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Mystery TFs... - 6/22/2006 5:23:27 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		February 23, 1942 -

This was certainly a turn for "mystery TFs" and strange Intel. Those TFs that were off of the eastern tip of PNG totally disappeared this turn. Neither my patrol planes nor my subs spotted anything in the region. Were they just subs that were misreported? If they are truly transport TFs, have they headed south or southeast instead of west, and if so, are they heading to either Australia or New Caledonia? Just in case I've sent a carrier TF cruising up the Eastern coast of Oz and another carrier TF cruising westbound in the South Pacific.

But those aren't the only "phantom" TFs. Intel shows me that there are a couple of cruisers at 97,79 which is southwest of Johnston Island. If they really are cruisers how did they get there past my sub picket line to the west, and why are they sailing west? On the other hand, my Ops Report says that there is only one ship there, sailing west at 17 knots. Seventeen knots is at the upper end of the sailing speed of Japanese subs, so it could just be a sub sailing back to port for refuelling. Never-the-less, I've put my forces in the Eastern Pacific on alert just in case this is something more serious.

This move to "Red Alert" status has made me realize that I'm actually a bit "light" in fighters in the Hawaiian Islands, so I am moving a group of P-40s from the West Coast. These planes were always assigned to SOPAC, but I had them sitting on the West Coast in reserve. I also moved a squadron of B-25s to Johnston Island just in case they can "assist" the Catalinas that are already there in finding out what is going on.

In other news, an Australian DD chased a Japanese sub off of Townsville, but couldn't get any hits on it. The other Japanese subs that were off Australia a couple of turns ago continue to operate in "stealth mode" and haven't been seen recently.

Most of the Allied air forces were sitting out thunderstorms or on patrol this turn, but Allied bombers in China and Northern Australia were busy. First off, Treespider still hasn't put any CAP into Changsha, so when my Chinese bombers flew today they had a nice, easy and successful time:

Day Air attack on Changsha, at 47, 36

Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 9

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
64 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 10

The Australian Hudsons in Northern Australia then proceeded to drive Treespider to distraction by repeatedly attacking transports in Koepang and Lautem despite the presence of Zeros on CAP:

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 3

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

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

Japanese ground losses:
36 casualties reported

And:

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

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 12
P-40B Tomahawk x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Koyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Kofuku Maru
MSW W.3
AP Kuretake Maru, Bomb hits 1

BTW - those Zeros weren't damaged by the Tomahawks; they were damaged by the Hudsons! I reminded Treespider of the universal change to the "survivability" of 2E bombers that occurred back in either v1.5 or v1.6 - previously Hudsons were worthless for anything other than patrol; now they are the Allied equivalent to Nells.

Never-the-less, there is no need to "feel sorry" for Treespider at this point. He was busy flying huge, destructive missions over Java and the Philippines. He also has what seem to be "countless" TFs sailing throughout the area. Tarakan finally fell to a Japanese deliberate attack and Japanese troops continue to be positioned for further advances. Manila, Wuchow and Balikpapan all received artillery attacks. (I still can't get over Balikpapan turning into a "mini-fortress". )

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 211
Phantom TFs... - 6/22/2006 5:26:52 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		February 24, 1942 -

The "Phantom Fleets" showed up this turn at Russell Island. That's an interesting location and one where I like to drop off a base force whenever I can. An air patrol unit at Russell can see into the "blank zone" in the Coral Sea and give advanced warning of movement towards the Solomons. And since Russell is a (1),(1) base it can be readily built up to support bombers.

But at the moment Treespider isn't dropping any troops off at Russell for some reason. I wonder if he is waiting to move some carriers into position; maybe he didn't have any readily available? There is a Japanese carrier group that is traversing the Banda Sea from West to East; it could get to the Solomons in a few days if Treespider pushes it. A Dauntless from one of my carriers in the south east of Australia did give itself away a few game-days ago by spotting a sub - Treespider may well believe that I am rushing an attack squadron to the north.

Well, I've got a couple of carrier TFs moving towards the general region, but at cruising speeds so that they minimize system damage and allow me to adjust to whatever goal Treespider's forces finally attack. In the meanwhile I am continuing to send subs throughout the region to keep an eye on things and to see if they can get "lucky".

There was plenty of action elsewhere in addition to this "shadow game" in the Coral Sea. Treespider finally sent some LR CAP over Changsha, but the Chinese bombers got through for another nice strike:

Day Air attack on Changsha, at 47, 36

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5

Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 10

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
73 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Runway hits 9

Next turn I am sending the IL-4cs to hit a different Japanese base. I don't want to be too predictable or eventually Treespider will get the right combination of CAP in place and I'll lose the experienced pilots that I've worked so hard to train under real combat conditions.

Treespider has raised the ante in the Timor/Northern Australia Front by sending an escorted bomber attack from Lautem against Darwin:

Day Air attack on Darwin, at 36, 84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
Ki-21 Sally x 12

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 3 damaged

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

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

Runway hits 2

That former Philippines Tomahawk squadron is too small to be able to handle such attacks and there aren't any more P-40Bs in reserve, so I pulled the squadron out and replaced it with a full squadron of Warhawks that is also composed of veterans from the Philippines. I do have P-40Es in reserve, albeit not that many, however, this squadron has been successful against Zeros in the past and will get a chance to try again.

What I don't know is if that Japanese CV TF will actually go to the Coral Sea or if Treespider is intending to send it to hit Darwin. Therefore, I've pulled back my less useful planes such as Wirraways from Darwin and will keep a close eye on things. In the meanwhile, my "response" has started the week-long journey from the Hawaiian Islands to Australia. Yes, American 4E bombers will soon answer the call.

The action in the rest of the DEI and Philippines doesn't interest me as much because there is little I can do to influence the outcome in the remaining bases there. Treespider continues to send out hundreds of bombers all over the map in the Far East and as well has TFs sailing and troops marching most everywhere. I currently don't have many subs in the region because they've either run out of torpedoes or they need to have some repair to get Sysdam below 10 so that they aren't as detectable.

In land war news, Japanese troops continued their march along Java and captured Djokjakarta today. It appears that Treespider is leaving Soerabaja for last and no Japanese troops have approached it yet. Japanese troops also conducted artillery attacks at Wuchow, Manila and Balikpapan.

The big news this turn was that the Chinese finally started to dish out some punishment on the Japanese. First off, the troops from Homan that had moved a couple of hexes south to 49,32 drove out a Japanese LCU with a deliberate attack. Then the Chinese troops in Yenen sent the four besieging Japanese Mongolian Cavalry units packing after another deliberate attack. In both cases the Chinese units actually took a few more casualties than the defeated Japanese units, but it was the Japanese troops who retreated so I'm more than happy.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 212
An AV at Rossel... - 6/23/2006 1:31:45 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		February 25, 1942 -

Well, it turns out that Treespider decided to put an AV at Rossel Island instead of a base force. I've done that in past games too, with similar results as what happened to Treespider's AV…

Sub attack near Rossel Island at 58, 97

Japanese Ships
AV Kimikawa Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS Seadragon

That's also why I prefer to use US AVDs instead of AVs; you can set an AVD as an ASW TF and it will still support float planes while it also attacks subs.

The rest of the TFs around Rossel Island disappeared again, however, a TF showed up along the south shore of the eastern tip of PNG, traveling westbound at around 14 knots. That's undoubtedly an invasion TF. My patrols also spotted another Japanese TF almost due east of Townsville. The Ops Report says that it is a single ship traveling at 17 knots (likely a Japanese sub), but my map report suggests that it is a CA. Certainly, if I were planning to intercept any Allied response I'd put at least a sub, and more likely some carriers at that location. So I ramped up my alert along the East Coast of Australia and will see what shows up.

Treespider is also still sailing that CV TF into the straights between New Guinea and Northeastern Australia. It is due south of Babo right now, and just about hugging the south coast of New Guinea. I guess he is still antsy about my Hudsons. BTW - I moved the patrol planes that I had in PM to Gasmata, where the troops from Rabaul ended up. This will irritate Treespider; he will either have to take the time to invade Gasmata or allow me to spy upon his day-to-day activities in the region.

Otherwise, there was a continuation of the mass sailing of huge numbers of ships around Java. Japanese troops are finally moving on Soerabaja. The siege ought to begin in a day or two. I've got a nice supply level there and the Japanese aerial bombardments haven't been doing much damage. Treespider did try something different last turn; he sent a few Mavises on a night attack on Broome. But he did it at 11,000 feet (!) and of course they accomplished nothing. I can live with that.

In the ground war, Treespider tried another shock attack at Balikpapan which failed again, but did reduce the fortifications to zero. So if his troops aren't too tired they ought to be able to capture the base on the next attack. Treespider is also starting to move into position to wage a large campaign in the Homan region of China. I think that this is just great, because it relieves the pressure on the southwest and moves the Japanese efforts further away from my main areas of interest. Since he isn't pressuring me in the north east I will be able to bring lots of troops into the "mess" in the southeast.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 213
Enemy TFs at Port Moresby... - 6/23/2006 11:44:48 PM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		February 26, 1942 -

Treespider has a lot of things going on around PNG this turn. USS Swordfish ran into a Japanese Bombardment TF that was on its way to PM and had a shot at BB Fuso but missed. The Japanese escort ships then had their chance at Swordfish but also missed. The TF then went into PM harbor and hit the base fairly hard. Treespider is keeping the Bombardment TF around PM for another turn; I'm hoping to make him regret that decision in a couple of turns.

A number of escorts from another TF had a shot at USS Perch off of Gili Gili but also missed. Afterwards a transport TF showed up about halfway between GG and PM, so I guess that is the main attack. The "mystery" TF that showed up off of Townsville last turn moved in closer and turned out to be yet another Japanese sub, so I'm sending a DD after it.

Now with Treespider's intentions made clear and with the Japanese spy ship moved out of Rossel Island (taking one set of "eyes" away from Treespider) I've decided to make my move, but not the "obvious" one. I am not going to interfere with the invasion of PM. The bombardment was actually "helpful" in that it reduced the political points necessary to change the Australian combat LCU at PM to SWPAC, so now I'll start to fly that unit out to Oz. Treespider will land his troops, and my bombers in Oz may or may not fly to attack them.

But more importantly, I am sending the first of two US CV TFs to cover the straights at Gili Gili. I am intending to intercept the Bombardment TF on its way home and try to nail some of its ships. If Japanese carriers show up, I'll send the first CV TF racing south for safety, and when the Japanese CVs give chase, I'll have the second US CV TF come up from the southeast, get behind the Japanese carriers and attack the Japanese TFs at PNG. And if Treespider doesn't have any CVs in the region, I'll have both TFs stick around for the "feast".

BTW - that Japanese CV TF that was moving into the straights between New Guinea and Australia turned to the southeast and is now sailing north of Darwin. It appears that Treespider intends to try to deplete my Hudsons and did a fairly good job of it this turn. First off, the air strike that I sent against Koepang in retaliation for the Mavis strike on Broome turned into a real mess as a good squadron of Zeros jumped the Hudsons and shot down half of them. Then a flight of Hudsons tried to attack the Japanese CV TF without any escorts and were turned back with several planes destroyed and no hits.

Treespider next sent another escorted LBA attack on Darwin, but they ran into full-strength and rested P-40E squadron and things went much more to my liking:

Day Air attack on Darwin, at 36, 84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 30
Ki-21 Sally x 10

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 10 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

Runway hits 3

It's so nice to see the "Zero Bonus" slowly go away.

Elsewhere in the Far East, the Japanese air campaigns continued pretty much unabated against the remaining Allied bases. A couple of Japanese LCUs have now moved into Soerabaja so I'm trying an artillery attack next turn and we'll see how it goes. Wuchow and Manila were bombarded as usual. Balikpapan finally succumbed to a shock attack, so Treespider is only one base away from capturing all of Borneo. In the oddest move, Treespider is actually marching a couple of Japanese LCUs overland from Lautem to Dili. He may receive a very unpleasant surprise once those troops finally arrive and try to attack while burdened with movement fatigue. Timor is malarial after all.

In China, Treespider continues to move his forces to the southeast. Fortunately for me, he has been moving his forces piecemeal against the Chinese forces that are south of Homan, so once again this turn Chinese troops were able to attack a Japanese Division and force it to retreat. It's nice to see Japanese LCUs with bad morale and fatigue for a change. I'm also sending recon flights over various Japanese-held Chinese bases in the region just to keep Treespider guessing where my troops may march next.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 214
Ducking the Sucker Punch... - 6/23/2006 11:46:28 PM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		February 27, 1942 -

My hopes of possibly launching a "nasty surprise" on Treespider at PNG were dashed during my review of the Combat Replay for this turn as I found out that there is at least one, and probably two, Japanese CV TFs a few hexes south of Port Moresby. They were trying to hide in the ever-present storms, but one of my patrol planes spotted the Hiryu, and Kates gave themselves away by spotting some of my subs in the region. The TF north of Darwin that drew my Hudsons last turn was likely either a single CV or a SC TF with LR CAP over it. In either case, that TF was probably supposed to "lull" me into thinking that the main Japanese CV force was still far to the west.

Fortunately, Treespider didn't spot either of my CV TFs and so I put the "brakes on" the western TF and sent it racing back down to the southwest. I also slowed down the other CV TF to "cruise" speed and directed it to stop in Noumea. In addition, I sent the Australian CA and DD that I had in Townsville down south at full speed. I'm betting that Treespider will send his CVs on a "fishing trip" down the east coast of Oz once he finishes with his invasion of Port Moresby.

Treespider put a sub into Brisbane Harbor, probably in the hope of spotting my CVs, or even getting a lucky shot in, but the only things that sub will see instead will be a number of ASW TFs. That will only be "fair", as my subs had a tough day with a half dozen of them running into aggressive Japanese ASW. None of my subs were damaged badly, but they all need to head back to port for repairs.

So while the invasion of PM hasn't quite started yet, despite a second naval bombardment, Treespider was busy with other invasions in the Region. Japanese troops landed at Green Island and captured it in a shock attack the same turn. I didn't think that Green Island was categorized as an "atoll" in the Game, and if it isn't, why did those troops get to attack the same turn as they landed? Japanese troops also started to land at Buna, closing off one of the possible three escape routes for my troops at PM.

Elsewhere, Japanese bombers continued to hit the remaining Allied bases in the DEI and Philippines, although not very effectively, probably due to the ongoing rain that continued most everywhere. My troops in Soerabaja attempted an artillery bombardment on the three Japanese LCUs that are already in the hex, but it didn't accomplish much, partially because of the Combat Resolution rule which allowed the Japanese troops to do their own bombardment first.

The same "first kick at the cat" effect helped the Japanese troops in the road hex south of Homan where three recently arrived Japanese LCUs were able to kick out the already-present Chinese LCU before the Chinese LCU could do a bombardment. I've got three more Chinese units moving simultaneously into that hex next turn. Hopefully they will be able to get in place and withstand the three Japanese units.

Treespider is continuing to pull back Japanese units from south central China and move them into south eastern China. Ichang now only has a couple of units in it, so I'm moving one Chinese LCU back into the road hex just to the north of the base. I'm going with an approach of "give where it pushes, push where it gives" in China.

I am also pulling my SEAC Chinese LCUs back from the road hex due east of Lashio. Treespider now has four units in Lashio and might be getting some ideas of trying to break out onto the Burma Road itself. The next hex to the East is a fork, and as well it puts a river between the Chinese and any advancing Japanese. I am actually quite pleased to see so many Japanese troops in Burma - there are three more LCUs in Myitkyina, at least five in Mandalay, four or five in Rangoon and others in places like Tavoy. As long as they are there they aren't bothering me in India, and that's what I want.

I should be in a position to "bother" Treespider in a different way within the next few days - my first group of B-17Es reached Australia today. I'll let them rest up and rebuild for a couple of days, then I'm going to send them to Darwin to change the balance of power in the air over Timor. I've got a second group of B-17Es also on its way to Oz. Once they get there they will start to practice against Port Moresby. BTW - I have actually built up a nice store or replacement B-17Es, thanks to my policy of not sending them off on low-value bombing runs. Now I'll be able to attack Timor, PNG and Burma simultaneously.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 215
Enemy Troops at PM... - 6/24/2006 6:34:25 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		February 28, 1942 -

The invasion of Port Moresby continued this turn with yet another naval bombardment. The effect of this bombardment was quite minor; I suspect that the TF is running out of ammo. Troops started to unload at PM and despite the aerial and naval bombardments the Aussie troops were able to get some shore guns working and hit an AP and a PC during the daytime. Never-the-less, nearly a full Japanese division got ashore and they ought to be able to capture PM on their first attack. Offshore, the Allied subs didn't find any targets this turn, although Porpoise was chased by a small ASW TF about halfway between PM and Gili Gili. The Japanese CVs moved a little from their position on the previous day but still remained in a blocking position.

Japanese sub I-1 was found off of Brisbane by all of the searching Allied ASW TFs and hit repeatedly. It is still showing up in the Brisbane hex this turn, but that's likely because it isn't moving quickly enough to get away. I'm sending more ASW TFs this turn to try to finish it off and to make certain that other Japanese subs aren't trying to sneak in. Two more Japanese subs were spotted a few hexes to the east of Rockhampton, so I'm sending a DD along to try to find them too. Of course, given the track record of my INTEL and Patrol forces, that "double sub" sighting could equally well turn out to be a Japanese carrier TF on a "fishing trip", but if it is then that Aussie DD will have a chance to be a Real Hero.

Elsewhere in the region, USS Pike torpedoed an AK at Buna. There are so many targets around that my subs are running out of torpedoes and building up Sys Damage into the teens, so I'm being forced to send a number of them back to major ports for R&O. BTW, although troops continued to land at Buna, there was no attack there this turn. And finally, a small bombardment TF sailed into Gasmata and caused a few casualties.

There was still plenty of action in the rest of the Far East. Treespider has been sending Zero sweeps over Darwin to try to deplete my P-40Es. I'll start to "dissuade" him from this within a couple of turns. Soerabaja and Manila were hit with plenty of aerial bombardments again, and Soerabaja also received an artillery attack. But Manila received and threw back a Shock Attack without losing any fortification levels. I can't understand why the troops in Manila can continue to hold up so well when they have no supplies, but I'll take this bit of good luck as long as it continues.

And in China, Treespider continues to pull troops back from the south central region. There is now only one unit in Ichang, for example, so I may well attempt to retake it in a while. And once the troops from Changsha have rested a bit I may well send them to the far southwestern portion of China to see if they can cause some mischief down there.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 216
Port Moresby Falls... - 6/24/2006 4:52:34 PM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 1, 1942 -

This was a busy turn for the Japanese with attacks and invasions all over the Eastern Pacific. More troops landed at Port Moresby, which suffered another naval bombardment. USS S-41, already on its way to port for R&O stopped by PM to try its luck. At first S-41 was chased by a Japanese surface combat TF, then it found the transports and put a torpedo into an AP, setting it on fire. But the escorts found S-41 and damaged it heavily; S-41 will now try to limp to safety with lots of Japanese airborne ASW chasing it.

There weren't a lot of other highlights for the Allies today other than S-41's exploits. The shore guns did hit CL Kinu hard during the final Japanese bombardment, but in the end the large number of Japanese troops that landed at PM captured the base easily in their first shock attack. There is already a base force in place, so it won't be long before the airfields at PM are repaired and hosting "headaches" for northern Australia.

In other Japanese action, Samarinda received a naval bombardment, and Japanese troops started to land at Gasmata, Tomini and Munda. Manila and Wuchow received artillery bombardments. In Java, Bandoeng was attacked and captured first, so when Tjilitjap was attacked and captured the troops there surrendered. Buna was captured, and it had a base force with the invading troops, so the Japanese defenses of PNG are already being set up well.

Patrol craft spotted a tanker in the fleet that is sailing along with the KB, so that means that the KB is able to replenish at sea and won't be in any hurry to return to port. Since the KB's air units didn't participate in the attack on Port Moresby they are also fully ready to respond to any opportunity. The KB is now a handful of hexes due south of Gili Gili. I'm still trying to send subs after the KB as well as keep a few around to harass the PM invasion fleet, but most of my subs in the region are on their way to port right now.

Japanese sub I-1 disappeared from Brisbane this turn, but the other two Japanese subs that were east of Rockhampton are still there. An Australian DD tried an ASW attack on one of the subs but missed. I'm sending out another DD to keep the subs "honest". The rest of my ships in the region are safely back in port.

In other news, Japanese long range patrol planes fly recon missions over Pago Pago today. Treespider "loves" grabbing advanced bases then taking the bypassed bases at his leisure, so it wouldn't surprise me if he decided to try something similar in the South Pacific. I'm spreading out my forces throughout the region, but if the Japanese come in with overwhelming force in a manner like they did at PM then I realistically won't be able to do anything.

In Australia, Treespider attempted another escorted bombing attack on Darwin, with very satisfying results for the Allied forces:

Day Air attack on Darwin, at 36, 84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 29
H6K4 Mavis x 3
Ki-21 Sally x 10

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
H6K4 Mavis: 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged

All the Sallys turned back without dropping their bombs. Treespider sent his Zero sweep force against Wyndham instead, with surprising results:

Day Air attack on Wyndham, at 30, 86

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged

Those Wirraway pilots definitely deserve medals for doing so well! I'm now in a position to change the air balance in the region, so things will be different for Treespider soon, Weather permitting.

BTW - below is the Intel screen for March 2. Things aren't too bad, but of course once Treespider captures Manila and Soerabaja the points balance will change dramatically. The good news is that for the second month in a row there were no RN ships recalled.

Dave Baranyi







Attachment (1)

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 217
B-17s Over Mandalay - 6/24/2006 8:56:40 PM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 2, 1942 -

Things started to quiet down a bit this turn as the Japanese fleets began their departures from the PNG region. There were still Japanese landings going on at Talasea and Toboali, and Manila, Wuchow and Soerabaja received their usual artillery bombardments. Buka was occupied automatically. A shock attempt at Gasmata failed badly because too few Japanese troops had been landed to capture the base. (Those Aussies are no pushovers!)

There was a reasonable amount of air action, although rain covered a lot of the Eastern Pacific. Nells attempted a bombing attack on Baker Island for no particular reason that I can fathom; it would have been more useful to fly a recon mission. If Treespider wants to go after Baker I'll likely let him unless he lets his guard down too much and gives me a "freebie".

I started a new page in the Allied strategy today as a B-17 group hit Mandalay:

Day Air attack on Mandalay, at 33, 30

Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 1
P-40B Tomahawk x 57
B-17E Fortress x 31

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 5 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
66 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 6

Treespider isn't even trying to keep CAP in Mandalay, so I'm sending the Brit bombers out next turn to get some practice. There are Japanese recon planes in Mandalay so damaging the airfield will eventually make them useless too. I have no interest in piling my 4E bombers in India; the escapees from the Philippines and the Brit bombers will suffice quite nicely.

What I intend to do is run simultaneous air campaigns in several different fronts, and the next front, Timor, gets its first taste next turn, once again - Advanced Weather willing. I've now got another B-17 group in Darwin and they will go after the airfield at Lautem. And a third B-17 group is sitting on the East Coast of Oz, waiting to start to hit Port Moresby.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 218
Desperate Moves... - 6/25/2006 5:30:46 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 3, 1942 -

This turn started out very strangely as a handful of Emilys tried a night attack on Pago Pago at 10,000 feet. Huh? Is Treespider confusing his Emilys with B-29s? As one would expect, the Emilys accomplished nothing other than to gain some operational damage. I presume that Treespider is hoping to catch some combat ships in port. He has also had a sub sitting in the hex for the past couple of days. So far my naval ASW has been unable to find it.

There are more Japanese subs off the east coast of Australia again, so I've got ASW TFs hunting for them too. The sub that appeared in the Perth hex disappeared this turn so I refueled and disbanded the ASW TFs that were hunting it. Treespider has returned to moving his subs every turn like he did at the beginning of the game.

All of my Brit bombers flew against Mandalay this turn. I had a single squadron flying out of three different bases. This increase my odds of getting flights out compared to having all of my planes in one big base. There was no CAP over Mandalay, and although the Brit bombers took some damage from flak, none were shot down and they all caused some damage. I have a suspicion that Treespider has put a couple of AA units into Mandalay to try to attrite my attacks, but it hasn't been working so far.

There was a lot of Japanese ground action. Japanese troops started to land at Thursday Island. It’s a smart move and I'm surprised that more Japanese players don't grab those two bases on the south shore of New Guinea. I don't use the North Channel to move ships, so it doesn't affect me and the troops in those malarial bases will find it really hard to keep in decent condition.

In other ground combat, Toboali and Tomini were captured without opposition. Treespider tried a shock attack on Soerabaja which lowered the fortifications by one, but didn't capture the base. He also tried a shock attack on Manila which failed again badly. Treespider is getting quite frustrated about Manila and was whining a bit, but I told him not to whine about ground combat because I wasn't whining about Nells blasting through without any losses or damage Hurricanes with good pilots, and then sinking an AK and an MSW at Akyab. Seriously, the ground game is still mucked up awfully badly, and the last across-the-board "improvement" to the durability, survivability and dogfight effectiveness of twin-engined bombers has turned into an unmitigated disaster. Anyone who thinks that unescorted Nells and Bettys should be able to consistently fight their way past strong CAP is living in a fantasy world.

Okay, on to the "Main Event" - the battle for Northern Australia. What, I didn't mention it? Well, I thought that I was being sneaky and would knock out the Japanese bases in Timor before Treespider knew what hit him. Unfortunately for me, Treespider had a similar idea at the same time regarding the Allied bases in Northern Oz. So we started into a "brawl" that neither of us was really expecting.

I got the first blow in as my B-17 group from Darwin hit the Lautem air fields and found only four Zeros on CAP. The bombing attack was fairly effective and caused a good amount of damage, although it fell far short of closing the base. But it was still surprising that I didn't catch more planes on the ground.

The "missing" Zeros showed up right afterwards on a sweep of Darwin. There were 44 Zeros against 15 P-40Es, and the result was 9 P-40s shot down against 1 Zero. An unescorted raid of 15 Bettys from Amboina then arrived to be greeted by 6 P-40s. Five Bettys were shot down and a couple more were damaged, against only two P-40s being damaged and a very minimal amount of airfield damage.

Then the main attack arrived; 67 Nells and 35 Bettys flew all the way from Kendari unescorted. The six P-40s did their best but they were only able to shot down one Betty and damage a handful of other attacking bombers. The attack caused a fair amount of damage and destroyed several planes on the ground.

I was then faced with having to decide to abandon the fight or throw everything into the battle. I decided to fight. So I've moved my other P-40Es to Darwin and kept my remaining B-17s set to attack Lautem once again. I also moved some Wirraways back into Darwin to bolster the air defense. I've also moved my other B-17 group to Wyndham and set them to also hit Lautem. Finally, I've moved all my Hudsons to attack the airfield at Koepang just in case Treespider tries to do a sweep or bombing run from there. This is desperate stuff, but I can't let Treespider gain air control of northern Oz this early.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 219
Desperate Reality... - 6/25/2006 10:37:50 PM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 4, 1942 -

The ugly reality of trying to stop the Japanese in early March 1942 in a non-historic start showed up today as the "brawl" in Northern Australia continued with both sides making mistakes and fumbling opportunities. The big difference is that while Treespider is unhappy with his air losses, I am stopped cold by mine.

My new, fresh B-17 group took off from Wyndham for Lautem and totally fizzled in their attack. There were 19 Zeros on CAP and they stopped the 34 B-17s from hitting anything on the ground. The B-17s shot down one Zero and damaged a few others, but ended up with three losses of their own and half of their planes damaged.

There was then an unescorted attack of 8 Bettys from Amboina on Darwin which ran into 18 P-40s and 11 Wirraways. Three Bettys were shot down, several more damaged and the rest broke off the attack before they dropped their bombs. Next came the big attack from Kendari again:

Day Air attack on Darwin, at 36, 84

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 56
G4M1 Betty x 24

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 14 destroyed, 9 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed, 13 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
56 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 5
Runway hits 12

Again, that wasn't a bad job by the Americans and Aussies, and with all of the ground support that I have in Darwin the damage didn't accumulate, but it still wasn't decisive. The problems then started to mount for the Allies as a Zero sweep from Koepang hit Wyndham, shooting down a Wirraway and revealing the weakness of my CAP there.

Even worse was the next attack on Derby by 36 Sallys. I had no CAP left and the Sallys had an easy time of it and caused a fair amount of damage and losses to the Hudsons on the ground. For whatever reason, the Hudsons at Derby didn't fly, leaving Koepang alone and leaving the Hudsons as sitting ducks.

The final straw was a late sweep of Darwin by 25 Zeros from Lautem. Although the fight turned out a draw, with three fighters lost on each side, the message became very clear for me - I can't keep up this battle. I have no P-40s of either model in stock and only 10 B-17Es in stock. The forces that I have can't shut down Lautem and Koepang, therefore I have no way to stop Zero sweeps from wiping out my air defenses and subsequently Japanese bombers from closing my air bases. Treespider still has hundreds of bombers and fighters getting practice in the Philippines and Java; he can easily send some of them into the Region and wipe out my units. And this doesn't even consider Treespider's options to bring in his surface fleet, the KB or both.

So I've decided to pull back from Northern Australia. I'm hoping that Treespider stays a bit "gun shy" due to his losses from this turn, but I figure that sooner or later he will realize what is going on and hammer my bases at will. Until I can build up some reserves and be in a position to put 50 or more good fighters in the air at the same time over a base my forces won't be competitive, and I won't reach that goal by waging a losing war of attrition.

In other news, Dobodura was occupied automatically, Thursday Island was captured, Japanese paratroops landed at Teloebetoeng, and Japanese troops landed at Sag Sag. Soerabaja withstood a deliberate attack but the fortification level was reduced to three.

The only good news for the Allies was that a DMS hit I-18 hard off of Pago Pago, and things remain relatively quiet in China.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 220
RE: Desperate Reality... - 6/26/2006 12:57:07 AM   
Grotius


Posts: 5798
Joined: 10/18/2002
From: The Imperial Palace.
Status: offline 		Good reading as always. Do you expect an actual invasion of northern Australia eventually? Or is he just being aggressive about protecting his southern flank?

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 221
RE: Desperate Reality... - 6/26/2006 2:36:46 AM   
ADavidB


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

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Good reading as always. Do you expect an actual invasion of northern Australia eventually? Or is he just being aggressive about protecting his southern flank?


Don't know. There is nothing to stop him at this time. I just want to pull my more valuable units back and let them recover and build in the relative safety of souther Oz so they are available for use later on.

If I can build large air units I can stop his air attacks. But the Allies get useful air units at a much lower pace than the Japanese do in early 1942. (It does no good to have lots of Spitfires in the Pool when I can't upgrade to them until July 1942.) So I have to be extra careful with my P-40s, and even with my B-17s because they are the only weapon that I have that can't seriously threaten the Japanese at this time. And the replacement rate of B-17s is not what it used to be in earlier versions of the Game.

So I have to be careful with what I have as far as my Army Air units go because they are my most important defensive units early in the Game.

What about the five US CVs you may ask? Well, the problem is Japanese torpedo-carrying LBA. Unless I'm willing to take my Naval Air units off the CVs and put them on land, it's hard to put them to use because my CVs are horribly vulnerable to attacks by Bettys and Nells during 1942. You can pretty much count on almost any Japanese LBA attack on a carrier TF to put a torpedo into a US CV in that time frame. This limits the usefulness of US CVs to provide close-in support or suppression of enemy air bases.

So my strategy is focused upon setting up land-based air defenses, for which I need lots of good land-based air units, both fighters and bombers. And I can only get them in early 1942 by being patient and by not letting them be eaten away by Japanese air power.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)
Post #: 222
Noumea Under Attack... - 6/26/2006 5:22:36 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 5, 1942 -

Things worked out much better for Treespider this turn, but fortunately, his successes obscured my actions to pull back my more important units from Northern Australia. And with Treespider's rapid and aggressive advances, having good units and supply in Eastern and Southern Australia is becoming more important all the time.

Essentially everything went wrong in some manner for my forces this turn. AVD McFarland was on ASW duty at Pago Pago when I-18 came back and put a torpedo into the ship. Fortunately McFarland didn't sink and I was able to disband it into the port. This surprised me because I had a report a couple of turns ago that other ASW ships had hit I-18 fairly hard. Japanese subs are certainly hard to sink in v1.801 of the Game. In any event, I'm sending more ASW ships to Pago Pago this turn to see if I can drive I-18 out of there.

My Hudsons finally flew out of Derby a day late and were pummeled by the CAP at Koepang. Treespider also put some Zeros back into Mandalay and the Blenheims that I sent in were ambushed. So I'm sending in the B-17 group accompanied by the AVG this turn to see if I can nip this in the bud. But considering that the weather forecast is for rain, I may well see piecemeal attacks that get chewed up by the CAP. Treespider also sent another Zero sweep into Darwin that hit the P-35s that I put in there. I lost 6 P-35s for 1 Zero, which all things considered isn't that bad. But it does show the depths to which my forces have sunk. At least bombers weren't sent back to Darwin.

In the land war, Japanese troops easily captured Jesselton, Sag Sag, Gili Gili, and Teloekbetoeng. Manila, Wuchow, Soerabaja and Batavia received artillery attacks.

But all that aside, the big news was that an Allied transport TF at Noumea was spotted by a Jake! Yes, the KB and another TF are coming in from the northwest. Is Treespider just on a fishing trip or is he making a very early grab for Noumea? I'm guessing the later, but it really doesn't make much difference because I can't defend against either. So I split the transport TF into individual ship TFs and have sent them off in an arc towards the southeast.

But I also had one of my CV TFs in the port in Noumea. I formed them up and I'm also sending them off to the southeast. If they don't get spotted I'll attempt to swing them around to the west and see if I can come up from behind while the Japanese naval air is chasing after a dozen or more single-ship transport TFs. The odds are greatly against me being able to do this, but the weather is bad in this region so maybe I'll get a break for a change. (Yeah; sure. )

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 223
RE: Noumea Under Attack... - 6/27/2006 12:22:39 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 6, 1942 -

Treespider commented on how this was a "quiet" turn for a change. Of course, "quiet" is quite relative; I replied that it was "no wonder" that it was quiet because he was "running out of bases to invade". Actually, he isn't; Japanese troops landed at Arawe and Sandakan this turn. His troops also captured Batavia quite easily.

What Treespider was referring to, of course, was the relative quiet in the air war, particularly over Northern Australia and Timor. I'm being quiet because I am still pulling forces out of there. Things are going well and I ought to have everything repositioned the way that I want within a couple of turns. If Treespider wants to restart a Sweep/Bomb campaign he will be able to do so without any counter attacks for now.

However, most of the Japanese LBA is still busy pounding Soerabaja and Manila on a daily basis. Both bases also received artillery bombardments today. I don't expect Soerabaja to last more than a couple more assaults. I have no idea what is keeping Manila going; it might last for a month, it might fall at the next assault.

The situation in China is still fairly stable. Wuchow is the only Chinese base that is currently being besieged. I've caused Treespider to place a lot of Japanese troops in the countryside to block possible Chinese attacks on Japanese bases. This is great because it reduces Treespider's ability to accumulate massive forces in a single location. And this is all possible because I pulled those dozen or so good units out of the trap at Changsha before it closed. Treespider gained another base, but he missed out on removing a large portion of the Chinese forces from play.

Things are also relatively quiet in Burma. I sent a B-17E group along with the AVG to bomb Mandalay from high altitude. The AVG and the CAP tangled and both sides lost a couple of planes, but the bombers did little damage. Since I have no reserve of P-40Bs I'm going to let Mandalay be for a while. All those Japanese troops in Burma are a nuisance at most at this time and I don't want to deplete my air defenses just in case Treespider does try an Indian "adventure". So I'll let Malaria do my work for me at this time.

As is usual in this game, the region with the most critical situation, the South Pacific, was hit with severe thunderstorms everywhere this turn, so the Japanese TFs that were a half dozen hexes to the northwest of New Caledonia last turn totally disappeared this turn. A Japanese sub appeared in Noumea Harbor, but I don't believe that my air patrols made that big of a mistake last turn and mixed it up for a couple of big, slow TFs. What I suspect is happening is the same thing that Treespider did during his invasion of Port Moresby. He is sending an invasion TF that is being accompanied by a bombardment TF, a carrier TF and a replenishment TF. They are all travelling at "cruise" speed in order to minimize system damage and thus keep the Detection Levels as low as possible. This also provides a nicely hidden trap if the Allied player charges in with "guns a blazing".

It also appears that Treespider has stood down all of his float planes to avoid inadvertently giving away his presence. (However, the Jake last turn already accomplished that.) So the sub in the Noumea hex is providing scouting instead. (I wonder where the Japanese Glen-carrying subs have gotten to; I haven't seen a Glen in many game-weeks.)

What this has meant is that my "cockroach scatter" has worked so far, and my transports are slowly spreading out and away from Noumea. If this turns out to be a carrier raid instead of an actual invasion then Treespider may miss out on much of his chance by his approach. But I am fairly certain that this is a full-blown invasion; the fact that the Japanese carriers didn't go charging off to hit the transports is pretty much proof of that.

So with this careful approach on the part of Treespider there won't be any opportunity for my CVs to get behind the KB in order to intercept any slow TFs. It will be interesting to see what Treespider does with this advance because he will now have a base that is very, very far from his main supply lines. And I don't normally move much in the way of forces between the Eastern Pacific and Australia anyway, so it's not like this will inconvenience me terribly.

BTW - if you are wondering, I still only have the original base force in Noumea. I didn't bother to reinforce it because in early March 1942 I just don't have the forces necessary to set up a defense-in-depth in the region. And all I've had that base force do is build fortifications. Treespider will have to use his own troops to build up the air fields and port.

The "big" news for the Allies this turn was that a Japanese barge hit a mine and sank at Lunga Harbor. I've still got the old Argonaut chugging along, laying nuisance mines here and there. It doesn't lay many, and it doesn't lay them too often, but it keeps chugging. Another piece of good news was that I was able to finally change my third and last squadron of P-26s to P-39s. Hey, call them "Aerocoffins" if you like, but they are still head-and-shoulders better than P-26s.

And the port in Brisbane finally reached level 9, which means that I will be able to re-load mines there. I still need to mine the north-eastern Australian bases and it’s a long, long haul for a slow Dutch ML from Sydney to places like Townsville and back.

So my major defensive regions are settling down "into the bunkers" and getting prepared. I am treating China, India, Australia, the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska as separate and self-sufficient regions. Other than some forces that I was able to extract out of the Philippines, Malaya or the DEI, India and Australia will have to depend upon their own reinforcements. I continue to move all CENPAC and SOPAC forces to the Hawaiian Islands and all NOPAC forces to Anchorage.

I'm fascinated by those Japanese players in other AARs who plan to attack the Hawaiian Islands in the summer or fall of 1942. I feel that right now I'm within a couple of game-weeks of being able to stop almost any Japanese invasion attempt of the Hawaiian Islands, and things will only get more in my favor as time goes on. I am also emphasizing "quality over quantity", so I have sent the B-18 group back to the West Coast where it can await the arrival of B-17Gs or whatever it upgrades to in non-PDU games (since there will never be more than the 21 B-17Cs that are currently in the pool). I have six fully functional bases in the Hawaiian Islands now, with each of the minor bases having at least a CD unit, an Infantry unit, a Base Force, and an AA unit, along with a couple of EAB units helping to build up the bases more quickly. And I have six full Infantry divisions and two tank units in Pearl.

So while things are not going well for the Allies, things are not going unexpectedly either, and my defensive strategy is coming into place.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 224
RE: Noumea Under Attack... - 6/27/2006 3:44:02 AM   
ny59giants


Posts: 9869
Joined: 1/10/2005
Status: offline 		I agree with you that Noumea is nice to have, but not a neccessity.  It cannot be supported by LBA's and the Allies need to hold Suva and Pago Pago more than New Calendonia.
I have done similar with the Dutch ML's and sent some to Oz and the longer legged ones up to India to help there. The Allies have to be more defense minded in '42 and fight the urge to do something offensive just for the sake of doing something. Good job!

Could you go into more detail on how your defense is going in India/Burma?? If KB is supporting the southern route to New Calendonia and beyond, then this theater may be safe.


_____________________________


(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 225
RE: Noumea Under Attack... - 6/27/2006 4:33:41 AM   
ADavidB


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

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I agree with you that Noumea is nice to have, but not a neccessity.  It cannot be supported by LBA's and the Allies need to hold Suva and Pago Pago more than New Calendonia.
I have done similar with the Dutch ML's and sent some to Oz and the longer legged ones up to India to help there. The Allies have to be more defense minded in '42 and fight the urge to do something offensive just for the sake of doing something. Good job!

Could you go into more detail on how your defense is going in India/Burma?? If KB is supporting the southern route to New Calendonia and beyond, then this theater may be safe.



The only bad thing about losing Noumea is all the Victory Points that go with it. But those Victory Points aren't worth losing a lot of units and ships trying to defend it.

I was able to pull a number of Brit base forces out of Malaya before it fell, as well as the base forces around Rangoon. I sent those BFs to India, so all of the Indian port bases have RN base forces in them, and all of the inland Indian bases have either RAF or IAF base forces in them. So I'm building up all Indian bases simultaneously. I also pulled most of the Brit HQs out of Malaya and have them supporting my inland air bases in the Bay of Bengal. I split the Indian armored units among the bigger inland bases that are close to the coast - I want them to be able to respond without being vulnerable to naval bombardment.

I sent the first big Brit Infantry division to Trimcomalee. I'll send the next one to Columbo, then all subsequent combat units that arrive at Karachi will be spread around the key bases. I'm trying to prevent Treespider from playing "Pacman" with the inland bases on the rail lines in India.

I have the RN split among the key naval bases, with plenty of air cover. I will try to meet any amphibious landings at the base being invaded. That's why I want to maintain the AVG in good shape - they provide a credible LR CAP for combat TFs.

But you are right - the Indian theater in March is vulnerable if the KB shows up. But every day that Treespider doesn't invade is another day in which India gets stronger.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ny59giants)
Post #: 226
Searching in Thunderstorms... - 6/27/2006 4:35:16 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 7, 1942 -

This was another quiet turn for the Allies and an active turn for the Japanese. Treespider launched lots of air attacks at the remaining Allied bases and a few in China. We are both hitting each other's ground troops in China with older aircraft. If and when Treespider brings some better air units I'll adjust accordingly. Right now I like the status quo, because lots of Japanese units are tied up and not really threatening anything important.

Burma is in a similar state. Treespider has three units each in Myitkyina and Lashio, and six units in Mandalay. It appears that he is trying to set up Mandalay as an "air trap" with lots of AA, air support units, and Air HQ and so on. Once again, as long as they are there, they aren't bothering me elsewhere, and I have not good reason to start a serious bombing campaign against Mandalay at this time.

Treespider isn't just sitting around; his troops did capture Munda, Sandakan and Arawe this turn, and hit Manila and Wuchow with artillery attacks. Soerabaja withstood another deliberate attack, but the fortifications were reduced again, this time to Level 2, and the Dutch lost twice as many troops as the Japanese. So time is nearly up for Soerabaja.

The "mystery" TFs that were spotted off of New Caledonia two turns ago remained invisible today, and that sub from yesterday disappeared. My search efforts aren't being helped by yet another day of thunderstorms. One of several things could be happening:

- The TFs are still slowly steaming towards Noumea
- Once the "surprise" was up Treespider decided to send the TFs back to port
- The TFs are actually heading towards New Zealand.

In any event, I'm happy to have my ships still untouched by Japanese attacks and will continue to monitor the situation from a safe distance.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 227
RE: Searching in Thunderstorms... - 6/27/2006 5:17:35 AM   
ny59giants


Posts: 9869
Joined: 1/10/2005
Status: offline 		Don't forget to use your British Armored Brigades/Regiments in India to speed up your building of fort levels. Their "motorized support" act like engineer vehicles. I had the level go up in Karachi by one in 4 days at the start of the war when I left them there by accident and found out this little secret. 

_____________________________


(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 228
RE: Searching in Thunderstorms... - 6/27/2006 5:31:48 AM   
ADavidB


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

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Don't forget to use your British Armored Brigades/Regiments in India to speed up your building of fort levels. Their "motorized support" act like engineer vehicles. I had the level go up in Karachi by one in 4 days at the start of the war when I left them there by accident and found out this little secret. 


Don't worry, I've been using them.

Thanks -

Dave

(in reply to ny59giants)
Post #: 229
Japanese Consolidation... - 6/28/2006 12:42:15 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 8, 1942 -

Treespider continued along with his consolidation efforts this turn, with the only new Japanese activity being a landing at Merauke. With this landing Treespider will have the straights between Australia and New Guinea in Japanese hands. That's fine, because if he wants to control the straights he will have to put troops into those two malarial bases, which means fewer Japanese troops elsewhere.

I rather suspect that Treespider has some level of intention to invade Northern Australia. He sent another escorted Sally attack against Darwin again this turn, this time using Oscars as the escorts. (This also means that he wants to use his Zeros elsewhere.) I'm using Wirraways as the CAP in Darwin now because I have plenty of them. If things get too "hot" I can just ship them out via rail. I'm also pulling out most of the units that I accumulated in Darwin so that they can build up in the South where there is plenty of supply, HQs and no Japanese bombers.

More troops landed at Gasmata this turn. The next attack ought to capture the base and the remnants of the Rabaul forces that have been fighting there. I moved out large numbers of those troops early on by air lift and submarine, so all of the units will rebuild nicely in the Mainland.

Manila and Wuchow received artillery bombardments as usual. Soerabaja withstood another deliberate attack. In China it appears that Treespider has decided to move against Homan and is moving more troops that way. But my placement of Chinese ground troops is causing him to have to try to cover many places. For example, after I moved a Chinese LCU a hex away from Ichang Treespider increased the number of units in Ichang from one to three.

The South Pacific, particularly New Caledonia and New Zealand, continues to be totally covered in thunderstorms. (None of the Japanese bases in the Solomons have bad weather.) A Japanese sub has come back to Noumea, but there is no sign of any other Japanese ships in the region. So I'm avoiding sending any TFs into the region to the west or north of New Caledonia, but otherwise I am going along with my business as usual.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 230
Japanese Steamroller... - 6/28/2006 12:43:12 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 9, 1942 -

The Japanese steamroller continued to roll along pretty much unimpeded this turn. Panggoe was automatically occupied, troops started to land at Memboro, and Merak, Merauke, Gasmata and Soerabaja were all captured. In addition a Fast Transport TF got by the mines at Baker Island and left off some troops who captured Baker at the end of the turn. Samarinda received a naval bombardment and both Wuchow and Manila received artillery and air bombardments. The only place where the Japanese onslaught was stopped was in the hex due south of Homan where a Japanese Shock Attack was easily repulsed with heavy casualties for the Japanese.

So, all-in-all Treespider continues to make good use of his fast start to set up an exterior perimeter and then to pick up the isolated bases in the center. It's certainly true that I haven't been going out of my way to try to hinder most of the Japanese expansion moves, but then I am more interested in trying to set up strong enough defences to decisively defeat a Japanese attack rather than simply sacrifice my forces in an attempt to slow down or blunt an attack.

The Japanese TF that carried that Jake still hasn't reappeared in the New Caledonia region, although considering that all of my bases were socked-in by thunderstorms yet again, that TF could be sitting right "around the corner" and my patrols wouldn't be able to find it. Regardless of what has happened to that TF, I still suspect that Treespider intends to make moves into the South Pacific and Northern Australia, and he is now giving the first hints that he may be interested in trying something in India. Japanese subs have shown up in the Bay of Bengal for the first time, so my Brit ASW ships will get to try their luck against Treespider's "Phantoms of the Deep".

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 231
A Day's Breather... - 6/28/2006 6:51:35 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 10, 1942 -

This was a fairly fast turn to view and to do because things have become relatively quiet for both sides. Treespider is digesting his conquests and I am focusing upon reorganizing my defenses. There was a certain amount of action.

- Australian DDs chased and hit I-16 off of Brisbane
- British DDs chased I-166 off of Chandpur
- Manila was pounded by hundreds and hundreds of Japanese bombers
- Memboro and its small remnant defenders were captured

There was no sign of any Japanese TFs off of New Caledonia or New Zealand, but all Allied bases in the region were socked-in yet again by thunderstorms, so anything could be sailing out there and I wouldn't know.

It would be great if this lull would continue for a while, but I expect Treespider to start to move again soon. But at least I've got most of my current forces where I want them to be and no important forces are being immediately threatened. Now I need the time to receive more reinforcements.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 232
INTEL Failure... - 6/29/2006 1:46:48 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 11, 1942 -

INTEL failed me again this turn as, out of the rain, came an Alf to recon Christmas Island. There is a Japanese TF just about due west of Christmas Island and due south of Palmyra. I find it very frustrating that once again an enemy TF could use the region-wide bad weather to slip between my scouts and pickets. However, this time bad weather did seem to work "both ways" as I believe that two empty transport TFs that I have in the area weren't spotted. Never-the-less, I've broken up both TFs into individual ships and have them scattering away from the Japanese TF.

I've also increased the alert level for all of my forces in the Eastern Pacific. I had a B-25 squadron in Palmyra already so I send a half-strength P-40B group to join it, just in case they get an opportunity to try some bombing runs. I've also decided that I can't leave this incursion unchallenged, so I've sent a CV TF racing towards the scene from the southwest and another from the northeast. If that Japanese TF contains carriers I could be in trouble, but if it doesn't, then I want to bring some "trouble" to that TF.

As far as I know, this might just be another attempt to get a reaction from me, like the Japanese foray into the waters of New Caledonia a few game-days back. On the other hand, it might be a full-fledged invasion designed to cut me off from the South Pacific. Either way, I don't feel like letting it go unchallenged. My experience in two years of playing this game is that using the US CVs is a "negative experience" this early in the war about 90% of the time, but maybe this will be one of those rare "10%" opportunities.

In other news, Howland Island was occupied automatically, troops landed at Nauru Island and captured it, and troops started to land at Kiriwina Island. As usual, lots of Japanese bombers hit Manila, and various other Japanese bombers got practice on Allied fragments in the DEI. An attempted Japanese attack on the crossroads to the north of Changsha failed, but otherwise China was pretty quiet on the ground.

The PGs that were accompanying a Dutch ML back to Brisbane attacked and hit RO-33 just offshore. It was an odd day in the air for the Allies as a number of bombers took off against targets in Burma and China, but none of them caused any damage, despite the lack of opposition. Japanese CAP has been pulled back from Mandalay again, so I'm sending some B-17s back to hit it next turn.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 233
Stealth TFs again... - 6/30/2006 12:07:55 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 12, 1942 -

The Japanese "spy" TF that was off of the Line Islands last turn totally disappeared this turn. There were no spy planes flying, nor did any of my search patrols spot it. And it didn't run into any of my scattering transport ships either. This is very odd. I wonder if Treespider is using some sort of small, fast cruiser TF to zoom into a region, take a quick look at a base of interest, and then immediately zoom out again. On the other hand, maybe he is using a cruiser-speed CS to do the spying. Whatever he is doing, it certainly is making a monkey out of my patrols and pickets.

In other, more "tangible" news, Treespider continued with his "mop up" operations. Japanese troops started to land at Goodenough, Puerto Princesa and Woodlark. Kiriwina and San Jose were also captured. In China, Japanese troops pushed Chinese troops out of the hex north of Changsha again.

In Burma, my B-17 group hit Mandalay without any interference, causing damage and sustaining minor operation damage and no losses. As long as Treespider continues to keep his CAP out of Burma I will continue to rotate my bombers through attacks on the various Japanese-controlled bases, in order to get training while causing useful damage to the Japanese.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 234
Watching the "Clean Up"... - 6/30/2006 12:09:02 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 13, 1942 -

My search forces turned up nothing again in the southeastern Pacific. All I can do is shake my head and give credit to Treespider for coming up with a very effective strategy. He is doing other things to spy on my bases and keep me off balance too. For example, this turn he sent some Nells to bomb Funafuti atoll. I've got an AVD there to support a squadron of PBYs. Fortunately, the Nells were attempting some level bombing instead of ship hunting.

The "clean up job" continues for the Japanese forces. Goodenough, Puerto Princesa and Woodlark were captured today, and there were new Japanese landings at Pamakasan and Wasile. There were also a lot of "odds and ends" bombing attacks and recon flights over the other remaining Allied bases and stragglers in the Far East.

I sent some Brit bombers off to hit Myitkyina this turn, which they did effectively. I'll keep rotating targets until or unless Treespider reacts. We are continuing our ponderously slow "dance" in China, with neither side upping the ante significantly, which suits me fine.

I received some welcome LCU reinforcements this turn, and will receive ships and planes next turn. I have decided that I will take the risk and send the second big Brit Division to Colombo. The reality is that if Treespider tries a serious multi-division invasion of India those two divisions alone won't save Karachi. But if they are protecting Trimcomalee and Colombo effectively, they will make any invasion of India that much more difficult. I was also very happy to see another good, big Australian Division show up. I am feeling a lot better about Eastern Australia now.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 235
Hudsons at it again... - 7/5/2006 12:24:33 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 14, 1942 -

While I was away from my computer for the weekend, Treespider took the opportunity to take a couple of days to do a pile of reorganizing and planning. I'll have to try to avoid going away; I much prefer to be facing him when he is shooting-from-the-hip.

In any event, Treespider's plans continue to move along smoothly with only a single hiccup thanks to my efforts. Japanese troops continued to do mop-up operations at the remaining smaller Allied bases in the DEI, using both ship-borne troops and paratroops. Japanese troops landed at Pamakasan, Bulla and Lombok, with the big landing at Pamakasan capturing the base despite the presence of Dutch troops. Wasile and Bali were also captured.

The landing at Bulla gave the Allies their only opportunity for success as some Australian Hudsons flew in and took advantage of the absence of Japanese CAP to hit one of the invasion TF's APs with a couple of bombs. All of the other air action was from the Japanese as both Samarinda and Manila received heavy air raids as usual. A small group of Sallys escorted by Oscars tried an attack on Darwin but were unsuccessful in the face of air defense provided by Wirraways.

There was also another unsuccessful attack by Nells on Funafuti. If Treespider follows his usual pattern this means that he will try some sort of attack on Funafuti in the near future, so I'm sending some forces that way just in case I can interfere with any attack.

The ground war was generally quiet except for the usual artillery attacks on Wuchow and Manila. We both exchanged low-intensity air attacks on each other's troops in the region south of Homan.

The only other interesting news was that Japanese air units returned to Mandalay. I sent some planes out on recon to see what is going on, but I'm not bothering to attack it at this time.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 236
Paras all over... - 7/5/2006 12:25:31 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 15, 1942 -

This turn was much like that past few turns. Treespider continued to consolidate his position, as did I. Roti Island was occupied automatically, while Lombok, Bulla and Sampit were captured via assault. Manila and Wuchow received their usual artillery bombardments. Treespider was also stuck with another half-hearted paratroop shock attack on Bankha, which followed a small naval bombardment. He will have to bring in some "real" troops to take the base.

I'm going to try something a little different on the ground myself next turn. Treespider pulled most of his infantry units out of the besieging forces around Wuchow and mainly has field artillery units there now. So I've ordered my units to try a deliberate attack. This probably won't do anything, but it might, and it ought to throw a bit of a worry Treespider's way.

The air war was equally quiet. Treespider pulled his air units out of Mandalay again after I scouted it with some B-17s. The Indian border bases are all covered in thunderstorms as usual this turn, so I'm not bothering to send any of my bombers out. Instead I've got all the Brit 2E bombers on Naval Attack/Naval Search in case Treespider tries something "cute" in the Bay of Bengal. There are a couple of Japanese TFs sailing along the west coast of Malaya and I'm not sure where they are planning to go.

Treespider also sent the Sallys and Oscars against Darwin again. They aren't causing any damage and the Wirraways are holding their own, so I'm not going to respond. My P-40 units are just now starting to recover and I don't want to use them up again at this time.

Right now I'm moving most of the remaining CENPAC and SOPAC air units to the Hawaiian Islands. The CENPAC Bolos are back on the West Coast where they will stay "out of the way" until they can upgrade to something useful. I may send the remaining CENPAC Hawaiian P-36 squadron back to the West Coast some time in the near future too. I'm fairly certain that I won't have enough spare P-40Bs in the near future to equip this squadron with them, so there is little point to leave them in the Hawaiian Islands.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 237
Oddly Quiet... - 7/6/2006 5:01:11 AM   
ADavidB


Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline 		March 16, 1942 -

This was an oddly quiet turn. The Japanese forces did very little anywhere. Even Manila didn't receive its usual heavy air bombardments. Some Japanese planes bombed Samarinda, and others hit some Dutch stragglers in the jungles in the Celebes. There were a couple of Japanese artillery bombardments in China, and Taytay was captured. But that was pretty much it. Japanese planes were even pulled back from Mandalay again.

Of course, my forces weren't doing an awful lot either. The Chinese bombers flew their usual ground attack missions against Japanese forward position LCUs, but that was it for Allied air attacks. Treespider wasn't caught short this time at Wuchow like he was at Homan and Yenen so my land attack there ran into a strong Japanese Division and failed to oust the Japanese besiegers.

Something does seem a bit "funny" in the South Pacific. The air balance is slightly negative at both Upolu and Pago Pago, as it is at the rest of the islands stretching out to the north, but not at Fiji or Tongatapu. The air balance at Canton Island is less negative, but then I've got a US carrier TF sailing by, so that is probably affecting the air balance at Canton. However, Treespider did send those Nell attacks against Funafuti, so I'm still suspicious that he may be planning an attack into the region. Therefore, I've got that CV TF slowly sailing towards Funafuti, with Suva set as the home port.

So right now I'm taking advantage of the general state of "quiet" to continue building up my bases and forces. I've got my forces spread out between my "key" areas; India, Australia, East/South Eastern Pacific and Alaska/West Coast. India is in the hands of the RN, the RAF and the Commonwealth troops that are assigned to SEAC. Australia is defending itself on the ground, with some help in the air from the US, along with significant USN assets. New Zealand is pretty much on its own, with some non-trivial USN assets added. The vast majority of US Navy and Army assets are in the Eastern Pacific. All Northern Command units are in Alaska, primarily Anchorage, All Canadian units are in Canada with the exception of a couple of patrol units, and all West Coat units are in West Coast bases.

If you are wondering why I'm not running any big 4E bomber air campaigns, it's because my 4E bombers are also spread out. I have the escapees from the Philippines in India (a full group and a full squadron of B-17Es), two full B-17E groups in Australia, the LB-40 group on patrol in the Hawaiian Islands, and the Northern Command B-17E squadron in Anchorage. In the absence of any "easy" and useful targets, and with a severe shortage of any decent long-ranged escorts, I prefer to use 4E bombers to augment my search and patrol activities rather than chance them against relatively low-value targets. I also only have around 20 B-17Es in reserve, so they won't last long if I start any serious air campaigns.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 238
RE: Oddly Quiet... - 7/6/2006 5:32:04 AM   
Jim D Burns


Posts: 4013
Joined: 2/25/2002
From: Salida, CA.
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: ADavidB

If you are wondering why I'm not running any big 4E bomber air campaigns, it's because my 4E bombers are also spread out.


Hi Dave,

Something I wish I had done in my game at the point where you are now, was get more heavy bomber groups to India before my ability to air transfer my groups there was cutoff as the DEI fell. There simply are not enough transport groups available through 1942 and early 1943 to airlift enough supplies to China to decisively help out there.

I now have less than 30k total supplies left in all of China (even though I never lost a major battle) in November 1942 and things are collapsing fast now due to severe supply shortages. I have been using my 16 plane B-17 group from the Philippine Islands and the 48 planes LB-30 group to air lift supplies along with my 6-8 transport groups, but wish I had sent another three or four 48 plane heavy groups there when I had the chance.

The heavies transport about 3 or 4 supply points each per turn (1 point per 2000 load capacity I think) while the transports only lift 2 points per turn since they are at extended range and have their load capacity halved from 10,000 to 5,000 I believe.

If I had another three 48 plane B-24D groups, in India I’d be lifting an additional 576 supplies per turn (144 planes times 4 supplies each) to China which might have been enough to save me. In the 8 months from March through October I would have been able to lift an additional 138,240 supplies to China (30 days times 8 = 240 days, times 576 supplies a day).

While I’ve caused him some grief with my heavies in those 8 months, I think the potential benefits of an additional 138,000 supplies in China far exceeds anything else those groups could achieve in 1942. And for each additional 48 plane B-24D group you use, assume you’ll lift approximately 46,000 more supplies in that same 8 month period.

Of course this all assumes you’ve managed to build up a level 5 airfield within normal range of a Chinese base by March. If not each 48 plane group will only lift half their normal capacity until you’ve got a level 5 airfield (it might be level 6 for B-24’s I’m not sure about that formula off the top of my head). Just a little food for thought.

Jim


_____________________________


(in reply to ADavidB)
Post #: 239
RE: Oddly Quiet... - 7/6/2006 1:11:04 PM   
ADavidB


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

Something I wish I had done in my game at the point where you are now, was get more heavy bomber groups to India before my ability to air transfer my groups there was cutoff as the DEI fell. There simply are not enough transport groups available through 1942 and early 1943 to airlift enough supplies to China to decisively help out there.


I'm surprised that you can fly your 4Es often enough to get as much supply into China as you do. I find that with advanced weather I can only get my 4Es in northeastern India to fly once or twice a week at best. The only missions they will fly regularly are naval search or recon.

You idea is interesting, never-the-less. It just seems a shame to me to use combat units for supply transport. I'd much rather wait and use them either to defend India or in support of an attempt to re-open the Burma Road.

I also don't want to rob myself of their search capabilities in the Pacific; my worst problems come about when I am surprised by the IJN, and my 4Es find more potential "problems" than my Catalinas ever do.

Thanks for the ideas!

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Jim D Burns)
Post #: 240
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