feet

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Ground combat at Maumere

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 526 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 32 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Maumere base !!!

[Luskan]

he didn't go nearly as well at Rangoon as he wanted. His fighter copped it - as they were substandard pilots. His bombers didn't loose many planes, but didn't do enough damage to put the airfield out of commission - so the airfield has been repaired that same turn, and the replacement planes brought in for all those I lost on the ground. Raver missed his chance for a knock out blow there - he did have me worried with his naval attacks as well as airfield attacks. Hit a few pgs that I didn't want to loose.

Raver needs to make up his mind which target he wants to hit - otherwise his uber raid splits up into 5 medium raids (which my fighters can handle one at a time).