Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy(A) vs KenchiSulla (J)

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Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy(A) vs KenchiSulla (J) - 7/26/2014 2:10:03 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

Hi,

Well, I finally kicked off another PBEM. I had serious cold feet (like I usually do) before starting another one, but I took the plunge. I've had a history of losing opponents, usually in late '42, but I think I'm safe here.

Cannonfodder has been great to talk with so far, and I think our philosophies on what makes a good WITP-AE game are pretty much in synch.

We're doing the DBB-C Iron Babes scenario (30, I think), with this setup:

quote:

HOUSERULES AND GAME SETTINGS
REALISM OPTIONS
FOW ON
Advanced weather ON
Allied damage control ON
PDU ON
Historical first turn OFF
Dec 7 surprise ON
Reliable USN torps OFF
Realistic R&D ON
No unit withdrawals OFF
Reinforcements +/- 15

GAME OPTIONS
Combat reports ON
Auto sub ops OFF
TF move radius ON
Plane move radius ON
Facilities expand OFF
Auto upgrade ships and airgroups OFF
Air and ground replacements OFF
Turn cycle 1 TURN

1st turn rules:
Allied player only able to command TF already at sea
No transferring or loading of squadrons
Max 30% cap set per squadron
No Japanese invasion TF will finish the turn more than 15 hexes from a starting Japanese base DBB:C / DaIronBabes + no Mersing Gambit on turn 1 (turn 2 is fair)

Game rules:
No 4e naval bombing below 10k
Sensible use of paratroopers
Pay full PP for units to cross national borders
No strategic bombing from or into China
Picket ships allowed if of the military type

All of this is pretty much my usual conventions.

I've just returned my Dec 7 turn. All 5 minutes that it took me. The real work is next turn. My only adjustments thus far was to disband Force Z, and adjust the path of my two CV TFs to help keep them out of harm's way.

Next turn, I'll most likely heed Churchill's demand to "do something" and send Force Z to Kuantan. It's an old habit of mine, and at least half the time, I'll get some good results. PoW can easily handle any Kongo which may be supporting. In one past game, I sank one with barely a scratch.

The Vindicators at sea I'll see if I can get to the PI via Guam. Hopefully I can use drop tanks from there.

Apart from that I'll keep my CVs out of the way until the initial storm passes.

I generally like to work out of just one port on the west coast, for better control over things. I usually randomly pick between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I'm favoring SF this time. Any Pearl survivors will probably wind up there and when finished, I can easily arrange an escort back. I also work out of Seattle to support the Alaska area. My SOP is to put an AR and an AS at Dutch Harbor and run a bunch of subs from there. IIRC, I only have three ARs, so they're very precious right now.

I'm favoring the Nimitz plan right now. I'm not sure if I want to get tangled up badly in the Solomans. If Suva or Pago Pago is threatened, I'll have little choice. I'd like to beef up Moresby as lots of bad things can happen if that goes. Any hint of that going, and I'm going to clear out Darwin.

This should be fun. With our time zone differences, this may take almost as long as the real war.

Ed-

< Message edited by Mundy -- 2/24/2016 2:31:29 PM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/26/2014 2:44:29 PM

EHansen

Posts: 360
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline

I have been using Prince Rupert for supporting Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. I move a number of the Base Forces from the interior Canadian bases there to build it quite quickly.

(in reply to Mundy)

Post #: 2

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/26/2014 3:23:31 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

That may help on the supply side, but I tend to move lots of base/flak group around, too. My convoys are generally big enough that they don't have to go out often.

Ed-

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/26/2014 3:41:08 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

Ugh...

The snake of Alternate History rears it head.

No Pearl Harbor strike this time. It looks like Cannonfodder was more worried about the subs in the Asiatic Fleet. Mini-subs did take a couple of shots at Maryland, but good ol' Taney fixed his wagon. I have a soft spot for Taney and Charleston. Incidentally, I didn't know Taney now lives in Baltimore. I had a shot to see her last year and didn't know it.

I think KB may be split. I don't think more than 2 squadrons each of TB and DB hit Manila. Carrier air did smack the Dutch fleet sitting at Palembang, beating them up pretty bad. I'm not sure more than one CV was involved in that one, either.

quote:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Palembang at 48,91

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 70 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 33
B5N2 Kate x 9
D3A1 Val x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
CL Durban, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Dragon, Bomb hits 7

-----

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Palembang at 48,91

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 42 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
B5N2 Kate x 16
D3A1 Val x 17

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Durban, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Dragon, Bomb hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage

PoW and Repulse took hits, too, at Singapore. Damage on PoW is heavy. Normally I'd run her out towards Java, but that way is blocked.

Wake fell immediately. The CLs in support took some hits from the shore battery, but probably nothing too bad. I'm thinking of running my carrier (Lex?.. I can't remember) there for a revenge raid. The strikes on Manila and Palembang, I think, don't account for all of KB's airpower, so for the time being, I need to tread lightly. He may be covering all the escape routes from Manila and Singapore.

I have the feeling that this will be a very aggressive offensive -- especially being an Iron Babes scenario. All my other games have been fairly conservatively played, so I actually find this one rather refreshing.

Ed-

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Post #: 4

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/26/2014 3:47:53 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

Addendum on Manila -- didn't want to clutter up the above post with reports.

quote:

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
B5N2 Kate x 27
D3A1 Val x 45

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PG Tulsa, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Pike, Bomb hits 1
AV Langley, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Seawolf, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Seal, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL Dona Nati, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS S-40, Bomb hits 2
AS Otus, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Pope, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS Sturgeon, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Stingray, Bomb hits 1
SS Pickerel, Bomb hits 1
xAP Neptuna, Bomb hits 1, on fire
ARD YFD-1 Dewey, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAP Don Esteban, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
TK Hai Kwang, Bomb hits 1, on fire

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

Repair Shipyard hits 1
Port hits 5
Port fuel hits 2

-----

Afternoon Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
B5N2 Kate x 27

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
SS Seawolf, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Skipjack, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Yu Sang, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
PT Q-113, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Shark, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage

Port hits 1
Port fuel hits 1

Land based air from Formosa also contributed to this.

I'm wondering if he has any naval air in the central Pacific. Maybe I can run many of the survivors straight to Pearl.

If he's really reaching out quickly, I'm guessing maybe a division of KB could wind supporting a move on Rabaul and possibly Port Moresby. I'm guessing wildly at this point, but it seems logical.

Ed-

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Post #: 5

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/26/2014 6:13:02 PM

BBfanboy

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

quote:

ORIGINAL: EHansen

I have been using Prince Rupert for supporting Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. I move a number of the Base Forces from the interior Canadian bases there to build it quite quickly.

+1 EHansen!

Mundy, I don't understand your conviction that large convoys will negate the need to use other ports.
For starters, Prince Rupert is a couple of days sailing closer to Aleutian bases which means less exposure to his subs
and raiders and faster turnaround of needed ships. You can get millions of tons of supply to PR just by moving Canada
Command there. It builds quite quickly using ALL the interior Canadian BFs, which have, initially, no aircraft to support anyway.

Using more ports also splits his sub patrols so he cannot saturate all the routes out of one port. At the beginning of the game
US ASW is so poor that it cannot inflict significant damage to sub concentrations while they can devastate Allied shipping and
nearly always get through to the most valuable ships (CV, AP, BB, TK).

That's my take on how the game works, but it's your game and I will be following to see how your strategy plays out!
Good Luck!

_____________________________

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 #: 6

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/26/2014 7:47:29 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

Thanks for the input. It's a long war, and I'll feel my way through this. The converse to the splitting up of his patrols is that many of them will be wasting their time patrolling quiet ports.

It's served me in good stead so far, but I will keep it in mind. My idea with this is not so much the supply side as a place to ship the troops out. I've never like doling out the transports too much, as I'm never quite sure what proportions to use. I've had a long habit of supplying SPAC and SWPAC directly from the states, which I'm sure isn't the most efficient way. I'll probably work out of Pearl for that. I've tried using Christmas Is in the past, but it's not really big enough for anything serious. I'll most likely use xAKLs with AMs for the dispersed supply runs.

It depends on my escort situation, too. Lots of 4-stackers were at San Diego. Kind of a second-rate escort for my carrier there. The CV there is enroute to SF, so I can get things pieced together. I'm not sure how many APDs I'll really need, so I tend to favor converting the Wickes and Clemsons to DEs. Not sure if an older Caldwell is in the game or not. One of them was converted to an APD in 1940.

No idea what to do with Pearl's BBs yet. They'll put a serious fuel crunch wherever I send them.

In a previous PBEM, I managed to lose all my carriers by Jan 42. My opponent began a serious anti-commerce campaign against Oz. The Aussies were reduced to burning cow dung to heat their food, and I couldn't run any serious offensives out of there. I probably lost a hundred tankers. In this vein, I'm paranoid about protection. I try to think outside the box, but in my history, that box has been a straitjacket. As a result, I'm listening.

With the situation to start with, I don't have much hope for the shipping in Philippines and Singapore. It'll be lots of 1 and 2 ship groups to escape. It looks like 1/3 to 1/2 my subs in Manila are still operational (didn't count yet), so I'll probably put the S-boats on the north coast and the fleet boats to Japan. I've always been pretty good at the sub war with at least 1 - 2 encounters a day once they're in place. It all depends on the torps, though. The Nautilus', et al with the 5" and 6" guns will be dedicated to Japan. I prize them rather highly. Likewise, Argonaut will keep the mine gear. I'm not planning any Makin Is skamboogery right now.

Enterprise is enroute to Pearl, skirting the sub to approach from the SE. Lexington is moving at flank speed to about 5 hexes E of Wake for a spite raid. She'll return to Pearl via the North Pacific. Sara is enroute to SF to get some escorts to Pearl, and maybe cover a convoy on the way.

I haven't spent any PPs yet. I work E to W in my turns, and am at Oz now. I plan a full Stalinist purge of the Chinese army to get the sycophants and other losers out of power. As they restock between missions, more aggressive sub commanders will make it in, too. There's a lot of inertia behind the Army of the United States, with few being deployable at this point. I'll get the Marines set up at Pearl and resist the urge to "do something".

Either way, I plan on finishing this no matter how badly I may do. After playing this long, does it matter who really wins? Not that I won't try, though. There's always better stuff on the horizon anyway.

Ed-

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/26/2014 8:35:36 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

Sub situation, Manila:

I'm able to send 14 patrols out. 12 are in dry-dock from damage. Lots of 60s and 70s for flooding. Most should be out within 10 days or less. The rest are combat losses.

Could have been worse.

Fleet boats are heading to Japan and Formosa. One headed to Saigon, too. The S-boats are heading to the usual landing sites. The way Cannonfodder has kicked this off, I could be assuming wrong, but I have to start somewhere.

I'll see what I can contribute from the Dutch boats. I hate patrolling Java Sea, being as shallow as it is. I always get the snot kicked out of me in those areas.

Ed-

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Post #: 8

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/27/2014 4:19:35 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

08 December 1941

Stuff's moving.

PoW and Repulse finally went down. I sortied them out about 4 hexes to try and catch something. They wound up getting caught before they could auto-disperse into port.

Landings at Kota Bharu started yesterday and are continuing. A Dutch SS hit a transport there. Mersing's getting landed upon today. I also have an APD landing going on at Palembang. Mines and coast defenses got some hits in, but not enough. Cannonfodder seems to be taking the quick and direct route. Ocean Is just went down.

A fleeing xAP in the Philippines ran into the Akagi/Kaga division of KB. No shots, but a helpful sighting. This was in the SW region off the Philippines near Taytay. I had a report that a PBY landed a hit on a Hiryu class CV in that area, but in the combat report, it appears that the Hiryu/Soryu division is covering the Palembang landings. I'm guessing the 'Kakus are dealing with Singapore.

The good side of this is that I have a free hand on the other side of the pond. Lex is working over the transports at Wake. Just some SBDs flew out, and I didn't get a full strike. I'll give it another day. I'll probably give Kwajalein some love in the near future, also.

No landings yet in the Philippines. All air at this point, with a good blockade of the islands going on. Some of the escapees are getting sunk. The RN DDs from Hong Kong also went down after repeated encounters with IJN DDs. Houston, Boise, and a good chunk of the Asiatic Fleet are making for Balikpapan right now. My feeling is that he's going to deal with the PIs at some later point, taking all the goodies first.

I haven't gone into the turn proper yet. I'll see if anything is happening in the Rabaul area.

Ed-

< Message edited by Mundy -- 7/27/2014 5:37:21 PM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/27/2014 6:58:20 PM

Mike McCreery

Posts: 4232
Joined: 6/29/2013
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

Thanks for the input. It's a long war, and I'll feel my way through this. The converse to the splitting up of his patrols is that many of them will be wasting their time patrolling quiet ports.

It's served me in good stead so far, but I will keep it in mind. My idea with this is not so much the supply side as a place to ship the troops out. I've never like doling out the transports too much, as I'm never quite sure what proportions to use. I've had a long habit of supplying SPAC and SWPAC directly from the states, which I'm sure isn't the most efficient way. I'll probably work out of Pearl for that. I've tried using Christmas Is in the past, but it's not really big enough for anything serious. I'll most likely use xAKLs with AMs for the dispersed supply runs.

It depends on my escort situation, too. Lots of 4-stackers were at San Diego. Kind of a second-rate escort for my carrier there. The CV there is enroute to SF, so I can get things pieced together. I'm not sure how many APDs I'll really need, so I tend to favor converting the Wickes and Clemsons to DEs. Not sure if an older Caldwell is in the game or not. One of them was converted to an APD in 1940.

No idea what to do with Pearl's BBs yet. They'll put a serious fuel crunch wherever I send them.

In a previous PBEM, I managed to lose all my carriers by Jan 42. My opponent began a serious anti-commerce campaign against Oz. The Aussies were reduced to burning cow dung to heat their food, and I couldn't run any serious offensives out of there. I probably lost a hundred tankers. In this vein, I'm paranoid about protection. I try to think outside the box, but in my history, that box has been a straitjacket. As a result, I'm listening.

With the situation to start with, I don't have much hope for the shipping in Philippines and Singapore. It'll be lots of 1 and 2 ship groups to escape. It looks like 1/3 to 1/2 my subs in Manila are still operational (didn't count yet), so I'll probably put the S-boats on the north coast and the fleet boats to Japan. I've always been pretty good at the sub war with at least 1 - 2 encounters a day once they're in place. It all depends on the torps, though. The Nautilus', et al with the 5" and 6" guns will be dedicated to Japan. I prize them rather highly. Likewise, Argonaut will keep the mine gear. I'm not planning any Makin Is skamboogery right now.

Enterprise is enroute to Pearl, skirting the sub to approach from the SE. Lexington is moving at flank speed to about 5 hexes E of Wake for a spite raid. She'll return to Pearl via the North Pacific. Sara is enroute to SF to get some escorts to Pearl, and maybe cover a convoy on the way.

I haven't spent any PPs yet. I work E to W in my turns, and am at Oz now. I plan a full Stalinist purge of the Chinese army to get the sycophants and other losers out of power. As they restock between missions, more aggressive sub commanders will make it in, too. There's a lot of inertia behind the Army of the United States, with few being deployable at this point. I'll get the Marines set up at Pearl and resist the urge to "do something".

Either way, I plan on finishing this no matter how badly I may do. After playing this long, does it matter who really wins? Not that I won't try, though. There's always better stuff on the horizon anyway.

Ed-

If you are in fear of losing tankers it might benefit you to try to support Diego Garcia and ship fuel to CT and then either to Diego or directly to the west coast of Australia.

Even if he takes perth and everything north of that you can still get long haulers into Melborne pretty safely. He will have to use lots of assets if he wants to defend fuel re-supply from there.

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Post #: 10

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/27/2014 7:37:13 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

It hasn't gotten to that point, and as long as I preserve my carriers, I think I'll be okay. Right now I can run roughshod over the east half of the map if I choose.

Abadan's mostly going to be dumping fuel into India proper, with occasional runs to Ceylon.

When stocks are high, I'll send an occasional convoy from Cape Town to Perth. The states will supply the rest, though I haven't really decide how to structure everything.

I have a quick strike sortie going out from Balikpapan to the area between Borneo and Mindanao, since I see a CVL prowling. Boise and Houston are enroute from the north to rendezvous with this group. I've had a decent history of pulling off intercepts on occasion.

I've been having issues getting Tracker and Combat Reporter working, since I reformatted my machine. Various Java errors. As the allies, I don't use Tracker as much as Reporter. Tracker is useful for letting me know when an LCU reaches its destination.

I want to start supplying all the little bases around. I have that on hold around Pearl, as the ocean is teeming with subs. I have four ASW groups of DDs patrolling. I landed one hit on the 8th. Small victories...

Ed-

Ed-

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/27/2014 7:41:17 PM

Lowpe

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Don't run fuel from Off map to Ceylon. Grab a port on the western tip of India close to Ceylon and ship it in from there.

Make sure Ceylon is safe first though. I would be tempted to buy out the big AA there and move it to India proper.

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Post #: 12

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/27/2014 9:06:58 PM

BBfanboy

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

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

It hasn't gotten to that point, and as long as I preserve my carriers, I think I'll be okay. Right now I can run roughshod over the east half of the map if I choose.

Abadan's mostly going to be dumping fuel into India proper, with occasional runs to Ceylon.

When stocks are high, I'll send an occasional convoy from Cape Town to Perth. The states will supply the rest, though I haven't really decide how to structure everything.

I have a quick strike sortie going out from Balikpapan to the area between Borneo and Mindanao, since I see a CVL prowling. Boise and Houston are enroute from the north to rendezvous with this group. I've had a decent history of pulling off intercepts on occasion.

I've been having issues getting Tracker and Combat Reporter working, since I reformatted my machine. Various Java errors. As the allies, I don't use Tracker as much as Reporter. Tracker is useful for letting me know when an LCU reaches its destination.

I want to start supplying all the little bases around. I have that on hold around Pearl, as the ocean is teeming with subs. I have four ASW groups of DDs patrolling. I landed one hit on the 8th. Small victories...

Ed-

Ed-

I find Perth to be a little exposed for supply convoys. With little in the way of search north of Perth, KB or MKB can come calling without much warning. Many Japanese players also send CL/DD raiding TFs around that area.
I prefer to ship to Adelaide or Pt. Augusta. The latter feeds the rail line to Alice Springs and it seems when I unload a ship at Pt. Augusta, a little more supply finds its way to Darwin.

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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 #: 13

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/28/2014 12:44:41 AM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. Playing on my own for this long, I wind up with my own preconceived notions, which may be off the mark.

09 Dec 42 - The tide continues

Kota Bharu, Mersing, Palembang, Nauru Island and Tarawa all fall. You'd think Cannonfodder's done this type of thing before...

Also, troops are landing at Aparri, so the PI aren't on hold.

My surface adventure went to ashes. De Ruyter is sunk with Boise and Houston suffering significant damage. I should be able to save them. I got close to a surface group but KB/mini-KB got too close. A dumb mistake I'll try not to repeat. Air trumps everything here. None of the DDs got touched, though.

I think it's time to cut my losses with regard to Singapore. Sweeps and CAP are making everything I do irrevalent. Time to save what I can. I should be able to get most everyone on Malaya to Johore Bahru and Singapore proper. At least bleed him in the final battle. I can't even get the shipping out between the Netties and a division of KB there.

Time also to ship the Dutch subs over to a blockade of Palambang to mess with his fuel supply. I hate using subs in the Java Sea, as mine always get smacked there.

I guess once DEI and PI are taken, that's less of the map for me to worry about.

[EDIT] Forgot to mention, troops are on the beach at Rabaul, also. I plan to get something credible at Port Moresby as soon as I can.

Ed

< Message edited by Mundy -- 7/28/2014 12:43:56 PM >

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Post #: 14

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/28/2014 9:36:03 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

11 Dec 1941

Landings at Vigan and Kavieng today.

CL Adelaide made a run into Rabaul. I let it through, since it was pretty much small stuff there. It started well, but she started taking too many hits. Very little flt and fire, but I'm in the 40s sys-wise. Some hits inflicted, but not enough.

Asiatic fleet (damaged Boise and 6 four-stackers) had repeated encounters with Nachi and 3 DDs. The first encounter was inconclusive with a few hits on each side. USN was surprised in later encounters and Boise ate a torp. A division of KB wound up hitting them at Balikpapan before they could disperse. I'll have to get out what I can.

The Lexington group, finding no more ships at Wake, pounded the airfield on the way out. Damage wasn't too impressive, even with the SB2Us on board.

I plan on a more complete planning of this turn. Some areas (India & most of China), I've been ignoring for awhile. It's been awhile since I've dealt with Dec '41, and I've been used to turns humming along with minimal tweaking, so I have to get back in the groove of things. Normally I can get through a turn in 40 minutes.

I'm getting my CVs concentrated at Pearl. Enterprise is in dry dock, since I ran her at flank on the 8th. Ships don't seem to like that much. Sara's enroute from SF with a non-4-stacker escort of DDs. I found Charleston in Seattle and am sending her to San Fran for escort work. In a prior game, Charleston was escorting a convoy which got caught by IJN AMCs. She dealt the punishment pretty well to them.

I'm going to forward deploy the PTs at Manila for a futile run on the transports. Anything to throw a wrench, if possible. I have a lot of ships there that would normally be long gone by now. Two divisions of KB are making that difficult. I ran one big convoy of transports out due east, straight to Pearl. I'm thinking that's the safest way right now. The KB divs are at the W and SW ends of the PI.

RNLAF attacked a TF centered around Haruna which was brazenly sailing down the Java Sea, due east of Batavia. It looks like a 300kg bomb isn't enough, as one hit to little effect.

Ed-

< Message edited by Mundy -- 12/17/2014 1:26:54 PM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/29/2014 4:52:27 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
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I've been thinking. (I seem to do most of my WITP thinking at work...)

Depending on how long KB stays tied up way out west, I'm wondering what offensives I can start, when practicable. I'm thinking long and hard over the Marshalls. That would give Palmyra, Johnston, Christmas, etc some breathing space, and possibly be a good spot to work from.

Probably the biggest constraint would be the stacking limits. I don't know offhand how many troops I can pile into those areas.

I'm probably getting ahead of myself. The Marines haven't even left the West Coast yet. I'll need lots of land based air to hold these, plus lots of construction troops. It will be mid-'42 before I have Seabees coming out of my ears. I won't know where to put them at that point.

At this point, I have no clue how far east Cannonfodder's going to push the Empire. With his opening move on Manila, my gut feeling is that of a more Asia-centric plan. No clue even if he's serious about New Guinea and the Solomons yet. Rabaul and Kavieng were landed upon fairly quickly, but those were rather minimalist forces. I do intend on getting Aussies into Moresby as quickly as possible -- especially units of 40mm guns. En masse, those will do a number on dive bombers, as witnessed in another game.

The urge to "do something" is high, but I'm going to beat that down. Playing WITP is like herding glaciers.

Ed-

< Message edited by Mundy -- 7/29/2014 5:54:51 PM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/29/2014 6:42:21 PM

CowboyRonin

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Start working on reinforcing your existing bases, stake out a position in SOPAC, plan to replace the CPNAB units when they vanish, and you will feel the logistical pinch. Between logistical issues, refits, and LBA upgrades and training, I think the historical timeline of August, 1942 is about the earliest you can take something away from him that he already has. There are some places you can hold if you get there first; I would use that to channel your "do something" energies.

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/29/2014 6:51:19 PM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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I agree.

Suva tends to get early attention from me, with some construction as I can spare for Pago Pago. I've never had to use the latter much in the past, but you never know. I usually like to build up Christmas Is, due to its large capacity for holding troops. (plus it's an atoll). It's a nice waypoint for the shorter ranged stuff.

As we speak, I have an ARD enroute to Suva from San Fran. I'll do my best to forget it exists until it gets there. At 5 knots, it will be awhile. I'll funnel an AR there too, when I can. I think I start with only 3 ARs, so they're quite precious. One of them will go to Dutch Harbor to keep the subs going.

Being Iron Babes, he's got a bit more to work with.

Ed-

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/29/2014 8:58:59 PM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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12 Dec 42,

Adelaide met her end a couple hexes from Rabaul from the relentlessly perusing CL and DDs. I think my mistakes are pretty much over with now. Time to move on.

Rabaul falls. Landings at Wewak and the next base over to the west. Kavieng also taken. This all looks like the usual initial Japanese moves. At Hong Kong, another deliberate attack kills 1200 Japanese to my 400.

My escapees from Singapore and Manila are getting hit. Losses will be heavy, but something should survive from each. Langley went down. I'm always sentimental over that ship and always try to preserve her. I have a beautiful 1/700 kit of her I'll start someday when I get the courage.

I was careless in Lexington's departure from Wake and they strayed too far south. Nells with escorts made a couple runs. The F3A managed to down a couple each of Nells and Zekes. No hits on my ships. If need be, I'll turbo out of there, but I may not need to. I think that's enough to dissuade me from any cheap early invasions right now.

Haruna's down near Soerbaja now. 9 more B-10s made a run to no effect. I'll have to see if I have any torp capable planes near at this point.

The P-40s from Manila/Clark have been moving to Cagayan. I'll be hopscotching them over to Soerbaja and/or Darwin. I want to get them to Moresby as soon as possible. I've been eating through PPs, so they won't all go at once. The B-17s are already at Darwin training up. If they have the range, they may be visiting northern New Guinea. The base fragments scattered along the north Oz coast are being rounded up for shipment to Darwin. All my opponents seem to take those bases anyway, so why leave those assets there? I think I'll be starting a convoy to Darwin to beef it up. I'll be stockpiling supplies and fuel there like cans of Spam before Armageddon. I've already send most of the long range (10,000+) xAKs and xAPs to the States. Queen E departed on the 8th. I kept her at cruising speed as she's a high maintenance b***h that accumulates sys without provocation.

I'm not sure his Manila first plan was a real good one, apart from sealing that area up tight. I've got 5 unmolested VP squadrons I can get deployed. All the bomber and fighter squadrons, while short to start with, are better off than if they got clobbered. I would say that within a month, I will be getting them deployed as well. Oz needs all the fighter help it can get at this point. Looking at my pool, it seems the only planes I have in over-abundance are Kingfishers. I'd trade them for Wildcats in a heartbeat -- even for -3As.

I'm having fun.

Ed

< Message edited by Mundy -- 7/29/2014 10:25:14 PM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/30/2014 9:58:38 PM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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13 Dec 1941,

Bases falling today:

Praboemoelih (next to Palembang)
Tabiteuea (by Tarawa)
Tuguegarao
Wewak
Aitape
Landing at Buin -- probably taken next turn. (I do like the new map with it separated from Shortlands Is)

along with the usual hits suffered by the Chinese.

Apart from that, escapees from the Philippines are getting hit badly. I think the big group heading East for Pearl may be past the worst of it. Anything that survives Singapore and the PI at this point is just gravy.

Haruna's only two hexes from Soerbaja, so I'm sortieing the two PT groups in front of her... just because. You never know.

Dutch subs and the S-boats seem more interested in hitting DDs rather than the transports, with predictable results.

Within the week, I should have 3 CVs together at Pearl. I'm unsure whether to send them towards Oz yet or not. I have enough air searches going on past the Darwin channel and the Rabaul route where I should detect Kido Butai if they try to run through. He's probably going to work down the Solomons on the cheap, so maybe a punch in the face there would be worthwhile, possibly causing him to re-align his carriers.

I don't want to beat up my SBD squadrons yet. One thing I noticed is that if the US carriers mostly survive, keeping all the dive bombers up to date will reach a crisis point in January with the pool not keeping up. I'd hate to use dash 1s to fill them out.

Ed-

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 7/31/2014 9:27:48 PM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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14 Dec 1941

The big mob of escapees got caught by Ise, Hyuga and 3 DDs about 8 hexes E of Leyte. Six ships survived that and the following KB Div raid over the day. Half of them are undamaged, and I separated them from the cripples. I figure the skies are full of scouts, so it was probably apparent.

The Haruna group hit some ships near Soerbaja, inflicting harm.
[EDIT] Both PT groups did intercept them, but to no effect, on either side.

Troops finally landing on Guam.

IJA just bombarding at Hong Kong for now. probably resting up for the final go.

The big mob of Singapore escapees have cleared the Sabanag corner towards Ceylon. They are fairly likely to make it. I'll wind up working them into the Rangoon convoys. There hasn't been much activity around Burma yet, apart from sporadic air raids. I've moved the pitiful RAF squadrons out towards Mandalay and put a squadron of AVG in right now, training the other two squadrons. The one TF of Indian troops bound for Singapore has been re-routed to Rangoon. I'm looking at eventually 2 divisions of USA troops when I can get them over. Airplanes, too. I think the 13th AF lives there normally. I also want Akyab and the bases to its north beefed up with defenses. I've also set Calcutta to draw more supplies. Historically, I've run a lot between there and Rangoon.

No idea what to do with Hermes and the rest of the RN. The Malay peninsula is probably the biggest, most effective road block in the game. When the RN CVs come in, the temptation is great to send them to Australia's east coast to cooperate with the USN. Don't think I'll do that this time.

My biggest fantasy is to hit one of those KB divisions will all three of my USN CVs. Too far to be realistic, but I am going to send them to Suva for now.

[EDIT] Meant to add... I've been shipping some of the Dutch base and infantry troops scattered SE of Soerbaja out, attaching them to SWPac. I'm getting them to Moresby so that I have something there. I'll refrain from stating that I'll defend PM to the last Dutchman.

Ed-

< Message edited by Mundy -- 8/1/2014 1:38:09 PM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/1/2014 6:07:57 PM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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15 Dec 1941

Not a whole not of new action.

Buin falls
Landing at Manado. Not sure how many will land after this turn. APs looked matched when the Dutch Bombarded them.
Deliberate attack on Guam - still holding.

I have indulged in a spite mission. 4 BBs + escorts from Pearl are probably going to bombard Wake next turn. They've probably been spotted this turn, but it will probably be too late. Once this is over, I'll worry about getting Battleship Row updated to 1940's standards. I'm unsure if I should leave them at Pearl or send them stateside. They won't be eating up dry-dock space.

I'm not thrilled with the Manado landings. I was looking at routing the fighter squadrons from PI there, but I'll have to settle for Tarakan.

Cannonfodder noted that he'd never seen ships flee eastwards from the Philippines before. My response is that I had little choice, with KB broken up all over the place. None taking the DEI route made it. The Singapore fugitives heading west look safe now.

Ed-

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/1/2014 7:00:11 PM

BBfanboy

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From: Winnipeg, MB
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Do NOT use PH for your BB upgrades. You will need the dockyard to repair carriers and cruisers, and do their upgrades closer to the action so as to lessen their transit time.

Some BBs will have another upgrade pending within a short time after they finish their January one. Some of the upgrades can go 180 days but you end up with a really improved ship
with dual purpose 5"/38s, and good radars. Look at the next upgrades for each ship and decide which dockyard to use.
I try to not overload SFO, making more use of Seattle, Alameda, Mare Island, LA and San Diego. I even sent a couple to Eastern USA since they were going to the IO afterward.

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/1/2014 7:49:10 PM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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They generally don't use drydock space when upgrading, do they? Generally the drydock and non-drydock settings both result in the same number of days out.

Dealing with this for all my BBs is a new novelty for me. I'll most likely send them to SF/Mare Is. It'll probably be first half of January before Colorado and Warspite are done.

I know the upgrades for these come pretty early in '42. Likewise the carriers will also be up. I may just run the CVs through one at a time. All around, AA on capital ships at start is pretty pathetic. Looking forward to offloading the 8 inchers on the Lexingtons.

I'm no stranger to this. Like I said, having all my BBs is probably the only "weird" thing I'm dealing with so far.

I remember in the RA5 scenario, I was playing PBEM, the Omahas had an option to convert to CLAA. That one never seemed worth it.

Ed-

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/1/2014 7:56:25 PM

CowboyRonin

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If an upgrade requires a certain shipyard size, the ship will go into the shipyard when it begins the refit(the message also indicates this). You can go into the port the next turn and switch them to Pierside repair, there is no difference in delay time. So, the BBs will want to hog the yards, but you can kick them out

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/1/2014 8:27:09 PM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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That's how I remember it. I'll have to review the upgrade setting on the fleet. No rush, since I don't think anything's due until at least Jan.

16 Dec 1941

Operation WakeSpite has concluded.

quote:

Night Naval bombardment of Wake Island at 136,98

Allied Ships
BB Oklahoma
BB Nevada
BB West Virginia
BB Maryland
CA Minneapolis
CL St. Louis
DD Allen
DD Dale
DD Monaghan
DD Farragut

Japanese ground losses:
538 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 17
Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 5

BB Oklahoma firing at Kure 1st SNLF
BB Nevada firing at Wake Island
BB West Virginia firing at Sasebo 2nd SNLF
BB Maryland firing at Wake Island
CA Minneapolis firing at Sasebo 2nd SNLF
CL St. Louis firing at Wake Island
DD Allen firing at Kure 1st SNLF
DD Dale firing at Wake Island
DD Monaghan firing at Wake Island
DD Farragut firing at Wake Island

Hopefully, they're reduced to eating those little flightless birds.

My usual lax attention to detail nearly bit me here. The TF came in directly from the E, but egressed to the SE, which put them in range of the Nells in the Marshalls. Maryland ate a torp, but it never got through the armour. No FLT damage on anyone -- just the regular damage from running them at flank speed. I did forget to have the Kingfishers and Seagulls night recon. It's been awhile and I'm out of practice.

In other news...

Guam and Hong Kong fend off more attacks.
Things are static on Manado. I don't think he brought enough troops. I'll upgrade the commander of the infantry there.
Landings on Ternate
Landing at Adak(!) I'm definitely going to rush more stuff to Dutch Harbor. The airfield there takes forever to get to level 1. I don't think there's much supporting that landing.
KB divs still prowling PI and Singapore. One division hits Singapore with a strike.
Zuiho takes a shot at the PI fugitives heading east. Must be out of torps. Bombs to no effect.

Eight DDs arrived at Panama. I'll put them to good use. Exactly two weeks until York shows up. I'll leave two DDs behind for an escort.

One thing I haven't really accounted for are his battleships. I've only seen the Harunas in the DEI. Not a peep out of the rest. As weak as the RAF and especially the RAAF are, I could see something happening in their territories.

Ed

[EDIT] Bunch of ships sitting at Cagayan. Appears to be a mix of transports and support ships. No landings yet.

< Message edited by Mundy -- 8/1/2014 9:40:47 PM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/1/2014 9:57:49 PM

BBfanboy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: CowboyRonin

If an upgrade requires a certain shipyard size, the ship will go into the shipyard when it begins the refit(the message also indicates this). You can go into the port the next turn and switch them to Pierside repair, there is no difference in delay time. So, the BBs will want to hog the yards, but you can kick them out

True for most upgrades. However, if an upgrade or conversion causes engineering or flotation damage, the ship must remain in the dockyard until it is all gone and only system damage is left.

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/2/2014 3:59:04 AM

Mundy

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From: Neenah
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17 Dec 1941

Johore Bahru falls. His Dec 8 landing at Mersing pretty much wrapped that up quickly

Not counting China, everything else under siege holds.

I-170 puts a torp into West Virginia, despite running at flank speed. This put 34 Flt damage on her. I'll back her speed down to mission speed. 4 Destroyers didn't do their job. IJN subs have always been a thorn in my side, turning decisive victories into Pyrrhic ones.

We got 3 turns in today, which is pretty good for doing this across 7 time zones. I was a little late getting to this, since I was enjoying watching the Brewers beat down the Cardinals. My record is a couple of 5 turn days with Treespider -- both on a Saturday.

Ed-

< Message edited by Mundy -- 8/2/2014 4:59:29 AM >

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/2/2014 1:45:35 PM

CowboyRonin

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The spring US DD upgrades will really change the balance of power. Right now, a lot of your DDs are ASW 2, after the upgrades, they will be ASW 6. Not that they won't still sting you, but they will start dying more often when they show themselves.

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RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder - 8/2/2014 1:54:31 PM

HansBolter

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

That's how I remember it. I'll have to review the upgrade setting on the fleet. No rush, since I don't think anything's due until at least Jan.

16 Dec 1941

Operation WakeSpite has concluded.

quote:

Night Naval bombardment of Wake Island at 136,98

Allied Ships
BB Oklahoma
BB Nevada
BB West Virginia
BB Maryland
CA Minneapolis
CL St. Louis
DD Allen
DD Dale
DD Monaghan
DD Farragut

Japanese ground losses:
538 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 17
Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 5

BB Oklahoma firing at Kure 1st SNLF
BB Nevada firing at Wake Island
BB West Virginia firing at Sasebo 2nd SNLF
BB Maryland firing at Wake Island
CA Minneapolis firing at Sasebo 2nd SNLF
CL St. Louis firing at Wake Island
DD Allen firing at Kure 1st SNLF
DD Dale firing at Wake Island
DD Monaghan firing at Wake Island
DD Farragut firing at Wake Island

Hopefully, they're reduced to eating those little flightless birds.

My usual lax attention to detail nearly bit me here. The TF came in directly from the E, but egressed to the SE, which put them in range of the Nells in the Marshalls. Maryland ate a torp, but it never got through the armour. No FLT damage on anyone -- just the regular damage from running them at flank speed. I did forget to have the Kingfishers and Seagulls night recon. It's been awhile and I'm out of practice.

In other news...

Guam and Hong Kong fend off more attacks.
Things are static on Manado. I don't think he brought enough troops. I'll upgrade the commander of the infantry there.
Landings on Ternate
Landing at Adak(!) I'm definitely going to rush more stuff to Dutch Harbor. The airfield there takes forever to get to level 1. I don't think there's much supporting that landing.
KB divs still prowling PI and Singapore. One division hits Singapore with a strike.
Zuiho takes a shot at the PI fugitives heading east. Must be out of torps. Bombs to no effect.

Eight DDs arrived at Panama. I'll put them to good use. Exactly two weeks until York shows up. I'll leave two DDs behind for an escort.

One thing I haven't really accounted for are his battleships. I've only seen the Harunas in the DEI. Not a peep out of the rest. As weak as the RAF and especially the RAAF are, I could see something happening in their territories.

Ed

[EDIT] Bunch of ships sitting at Cagayan. Appears to be a mix of transports and support ships. No landings yet.

Doesn't the Yorkie enter at San Diego (she does in scenario 10 anyway). I always send those 8 DDs that enter at Balboa to San Diego to meet her.

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