Sailing in harms way: InHarmsWay (J) vs Andav (A) Scen2

[PaxMondo]

... I think that is lesson #382...

My lesson numbers are in the 5 digits ... I am a slow learner AND I forget, so many of my lessons learned read something like: "Refer back to lesson xxxx, and this time don't FORGET!!!"

[PaxMondo]

Congrats!!!

[InHarmsWay]

Ah China, my old friend... Things have progressed since the last update. The ever victorious IJA has again pushed the Chinese back and lodged a foothold across the next river. Chungking is close now. Most of the Chinese units here are beat up. I will consolidate for a few days here and then continue to drive along the road. I would like to get to the road hex SW of Chungking before the rest of his troops from further south can get there. I do have 4 Tank rgmts across the river and will move more up soon. China is looking better than a month ago.

May 18 1942 China.jpg (865.62 KiB) Viewed 443 times

[InHarmsWay]

Over on the Calcutta front, I was able to finally destroy the 44th Indian Brigade. That makes 4 Indian rgmts destroyed in a week. Good news there, as I have pushed the other remaining Indian Division back into Chittagong, and will hopefully have that base surrounded in a few days. Adm Wa looks to be trying to get out of that trap so hoping I can cover all the hexes before he flees! The only meaningful defense I think he has there is the base force itself. Elsewhere the Brit 18th Division has split up, I am bombing the one rgmt in open ground as that seems to cause better casualties, and I dont want it to try and relieve Chittagong...


Ground combat at 56,40 (near Chittagong)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 5367 troops, 45 guns, 91 vehicles, Assault Value = 183

Defending force 275 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 111

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 111 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender:
Attacker: shock(+), fatigue(-)

Allied ground losses:
313 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 49 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
5th Recon Regiment
38th/B Division

Defending units:
44th Indian Brigade

May 18 1942 India.jpg (703.66 KiB) Viewed 441 times

In a bit of subterfuge, I am loading up several high exp rgmts from Java, with the TF destination of Perth, he may expect me to go there.... reality is they will go to PM. I am hoping to use that allied signal Intelligence against him. I have also been bombing / sweeping / reconning Madras, hoping he thinks I will land the Ceylon units there... keep him off balance long enough to kill the Brit 18th div. Yes, probably a long shot but hoping to sow some confusion.

[PaxMondo]

In a bit of subterfuge, I am loading up several high exp rgmts from Java, with the TF destination of Perth, he may expect me to go there.... reality is they will go to PM. I am hoping to use that allied signal Intelligence against him. I have also been bombing / sweeping / reconning Madras, hoping he thinks I will land the Ceylon units there... keep him off balance long enough to kill the Brit 18th div. Yes, probably a long shot but hoping to sow some confusion.

Reputedly, the allied intel can also report TF destinations. So, set the destination to somewhere like Truk, but use a waypoint of PM. I have never heard the allies to get intel on waypoints.

[InHarmsWay]

Yes, I did that, endpoint is Perth, waypoint over by Truk! Not sure I will ever know it worked though!

[PaxMondo]

Yes, I did that, endpoint is Perth, waypoint over by Truk! Not sure I will ever know it worked though!

If you get ambushed, then you know.

[InHarmsWay]

It has been a week in game time and I have neglected you gentle readers! Things have happened! First on the Calcutta front, The air war has slowed over the past few days which I am ok with as I was very low on zeros and needed to build up Tojo's in force. I want to get several of the larger Sentai formations into play with full wings. Going for that quantity has a special quality all its own! A couple key developments.

1. Over near Vizagapatnam, the 2nd Formosa Inf Rgmt with tanks again pushed back the Marine Raider battalion to the NE. Not meaningful from a strategic standpoint, but it does feel good as JFB to push around a Marine unit and cause casualties!

2. B17s showed up over Trincomalee and damaged 8 transports. Nothing will sink, and everything is now withdrawing to Rangoon, but still annoying as I was going to use those ships to stage a withdrawal of 1/2 of the victorious units there. Should teach me not to pre-stage ships at a front line port... Lesson #917. Of more concern is a CL I had repairing pierside that will take 3 days to sail, if he hits the port again, it could sink... I have moved ~35 fighters (tojos and zeros) to fly CAP, but as we all know, CAP merely slows 4Es....

3. I was able to bag the Indian 17th Division at Chittagong by cutting off retreat hexes. Of even more benefit, the Guards Tank Div, landed at Akyab a bit ago and was able to road move through the hex without Adm Wa being aware. The tank Div along with a tank rgmt is a couple days from hitting a rgmt of the 18th Brit Division that I have been bombing quite a bit the past week. I think this will be a surprise for Adm Wa, and if I can play it right, blitz back to Tezpur and bag the rest of the division.... Goal is to complete the NE conquest of India by July 1.

Once I take Ledo, I will go onto the defensive in this area, looking at the map, it feels difficult to really defend given the open ground. I expect supplies into the Imphal / Kohima / Ledo bases will be difficult to sustain, so may just drop back across the Irrawaddy river. I am planning on trying to hold Ceylon and make him really have to commit to taking it.

Here is the map showing current status. Burma Command is tentatively optimistic on finally bringing that caged tiger (Brit 18th Div) to heel....

May 26 1941 Calcutta.jpg (725.54 KiB) Viewed 347 times

[InHarmsWay]

Over in Australia, the push south into the deep outback has continued, in what has been a failed attempt to kill the 8th Aus Div. At least it will take quite a while to rebuild as I doubt I can get it....

Next phase will be to consolidate and push on to Daly Waters to see if it is strong or not. 4Es have shown up in the area, so I know Adm Wa is worried to some extent on a continued push south...

Here is the most recent combat report for the 8th Aus Div: For the record, extra saki ordered for the 15th Naval Guard Unit, they are feeling quite saucy right now...

Ground combat at 74,128 (near Katherine)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 1389 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 56

Defending force 2442 troops, 79 guns, 38 vehicles, Assault Value = 22

Japanese adjusted assault: 16

Allied adjusted defense: 5

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(-), disruption(-), morale(-), supply(-)
Attacker: leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
30 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
532 casualties reported
Squads: 18 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 59 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 13 (13 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 7 (7 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
15th Naval Guard Unit

Defending units:
8th Australian Division

May 26 1942 North Australia.jpg (573.05 KiB) Viewed 345 times

[InHarmsWay]

In the Central Pacific, no sign of allied CVs, and I have not shown any sign of KB in the area. I am starting the softening up of Roi-Namur with a Yamato bombardment (no DDs allowed) as I worry he could have landed a CD unit there. The counter invasion pieces are moving toward Truk. PaxMondo, I liked you hammer size, unfortunately have not been able to free up a Tank unit quickly, so the current plan is a Inf Division, several engineer units with Arty. I am hoping that should be sufficient if I can hit the base with multiple BB bombardments over the next few weeks. Eight BBs are converging on Truk, will arrive in 2-3 days.

May 26 1942 Marshalls.jpg (312.56 KiB) Viewed 343 times

I have a half dozen glen subs to the east for a early warning screen, and am moving more in. I feel that at this point I want a dozen of those precious subs in support of the KB operations in the area. Since I never did hit Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, Adm Wa has the entire US fleet intact, quite a dangerous foe even this early in the war.

Not all has gone well though as my first PT sweep (with a CL and 4 DDs) was led by one of the old 18knot CLs. She got caught by Catalinas with torpedoes and sunk! Dirty pool in my opinion!!! On the flipside, I assume he now has an Air HQ based in the area and that would be nice to trap and hopefully kill.

[InHarmsWay]

Admiral Harmasaki looks over the reports that have come in from the N. Australian front. Grim reports of a sudden and vicious counterattack by Australian infantry corp. The lead Japanese vanguard is in disarray and Adm Wa will surely push this reversal to the fullest. I will withdraw back to the river line north of Katherine, and hold there. Depending on how things play out, will hole up, or move some land units back into Darwin, and counterattack. This all depends on how I can slow supply into the Darwin front.... Additional fighter support is needed in this area as 2E bombers have shown up in strength, flying out of Tennant Creek with a heavy bombing campaign against the lead IJA units. Either way, I do not think the KB will be back in the Indian front for some time...

May 31 1942 Darwin.jpg (538.67 KiB) Viewed 307 times

Below are Combat Report fragments that were communicated out just prior to the overrunning of the 146 Inf rgmt field HQ...

Ground combat at 76,130 (near Daly Waters)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 17420 troops, 105 guns, 197 vehicles, Assault Value = 821

Defending force 3590 troops, 50 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 114

Allied adjusted assault: 660

Japanese adjusted defense: 6

Allied assault odds: 110 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
3616 casualties reported
Squads: 136 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 20 destroyed, 34 disabled
Engineers: 15 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 31 (26 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 17 (5 destroyed, 12 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Allied ground losses:
527 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 60 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
5th Australian Division
2nd Aus Cav Brigade
34th Combat Engineer Regiment
2nd Australian Division
24th Infantry/A Division

Defending units:
146th Infantry Regiment
39th Field AA Battalion

[RangerJoe]

Australia has a problem pushing supplies from Alice Springs towards Darwin. Paradropping even a fragment onto Tennant Creek can make things worse, especially if it is not garrisoned. If it is not garrisoned strongly, then you may be able to capture it that way. Bomb every unit that you can if you can reduce any enemy fighter opposition to a manageable level, night bombing of the airfields may be needed.

Betties and Nells do NOT need a level 4 airfield. They are classified as torpedo bombers so they only need a level 2 airbase to use their full potential. For bombing targets, simply keep the torpedoes as the main armament and they will use a full load of bombs at normal range, even at 1k feet.

One thing about India/Burma where you have units cut off from Indian supplies, they may be getting Chinese supplies. So don't cut them off from those supplies, keep bombing them to increase their supply usage. Also, a CAP/LRCAP over his units and airbases may increase his OPs losses. Even a 10% CAP/LRCAP with not so good fighters can do this.

Bomb any bases that have the 4E bombers, use night bombing if you need to in order to keep his day fighters on the ground.

[RangerJoe]

I could not add this to my previous post because a cat insisted on being petted, he will step on the computer during his demands.

Instead of bring units from Ceylon to the Bengal area, why not have some raids on the other side of India? Using fast transports as well as paratroopers, you should be able to hit a lot of bases. With all of the units in Bengal as well as those trapped in India/Burma, he may not have many units to garrison with. You should be able to provide some long ranged fighter cover if you need it.

[InHarmsWay]

RangerJoe, thanks for the information! I will base some Bettys at Ponape as it is a lvl 2 base now (building to 3, at 62% done). That will help with keeping Roi-Namur shut in and hopefully not building forts... I had been waiting until lvl 3, so this will help.

Raiding deep into India does have some potential, I was already prepping a unit for a raid there, but you may be right and if he has very low garrisons way out there, this could cause Adm Wa some angst! That alone is worth it. Could be an option to keep the initiative!

I did not know you could LRCAP a base that you do not own or have units in. I will do that with a few fighters to cause issues. I may catch some transports as well as I know Adm Wa is quite fond of air supply. China is very low in supplies right now, as almost all of my attacks there have supply (-) showing up in the combat replay. I have a deliberate attack going in SW of Tezpur with the Guards Tank Div against what I hope to be the Brit 18th Div / A unit, unless it has moved out. Hopefully it is low supply. Stay tuned!

[RangerJoe]

RangerJoe, thanks for the information! I will base some Bettys at Ponape as it is a lvl 2 base now (building to 3, at 62% done). That will help with keeping Roi-Namur shut in and hopefully not building forts... I had been waiting until lvl 3, so this will help.

Raiding deep into India does have some potential, I was already prepping a unit for a raid there, but you may be right and if he has very low garrisons way out there, this could cause Adm Wa some angst! That alone is worth it. Could be an option to keep the initiative!

I did not know you could LRCAP a base that you do not own or have units in. I will do that with a few fighters to cause issues. I may catch some transports as well as I know Adm Wa is quite fond of air supply. China is very low in supplies right now, as almost all of my attacks there have supply (-) showing up in the combat replay. I have a deliberate attack going in SW of Tezpur with the Guards Tank Div against what I hope to be the Brit 18th Div / A unit, unless it has moved out. Hopefully it is low supply. Stay tuned!

You are welcome.

I am just letting people know about some things that people may not be aware of so they can become better players. I think that helps to improve the overall game community.

It is early enough in the game so you can kick his units out of that area, chastising him along the way.

[InHarmsWay]

Interesting night action east of Roi-Namur! An allied surface TF of a couple large CLs and DDs caught my bombardment TF near Likiep. Initially it was looking grim as the CL Honolulu landed several close range 6" shells into the CA Maya! 3 penetrated, one even destroyed the aft 8" turret. The captain of the Maya was stunned for a few minutes. Thankfully he rallied his crew, and began to fight back. A short while later the first long lance hit one of the destroyer escorts, which promptly sank after her back was broken. The Maya then landed several 8" hits on the Honolulu followed by a long lance that evidently hit a key bulkhead, prompting catastrophic flooding. Both TF leaders ordered retirement and the first IJN / USN night surface action was complete.

June 1 1942 Marshalls.jpg (300.28 KiB) Viewed 235 times

Lots happening in the Marshalls, I have mulitple BB TFs roaming the area. After this next turn, Adm Wa will realize the extent of the IJN reposition, and may??? send his CVs to interdict. KB and friends will sail shortly to cover from a lurking distance. One lesson learned is that I need more search coverage to the NE / E / and SE....

[RangerJoe]

Have two lines of Glen subs with other submarines in front. Use one line for day search and one line for night search if the pilots have more than 50 experience. You can also have some of your cruiser planes fly at night. In fact, at least one should night recon the bombardment target. The rest can perform naval search. You need to bloody the US Navy now when their experience is low and the ships don't have radar or not better radar.

Also, when you write "destroyer escorts" then I think DEs, not "escorting destroyers" which makes me think DDs.

[InHarmsWay]

There is an air of nervous tension in the Southern Army Command HQ. General Shimomura has been leading the effort to trap the British 18th Division in the Burma and NE India. After the failed assault on Calcutta several months ago, he knows he is on thin ice with high command. Over the past month there has been thrust and counterthurst in and around the triangle formed by Tezpur, Rangpur and Dacca. All that has rapidly come to head with the arrival of the Guards Tank Division.

The IJA Guard Tank Division was slowed a bit, but did not wait for any trailing units and rapidly pushed up to assault the British 18th Division bottled up at Tezpur. Just when victory seems certain, Adm Wa mounted an unseen until two days ago counter thrust to relieve the division, and just now forced a crossing at Rangpur, eliminating a small holding force. The relief force is sufficient to cause alarm in the area! The next day will bring a answer to the chase of the 18th Division. The Guard Tank Divison is at the river and will conduct a shock attack at first light tomorrow! Will the British hold at Tezpur after constant air attacks (with significant loss of 2E bombers over the past month), retreat towards safety at Tezpur, or retreat back toward Ledo? Admiral Shimomura looks at the situation map below and the recent combat report that shattered the fragile line holding back supplies to the British Division.... In the hopes of tipping the scales, the 1st Tank rgmt that was to assault with the Guards Tank Division has been ordered to make all haste NW to seal that flank.

June 4 1942 Calcutta.jpg (784.77 KiB) Viewed 188 times

Ground combat at Rangpur (58,34)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 6970 troops, 85 guns, 172 vehicles, Assault Value = 327

Defending force 561 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 21

Allied adjusted assault: 488

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 488 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Rangpur !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender:
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
774 casualties reported
Squads: 42 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 45 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
81 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
754th Tank Battalion
26th Indian Brigade
16th British Brigade
1/198th Coast AA Battalion

Defending units:
2nd Raiding Regiment

[InHarmsWay]

Just finished the latest turn, was on pins and needles but all is right as rain in the end. The 18th Divsion was more beat up than I expected, and promoptly retreated back to the hill of Dimapur. My blocking Tank rgmt did not make it in time, but that is for the best as it has turned around and will now chase the 18th Div back towards Dimapur with the Guards Tank Division also pursuing. For the record, the AA unit was the one destroyed. Good to see that!


Ground combat at Tezpur (60,36)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 4245 troops, 128 guns, 384 vehicles, Assault Value = 407

Defending force 8134 troops, 190 guns, 111 vehicles, Assault Value = 201

Japanese adjusted assault: 442

Allied adjusted defense: 10

Japanese assault odds: 44 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Tezpur !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: op mode(-), leaders(-), disruption(-), preparation(-)
fatigue(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
177 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1371 casualties reported
Squads: 121 destroyed, 72 disabled
Non Combat: 242 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 47 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 97 (97 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 104 (104 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3
Units destroyed 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
Guards Tank Division

Defending units:
18th British Division
102nd RAF Base Force
1st Burma Auxiliary AA Regiment
107th RAF Base Force

June 5 1942 Calcutta.jpg (270.33 KiB) Viewed 178 times

[InHarmsWay]

While the chase of the 18th Division continues into the Indian highlands along the Burma border, progress is being made in preparing for the liberation of the Marshall Island communities that have fallen under the boot of the imperialistic Democracies. First is a question for the wider readership. Once the invasion bonus is over, how prepared are you all typically with LCU planning before attempting a counter landing? Currently I am in the mid 30's to low 40's. I am ~10 days from getting the last pieces in place for the invasion. This means the invasion will go forward with the main Division with ~50ish prep, Engineers with ~60 prep, and tank rgmt at 60+. Roi-Namur is under bombardments every 2-3 days by a BB shuttle so hopefully no further forts are being built. Recon has shown that he is over stacked (~9k in a 6k hex), and from the initial invasion, below is the May 14th, 1942 combat summary with ID on the invading units. Note they did take some casualties... What worries me is the 7th Marines... Hence the BB bombardments to try and soften up the defenses.

Frankly I am thinking of waiting a week or so to ensure all units are over 50% prepped, and hopefully the some above 60%. Adm Wa did land a base force and naval construction bn at Ailuk, so I may try and pick that one off first.
Same with Namorik, but that one had a Marine Raider Bn land there as well. Map graphics to follow for those gentle readers that like visuals!

Ground combat at Roi-Namur (132,114)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 5771 troops, 122 guns, 123 vehicles, Assault Value = 158

Defending force 2637 troops, 28 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 32

Allied adjusted assault: 44

Japanese adjusted defense: 7

Allied assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Roi-Namur !!!

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
H6K2-L Mavis: 1 destroyed

Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-), preparation(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
1146 casualties reported
Squads: 59 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 84 disabled
Engineers: 20 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 37 (37 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

Allied ground losses:
466 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 29 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 6 (5 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Assaulting units:
102nd Combat Engineer Regiment
7th Marine Regiment
102nd(Sep) Infantry Rgt /2
175th USAAF Base Force
205th Coast AA Regiment

Defending units:
17th Infantry Rgt /1
52nd Nav Gd /1
6th Base Force