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Hi,

I hope all that title fits. [;)]

This AAR will be from the Japanese viewpoint only. So, Dan, no peeking. [;)]

We’re playing a no house rules game.

The setup is:
Sub doctrines off
Fog of war on.
Weather on.
Allied damage control on.
Dec 7 surprise on.
Historical 1st turn off
No reinforcement arrival variation.
1 day per turn.
Player upgrades on.

Dan said he would only give orders to existing TF’s and in China on turn 1.

He also said I could do whatever I wanted as far as he was concerned. I have landed wherever I wanted but I have kept it to what I think is reasonable.

This is my first big campaign PBEM. I have done 1 other PBEM (Guadalcanal, Allies). Since it’s my first big campaign PBEM, it’ll be a learning experience for me and I intend to try some things that were historically improbable, just to see if they can be done. (Or if I can do them which may not be the same thing.) For example, if I can get away with it, I’ll knock India? China? Oz? Russia? Canada? The US? all of the above? out of the war. Just going to play that by ear. With that said that should bring us to turn 1 in the next post. Which will follow very shortly as I already have it typed up.

lordmaul13

Hi,

Got most of the title to show up on the forum thread list. Sorry Dan, your name got cut off a little.


Anyhow, here is turn 1.


Dec 7, 1941.

My early war strategy will be to focus on the PI and use it as my springboard into the southern part of Borneo and that area. I’ll also hit Malaya fairly hard in an effort to take Singapore and eliminate a big threat on the flank of my drive on Sumatra, Palembang in particular. Northern Borneo will also get hit. Day 1 will see an attack on Brunei. Later on CV’s will escort an attack on Kuching. I don’t plan on sending them in until their fighters have all been repaired after the upgrade to Zeros (which happened on day 1). Hopefully it will merely be a few days before they’re ready to go.


In actual war news, the PH attack went fairly well. By my count that’s 13 fish in the BB’s along with numerous bombs. I haven’t confirmed any sinkings but, well, here are the results so you can see for yourself:


Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
CA San Francisco, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Detroit, Bomb hits 1
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 6
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 1
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
AV Tangier, Torpedo hits 1
DD Litchfield, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DM Montgomery, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1, on fire ***
AD Dobbin, Bomb hits 1, on fire


***As a Cardinals fanatic I feel horrible. Had I known the St Louis was there I might’ve attacked Manila instead. Hopefully it’ll just be laid up for awhile and will defect to the Redbirds fan. Me in other words. :p

Meanwhile, the standard Khota Bharu invasion in Malaya is underway, as well as numerous forces being dropped off at my base, Songkhia.

An invsion force covered by a CL and several DD’s landed in Brunei.

The standard turn 1 computer setup has a Luzon invasion so I decided invading Luzon on turn 1 was reasonable. If I've figured out how to add pictures you should be able to see it.




Mindanao on the other hand doesn’t have a turn 1 invasion preset so I moved my forces near to Mindanao but did not actually invade. I have a carrier TF a surface TF and a big transport TF that’ll be broken up and shifted to various invasion areas.

That’s all there is of importance to report for day 1.

lordmaul13

Dec 8, 1941.

Here are the results from the Dec 8 follow up attack on PH:


Allied Ships
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
DM Sicard, Torpedo hits 1
CL Phoenix, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


Looks like the St Louis escaped with no damage. I hope. I also got confirmation of the Tennessee sinking. That’s 1. Also, Pennsylvania is noticeably absent from the list of ships attacked on day 2. That could very well be 2.

Some PT boats are in the area so I’ll jump around and attack one or two more times. Depends on how lucky I feel and how many other SC TF’s start to appear.

Elsewhere, Brunei has fallen. The Allied forces retreated to Miri. On of my invasion units will follow them and force their surrender or drive them out into the jungle where they will starve.

Other bases to fall were Bataan Is, Wake Is, and Tarawa.

In Luzon, Aparri, Vigan, and Lingayen have fallen. The Allied units in the Eastern half of the island should be cut off and destroyed with little difficulty. Then it’s off to Clark Field, hopefully further dividing the island and his forces.

In Mindanao the Davao invasion has begun. I anticipate it will fall very quickly. Since I brought a base force along I should have Zeros and Betties in Davao in the next day or two.

Obviously you can see my forces have split up. I intended to leave my SC TF at Davao to cover the invasion forces while my CV TF follows the other transports to Cagayen. Or is that Cotabato? I get them confused, it’s the one on the north of the island, whatever it’s named.

But it worked out ok in the end. My SC TF ran into a couple Allied transports and sunk both of them.

There’s a force of 3 or 4 DD’s on the west side of the island that got hit by my CV TF. When I move my cursor over them it shows a CA. I don’t know if it’s real or not, it could be fog of war. Real or a figment of my pilot’s imagination I’m sending the SC TF to Davao on the double quick. I do not want a CA to get into my transports and wreck my invasion.

Also, I have split off another sub group from my transports. That TF will invade Butuan.

That Allied TF on the east side of the island is, I think, Allied transports. I would love to sink them, but if they get away I won’t exactly be devastated.

And that’s the news.

lordmaul13

Hi,

12-9-41

A third attack on PH did this:


Allied Ships
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 3, heavy damage
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
DD Shaw, Bomb hits 1
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
MSW Vireo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AS Pelias, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
CL Detroit, Bomb hits 1
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 1, on fire


I see Pennsylvania is back, I guess we’re back down to just 1. Those numbers may be a bit deceiving too, I shifted the Vals over to port attack, along with the Kates. Maybe we’ll get lucky and that attack will push a few BB’s over the edge.

Unfortunately we hit the St Louis again. L



There was also some surface action near Luzon. Dan has drawn his first blood.


Day Time Surface Combat, near Lingayen at 44,50

Japanese Ships
DD Shirayuki, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Hatsuyuki
DD Murakumo, Shell hits 11, on fire
MSW Choun Maru #7, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
MSW Choun Maru #18, Shell hits 6
MSW Choun Maru #21, Shell hits 6, on fire
MSW Hinode Maru #20
MSW Musashi Maru
MSW Rokko Maru, Shell hits 1
MSW Toshi Maru #2, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
PG Busho Maru
(Plus a lot of transports that I’m not going to waste space listing.)

Allied Ships
PT PT-32, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT PT-41, Shell hits 43, and is sunk


Lousy PT boats sink two minesweepers and a valuable destroyer. GRRRR!!! [:@][:@][:@]

Those two surface groups that aren’t where I told them to go, I’m going to kill their commanders. I was supposed to have a surface TF there with that transport TF. It’s possible I had them set to retire but I really don’t think so. My mistake or some glitch, heads will roll.

There is some good news however. Davao fell after only one attack. One Zero unit and two Nell units have moved into the base. They will rest for a day and then it’s a free fire zone.

Also, the CV near Mindanao attacked and sunk 2 AK’s and 1 TK.


Allied Ships
AK Dos Hermanos, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Governor Wright, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage


Allied Ships
TK Manatawny, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage


Those ^ in fact.


lordmaul13

Hi,

12-10-41

On the way out there was one last attack on PH.

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 8, on fire, heavy damage
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 2, on fire
BB California, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
AO Ramapo, Torpedo hits 1
AP St. Mihel, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AV Curtiss, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Detroit, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1
DD Dewey, Bomb hits 1, on fire

I got a confirmation of two more BB’s sinking.

Time to rest those air units and refuel. Allied CV’s haven’t been spotted and I’m wondering where they are. I don’t believe they headed for the west coast. I have subs using float planes to watch for convoys. I’ll probably keep the KB fairly near to the front, where it can move fast and intercept any large convoys. Kwajalein perhaps. It would be very nice to sink a convoy full of troops or planes leaving the west coast. Or even supplies and fuel.

Or I may go looking for the Allied CV’s. If I could nail them in Noumea or somewhere lightly defended such as that, it would be very nice, to say the least.

There was an interesting development in Burma. Rahaeng, which had no one defending it fell to Allied forces. (see the pic) I have a division heading that way but it could take awhile to get there.

I have a division and a tank rgt heading for Moulmein. It will fall within a few days. Victoria Point also has a division on the way. It too shall fall. Those units will likely be in a better position to retake Rahaeng than the division that has been marching there since day 1.

Ground combat at Rahaeng

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2870 troops, 37 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 70 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Rahaeng base !!!


That’s the way it is, Walter.

lordmaul13

Hi,

12-11-41

First the good news.

In Malaya there are some good results. The attack on Khota Bharu went like this:

Ground combat at Khota Bharu

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 20907 troops, 245 guns, 15 vehicles

Defending force 6724 troops, 30 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2


Japanese ground losses:
128 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Allied ground losses:
64 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


4 to 1 on a deliberate attack. My division wasn’t beat up too badly so tomorrow we shock attack. With luck Khota Bharu will be mine tomorrow. A base force is loading up and will arrive shortly. Right after it comes air power and a much easier time of it on the Malaya peninsula.

A submarine off the west coast sunk an AD. The I-19 gets a patented golden lordmaul13 e-statuette ™ [8D].

Sub attack at 135,49

Japanese Ships
SS I-19

Allied Ships
AD Dixie, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AVD Ballard

Plus those Nells that moved into Davao the other day did some damage. Two confirmed sinkings. Sarangami and Childs, I believe. The Allies have so much cargo shipping capacity that the one sunk won’t make all that much difference but it’s one less than he would have and it’s a few more victory points in my favor.

Day Air attack on TF at 46,63

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
G3M Nell x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Sarangami, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Day Air attack on TF, near Jolo at 38,59

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14
G3M Nell x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
PG Isabel
AVD Childs, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Now for the not so good news.

I have made some stupid mistakes. They haven’t cost me all that much yet but they have cost me. Earlier I had those surface TF’s that weren’t covering the landings in Luzon. That was my costliest mistake so far, 2 MSW and 1 DD. I have not had LR CAP setup like I ought to. Granted, I can’t cover everything but I’ve had level bombers and fighters attack TR TF’s all over the place. So far they can’t hit the broad side of a barn but there have been so many attacks that there have been lucky hits, including the sinking of a PC. And with every mission their experience grows and they become more and more dangerous.

Today I had troops unload in the middle of nowhere in Mindanao (see the pic). TF A was supposed to head to Zamboanga or whatever it’s named. It was going to take the long way around, the purple line. I tried to manually force it to take the short path by setting its destination to its current hex. Obviously it unloaded its troops because I forgot to set it to don’t unload. I have loaded up the troops that just took Butuan (TF B) and they will make the attack. My objective was met, I won’t have to hunt down Allied forces trying to retreat to Zamboanga because the path is blocked but now I have to divert other forces to take the base. I waste fuel, time, and effort. [:@]

Another mistake was not taking Dadjangles on the same day I took Davao. Now instead of the Allied forces retreating to Cagayen or Cotabato (I still can’t remember which is which, the one on the west side of the island), they’ll continue retreating toward Dadjangles and they’ll have to be followed. More wasted time. [:@]

Foolish mistakes like that cannot happen any more. Especially with my secret plan for operation SOSUAP tentatively scheduled for March 1. A bold, risky plan, that may help win the war or end it in a hurry.

lordmaul13

Hi,

12-12-41

Nothing but good news today.

Sub I-9 gets one of those patented golden lordmaul13 e-statuettes ™ [8D] for sinking the Lassen.

Sub attack at 132,52

Japanese Ships
SS I-9

Allied Ships
AE Lassen, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AVD Ballard
AS Fulton

Ground combat at Khota Bharu

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 20692 troops, 237 guns, 15 vehicles

Defending force 6714 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Khota Bharu base !!!


Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
463 casualties reported
Guns lost 10

Allied ground losses:
87 casualties reported
Guns lost 4


Having done some recon, it looks like most of my opponent’s forces have either retreated towards Singapore or have left the Malaya peninsula entirely. If it is the latter it could mean trouble in Burma or other areas of the SRA.

In China, the attack on Yenen is about to begin. 3 brigades are marching along the road (force A) they will arrive in a few days. The larger force, advancing along the rail (force B), includes 3 divisions, 2 brigades, an arty regiment and 1st army HQ. I’m slightly worried, as my forces will arrive piecemeal. Only a part of Force B will arrive tomorrow, with the remainder arriving the next day. And Force A probably the day after. Better coordination should’ve happened here. What was I saying earlier about stupid mistakes? However, things could work out my way. When the portion of Force B arrives, I don’t believe there will be any combat that day. It could, however, bait my opponent into an attack, which wouldn’t happen until the next day, when the remainder of Force B arrives to really bloody his nose. And then Force A would arrive the next day and I’m about ready for my attack. As long as I don’t have supply problems anyway. [face_prayer]

Further south, forces have amassed and are moving towards Changsha. Out of Wuhan is coming 1 tank regiment, 5 divisions, 1 arty regiment, 1 arty battalion, 2 engineer regiments, and 2 engineer battalions (Force C). To the West of Nanchang is another division, 2 brigades, 2 engineer battalions, and 13th army HQ (Force D).

Coming from the NW of Wuhan is an arty regiment, a division and another HQ unit. The arty and HQ will follow along whenever they’re able. The division will stay to garrison Wuhan.

I wonder if perhaps I should’ve moved immediately instead of waiting most of a week to begin the big attacks. Perhaps Yenen and Changsha would’ve fallen by now but I decided concentration of forces would be the wisest course of action. They will fall.

The warplan in China is to take Yenen and Changsha first. After Yenen falls, a garrison of a division and a couple brigades. Maybe even two divisions and two brigades will stay to hold against any possible counterattacks. The rest will move into the red circle to wait to begin the attack up the green line to Sian.

The blue line is the major attack in China. 6 divisions, a tank regiment, 2 brigades (with a couple more on the way from the middle of nowhere), a few arty units, a half dozen engineer units, and a couple HQ’s will be the major force driving that attack. Also, quietly gathering in Canton, just south of the picture, are extra bits and pieces of divisions, brigades, and other odd units broken up to garrison bases along the coastal road. It’s possible they could come up and close the door on a Chinese force and cause a decisive surrender. I’d probably trade Canton for a big enough surrender of Chinese forces. Canton being near the coast, I could easily surround it and force another surrender. But, that’s all speculation and assumes no interference from the Chinese. Interference, I believe, is something I can count on.

lordmaul13

PS

Especially with my secret plan for operation SOSUAP tentatively scheduled for March 1. A bold, risky plan, that may help win the war or end it in a hurry.

I really crack myself up sometimes.

Hi,

I forgot to explain the purple line. When the bases along the green line fall, it will cut the Chinese road link to the bases north of the purple line. I don't know what kind of resources are in that area and I'm sure by the time the green line is taken there will be plenty of supplies stockpiled but perhaps not and any additional supplies will have to be flown in.

lordmaul13

Hi,

12-13-41

Nothing much went on the 13th.

Only thing of some interest is:

Ground combat at Hong Kong

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 31137 troops, 249 guns, 17 vehicles

Defending force 12974 troops, 111 guns, 4 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 4

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 4)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 4


Japanese ground losses:
132 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Allied ground losses:
112 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Will shock attack tomorrow.



12-14-41

Ground combat at Hong Kong

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 31062 troops, 245 guns, 17 vehicles

Defending force 12860 troops, 104 guns, 4 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Hong Kong base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
323 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
12658 casualties reported
Guns lost 78
Vehicles lost 1

Obviously the shock attack worked.

Meanwhile, the troops have started landing on Kuching.

Once it is taken I’ll have Betties and/or Nells moved in as well as Zeros. I get the feeling that there isn’t much in Singapore any more. I think he’s moved his surface fleet out so I’m going to go ahead and start loading up troops for the Sumatra invasion. I should have enough force in the area to cover the invasion, even if I’m wrong about where his forces are.

In China, I did a bombardment attack on Yenen.

Ground combat at Yenen

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 79395 troops, 987 guns, 15 vehicles

Defending force 32417 troops, 199 guns, 0 vehicles



Allied ground losses:
240 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


I checked my supply situation because I was afeared I might have too many troops in the area to keep supplied. Everyone looked to be down 25%-50%. I may have too many troops. I’m going to deliberate attack anyway and see what happens.

lordmaul13

Fun reading! Just so I understand: you plan to attack Yenen first, then move those troops to help take the cities up to Sian, and then finally take Changsha? Or are you moving on Changsha at the same time as Yenen?

It’s good to hear that someone is actually reading and enjoying, so thanks for saying so. And anyone else who has a comment or question, feel free to post.

The plan is to take Yenen and then spread those troops around Yenen and inside the red circle on the map I posted earlier to be used to stop any Chinese attacks. Or some may be shifted to the Changsha to Canton railway attack. See, the red circle is going to be my “hold” area because I don’t want to overextend myself in China. Changsha and the railway there (the blue line, if I remember correctly) is actually going to be the primary thrust in the beginning (and the actual fighting in Changsha itself will start in the next day or two) for the simple fact that so darn many troops start in a good position to attack along that line. I want to get that whole railway captured and then that blue line will become the “hold” area and I’ll attack along the green line and take that railway which might cut off the bases north of the purple line (north of Sian, basically). I say might because I have since noticed that there is a road connection to the Soviet Union. I don’t know if supplies will run out of an inactive Soviet Union or not. If they do then obviously those bases aren’t cut off from a supply line but it will at least have the effect of dividing China so I can focus on one part or the other.

So that’s the Chinese situation.

lordmaul13

Hi,

12-16-41

I said I was going to deliberate attack in Yenen. Something strange went on because 1) I didn’t deliberate attack (I guess I forgot to change over from bombardment) and 2) only one unit bombarded. My units are in the 50’s as far as disruption so I’m going to bombard one more day and then see about a deliberate attack.

My troops have entered Changsha. That’s a force of 5 divisions, a brigade, a couple engineer regiments, an HQ, a tank regiment, and some arty units. More will arrive in the next day or so. I’m going to bombard to see what I’m up against.

In Malaya, troops are moving down the peninsula. Georgetown is isolated and a base force, I believe, is trapped there. Today’s attack went like this:

Ground combat at Georgetown

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 15414 troops, 178 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 2505 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 5)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 4


Japanese ground losses:
18 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
172 casualties reported
Guns lost 6


I expect it to fall tomorrow.






Cotabato in Mindanao fell:

Ground combat at Cotabato

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 9230 troops, 80 guns, 20 vehicles

Defending force 2661 troops, 29 guns, 1 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Cotabato base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
28 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Allied ground losses:
5584 casualties reported
Guns lost 20






As did Dadjangas:

Ground combat at Dadjangas

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 648 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Dadjangas base !!!


Of course, there was no opposition in Dadjangas.

And troops have landed and will attack at Zamboanga, the last untaken base in Mindanao.

From here the plan is to start mopping up the smaller islands in the PI and start moving into southern Borneo and Sulawesi.

I’ve been noticing subs in the area and it’s past time to get serious about them. I’ve had Nells, the only AC I have in the area that can do the job, do some ASW patrols but they’ve had no success. I’m sending an ASW TF (4DD 3PC) out. Maybe they’ll have more luck.

lordmaul13

Hi,

12-17-41

Things look pretty good in China. The bombardment attack in Changsha did this:

Ground combat at Changsha

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 97034 troops, 1216 guns, 12 vehicles

Defending force 94116 troops, 596 guns, 0 vehicles



Allied ground losses:
669 casualties reported
Guns lost 3






While the Allied bombardment attack did this:

Ground combat at Changsha

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 82965 troops, 577 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 113852 troops, 1216 guns, 152 vehicles


Japanese ground losses:
27 casualties reported





670-27 I’ll take every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Still, as far as AV goes I believe we’re fairly close, closer than I’d prefer, anyway. I will bombard one more time. Tomorrow 2 brigades and a division arrive. Then we attack for real.


Yenen didn’t have as good a result as Changsha but fewer troops were involved in the defense and so there were fewer targets.

Ground combat at Yenen

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 85785 troops, 1041 guns, 15 vehicles

Defending force 31871 troops, 201 guns, 0 vehicles



Allied ground losses:
206 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


We’re deliberate attacking next turn to see what happens.


Meanwhile, Georgetown, in Malaya, has fallen. It was a fort unit, not a base unit like I thought, was there.

Also, Mindanao, in the PI, has fallen, making all bases on Mindanao mine. There is a unit trapped out in the open that is about to be finished off. That will mark the last resistance on Mindanao. Most units will march to Davao and rest. Then they’ll be used to help take out strong points in the PI (excepting Luzon) before moving on to southern Borneo.

Speaking of mopping up the PI, two Naval Guard units (AV around 70) have loaded up in Saigon and will be moving to take Taytay and Puerto Princessa. A NLF is on the way to Jesselton. A SNLF (AV around 50) is heading to San Jose. They will go ahead and begin the mopping up of the PI and will join in the Southern Borneo attack afterwards.

You may also notice that the subs that were all around Mindanao have vanished as you would expect to happen as soon as you make ASW TF’s to hunt them. * sigh *


lordmaul13

Hi,

I think I'll start updating like this, one two day update instead of two one day updates. I usually have a turn waiting on me in the morning but I don't get the second until later in the evening and I don't have as much time to get the AAR done. So this is last nights turn and this mornings.

12-18-41

I find this a little hard to believe.

Ground combat at 42,60

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5158 troops, 32 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 540 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 82 to 1



Allied ground losses:
39 casualties reported


82-1 and they don’t surrender. Those are some fanatical engineers.

My last group of troops has arrived in Changsha and we’ll deliberate attack tomorrow.


In the Yenen attack I took a few casualties but if it gets me the city then it’ll be well worth it.

Ground combat at Yenen

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 99593 troops, 1205 guns, 15 vehicles

Defending force 31634 troops, 202 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 2)


Japanese ground losses:
2611 casualties reported
Guns lost 61
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
700 casualties reported
Guns lost 11


I think I could use some engineers there.

Otherwise pretty quiet.





12-19-41

Ha ha! Success!

ASW attack at 37,61

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsukaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Yamakaze
DD Yukikaze
DD Oyashio
DD Kuroshio

Allied Ships
SS Pickerel, hits 2, on fire

My ASW TF found one of those subs that disappeared. I’m so proud. Here’s a patented golden lordmaul13 e-statuette [8D]



This attack finished off the resistance in Mindanao.

Ground combat at 42,60

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 7805 troops, 51 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 480 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 324 to 1



Allied ground losses:
735 casualties reported




Changsha quickly turned into a bloodbath but it’s worth it once I take the city.




I had kind of an “Oh sh**” moment there in Clark Field. I had all my units moving into CF but speedy Tojo got there first. There’s one brigade sitting there facing about 20 Allied units. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Dugout Doug will shock attack right as the rest of my forces arrive to save the day and bloody the Hell out of his nose.



In Malaya things are progressing. We’ve pushed down the peninsula against really no opposition and have made it as far as Kuala Lumpur. The bombardment attack revealed he has 4 brigades there. I imagine my guys will push them out pretty easily.




Ground combat at Kuala Lumpur

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 25213 troops, 390 guns, 7 vehicles

Defending force 11454 troops, 108 guns, 0 vehicles


Japanese ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
59 casualties reported
Guns lost 2



On the other side of the peninsula things are moving slooooowwwwllllyyyyy. The division that landed at Khota Bharu still hasn’t made it to Kuantan yet. * sigh *

lordmaul13

Hi,

12-20-41

For the 20th all we have of any importance is the attack at Kuala Lumpur.


Ground combat at Kuala Lumpur

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 65157 troops, 744 guns, 7 vehicles

Defending force 13560 troops, 127 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 3


Japanese ground losses:
486 casualties reported
Guns lost 21
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
493 casualties reported
Guns lost 11


12-21-41

Here is day two of the Kuala Lumpur attack.


Ground combat at Kuala Lumpur

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 87105 troops, 983 guns, 13 vehicles

Defending force 12827 troops, 101 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kuala Lumpur base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
923 casualties reported
Guns lost 19
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
544 casualties reported
Guns lost 24


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!


That leaves one more base, Malacca, and then a couple open hexes before we come to Johore Bharu and then Singapore itself.

I was feeling a bit like things were moving too slow. I don’t really have that feeling anymore. Things are starting to move.

I don’t remember if I mentioned earlier that troops were heading out of Saigon for the PI and Borneo. If I didn’t they are and some of them are there. In Borneo Jesselton fell and the troops have packed up to move to Sandakan. Also in Borneo a TF, supported by a SC TF and a CV TF is heading to the west coast to take Singkawang, which will be my springboard to Palembang.

In the Philippines Taytay and Puerto Princessa are about to be attacked and then the forces there will pack up again and move to another base. San Jose is right behind them-- troops should begin unloading tomorrow.

I finally noticed that transport TF that headed to Guam on day 1 was still just sitting there so I packed up the South Seas Detachment and it is heading to Menado. That’s 150 assault points that was sitting there for a week and a half doing nothing. Duh.

If I’m worried about one thing it’s that I’ve focused almost exclusively on the SRA and PI. I haven’t really made any attacks in the Pacific. That could be really smart or really stupid. It could be that I don’t really want to go into the Pacific any farther than what I already am. Maybe where I am now should be my outer perimeter. Then again, maybe I should push as far as I can and then trade space for time. And if that is what I should do then I ought to be taking these places now while they’re lightly defended or not defended at all. Whatever I decide to do, when I go, I’m going in heavy force.

lordmaul13

Hi,

Bad news. Midway bad. The war is going to be over by Christmas which is in two days.

12-22-41/12-23-41

Let’s see, where to start. I mentioned earlier that I was thinking of either going carrier hunting or commerce raiding with the KB. I hadn’t seen the Allied carriers anywhere. I had, however seen some troopships near PH so I figured there must be some convoys still transiting between the West coast and PH. So I decided to go the commerce raiding route. My path took me by PH because I figured I could put some holes in those transports and maybe hit the port again as I waved on my way by.

Well, I found the Allied carriers. They’re at PH. Obviously if I’m in range of those transports or the port I’m in range of an air attack. The port got hit and so did the carriers. But, their planes were all transferred to the PH airbase. Needless to say, imagine my surprise when about 7 billion SBD’s attacked my carriers. Right off the bat and B17 of all things got through and landed a hit on a carrier. Those damn things haven’t hit the broad side of the world until now. That was when I hit escape and left the room. The tally is, Soryu sunk outright, Zuikaku with 99 system damage and going to sink, two CV’s with 40 something sys damage and two pretty much undamaged. Kaga is one that has 40 something sys damage and it has split off. Of course Zuikaku has split off too since it’s max speed is a big fat goose egg. We didn’t get hit today because of rain over PH. Rain rain, here to stay don’t go away until another day.

Anyway, I’m praying for more rain. I can chalk up the Zuikaku as another loss and probably Kaga unless the weather cooperates. I’m hoping that those two, Zuikaku, in particular will be a magnet for the air attacks. If I get out of this with 3 carriers intact I’ll be ecstatic, if I get out with 4 I’ll probably pass out and hit my head and require hospitalization and you won’t hear from me for awhile. If I get out of it with no carriers then I’ll – No, I won’t say that because then it’ll happen and then I’ll have to commit Harry Carey because I said I would.

This is obviously a strategy-changing event. I can no longer project overwhelming carrier force outside of my airspace. That means I’ll have to stay near to where I have land-based airpower. A look at the map shows us that the places I can attack with cover from land airpower are the entire SRA, the Asian mainland, and I could, if it gets that far go into Oz and New Guinea. I have to take the SRA otherwise I’ll run out of resources so I’m committed to that attack. I’m going to do my best to eliminate all resistance on the Asian mainland which will allow me to focus my defense in only a few directions, from the Pacific towards the Mairanas and PI, from NG towards the SRA and PI or from Oz into the SRA. All along I’d intended to attack Russia, that was what I meant in the first post by “historically improbable”. And, since Dan, in his last email, said he had noticed the troop movements in Kwangtung area I’ve ordered my forces to move to their final staging positions. My German allies are knocking on Moscows door so there will never be a better time. The attack begins as soon as they’re in position. I’ll explain the attack plan as soon they’re in position and I can take a picture of it.

The one area where I still have hope is in my surface fleet. I’m still superior there. I’m going to send part out to guard the perimeter. He may try something and I wouldn’t blame him, I might too. I just shortened the war by about 2 years.

It’s time to crack open secret warplan SODGMAHTM (Secret Operation Don’t Get My Ass Handed To Me).

lordmaul13

PS At least I'm taking it well. It's only a game, Joe, It's only a game... It's only a game... It's only....

Rain out.

My apologies to anyone who was watching this (other than my opponent who may or may not have been) because this game will no longer continue. A statement such as the preceding just begs the question “Why?” so I’ll explain.

My ex-opponent had kind of rubbed me wrong since the first few messages we exchanged. Maybe I did the same to him and if I did then I humbly apologize, I never intended to offend and I’m usually easy to get along with. Here are portions of our last few messages, taken from my email. I have not changed them save for censoring expletives and altering format (so that “instead
Of this”
We have “instead of this”) where necessary.

This one is where I'd like to start. And so I will:

Dan:

And if you want a few pointers along the way, I'm amenable. But I want
volunteer anything unless you ask. After all you ignored my first
one--what were you doing with anything but naval attack as PRIMARY
mission?!? (My CV's could have been formed up in a TF and your
Kate's would have sat out the battle......) [/qoute]

There’s a rather “duh dumb[censored]” attitude to that one. It may or may not be intended that way but I don’t particularly care one way or another.

Here is my reply to that portion.

Me:

Won’t, not want. And I hardly ignored you, they WERE set on naval attack and YES, as PRIMARY. I changed that as soon AS you mentioned it. I just HADN’T taken THE secondary port attack OFF.

Not my most Christian attitude (my apologies) the “Won’t, not want” thing was unnecessary and the needling by using all caps was also unneeded. But, in my defense, I put a smilie at the end. [;)]

The next email from him had this little gem in it:

Dan:

Say, do you think anyone is reading your AAR (besides me)?

Aside from the fact that that’s a bit insulting (which I probably deserved for that last gem of my own and wasn’t especially mad about) there is the fact that it implies my opponent was cheating. That pisses me off. At least a snake rids you of vermin. And when you add in the fact that he was rubbing me wrong for awhile that was kind of it.

My reply.

Me:

I told you that AAR was from my point of view and I asked you not to peek, so you had better tell me you are [censored] with me.

If I find out you aren't [censored] with me I'm going to spread the word as far as I can that you're a [censored] cheat.

Like I said I’m usually easy to get along with. But I call a spade a spade.

After that our conversation went on a lot like this (note this isn’t a series of messages, it’s one message and my reply to each segment):

Dan:

Like anyone would need to cheat to beat you.......

Me:

Ouch. How old are you? 10?

Dan:

You're quite the psycho--no wonder you live in irrational fear of same. I've alerted the Highway Patrol to keep an eye out for you along the border....

The psycho thing comes from the fact that I don’t have my real name on the email I give out here and anywhere else for that matter. I have one for places like this where people don’t really need to know my real name and another for semi- or official business. If that’s psychotic then you can color me psychotic.

Me:

How the hell would you know? You don't even know me.


And if you think being mad at someone for cheating or implying that they're cheating is strange then you're the one whose mental processes are off kilter.

Dan:

I suggest that you find yourself another opponent.

Me:

Thanks, I was already thinking the same thing. You best watch out, we're thinking similarly and I'm a psycho (according to you anyway) so what does that make you? Hmmm.

Granted, not my finest hour but you tell me, did I overreact or not? Keep in mind that there is little that’s lower on the scale than a cheat. At least a snake rids the area of vermin.

lordmaul13

Last minute addition.

I typed this up on word. While I was typing it up I got this in my email.

Yes. You were beaten by a 10 year old! Try a pre-school for your next game.

That says something about the person I was dealing with. And I’d still like to know if you people think I overreacted. And thanks if you read this far. [:)]

What, you two couldn't have a nice, friendly war?

For those who think these games ought to be released without at least an effort at designing a competent AI ... remember that over 70 percent of wargames (computer and print) are played solitaire. There must be a reason or two for that somewhere ...

Of course, most sex is solitaire, too, or gay, which might as well be.

Hi, Public forums are not the proper place to air out dirty laundry.

Hi,

Shame it came down to this.

Think it highlights a couple of things with PBEM. Firstly, it is a great way to play but you need to find the sort of opponent who you can have a good game with and secondly (most importantly in my mind) someone you can TRUST.

I'm playing 3 PBEM and have an AAR going as does Swift. We don't look at each others AAR's and I trust the guy since i've played BTR against him for about a year. Makes it fun to have separate AAR's since we can discuss openly on the forum what we're thinking/planning and we have no idea what each other is upto [:)]

Lordmaul13 maybe you could find someone to play against that you know and trust?

Regards,

Steven