Today has seen the biggest joke since the beginning of the war... mines... no comment anymore...
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/18/43
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TF 27 encounters mine field at Broome (21,85)
Japanese Ships
DD Asagumo, Mine hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CA Tone, Mine hits 1
DD Kasumi, Mine hits 1, on fire
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TF 47 encounters mine field at Broome (21,85)
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
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TF 51 encounters mine field at Broome (21,85)
Japanese Ships
DD Oshio, Mine hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
CA Ashigara, Mine hits 1, on fire
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TF 91 encounters mine field at Wyndham (30,86)
Japanese Ships
DD Hamakaze, Mine hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hakaze, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
today we lose 6!! DDs to mines. All confirmed sunk. Either immediately due to mines or finished off by LBA. What does that smiley mean? Ah.. stupid...
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TF 1048 encounters mine field at Tongatapu Island (94,114)
Allied Ships
DMS Elliot
DMS Wasmuth
DMS Lamberton
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After the mine stupidity then followed the shock of the day! The enemy is NOT going to invade Thursday Island! Miller is sending his carriers towards Northern Australia!!!!! [X(][X(][X(]
Now this means major trouble. We have immediately started to retransfer all my aircraft back into the Timor area to fly massive attacks on the enemy carrier TFs. I guess this is a resupply mission for Wyndham, can´t think about anything else. We have spotted a dozen TFs already, they are divided in two hexes. Pretty sure this is due to the carrier based stacking limit of 450 ac. This means there is a mega armada coming North with some 900 ac, a dozen BBs at least, cruisers, dozens of DD, a spotted TK TF (probably AOs) but we haven´t spotted AKs so far. Most of the ships are identified as CAs but I guess those should be the AKs...
This will be our decisive battle it seems. We will have the chance to sink a hell a lot of Allied combat ships but we will also lose hundreds of ac, probably some BBs and CVs of course also. There´s no doubt that if Miller wants to press this resupply mission through to Wyndham he can do it as the AKs surely will be the last ships that will be attacked. The only question will be at what cost in combat ships for him - and for us... [;)]
As soon as the supply convoys made it to Wyndham, our try to take out all of Northern Australia will have failed. No chance to achieve something against the 3000 Allied av at Wyndham if they get 100.000 supplies. We will see, at the moment I´m quite excited...
Sub attack at 49,91
Japanese Ships
SS I-1, hits 2
Allied Ships
CV Lexington
DD Downes
DD Cassin
DD Tucker
DD Flusser
Luck was on Lexingtons side, torps missed... [8|]
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ASW attack at 49,91
Japanese Ships
SS I-1, hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
Allied Ships
DD Wilson
DD Sterett
DD Stack
DD Lang
DD Ellet
DD Benham
DD Morris
DD Walke
DD O'Brien
DD Russell
DD Mustin
CL Boise
CL Nashville
CLAA Atlanta
CV Yorktown
CA Minneapolis
CA New Orleans
BB South Dakota
as you can see, the enemy is using one CV TFs. This means we surely won´t see a lot of CVs being knocked out but if a good number of my bombers would make it through Cap then the carrier will be toast for sure, probably the escorting modern BB also. I usually prefer to have a couple of my own carriers damaged than one sunk but Miller obviously thinks different about that. What also would be great if his carriers would get separated. What would be a major disaster would be all his carriers reacting into the same hex, we would then have a mega stacked hex with 900 carrier based ac and 400+ fighters on Cap. But that is something we can not influence so if it happens, it will be bad luck for me and luck for Miller.
No matter what will happen, it´s the best thing that can happen to us at this stage of the war. All our daitais are experts and the enemy is still flying Wildcats instead of Hellcats. If we can´t do major damage now, we can´t do it even less in half a year and if we knock out a couple of carriers now, then this will delay the enemy for months. Well, a couple would probably not enough, it would be more like 4 or 5.
Ah yes, the crappy Allied ASW immedieately sunk my sub...
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Night Time Surface Combat, near Derby at 24,85
Japanese Ships
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano
CA Aoba
DD Yugiri
DD Kisaragi
DD Yayoi
DD Kikuzuki
DD Mikazuki
DD Yuzuki
Allied Ships
LCT LCT-61, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
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Naval bombardment of Broome, at 21,85 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 1 destroyed
2 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Furutaka
CA Takao
CA Chikuma
CA Tone
Allied ground losses:
403 casualties reported
Guns lost 10
Vehicles lost 1
Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 4
Port hits 4
Port supply hits 2
[&o][&o][&o]
nuke! nuke! nuke! [8|]
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Naval bombardment of Broome, at 21,85
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 2 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
CA Mikuma
CA Nachi
CA Myoko
Allied ground losses:
266 casualties reported
Guns lost 5
Vehicles lost 3
Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 20
Port hits 12
Port supply hits 5
[&o][&o][&o]
nuke! nuke! nuke! [8|]
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Naval bombardment of Broome, at 21,85
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Catalina I: 1 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed
SBD Dauntless: 3 destroyed
Spitfire Vb: 1 destroyed
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
CA Haguro
CA Chokai
CA Maya
Allied ground losses:
144 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Vehicles lost 2
Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 22
Port hits 6
Port supply hits 4
[&o][&o][&o]
nuke! nuke! nuke! [8|]
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Naval bombardment of Broome, at 21,85
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 2 destroyed
Spitfire Vb: 1 destroyed
Boomerang II: 1 destroyed
SBD Dauntless: 2 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
Liberator VI: 1 destroyed
Hurricane IIc: 1 destroyed
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed
Beaufort I: 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
CL Abukuma
CL Isuzu
CL Nagara
CA Ashigara, on fire
CA Atago
Allied ground losses:
150 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 29
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 10
[&o][&o][&o]
nuke! nuke! nuke! [8|]
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Naval bombardment of Wyndham, at 30,86
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Boomerang II: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed
C-47 Dakota: 1 destroyed
Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
BB Mutsu
BB Nagato
Allied ground losses:
1319 casualties reported
Guns lost 7
Vehicles lost 1
Runway hits 7
Port hits 3
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 2
[&o][&o][&o]
nuke! nuke! nuke! [8|]
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Naval bombardment of Derby, at 24,85
Japanese Ships
CA Aoba
CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
Allied ground losses:
68 casualties reported
[8|][8|][8|]
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Sub attack at 25,83
Japanese Ships
CA Haguro
DD Shirakumo
DD Ikazuchi
DD Hatsushima
DD Nenohi
DD Hatsuharu
Allied Ships
SS Peto
torps missed, we´re lucky too today... no surprise the enemy sub has to fear nothing...
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Sub attack near Thursday Island at 49,90
Japanese Ships
SS I-153, hits 4, on fire
Allied Ships
DD Downes
DD Cassin
DD Tucker
DD Flusser
DD Reid
DD Preston
and another heavily damaged IJN sub... trying to make Rabaul after one hit and three near misses...
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Sub attack at 34,84
Japanese Ships
BB Nagato
DD Akikaze
DD Murasame
DD Kuroshio
Allied Ships
SS Haddo
also Haddo missed, this is three hexes West of Darwin. I would take those torp hits on a BB and a CA if our sub wouldn´t have missed Lexington... our escorts are useles... there were six of them, only three show up... [8|]
that was this turns naval action. For nearly no result we have lost 6 DDs to mines today, 2 CAs damaged from mine hits and enemy subs fired torps on a CA and a BB... what a great day... [8|]
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Day Air attack on Pamakasan , at 24,66
Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 33
No Japanese losses
Runway hits 5
Aircraft Attacking:
30 x Ki-45 KAIa Nick bombing at 2000 feet
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Day Air attack on Manila , at 43,52
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
A6M3a Zero x 49
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 47
No Japanese losses
Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 78
Aircraft Attacking:
32 x Ki-44-IIb Tojo bombing at 2000 feet
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Day Air attack on Thursday Island , at 49,90
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 2
TBF Avenger x 27
OS2U-3 Kingfisher x 2
No Allied losses
Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 3
Aircraft Attacking:
9 x TBF Avenger bombing at 20000 feet
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Day Air attack on Broome , at 21,85
Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 134
G3M Nell x 36
G4M1 Betty x 81
Ki-46-III Dinah x 5
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2
Boomerang II x 2
Spitfire Vb x 9
Kittyhawk I x 23
Hurricane IIc x 1
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 7 destroyed, 15 damaged
G3M Nell: 13 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 18 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
Boomerang II: 2 destroyed
Spitfire Vb: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged
Kittyhawk I: 28 destroyed
Hurricane IIc: 3 destroyed
Liberator VI: 1 destroyed
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed
PBY Catalina: 2 destroyed
SBD Dauntless: 5 destroyed
Catalina I: 1 destroyed
Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 114
Aircraft Attacking:
16 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 6000 feet
after a dozen CAs doing a bombardment with pathetic results and another 114 runway hits, the airfield is still operational. Nearly impossible for the Japanese to knock out a level 8 airfield. I need 4Es too... My high exp Zeros still rule the air, this will change immediately when we will meet Corsairs and Thunderbolts...
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Day Air attack on TF at 23,84
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2
SBD Dauntless x 17
Boomerang II x 3
Spitfire Vb x 8
Kittyhawk I x 27
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
DD Asagumo, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
6 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
one of the DDs that hit a mine...
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Day Air attack on TF at 22,84
Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 16
Hurricane IIc x 3
Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
3 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
and another one that hit a mine...
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Day Air attack on TF at 31,85
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
Boomerang II x 5
Kittyhawk I x 16
Beaufort I x 7
P-40E Warhawk x 26
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
DD Hakaze, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Beaufort I launching torpedoes at 200 feet
and another one... see! 6 DDs sunk... all due to mine hits... s t u p i d
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Day Air attack on TF at 47,90
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
A6M3a Zero x 17
G3M Nell x 3
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 89
Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 86
FM-2 Wildcat x 77
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed, 6 damaged
A6M3a Zero: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged
G3M Nell: 3 damaged
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 37 destroyed, 15 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 36 destroyed, 14 damaged
FM-2 Wildcat: 21 destroyed, 35 damaged
Allied Ships
BB North Carolina
Aircraft Attacking:
3 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
like I´ve mentioned after last turn, many things could go wrong today and they did go wrong. Needless to say what I think about losing two dozen DDs to mines in Northern Australia alreday, of course also the weather sabotated us this turn. The other base was clouded the whole day, this one launched a strike in the afternoon. Looks like against the hex with US fleet carriers and CVEs. 57 acs knocked down, another 59 damaged. Means the CVs in this hex won´t have more than 100 fighters on Cap tomorrow, but then they will be out of strike range already. But it makes me confident that my land based fighters can knock down the Cap and then my carriers will strike. The three Nells missed North Carolina...
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Ground combat at Chungking
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 15759 troops, 181 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1868
Defending force 262795 troops, 1315 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 6154
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Ground combat at Kweiyang
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 22698 troops, 266 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 2820
Defending force 180781 troops, 14 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 5171
Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported
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Ground combat at 36,88
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 52240 troops, 608 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 1670
Defending force 54771 troops, 746 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1352
Allied ground losses:
75 casualties reported
Guns lost 3
two more Allied divisions are spotted moving towards this hex... then there will be six! Allied divs 4 hexes South of Darwin... There will be something like 20 Allied divs in Northern Australia and Darwin... quite a force...
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Ground combat at Wyndham
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 8250 troops, 278 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3903
Defending force 132042 troops, 980 guns, 354 vehicles, Assault Value = 2991
Allied ground losses:
415 casualties reported
Guns lost 5
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Ground combat at Derby
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 12011 troops, 68 guns, 548 vehicles, Assault Value = 1857
Defending force 37644 troops, 216 guns, 109 vehicles, Assault Value = 752
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Ground combat at Pago Pago
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 28647 troops, 436 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 203
Defending force 1633 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8
Japanese ground losses:
174 casualties reported
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Ground combat at 36,88
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 14238 troops, 193 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1350
Defending force 75114 troops, 860 guns, 28 vehicles, Assault Value = 1670
Japanese ground losses:
65 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Vehicles lost 1
now what about that... I wanted to take out the airfield but clicked on port attack instead... this can ruin your day... means Derby´s airfield stays operational... damn it, what a stupid fault of mine...
