RIDERS ON THE STORM-THANK YOU

[Gen.Hoepner]

Well guys, thanks for comments.
Some fragments saved from Singapre disaster are already there at Aden but i know those will take more than a year to rebuilt, even at 50% of their TOE. Jim's strategy is really pushing me....but Jim, a question: Aden is conered (is this a meaning word in english? i mean, it's pressed in a corner, where he simply can, if he takes the rest of India, place undreds of betties on the coast and force me to let me there forever...i cannot even master an active defence, due to the fact that if he comes with his BBs smashing the place i simply won't have another base covering it...my ships will be hammered in port as soon as they arrive and so my planes...but the idea of having the brits kicked out of the war it's quite scaring i gotta say....mmmmmm....ican end up like wollby[:D] against PzB and its hangover! And PzB did it in march 42!....mmmm...i can do something like the right "medium" perhaps: leaving the next infantry units arriving at Aden there (a ANZAC div should arrive withing 30 days) and keep the 18th at Karachi, ready to be loaded if things go bad during the landings...but without the 18th on the front, there's no way to hold any front in the south...mmmm...quite tough to decide what to do....
And what about the RN? where should i run?
 
The ABDA command? oh god...i didn't think of changing its HQ...i'm so stupid[:@][:@][:@][:@] all those units lost for good[:@][:@] Well, every day you learn something, right[;)]
 
Your points are all both interesting and intelligent guys. I made up my mind:
I'll defend India. I have to do that because i think i can hit him, a bit at least. I will try to stop him on the shore, making his landings bloody and costy in terms of men, planes and ships. I'll leave at Aden 1 division and minor units (AAs) and nothing more. The rest will fight for the crown.
 
The diversion could be made in the pacific imho. If he goes for India or for Oz (and i'm quite sure he will at this stage) we could try the first landing in the marshalls. I know, it's very early, but probably he doesn't have yet reinforced those places well. A lighting recon unit will be delivered at Wake is few days.With those i will be able to determine how many planes and men he has at Kwalajein....i have 3 divisions at PH...the entire USN fleet is intact....mmm...gotta think about it...
 
And about Luzon, Local, yes, that's a good idea! I probably already found a gapin his perimeter...between Iwo Jiima and Saipan....there a little convoy should be able to sneak...hopefully....next turn i'll give the orders! Great idea, thanks! Let's see if i can give him some headhaces...

[Gen.Hoepner]

Hey, a question came up to my mind: if i'd change the HQ of Indian command and southeast Asia command...in case the brits are kicked out of the war...will the units that come in the future appear at SF (if for ex. changed to west coast command)?? That would be a solution....

[Gen.Hoepner]

The diversion in the central pacific. Here it is the scatch for the main plan....

Risky? yes, a lot...But i think i can do something good here....

What d'u think?

[Gen.Hoepner]

1/1/1942
 
The new year has begun.
Nothing changed much from yestarday. He keeps on bombing Singapore with 300/400 bombers every day. Something like 3500/4000 AVs are waiting at Johere Baru to walk through my poor brave boys at Singa. Well, it's just a matter of time now... one week,probably...not more.
His Subs are spotted between Karachi and Bombay now...he's getting more audacious every day...need to stop this! Sent quite experienced level bombers at Karachi and Bombay with the task of sinking them, or at least force them to stay under the waves...let's hope it works.
 
KB still lurking in Java area...
 
 

[eloso]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

Hey, a question came up to my mind: if i'd change the HQ of Indian command and southeast Asia command...in case the brits are kicked out of the war...will the units that come in the future appear at SF (if for ex. changed to west coast command)?? That would be a solution....

I know this works for the West Coast command. Change it to China or SE Asia and the subordinates appear elsewhere. The HQ needs to be in SF I believe.

I'm not sure about India/SE Asia command working in reverse. I haven't tried it.

The India HQ unit is already attached to SE Asia but it's subordinates are attached to India Command. They might appear in some weird place like Auckland, NZ. The reason I say this is because that is the default "return to base" option for ships stationed at Indian ports under India command. Ceylon is different. It is attached to SE Asia. The "return" to base option is Aden.

If I were playing the Japanese and planning on invading India, I wouldn't sail around Ceylon to grab Bombay or Karachi until it was secured. I think it would be too risky.

Are there any bases in the DEI that have a base force and an airfield under your control?
If so you could change the command of some B-17 groups to SE Asia and rebase them there. If not, maybe you could rebase via the northern route (HR permitting). Can B-17s reach China from Wake? That's another option.

I forgot what your naval attack rules are regarding B-17 but from my experience they will hit targets at 9000 feet altitude with experience in the 70s. You could always have them fly supply missions until their experience levels rise to acceptable levels.

If you can delay and hold out until May 42 you can then upgrade the UK aircraft into something more useful.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over the ABDA HQ units. They should still respawn but won't appear until Soerabaja is liberated. I found out by accident myself because I conducted a withdrawal from Java when things got too bad.

I like your option with the Marshall Islands. It is daring but if it pays off it could prove to be a good move. Just flying recon planes over the islands might make him hesitate with any of his plans.

[Gen.Hoepner]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/02/42
 
A quiet day. I divided my survived subs in two big groups. The S- serie are moving towards India and Oz, while the other ones are operating around Truk and Rabaul. Today SS Triton, yes, always him, tried to sink an Ak south of Truk, but the torpedoes missed the target. However i'm quite happy that my subs are doing at least some attempts to hurt the japs.
Nothing much to report. Oz is getting safer every day. Now the Southwest pacific HQ is at Alice Spring, along with 1 division and 1 brigade, while 2 brigades are marching towards Darwin. In Perth Area i have already 3 infantry units that are building forts. 200 planes are arriving from the U.S.
Today some bad weather over Malaya delayed a bit the enemy's bombers. Only 100 of them managed to get through the clouds and hit Singapore. Nonetheless 16 of them have been shot down.
In india i upgraded the first two Australian Buffalos squadrons to the Hurricanes, while 2 more british hurricanes groups are arriving at Karachi.
After a fast check i can master some 200 fighters in India and some 150 bombers of different types (even if only 48 are 4Es cause i tend not to upgrade 2Es to 4Es), plus 25 land based torpedo bombers and the 45 TB aboard my 2 British CVs...i know, it's not enough, also because if he's coming he's gonna bring the KB and that means crack pilots....but who knows...a lucky hit, maybe[:'(]
 
In China things are getting hot. We entered with 3 units at Hankow...now let's see how strong are these japanese in urban warfare[:)]
Ichang is isolated and the garrison there (a regiment and a SNLF unit) will be bombed to drain their supplies for some time...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 65,79
 
Japanese Ships
AK Kosho Maru
PG Choan Maru #2
 
Allied Ships
SS Triton
 

[racndoc]

General....

I like your campaign plans for the Marshalls. I would prep all the divisions for Kwajalein but take Maloelap first for the level 4 airfield. Just remember that they are all atolls, so make your first wave count....atoll combat is brutal and if your recon shows substantial forces at Kwajalein I'd be careful. You have lots of BBs for bombardment TFs and I'd make good use of them before invading Kwajalein.


Just a few thoughts on your current position.....


I like your China campaign. In CHS, I think that the Chinese are every bit the equal of Japan in China. I would continue with the offensive from Nanchang towards Shanghai or take Hankow and advance on Nanking. I wouldnt put much effort into taking Ichang....its almost impossible to get supply there even with all your transports and the initial IJA garrison that starts there can hold you off....if your opponent has withdrawn troops from Ichang then thats another story.

I think that India is somewhat defensible if you think that he might invade there. First I would get as many AC there as possible before Singapore falls. I would stage a substantial number of 4Es there if possible. Second, I would move the SEAC Chinese Divisions to Burma....they would help you a lot more as a garrison in Calcutta than in an offensive role in China. Third, I would use subs to get as many fragments as possible out of Singapore before it falls....especially the 2 AIF brigades.

I usually play as the Allies and I agree with you that you need to fortify and garrison the beaches to prevent an easy landing. I am considering invading India in my current PBEM as Japan and if I invaded my first order of business would be to secure a level 4 Betty airifeld. To counter this, as the Allies I would have a mass of 4Es available to shut down any airfield that opened.

Once the Japanese are ashore in force, I would make 2 final redoubts...one at Karachi and one at Calctta/Dacca. I would put 18th UK at Karachi and in mid Feb. send 7th AIF and 7th Armored there from Aden. That would give you 1000 AV there....quadrupled by urban hex would be 4,000 AV, with level 9 forts would be over 8,000 AV...with SEAC command(or Malaya command if you withdraw a fragment from Singapore) and 3rd Indian Corps command and full prep would be......well you get the picture. I would send the 2 AIF brigade fragments from Singapore to Karachi and turn off replacements for all other ANZAC units....the 2 AIF brigades will rebuild rather quickly with 40 squads per month. Send at least 200,000 supply there now and as much oil and resource as you can....Karachi can make 200 supply per day plus 350 from HI if enough oil/resource is present. 4 of his BBs are damaged...that leaves 6 IJN BBs....you will pretty much have surface parity with him just with the Royal Navy. You will have 2 RN CVs and a CVL by then....in CHS they have good fighters(Sea Hurricanes) and are more than a match for mini-KB. He will need to commit KB to the Arabian Sea if he wants to naval bombard Karachi. If KB is committed to the Arabian Sea that will leave you with many options for your "diversions" in the Pacific....more on that later.

Use the SEAC Chinese Divisions and the pre-war Burma forces and the India command units to defend Calcutta/Dacca. He will need to split his forces to attack both positions. With 1000AV at Calcutta you will be quadrupled to 4,000 AV etc. Once the end is near, the troops from Calcutta/Dacca can fall back on Burma. You have a lot of SEAC AA units...put them in Karachi and Calcutta....if he wants to bomb them from the air it will be very costly. If Karachi is about to fall, use subs to evacuate fragments to Aden.

You really should have a house rule regarding the "ratraces" at Aden and Panama. If you read Andrew Brown's designer notes about the map you will see that he did not intend for combat to take place in the ratraces. I usually have a house rule that no Japanese naval or air units can enter any of the ratrace hexes.


Your idea to attack the Marshalls is good for this point in the war. If your opponent does invade India it will take some time to completely overrun it. If KB is commited to the Arabian Sea to help reduce Karachi I would seriously consider using the US forces to invade the Marianas and Marcus.....there are no level 4 Betty bases in the Marianas at the start so if they are not enlarged your CVs would be at low risk. This would really catch your oppoenents attention as would an assault on Hokkaido itself. If you take the Marianas you can resupply the troops in the PI at will and strangle Japanese supply lines to the SRA. You have a lot of expendable AKs and BBs now in the USN.....use them! You have British and Auusie AKs that have a speed of 20 knots or better...use them to move ground forces and AC squadrons from Panama into the war zones as quickly as possible.

One final idea, if you want you can fight the war deciding naval battle in the Bay Of Bengal under favorable conditions. Move the USNs CVs and BBs to Perth with AOs. If Japan invades India, you will have 5 USN CVs that can be put in 5 seperate TFs, each with 1-2 BBs. Using them combined with the RN CVs could gain a decisive naval victory before India is completely overrun.

Hope some of this helps.

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: OSO

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

Hey, a question came up to my mind: if i'd change the HQ of Indian command and southeast Asia command...in case the brits are kicked out of the war...will the units that come in the future appear at SF (if for ex. changed to west coast command)?? That would be a solution....

I know this works for the West Coast command. Change it to China or SE Asia and the subordinates appear elsewhere. The HQ needs to be in SF I believe.

I'm not sure about India/SE Asia command working in reverse. I haven't tried it.

The India HQ unit is already attached to SE Asia but it's subordinates are attached to India Command. They might appear in some weird place like Auckland, NZ. The reason I say this is because that is the default "return to base" option for ships stationed at Indian ports under India command. Ceylon is different. It is attached to SE Asia. The "return" to base option is Aden.

If I were playing the Japanese and planning on invading India, I wouldn't sail around Ceylon to grab Bombay or Karachi until it was secured. I think it would be too risky.

Are there any bases in the DEI that have a base force and an airfield under your control?
If so you could change the command of some B-17 groups to SE Asia and rebase them there. If not, maybe you could rebase via the northern route (HR permitting). Can B-17s reach China from Wake? That's another option.

I forgot what your naval attack rules are regarding B-17 but from my experience they will hit targets at 9000 feet altitude with experience in the 70s. You could always have them fly supply missions until their experience levels rise to acceptable levels.

If you can delay and hold out until May 42 you can then upgrade the UK aircraft into something more useful.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over the ABDA HQ units. They should still respawn but won't appear until Soerabaja is liberated. I found out by accident myself because I conducted a withdrawal from Java when things got too bad.

I like your option with the Marshall Islands. It is daring but if it pays off it could prove to be a good move. Just flying recon planes over the islands might make him hesitate with any of his plans.

Our HRs are that Russian airspace cannot be violated. So no 4Es transfer.
Anyway the HRs say that every 4E type cannot perform attack missions below 15,000 ft...except for the B-17D (don't ask me why cause i do not know[&:]).
The exp of my 4Es in India is low(in their 60s), but i plan to use them as an element of distraction more than an attacking one. Those monsters cannot (well, almost) been shot down, so they can damage a lot of zeros CAPping and that's what i want to do. The other bombers will eventually try to do the real job.

Before moving bombers from Oz to India (can be done because Luzon is still in my hands) i have to understand which one he's going to chose (Oz or India)...till then i'll stay on stand by mode and see what's best.

I've already started to give the proper orders for the upcoming Marshalls campaign...since tomorrow recon missions will be performed over Kwalajein...[8D]

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

General....



Just a few thoughts on your current position.....



Hope some of this helps.

Hi AdmSpruance!
Thx for posting and for the suggestions...i'll try to answer...

[font="Arial"]I like your campaign plans for the Marshalls. I would prep all the divisions for Kwajalein but take Maloelap first for the level 4 airfield. Just remember that they are all atolls, so make your first wave count....atoll combat is brutal and if your recon shows substantial forces at Kwajalein I'd be careful. You have lots of BBs for bombardment TFs and I'd make good use of them before invading Kwajalein.[/font]

I plan to land with 3 divisions at Maloelap. Kwalajein must be reduced to pieces before any thinking of landing there (25.000 men present there!)

[font="Arial"]like your China campaign. In CHS, I think that the Chinese are every bit the equal of Japan in China. I would continue with the offensive from Nanchang towards Shanghai or take Hankow and advance on Nanking. I wouldnt put much effort into taking Ichang....its almost impossible to get supply there even with all your transports and the initial IJA garrison that starts there can hold you off....if your opponent has withdrawn troops from Ichang then thats another story.[/font]

At Ichang he has barely 200 AVs, against my 1300. But i need supplies and he has the terrain and forts bonus, so i'm not going to attack right now. Just bombing and draining his supplies.
The idea for china is to unbalance him. His positions at Hankow will be threatened soon and at the same time the move against Shangai will force him to chose what to defend...


[font="Arial"]think that India is somewhat defensible if you think that he might invade there. First I would get as many AC there as possible before Singapore falls. I would stage a substantial number of 4Es there if possible. Second, I would move the SEAC Chinese Divisions to Burma....they would help you a lot more as a garrison in Calcutta than in an offensive role in China. Third, I would use subs to get as many fragments as possible out of Singapore before it falls....especially the 2 AIF brigades.

I usually play as the Allies and I agree with you that you need to fortify and garrison the beaches to prevent an easy landing. I am considering invading India in my current PBEM as Japan and if I invaded my first order of business would be to secure a level 4 Betty airifeld. To counter this, as the Allies I would have a mass of 4Es available to shut down any airfield that opened.[/font]

I was thinking about this... the best strategy for Japan is to land at Rangoon, estabilish a strong AF there and cover a landing at Chandupur, along with the protection of the KB.
But Chandupur is a level 1 Af, so no Betties for the moment...and Dacca is well fortified(well, not enough but...)
The alternative will be Madras...but it's far away from any japanese base and he will have to count only on his KB...if KB has to deal with RN who will protect the invasion fleet????
However my chinese divisions attached to the SEAC are already marching into china...no way to call them back in time. I do not want to leave Burma completely undefended, cause i do not want to let him Rangoon so easily...it's the door for India as i said before. I'm however already transfering by air a Burma Bde and 2 more will follow on foot through the mountains...will be a long journey


[font="Arial"]Once the Japanese are ashore in force, I would make 2 final redoubts...one at Karachi and one at Calctta/Dacca. I would put 18th UK at Karachi and in mid Feb. send 7th AIF and 7th Armored there from Aden. That would give you 1000 AV there....quadrupled by urban hex would be 4,000 AV, with level 9 forts would be over 8,000 AV...with SEAC command(or Malaya command if you withdraw a fragment from Singapore) and 3rd Indian Corps command and full prep would be......well you get the picture. I would send the 2 AIF brigade fragments from Singapore to Karachi and turn off replacements for all other ANZAC units....the 2 AIF brigades will rebuild rather quickly with 40 squads per month. Send at least 200,000 supply there now and as much oil and resource as you can....Karachi can make 200 supply per day plus 350 from HI if enough oil/resource is present. 4 of his BBs are damaged...that leaves 6 IJN BBs....you will pretty much have surface parity with him just with the Royal Navy. You will have 2 RN CVs and a CVL by then....in CHS they have good fighters(Sea Hurricanes) and are more than a match for mini-KB. He will need to commit KB to the Arabian Sea if he wants to naval bombard Karachi. If KB is committed to the Arabian Sea that will leave you with many options for your "diversions" in the Pacific....more on that later.[/font]

Already doing that. All the fragments that i could master from Singapore are beeing trasported to Karachi, then to Aden. The supply convoys go up and down from Aden to Karachi, trying to escape his subs...
I'm sure however that he will bring the whole KB...it's been in Java for too long...if his intentions were different he would have moved back to pacific by now.
However i won't commit the american CVs into the Indian Ocean. I want to try to use this situation in my favour. I thought about Mariannas, but from Truk it's quite easy to send 100 Nells in normal range...that means torps and torps mean USN CVs sinking...no, it's far safer the Marshalls choice...however i still have time to decide what to do...need Wake to grow at level 4 AF first,then we'll see.

Still thx![&o]

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner
Well guys, thanks for comments.
Some fragments saved from Singapre disaster are already there at Aden but i know those will take more than a year to rebuilt, even at 50% of their TOE. Jim's strategy is really pushing me....but Jim, a question: Aden is conered (is this a meaning word in english? i mean, it's pressed in a corner, where he simply can, if he takes the rest of India, place undreds of betties on the coast and force me to let me there forever...i cannot even master an active defence, due to the fact that if he comes with his BBs smashing the place i simply won't have another base covering it...my ships will be hammered in port as soon as they arrive and so my planes...but the idea of having the brits kicked out of the war it's quite scaring i gotta say....mmmmmm....ican end up like wollby[:D] against PzB and its hangover! And PzB did it in march 42!....mmmm...i can do something like the right "medium" perhaps: leaving the next infantry units arriving at Aden there (a ANZAC div should arrive withing 30 days) and keep the 18th at Karachi, ready to be loaded if things go bad during the landings...but without the 18th on the front, there's no way to hold any front in the south...mmmm...quite tough to decide what to do....
And what about the RN? where should i run?

It’s a long way from Bombay or Karachi to Aden. While he can keep the base smashed with BB’s early on, eventually you’ll have so many engineers and so much air power there, that it would be suicide for him to try and approach it.

The key though is to hold onto it while you have so little strength there. That’s the hard part. I agree with Admiral Spruance’s advice 100%, except perhaps dividing your forces in India. If you’re going to fight, make sure you keep your forces in a position so they can fall back to your last redoubt together.

Divided they are much easier to overcome then combined. And Burma is a death trap since there isn’t enough supply generated there for your units to survive. I’d say fall everyone back on Karachi (evacuating Calcutta and Dacca if necessary), at least there you have hope you’ll be able to get an occasional supply convoy through from Aden to keep your men fed. From Burma your only option is to fall back on China, and China cannot afford to feed another army.

Jim

[Gen.Hoepner]

Agree Jim. I won't let my units remain in the corner if the shores become undefendable...

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/04/42

ALLARM!!!! A Jake patrol craft spotted a ducth SC TF which was moving southwards of Cylon...too far away from his land bases...so that means a float plane aboard of a ship...is he already coming?????[&:] Singapore hasn't fallen yet, sounds strange that he comes without his main armies...he has 38 units at Johre Baru...what's the trick here???
I doubt he's sending his CVs alone without a great invasion TF...would be a useless risk...so what that means???
However, just in case, i gave the orders for the maximum allert. Every patrol craft has been put on southern bases of India. Every air unit is moved back from Burma-China to India. Having not yet my 2 british CVs combined i decided not to risk and disembarked the planes of the illustrious. I'm planning to keep a solid reserve in terms of A/Cs, so not all my bombers and fighters are in front lines at the moment. The problem is that i'm not ready,not yet, in terms of AFs and of organization. Madras, Colombo, Tricomale, Dacca and Calcutta are my main AFs at the moment. I'm building up 2 more inland AFs (Hydebaran and Bengalore) but they are quite late with the building progress.
As plannes i'm keeping 2 mobile defence groups. One at Dacca with some 500 AVs and one at Hydebaran with 550. The 18th UK div arrived today and it's moving to Bombay...just in case.
The RN is combing at Bombay, but i need at least 1 week to organize and regroup it....[:o]
Anyway...i don't feel ready...not at all...[:@]

Usual bombings at Singapore today...wonder what's he waiting for....

[Gen.Hoepner]

1/05-06/1942
 
Seems that there's no KB in Indian Ocean...probably just an AV patrolling and seeing if i send TFs to Oz...
50 units are at johre Baru...the Singapore's fall is near...every day 300 bombers hit my troops and my supply depots...no way to hold for more than 2 turns when he comes...
 
nothing else to report...oh well..his bastard subs keep on sinking my ships at Tricomalae harbour...a ML and one AK gone in 2 days...[:@][:@][:@][:@][:@][:@] My planes and my ASW TFs seem unable to stop them...[:(]

[paladin333]

Good AAR. Regarding Jake in Indian Ocean, I bet that you opponent has switch the Glens on Subs to Jakes.
In my games I restrict it, not because Jakes extended range could somehow change the course of war, but it can be too confusing to think hard if it is KB or not when you see Jake sights deep in your water.

Regards and good luck with India defence!

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: paladin333

Good AAR. Regarding Jake in Indian Ocean, I bet that you opponent has switch the Glens on Subs to Jakes.
In my games I restrict it, not because Jakes extended range could somehow change the course of war, but it can be too confusing to think hard if it is KB or not when you see Jake sights deep in your water.

Regards and good luck with India defence!

Hi Paladin, thanks for joining.
No, it was not a sub with a jake float plane aboard.
Those jakes attacked my little SC TF. 7 of them were involved in the attack, so i bet it's an AV. I always do the same when i play japan: patrolling the I.O. with AVs and subs with glenns in order to ambush, if needed those convoys from/to Oz/India...

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/06/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Truk at 66,78

Japanese Ships
PG Heijo Maru

Allied Ships
SS Tambor

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Truk at 66,78

Japanese Ships
AP Shintoku Maru
PG Heijo Maru

Allied Ships
SS Tambor

We tried to violate Truk harbour but it seems that my subs aren't as experienced as his!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 6th Indian Brigade, at 22,51 (SINGAPORE)

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 24
G4M1 Betty x 18
Ki-21-II Sally x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 3 destroyed, 18 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 17 damaged


Allied ground losses:
83 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 28th Indian Brigade, at 22,51 (SINGA)

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 12
G4M1 Betty x 9
Ki-21-II Sally x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 2 destroyed, 8 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 destroyed, 15 damaged


Allied ground losses:
125 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 2nd Indian LAA Regt , at 22,51 (SINGA)

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 41
Ki-21-II Sally x 17
Ki-49 Helen x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 1 destroyed, 23 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 12 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
75 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Singapore , at 22,51

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 75
G4M1 Betty x 42
E13A1 Jake x 1
Ki-21-II Sally x 93
Ki-49 Helen x 15
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1
Ki-15 Babs x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 20 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 12 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 15 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 2 damaged
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
347 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 124

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[font="Courier New"]Day Air attack on TF at 11,36

Japanese aircraft
E13A1 Jake x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
E13A1 Jake: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
SC OJR-3

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x E13A1 Jake bombing at 2000 feet
4 x E13A1 Jake bombing at 2000 feet[/font]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Trincomalee at 13,25

Japanese Ships
SS I-164

Allied Ships
AK Taiyuan, Torpedo hits 1, on fire[:@][:@][:@]



However the singapore bombings are costing him a lot in terms of planes...nearly 20xDay on average!

[Gen.Hoepner]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/07/42

Quite unlucky today...SS grayling managed to sneak into Iwo Jiima harbour and found a big ML enemy unit. Fire 4 torpedoes but all of them didn't explode...[:@] That would have been a very good kill...oh, well, time for my subs will come!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Iwo Jima at 63,53

Japanese Ships
ML Tsugaru

Allied Ships
SS Grayling


Nothing more to report today...the usual 20 enemy bombers shot down over Singapore...now 54 IJA units are based at Johre Baru[X(][X(][X(][X(][X(]...really do not understand what he's waiting for....

[eloso]

Maybe he's waiting for disruption or fatigue to come down a little before the final push on Singapore. It seems pointless to sacrifice so many bombers if the assault wasn't still on.

[Gen.Hoepner]

The attack on Singa is surely on...he's just waiting to be sure that my units won't pay any resistance...so it's only a matter of time. This however means more days gained for India and Oz. In Oz, today the first aus division arrived at Daily waters....2 more weeks and darwin will be unconquerable[8D].

His subs keep on lurking in Cylon area...it's a pain!!!!!...today, despite i had in the hex of Tricomalee 2 SC TFs, he managed to place a RO class sub there and fired against one of my transports...the torp was a dude one, but that's must be stopped!!

Usual Singa bombing and the usual air losses due to flak.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/08/42

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Sub attack near Trincomalee at 13,25 (DUDE)[:D]

Japanese Ships
SS RO-34

Allied Ships
AK Colborne


Will follow some screenshots

[Gen.Hoepner]

The china situation

[Gen.Hoepner]

Operation "Retribution"

[Gen.Hoepner]

Waiting for the turn to come in, i'm quite happy those jakes were not from the KB. That means he has to wait (as i thought) Singapore's falling before launching any major assault against India or Oz. That should give me at least one more week of getting things ready.
As i said earlier, Northern Oz is now secure (well, depends on what he brings here, but at least not an easy target). 1000 AVs are placed between Darwin and Alice Spring and if he can take Darwin (because he can if he wants), he'snot going any further than Daily waters and the presence of such a big Aus Army will force him to leave here most of his major units that so won't be placed anywhere in the pacific.
Perth isn't that safe, but would be a damn risk for him to take perth without securing Darwin cause his whole left flank will be threatened, so i don't think he's going for Perth of Western Oz.
For India, now the 18th UK div is at Bombay and will soon be moved to Hydebarad in order to be in a central position, acting as a mobile strong reserve.
Some planes are arriving at Aden (2 more buffalos groups and few hurricanes, along with some Blenheims IV)...never enough but at least i have some numbers...i should have, for the next 2 weeks, something like 200/250 fighters of different types and some 200 bombers. Problem is experience, which is far too low(between 50 and 60 at best).
The RN has now 2 CVs, 3 CAs, 2 (well almost two) BBs, 1 BC, 9 CLs(most of them are dutch however) and some 9DDs(plus 2 British subs, 6 ducth subs, and 4 USN subs).
The total AVs deployed in India are around 1500, divided in 2 equal armies (one at Dacca and the other at Hydebarad).
 
That's all i can master right now. The next big unit arriving at Aden will arrive in 37 days...so it cannot be counted in for the moment.