Never Thought I'd Start Another One - tc464 (A) vs. Mike (J)

[Mike Solli]

28 Apr 42

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

The Dutch squadron bombarded Terapo again. No attack though. Hmm, guess they really took a lot of disablements in the invasion.

SRA

Nine Aussie Hudsons bombed my troops at Saumlaki doing no lasting damage. Wish I had decided to build Rufes earlier. I could have countered them. I just converted an aircraft factory to the Rufe today. It'll be a while before I get enough to outfit a chutai of them.

Borneo

Nothing to report.

Burma

The Cox's Bazaar attack was an outstanding success, getting 19:1 odds and really chewing up the 19 Indian Division and the two CD battalions. 48 Division is chasing them to try and rip them a new one. 83 guns were destroyed, so I suspect the 2 CD battalions are not very effective anymore.

China

In China, I am slowly and methodically surrounding the enemy to destroy them. Yeah, I know, they get units back at 1/3 strength, but they are losing far more than their replacement rate can cover.

I've got Wenchow just about surrounded and won't attack until that is complete. I want to destroy the units so I don't have to worry about chasing them all over the map. Then, that army will move on to the next group.

Other Stuff

The A6M3 Zero R&D advanced to 5/42. I will not build this model. The R&D advanced to the A6M3a, which I will build.

Reinforcement
AV Akitsushima

[Mike Solli]

29 Apr 42

Sub War

The I-2 sank a loaded xAP near Luganville today. Banzai!

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

16 Sallies attempted to bomb the enemy at Terapo. They were unescorted and ran into 11 Allied fighters (3 P-40E, 4 F4F-3, 4 F4F3A) on CAP from Pt. Moresby. Four bombers were shot down and the survivors bombed 2 Marine Raider Battalion. The Wildcats were at 30k feet and didn't engage and the Warhawks were at 15k ft. When I get the turn back, I'm going to send some Zeros after them here to whittle them down a bit.

SRA

A dozen Hudsons attempted to bomb my troops (unsuccessfully) at Saumlaki today. Not much is happening there yet because of a lack of supply. 5k tons will arrive tomorrow.

Borneo

Nothing to report.

Burma

The tank regiment is only 1 mile out from cutting off the Indian brigade and BF at Akyab. I'm attacking with 18 Division tomorrow.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements
Maizuru 5 SNLF - 5 Fleet - will do something up north. I'm planning an invasion of Amchitka Island (4 hexes west of Adak). This will probably be the main infantry force, along with 3 Garrison Unit. There will be plenty of engineers and AS, along with a bunch of supply for building the airfield. This should give Ted something else to think about.
301 Independent Infantry Battalion - 5 Fleet - garrison in 5 Fleet AO.
302 Independent Infantry Battalion - 5 Fleet - garrison in 5 Fleet AO.
303 Independent Infantry Battalion - 5 Fleet - garrison in 5 Fleet AO.
Kure 5 SNLF - SE Fleet - not sure where it's going yet, maybe 5 Fleet AO.
Yokosuka 5 SNLF - SE Fleet - not sure where it's going yet, maybe 5 Fleet AO.
Ichiki Detachment - 4 Fleet - This unit will be used to clean up garrisoned bases in my rear area, mainly in the SRA.
79 Garrison Battalion - Singapore garrison.
80 Garrison Battalion - Singapore garrison.

[PaxMondo]

No one is coming over today, so it'll be quiet all day. Just WitP and some football this afternoon.

Whoo-Hoo!!!!

[PaxMondo]

24 Apr 42

SRA

Saumlaki was liberated today. I have supply, engineers and AS enroute to attempt to get the airfield to level 4.

I usually choose to build up Dili or Sautern, yes a bit futher to Darwin, but they allow me to help cover Koepang ... but thinking/looking at the map, I can see it hardly matters .... Koepang isn't actually all that special.

[PaxMondo]

25 Apr 42
Burma

A nice little ambush happened today. 39 Zeros from MKB caught a bombing run against the Akyab invasion TF and shot down 8 of the 10 Hurricane escort and drove off the 3 Cats attempting to bomb or torpedo the TF. There was no loss to the Japanese, only experience.

SWEET!!!

[PaxMondo]

26 Apr 42

Sub War

I-19 torpedoed an empty xAP off San Francisco. That's 2 days in a row now!

You may have gotten now ... I rarely see a single torp put down a large allied ship, but 2? yeah that usually works ... (but not always, dang allied damage control ...)

Burma

Imperial Guards and 48 Divisions invaded Cox's Bazaar today. I'm not going to attack tomorrow. They don't have a lot of supply yet. I'll give the TF another day to offload the rest of their supply. It turns out the defenders are:

19 Indian Division
2 Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment
3 Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment

Glad I decided to hold off a couple of days and land 2 divisions instead of the single division I had originally planned on landing. The CD regiments did manage to sink an xAP (and 2 xAKs will succumb to their 6" shells in the coming days, along with an xAP from the Akyab assault). Well worth it though.

Other Stuff

To date, Ted has not attempted to bomb any of my oil fields. Not once. Even Magwe is pumping out 3k oil a day still even though it is within enemy bomber range.

Ok, this is strange ... any intel (email) on this? Or do you think he is still shaking off rust?

[PaxMondo]

27 Apr 42
Burma

I forgot to give the tanks attack orders again.

Yeah, something I've "never" done ... sure! ...

[PaxMondo]

28 Apr 42

SRA

Nine Aussie Hudsons bombed my troops at Saumlaki doing no lasting damage. Wish I had decided to build Rufes earlier. I could have countered them. I just converted an aircraft factory to the Rufe today. It'll be a while before I get enough to outfit a chutai of them.

I think I previously mentioned that I do love the Rufe ... just so good for remote, hidden, recon/patrol traps ... and I guess you could also use it for bomber traps as well.
Just never let them go up against ANY LBA fighter, right?

China

In China, I am slowly and methodically surrounding the enemy to destroy them. Yeah, I know, they get units back at 1/3 strength, but they are losing far more than their replacement rate can cover.

Double check this, I don't believe that the CHI replacement groups are limited by the device production levels ... I know for sure (100%) that against the AI they aren't ... but in PBEM, I'm not sure ....

Other Stuff

The A6M3 Zero R&D advanced to 5/42. I will not build this model. The R&D advanced to the A6M3a, which I will build.

There is only one difference between the A6M2 and A6M3, the cruise speed:

A6M comp.jpg (90.94 KiB) Viewed 207 times

And this only is relevant for one bomber (in the early game)

A6M3 - Ki-21-IIa.jpg (95.94 KiB) Viewed 207 times

So, I build the A6M3 for when I pull the KB fighter groups off to use as LBA .... and sometimes I will change the planes out for A6M3 as they will then coordinate much better with the Sally ...

But, other than that, yeah, no difference and hence absolutely no reason to build them ...

[RangerJoe]

Unless a player is playing PDU off, there is no reason to build a lot of the different types of aircraft. In my opinion and the way that I play, I research all models leading up to the one that I want to build.

The Chinese units that return do not, as far as I know, take devices from the stockpiles. I would rather surround and devastate the Chinese units leaving enough in the hex to hold the enemy while itty bitty units (the size of a certain "Yellow Polka Dotted Bikini" to surround the enemy as well.

You might want to LRCAP the Port Moresby base without sweeping or bombing there to increase his OPs losses for his aircraft. These don't have to be your best aircraft either.

[Mike Solli]

Lots to talk about. First I want to catch up on the two turns we've done.

30 Apr 42

Sub War

The I-8 took a DC hit off Brisbane. She took enough damage that she'll head home for repairs.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

I don't mention that I have some Nells night bombing Pt. Moresby's airfield. They usually cause some damage to the airfield and planes and today they destroyed a P-39D along with half a dozen damaged planes. There's still a point of airfield damage showing.

I attacked the small slice of 3 Marine Raider Battalion that landed by APD at Milne Bay. My combat troops are an SNLF and NG. The result was minor with a couple disabled squads on each side. They'll attack again tomorrow. In the meantime, the engineers there will continue to work on the airfield (currently at 0.78).

SRA

Nine Hudsons bombed the AS battalion on Saumlaki today, again, and caused no damage, again. I converted a plane factory to the Rufe, but it'll be awhile before I get enough to fill out a Rufe chutai. More engineers are still enroute but a convoy with 5k supply has arrived and is offloading.

Borneo

Nothing to report.

Burma

The two British subs are sniffing around my invasion fleets. A couple DDs went after Trusty causing minor damage. It's unlikely that it was enough to send her home.

The 3 tank regiments attacked the three Chinese Corps west of Paoshan again. A few tanks were disabled, but the Chinese had about a dozen squads killed and another dozen disabled. The Chinese are withdrawing. I'll attack again tomorrow.

Akyab was liberated! I'm glad I surrounded the base because the 63 Indian Brigade and 100 RAF BF both surrendered. 4900 troops for bridge building duty!

China

Siangtan (the base due west of Changsha) was attacked by 23 Army. They got 2:1 results but there were level 2 forts, which were reduced to level 1. They'll attack again tomorrow.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
17 Army HQ - Headed to the Marianas.

[Mike Solli]

1 May 42

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

A dozen Nells damaged 3 planes at Pt. Moresby and caused a bit of airfield damage that was easily repaired.

I had a trap set where I had a daitai of Zeros LRCAP Terapo (the base up the coast from Pt. Moresby). Unfortunately, the decided to go after some B-17s hitting 20 Division at Pt. Moresby. Eight Zeros ran into 20 B-17Es escorted by 13 fighters. The Zeros burned through the fighters (shooting nothing down) and managed to damage a single B-17. One Zero was lost (no pilot loss!). So much for the trap.

I attacked the little slice of 3 Marine Raider Battalion at Milne Bay. For no loss, I disabled a handful of steps. I'll try again tomorrow.

Finally, the 2 Marine Raider Battalion took Terapo from me. My entire defense was 5 support squads. The squads all survived and are sitting in the hex. It's interesting how combat between small units are really weird like this.

SRA

Twelve Hudsons visited Saumlaki today, with no real result on either side.

Borneo

Nothing to report.

Burma

Eight British MTBs entered Cox's Bazaar looking for some of my shipping but ran into 4 DDs waiting for them. Five steamed back to Chittagong.

I finally got around to landing at Pt. Blair. It's undefended. I'll take it tomorrow. I will place 22 Air Flotilla HQ along with additional AS and some engineers there. I'll keep Zeros, Nells and Mavis there to keep an eye on the Brits.

MKB was still in the area watching out while the invasion fleets retire to Singapore. I had a chutai of Oscars at Akyab and (mistakenly) Akyab was in range of MKBs fighters. Ted 3 flights of fighters over Akyab, 11 Hurricanes, 20 P-40Es and then 10 more Hurricanes. My mistake was that MKBs fighters were at 15k feet to cover their TBs in case of any ship targets. So, all the Allied fighters came in higher and were able to dive on them. The end result was 3 Hurricanes and 7 P-40Es shot down for the loss of 5 Zeros (3 KIA, 2 WIA) and an Oscar (KIA). Overall, not too bad, but that's not the mission of MKB. They'll withdraw tomorrow.

There's also a surface fleet of 4 BB, 2 CA, 1 CL and DD escort. They're going to visit Chittagong and bombard the place then retire to Singapore. The enemy fighters are stationed there. I hope to trash the place. We'll see...

China

Wenchow was liberated, killing off the 100 Chinese Corps (a big one), base force and HQ. The infrastructure was in good shape too:

Manpower: 1(1)
Resources: 56(4)
HI: 9(1)
LI: 74(6)

Siangtan was liberated as well, but the infrastructure was totally trashed:

Manpower: 1(1)
Resources: 0(40)
LI: 0(20)

Well, between the two, that's a lot of supply the Chinese aren't getting anymore.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
B/JNAF Company - another AS unit for a chutai on a SLOC.

So, another month with new airframes:

Up front, there is a serious shortage of air factories. I have no spares so I have to lower/stop producing something to build any of these.

A6M3 Zero: Not going to build them. If I did, I'd have to use my only Zero factory, the size 60 A6M2. I could, but the M3 isn't carrier capable, so that would really hurt if I needed lots of replacement Zeros for KB/MKB. I have 89 in the pool, but I don't want to take that chance. As Pax said, the increased cruise speed of the M3 over the M2 is nice, but it's a chance I won't take.

G3M3 Nell: I have a G3M2 Nell factory (size 30) that I'm upgrading to the M3. It's got a really nice range. I'll continue to build these for the duration of the war, as needed.

Ki-44-IIa Tojo: I converted the Ann factory (that use up all of the Ha-5 engines) and an Oscar factory to this model (both size 30). The were repairing while in R&D at the end of last month and are currently both at 7(23). When the IIc becomes operational, 2 more size 30 factories will come out of R&D for operations.

Ki-45 KAIa Nick: I want to build these. Not a lot, but with good pilots they can bring down a 4E bomber. The problem is where to get an aircraft factory. I'm considering using the Betty factory. I have the Nell and still have 54 Betties in the pool. I haven't built a Betty in ages. Tell me why I should keep producing the Betty instead of switching to the Nick?

[PaxMondo]

1 May 42
China

Wenchow was liberated,
Manpower: 1(1)
Resources: 56(4)
HI: 9(1)
LI: 74(6)

Nice!!!

Siangtan was liberated as well, but the infrastructure was totally trashed:

Manpower: 1(1)
Resources: 0(40)
LI: 0(20)

Ouch!

As Pax said, the increased cruise speed of the M3 over the M2 is nice, but it's a chance I won't take.

Not really nice, but rather M3 matches the Sally (as opposed to ALL other bombers) whereas the M2 matches the cruise speed of ALL other bombers (Val, Kate, Netty, and Helen). Build the M2!

G3M3 Nell: I have a G3M2 Nell factory (size 30) that I'm upgrading to the M3. It's got a really nice range. I'll continue to build these for the duration of the war, as needed.

Love the G3M3. Also build the entire war. Best range + bomb load that the IJ get.

Ki-45 KAIa Nick: I want to build these. Not a lot, but with good pilots they can bring down a 4E bomber. The problem is where to get an aircraft factory. I'm considering using the Betty factory. I have the Nell and still have 54 Betties in the pool. I haven't built a Betty in ages. Tell me why I should keep producing the Betty instead of switching to the Nick?

Build the Nick. As you state, why Betty? I don't. G3M3 not Betty.

[Mike Solli]

As Pax said, the increased cruise speed of the M3 over the M2 is nice, but it's a chance I won't take.

Not really nice, but rather M3 matches the Sally (as opposed to ALL other bombers) whereas the M2 matches the cruise speed of ALL other bombers (Val, Kate, Netty, and Helen). Build the M2!

G3M3 Nell: I have a G3M2 Nell factory (size 30) that I'm upgrading to the M3. It's got a really nice range. I'll continue to build these for the duration of the war, as needed.

Love the G3M3. Also build the entire war. Best range + bomb load that the IJ get.

Ki-45 KAIa Nick: I want to build these. Not a lot, but with good pilots they can bring down a 4E bomber. The problem is where to get an aircraft factory. I'm considering using the Betty factory. I have the Nell and still have 54 Betties in the pool. I haven't built a Betty in ages. Tell me why I should keep producing the Betty instead of switching to the Nick?

Build the Nick. As you state, why Betty? I don't. G3M3 not Betty.

That's right. That's what you said earlier about the M3. Gotta read all those messages again. Lots of good info in there.

Woke up to Ted's turn. On my to do list to change the Betty factory to Nick.

[Mike Solli]

Siangtan was liberated as well, but the infrastructure was totally trashed:

Manpower: 1(1)
Resources: 0(40)
LI: 0(20)

Ouch!

Yeah, it would have been nice to get that extra LI but it's better that the Chinese lose that LI, in my opinion.

[RangerJoe]

27 Apr 42
Burma

I forgot to give the tanks attack orders again.

Yeah, something I've "never" done ... sure! ...

What is the first sign of old age?

I don't remember!

What is the sign of middle age?

When a broad mind and a narrow waist trade places!
(I have let a lot of food go to waist.)

[RangerJoe]

Hi guys. Hope you all had a nice holiday. It was nice here for the most part. The mother-in-law and brother-in-law came Wednesday and left this morning. With them here, the kids and their entourages basically moved in, so it was a madhouse. I was able to run turns in the morning before everyone got up, but no time to post here. I'm a week behind. Also, someone gave me a cold early on, so I spent a lot of time stretched out on the couch. No one would come near me, which was a good thing. I'm an introvert so too many people get to me. Yes, even family. The only one bothered was my 11 month old grandson, who has taken a liking to me. That's really weird, because kids and I usually don't get along. He'll actually come to me over his Mom and Dad, unless he's hungry, then it's all Mom. Anyway, here goes. The house is empty (finally) and I'll try to catch up. Unless Ted sends a turn, of course.

Just before the children leave, give them a large chocolate candy bar to eat and a Mountain Dew to drink. Dark chocolate is even better because it has 4 times as much cocoa powder. It is not the sugar which hypes them up although that is fuel for their engine but the caffeine. For a 40 pound child, 1 ounce of chocolate has as much caffeine as 3 cups of coffee for a 120 pound adult. So if a person is not used to drinking coffee . . .

That is called "payback!"

Of course, giving the children lots of blueberries the day before a long ride also help. Especially for a child in diapers, wild ones are even better. They work better than prunes as my sister found out . . .

[PaxMondo]

That's right. That's what you said earlier about the M3. Gotta read all those messages again. Lots of good info in there.

Woke up to Ted's turn. On my to do list to change the Betty factory to Nick.

One more advantage of building the G3M3 over Betty ... in a stock game for me, it better balances my Ha-33 vs Ha-32 requirements. I know in mid-42 that I'm gonna switch from Mavis to Emily and while the run rate isn't all that big, that 4x multiplier is BIG. So, basically I end up with Ha-33: G3M3 + Dinah III and Ha-32 Emily (including transport) and Jill ...

[PaxMondo]

Siangtan was liberated as well, but the infrastructure was totally trashed:

Manpower: 1(1)
Resources: 0(40)
LI: 0(20)

Ouch!

Yeah, it would have been nice to get that extra LI but it's better that the Chinese lose that LI, in my opinion.

True, and truthfully, you are way ahead of the odds on this in the game anyway. You want a bad roll here on Siangtan and save your better rolls for Calcutta ...