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On occasional occasions – NO RATTOVOLANTE, PLEASE - 9/25/2009 3:31:10 PM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

some of you may be readers of my WitP AAR „Gutted“. Those who are will most likely be aware that I am quite constantly complaining about lack of time, still there were questions whether I would write an AAR when some readers had noticed I had started a new PBEM under WitP AE. Some people even obliged me to feel obliged

.

Thus, here I am with a bit of time available, as the balls (turns) are in the courts of my respective opponents and start an AAR. As the title indicates, it will most likely be occasional only, and I will try to present a view focused on events that I consider to be interesting or instructive.

My present opponent is Rattovolante (he writes his view on things in another AAR which is closed to me). I found his post in the opponents wanted section, and the frequency of exchanging turns he was aiming at was not too high, so I accepted his proposal. I don’t know much about him as of yet, but that will/should change in the course of the next months, I guess.

I entered this PBEM knowing that I know nothing/hardly anything about AE. I downloaded and installed it quickly after it appeared, but did not do much testing of any kind. Just like my game against Nemo, this game is for learning. Therefore, I am in for a few surprises, as a lot of mechanisms have changed and some old approaches do not work any more. Please feel free to comment, suggest, lecture me and point out mistakes I make.

This being said, on to the game, which is about to enter turn 4. We did a historical first turn, thus the Empire of Japan, which now appears to be controlled by an Italian warmonger with the code name “Rattovolante”, launched a totally unexpected surprise attack on the peaceful base of Pearl Harbor… and so it all begins…

Hartwig

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 9/26/2009 10:48:37 PM >

Post #: 1

Short term goals - 9/26/2009 10:52:31 PM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

Before I actually jump into discussing the action that took place so far, let me say a few things about my general envisioned approach (what happens in reality maybe something completely different…).

On the short term time scale, my prime objective is to *try* to negate hindsight. The Japanese player starts the game with perfect knowledge about the Allied force distribution and can arrange his operations accordingly. If you want to know an example of what I am talking about and are not forbidden to do so, check e.g. posts 67-70 of the “Conference of the supreme war council” thread. Note that I don’t complain about that and think playing the Japanese side, this is what should be done to optimize performance.

However, I’m playing Allied, thus I would like to try to change this in such a way that at least at some relevant bases a small surprise is waiting. In a realistic view on things, considering the available assets, this will most probably be nothing that could withstand a determined attempt to take the base by a Japanese player, but it may be enough to enforce reallocation of assets after a first failed attack – and as preparation for a given base is rumored to be more important now, this will hopefully delay my opponent a bit.

A secondary objective will be to “conserve my breath”. It may not be really appropriate to apply the term on the strategic scale of this game, but essentially the concept I would like to borrow from is an elastic defense. My feeling is that in a number of games that are running Allied surface assets in the DEI and available planes, especially the dutch planes, are spent very early on (I sort of used to do that myself on occasion). Once the Japanese player has broken these assets, there is a phase in which he can (using another possibly not really appropriate term here) “exploit the breakthrough”. This phase is something I would like to try to avoid, even if this means that my opponent will achieve some of his first wave goals earlier and with a little less losses.

The wish behind this (which may turn out to be based on wishful thinking only) that I believe there may be four factors that work in my favor if this works out:

a) dilution of the Japanese assets as a consequence of expansion,
b) wear effects on the attacker,
c) improved quality/ability of my assets (by training, if that routine should work, and some experience) , and
d) organized “combined arms” strikes in a pre-organized setting of (there are only so many relevant bases, especially in view of the changes AE brought about) rather than use of improvised attack groups attempting to interfere in an uncoordinated way.

I think that specifically b) and d) are more important in AE than previously because of the bigger effort needed to keep one’s ships and planes combat ready.

Thus, whereas on the one hand I will try to harass my opponent, to make him keep his shield up and stay alert, it is likely that the big confrontations may occur only a little later.

I’ll talk about the mid-term time scale in another post. For now, if anyone has any concerns relating to this approach or recommendations how to implement it, feel free to comment. Other than that, for now thanks for your interest.

Hartwig

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 2

RE: Short term goals - 9/27/2009 8:36:37 AM

Alfred
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Felt obliged to check that the obliged obliged did feel obliged to oblige. Now of course I am not certain that being occasional really obliges but we will see in due course what obliges the obliged to oblige us with commentary.

Alfred

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 3

RE: Short term goals - 9/29/2009 6:44:21 AM

modrow
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Alfred,

quote:

ORIGINAL: Alfred

Felt obliged to check that the obliged obliged did feel obliged to oblige. Now of course I am not certain that being occasional really obliges but we will see in due course what obliges the obliged to oblige us with commentary.

Alfred

great posts like yours will certainly do

... after reading it, I feel dizzy now...

Hartwig

(in reply to Alfred)

Post #: 4

Another reason to oblige... - 9/29/2009 6:55:34 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

another item that will oblige me (probably again and again) to oblige my readership with commentary is sub effectiveness under AE...

I'll need to rant about it every now and then if things continue like this. Presently, I lose about 3 merchant ships/turn to IJN subs. Admittedly, a considerable number of these are fleeing ships which do not have much of an escort and are travelling on likely escape routes, but somehow I feel a bit aggravated by the fact that I have yet to see an IJN sub missing a shot on such a TF.

In contrast to that, my S-boats and Dutch subs hardly get a shot at Rattovolante's ships. Even the ones with good captains. That's probably fine though, because there's a ton of escorts with many of the convoys that I try to attack...

At the same time, I think this is a good opportunity to voice another big THANK YOU to the developers, testers and matrix. They have managed to make a great game (WitP) even better. Even though I don't understand the mechanics really well as of yet, I feel there are significant improvements. I'll comment in more detail on suitable occasions.

Hartwig

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 9/29/2009 7:03:40 AM >

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 5

Pearl: Day one results - 9/29/2009 8:19:36 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

actually, apart from ranting and bantering I would like to give you -occasionally

- some information on the events that took place in our game. Right now, I am waiting to get the game file to enter my December 13, 1942 orders and also still don't have a new turn in my WitP PBEM game, so today may be an occasion to do so.

I believe that before discussion mid- and long-term strategy it might be a good thing to say what is left of the US naval forces at Hawaii to pursue such strategy. Therefore, I will discuss events in the vicinity of Pearl in this post and one or two follow-up posts.

First of all, I think I did not mention that we went for a historical start with surprise on. This gives Japan a good chance to annihilate Force Z - which Lady Luck turned into reality for Rattovolante, Repulse an PoW were sunk. I mention this, because it relates to my remaining BB strength...

Weather was on my side, because there was only a morning strike on Pearl Harbor. This is the outcome:

If you don't see Nevada on that list, that's because she's sunk. Also, 1DD and 1AE were damaged that did not fit on the list.

In addition, of course there was a lot of damage to AF (69% runway, 37% Service) and a significant number of planes destroyed on the ground - e.g. 30 PBY Catalina

and 30 P40B, all on the ground. Losses to KB: 8 Vals, 4 Kates, 2 Zeros.

The next few days in Hawaiian waters are described in the next post.

Thank you for your interest so far.

Hartwig

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< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 9/29/2009 8:32:31 AM >

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 6

Roundtrip Hawaii - 9/29/2009 9:05:13 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

let me begin this post by saying something about the general mood in the Allied High Command after these day one results. Actually, I was quite optimistic - there had been a relatively high number of torpedo hits, but relatively evenly spread over my BBs, and they had worked reasonably well as torpedo magnets. Also, in spite of the plane losses I believed I would be able to maintain some fighter cover, partly by LRCapping from neighbouring bases, plus surely my AAA would be more adequate during future attacks, so that follow up strikes -of course, KB would hang around, would it not ?-would be weakened.

KB certainly did hang around. It went for a roundtrip, as illustrated here:

(Note that under AE, it seems that you cannot always see where an airstrike originates from, as indicated by the question marks. That's nice !)

Well, perhaps this would have been the case, but follow up strikes on Pearl did not occur very soon. In the next two game days, there were sweeps over Pearl and some limited naval attacks, the most relevant of which annihilated a fleeing CA (New Orleans) on December 10 (which had previously had a rendezvous with KB where both TFs retreated at once). Only on December 11 the next pot attack struck.

At first, I did continue to consider myself lucky, as I assumed weather was acting in my favor. Looking back, I am not so sure about that any more, maybe there was some strategy involved. The sweeps did not destroy a huge number of my fighters, but they still crippled my ability to get CAP in the air (possibly due to the bad airfield conditions at Pearl). Very quickly, morale and number of ready planes in the fighter squadrons plummeted down. When finally the next port attack hit, it met hardly any resistance (10 Kates and 1 Val lost) - and now a total of 8BB/BC (2 force Z, 6 from Pearl) is lost. The remaining two will see service again in estimated 2 and 2.5 years, respectively.

Thus, all in all 6BB at Pearl sunk and 2 severely damaged (plus a few more damaged/sunk ships) for the expense of 2 Zeros, 9 Vals and 14 Kates. Inefficient PH attacks ? Not in my game...

Thank you for your interest

Hartwig

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 9/29/2009 9:21:19 AM >

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Post #: 7

RE: Roundtrip Hawaii - 9/30/2009 6:59:32 AM

Alfred
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Post #6 disclosed that no ships were being repaired. In AE you have to move a ship into the ship repair yard to effect drydock repairs.

Alfred

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 8

RE: Roundtrip Hawaii - 9/30/2009 10:50:45 PM

modrow
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Alfred,

quote:

ORIGINAL: Alfred
Post #6 disclosed that no ships were being repaired. In AE you have to move a ship into the ship repair yard to effect drydock repairs.
Alfred

I probably should have said more clearly that the screenshot in post #6 was the December 8th screenshot I got directly from the game file as received from my opponent. Finding ships in non-readiness mode would habe been really unexpected there

, and when I sent the turn back, the screenshot looked significantly different.

Actually, looking back I am not really sure whether it was smart to stand down many of the ships with good AAA values. I did just that because I thought whatever is repaired will help to keep them afloat. But now, I ask myself whether this may be a reason why I was that disappointed with the number of planes brought down or damaged by Flak. Does anyone of my esteemed readership know for sure whether ships disbanded in port in readiness mode contribute to the anti-aircraft fire in AE ?

Thanks for your interest

Hartwig

(in reply to Alfred)

Post #: 9

RE: Roundtrip Hawaii - 10/2/2009 4:21:31 PM

modrow
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Bump for my question ...

quote:

ORIGINAL: hartwig.modrow
Does anyone of my esteemed readership know for sure whether ships disbanded in port in readiness mode contribute to the anti-aircraft fire in AE ?

Hartwig

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 10

One week into the war... - 10/2/2009 4:25:55 PM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

as I have completed the December 14, 1941 turn and we are now one week into the war, maybe it's time to provide you with some additional info. Of course, we are winning

- or was that just the propaganda newsreel for the home front ?

One aspect in which the war has gone much better than expected so far is the air war. Here's the air losses so far as determined by the wonderful WitP AE tracker

You see that if you subtract the results of the vicious and totally unacceptable surprise attack on Pearl along with plane losses at Clark Field, which is obviously the right thing to do, because it leads to the desired statistical result, losses are 1.5:1 in our favor. Bantering aside, I am more than pleased with this.

One of the things that has paid dividends is probably related to then change in A2A combat. Rattovolante likes to go for a sweep first - (unescorted) bombers next approach, which I think was a good approach in WitP. But now, at least if there is a network of neighboring bases my impression is that this sweep eliminates the CAP that is present in the hex, but attracts reinforcements from neighboring hexes (XYZ squadron redirected...). As a consequence, Rattovolante lost once 14 (!) Lilys and at another opportunity 9 Nells after his sweep had gone in before and eliminated the planes that were in the air because of new, even reinforced CAP in the hex.

Any experience relating to this or similar effects in my readership ?

I'll try to provide some more info soon, specifically ship losses so far and then a view on the campaign in the Pilippines.

For now, thanks for your interest (and feel free to chime in and comment/suggest/criticize)

Hartwig

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 10/2/2009 4:55:34 PM >

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Post #: 11

Losing ships left, right and center... - 10/2/2009 5:24:16 PM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

the subject of this post is a -probably not literal- quote from a comment of my opponent in the WitP PBEM, Nemo. In said PBEM, I had used a bunch of mini-invasions and probably did throw away a bunch of shipping for that purpose for possibly debatable returns.

Anyway, it's the same story all over again... look at this:

The BB/BC and CA losses are known to you already. Remaining losses are small ships lost at Pearl and ships fleeing from bases that are under attack. 19 of the AK were annihilated by IJN subs, that's why I was ranting a few posts ago, and the loss rate has not really gone down. If an unescorted AK or group of AKs meets an IJN sub, scratch one of the AKs. My opponent and I both believe that the success rate is close to 100%.

The IJN losses are disappointingly low so far. Planes on naval attack hit virtually nothing, with the exception of a Dauntless carrier wing destroying an AO in the vicinity of Midway. Attacks on the escorting DDs led to nothing. The dutch subs and S-boats are performing sub par as well, especially compared to their IJN counterparts. 1DD, 1 AK. The best job was done by the British DDs at Hong Kong, which raided a base and destroyed an AK TF that was docked and busy loading something consisting almost exlusively of non-combat squads. The unit seems to be gone now

- but two of the DDs got killed by Betties or Nells (not sure which of the two bad babes any more).

Ok, that much about naval losses...

Thank you for your interest

Hartwig

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 10/2/2009 5:45:39 PM >

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Post #: 12

An occasional rant... - 10/6/2009 8:34:01 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

how about an occasional rant…

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 15, 41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Manado at 75,99

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 22 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 5

Allied aircraft
139WH-3 x 2
B-339D x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
139WH-3: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x 139WH-3 bombing from 7000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 300 kg SAP Bomb
2 x B-339D sweeping at 10000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Manado at 75,99

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 1

Allied aircraft
B-339D x 7
Hudson I x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Hudson I bombing from 11000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Singora at 51,72

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 4

Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 3
Buffalo I x 7

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CM Hatsutaka

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Blenheim IV bombing from 9000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Singora at 51,72

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 44 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 2

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 7
Vildebeest III x 8

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
E Shimushu

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x Vildebeest III bombing from 10000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Manado at 75,99

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 4

Allied aircraft
B-339D x 7
Hudson I x 1

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CVL Zuiho

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Hudson I bombing from 11000 feet *
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

Actually, stepping back and looking at it from a distance, the fact that 40 bombs score no hit is not really what causes the disappointment. An attack by 10 Blenheim IV (=same number of bombs) which was ineffective would not cause such a bad mood… but if again and again you attack, break through the CAP screen and score – well, nothing at all- that’s rant-provoking

.

Specifically in the context that the achievements of all naval attacks on ships that occurred so far in this war caused 1 or 2 sinkings and maybe 2 or 3 damaged ships. Heck, in the above series of atttacks I did not even shoot down a single Japanese plane in spite of superior numbers of escorting fighters !

Well, what do I expect, given the lousy experience values of most of the units… they need some training, then they will improve (I hope).

More info to follow (hopfully)

Hartwig

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 10/6/2009 8:35:44 AM >

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 13

Guns and Ammo... - 10/6/2009 9:03:18 AM

modrow
Matrix Elite Guard

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Gentlemen,

actually, the occasion that brings about today’s rush of activity for this AAR is a slight problem we have run into (apart from the continuing lack of a turn in my WitP PBEM) that enforces my opponent to rearrange his plans. But let’s start from the beginning…

My opponent evidently likes shore bombardments a lot. It started already on day 2 or so, when he sent the CAs belonging to the baby KB escort to pay Cagayan an (ineffectual) visit. Since then, specifically his CLs have been zooming through the waters around the PI and eastern Borneo, shooting up this and that.

Frankly, right when I was seeing that first CA bombardment I thought hmmm… reloading CAs is not as easy as it used to be under AE… so let him spend his ammo and then ambush him if he keeps hanging around after ammo is spent or if he has to remove the cruisers for a couple of days to reload. Specifically in view of the fact that running a TF at full speed now tends to rack up some damage to ships – part of that being major damage – I thought that if I was him, I’d probably be less generous with ammo for the big ship guns.

Well, it turns out that Rattovolante had taken precautions by making sure that he had enough naval support available at a nearby base if HQ contributions were factored in correctly – which evidently is not done at least until the next patch is out.

Thus, he ran into problems when trying to reload one of his CLs (!) . We considered for a moment to suspend the game until the patch is out, but after some consideration my opponent now thinks he can compensate for the problem by concentrating a few base forces, of which he believes he has aplenty and for which he believes to have sufficient (shipping) assets available. Not sure whether all of that is true (looking at the minimal success I had with sinking Japanese shipping, maybe the latter is correct), but fine with me.

However, as a consequence, understandably it takes longer than ususal for him to get the turn back, thus I sit here with a bit of time available to do a bit of posting (and, potentially some reading… did I mention that I could not resist buying the revamped GG’s BoB/BtR which I have not even started… … …)

Anyway, for now thanks for the interest

Hartwig

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 14

RE: Guns and Ammo... - 10/7/2009 4:37:39 AM

Alfred
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And you will be flying for those magnificent men in their flying machines of the RA and subsequently ANR?Ah...flying those flying scultures of the serie 5 - planes a good 12 months in advance of the lagging product from the RLM

Alfred

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 15

Back online... - 10/19/2009 9:43:02 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

sorry about the long period without occasional comments... whereas I was not offline during the last 10 days or so, I was only able to use mobile internet in an area that does not support UMTS. The game did continue more or less at its usual pace (I found the December 19 .001 file in my e-mail a few minutes ago), but for some reason I am consistently unable to log into these forums when trying to do so via mobile internet - supposedly, the graphical challenge is never answered correctly. If anyone is aware of this effect and knows a workaround, please let me know.

Well, by now I'm back and will once again try to provide an additional comment or two...

Thanks for your interest

Hartwig

(in reply to Alfred)

Post #: 16

RE: Guns and Ammo... - 10/19/2009 9:56:26 AM

modrow
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Alfredm

quote:

ORIGINAL: Alfred
And you will be flying for those magnificent men in their flying machines of the RA and subsequently ANR?Ah...flying those flying scultures of the serie 5 - planes a good 12 months in advance of the lagging product from the RLM

Alfred

Well... in the end, I still did not touch the new game. Not even the BoB tutorial.

Relating to your comment in more detail -as far as I can fathom it, I got too little knowledge on the topic of performance of historical military airplanes, which, in addition, always appears to be highly biased by the nationality or at least side one's nationality belonged to (even when quoting official sources like comparative test reports, possibly because the features you tend to assume to be most relevant are defined by the trainig/doctrine you are trained in, which in turn is a function of the strengths and weaknesses of the planes you fly)-

a) I tend not to have an eye for the beauty of things but rather whether they are a suitable tool for a given job (which is why, much to the greif of my wife, I tend to ignore flowers) and

b) I am quite convinced that the development of new planes as orchestrated by the RLM was not optimized in terms of efficiency. No one who believes German planes, tanks or whatever were Über-weapons punching in these lines.

Hartwig

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 10/19/2009 10:04:38 AM >

(in reply to Alfred)

Post #: 17

Summary of actions in the PI vicinity - 10/20/2009 7:19:32 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

this is the first of the long promised posts on the situation in the PI and the vicinity thereof as of December 19, 1941 , discussing the developments in the northern part of said region. The southern part is analyzed in the following post.

I have added numbers to the screenshot which are in roughly chronological order and will edit this post a few times until all of them are covered. This will take a bit of time, because I want to go through the combat reports in order to add a detail or two whenever it seems appropriate, so unless you have read a version of this in which all the numbers are discussed, please read again at a later point of time, even if there are one or more later posts.

I chose this approach because I hope that the final post will provide a concentrated overview on the development of the PI campaign during the first few days, which may be interesting (e.g. in terms of possible pattern recognition).

In general, please bear in mind that we went for a historical start, thus limiting my, but especially my opponent's options (preparation !). At the same time, I would like to stress once more that I hardly played any turns against the AI and did not look at the Japanese starting dispositions, thus I do not know where the attacks are "scheduled" and which forces are earmarked for which attack. If I draw any wrong conclusions, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Relating to number 1 on the map, the ground campaign in the PI began with a para attack on Laoag, which happened during execution of the December 08 1941 orders. More or less directly afterwards, planes and units were moved in, probably along with some supplies. I tried to create some mischief there mmediately with the meagre assets available (Clark was pretty beat up by turn 1 air attacks, so the feeble airpower in the PI was not available) by sending two DDs in for shore bombardment (there could not really be big guns) on December 9 and one on December 11. Results were not too thrilling... a few hits on runways, port and supplies; during the second run a Japanese SC was sunk, after the bombardment the SCs were met again wothout effect, then a surface TF was encountered twice, which first damaged the DD performing the action with 5 shells while achieving two hits and reported fires on a Japanese DD and then sunk the DD for a hit on a CA and another hit on a DD.

Relating to number 2 on the map, the move on Vigan, that was clearly to be expected.
As I explained in my general comments, one of the things I try to do is change the force distribution on the map. Accordingly, I tried to garrison Vigan by

a) sending 11th PA division there, which unfortunately ended the turn 1 mile short and stayed in the neighboring hex (I hate 46 mile hexes

for reasons which became apparent in that turn for the first time, but many times since then), why not just set them to 45 ?!?) and

b) moving parts of a canadian unit from HongKong to Vigan by means of the Chinese transport AC, parts of which were present when landings began on December 9.

This made my opponent focus a bit of attention to the poor canadian troops: 4 air attacks plus a naval bombardment, which scored 6 Airbase hits, 7 Airbase supply hits, 21 Runway hits, 18 Port hits and 2 Port fuel hits. Excellent results - I could not have wrecked the place more effectively with my assets, and in addition the focus of Rattovolante's airpower was not available for continued attacks suppressing my bases in the vicinity, giving them -specifically Clark- a chance to repair. It was not really surprising to see the Japanese take the place and evict the canadians immediately after that. A pity that the 11th Division was not available, because adjusted av of the Japanese was only 20, but it was not to be.

What was to be instead was that in the next turn I promptly forgot to cancel the movement of 11th division

... so they moved in. I ordered retreat immedeately, but guess what happened ? Let me give you a hint: in the turn before Rattovolante had decided he would attack, the division was marching in combat mode and had 16 miles left to travel. See my above rant re. 46 mile hexes...

. Well the attack occured on December 14 , 2 japanese naval bombardment runs and 4 japanese air attacks later - and the 11th PA division was evicted. Bad for the shape of the unit for sure...

Not much can be said relating to number 3, the Aparri invasion which also started on December 9. I tried to move the unit from Tuguegarao there in time to greet the invasion forces, but it did not arrive in time, so I retreated again. The base fell on December 10. , and Rattovolante immediately moved in some fighters (he seems to move in planes very quickly after taking the base, even if the air facilities are damaged). I tried to focus some air power on the airfield, but there's not really much I could project.

Rattovolante continued his march to Tuguegarao, number 4 on the map, which was taken on December 15 without any opposition. As you see on the map, the march went on.

Number 5, the attack on Atimonan is something I am still not sure about, maybe some JFB out there can comment.
Is this the most likely place for the southern attack prong to occur now ?

As you see on the map, I moved token garrisons to Naga and Legaspi, hoping to scare my opponent away. There was a shore bombardment of Legaspi early on, which was not followed by an invasion much to my surprise - but then, potentially Legaspi-Naga is no longer a route to go due to the bad road connections.

Anyway, the landing on Anitmonan was a landing that showed substantially higher losses than the other ones, so it was probably executed at least partly by less well prepared troops (historical turn 1). According to cursor intel Rattovolante has landed 8 units or so there and took the base on December 15. He moved on to Lucena, number 7, (which was where I had expected the southern prong to land and positioned the 51st PA division), which was taken on December 19, i.e. last turn by three Japanese Regiments. Of course, 51st Division had tried to retreat, but due to the 46 mile hexes, it did not make it but was surprised after marching 45 miles

. Another wrecked PI division - it looks like I'm going to be the player who loses Manila at the earliest point of time in the history of AE

.

I want to rant a little bit more about the Antimonan landing. I had all my available bombers set to naval attack missions, and because Rattovolante used his bombers to provide ground support their main base, clark field, was fully operational. I could understand that due to the presence of CAP TFs at Aparri and Vigan were not attacked because I could only provide weak escorts, but the Antimonan landing was not covered by CAP (baby KB was known to be busy elsewhere). Not a single mission was launched. Morale was 60ish to 70ish. Fatigue was well below 10. Still, NOTHING attacked.

Last not least, San Fernando, number 6 on my map. I like talking about that hex

. As mentioned previously, the 11th PI division, had been defeated at Vigan because of the 46 mile hexes. It retreated there, with Rattovolante's units in close pursuit. On December 18, he launched an attack, which probably met quite a different force mix than the one he had expected:

Ground combat at San Fernando (80,74)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2994 troops, 15 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 334

Defending force 8801 troops, 109 guns, 235 vehicles, Assault Value = 318

Japanese adjusted assault: 19

Allied adjusted defense: 161

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 8 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
421 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 28 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 33 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled

Allied ground losses:
81 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 9 (0 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Assaulting units:
1st Formosa Inf. Regiment
48th Engineer Regiment
47th Infantry Regiment
Kanno Detachment

Defending units:
21st PA Infantry Division
192nd Tank Battalion
86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion
57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team
194th Tank Battalion

The first victory of this war

.

Of course, the response on the next day shocked and awed me... I just provide you with the list of the attacking planes, they did hit a thing or two and met a fighter or two on CAP (but I cannot claim a victory in the air).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14
G3M2 Nell x 5
G4M1 Betty x 27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
G4M1 Betty x 20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
G3M2 Nell x 18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on San Fernando , at 80,74

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 10
Ki-30 Ann x 13
Ki-51 Sonia x 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
Ki-30 Ann x 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on San Fernando , at 80,74

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 49 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 194th Tank Battalion, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 2
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 15
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 192nd Tank Battalion, at 80,74 (San Fernando)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

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

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14
Ki-27b Nate x 10
Ki-51 Sonia x 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on San Fernando , at 80,74

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 27 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18

Now, that's flexing the Japanese muscles in the theater. I guess next turn or so some naval bombarment will occur. But as a side note, I think this is the first game ever in which I was able to actually inrease fort levels at Clark Field... If I manage to move my LCUs back in spite of 46 mile hexes, I think Rattovolante may have spent too much air power on ground support - but no idea whether that's true or just wishful thinking. The next few turns will tell...

Thanks for your interest and your patience during the time it took me to actually complete the comments for this part !

Hartwig

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 10/22/2009 4:04:51 PM >

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Post #: 18

Summary of actions in the PI vicinity (II) - 10/20/2009 7:32:40 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

this is the second of the long promised posts on the situation in the PI and the vicinity thereof, discussing the developments in the southern part of said region.

As in the previous post, I have added numbers to the screenshot which are in roughly chronological order and will edit this post a few times until all of them are covered in the same way as described in the previous post. Unless you have read a version of this in which all the numbers are discussed, please reread at a later point of time.

Thanks again for your interest !

Hartwig

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Post #: 19

Nothern PI Summary of actions completed - 10/22/2009 4:03:02 PM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

just a bump in order to inform you that the summary mentioned above (=post 18) is finally finished !

Thanks

Hartwig

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Post #: 20

Mystery prediciton contest - 10/26/2009 10:35:04 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

rather than talking about the developments in the southern PI, I would like to ask for your assumptions/predictions relating to a(t least one) mystery TF which has appeared.

Below, I show a screenshot taken before the last turn (i.e. on December 21 game file date), along with possible movements for the day before (broken lines) and the movement that has occured in my opinion during the last turn (solid line), as visible from the December 22 game file.

The TF is now in hex 81,113, and SigInt tells me about heavy volume radio traffic. The only other Intel I got is the one indicated in the picture. I should add that in the December 19 => December 20 combat report, Baby KB or at least parts thereof, including at least one BB raised its ugly head in the vicinity (Unescorted Kates attacked ships at Ambon, which were CAPped, minus 4 Kates), thus at least potentially, there are heavy hitters available.

The mystery I am trying to unravel is what this may be ? At first, I had believed an Ambon invasion (logical step after taking Manado and Ternate - well, I did not quite understand why he took Ternate in the first place), but I am not sure about that any more. So what else ? A deep raid ? An early invasion of northeast Australia ? In that case, Ternate may be a base he needs in order to be able to move planes to bases in Northern Australia, but I ask myself whether this can be cosidered as doable and, more importantly advisable. Guesses or analysis, anyone (of course restricted to people not reading the other side of this AAR) ?

Thanks in advance

Hartwig

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< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 10/26/2009 10:36:43 AM >

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Post #: 21

RE: Mystery prediciton contest - 10/27/2009 3:19:18 AM

Alfred
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I would plump for it being the Ambon invasion force approaching its target from the rear to avoid the anticipated Allied searchplane arcs. Possession of Ternate would be consistent with the enemy axis of advance being Ambon followed by Timor. There are too many Allied bases in the area for it to be an early invasion force for northern Australia - his SLOC would be too vulnerable without the capture of some more Allied bases in the area.

Alfred

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Post #: 22

Mystery solved - 10/27/2009 9:10:30 AM

modrow
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Alfred,

by now, I am in possession of another .001 file and know what the TF was. You were absolutely correct with respect to the target; it was the Ambon invasion force. The reason for this strange approach was -according to Rattovolante- different though; the "follow" and "meet" commands are evidently difficult to master. I had troubles as well when I needed a meeting of two TFs to bunker additional fuel.

Maybe I'll take the opportunity to add another comment or two a) relating to ambon and b) in order to stir up some more general strategy discussion.

a) I hope that Ambon will be interesting. My opponent brought some really heavy hitters for pounding the base into submission (three IJN BB), potentially because he is aware that so far my cruiser force in the region is fully intact. However, their staying time is evidently limited. He does hold Davao(LVL2 AF), Manado (LVL3AF), Ternate (LVL1AF), and there is of course the base formerly known as Palau (?), Babeldo-babelda-something (LVL3 AF, I think), but Manado is somewhat damaged and so is Ternate. Therefore, I am not sure how well he will be able to project air power once his heavies are out of ammo. I guess we will see...

In addition, Ambon has been reinforced a bit, its garrision's AV is about twice what it was at the beginning of the game. Bringing along a force that has been set up for an optimized string of conquests may not be sufficient. At Manado, which was not reinforced by me, Rattovolante did just that, had an unlucky dice roll or two and needed several days to take the base, using a lot of naval bombardment. I have to see the damage done by the first shore bombardment though before I can make any more definite predictions.

b) Now, on to the strategy discussion. I had similar thoughts about an early move on Darwin at first, but then I looked at options for a possible response, and frankly I am not so sure that under game conditions this problem would materialize for him.

The ability to take the base is clearly there. Small garrison, no significant forts, no real way to reinforce or counterattack but via sea lanes (for which one does not have enough PP) or extremely long marching along mostly bad roads. No fighter planes in Australia. Air support for Darwin only from Koepang at Hudson extended range. Nothing to be really worried about.

There are a lot of bases around, but the question is how useful they really are, as most of them have LVL 1 AFs only. Of useful AFs, Koepang is closest (12 hex, I think), extended range for Hudsons, out of range for Dutch planes. Ambon is next (15 hex?), also LVL 4. Then comes Kendari (LVL4).

Looking at the sea lanes, only Kendari and Ambon may pose potential danger to the SLOC. If keeping the maximum possible distance, I think that from Kendari only Hudsons could be in a position to attack, and they could attack only at close to maximum range. Ambon is the only place that may pose a threat. Even that thread is purely hypothetical, though, because it assumes that successful naval attacks can be conducted by the Allied in this region early on. But I think most AARs around here confirm my previous rants that they just don't hit a thing. If you are scared after all, use Zeros from Ternate on LRCAP.

That leaves surface forces. However, even CLs need a reasonable port size to reload, and naval support and/or tenders are scarce in the vicinity. It may be a one shot approach. At the same time, Darwin has a LVL3 AF, and Japanese planes are good at ship hunting. Not good prospects, if you ask me...

Therefore, I am no longer sure at all that this could not be done. Under WitP conditions, where Martins would give you a hit or two on a ship every now and then, probably not. Now, with AE I'm really not sure. Move in a sizeable force with a lot of supply, fly in planes to make sure you got air superiority and only after that you go for Ambon. You need to get the TFs in and out, then the garrison should be able to look after itself for quite a while, because essentially no counterattack or consistent pressure on the base can be maintained by the Allied player.

Last not least what should be discussed first: Possible gains. I believe that many Allied players ship stuff from the DEI to Australia, specifically Darwin (only real alternative is Perth, which is a bit further), or India, which is still further, and you are fighting against the clock here, thus evacuating stuff from there is made more difficult). I think a JFB really should try

, it may turn out to be a nice pain in the Allied butt.

Any opinions/comments ?

Thanks for your interest

Hartwig

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 10/27/2009 9:45:43 AM >

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Post #: 23

How to improve ? - 10/30/2009 9:39:22 AM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

hmmm... what a flurry of discussion I have triggered with the above post...

Looks like I need to work on the quality of this AAR to become more attractive for my esteemed readership. Any suggestions ? Preferably not too time consuming, even though right now I am in a bit of a lull... I think the beginning of this week was not good in the real life for my opponent, and on top of that he has announced that he would need some time to tweak a thing or two on the map following a not very lucky Wake invasion and the Ambon invasion mentioned above, which seems not to run according to his plan and thus require a bit more time for this turn than usual.

Suggestions, anyone ?

Thanks

Hartwig

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Post #: 24

RE: How to improve ? - 10/31/2009 3:01:10 AM

Alfred
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hartwig.modrow,

Sorry about the lack of response but I thought from your WITP AAR that you understood why I would be constricted in posting to this AAR.

Specifically regarding post #23, I personally have found it somewhat confusing as to what the question was. Were you asking:

(1) whether Darwin is more defendable for the Allies in AE than it was in classic WITP?

(2) what might be Japan's next target after Ambon?

(3) are surface fleets/maritime cargo operations now feasible in the Ceram/Timor/Arafura Seas because the potency of air strikes is less now? Does this hold true for both sides?

(4) which issues and considerations should the Allies take into account for a counterattack in the eastern DEI?

Handicapped as I am, I can't just respond to a somewhat free flowing philosophical discussion (in the German style) - I need a more Roman (aka Senecca) approach

. For me I would need some more hard data because remember, I don't have AE

.

In future I would suggest that you can still post in the same style (where you canvas pros and cons) but at the end refocus your readers attention by listing the specific questions you would like feedback on.

Alfred

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Post #: 25

RE: How to improve ? - 10/31/2009 10:42:15 AM

modrow
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Alfred,

sorry - the comment re. flurry of discussion was definitely not aimed at you, but I had hoped that some other readers -if there are any- would say a thing or two (same holds for the style of this AAR).

But you are most likely correct in that my thesis that was supposed to be the basis of the discussion was a bit blurred and not put in a sufficiently structured way. Seneca aims a bit high (I might manage to achieve the level of the Consolatio ad Polybium XVIII 9, but then that is a definite slur on his reputation), but I'll try to improve and, if I pick the topic up again, provide some hard data along with it.

As the topic is not directly related to this game, a separate thread in the War Room may be a better place for said discussion anyway, maybe I will set one up at an appropriate point of time or in a sufficiently generalized way.

Thanks for your input

Hartwig

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Post #: 26

RE: How to improve ? - 11/2/2009 8:10:38 AM

Alfred
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hartwig.modrow,

Well....I am still uncertain what the actual question was, but will make a few comments anyway.

Certainly the War Room can be a useful place to posit strategic questions. The advantage of doing so is that you probably will have a wider reading audience than your core AAR readership. Also the non-core AAR readers, being most likely ignorant of the subtle nuances of your PBEM, will feel liberated in their ignorance and therefore more willing to offer advice without fear of their comments appearing to be silly. The disadvantage is that your opponent will be able to read the thread and no matter how careful you are, will glean important information.

Regarding northern Australia. In WITP classic, generally speaking in 1942 northern Australia is indefensible against a determined Japanese attack. In AE, I don't think the situation is quite as bad for the Allies and under certain circumstances an Allied reinforcement of the north makes a lot of sense. Consider the following factors:

(1) in classic WITP, Darwin was basically 100% dependent on sea transport for resupply. In AE, with the capacity of bases to pull supply (by nominating a specified supply level), in theory you should be able to set up a series of inland bases to act as pumping stations to push supply overland to the Top End;

(2) resupply of Darwin by sea, whilst still potentially risky for the Allies in AE, is less risky than in classic because (a) Nells and Bettys (referred by jrcar as Netties, a term I rather like) will need the presence of an Air HQ in order to launch torpedoes, at least until captured bases are built up
(b) Japanese torpedo air operations (by the Netties) now consume more supply (the usual amount to launch level bombers plus that consumed by Air HQs to restock on torpedoes)
(c) air strikes on naval targets are now less powerful unless the unit in question has the relevant air skill

(3) south of Darwin there is now a dot base which can be built up to a significant air base. Doing so provides the following advantages
(a) the Allies can disperse their airpower away from Darwin airfield onto nearby mutually supporting airfields
(b) no longer can Darwin by "nuked" by a sea bombardment which renders the entire Allied airpower (concentrated at Darwin due to lack of suitable nearby supporting air bases) hors de combat
(c) it allows the Allies a fortified fall back position if forced to withdraw from Darwin, with chances to block any further southward movement by the enemy whose Darwin port would remain within range of Allied interdiction

(4) in AE most Japanese players will be somewhat more cautious in conquering the DEI. This means that in Jan-Feb 1942, the Allied player will probably have a largely clear run to reinforce Darwin by sea with supply and troops.

Of course there are other bases in the north (Wyndham, Broome etc) which can be attractive to Japan. But Darwin is the most important.

Alfred

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Post #: 27

RE: How to improve ? - 11/2/2009 1:28:21 PM

DivePac88
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Hartwig.modrow.

Yes Alfred is right in identifying Fenton south of Darwin as a potential 4E base, as of course it was historically. In my PBEM games I am building up Fenton with the same priority as Darwin, because I feel that it makes a better 4E base than Darwin. I feel that Japanese medium bombers based on say Ambon would have trouble suppressing two large airbases at longrange at once.

About Supply; I would buildup Broome/Port Headland as support bases with fighter and ship refueling capabilities. I would run resupply convoys into Darwin with fighter cover, with the express purpose of cutting down the Netty population in the area. I think that in AE the Netty's are a bit more vulnerable, as they were historically.

DP.

_____________________________

When you see the Southern Cross, For the first time
You understand now, Why you came this way

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Post #: 28

Some surface action... - 11/2/2009 10:34:40 PM

modrow
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Gentlemen,

before I start with what is announced as the topic of this post, a few words to the recent contributors:

Alfred, DivePac88 - thanks a lot for your input. I had seen Alfred's post already this morning and had intended to add a bit of discussion here tonight, but I was just able to look at a .001 file from my opponent which contains a bit of interesting surface action which I want to share first with the action-loving folks. Will definitely get back to the northern Oz discussion though, interesting topic, also relating to the comparison between WitP (vanilla and Nemo's mod) and AE.

But first, the promised surface action, the first big series of surface battles in our war (as mentioned above, I thought I might try to keep my powder dry).

As I had told you previously, my opponent had BBs hitting Ambon in the last turn. Well, BBs have a limited amount of ammo for the big guns, the CAs supporting Ops in the DEI had been spending a lot of Ammo when supporting the conquest of Manado and I thought they might still be someplace picking up new shells, thus I thought maybe I can cause some trouble with light surface units and sent two TFs to Ambon: Boise and the three British D-CLs along with a DD and a 5 DD TF including Isis, Encounter, Vampire and two dutch DDs.

I was almost right...

One thing I had not taken into account was that it is of course a good idea to move a BB into an amphibious TF as magnet for CD fire even if it does not have too much ammo for the heavy guns left. Sounds logical, does it not ? So this is what my CL TF ran into:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Ambon at 76,109, Range 2,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
BB Haruna, Shell hits 24, Torpedo hits 1

, on fire
CM Itsukushima
DMS W-13
DMS W-14, Shell hits 6, on fire
PB Busho Maru
PB Chitose Maru, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Kenkon Maru, Shell hits 5
PB Kyo Maru #11, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAK Kyusyu Maru
xAK Tenryu Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Thames Maru
xAK Tihuku Maru, on fire
xAK Macassar Maru
xAK Nansin Maru
xAK Taihei Maru
xAK Okuni Maru, Shell hits 5, heavy fires
xAK Amakusa Maru
PB Kinsyo Maru #2, Shell hits 18, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Toko Maru #4, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CL Danae, Shell hits 18, heavy fires
CL Dragon, Shell hits 3
CL Durban
CL Boise, Shell hits 2
DD Barker

Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching!
Japanese TF suspends unloading operations and begins to get underway
Low visibility due to Thunderstorms
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 3,000 yards
Range closes to 28,000 yards...
Range closes to 26,000 yards...
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 24,000 yards
Range closes to 22,000 yards...
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 16,000 yards...
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 12,000 yards
Range closes to 10,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 10,000 yards
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 8,000 yards
Range closes to 6,000 yards...
Range closes to 4,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 4,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 2,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 2,000 yards

Of course, the BB took mostly non-penetrating hits, disabling a few AAA guns. But At the same time, most of the hits against most of the CLs were non-penetrating as well, because big gun ammo was mostly depleted. Only poor Danae received heavy hits. But seeing Haruna take a fish was really nice...

Next, the CLs were evicted from the hex and met a Japanese DD TF...

Day Time Surface Combat, near Namlea at 76,108, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Hokaze
DD Kuretake, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Fuyo
DD Karukaya, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CL Dragon
CL Durban, Shell hits 5
CL Boise
DD Barker, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Low visibility due to Thunderstorms
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 2,000 yards
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 6,000 yards...
Range closes to 1,000 yards...
DD Karukaya engages DD Barker at 1,000 yards
DD Karukaya engages CL Durban at 1,000 yards
DD Kuretake engages DD Barker at 1,000 yards
DD Hokaze engages DD Barker at 1,000 yards
Range increases to 2,000 yards
DD Karukaya engages DD Barker at 2,000 yards
DD Barker sunk by DD Fuyo at 2,000 yards
CL Dragon engages DD Kuretake at 2,000 yards
Tanaka, Tomoo orders Japanese TF to disengage
Range increases to 5,000 yards
DD Karukaya engages CL Boise at 5,000 yards
CL Durban engages DD Fuyo at 5,000 yards
CL Durban engages DD Kuretake at 5,000 yards
CL Durban engages DD Hokaze at 5,000 yards
Task forces break off...

Well, unfortunately DD Barker was sunk. However, if FOW does not fool me here, two Jap DDs may be in a bit of trouble, perhaps one or both won't make it home.

Next, my DD TF paid a visit to Ambon, where the big invasion TF including Haruna was still in possession of the battleseas. Haruna fought like a lion, blowing van Ghent and Isis out of the water, but...

she took another torpedo hit

...

Day Time Surface Combat, near Ambon at 76,109, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna, Shell hits 25, Torpedo hits 1

, on fire, heavy damage
CM Itsukushima
DMS W-13
DMS W-14, heavy fires
PB Busho Maru
PB Chitose Maru, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Kenkon Maru, Shell hits 5, on fire
xAK Kyusyu Maru
xAK Tenryu Maru
xAK Thames Maru
xAK Tihuku Maru, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Macassar Maru
xAK Nansin Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire
xAK Taihei Maru
xAK Okuni Maru, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Amakusa Maru
PB Kinsyo Maru #2, and is sunk
PB Toko Maru #4, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Vampire
DD Piet Hein, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Van Ghent, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
DD Encounter
DD Isis, Shell hits 9, and is sunk

Low visibility due to Thunderstorms
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 3,000 yards
Range closes to 28,000 yards...
Range closes to 26,000 yards...
Range closes to 24,000 yards...
Range closes to 22,000 yards...
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
Range closes to 18,000 yards...
Range closes to 16,000 yards...
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
Range closes to 10,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
Range closes to 6,000 yards...
Range closes to 4,000 yards...
Range closes to 2,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 2,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 2,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Isis at 2,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Encounter at 2,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Van Ghent at 2,000 yards
DD Isis engages PB Kenkon Maru at 2,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Vampire at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Okuni Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Vampire engages xAK Tihuku Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Amakusa Maru collides with DMS W-13 at 76 , 109 Nice little bonus !

DD Isis sunk by BB Haruna at 2,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Encounter at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent sunk by BB Haruna at 2,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Piet Hein at 2,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Vampire at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 4,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Encounter at 4,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Piet Hein at 4,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Vampire at 4,000 yards
Range increases to 6,000 yards
BB Haruna engages DD Encounter at 6,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages PB Toko Maru #4 at 6,000 yards
DD Encounter engages PB Kenkon Maru at 6,000 yards
DD Vampire engages xAK Amakusa Maru at 6,000 yards
DD Vampire engages xAK Nansin Maru at 6,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Thames Maru at 6,000 yards
Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape
Task forces break off...

The remaining DDs were then evicted to Namlea, where they met another Japanese TF, which unfortunately managed to flee...

Day Time Surface Combat, near Namlea at 76,108, Range 30,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CM Itsukushima
PB Kenkon Maru, on fire
xAK Kyusyu Maru
xAK Tenryu Maru
xAK Thames Maru
xAK Macassar Maru
xAK Nansin Maru, on fire
xAK Taihei Maru
xAK Amakusa Maru

Allied Ships
DD Vampire
DD Piet Hein, on fire
DD Encounter

Low visibility due to Thunderstorms
Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 2,000 yards
Range closes to 28,000 yards...
Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape
Japanese Cargo TF evades combat

Unfortunately, poor Danae ran across a sub while limping home...

Submarine attack near Ambon at 76,109
Japanese Ships
SS I-124

Allied Ships
CL Danae, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

CL Danae is sighted by SS I-124
SS I-124 launches 4 torpedoes

Thus in the end, it looks like I lost 1CL and 3DD in exchange for - well, what ? Good question. According to the reports, 2PB have been sunk and 1 BB, 2DD, 2PB and 2 xAK may be in trouble. If Haruna has taken a heavy hit, this would look like a victory to me, otherwise I'm not really sure.

In any case, I guess Ambon is not going to last much longer. Rattovolante really brought sufficient troops to take the place, quite a bunch of units for sure. Look what the bombardment attack showed:

Ground combat at Ambon (76,109)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 1833 troops, 30 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 98

Defending force 9462 troops, 93 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 285

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

Assaulting units:
Molukken Garrison Battalion
4th Coastal Gun Battalion
Gull Battalion
Sorong Det. Base Force
Ambon Base Force

Defending units:
Sasebo 2nd SNLF /1
Yokosuka 4th SNLF /1
Sasebo 8th SNLF /1
4th Engineer Co
Bandasan SNLF /1
III/66th Naval Guard Unit
Sasebo 3rd SNLF /1
3rd JNAF AF Unit

At the same time, I hope that it will take a while before he can move on with these troops after the base is taken. I guess we'll see.

That was tonight's update. Isn't AE an exciting game ? Lots of tension to watch this series of surface engagements develop...

Thanks for your interest

Hartwig

< Message edited by hartwig.modrow -- 11/2/2009 10:46:12 PM >

(in reply to DivePac88)

Post #: 29

RE: Some surface action... - 11/3/2009 12:28:25 AM

DivePac88
Matrix Legion of Merit

Posts: 3119
Joined: 10/9/2008
From: Somewhere in the South Pacific.
Status: offline

Hartwig.modrow.

Congratulations brilliant light-unit sweep, and good result apart from I-124's lucky shoot. These sort of actions do a lot of damage to the Japanese, and also 'get into your opponents head'

DP.

_____________________________

When you see the Southern Cross, For the first time
You understand now, Why you came this way

(in reply to modrow)

Post #: 30

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