Newbie Allies vs. Experinced WitP

[Crackaces]

************************************************ 30 MAY 1942 ********************************************

100% moonlight target rich environment ....and the no less than 10 submarines just let the SAG walk on by .. I might have based my orginal assumptions not understanding how the game works [:(]

Night Naval bombardment of Tarawa at 136,128

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna
BB Kongo
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Aoba


Allied ground losses:
311 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 10 destroyed, 9 disabled
Vehicles lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)


Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 15
Port hits 11
Port supply hits 3

BB Haruna firing at Tarawa
BB Kongo firing at Tarawa
CA Kako firing at 24th Infantry Division
CA Furutaka firing at Tarawa
CA Kinugasa firing at 24th Infantry Division
CA Aoba firing at Tarawa




Ok well this will continue .. still 20K supplies based there so the supply hits are not as devastating yet ..I suspect this will continue until a submarine does its thing .

also strangly enough .. I see all kinds of hits in the bomb sights but no results ...


Morning Air attack on 1st Tank Regiment, at 63,46 , near Lashio

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 47
Hudson IIIa x 12


No Allied losses

...

I guess I have to pick a different target and this one is all used up?

In Oz the IJ has brought in escorts ..

Morning Air attack on Daly Waters , at 76,131

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 8
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 45



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 7 damaged



Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 12


We send in 8 B17's to get some bombing practice in ..

Morning Air attack on 21st Ind.Mixed Brigade, at 76,129 , near Katherine

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 45 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 8


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled




We do have an unfortunate accident

Pilot killed in landing accident of B-17E Fortress from 11th BG/26th BS

I think the most distressing thing about this Combat Report is that we are not shooting any torpedoes off .. I was expecting misses, duds and chase offs .... but I was not expecting no shots at all while he simply bombards ..This was an incorrect assumption and I might have relied too much on the Psychological threat of submarines .. I suspect that unitl a torp finds its mark and sinks something this will be a daily occurance ...

[ny59giants]

So many needs, so few PPs. [:(]

Many of your subs probably could use a new leader, but that option is usually pushed back for other more pressing needs until you get in a situation you are facing now. Such is war.

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

So many needs, so few PPs. [:(]

Many of your subs probably could use a new leader, but that option is usually pushed back for other more pressing needs until you get in a situation you are facing now. Such is war.

Actually n59giants .. I did replace all the sub commanders to at least 60 leadership , 60 agression , 60 naval .. with the exception of a few Dutch submarines because these guys are simply not there .. Submarines were a key componet of this plan and I at least made the leader switches ..

Submarines are completly random events in my mind gravy like LRCAP ..but certainly not strategic assests to rely an operational plan on ... I had made a calculation of P(.20) asuming some contacts which we had a couple but not enough given the density and the fact right now 4 TF's occupy the same hex as 4 sub TF's but not even a chase off .. [:@]


We shall see how this progresses .. I have built both AUS divisions .. and I rebuilt the 22 & 27 Bdges destroyed at Singapore to eventually form I AUS at Alice Springs. This will change the game in Oz ..

[ny59giants]

Great to hear you changed your sub leaders. That is often overlooked. I'm not going to do much there until Jan 43 when the dud rate goes down.

I've reformed the 8th Aussie Division and allowing it to fill out for one main reason. It is assigned to ABDA command and I don't need to spend PPs on it. [:)]

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Great to hear you changed your sub leaders. That is often overlooked. I'm not going to do much there until Jan 43 when the dud rate goes down.

I've reformed the 8th Aussie Division and allowing it to fill out for one main reason. It is assigned to ABDA command and I don't need to spend PPs on it. [:)]

I have 800 IJA AV occupying Oz ..[;)] So I am thinking one big Corps would be better to fight at Tennent Creek .. I could be wrong as I often am in this game ..[:D] A Corps takes more supply but it is not overkill because 200 IJA AV will occupy Daily Waters and the rest of the IJA is coming up the road.

As a newbie I was deceived in the early game. My submarines got really really lucky and sank 20 xAK's and xAPx in the month of December, That was with the bad commanders. So I am thinking P(.20) with some decent commanders and given 40+ opportunities -- ony one capitol ship bagged would accomplish the mission. So before comitting to the Tarawa campaign I replaced the submarine commanders. Everthing has worked thus far with the exception of getting the expected submarine shots.

If in fact it is P(.20) as I deciribed before, even though a submarine attack is a series of independent events 2 torp hits become 3:2 against one of them exploding. Again, it only takes one to make my day. So I spent the PP's to try and increase the odds of that happening .. and so far submarine warfare has been random events rather than decreasing variabliility [8|]... so you might be right .. .it might not be worth the investment until '43 [&:]

I did get 2 shots at a CV and one shot at a 10K tonne oiler otherwise no shots on the bombardment missions in two weeks of a very dense target rich environment many times subamrines and targets occupying the same hex ...[:@]

For those that have seen WWII in Color you will understand ... for those who haven't .. think a calm Essex accent describing the same scences over and over again but with different context in history...

[Scene pans to the same IJN BB's and scences of the KB hitting Pearl Harobor] you have seen in prior episodes] "The Japanese were surprised by the American attack on Tarawa, but quickly repsonded [scene of daylight bombardment and GI's running .. many leaping into foxholes]. Admeral Nimitz and Admeral King had a quandry. [Same scene as other episodes looking at a map of the war in 1945 but this is 1942]. "Any attempt to relieve Tarawa would be met by the entire Japaneese Navy. [same BB' scene as the begining of this snippet but different angle this time]. The American's were not prepared to fight yet on the Japanese terms. [scene cuts to our "Admeral Alfred" who told me so [;)]]. The Japanse this time, unlike the battle of Baker Island, would be under the patrol cover of thier Mavis PA's and Betty Bombers. The entire IJN KB would support the endless bombardment of Tarawa. The Allies would need the submarine force to save the day, and so far they have failed" [scene cuts to a very worried 24th Division Commander ...cut to commercial ..]

[:D]

[Crackaces]

In scenrario one and the way this game is unfolding the IJ player is hurting on the bomber side for pilots. As stated before there are about 1800 Navy pilots total in the pool at start. There are about 85 trained replacement to fill out losses that come into being around this time. Mostly fighter trained jocks ...

In looking at this there is the KB still intact. The rest of the IJNAF, especally the bomber force has taken a beating. I have noted the operations losses from using the battlefield to train pilots.

To me this means Tennent Creek is getting to be more important as the IJ has comitted weak fighter units in Darwin as well as under trained Sally pilots. This could be an area to exploit weak defensive skills.

The Gilbert's remain an area now to keep the attention of the IJN. SST's and Transport craft can resupply Tarawa at the current rate of supply attrition. The goal is to keep the front open right now until enough resources can be marshalled to set up a front to do air war. The good news is that Tabetituea is too strong for the KB's liking. My 200 P-39's and P-40's would be easily overwhelmed but at what cost in A2A and operations losses? The current status of the KB being the main force for projection of power -- The flak and experinced P-40 pilots will extact enough of a toll to make this proposition expensive. The danger of pyrrhic victory for the IJNAF is quite real.

That is where we are at strategically, & operationally as of JUN '42 in the airwar.

[ny59giants]

Getting supply past Alice Spring to Tennant Creek is not possible without the use of massive amounts of transport planes. It just doesn't flow through the trail in that desert. If you can figure it out, many players playing the Allied side will want to known your secret. [;)]

[Redd]

What about some sub layed mines at Tarawa? That might slow him down a bit. [:D]

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Getting supply past Alice Spring to Tennant Creek is not possible without the use of massive amounts of transport planes. It just doesn't flow through the trail in that desert. If you can figure it out, many players playing the Allied side will want to known your secret. [;)]

This might be a problem [:)]

Well the troops have brought along supplies, which will last 2 weeks given a division uses 1500 supply per month?.. but in the lastest release I am getting 100 supply per week down that trail. I set 2 months ago the base for 15K supply hording and Alice Springs to 25K+ ... right now 300 supplies are at Tennet Creek and 5 base units units are being supported. I saw a huge change in the latest patches of pushing some supples through the trail. Clearly not enough .. but some ..

I have 20 transports heading that way which is an additional 20 of supply per day. 600 supplies for the month.. that will not support a division for a month for sure [:(] and that excluding fighting plus CAP at 1/3 a point per day 12 fighters .....I need an additional 30 transports ..

In my thinking it takes only one decisive battle ... but you are right .. once we smack the LYB's ...after that .. than those forces will have to retreat back to Alice Springs disrupted by a lack of supply ...or face destruction in detail .. that is my thinking thus far ..

Wow I have to decide to resupply Tennet Creek or Tarawa with transports .... [X(]

As far as mines go .. so far the submarine mines have not been effective ... we will invest in laying a 100 more consistently this month ..

************************************************* 31 MAY 1942 ****************************************

There is a discussion on the Tech Thread about this but the Lilly's come at night in thunderstorms ..during the monssons ..and my fighters do not intercept ..[Note 2 more squdrons are at this base flying night duty [8|] ]

Night Air attack on Dacca , at 56,38

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 16 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 8



Allied aircraft
Mohawk IV x 2


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged

No Allied losses


At Tarawa the bombers come ..

Afternoon Air attack on Tarawa , at 136,128

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
G3M2 Nell x 13



Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 damaged



Runway hits 3


Afternoon Air attack on Tarawa , at 136,128

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 17



No Japanese losses

Port hits 3
Port supply hits 1

Our attacks in Burma are not getting results so I susepct this armored unit is depleted ..

Morning Air attack on 1st Tank Regiment, at 63,46 , near Lashio

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 46
Wellington Ic x 16


Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
9 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Time to find another target for sure ..

In the Land of Oz we turn our B17Es loose to do some bombing training ..

Morning Air attack on 21st Ind.Mixed Brigade, at 76,129 , near Katherine

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 11


Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
82 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Sabang fell this turn ...

So that is it for "May Flowers"! Now we are fully into the June Swoon ...[:'(]

[Crackaces]

***************************************** 01 JUN 1942 ********************************

I resupplied Akyab with some suicidal xAKL's and they drew some attention .. first an attempt to attack the airfield at night ..

Night Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 33 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 7 damaged

7 Damaged no losses and no damage ..

Then another 7 come ..

Night Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 24 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 2 damaged
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 destroyed by flak


This time one of them meets a 20mm shell .. and two more are damaged ..

The then as the sun rises an armada escorted by zero's the meet 2 squadrons of experinced RAF ...

Morning Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 21 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
G3M2 Nell x 24



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 37


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
G3M2 Nell: 6 destroyed, 5 damaged
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 4

The RAF and flak take out 7 Nell's ..29% of the force .. crown an ace WO Smith, E.B. of No.67 Sqn RAF attains ace status!!
The engineers will be working overtime to fix teh runway ..

OZ:

We visit the 21st Ind.Mixed Brigade and invite them to tea ..they demonstrate their rudeness by inviting Oscar ..

Morning Air attack on 21st Ind.Mixed Brigade, at 76,129 , near Katherine

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 10

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 16


No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
94 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)


The fact that in the animation the Oscars were immediatly driven off by defensive fire tells me these guys lack experince or the commander lacks air skill ..

Our operations will change next turn .. more later ..

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: Crackaces


... The fact that in the animation the Oscars were immediatly driven off by defensive fire tells me these guys lack experince or the commander lacks air skill ..

Actually, the more likely explanation is that they have low morale. In AE low squadron morale doesn't usually stop the squadron from taking off, but it does often lead to the planes turning tail and heading back home upon encountering any resistance.

Major candidates for low morale for these Oscars might be their continuous round the clock operational tempo. This is where the unit leaders rating matrix plays a significant role. Probably the enemy leaders lack great leadership, aggression and administration ratings to mitigate against the constant flying.

Alfred

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: Alfred

ORIGINAL: Crackaces


... The fact that in the animation the Oscars were immediatly driven off by defensive fire tells me these guys lack experince or the commander lacks air skill ..

Actually, the more likely explanation is that they have low morale. In AE low squadron morale doesn't usually stop the squadron from taking off, but it does often lead to the planes turning tail and heading back home upon encountering any resistance.

Major candidates for low morale for these Oscars might be their continuous round the clock operational tempo. This is where the unit leaders rating matrix plays a significant role. Probably the enemy leaders lack great leadership, aggression and administration ratings to mitigate against the constant flying.

Alfred

Ahhh OK Great Feedback Admiral Alfred! I was postulating from my limited experince .. when my unit air commander had low ratings and my pilots were inexperinced my fighters did not engage but preferred to fly back to the O-club and have a tall one ... but other factors are clearly involved.

The good news is .. this is June 1942 and we are seeing these behaviors .. we still have the Tarawa problem that Alfred warned me about .. [;)] We are in the process of putting up some resistance in the Gilbert's . This will take a month or so. In the meantime the 24th Division will have to take some punishment.

[Crackaces]

Just a little update on the progress of the game.

We started on July 7th, and we have been at it for 123 days. During that time we have 176 turns completed at one turn representing one game day. That is 1.43 turns per real life day. This is actually moving along at a pretty good pace.

Today we work more on logistics and getting stuff in position to provide a flexible response in the Fall of '42 ..

[Crackaces]

******************************************* 02 JUN 1942 ***************************************************

The night begins with a raid on Akyab. One thing that is very broken in this game is night bombing attacks. One can bomb with impunity and from a gaming sense is makes the ability to do something without consequince. I do not mind night raids but operatoinal losses should be much higher.

Night Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 33 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 15



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 9


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 5 damaged

No Allied losses



Runway hits 2


He hits Daily Waters in Oz ..

Afternoon Air attack on Daly Waters , at 76,131

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 37



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 4 damaged



Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 24

We take a swipe at an armored unit moving in the open:

Morning Air attack on 7th Tank Regiment, at 77,130 , near Daly Waters

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 22 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 8



Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 20 (3 destroyed, 17 disabled)


Morning Air attack on 21st Ind.Mixed Brigade, at 76,129 , near Katherine

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 4


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
69 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



The lost tanks add up. We are smacking tanks in Burma and here in Oz with air based ground attacks. I am not sure if the economy was set to replace these guys or not.

Tarawa gets their daily dose of bombardment ..

Afternoon Air attack on Tarawa , at 136,128

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 9 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
G3M2 Nell x 13



No Japanese losses



Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 12

Afternoon Air attack on Tarawa , at 136,128

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 16



No Japanese losses
Port hits 4
Port supply hits 1


Then we get another shot at a CV but we know how this story goes ... [8|]

Sub attack near Ponape at 122,116

Japanese Ships
CV Akagi
CA Suzuya
CL Abukuma
DD Amagiri
DD Kasumi
DD Arare

Allied Ships
SS Trigger



SS Trigger launches 4 torpedoes at CV Akagi

Lots of reinforcements are coming into the Marshall's ...

ASW attack near Eniwetok at 124,109

Japanese Ships
TB Sagi
xAP Kowa Maru
xAP Dairen Maru
xAK Nittai Maru
DD Tsuga

Allied Ships
SS Plunger




Finally in Oz we scare a submarine into a torp attack against our ASW squadron ..

Sub attack near Newcastle at 93,167

Japanese Ships
SS I-171, hits 1

Allied Ships
DD Shaw
DD Peary
DD Monaghan



SS I-171 launches 2 torpedoes at DD Shaw

That will be an extra day in the pen to fix ...

The Akagi is and probably the whole KB are still in the Gilbert's ... this just presents more targets for my submarines.....

[Crackaces]

************************************************** 03 JUN 1942 ********************************

The night comes to Akyab

Night Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 9



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 9


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 4 damaged

No Allied losses

I sure hope Micheal plans to fix night bombing ..

Ok ..OZ:

We smack one tank:

Morning Air attack on 7th Tank Regiment, at 77,130 , near Daly Waters

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 7



Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 9


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

And the Japanese are determined to smack Daily Waters:

Morning Air attack on Daly Waters , at 76,131

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 27 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 46



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 4 damaged

Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 30


I have no defense anymore at PM. Instead I am using SST's to run supplies into the port just to keep the guys alive ..

Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 21 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13



No Japanese losses

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 21000 feet

Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 105 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 47 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13



No Japanese losses




Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15
G4M1 Betty x 17



No Japanese losses
Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 2


The IJNAF has committed 45 Zero's and 17 Betty's to harrarss PM ...

================================================================

This is a huge month for refitting ... many of the merchant ships will be upgraded in AA and this takes 14-28 days. In the meantime I have to keep the logistics going and manage supply. These upgrades are good so reducing operations while refitting seems logical.

We continue to slowly use our ADP's to position the Pacific Ocean HQ in a secret location along with staging BF's. This is a rather slow process unitl we can project more airpower over the Gilbert's. One other problem is that aat the end of this month we have to bring in more II USAAF fighters to replace the POA fighters withdrawing ..

More later ..

[Crackaces]

****************************OZ 04 JUN 1942 *********************************************

Despite a shortage of supply up the roads from Alice Springs to Tennent Creek we are getting in 30 supply per day by air not enough to maintain a campaign but enough to make the IJA's day.

B-17's continue to bomb an armored unit trying to flank Daily Waters while BF's run away south toward Tennet Creek. This airfield will soon be at level 2 and though lacking supply will be able to fly minimal fighters to intercept the Oscars soon to be stationed at Daily Waters. I strongly feel that the ground bombing campaign has struck a notion with the IJA that they have to LRCAP thier gorund forces. Daily Waters is the only place to do this. We will make this a place of pwer projection with fighters and B-17's.

It will take quite awhile and they will lack supplies but we will have a division plus at Tennet Creek. Then we can meet the IJA thrust and destroy these two units. Clearly going on to Darwin will be impossible. But right now the road is providing enough supply that the units are not depleting supply moving. We shall see what happends when we get to Tennet Creek. A quick smashup and destruction of two LYB units and then retreat the division to Alice Springs for redeployment. A Militia unit should be able to hold Tennet Creek at that point.

It takes a long time for a plan to develop in this game. But it is unfolding ....

[DOCUP]

Nice work pounding the armor units.  I think bombing is a little to potent, but just wait you will have your turn at it.  PM is hard place to stand and fight.  Watching you on this one.  I look forward to your updates keep it up.

[Crackaces]

********************************************** 04 JUN 1942 ****************************************

Dark Day for the Allies ...

The night attacks at Akyab continue ..
Damage to the Lilly's

Night Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 12



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 9


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 8 damaged

No Allied losses



Then in the daytime my two AKL's met their fate:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Akyab at 54,45

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 18



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 10


Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed, 5 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
xAKL Kalarand, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Lee Sang, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk


We are going to need at least 2 more squadrons here to assure supply. Really my bad because it is much more important to protect the day convoys then resist the night attacks.

But ...

We hit the Lilly's hideout ..

Morning Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 27 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 48
Hurricane IIc Trop x 4


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 destroyed on ground

No Allied losses



Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9

Morning Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft
Hudson IIIa x 12
Wellington Ic x 16


No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington Ic: 1 damaged



Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 18




That would be 13 airbase hits, 5 supply hits, and 27 runway hits ..

No attack on Tarawa?

This little tibit is worth reporting 900 LYB's die in the surf ...

Amphibious Assault at Iloilo (79,84)

TF 184 troops unloading over beach at Iloilo, 79,84

Japanese ground losses:
899 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 99 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 14 (0 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)


The coup was that I just moved ASW from this position ..[8|]

Submarine attack near Pearl Harbor at 182,104

Japanese Ships
SS I-1

Allied Ships
xAKL Absaroka, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage



xAKL Absaroka is sighted by SS I-1
SS I-1 launches 2 torpedoes at xAKL Absaroka


Ok .. I have the turn .. more later ..

[Crackaces]

****************************************************** 05 JUN 1942 *************************************

What is interesting is that I am getting "operational losses" reported for the Lilly's (in Burma? or maybe its Oz?) but they seem to keep coming back. Also we are allegedly killing Lilly's on the ground .. but again 16 show up over the skies of Akyab at night ..

Night Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Extreme overcast

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.

Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 16



Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 9


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 5 damaged

No Allied losses


In turn, during the day the RAF hits Mandalay where I think they are coming from ..

Morning Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 63
Hudson IIIa x 11
Hurricane IIc Trop x 4
Wellington Ic x 16
Kittyhawk IA x 3


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington Ic: 1 damaged



Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 16

That is 2 Lilly's in 2 days ..plus intelligence reports 5 damaged in last nights raid. We shall see ...

Tarawa:

The bombers come ..

Afternoon Air attack on Tarawa , at 136,128

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 8 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 17



No Japanese losses



Port hits 21
Port supply hits 2

Afternoon Air attack on Tarawa , at 136,128

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
G3M2 Nell x 12



Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 damaged



Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 14

In other news in the Pacific Oceans area ..

Sub attack near Ponape at 117,113

Japanese Ships
xAKL Taiyu Maru

Allied Ships
SS Greenling



SS Greenling launches 2 torpedoes at xAKL Taiyu Maru


---------------------------------------------

Sub attack near Ponape at 117,113

Japanese Ships
xAKL Tama Maru #2, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Greenling

The commander of the Greenling takes down a full unescorted xAKL trying to resupply Ponape ..I think full because the first shot ignited the cargo "heavy fires" and the sounds of IJN merchants swiming ended the encounter .... This is one advantage of putting USN submarines in merchant lanes rather than trying to intercept capitol ships .. they can at least use guns on unarmed merchants ..more likley to happen out here in the small atolls with port level 1 ..

I am right now a full two months off from completing the first phase operations here. That is establish interlocking fighter bases and have a base sufficeint at Tabetuea to project long range bombing into the Marshals. By next week the PBY's will be carring Torpedoes and start making an impact beyond naval search.

There is an immediate tatical problems to solve here. I did not drop Radar off at Tarawa in the first run. So an operational objectiive is to get Radar on Tarawa. To do this I have to keep with the estbalished plan of interlocking fighter bases. The first base post Tarawa is Albemama. Once Abbemana is esblished then we can drop a BF with Radar, Naval support .. etc that has been prepping for this base.

I have decided to upgrade fighter aircraft and get the Wasp in theater before dropping BF's, Enigneers and Supply on Albemama. 500 fighter aircraft and upgraded BB's escorting the trnasports .. the CAP is going to leak for sure but hopefully the prewar BB's absorb the torps and no carriers will sink to a Betty torp run ..

Everything has to be upgraded first before we engage ... especally the transports ..

But a fighter base on Albemama negates the free bomber runs on Tarawa ..

In Oz the Lilly's here decided to bomb an empty airfield ..

Afternoon Air attack on Daly Waters , at 76,131

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 44 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 36



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 4 damaged



Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 11

Eiher they have a secondary mission of airfield attack or .. they are coming from a long ways away ..

For the past weeks the IJNAF has been hitting Wenchow .. I suspect these planes are replacements for the CVE's and they are getting some live training .

Morning Air attack on Wenchow , at 89,58

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 8 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 5
D3A1 Val x 8
Ki-27b Nate x 4
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 12



No Japanese losses

Port hits 4

One other thing to report is that on a rumor of a ship in port at Tulagi sets planniners to use 5 B-26 squadrons to practice bombing runs using Tulagi as a target ... with 2 port hits ... practice makes perfect. [;)]


Ok more later ...

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: Crackaces


Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 44 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 36



Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 4 damaged



Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 11[/color]

Eiher they have a secondary mission of airfield attack or .. they are coming from a long ways away ..

Those Lilys are flying their secondary mission.

No airplane flying within its normal range will take so much time to reach its target as to tip it over into the afternoon phase.

Aircraft flying at their extended range are depicted on the combat report with an asterisk after their details of their dropped ordnance. No asterisk against the Lilys in the pasted combat report, hence they weren't flying at extended range.

Alfred