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My esteemed opponent Hartwig harbors the ultimate fugitive hidden deep within the bowels of the US military. Rumors abound that this by product of "the new deal" and a romance that bloomed in the rumble seat of a souped up Ford on the side of a road in Jersey can fly anything from a Warhawk to a twin engine medium bomber flown from a Carrier.

He can also raise the morale of the ground crews to new heights and rescue trapped sailors from capsized ships. He must be found and made an example of before he influences the geopolitics of the empire.

This man must be stopped:

We will be playing Scenario two at a rather laid back pace with the usual house rules and one day turns. Hartwig is an excellent opponent who was gracious enough to allow a restart from our last game because of a rather boneheaded move I made dumping off the Malaya invasion in a jungle hex. (Dont ask) He is once again allied and I am Japan.



Hartwig is a meticulous planner and over the course of my playing history with him has shown a tremendous ability to teach me lesson after lesson in what not to do as Japan. I think I am finally ready to rise to his level of play.



I have decided to not be as aggressive with my opening moves this time around. I have found in the several games I have played and or am playing that the ability is there to take say Ambon and Kendari on turn one but all it really does is leave those bases hanging out to dry. An agressive allied opponent will overwhelm them and shut them down rather easily. The end result seems to always be my timetable is ultimatley maintaned yet I lose more ships and planes then I should.



PI Operations



Our house rules dictate one "major" port strike turn one. I am a firm believer in killing the submarines at Manilla and wrecking Clark and Manilla and I will once again take this course of action. KB will hit port from the Japan side of the island to get better results as well as be closer to the next staging area.



Manila - 54 Betties, 18 Sallies on port attack plus all of KB on port except 70+ Zeroes on Airfield destruction duty.

Clark - 27 Betties, 27 Lilys, 36 Nells and 27 Zeros on Airfield Attack

IBA - Cl and 8 DDs on Bombard duty



14th Army will land at Laong with a shock attack from Paras so air support can stage turn 2. I choose Laong for the closer proximity to Takao and its easier to protect from pesky PT incursions. 48th, 16th divisions will land early along with 65th brigade.



Cotatobo (sp) I will land air support and 3 or 4 naval landing forces. This landing is a new target for me instead of say Jolo and Puerto Princess. Its a decent airfield and the chances of running into Boise or Houston are reduced. The main reason is it will make operations against Cagayan run much quicker and stop a potential allied "hard nut to crack" from forming.



Naga - One Naval landing force with air support to just get things started in the south and pressure the resource hex towards Manilla.



DEI Operations



Menado - 2 naval landing units with air support backed up by Ryujo TF and surface units in case of early US cruiser force shows up. Main reason for this thrust is just get things started in the DEI. I am a firm believer in a many axis of approach attack. This keeps the allied player guessing and keeps them from blocking one main advance easily.



Borneo Operations



Kuching - This is a big change for me. Typically I take out all three Northern Borneo bases from Sinkawang to Kuching. This has led to some rather lop sided battles especially at Singkwang if the allied player sends all of force Z as well as the little CL tfs in that direction. The Kongo ,Haruna tfs sometimes get pretty roughed up and then the Invasion TFs get smacked as well. This approach leaves any survivors of a Kuching naval battle within range of Netties so its a better choice overall. At Singkawang Force Z can sink a bunch of ships and then slip away, not so at Kuching.



Malaya Operations



Invasions at Khota Baru, Patani and Singora with the major units that are pre loaded for the area. I did switch around the armor units so they all land at Khota Baru to make the breakout go faster from there. Air strikes will hit Khota and Kuantan airfields and the port at Georgetwon. I choose not to land at Mersing because in the end its not really needed so its not worth the loss of shipping. I will also be committing Imperial Guards to the Peninsula early on.



Burma -



Air attacks on Rangoon port as well as the AVG base. The usual suspects will invade untill 33rd arrives and the various brigades of the 21st army.



Java - I am bringing into line the 21st, 33rd and 4th divisions plus various support units to land on Java before the 1st of the year. This is the "big move" that I like to make to make sure the Allies do not put together a strong defence of the area. Its also one of the reasons I like to do the Manila port strike and get elements of KB in the area for support. It just throws a big wrench in the area and develops another axis of attack. This really keeps the allies of balance. After most of Java is taken troops will transfer to Singapore or Manila whichever is in more need.



China - My big push in the northern plains is the initial plan. After Honk Kong Falls 38th goes to the PI.



Pacific - Wake, Tarawa, Ocean and Nauru as quick as possible. A lull after until KB gets on the scene.





I am hoping after turn one to have bagged:



60-75 allied aircrat

25+ subs

30-40 misc ships



My own invasions are well covered and there will be some blocking forces near Manila to sink stragglers as the KB will not be hanging around.



Thats it for now. Just waiting on Hartwigs turn back.



We have the ships! We have the planes!



Let the hunt begin!

Any strategic plans besides the DEI ?

Rumors of Bens location on board the USN CL Boise have been debunked after Japanese intelligence gathered information about a high level meeting in Washington, DC:





Needless to say the high command is a bit nervous about this development. This means he could be anywhere, doing anything.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 07, 41

Overall I am very pleased with the results and all of the goals we set were met or surpassed. Highlights are:

1) 70 allied aircraft reported destroyed.
2) Manilla airfields roughed up reporting 23% damaged.
3) Clark roughed up reporting 46% damaged.
4) Kuantan and Khota Baru roughed up to the point that allied air attacks were totally ineffective.
5) 25 allied subs reported sunk at Manilla. Port strikes were all very effective and an extra KB assault of 27 Kates went in which was a surprise.
6) 20 allied ships reported sunk but I am sure this is a much higher number. Ships were hit at Manilla, Georgetown, Rangoon and Hong Kong.
7) All Invasions went off without any allied naval interference.
8) 2 ocean intercepts resulting in small battles involving the Boise vrs Ryujo TF and the 3 british DDS from Hong Kong.


Day Time Surface Combat, near Kiungshan at 73,64, Range 20,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Shikinami
DD Ayanami, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Asagiri
DD Sagiri, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
DD Scout, Shell hits 1
DD Thanet, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Thracian, Shell hits 1

Daytime surface combat mid ocean intercept - Hartwig is very good at this although this time it was mostly luck. I knew there was a risk of this if the Boise took a certain run. I was very lucky that Boise was not in her usual form.

Japanese Ships
CVL Ryujo
CA Myoko
CA Haguro, Shell hits 3
CA Nachi, Shell hits 2
DD Kuroshio
DD Oyashio
DD Hatsukaze
DD Natsushio, Shell hits 1
DD Hayashio
DD Amatsukaze

Allied Ships
CL Boise, Shell hits 5

3 seperate Dutch sub attacks resulted in hurt dutch subs and one DMS being sunk This guy had a nasty critical hit:
SS KXVII, hits 2


Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76 - first Clark sweep

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 20 NM, estimated altitude 28,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
P-26A x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-26A: 2 destroyed

Morning Air attack on Kuantan , at 51,79 - Nells go in as bettys are on naval because they have better range

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 63

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 5 destroyed on ground
Swordfish I: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 27
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 137

Morning Air attack on Singapore , at 50,84 - 3 6 Zero sweeps bag a lot of Buffs

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 3 destroyed


Morning Air attack on Singapore , at 50,84

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 44 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 2 destroyed

Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
G3M2 Nell x 36
G4M1 Betty x 27

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
G3M2 Nell: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 2 destroyed on ground
P-35A: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 30
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 133 - I have seen better results but this isnt too bad.

Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53 - initial Rangoon sweeps

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 5 destroyed

Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 49 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 3

o Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 2 destroyed


Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77 - very good results. This raid can sometimes be very ineffective

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
G4M1 Betty x 54

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAK Tantalus, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Stingray, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AM Whippoorwill, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Shark, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AV Langley, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
PT Q-113, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Neptuna, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAKL Palawan, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Perch, Bomb hits 1
SS Sailfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Snapper, Bomb hits 1
SS S-38, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Saury, Bomb hits 1

Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 2

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77 - excellent results. Some 70+ Zeros on runway attacks do well here also.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 81
B5N2 Kate x 117
D3A1 Val x 135

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed on ground
PBY-4 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground
SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
xAKL Don Jose, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Yu Sang, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Rochambeau, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS Swordfish, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
SS Skipjack, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
SS Pike, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
PT Q-112, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Snapper, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Si Kiang, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
PG Tulsa, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS S-37, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS S-40, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
PT-31, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Compagnia Filipinas, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Princess of Negros
xAKL Palawan, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Permit, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
PG Isabel, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS S-38, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Perch, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Pillsbury, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Saury, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AO Pecos, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Pickerel, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Porpoise, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Searaven, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS Sculpin, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Peary, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Tarpon, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
SS Sturgeon, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AS Holland, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AM Bittern, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AS Otus, Bomb hits 3, on fire
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Pope, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
xAKL Corregidor, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
PT-33, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1
xAP President Madison, Bomb hits 1
SS Seal, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
PT-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Capillo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
PG Asheville, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Seawolf, Bomb hits 1
AM Lark, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Sargo, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Ethel Edwards, Bomb hits 1

Repair Shipyard hits 3
Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 96
Port hits 10
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 1


Morning Air attack on Kota Bharu , at 51,75

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 79
Ki-43-Ia Oscar x 8
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 32

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 1


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed
Hudson I: 2 destroyed on ground
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 76 - this is about right. You dont want to over do it here as you will be needing the strip yourself.


Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 14 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 18

Allied Ships
SS Seal, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Sturgeon, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Sagoland, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Seawolf, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS Shark, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Ethel Edwards, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AS Holland, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage


Morning Air attack on Hong Kong , at 77,61

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 5
Ki-36 Ida x 27
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 12
Ki-51 Sonia x 24

Allied Ships
xAK Hai Lee, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Chengtu, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Munlock, Bomb hits 3, on fire
xAK Hanyang, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Hinsang, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Haraldsvang, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires
xAK Ming Sang, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
xAKL Halldor, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Yat Shing, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Nanning, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Bennevis, Bomb hits 3, on fire
xAK Fatshan, Bomb hits 1, on fire

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Georgetown , at 49,74

Japanese aircraft

Ki-48-Ib Lily x 55


Allied Ships
HDML Pennigat, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
HDML Panji, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Hong Siang, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Ellenga, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Wing Sang, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
xAKL Nam Yong, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Demosthenes, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Kelantan, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
HDML Pahalwan, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
HDML Panglima, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk


Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 36
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 36

Allied Ships
xAK Chilka, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Agnes, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Indira, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Chaksang, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Mundra, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

Morning Air attack on Toungoo , at 57,50 - Mediocre results here. I have seen as high as 50 runway hits from this attack and a dozen or so planes killed.

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 18

Allied aircraft losses
H81-A3: 2 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 7

Afternoon Air attack on Manila , at 79,77 - an extra KB attack. Nice surprise.

Weather in hex: Clear sky



Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36
B5N2 Kate x 27

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
PT Q-111, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AS Otus, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
TK Mindanao, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
PT-32, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Sargo, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AM Quail, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Rochambeau, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Seawolf, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AVD Childs, and is sunk

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 31
Port hits 1
Port fuel hits 1

Afternoon Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 27


Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 7
Runway hits 25

Naval bombardment of Iba at 78,75 - IBA is shut down with 100% damage reported.

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
DD Inazuma
DD Ikazuchi
DD Samidare
DD Yudachi
DD Harusame
DD Murasame
DD Asagumo
DD Minegumo
DD Natsugumo
DMS W-19
DMS W-12
DMS W-11
DMS W-10
DMS W-9


Airbase hits 41
Airbase supply hits 35
Runway hits 327
Port hits 9
Port supply hits 3

Amphibious Assault at Laoag

Amphibious Assault at Manado

Amphibious Assault at Kota Bharu

Amphibious Assault at Naga

Amphibious Assault at Cotabato

Amphibious Assault at Kuching

Amphibious Assault at Guam

Ground combat at Laoag (81,72)

Japanese Shock attack

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Laoag !!!

Turn 2 plans revolve around taking the bases we landed at and setting up extensive search patterns for the small TFs Hartwig likes to send out as raiders. I will also send out my own search parties of small CL/DD TFS looking for him.

I will also reposition aircraft to bases better suited for the rotational air strikes required to start shutting things down and preventing forts from being built. I will make a rather concentrated effort to slow down the allies from getting forces out even though I know this is an almost impossible task.

Ketza,

Consider me signed on for this AAR. I wish I had taken Kuching with a magic move TF as you plan to do - failure to do this has resulted in the one major setback in my current PBEM so far. The wisdom of the early descent on Java is apparent to me as well.

PS - Please use any means necessary to capture Ben. If you do so, perhaps history will be altered and none of us will ever have to watch the "movie that shall not be named" in this timeline. If only I could forget... the horror... the horror...

you should keep strong CAP over Tokio - Ben is capable of strafing it with broomsticks!

Hartwig was finally able to send me back a turn and as expected he threw everything at me including the kitchen sink. Well actually the heavy hitters of force Z didnt show up but it was interesting enough without them.

Off the coast of Malaya this interesting little battle materialized.

A British TF centered around:




Was spotted first by the sub picket line. The captain of I-156 launched an attack:

Sub attack near Kota Bharu at 53,76

Japanese Ships
SS I-156

Allied Ships
CL Mauritius
DD Vendetta

SS I-156 launches 8 torpedoes at CL Mauritius
I-156 bottoming out ....

Everything missed and the plucky little Brit force continued on. As the warning went out amphib TFs bolted left and right from Khota Baru all the way to Singora. 2 TFs covering the area made up of CA and DDs missed the Brits and this happened in the morning:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Kota Bharu at 51,75, Range 21,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DMS W-2, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
DMS W-3, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
PB Tatsumiya Maru, Shell hits 19, and is sunk
SC Ch 7, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
SC Ch 9, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Sakura Maru
AK Sasako Maru, Shell hits 4, on fire
xAK Ayatosan Maru
xAK Aobasan Maru
xAK Asakasan Maru
xAK Syoto Maru, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Nanko Maru
xAK Awajisan Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire
xAK Ayato Maru
xAK Chihaya Maru
xAK Enju Maru
xAK Kisogawa Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
xAK Kiyozumi Maru, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
xAKL Kasui Maru
xAKL Tatibana Maru
xAKL Tatebu Maru, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
xAP Koan Maru
xAP Naminoue Maru

Allied Ships
CL Mauritius
DD Vendetta, Shell hits 1

Luckily the ships had been unloaded already.

Then because of weather the first nell strike went in slightly "understrength"

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 21 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 3 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Mauritius

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x G3M2 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

At this point I was thinking the Brit CL was going to get away but one more understrength Nell force went in and finally hit paydirt:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kota Bharu at 52,76

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 3 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Mauritius, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage

She was reported as sunk on Dec 8th.

Next we have the story of everyones favorite CL:



After tangling with the Ryujo TF the day before I figured Boise might head out for safer waters but just to be sure I dispatched a small surface tf to cover Menado and also positioned Ryujo nearby in an out of the way hex for support.

First the Marblehead and her cronies showed up in the middle of the Ryujo group:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Gorontalo at 72,97, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CVL Ryujo
CA Myoko
CA Haguro
CA Nachi
DD Kuroshio
DD Oyashio, Shell hits 1
DD Hatsukaze
DD Natsushio
DD Hayashio
DD Amatsukaze

Allied Ships
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 1
DD Barker, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Bulmer
DD Paul Jones
DD Parrott
DD Stewart, Shell hits 1

Once again Ryujo dodges disaster. Hartwig has this uncanny ability to hit my carriers with small surface TFs. Luck has been on my side so far.

Some allied ship scares the crap out of the Cotabo TFs and they scatter but there is no surface action there. Then as morning breaks Boise shows up:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Manado at 75,99, Range 22,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Nagara, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Umikaze, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Suzukaze
DD Shiokaze

Allied Ships
CL Boise, Shell hits 6

Umikaze is beat up pretty bad and Nagara is hit hard enough to take out of the line but the transports and sea plane tenders are unharmed. That after noon sees the ryujo take her revenge:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Manado at 76,100

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 25 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 6
B5N1 Kate x 12

Allied aircraft
B-339D x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses

Allied Ships
CL Boise, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk

I am surprised at this result as I have expected in the past that if a CV force has been in a surface engagement they normally havent launced any strikes that same day. The to my extra surprise I find that the mysterious allied ship at Cotabo was:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Cotabato at 78,90

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 44 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 6
B5N1 Kate x 12

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses

Allied Ships
CA Houston, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk


Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo

Hartwig had moved his P-40s from Manila/Clark into the area to cover the ship but several sweeps by KB planes had cleared the way.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Cotabato at 78,90

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 44 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 26

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed


Aircraft Attacking:
12 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 9000 feet
12 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 9000 feet

All in all not bad results for this part of the battlefield. It could have been a lot worse and we still have the Marblehead and her escorts plus several dutch ships that should be close by now.

If HK falls quick I  normally like to use 38th Div in south China for a few weeks as its a great unit and it takes time to trundle up in the PI and get a port up to scratch. That unit can really do some damage in SOuthern China which may divert troops from the centre.  Wehn HK mines are clear and you have the ships and nav support there rail it back and it will load quickly.
 
re Malaya not sure if Khota Baru is worth it , even armour seems to go slow on those jungle roads.
 
Mersing is so critical it can involve a lot of interesting play eg  I still think a Mersing dummy is worth it , prep some units for Mersing load them up  but land them at other places.  If he sees a big fleet heading down esp with sig intel  he will prob do 3 things
- Move a decent brigade or 2 extra this means you can head down the peninsular faster esp if you use the raider unit to cut him off/capture the rear  and then use rail
- He may intercept them with Force Z or CL forces eg Netty bait
- Send every TB/DB plane at you. Put LR cap on it and you get lots of kills.
 
Best way  is to send a big fleet and then divert it back to eastern Borneo at the last moment but send a PB & empty AKL to Mersing which is capped. 
 
Since this is scenario 2 what are you doing with the extra units.
 

You can land 38th on any friendly hex with minimum losses. Japanese amphibious bonus does wonders. I'm convinced that Hong Kong troops should be used to resolve the siege of Luzon quickly whenever possible (and similarly, extra troops from Canton should reinforce Hong Kong, as after the artillery nerf the initial force is too weak for a swift victory). Tempo of operations is paramount. Early (within the third week of December) victory at Hong Kong can and should be achieved and it should be swiftly exploited to destroy the defenders on Luzon, if there is any chance to do that (if Allies holed in a single hex from the beginning, it's probably better to besiege them), thus creating a snowball of victories.

We have played another turn and due to time constraints I will just do a quick update.
 
PI -
 
A few attacks on MTBs by Zeros but the last 2 turns mainly involve the buildup at laong to get ready to start pushing across the island. Naga falls and a dozen or so misc allied ships are sunk in the area. The Cotabo landing force begins to fan out and is covered by Zeros flown in. Hartwig has moved all of his fighters away from Manila and is using them to ambush unescorted bombers but so far he hasnt ambushed any yet.
 
DEI - Menado and Sorong falls. A few sightings and minor skirmished with Dutch Cls and DDs but with the Boise and Houston gone things quiet down. Marblehead and her escorts have not been seen. I am however anticipating another surface encounter. Cotabo and Menado are mined as Hartwig likes to bombard with small units like 2 DDs which are hard to spot and intercept. There are a lot of searches going on however and in one case a picket DD of mine ran into one of his 2 DD packs and turned them back. 
 
Borneo - Kuching falls and a lone allied CL manages to intercept a base force coming in on the second wave even with 2 covering forces nearby. She is clobbered and sunk after the fact but manages to sink 3 AKS and damage a few more.
 
Malaya - Not much to report as I have stood down my air units as I reshuffle some things around.
 
Burma - Nothing to report.
 
China - Reshuffling my troops for the upcoming offensive. Hong Kong is not attacked yet. There are a few battles with the misc MTBs and DDs from Hong Kong but no real damage is done. 2 of the DDs are sunk. One of which got all the way to Camran Bay.
 
 Hartwig is being agressive with small surface units but so far it has cost him 5 or so CLs and a 3 or 4 DDs traded for a half dozen Aks. Its enough to keep me on my toes and I know I cannot expect to just grab anything on the cheap. I have not lost anything more then a TB but the Ashigara and Jintsu both have taken a torpedo from dutch subs and are on the way home for repairs.
 
 I am actually toying around with some different then original plans for the initial 12 division starting forces. Once I decide what I am doing I will share the plans. 

Recently upon the overrunning of Cotabo victorious Imperial Marines came across this poster hanging in the main room of the local post office:



This is an indication of grave things to come.

December 10th brought more of the same. I did ground most of my air force for rest as well as move some air assets around. Hartwig continues to Harass me with small surface TFs but in most cases he does not cause much damage. He does however continue to keep me on my toes. Some random AKs and AKLs of his are also sunk by my scattered and numerous surface TFs.



AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 10, 41

Night Time Surface Combat, near Talaud-eilanden at 78,97, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai
DD Fubuki
DD Usugumo
DD Shirayuki
DD Hatsuyuki

Allied Ships
xAKL Montanes, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk


This had me a bit nervous at Atago has 40 float damage from a Dutch torpedo but no real further damage occured.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Serasan at 58,86, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Atago, Shell hits 2
CL Kashii, Shell hits 1
E Saga
TB Kari
CM Kamome
xAK Zenyo Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Johore Maru
xAP Miike Maru, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CL Java
DD Van Nes
DD Evertsen

Here is an example of whats been happening overall. His small TFs are intercepted and he loses a ship or something gets damaged. This kinda thing happened in our last game as well where he had lost some 15-20 Cls and DDs where I had some damaged combat surface units but none sunk. Last game he had sunk quite a few more AKs then this time however.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Manado at 77,100, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai
DD Shinonome, Shell hits 1
DD Shirakumo
DD Isonami
DD Murakumo
DD Uranami

Allied Ships
DD Banckert
DD Witte de With, Shell hits 2, and is sunk

A lot of allied naval activity around Kuching. Here his Pts get into the fray. He also has several Dutch subs there which have caused some damage.


Night Time Surface Combat, near Kuching at 58,88, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
CA Takao
CL Isuzu
DD Asashio
DD Oshio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio

Allied Ships
PT TM-10
PT TM-11
PT TM-12
PT TM-13
PT TM-14
PT TM-15, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

This poor TF was roughed up by a CL the day before and then runs into a sub upon arrival at Kuching. In this convoy by sheer luck one ship each carrying a portion of the 3 units being carried survived. The JAAF base force however is pretty well smashed so we are flying in lots of air support by Tinas from camran bay. Also this turn a Sentai of Sonias are coming in.

Sub attack near Kuching at 58,87

Japanese Ships
xAK Kashiwara Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PB Sozan Maru

Allied Ships
SS O20

Japanese ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Another CL raid

Day Time Surface Combat, near Kuching at 60,86, Range 24,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna, Shell hits 2
CA Takao
CL Isuzu, Shell hits 1
DD Asashio
DD Oshio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio

Allied Ships
CL Tromp, Shell hits 1

Carrier division one scares the crap out of a Hong Kong refugee:


Day Time Surface Combat, near Cam Ranh Bay at 72,72, Range 24,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CV Kaga
CV Soryu
CV Akagi
CA Chikuma
CL Abukuma
DD Akigumo
DD Kagero
DD Isokaze
DD Shiranui
DD Urakaze
DD Hamakaze
DD Tanikaze

Allied Ships
xAKL Soochow

Too bad this gives away my position as well as composition of half the KB.


Hartwig is getting a little agressive with his air force in Malaya:

Morning Air attack on 55th Engineer Regiment, at 52,65

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 14
Buffalo I x 13
Hudson I x 4


Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 1 damaged

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

Nells from Saigon reach out and touch someone with just a bomb because of the range:


Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Miri at 64,87

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 9



Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Java, Bomb hits 1


A nice anti sub result. Hartwig is very agressive with his dutch subs and everyone of them I kill or maim is a great celebration:

Sub attack near Patani at 51,73

Japanese Ships
DD Arashi
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
SS KXII, hits 2


The only early invasion hold out is Guam:

Ground combat at Guam (106,95)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 392 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 16

Defending force 771 troops, 0 guns, 32 vehicles, Assault Value = 10

Japanese adjusted assault: 11

Allied adjusted defense: 27

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)

Next turn will see Hong Kong assaulted by 38th division plus the 23rd corp HQ and a few friends from Canton.

Close to 800 av is ashore on Luzon and starting to spread out. Another 400 AV is on the way. Air support is in place with 11th air fleet HQ and more Bombers and fighters flown in. Clark and Manilla are still damaged so Bataan starts off the fort denial campaign.

Cagayan is threatened by 120 av very soon.

DEI round 2 is shaping up and several small bases are to be taken this turn as well.

Malaya is shaping up nicely compared to my last game against him with my troops moving into place to start the drive towards Singapore. Air is getting into position the next few turns to start shutting things down. I know better then to go about this in a haphazard way against Hartwig as he loves to ambush unescorted bombers with AVG squadrons. In this case slow and methodical will win the race with the fewest caualties.

Things continue slowly as Hartwig and I are very busy with RL issues these days. Nothing major to report other then some very good progress on Mindanao with Cagayan falling and Davao threatened. Hong kong also fell easily. I am gearing up for some new invasions that should happen shortly. Typically I have a much faster tempo of invasions but I am slowing things down just a tad to give my forces more mutual support. I am finding Hartwig to be throwing his small TFs at me rather consistently and the attrition he is causing himself really isnt doing anything for his cause other then a few sunk AKLs and Aks for a bunch of CLs and DDs.



PI



I have started the PI "rotation" to keep forts down at Bataan, Manila and Clark. Most of "the herd" is down and I am slowly spreading out over Luzon. He hasnt concentrated yet but I am sure he isnt going to fight on the fringes except maybe to slightly delay me.



Malaya



Pressing down the peninsula. The armor I landed at Khota Baru bogged down in the jungle on the way to Temuloh. I sorta hoped they would advance faster but it looks like I will just turn them around. I raid the port at Singers and lose 9 Nells to flak which was my fault for setting the raid at 6k. I do pound some shipping however.



China



Hong Kong falls. Bringing ion the 23rd Corps HQ from Canton with a few extra regiments seems to make this happen quickly.



DEI



I land at Ternate with just 15 AV to see if he commits a large surface force. I have carrier air to back up the force and a surface force nearby. The next wave will be much bigger and take the place.



Pacific



He sinks an AO near Enteiwok with a sub. I land at Attu and will land shortly at Shortlands. So far no US carriers milling about the Marshalls although I know with KB committed to the SRA for ther moment he is either planning something or lurking on the edges waiting for a quick strike.

Dec 17th China situation

Instead of pushing forward with giant "stomp stacks" of troops we are attempting to "herd" the Chinese in the North/Center into a large pocket out in the open. So far the strategy seems to be working. If Hartwig stands and fights he will be decimated and so far his withdrawal has been slow so I am catching some troops in the open plains. The outline of a very large pocket is starting to materialize.

The initial goal of the offensive is to trap and kill as many troops as possible and capture Chengchow. The second phase will be the capture Nanning and Loang (sp). After that the armies will refit and the next offensive will be planned. I rather enjoy fighting in China as am a big fan of history of the Eastern front in WWII and this is as close as WITP gets to that type of warfare.

I have reinforced China with a substantial amount of aircraft including 45 Zeros broken down into 15 plane groups to watch for the potential AVG ambush. Several Nate squadrons have been upgraded to Oscar IIc as well. Although I will not strat bomb I will be bombing runways to keep forst down and destroy supplies on the ground. I am heavily invested in recon as well trying to keep tabs on his buildup of troops and planes. If I see a spot where planes build up I hit them with everything in range. SO far he has kept his head down.

Dec 17th Phillipines

I switched out all of the Zeros and Netties replacing them with Army bombers, Tojos, and recently updated Oscars. I have 300 air support and the airfield is almost level 5. Things are moving along nicely. He has not concentrated yet and he looks like he may defend outward at Lingayen. I still have several untits 100% prepped for Lingayen so this should not be an issue.

Southern Luzon I am a bit concerned that he is moving 3 units my way near Naga but I will reinforce the area. I would much rather him fight then dig in like a tick anyway. His P-40s have hunkered down somewhere on an isolated island and no doubt he is planning an ambush of some type. I doubt he will get any easy ambushes as I am very watchful that all of my raids have fighter escort and sweep support.

My main secondary invasion force can be seen nearby heading to Java, Malaya or Sumatra. Its composed of 33rd, 4th and various regiments for a total of 1400 ish AV. I am not exactly sure where they will land yet as I am waiting to see how things develop.

Mindanao(sp)

I am very pleased with this op as usually this area is put off and becomes a bit of a pain for me in the March timeframe and becomes a haven for allied troops and a staging area for remnants to be pulled out of Manila/Bataan. Davao and Cagayan fell easily and the local troops are rather disrupted so I think the hold out hex at Malatay(sp) will be easier to reduce with fewer troops.

Ternate and Menado are full of search planes now and the aggressive search for allied surface units is underway as Hartwig likes to use the various hiding places for quick bombardment runs. The next invasion with a naval landing force is underway to push out the DEI perimeter a bit more. The big push for Ambon is close at hand as well.

Dec 17th
 
Other then the above mentioned items things are rather quiet. The push down the Malaya peninsula continues and it looks like Hartwig is going to leave some slowing forces behind. Small forces are pushing into Burma but no real fighting has started.
 
I am pounding Port Blair daily to keep the forts down as Hartwig has 5 units there and a bustle of small TFs bringing in more troops or supplies.
 
I am also raiding Sabang on a regular basis as there is activity there.
 
A quick invasion fleet grabbed Shortlands and he bombarded the place to no effect.
 
Nothing really happening in the Central Pacific as of yet.
 
Several Dutch Subs were hit this turn one severly. Hartwig likes to park them on Japanese bases. I am actually glad he is doing so as it gives me a better shot at them.

Although my WITP playing has been scaled down to just one game and 1-2 turns a week due to real life issues my game with Hartwig continues on albeit at a very slow pace.



It is now Dec 26th and heres a few snippets on what has happened.



China - A very large pocket did indeed form in the plains and is currently being reduced. Strong armies are advancing towards Nanyang and the mountains nearby to try and flank his line forming in the woods behind the city. I know how hard it can be to dig Chinese out of such a hex so I am going to try and surround it and cut off supply before the assault begins. In the south Wuchow fell and the 38th divsion plus add ons has been shipped to Luzon.

In an interesting twist with the AVG I was able to ambush his P-40s over Nanyang as I have been rotating recon looking for his inevitable P-40 ambush on my hapless IJA bombers and downed some 12 planes to losing none. I have also concentrated 2 Nell groups on reducing chinese forces in the open with ground aattacks which seems to have compelled him to fall back quicker.

After the initial goals of the China campaign are met involving driving him out of the plains I will be launching an offensive in the south towards Kukong most likely to eliminate bases for long range allied air.

Phillipines - Hartwig has taken an outer defensive posture here and has even staged an offensive towards Naga. I am actually ok with this strategy as I am beating up some of his best troops out in the open as opposed to going up against them in good terrain. My Clark offensive should be ready in a week or so with the arrival of the 38th and 65th brigade. My paratroops have helped isolate the 4th marines, a Philipine division and a tank battalion in the open hex near Naga which is being pounded by air on ground attacks. We are playing cat and mouse over Naga with his P-40s and my Zeros which so far has the kill ratio to my advantage.

DEI - There was a rather interesting naval battle of Ambon which did not go well for the allies. In the end they lost a few DDs and a brit CA (exeter) sunk and the IJN lost a few Aks but landed on Ambon regardless. The initial assualt was repelled but instead of landing the follow up troops there I sent them to Kendari on a whim and captured it with them instead mainly to take away his ability to rearm and refuel from there. Ambon should fall very soon. The next target will be Timor and several units are inbound.

Malaya - The usual progression down the peninsula. He has a few blocking forces in position and he looks like he will be making a stand at Johore.

Other that have fallen are Wake, Kavieng, Shortlands, Attu, Baker. My AMC quick grab was ambushed at Tulagi and lost when they ran into the Loiusville lurking around Savo.

The rest of the month will be a bit of a rest period until the Java, Sumatra landings occur. I am commiting some 4 divisions to this operation which should open up Java rather nicely.