obvert
Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011 From: PDX (and now) London, UK Status: offline
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Feb 20, 1945 On the 20th the Allies get a few hits in I wasn't expecting. He sends two DDs very deep into the SRA and gets to the tankers. They somehow got through dozens of search and strike planes, weren't detected at any point int eh previous turns, and made it into the most critical ports on map for fuel transport. Several tankers and escorts were sunk in and around both Balikpapan and Palembang. This is the issue with single ship DD TFs and raiding in this particular instance. I did have day and night search, multiple over-lapping area of search and a few defending ships int he area (mostly Es which aren't a match for DD but at least I'd thought would deflect or engage and reduce ops and ammo before the tankers were hit). I'm moving on and adding more planes, but also recalling (as I posted last turn I think) some ships from the Medan area that will race to the ports and provide some more strong deterrents. I've also added LR search into the areas around OZ to look for them before they're in rang of strike planes. Fingers crossed I can met this threat. The Allies have a lot of DDs, and if 10, or 20, or God forbid more, were all sent in this fahsion, it could stop the entire flow of fuel and resources from the SRA. Over Hokkaido the air was a bit more equally contested, and the USN especially took a hit as a lot of Hellcats and Corsairs were used yet again. This may also reflect a lowered capacity of LBE to handle the sweeping around here after these many protracted battles. The Allies lose a number of 1E bombers over Bihoro and get to the IJ bombing of Allied troops to down 17 Peggy-T. As the troops are almost all to Bihoro now I'll switch to some sweeping and trying to bomb the Allies more effectively and get to any bleeding or LR CAPPing planes there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Feb 1, 1945 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Billiton at 52,91, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships SC Ch 20, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Toho Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships DD Redoubt Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 64% moonlight: 11,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TF 627 encounters mine field at Bihoro (123,51) Allied Ships DD Cogswell, Mine hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Hakodate at 119,53, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships TK Ryuei Maru, Shell hits 1 SC Ch 60, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships DE Arrow, Shell hits 2 Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching! Japanese TF suspends unloading operations and begins to get underway -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Palembang at 49,90, Range 8,000 Yards Japanese Ships PB Shonan Maru #2, Shell hits 2 PB Shonan Maru #6, Shell hits 1, heavy damage PB Shonon Maru #10 PB Shonan Maru #17, Shell hits 4, and is sunk TK Kyoko Maru TK Mirii Maru TK Toen Maru Allied Ships DD Redoubt Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 64% moonlight: 11,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 64,97, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships PB Atsu Maru, Shell hits 4, and is sunk xAK San Francisco Maru, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Tokusima Maru, Shell hits 43, and is sunk Allied Ships DD Le Triomphant Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 64% moonlight: 11,000 yards Range closes to 11,000 yards... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 64,97, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships TK San Pedro Maru TK Tatibana Maru PB Syozui Maru, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage PB Tenzan Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire PB Choko Maru #5, Shell hits 17, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships DD Le Triomphant Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Palembang at 48,91, Range 9,000 Yards Japanese Ships PB Chitose Maru, Shell hits 4, on fire AO Notoro, Shell hits 6, heavy fires Allied Ships DD Redoubt Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Naval bombardment of Bihoro at 123,51 - Coastal Guns Fire Back! 246 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships BB Iowa CA Chester, Shell hits 5 CL Pasadena, Shell hits 3 CL Santa Fe DD Converse, Shell hits 1 DD Cogswell DD Chevalier, Shell hits 2 DD Charrette DD Bennett, Shell hits 2 DD Bache DD Ammen Japanese ground losses: 76 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 17 Port hits 1 Port supply hits 1 OS2U-3 Kingfisher acting as spotter for BB Iowa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Hakodate at 119,53, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships LST T-113 LST T-114 LST T-115 LST T-132 LST T-142, Shell hits 1, heavy fires ML G-306 ML G-422, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage ML G-425 ML G-432 ML G-435, Shell hits 1, heavy damage Allied Ships DE Arrow Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Palembang at 49,90, Range 17,000 Yards Japanese Ships PB Shonan Maru #2 TK Kyoko Maru TK Mirii Maru TK Toen Maru Allied Ships DD Redoubt Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards Range closes to 16,000 yards... CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 16,000 yards Japanese TF attempts to evade combat Range increases to 17,000 yards... CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 17,000 yards Range increases to 17,000 yards... Both Task Forces evade combat Phew!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Donggala at 67,97, Range 20,000 Yards Japanese Ships E No.53 E No.68, Shell hits 1, on fire E No.72, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage E No.112 Allied Ships DD Le Triomphant Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards Range closes to 28,000 yards... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Bihoro , at 123,51 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 44 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 14 J2M5 Jack x 15 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 14 Ki-102b Randy x 11 Allied aircraft F6F-5 Hellcat x 12 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed J2M5 Jack: 2 destroyed Ki-102b Randy: 4 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-5 Hellcat: 2 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 61st Division, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 42,300 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft J1N1-Sa Irving x 12 N1K1-J George x 7 N1K2-J George x 3 N1K5-J George x 57 Ki-83 x 24 Ki-84r Frank x 62 Ki-100-II Tony x 8 Allied aircraft P-38L Lightning x 11 F4U-1D Corsair x 9 F6F-5 Hellcat x 52 Japanese aircraft losses J1N1-Sa Irving: 6 destroyed N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed N1K5-J George: 1 destroyed Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed Ki-100-II Tony: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38L Lightning: 1 destroyed F4U-1D Corsair: 3 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 61st Division, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 44,300 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K1-J George x 5 N1K5-J George x 53 Ki-83 x 24 Ki-84r Frank x 49 Allied aircraft P-38L Lightning x 2 F4U-1D Corsair x 11 F6F-3 Hellcat x 9 F6F-5 Hellcat x 59 Japanese aircraft losses N1K1-J George: 2 destroyed N1K5-J George: 7 destroyed Ki-83: 1 destroyed Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38L Lightning: 1 destroyed F4U-1D Corsair: 2 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 5 destroyed F6F-5 Hellcat: 7 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 61st Division, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 46 NM, estimated altitude 40,300 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 33 Ki-83 x 23 Ki-84r Frank x 35 Allied aircraft P-38L Lightning x 1 F4U-1D Corsair x 5 F6F-3 Hellcat x 1 F6F-5 Hellcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-83: 1 destroyed Ki-84r Frank: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed F6F-5 Hellcat: 5 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 61st Division, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 38,900 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 26 Ki-83 x 17 Ki-84r Frank x 29 Allied aircraft F4U-1A Corsair x 15 F6F-5 Hellcat x 28 Japanese aircraft losses N1K5-J George: 5 destroyed Ki-83: 1 destroyed Ki-84r Frank: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-5 Hellcat: 5 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 61st Division, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 39,900 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 12 Ki-83 x 14 Ki-84r Frank x 21 Allied aircraft F4U-1A Corsair x 14 F4U-1D Corsair x 3 F6F-5 Hellcat x 9 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-83: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 2 destroyed F4U-1D Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-5 Hellcat: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 112th Cavalry Regiment, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-67-Ia (T) Peggy x 54 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 17 F6F-5 Hellcat x 4 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-67-Ia (T) Peggy: 13 destroyed, 4 damaged No Allied losses Allied ground losses: 62 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 17 x Ki-67-Ia (T) Peggy bombing from 6000 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb 16 x Ki-67-Ia (T) Peggy bombing from 6000 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Bihoro , at 123,51 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 16 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 9 J2M5 Jack x 8 Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 14 Ki-102b Randy x 1 Allied aircraft P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 18 SB2C-4 Helldiver x 11 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 3 destroyed Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 3 destroyed Ki-102b Randy: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed SB2C-4 Helldiver: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged SB2C-4 Helldiver: 1 destroyed by flak Airbase supply hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 1 x SB2C-4 Helldiver releasing from 10000' * Airfield Attack: 1 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 77th Division, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Allied aircraft Liberator B.VI x 10 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 19 P-51D Mustang x 17 F6F-3 Hellcat x 6 PB4Y-1 Liberator x 16 PB4Y-2 Privateer x 25 PV-1 Ventura x 50 PV-2 Harpoon x 11 Allied aircraft losses Liberator B.VI: 5 damaged PB4Y-1 Liberator: 6 damaged PB4Y-2 Privateer: 11 damaged PV-1 Ventura: 9 damaged PV-1 Ventura: 1 destroyed by flak PV-2 Harpoon: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 603 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 34 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 30 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 22 (3 destroyed, 19 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 11 x PV-2 Harpoon bombing from 5000 feet Ground Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 5th RF Gun Battalion, at 123,52 , near Kushiro Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Allied aircraft B-24J Liberator x 63 B-25H Mitchell x 8 B-29-1 Superfort x 7 B-29-25 Superfort x 37 F6F-5 Hellcat x 1 PBJ-1J Mitchell x 10 Allied aircraft losses B-24J Liberator: 17 damaged B-25H Mitchell: 1 damaged B-29-1 Superfort: 6 damaged B-29-25 Superfort: 7 damaged PBJ-1J Mitchell: 3 damaged Japanese ground losses: 853 casualties reported Squads: 30 destroyed, 14 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 28 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Guns lost 30 (8 destroyed, 22 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 10 x PBJ-1J Mitchell bombing from 6000 feet Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Kushiro (123,53) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 57375 troops, 1167 guns, 2759 vehicles, Assault Value = 3920 Defending force 38442 troops, 256 guns, 59 vehicles, Assault Value = 212 Allied adjusted assault: 1691 Japanese adjusted defense: 81 Allied assault odds: 20 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 5496 casualties reported Squads: 209 destroyed, 27 disabled Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 127 disabled Engineers: 7 destroyed, 18 disabled Guns lost 56 (26 destroyed, 30 disabled) Allied ground losses: 90 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled) Vehicles lost 20 (1 destroyed, 19 disabled) Assaulting units: 3rd USMC Tank Battalion 11th Airborne Div /1 4th USMC Tank Battalion 192nd Tank Battalion 2/4th Armoured Regiment 1st Cavalry (Spec) Cavalry Division 815th Towed Tank Destroyer Battalion 364th(Sep) Infantry Regiment 767th Tank Battalion XIV Corps Combat Engineer Regiment 716th Tank Battalion 112th Cavalry Regiment 775th Tank Battalion 37th (Sep) Infantry Rgt /6 96th Infantry Division 1st Filipino Inf Rgt /1 3rd Marine Division 1st USMC Amphb Tank Battalion 25th Infantry Division 31st Infantry Division 4th Armoured Brigade 38th Infantry Division 670th Tank Destroyer Battalion 44th Tank Battalion 2/6th Armoured Regiment 3rd Motor Brigade 12th NZ Bde /6 43rd Infantry Division CenPac Amphib Tank Brigade 2nd Marine Division II Aus Corps Engineer Battalion I Corps Cmbt Engineer Regiment 37th Infantry Div /1 5th Australian Div /9 544th Field Artillery Battalion 47th Coastal Artillery Regiment 9th USMC Field Artillery Battalion XIV Corps Artillery 17th NZ AA Bde 8th USMC Field Artillery Battalion 33rd Medium Regiment 189th USAAF Base Force I Corps Artillery 225th Field Artillery Battalion IX Corps Artillery 27th USN Naval Construction Regiment 738th Coast AA Regiment 694th Field Artillery Battalion 154th FA Bn 12th USMC Field Artillery Battalion 7th USMC Field Artillery Battalion 147th Field Artillery Regiment III US Amphib Corps 85/88/98th Mortar Rgt /3 Defending units: 8th Division 58th Ind.Mixed Brigade 38th Division 49th Ind.Mixed Brigade 13th JAAF Base Force Kure 7th SNLF 17th Naval Construction Battalion 56th Ind.Mixed Brigade 4th Air Army 49th Cavalry Regiment 1st Recon Regiment Yangtze SNLF 51st Base Force 14th Naval Guard Unit 27th Special Base Force 33rd Ind. Engineer Regiment 63rd JAAF AF Bn Ichiki Det. /1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Bihoro (123,51) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 13551 troops, 73 guns, 66 vehicles, Assault Value = 1265 Defending force 52970 troops, 784 guns, 425 vehicles, Assault Value = 663 Allied ground losses: 510 casualties reported Squads: 29 destroyed, 26 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Assaulting units: 37th Infantry Div /12 1st Marine Division 637th Tank Destroyer Battalion 5th Marine Division 58th (Sep) Infantry Rgt /9 81st Infantry Div /8 Defending units: 19th Tank Regiment 28th Division 7th Division 53rd Ind.Mixed Bde /2 57th Ind.Mixed Brigade 50th Ind.Mixed Brigade Combined 8th SNLF 14th Ind.Mixed Rgt /2 7th Medium Mortar Battalion 5th Area Army 177th JAAF AF Bn 4th Medium Mortar Battalion 25th RF Gun Battalion 37th Ind. Engr Rgt /1 35th Army 5th RF Gun Battalion 6th Medium Mortar Battalion 2nd RF Gun Battalion 12th Field AF Construction Battalion 61st Division 5th Medium Mortar Battalion 27th Army 5th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion 12th RF Gun Battalion 27th Air Flotilla 6th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion 77th JAAF AF Bn 1st Base Force 23rd RF Gun Battalion 58th Field AA Battalion 22nd Ind. Engineer Regiment 7th Area Army /2 6th Ind.Infantry Bde /2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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