Slitherine

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Ground combat at Mersing (51,82)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 22860 troops, 213 guns, 141 vehicles, Assault Value = 1123

Defending force 538 troops, 10 guns, 13 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 879

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 879 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Mersing !!!

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

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

Allied ground losses:
308 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 55 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 11 (11 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 17 (17 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

Assaulting units:
114th Infantry Regiment
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
55th Infantry Regiment
12th Engineer Regiment
5th Division
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
1st Tank Regiment <-- These guys will cut the rail in 3 days(?). How much can I get into Singers before that.
56th Infantry Regiment
4th Ind Engineer Regiment
41st Infantry Regiment
302nd Ship Eng Coy
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
202nd Ship Eng Coy
53rd Const Co
5th Field Construction Battalion
54th Const Co
25th Army
55th Const Co
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
34th Field AA Battalion
21st JAAF AF Bn
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
20th AA Regiment
84th JAAF AF Bn
5th JAAF AF Coy

Defending units:
30 Battery/3 HAA
113th RAF Adv Base Force

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Day Time Surface Combat, near Jesselton at 66,81, Range 19,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai
DD Asagiri, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Sagiri
DD Yugiri, Shell hits 3

Allied Ships
DD Scout, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Thanet, Shell hits 20, and is sunk

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Afternoon Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
B5N2 Kate x 72
D3A1 Val x 50

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
TK Talang Akar, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
TK Basilea, Bomb hits 1
CMc Soemenep, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
TK Angelina
TK Paula
xAP Kedah, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AGP Eridanus, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AVP Fazant
TK Britannia, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Van Rees, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Van Riebeek, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AVP Pollux, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AR Castor, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMc Ceram, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Camphuys, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Bontekoe, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

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ASW attack near Mersing at 51,82

Japanese Ships
CM Hatsutaka, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Hirokawa Maru
xAP Naminoue Maru
xAK Kokai Maru
xAK Naruto Maru
xAK Kogyo Maru
xAK Aobasan Maru
xAKL Yoshinogawa Maru
PB Chosa Maru

Allied Ships
SS KXII

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Sub attack near Madjene at 65,104

Japanese Ships
AO Toei Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS KXVIII

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Sub attack near Maloelap at 149,116

Japanese Ships
SS I-20

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise
CA Salt Lake City
DD Gridley
DD Balch
DD Fanning
DD Ellet
DD Benham

SS I-20 launches 8 torpedoes at CV Enterprise

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Sub attack near Maloelap at 149,116

Japanese Ships
SS I-20

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise
CA Salt Lake City
DD Gridley
DD Balch
DD Fanning
DD Ellet
DD Benham

SS I-20 launches 6 torpedoes at CV Enterprise x2

quote:

first with a reverse PH on Truk using the carriers, timed to coincide with a supply convoy moving north of Truk in the blind spot between Truk and Japan to resupply Manilla

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ORIGINAL: Encircled

Think its more to do with anything that forces him to devote assets that he would otherwise available for a drive for AV, plus its better reading for us AAR junkies.

Totally agree though that if you can successfully work out where he is coming (and everything that Mr Kane has done in every AAR screams "India") and mass your forces, then its better to defend that.

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister
I don´t know where this mentality that the allied "must strike" comes from. I´ve seen a lot of players advocate it.

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ORIGINAL: Lowpe

The same holds true for Japan. I think perhaps the best strategy Japan can do is to expand a little less than historical, and conduct a very aggressive defense. Most Japanese attacks aren't worth it in terms of supply gathered vs expenses.

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ORIGINAL: Lowpe
Autovic is awfully hard to achieve in 43...I personally don't think you need fear it unless you start throwing away forces. Just keep those carriers safer than the POW!

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ORIGINAL: Lowpe
I have two wishes for this game:

1. You get a chance to conduct a mobile defense of India and then a mobile reconquest. I put the chances of that at close to 0, as I think Mr. Kane would rail all his troops back to Burma once his offensive stalls at the gates of Karachi to avoid defeat in detail -- unless autovic was close.

2. Mr. Kane goes for Alaska, and then Canada. You have to pay PP to cross borders right? That would be neat to see. Doomed to failure ultimately, but neat to see.

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ORIGINAL: Encircled

How feasible would a descent on Formosa be?

Give him a month to have all his unrestricted in the DEI or the Indian Ocean, and what left?

Some base forces and aviation units?

Going to be hard to get to, but he couldn't ignore that

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ORIGINAL: Crackaces

India and how the game works is much different than the days of PzB ... especially supply propagation ...

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

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ORIGINAL: Encircled

How feasible would a descent on Formosa be?

Give him a month to have all his unrestricted in the DEI or the Indian Ocean, and what left?

Some base forces and aviation units?

Going to be hard to get to, but he couldn't ignore that

No, Formosa he couldn´t ignore for sure! If I still had the PI and a secure LOC to it it might be doable. But I would lack the troops for it. And it would be suicide. But a fun suicide!

Hmm, speaking of suicide. Wonder when I should tell Maria I picked up a new PBEM?

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Hey Aurorus. Welcome to the loony bin!

There are a couple of problems with a strike against Truk and sending a convoy to the PI. Encircled mentions one of them.

- Tomasz doesn´t need the KB to protect anything. Betties/Netties are enough. The TOTAL CAP aboard Lex and Ent is 22 Buffaloes and 23 Wildkittens. Avrage EXP on those two squadrons are 67 and 69. Even a small Netty/Betty strike would get through. The CVs can´t protect themselves and even less so a convoy.

There are 18 more Wildcats on Pearl and Wake to take along. Where do you think that these Nells and Bettys will base? Without an Air flotilla or Air fleet HQ, they cannot carry torpedoes. I would be willing to bet a good bit there is no Air flotilla in Truk for at least 3 weeks, probably much longer (as in a year), because the 23rd, 21st, and 11th are in Takao, which will be a busy port for a while. Even when the flotilla HQs move, one will probably move direct to Rabaul, never basing in Truk. Just hit and then immediately run out of Zero range.

You may find the plan too bold, but it is not crazy and not as risky as it appears, since you can always pull back if he does have some Mavis´ who detect you too far out.



- Fuel. Neither the Lex nor Ent TF has enough fuel to make it to Truk and back. Fuel is on its way but its 2 weeks out or more.

There is 610,000 fuel at Pearl, 2 oilers and 2 tankers. The tankers can move fuel to Wake where the BBs and AKs can refuel... the BBs can also return here for another reload from the tankers. The AOs can meet the carriers wherever necessary... just steer clear of Kwajalein.

- Tom would see me coming from a mile away and would simply evacuate anything of value or fly in planes and sink Lex and Ent.

If you follow a northerly route just by Wake, there is not a search plane in existence that will see you coming. Also the Japanese do not have many long range search planes in the early war and rely heavily on Jakes and the like with a range of 8 or 10, not nearly enough time to react.

(in reply to JocMeister)

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ORIGINAL: Aurorus

If you follow a northerly route just by Wake, there is not a search plane in existence that will see you coming.

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Without an Air flotilla or Air fleet HQ, they cannot carry torpedoes. I would be willing to bet a good bit there is no Air flotilla in Truk for at least 3 weeks,

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Carriers v Bettys with Torpedoes in 41/42 will eventually only end one way sadly.

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Allied Forces
______________________________________________________________________________

Yuck, The list of available force are disgustingly short. They all got into strat mode now and I need to decide where to send them.

- 2nd Marine RGT -San Diego
- 8th Marine RGT - San Diego
- 201st SEP RGT - San Fransisco
- 37th SEP RGT. - Kodiak
- 34th SEP RGT. - Dutch

I´m not going to pick up the 34th and 37th from NOPAC and send them somewhere else. They will remain in place which leaves me with only 3 RGTs to play with. I already decided on sending one of the USMC RGTs to Christmas Island. I like the place and want to keep it in allied hands. So two RGTs left to decide. My initial thought was Suva/Nadi but the NZ battalions will keep it safe against a quick grab. Anything bigger then that I won´t be able to stop anyway. I´m thinking Pago Pago and Vava´u. Thoughts?

Also have two Marine DEF BTL to do something with. Wake and?

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ORIGINAL: Aurorus

There are 18 more Wildcats on Pearl and Wake to take along. Where do you think that these Nells and Bettys will base? Without an Air flotilla or Air fleet HQ, they cannot carry torpedoes. I would be willing to bet a good bit there is no Air flotilla in Truk for at least 3 weeks, probably much longer (as in a year), because the 23rd, 21st, and 11th are in Takao, which will be a busy port for a while. Even when the flotilla HQs move, one will probably move direct to Rabaul, never basing in Truk. Just hit and then immediately run out of Zero range.

You may find the plan too bold, but it is not crazy and not as risky as it appears, since you can always pull back if he does have some Mavis´ who detect you too far out.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aurorus
There is 610,000 fuel at Pearl, 2 oilers and 2 tankers. The tankers can move fuel to Wake where the BBs and AKs can refuel... the BBs can also return here for another reload from the tankers. The AOs can meet the carriers wherever necessary... just steer clear of Kwajalein.

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ORIGINAL: Aurorus
If you follow a northerly route just by Wake, there is not a search plane in existence that will see you coming. Also the Japanese do not have many long range search planes in the early war and rely heavily on Jakes and the like with a range of 8 or 10, not nearly enough time to react.

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ORIGINAL: zuluhour

I like the Marquesas' Islands or Pearl. There both closer to the action and should be safe. I use that Island group early war for a transfer depot on occasion to Nz and Au.
2 cent 

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ORIGINAL: Naskra

I vote Adak. Secure this before MrK does. Let him start worrying about his northern approaches now.

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ORIGINAL: obvert
Uh, oh. That's BAD!