fcharton
Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010 From: France Status: offline
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The war has been raging, we just played the 23rd of December, so here is a longish catch-up post. December 14th 1941 Naughty Aussies I had planned to coordinate all invasions of New Guinea north coast. Everything went as planned for the three landings in Hollandia, Aitape and Vanimo, but the Wewak force was delayed, and only landed yesterday. This gave the enemy enough time to react, and CL Adelaide attacked Wewak, and sank three cargoes. Japanese Ships xAKL Tomozono Maru #3, Shell hits 4, and is sunk xAK Shinwa Maru, Shell hits 22, and is sunk xAKL Taiyu Maru, Shell hits 17, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships CL Adelaide This didn’t prevent Wewak from being captured today. Kido Butai is on its way, the next series of invasion will be under air cover. Invasions in the making Georgetown fell to my first deliberate attack. The two indian brigades from Alor Star are cut off. In Ambon and Hong Kong, deliberate attacks reduced the forts (to levels 0 and 1) and achieved 1:1 odds. In Hong Kong, attacks will continue tomorrow. In Ambon, the troops need a day rest. December 15th 1941 In Hong Kong, another deliberate attack destroyed the forts and achieved 2:1 odds. The city should fall tomorrow. In China, we captured Kweiteh and the hex south of Yenan. I am concentrating two divisions and a brigade to cross the river, but before that, I want the clear the road from Taiyuan to Sian, to protect my supply lines. December 16th 1941 Slow-mo in Borneo On the north coast of Borneo, Miri was captured early, and Kudat fell today. The invasion force for Kuching is now off Miri, waiting. My opponent seems to want to make a stand, and keeps sending light naval forces at the escort. Today, we found , and damaged CL Mauritius. She doesn’t show up as sunk, but she should be in a sore state. Japanese Ships CA Mogami, Shell hits 1 CA Mikuma, Shell hits 5 CA Suzuya, Shell hits 1 CA Kumano, Shell hits 7, on fire DD Maikaze, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Nowaki DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 4, heavy fires Allied Ships CL Mauritius, Shell hits 17, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Stronghold, Shell hits 1 DD Encounter, Shell hits 1 DD Isis, Shell hits 3 My Nells in Saigon have found another task force, around the Marblehead, sent our way. Bring them on, we have ammo left! Chinese take away Chengchow fell today, the chinese corps garrisoning it was mauled and retreated to Loyang, which seems to have been evacuated. It should fall in a few days. If my troops from Kaoping (two divisions and two tank regiments) manage to take Tsiaotso, I will hold all the Loyang area before Christmas. I am experimenting with a new strategy, in China. In my previous games, I tended to scatter my units, and attack in many places, to catch a lot of Chinese units in their starting positions. In late December, I would be on the offensive pretty much everywhere in China. In this game, I am trying to concentrate my units in stacks 500-1000 AV strong, reinforced with tanks when possible, and target larger stacks and bases, at better odds. The rationale is that whereas “small victories” tend to disable enemy squads, those larger battles tend to destroy them, and a destroyed squad is much more costly to replace for the supply-strapped KMT. So far, this seems to be working, here are a couple of recent results : Chengchow today : Allied ground losses: 1824 casualties reported Squads: 56 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 69 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 10 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 18 (7 destroyed, 11 disabled) Units retreated 1 Hwainan today Allied ground losses: 284 casualties reported Squads: 33 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 23 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled) Units retreated 1 Yenan yesterday Allied ground losses: 863 casualties reported Squads: 70 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 11 (8 destroyed, 3 disabled) Units retreated 1 On the other side of China, Hong Kong fell today. The installations are damaged, I am repairing the shipyards and the heavy industry. Ambon falls This is the good news for today. An Air HQ and a base force are on their way, together with transports to take the 41st regiment to his next destination (either Koepang or Horn Island). Namlea should be invaded soon. As I mentioned previously, I am interested in taking the Moluccas and New Guinea and maybe a few Australian bases around the Torres Straits as early as possible. My idea is to isolate the Celebes the south coast of Borneo and Java. Like Mindanao, they can wait. I alos want to build a strong presence in the area between Ambon and Milne Bay. December 17th 1941 Between Kuching and Miri, the allies keep coming at our invasion forces. But the screening forces do their job. There is no moon today, so all combat takes place at close quarters, which, I believe, favors my heavier cruisers. The night begin with an inconclusive engagement between the screen and CA Houston. Japanese Ships CA Mogami CA Mikuma CA Suzuya CA Kumano, Shell hits 4 DD Nowaki Allied Ships CA Houston, Shell hits 1 DD John D. Ford, Shell hits 2 Then CL Marblehead pops in, and gets surprised, and sunk Japanese Ships CA Mogami CA Mikuma, Shell hits 1 CA Suzuya CA Kumano, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage DD Nowaki, Shell hits 1 Allied Ships CL Marblehead, Shell hits 27, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Barker DD Bulmer, Shell hits 1 DD Paul Jones DD Parrott DD Stewart And another Japanese cruiser division hunts the Marblehead screen Japanese Ships CA Takao CA Atago DD Asashio DD Oshio DD Michishio DD Arashio Allied Ships DD Barker, Shell hits 1 DD Bulmer DD Paul Jones DD Parrott DD Stewart Japanese Ships CA Takao CA Atago DD Asashio DD Oshio, Shell hits 1 DD Michishio DD Arashio Allied Ships DD Barker DD Bulmer DD Paul Jones DD Parrott DD Stewart, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage Into the day Japanese Ships CA Takao CA Atago DD Asashio DD Oshio, Shell hits 1 DD Michishio DD Arashio Allied Ships DD Barker, Shell hits 3, on fire DD Bulmer DD Paul Jones, Shell hits 5, on fire December 18th 1941 A quiet day. In Hong Kong, the minefield is being cleared, and fleeing cargoes are sunk by Betties from Formosa. We land in Namlea, Taytay and Manus, all should fall tomorrow. KB is now in position off Kavieng. Invasions in this area are about to begin. Around Kuching, no more enemy task forces are detected, and the screen is low on ammunition. I am taking my chances and sending the transports in. December 19th 1941 Today was invasion day. Namlea and Taytay, invaded yesterday, are captured. Kavieng, Brunei, Kuching and Tarawa are invaded, Tarawa is captured. The enemy doesn’t seem to contest the landings in Kuching (I have battleships around, too). In China, on the road from Taiyuan to Sian, a Chinese corps is defeated. This protects my advance on Yenan, which should resume in a few days. December 20th 1941 Manus and Kavieng are captured. Fischhafen, Malang, Rabaul and Shortlands are next on my little list. In Borneo, Kuching falls to my first attack. The base will be reinforced. Mini-KB is on its way, to prepare for the invasion of Singkawang. On Luzon, Bayombong and San Fernando are captured. This will be my defensive line until the 4th division, now landing in Appari arrives. Then, I will try to capture Manila and put siege on Clark Field. In the meantime, spoiling raids on Lingayen and Iba will take place. December 21st 1941 The fall of Tsiaotso My troops from Kaoping, a division, a mixed brigade and two tank regiments, arrived yesterday, attacked today, and disposed of the two enemy corps in short order. Ground combat at Tsiaotso (88,42) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 18366 troops, 140 guns, 194 vehicles, Assault Value = 694 Defending force 9198 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 281 Japanese adjusted assault: 466 Allied adjusted defense: 142 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Tsiaotso !!! Japanese ground losses: 507 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 25 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Allied ground losses: 4758 casualties reported Squads: 101 destroyed, 20 disabled Non Combat: 101 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 30 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 6 (5 destroyed, 1 disabled) Units retreated 2 East of Tsiaotso, an empty Loyang is captured. North of Tsiaotso, on the road to Sian, another Chinese corps is defeated. With the Loyang area under Japanese control, and the supply line to Yenan open, operations will now concentrate on Yenan and the north (the Paotow Kweisui area), and clearing the plains between Loyang and Nanyang in the south of the Yellow River. I am not rushing on Sian, as my supply lines are not secure enough (lots of units still roaming in the plains). I am quite satisfied with my early advance in China. Without reinforcements from the Kwantung Army (since we are PP for borders), I am moving faster than in my previous game against Spence.
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