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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> October 30 Follow-up

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October 30 Follow-up - 11/7/2012 12:57:21 AM

ADB123

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October 30, 1943 - Final Report:

The End-of-Day results were quite nice:

Air Losses:

Ki-49-Ia Helen - 13 A-to-A, 1 Ops
Ki-21-IIc Sally - 10 A-to-A, 1 Ops
Ki-49-IIa Helen - 5 A-to-A, 3 Ops
Ki-43-IIb Oscar - 6 A-to-A, 1 Ops

P-66 Vanguard - 6 A-to-A, 1 Ops

Those Chinese pilots did quite well for themselves. This also shows what the Air Model does when Fighters are in Escort Mode...

BTW - The Big E finally reached a large enough Dry Dock and is now in Repairs. We will see it again in around 2 1/2 months.

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Post #: 991

Cat and Mouse in China - 11/8/2012 5:44:54 PM

ADB123

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October 31, 1943 �

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought lots of Bad Weather Everywhere.

Air Action started in China where Oscar IIs swept the skies over Ichang, followed by Japanese bombers which attacked the Air Base. The Chinese Air Units that had been there were already gone so the attacks did nothing of importance.

In Burma the Allied 2Es and Brit 4Es hit the Japanese Troops to the west of Lashio with reasonable results. The Allied 2E attacks on the Japanese Troops in Lashio accomplished nothing, despite being flown at lower altitudes than usual. And the USAAF 4Es in Burma flew and attacked the Air Base at Rangoon, causing good damage.

Off in Northern Oz no Allied Attack Missions flew.

Below is the Intel chart for November 1, 1943. I�ll post key maps in subsequent posts.

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 992

Nov 1 1943 - Burma - 11/8/2012 5:45:46 PM

ADB123

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Here's the situation in Burma:

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Post #: 993

Nov 1 1943 - Northern Oz - 11/8/2012 5:46:38 PM

ADB123

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Here's the situation in Northern Australia

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Post #: 994

Nov 1 1943 - South Pacific - 11/8/2012 5:47:28 PM

ADB123

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Here's the situation in the South Pacific:

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Post #: 995

Nov 1 1943 - Gilberts - 11/8/2012 5:49:20 PM

ADB123

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Here's the situation in the Gilberts:

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Post #: 996

Nov 1 1943 - Northern China - 11/8/2012 5:50:21 PM

ADB123

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Here's the situation in Northern China:

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Post #: 997

Nov 1 1943 - Southern China - 11/8/2012 5:51:14 PM

ADB123

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Here's the situation in Southern China:

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Post #: 998

Port Attack on Darwin - 11/12/2012 8:45:26 PM

ADB123

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November 1, 2012

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought lots of Bad Weather, cancelling some Air Missions while scattering the rest.

In Burma 2Es hit the Japanese troops that are to the west of Lashio, British 4Es hit the Japanese troops in Rangoon, and USAAF 4Es hit the Japanese troops in Lashio that the Allied 2Es can't seem to find.

In Northern Oz USAAF 4Es pounded the Port at Darwin, sinking an xAK that was in Port and hammering the Facilities.

There was no Action in China.

So otherwise, my Forces continue to move forward and build up Forward Bases. I should be in a position to Assault Rangoon in another week once the next Allied Division arrives to join the current besiegers.

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Post #: 999

Hit in the Jungle, miss in the town - 11/13/2012 8:18:36 PM

ADB123

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November 2, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw USS Harder shoot at and miss an E-class in a sizable Japanese Transport TF. Just to the east of Kavieng. The escorts in the TF drove off Harder but only caused minor damage to the sub.

Daylight saw Allied 2Es hit the Japanese troops that are to the west of Lashio, and miss the Japanese troops that are in Lashio. So I am giving up on using 2Es against those troops in Lashio and have ordered all of them to go after those troops out on the road instead.

The British 4Es hit the Japanese troops at Rangoon again while the USAAF 4Es hit the Air Base at Moulmein. More and more Japanese troops are showing up at Moulmein so the Allied advance in southern Burma is likely to be very long and tough. Never-the-less, I intend to continue to press on ever so slowly.

Off in northern Oz the USAAF 4Es hit the Air Base at Wyndham again. I want to make certain that my opponent doesn't get tempted to try to use it again while I have all sort of Armoured units on the roads in the northeast. The first Allied Unit reached Katherine this turn, so I've ordered the 4Es to hit the ground troops there in support.

At the end of the day a Japanese sub shot at and missed a DE in a small USN Amphibious TF in the Gilberts. I'm moving a SeaBee unit to an unoccupied dot base that is still in Allied hands. I like to build up lots of bases around my main bases, and since I have Engineers coming out of the woodwork I am able to do that with ease. This also keeps my opponent edgy because he keeps on seeing useful bases popping up two and three at a time from dot bases.

Finally, the Japanese column facing the Chinese troops to the southeast of Sian attempted an Artillery Bombardment this turn. Both sides took minor casualties with the Japanese still receiving more. My opponent is now starting to notice the mass advance of Chinese troops all over the northeast of China, so that will keep him busy too.

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Post #: 1000

Artillery Battles - 11/14/2012 9:25:57 PM

ADB123

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November 3, 1943 �

The Night Phase saw USS Pollock hit a mine at Singapore as the AI happily sailed the sub into a mine field instead of into any of the other nearby hexes. Once again I forget to MicroManage every step of the sub's route�

Daylight saw Allied 2Es go after the Japanese Troops to the west of Lashio. The Air Attacks were split up and not very effective, but at least they caused some casualties, unlike the attacks on the troops in Lashio.

The Allied 4Es then hit the Japanese Troops in Rangoon and hammered them hard. I will continue to do that until the final Assault Unit arrives in a few days � then it will be time to take my chances with the Wonders of the Combat Model.

Off in Australia the 4Es didn't fly against the Japanese Troops at Katherine. That appears to be another of those Magic Spots where Bombers won't go. Mitchells did fly and hit the Japanese Troops at Horn Island, causing surprisingly heavy casualties. It's only too bad that Horn Island is pretty much irrelevant to my plans at this time.

Finally, the Japanese Troops southeast of Sian attempted another Artillery Bombardment this turn. Despite having a clear numerical superiority in Troops, and twice as many Artillery Guns, the Japanese took all of the punishment this turn. I'm moving in some Chinese Artillery so things may even get worse for the Japanese. However, given the continuously illogical behavior of the Game Engine, more Chinese Field Guns might make things worse for the Chinese. One never knows until one tries.

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Post #: 1001

Closing In - 11/16/2012 6:34:16 PM

ADB123

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November 4, 1943 -

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought the usual reports of Rain All Over the Map.

The 2Es in Burma hit the Japanese troops to the west of Lashio again, but since the Attacks were scattered the effect wasn't very good.

The Allied 4Es then hit the Japanese Troops in Rangoon again and caused plenty of casualties. The final attack Division ought to be in position in 2 more days, so the Time for Action at Rangoon is approaching quickly.

Off in Australia various Mitchell Squadrons hit the Japanese Troops at Horn Island again. This is nice Target Practice, but otherwise irrelevant.

Of course, the Important Air Missions didn't fly � neither the 4Es nor the Mitchells went after the Air Base or Troops at Katherine again.

BTW - China was quiet. My opponent is scrambling a bit to protect his lines from my advancing forces.

Otherwise, I just keep on moving my Forces Forward. I'm trying to position my forces to try some of the sorts of Attacks that I do in my Japanese pbems. It will be interesting to see if I can get them to work in an Allied game.

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Post #: 1002

Reef Island - 11/17/2012 3:52:24 PM

ADB123

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November 5, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw USS Batfish put two torpedoes into an already smoking xAK near Thousand Islands Bay. I guess that my opponent was attempting to sneak the damaged Freighter to safety.

Daylight saw some Japanese Bombers attack Chinese Troops in the Mountains east of Paotow without much success. Bombing in Mountains is very tough. And there are many more Chinese Troops on the move all over the map to give some worries to my opponent.

In Burma the 4Es hit the Japanese Troops at Rangoon again. It now appears that some Japanese Troops are attempting to escape Rangoon to the hex to the southwest. I've got the hex to the southeast already blocked with Allied Troops, but I can't get Troops into the southwest hex in time to stop any Japanese escape.

I wonder if having Japanese Troops in that southwest hex will prevent me from sending ships to Rangoon? In any event, if any Japanese Troops do reach that hex, they will become Target Practice for the RN.

Surprisingly, NONE of the 2Es in Burma attacked anything. The 2Es are spread among a handful of different Air Bases so it is really odd to not see any Squadrons fly at all.

Off in Northern Australia the USAAF Bombers finally attacked Katherine. Mitchells attacked the Japanese Troops while 4Es hammered the Air Base.

Finally, a Kiwi Commando Unit captured the dot base Reef Island off of the north coast of Ndeni. One would have expected that the presence of a large number of USA Combat Troops in Ndeni would have triggered the auto-occupation feature at Reef by now, but no such luck.

So I am setting up for a rather large Raid into the Eastern Solomons in a few days, and also the Allied Assault Unit approaching Rangoon will arrive next turn. So the first Assault on Rangoon ought to go off in two day's time.

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Post #: 1003

Burma Bombardment - 11/20/2012 12:22:42 AM

ADB123

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November 6, 1943 -

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought another half-hearted Japanese Air Attack on the Chinese Troops that are sitting in the mountains to the east of Paotow. I'm more than happy to take minor casualties there while my other Chinese Troops advance in more important locations.

In Burma 2Es attacked the Japanese Troops to the west of Lashio in spits-and-spurts, and so didn't cause a lot of damage. The 4Es in Burma hit the Japanese Troops in Rangoon again causing reasonable casualties.

Off in Northern Oz the USAAF 4Es hit the Air Base at Katherine again because I forgot to change over their orders to �Ground Attack�. Never-the-less, they caused some nice damage and destroyed some Supplies, so it wasn't a waste.

Finally, the Allied Troops that have moved up along the Lashio Road to confront the Japanese Troops to the west of Lashio fired off an Artillery Bombardment. The results were okay, but more importantly I found out that there aren't a lot of Japanese Troops there, so I ordered my Troops to attempt a Deliberate Attack next turn.

And all of my Troops were in place at Rangoon so I ordered a Deliberate Attack there too. And to add to the fun, I ordered the Chinese Troops at Lashio to do an Artillery Bombardment. So things will be livelier in Burma next turn, one way or another.

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Post #: 1004

The San Diego Express - 11/20/2012 2:02:02 PM

ADB123

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November 7, 1943 �

The Night Phase saw part of my plan in the Eastern Solomons work out quite well:

Night Naval bombardment of Lunga at 114,138

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
J1N1-C Irving: 24 damaged
A6M3a Zero: 163 damaged
A6M3a Zero: 8 destroyed on ground
Ki-46-III Dinah: 16 damaged
Ki-46-III Dinah: 1 destroyed on ground
E13A1 Jake: 9 damaged
E13A1 Jake: 2 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
CA Vincennes
CA Quincy
CA San Francisco
CL Denver
CL Montpelier
CL Columbia
DD McCalla
DD Lardner
DD Lansdowne
DD Duncan
DD Meredith
DD Waller

Japanese ground losses:
244 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 42 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled

Airbase hits 85
Airbase supply hits 17
Runway hits 221
Port hits 40
Port fuel hits 10
Port supply hits 9

SOC-1 Seagull acting as spotter for CA Vincennes
CA Vincennes firing at Lunga
CA Quincy firing at Lunga
CA San Francisco firing at Lunga
CL Denver firing at Lunga
CL Montpelier firing at Lunga
CL Columbia firing at Lunga
DD McCalla firing at Lunga
DD Lardner firing at Lunga
DD Lansdowne firing at Lunga
DD Duncan firing at Lunga
DD Meredith firing at Lunga
DD Waller firing at Lunga

My opponent was rather ticked-off that what he considered to be a relatively small Bombardment TF did so much damage. Of course, there is a lot of Fog of War in that report � the End-of-Day Report only had 24 A6M3as destroyed on the Ground � but overall the Bombardment did fairly well. I�ve been working very hard to optimize Naval Bombardments in my Japanese pbems and it was nice to try it out here.

However � as usual in WitP AE things didn�t all work out as planned. I actually sent 3 Bombardment TFs to hit Lunga. The Cruiser TF was the fastest so it isn�t too surprising that it made it there first. But USS Pensacola in another Bombardment TF was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese sub just to the east of Lunga, so that TF ended up a hex away from Lunga. (The Escorts in that TF hammered the Japanese sub afterwards.)

Fair enough � so that TF was delayed. But the 3rd TF only got one hex along its route and stopped! Once again the totally incomprehensible Naval Movement Routine gave a totally incomprehensible result. Why only this TF out of the 3? The Randomness in WitP AE can be beyond belief at times.

BTW � the successful Naval Bombardment TF ran over another Japanese sub on the way home and hammered it fairly hard too.

Daylight came and my TFs in and around the eastern Solomons were left alone by Japanese LBA because I had them all LR-CAPPED by P-47s and P-38s. So the action in the eastern Solomons will continue.

Off in China the Chinese Troops in the mountains to the east of Paotow were attacked by Lilies again, but with little effect. The I attempted a High Altitude Sweep of Nanyang with a P-51A Squadron that I had moved into Chungking from Burma. Half of the pilots in the P-51 Squadron were pretty good, but half were rookies, so I was hoping to get them some easy experience.

Instead they ran into a strong Daitai of Oscar IIbs. The initial High Altitude Dive worked okay but then the Oscars shot up the rookie contingent. The end result was 12 P-51As lots against only 4 Oscar IIbs. Once again, a Long Range Sweep turned out to be fairly painful for the Sweeper. I think that I�ll use 4Es from now on.

Off in Burma the Allied 2Es hit the Japanese Troops west of Lashio again in dribs-and-drabs and caused some casualties, but not a lot. Then the 4Es hammered the Japanese Troops in Rangoon again.

Off in Australia the Air Attacks on Katherine were washed-out while the Horn Island Milk Runs flew nicely.

Finally it was time for the Ground Troops to get into action. The first Attack came at Rangoon:

Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 58576 troops, 807 guns, 1497 vehicles, Assault Value = 2526

Defending force 32997 troops, 426 guns, 229 vehicles, Assault Value = 1121

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Allied adjusted assault: 2146

Japanese adjusted defense: 3471

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 3)

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

Japanese ground losses:
2279 casualties reported
Squads: 62 destroyed, 88 disabled
Non Combat: 16 destroyed, 43 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 32 disabled
Guns lost 42 (16 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
3172 casualties reported
Squads: 15 destroyed, 304 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 77 disabled
Engineers: 30 destroyed, 121 disabled
Guns lost 37 (2 destroyed, 35 disabled)
Vehicles lost 159 (12 destroyed, 147 disabled)

Assaulting units:
Provisionl Tank Brigade
XV Corps Engineer Battalion
11th (East African) Division
43rd Cavalry Regiment
20th Indian Division
81st (West African) Division
268th Motorised Brigade
77th Chindit Brigade
XXXIII Corps Engineer Battalion
254th Armoured Brigade
50th Tank Brigade
17th Indian Division
29th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
XXXIII Indian Corps
3rd (Special Force) Division

Defending units:
4th INA Nehru Regiment
32nd Division
1st INA Subhas Regiment
14th Division
113th Infantry Regiment
2nd INA Gandhi Regiment
3rd INA Azad Regiment
20th/C Division
17th Army
7th Field AF Construction Battalion
5th Field Artillery Regiment
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
5th Field AF Construction Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th RF Gun Battalion

It wasn�t a great result, but it wasn�t a terrible result either. I�ve found out in my Japanese pbems that Rangoon is tough to take for both sides if it is defended seriously. The big surprise for me was the Armoured Vehicle losses for the Allies - I guess that those Commonwealth Tanks just don�t do so well in Urban Spaces. Oh well, more Aerial Bombardments are on the way, as are more Ground Troops.

Next came an Attack on the Japanese Troops to the west of Lashio:

Ground combat at 61,46 (near Lashio)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22050 troops, 272 guns, 199 vehicles, Assault Value = 772

Defending force 7241 troops, 80 guns, 93 vehicles, Assault Value = 151

Allied adjusted assault: 516

Japanese adjusted defense: 526

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
365 casualties reported
Squads: 24 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
131 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
14th Indian Division
1st New Chinese Corps
28th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
6th Medium Regiment

Defending units:
55th Cavalry Regiment
20th/A Division
Burma Area Army
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment

Again, not a bad result � it will just take time to push those troops off of the Road to Lashio. Just to help, I�ve moved British Dive Bombers into range and ordered them to start to attack next turn too.

Finally, I had my Australian Troops test out the Japanese at Katherine with an Artillery Bombardment:

Ground combat at Katherine (76,128)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 17094 troops, 299 guns, 464 vehicles, Assault Value = 618

Defending force 15699 troops, 133 guns, 125 vehicles, Assault Value = 456

Japanese ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
6th Australian Division
3rd Motor Brigade
Northern Territory

Defending units:
21st Division
16th Army
11th RF Gun Battalion
43rd JNAF AF Unit

That�s a pretty good Japanese Infantry Division there so I will wait for more Allied Troops to show up before I try a Deliberate Attack. In the meanwhile I�ll just keep on trying to get Air Attacks to fly against Katherine.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 1005

Good for the Gander - 11/24/2012 2:15:34 PM

ADB123

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November 8, 1943 �

The Holiday Season and the end of the year are approaching quickly and my opponent and I are becoming busier than ever with family commitments, so the pace of this match is slowing down considerably, and will slow down even more over the next few weeks. That�s probably a good thing because we have been playing this match for over three years and we can probably use a break of sorts.

In any event, the Night Phase brought a lot of action for both sides.

First off, one of the USN Bombardment TFs that didn�t reach its target last turn ran over a Japanese sub on the way in, drove it to the surface, and sank it.

But then, before the USN Naval Bombardments could start a Japanese Cruiser/Destroyer TF showed up at Ramree Island. The IJN TF scared off the USN PTs that were on Patrol and fired off the following Bombardment:

Night Naval bombardment of Ramree Island at 54,48 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Liberator B.III: 36 damaged
F-5A Lightning: 12 damaged
F-5A Lightning: 1 destroyed on ground
Liberator II: 14 damaged
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 12 damaged
P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed on ground
Walrus II: 1 damaged
Spitfire PR.XI: 2 damaged

7 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
CA Suzuya
CA Atago
CA Takao
CL Tama
CL Nagara
CLAA Tatsuta
DD Okikaze
DD Hayate
DD Matsukaze
DD Uzuki
DD Kisaragi
DD Asagiri
DD Hatsuyuki
DD Shirakumo
DD Hayanami
DD Fujinami
DD Onami
DD Wakazuki
DD Hatsuzuki
DD Teruzuki
DD Akizuki

Allied ground losses:
174 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Airbase hits 28
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 42
Port hits 20
Port fuel hits 9
Port supply hits 2

I knew immediately that there was a LOT of FoW in place there since I didn�t have half that many 4Es at the base. Never-the-less, it was a wake-up call for me because I had totally forgotten that my opponent could do that to me and I had been skimping on Sub and Air Patrols along the route from the south.

BTW � the IJN TF ran into those USN PTs on the way out and once again the PTs sped off as fast as they could go. I have good, aggressive captains in those PTs, and the PT TF commander was a good, aggressive commander too, but what I have observed in this match and also my Japanese pbems is that PT TFs respond in only two ways to an incoming IJN Combat TF:

1 � Run aawy

Or

2 � Die like flies

In my opinion, that is yet another unsuccessful �improvement� that was made in one of the early AE modifications.

BTW II � there was an Allied Transport TF unloading at Ramree, but it got word of the incoming IJN TF in time and pulled out unharmed. I�m sending the RN in now to provide some Real protection. (Locking the barn door after the horse has run off�)

It was then the turn of the USN to do its Naval Bombardments, first at Tulagi:

Night Naval bombardment of Tulagi at 114,137

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 67 damaged
A6M3a Zero: 11 destroyed on ground
N1K1-J George: 48 damaged
N1K1-J George: 3 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
BB Indiana
CA Salt Lake City
CL Nashville
CL Phoenix
DD Anderson
DD O'Bannon
DD Nicholas
DD LaVallette
DD Jenkins
DD Eaton

Japanese ground losses:
84 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Airbase hits 44
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 79
Port hits 1
Port fuel hits 1

Again, keep in mind FoW.

Next Lunga was hit again for good measure:

Night Naval bombardment of Lunga at 114,138

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
J1N1-C Irving: 5 damaged
J1N1-C Irving: 2 destroyed on ground
A6M3a Zero: 71 damaged
A6M3a Zero: 8 destroyed on ground
Ki-46-III Dinah: 6 damaged
E13A1 Jake: 3 damaged

Allied Ships
BB Massachusetts
CA Astoria
CA New Orleans
CL Honolulu
CL Boise
DD Sampson
DD Taylor
DD Strong
DD Stanly
DD Saufley
DD Philip

Japanese ground losses:
129 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Airbase hits 40
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 123
Port hits 17
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 6

Overall, the USN bombardments caused more damage than the IJN bombardment, as is shown by the end-of-day Air Losses (below).

The Night Action wasn�t done yet. First USS Tambor put a torpedo into a Tanker in a sizable Tanker TF near Donggala. Then a Japanese sub put a torpedo into USS CL Boise as it withdrew after a bombardment run. The Japanese sub was hammered had by the USN Escorts afterwards.

Daylight Action started out with Lilies trying to hit the Chinese Troops near Paotow again. The combination of Mountain Terrain and Heavy Rain minimized the effect of the attack.

In Burma only the USAAF 4Es flew and they hammered the Japanese troops at Rangoon again. In northern Oz the USAAF 4Es hit the Air Base at Wyndham for the first time in a while and caused lots of damage, including destroying a couple of Tonys on the Ground.

Finally, the USAAF Mitchells that were ordered to hit Japanese Troops at Horn Island decided to fly to PNG instead and hit Japanese Troops at Port Moresby, Buna and Fenton. It�s a good thing that my opponent pulled his Fighters out of PNG.

It was then time for Ground Action and the Allied troops to the west of Lashio attacked the Japanese troops on the Lashio Road once again:

Ground combat at 61,46 (near Lashio)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 21951 troops, 272 guns, 199 vehicles, Assault Value = 757

Defending force 6895 troops, 79 guns, 93 vehicles, Assault Value = 139

Allied adjusted assault: 367

Japanese adjusted defense: 232

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
441 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 24 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled

Allied ground losses:
306 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 50 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
14th Indian Division
1st New Chinese Corps
28th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
6th Medium Regiment

Defending units:
20th/A Division
Burma Area Army
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
55th Cavalry Regiment

Obviously it will take a few more attacks to finally drive those Japanese Troops off of the road. Now if only the 2Es will cooperate.

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Post #: 1006

Clearing the Lashio Road - 11/27/2012 2:45:15 AM

ADB123

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November 9, 1943 �

The Night Phase started out with USS S-28 shooting at and missing a SC at Paramushiro-jima. S-28 got away safely. (That sub has been sitting at Paramushiro-jima for so long I think that the crew has earned dual citizenship.)

Then Dutch sub KIX ran into a very interesting sight at Tavoy � the Japanese TF that had bombarded Ramree Island. KIX shot at and missed a DD in the TF, and then the other DDs hammered the Dutch sub and sent it limping home. But the information about the location of that TF was very timely. Just what is that TF doing at Tavoy? Tavoy is still only a Level 2 Port, so the CAs are unlikely to be able to reload their main guns there. Is the TF just refuelling or will it try to head back to Ramree or Akyab? (In my opponent�s shoes I would send the TF to hit the Allied Ground Troops at Rangoon, just to slow down the Assault.)

Daylight brought Lilies out to try to hit the Chinese Troops in the mountains east of Paotow again. Not much happened so the Chinese are just hunkered down and waiting to see what the Japanese do.

The Air War switched over to the South Pacific where USAAF and USN 4Es hammered the Air Base at Lunga. This was a great Air Raid and a couple of dozen A6M3as were destroyed on the Ground. The Air Base at Lunga is pretty much in ruins and empty now.

Back to Burma, various Allied 2Es hit the Japanese Troops to the west of Lashio while the USAAF 4Es hammered the Japanese Troops in Rangoon again.

And in Northern Oz USAAF 4Es really hammered the IJAAF Base Force that is sitting at Fenton between Katherine and Darwin. I�m not sure why my opponent has a Base Force there since Fenton is still a dot base and it isn�t going to get built up quickly with the kind of attention the USAAF can give to it.

Mitchells in NE Oz went after Japanese Troops in PNG again. Afterwards I checked and it turned out that most of the Mitchell Squadrons were set to fly Recon, so I have no idea why they were flying Bombing Missions instead.

Finally, USS Tuna hit a CL with a torpedo near Ontong Java. Troop losses were reported so that CL must be part of a Fast Transport TF.

Ground Combat came next with another Allied Deliberate Attack taking place at Rangoon. Once again the Allied Troops could only achieve a 1:2 result thanks to the Terrain modifier. So I�ll wait for more Troops to arrive to continue the assault.

The Allied Forces on the Lashio Road west of Lashio kicked the Japanese Troops off of the Road. So the victorious Allied Troops will move over to Lashio and work on pushing the Japanese Troops out of Lashio.

Finally, a British Infantry Division attempted an Artillery Bombardment on the Japanese Troops to the east of Taung Gyi, but only the Brits suffered any casualties thanks to the presence of a large and tough Japanese Infantry Division at that crossroads. Once my troops finally capture Lashio I will send them down to clear out that location too.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 1007

RE: Nov 1 1943 - Northern Oz - 11/27/2012 3:08:17 AM

guytipton41

Posts: 351
Joined: 2/26/2011
From: Houston, TX
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ADB123

Here's the situation in Northern Australia

Hi ADB123,

I face a similar situation to yours and was wondering if you had driven up from Tennant Creek or come in from Broome? In addition did the Japanese take Perth? (You can just point me to the appropriate page of your AAR for the details.)

Cheers,
Guy

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Post #: 1008

RE: Nov 1 1943 - Northern Oz - 11/27/2012 3:38:38 AM

ADB123

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quote:

ORIGINAL: guytipton41

quote:

ORIGINAL: ADB123

Here's the situation in Northern Australia

Hi ADB123,

I face a similar situation to yours and was wondering if you had driven up from Tennant Creek or come in from Broome? In addition did the Japanese take Perth? (You can just point me to the appropriate page of your AAR for the details.)

Cheers,
Guy

My opponent landed in multiple locations across the northern half of Oz in early 1942, capturing the North, the Northeast and the Northwest. I had pulled out my troops and built up the bases to the south. I then started to pound his forces with 4Es and he started to pull back and pulled out of the northeast and northwest while I still had control of Perth. So I moved back in both regions, one base at a time. One key thing that I did was to build up inland bases as large as possible as quickly as possible so that I could use 4Es without fear of Naval bombardments. (Thus now I have a number of very large inland Air Bases that are empty because I don't need them any longer.)

I tried initially to move Armour up from Tennant Creek, but the Tanks were bombed into near-oblivion by the Japanese and I had to retreat. I then started a long range bombing campaign from the South and East while I moved forces into the Northwest. Once I was able to grab Broome and fill it with Engineers and Base Forces I was able to start 4E Bombing from there which allowed me to close the Air Bases at Wyndham and Darwin. Once those air bases were closed I could start to send troops forward again, this time from the south and the west.

The major issue with the land approach is Supply because the Devs reduced the Supply movement capability of northern Oz in one of the early patches to the game. So I've used hundreds of Transport Planes to keep my forces going, and I've also had to spend game-months building up bases so that the bases will allow more Supply flow. So the return to the North has taken a year and it isn't over yet. My opponent has left several big Divisions in northern Oz and it won't be easy to push them back into the Sea. But it would be too easy for my opponent to cause me horrific losses if I attempted Amphibious landings at Wyndham or Darwin, so I'm sticking with the slow, slow land route.

Thanks for your comments and questions -

(in reply to guytipton41)

Post #: 1009

RE: Nov 1 1943 - Northern Oz - 11/27/2012 6:00:39 AM

BBfanboy

Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
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Is that island just off Darwin occupied? It would make a good trap door to close on Darwin and cut off his resupply or evacuation. I presume your fighters can hold off any bombing attacks he might mount from Timor, and subs/mines can make the island base thorny for bombardment TFs.

_____________________________

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

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Post #: 1010

RE: Nov 1 1943 - Northern Oz - 11/27/2012 8:40:38 AM

ADB123

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Joined: 8/18/2009
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quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Is that island just off Darwin occupied? It would make a good trap door to close on Darwin and cut off his resupply or evacuation. I presume your fighters can hold off any bombing attacks he might mount from Timor, and subs/mines can make the island base thorny for bombardment TFs.

No, the Japanese still control that dot base. The problem is that the Japanese still control Wyndham. Derby is too far away to LR CAP the location, and I can't bring enough Supply to Daly Waters to be able to base more than a small Recon Squadron and one USAAF Fighter squadron there and still keep the base in the "black".

My experience in this match as well as in my two Japanese pbems is that subs and mines won't keep Bombardment TFs out or even slow them down. And PT boats are a waste 90% of the time too. (In my Japanese pbems I enthusiastically hunt down PT TFs with CL/DD TFs - it drives my opponents nuts.

)

So I can't see a good reason to grab that dot base. I could see it becoming a very expensive sink hole for Allied forces - the Japanese Attack Lines are multiple and short, while the Allied Support and Defense Lines are long and few. I would be better off knocking out the Japanese Air Bases in Timor and then grabbing a handful of dot bases near by and build up multiple bases like I've done in the South and Central Pacific. But even then I would rather wait until I at least take Wyndham.

Thanks for your thoughts -

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Post #: 1011

RE: Nov 1 1943 - Northern Oz - 11/27/2012 8:39:53 PM

BBfanboy

Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline

From the sounds of it he is still too strong for you to mount an amphib opreration and protect it long enough to build the base - I agree with the decision to take Wyndham and re-assess the situation from there. Grind On, Dude!

_____________________________

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

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Post #: 1012

Air Surprises - 12/2/2012 4:43:38 PM

ADB123

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November 10, 1943 -

There was no Night Action.

Daylight started out with USN and USAAF 4Es hitting the Air Base at Tulagi. There was no CAP nor any Flak so the Bomber crews had a Field Day, hammering the Air Base hard and destroying 13 A6M3as and 4 N1K1-J Georges on the Ground. Recon reported that there may be some support ships in the Harbor at Tulagi so next turn the 4Es will return to pay a visit to the Port, Weather Permitting.

Off in the Far East the day started out fine as Allied 2Es and British DBs hit the Japanese Troops at Lashio, causing some casualties. Then things got Tough as the USAAF 4Es attacked the Air Base at Tavoy and found a good amount of CAP.

The first attack saw 28 B-24D1s and 33 B24Js run into 38 A6M3as, 28 Oscar IIbs and 3 Tojo Iias. The CAP fought well, and although the Gunners on the 4Es shot down a number of Enemy Fighters, a number of 4Es were also shot up and shot down. Then a Straggler Squadron of 8 B-24D1s arrived and fought through less CAP while still shooting down an Oscar IIb.

The Attack hit the Air Base hard and the End-of-Day report showed how tough the Battle really was:

A6M3a � 5 A-to-A, 3 Ops
Ki-43-IIb Oscar � 8 A-to-A, 10 Ops

B-24D1 � 4 A-to-A, 5 Ops
B-24J � 4 A-to-A, 1 Ops

The 4Es will be sent back to Rangoon next turn.

BTW � the Japanese Cruiser/Destroyer TF moved out of Tavoy and down to Mergui. It appears to be slowly heading south.

In Northern Oz the USAAF 4Es hit the Air Base at Wyndham again, just to make certain that it stays nicely closed. Then the Mitchells that were supposed to attack Japanese at Katherine decided to hit Troops at Darwin instead and found some A6M3as on CAP. So you can guess where the 4Es will be hitting next turn.

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Post #: 1013

Into the Yards - 12/3/2012 1:45:42 AM

ADB123

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November 11, 1943 -

There was no Night Action again.

Daylight brought out Japanese Bombers in China where they went after Chinese troops that have moved to the west of Nanyang, and also the Chinese troops to the east of Paotow. More Chinese troops are on the move so my opponent will need to make some decisions in China soon or I'll start to cut his Supply Lines.

The Allied Air Effort started with a good USN/USAAF 4E attack on the Port at Tulagi. The Big Bombers hit the Port hard and sank an xAK and an ACM in Port. The 4Es will re-visit the Air Base at Lunga next turn.

In Burma Allied 2Es and British DBs hit the Japanese Troops at Lashio again, getting reasonable but not spectacular results. I've got a couple of Infantry Divisions on the way to Lashio that will be there in a few days so I'm holding off on any more Land Assaults until those units arrive.

The 4Es in Burma hit the Air Base at Rangoon again, just to keep it nicely closed and to use up Japanese Supplies.

Off in Northern Australia the USAAF 4Es hit the Air Base at Darwin and sure enough, A6M3as showed up on CAP. The results were fairly good with 1 A6M3a shot down and the Air Base hammered hard. But I don't believe that those Zeros were actually based at Darwin � I suspect that they are flying LR CAP from some of the small island bases to the north or Darwin. The presence of 3 Zeros lost to Ops in the End-of-Day report tends to reinforce this idea. I'm more than happy to see Japanese Ops Losses increase. BTW � the 4Es will go after the Japanese troops at Katherine again next turn.

At the end of the day the besieging Allied troops at Rangoon fired off an Artillery Bombardment. Losses were roughly equal, so the Japanese troops are far from done yet. I suspect that my opponent moved out a beat-up combat unit to the hex to the southwest, and I am moving out a beat-up Allied unit, so I will wait until reinforcements arrive before I try another Land Assault.

BTW � South Dakota finally made it to Pearl and will now be in the Yards for the next several months.

< Message edited by ADB123 -- 12/3/2012 1:46:08 AM >

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Post #: 1014

Closing Air Bases - 12/4/2012 1:31:28 AM

ADB123

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November 12, 1943 �

The Night Phase saw USS Seadragon chased by a small SC/PB ASW TF near Hirosaki, but the Japanese ships couldn�t catch the sub.

Daylight started out with Air Search reports of Japanese subs near Ramree Island, and more surprisingly, several Japanese TFs in the Sea of Timor. It turned out later that one of those TFs was a small 2-ship AMc TF that was clearing Air-dropped Mines out of the Harbour at Darwin.

Japanese Bombers stayed home this turn but Allied Air Attacks continued as usual. First off in Burma British DBs and Allied 2Es attacked the Japanese Troops at Lashio again. Some of the attacks caused some damage, but it wasn�t much when you consider the 200+ planes that attacked.

Then the Air Base at Rangoon was hammered by USAAF 4Es. I had thought that I had set those 4Es to Ground Attack, but this worked out okay as the Air Fields were totally closed. The 4Es are now set to do a Ground Attack next turn.

In Australia the USAAF 4Es hammered a Japanese Infantry Division at Katherine, getting very good results. It�s taking a long time to get Allied Troops in position but eventually I ought to be able to drive the Japanese out of Katherine.

And in the South Pacific USN and USAAF 4Es hammered the Air Base at Lunga again. They not only closed the Air Field but they also destroyed 9 A6M3as, 2 Dinahs, and 1 Irving on the Ground. Now that the Air Bases at Lunga and Tulagi are both closed I set the 4Es to 20/20 ASW/Search to give them some rest and to keep a better eye out on any Japanese TFs in the region.

Speaking of Japanese TFs � it turns out that the Japanese TF near Taberfane is a CV TF. So I set the Northern Oz 4Es to low-level Naval Attack, moved more good Fighter units to my northern bases, and set most other bombers and search planes in the region to 100% Naval Search. I also moved some USN DBs forward in case they get a chance for a cheap shot at anything. I intend to discourage my opponent from sailing in the waters between northern Oz and Timor.

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 1015

China on the March - 12/5/2012 12:43:56 AM

ADB123

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November 13, 1943 � Interim Report �

My opponent only had time to send the Combat Replay this evening.

The Night Phase started out with the Dot Base called Abemama being automatically occupied by the Allies.

Next USS S-28 shot 4 torpedoes at an xAKL at Paramushiro-jima but the torpedo that hit was a dud. This lack of success was then compounded as the 2 escorts in the small Transport TF hammered S-28 with a number of hits. The sub is now limping back to the Aleutians.

Finally USS Silversides hit a PB with a torpedo just off of Ominato. The PB was part of a small ASW TF that became the hunted instead of being the hunter.

Daylight brought lots of Air Recon and Search from both sides. More Japanese subs are appearing between Rangoon and Ramree. Among the various Allied planes that buzzed the subs, some Avengers attacked one sub. That ought to give my opponent something to think about.

BTW � the Japanese Cruiser/Destroyer TF finally retired far enough south to get out of range of my Search planes.

The Air War started with Japanese Bombers attacking a Chinese column to the west of Nanyang again, but the Bombers were few and scattered. That isn�t enough to stop a serious advance, as we will see a bit later.

In Burma Allied 2Es and British DBs attacked the Japanese Troops at Lashio again, but this time none of the 100+ bombers could find the target, although the Japanese Troops were able to find a few of the lower-flying Allied bombers with Flak.

Then the USAAF 4Es hammered a Japanese Infantry Division at Rangoon, inflicting nice, heavy casualties.

Off the north coast of Australia the increased Allied Air Search spotted a Japanese TF at Babar, but nothing else, so the LBA stayed at home. Off in the South Pacific nothing was spotted other than a few Japanese subs.

Finally, the Chinese Assault Column crossed the River to the west of Nanyang and hammered a Japanese Infantry Brigade that was attempting to block the road:

Ground combat at 85,46 (near Nanyang)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 57771 troops, 203 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2288

Defending force 5802 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 209

Allied adjusted assault: 2123

Japanese adjusted defense: 13

Allied assault odds: 163 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
4548 casualties reported
Squads: 142 destroyed, 97 disabled
Non Combat: 45 destroyed, 26 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 37 (18 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Allied ground losses:
1595 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 88 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
53rd Chinese Corps
59th Chinese Corps
75th Chinese Corps
68th Chinese Corps
87th Chinese Corps

Defending units:
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade

This will definitely give my opponent something to think about � it appears that yet another Allied Front has the potential to open up�

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 1016

Head On Attacks - 12/7/2012 1:30:34 AM

ADB123

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November 14, 1943 � Interim Report �

The Night Phase saw a Japanese sub shoot 4 torpedoes at and miss HMS Thracian off of Ramree Island. Thracian then pounded the Japanese sub.

Daylight brought reports of Bad Weather most places, so the 4E missions in the South Pacific and against Rangoon were cancelled.

Japanese bombers flew against Chinese Troops on their way to cut the Rail Lines in China and also flew against the Air Base in Sian. I�m not sure why my opponent went after Sian instead of going after my Chinese troops in the open. Maybe he is worried that I am planning some Air Ambushes. In any event, my plan is to cut the Eastern Rail Line in as many places as possible so that the Japanese are stuck On Foot too. We will see how this goes.

In Burma the British DBs and Allied 2Es went after the Japanese Troops at Lashio again with minor results.

Then the Main Event went off as USAAF 4Es attacked the Air Base at Koepang and found out that the IJAAF was back again in numbers. There was an initial main attack and then two straggler attacks. The first attack was tough but reasonably successful:

Morning Air attack on Koepang, at 68,116

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 27
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 6
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 9
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 42
Ki-61-Ia Tony x 8

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 3
B-24D1 Liberator x 43
B-24J Liberator x 46

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 3 destroyed
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 6 damaged
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 14 destroyed on ground
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 13 destroyed on ground
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 destroyed, 7 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-61-Ia Tony: 8 damaged
Ki-61-Ia Tony: 3 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-24D1 Liberator: 3 destroyed, 20 damaged
B-24J Liberator: 3 destroyed, 22 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 60
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 62

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
7 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
2 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
10 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
261 Ku S-2 with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 17 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
5th Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (0 airborne, 11 on standby, 26 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 35200.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes
50th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes
66th Sentai with Ki-43-IIb Oscar (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes
78th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (3 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 11000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes

Sasaki, I. in a Ki-61-Ia Tony makes head on attack ... forces B-24D Liberator out of formation
Ginowa G. in a Ki-45 KAIa Nick makes head on attack ... forces B-24D1 Liberator out of formation

That�s the first time that I�ve seen mention of Head On Attacks.

Next came in the first stragglers:

Morning Air attack on Koepang , at 68,116

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 73 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 25 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 11
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 4
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 3
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 26
Ki-61-Ia Tony x 2

Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 3 destroyed
Ki-61-Ia Tony: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged
B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed by flak

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
261 Ku S-2 with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
11 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 68 minutes
50th Sentai with Ki-61-Ia Tony (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 68 minutes
66th Sentai with Ki-43-IIb Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes
5th Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
24 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 116 minutes
78th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 124 minutes

There must be a lot of AA at Koepang for a Liberator to be taken down at 8K feet.

Then the final stragglers arrived:

Morning Air attack on Koepang , at 68,116

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 51 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 4
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 1
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 11

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 7

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 7 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 8000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
5th Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
66th Sentai with Ki-43-IIb Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Raid is overhead
261 Ku S-2 with N1K1-J George (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 60 minutes
78th Sentai with Ki-44-IIa Tojo (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Raid is overhead

I find the presence of so many Nick Ias, along with Oscard IIbs, to be interesting. I wonder if my opponent is trying to set up to provide LR CAP on TFs heading towards the Australian Coast?

Finally, it was time for my reinforced Troops to try another Assault on Lashio:

Ground combat at Lashio (62,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 44761 troops, 441 guns, 143 vehicles, Assault Value = 1688

Defending force 10403 troops, 171 guns, 10 vehicles, Assault Value = 326

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 4

Allied adjusted assault: 1335

Japanese adjusted defense: 1399

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 4)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), preparation(-)
fatigue(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
667 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 117 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 23 (2 destroyed, 21 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1216 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 128 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled

Assaulting units:
3rd New Chinese Corps
7th New Chinese Corps
5th Chinese Corps
14th Indian Division
1st New Chinese Corps
6th Chinese Corps
NCAC
X' Force

Defending units:
143rd Infantry Regiment
11th Infantry Regiment
33rd/B Division
3rd Mortar Battalion
55th Mountain Gun Regiment

That was certainly disappointing. Once again the WWI Ground Combat Model came into play. Oh well, I�ll just have to keep on bombing.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 1017

November 14 Final Report - 12/8/2012 6:42:52 PM

ADB123

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Here are the End-of-Day totals for Air Losses. It was an expensive day for both the USAAF and the IJAAF. That is the risk with sending 4Es on long distance attacks. I've now set the 4Es to attack Japanese Troops at Wyndham, as a "rest" of sorts.

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Post #: 1018

Easy Pickings - 12/10/2012 12:13:04 AM

ADB123

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November 15, 1943 -

There was no Night Action.

Daylight brought out Japanese Bombers over the besieging Chinese Troops at Nanyang. The bombers didn't accomplish a lot for the Japanese cause, but they did help the Chinese cause because they didn't attack the Chinese units that I have moving towards the Rail Lines and in particular, towards the Rail Line hexes in rough and or wooded terrain.

The Action then moved to the South Pacific where USN and USAAF 4Es hit the Air Base at Tulagi again. The Air Base was already closed, but this attack was there to hunt damaged Japanese planes on the Ground, and there were plenty to find. The End-of-Day Air Losses reported that 9 A6M3as and 4 N1K1-J Georges were destroyed on the Ground.

In Burma various Allied 2Es, DBs and FBs attacked the Japanese Troops at Lashio over and over, and did amazingly little damage, even from low altitudes. The USAAF 4Es in Burma didn't fly.

Off in Northern Oz the Battered But Brave USAAF 4Es went after Easy Pickings at Wyndham as they hammered the Japanese Troops there. There is no better practice than close-range Easy Pickings.

And while the 4Es were tormenting the Japanese at Wyndham USAAF Mitchells attacked the Japanese Troops at Katherine. I am increasing the Pressure on the Japanese in northern Australia.

The Land Combat Phase first saw the Japanese Troops at Nanyang attempt an Artillery Bombardment against the besieging Chinese but there was no effect on either side.

Then the Allied Troops at Rangoon fired off their Big Guns. Both sides took roughly equal casualties, but all-in-all the Allies got hit slightly harder.

Intel reported Lots of Radio Traffic at Singapore. I wonder if my opponent has brought some of his CVs out for a foray into the Indian Ocean. He didn't like his results the last time he tried it, and he ought to like the results even less this time. As you can expect, Search has been increased, and the Torpedo Bombers are Up Close and Excited.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 1019

Jeans in Action - 12/11/2012 1:26:30 AM

ADB123

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November 16, 1943 -

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought out Japanese Bombers hitting Chinese troops out in the open in China. Many of those Bombers are flying without escorts... I guess that it's time to bring the CAF forward again. <g>

Off in the South Pacific USN and USAAF 4Es has Easy Pickings at the Air Base at Lunga again. The Air Base was hammered nicely and 8 A6M3as and 1 Dinah III were destroyed on the ground. I'm going to rest those 4Es for a bit now and see what happens in the region.

Off in Burma the Allied DBs, 2Es, and FBs all attacked the Japanese Troops at Lashio in multiple waves, and as usual, few of the hundreds of bombers hit anything, and when they did they didn't cause much damage.

On the other hand, the USAAF 4Es hammered Japanese Troops at Rangoon again, causing significant casualties. If only those Big Bombers would fly more regularly.

In Northern Oz the USAAF 4Es were Rained Out, but the Mitchells flew and hit the Japanese Troops at Katherine again. It appears that some of the Japanese Troops at Katherine are moving out. That's fine with me � any time I can avoid having to use the World War I Combat Model I am more than happy to do so.

Finally, off at Nanyang the Japanese Troops used a Shock Attack to drive out the small Chinese Corps that was sitting there. I expected that, but that Unit did its job and bogged down the Japanese for a while.

BTW � I got a strange report today of a B4Y1 Jean being shot down by flak. I presume that one of my Subs shot it down. I wonder why my opponent is down-grading to Jeans?

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 1020