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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> War In The Pacific - Struggle Against Japan 1941 - 1945 >> After Action Reports >> Dark Clouds over Singapore...

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Dark Clouds over Singapore... - 5/26/2006 11:58:55 PM

ADavidB

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Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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January 26, 1942 -

Treespider has parked sub I-162 at Broome. I tried to send the already damaged Evertsen from Koepang to Broome, but the sub nailed it and put it under on the way in. I've got a couple of MSWs on their way in ASW mode to see if they can find the sub. So far I've been unable to hit a Japanese sub in an Allied port with an ASW attack.

The weather was back to "generally lousy" most everywhere this turn. A Japanese bombardment TF was able to get in and hit Koepang without being seen either coming or going, despite the fact that I've got a half dozen bases within range that have multiple air units on naval search. The lousy weather grounded my planned air attack out of Soerabaja and messed up a number of Japanese air attacks which either missed their targets or were broken up.

A number of Japanese fighter sweeps went out but most of them missed. It would have been interesting to see those three Zeros that went to Wyndham run into the USAAF P-40Es on CAP, but the P-40E pilots instead had to wait and greet some more unescorted Nells later on in the day. Zeros also tried to sweep Akyab, but fortunately missed; I had some of those silly Indian trainer-style pseudo-fighter/bombers there and I quickly replaced them this turn with Hurricanes.

I sent one of my B-17 squadrons in to hit Mandalay this turn despite there not being any Japanese air units there yet. There are five Japanese land units in Mandalay, so Treespider is obviously preparing for something. The B-17s took some flak damage because they came in fairly low, but still caused some damage on the ground. Next turn I am resting this squadron and sending in the other squadron in at a higher altitude. I won't bother with Rangoon until I get a couple of bomber groups in India.

In the ground war the Japanese besiegers of Singapore did another deliberate attack this turn, achieving 1:1 odds but reducing the fortifications down to 2. Singapore ought to fall at the next attack. Manila received another artillery attack, Butuan was captured against no opposition, and Tulagi was occupied automatically. Treespider has a couple of TFs just north of the Solomons again. I wonder if he is just sending more troops into the region or is planning to go further south?

The situation in China is getting a bit more complicated. Treespider is holding back on direct assaults on my bases and instead is trying to cut off Changsha across country. Fortunately I moved troops into position ahead of time and a Japanese shock attack just north of Changsha failed. I will now try to keep those Japanese troops off balance and disrupted via artillery and aerial bombardments. However, I haven't had much luck getting my Chinese bombers to fly recently with the constantly bad weather. It's too bad that bad weather doesn't affect ground movement too.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 151

Unplanned sabatical... - 6/1/2006 6:40:03 AM

ADavidB

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January 27, 1942 -

Treespider is back after an OS problem caused him to eventually have to clean his HD down to "blank" and start over with everything. So now we are both trying to remember what we were doing, and more importantly "why". I'm also quite mixed up because of my game against Yank.

Appropriately (thankfully?

) this was a fairly quiet turn. Neither of us was trying very much, and the heavy rains over most of the map kept our air efforts out of commission for the most part too. Treespider continued with his aerial bombardments of Manila, Singapore and once again Malang. I can't understand why he is going after Malang; maybe he is planning a fast transport invasion there.

Most of my planes didn't fly, but some Hudsons out of Darwin did fly and hit an AP that was retiring from Lautem. Then S-38 put two torpedoes into a little Japanese MSW in the same area, sinking the luckless ship almost instantly.

China was surprisingly quiet. My Chinese bombers got off the ground but didn't hit anything. Treespider may be taking a breather, or else he is facing up to the ugly realities of movement off of the rail system in China.

The only serious land attack was at Singapore where a deliberate attack achieved a 2:1 result and lowered the fortifications to 1. It looks as if Singapore will fall next turn. Manila only received an artillery bombardment. And some Japanese troops started to land at Biak.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 152

Chinese Mystery... - 6/2/2006 12:19:13 AM

ADavidB

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January 28, 1942 -

Something funny is going on in China. Treespider has slowly been disengaging his forces in most locations. He has only left a serious number of units at Wuchow. Japanese troops have never engaged at Homan, the number of Japanese units at Changsha has dropped to a handful and he seems to have stopped trying to outflank my forces. Japanese air attacks in the region have also stopped. When I look at the "Js and As" I don't notice any new expansion. Why is he taking a break, and where are those units ending up?

There wasn't a lot of other news this turn either. Sure, Hansa was occupied automatically, and Japanese troops captured Biak, but the only other ground actions were an artillery bombardment at Manila and a deliberate attack at Singapore that surprisingly enough failed.

Maybe the weather is bothering the Japanese efforts more than I thought. Eight out of the nine regions had rain again, and only a few air attacks flew on either side. So, for example, Japanese planes attacked Soerabaja, but my Dutch bombers at Soerabaja didn't fly in return.

The one unexpected result of this turn was that when the first of my SEA Chinese units moved into Myitkyina it had to do a shock attack and was beaten back badly. I forgot that the river protected Myitkyina (at least from the South). Oh well, now Treespider knows that he needs to keep troops in Myitkyina and Lashio. The more Japanese troops that are tied up in the jungle, the better.

Otherwise, I am continuing to take advantage of the relative lull to move supplies, fuel and forces forward to my main defensive positions.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 153

RE: Chinese Mystery... - 6/2/2006 6:55:36 AM

Jim D Burns

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ADavidB
Something funny is going on in China.

My guess is he is going to mass them into one large 20-30 unit stack to hammer you with. He'll keep them out of your view (allied recon sucks!) and surprise you with them once he has his uber stack together.

That or he is trying to sucker you forward to make surrounding you easier by pre-positioning some of his forces off road.

Jim

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Post #: 154

RE: Chinese Mystery... - 6/2/2006 1:06:37 PM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

quote:

ORIGINAL: ADavidB
Something funny is going on in China.

My guess is he is going to mass them into one large 20-30 unit stack to hammer you with. He'll keep them out of your view (allied recon sucks!) and surprise you with them once he has his uber stack together.

That or he is trying to sucker you forward to make surrounding you easier by pre-positioning some of his forces off road.

Jim

Hmmm - a "land deathstar" eh? He does seem to be pulling a number of units back into that base to the east of Changsha. Maybe he is resting them and planning to send a huge stack against Changsha in a while.

As far as "going forward" is concerned; there's no chance that I am going to try that, particularly since the Burma Road is cut. I'm just happy to sit back and build up base fortifications at this time.

BTW - one of my concerns is an offshoot of the Burma Road and supplies situation. Now that China is cut off, he might just let it sit and pull out good units to use against India. He has committed a lot of troops already to Burma, and he will have those troops in Singapore free soon. Maybe an blitz of India is being planned...

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Jim D Burns)

Post #: 155

More Mysteries... - 6/3/2006 12:18:37 AM

ADavidB

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January 29, 1941 -

This was another somewhat "mysterious" turn. Sure, bad weather affected things a lot, but on the whole Treespider appears to be doing, or preparing to do, some very "sneaky" things:

First off, China was quiet-as-dead again, and it appears that more Japanese troops are being withdrawn from the front lines and may be on their way towards the Chinese Coast. I'm certainly happy with this state of affairs because I am gaining the time I need to prepare good defenses, but I would really like to know where those Japanese units will be going to next.

Next, SIGINT reported that a Japanese parachute unit is preparing for an attack on Soerabaja. That ties in with the recent regular Japanese air attacks on Soerabaja, although those air attacks have not been as large as one would expect. As it is, I have plenty of troops in Soerabaja, and the scale of the recent Japanese air raids isn't enough to wipe out my CAP, so I'm not sure why Treespider is planning this.

Finally, SIGINT reported a radio reception from 74,90 which is about halfway between the Solomons and the Marshalls. Is this just a transport on its way to the Gilberts, an invasion TF heading for Nauru Island, or the KB on the prowl? I don't have much "at risk" in that region right now, but at the same time I am also unprepared for a Japanese thrust into the South Seas. That possibility has been worrying me for some time. There are a lot of bases in the area between Nauru, Canton, Pago Pago and Suva which could be developed to be mutually supporting, would very effectively cut off travel between North America and Australia, and would be difficult to recapture at a later day; particularly with the KB supporting them. Fortunately I have some subs in the area and I am sending them out to try to find out more.

Speaking of subs, Treespider has given his harassment of the West Coast a rest, but now Japanese subs are showing up in or next to ports all over the place. It is a real pain that the subs can sit quite happily in a port hex without any ASW ships being able to find them.

Okay, as far as action goes, as I mentioned above, there was yet another Japanese air attack on Soerabaja:

Day Air attack on Soerabaja, at 22, 65

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 23
Ki-21 Sally x 10

Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 7
Brewster 339D x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
CW-21B Demon: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged
Brewster 339D: 1 damaged
Martin 139: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 3

So this was definitely not a "killing blow", but it does keep me occupied. Unfortunately, and inexplicably, for the fourth day in a row my Dutch bombers and escorts refused to fly from Soerabaja against Banjamasin, the home base of the Japanese planes. Sure, the weather was lousy again, but why do the Japanese planes get to fly every day and the Dutch not at all?

In a somewhat surprising move, the Japanese besiegers of Singapore took a break and did an artillery barrage this turn instead of another ground attack. I guess that Treespider wants to rest his troops a bit before the final push. The only other ground attack was another artillery barrage at Manila. Otherwise, the only gain on the Japanese side was an automatic occupation of Dagua.

BTW - an "aircraft" symbol appeared at Mandalay this turn, so I've set the B-17s and AVG in Dacca to attack the air field at Mandalay. The weather in India is rain, (as it is most everywhere else) so there is a good chance that my planes won't fly, but since they've been resting for a while, I decided to try it anyway.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 156

Treespider Takes the Lead (the easy way) - 6/3/2006 5:32:24 AM

ADavidB

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January 30, 1942 -

Treespider jumped ahead in the score in a big way this turn with his capture of Singapore. Singapore is always a problem for the Allied player; unless the Japanese player does something fairly silly, there is no way to keep Singapore very long. Sometimes I try a quick retreat, other times I try to stand and fight, as I did this time. I'd say that I will probably go back to a quick retreat in future games.

Treespider was busy in other places too. Troops started to land at Sansapor and Macassar. Treespider didn't send a bombardment TF in to Macassar so my troops there did shoot back at the landing party. I've also set the Dutch bombers in the region back to "Naval Attack" after they finally did an air raid on Banjarmasin and caused some damage, but not a lot.

There are also a number of Japanese TFs on the go around New Britain. It appears that Treespider is off to expand upon his existing gains in the area.

Treespider is also casting his net further a field. A Japanese spy sub has been sending a Glen to recon Palmyra. That will be a real pain if Treespider grabs that base, but there isn't anything I can realistically do about it right now if there is a Japanese lunge with the KB in support. I'm still working diligently to build up my bases in the Hawaiian Islands and I don't intend to interfere with that buildup.

The stillness continues in China. However, SIGINT reports that several Japanese LCUs are preparing for an attack on Changsha, so maybe Treespider has pulled back his troops to allow them to prepare for an attack in a location where they have more supply.

BTW - despite the rain, which interfered with air attacks everywhere for both sides, my B-17s did bomb Mandalay this turn. Unfortunately, only 3 AVG P-40Bs went along as escorts and so missed a chance against the dozen Nates that were on CAP. I'm sitting everyone out for a few more turns just in case the weather improves.

So right now I need time more than anything else, and it will be interesting to see if Treespider gives me any.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 157

More Surface Sub Attacks... - 6/3/2006 8:39:10 PM

ADavidB

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January 31, 1942 -

This was yet another odd turn as the Porpoise attacked a Japanese AK on the surface near Rabaul!

Sub attack near Rabaul at 61, 88

Japanese Ships
AK Tatuno Maru, Shell hits 10

Allied Ships
SS Porpoise

Japanese ground losses:
82 casualties reported

Now why couldn't they finish that AK off with a torpedo?

The air war picked up a bit despite generally bad weather in most regions. There was a sizable attack of escorted Sallys on Chungking, but the Chinese CAP fought them off fairly well and there was no damage to the base:

Day Air attack on Chungking, at 43, 32

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-21 Sally x 47

Allied aircraft
I-16c x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
I-16c: 3 damaged

There was also a big air attack from Kuching on Soerabaja, but once again the Dutch CAP did reasonably well, although there was some damage:

Day Air attack on Soerabaja, at 22, 65

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14
G3M Nell x 58

Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 7
Brewster 339D x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 4 destroyed, 9 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
CW-21B Demon: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged
Brewster 339D: 2 damaged
Martin 139: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
48 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 4

Despite this attack Dutch bombers from Soerabaja flew to Pontianak and hit two APs there:

Day Air attack on TF, near Pontianak at 25, 58

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5

Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 4
Brewster 339D x 2
Martin 139 x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Martin 139: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Kaiko Maru
AP Hakka Maru, Bomb hits 1
PG Kozan Maru
MSW Seki Maru
DD Asakaze
AP Haisho Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
49 casualties reported

I don't know where that TF was going, but this attack slowed it down a bit. The only other air attacks were on Manila and they didn't accomplish much.

In the ground war, Manila received an artillery bombardment, deliberate attacks on Macassar and Cagayan failed, and Sansapor was captured without opposition. Treespider continued to reconnoiter all over the place, which masks his true intentions quite well.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 158

Feb 1 Status - Intel Screen - 6/3/2006 8:42:18 PM

ADavidB

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I'm going to try to post some screen captures of the status as of February 1, 1942. I haven't tried this with the revised Forum S/W yet, so we'll see how it goes.

First the Intelligence Screen. I'm quite happy with the ships lost, but I'm not so happy about the Air losses. Treespider is playing quite smart and is not losing a lot of planes to Operational damage.

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Post #: 159

Feb 1 Status - Burma & China - 6/3/2006 8:43:36 PM

ADavidB

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Okay, that worked well, so I'll post more. Here's Burma and China:

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Post #: 160

Feb 1 Status - Borneo & Philippines - 6/3/2006 8:44:39 PM

ADavidB

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Here's Borneo and the Philippines:

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Post #: 161

Feb 1 Status - Malaya & Sumatra - 6/3/2006 8:45:48 PM

ADavidB

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Here's Malaya and Sumatra:

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Post #: 162

Feb 1 Status - Timor and Celebes - 6/3/2006 8:47:05 PM

ADavidB

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Here's the Timor and Celebes area:

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Post #: 163

Feb 1 Status - PNG & Bismarcks - 6/3/2006 8:48:21 PM

ADavidB

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And finally, here is PNG and the Bismarcks. The rest of the regions are unchanged from the opening.

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Post #: 164

Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/4/2006 7:00:21 AM

ADavidB

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February 1, 1942 -

Here's the best possible example of why the Allied player must set up a good submarine picket line early in the game:

ASW attack at 89, 74

Japanese Ships
DD Mochizuki
DD Yayoi
DD Kisaragi
DD Mutsuki
CL Yubari

Allied Ships
SS Narwhal

That is about 10 hexes due west of Johnston Island! There is no good reason for a Japanese hunter/killer TF to be out there hunting for subs, so it must be part of something else. When I checked the actual turn, it showed 4 "AKs" in that location.

So what is going on here? Is it an attack on Johnston Island? Is it a ruse? Will there be an attack on Palmyra Island instead, which has been reconned by a Glen for the past several turns? Is it an attack by the KB? Is it an attack on the Hawaiian Islands?

Fortunately, I've got a number of other subs in the area and I am rushing them to the route to Johnston Island. I've also ordered the TFs at Johnston Island to leave immediately, as I also have the TFs in the Hawaiian Islands and at Palmyra. I've redirected the TFs that were on their way to the Hawaiian Islands. I've ordered all the ships out of the ports in the Hawaiian Islands, other than the Pennsylvania, which is still sitting there at system damage 88. I've put all my air units in the region on full alert and brought in a couple more Patrol squadrons. I've also got bomber squadrons on alert within a day's flying in case I need them.

It's just too bad that I didn't get another week's time, but that's how it goes. So it will be nail biting time for the next couple of game turns. If this is an invasion of Johnston Island, then the KB must be tagging along somewhere within range but out of sight. If this is an invasion of the Hawaiian Islands than I've really goofed my count of the Japanese forces, because there shouldn't be enough Japanese troops in the Central Pacific yet to provide a threat this early.

In other news, there was another big air raid from Kuching on Soerabaja. Once again, the Dutch pilots tried hard and accomplished a bit, but they can't stop this sort of attack:

Day Air attack on Soerabaja, at 22, 65

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13
G3M Nell x 56

Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 4
Brewster 339D x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
G3M Nell: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
CW-21B Demon: 2 destroyed
Brewster 339D: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
Martin 139: 2 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
16 casualties reported

Airbase hits 7
Runway hits 22

There were also some fairly large air raids on Manila. In other news, I-10 ambushed an MSW that was hunting it near Auckland and sank it with two torpedoes. Never-the-less, I'm sending the remaining MSWs on ASW duty again this turn.

In ground combat news, the Dutch at Macassar repelled another deliberate attack. Once again, there were no attacks in China. Finally, Japanese troops started to land at Lae. But all these things pale in comparison to the news from the Central Pacific.

Dave Baranyi

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Post #: 165

RE: Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/4/2006 8:42:14 AM

Grotius

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Very interesting news near Johnston Island. How many divisions do you have in Hawaii? As I recall, you start with a couple divisions and can possibly move another from the west coast by this time of the game. As for Johnston and Palmyra, is there anything there besides base forces?

As for Singapore, I'm at a loss as what to do as the Allies there. Somehow Cap Mandrake's team managed to delay the IJA and evac the bulk of Allied forces at the last minute. But it seems that Allied player can't count on succeeding with that plan every time. I just hate losing all those troops just to slow him down a bit. I know, I know, it's crucial to slow him down, but ugh.

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 166

RE: Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/4/2006 2:11:25 PM

ADavidB

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Very interesting news near Johnston Island. How many divisions do you have in Hawaii? As I recall, you start with a couple divisions and can possibly move another from the west coast by this time of the game. As for Johnston and Palmyra, is there anything there besides base forces?

As for Singapore, I'm at a loss as what to do as the Allies there. Somehow Cap Mandrake's team managed to delay the IJA and evac the bulk of Allied forces at the last minute. But it seems that Allied player can't count on succeeding with that plan every time. I just hate losing all those troops just to slow him down a bit. I know, I know, it's crucial to slow him down, but ugh.

I only have the original two divisions at Pearl, along with two field artillery units and the armored unit that I was able to bring from the West Coast. Because of the number of units that Treespider was committing to the P.I. Malaya, Burma, China and the DEI I figured I was "safe" to not rush any of the CENPAC or SOPAC divisions to Hawaii. Instead I moved CDs, AAs, base forces and one RCT to the secondary bases in the Hawaiian Islands, in order to protect against a quick "land grab". I didn't want Treespider to be able to grab one of the secondary bases with and SNLF or so, and then use it to mount a serious attack on Pearl.

I only started to bring the Marines forward a few days ago so they are being diverted away from the shipping lanes for now. I've got lots of other TFs in the shipping lanes too, and they are all on "cockroach scatter" orders for now until the situation becomes clearer.

Midway, Johnson and Palmyra each have a marine CD and an AA unit in addition to the base forces. Once again, I like to set them up so that a simple Fast Transport invasion can't grab them, but I don't like to commit more units early on because it is nearly impossible early on to stop a big invasion anyway. And again, I'd rather put units in the H.I. proper.

Depending upon what I see coming next turn, I will probably fly in some LBA - a Mitchell squadron and a P-40B squadron - if it looks as if I can get some shots in on an incoming transport TF. If it is the full KB I won't bother.

As far as Singapore went, Treespider played it very well, moved fast, and moved strong and didn't make any mistakes. Thus I wasn't able to slow him down, nor was I able to pull many troops out of there. The Japanese can only be slowed down significantly in Malaya when the Japanese player tries to be too "cute" and tries to use "minimum force". Treespider made certain that he always controlled the air and shut off all of my options.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 167

RE: Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/4/2006 6:12:11 PM

ny59giants

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The only major LCU's the USA has early in the war is the 27th Division, 161 & 111 RTC, and the 40th Division (very weak if I remember correctly). Then, there is the 2 USMC Division on the WC. There are a few more, but they are assigned to the WC and need political points to convert. Some, but not enough to cover what is needed. Besides, Hawaii is more important right now.

I just found out in my new game (3rd PBEM) through Sig Int (12/13/41) that a SNLF is loading on a AP for Canton Island (has a BF with no assault value). I don't want to lose the island, but all I have is a RCT and 2 USMC (which is not worth sending out "IF" KB will be behind looking to pounce).

FYI - I just found out by accident that those British Tank Bde with high "motorized support" act like engineer vehicles. I left them at Karachi at the start of my latest PBEM to fill out it's TOE and set port to expand. In "four" days it went up a level with 16% left over!

As soon as it max out, I will try it on fort building. Just in case you can do the same with your's somewhere in India.

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Post #: 168

RE: Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/4/2006 7:02:55 PM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

The only major LCU's the USA has early in the war is the 27th Division, 161 & 111 RTC, and the 40th Division (very weak if I remember correctly). Then, there is the 2 USMC Division on the WC. There are a few more, but they are assigned to the WC and need political points to convert. Some, but not enough to cover what is needed. Besides, Hawaii is more important right now.

I just found out in my new game (3rd PBEM) through Sig Int (12/13/41) that a SNLF is loading on a AP for Canton Island (has a BF with no assault value). I don't want to lose the island, but all I have is a RCT and 2 USMC (which is not worth sending out "IF" KB will be behind looking to pounce).

FYI - I just found out by accident that those British Tank Bde with high "motorized support" act like engineer vehicles. I left them at Karachi at the start of my latest PBEM to fill out it's TOE and set port to expand. In "four" days it went up a level with 16% left over! As soon as it max out, I will try it on fort building. Just in case you can do the same with your's somewhere in India.

There are a lot of dangers in trying to rush troops forward early in the game for the Allies. There are lots of Japanese subs around, and not a lot of escorts on the West Coast. The KB can vanish into the Eastern Pacific and ambush US transport TFs. The US has little in the way of fuel and supplies to sustain combat TFs that might otherwise defend transport TFs. That is why I tend to hold off on moving troops until at January 1942, and even then I never move the troops that are assigned to "West Coast". Anyway, I always have a lot of other uses for political points and never enough of them early on.

As far as a mid-December invasion of Canton Island goes - I would go all out to try to intercept that invasion TF. The KB can't be everywhere, and you should always send your two US CVs at sea to the South/Southwest anyway. Drop off a crusier and a few DDs at Canton and set you CVs back a couple of hexes. If the KB does show up, move back a bit, but remember, at such an early stage the KB is low on fuel and can't move far or fast.

As far as the Indian armored units go - I spread them out immediately to various key bases throughout India on the rail lines. I want them to be in position to react in case my opponent tries a quick invasion of the Bay of Bengal. They also allow me to build up inland bases faster too, which is what I need in order to defend against invasions of India. I do leave one at Karachi, but for the most part I can't see a situation early in the game where a Japanese player can mass a serious invasion of Karachi and bypass the rest of India without me being able to seriously hinder that invasion.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 169

RE: Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/5/2006 5:45:51 AM

ny59giants

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I have put various assets in place to act as tripwires. However, I have yet to decide on what surface forces to use. Much of the Pacific Fleet was damaged after 2 plus days of attacks at Pearl. I'm playing a Nik Mod, so things are a little different than standard scenario.

The reason I left the armoured units in Karachi intially was it is the only place in India (besides Calcutta) that starts out over 20k in supply and thus could support replacements. The huge aid in building port/forts was something I just learned.

They will be going to other important bases after I get some supply moving forward.

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Post #: 170

RE: Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/5/2006 6:19:48 AM

ADavidB

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I have put various assets in place to act as tripwires. However, I have yet to decide on what surface forces to use. Much of the Pacific Fleet was damaged after 2 plus days of attacks at Pearl. I'm playing a Nik Mod, so things are a little different than standard scenario.

The reason I left the armoured units in Karachi intially was it is the only place in India (besides Calcutta) that starts out over 20k in supply and thus could support replacements. The huge aid in building port/forts was something I just learned. They will be going to other important bases after I get some supply moving forward.

I move my Indian armored units by land, and send supplies by sea, so by the time the units reach the bases near (but not on) the Bay of Bengal the supply is usually there too. This way I'm in a position early to start building up the key inland bases and can react if there is a very early Japanese "mad dash" to grab Eastern India.

I'm probably overly sensitive about India, but after having lost Karachi once, I have no intentions of letting that happen again, and the place to defend Karachi is at the Bay of Bengal.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 171

RE: Crisis in the Central Pacific... - 6/5/2006 3:42:53 PM

ny59giants

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After posting my reply, I realized that one of the house rules is Karachi cannot be captured. So why am I building it up??

When I get my next turn, they will be off to build up forts on the coast and SE India.

I figure out of 3 PBEM's someone will try to take India. So I will learn from it like you have.

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Post #: 172

On Alert ... - 6/8/2006 5:10:13 AM

ADavidB

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February 2, 1942 -

No additional threat materialized in the Central Pacific this turn. Perhaps that TF was just a Hunter/Killer TF that had ventured out to check out a sub spotting. So I'm lowering my alert status on the West Coast and Alaska/Aleutians regions, but I'm leaving the alert at "Red" in the Central Pacific for now. Palmyra also continued to receive fly-overs by a Glen, so I'm sending down a force to check out that area too, just in case there is some serious intent in that region. Even if this all turns out to be a False Alarm it was still good to test out the reaction of my forces, and I'm fairly satisfied with the results.

Another reason why I'm not reducing the alert state for my forces in the Central Pacific is because once again there was bad weather most everywhere, and I don't want to be caught by TFs that are hiding in thunderstorms. The weather caused a number of Japanese air attacks to miss their targets in the DEI, although surprisingly enough, my Dutch bombers actually took off and hit the airfields at Banjarmasin fairly hard. It appears that Treespider will attempt a strong retaliation air raid next turn.

The most serious Japanese air raids were on Manila, Bataan, Sinkep, in support of an invasion, and for some reason Madioen. I'm not certain why Treespider is bombing the odds-and-ends Dutch bases in Sumatra unless he wants some practice for his pilots where they won't run into CAP.

In ground combat news, Sura'iro was occupied automatically and Lae was captured unopposed. There was no assault by the Japanese troops at Makassar, although there was a Japanese bombing raid. Elsewhere there were no Japanese attacks, not even a bombardment attack on Manila, except for a Japanese LCU that drove yet another Chinese unit out of its non-city hex. The Japanese unit is big and strong and I haven't yet found the right combination of Chinese LCUs that can move into that hex and stay there. While that Japanese unit is in that hex it continued to threaten my supply lines to Changsha.

Elsewhere in China it appears that Treespider is continuing to pull units back from the Front, although he is maintaining his control of the key crossroads. He has also stopped any air attacks. I don't mind, but I do find it very suspicious.

The other interesting news this turn was a SIGINT report that said that there are 109 ships at Sasebo. Why Sasebo and not Tokyo or Osaka or on transport duties? Well, for one, at last report there were over a quarter million Japanese troops in Sasebo. I wonder if Treespider is getting ready for a big invasion somewhere?

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 173

RE: On Alert ... - 6/8/2006 3:43:54 PM

ny59giants

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Could some of those "disappearing" LCU's in China be making a pit stop in Japan before moving either East or South??

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Post #: 174

RE: On Alert ... - 6/8/2006 7:04:48 PM

ADavidB

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Could some of those "disappearing" LCU's in China be making a pit stop in Japan before moving either East or South?? �

It looks like they were stopping back in the Japanese bases near the front for a little R&R, as it now appears that there will be a "Rice Field Race" as both sides attempt to gain the advantage in non-city hexes in China...

Thanks -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 175

At Ease... - 6/8/2006 7:05:54 PM

ADavidB

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February 3, 1942 -

I called off the general alert for the Central Pacific because nothing more untoward appeared this turn. I'm satisfied with the response of my forces and am very glad that it appears that I will have more time to implement my defensive plan. With each passing day my forces receive small improvements. For example, this turn I finally accumulated 24 P-39s and thus was able to upgrade the P-26 squadron that I pulled out of the Philippines. I then took the 7 surplus P-26s that I received from that squadron and partially filled in one of my P-26 squadrons that is sitting in the Hawaiian Islands. Sure, P-26s and P-39s aren't worth much, but they are better than nothing at this stage.

The most action this turn was at little, insignificant Sinkep. My last two Dutch PT boats sailed in and scared off the Japanese invasion TF that was still unloading troops. But right afterwards the PTs ran into the big Japanese CA/DD bombardment TF that was coming in to hit my troops. The DDs made short work of the last of the "Dutch Blasters".

In other naval action, a bunch of Japanese MSWs started to clear the mines out of Singapore harbor when one of the MSWs hit a mine and eventually sank. However, this was evened-up by I-10 which is still sitting in Auckland Harbor and surprised an Allied MSW that was hunting for the sub. This is the second MSW that I-10 has sunk in Auckland Harbor. This time, the remaining two MSWs did find I-10 later in the day and appear to have hit it with one depth charge. I guess next turn I find out if there was enough damage to finally drive that submarine back to base.

A Japanese sub also appeared off of Sydney. I have a couple of PGs there so I immediately formed them into an ASW TF and am sending them after the sub. I also have a number of escorted transport TFs arriving at Sydney in the near future. Those escorts will also be put to use to hunt the sub.

In the Air War, Soerabaja was hit by a couple of air attacks, as I expected. Fortunately the attacks didn't do much damage. There were a number of very big air attacks on Manila and a surprisingly big air attack on PM. I have little worth bombing at PM so I don't mind Treespider sending his planes there, although it does imply that he may be considering an assault on PM in the near future.

In the Land War, a Japanese deliberate attack at Cagayan failed, but the fortification level was reduced, so it probably won't be long before those troops at Cagayan are also marched off to P.O.W. camps. Things remain quiet in China, although Treespider has moved a second LCU into the hex to the north of Changsha. I'm guessing that he intends to try to cut off Changsha, so I'm sending more Chinese troops to the region to further block the roads.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 176

Bombers in the Air... - 6/8/2006 11:05:36 PM

ADavidB

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February 4, 1942 -

This turn started out well and continued so for a little while. First off, the Asiatic B-17s and the AVG visited Mandalay and "said hello":

Day Air attack on Mandalay, at 33, 30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 12

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 30
B-17C Fortress x 18
B-17E Fortress x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27 Nate: 6 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-17C Fortress: 5 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
125 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 17

But that's only impressive until you watch a couple of hundred Japanese bombers pound Manila, and another hundred or so more Japanese bombers hit Soerabaja, and other Japanese bombers pound other bases. The other bit of encouraging news was that KXIII torpedoed an AP off of Macassar. However, that didn't stop the landing of more troops. But from there on it was pretty much all Japan.

The Dutch fighters are now pretty much finished after the last big raids on Soerabaja. I'm moving the Dutch bombers out and trying a "surprise" raid elsewhere. I'll play hit-and-run for a while, or until Treespider closes down all of my Dutch bases.

In the ground war, the Japanese troops in Lashio easily drove out my Chinese troops. Obviously it will take a lot more to regain the Burma Road bases. (This is becoming uncannily similar to what really happened in Burma.)

The Dutch ground troops fared better and deliberate attacks on Macassar and Sinkep were repulsed. But the fortification level at Sinkep is now "0", so the next serious attack will likely capture the base. The only other land action was a bombardment attack at Cagayan.

So I'm just continuing along with my plans; moving troops, upgrading ships, and hunting subs.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 177

Hit one of the buggers... - 6/9/2006 4:28:51 AM

ADavidB

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February 5, 1942 -

There were two good bits of news for the Allies this turn. First, a couple of USN ASW DDs finally caught up with I-5 at Johnston Island and hit it twice. However, wouldn't you know it, another Japanese sub showed up there just as I-5 is about to head home for repairs. Oh well, at least I've driven off the initial huge swarm of nearly "untouchable" Japanese subs.

The other good news was that my "hit-and-run" attack from Batavia on Pontianak worked. My Dutch bombers got in clean and hit and set on fire an AK that was in the port. However, the bombers didn't do any other damage. I guess there just isn't much there to bomb. I've moved the Dutch bombers again and set them now to Naval Attack in the hopes of catching some of the many Japanese transports that are sailing around the region between Malaya, Java and Borneo.

Otherwise, the story was all about multiple Japanese attacks most everywhere. There were big air attacks on Manila, Bataan, Port Moresby, and in a change of pace, on Chungking by Sallys that were escorted by Zeros. My Chinese fighters did alright, but if this keeps up I'll have to consider bringing in some support. Overall it appears that Treespider is over his brief respite in China. Japanese troops are coming back to Changsha which was bombarded again for the first time in a while.

In other ground combat news, Sinkep was finally captured, but Macassar and Cagayan repulsed deliberate attacks again. There also appears to be a Japanese transport convoy heading to either Dili or Koepang in Timor. I only have air units in the region so I won't be challenging that seriously.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 178

RE: Hit one of the buggers... - 6/9/2006 6:19:36 AM

ny59giants

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It isn't nice seeing over 100 Sally's bombing Singapore back to the stone ages on a daily basis.

It's nice to see you have two BG's of B-17's in India. That should slow him down somewhat or at least give him pause.

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Post #: 179

RE: Hit one of the buggers... - 6/9/2006 7:07:16 AM

ADavidB

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

It isn't nice seeing over 100 Sally's bombing Singapore back to the stone ages on a daily basis.
It's nice to see you have two BG's of B-17's in India. That should slow him down somewhat or at least give him pause.

I've only got a squadron of B-17Es, and a squadron-strength group of B-17Cs in India, so I am husbanding my planes very carefully. (Remember, I don't get any more B-17Cs, and I need to collect 48 B-17Es to upgrade that under-strength group.)

But the Flying Fortresses do have a certain "reputation" - Treespider has pulled his planes out of Mandalay again. But I won't be in a position to attempt to "punish" the Japanese forces for quite some time yet. And with the Allied replacement rates, and Japanese expansion literally everywhere on the map, I can't afford to throw away any good bombers at this time.

So it will take a lot of judicious allocation of my resources to try to keep Treespider somewhat "honest" in at least a couple of regions.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 180

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