Weathering the Storm - CHS 155

[ctangus]

This is the allied counterpart to aztez's "Red Storm Rising" AAR. I probably don't need to say this, but just in case - this thread is not for Jari!

I decided to start an AAR since I think this game is about to get exciting - aztez just activated Russia! [X(] More on that in a bit.

This is a CHS 155 game (basic CHS, no extra flavors). House rules are mostly common sense with an emphasis on negotiation mid-game rather than trying to win at all costs. We both seem to be having fun so far. 2 day turns starting Dec. 7th. We're now up to 17 July, 1942.

I'll start by providing a summary, by theater, from the allied point of view.

[ctangus]

North Pac

This theater's seen no combat up to now. I've had some sigint pointing to an attack against Russia so I've reinforced this theater more than I normally do. I've actually sent every North Pac unit to North Pac! [:'(] I've started building up bases as far west as Amchitka.

I'm a little light on naval strength, though. When Russia was activated there was only a division of 6 S-boats at Dutch Harbor. A few more subs and a SAG have just arrived from Pearl.

Cent Pac/So Pac

The game started with multiple attacks against Pearl Harbor. My battleline was greatly damaged but only Oklahoma was sunk. The survivors are currently on the West Coast with from 15-69 sys damage. The Japs also took the usual suspects - Guam, Wake, Tarawa. No action since then, though.

I've worked on building up Corps-sized stronghholds based on Hawaii, Samoa & New Caledonia. Several regimental-sized outposts are in front of them.

I've been planning moves forward into the Ellice Islands and Lower Solomons but with the Japanese focused North I'm considering getting more ambitious than that.

[ctangus]

SW Pac

The Japanese have advanced slowly in this area and Port Moresby's slowly turning into a fortress. 7th AIF Div is there and the 6th will reinforce shortly.

A number of fierce air battles have occurred over Port Moresby but for the moment I can (mostly) protect my sealanes and I've been able to close every Japanese airfield in the theater but Rabaul. In a few turns I'll bring in a group of P-38Fs and start to work on that.

[ctangus]

DEI

I've been able to drag out the fight here. Java was the scene of several fierce air battles. I utltimately lost them but sent a lot of Zero pilots to their grave, too. The final resistance on Java ended just this turn. The Japanese still have to capture Balikpapan, Kendari & Amboina. They haven't been heavily reinforced but with multiple airfields I should be able to make their capture costly.

Burma

Slightly surprisingly, the Japanese have not advanced beyond Tavoy. Rangoon & Moulmein also saw some heavy battles in the air but it's been mostly quiet for a while. I'm starting to consider an advance towards Rahaeng - that would put my Hurris within range of Bangkok.

[ctangus]

China

Pretty boring, actually. I've been besieging Nanchang all game. The Japs threatened an offensive against Honan but retreated, I think in response to my counter-movements. A couple minor clashes in the pocket between Nanchang & Shanghai.

Mao is considering an offensive to take pressure off his Soviet friends, but supplies are a little tight in the north.

Russia

Well, it looks like there's about to be fighting in Siberia. This hasn't taken me completely by surprise - after the game began we had extensive house-rules negotiations re Russia. I then started noticing a lot of sigint in the area. The timing caught me by surprise though - I thought the next major Jap move (outside the SRA) would be in the Southeast Fleet area. Most of the USN is at Auckland in the hopes of countering such a move.

On the negative side, the Soviets are outnumbered on the ground. The demands of escorting Arctic convoys re-located the Soviet Far East Fleet to Murmansk (no Russian navy in this scenario.) All IL-4s have been requisitioned to try to halt Operation Blue before it reaches Stalingrad. (In other words I have a bunch in the pool but no squadron can upgrade to them.) Uncle Joe, despite his paranoia, will permit USAAF planes into Russia, but only if they can provide their own ground support. (House rule: if I can ship in US base forces, I can base USAAF planes there.)

On the positive side I have nearly 1200 Soviet fighters, most of them in what should be competitive types. LaGGs & Yaks should perform comparably to the P-40B and the MiG should exceed P-40E performance. I hope... I also have the DB-3T - a long-range 2E bomber that carries a torp. It should help to counter bombardment threats.

I think the fight will ultimately ride on who wins the air war. To that end I'll try to keep up the pressure in other theaters.

From sigint it looks like the main Japanese thrust will be against Vladivostok with a minor thrust against Iman to cut Vladivostok off. Further north there only appears to be blocking forces. I'm already considering a flanking attack but I want better intel on enemy dispositions before I decide on a course of action.

Wish me luck! The war in Russia should begin next turn...

[pionkki]

Good luck in the Russian campaign.

I've been following your game since aztez started his AAR. Interested to see the allied players feelings and plans.

[Mistmatz]

Hi Chuck, glad you're doing the allied view of the russian campaign in your game with Aztez. I'm following his AAR and will also check out yours now. I keep my thumbs pressed for the japanese, but with you as opponent its gonna be a rough ride for the IJA. Have fun! [:)]

[ctangus]

Thanks! Good to know I have a reader. [:)]

17-18 July, 1942

Well the war in Russia is on! Bloody two days - nearly 1000 aircraft were lost.

The map gives an idea of where action occurred. Notably Vladivostok was hit by KB & LBA and is now 100% damaged. I had @250 operational planes there. After the turn I had a total of 2(!) damaged planes.

Suchan was hit by 3 bombardments & LBA. It's also 100% damaged. Khabarovsk is 50% damaged.

The other strikes were mainly beaten back & damage is negligible. In A2A battles the Soviets scored 258 enemy shot down for 165 Russian planes. If I can avoid losing planes on the ground I can win this battle.

Okha was invaded but I'd flown in a brigade of the 35th Rifle Division. It should hold for now.

[ctangus]

Elsewhere

The Japanese swept Moulmein with over 200 fighters but came up empty. My fighters were on a sweep of their own over Tavoy. That was followed by an airfield attack out of Rangoon. In total 28 Oscars were destroyed for the loss of 8 planes - mainly inexperienced P-40Bs. I'm preparing to meet the attack should the Japs sweep Moulmein again tomorrow.

Over 100 A6M2s also swept Port Moresby. Despite being outnumbered over 2:1 my mixed RAAF, USAAF, USMC fighters brought down 72 for the loss of 37. I swapped out a couple tired squadrons for a couple fresh ones that were resting in Australia.

Here's a glimpse of the total air losses for the turn. All in all I'm pleased:

[ctangus]

ORIGINAL: Mistmatz

Hi Chuck, glad you're doing the allied view of the russian campaign in your game with Aztez. I'm following his AAR and will also check out yours now. I keep my thumbs pressed for the japanese, but with you as opponent its gonna be a rough ride for the IJA. Have fun! [:)]

Hi Maurice, I missed your post until now. But how can you root for the Japanese? I thought you were an AFB now??? [;)] Good to know I have another reader. I hope to provide a rough ride for the IJA, but I had some BAD news today... [:(]

July 19-20, 1942

As I told Jari this was a relatively quiet turn. Only 550 planes were lost...

Russia

The turn started with some good news. Some of my DB-3Ts managed to get by KB's CAP and put a fish into the Soryu. The pilot reported a fuel bunker exploding. With so many large ports nearby I'm sure Soryu will be ok, but hopefully it's a mission kill & she'll be out of action a month or two.

[ctangus]

Russia, cont.

There were a bunch of other airstrikes, mainly by Japan but the Soviets did launch a couple counter-strikes. I won't list them all, but mostly the Soviet fighters are doing a good job against the Japanese LBA. KB's a killer though - the First Air Fleet closed Iman this turn.

Total losses for the turn were 260 allied vs. 291 Japanese. A2A losses were 190 allied vs. 191 Japanese. Most of this happened in Russia.

I'm now down to about 780 fighters, 400 operational from a starting strength of @1150. I hope my opponent is hurting as badly.

The worse news was at Voroshilov. Japanese engineers brought the forts down from 6 to 1 before the assault went in and the city quickly fell. 15,000 adjusted AV for the bad guys! [X(] If the engineers continue to have such success Vladivostok is in big trouble. There's over 700,000 supply there which would be disastrous to hand over...

Southwest Pac

The Japanese attacks against PM were stood down.

Burma

The Japanese sweep Rangoon but again meet thin air. All my fighters were defending Moulmein. It's kind of like a shell game - I'll cover Moulmein again today.

China

Chinese fighters, stiffened by a squadron of AVG, shoot down 10 Oscars & 1 Zero over Hankow for no losses in return.

Elsewhere

Forces are assembling for operation bootstrap...

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: ctangus

I think the fight will ultimately ride on who wins the air war.

True. What's the status of the Russian plane/pilot pools?

House rule: if I can ship in US base forces, I can base USAAF planes there.

Interesting house rule. Does it have to be base forces, or will av. support units work, too? I suggest the following: fast transport aviation support units to Petropavlovsk, then use transport planes to move them to Nikolaevsk, then distribute them as needed. Presto, Allied aviation support in Russia! [:)]

OTOH, even if you succeed in the air war, your supply situation isn't great. Russia produces 5350 supplies every day. Of these, 3000 arrive as daily supply in Krasnojarsk! The remaining 2350 supplies arrive through resource centers and heavy industry, which can be destroyed by bombers. Now aztez probably wants to capture these intact, but should his campaign stall he might reconsider. In that case you would be completely dependent on a flimsy supply line all the way from Krasnojarsk to Vladivostock.

You might actually consider pulling back all the way to Lake Baikal in a fighting withdrawal. In case the bulk of your army makes it there, your supply line is safe and aztez won't be able to eliminate the Russians, which is his paramount objective. Then you can bounce back after your LCUs have converted to rifle corps.

Alternatively, you can throw everything you have into the Aleutians, and force a decisive campaign here. If I understand you correctly there are no Japanese bases in the Aleutian Islands? In that case you can build up Petropavlovsk under cover of your LBA, and then slowly move further west. Aztez will be hard pressed to counter such an offensive. He would have to keep KB in the north, and you can decide whether you want to fight a decisive battle, or use it's absence in the south for other offensives.

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: ctangus

IMO there's "OPPORTUNIY" written all over this screenshot.

There's nothing wrong with an overland campaign against Rahaeng. Slowly but surely your troops would advance into Siam. It will be sluggish, though (defensive and malarial terrain, rivers), and you might get bogged down early by a much smaller number of Japanese troops (depending on how many British divisions you can already muster). Since you never lost Rangoon, supplying such a thrust will be rather easy.

How about an offensive on Sumatra, similar to what Rob Brennan did in his game? You're still holding all the necessary bases. Aztez still has to take the eastern DEI, so Sumatra is probably low on his priority list. IMO there's a window of opportunity here. From northern Sumatra your LBA can turn the entire Malaysian peninsula into a front line, and attrit the Japanese LBA. After Russia, this could be a second theater for a massive campaign of attrition. If he doesn't stand and fight you can destroy the resource centers at Kuala Lumpur, which are crucial for the Japanese economy in CHS. Also, he would have to garrison a lot of bases against an invasion.

So I would either start a massive campaign in the north, trying to enforce the 'mother of all battles' somewhere under your LBA umbrella, or use the opportunity to establish another front line in the DEI. For both campaigns you would need the support of a large carrier fleet.

Anyway, good luck, and keep us updated! [:)]

[Historiker]

Is it allowed to give both sides hits, if they don't depend on each other?

[ctangus]

Hi Martin,

ORIGINAL: VSWG

What's the status of the Russian plane/pilot pools?

Less than 20 pilots in the pool & 20/month. Plenty (hundreds) in the bomber pool except for the DB-3T which has about 40. About 220 of the 3 modern fighters and 30 of the ancient fighters.

I also have spare pilots in many of my squadrons. I can probably match all the planes in the pool with pilots, but I'm trying to avoid too many damaged planes on the map at once.

Interesting house rule. Does it have to be base forces, or will av. support units work, too? I suggest the following: fast transport aviation support units to Petropavlovsk, then use transport planes to move them to Nikolaevsk, then distribute them as needed. Presto, Allied aviation support in Russia! [:)]

I said base forces, plus I try to keep my units together mostly anyway. I've got to ship them in - more of a challenge that way. And as you pointed out supply might be problematic. If I sent something in I'd try to fight a large convoy through with a ton of supply along also.

You might actually consider pulling back all the way to Lake Baikal in a fighting withdrawal. In case the bulk of your army makes it there, your supply line is safe and aztez won't be able to eliminate the Russians, which is his paramount objective. Then you can bounce back after your LCUs have converted to rifle corps.

But that's so boring! [:'(] I may be forced to, though, if Vladivostok is a disaster like that other V-city.

Alternatively, you can throw everything you have into the Aleutians, and force a decisive campaign here...

I could, and it's under consideration. It would take a while to shift my forces though - I've been prepping for a New Guinea & Cent Pac offensive. Not sure yet...

ORIGINAL: VSWG

How about an offensive on Sumatra, similar to what Rob Brennan did in his game?

It's certainly an eventual option but I can't spare too many troops yet since I still need to watch against amphibious invasions on my flanks. KB still has teeth and could be in this theater in 2-3 weeks. And I think western Sumatra will be invaded this turn - I just spotted a TF...

I'm planning to send 3 Chindit brigades to Rahaeng (not a large force). The objective is to get more fighters within range of Bangkok and widen my range of air superiority. From there - I don't know yet. I'd be in position to launch an overland offensive or could launch my own amphibious op.

Operation Bootstrap should be establishing another front soon, though. [;)]

ORIGINAL: Historiker

Is it allowed to give both sides hits, if they don't depend on each other?

Hi! I don't see why not as long as you are careful. I don't want my top secret info given away to Jari. I don't want to know his secrets either - I enjoy trying to figure that out on my own.

Working on the turn now. Update in a bit. We just had the Great Moulmein Turkey Shoot! [:)]

[Historiker]

Of course, I don't want to ruin your game by telling each one, what the other one plans... Thinking of your situation, I had one idea: Why don't you attack the japanese Industry with the long ranged Soviet Bombers? That will force him to protect it, wich will make your position in Siberia more strength...

[ctangus]

I've certainly thought about it. The problem right now I only have 3 squadrons of long-range bombers (the DB-3T). I used them once in their torpedo role against the KB and they're now in the far north repairing.

I should also have IL-4s (there's hundreds in the pool) but I don't have any squadrons that can upgrade to them. Seems to be a scenario glitch... [:(]

But I agree even 1 attack will force him to spread out his CAP. And that would work for me. Hmmm... Maybe 1 industry attack before I use the DB-3Ts in a torpedo role again...

[ctangus]

July 21 - 22, 1942

Another bloody day, but good for the good guys. Since war began in Russia, both sides have lost a total of 2051 aircraft. That's in 6 days of combat!

Russia

Trading airstrikes again. Once again I lost where KB was attacking (Iman again) and won where KB wasn't. Despite the day's losses enough airframes have repaired that I'm back up to 480 operational fighters.

Iman is now just about 100% damaged.

Russian counter-strikes have forced the Japanese to abandon Heiho & Hailar.

I'm not sure who's going to outlast who here. Well, it's fun at least!

Burma

A large Japanese sweep over Moulmein was stuffed! See the pic.

In all theaters air losses were 162 to 394 for the good guys. A2A losses were 143 vs 312. For the first time in the war the allies are leading in A2A losses! Just don't ask me how my P-40 pools are doing...

[kaplumber]

Someone posted regarding the Soviet LCU's changing to rifle corps. Does that happen at a certain date or a certain time after Soviets are activated?

[ctangus]

As far as I know it happens sometime mid-late '45, after the War in Europe is over. I think I'm going to have to fight with what I have, or what I can ship in, for now.