RE: Hit one of the buggers...

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RE: Hit one of the buggers... - 6/9/2006 12:54:59 PM

ny59giants

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Joined: 1/10/2005
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What did you do with the 7th BG that starts on the West Coast?? It is the one that usually ends up in India and also the one that has to be converted to LB-30's first before any other. The B-17/LB-30 situation really sucks if playing a Nik Mod.

I have tried to use my PBY replacements from day one to convert at least two of the Canadien squardons to PBY's and send them across the Pacific to India to help with search capabilities. In my latest PBEM with non-histrorical set up, I found a Jap sub two hexes off of Karachi.

The British/Indian had no search available and only a few PG/MSW capable of ASW TF work (seems like AK/TK don't work too well

). They have a few nice DD's with a ASW factor of 8, but they have almost 20 sys damage and have to leave Singapore and get back to India for some repairs first (high DL).

_____________________________

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 181

RE: Hit one of the buggers... - 6/9/2006 1:22:31 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

What did you do with the 7th BG that starts on the West Coast?? It is the one that usually ends up in India and also the one that has to be converted to LB-30's first before any other. The B-17/LB-30 situation really sucks if playing a Nik Mod.

I have tried to use my PBY replacements from day one to convert at least two of the Canadien squardons to PBY's and send them across the Pacific to India to help with search capabilities. In my latest PBEM with non-histrorical set up, I found a Jap sub two hexes off of Karachi.�� The British/Indian had no search available and only a few PG/MSW capable of ASW TF work (seems like AK/TK don't work too well ).� They have a few nice DD's with a ASW factor of 8, but they have almost 20 sys damage and have to leave Singapore and get back to India for some repairs first (high DL).

I take a different approach to developing my defensive areas, so I don't move forces across the Pacific in the early stages of the game. Therefore, I leave all my LRB on the West Coast in the West Coast bases and develop them there. I want all that extra search capability along the West Coast. It paid off well early in this game when Treespider sent a horde of subs to the West Coast.

My number one concern early in a campaign is to protect the Hawaiian Islands. By having the various US LBA sitting in the West Coast bases, accumulating experience by being on patrol, I have a reserve of full strength 4E bombers available to fly to the H.I. in one day to bolster my defenses. As the risk to the H.I. decreases with time and I get more support into the H.I and the bases there get larger I then fly my 4Es into the various H.I. bases to augment my patrol planes and allow me to move my patrol planes further afield.

I don't move out the Canadian forces other than to fill in gaps in my defense of Alaska. They are my first line of reserve against an invasion of Alaska and the Aleutians.

As far as patrol capability in India goes, the first thing that I do in any game is to move the Brit Patrol planes out of Malaya and into the Bay of Bengal. Then as the Brit bomber squadrons become worn out in Malaya I move them back to India and put them on Naval Search/Attack to allow them to rebuild. I also split the Dutch patrol units between India and Northern Australia, moving them out as the Japanese move forward.

The main decision I make, and this varies from game-to-game, is where to put the Philippines B-17s. Sometimes I move them to Oz, other times to India. There are good uses for them in either location. The big advantage of using them in India is that you can base them in multiple good inland bases that are mutually supporting. In Oz you are always looking "over your shoulder" for Japanese BBs sailing in to bombard your coastal air bases. Also, it isn't hard to fly other bomber squadrons into Oz from the West Coast if and when there is an opportunity for a bombing campaign.

BTW - I don't play the mod versions of the game. I admire all the work that folks like Nik put into the mods, but I always feel that I paid the Matrix/2x3 Folks for this game, so they owe me a good game; I shouldn't have to use a "kit bash".

Thanks again -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 182

Hit-and-Run - 6/9/2006 11:01:30 PM

ADavidB

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February 6, 1942 -

My aerial "hit-and-run" tactics didn't pay off so well this time, although they did create a certain amount of distraction for the Japanese. I had moved my Dutch bombers from Batavia to Palembang and set them to "Naval Attack" for this turn. As I expected, Treespider sent a strong force of 40 Zeros and 62 Nells to hit Batavia (with surprisingly weak results). My Dutch bombers then proceeded to first locate a large number of potential targets. (I had all of the bomber groups set to 10% "Naval Search", and as well I had a Dutch Patrol squadron in Palembang.) The Dutch bombers then took off.

But the result was not quite as I had planned. The Dutch bombers had too many targets and went "madly off in all directions", attacking almost any and every Japanese TF within range, with most of the attacks flying against CAP over targets in Singapore. Fortunately, I didn't lose too many bombers, and one AP at Singapore was hit, but overall it was a disappointing result. Probably the most important result was that Soerabaja was given a bit of a respite from really heavy Japanese air attacks.

So now I've flown my bombers out of Palembang to yet another of the half dozen or so Level 4 Dutch air bases with plenty of supply that are still in my hands. Treespider's "cherry picking" approach to capturing select forward Allied air bases in the DEI has enabled him to interdict any Allied shipping with his LBA, but it has also meant that I still have a number of other bases from which to stage air attacks. And while Treespider has plenty of air power in the region, he doesn't have enough to blanket all possible remaining Allied air bases without spreading his forces too thinly.

So I'll "enjoy" the opportunities that this situation presents to me while I can, before Treespider sends troops to capture my remaining bases. However, the time delay is making the remaining bases more defensible, so Treespider won't be able to capture them with fragments of LCUs any more. And the longer that Japanese Divisions are wandering around the DEI, the longer I have to build up my defenses in other regions.

In other "less than successful" Allied news, my Australian Hudsons finally took off from Darwin and attacked Lautem, accompanied by P-40Bs from one of the former Philippine air units. Unfortunately, Treespider had a good squadron of Zeros at Lautem and drove off the Hudsons before they could attack, while shooting down two of my nearly irreplaceable Tomahawks. It looks as if the Japanese Bases in Timor will remain relatively "safe" for Treespider until, and if, I bring 4E bombers to Australia.

Speaking of Timor, the Japanese invasion TFs look to be heading for Koepang, which makes sense because it has the largest airfield and port in the region. I don't see any Japanese carriers nearby, but I have no doubt that Treespider is protecting his TFs well, so I'm not going to try to interfere in the invasion, given the weak surface naval forces that I have in the region. My CVs are off getting system damage repaired, and I am also getting my Northampton class cruisers upgraded. US combat ships that don't have radar are effectively "sitting ducks" in any night combat, so I want them to have as good a chance as possible before I commit them. Anyway, all of the US ships in the Western Pacific picked up a lot of system damage in their high speed jaunts during the first couple of weeks of the War, and I want them to get below sysdam "10" so that they aren't as detectable.

In the general Air War, Manila was hit repeatedly again, and strong air raids hit PM and Koepang. Treespider also sent a Zero sweep against Chungking. It looks as if I'll have to move other Allied planes into China or give up control of the air. It's an added pain having lost the Burma Road bases because that limits my ability to bring the short-legged Brit fighters into China, and I have no intention of moving the AVG there. So I'll try to wait until I get some Mohawks and see how well the Chinese can hold out for a while.

In the land war, Macassar and Cagayan finally fell to deliberate attacks, and Changsha and Manila received bombardment attacks. Treespider is moving troops back into the Changsha region, so it looks as if the war in China will become much more intense over the next while.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 183

Marines... - 6/9/2006 11:02:46 PM

ADavidB

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February 7, 1942 -

Having figuratively "caught his breath", Treespider has his forces on a roll again and is pressing most everywhere in the Far East. The Central and Eastern Pacific remain suspiciously quiet, but I'll take every break that I can get. So, for example, from the Allied p.o.v., the big news of the day was that the Marines have started to land at Pearl Harbor. That, along with the other on-going reinforcements, helps to solidify the Allied hold on the Hawaiian Islands. And even if Treespider has no intention of invading the H.I., having troops and planes safely ensconced in Hawaiian bases brings them that much closer to the Front.

As far as the Japanese intentions go, a bombardment TF lead by two BBs hit Koepang during the night, reinforcing my decision not to bother to interfere with the invasion with my surface forces. Japanese troops started to land during the day, and bombers continued to hammer the base. It will be interesting to watch how Treespider treats Timor once he has the entire island; will he build it up as a fortress, thus depriving himself of forces that could be used elsewhere? Or will he keep minimal forces there and depend upon his naval strength to keep away any counter-invasions?

What is more bothersome is Treespider's renewed interest in China. Bombers and escorts hit Chungking again, followed by yet another Zero sweep out of Luang Prabang. I'm sending the long range Chinese bombers to hit the air base at Luang Prabang next turn, and if that doesn't "discourage" Treespider I'll raise the ante by first bringing in the Brit bombers, then as a last resort, the B-17s. But I'm very close to being able to replace the double handful of B-17Cs that I currently have with B-17Es, so I would love to be able to wait for that before I move. Maybe the weather will intervene on my behalf.

In other action, Palembang was swept by Zeros, but the Dutch bombers had already "bugged out", so it was just a waste of avgas for the Japanese. Batavia was hit again, as was Soerabaja, but with the air attacks being split up the effects were fairly small. A Japanese surface combat TF is cruising off of Balikpapan, so I pulled the Dutch bombers out of there this turn and moved them to yet another Level 4 base where they can rest for another turn before trying another strike. I don't want to allow Treespider to catch those bombers in a waterfront airbase with his bombardment TFs.

In ground combat, Changsha and Manila received artillery bombardments again, and Treespider is moving Japanese troops into the countryside south of Changsha as part of his overall attempt to envelop and isolate the base. I already have one Chinese LCU there and I'm sending another in to reinforce it. This is my absolutely least favorite part of WitP, but I refuse to just "roll over" and let a Japanese player get "easy points" from a bad design decision.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 184

Wrong time... - 6/10/2006 5:22:59 AM

ADavidB

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February 8, 1942 -

It looks as if I chose the "wrong time and wrong place" to try to slip some supplies into Broom. Things are getting much "livelier" around Timor, and are poised to get even more so, with the Japanese having a clear upper hand. At the same time, I am even gladder that I resisted any temptation to try to interfere in a serious manner with the current invasion of Koepang.

Things started out okay; the last Philippine PT boat made it to Waingapu just in time to scare off an incoming Japanese invasion fleet. A Japanese bombardment TF with a couple of BBs then bombarded Koepang, but that was to be expected. Next, sub KX put a torpedo into one of the APs at Koepang, although the escorts did cause some light damage to the sub.

But as daylight arrived, it was clear that things were much nastier than had seemed at first. The Japanese invasion TF returned to Koepang, and this time it wasn't scared off by the lone PT. Instead the escorts put a ton of hits into the PT and sank it. Next I noticed a TF sitting a couple of hexes to the west of Koepang and started to see reports of my subs in the region being spotted by Vals and Kates. Uh oh� guess what had moved into position to whack any incoming Allied TF, surface combat or air combat? Yes, a good portion of the KB, from the looks of the patrol reports.

Now, since I hadn't been planning a counterattack, this normally wouldn't have bothered me. But a couple of turns ago I split off three AKs full of supplies from a south-bound TF and sent them towards Broom with a couple of Australian DDs as escorts. Unfortunately, they are still a couple of days away from Broom and due south of the Japanese carriers. Fortunately, the AKs haven't been spotted yet. But there is a Japanese sub heading in the direction of Broom and will likely stumble into the little TF.

The transport TF is too far along to try to make a run for Perth, and anyway, the KB can do three times the speed of the transports. So I've decided to "make a stand" and have ordered one partial group of ex-Philippine P-40Es to fly LR CAP over the TF as it tries to "race" for Broom. I've also moved into Broom the other partial P-40E group and the partial P-40B squadron into Broom to provide general air cover. If Treespider sends his carriers south, those planes won't be enough, but if he leaves the carriers near Koepang then the P-40s ought to keep unescorted carrier bombers away. I'll probably end up losing the ships and my P-40s, but I want to take the chance anyway.

And just in case Treespider decides to "turn the corner" and make a visit to Perth I've ordered my transports and slow auxiliary ships out of the harbor and towards Adelaide. If they can make the turn to the southeast they ought to be safe.

In other Fronts, as expected Balikpapan was hit with a naval bombardment. But I had already flown my remaining Dutch bombers back to Sumatra so the damage was minimal. This coming turn I'm sending my Dutch bombers back out again against a Japanese air field. I'm running out of bombers, running out of bases in which to "hide", and running out of luck, so I may as well do as much as possible before all of my options are used up in the DEI.

There were a couple of Japanese air attacks on Sumatra. Zeros swept Madioen for no reason that I can figure, because I don't have fighters there and haven't for a long time. Another attack by bombers and fighters on Soerabaja was repelled by the Dutch CAP, but with more losses to the Dutch. The Dutch fighter squadrons are slowly being bled to death.

Things are really heating up in China. Zeros swept Chungking again, shooting down more Chinese fighters. My Chinese bombers hit Luang Prabang but didn't catch any planes on the ground and caused little overall damage. There was then a large, well escorted air attack on Hengchow that hammered my Chinese CAP quite hard. The Chinese air force will soon be totally out of action. And three big Japanese units drove my lone Chinese LCU out of the non-city hex south of Changsha, opening the way for them to cut off the road between Changsha and Hengchow. I've got a unit in that connecting hex right now, but I doubt that it can stand up to the Japanese either.

And in PNG, a large air attack hit PM again. There is no sign of any ship movement, so I wonder if Treespider is using these attacks as practice as much as anything else. There were a number of other air, naval and ground bombardments, so all-in-all it was a day of no respite for the Allies anywhere in the Far East.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 185

Good News, Bad News... - 6/10/2006 5:17:14 PM

ADavidB

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February 9, 1942 -

This was a "Good News, Bad News" turn for the Allies. The Good News was that the transport TF got into Broom harbor safely without being detected. The Bad News was that the Japanese AC TF disappeared. Is it heading back to port? Is it heading towards Oz? Is it heading out into the Indian Ocean on a "fishing trip"?

In any event, the Japanese operations in the Timor area continued to go smoothly. Koepang was bombarded again, more troops landed, and eventually it was captured by an entire Japanese Division. That was definitely overkill, but I guess that Treespider didn't want to take any chances. Troops started to land on Waingapu, which means that it will be captured in a turn or two, cutting off my last air base for short range planes between Oz and the central DEI.

There was plenty of other action in the DEI. Miri received a naval bombardment again. I'm not sure why Treespider just doesn't send in some troops; the only forces in Miri are the remnants of the Brit base force that was driven out of Brunei. Palembang was first swept by Zeros, and then hit by escorted Japanese bombers. Once again, I'm surprised that Treespider is handling Sumatra with "kid gloves".

I am keeping him "honest" by means of those few Dutch bombers that are left:

Day Air attack on Banjarmasin, at 27, 64

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 3

Allied aircraft
Martin 139 x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-15 Babs: 2 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
80 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 21

I grouped those bombers into three squadrons from the original half dozen or more. I moved them again after this raid; this time they are back to Soerabaja and scheduled to try to raid Banjarmasin again. Sure, this is only a nuisance, but it does keep Treespider guessing where I will send those planes, and where they will attack next. Fortunately, they have enough range to be able to eventually escape to Oz.

In other "nuisance" news, my Chinese bombers hit Luang Prabang again, only this time running into some CAP. They had some trouble, but the Zeros didn't wipe them from the sky, and it did keep those Zeros from going on a sweep of Chungking again. Things were generally quiet in China, although Treespider now has five big Japanese LCUs sitting south of Changsha.

Manila was hit hard repeated from the air again. There is little supply left and there is no way to improve the fortification while all the facilities are totally destroyed. But a deliberate attack this turn was still repelled with ten times the casualties for the Japanese as for the beleaguered defenders. Never-the-less, it's still just a matter of time, and likely not much of that.

In other news was that after repeated Japanese recon flights, Finschafen finally was automatically occupied this turn, saving Treespider the trouble of sending in some troops. I'm doing nothing to try to reinforce PNG, so Treespider can do pretty much what he likes.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 186

RE: Good News, Bad News... - 6/11/2006 5:02:26 AM

Grotius

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So do you expect him to land in Port Moresby?

Enjoying the cat-and-mouse north of Oz. Are those transports going to unload in Broome and just park there, or what? :)

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 187

RE: Good News, Bad News... - 6/11/2006 5:16:18 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

So do you expect him to land in Port Moresby?

Enjoying the cat-and-mouse north of Oz. Are those transports going to unload in Broome and just park there, or what? :)

I presume that he will, only he hasn't moved any TFs in the area for some time. And I also have one of the ex-Rabaul units in Gili-Gili, which makes things a little more complicated for the Japanese.

If I get to unload the AKs safely in Broom I'll disband them and let them sit quietly for a while until I find out where the Japanese carriers are at. I don't want AKs steaming at 11 knots right into a couple of Japanese TFs around the "corner"...

And anyway, if he does a port attack the odds are less that he will get to use torpedoes, and I will be able to attack his naval bombers with the best fighters that I have right now.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 188

Enemy Carriers Attacking Broome... - 6/11/2006 6:29:38 AM

ADavidB

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February 10, 1942 -

There was action everywhere this turn, with Japanese bombers, ships and troops attacking all over the Far East. But hardest fight by far was in the afternoon when the Japanese AC TF that had disappeared off of Timor reappeared off of Broome and attacked:

Day Air attack on Broome, at 21, 85

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 2
A6M2 Zero x 32
D3A Val x 27
B5N Kate x 18

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 5 destroyed, 9 damaged
B5N Kate: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 10 destroyed

Allied Ships
DD Vendetta, Bomb hits 2
CL Sumatra, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 2

I was really surprised that the Japanese planes went after the port. Was Treespider hoping that I had my US CVs hiding there? And he must not have had any planes set to Naval Attack because the three AKs that were unloading in the port were left alone.

The next surprise was that the defenders staged a counterattack:

Day Air attack on TF at 19, 81

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 8
A6M2 Zero x 50

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 5
P-40B Tomahawk x 8
P-40E Warhawk x 39

Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude: 3 destroyed
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-40B Tomahawk: 4 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 25 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Was that ever lucky!!!

But all-in-all this was a very costly day as I lost 42 P-40s. That really hurts after I had husbanded them so carefully. Never-the-less, I still have fighters left in Broome, and I've moved more Hudsons in just in case I can get lucky again. I'm also sending every sub I have in the area to try to find the Zuiho.

So, will Treespider press the attack, or retreat?

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 189

RE: Enemy Carriers Attacking Broome... - 6/11/2006 8:12:02 AM

Grotius

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Perhaps he did spot your little transport TF after all? I've always been a little fuzzy about just what units of mine have been spotted by the enemy, but then I tend to run the replay kinda fast. Bodhi's utility can help with spotting.

Or maybe he had intel about your ships heading there? I know IJN intel is lousy to say the least, but who knows. It just seems odd that he'd attack a relative backwater like Broome without some foreknowledge that you had ships there.

By all means, press your attack. A burning CVL is easier to hit than a non-burning CVL, so you might indeed get lucky again.

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 190

RE: Enemy Carriers Attacking Broome... - 6/11/2006 9:14:09 AM

witpqs

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From: Argleton
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Hudsons hitting a carrier?

Quoting the movie (In Harms Way) "By God, that's cutting them down to size!!!"

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 191

RE: Enemy Carriers Attacking Broome... - 6/11/2006 4:24:24 PM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Perhaps he did spot your little transport TF after all? I've always been a little fuzzy about just what units of mine have been spotted by the enemy, but then I tend to run the replay kinda fast. Bodhi's utility can help with spotting.

Or maybe he had intel about your ships heading there? I know IJN intel is lousy to say the least, but who knows. It just seems odd that he'd attack a relative backwater like Broome without some foreknowledge that you had ships there.

By all means, press your attack. A burning CVL is easier to hit than a non-burning CVL, so you might indeed get lucky again.

He has been scouting that area heavily with subs, so he knew that I had been moving ships in and out of Broome. Remember, I also hit him a few weeks before with one of my CVs, so he had reason to suspect that a CV might still be around.

Thanks -

Dave

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 192

RE: Enemy Carriers Attacking Broome... - 6/11/2006 4:26:12 PM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Hudsons hitting a carrier?

Quoting the movie (In Harms Way) "By God, that's cutting them down to size!!!"

And getting past 50 Zeros too!!!

It was just lucky that they picked the CVL - if it were the CV the bombs would have bounced.

In any event, it just shows that the old saying is still true:

"Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut."

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to witpqs)

Post #: 193

A Breather... - 6/11/2006 4:26:59 PM

ADavidB

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February 11, 1942 -

Broome received a breather this turn as the Japanese CVs pulled back. They are now due north of Broome and due west of Koepang. My biggest concern now is that Treespider might decide to park his undamaged CV along the Map Edge; I have several transport TFs on their way south and I don't want them to be caught.

So those AKs continue to unload as if they didn't have a "care in the world". The Dutch cruiser and the Australian DD are being repaired in harbor, and my air units are being sent back to their usual bases. The next problem will start when Treespider gets a base force in Koepang and gets to base LBA there. Fortunately, Koepang is a malarial base, while the northern Australian bases are not any longer, so it will be harder for him to maintain his units than for me.

This setback aside, Japanese forces continue to be on top everywhere else in the Far East. All of the Dutch level four bases were bombed, although the remaining Dutch bombers were still able to get off and hit Banjarmasin again. There was a big air raid on Kweilin; it looks as if this may be Treespider's next major target in China.

In land action, Manokwari was occupied automatically, Makale was captured against no opposition, and Waingapu surprisingly enough successfully repelled an attack. Changsha and Manila received artillery attacks.

There are a number of Japanese TFs on the move and it looks as if Batavia, or one of the smaller bases on Java, is going to be invaded. There are still Japanese troops landing at Miri, but again surprisingly, they haven't attacked yet.

In Allied news, I received some very welcome reinforcements, particularly in India. I am moving those Indian units to various inland bases to continue my buildup of my defense-in-depth. The fortifications at Pearl Harbor also finally reached level 9, so I am moving that engineering unit out and to another of the bases in the H.I. so that I can speed up the rest of the defensive development. I can't wait until I start to get Seabees.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 194

Java Under Assault! - 6/11/2006 7:43:34 PM

ADavidB

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February 12, 1942 -

As things continue to quiet down in the Timor region, the new focus of Japanese aggression turns out to be Java. Treespider is skipping Sumatra in favor of an early assault on Java. All air bases in Java received heavy Japanese air attacks, but the primary invasion point looks to be Kragen. Minesweepers came in first to start to clear mines, followed by a naval bombardment TF. Then after a number of air raids, paratroops were dropped on the base. Their initial shock attack was repelled, but the painfully built fortifications were reduced from 2 to 0 in that first attack.

Fortunately, I already have the bulk of my combat troops in Soerabaja, so I don't have to worry about them being cut off. But Treespider has been preparing a number of units for quite some time for an assault on Soerabaja, so I expect the battle to quickly become fierce. The Dutch air force is just about finished, but I have set the remaining Dutch bombers to Naval Attack anyway, just in case they get lucky. BTW - the undamaged carrier from the Broome attack is moving up to Sumatra to add to the assault.

But Treespider is being aggressive most everywhere, and any mistakes that I make are punished swiftly and thoroughly. For example, I didn't notice that Japanese troops had moved in against Bataan, because I assumed that he would leave that base until Manila was capture. So I never bothered to pull out the Catalinas that I had there to keep an eye on the Japanese naval movements in the region. Well, a deliberate attack captured Bataan in one try this turn, destroying my Catalinas on the ground. Sure, I'll get them regenerated at some time in the future, but what a careless waste that was for now!

Japanese forces also captured Miri and Waingapu, but I had already pulled my Patrol planes out of both bases. The DEI is quickly becoming a "playground" for the Japanese forces.

So while the closing chapter on the Philippines and Dutch East Indies starts, I continue to focus upon building up my defensive structure to allow me to plan where and when I'll stop the Japanese advance.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 195

RE: Java Under Assault! - 6/11/2006 9:00:35 PM

ny59giants

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Do you disband some of your Dutch units into others and thus get them back at Sydney in 90 days (free Political Points) or do you consider it "gamey" ?? The recon are nice because they upgrade to F-5A's and the bombers to B-25's in 7/42. Unfortunately, the fighters come back as Kittyhawks III's and those aren't available to early '43.

What are your fortification levels at the four north Oz bases?? Just in case he makes that jump.

_____________________________

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 196

RE: Java Under Assault! - 6/11/2006 11:04:04 PM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Do you disband some of your Dutch units into others and thus get them back at Sydney in 90 days (free Political Points) or do you consider it "gamey" ?? The recon are nice because they upgrade to F-5A's and the bombers to B-25's in 7/42. Unfortunately, the fighters come back as Kittyhawks III's and those aren't available to early '43.

What are your fortification levels at the four north Oz bases?? Just in case he makes that jump.

Disbanding is simply part of the Game Design. If your planes are captured, they come back in 180 days, if you disband them, they come back in 90 days. There's nothing "gamey" about either. I disband my air units if they become too small to be effective and if I don't have a reasonable replacement or upgrade supply.

F-5As are a "dream" - they are only built at 5 per month. Just normal operational usage will eat up that many a month.

The northern Oz bases are not defendable in early 1942. If the Japanese player wants to come in with a Division or two, they are his, no questions asked. Fortification levels are irrelavent until you get enough divisions of your own. But even beyond that, the four northern bases are not mutually defendable. One BB bombardment run and your runways are toast.

If the Japanese player wants to take northern Oz, you may as well let him. He will then have to defend it, and troops sitting there aren't fighting against you somewhere else. Southeastern Oz, on the other hand, should be fought for to the death and beyond, just like the Hawaiian Islands.

And in this game, because of the non-historic start, Treespider has a several month jump on the Historic timetable, which means that I have even fewer forces with which to try to stop him. So while it's fun to try to do nuisance raids, there's no point in throwing away good forces against massed Japanese attacks at this time. The current invasion of Java will demonstrate that clearly.

Thanks -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 197

RE: Java Under Assault! - 6/11/2006 11:30:07 PM

BrucePowers

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THank you for the indepth AAR. You have given me some idea to try on defense that I had not thought of. Good Luck. I will keep reading.

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 198

RE: Java Under Assault! - 6/12/2006 12:10:47 AM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

THank you for the indepth AAR. You have given me some idea to try on defense that I had not thought of. Good Luck. I will keep reading.

Be careful of taking any advice from me...

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to BrucePowers)

Post #: 199

Java Getting Hammered! - 6/12/2006 2:33:21 AM

ADavidB

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February 13, 1942 -

The story this turn was again Java, as more Japanese carriers joined in the action and helped to pound the remaining air units at Soerabaja into the ground. I've now flown most everything out; there is no point in sticking around any longer. Surprisingly enough, Treespider hasn't landed any troops at Kragen yet; he is still depending upon his paratroops to capture the base, and they aren't having an easy time of it - once again the Japanese attack was repulsed.

The remaining Dutch bombers at Soerabaja bravely flew out and attempted to attack a number of the many tempting targets which were available, but without any luck. CAP and flak beat them every time. However, at Lautem, some Australian Hudsons flew unescorted to Lautem, blasted past the CAP, and hammered an AP very hard:

Day Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 33, 78

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 11

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Arugun Maru, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage

I'm hoping that this helps to discourage Treespider even further from bothering with northern Australia for a while.

In other news, Salamaua was occupied automatically and Japanese troops started to land at Pomala. In China there were a fair number of air attacks and artillery attacks against Changsha and Wuchow. Things remain quiet in Burma, which is fine with me, because last turn I was finally able to upgrade my partial group of B-17Cs to a full group of B-17Es and it will take them a couple of weeks to be fully ready to go.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 200

Death by a Thousand Cuts... - 6/13/2006 12:12:02 AM

ADavidB

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February 14, 1942 -

While the Japanese Giant smashed its way along in the DEI, the little Allied gnats got in a few Valentine's Day bites. First off, more Japanese MSWs swept mines out of Kragen Harbor. However, for some unknown reason, Treespider also sent some minesweepers to Soerabaja. Now, although the airfields at Soerabaja have been attacked frequently, there hasn't been much damage done to them, the supply level in Soerabaja is still quite high, and there haven't been any port attacks. So the following happened:

TF 12 encounters mine field at Soerabaja (22, 65) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

51 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
MSW W.18
MSW W.12, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
MSW W.11, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
MSW W.6

One of those MSWs sank immediately afterwards. Did Treespider forget about the Big Guns at Soerabaja? What's particularly ironic is that there were only a few mines at Soerabaja anyway. I'm guessing that Treespider sent in those MSWs because he was planning to send in a bombardment TF; I wonder if he is still planning to do so.

Then, off Finschafen, USS Perch ran into an AG:

Sub attack at 56, 87

Japanese Ships
AG AG-369, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Perch

That AG also sank soon afterwards.

Then, off of Kendari, KXIV got lucky:

Sub attack at 26, 65

Japanese Ships
ML Ikitsushima, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
SS KXIV

The sub was actually looking for the Japanese CVs that had been around, but "beggars can't be choosers".

And off of Australia, I had spotted a Japanese sub the previous turn and so, figuring that it was out to do more nuisance sub-minelaying, I sent out some minesweepers. Well, look what they found:

ASW attack at 47,114

Japanese Ships
SS I-24, hits 1

Allied Ships
MSW Rampur
MSW Cochin
MSW Baroda

I'm now sending a DD on ASW duty out to see if I can find the damaged sub.

And finally, the Hudsons of Northern Australia went off for another couple of attacks on Japanese shipping at Lautem:

Day Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 33, 78

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 8
P-40B Tomahawk x 4

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Otori Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire

And again:

Day Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 33, 78

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 5

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Otori Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

That ship ought to go under soon.

There was also a satisfying ground combat result in China as a number of Japanese LCUs tried unsuccessfully to knock a couple of Chinese units out of a hex to the north of Changsha:

Ground combat at 46, 34

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 36553 troops, 421 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 758

Defending force 16289 troops, 90 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 519

Japanese max assault: 729 - adjusted assault: 284

Allied max defense: 540 - adjusted defense: 97

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
1085 casualties reported
Guns lost 26

Allied ground losses:
56 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

I have no idea why things will work out like this sometimes in China, when in parallel situations a handful of Japanese troops will drive away a huge horde of Chinese troops. Never-the-less, I'll take it!

In other action, a Zero squadron tried a sweep over Akyab but missed the target. I've got a squadron of Hurricanes there, so I upped the CAP level and set their altitude higher for the next time. I also set the Hudsons at Akyab to bomb Luang Prabang, just in case I can catch a few of those Zeros on the ground.

And in ground action, Pomala was captured against no opposition. Changsha, Wuchow and Manila received artillery attacks. To-date, Japanese forces have captured 71 Allied bases and occupied 22 others. (It's a good thing that I keep track on a spreadsheet or I wouldn't realize how much Treespider has done so far.)

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 201

Now Sumatra... - 6/13/2006 4:56:31 AM

ADavidB

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February 15, 1942 -

The Battle of Java continued, with the Japanese landing some significant ground forces at Kragen and eventually capturing the base. A bombardment TF also went around the south end of the island and bombarded Malang. Treespider will want to capture Malang in order to cut off my troops in Soerabaja. He also has another paratroop unit preparing to drop in on Soerabaja. I don't currently have any fighters there, but I have one last Dutch fighter unit resting and rebuilding in Batavia and I'll fly them in once it appears that the Paras are coming.

Treespider also started the invasion of Sumatra this turn. For a while I thought that he was going to invade one of the bases on the north end of the island, or even go around the north end to invade one of the bases on the west side, because a transport TF had gone that direction. But as I chased that TF with my subs, it turned around and went back south. So I have no idea what it was doing or why. Maybe it was supposed to be a lure in case I came in with CVs.

In any event, the result was that the bulk of my subs are out of position to attack the ships at Palembang. I'm now sending them south, but it will take them a couple of days. In other DEI action, the Hudsons from Darwin flew against Lautem again today and once again put a number of bombs into the same ship as yesterday. That ship must be carrying cement - it just doesn't want to sink.

Things have quieted a bit in Burma and China. My Hudsons from Akyab hit the air base at Luang Prabang and caught one Zero on the ground. There were still air attacks in China, but neither side was doing a lot. And the only land attacks were artillery bombardments at Changsha and Wuchow again. And in the Philippines, Manila received another artillery attack.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 202

Japan on a roll... - 6/14/2006 12:06:17 AM

ADavidB

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February 16, 1942 -

The "daydream" is over for now as the Japanese forces got down to the business of cleaning up the last pockets of resistance in the Far East. Troops first started to wade ashore at Palembang. The coastal guns there did get a few hits on a couple of Japanese DDs but there was nothing that could stop the incoming attack. Troops also started to land at Balikpapan. And there is a Japanese surface combat or bombardment TF sailing around the west side of Java. Treespider can do pretty much what he likes at this time and there isn't a lot I can do about it.

There were a couple of minor air attacks on Koepang this turn by the Hudsons in northern Oz, but it's just not the same watching a handful of light bombers hit an airfield versus hundreds of bombers absolutely crush a base, as is happening at Soerabaja, Manila and now Port Moresby.

There wasn't much in the way of land action this turn, just a few artillery attacks at the usual places. A Japanese LCU has moved into contact with three Japanese LCUs to the north of Changsha, so I've ordered those units to try a shock attack in an attempt to drive that Japanese unit back. If things go as usual, this will backfire badly, but I've got to try something.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 203

Coastal Guns... - 6/15/2006 5:46:29 AM

ADavidB

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February 17, 1942 -

This was a turn of a few small, surprising Allied victories that were more than balanced by a number of expected losses and the reoccurrence of a large and seemingly endless frustration. The Japanese advances progressed unabated in the Far East while the US build-up in the Eastern Pacific maintained its momentum in the absence of any interference.

The invasion of Balikpapan continued, with more Japanese troops landing in the face of shore fire. However, a fairly rare occurrence happened; a Japanese PC on escort duty with the transport ships actually hit a Dutch mine and sank. Then, when a bombardment TF came in to hit the Dutch defenders, the shore guns found the range on DD Hatsukari and sank her.

The defences of Palembang were already too badly damaged for the shore guns to be able to reply to the continued landings or the naval bombardment, but Dutch sub O16 arrived at the base in time to torpedo and sink a Japanese MSW. Never-the-less, at the end of the day the overwhelming Japanese forces that had landed were easily able to defeat the Dutch troops and capture the base.

Then, in an odd move, another Japanese bombardment TF went around Java and hit Tjilitjap for no apparently good reason. Treespider has been bombing Malang constantly for the past while, making it appear like he would land troops there. But Tjilitjap had so far been spared any air attacks. In any event, the results demonstrated why one should prepare a target for naval bombardment with air attacks ahead of time:

Naval bombardment of Tjilitjap, at 19, 62 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

59 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
DD Kuri
DD Shiokaze
DD Ariake
DD Yugure
DD Amatsukaze
DD Hayashio, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Yukikaze, Shell hits 3
DD Natsushio
DD Kuroshio
DD Yugumo
BB Hyuga, Shell hits 1
BB Ise, Shell hits 2

Allied ground losses:
169 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Runway hits 2
Port supply hits 1

This also shows why it's important to stand off your DDs during initial naval bombardments. Those two DDs weren't reported sunk, but they won't be doing much for a while even if they make it back to port.

But those actions were pretty much all the "good news" that the Allies got this turn. Japanese air units ranged far and wide in great numbers and hit bases at will. At this point I have no Allied air units other than the AVG that can stand up to dozens of Zeros and hundreds of Japanese bombers, so I'm not trying to stop the airborne carnage. And since Treespider is attacking a dozen different targets each turn, I couldn't cover them even if I did commit the AVG. In addition, Japanese troops picked up another "loose" base in the Philippines, Dadjangas.

The truly frustrating news came from China as usual. I find that the problems of trying to play the Game in China drive me to the point of irrationality. In my mind, all the other things done in the Game for the benefit of "play balance" pale to total insignificance compared to the twin issues of movement and land combat in China.

So while the steadily increasing air attacks on Hengchow and the slow depletion of the Chinese air assets are directly due to a conscious decision on my part not to bring other Allied air units into China, the incomprehensible nature of the design decisions for movement and land combat leaves me with a feeling of hopelessness. Nothing seems to work, nothing makes sense, and the placement of Land Combat at the end of a Turn just leaves a foul taste in my mouth with every turn where something occurs in China.

So this turn, one of the Japanese "God Units" got to attack three Chinese LCUs and kick two of them out of the hex north of Changsha before the Chinese units could attack. The units on both sides seemed evenly matched; who knows what factors made the results come out the way that they did. The strangest part was that one of the Chinese units didn't retreat and so was in position to attack the Japanese unit at poor odds. Never-the-less, the results weren't that bad, and suggest that if all three Chinese units had stayed in that hex they might have had a reasonable chance on the attack against that Japanese unit. So why were they defeated in the first place? Of course, one could also ask why the Japanese unit got to attack first.

So with my field defenses of Changsha falling apart with each Japanese attack, I've decided that I will try to abandon Changsha and pull my troops back. In theory, there is an open rail line leading away from Changsha, so my troops ought to be able to retreat. But with the horribly mindless design of the Land Movement, I won't be surprised at all if the Chinese troops will be trapped.

In any event, with the bulk of Treespider's efforts in China focussed in the Changsha-to-Wuchow region, I've decided to send some of my well-rested and nearly full strength Chinese LCUs south from Homan to see if they can get to and capture the Japanese-controlled base on the rail line that is south of Homan. There is only one Japanese unit in the way; can it be defeated or will it be another "God Unit"? One can't tell without trying, so I've got to try something. I'd so much rather ignore China, but since the current Game Design lets a Japanese player feel like Genghis Khan in China, the temptation is always too great for Japanese players to not play historically in that region.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 204

Movement reset... - 6/16/2006 12:08:44 AM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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February 18, 1942 -

As I had feared, the troops at Changsha didn't move to the uncontested hex to the west, despite it being a rail hex and there being a clear pathway to further uncontested bases. Not only the troops didn't move, their orders were cleared. So I am trying again, only this time setting their destination to an uncontested base nearby. In theory they ought to move, but given the immense flaws in the ground movement system, there's an equally good chance that they won't do a thing.

In many ways, the ground movement system is totally incomprehensible. For example, my troops at Homan were given orders to move to the enemy occupied base that is several hexes to the south on the rail line. There are two movement options: go along the rail line and run into a Japanese unit that is blocking the rail line, or go along the open, unblocked roadway. Any other time I've tried this, the Chinese units have taken the rail line and come into conflict with the blocking unit. This time they've taken the "sensible" approach and moved along the uncontested route. Go figure�

The next time I start a game it will only be under the condition that China is "frozen" and neither side runs any offensive operations out of it. I would really prefer to play "War in the Pacific" instead of "War in a Badly Programmed China".

Elsewhere the current Japanese onslaught continued with dozens of Japanese air attacks everywhere in the Far East. I'm not bothering to try to fly combat missions because almost all Allied bases everywhere on the map are covered with thunderstorms. I did fly some recon flights into Burma just to keep Treespider wondering.

None of my subs, minefields or remaining LBA interfered with any Japanese TFs. A Japanese bombardment TF hit Malang, but this time the DDs were held back and only the BBs fired. What's particularly funny is that the Dutch base force at Malang doesn't have any shore guns. <LOL> Afterwards Japanese troops started to land unmolested at Malang. There was also a naval bombardment of Tarakan where Treespider didn't hold back the DDs and sure enough, one of them was hit by a shore gun, but it doesn't appear to have been a serious hit.

Treespider was in the mood for ground combat, so after all the air and naval preparation his forces attacked almost everything, everywhere. Results weren't as good as he had hoped:

- A deliberate attack at Manila failed. But there are no more supplies there, so the troops there can't last much longer.

- A deliberate attack at 46,34 failed, when two good Japanese units took on two ordinary Chinese units in the Field and achieved a draw.

- A deliberate attack at 45,35 succeeded, and the Chinese unit that didn't retreat last turn retreated this turn.

- There was a deliberate attack at Hengchow that was surprising because there were only 4 Japanese units there. As should be the case, it failed badly.

- There was a deliberate attack at Balikpapan that failed, which was a surprise, considering that two of the four Dutch units had retreated from another Dutch base only a couple of game-weeks before.

There are also Japanese troops moving from Kragen to Soerabaja so the siege there will start soon.

As far as the Allied actions go, I am still busily building up my forces in nice, well-supplied backwater bases. I now have 5 US divisions in Pearl Harbor and a 6th will land within a couple of days. All of the non-dot Hawaiian bases have base forces, RCT, CD, and AA units in them. The port in Hilo just grew to level 3, so I'm sending a TF containing an AD, AS & AV to it. I like keeping AD and AS ships in the level 3 ports in the Hawaiian Islands so that if an attack occurs I have alternate bases to Pearl where I can re-arm my DDs and CLs. If there is no threat this also allows me to repair subs and smaller ships more quickly and leave Pearl to repair the big ships.

In the absence of PDU my air upgrade plans are going ever so slowly. This turn I was finally able to upgrade one of the Pearl Harbor P-26 squadrons to P-39s. This also allowed the final P-26 squadron to fill out with planes. I had already upgraded the former Philippines P-26 squadron in Australia. I haven't upgraded the former Philippines P-35 squadron with P-40Es yet because I am still trying to recover from the losses that I incurred during the defense of Broome.

In ship news, the last of the Northampton CAs upgraded and received their first radar sets. This means that they will actually be somewhat useful in surface combat now. I still have a number of cruisers and battleships under repair in various ports. The Indianapolis is taking forever to recover from its mine and torpedo damage in Brisbane harbor. Sys Damage is still at 88 and speed only at 2, so there is no way that I am moving it. Sys Damage in the Pennsylvania is also still sitting in the 80s, so it's also still stuck in port, in this case Pearl. I've got five other 20-knot BBs sitting in West Coast ports with damage levels ranging from low twenties to mid fifties, so they won't be seeing upgrades or combat for a number of months.

And India is still frighteningly weak, despite the presence of a nice RN contingent. I have been able to put base forces into all Indian bases, and have spread out the British combat troops as best as possible, but there is nothing there that can stop a multi-division Japanese invasion at this time. It will be a couple of months before I get any decent ground troops in India, so if a Japanese invasion occurs in the next little while everything will rest with the RN, the RAF bombers, and the AVG.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 205

Strategic Assessment... - 6/16/2006 11:41:12 PM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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Treespider is off on a PC-free long weekend, so since I'm "turnless" for a few days I'll take a bit of time to go over the status of this game as of February 18, 1942. The big picture is that Treespider is coming close to achieving the Japanese "historic" expansion several game-months early thanks to his aggressive and effective non-historic start. I expect the remaining main Allied bases in the Far East - Manila and Soerabaja - to fall within the next game month at the most, with Manila's fall being very imminent. Then it is Treespider's decision as to when he bothers to pick up the remaining isolated Allied bases in the Philippines and DEI. In the PNG/Solomons region Treespider controls all the key bases except for Gili-Gili and Port Moresby, both of which are lightly defended.

The question then is; where will he go next? India, Northern Australia and the South Pacific are all weakly defended and there will be few good Allied combat units available over the next couple of months to make a difference in those Theaters. The Hawaiian Islands and South-eastern Australia are well defended and would be difficult for Treespider to assault even now. The Aleutians are lightly defended but Anchorage is well defended and is an unlikely target in any event. The West Coast is well defended and unlikely to be threatened by an invasion. China remains a mess and my strategy there rests upon the whims of the Game's capricious movement rules. Siberia is an unlikely target while the Japanese have other weaker targets within easy reach. Therefore, I am conserving and building up my strength in order to be able to defend India, South-eastern Australia and the Hawaiian Islands for the immediate future.

I am depending upon the Royal Navy and in particular the six RM BBs that I have in India to interfere with any Japanese invasion of India. I am preserving the AVG to provide LR CAP over my RN ships and I am building up a network of inland air bases to support LBA attack against invasion. A concerted attack by the KB, the Combined Fleet and three or more crack Japanese Divisions would undoubtedly be able to break through and take one of the coastal bases, but I am hoping that my inner network of mutually-supporting bases can project enough force to keep a breakout for occurring. The longer Treespider waits to move, the better my defences will be prepared.

I have a number of cruisers and two US CVs in South-eastern Australia to provide a strike force against any Japanese incursions into that region. If a serious Japanese assault occurs in Northern Australia I will pull back my forces in a fighting retreat. I have the formerly Philippine-based USAAF fighter units based in Australia and am attempting to rebuild them. This is being hampered by the slow rate of replacement of P-40s, but they do provide my best counter to Japanese air attacks so I have to persevere. I have not brought US LR bombers to Australia but I will if useful and vulnerable targets develop. I have no intention of trying to engage in an air war of attrition at this stage of the game.

I continue to move all CENPAC, SOPAC and SWPAC land units to the Hawaiian Islands while sending all NORPAC units to Anchorage and leaving all West Coast units in the West Coast. All but one of the battleships that survived the Pearl Harbor attack are in West Coast ports. Naval forces at Pearl consist of two US CVs and their associated escorts, along with some support and auxiliary ships. Transport ships are being based on the West Coast when they are not in use. The original Hawaiian air units have been rebuilt and upgraded as much as possible, and some of the CENPAC, SOPAC and SWPAC air units have been moved from the West Coast to the Hawaiian Islands, but not all. If a Japanese attack commences upon the Hawaiian Islands I will pull the US CV forces out to attempt to attack behind the incoming enemy TFs, and allow the Land and Air units in the Hawaiian Islands to engage the incoming enemy. All non-dot bases in the Hawaiian Islands have combat forces in place and have defences being built up.

So I will continue with this plan until the situation in the Far East is finally resolved and the Japanese plans become more visible. If opportunities present themselves to attack isolated Japanese forces I will attempt to engage, but I do not intend to do raids just for the sake of raiding. It is too important at this time to build up my forces so that I have a hope of obtaining local superiority.

Allied losses have been reasonable so far, all things considered, and Japanese losses have been small but significant. Below are comparisons of the losses in ships and planes between the two sides.

Ship Losses: Allied 82, Japan 42

Allied ship losses:

1 BB (Nevada, at Pearl Harbor)
1 CA (Louisville, in the KB ambush at Rabaul)
5 CL (most in the KB ambush at Rabaul)
5 DD
1 DMS (in San Fran due to a sub attack)
9 MSW
2 PG, 3 AS, 1 AVD, 1 AV, 2 AO, 5 TK, 4AP, 23 AK (most in the failed retreat from the Philippines)
1 SS
18 PT

The Philippine retreat failed badly because I attempted to group the fleeing ships into TFs of matching speeds. This provided a few large targets onto which Treespider focussed his attacks. When I attempted the escape under similar non-historical conditions against Yank I sent the ships out in dozens of individual or two-ship TFs and lost only a handful of the escaping ships in comparison.

Japanese ship losses:

5 DD
7 APD (all from the aborted early invasion attempt on Palembang)
1 ML
7 MSW
4 PG
2 PC
10 AP
2 AK
1 TK
3 SS

My forces have only been able to damage and not sink the major Japanese ships that have been hit by Allied forces.

Air Losses: Allied 1011, Japanese 783

Top 10 Allied air losses, with major contributors:

P-40B: 122, 81 on ground
P-40E: 102, 84 air-to-air
Buffalo I: 70, 51 air-to-air
Brewster: 68, 49 air-to-air
I-16c: 66, 44 air-to-air
PBY Catalina: 58, 54 on ground
Martin 139: 53, 30 air-to-air
CW-21B: 53, 43 air-to-air
Hudson I: 43, spread out
SBD Dauntless: 36, 20 air-to-air

Top 10 Japanese air losses, with major contributors:

Ki-21 Sally: 102, flak 39, ops 37
A6M2 Zero: air-to-air 36, ops 45
G3M Nell: 65, spread out
Ki-48 Lily: 58, flak 37, ops 18
Ki-27 Nate: 58, 26 air-to-air
Ki-51 Sonia: 50, 31 flak
Ki-30 Ann: 45, 33 flak
G4M1 Betty: 45, flak 19, ops 19
K5N Kate: 42, flak 27
Ki-43 1B Oscar: 37, 14 air-to-air, 16 ops

Air summary:

Most air-to-air losses: P-40E
Most flak losses: Ki-21 Sally
Most ground losses: P-40B
Most ops losses: A6M2 Zero

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 206

Fateful Decisions... - 6/20/2006 12:37:27 AM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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February 19, 1942 -

The big news this turn came out of SIGINT with this intercept:

South Seas Det. is loaded on AP, Tenran Maru moving to Port Moresby

So what do I do? Do I send my CVs up north to challenge the invasion and take a risk against the Japanese CVs that are undoubtedly in the region? I do know that part of the KB is off of Java, but I would still expect that there ought to be two or three Japanese CVs in the region. Do I just fly out my troops, let the Japanese have the malarial base, and bomb it at my leisure in the future? Ah, decisions, decisions�

When Treespider sent this turn after being away on real-life family business for four days he wrote that he was "everywhere" in the game and this was certainly true this turn. In addition sending troops to PM, he continued with his multiple invasions in the DEI, his manoeuvring in China, and he also sent a transport TF to Rangoon.

The entire map is again covered by storms, which is very advantageous to Treespider at this time because the weather is hiding most of his naval moves and preventing my LBA from attacking those Japanese TFs that are spotted, such as the one at Rangoon. I'm not sure what that transport TF is doing at Rangoon. Is it bringing in supplies, bringing in troops, or preparing to take troops towards India? I can't believe that Treespider will send more combat troops into Burma; he holds the Burma Road bases quite securely and I'd be very surprised if he tried overland assaults on any of my remaining Burmese bases. Maybe he is brining in more base forces and AA units so that he can attempt a sustained air campaign out of Rangoon and the Burmese bases that he already holds. In any event, unless the weather clears up a bit he will be able to do whatever he wants without any Allied intervention.

Back in the DEI, Japanese troops started to land at Jambi and Tarakan and continued to land at Malang. Ruteng was automatically occupied while Pinrang and Malang were eventually captured in attacks. The Japanese division that landed at Malang took the base so easily it was as if the Dutch base force wasn't even there. The only surprise during the turn was that a Japanese deliberate attack on Balikpapan actually failed, although the fortifications were reduced to level one.

In the PI, Manila received another bombardment attack. Treespider is likely unaware that I'm out of supply and that the troops ought to fold under the next attack. There are other little bases left around with small allied units or fragments that were washed ashore during the debacle of the initial attack. I wonder if Treespider will eventually go to the effort of capturing those bases or if instead he will use them to train his air units?

In China, the bombardment attack on Changsha revealed that the majority of my troops did pull back this turn. So Treespider can take the base next turn if he remembers to set his troops to "attack" instead of "bombard". In light of the fact that Treespider likes to fight in China, I'm not going to try to defend the remaining southern Chinese bases because I will just get my troops trapped in them. So starting next turn I will abandon all of the southern bases and pull back from the rail road system. This will eliminate Treespider's rail line advantage and force him to fight along lousy roads at a slow pace. I'm also hoping to distract him a bit in the East where my Homan forces have now stirred up a hornet's nest by their move southwards. It's incredible how many Japanese LCUs there are in Japan.

Things remain fairly quiet in the Central and Eastern Pacific. DMs that were returning to Canton Island found I-175 waiting and dropped a number of depth charges on it. Intel says that there were four hits, but I'll believe that once I see the sub leave or sink.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 207

Maya Meets a Torpedo... - 6/20/2006 3:39:00 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

February 20, 1942 -

Treespider didn't goof up and his troops did capture Changsha this turn. He was surprised that I pulled back and asked why. So I told him that I had no interest in letting him trap my troops in Changsha. I can always recapture bases but I can't get back LCU points, and the Japanese side already gets way too many LCU points handed to them on a silver platter with the current Game Design.

But even before my troops executed their successful withdrawal I got a rare piece of good news right at the beginning of the turn; O16 put a torpedo into CA Maya off of Sumatra. It sure looked nice seeing the hit and the flames go up on the cruiser. There probably wasn't as much damage as the animation suggested, but it still felt good to get a blow in for a change.

USS Perch also had a chance for heroics in the Bismarcks as it had a shot at CS Chiyoda but the torpedoes missed. Chiyoda is in one of two Japanese TFs that are steaming towards the south shore of PNG. They are already so close to PM that it's just as well that I decided not to bother sending my CVs up to try to intercept. Instead I've sent a bunch of additional subs along the likely route, and I've started to air evacuate troops from both PM and Gili Gili. I'd rather have those troops in Oz than rotting away in the jungles of PNG.

There were lots of Japanese air attacks everywhere throughout the Far East, despite heavy rain everywhere. The heavy rain did prevent my LBA in India from attacking the Japanese transports in Rangoon again. Nowadays I expect to see this sort of result in the Game, so I no longer get all worked up about it. This way, if some of my planes actually fly I treat it as a "bonus". BTW - Treespider has put planes back into Mandalay. I'm not going to bother trying to bomb the air base at this time; the constant thunderstorms over my bases will cause most sorties to be cancelled and those that do leave will sustain large operational losses. I'll let Treespider try to attack my bases instead and see if I can get him to hold the short end of the stick in an attrition battle for once.

In other action, Japanese troops captured Jambi unopposed and bombarded Manila. Deliberate attacks by the Japanese at Balikpapan and Tarakan failed again, for no particularly obvious reasons. (Treespider must be as frustrated with the ground combat as I am with the weather.

)

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 208

RE: Maya Meets a Torpedo... - 6/21/2006 12:36:39 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

February 21, 1942 -

The Chiyoda is a lucky ship. This turn Pickerel got a shot at it and missed. Maybe the third time will be lucky for some US sub. There are now 4 large Japanese TFs steaming slowly towards the southwest off of the northeast corner of PNG. I'm guessing that Treespider is planning simultaneous invasions of both Port Moresby and Gili Gili. What appears to be a bombardment TF has also shown up along with the transport TFs, but there is still no signs of any carriers. I've got to believe that a couple of Japanese CVs are sitting nearby, but we'll see. If Treespider doesn't send any CVs then I may well send up my carriers later on to hit the departing TFs. Since I'm not trying to prevent the capture of PNG I don�t really care when I sink ships, as long as I do.

Treespider's subs got back into the "groove" of sinking Allied ships as a number of subs appeared off of various parts of Australia this turn. Sub I-22 snuck past the escorts and torpedoed and sank ML Prins van Oranje just one hex off of Sydney this turn! I'm sending a flurry of ASW ships out after it; we'll see if we can get revenge. Sub I-155 also torpedoed an AK just to the west of Broome, but the AK is still sailing. And finally some of my air patrol units noticed a Japanese sub heading down towards Perth, so I've sent out some DDs on ASW duty to "greet" it. I haven't seen any subs in the Eastern or South Pacific recently, so I've been able to move a lot of shipping around there without interference and without being watched.

In addition to the PNG operation and the sub action, Treespider continued to be active throughout the Far East. A lot of Japanese air attacks flew, despite generally lousy weather. My bombers in India didn't fly again against the transports at Rangoon. There was clear weather over Rangoon but thunderstorms over the Indian bases. However, I also suspect that there is likely a fair-sized CAP over Rangoon which will discourage the Brit 2E bombers from flying in without escort. So I'm just accepting the status quo for now and allowing Treespider to get his daily 10:1 ratio of operational and flak losses.

Some Allied planes did fly. Treespider hasn't put any CAP over Changsha yet, so I sent the Chinese IL-4cs in to hit the airfield:

Day Air attack on Changsha, at 47, 36

Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 12

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
109 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 12

That's such a pleasant little result that I'm sending the IL-4cs back again next turn to see if they can do more of the same.

The Aussie Hudsons at Darwin also found an unescorted transport TF at Kai Island:

Day Air attack on TF, near Kai Island at 39, 78

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 11

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Shikano Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
15 casualties reported

Unfortunately, this didn't stop the landing of some Japanese troops. There are other Japanese TFs in the same area so I suspect that they are going to invade the other small islands nearby.

Instead of flying LR CAP over the invasion TFs, Treespider's Zeros at Lautem were trying to "play bomber", which is somewhat of a silly thing to do with such a valuable type of plane:

Day Air attack on A-II-Ld AA Battalion, at 31, 77

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
17 x A6M2 Zero bombing at 2000 feet

I'll take those sorts of results any day!

In the ground war, Sawu Island was automatically occupied and Japanese troops easily captured Madioen. A deliberate attack at Tarakan failed again, and much to my surprise and amusement, the Japanese troops at Balikpapan attacked with artillery this turn instead of assaulting the base:

Ground combat at Balikpapan

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 6034 troops, 35 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 42

Defending force 2789 troops, 25 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 22

Japanese ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

The Japanese usually don't lose their own troops in artillery duels even when they attack huge stacks of Chinese LCUs that have hundreds of artillery pieces!

Speaking of China, my pullback from Changsha seems to have flustered Treespider a bit. He pulled back his own troops from Hengchow this turn. I guess he thinks that I am sending the former Changsha garrison to Hengchow. He is also building up forces at Hsinyang like crazy. I'm obviously not going to attack 11 or more Japanese LCUs at Hsinyang, but it's fun to threaten the Japanese supply lines and make Treespider react for a change. He has even pulled back his forward unit that was on the road to Homan, so I've ordered yet another unit from Homan to move down the road one hex. I've also ordered another Chinese LCU from Homan to move one hex to the northeast, which will appear that I am trying to outflank the Japanese unit that is to the east of Homan. I'm hoping that all this movement throws Treespider's plans out of whack for a bit. <g>

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 209

Vanishing TFs... - 6/21/2006 12:39:35 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

February 22, 1942 -

Hmmm - those Japanese TFs off of the eastern tip of PNG "disappeared" this turn, despite the presence of plenty of subs in the region and Allied air patrols. Intel now reports that there are a couple of Japanese subs there instead. I'm assuming that Intel is wrong and that those TFs are still steaming along. I've also put the air patrol unit in Cookstown back on Naval Search instead of using it to pull troops out of Gili Gili.

Those TFs aren't the only Japanese forces that seem to have disappeared. The three Japanese subs that appeared off of Australia last turn have vanished, and a new Japanese sub has appeared off of Townsville. I'm sending out ASW TFs anyway, just in case they can "run over" any subs that are lurking around. The only good news this turn in Oz was that some Australian MSWs finally swept Brisbane Harbor free of sub-laid mines.

The last bits of Borneo under Allied control are giving Treespider nice little headaches. He sent two bombardment TFs against Balikpapan, and then tried a deliberate attack, but the attack failed again, as did the deliberate attack against Tarakan. Other Japanese ground operations were more successful as Tassafaronga was occupied automatically and Kai Island was captured by the survivors of the air attack on their invasion ship.

The Australian Hudsons didn't have any luck today and missed the transports that they attacked near Lautem. Treespider had Zeros on CAP at Lautem, and in a particularly nasty and effective move, sent a squadron of Zeros to sweep Darwin. The Zeros caught and shot down a flight of Wirraways, but were eventually stopped by P-40Bs. I may have to bring some long-range bombers to Oz after all if Treespider continues with this.

In other air news, Treespider intensified his aerial bombardment of Manila, and then followed it up with another artillery bombardment. Soerabaja also received an air attack, but there was no damage.

Air operations in China have essentially stopped. I don't know if Treespider is being hampered by thunderstorms, but all of my bases in China and India are suffering from continuous thunderstorms. Even my usually reliable IL-4cs didn't fly this turn.

In the ground war in China, Treespider's outlying troops kicked a couple of weak Chinese units off of the lower stretch of the road between Changsha and Chungking, but I have plenty of other troops along the northern stretch of that road, so I'm not concerned. Treespider has also not yet moved any masses of troops northwards. Instead he appears to be moving them back to more southern Japanese-controlled bases as well as to the east.

In light of the Japanese hesitation, I have not yet started to evacuate the other three southern Chinese bases. Instead I am blocking the road network to the north of Hengchow. If Treespider moves west, I'll move back. If he doesn't, I'll stay put. I'm also going to eventually move the troops that I pulled out of Changsha up to the northwest Chinese bases to replace the troops that I have been sending to Chungking. That's why it is so important to me to keep my Chinese units free from traps; if the Chinese LCUs can move they can threaten Japanese supply lines.

Oh, BTW - in Allied sub news, KXVIII snuck past multiple escorts and put a torpedo into a Japanese AP off of Java, causing lots of damage to the ship. KXVIII then missed a shot at an AK in a second transport TF. Truant wasn't so lucky and it was hit repeatedly by aerial ASW in Singapore Harbor, so Truant is now being sent home for some well-needed repairs.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 210

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