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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 5:57:35 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Burma and India:

2 enemy divisions at Diamond Harbour, 3 at Calcutta. Some enemy infiltrators on the Indian/Burma border. I'm trying to cut behind one unit southwest of Ledo.

Repulse and friends just bombarded Diamond Harbour and are headed to Ceylon.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 5:59:59 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Celebes and Timor:

More bypassed bases here. Koepang is being built up. I got SigInt of a small air support unit planning for Bima. Very quiet area lately.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 6:03:16 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Java

In the east, the Dutch hold only Soerbaja. The Dutch do hold the western tip of the island still. The enemy advance has been slow, and more units have been arriving here. The only base held in strength by the Dutch is the inland mountain base south of Batavia.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 6:05:41 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Northern Australia

The north is held lightly by the enemy. Some armor is known to be at Katherine, and they arrived after the north was taken. No sign of a new advance here. Probably just a defensive move.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 6:07:33 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Sumatra

Padang is the only base still held by the Dutch, and it is contested. Otherwise quiet here.




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Post #: 425
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 6:09:18 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Northern China

All quiet here for quite awhile.




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Post #: 426
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 6:15:18 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Southern China

The only activity here is an enemy offensive pushing west from Canton. Kwangchowan will fall, but I'll hold it as long as I can. The enemy is using a bunch of bombers and they are very effective in the clear terrain here. I will defend the river line to the north. This is not a huge enemy offensive, but the commitment is enough to clear the coast.

Supply is a critical part of defending China. I monitor supply by tracking what is in the capital every turn. Supply steadily dwindled down to about 15k over the months, but is now increasing slightly, on average, each turn. Chungking currently has 21922. Transports from Ledo are flying the Hump. Only Changsha is still building forts, and no units are still taking replacements. They did for awhile, especially in critical areas.




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Post #: 427
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 6:19:50 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		The Gilberts

Quiet. Some building by the enemy on Tabiteuea. Little activity seen in this area.

I'm considering landings at Tabiteuea, Ocean Island, and Nauru Island after my Guadalcanal landings. This would be a threat to heading northwest toward Truk without taking the rest of the Solomons. Just thinking at this point. A lot depends on the enemy response to my Solomons landings.

I have to keep telling myself that it is still early in the war. I have all of the big carriers I'm going to have until an Essex shows up in mid 1943. It's only the beginning of July 1942. I need to be patient more than aggressive. But I will do what I can.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 6:31:25 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		The Solomons

Last, and certainly not least, the Solomon Islands.

My invasion armada met at Efate and is headed north. My planned landings are:

Tulagi - Enemy held, but I believe lightly held. I'm committing the 1st Marine Division and a small amphibious armor unit.

Lunga - Repeated recon shows no enemy troops. I will drop paratroopers before I land troops amphibiously. If the base is empty, I'll avoid losses for troops not prepped sufficiently. A US division will arrive here, over time, after the initial landings.

Tassafronga - Paras will drop here also and then be reinforced.

Rennel Island - This base is unoccupied and still Allied controlled.

All bases will get engineers and base forces, as well as other troops, in a follow-up wave.

US carriers Enterprise, Yorktown, Hornet, Wasp, Saratoga, and Lexington are involved, as well as Brit carriers Indomitable and Illustrious. KB is in the Singapore area at the moment. The only Allied battleship here is Prince of Wales. 3 US CLAA's are here.

I do fear enemy surface fleets. I expect them to sortie from Rabaul. I'm using xAP's and xAK's, so unloading will not be as quick as I'd like. I've made the decision not to risk any AP's or AK's that upgrade later to APA's and AKA's. I will accept some losses for taking these bases.

Then I want to hold these bases against an expected counter-attack. Allied carriers will defend these bases, even if KB comes calling. I'm willing to commit the carriers if I have friendly airbases in the immediate area. Building up my bases will be critical.

The invasions should be in about 3 days.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 11:30:44 AM   
jmalter

 

Posts: 1673
Joined: 10/12/2010
Status: offline 		hi apb,

thanks for the overview & good luck w/ your Solomons excursion. No doubt I'm not telling you the news, but a fully-prepped unit containing Naval Support coming in w/ the 1st wave will make a big difference w/ getting the hvy equipment unloaded ASAP.

Good on ya for not risking your future APA/AKAs, those ships are far too valuable! Mine are safely holed up at Mare Island, awaiting conversion. But now that I think about it, I'll try an experiment - look through them, mebbe upgrade a few captains, put a few into TFs that will either Patrol or CS:Supply between Mare & Alameda. Using Tracker, I'd like to see if their crew experience builds up in the downtime months before they convert.

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Post #: 430
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/27/2015 10:52:39 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Thanks jmalter. All bases will be getting base forces of some sort. Most will have some naval support I think. I will probably advance most of my carriers closer to Shortlands to try and prevent enemy ships hitting my transports. There is some risk here. Shortlands isn't far away. But the reward for taking and building these bases will be worth it. I think.

3 Jul 42

I don't know if carriers are headed back north into the Indian Ocean, but I am sure that ships are coming. Dutch sub KXVII takes a shot at a destroyer near Little Andaman Island. The ships in the task force include battleship Haruna. I have to assume, once again, that carriers are in the area. Repulse and escorts now go full speed and should make it to Colombo, and friendly CAP, this turn.

In the Solomons, one transport task force is spotted in my armada headed north. My carriers are not spotted, but the alarm is surely raised. B-26's hit ground troops on Tulagi, and identify the 2 units there: 7th Independent SNLF Coy and C/50 JNAF Coy. Tiny units. A Marine division will be overkill, but that's ok. There are coming to hold the island, not just take it.

Next turn, paras will drop on Tassafronga. The other para drop is delayed a turn. My transports upgraded in Sydney recently, and Luganville is too far to transfer in one day. So this turn is just the Tassafronga drop. The next will be the Lunga drop. Shouldn't be an issue, as both bases still show as empty.




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< Message edited by apbarog -- 4/28/2015 12:23:38 AM >

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Post #: 431
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/29/2015 12:45:08 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		4 Jul 42

About 20 Betty's escorted (at long range) by 40 Zero's attack the armada. The huge CAP destroys many planes. 19 Betty's and 12 Zero's are downed. 4 F4F-4's and 1 Sea Hurri are lost.

Lots of enemy subs in the Solomons. It's not a great surprise where the landings will be, and the enemy is ready with subs. I-170 is run over but it misses destroyer Buchanon. My paras take Tassafronga. I miscalculated with my other paras. I thought that they could drop from Luganville to Lunga, but the range is too great. About half of my paras at Ndeni dropped on Tassafronga, so I assign the rest to drop on Lunga this turn.

Now what to do.

My armada is too far out to land amphibiously during the night. I decide that minewsweepers only will go to Tulagi and Lunga. The armada will move just 2 hexes to the northeast, and be within range of night landings the next day. Lunga will be taken by paras first.

High detection levels of my subs well east-northeast of Kavieng. Probably something big coming south from Truk. Heavy SigInt at Rabaul again.

I anticipate the enemy to try to disrupt the landings with whatever is in the area. I expect to escort my transports to landing, then I may jump forward to strike whatever is out there. If I sit back, battleships and cruisers will do high speed runs into the invasion hexes at night, and be out of range by day. I have carrier superiority here for now, so I should take advantage of that. I won't get dangerously close to Buna or shortlands though. Protecting the fleet is priority one, but I may do so from a forward position in a couple of days.

In the Indian Ocean, my ships at Colombo are getting detected by search planes from ships. My guess was right that he'd come storming back north to cut off my bombardment force of Diamond Harbour. Good thing the slow battleships were not committed. The Repulse task force, at Colombo, will head north. It made it safely to Colombo only because it did a high speed run last turn.

I don't know if there are carriers in the area, again. But like the last many weeks when I knew stuff was out there, I'm betting that carriers are there.

I did put planes on Ceylon on naval attack. Might as well try if I do ever actually spot the enemy.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 4/30/2015 12:28:19 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		5 Jul 42

Indian Ocean:

Some detection levels on the west coast of India, but this must be from subs. A multiple battleship task force is spotted near Andaman Island. A large circle of high detection here and to the west of this task force. Definitely more than one task force causing this.

An enemy sub spotted at Diamond Harbour for the first time. He may think that I'm coming back. Repulse has rounded the southern tip of India and is headed north to Bombay. The task force may go to Aden for repairs. Some damage was taken during the high speed run to Ceylon from Diamond Harbour.


Solomons:

Lunga is taken by paratroopers. It was undefended. Many enemy subs surround the armada. Between depth charge attacks and air attacks, at least a couple of enemy subs are badly damaged. 4 Glen's are shot down over the carriers.

I will move the carriers one hex southeast, away from the invasions, and stay in the shallows. This is probably the least expected move. The invasion of Tulagi will take place. A bunch of task forces head to Lunga to unload. I've decided that the reinforcements for Tassafronga will unload at Lunga instead, and walk. I'm already long range capping Tulagi, Lunga, and Rennel Island. I need to keep good CAP over the carriers. Tassafronga is the least important base for immediate reinforcements.

Shortlands has few planes now. I see no enemy task forces or high detection in the area.

Both Tulagi and Lunga get a cruiser force to protect the landings. In theory anyhow.




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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/1/2015 12:37:30 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		6 Jul 42

Solomons:

Landings continue unopposed except for enemy subs. Big xAP Limerick takes a torpedo hit from I-24. Damage is moderate. Limerick continues to Lunga and starts unloading. Barring another hit, Limerick should survive.

Allied carriers have been hanging back protecting the invasions. Next turn, all carriers move 8 hexes to a point well north of Tulagi. If there are enemy ships inbound, I may catch them a turn before arriving. If not, I'm showing an aggressive move that will make the enemy think twice about being safe from my carriers.




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Post #: 434
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/1/2015 12:44:50 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		6 Jul 42

Indian Ocean:

And there they are again! Enemy task force spotted lurking out in the Indian Ocean. No carrier spotted. KB may be there, but I think that this time at least part of KB is headed to the Solomons. The Japanese are stuck having to protect all those troops stalemated at Diamond Harbour and Calcutta. I've done enough to look like I may be trying something here, having bombarded Diamond Harbour. But I'm not up to anything here. Just can't cut off Diamond Harbour without naval superiority here.

Big Allied tanker full of fuel is torpedoed and sunk near Calicut. This task force was headed south to Ceylon, but turned around after the latest threat. A waste. It is headed back to Karachi to unload and then back off the map.




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Post #: 435
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/1/2015 10:18:59 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		7 Jul 42

Solomon's landings continue unopposed. I have lots of juicy targets here. I spotted some enemy task force between Buin and Rabaul during the night. If the enemy was coming, I'm hoping that my forward move with my carriers last turn will dissuade him from coming. I mined Lunga with a Dutch minelaying ship this turn, then the ship, CM Krakatau, was sunk by I-6 just after it left Lunga. I hate to lose a minelaying ship as I like to use my mines.

As one reader suggested recently, unloading naval support troops early in an invasion helps with unloading everything else more quickly, or at all. Lunga is a port 0. I neglected to use my port units for these invasions, and now I'm paying the price with slow unloading, and some devices that won't unload at all. I'm fixing this situation as quickly as I can now.

I did capture Tulagi this turn. This was the first contested invasion for the good guys, and an overwhelming win with a whole Marine division and other assorted units. I do see about 18 units at Rabaul. I'm sure they are planning something other than sitting at Rabaul.

I moved Cat's into Tulagi this turn. That will help some with the air search.

In the Indian Ocean, US sub Skipjack spots the following near Port Blair:

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsuharu
BB Hyuga
BB Yamashiro
CA Ashigara
CS Chiyoda
DD Sagiri
DD Mochizuki
DD Sazanami
DD Akebono
DD Oboro


I still think there are carriers here. I can't imagine how much fuel the enemy has burned cruising the Indian Ocean for the past couple of months. And in my mind, taking Diamond Harbour and contesting Calcutta has accomplished nothing for the enemy. No resources or industry. It has tied down the Allies in India, but it isn't like they were going anywhere else in '42 anyhow. I consider the Calcutta stalemate a major Allied win.

Down by Mergui in Burma, sub Seadragon torpedoes a tiny AMc. Another very tiny victory for the Allied subs.




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Post #: 436
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/1/2015 10:30:21 PM   
Sangeli


Posts: 1132
Joined: 3/29/2012
From: San Francisco
Status: offline 		The Japanese advance in this game seems a little lackluster. Usually you can expect one deep move by now. So far the Japanese have scarcely advanced more then the historical lines except northern Australia which is just about standard in every game.

But even so the Japanese still have plenty of teeth still. I imagine the Japanese are planning a counter-move now in the Solomons to push you out of Guadalcanal. Or bypass it entirely and land behind it. Stockpile supply and build up forts while you still can.

And yea, bring a naval service detachment. I always keep them in my forward bases so I can fast transport or fly them in on the heels of in invasion. I prefer that to loading them in the invasion force lest they get sunk at sea; you don't get many of them and I consider them very valuable. Not to mention it saves room for the LCUs.

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Post #: 437
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/2/2015 11:04:02 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		8 Jul 42

Java:

Soerbaja has been isolated and is deliberately attacked, with a 3 to 1 attack and lowering the forts to 2. The base will fall soon, but I do like the losses, all things considered:

Japanese ground losses:
1956 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 154 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled

Allied ground losses:
2557 casualties reported
Squads: 72 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 39 destroyed, 56 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 20 (3 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Vehicles lost 31 (20 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Units destroyed 1


Singapore:

A carrier task force is spotted here. Size is not known. Getting the most of my Dutch search planes while I can.


Indian Ocean:

The enemy task force(s) moves northeast closer to Diamond Harbour, but is still hanging out in the black hole out in the Indian Ocean.


Solomons:

Zero's from Buna and/or Shortlands sweep Tulagi, coming in 2 groups. First 19 show up against 45 F4F's on long-range CAP, and the US fighters take twice as many losses. Then 27 Zero's arrive, against 18 remaining F4F's, and the US side takes far more losses. Total losses for the day are 25 F4F-4's and 14 Zero's. No enemy bombers show up.

I feel like I've overstayed my welcome with so many vulnerable AP's in the area. Almost all units still have devices loaded on ships, but unloading is terribly slow and some devices won't unload at a 0 port with no naval support troops. I decide to evacuate almost all task forces from Tulagi, Lunga, and Rennel Island. They'll mostly go to Luganville and unload. I send the remaining pieces of units back to their intended destinations, loaded on smaller ships and done so after some naval support troops are there waiting.

Allied carriers move south near Rennel Island, and no LR CAP will take place this turn. I'm taking a bit of a chance with that, as there will still be a couple of task forces unloading at Lunga, unloading mostly supply.

After this, CV Indomitable will head for Sydney to withdraw. The rest of the carriers will either refuel from AO's or go to Noumea for fuel and new planes. But there are only about a dozen new F4F's in the pool right now. I may come back and strike Buna and Shortlands just to keep the pressure on. The more the enemy delays to countering my landings the better.




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Post #: 438
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/4/2015 12:30:06 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		9 Jul 42

At Tulagi, the Zero's return and sweep again. No CAP is found, and no bombers show up afterwards. Most Allied shipping has left. A couple of small TK's unload at Tulagi, some supply is being unloaded at Lunga, and one troop convoy is unloading at Lunga also. A cruiser force stands guard.

No sign of enemy naval activity in the Solomons.

Allied carriers will now move south out of the area. Indomitable will head to Sydney to withdraw. I'm still undecided what the rest will do. I could strike Buna and Shortlands, but all that is there are aircraft, and I'm not sure which airfield has them. Probably not worth the risk. I've made my landing. Now I just need to secure it. Future advances are just that, in the future.

I-11 takes a shot at Boise headed from Tulagi to Luganville. My damaged xAP is headed that way also. Unfortunately, the xAP split off from its task force, and is now slowly headed home all by itself. This is bad and probably will not end well.

Soerbaja is bombed and attacked by artillery.

Bandjermasin, Borneo is invaded.

At Diamond Harbour, an enemy task force is spotted. Shows escorts and a TK, but that is probably wrong. Either supply coming in or troops going in or out. About 100 enemy fighter planes there now.




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Post #: 439
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/4/2015 12:58:17 AM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline 		Don't forget to land Indomitable's air group before she withdraws! Never hurts to have a few extra TBs on the Oz coast in 1942!

_____________________________

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 #: 440
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/4/2015 1:28:38 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		Great point BBfanboy. Thanks! I may even do some resizing with those groups before the carrier leaves. Nothing bigger than 27, I think. Seems fair. I do have a good number of those planes in the pool, and the Brit units are tiny.

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Post #: 441
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/5/2015 1:44:04 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		10 Jul 42

Some unloading continues at Lunga and Rennel Island. Most transports are now at Luganville unloading for future reloading. Some troops are being flown into Lunga to support ship unloading. Others are loading on ships or already on the way. Brit carriers split off and head for Sydney. US carriers head for Noumea. No sign of enemy activity in the Solomons, except for another fighter sweep of Tulagi.

Soerbaja falls. So does Bandjermasin on Borneo, and Padang on Sumatra.

Many enemy carriers are spotted at Singapore.

Enemy ships are now at Diamond Harbour and also nearby on the Burma coast. These aren't warships. Don't know what is being loaded or unloaded. My subs haven't had any luck here.



< Message edited by apbarog -- 5/5/2015 3:56:28 AM >

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Post #: 442
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/5/2015 11:02:26 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		11 Jul 42

I'd been waiting for some response to my Solomon's invasions, and today I finally got a limited response. Betty's, Kate's, and Val's, all escorted by Zero's, hit Tulagi's port and ships unloading at Lunga. I have no CAP since all of my bases are still 0 airfields (but they are working furiously on that). I had 2 small TK's sitting in Tulagi's port, waiting to unload. They are sunk. 3 xAK's unloading supply at Lunga are sunk. One xAP unloading at Lunga is damaged but will survive current damage levels.

When I finish off bringing troops and supply, next time, my carriers will escort. US carriers approach Noumea for fuel and planes.

A possible ominous spotting: an enemy transport task force is seen 10 hexes southeast of Truk. Could be coming or going to the Nauru Island area, or could be headed south to the Solomon's or the Ndeni area.

At Diamond Harbour, enemy task forces remain. Still can't tell what they are doing. Other task force(s) at Cox Bazar. Intentions not known. My sub there took a shot and missed. Doing recon here next turn.

In China, the limited enemy offensive continues west of Canton. I'll be forming a line north of the offensive, behind a river, soon. I'll eventually lose the 2 Chinese coastal bases, but I'm still defending them somewhat.


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Post #: 443
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/6/2015 10:25:21 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		12 Jul 42

Enemy sub activity around Guadalcanal, but 3 attacks fail with torpedo missing 2 destroyers and cruiser Louisville.

32 Nell's bomb Tulagi's port and hit nothing. The damaged AV had left. Port and airfield construction continues here, and at Lunga and Rennel Island.

Some Kate's fly at long range to Rennel Island and hit an unloading xAK, sinking it, and damaging a small escort. No more troops or supplies until I have some CAP here.

US carriers refuel and take planes at Noumea. They will wait here until I reload troops and supplies for the Solomons. I will bring in ships for one port at a time to simplify my CAP requirements.

I don't know what is going on at Diamond Harbour and Cox Bazaar. There are multiple enemy task forces at both. There are now 6 units spotted at Cox Bazaar, but the number at Diamond Harbour hasn't changed.

Maybe the enemy will try a push up the coast of Burma after all. I still have a Brit infantry division in reserve inland, and in Strat mode.



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Post #: 444
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/9/2015 12:48:26 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		13 Jul 42

The Solomons:

I-7 sinks AM Whippoorwill as it leaves Rennell Island. The small ship was damaged earlier at Tulagi.

At Tulagi, 5 enemy cruisers and 5 destroyers bombard. Results are weak. Some US troops are disrupted. Some fuel and supply is lost. The 11 port hits are repaired immediately and construction continues. The hex is mined, but no mine hits are detected.

Most ships at Luganville have now unloaded. All of the troops are unloaded and some ships with supply are still loaded. I begin loading ships with many fragmented units for Lunga and Tassafronga. All will unload at Lunga with carrier support. 7 unit fragments go to Lunga and 4 others go to Tassafronga, eventually.

US carriers leave Noumea and head north to escort the ships to Lunga. I think that all TBD's have been replaced with TBF's. 2 fighters units are at about half-strength with F4F-4's. Pool is emptied.

One damaged xAP is just getting to Luganville this turn. Fires shot up from the teens to the fifties. Hoping that the port saves the ship. Port size is just 3.

Java:

With Soerbaja conquered, the enemy starts to move on Batavia. It looks like it will bypass my mountain stronghold near Batavia. I'm stockpiling supply on the mountain and will hold until relieved. Hold until relieved.

An enemy task force was spotted southwest of Java, possibly with a battleship in it. Could be part of KB coming down from India. or a task force going to Cocos, or a raiding task force. Who knows. Doesn't matter. I have no ships in the area.

India:

Still multiple task forces at Diamond Harbour. Recon shows 2 fewer units there than yesterday. The enemy is loading up troops! I think that this is the correct move for my opponent. Those 5 divisions and many other units weren't accomplishing anything there. I did get intel of an armor unit planning an attack on Calcutta. This isn't new. What is new is that the intel was for a fragment of the unit. That tells me that the unit is loading at Diamond Harbour now. (There are no armor units at Calcutta.) I also suspect that troops are flying out of Diamond Harbour. It will be interesting to see how the evacuation is executed. If everything moves to Diamond Harbour together, I can move into Diamond Harbour faster than the troops can be evacuated, and Diamond Harbour does not have the huge defensive modifier that Calcutta's city terrain provides.

I decided to go with an all-out anti-naval air attack this turn, but found most of my fighter units out of transfer range to Calcutta. Most were on Ceylon. I'm moving everything closer this turn and may strike next turn. With over 100 fighters at Diamond Harbour, it will be very ugly, just like the last attempts, but I have to try to sink ships loading men. Last few times, I did as many fighter sweeps as I could, and lightly escorted the bombers. Many fighters died each try. When the sweeps went first, most bombers did get through. When the sweeps didn't, many bombers died. I'm considering not sweeping and just putting lots and lots of fighters on escort. Maybe that will help a little. Sweeping with units no bigger than 25 planes against over 100 fighers on CAP is just futile for the first few sweeping units.

(in reply to apbarog)
Post #: 445
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/9/2015 9:42:22 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		14 Jul 42

India

I plot an all-out effort for an air attack on Diamond Harbour. I plot no sweeps. I have torpedo naval bombers attacking at 6k with escorts. I have other naval bombers including divebombers attacking at 10k with escorts. I have P-39's attacking at 100 feet. I have many bombers, including heavies, hitting the airfield at 11k. All missions have escorts, but none have enough to deal with over 100 enemy fighters. I just hope that the CAP gets worn down and some bombers get through. My main goal is the enemy ships loading troops at Diamond Harbour.

Still enemy out in the middle of the Indian Ocean, lurking.

A small transport task force is spotted headed to Port Blair. I had intel of engineers heading there. This fits.


Solomons

US carriers move north from Noumea to support a follow-up landing at Lunga. Lots of enemy shipping at Rabaul, and now there's a task force at Munda. I believe this to be a landing force, as there weren't any troops there recently.


Java

The enemy has been slowly conquering Java. Today the Dutch make a small bombing attack on some tanks nearing Batavia. The interesting thing today in Java, and why I posted the picture, is that carriers are spotted at Denpassar. I am pretty sure that these ships came from west of Java, probably from India. I think there are still carriers lurking in the Indian Ocean, but it may not be KB anymore. I think that these Java carriers are just transiting, will probably refuel, and then head to the Solomons.





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(in reply to apbarog)
Post #: 446
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/10/2015 5:16:12 AM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		15 Jul 42

Near Java, a task force is seen north of the island, heading toward Singapore. May or may not be the carriers spotted last turn at Bali.

At Diamond Harbour, most of the enemy ships left. One xAK remained, and it was sunk by US Navy divebombers. The rest of the shipping is spotted near Cox Bazar. Most of my bombers targeting the airfield flew, while only those divebombers flew the naval mission. Losses were heavy but not disasterous. The B-17's acted as a decent fighter sweep, particularly since the enemy fighters were all Oscar's. 94 Oscar's were on CAP at the beginning of the raids. Airfield damage is shown to be 20 now.

Losses were:
11 P39's
6 P40E's
4 LB30's
4 SB III's
3 B-17's

10 Oscar's

I continue to target the airfield this turn, showing only about 20 fighters there now. Naval attack bombers keep their setting in case ships return.

In the Solomon's, an enemy task force is approaching the Shortlands/Buna area from Truk. It may also go to Munda. US carriers move north, stopping 5 hexes southeast of Munda. Bombers are set at range 7 with fighters only able to escort range 6. This is a risk but one I must take. My carriers also CAP transports inbound to Lunga. They won't arrive this turn but next. Others arrive on following turns.

The xAP that was on fire made it to Luganville and then sank.


In China, west of Canton, the Japanese cut off the 2 remaining coastal bases held by the Chinese. Bombing occurs in a couple of places. One is a Chinese corp in clear terrain. 2 squadrons of Chinese fighters move from Ledo to Nanning to LR CAP this hex this turn. I haven't been able to catch Japanese bombers often, but here's a chance. If they return.

(in reply to apbarog)
Post #: 447
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/10/2015 10:38:21 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		16 Jul 42

Lots of action in the Solomons.

First, US sub Grouper gets a torpedo hit on AK Sagami Maru near Green Island. A nice rare success. There were troops on the ship. Nice to hit a true AK.

Then the bad. I-171 gets a torpedo hit on CV Wasp. Fortunately just one hit. More on the damage later.

In the morning air phase, US carriers are 5 hexes from Munda, but 7 hexes from Shortlands. I anticipated the possible problem of strikes going to Shortlands with no escort, since the F4F-4's range is just 6. This happened in a big way, and it was some good news and lots of bad news.

But before that, 27 Val's escorted by 30 Zero's strike the US carriers. 89 F4F-4's are on CAP. The Zero's do a good job tying up the more numerous F4F's, and all Val's drop their bombs. 8 bombs hit CV Wasp, already damaged by the sub torpedo. The good news is that the Val's are at long range, and all bombs are 60kg bombs. Just a couple of them do real damage. Cruiser Pensacola takes a minor bomb hit also.

Then a big strike hits Tulagi's port, again. 33 Nell's and 35 Betty's are escorted by 27 Zero's. Damage is almost nothing. I'm fortunate that they weren't on naval strike.

The US replies with 54 SBD's flying to Shortlands, unescorted. 47 Zero's are on CAP. One bomb hit on an AMC that was loaded with men, and another bomb hit on a patrol boat. Most of the SBD's do not return.

There is still an enemy task force at Munda, and a big US strike hits. 54 SBD's and 45 TBF's escorted by 72 F4F-4's strike, and run into 19 Zero's on LR CAP. 3 xAK's are sunk, and destroyer Mikazuki is badly damaged. US losses are light.

Then another SBD strike goes to Shortlands. No bomb hits, and practically all 18 SBD's are shot down.

Then 8 TBF's go to Shortlands. All are shot down.

Then 62 SBD's and 14 TBF's go to Shortlands. A loaded AMC takes a bomb hit, as does 2 patrol boats. A DMS is sunk. Most SBD's are shot down. All TBF's are shot down.

Then another Munda strike. 32 SBD's and 15 TBF's, with 58 F4F-4's escort. A TB is sunk, another is damaged, and destroyer Mikazuki takes 2 more bomb hits and is badly damaged and burning.

In summary, I did hit a few ships, but not enough to justify the aircraft losses. Pilot losses were thankfully lighter, but aircraft is the Allies achilles heel. I have no F4F-4's in the pool, and the SBD pool is only about 40. I need to be more defensive with the carriers. I can't waste my airpower on non-carrier battles.

Losses were:

73 SBD's
21 TBF's
14 F4F-4's

21 Zero's
10 Val's

The US carriers move a bit southeast and concentrate on LR capping ships arriving at Lunga. Wasp heads south for repairs. A Brit carrier will take Wasp's place in the near future. After I've landed a day or two's troops and supplies at Lunga, I'll retire south for awhile. Hopefully my moves will keep the enemy cautious for awhile.

My priority is to build and build and build. I have what I need to hold what I've taken, if I can build it up. The enemy has been concentrating bombing on Tulagi, since it does have a working port, which is great for me. The port's damage has been fixed daily, and my big base will be at Lunga, not Tulagi. Lunga will get to port and airfield size 1 in the next day or two. CAP will then be possible.

So, lots of activity, and lots more to come, as both sides ship in men and material. Just a question, to me, of when KB shows up.





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(in reply to apbarog)
Post #: 448
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/10/2015 10:39:44 PM   
apbarog


Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
Status: offline 		I forgot to post Wasp's damage:

SYS 21
FLOT 27/8
ENG 7/0
FIRE 1

So not too bad. Let's just avoid the subs and get to port.

(in reply to apbarog)
Post #: 449
RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 5/11/2015 2:26:10 AM   
jwolf

 

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline 		Hope that fire goes out. If so the Wasp should be OK.

(in reply to apbarog)
Post #: 450
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