RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A)

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A)

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/10/2018 8:55:48 PM

Aurorus

Posts: 1314
Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

April 27th.

The Hurricane hunters flew their first sortie over a Chinese stack, nearest Kweilin, that was bombed yesterday from 2000 feet by Sonias. They did not encounter Hurricanes, but did encounter Chinese bi-planes. The sweep came in at 20K

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Morning Air attack on 51st Chinese Corps, at 77,55 , near Kweilin

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 38

Allied aircraft
I-16-III x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
I-16-III: 2 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
38 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 20000 feet

Nearby, along the Hengyand-Kweilin road, Lillies bombed a Chinese stack retreating to better terrain to try to stop the pincer move. 16 Hurricanes were flying CAP over the hex, but at 20k. The Lillies came in at 2K, under the CAP.

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Morning Air attack on 60th Chinese Corps, at 78,53 , near Hengyang

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-Ib Lily x 21

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIa Trop x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Allied ground losses:
179 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
21 x Ki-48-Ib Lily bombing from 2000 feet
Ground Attack: 4 x 100 kg GP Bomb

Now, the questions are: how closely is Apbarog examing the combat reports and does he understand his dilemma? If he continues to fly his CAP at 20K, my single, unescorted bomber squadrons will continue to come in under his CAP. If he drops his CAP to lower altitude to intercept the bombers, he risks getting bounced by the A6M2s who will have numbers, altitude, and an air combat that is within a good manuever band for the Zero. He is a very intelligent fellow, and I suspect that he looks at the combat reports very closely and understands exactly what the predicament is. So the only question that remains is: how will he respond? (I have run this same strategy with Oscar Ics in the past and have been able to bounce Hurricanes flying at 10k with Oscar Ics with a substantial numbers advantage and superior pilot quality. The result: a lot of destroyed Oscars.)

This is one of many reasons why altitude restrictions are completely unnecessary, in my opinion. By careful use of the existing system, a thoughtful player can try to force his opponent to fight at the altitude that he prefers.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/10/2018 9:01:07 PM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 211

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/11/2018 12:45:38 AM

Aurorus

Posts: 1314
Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

In other war news, on April 27th, 1942, the Dutch garrison at the redoubt in Bandoeng surrendered, and I think that all Dutch resistance in the DEI has been eliminated. The DEI is now completely in Japanese hands. The two divisions on Java had some squads disabled and will be 2 weeks recovering. One division will remain on Java as a garrison, along with a few other assorted units. This frees up 3 armored regiments, 12 heavy artillery battalions, including the big 24cm and 30cm guns, and 1 division for action in Burma, Luzon, or SoPac. Most of the heavy artillery is slated for Luzon. As for the rest, I am undecided.

Ground combat at Bandoeng (50,100)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 26425 troops, 236 guns, 278 vehicles, Assault Value = 917

Defending force 17173 troops, 174 guns, 37 vehicles, Assault Value = 165

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 1417

Allied adjusted defense: 397

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Bandoeng !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
746 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 86 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Allied ground losses:
17777 casualties reported
Squads: 208 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 720 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 236 (236 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 52 (52 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 19

Assaulting units:
33rd Division
2nd Tank Regiment
38th Division
4th Tank Regiment
7th Tank Regiment
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/11/2018 12:46:42 AM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 212

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/11/2018 7:01:07 AM

Aurorus

Posts: 1314
Joined: 5/26/2014
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April 29th, 1942: Their Finest Hour.

Apbarog moved 3 fighter groups to Koumac, and all 3 swept Noumea. I wish he had done this yesterday, because I stood down the bombers yesterday and put both A6M2 groups there on CAP to vary my play. Today only 1 group of A6M2s was set on CAP 80%, range 0, altitude 10K (to give them some space to climb and still remain in their best manuever band). Two JAAF btns there now have radar (though, as I mentioned, first generation Japanese radar is not much better than sound detectors in my experience).

All 45 A6M2s from Yokoyama's 3 Ku-S-1 Sentai eventually scrambled against 3 waves of allied fighters. P-40s came in first at 12K. Radar detected the raid at 12 minutes out. (Sound detectors usually only detect P-40 fighter sweeps at 10 minutes out). 12 A6M2s were on station, and climbed above the P-40s, swooping down and causing havoc as 24 more of Yokoyama's squadron scrambled off the deck to join the action. The 12 on-station fighters completely disrupted the P-40s attack, destoying more than half the P-40 squadron.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Koumac , at 113,156

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 35 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 20

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 8 destroyed

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 24 on standby, 9 scrambling)
12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes

The next wave were Airacobra, P-400s, high, over 20K. By this point 37 A6M2s were on station. A few Zeros were pulled above the 15k ceiling, and the initial dive of the P-400s caught a few less experience Zero pilots who climbed too high. But then Yokoyama's Zeros went to work, dogfighting, turning, manuevering in behind, and diving on the P-400s that had overshot. Nearly half the P-400 squadron did not return home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Koumac , at 113,156

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 22 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45

Allied aircraft
P-400 Airacobra x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-400 Airacobra: 7 destroyed

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling)
4 plane(s) intercepting now.
37 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 16000*.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes

*Starting to get pulled too high. I should have set the squadron at 9K, but then, I am not sure if they would have climbed enough to bounce the first wave of P-40s.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Koumac , at 113,156

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 49 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35

Allied aircraft
P-400 Airacobra x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-400 Airacobra: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
32 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 71 minutes

The final wave of P-400s came in just below 20K, and just above the Zeros. Many of pilots of Ku-3 were low on ammo by this point. They dodged most of the P-400s, swirling, turning, and avoiding the slashing attacks, and fighting the final sweep even with nothing left in their cannons.

The final tally for the day shows between 32 and 36 allied fighter downed for 12 A6M2s. Because the battle was over my base, only 2 of Yokoyama's pilots were killed in the battle and 2 more joined the long list of wounded who will be returning the coming months. 2 pilots for 32-36 allied fighters. The total number of IJN fighter pilots lost in the first 5 months of the war: 20. The result of taking every possible measure to preserve IJN pilots is that the quality of the front-line IJN squadrons is elite; nearly half of this squadron is Tracom eligible, and the same is true for all 3 front-line IJN squadrons and all the CV squadrons. It will be a tragic day when all these fine, young men are consumed by the U.S. multitude.

When I saw the third sweep, I thought the IJN was going to suffer this day. This is one of the finest performances that I have seen from a fighter squadron: giving away altitude and inflicting 3 to 1 casualties while outnumbered 1.5 to 1.

Here is the scoresheet for the day.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/11/2018 7:15:49 AM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 213

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/11/2018 9:24:49 PM

Aurorus

Posts: 1314
Joined: 5/26/2014
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Also on April 29th, the Betties from Koumac managed some hits on allied AKLs just north of Norfolk Island, including a fearsome allied AM.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Norfolk Island at 115,167

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45
G4M1 Betty x 22

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
AM Echuca, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL White Wing
xAKL William McArthur, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Fiona, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Carlisle, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Island Mail, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Aircraft Attacking:
22 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp

It seems that a fight is coming around New Caledonia. I-17 spotted what appears to be an allied SCTF leaving Vava U. I-17 was badly damaged with flooding and fires in the control room. The fires were extinguished, but she may not make it back to Tulagi.

ASW attack near Kandavu Island at 130,165

Japanese Ships
SS I-17, hits 4, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CL St. Louis
DD Fanning
DD Drayton
DD Cummings
DD Preston

SS I-17 is sighted by escort

Japanese naval surface combat and air combat assets are quietly taking up positions in the lower Solomons and around Ndeni. I think, after today's action, in which the USAAF was defeated soundly by the IJN, Apbarog may try to run a light bombardment group into Koumac. There may be a good deal of action soon. Also, if he upgraded his CVs in March and April and the allied CVs left the West Coast one week ago, they may be approaching SoPac as well. There is a storm gathering in SoPac, and everyone can feel the pressure dropping as the winds begin to blow.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/11/2018 9:25:53 PM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 214

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/12/2018 3:42:02 AM

Aurorus

Posts: 1314
Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

April 30th, 1942

There was something about the attack on the AKLs by the Betties yesterday that I did not mention (because I did not want to post anything embarassing to Apbarog). The TF was out of fuel.

Echuca dead in the water ...

I post this now, because it has a major impact on events of today. Search planes revealed what appeared to be TKs in the hex that contained the AKLs, which I assumed that Apbarog had dispatched to refuel the TF. Because there appeared to be Tks there, I moved the small size-36 squadron of A6M2s down from Luganville to escort the Betties today in case those tankers remained in range. Yomoyama's A6M2 group stood down to recover fatigue, and recieved replacement aircraft. The other A6M2 squadron flew CAP. Had those TKs not been there yesterday, I probably would have stood the Betties down today and waited for Yomoyama's A6M2 group to recover.

As it is, the large size-45 squadron of Betties was set on naval strike with 30% search. In the AM, naval search turned up a large allied fleet presence, with CVs just SE of Noumea. 30 Betties, escorted by 36 rookie pilots launched on the CVs. Apbarog had the CVs set up for near-maximum CAP. It appears there are 5 U.S. CVs and the British CVLs. He had 4 CV F4F squadrons set to 100% CAP and it appears 2 others set to 60% CAP with 40% escort for a strike if any Japanese threats presented themselves. The rookie A6M2 pilots fought valiantly, but there was little they could do to keep the allied fighters off the Betties, which were devastated. All 30 Betties in the strike were destroyed and 12 A6M2s for a handful of allied planes. So the USN avenges the USAAF. 12 irreplaceable Betty pilots were KIA and another 14 MIA (nearly all of whom will eventually become KIAs). 7 A6M2 pilots were KIA and 2 MIA (increasing the IJN's fighter pilot losses by 50% in one day).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Isle of Pines at 116,161

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35
G4M1 Betty x 30

Allied aircraft
Fulmar II x 9
Martlet II x 19
F4F-3A Wildcat x 45
F4F-3 Wildcat x 27
F4F-4 Wildcat x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 16 destroyed

No Allied losses

A number of allied fighters were damaged, but only 1 kill was confirmed for the A6M2s.

Later in the day, a large flight of B-17s and Liberators

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Koumac , at 113,156

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 36

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 16
LB-30 Liberator x 7

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed, 12 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
SS RO-67, Bomb hits 1

10 or 12 B-17s were destroyed in the engagement, but at a cost of 19 A6M2s damaged and out of the action for tomorrow.

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 215

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/12/2018 3:59:00 AM

Aurorus

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Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

Here is the situation then.

The out of fuel gambit may have been a very sneaky ploy by Apbarog: 3 dimensional chess, but I doubt it. As it stands, he has struck the first blow at Noumea and now has 5 U.S. fleet CVs and SCTFs covering reinforcement for Noumea. If he reinforces Noumea, it will not fall until all of the allied supplies there have been used: months. I doubt, in fact, that I will ever take the base if he reinforces it. His timing could not have been better. 4 days later, and I would have had the CV battle that I covet. 1 day later, and I would have bombarded Koumac and damaged the port to slow the off-loading.

2 Japanese CA TFs are in the area. One is 9 hexes (a full-speed move) from Noumea or Koumac; the other is at the southern tip of the Solomons. Akagi, Kaga, and Zuikaku have taken up a position at the southern tip of the Solomons. They will be joined by the 3 CVLs today. Hiryu, Soryu, and Shokaku are 4 days away. The original plan was to have the Akagi grp. and the CVLs cover the CA groups as they withdrew from bombarding, while waiting for the Shokaku grp. Those torpedo hits on Hiryu and Soryu set me back just enough to prevent my attacking the U.S. CVs tommorrow.

By striking the first blow, Apbarog has the initiative and has me at a major disadvantage. The 4-Es from Australia are mostly spent for the next 5 or 6 days. However, he appears to have moved 3 fresh fighter squadrons into Noumea to support his CVs. The large Betty squadron has been destroyed, which limits my ability to strike his CVs with LBA, and although the A6M2s at Koumac have inflicted signficant losses on the allied fighter force and 4-Es, there are now 38 damaged A6M2s sitting on the deck at Koumac: 19 from the squadron that engaged the B-17s, 12 replacements for Yomoyaka's groups, and 7 from the rookie squadron. 75 are available to fly tomorrow.

What should I do? There are numerous options: none of them ideal. Apbarog has DL 3 on the heavy CA group 10 hexes north of his CVs. He is unaware of the presence of any other Japanese ships including the CVs at the southern tip of the Solomons.

Does he fear those A6M2s at Noumea enough to avoid sweeping them and then trying to bomb the airfield with has naval air tomorrow? I think that he does. If his CVs are set to naval strike with a secondary target of the airfield at Koumac, the CV strike against the airfield will arrive in the afternoon, and the sweeps in the AM. The Zeros will be able to counter both, and even with as many planes disabled as now, those 75 A6M2s (most of whom are fresh) will cause havoc for both the USAAF and the USN. As such, I suspect that Apbarog will stay defensive, cover his landings with the LBA, and leave his CVs on patrol set to naval strike with no secondary target. Would he be aggressive enough to chase off after the heavy CAs 9 hexes north of Koumac?

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/12/2018 4:04:44 AM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 216

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/12/2018 4:16:10 AM

Aurorus

Posts: 1314
Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

Here was his CAP deployment over his CVs today. This is a near-maximum CAP setting. If he remains in a similar posture with his alititude settings, his CVs will be very difficult to strike "on the cheap." One thing to note is the low-flying British fighters. One tactic that I like to employ in CV enagements, if my opponent likes to fly too high is to set a squadron or 2 of B5N2s to strike from 1K unesorted and fly in under the CAP. I am not sure that 8 Fulmars is enough to discourage me from trying this tactic. Also, I wonder if he will set fighters on low CAP when he is deployed to launch a strike package with his CVs? Finally, note the time that the raid was spotted: 28 minutes, which allows nearly every U.S. plane set to CAP to scamble and engage a first strike. Who says the game does not take radar into account? I would say that good radar is the single most important advantage that the allies have, as in the real war.

The Betties did give me some good intelligence on how Apbarog likes to set up his CVs: very expensive intelligence, 30 airframes, 60 engines, and 26 irreplaceable pilots.

CAP engaged:

VF-2 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 10 scrambling)
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 20000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes
13 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-42 with F4F-3 Wildcat (0 airborne, 11 on standby, 11 scrambling)
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes
19 planes vectored on to bombers
VF-6 with F4F-3A Wildcat (0 airborne, 11 on standby, 11 scrambling)
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 17000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes
12 planes vectored on to bombers
No.800 Sqn FAA with Fulmar II (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 4 scrambling)
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 12000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes
8 planes vectored on to bombers
No.888 Sqn FAA with Martlet II (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 8 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 16000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 16000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes
16 planes vectored on to bombers
VMF-111 with F4F-3A Wildcat (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 7 scrambling)
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes
10 planes vectored on to bombers

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 217

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/12/2018 4:44:39 AM

Aurorus

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Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

I am starting to form a plan. Hiryu and Soryu may be 4 days away, but their A6M squadrons can be on-site tomorrow. In fact, over 230 A6M2s can be on-site tomorrow.

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 218

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/12/2018 4:39:39 PM

Aurorus

Posts: 1314
Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

Here is my assessment of the situation.

Noumea is only one hex on a very large map. It is a springboard to New Zealand and to cutting off U.S. reinforcements to Australia, and I recently changed objectives on 3 divisions for a New Zealand landing rather than an Australian landing. The purpose of this southern move, however, is not to permanently cut off Australia. That is impossible. The U.S. will break through eventually, and fuel limitations prohibit constant vigilance along the entire route to Australia. Moreover, the further south that go in force, the greater is the risk of having important divisions cut off far from home. The entire purpose of this southern move is to force a fleet battle and destroy U.S. naval assets, which I now have in front of me. Mission accomplished.

There is no point in trying to prevent any reinforcements from arriving in Noumea tomorrow. The only assets in position to do so are the 4 old heavy CAs and the 6 Japanese MTBs, which are at Koumac. Instead, the objective here is to fight a fleet battle. To wait for Hiryu and Soryu is to miss an opportunity. To rush in is to be destroyed piecemeal. (Again, Apbarog had arrived 4 days later, he would have been confronted by 3 SCTFs, including fast BBs, every Japanese CV and CVL, and the airfield at La Foa would have been size 1, instead of 99% complete. So... perfectly timed by Apbarog.

What I want to do is to fight a fleet battle without regard for Noumea. In order to do so, my airfield at Koumac is essential, because I must suppress the allied fighters at Noumea to have any chance of destroying U.S. naval assets. Furthermore, I will have 4 Japanese CVs and 3 CVLs against 5 U.S. CVs and 2 British CVLs (Shokaku was at Tulagi taking on fuel and pilots and can join Ryujo grp which topped off its fuel at Tulagi yesterday). I will be outnumbered, and he will have radar. LBA is crucial if I am to be successful here. The primary concern then is that he bombards Koumac. Neither the sub that encountereed one of the allied TFs nor the search planes showed any allied BBs (though they showed no CVs either and it appears that they were shot down by CAP before giving a full report). This does not mean that BBs are not present, but I have every reason to believe that there are no allied BBs here. As such, everything depends upon 6 MTBs and the old CAs. They must prevent the allies from bombarding Koumac. The CAs will move at full speed to Koumac. The allied TFs are 7 hexes away (outside the range of a full-speed move from the old U.S. BBs) and Furutaka grp is 6 hexes away. They should win the race.

Hiryu and Soryu A6M2 grps. will transfer to Koumac, bringing the A6M2 total there to 110 ready planes. These will all fly CAP to cover Furutaka grp. and possible set a CAP trap for the U.S. CVs. Apbarog may be feeling more confident today after dispatching the Betties with such ease and damaging so many fighters at Noumea. He may advance his CVs NW toward the Solomons and my CVs to clear the area of threats to his transport TFs. Akagi grp and the CVLs will move to a position about 8-9 hexes away from the likely location of the U.S. CVs if they move at cruise speed NW. The CVs will be set with very litte CAP (very high risk, I know), near-maximum escort, on a kate strike using bombs, playing for a 9-hex strike on the U.S. CVs. They will come low, 4K, to increase the likelihood of hits and possibly avoid radar detection. Chokai grp and Kongo grp will move to the area between the Solomons and Ndeni, just east of the CVs. The smaller group of Betties may transfer to Koumac and try a night-time torpedo strike. All submarine assets in SoPac will converge on the area.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/12/2018 4:52:18 PM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 219

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/13/2018 4:31:04 AM

Aurorus

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Joined: 5/26/2014
Status: offline

April 31st: Not their finest hour.

I write these after watching the combat replay to help me collect my thoughts. Apbarog requested that I send him the replay with the turn rather than immediately, so that he does not worry while waiting for the turn. As such, for anyone reading both AARs, please refrain from mentioning anything about the combat events of the day in Apbarog's AAR to honor his request not to know anything until he has the turn in his hands.

The night was uneventful. Furutaka grp. arrived in Koumac and no allied ships approached. In the early morning hours, numerous patrol craft, Betties, and Nells from Ndeni, Koumac, and Luganville began reporting back on the size of the allied armada assembled around Noumea. It appears to be most of the combined allied navies: Dutch, British, and U.S. . Not often in WiTP do you see such an enormous collection of allied assets in 1942. The soldiers, sailors, air-crews, and pilots at Koumac rose very early. They were the first breaker against the massive allied assault and the vanguard of the Kentai Kessen. The entire outcome of the war was now in their hands. They knew that.

The first planes appeared over Koumac later in the morning: a sweep by 27 F-4Fs. 108 A6M2 pilots scrambled into their cockpits and took flight. Many were tired. Two groups had arrived late in the day yesterday flying down from Hiryu and Soryu north of the Solomons. The rest had already fought yesterday or the day before. The F-4Fs came in low, at 8K, 2 F-4Fs found Zeros scrambling off the flight deck and dove on them, getting 2 kills. The rest of the battle belonged to the IJN. 10 F4Fs were destroyed, and it appeared that all the others were damaged. Then 27 P-39s arrived, very high. Again, 2 found A6M2s climbing and vulnerable. Then the P-39s were swarmed by Zeros. Only 7-9 kills, however, but it seemed that every P-39 was damaged.

Finally, a strike from Dauntless DBs on the Furutaka grp: 45 Wildcats and 54 Dauntless. The A6M2s were scattered all over the sky from the 2 fighter sweeps at very different altitudes (a very good tactic, by the way, to scatter CAP before an attack). As a result, they did not converge en mass on the allied CV strike. The F4Fs fought very well, holding off the A6M2s. Only 17 A6M2s got through to the bombers, and only 7 kills were scored on the U.S. DBs. The F4Fs also faired well in the battle, losing only 15 or so planes: though the number of damaged F4Fs was very high. The DBs got through and scored 3 bomb hits on the Kinugasa, 1 on the Kako, and 2 on the CL Jintsu.

Here are the aircraft losses for the day. This is somewhat deceptive, however. Though the IJN did not perform as well as in previous engagements, the number of allied aircraft damaged was enormous. I watched the replay twice to count the damaged F-4Fs and P-39s, and I counted 50 damaged F-4Fs, and every P-39 as damaged. Watching the replay, it appeared more like an Oscar swarm than an A6M2 swarm. The F-4F is a service rating 1 plane, but most of these planes should be out of the action tomorrow. Certainly some of the damaged F-4Fs were destroyed, but 50 damaged is 2 full CV-squadrons. 22 destroyed in another squadron. My guess is that tomorrow the 130 F4Fs that flew yesterday will be down to 80. Enough to defend the CVs and launch an effective strike? The P-39 is a service rating 2 plane, and it appears that every plane in the squadron went home damaged. That is 20 planes that will be on the deck at Noumea tomorrow and probably the next day as well. The 63 fighters there are now 40, unless reinforced.

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< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/13/2018 4:33:24 AM >

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/13/2018 4:36:09 AM

Aurorus

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Kinugasa, Jintsu, and Kako disbanded at Noumea. The damage to Kinugasa and Jintsu is not nearly as severe as I feared. The fires on both ships seem to be under control Kako is more damaged that I thought. They may be able to escape.

I think the damaged CAs will try to flee to the NW toward Moresby and Rabaul. I am undecided as to whether the AV should flee with them or not. The AG and AGP will start unloading some supply in the event of a bombardment that sinks them.

Yes... I have an AGP (1 in the whole empire) and yes... the 6 Japanese MTBs are 1 hex away from Koumac defending the airfield

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/13/2018 4:53:36 AM

Aurorus

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He is the situation in SoPac, and I will work out the plan for tomorrow. Search planes did report at least 1 allied BB. That changes things somewhat. I have 3 fast BBs, Maya, and the CL Oi (with Tanaka in command) in an SCTF 16 hexes from Noumea, and they could reach Noumea in the AM phase at full speed tomorrow. I do not want to put 3 fast BBs against the entire U.S. and British BB force, however. Could he possibly have enough fuel in SoPac already to sortie the entire British and U.S. BB fleet? I suppose that he could if he drained Pearl substantially.

Whatever the case, there are approximately 60 or so damaged allied fighters that will probably not be flying tomorrow, and I have to take advantage of that if I want to have a Kentai Kessen here and now. I am outnumbered 5 CVs to 4, and the U.S. has radar. He probably knows that Japanese CVs are close, because Vals attacked and hit several allied subs near the Solomons. I am going to move into position for a fleet battle. That much I do know. I will sleep on the exact plan. What will APbarog do? Will he fight tomorrow with many damaged planes in his CV hangars, or will he run?

On Noumea, 31 A6M2s were repaired today, and there are now 139 serviceable A6M2s on Noumea that can fly tomorrow. Many of the pilots are fatigued, however. There is also a sqadron of Oscars in transfer range that can fight tomorrow as well as 30 LBA VAls, and 52 LBA Netties. Akagi and Shokaku grp are bringing 155 more A6M2s, with fresh pilots, along with their Kates and Vals and 9 A6M2-Rufes flying off the CS Nisshin. The empire will try to put 330 fighters and 330 bombers in the air tomorrow around New Caledonia.

Again, however, the major question is will he bombard Koumac and put many of those A6M2s on the ground? Kongo grp is 12 hexes away from Koumac and probably cannot prevent a night-time bombardment run. The other question is: does he have a commander in charge of his BBs aggressive enough to perform the mission in a region in which Japan may have air superiority?

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/13/2018 8:45:24 AM

obvert

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Judging from the damaged and downed planes from yesterday this looks like a pretty even fight. The IJN experience usually has a slight advantage in this era with even numbers, but weather and other factors like reaction can change outcomes dramatically. You are flirting with a great success and with a disastrous defeat! This is what the game is all about.

I'd use those LBA A6M to LR CAP your surface ships moving with the CVs to add more CAP to your forces. If then his strikes fragment at all you could do very well in defence.

Good luck!!

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/13/2018 6:16:14 PM

Aurorus

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

Judging from the damaged and downed planes from yesterday this looks like a pretty even fight. The IJN experience usually has a slight advantage in this era with even numbers, but weather and other factors like reaction can change outcomes dramatically. You are flirting with a great success and with a disastrous defeat! This is what the game is all about.

I'd use those LBA A6M to LR CAP your surface ships moving with the CVs to add more CAP to your forces. If then his strikes fragment at all you could do very well in defence.

Good luck!!

Damaged planes cannot be transferred or replaced (even by the CVE Long Island). They return to base and to the CVs and occupy space and flight crews. I do not see how he has enough fighters to cover the transports, provide adequate CAP for his CVs, and escort a strike. He may go into full CAP mode tomorrow and wait 1 day for most of the damaged F4Fs to repair. Also morale and fatigue on many of his groups must be an issue. He has had 3 F4F groups, 2 P-39 groups, and 2 P-400 groups with high casualties. (Of course several of my groups are fatigued as well). He also may withdraw the entire Armada, but this I doubt, because in 1 day, the transports would have offloaded some troops but little supply. Noumea would be a mess with more troops and no more supply. Also, one of his TFs carrying only supplies was decimated by Betties and finished off by a submarine yesterday.

(Edit) I looked through the allied early-war OOB. It appears that the allies can remove 2 TBD squadrons and replace these with 2 F4F-3 squadrons, size 18, and this appears to be what Apbarog did. This gives him an additional 36 fighters. The damaged planes are mostly F4F-3s... his escort fighters (because of range 7). Therefore, he could CAP and launch, but he would want to set a reaction range for his CVs to avoid being hit by a torpedo attack 7 hexes away or even a Kate bomb attack from 8 or 9 hexes away. Halsey would certainly react.... would the other CV TF commander.. and would they react away from the BB escorts?

To further complicate matters, the weather forecast for tomorrow for the region is: thunderstorms, and there are severe thunderstoms over Koumac now. Where were those storms when he was bombing my CAs in the morning?

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/13/2018 9:18:45 PM >

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/13/2018 11:19:02 PM

Aurorus

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

Judging from the damaged and downed planes from yesterday this looks like a pretty even fight. The IJN experience usually has a slight advantage in this era with even numbers, but weather and other factors like reaction can change outcomes dramatically. You are flirting with a great success and with a disastrous defeat! This is what the game is all about.

I'd use those LBA A6M to LR CAP your surface ships moving with the CVs to add more CAP to your forces. If then his strikes fragment at all you could do very well in defence.

Good luck!!

The turn is off. I followed your advice a little. I covered the CAs in Koumac with the exhausted A6M2 group (which transferred to La Foa). There is probably a better chance of my strikes splintering than his, because of the enormous number of targets available to my planes. The weather is a major concern. If there are few air ops tommorrow, his squadrons will recover many planes, and I may be the one withdrawing without a fight. Of course, Soryu and Hiryu are closing in.

So many doubts and questions. Will the Oscars, who flew a long distance to arrive in the theater perform their mission tomorrow? The weather? Where will the allied CVs be? Will he make a strange and unpredictable move? Can I get off a range 8 strike? Will the LBA at Koumac perform their missions? Will the Zero rule the sky tomorrow, will it be allied radar, or will it be the weather?

The safest bet is that the weather will be the deciding factor.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/13/2018 11:20:41 PM >

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/14/2018 5:09:50 AM

Aurorus

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May 1, 1942

The night begins with Jintsu hitting a mine at the small base 1 hex NW of Koumac. (I put Jintsu and the 2 damaged CAs into an escort TF with this port as their base and set to auto-disband, expecting a bomardment of Koumac). The remarkable Jintsu survived and is still afloat with 54% sys. damage and 49% flood damage after suffering 2 1000 pound bomb hits and a mine hit.

Then reports come in from submarines south of Noumea.

I-26 scores a hit on an ASW APD.

ASW attack near Norfolk Island at 116,168

Japanese Ships
SS I-26

Allied Ships
APD Humphreys, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
APD Barker
APD Rathburne

SS I-26 launches 2 torpedoes at APD Humphreys
I-26 diving deep ....

I-22 scores a hit on the BB Revenge

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Noumea at 115,160

Japanese Ships
SS I-22

Allied Ships
BB Revenge, Torpedo hits 1
DD Norman

RO-62 scores a hit on an AK.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Isle of Pines at 115,161

Japanese Ships
SS RO-62

Allied Ships
xAK Don Isidro, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

xAK Don Isidro is sighted by SS RO-62
SS RO-62 launches 2 torpedoes

The reports of the submarine fleet south of New Caledonia in the night are clear: numerous allied TFs moving south. The allies are withdrawing. Several U.S. BBs bombard the Japanese forces at Noumea before retiring. The bombardments are not very effective. There will be no Kentai Kessen on this day. The sailors and airmen cheer the early morning reports, believing the allies have fled the field and are cowards. Yamamoto on the bridge of the Akagi and in command of the Akagi group knows better. This was the empire's opportunity to win the war, and it has slipped away. There probably will never be another. The U.S. will only grow stronger. 4 days later, and the allied armada would have been ambushed by the entire imperial navy.

Yamamoto looks over the navigation charts glumly, as the first search plane reports come in. The reports confirm his fears. All the major allied assets are withdrawn out of range. However, scouts report large TFs of allied merchants at Noumea and a light cover TF: nothing else. Without visible emotion, Yamamoto gives the order to signal Kaga and Zuikaku to turn into the wind. The radioman signals Yamaguchi on Shokaku to launch on the allied merchant ships. Then Yamamoto turns back to his navigation charts, staring blankly at the drawing instruments. The empire has missed its opportunity. Yamamoto was 1 day late.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/14/2018 5:20:12 AM >

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RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/14/2018 5:35:36 AM

Aurorus

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It was well-played by Apbarog to withdraw. The day would have belonged to Japan, I suspect, if he had stayed for a CV battle. The CVs and the heavy cover moved down 3 hexes SW of Luganville, 7 hexes from Noumea. 41 A6M2s with crack pilots and low fatigue were flying LRCAP over the CVs in addition to their own CAP. The strikes, which would have been against the U.S. CVs came off very well.

Oscars began by sweeping Noumea at 8K. They encountered 44 allied fighters and performed as Oscar Ics do... losing 2-1 to the allied fighters.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Noumea , at 115,160

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 41 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 34

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 15
P-40E Warhawk x 29

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 8 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar sweeping at 8000 feet

Next, however, came the surprise that would have gone in on the U.S. CVs had they remained. 68 A6M2s escorting 13 Betties at 4,000 feet. The A6M2s were sweeping ahead. I was hoping for this result, and I achieved it. I have given away many trade secrets in this AAR, and I will not reveal how I induced the Zeros to sweep ahead. Had his CVs been there, they would have been swept by Zeros at 4K before the main CV strike arrived and their CAP would have been drawn down.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Noumea at 115,160

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 68
G3M2 Nell x 13

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed
G3M2 Nell: 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed

Allied Ships
DD Mahan
DD Fanning
CL Durban

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x G3M2 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp
8 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 4000 feet
6 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 4000 feet
7 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 4000 feet

The first CV strike then came in at 12K far above the allied fighters. The attack splintered, and appeared to attack multiple TFs. A follow-up strike was launched in the PM phase consisting only of Kates. Here are the results of the strikes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Noumea at 115,160

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 44 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 54
B5N1 Kate x 18
B5N2 Kate x 51
D3A1 Val x 35

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 2
P-40E Warhawk x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
PC Pulaski, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
xAKL Sinabang, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Witte de With
AM Kalgoorlie, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Durban, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
xAK Era, Bomb hits 1
xAKL Sipirok
xAKL Luzon, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Dunlap
CL Dragon
xAKL Meroendoeng, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Van Ghent
xAK Diamond head, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Cardross, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Mulubinda, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Tuscaloosa City, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Preston

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Noumea at 115,160

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 105 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 39 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
B5N1 Kate x 6
B5N2 Kate x 26
D3A1 Val x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 1 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAK Mormacrey, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Durban, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
KV Dundas, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL St. Louis
CL Dragon

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Noumea at 115,160

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 115 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 49 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 81
B5N1 Kate x 33
B5N2 Kate x 89

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 8
P-40E Warhawk x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N1 Kate: 2 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK Goulburn, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Boelongan, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
CL Dragon, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Witte de With
CL St. Louis, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
xAK Tuscaloosa City, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Ulooloo, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Elisavet, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Corrimal
xAKL Silindoeng, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Evertsen
DD Van Ghent
DD Drayton
xAKL Escalante, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Preston
xAK Aroona, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Siberoet
xAKL Lepus, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Crown City
DMS Chandler, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL James Cook
DD Cummings
xAKL Soerabaja, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DD Fanning

The bomb hits were all 60Kg bombs, so that were not very effective. While it was pleasant to sink some CLs and some cargo ships, this was very well-played by Apbarog. This day would have gone poorly for him if he had stayed, I suspect. What is more, he gained valuable information as to how I arrange a CV battle, and he will be wiser for it, I believe. The low-strike, with escorts sweeping ahead, is a nasty surprise to those who are unprepared for it. In this case, the low strike came into a hex that had already been swept by the Oscars, so he had good detection time. At 4K altitude the detection time for a raid, even with radar, is usually bad, 10 minutes or less. So the sweeping Zeros may have been able to engage F4Fs scrambling off the deck.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/14/2018 5:47:21 AM >

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Post #: 227

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/14/2018 9:14:11 AM

obvert

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I'd say it still went poorly for him!

You got a few good ships there, especially the St Louis, for nothing. I'm guessing this will not be the final day of combat around here either. He may decide to still roll the dice and move in after his groups have repaired for a day, so you might still get your shot. Looks like though you have quite a few more ships to hit. Surprised he kept those CLs and DDs there if he was indeed withdrawing. Leave a few small escort and run with the important stuff if you don't want to fight. I'm guessing he didn't know you had a KB that close.

Its a good tactic with your bettys and A6Ms escort/sweeping. Try it next time at 25k and those sweeps will do much better!

< Message edited by obvert -- 1/14/2018 9:15:03 AM >

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Post #: 228

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/14/2018 5:26:13 PM

Aurorus

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

I'd say it still went poorly for him!

You got a few good ships there, especially the St Louis, for nothing. I'm guessing this will not be the final day of combat around here either. He may decide to still roll the dice and move in after his groups have repaired for a day, so you might still get your shot. Looks like though you have quite a few more ships to hit. Surprised he kept those CLs and DDs there if he was indeed withdrawing. Leave a few small escort and run with the important stuff if you don't want to fight. I'm guessing he didn't know you had a KB that close.

Its a good tactic with your bettys and A6Ms escort/sweeping. Try it next time at 25k and those sweeps will do much better!

In my experience (which is a limited sample size, I admit), It is easier to induce the fighters to sweep ahead on low altitude attacks. I agree, however, this is very effective, if it can be performed, if the group bounces the enemy. Later in the war, with A6M5s and A6M8s, I will probably try this from higher altitudes. I like to try to keep my A6M2s in their best manuever bands. For example, the CV strikes all came in at 12K. Of course, this was to allow the DBs to dive bomb, but also to give the Zeros some space to climb and dogfight and remain in their best manuever band. Allied fighters can rely on armor and durability. The Zero relies on manueverability, especially as an escort fighter.

In this case, I decided to go very low to avoid radar detection and reduce the detection time on the raid, so that they would have numbers on the F4Fs, while giving away altitude advantage. I also want a large difference in altitudes between my two raids, to draw his CAP down below my CV raid and scatter the CAP across the altitude bands. In this case, every asset was expendable to preserve the CV strike package intact and give the Kates clean torpedo runs at CVs. Unfortunately, instead of clean torpedo runs at CVs, they had runs at merchants and CLs.

The entire plan for the attack on the U.S. CVs depended upon the LBA arriving first, which it did in this case. This is why I think it would have been a very bad day for his CVs if they had remained in range. I think, even against 80-90 F4Fs, the Kates would have had clean runs, assuming the intitial strike did not splinter. I do not think that it would have splintered against CVs, however.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/14/2018 5:29:55 PM >

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Post #: 229

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/14/2018 5:35:22 PM

Aurorus

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

I'd say it still went poorly for him!

You got a few good ships there, especially the St Louis, for nothing. I'm guessing this will not be the final day of combat around here either. He may decide to still roll the dice and move in after his groups have repaired for a day, so you might still get your shot. Looks like though you have quite a few more ships to hit. Surprised he kept those CLs and DDs there if he was indeed withdrawing. Leave a few small escort and run with the important stuff if you don't want to fight. I'm guessing he didn't know you had a KB that close.

Its a good tactic with your bettys and A6Ms escort/sweeping. Try it next time at 25k and those sweeps will do much better!

Yes. He may decide to turn around and give chase with his CVs now that they have had an opportunity to repair some Wildcats and my CVs have used all of their torpedo sorties (every last 1). This would be bold, however, because there is a large SCTF in the area with 3 fast BBs, and one of his subs spotted this TF and correctly identified all the ships in it.

It appears that his BBs expended much of their ammo bombarding Noumea. Flying his DBs into a CAP trap over BBs would be bad for him, and having his CVs encounter BBs in surface action would be very bad for him.

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Post #: 230

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/14/2018 6:31:33 PM

Aurorus

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Here is my assessment of the situation.

Apbarog performed this operation masterfully. He was able to land, what appears to be 2 divisions at Noumea in 1 day, and escape with most of his valuable assets, including his CVs, BBs, and APs.

Here is his problem. He landed troops, but his supply TFs were ransacked terribly. Also, my recon indicates that he may be overstacked silghtly at Noumea, which will increase his supply use. There is little hope that Japan will take Noumea. However, that is not a bad thing. An overstacked, undersupplied Noumea is now a candle that will attract all manner of crawling and flying creatures. This will be a point of conention for months to come, and there will be other opportunities here to destroy allied assets. Also, he has now committed, it seems, much of the unrestricted U.S. units to SoPac. If I have to fight through 1942 and 1943 anywhere, I would much rather fight in SoPac than in the DEI.

I need to explore my options to sink the rest of those AKs and limit the amount of supply landing at Noumea to ensure that the allies return and maintain a constant fighter presence here.

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/14/2018 6:33:43 PM >

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Post #: 231

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/14/2018 6:56:52 PM

Aurorus

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Here is the current situation in SoPac. It appears that he may have another supply TF steaming toward Noumea. He will have to cover it with his CVs if he intends to land more supplies. Of course, this could be a group of APs retiring.

I cannot fight a CV engagement today. My CVs have no torpedo sorties, and most of his F4Fs probably were repaired yesterday. I do not want to put 4 Japanese CVs against 5 allied CVs using Kates as level bombers and not torpedo planes. Hiryu and Soryu are still 2 days away. Another difficult situation if I intend to prevent more supply from reaching Noumea.

Furutaka and Aoba may have sufficient fuel to make a full-speed run at Noumea in the night, and return to fighter cover at Noumea. After this, however, they will need to immediately return to Tulagi to refuel. I have 4 fast AOs loaded with fuel at Rabaul, and Tulagi is now a size 3 port with 150 naval support and 30K fuel. The fast BBs also may have enough fuel to make a full-speed night-time move to Noumea and retreat to fighter cover at Koumac, but they also would have to return immediately to Tulagi afterwards.

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< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/14/2018 6:57:50 PM >

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Post #: 232

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/15/2018 4:14:04 AM

Aurorus

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May 2nd 1942

One of the major problems for the allies in the early-war period is the lack of a torpedo bomber. This makes CAP traps over Japanese BBs very nasty for the allied player. With my CVs without torpedos, that was my plan for today in case Apbarog returned. The CVs withdrew and Tanaka moved his Fast BBs at full speed to Noumea to prevent any further off-loading of supplies. They were set with a home port of Koumac and "retirement allowed." So they would move into Noumea quickly at night and then retire to Koumac in the morning hours. The exhausted Zero pilots of Hiryu's A6M2 squadron, Soryu's A6M2 squadron, Tainan Ku Sentai 1, and 3rd Ku Sentai 1 along with the rookie pilots of Chitose (who are completely exhausted and who are not rookies any longer) were asked to fly one more time: CAP over Tanaka's BBs.

Apbarog moved his supply groups off to the west, avoiding Tanaka's BB sweep of Noumea. He also moved his CVs west of New Caledonia to cover what remained of his retiring AK groups. His scout planes spotted Tanaka's group arriving in Koumac in the morning, and Halsey (the Japanese player can always depend upon Halsey to launch his aircraft) sortied his dive bombers after BBs into 109 A6M2s. The heroic IJN pilots fought for a 5th consecutive day. Though their faces were bearded and their eyes bloodshot, the morale of these men (except for Chitose squadron) was undiminished (still in the 90s). Despite the fatigue, they fought well. 30 F4Fs downed and 32 Dauntless for 18 Zeros (and only 3 pilots lost). The DBs scored no hits on the BBs.

How much more can the allies take? Have they not seen enough of these Zeros? The four squadrons of crack pilots still have a morale of 90+, but the fatigue is growing severe. 1 squadron is above 50 fatigue and the other three are above 35. I hope Apbarog retires so that I can rotate some of these squadrons out and replace them with IJA Oscars for a few days. In this 5-day battle that began with the fighter sweeps of Koumac, the 2 primary sentais: Tainan and 3rd have shot down approximately 155 allied aircraft for a loss of 25 Zeros and 9 pilots: 12 B-17s, 30 P-400s, 25 P-39s, 10 P-40Es, 40 F4Fs, and 30 Dauntless Dive Bombers. Here are the air losses for the day.

The allies have radar, and the Japanese have the A6M2. I prefer the A6M2 to radar, but only for the first 9 months of the war. After that, I would much rather have radar.

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< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/15/2018 4:19:44 AM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 233

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/15/2018 7:53:47 AM

obvert

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That was a risk for him to stay i range, and he paid the price. Nice work!

You have some more opportunities now if you want to chase, as the transports are much slower than your KB and he can't stay to fight with so many wildcat and DB losses from the past few days. It's still a fair way to LBA cover in OZ.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 234

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/15/2018 2:41:39 PM

Aurorus

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

That was a risk for him to stay i range, and he paid the price. Nice work!

You have some more opportunities now if you want to chase, as the transports are much slower than your KB and he can't stay to fight with so many wildcat and DB losses from the past few days. It's still a fair way to LBA cover in OZ.

My CVs moved off to the NE near Ndeni and a squadron of Oscars, were set to maximum CAP and the kates stood down yesterday. I did not want to fight a CV battle with his F4Fs repaired and my CVs without any torpedo sorties. So my CVs are far off. I fired all my arrows in one day, and it will be several days before the IJN is ready for offensive operations.

I accidently left 1 CV group on "full speed," so they burned 3x the amount of fuel that they should have. The DDs are low on fuel, so they need to refuel, replenish their sorties and link up with Hiryu and Soryu. Then the question is: what next?

Tanaka's BB group is also low on fuel and the BBs will have to siphon off their tanks to fill the DDs enough to return to Rabaul or Tulagi. Moving BBs at full speed is a luxury that Japan cannot use often. Furutaka grp is down to 2 CAs and 50% fuel, so they will also need to replenish, and I will need to find another CA for them. I have 4 damaged CAs now. I still need to clear the minefield at Belep Island and extract my damages CAs and Jintsu from that port.

Chokai grp is the only operational SCTF in SoPac at this point.

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 235

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/15/2018 5:09:31 PM

Aurorus

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Time to rethink my overall strategy again. Noumea now has 35K allied troops in a x3 hex with a 35k stacking limit. I could bash against his for months and probably eventually starve the base of supply and take it. But this will take months, by which point, the allies will have achieved parity in force with me, and no further advance will be possible. What is more, I would require another division on New Caledonia in order to rotate 2 divisions into and out of battle. New Caledonia is not worth an investment of 4 divisions for months.

The allies are contained in Noumea and cannot advance. The situation is a stalemate. In order to retain the stalemate, however, I must leave 3 divisions on New Caledonia to contain the allies at Noumea and to guard against amphibious assaults at La Foa and Koumac. Garrisoning New Caledonia and prolonging a stalemate on the island is not worth 3 divisions. I need to withdraw 2 full divisions, maybe more, from New Caledonia.

If I withdraw from Noumea, however, I will lose control of the hexside between Noumea and La Foa. He can advance his 2 divisions, bring in an additional 2 division to Noumea to begin a slow advance up the island. This is OK. New Caledonia is difficult terrain with low stacking limits. With good forts at La Foa and Koumac and ocassional naval support, 2 Japanese regiments and some SNLFs can hold off allied divisions for months.

I have forced him to use many U.S. ground assets to keep his route to Australia open. My strategic objective now is to open a new front. I want troops at sea, moving on transports, mine and his. I want his CVs to cover additional landings and transports: either at Noumea or elsewhere. I almost caught his CVs at Noumea and it may be possible to do so again. Opening a new front doubles the possibility. Where?

Two possibilities present themselves. Fiji is one possibility, but New Caledonia is not tenable in the long-term and therefore neither is Fiji. I will try to recon Fiji, but I suspect that he has reinforced it heavily as well. The other option is NE Australia. Townsville is a very good port, and a fighting withdrawal from Australia is possible. On Fiji, my forces are likely to be destroyed in total eventually. It seems that the invasion of Australia is back on. My next move is to destroy the sub pens at Townsville as a prelude to a possible invasion of NE Australia: Normantown, Cairns, and Cooktown. I have 1 division in northern Australia, and 2 divisions at Truk, Rabaul, and Moresby. I will withdraw 2 divisions from New Caledonia. That is 5 divisions to begin in Australia (most likely) or for Fiji (much less likely). Meanwhile, I am assembling some forces for Luzon.

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Post #: 236

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/15/2018 5:21:48 PM

Aurorus

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While all of the action was unfolding at New Caledonia. I quietly took Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), the Cocos Islands, Broome, and Port Hedland (in NW Australia). I have engineers at Broome and Port Hedland to expand the airfields. With the 2nd generation Nell, I can port strike Perth from Port Hedland. One such port strike will be all that is needed to stretch allied fighter cover over the whole of Australia and New Caledonia, gain a numbers advantage in the location of my choose, and destroy more allied planes.

Australia does indeed appear to be the best option. It also opens the possibility of strat bombing next year to keep additional allied assets pinned down in 1943 and away from the DEI, CentPac, and Burma (where I do not want to fight for as long as possible).

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 237

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/19/2018 12:36:24 AM

Aurorus

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Here are the current ship losses. The IJN has lost 3 CLs against 6 allied CLs, 6 allied CAs, and the BC Repulse. The allies have lost 13 DDs. Japan has lost 6 DDs. The allies have lost 12 TKs and AOs of significance to Japan's 3. 40 allied xAKLs and approximately 20 allied xAKs have been sunk to 2 xAKLs for Japan and 7 xAKs. AP losses are heavier for Japan: 8 for Japan and 4 (of any importance) for the allies.

Unless I am able to sink some CVs or some additional TKs or AOs, allied losses are acceptable and will not hinder allied activities later in the war in any way.

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(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 238

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/19/2018 12:42:18 AM

Aurorus

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Here is the current scoresheet with the current air loss totals. The allied pools for P-40Es, P-400s, F4Fs, and B-17Es are probably low. Other allied pools should be healthy. The F4F pool will recover quickly now that the allies are producing 45 F4F-4s per month. However, a large number of F4F-3s were destroyed, and that may leave him short a few escort fighters capable of escorting range 7 strikes. My fighter pools are mostly full, and I may shut off Oscar Ic production soon to preserve heavy industry and Nakajima 35 engines. The Tojo IIa is in production and the pool is at 4 planes with 1 added per day. The Nick is also in production with 4 in the pool and 1 plane added per day.

Of the 127 army points that I have lost, approximately 75 were at sea, so as usual, I have lost more troops at sea than in combat in the first 6 months of the war.

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< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/19/2018 12:45:54 AM >

(in reply to Aurorus)

Post #: 239

RE: Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A) - 1/21/2018 9:14:24 AM

Aurorus

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May 8th, 1942

New Caledonia has become quiet in recent days, and Yokoyama and Siburo's Zero squadrons have recovered fatigue and received replacement planes. Chitose squadron (which escorted the Betties) is still recovering morale and will need such additional pilots (direct from training). 2 Oscar Ic squadrons are also in the region.

The CVs withdrew to Ndeni and replenished their torpedos from an AKE, then met the fast AOs just north of the Solomon's to refuel. They then moved to the central Coral Sea and approached Townsville undetected. On the 8th, planes from Akagi, Shoho, Zuiho, and Zuikako struck the port at Townsville in the PM phase. Ryujo's A6Ms swept the airfield in the morning. Ryujo's group was able to damage a number of P-40s, and the afternoon CAP was minimal. Only 10 P-40s sortied against the bombers, and again the A6M escorts swept ahead of the raid, inflicting more losses than they received. Air losses for the day show 7 P-40Es lost in air-to-air and another 8 to ops. 7 A6M2s and 4 pilots were lost. The Zero continues to dominate the skies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Townsville , at 92,144

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 110 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 36 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
22 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 20000 feet

The weather over Townsville was poor with thunderstorms and the raid came off badly. Nevertheless, the objective was accomplished and the AS was sunk. Townsville will no longer be a sub-base, at least for the moment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on Townsville , at 92,144

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 63 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 63
B5N1 Kate x 11
B5N2 Kate x 50

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
AVP Reiger, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AG Bonwin, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AS Janssens, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Anshun, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 12000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
16 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 12000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
17 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
11 x B5N1 Kate bombing from 12000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
13 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet

< Message edited by Aurorus -- 1/21/2018 9:16:32 AM >

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