RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/28/2016 4:04:44 AM

apbarog

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20 Feb 43 (continued)

I've noted the dot base on the other side of New Guinea.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/28/2016 12:50:26 PM

jwolf

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Those little green dots in the jungle are really hard to see -- I never would have known the base was there!

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Post #: 962

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/30/2016 2:26:57 AM

apbarog

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21 Feb 43

More unloading at Taberfane and Dobo, as well at Timoeka. No interference from the enemy.

Zeros sweep Nauru. I have no fighters there presently.

Nells bomb my troops again at Arorae. It's a nuclear bombing, causing 264 casualties, almost all disabled. Nothing I can do here. The airfield is still building.

All of my B-17s bomb Shortlands. Zeros are on CAP, but they aren't very effective. 3 B-17s are lost, with 2 being OPS losses, and could have been lost when I transferred the bombers back to Australia afterwards. Damage is light to the airfield.

some B-25s and B-26s hit Port Moresby's airfield. There is some flak this time, but still no CAP. Just a nuisance raid.

I attack again at Taberfane, and win an overwhelming victory this time. With Dobo already in allied hands, there's no enemy retreat. I'll reattack until the enemy is no more.

I continue to attack at Wessel Island, slowly destroying the isolated enemy.

Today, it's time to leave the Taberfane area. I was fortunate to be able to stay this long using big xAPs to unload and not be interfered with. Now Sorong has heavy activity on SigInt, and I see a task force with a battleship in it. My carriers and invasion shipping head south to safety.

Just north of Taberfane, sub Argonaut drops off a fragment of a raider unit onto an unoccupied enemy dot base.

My shipping at Timoeka is still not spotted.

As I had previously spotted, most shipping in Koepang's port has left, but I did see 4 AKE's in port today. Koepang is still a forward supply base.

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Post #: 963

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/30/2016 4:31:13 PM

apbarog

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22 Feb 43

Not one but two sub versus sub encounters! O19 fires on I-19 but misses, and Searaven fires on I-166 and misses.

Near Ambon, sub Guardfish finds a task force with 4 destroyers and a patrol boat, fires on destroyer Hayashio and misses. Minor damage is done to the sub and it will return to Townsville for repairs.

I attack again at Taberfane and eliminate the remaining enemy in the jungle.

I also attack again at Wessel Island, destroying one enemy non-combat squad. It's slow going here. I captured the base, but my unit is weak, but still stronger than the very weak remnants of the 69th JAAF AF Company. The enemy should be destroyed soon. I do have more troops headed to Wessel.

My carriers and invasion shipping left Taberfane and Dobo and headed south. None of those task forces was seen today, which is nice. It may give some pause to my opponent as he's moving stuff around the fringes of the area.

My shipping at Timoeka was finally spotted today however. The big xAP task force will now leave, almost completely unloaded of troops but with supply. I'll unload the rest at Merauke and ferry in the few vehicles later. A small task force did arrive today, carrying an engineer unit. I start unloading it and hope that it isn't interfered with.

With the enemy seeing my troops at Timoeka, I expect that my dot base on the other side of New Guinea, Tabire, to be occupied soon. If it isn't, I will occupy it as planned.

I was transporting two engineer units from Coen in Australia to Merauke, minus the vehicles of course. I'm now flying one of these units into Taberfane.

More followup units for Taberfane and Dobo start to load at Townsville.

I got 3 SigInt messages of heavy activity at Truk. Probably where KB is.

Vangunu, my base adjacent to Munda, became a level 3 airfield. Milne Bay became a level 6 airfield.

It's a time of consolidation and waiting for an enemy reaction, which must be coming. My carriers are headed back to the east side of Australia with the SBD reorganizations coming up. Taberfane and Dobo are pretty much on their own for awhile. They could be bombed and bombarded. I only care about holding the bases.

My eyes are on Darwin next.

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Post #: 964

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/30/2016 10:37:22 PM

BBfanboy

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Aren't you concerned about not being able to supply Tabire once you occupy it? Presumably it would have to come through Timoeka which is still a dot base with little supply, and I am not sure how well it will propagate through the jungle.

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Post #: 965

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/30/2016 10:56:58 PM

apbarog

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Sure, it would be a problem until Timoeka is built up some. I would just want to hold Tabire to begin with, getting it minimal supply, either from flowing naturally or airlifting some in. I won't get serious about it as a base until Timoeka is bigger.

I do like the idea holding Tabire, even minimally. It would fit nicely into the plan of causing problems in as many areas as possible.

Once the summer of '43 comes around, the pace of reinforcements really picks up. Most importantly, the Wildcats start showing up, and in big numbers. I'll get much more aggressive with airpower then.

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Post #: 966

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/31/2016 3:51:47 AM

apbarog

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23 Feb 43

Taberfane gets some attention today, finally. An Oscar unit and then a Tojo unit sweeps it from Boela. There are no fighters based there. Then 25 Sallys escorted by Oscars bomb the airfield. This strike came from Ambon. Damage to the airbase and runways is 20 and 18. It wouldn't have mattered much if I had moved in a fighter squadron. It would have been overwhelmed by the Tojos. And any air success I have here will just summon a visit from some battleships.

At Nauru Island, 22 Nells escorted by 25 Zeros target the port. A crack unit of P-40Ks are here, and they do a great job against the Zeros, but don't get to the bombers until after the bombs drop. Both ACMs are hit again. One is sunk, the other is very badly damaged and burning. The good news is that the P-40Ks did get to the bombers eventually. Total losses are 14 Zeros and 12 Nells, while only 1 P-40K is lost.

I'm betting that this victory will trigger a heavy sweep of Nauru tomorrow. I left the 20 or so operational P-40Ks there, and moved in one of my first 2 F4U Corsair units with 18 planes.

The enemy was completely cleared from Wessel Island.

Today my carriers will pass Horn Island and head south to Rockhampton. They were spotted, so it's clear that I've left the Taberfane area.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 1/31/2016 10:15:01 PM

apbarog

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24 Feb 43

Sub Gudgeon spots the cruiser task force that has been around Tarawa, fires on cruiser Mogami, gets one hit, but it is a dud. This task force continues to reposition often.

Near Manado, sub Tarpon spots an xAK with escorts, fires on destroyer Shikinami, but misses.

And near Ambon, KXIV spots a big cruiser group, fires on destroyer Hatsuyuki, and misses. Four heavy cruisers are spotted, with one light, and 5 destroyers. It looks like this group is inbound to Taberfane.

Another group, probably all destroyers, is seen between Timor and Darwin. It could also hit Taberfane, or raid the sea lanes south of Taberfane, or head all the way to Merauke at high speed. I have most of my Merauke shipping head south.

I made the decision not to stick around with my carriers. I still think this is the right choice, as I'll need to reorganize the SBD groups, but it's going to be rough on my Taberfane and Dobo troops. I do have reinforcement convoys heading north toward Horn Island, destined for my invasion sites, but without carriers, it may not be wise to go that far north.

A para unit is unloading at Merauke now. It will be available for Nabire, but it could also be used as emergency reinforcements where I need it.

I've formed a task force loading troops for Saumlaki, which is west of Taberfane. This task force will not do an invasion. It will unload at Gove to the south. It includes a big Indian para unit that could drop on Saumlaki from Gove, once the airfield is built up some.

The way I'm seeing things now, Taberfane and Dobo are to hold the enemy north. My next real objective in the area will be Darwin. When Gove and nearby island bases get airfields built up, Darwin will be an easier target for me. It has clear terrain. It has 10 or 15 thousand troops, and does have an armored unit of some kind.

Getting a big base on the north coast will help immensely, even if I have to ship the fuel and supply in.

Elsewhere, Normanby Island, adjacent to Milne Bay, became an airfield 1 today. It will help CAP Milne Bay when I start moving bombers in.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/2/2016 2:27:15 AM

apbarog

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25 Feb 43

At Taberfane, 4 enemy cruisers and 5 destroyers show up. 4 PT boats defend (actually TMs). The fight starts at 12000 yards, closes to 9000 yards, then extends back out to 11000 yards. No hits are achieved by the enemy, and the task forces disengage. The enemy then bombards Taberfane, and does quite well:

Allied ground losses:
278 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Guns lost 15 (1 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 15
Runway hits 47
Port hits 41
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 10

Lots of disabled engineers. The airbase is shut down. Looks like this base won't be building up any time soon. It looks like the ships retired toward Koepang.

Near Cooktown, 3 subchasers get a depth charge hit on I-157. Not enough to sink it though.

Near Mataram, southeast of Balikpapan, sub Greenling finds a task force with multiple CMs in it, probably headed to the front. 2 torpedoes hit CM Sarushima, probably sinking it. Greenling, however, takes 3 depth charge hits and is forced to fight it out on the surface. It then is spotted "sinking beneath the waves". However, I discovered that Greenling hadn't quite sank yet. But it's FLOT was 97 with SYS over 60. It wasn't going to make it another day, so it was scuttled. It was interesting to see the sinking message and then find that it hadn't really sank.

During the day, Taberfane got attention. Near the base, Bettys find tiny tankers Aletta and Petronella, fleeing south with half of their fuel cargo still onboard. Both tankers are sunk, and the escort AM Cowra was hit and sunk too. The Bettys with escort came from Sorong.

At Timoeka, 8 Vals from the east coast of New Guinea hit troops. Probably just a recon bombing. The 17th Australian Brigade is discovered there.

At Dobo, Vals with Oscar escorts find tiny local minesweeper AMc Uki. One bomb hits, and it is sunk. The strike came from Boela.

I hit Port Moresby's airfield again, with single units of B-25s, B-26s, and B-17s. Damage is moderate.

Finally, Taberfane is attacked by Nells with Zero escort. The airfield is hit and is slightly damaged. Cumulative damage is enough that I won't be moving planes in. This strike came from Ambon.

From the airstrikes and ships seen, Taberfane has finally become the center of attention. As is, I won't be able to get the airfields up and operational. But I'm happy that this is becoming the place to be for the enemy. I want to hold my bases. I may have to hold against a counter-invasion. My next step in this area is to build Gove and Wessel on the Australian coast and then threaten Darwin.

The big news of today is that I've changed my mind about Buna. I had decided to postpone any landing here until my APAs are converted. I've changed my mind. I'm going sooner, without the upgrades. I sense that the timing is right, with the area west of New Guinea heating up.

My plan is that my carriers continue south to Rockhampton. The SBD groups will reorganize in a few days. Once filled out again, I'll load for Buna and the dot base next to Buna, Oro Bay. Invasion shipping will move to Milne Bay and then jump to the landings. Carriers will cover from a spot on the west coast adjacent to Port Moresby. B-17s will finally hit Lae just prior. Some fighter sweeps will fly from Milne Bay to Lae, including the 2 P-38 groups that came from India. Corsairs will help too. I will use many combat ships for support at and around the landing sites. 3 divisions will be hitting Buna. A total of 16 units will land at Buna.

If the landing goes well, it will be interesting to see if there is a reaction from the troops at Port Moresby. I would think that they would have to start walking toward Buna, with the threat of getting cut off. My transports will return to base and immediately start loading for a Port Moresby invasion.

It will be quite a battle. I will be willing to risk slow battleships here. I will have 3 Brit and 1 US slow battleships available. I will have 6 US carriers, 6 CVEs, and CVL Hermes.

All of this assumes that I don't see KB show up at Rabaul.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/2/2016 12:32:31 PM

jwolf

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quote:

All of this assumes that I don't see KB show up at Rabaul.

But even if the KB is elsewhere, just about any plausible location is not that far away from the Solomon Sea area. He should be able to bring the KB to interfere with the operation -- if he wants to.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/2/2016 6:07:08 PM

apbarog

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Very true jwolf. It wouldn't be without risk. I'm hoping for 2 or 3 days without KB, just enough time to land the huge number of troops I have slated for Buna. It will be difficult enough with land-based air and surface forces within one days sailing from Rabaul.

KB could be refitting, for all I know. It's been gone for awhile, and hasn't shown up around Taberfane, yet.

If I get established on the Buna beach, and definitely take the adjacent dot base to aid supply worries, I'll immediately follow-up with landings at Port Moresby, to either take it outright or tie down the many troops there.

Remember, the Japanese essentially lost 2 infantry divisions at Diamond Harbour way back when. It takes them a long time to rebuild. Losing more would be costly.

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Post #: 971

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/3/2016 2:15:24 AM

apbarog

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26 Feb 43

At Dobo, a big task force with battleship Kongo, 5 cruisers, and 7 destroyers runs into my 4 PT boats. The moonlight level is just too high for the PT boats to get a shot in. The range never gets closer than 10000 yards, and 2 PT boats are sunk.

Kongo and friends then bombards Dobo, hitting AGP Niagara in port, causing 371 casualties (mostly engineers), and doing moderate damage to the port. The airfield is not hit as one hasn't been built yet. I guess that's one way to keep the damage level lower. The enemy does see that I have a US infantry regiment here also.

During the day, my PT boats return to Dobo and fight again. No hits are achieved for either side. It is worth noting that destroyer Sagiri now shows "heavy damage" even though it never got hit. I have no mines here, but I do have some up by Sorong, and this task force diverted around that mined hex on the way home. I'd guess that Sagiri hit a mine on the way in, but it didn't show any damage during the first PT boat fight.

Taberfane then gets bombed by 35 Nells. Airbase damage is moderate, and increasing every day with the constant bombings.

At Makin, sub Drum made a visit to drop off some mines. While there, it spots an xAK task force and hits xAK Sugiyama Maru with a torpedo. I'll take it! Drum did take some minor depth charge damage, and is now heading to Ndeni for repairs and redeployment.

As for the big picture, remember destroyer O'Brien? It had been torpedoed near Nauru Island. In very bad damage, it dodged another set of torpedoes and made it to Nauru for emergency repairs. While in port, it took shell hits from a naval bombardment, and I think it got hit from an air raid or two. It was in bad shape. But then it was left alone, and the damage was bad but under control. It then traveled to Ndeni for more repair, then on to Noumea and then to Sydney. Today it was completely repaired at Sydney. Hurrah! I love the small stories in the game like this one.

My carriers are about to get to Rockhampton. Lexington and 6 CVEs are approaching from the east. Lots of transports are heading to Brisbane to prepare to load up for Buna. Taberfane and Dobo obviously has the enemy's attention right now, with battleships getting involved. Every one I see there is one that would take close to a week to get to Buna.

My talk about occupying Nabire, northeast of Dobo on the east coast of New Guinea, was just talk. With all of the enemy activity, I have to worry about trying to keep what I've taken already. Hopefully Taberfane and Dobo remains the point of focus while I'm about to go to Buna.

I do have an armored unit that left Milne Bay and is traveling through the jungle toward Oro Bay, just southeast of Buna. It is adjacent to Oro Bay now. I've set it to move to Oro Bay, just to see how many kilometers it will move in a day. Then it will reset and wait for my landings. I hope to coordinate landing at Oro Bay and moving that tank unit in to open up a hexside, giving me a supply route (however bad) from Milne Bay, and a possible escape route should my landing fail.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/5/2016 1:35:10 AM

apbarog

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27 Feb 43

Near Dobo, sub Seal spots cruiser Atago and destroyer Sagiri. Yesterday, Sagiri was reported to have heavy damage, and was presumed to have hit a mine near Sorong on the run-in to Dobo. Today, Seal launches 4 torpedoes at Sagiri, and gets one good hit. Sagiri is not seen sinking but is presumed to be sunk. Interesting that Atago was detached to escort the destroyer. Maybe I can get Atago on the way home.

During the day, 35 Bettys hit Dobo's port again, sinking AGP Niagara finally.

And Sallys hit Taberfane's airfield, keeping the airfield closed.

Today I see a big task force south of Timor. It is following the same path as the last Taberfane bombardment group that came from Koepang. There's also a group north of Dobo. Unknown if this is a new task force, or part of Atago/Sagiri's task force returning home. The 4 DDs or APDs that were at the enemy dot base northeast of Dobo is now a bit further north at Babo. Boela just became a size 3 airfield. West of Timor, just west of Waingapoe, one of my subs got a very high detection level. Something going between Soerbaja and Koepang, most probably.

All of the US carriers except Wasp made it to Rockhampton today. All SBD groups that withdraw in a day have been withdrawn. When the other SBD groups on the ships resize from 18 to 36 on March 1st, I will fill them out and then we'll be ready to start loading for Buna. The CVEs are here too. Lots of invasion shipping at Brisbane. Just a few days to wait.

Goodenough Island, 2 hexes northeast of Milne Bay and 2 hexes from Buna, becomes a size 1 airfield tomorrow or day after.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/5/2016 2:53:43 AM

poodlebrain

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Sagiri may have been damaged in a collision, or other type of accident.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/5/2016 5:42:57 AM

apbarog

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You are probably right poodlebrain. I suspected that it had hit a mine because it appeared that the enemy was going around the minefield near Sorong. But that's a good distance from Dobo, and the destroyer was showing damage at Dobo. So it probably was some other cause.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/6/2016 2:57:21 AM

apbarog

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28 Feb 43

My Aussie Armored Regiment in the jungle between Milne Bay and Oro Bay is spotted. Today the enemy makes 2 fighter sweeps over the unit, thinking I'd have CAP over them. I did not. 25 Zeros sweep and over 40 Tojos sweep, all from Lae. The unit is in combat mode, slowly moving toward Oro Bay, moving 2 km a day. It will take 20 more days to move in, which is what I want. I want to land at Oro Bay and Buna first. The enemy can bomb this unit. It's in the jungle, and won't change anything for me.

Sallys return to Taberfane, bombing the airfield, doing minor damage.

I see a big surface group leaving Darwin. It is in bombardment range of Taberfane, Wessel Island, and Gove. I think it is going to Wessel. It previously went to Taberfane from Timor. With my guess, I'm sending my 2 CA, 2 CL, and 3 DD task force at Merauke to Wessel Island at high speed, and with orders to stay during the day. This is a risk if there's bombers in Australia now. I want to fight the enemy here with ships if I can, and help buy some time for more construction. Neither Wessel or Gove has an airfield yet.

At Merauke, I have lots of transports, and they are spotted. I move them south a few hexes today, just in case the enemy makes a long range move to Merauke to get these ships.

My carrier SBD units reorganized. The search squadrons have been withdrawn, and the bomber squadrons have expanded their size from 18 to 36. I give each one 12 more planes, filling each to 30. It will take another week if I want to get them to 36. Also, each has 18 to 20 pilots. I call for veteran pilot reinforcements, and they will take up to a week to get to their new units.

The bottom line is that my bomber units are understrength. If I want them filled out, I need to wait another week to go to Buna. I haven't completely decided, but for today, I'm waiting. I'll probably start loading troops at Brisbane in about 4 days. Travel north near Rockhampton will take a couple of more days. About then the carriers will be ready.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/6/2016 8:06:02 PM

apbarog

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1 Mar 43

Another month complete. Good APs starting converting to APAs on the West Coast. Most of these ships, however, are in Australia preparing for Buna.

My cruiser task force stormed into friendly Wessel Island and found nothing, but was spotted by RO-60 on the way in. My ships were not seen at Wessel during the day. I will send them back to Merauke which could be a target.

Bettys, Sallys, and Lilys bomb my troops and the airfield at Taberfane.

The enemy cruiser force that was near Darwin did none of the things I predicted. Instead it moved to a spot south of Taberfane. Just patrolling or setting up a blocking force for something else. Today, 12 Kingfishers flew from Dobo and attacked enemy cruisers. There was no CAP, all floatplanes dropped bombs from 6000 feet, and all missed. Only cruisers were targeted. The enemy is fairly safe around Taberfane, as I have no airfields and it looks like I won't indefinitely, but at least they aren't completely safe.

I got SigInt today that the 16th Recon Tank unit is planning an attack at Horn Island. This is new information. This unit was never on Horn. I seriously doubt a counterinvasion here, with my Australian bases so big and so close. But the target has its advantages, and would cut off my sizable commitment at Merauke. Clear terrain, as we have seen, really hurts the defender. This could be part of a big commitment to the west side of New Guinea.

Meanwhile, I'll start loading for Buna very soon.

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Post #: 977

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/7/2016 1:44:13 AM

apbarog

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2 Mar 43

The cruiser force that had been by Darwin, and then was south of Taberfane, went to Timoeka. My single xAK was predictably found and sunk, along with a patrol craft. Was worth trying to sneak some supply in. The enemy retired north to Boela.

And again predictably, my Kingfishers that flew unimpeded yesterday from Dobo, today found CAP over a task force by Boela. About a dozen OS2U-3s were lost.

Finally, Lilys hit Dobo's port, doing minor damage.

Looking at Brisbane, there's a couple of big xAP task forces arriving in the next couple of days. I'll unload those ships and then start loading for Buna.

SigInt for today shows that the 48th Division is loaded on shipping and headed to Soerbaja. Could be just that, or could be another sign of big activity coming for the area from Timor to the tip of New Guinea.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/7/2016 7:54:31 PM

apbarog

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3 Mar 43

At Taberfane, 8 Vals from Boela arrive and target my two remaining PT boats. Bombs miss. Then a bunch of Sallys target my troops, doing minor damage. I really think that a counter-invasion is coming here soon.

A dozen or so B-25s and B-26s bomb Port Moresby's airfield. There is no CAP, and damage is moderate. None of my B-17s fly to Buna today. I'll try again.

I spotted a big task force north of Ambon. I think that this could be carriers arriving. If Taberfane is counter-invaded, the enemy will probably support with carriers, as long as my carriers aren't seen in the area.

Australian brigades start to unload at Tulagi, Ndeni, and Kirakira. They are replacing a US infantry division that has been prepping for Darwin. I'll pick up that division and move it to Australia, so that it will be ready when it's time for Darwin.

I moved a Coronado squadron to northeast Australia. It is filling out now. I will use it to ferry supply to Timoeka, east of Dobo. The Coronado's long range and huge carrying capacity could be helpful here.

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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/8/2016 5:08:49 PM

apbarog

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4 Mar 43

I had dropped some mines next to Koepang, Java. A patrol boat spotted the minefield and started clearing it today.

Taberfane's troops and airfield are bombed again.

My B-17s flew to Buna today, and were not successful. Buna had been empty for quite awhile, and not been ranged capped from Lae, but today, Tojos and Oscars were at Buna and did a good job on the bombers. 8 bombers were lost, 6 of them to air-to-air. Damage to the airfield was minimal. I've noted that Buna and Port Moresby are repairing damage much faster now. More engineers and/or supply evidently.

I decided not to return to Buna immediately. The bombers need a week's rest and recovery now, and they'll be needed for the coming invasion.

Got an interesting SigInt notification today. There were 2 "heavy activity" messages for the hex 61,116. This is a few hexes southwest of Waingopoe, which is between Java and Timor. Something big is there, probably coming from Soerbaja. There are a number of possibilities, some more likely than others. Could hit Carnavon, could reinforce Port Headland or Broome, could be going to Timor by a more southerly route to avoid subs, or could be headed to Darwin, Taberfane, Horn Island, who knows.

Something is up here. With my upcoming op, I probably won't be reacting to it.

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Post #: 980

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/9/2016 1:50:24 AM

apbarog

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

5 Mar 43

Taberfane is bombed, an everyday occurrence now. Damage is always light. No other combat.

There is no sign of the possible big activity northwest of Darwin. None of my subs are lit up. If they head toward Carnavon, I won't see them coming. No search there. I do have some at Perth.

I order a small cruiser force to bombard Port Moresby in a couple of days.

My preparations for a Buna invasion now move to more than just a plan. I start loading troops at Brisbane. Extra shipping, not needed for this, moves up the coast to Rockhampton, and will be used for Port Moresby, possibly. Loading at Brisbane will take a few days, as I'm loading so many troops on so many ships.

Just today, I see that more enemy troops have arrived at Buna. SigInt says that part of the 9th Division/B is moving to Buna. This matches what I'm seeing. There's ships there now unloading. Looks like DDs and APDs. The fighters that were at Buna went back to Lae, probably figuring that I was coming again. There are still fighters at Port Moresby.

I've detailed the enemy forces and airfield sizes for the bases in the area.

My plan is for my shipping to go to Milne Bay and then hit Buna and the adjacent dot base Oro Bay. Troops for Oro Bay will come from Townsville and will start loading in 2 or 3 days, and then join up with the invasion task forces on the way in.

For Buna, I'm tasking:

2 US Marine Division
3 US Marine Division
43 US Army Infantry Division
19 Aust Brigade
1 US Marine Amphibious HQ
Aust II Corp HQ
1 Tank Bn
2/8 Armor Regiment
205 Field Artillery
2 USMC Field Artillery
259 Coastal Artillery
C/D Coastal Artillery
4 Aust Light AA
21 Base Group
1 RAAF Construction Battalion
US 14th Construction Battalion

With 30000 men spotted at Buna, it will be a tough battle of attrition, not a quick victory. I'd like to see an enemy pullback from Port Moresby after the Buna battle starts, just in time for my landing there.

Taking Oro Bay will be important too.

My carriers will not go past Milne Bay, and will support from a distance. I will be hitting Lae with as much airpower as I can when it comes time. My 2 squadrons of P-38s and 2 squadrons of Corsairs will be used here.

Most of the US, British, and Australian navies will be here. I'll bombard Buna, and may risk a bombardment of Lae. My secret weapon will be sneaking AKEs into Milne Bay to help rearm combat vessels quickly.

I still wonder whether it's best to fight into the enemy's strength, or just bypass in force. I think that there is value in tying down and eliminating so many ground troops here. It's still early in '43. And don't forget, I have troops all prepped for Lae also, should that opportunity arise. I do know that the part of the 9th Division that is arriving at Buna is coming from Lae.

Time will tell how things go. I think that the enemy has diverted forces to react to my Taberfane and Dobo landings. But of course, it only takes a day for all of the airpower to come back. Taking out Lae will be key as it will be the hardest to suppress.

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Post #: 981

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/9/2016 8:24:19 PM

apbarog

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

6 Mar 43

Today was a day for the Silent Service.

First, Wahoo spots a bunch of patrol boats (probably looking for the sub), and gets a torpedo hit on patrol boat Tsuneshima Maru. It's undoubtedly a goner.

Two hexes north of Rabaul, Haddock was transiting to its new patrol location to the northwest, and finds a big tanker convoy. One torpedo hits tanker Batopaha Maru. The ship is loaded with fuel and burns nicely. Chalk up a tanker, always nice.

Between Mindanao and Babeldaop, Swordfish finds a big troop convoy. It gets a torpedo hit on xAK Hokutai Maru, and there are men on it. This is a probable sinking. Swordfish does take some moderate depth charge damage. It now starts the long run home to Ndeni.

And finally, some bad news for the submariners. Near Taberfane, Dutch sub O24 was found by I27, and hit with 2 torpedoes. There were no survivors.

During the day, Taberfane was hit by many Sallys again.

The map shows that the Japanese are now inbound. To somewhere.

Carriers are spotted by Ambon, probably a mini-KB based on the aircraft spotted and that I saw CVLs. To the southeast are a couple of patrol boat task forces. Near Timor there's a big task force. I'm seeing cruisers, destroyers, and possibly an xAP. I'm guessing that this is the task force that set off the SigInt near Waingapoe a couple of turns ago.

The question is, where is the enemy heading?

With the patrol boats leading the carriers, it looks like a straight line to Saumlaki. Saumlaki has been empty. My Indian paras are prepped for it, but they are at Gove, and the airfield needs more construction time. I won't get there in time, apparently.

Or the enemy is coming directly for Taberfane.

My only response, besides lots of subs, is a naval bomber unit being moved to Merauke. It is Beuafighters, I believe. With a normal range of 11, I've trained this unit in low naval and strafing skills. They are set for 100 feet. If the enemy shows up at Taberfane, they should respond.

At Brisbane, loading continues for Buna. About half of my task forces are loaded now. They may move out tomorrow.

The small interesting feature for today is that I have a small cruiser task force going to bombard Port Moresby for the first time.

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Post #: 982

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/10/2016 2:29:04 AM

apbarog

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

7 Mar 43

Sub Pompano spots a task force northwest of Taberfane. I think that it is mini-KB, but Pompano only sees a destroyer, and misses. Pompano redeployed to the west of New Guinea after refueling and rearming at Townsville, following its famous sinking of Akagi with 4 torpedoes last month. I'll be keeping an eye on this charmed ship and crew.

Growler takes a shot at a destroyer also, in the same area. Looks like the leading patrol boats may have been destroyers.

Sailfish gets a shot at an xAK convoy near Kwajalein, gets one hit on xAK Koyo Maru, but it's a dud. I'll trade 4 duds on cargo ships for the 4 that worked on Akagi last month!

West of Taberfane, S-41 is spotted by escorts of a huge task force. It looks like Taberfane is about to get hammered.

ASW attack near Taberfane at 80,117

Japanese Ships
CL Kashima
DD Yanagi
E W-22
E Uji
SC Ch 12
AMC Awata Maru
AMC Kinryu Maru
AK Tosan Maru
AK Kyushu Maru
xAP Ukishima Maru
xAP Naminoue Maru
xAP Tsingtao Maru
xAP Manzyu Maru
xAP Kokuryu Maru
xAP Takatiho Maru
DD Susuki
DD Tsuga
DD Yunagi
DD Hatsuyuki

Allied Ships
SS S-41

A side note - battleship Massachusetts arrived in Balboa today. Nice to see another battleship on the way.

Looking at the map, it's now obvious that Taberfane is about to get counter-invaded. This is more or less expected, but I'm not reacting. I could have rushed my carriers back to this area, and maybe gotten here in time. But I've decided to keep to my plan, and enjoy that the enemy is diverting a lot of attention away from the Coral Sea.

Loading for the Buna invasion continues at Brisbane. Not quite everything was loaded, but will be tomorrow. I have decided to start loading for a Port Moresby invasion. My carriers will be right there to support Buna, so why not follow up immediately. The great news about my carriers is that I was able to completely fill out my 36 plane SBD groups today, so all carriers will be at capacity.

Tomorrow the Brisbane convoys pull up anchor and head north, along with most of the Brit Navy, including 3 slow battleships and BC Repulse. After a day, the carriers will leave Rockhampton and rendezvous. Then it's on to Milne Bay and Buna.

Today I see over 33000 men at Buna. It's almost like he knows I'm coming! Not really, but not the best of news. I do see at least one unit at Buna moving inland. The inland dot bases are not built into bases, but I do know that they are occupied. I have paras fully prepped for them. They will wait for an opportune moment to sever Port Moresby from Buna.

Considering my opponent is now moving on Taberfane, and I'm about to launch a major offensive in southern New Guinea, the next week is going to be exciting. We did 2 turns today and yesterday, which is unusual. I think that we are both looking forward to the action that is sure to come.

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Post #: 983

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/10/2016 5:55:19 PM

IdahoNYer

Posts: 2616
Joined: 9/6/2009
From: NYer living in Boise, ID
Status: offline

Apbarog - gotta say you continue to impress the heck out of me with your offensive Tempo at this point in the war!!! All before the Hellcat and against a still robust KB capability.

Each jump you make, I keep thinking its the "one too many", but you keep moving forward very successfully.

Very Nicely done so far.

Think Buna will be a tough fight - to sustain that size force in range of multiple LBA bases. But, you've done this before....

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 984

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/10/2016 6:18:34 PM

apbarog

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

Thanks IdahoNYer. It may turn out that my Taberfane landing was the "one too many" you referred to, as it is about to get hammered and I don't have air to support it, and I'm not committing my navy at the moment. I hope that it is contested for awhile, and I can come back to it and keep it going.

Part of my success with keeping an offensive tempo is that I've been allowed to do this. My opponent went to the defensive in the Solomons and New Guinea, and has been very careful not to risk his ships. This worked for him, as far as not losing many ships, but it's worked for me, as I can hit here and there and keep the perception of being on the constant offensive.

Some of this is just smoke and mirrors. Let's face it. My early invasion of Horn Island failed. I've aborted invading Tabiteuea four times, once with everything right there (and not by choice). So it all hasn't gone well, but it has reinforced the idea that I'm the one attacking now.

Buna will be tough, no doubt.

(in reply to IdahoNYer)

Post #: 985

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/11/2016 1:15:02 AM

apbarog

Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
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8 Mar 43

Sub Porpoise finds an xAK convoy northwest of Taberfane, but takes a good depth charge hit, and will now return to base.

At Taberfane, a few enemy cruiser and destroyers arrive and engage my 2 remaining PT boats. The PTs do engage, but fire a torpedo at a destroyer and miss. No hits for either side.

Taberfane is then bombarded. Base damage is minimal but is unimportant as its already damaged. Over 200 casualties are caused, including combat squads.

I then bombarded Port Moresby for the first time, and results were very poor.

Taberfane is then invaded. The enemy lands the 48th Division, and artillery unit, and the 16th Engineer Regiment, as well as a HQ. Judging from the low disablements on landing, the division was mostly prepped for the target. The mandatory Allied bombardment showed 0 combat value for my troops, which is very concerning.

During the day, a squadron of Beaufighter VIc fly from Merauke to Taberfane, and find the invasion shipping with no CAP at all. They attack at 100 feet, strafing and bombing. In morning and afternoon attacks, results are very nice:

Morning attack:
xAP Manzyu Maru, Shell hits 2, Bomb hits 1
xAP Yoshino Maru, Shell hits 2, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAP Taizan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAP Tsingtao Maru, Bomb hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
293 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 29 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Afternoon attack:
xAP Takatiho Maru, Shell hits 3, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
xAP Taizan Maru, Shell hits 4, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
205 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

It won't change the battle, but it's a nice strike on some huge xAPs.

Remember Burma? I did a nuisance sweep and bombing of Cox Bazar today. 4 Oscars were shot down on ranged CAP from the south. Bombers did light damage on the airfield.

As for today, I see shipping north of Boela. Multiple task forces. Probably coming for Dobo. I also got SigInt that the 8th Infantry Division and the 8th Ind Eng Rgt is headed to Boela. Yep, that's them. They are headed to Dobo. Taberfane may fall immediately, which is not what I had in mind. If attacked today, my troops would retreat into the jungle, a hex that is adjacent to Taberfane and Dobo. If the enemy smartly waits and invades Dobo first, then there will be no retreat. This could all end very quickly for me, I'm afraid.

My invasion shipping for Buna and Oro Bay leaves Brisbane. Combat task forces are formed and move out also. Carrier task forces are formed and will leave Rockhampton tomorrow. Loading at Rockhampton continues for Port Moresby.

The interesting twist for today is that yesterday there was over 33000 men at Buna. Today I see 16000 men. I've been seeing movement inland, into the mountains toward Port Moresby. Could I really be so lucky to have an infantry division get caught in the mountains while I land at Buna and Port Moresby? Granted, this unit will end up reinforcing one or the other, but I like my chances a lot more for a successful landing at Buna going up against one division instead of two.

We shall see, before long.

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Post #: 986

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/11/2016 1:19:27 AM

BBfanboy

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

What's the march rate on the Kokoda Track? 5 miles a day?

_____________________________

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 #: 987

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/11/2016 1:23:23 AM

apbarog

Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
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I don't know the answer to that. I do know that my armored unit that is slowly moving into Oro Bay is moving 2km per day in combat mode, and 3km per day in move mode. But that's an armor unit, which is different.

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Post #: 988

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/11/2016 1:53:39 AM

BBfanboy

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

Yeah, I know the normal rate of progress through Jungle and Jungle/Rough, but some time back there was an observation that troops and supplies moved much more quickly on the Kokoda Track than ought to have been possible, given normal game calculations and R/L actual experience. I don't know if this magic moving sidewalk was addressed by any of the updates in the past couple of years.

So my comment was more of a heads-up for the possibility that the IJA can move quicker than normal over that route.

_____________________________

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 #: 989

RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 2/12/2016 6:20:29 AM

apbarog

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

9 Mar 43

More enemy unloads at Taberfane.

Near Timor, sub Growler spots the cruiser force that bombarded Taberfane, lines up cruiser Atago, and misses with 4 torpedoes. The cruisers are retiring to Koepang via the northern coast of Timor.

During the day, many Sallys bomb the troops at Taberfane. Damage is very light, but troops are getting disrupted.

One day after the landings begin, Taberfane is shock attacked. The result is far worse than I expected. I figured that a regiment was not going to stand up to a division for too long, but I didn't expect an attack at 75 to 1 odds. The defender was penalized for leaders, disruption, fatigue, and experience. Losses are 654 for the enemy and 1742 for the Allies, with most of the Allied losses being troops destroyed. The survivors retreat into the jungle, where they are guaranteed to survive longer than just another day. Dobo has some supply, and will probably be invaded very soon. Maybe the guys in the jungle can survive for awhile, and maybe I can retake the island at some point.

Ships from Brisbane have started moving north for the Buna invasion. Ships leave Rockhampton to rendezvous, including the carriers. Loading continues at Rockhampton for Port Moresby. Loading begins at Townsville for Oro Bay.

Today I'm hitting Buna. There's around 80 fighters there. I'm trying a different approach. For the first time, I'm using the 2 P-38 squadrons that I brought from India, as well as my first 2 Marine Corsair units. These units will sweep Buna, as well as a P-40K unit. All of my B-17s will bomb and all of my B-24s will join in. Hopefully, in this order, but we know how that goes.

I'm moved more recon to Goodenough Island near Milne Bay. They will start looking at Oro Bay and the 2 inland dot bases on the Kokoda trail.

I did see that the suddenly low number of troops spotted at Buna yesterday was a day of bad recon. Today, the number is back over 30,000 men.

In summary, I'm dissapointed to lose Taberfane so quickly, but I expected a violent response, and I got it. My main objective was to force activity on this side of New Guinea while I head to Buna. So far, I think this is working to some degree. What I'm not seeing anyhere is KB and battleships. And haven't for awhile. I suspected not long ago that carriers went back to Japan for upgrades. And I saw one task force with a battleship in Japan. I can hope that is true.

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