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RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marbakka vs. John the 3rd

 
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RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/6/2012 4:11:40 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 11, 1941

China
I took Ichang as expected. I will now position the bulk of my forces in the forested hex across the river to both discourage any counter attack and threaten my own offensive in the future. I suspect that the 250AV I sent to cut off his retreat won't be enough (on flat ground), but we'll see.

Malaya
There is a fleet off of Kuantan that looks to be getting ready to land. I still think it is odd that his troops out of Kota Bharu did not pursue south by land. They are still retreating northward. I assume this is an indication that he will bring them down by sea.

Burma
I'm not inflexible, and all the advice I have been given is that I should not deploy troops here. That being the case, I am redirecting the fleets that were headed here. Diego Garcia, Chittagong, and Cocos area all potential destinations. The 18th UK Div will continue to head for Colombo.

DEI
He landed at Singkawang, but his assault force is very weak (28AV). My defensive force is at 145 AV. I can only assume that for some reason not all of his troops got ashore.

A carrier group which appears to be a combination of the mKB and the KB2 has moved down in the Makassar Strait and conducted a port attack on 'Baja. I did not expect him to be so bold, but it serves to confirm what everyone has been telling me about his aggression. However, it is not recklessness. He is precisely where he needs to be to stay out of range of Force Z or any other SCTF at 'Baja. Any closer and I would be charging him. Instead, I have to run them to the IO during the night. I suppose I'm lucky he didn't have them on Naval Attack.

SOPAC (I'm going to include Australia & the Solomons in SOPAC until further notice)
Canberra and her 2 remaining CL escorts traveled an impressive distance at full speed yesterday. They made it will south of Milne Bay. Sadly, they did not stop to engage the landing force at New Guinea. Meanwhile, CA Pensacola and her 2 escorts - a CL and a slow moving AMC - are at Milne Bay and will shoot northward in an attempt to catch these suckers reloading after taking Finschhafen. I'm surprised that he did not attempt to land at Rabaul. Did Canberra actually halt his Rabaul landing? Is he just holding off to make sure she didn't stick around? He certainly had the surface combat presence to drive her away, but I suppose it is possible that those AKs sunk and that he didn't have a second wave planned. One can only hope.

CENPAC
As expected, the Japanese bombarded, landed, and took Midway with about 500 AV worth of troops (Guards Mixed Brigade). I hate losing it, but he can only put 6000 troops there, so it shouldn't be that difficult to retake - especially after I starve them out for a bit. Unfortunately, that means that I am blind to his movements north of the French Frigate Shoal. I have no idea where KB1 is, and Enterprise is pretty vulnerable. I'm going to run her full speed for a day just in case his Marshall patrols spotted her.

NOPAC
My Adak troops left Kodiak. Let's hope they can arrive and unload before any invasion force shows up.





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Post #: 31
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/6/2012 11:05:03 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 12, 1941

China
He has suddenly thrust his forces down the road toward Changsha. I wish that he had waited 1 turn and I would have had almost 400 more AV there to slow him down, but whatever. My objective is to keep a hold not only on Changsha but the two vital hexes just south of the city as well. Nothing to report up north. The AVG has moved to Chungking, but I don't feel comfortable bringing them into Changsha until I have more aviation support there (not that they have enough at Chungking)

Malaya
Still a mysterious peace other than bombing up at Georgetown. Perhaps his idea is to cross to the west coast and come down that side.

India/Burma
I don't think I saw a single submarine in the IO until late January in my game with TexasD. Perhaps they were there and I just didn't see them. That is certainly NOT the case in this game. Ceylon is crawling with the little maggots, and I don't have enough ASW ships in theater yet to deal with them. Thankfully, in a week or two when my empty cargo ships get to their assigned ports, the seas will be virtually empty for a while. Thusfar, none of the troop transports has been affected.

DEI
The mKB/KB2(?) has moved into and up the Java Sea. I'm a little surprised by this. I thought it was pretty aggressive to poke the thing down the Makassar Strait, but running it through the Java Sea seems a bit reckless. If I were 100% confident that both CV groups were there, I would send Force Z up to Ternate to slaughter his landing fleet there, but as it is, I might find 2 fleet carriers waiting for me. Thusfar, his little cruise has not seen a lot of success. An AR here and a TK there, but nothing major has been damaged. It has the feel of a troop parade in front of the Glorious Leader more than an effective maneuver. Of course, that could change in a heartbeat.

SOPAC
As soon as they get packed, I will purchase at LEAST one CD from Perth and send it to Koepang. The first purchase "only" costs 95ish PP. After that, they are around 200. No, I won't be holding Timor forever, but I really want it to hurt when he takes it. If I have a 'style' it is to lull my opponent with painless captures and then make one hurt every now and then. If you try to trip the other person with every step, you trip them not at all.

CENPAC
Still no sighting on the KB1. I'm both concerned about this (did he go north where I'm trying to land troops at Adak?) and comforted (surely I would have spotted an attempt to intercept Enterprise). Enterprise will resume normal speed and proceed east toward Pearl, passing south of Johnston Island. Troops bound for Pearl will soon begin arriving in Seattle and I will have to start deciding which islands are getting reinforcements.


I'll have a very busy day tomorrow, so it seems likely that we will be taking a day off. I forgot how exhausting it is to put out a turn a day during the first month or so of the war.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 32
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/8/2012 8:35:06 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 13, 1941

China
His lead troops have arrived in Changsha but not attack has commenced. My force should be ample to hold the city, but just in case it starts to look hairy, I have switched some of the rear troops to strat mode for fast reinforcement along the rail line. In the forested hex east of Ichang, my Ichang Army caught up to the retreating units and massacred roughly 150 squads. Still, it doesn't make up for the beating my own troops took yesterday near Changsha.

Malaya
Nothing. There are an awful lot of fleets approaching from the east, but the penninsula is eerily quiet except up near George Town where he bombs regularly. Most of his bombing seems to be focused on the Tavoy area in southern Burma. I'm not sure that bodes well for my future in that land of mystery.

DEI
Well, we are at that inevitable point where I start to think "If I'd known he'd wait this long to take Palembang...". I'm not sure what I would have Palembang up to by now, but I've managed to get Koepang up to 166 AV. Unfortunately, most of that is a couple of unrestricted Australian units I moved in from Darwin. My airlifting campaign has run into some problems for lack of a middle base between Koepang and 'Baja. We are working feverishly on an airfield at Mataram, but the work is slow and I'm not sure how much time he will give me down here.

SOPAC
Well, apparently Pensacola's SCTF did not find anything up near Lae because they are almost halfway back to Brisbane by now. Canberra is nearly there and emergency repairs are holding up quite well with only 31 SYS damage.

CENPAC
Johnny has been a naughty, naughty boy. KB1 has made a stab southward toward Johnston Island. I'm not sure if he knows where Enterprise is and is making a run at her or if he is just guessing and trying to intercept. I -think- she is close enough that I can put her at full speed and reasonably expect her to arrive under Pearl's CAP tomorrow. Yes, I know that PH's CAP is not sufficient and that I need to get out of there quick, but he has refueled and I have not, so a stop at the gas station is an absolute must before proceeding to the WC. Besides, the rest of my marine unit is stationed there.

NOPAC
My garrison for Adak Island is about a day and a half out. I just realized that the port is only Level 1, so I'm not sure I can completely unload, but that will be remedied as soon as I get troops ashore.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 33
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/8/2012 10:44:48 PM   
MAurelius


Posts: 152
Joined: 6/28/2012
Status: offline 		really nice AAR style ;) :top;

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formerly known as SoliInvictus202

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 34
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/9/2012 7:18:37 AM   
obvert


Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline 		How is the DL on Enterprise? Has she been seen at all by Glen subs?

If you're looking to hold Timor for a while I would buy troops, not more CD guns. They will help, but it's good defensive territory and you could slow him with a division's worth of troops here for a while. Of course you will lose them, so it's up to you whether that's important enough or not. Many players feel it's more important to get any free troops to OZ, India, and other vulnerable spots early just to be prepared for whatever may come as a second level move.

While you know the KB is out of the way, really keep using the cruisers aggressively around the Solomons. I'm sure you DID get the Rabaul troops. Although this mod gives him more to play with, crushing a good sized landing force will hurt any Japanese player in this area of the map. Those troops would most likely have been used for Rabaul AND Port Moresby, so you could have crimped his style for a while with that engagement.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

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Post #: 35
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/9/2012 3:21:24 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

How is the DL on Enterprise? Has she been seen at all by Glen subs?


I confess that I'm pretty fuzzy on how to understand the DL information, but after looking more closely at the turn, I don't think Enterprise was spotted. The mouseover said that the KB1 was headed southwest. That doesn't mean Enterprise wasn't spotted this turn, but it does indicate to me that he did not know where she was the previous turn (ie., he was guessing). The only sub I've spotted in this area was off to the west and should have already spotted her if it was going to do so.

In the end, I put her at full speed to close the remaining 19 hexes to Pearl. She will refuel and then make a beeline to the San Diego area or perhaps just straight to Balboa.

(in reply to obvert)
Post #: 36
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/9/2012 5:01:24 PM   
obvert


Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline 		Ahh. Another way to spot a CV is to be spotted! If your SBDs saw a sub and this was reported, it could have included the plane information, thereby giving up the location of the CV.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 37
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/9/2012 5:07:42 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 14, 1941

He is not at all afraid to tell his subs to patrol IN my ports. Seems to be working for him.

DEI
KB2 is moving very slowly out of the Java Sea. I sent a rabble of near worthless ships to try and disturb them, but they didn't get close enough to do anything. He also bombed Palembang, which probably means that he now knows that I'm not building up there.

On the other side of Borneo, my SCTF led by CLs Java and DeRuyter have pursued his invasion fleet which landed troops at Samarinda yesterday. They are out of the strait and into the Celebes Sea now. If I can catch them, I will hurt them pretty bad, I think, but the last I checked, he had DBs in Mindinao, so I can't pursue them beyond tomorrow.

Force Z and Houston's SCTF were following up the Makassar Strait, but I don't think there is enough up here to justify them pressing on, so I will turn them to 'Baja to refuel.

SOPAC
Canberra's SCTF arrived in Brisbane. CL Perth will take about a week to repair, but CL Leander is more like a month, and to my surprise, the 31 SYS damage on Canberra will take right at a month. I'm moving her to Sydney and leaving Leander in Brisbane.

CENPAC
KB1 is just west of Johnston Island. In addition to bombing the island, he was able to reach out and do some hefty damage to an ASW fleet that had pursued a submarine too far west. Of course, this is good news because it means that he did not pursue (and probably did not see) the USS Enterprise. She made it to within 2 hexes of Pearl. I'm sending her to Balboa with a waypoint to refuel in Pearl. Just in case, I will be loading a Replen fleet in San Diego. If I don't use it to get Enterprise off-map, I will send it around to the Cape for use over there.

He has taken Midway, but has not attacked Wake. Now, he is bombing Johnston Island. Convenience bombing? Or something bigger?

I'm wondering how I should handle an invasion of Hawaii.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 38
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/9/2012 10:15:03 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 15, 1941

DEI
The SCTF headed up by Java and DeRuyter engaged both his fleeing (empty) invasion TF and its escort - including the CA Chokai. The results were mixed. I'm pretty sure I did most of his merchants in, but we were pretty ineffective against his cruisers. It felt like a lot of BOOM BOOM and gunsmoke but not a lot to show for it when the sun set. Both cruisers and several of the DDs were roughed up, so they are headed back to 'Baja to spend a few weeks in the yard.

However, now that I know Chokai is up there, I'm thinking about sending Force Z up to the Ternate area where he hasn't had time to get the lvl 4 airfield he needs to extend his LBA range.

KB2 continued its slow crawl out of the Java Sea. He is obviously trying to cover his invasion fleets, and SigInt today reported 2 units of his 4th Div bound for Palembang. No real surprise there, but I sure wish his carriers weren't around so I could unleash the Vildebeesties from Singers.

SOPAC
When Pensacola finally gets to Brisbane for her refueling, she will be joined by Indianapolis and possibly another CA which is currently overseeing the unloading of troops at Luganville. Hopefully, these three CAs can fend off his second attempt at Rabaul which certainly will be coming sooner rather than later.

CENPAC
KB1 vanished. The only possible hint that I have is that there was radio traffic between Midway and Wake. However, in order to get to that location, he would have had to run them at full speed. I have no clue why he would have done that, so I am working on the assumption that he is still in the Johnston Island area. In any case, Enterprise decided to stop and spend the day in sunny Pearl Harbor instead of filling up the tanks and hitting the road like I instructed it to. They will leave during the night...and with a new commander, if I get my way.

This means that within a week or so, all my carriers will be off map. Lexington sailed over the horizon yesterday afternoon. I'm already considering the possibility of using them in the IO to retake Port Blair. His aircraft stationed there are going to cause all sorts of problems for supplying Rangoon.

NOPAC
The TF has arrived, and the troops should begin unloading at Adak first thing in the morning. As it happens, I received intel that he has troops bound for Attu Island in the western Aleutians. I'm also trying to airlift an ENG unit to Adak from Dutch Harbor since the port in Adak is only level 1.

PSYOPS
John is pretty talkative in his emails. Sometimes his attempts to lead me on are obvious. Other times he is clearly trying to be more subtle. Thus far, I've played the "talkative new guy" role that he evidently is expecting, and I hope to be able to use that to my advantage in the future. Currently, he is fishing for a comment on my "fighting style." If he has done his homework (ie., talked to TexasD), then he should know that my fighting style is something like if you crossbred Sir Robin with an especially terrified gazelle. However, I've simply not responded to those comments. I must keep him looking over his shoulder for now.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 39
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/10/2012 6:29:21 AM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 16, 1941

China
He bombards Changsha only to find that I've out stacked him. He'll hit a similar brick wall if he tries to swing south around the city. However, the bricks for this wall mostly came from the SW area near Canton, and he's smart enough to know this and adjust. I expect to see even more movement down there soon.

DEI
The CVs north of Billiton remained in place (noted) and bombed both Palembang and Batavia. The number of aircraft, however, is more consistent with a CVL or two, so I'm going to begin referring to this TF as the mini-KB (mKB) to remind me that he probably has 2 CVs "whereabouts unknown" (in addition to the KB1, which is also missing).

He landed at Palembang. I think he was surprised to find so few defenses there. I'm a "conundrum" if his email is to be believed. What concerns me more than the impending fall of Palembang is his activity at Batavia. He should have a clear picture now that my Java troops have almost all headed SE to 'Baja. I need Java to remain mine for long enough to get my stepping-stone airfield built between 'Baja and Koepang.

Another problem with that is that he already has 50 bombers stacked up at Samarinda, the base NE of Balikipan. This makes using the port at 'Baja very risk and gives him great eyes in the area. I'm tempted to steam Force Z right into the harbor and bombard that base to kingdom come. It is only a level 3 airfield, so he shouldn't have the big stuff there, yet, but it will be soon. All cargo/fuel transports out of Java are rerouted to Tjilatjap.

Meanwhile, Koepang is up to 186 AV. Dili has none, but has 3 ENG working to get the fortifications ready. CDs in Perth are waiting on transports to arrive and start loading.

SOPAC
He is still poking around near Rabaul with an invasion force of some sort. I'm anxious to get my CAs back up that way, but I can't send them without proper escorts and it is taking a bit to get it together at Brisbane.

CENPAC
KB1 is gone. I have no idea where it went to. Enterprise is a day's sailing to the east of Pearl and headed to the Canal and eventually to the Cape. It will be all about BBs and CAs for the next month or so at least!

I stuck a half-full patrol group out on Wake again just to give me a quick glance at what is going on out there. I'll probably pull it back out after 1 day so as not to lose it in the impending invasion. I need to get some transports moving to Canton, Christmas Island, etc. soon.

(Note: Today's little collage isn't up to par because my computer had a Little Moment while I was working on it and I had to save all the layers as they were and restart. Mea culpa)





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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 40
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/11/2012 4:20:10 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 17, 1941

China
He bombarded Changsha for a second day. He has 4 Divisions and an Army there, but I'm pretty sure I can hold it with what I have. He has what appears to be a good sized stack back near Hankow protecting against any advance of my Ichang Army, not that I plan on moving it from its nice defensive position at present.

There has been a lot more bombing of bases in the south than I am used to. I'm not sure if I should take that to mean that he is making use of his Canton army to try to cut off the Changsha area or what.

Malaya
Still no march down the penninsula. He has a fleet inbound for Kuantan, but he won't find anything when he gets there; everything is on its way to Singapore. It appears that the mKB moved out of the area and is headed for a homebase to resupply. I can't imagine he has any sorties left.

DEI
Palembang falls. He commented in the email that he expected more of a fight. I'm not sure why he would be surprised. Fortress Palembang is but one of the options and is a waste of time against an opponent intelligent enough to attack early when there is nothing there. I don't think my Timor defense is going to work, but it was better than a fool's errand at Palembang against this opponent, imo.

He sent BBs and CAs to bombard both Kendari and Ambon, and an invasion force should arrive at Ambon tomorrow. This is too fast for my liking but there is nothing much I can do about it. I've been trying to get the Kendari BF to Dili and all the Ambon troops to Koepang, but it is slow going, and he caught a bunch of my patrol/transports on the ground. Force Z is nearby, but I'd like for them to deal with a raiding group near Timor first. We'll see what they actually do when it comes down to it.

SOPAC
He took Gasmata on the same island as Rabaul. My cruiser TF is Brisbane should be ready to head back up here soon - strengthened by the addition of CAs Indianapolis, Pensacola, and Australia.

CENPAC
Wake Island falls in a day. Boooooo. I lost at least 7 PAs that I'd sent out there for the day. Submarines will swarm the port for a few days and try to get some revenge.

This means that I'm almost blind to anything beyond the French Frigate Shoal area. I don't like that one bit, but what can I do about it?

NOPAC
In blizzard conditions, a force of 7 DDs arrives at Adak and is engaged by my YPs and AMs. I got a hit, but he sunk everything in sight. Thankfully, my transports (trying to unload in the port) beelined it for Kodiak. I got 106AV unloaded at Adak, but no supplies. I'll have to remedy this soon, but there is nothing I can do until I get some surface assets up there, and I can't really do that until I get the fuel flowing from Prince Rupert...and I can't do that until I find some TKs.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 41
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/11/2012 6:46:48 PM   
Prydwen


Posts: 156
Joined: 2/23/2009
Status: offline 		Hi,

I don't recall if I have posted or not. I just wanted to say I've been reading since the get go and I really like your AAR style. Very unique.

Joe

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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 42
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/13/2012 12:26:40 AM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: ItsAMadhouse

Hi,

I don't recall if I have posted or not. I just wanted to say I've been reading since the get go and I really like your AAR style. Very unique.

Joe


Thanks.

And thanks to all who are following my little story - particularly those who step in and give needed (even if not heeded) advice.

(in reply to Prydwen)
Post #: 43
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/13/2012 12:47:39 AM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 18, 1941

I've had better days.

China
IJA exercises its right to throw itself on Changsha's defenses heaping dead Japanese body upon dead Japanese body until someone thinks to sound the retreat. 866 squads disabled. That'll take a while to sleep off, but they'll be back and in stronger numbers. Chinese troops get an extra helping of rice tonight.

Burma
He seems to be pushing a little bit here. Today, he took Tavoy, cutting off one of my units coming up from the south to Moulmein. Moulmein itself has 330AV, and I am now trying to get a sufficient amount in the hex north of Moulmein to discourage any attempt to flank.

Malaya
He landed in Kuantan as expected. It also appears that he is finally marching troops south from the Kota Bharu region with one unit on the east side and one on the west shore. It doesn't make sense to me that he didn't start this right after he took Kota Bharu.

DEI
Force Z tangled with the heavy SCTF that was foolin' around down near Timor. Once again, my belief that PoW is worthless against capital ships has been reinforced. She went down after her captain thought it would be a good idea to catch every torpedo fired toward the allied line like a goalie on fire. Sadly, Boise got scuffed up pretty good as well. I'd like to think she'll make it to Koepang, but I'll have to get her out of there fast as Timor is in his crosshairs. BC Repulse decided to return to 'Baja with Houston.

3 squadrons of Banshees split between Koepang and Dili decided that their spades game was more important than attacking enemy surface assets directly off the coast.

Koepang is at 220AV. Dili is at 15.

SOPAC
To my dismay, a submarine has parked itself right off the docks at Luganville and is firing torpedoes into the port at night...mooning our helpless merchantmen from the foredeck during the day. Even more disturbing, SigInt indicates that the same forces that took Midway and Wake are now moving toward Luganville. I figure the Guards Mixed Brigade has about 230AV total. Luganville has 60AV currently with more equipment to be unloaded as soon as we can get the port upgraded. I'm unsure what to do. Should I send my CA SCTF over here instead of Rabaul and try to intercept them, or is it pretty much a certainty that the KB1 will cover such a deep strike? I'd really hate to lose this base right after dropping off those extra troops from the RA mod.




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< Message edited by marbakka -- 7/13/2012 6:38:02 PM >

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 44
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/13/2012 6:50:58 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 18, 1941

China
He sent a sizable force to clear Kweiteh, the dot-base behind his lines in northern China. It sits right on the rail line, so it is an ideal place for these trapped troops to make a stand. However, they performed terribly and saw 306 squads destroyed.

In the south, he has moved a force toward my line, but has not actually attacked anything. South of that force, I have a couple Corps on its way to raise cane at Amoy.

DEI
I was disappointed that he took Ambon so quickly, but I couldn't reasonably expect anything less when I've been leeching AV from there to Timor. Oddly, he sent a single BB to bombard Lautum, the base just east of Dili. I have 0 AV there and the two units (ENG and AA) are almost to Dili now.

The Banshees remain silent.

CL Boise made it to Koepang, but her fires increased to 19 from 11. I've disbanded the group in port, so hopefully they will get that under control. Once they do, there is actually only moderate damage and I should be able to send her to Colombo with some escorts.

SOPAC
I now have intel that forces are headed for both Rabaul and Luganville. My CAs will be ready to leave Brisbane tomorrow, but they a) have very few ASW escorts, and b) may not be fast enough to reach either place in time. I expect to see heavy SCTF escorting the Rabaul force and probably the KB1 escorting the Luganville force. Neither base will hold against a determined attack.

NOPAC
A force landed at Attu Island despite the ongoing blizzard. I feel like Adak is fairly secure except that I can't get supplies in there until I have some sort of SCTF to make sure those DDs aren't still around. I'm airlifting stuff out of Dutch Harbor, but there is too little supply to send and not enough planes to send it in.


Losing Midway this early has paralyzed me in the central Pacific. Without eyes in the NNW, I'm hesitant to send out ships either north to help with NOPAC or south to help with Australia. It's going to be torture not having CVs over here. But I baked the cake and now I've got to sleep in it. Or something like that.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 45
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/16/2012 5:40:02 AM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 20, 1941

China
Nothing major. I will try putting the AVG into Changsha again tomorrow. Unlike my other opponent, John is using Zeros here and I don't very much fancy losing a lot of my best pilots to those guys. We'll see how they do, but I may be leaving China to fend for itself.

Malaya
The southward march has begun. Almost all my troops are in Singapore now with a small contingent in Jahore.

Burma
It looks like he may be massing troops in Tavoy. That is already a level 4 airfield, so I expect he'll be using it to interdict supply shipments bound for Rangoon.

DEI
A SCTF headed by BBs Ise and Hyuga showed up outside of Koepang and tangled with my patrol boats to no effect. However, before they got out of dodge, they intercepted DDs Electra and Express who had been sent down from 'Baja to escort CL Boise to Colombo or Cape Town for repairs.

The Banshees were silent again.

SOPAC
An enemy carrier has arrived west of Rabaul and sunk most all of a cargo fleet that had just finished unloading in Port Moresby. I suspect this group is meant to cover his new and improved attempt to take Rabaul. I had not yet decided whether to send my cruisers to Rabaul or Luganville. I'm now leaning toward the later.

CENPAC
An AMC sinks 2 cargo ships that were supplying the French Frigate Shoal for the patrol planes stationed there. He won't be keeping Midway if he isn't going to play nice and be a good neighbor.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 46
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/16/2012 11:46:03 AM   
janh

 

Posts: 1216
Joined: 6/12/2007
Status: offline 		Great AAR! I like this style, it is fun to read and browse. Keep going and good luck!

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 47
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/16/2012 3:18:00 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
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quote:

ORIGINAL: janh

Great AAR! I like this style, it is fun to read and browse. Keep going and good luck!



Thanks!

(in reply to janh)
Post #: 48
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/16/2012 10:26:47 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 21, 1941

China
Ouch! I had a unit stationed across the river south of Chengchow in the north. I didn't see his units moving to cross it, so I didn't reinforce them. Another 161 of my Chinese squads were wiped out. If you're keeping count, that's something like 500 squads for the opening weeks of the war. Not cool.

Also, the AVG did terribly against his Zeros over Changsha. They have only 9 aircraft remaining after a single day of operations. I'm moving them to India to repair and then they will try to find a home in Burma.

China sucks.

Philippines
In Luzon, he has advanced his troops to the doorstep of Clark Field and Manila. I expect he will solidify his line and bring in some reinforcements before pushing into the city/base. I can't put my finger on why, but I get the feeling that he wants the Philippines out of the way in a hurry. An air raid on the port at Manila sunk most all of the damaged and patrol craft that were snoozing there.

In Mindanao, all my troops are concentrated in Malaybalay. They have about 5000 supplies and could theoretically hold out for a little while. However, he already has troops in the hex and is marching more up from Davao, so until he attacks, I don't know how much force he is bringing.

DEI
An air raid on Batavia (out of Palembang) results in the sinking of a bunch of coastal minesweepers, but also the sinking of a DD that was about to put to sea.

A heavy surface group bombarded Dili in the night. Dili is weak, so this certainly doesn't help anything. With Force Z already out of the picture, there is not much I can do over here until and unless I bring in my US CVs from Cape Town (a LONG way off)

During the wee hours of the morning, a US S-class submarine spotted a burning CA Ashigora moving NE toward Japan out of the Celebes Sea. They fired torpedoes but no explosion resulted. The captain reported the ship sunk. o.O

SOPAC
A carrier group of some sort is pushing south from the Rabaul area where he just landed troops. He will certainly take that prime territory in the next day or so. The carrier group reportedly contains a bunch of CVEs but I'm wary of the intel because he launched a handful of Kates and Vals. It has more of the feel of a lone CV with escorts.

In any case, I have already ordered my CAx3 SCTF to make for Luganville. I am a) expecting an amphib attack there soon, and b) sick of his submarine parked in the port.

CENPAC
It is time to start deploying some ships out of Pearl. I can't continue to huddle up for fear of the KB1. I will send a BB and some cruisers north to Kodiak to assist in ridding those waters of that DD group. I will also send some cruisers and DDs to Balboa to make their way to Cape Town. I need to supplement my CV escorts - especially when Hornet arrives.





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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 49
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/17/2012 3:41:55 PM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline 		OK - I'm a little confused about what happened to some of those very valuable Brit DDs. You don't say the result of the intercept of Electra and Express by BBs in the DEI, and then Electra shows up in the graphic for the air attack on Pt. Moresby. It isn't clear if the DD was sunk along with the xAKs.
The DDs are minor vessels in the big scheme of things, but ASW is a big problem early on and the Brits have more experience than the USN at this point. They are also better at night fighting. I like to keep track of those gems!

Change of topic - We last heard that Boise was disbanding to quell fires that rose 8 points. Good move - the systems damage no doubt put a lot of her pumps out of action. In the graphic showing ship damage Boise is grouped with damaged DDs including two of the V class. In case you didn't notice [so many details in this game!] , one of them has a speed of only 16 Kts and will slow Boise down as she tries to clear the area for repairs, if you are grouping them as a TF.

Re: PoW - your unhappy experience is not unusual. I read somewhere that part of the coding for historic vessels is that they are more likely to be hit in the game by weapons that hit them IRL. PoW is a torpedo magnet!

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 50
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/17/2012 4:27:39 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

OK - I'm a little confused about what happened to some of those very valuable Brit DDs. You don't say the result of the intercept of Electra and Express by BBs in the DEI, and then Electra shows up in the graphic for the air attack on Pt. Moresby. It isn't clear if the DD was sunk along with the xAKs.
The DDs are minor vessels in the big scheme of things, but ASW is a big problem early on and the Brits have more experience than the USN at this point. They are also better at night fighting. I like to keep track of those gems!


I suppose I should have clarified that. Those ship lists are ships sunk, so Electra went down. I believe Express is in 'Baja or nearby.

quote:


Change of topic - We last heard that Boise was disbanding to quell fires that rose 8 points. Good move - the systems damage no doubt put a lot of her pumps out of action. In the graphic showing ship damage Boise is grouped with damaged DDs including two of the V class. In case you didn't notice [so many details in this game!] , one of them has a speed of only 16 Kts and will slow Boise down as she tries to clear the area for repairs, if you are grouping them as a TF.


Boise is in terrible shape. I believe she has 66 SYS damage (without looking at it). Her ENG and FLT damage aren't bad, but I don't want to send her to colombo with pumps like that. Worse, I've not got anyone nearby to escort her. I fear she'll be lost when Timor is attacked again.

(in reply to BBfanboy)
Post #: 51
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/17/2012 5:52:04 PM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline 		Boise only had 12 FLT damage IIRC; once the fires are out you should be able to move her to an Oz base to reduce systems damage below 50 and then send her on to CT or Columbo. Flooding usually doesn't spread much if it starts out below 30 points, in my experience. You may not be able to pump out, but your damage control can contain it.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 52
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/18/2012 10:40:56 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 22, 1941

An unusually quiet turn. Very little to report aside from the normal bombings.

China
Canton seems to be ground zero for his airforce and they are concentrating on bombing my southern troops.

DEI/SOPAC
Koepang has 230AV at fortification level 2. Dili has 60AV at fortification level 0. I have the 11th Australian Brigade and a CD unit loading at Perth. They will both unload at Koepang, but I haven't decided whether that is where I want to keep the troops. The convoy that is bringing the troops is escorted by a cruiser and some destroyers. These will escort Boise out of Koepang on their way back. We will have to see how she looks when it is time to go to know whether she is going to Colombo, Melbourne, or the Cape.

Rabaul fell today.

CENPAC
SigInt indicates the presence of heavy radio transmissions just west of the Marshal Islands. This could be just about anything, but I'm looking for an invasion bound for Luganville from the north. Could this be it? If so, my CAx3 TF will reach Luganville in plenty of time to cause him problems. If, on the other hand, it is the KB1 escorting said invasion force, then my CAs may be in for a long Christmas.

I have deployed a cruiser-led SCTF to Kodiak where it will refuel and then go patrol around Adak while equipment is unloaded there.




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(in reply to BBfanboy)
Post #: 53
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/19/2012 10:06:18 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		"Sorry for the delay. I definitely wanted to have the turn waiting for you when you returned, but these "last checks" before sending a turn are important. No doubt you remember from reading my other AAR that it is especially important that I check my carriers as I have a bad habit of not doing so and being surprised when my attacks do little." (Me in response to his email just now)

*snicker*

Get it? "do little"...Doolittle

Subtle propaganda FTW!

< Message edited by marbakka -- 7/19/2012 10:07:28 PM >

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 54
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/20/2012 8:03:59 AM   
RogerJNeilson


Posts: 1277
Joined: 4/12/2012
From: Bedlington, Northumberland, UK
Status: offline 		Just to reiterate, well done on the style of the pictures for this, must take you a lot of time, but its great as a way of seeing the key things.

Roger

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An unplanned dynasty: Roger Neilson, Roger Neilson 11, Roger Neilson 3 previous posts 898+1515 + 1126 = 3539.....Finally completed my game which started the day WITP:AE was released

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 55
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/23/2012 5:01:43 PM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 23, 1941

I'm exhausted from travels, so no text summary today. A picture is worth 1000 words or whatever.




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(in reply to RogerJNeilson)
Post #: 56
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/23/2012 7:08:44 PM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline 		I wonder if that CV off Oz is looking for the damaged Boise, expecting that it would head for Brisbane or Sydney for repairs? There is nothing at Cookstown normally for it to head there, and you are not sending large convoys to Pt. Moresby, so there seems to be little other reason for a CV to be off NE Oz.

EDIT: PS - I would cut Vampire loose from the escort convoy that includes Boise - she is holding up the escape of the important ships. Give her an escort of one of the old American DDs to help with damage control and let her leapfrog bases down to Perth.

< Message edited by BBfanboy -- 7/23/2012 7:12:58 PM >

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 57
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/24/2012 2:22:38 AM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I wonder if that CV off Oz is looking for the damaged Boise, expecting that it would head for Brisbane or Sydney for repairs? There is nothing at Cookstown normally for it to head there, and you are not sending large convoys to Pt. Moresby, so there seems to be little other reason for a CV to be off NE Oz.


My theory is that he was escorting his Rabaul invasion and sent it on a raiding cruise when he saw it wouldn't be needed there. When it appeared west of Rabaul, I had 2 convoys that had just finished unloading at Port Moresby so that is, I assume, the immediate reason why he came over that way. I'm hoping not to have to send ships at Brisbane and Sydney running as that would cost me in fuel.

(in reply to BBfanboy)
Post #: 58
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/25/2012 12:24:40 AM   
marbakka

 

Posts: 410
Joined: 3/9/2012
Status: offline 		December 24, 1941

I knew this would be a tough match, but I feel like I'm getting clobbered.

China
Another big slaughter of Chinese forces. This time it was in the mountain hex NE of Tsiatso. There really was no excuse for my soldiers performing as badly as they did. I mean how hard could it be to defend a mountain? That is another 185 combat and 215 non-combat squads lost. I'm considering pulling my Ichang army to the north to help defend up there, but I would have to be careful to leave enough to defend the Ichang area. It'd be risky, I think.

Malaya/Burma
It feels like he is far more active in Burma than in Malaya. He is slowly marching down the peninsula, but there seems to be no urgency in it. On the other hand, he is rushing up the coast of Burma toward Moulmein and should be moving troops into the city in the next couple days.

DEI
It just keeps getting worse for Timor. A bombardment fleet accompanied by a light SCTF hit Koepang today, damaging a lot of my aircraft. I'm pretty ticked that these Banshees have not flown a single sortie the entire game. Not one. Fortress Timor has been an utter failure so far.

SOPAC
Severe storms mostly blinded me in this region. A ship was spotted NE of Townsville consistent with his carrier raider moving southward along the coast. It will be 5 days before Canberra gets out the yards in Sydney and even then, I've got nothing to use as an escort for her. My SCTFs are over by Luganville.

Speaking of which...yesterday I spotted a TF NW of Luganville. I thought perhaps it was the invasion force that I've been expected, but today they show as a medium SCTF headed SW toward the Sydney area. My two SCTFs will attempt to intercept.

CENPAC
I should have followed my gut and kept a tight lid on Pearl a little longer. The large group of ships that I was redeploying to NOPAC was hit hard by what appears to be KB1. CL Raleigh went to the bottom and I have no doubt that more will follow. An air transport TF coming from Seattle narrowly missed running straight into them thanks to zigzag waypoints for sub avoidance. That TF is carrying a lot of search planes that I'd hate to lose. They will head SE to try to avoid the carriers, but I'm skeptical that any of this stuff will survive. The fox is in the henhouse and I can't find the shotgun.




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(in reply to marbakka)
Post #: 59
RE: Slaughter of the Innocents - RA 4.6 (Allies) - Marb... - 7/25/2012 12:51:01 PM   
obvert


Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline 		It's pretty early to be sending things directly to Pearl from the West Coast. Most Allied players convoy far to the South in the first months of the game, or even use the off map areas. If you can avoid these raiding CVs, he will waste a lot of fuel for little gain.

< Message edited by obvert -- 7/26/2012 1:21:23 AM >

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Post #: 60
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