Big Guns of the Pacific: FatR (A) vs NY59Giants (J)

[FatR]

So, after NY59Giants accepted my offer for a game of JuanG Enhanced Battleship mod, I decided that a record of my impending victories and defeats (in all likelyhood, mostly defeats) can be useful for people who might be interested in JuanG mods. I have no PBEM experience so far, and, considering that the enhanced version buffs Japan quite a lot, I'll be happy if I manage to keep my opponent from taking the West Coast. But I believe that playing against worse-than-usual odds would be a nice learning experience. And even in this scenario Allies still have more room for mistakes, that's why I decided to play the Allied side.

As I'm way too lazy to make a turn-to-turn chronicle, I'll mostly describe my strategic planning and outcomes of major operations instead. The first turn will be non-historical, so I don't know yet, where I'm going to be screwed and what I'll be forced to do. So, no plans for the Pacific yet. I'll probably try a standard carrier raid to Tarawa-Makin right at the beginning, but otherwise let's see how things develop.

Good news are, in BB mod, Allies have one extra BB and one bad BC in DEI. There also are five USN carriers across the Pacific, but, unfortunately, Yorktown is in PH and Lexington is under repair. Bad news are, IJN has enough extra BBs to easily form up to three BB task forces, each of which will be capable of smashing everything I can throw at it in DEI. This means, that I'll probably have a rather small window of opportunity for a successful surface engagement, until IJN battleline arrives from Home Islands. Oh, and Allied LBA is as bad as ever, while Japanese have much, much better flak in this scenario.

In the light of this, I plan only one major surface operation - extraction of whatever ships I can from Philippines. The Makassar Strait will be the main route of evacuation (with ships being sorted into several large TFs according to their speed), and I'll whatever surface forces I can scrounge to meet them, in the hope, that NY59Giants will use his available cruiser TFs to intercept. My forces also are likely to encounter at least one CVL, but, well, this is the best odds I can get in the war's beginning. After that, unless a tempting opportunity present itself, I'll strive to preserve my ships, except for old Dutch and British destroyers, which have little worth.

I have no hope that my airforce, except British biplanes, will be able to do anything with IJN ships, other than providing target practice to their AA gunners. Therefore, it won't be used to attack initial landings. Dutch aircrews will train in naval attacks. I'm not sure, whether to withdraw British level bombers in Malaya and put them on traning too, or to use them for night-bombing airfields that I know are overcrowded. Certainly they won't be used for daylight raids. I hope that this will free my Bufallos to maybe put some dents into IJAAF. Initally, Japanese have few good fighters in Malaya, and airfield problems often make raids uncoordinated, so this might work.
And at Philippines I intend to put a strictly defensive air fight, with flying coffins at low altitude as bait and P-40s at high altitude as hunters. I'll lose eventually, but, hopefully, I'll be able to achieve 1:1 or better ratio of pilot losses through fighting over my airfields and having armored fighters.

As about my plans for land operations, I'll start to evacuate troops from Malaya to Singapore on day 1. Mersing will be immediately reinforced, as a landing (edit: a successful landing) there is highly probable - Japanese will have enough naval assets to form a very strong cover force by the middle of December. I intend to hold Singapore as long as possible and will not evacuate any forces from there. While Japanese can bypass it, its port repair facilities are very valuable for maintaining the tempo of expansion. On Philippines, everything will be evacuated to Clark. In China, I'll try to attack Ichang and defend everywhere else. Realistically, I'm probably not good enough at land combat to outmaneuver my opponent, so I'm prepared from the beginning to lose at least the central plains. In fact, if I face a strong Japanese offensive there, I'll probably beat a fighting retreat to rough terrain.

[Akos Gergely]

Will be interesting to watch how others cope with the task and how the enhanced mod's better Japan influences things.

[FatR]

After looking at OOBs one more time, I've decided that one starting move is mandatory in the Pacific, after all: Hawaii must be immediately reinforced with whatever troops I can lift off the West Coast. Extra IJN ships make the early-game invasion quite possible, and loss of Hawaii will be a catastrophe. And if NY59Giants decides to direct his efforts somewhere else, my troops will be closer to locations that need reinforcements anyway.

I'm not sure how to defend Southwestern Pacific, though. Any sort of decisive fleet battle is very, very likely to be out of the question for many months, so I have to depend on garrisoning key points strongly enough to force protracted sieges. The question, which I now ponder while looking at the map, is what these key points should be, what troops I'm willing to sacrifice and to what extent I can weaken Australia.

[FatR]

After running some tests against AI, I reached the conclusion, that it's impossible to effectively use British aviation in North Malaya, probably in general and surely when running 2-day turns in this mod. Barring some bad mistakes on the opponent's part, my bomber squadrons simply will be bombed into oblivion (there are no replacements in the pool for most of the planes they fly) for no gain. So, evacuation to Singapore it is.


Grand strategy for DEI: Considering the (lack of) quality of Dutch troops, the tempo of Japanese advance is likely to be mostly determined by Japanese logistics. However, I intend to reinforce certain points in the hope of keeping them out of Japanese hands as long as possible, even if they will be cut off, and maybe giving their landing forces a bloody nose, if my opponent comes at them expecting to meet only their initial garrisons. These are Balikpapan; Palembang and Medan on Sumatra; and Soerabaja on Java. For Java, I picked Soerabaja over Batavia, even though the former is not an urban hex, because it is a major oil center and has a repair shipyard. The longer I can prevent Japanese from taking their actual strategic targers, as opposed to bases from which they can be assaulted, the better. Unfortunately, due to overwhelming superiority of Japanese surface forces, I have only a little window for sea-transporting troops in relative safety and Dutch units are all restricted. I'm considering sending Gull or Sparrow batallion from Darwin to Balikpapan in the light of that. Losing a good unit will be painful,

Also, the unrestricted batallion from Georgetown will be moved to Port Blair. Taking Port Blair early by an airdrop operation seems to be a common move, and I want to preserve my aircraft ferry line.

Oh, and fuel from DEI will be hauled to Perth from Palembang and Soerabaja. I intend to shut down oil production on Borneo immediately, because transporting anything from there will become too dangerous in no time and these bases are likely to be swiftly overtaken.

One more note about fleet operations: British carriers probably will hang south of Java, just in case. Between a lot of capital ships, crap Allied LBA and improved flak, NY59Giants might well decide to raid my ports without bothering about air cover. But British TBs can actually hit something. I hope. It is not like there is much else to do with them anyway, and the Allied search coverage of DEI seems good enough to avoid surprise encounters with Japanese carriers.

[FatR]

The first turn (okay, two turns) is ready. By far the most time-consuming parts of the orders were setting units in rear areas on training and directing Chinese troops (lots of Chinese units hang in rear areas or in open terrain, where Japanese can slaughter them at their leisure). Now I can only wait and hope. Much will depend on the direction of the first-turn Japanese strikes and on the extent of damage to Pacific Fleet in PH. I'm afraid that with 2-day turns a follow-up raid on 8th is guaranteed.

The game settings:

- 2-days turns
- Non-historical first turn, with December 7th surprise. EDIT: Forgot to add - no port attack with non-carrier aircraft on the first turn.
- Reliable USN Torpedos, Auto Sub Ops, Automatic Replacements, Uprgades and Expansions are OFF. Other settings are ON


Houserules:

- PPs must be paid to move Kwantung army troops out of Manchukuo, or Thai troops out of Thailand and French Indochina, or Chinese troops beyond Chinese borders (not that I intend to in foreseeable future).
- No sub invasions, fragment paradrops or sweeps against empty hexes to draw parts of local CAP.

[JuanG]

ORIGINAL: FatR

Now I can only wait and hope. Much will depend on the direction of the first-turn Japanese strikes and on the extent of damage to Pacific Fleet in PH. I'm afraid that with 2-day turns a follow-up raid on 8th is guaranteed.

This can be both a good thing and a bad thing for the allies. I've had several second-day attacks result in me loosing a good portion of the attacking force due to coordination issues. Also, as the number (and toughness) of targets is somewhat higher in this scenario than in stock, it may not be worth it to the Japanese. Then again, you wont get a chance to put those 80+ flt damage ships into the repair yards until the 9th either, so it will be interesting to see how this goes.

[FatR]

NY59Giants graciously sent me the replays of the first turns. While I can't see SigInt and most of NavSearch results yet, the initial attacks suggest a standard Japanese attack. Japanese have landed at Kota Bharu, on Makin and on North Luzon. Alor Star and Kota Bharu airfields were flattened, but, thankfully, they were empty already. Reduction of Clark Field to a bunch of craters is more painful. Japanese fighters did good work sweeping the skies over Luzon, only one Warhawk got through to bombers during the two turns.

The main news are, I got fairly lucky at PH. Yorktown took 3 bombs on the first turn and 3 torpedoes on the second, but did not sink, and even planes from her weren't redirected to Oahu yet (unless they are on the bottom due to a post-combat damage control failure, after all). No ships were sunk on the first turn at all, because Kates, for some reason, mostly sortied witn bombs. On the second turn, much more torpedo attacks took place. One old BB was sunk. Unfortunately, North Carolina, the second most important target in PH, suffered a magazine explosion and sank too. There were very few hits on smaller ships. And the second day was costly for Japanese - around 30 Vals and Kates were lost to CAP and flak (with allowance for normal exaggerations in combat reports). I don't think KB can sustain such air offensive without depleting its airgroups.

British destroyers from Hong Kong attempted to pay a visit to the Batan Island landing site, and ran into a Japanese force consisting of a CL and a bunch of DDs. The gunfire exchange seemingly was in RN favor - one Japanese DD was left burning like a torch after two hits, while two of my ships were hit, but took no noticeable damage. In the end, though, they retreated before the superior force. A note for the future: TFs that are given suicidal missions should have their threat tolerance set on "Absolute".

All B-17s on Philippines were massed at Cagayan and raided Babeldaob, hitting about 5 transports and auxilaries, for no loss. Troop casualties were reported. Upon seeing no Claudes on CAP over Babeldaob, it occured to me that this attack might be considered a technical violation of our "no port attack on turn 1 except with carrier aircraft" agreement. In case if NY59Giants thinks so, I emailed him, that I'm willing to accept some handicap in return, like sacrificing a couple of ships. Meanwhile, I intend to fly Fortresses out of Cagayan, preferably to an airfield in DEI from which they can strike Saigon. Chinese bombers, spread across several airfields, flew some port recon, meanwhile. They will target Samah or Haiphong the next turn. I want NY59Giants to worry about his rear areas.

More about the Allied grand strategy tomorrow, when the next turn arrives, and I'll be able to direct my shipping.

[FatR]

After observing the results of the first turn I can say, that I was luckier than I thought. Intelligence reports over 70 Japanese losses to flak over two days, most of them Vals and Kates. And Yorktown did survive, although repairs are likely to take about a year. I don't know why, but most of Kates flew with bombs on the first day in PH, and that was the most likely reason for their failure to sink anything during the surprise attack.

Also, only 10 Allied pilots are dead or missing. All in all, a great start. Except that refineries on Borneo weren't shut down, because Allies happen to lack such option. Not a big deal, compared to all the good news, though.


The Grand Strategy for Burma: However you look at it, Burma is very unlikely to stand. I only hope to win some time for reinforcing India, while minimizing inevitable troop sacrifices. So, unless my opponent takes will be slow to move there, I'm not going to reinforce Burma, except with units already on their way at the beginning and AVG. Outposts south of Moulmein are ordered to evacuate - there is a good road across the coast, so they are very unlikely to be cut off. Pegu will be the first real line of defense. Unfortunately, it is open to flanking moves. Fortunately, flanking moves must be executed by moving cross-country, so I'll probably be able to evacuate my troops in time. After Pegu is overrun or bypassed... well, let's see how much time that's going to take first.

While Allied moves in Burma and DEI are relatively easy to figuew out, the logistic situation of SWPac and Australia scares me. Escort ships are few and far between, everything north of NZ has pathetically weak garrisons, and both troops and supplies must be hauled from the West Coast. I need to take a good look at the schedule of my reinforcements and plan accordingly.

[FatR]

December 11-12, 1941

The carrier rain against the Makin invasion TF succeeded beyond my expectations. Aside from usual transports, DDs, CMs and PBs, one CL was attacked and reported sunk. Might be FOW, though, as the combat report and the intelligence data show different ships. I'm fairly sure that both large minelayers, at least one and probably two destroyers and all of the slower ships were sunk over two days. Saratoga and Entreprise are ordered to retreat towards Noumea.

Evacuation of ships from South China Sea goes on. Mines at Bataan were the main unpleasant surprise. Two DDs were lost to them, while CL Raleigh and AS Otis took heavy damage, detached from the fast evacuation TF (all escaping ships were divided into TF according to their cruise speed)) and returned to Manila, where Raleigh was sunk by Netties, albeit at a heavy cost. Scout, Thanet and Thracian were intercepted and sunk too. Ships from Naga and transports from Hong Kong look to be cut off and likely will not make it. Also, Japanese subs rampaged among transports and tankers running from Singapore or moving to Palembang, sinking almost ten smaller ships and heavily damaging AP Dominion Monarch. I guess I shouldn't have moved them in a straight line.


Most Allied surface units in DEI are around Balikpapan now. As Pacific Fleet got off lightly in PH, I decided to act more agressively in DEI and to actively contest Japanese landings, wherever they seem to have no or little air cover. So, we're likely to see some major surface engagements before the end of December. So far my opponent seems to advance cautiously though - the only invasion, besides northern Malaya and Luzon, was Sorong on New Guinea, which is too far from the current location of my forces to intefere with it.


The Grand Strategy for Pacific: While an invasion of Hawaii seems extremely improbable now, considering that IJA is committed on Luzon, it's very possible that NY59Giants is going to use his massive battleship force in SWPac. I've started shipping troops from the West Coast to Noumea and Fiji, two units in Los Angeles are prepared for Pago Pago anyway. Port Moresby is almost certainly doomed, so, while I'll try to reinforce it as soon as I have enough PPs available, reinforcements from Australia probably are going end up in Noumea as well. As about Australia itself, I actually hope that it is NY59Giants's long-term target, and a couple of infantry brigades won't make an immediate difference there anyway. BBE mod gives Japanese alot of extra ships, but no extra troops, protracted campaigns of attrition are beneficial to Allies in the end, and northern Australia has no valuable strategic targets, while invading southern Australia triggers Allied reinforcements. On the other hand, if Fiji and Noumea are taken, logistical problems will probably forbid effectively using Australia as a staging ground for future offensives anyway.

Accordingly, I'll not develop or reinforce any bases on the northern coast, except Darwin, which is vital to operations in DEI.

[FatR]

Also, B-17s rule:

Morning Air attack on Saigon , at 60,71
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 18


Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAK Sanura Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AO Tsurumi, Bomb hits 1, on fire
TB Kari, Bomb hits 1, on fire
TK San Pedro Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PB Tokotsu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Yamakisan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage



Port hits 1
Port fuel hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
City Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
6 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Saigon , at 60,71
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 46 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 3


Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
E Saga, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Kashiwara Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AO Tsurumi, Bomb hits 1, on fire

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



Port hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Saigon , at 60,71
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 12


Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 7 damaged

Japanese Ships
PB Hakozake Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Fuji Maru #3, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PB Sozan Maru, Bomb hits 1
AS Chogei, Bomb hits 1
xAK Fukko Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AO Tsurumi, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
TB Kari, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage



Port fuel hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb


They flew from Singapore this time. Recon for all of their raids so far was provided by local Dutch flying boats. And my experience in playing as Japan against AI definitely helped - I knew that of all Japanese planes only Zeros can hope to shot down a B-17, and I knew that in the first days of the war Zeros have other tasks than to fly CAP over Babeldaob or Saigon. I'll ground Fortresses for the next two days, to repair damaged planes, and then we shall see what to strike next. PPs to free them from Phillippines definitely paid off, even though I doubt that any of these ships was actually sunk.

[FatR]

December 15, 1941

Looks like most of my ships have escaped Philippines, after all. Although a Japanese TF, consisting of two CVLs (those with Zeros on board) appeared at Celebes Sea the last day and fried some transports and previously damaged by a mine AS Otis. Thankfully, Jap naval search did not find admiral Doorman's TF, that was covering partial evacuation of Palembang. It consists of the Dutch BC De Zeven Provincien, Dutch CLs (the same as in the stock game), two old USN CLs and some destroyers. And it is going to try intercepting Japanese at night. It is risky, but Japanese are well within range, and De Zeven Provincien is the only ship in this TF I would hate to lose. Also, Kates from these carriers just used up a significant portion of their torpedos. Considering, that NY59Giants seems to play cautiously - still no invasions in DEI, except for Sorong - even damaging his CVLs to the point when they must undergo shipyard repairs might slow down the Japanese offensive considerably.

Also, Japanese BBs were spotted in South China Sea. I expected IJN reinforcements to refuel at Babeldaob and appear in Celebes Sea, but it seems that my subs, placed on their probable routes, have waited in vain.

As about sub operation in general, so far the only non-dud attack (by one of Dutch subs) sank a Japanese submarine south of Singapore. I'm using 6 older USN subs as minelayers and they have already dropped one load on the approach to Saigon, but so far there is no visible results.

While subs at least hit around a half-dozen of Japanese excorts, if with duds, Allied PTs so far steadfastly refuse to engage, even with "Absolute" theat tolerance and an aggressive TF commander. Doesn't help, that they ran into enemy TFs during the day every time.

As a result, while quite a lot of Japanese ships were hit in port (Chinese Hudsons claimed a hit on TK in Shanghai the last day, with heavy fires and heavy damage), their losses at sea so far amount to one SS and the Makin invasion TF. I hope this will change on the upcoming turn.

Meanwhile, the evacuation of Malaya proceeds without interruption and might be considered largely successful at this point. IJAAF launched no raids against the troops evacuating on foot and by rail, so far. Japanese moved a lot of planes to Khota Baru, but the airfield is still badly damaged. Hudsons and Blenheims crews from Singapore are going to test their night bombing skills there during the next two days.

[FatR]

December 18, 1941

Well, looks like the first significant naval battle of the Pacific War has failed to happen. Doorman's TF missed Japanese carriers and retreated in the opposite direction from them. Kates from Japanese carriers sank a bunch of transports here and there, including one of APs that evacuated my troops from Palembang. They also attacked CV Illustrious, that arrived at Balikpapan earlier (escorting BB Beatty - a Prince of Wales's lookalike - to the rendevouz point with Force Z). than I thought, and had its fighters on training. Fortunately, both bombs that hit bounced off the armored deck. Several Japanese TFs, with a ton of BBs reported head south and are now at the island chain between Mindanao and Borneo, so all Allied ships are retreating from Balikpapan to Soerabaja for now. As this is an overkill for weak Allied bases, I believes their target is probably Balikpapan, although, considering the balance of forces, even landing straight on Java is not out of the question.

In China, a two-corps attack took Foochow. As a bonus, Betties from Formosa were diverted to supporting ground troops there. Did not help, and meanwhile airfield repairs at Clark Field are almost complete, so I hope my engineers will be able to improve fortifications there before the siege begins. However, the number of Zeros that appeared in the sky over Malaya over the last two days suggests, that NY59Giants began to move planes from Formosa. This makes some sense, as with removal of B-17s I have no bombers on Luzon, and the air battles there probably were costlier in pilots to Japanese than to Allies. Unless Japanese raids resume on the next turn, I'll start moving my Hawks from Luzon to DEI.

Three damaged old BBs and one BC departed from PH to San Francisco. As, for some reason, there were no Japanese sub attacks or detections around PH or along the West Coast so far, I believe this should be safe. Another old BB is too damaged and makes only one hex per day, so he continues readiness repairs, and the rest of the damaged ships can be repaired at PH, although for Yorktown that's going to take 250 days.

Oh, and Allied subs do rather poorly at this point. There were lots of attacks, but they all ended in misses and duds, except for sinking a Japanese sub on the second turn.

[FatR]

December 20, 1941

IJN once again moves against my expectations. No landings so far. Some TFs, in one of which battleships are spotted, are moving in the general direction of Singapore. Lots of ships in several TFs are found south of Davao. At least one TF is reported to contain BCs. It is possible, that Kido Butai is there somewhere, but there is no sighting of carriers and no signs of carrier planes on search or ASW. Force Z, consisting of BBs Jellicoe and Beatty and BC Howe, and RN carriers TF are moving in this general direction. Unfortunately, thet were at Soerabaja There is a cruiser TF at Kendari, but I'm afraid it's not up to the task.

Overall, I'm not satisfied with my fleet movements. Too much wasted fuel and accumulated operational damage. The fact, that Allied Naval Search assets are numerous enough to detect the enemy, but constantly fail to report its direction, does not help.

In other news, CA Chicago was torpedoed and damaged near Port Moresby, where my cruisers covered a reinforement operation.

Over Clark Field, Allied fighters were decimated by hordes of Zeros, lozing around 25 planes over two days. More damage to the airfield also means, that I won't be able to build up fortifications at Clark, after all. This cemented my decision to keep units that were prepated for Bataan on Bataan and to build forts there, for the last line of defense.

In China, the initial deliberate attacks at Ichang and against Japanese units holding the road to Ichang went pretty well. Chinese took somewhat higher casualties, but forts were dropped from 3 to 1. I ordered to repeat attacks on the next turn.

[FatR]

The big air-sea battle happened on December 23-24 around Manado. It could have been much bigger, if not for my caution, perhaps excessive caution, with targeting my forces and the resulting fact that the most of them missed the target. Force Z, British carriers, and a cruiser TF approached Manado area from the south, Dutch TF, augmented by CA Houston and CL Omaha came from Makassar Straight. Only the latter saw surface combat, running into Japanese TF, led by superdreadnoughts Yamato and Musashi, at night. In this mod they are somewhat less uber, carrying 12x410 and 140mm guns as secondary armament. Thankfully, they scored no hits with their main guns. But CA Hikari and torpedo CL Jintsu made up for this, sinking CA Houston and CL Tromp with gunfire and Long Lances. During the retreat, damaged CL De Ruyter was torpedoed by a Japanese sub and sank one day later. DD Van Nes also sank on the return trip. As far as I can tell, no Japanese ships were critically damaged.

Other TFs did not move to Manado directly, searching for the enemy south of it. They did not react into the hexes occupied by enemy and retreated without much damage, except for one bomb hit on CL Dragon, which caused significant damage.

RN carriers and IJN light carriers exchanged strikes on 23th, with RN losing more planes, but supposedly achieving single torpedo hits on Musashi and Shinano (also a superdreadnougth here). This might be FoW, though. The only result of Japanese air attacks over two days, except for the damage to Dragon, was a hit on BC De Zeven Provincien, which disabled one of its radars.

As the only bright spot, S-40 put two torpedoes into CL Zuiho. It was reported only "on fire", so I doubt it's in danger of sinking, but it least it'll be out of campaign.

In addition to this, allied subs launched many other attacks during December 23-26, probably sinking two large xAKs and damaging a CL. Many more attack failed due to daulty torpedoes.

Meanwhile, Kido Butai appeared in Coral Sea, covering Japanese landings at Rabaul, Fishhafen and Shortlands. Thankfully, all my ships that carried supplies and troops to Port Moresby managed to retreat in time. CVs Enterprise and Saratoga, which headed north from Brisbane, to support the defenders of DEI, also were forced to turn back. If they hug the coast the risk might be slim, but I don't want any.

In China Ichang fell to a deliberate attack. Japanese troops have retreated to the sough, taking serious casualties in the process. Hong Kong still holds, somehow. The garrison takes much bigger losses than attacking Japanese each day, but refuses to surrender.

[FatR]

Update of the situation:

DEI: The last week wasn't very pretty for Allies. To cover last convoys to and from Singapore (I want to save some support units from there, now, when evacuation of Malaya is practically complete, I don't need as much aviation in Singapore anyway), I decided to suppress the Singkawang airfield with air raids (B-17s at day, British and Dutch bombers at night) and a naval bombardment by Force Z. Also, I hoped to catch some Japanese ships there, if I'm lucky. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way, that Netties can fly with torpedoes from size 3 airfields, if they have an Air HQ within radius. BC Howe and CL Durban were torpedoed, and, although damage on both was only moderate, Howe is effectively out of campaign - its speed is down to two hexes and it cannot be repaired at Soerabaja. Fortunately, the air campaign was more successful and forced NY59Giants to withdraw his Netties temporarily. But I cannot sustain it, as B-17 units, who did the most damage, need to stand down for repairs again. So while the elements of 18th division got to Singpore, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get anyone out.

Another reinforcement operation at Balikpapan was interdicted by Nells from Manado on January 2-3. The troops were already unloaded, but I've lost some small Dutch APs, and CL Caledon took two torpedos. It's pretty much doomed - 87 flotation damage, and 0 speed.

Despite these setbacks, both Balikpapan and Palembang have decent garrisons now, decent enough, I believe, to hold against a Japanese regiment at least.

On January 3, a large invasion fleet was detected north of Ambon. I'm not sure whether it's heading to Ambon or Kendari. Either way, Force Z, minus Howe and plus BC De Zeven Provincien and British carriers are ordered to sail and meet it. Better yet, Saratoga and Enterprise just passed Torres Strait. They'll head into the battle zone as well. KB was bombing my troops kicked out from Rabaul just two days ago, so, I believe, it won't be able to intercept. An allied cruiser force, meanwhile, is ordered to sail through Makassar Strait and bombard Manado, where a lot of Japanese small ships are detected. I hope, this will at least distract Nells from more important targets. All in all, I hope for a big battle. Even if Japanese CVLs will be around, I'll have superiority in carrier planes. If NY59Giants aims for Ambon, I'm sure American CVs will catch his landing fleet, but if his target is Kendari, they'll be still out of range and probably noticed by the next turn.

PI: I've disbanded my airgroups there. Their morale was so low, that they started to avoid enemy bombers, and their losses consumed all of my P-40E reinforcements. On a brighter note, my pilot losses over PI were quite low, probably significantly lower than Japanese losses. Otherwise, not much to report. Japanese forces are massing for attack. Almost all of my forces wait for them at Clark Field, although two PI divisions are left to defend Manila. Before disbanding my airgroups, I've freed 4th marine regiment, and Catalinas evacuated a fragment to Darwin, for regeneration in the future.

China: Hong Kong fell on January 2. Independed batallions were obliterated by this point, and overall, only about 3.5k of troops survived until the final assault. While not exactly the result of my decisions, this is a good outcome for Allies.

Also, further attempts to bomb Japanese ports failed totally.

[FatR]

January 4-5, 1942

Well, both of my guesses about the Japanese target were wrong. It was Namlea, the empty base next to Ambon. The fast dreadnought Harima and the superdreadnought Echizen plus a lot of lesser ships appeared to cover the landing. They were pounded by level bombers, Catalinas (from Ambon, Kendari and Makassar) and, on 5th, by Dauntlesses, and majority of the attacks have targeted battleships (only one xAK took a seemingly non-fatal hit otherwise). For a long time, results were rather disappointing, with about 4 paint-scratcher hits in exchange for at least as many planes going down on the spot (overall losses, including ops, are likely to be 2-3 times higher). Then Japanese BBs ran out of either luck or AA ammo.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Namlea at 76,108

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 47 minutes


Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 7
F4F-3A Wildcat x 9
SBD-2 Dauntless x 16
SBD-3 Dauntless x 23


Allied aircraft losses
SBD-2 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 16 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Harima, Bomb hits 5
BB Echizen, Bomb hits 7, on fire
DD Arashio
CA Tone



Aircraft Attacking:
3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
3 x SBD-2 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-2 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
5 x SBD-2 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

Devastators did not attack, because the distance was one hex too big. I don't know whether this kind of damage is enough to warrant a trip to shipyards. Some lesser guns were reported to be knocked out, but nothing critical. Other TFs, which sailed from Soerabaja aren't in range yet.

Now the question is whether pursuing Japanese with everything I have in the area is worth it. If KB headed straight to DEI after it was seen the last time, it could be close enough to turn the tables completely. If it hadn't, I have a good chance to inflict a major defeat on IJN. I think I'll attack. NY59Giants' offensive picked up the pace after the first two weeks, threatening to cut Java off from Australia by late January, and if Japanese battleships aren't mission-killed by the pounding they took, which is quite possible, I didn't really do anything to slow it down yet. Of course, if I lose this battle Japanese will have free reign in DEI, but there is no war without risks. Besides, I have three more USN CVs (although one of them is in repair until July) already, and six others, including four Essex-class CVs, will join my fleet in 1942 (Japanese will probably get two CVs in addition to the six they already have - good, Shokaku-equivalent, ones, but still, the carrier balance seems to shift in favor in Allies much faster in this mod, than it does in stock). Never mind the oncoming horde of fast USN battleships. So, I believe that I can afford to gamble my forces on the assumption that KB is far enough just this once, without being permanently screwed even if I'm wrong - that's the advantage of playing as Allies.

[FatR]

January 6-7, 1942

A lot of combat events, which probably can be called "Battle of Eastern DEI" happened over two days. First of all my cruiser force reached Manado unmolested by Nells and encountered large TKs Akatsuki Maru and Itukusima Maru, escorted by just a single subchaser. All three were promptly and effortlessly sunk.

Then the Japanese cruiser TF, protecting Manado, came out to play:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Manado at 75,99, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Harugo
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 1
CA Ibuki, Shell hits 2
CL Natori
DD Natsushio
DD Amatsukaze, Shell hits 1
DD Minazuki, Shell hits 1
DD Nagatsuki
DD Asakaze
DD Matsukaze, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Cornwall, Shell hits 1
CA Exeter, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
CL Enterprise, Shell hits 2
CL Phoenix
DD Alden
DD Edsall, Shell hits 1
DD Peary, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Witte de With
DD Express, Shell hits 1

Improved night sighting under 82% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 82% moonlight: 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 9,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 9,000 yards
Doorman, Karel WFM crosses the 'T'

Phoenix is one of "CLs in main gun caliber only", like Boise, so forces were nearly equal, but superior IJN crew experience proved to be the decisive factor. The combat report understates the damage to Allied ships - both hits on Enterprise resulted in main guns being knocked out. None of the hit on Japanese ships were serious.

My cruiser TF retreated without any further problems.

The main events unfolded south of Manado on January 6. I send Force Z almost to Manado and British carriers to northwest of Namlea in the hope of intercepting and sinking Japanese battleships bombed on 5th. No such luck. Japanese combat taskforces slipped past them in the night. Meanwhile, USN CVs headed northeast, around Ceram's eastern point - both to intercept Japanese ships in case they try to escape towards Babeldaob, instead of Manado, and to avoid a possible attempt at night interception. They drew most Nells from Manado to themselves and lots of them were shot down by Bufalloes and Wildcats. Unfortunately, that still left enough planes to attack Force Z and put two torps in BB Jellicoe. The first was a dud. The second caused magazine explosion and sinking.

As a small consolation, attacks by Swordfishes and Albacores on 6th and remnants of Force Z on the night of 7th annihilated the slow-moving invasion transport convoy from Namlea. The operational report says that CM Itsukushima, 1 PB, and 4 xAKs went under, but combat reports show 2 PBs and about 8 xAKs, of which 7 were almost certainly sunk.

On the day of 7th, USN carriers launched several more strikes, mostly against IJN capital ships at Manado. One more bomb was put into each of the Japanese dreadnoughts, and a small PB sunk at Ternate, but as a whole the raids were a disaster, with around 20 DBs lost. Moreover, flying escort weakened CAP over carriers, and one of Nells got lucky, putting a torp in Enterprise and dropping its speed.

Meanwhile, large formations of Zeros and Ki-43s raided Singapore. I don't know if putting Buffalos at 30k was a mistake, or I just got unlucky, but the kill ratio was about 1:7-1:8 in favor of Japanese, with my squadrons completely out of action for the next turn.

All in all, while not a complete disaster, what looks like the last major Allied operation in DEI waters turned out badly. USN carriers are temporarily out of action due to damage and serious air groups losses. I'm retreating Saratoga and most of its escorts back to Pacific. Enterprise will run to Darwin at full speed, then to southern Australia around the western coast.
And of course with my fast BB force in DEI being down to one BB and one weak BC I cannot hope to win or draw a major battleship engagement anymore. Moreover, NY59Giants has successfully established the base at Namlea. I don't know whether Japanese xAK and TK losses over the last two days really can slow their advance even a little.

[FatR]

War statistics for the first month:

[FatR]

Detailed air losses. About 90% of Vals and 50% of Kates lost to flak were lost on the second day of Pearl Harbor attack.

[FatR]

Allied pilot losses. As you can see, fighter pilots did not suffer much attrition.