RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/27/2019 9:22:09 PM

apbarog

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

8 Mar 43

Dutch sub KXIV fired 4 torpedoes at small tanker Akatuki Maru near Jesselton, and got one hit. Sinking audio heard immediately after combat.

US cruisers bombarded Roi-Namur. US troops on the island are slowly recovering from their back-to-back shock attacks that didn't go well. About half of the squads are now combat ready. The unit has a large amount of supply so we'll just wait for the unit to recover, with occasional help from ship bombardments and heavy bomber raids.

North of Truk about 4 hexes, Tuna spots a big convoy and fired 2 torpedoes at xAK Florida Maru. One hit but was a dud. This task force has multiple xAKs and multiple AOs. Later in the day, Tuna struck again, firing 4 torpedoes at already smoking AO Iro. One hit again, and it was a dud, again. The smoking AO tells me that these ships are headed north from Truk. The AO was one of the ships hit awhile ago with my carrier raid.

42 Oscars swept Babar but there was no CAP. Sallys with Oscar and Zero escort hit the airfield, doing minor damage.

Huge Allied bombing effort against enemy stack at Mandalay. This is the stack that was just defeated at Meiktila. The huge number of Allied bombers, hitting troops in clear terrain, must be depressing to the enemy. Much as I've felt with the relentless bombing for over a year in China. I don't mention that bombing regularly, but it's there everyday. The enemy uses sufficient escorts in China, fearing a fighter trap, but it very rarely occurs. The bombing is one-sided, but there's nothing fair in war, and Allied airpower will just keep getting stronger.

Cleanup continues at Port Blair. Base force destroyed, and just one enemy unit left.

Chinese attack at Lashio.

Ground combat at Lashio (62,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14968 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 418

Defending force 4145 troops, 34 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 90

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Allied adjusted assault: 152

Japanese adjusted defense: 256

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), experience(-)
Attacker: fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
285 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
458 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 29 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Assaulting units:
1st New Chinese Corps

Defending units:
143rd Infantry Regiment
50th JAAF AF Bn

It's very difficult to get supply to the Chinese here. We did catch the enemy trying to move out of town quickly.

Enemy battleship task force spotted southeast of Truk, in a bombardment staging position for Ponape. 2 xAKLs are ordered to stop unloading supply and head east. All operational non-search aircraft are ordered to other islands to wait out the bombardment that is probably coming.

Most of the US APs that upgrade to APAs are now doing so at Brisbane.

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 1111

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/28/2019 10:02:58 PM

apbarog

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

9 Mar 43

US cruisers bombarded Roi-Namur again. They are running back and forth from Nauru.

42 Oscars swept Babar, finding no CAP. The airfield is out of action, and has never been in action since the island was taken. We did too good of a job with the bombardments. Sallys with lots of Zeros and Oscars bombed again.

18 Sallys bombed troops at Meiktila. Lots of troops there are moving to Mandalay, chasing the enemy stack. The Sallys arrived without escort and ranged CAP found them. 15 Warhawks and 3 Hurricanes intercepted, and shot down every one. Only one bomber dropped bombs.

Allied bombers hit enemy troops hard again in Burma. Got a message from OPilot about how effective the Allied heavy bombers are. Yes they are. They were much less effective today than yesterday, with rain today at Mandalay.

The final enemy unit was cleared from Port Blair.

Ground combat at Port Blair (46,58)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 17896 troops, 308 guns, 121 vehicles, Assault Value = 462

Defending force 1947 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3

Allied adjusted assault: 153

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 153 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1402 casualties reported
Squads: 60 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 61 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 9 (9 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
25th Australian Brigade
24th (Sep) Infantry Regiment
17th Australian Brigade
111th LRP Brigade
147th(Sep) Infantry Regiment
50th Indian Para Brigade
2/1st Lt AA Regiment
112th RN Base Force
276th Coastal Artillery Battalion
106th RAF Base Force
111th RN Base Force
16th USN Special Construction Battalion

Defending units:
41st Infantry Regiment

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 1112

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/29/2019 7:50:51 PM

apbarog

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

10 Mar 43

Enemy air over Changsha and Hengyang, as with most days recently. 2 P-40K squadrons are moved to the base west of Changsha today. I had moved the base unit from Hengyang to it this week. Today the Warhawks will fly over Hengyang and try to catch the Oscars and bombers. They may or may not come. Hengyang is already fairly damaged. I didn't choose Changsha for today, since OPilot has been sweeping it with an extra Oscar unit.

Lots of Allied bombing over Mandalay again. Good results. Allied troops will attack today. It will be another huge battle. With some enemy units leaving to the east, and others entering Mandalay from the west, it's hard to say exactly what the defense will be. Here's what was there today. Some of the Allied troops just got to Mandalay and didn't contribute to the bombardment.

Ground combat at Mandalay (59,46)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 26526 troops, 461 guns, 294 vehicles, Assault Value = 1920

Defending force 42663 troops, 366 guns, 200 vehicles, Assault Value = 1073

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

Allied ground losses:
52 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
32nd Infantry Division
18th British Division
2nd British Division
6th Chinese Corps
XV Indian Corps

Defending units:
12th Division
5th Division
56th Division
Imperial Guards Division
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
25th Army
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
2nd Army
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Shipping

Chinese attack again at Lashio. The enemy still shows movement out of town.

Ground combat at Lashio (62,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14620 troops, 80 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 378

Defending force 3225 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 78

Allied adjusted assault: 339

Japanese adjusted defense: 403

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)

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

Japanese ground losses:
109 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
116 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
1st New Chinese Corps

Defending units:
143rd Infantry Regiment

Badly damaged AK Adhara is now one hex west of Darwin. SYS 11/FLOT 92/ENG 9/FIRE 0. It took non-combat damage at Wyndham. Probably grounded. It might be saved.

< Message edited by apbarog -- 7/29/2019 7:51:16 PM >

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 1113

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/30/2019 6:39:51 AM

apbarog

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

11 Mar 43

Trout spotted a tanker convoy at Miri, but didn't get a shot. Trout and 3 other US subs came from Colombo and passed by Singapore. All are on minelaying missions. Trout laid mines at Miri but AMc Awa Maru was sitting there waiting, and started sweeping mines immediately. OPilot has his bases covered, literally. The other subs are dropping mines at non-base hexes. One near Tarakan, one near the northeastern corner of Borneo, and one east of Soerabaja.

22 P-38Fs swept Chiang Mai and found 32 Tojos. 11 Tojos were downed for the cost of 3 Lightnings. Today the P-38s will return, in fewer numbers, but a sweep of Corsairs will also take place.

OPilot didn't go to Hengyang today, so my fighter trap failed. He went heavier to Changsha, so the 2 P-40K squadrons will LRCAP Changsha from range 1, with some fatigue from yesterday.

More Allied bombing of Mandalay, and an attack.

Ground combat at Mandalay (59,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 38157 troops, 364 guns, 209 vehicles, Assault Value = 1932

Defending force 41067 troops, 394 guns, 189 vehicles, Assault Value = 1038

Allied adjusted assault: 958

Japanese adjusted defense: 387

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
746 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 63 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 14 (1 destroyed, 13 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
252 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 71 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Vehicles lost 37 (4 destroyed, 33 disabled)

Assaulting units:
18th British Division
2nd British Division
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
32nd Infantry Division
6th Chinese Corps
XV Indian Corps

Defending units:
12th Division
5th Division
Imperial Guards Division
56th Division
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Army
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
31st Field AA Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Shipping

A good result, and another attack is ordered.

To the north we attacked at Katha, trying to clear the rail line.

Ground combat at Katha (61,43)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3738 troops, 9 guns, 44 vehicles, Assault Value = 156

Defending force 3753 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 123

Allied adjusted assault: 51

Japanese adjusted defense: 127

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

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

Japanese ground losses:
66 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
202 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 32 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
4th Burma Battalion
75th Indian Brigade

Defending units:
112th Infantry Regiment

The enemy still shows movement out of Katha, but that could be a ruse. The enemy regiment is looking at a long retreat in the jungle to escape. It might be ordered to stay in place and block the rail line as long as possible.

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 1114

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/30/2019 1:14:49 PM

jwolf

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline

quote:

It might be ordered to stay in place and block the rail line as long as possible.

That sure makes sense to me. Delay, delay, delay. They wouldn't waste a whole division doing that, but I could see that for a regiment.

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 1115

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/31/2019 4:25:25 AM

apbarog

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

12 Mar 43

My just-placed minefield at Miri was completely swept. In the middle of the South China Sea, Grouper spotted a big cargo task force. 2 torpedoes were fired at xAK Teihoku Maru. One hit. No troops or fuel on the ship.

Big fight over Chiang Mai. P-38s from Rangoon swept and found 31 Tonys and 34 Oscars. Many Oscars went down. 7 P-38s were lost. Corsairs then swept, in piecemeal fashion. Some Oscars and Tonys downed. 5 Corsairs lost.

My fighter trap at Changsha worked. No enemy sweepers today. 18 Lilys with 27 Oscars appeared and found 39 Warhawks. Every Lily was shot down, as were many Oscars. 7 Warhawks were lost.

Total air losses on the day were 38 Oscars, 18 Lilys and 6 Tonys, for the cost of 7 P-40Ks, 7 P-38Fs and 5 F4Us. A good day, although losing low replacement quality aircraft does hurt.

Another attack at Mandalay. Heavy fighting, lots of losses. Need a day of rest now. The 48th Division just entered Mandalay from the west, and it was practically full strength. All of the rest of the divisions are weak to very weak. The 48th saved the enemy.

Ground combat at Mandalay (59,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 64296 troops, 825 guns, 498 vehicles, Assault Value = 1857

Defending force 51124 troops, 560 guns, 212 vehicles, Assault Value = 1425

Allied adjusted assault: 707

Japanese adjusted defense: 575

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1930 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 156 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 40 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 30 (2 destroyed, 28 disabled)
Vehicles lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1402 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 185 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 39 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 32 (2 destroyed, 30 disabled)
Vehicles lost 46 (33 destroyed, 13 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
2nd British Division
18th British Division
32nd Infantry Division
6th Chinese Corps
XV Indian Corps

Defending units:
12th Division
5th Division
48th Division
Imperial Guards Division
56th Division
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
5th Field Construction Battalion
2nd Shipping
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
31st Field AA Battalion
7th Field Construction Battalion
5th Mortar Battalion
2nd Shipping

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 1116

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/31/2019 6:26:56 PM

Macclan5

Posts: 1065
Joined: 3/24/2016
From: Toronto Canada
Status: offline

Apbarog...

You may have to write a 'game thesis'

Casually I would observe a consistent (recent?) Japanese Player tendency to:

(i) build the "Nanyang >> Sian >> Lanchow thrust" with heavy hitting armor / art / Japanese forces.
(ii) then "turn the corner" into the Chungking plains and so avoid the hex by hex progress north from Changsha"

Seems to form part of the basic Japanese >> China strategy

You seemed to have stopped it cold - at least in so far as you have opportunity to reopen the Burma Road ...

Congrats.

Was the thrust through Sian a heavily armored fight ? Did you para drop British Anti Tank guns to the theater ?

_____________________________

A People that values its privileges above it's principles will soon loose both. Dwight D Eisenhower.

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Post #: 1117

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/31/2019 6:37:35 PM

apbarog

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

The Sian battle was not heavily armored. I had plenty of infantry at Sian to hold, but it is clear terrain and since Sian was almost isolated, I couldn't get supply in. I withdrew most of the forces and forced a costly fight there. My forces still hold south and west of Sian, in good terrain. His Sian attack came from the east.

An enemy armored division appeared way up north, and that has been the spearhead towards Lanchow. It is in the highlighted hex now. It had flanked to the west of that hex, then headed east, closing that hexside. Now enemy infantry is moving to join the armor.

I had not sent any anti-tank units to China. But when I start getting supply into China, everything is going to change there, with the ability to grow the Chinese units immensely, and upgrade to the 1943 squad devices. And be able to base lots of air units.

OPilot is currently reinforcing around Changsha.

(in reply to Macclan5)

Post #: 1118

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 7/31/2019 7:11:11 PM

jwolf

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline

If the Allied defense in China basically holds up to the point where the Burma Road is re-opened (as in this game) it seems hard to believe that the Japanese could make any further really significant progress in China. But from their point of view the objective would be to keep you pushed back as far and as long as possible, and as long as that can be done with an offensive type of posture, they will continue to do so. However, I would imagine that the Japanese will be on the strategic defensive in China before too long.

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 1119

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/1/2019 8:13:04 AM

apbarog

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

13 Mar 43

US minesweepers clear enemy mines just outside of Luganville.

RO-64 missed destroyer Bagley near Kusaie Island.

Albacore hit subchaser Ch 28 near Ternate, and based on sinking audio, sank it.

Big enemy air effort at Ponape. 30 A6M5 Zeros swept from Truk, finding 22 Warhawks and 16 Corsairs. Lots of Zeros downed and a few Warhawks. Then 40 more A6M5 Zeros swept, finding a reduced number of US fighters: 14 Warhawks and 13 Corsairs. More enemy than friendly downed. Two fragmented sweeps then arrived, with more Zeros shot down. Still in the morning, 11 Bettys with 12 A6M3a Zeros arrived, attacking a cargo task force unloading supply. About half of the Bettys were shot down. 4 dropped torpedoes but missed a destroyer and a cargo ship. Only 11 US fighters were on CAP, depleted from the earlier sweeps. In the afternoon fewer Bettys arrived, 9 of them, with 14 Zeros escorting, and only 5 Corsairs were still in the air. A couple of Zeros were downed but no Bettys. One cargo ship was sunk by a torpedo, and another is badly damaged.

29 Sallys with 36 Oscars hit Babar, but found that the runway had become barely operational and 45 Warhawks were there. Lots of enemy downed.

Total air losses for the day were 35 A6M5 Zeros, 20 Sallys, 11 A6M3a Zeros, 10 Oscars and 8 Bettys. US losses were just 8 P-40Ks and 2 F4Us. A great result. The fight was over US bases, so the number of enemy pilots killed should be significant. 3 new aces and a double ace at Babar, and 2 new aces at Ponape.

Most Allied bombers were resting in Burma today. A few small squadrons hit Manadalay, and found 8 Tonies on very LRCAP. A few bombers were damaged.

Another Allied attempt to clear Katha and the rail line to the north failed. I'm still hoping that the enemy moves off the rail line to escape to the south, but it's still there, showing movement. I'd stay right there and block the line to the bitter end.

Ground combat at Katha (61,43)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3619 troops, 9 guns, 44 vehicles, Assault Value = 135

Defending force 3650 troops, 20 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 112

Allied adjusted assault: 39

Japanese adjusted defense: 119

Allied assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
52 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
371 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 43 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
4th Burma Battalion
75th Indian Brigade

Defending units:
112th Infantry Regiment

I have a sizable armor unit at Myitkina. I've had it in Strat mode, hoping to clear Katha and rail the armor south towards Mandalay. I may have to move in on the slow trail to Katha to clear the 112th Infantry Regiment out. I'll give it a couple more days and see what happens. The trail movement would take awhile just to get to Katha.

Another huge attack at Mandalay ordered for today. The other big Chinese corp is now at Meiktila and is switching out of Strat mode. It can be in Mandalay in about 5 days, if the base hasn't fallen by then. About 60,000 enemy still there. About 80,000 Allied troops.

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 1120

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/2/2019 12:30:12 AM

apbarog

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

14 Mar 43

I-164 fired 2 torpedoes at destroyer Dunlap near Ponape but missed. Enemy subs have formed a barrier north of Ponape, perhaps anticipating that my carriers are headed towards Truk again. They are not.

Battleships Pennsylvania, Arizona and West Virginia bombarded Saumlaki, east of Babar. Only 38 casualties, and minor damage to the port. The enemy unit there is small, and there is no airfield. I'll be invading here in about a week. Babar needs the support.

Huge attack at Mandalay again, and huge losses. Can't keep this up. I'm not worried about disablements in the long run. I have plenty of supply at Rangoon, so everything will recover. And the enemy can't recover easily in Burma. But I wanted to clear Mandalay quickly, and OPilot hasn't moved out any sizable combat effective units. Only smaller units have fled east. He's making a stand here. We'll win, eventually, but clearing the road to Lashio will be very tough. For now, it's back to heavy, heavy bombing. Non-stop.

Ground combat at Mandalay (59,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 70059 troops, 909 guns, 523 vehicles, Assault Value = 1952

Defending force 55423 troops, 672 guns, 235 vehicles, Assault Value = 1458

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Allied adjusted assault: 572

Japanese adjusted defense: 615

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1701 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 126 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 35 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 108 (4 destroyed, 104 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2625 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 395 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 57 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 48 disabled
Guns lost 73 (2 destroyed, 71 disabled)

Assaulting units:
2nd British Division
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
32nd Infantry Division
24th Australian Brigade
18th British Division
46th Indian Brigade
6th Chinese Corps
XV Indian Corps

Defending units:
5th Division
12th Division
48th Division
56th Division
Imperial Guards Division
15th Garrison Unit
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
2nd Shipping
51st Field AA Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
6th JAAF AF Coy
3rd Mortar Battalion
5th Mortar Battalion
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
7th Field Construction Battalion
5th Field Construction Battalion
31st Field AA Battalion
85th JAAF AF Coy

And for my second unsuccessful attack of the day:

Ground combat at Roi-Namur (132,114)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3733 troops, 66 guns, 34 vehicles, Assault Value = 84

Defending force 6060 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 96

Allied adjusted assault: 2

Japanese adjusted defense: 136

Allied assault odds: 1 to 68 (fort level 5)

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

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

Allied ground losses:
729 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 32 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Assaulting units:
24th Infantry/A Division

Defending units:
43rd Naval Guard Unit
6th Base Force
41st JNAF AF Unit
53rd JNAF AF Unit

The US troops had recovered about half of their disablements. It wasn't nearly enough. The adjusted combat strength was terrible. Time for plan "C". The infantry still has tons of supply. They'll sit and recover, if they aren't attacked. They only have one non-disabled squad. Bombers will continue to bomb. There's an Allied dot base 2 hexes to the south that has a stacking limit of 10,000, more than most islands in the Marshalls. And most importantly, it is a 0(2) airbase, so it can be built fairly quickly and to a level 5. I'm sending lots of engineers here as quickly as I can get the transports to the right locations. I'll built that base up and use it to support the long-term reduction of Roi-Namur. The infantry on Kwajalein will be pulled out and go back to Tarawa, where it will continue prepping for Roi-Namur. An armor unit on Tarawa has been ordered to prep for Roi-Namur. Next time we do the Roi-Namur invasion right, and it will be after a long period of relentless bombing. It has level 5 forts, which is tough, and I know that subs are dropping off supply to the enemy. I could mine it, but I think it's better to occasionally send in some cruisers to bombard.

The good news for today is that the shipping at and around Ponape was not interfered with in any way. Enemy battleships remain at Truk. US carriers will move from the NE of Ponape to the SW of Ponape, still range one. A big chunch of the 40th Infantry Division is now loading at Ponape and is going back to Kusaie. It is one of the divisions prepping for Truk.

An interesting note: SigInt says that the Botanko Heavy Gun Regiment is at Bataan. I think it has been there ever since Bataan was lost to the enemy. I also know that the nice Wake coastal gun unit is at Truk.

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 1121

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/2/2019 1:26:49 PM

jwolf

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
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5 enemy divisions in Mandalay!

It will take ages to wear them down. OPilot is certainly putting up a vigorous defense in Burma. I guess he doesn't want to see any more Allied supply getting into China.

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Post #: 1122

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/3/2019 12:14:03 AM

apbarog

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

Most of the enemy divisions are depleted. Some are wrecked. But there's lots of troops.

15 Mar 43

Sub attack near Ponape at 119,114

Japanese Ships
SS I-24

Allied Ships
CVE Chenango, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Australia
CA Wichita
CL Columbia
CL Montpelier
CL Helena
DD Monssen
DD Grayson
DD Kalk
DD Hobby
DD Frazier

SS I-24 launches 8 torpedoes at CVE Chenango

Chenango is badly damaged (SYS 37/FLOT 64-57/ENG 26-12/FIRE 0). The good news is that it split off and headed south, and wasn't seen during the daylight. The bad news is that it split off without any destroyers. As always, everything will be done to save the ship. Subchasers will move to Chenango and join up at the end of the day.

I considered moving to Ponape with the CVE. But subs are all around Ponape, and Ponape is just a size 1 port. Not much help. Not to mention, there isn't much damage that can be patched up there, and that would happen terribly slowly. Ponape is the most forward base, and it is going to get bombed and bombarded at some point. Allied carriers aren't staying forever. Put a CVE in port, and you can guess how long it would take till Ponape is attacked.

I figure the best bet is to move indirectly to the south, and hope to say unspotted. There are 21 F4F-4s and 9 TBFs on Chenango, and they are stuck there until Chenango can dock.

Some Allied bombing at Mandalay. There's so much flak there now. Everything that came from Akyab is there, plus whatever was at the bases in the Burma plain. Bombers have been flying at 15,000 feet and still taking losses. The troops are resting at Mandalay for now.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/4/2019 12:10:47 AM

apbarog

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16 Mar 43

I-18 gets into one of the carrier task forces near Ponape, but doesn't spot a carrier. 2 torpedoes are fired at destroyer Preston. They miss. The sub is hit by a depth charge and many near misses.

It's obvious that the enemy is not leaving Katha or Mandalay in Burma, despite showing movement arrows. Reinforcements are heading to both. Mandalay is going to be tough, with over 75,000 enemy troops and 650 guns. Bombers will bomb from 20,000 feet today.

The enemy is eliminated northwest of Rangoon, near Bassein.

Ground combat at 53,51 (near Bassein)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2705 troops, 15 guns, 82 vehicles, Assault Value = 108

Defending force 1022 troops, 4 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 3

Allied adjusted assault: 41

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 41 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
1353 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 91 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 3

Assaulting units:
503rd Parachute Regiment
632nd Tank Destroyer Battalion

Defending units:
32nd Special Base Force
15th JAAF AF Bn
3rd Air Div /1

I plan on moving two of the US regiments from Port Blair to Rangoon. They'll have to rest and recover there for awhile. Then they'll go to the front. The regiments might be good to go off-trail into the jungle somewhere. Maybe just to push the enemy supply route to central Burma further inland.

Loading and unloading continued uninterrupted at Ponape. CVE Chenango moved south away from Ponape and was not spotted. Unfortunately, I must have messed up the orders for the subchasers that were supposed to rendezvous with Chenango. They did not do so. I'll try to send some ASW to the carrier today. Chenango's FLOT went from 64 to 61.

Destroyer Mugford is northwest of Nauru. It sprung a new leak and FLOT damage went up 7. It's now SYS 45/FLOT 74-67/ENG 32-26/FIRE 0. It may or may not make it to base. A destroyer is sent out to join Mugford.

Enterprise is now west of Noumea, headed to Sydney for repairs.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/4/2019 6:49:27 PM

apbarog

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2500 posts! It only took me 17 years!

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/4/2019 10:05:17 PM

BBfanboy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: apbarog

2500 posts! It only took me 17 years!

Congrats on another milestone. You'll get that fifth star yet!

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< Message edited by BBfanboy -- 8/4/2019 10:06:07 PM >

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/5/2019 4:35:18 AM

apbarog

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17 Mar 43

Heavy enemy bombing continues where the Japanese tank division is, east of Lanchow. The two Chinese corp there are in the 70s and 90s for disruption, and the end is near for them. Enemy infantry is moving into the hex again, to join the armor. Lanchow will be next up. No supply at all in the area, so little can be done but delay. And the Chinese have been doing well at that for many months.

Some Allied bombing at Mandalay. Many squadrons needed some rest. The huge enemy stack is still there.

Liberator IIs from Ledo bombed Hanoi's airfield, hitting well behind the lines. No enemy planes there, and minor airfield damage done in thunderstorms.

About 90 enemy fighters at Chiang Mai. I may do a massive sweep in a day or two. Resting the F4Us and P-38s.

So we have a bit of a stalemate in Burma at Mandalay. More Chinese are moving into the hex in a couple of days. Allied units need more recovery from the last attempt. Elsewhere, it's a mostly a time of consolidation and building. Ponape is building, as is Kusaie Island. Some of the Allied carrier task forces will split off and head to Pearl Harbor for the April refits, Wasp included, as are 4 CVEs and 6 cruisers. The rest will go to Australia and then on to Darwin after the 2 US carriers finish the March refit at Sydney, which will happen soon.

A small invasion task force, with an Australian brigade, is on the way to Saumlaki, east of Babar. A followup task force is loading. The big show will be Timor, but not until the carriers are back at Darwin.

No sign of KB for weeks. Must have returned to Japan for refits. That single detection level in the middle of the China Sea long ago may have been KB heading home.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/5/2019 10:36:57 PM

apbarog

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18 Mar 43

More Allied bombing at Mandalay. It looks like about 15,000 troops just left Mandalay to the east, leaving about 60,000 there. The second Chinese corp will arrive at Mandalay today; tomorrow we attack again.

US infantry at Kwajalein is being picked up to go to Tabiteuea. They are earmarked for the 2nd invasion of Roi Namur. A small ANZAC engineer unit replaces the troops on Kwajalein. Engineers and base support are there.

US task force headed to Pearl Harbor for upgrades is passing south of Kwajalein, unseen. CVE Chenango, however, is northwest of Nauru, moving slowly with heavy damage. It is spotted, presumably by a sub. Detection was 4/7, and Chenango is moving with just one escort, so there's no telling what OPilot saw. Chenango is ordered one hex to the southwest, then southeast towards a point west of Nauru. Maybe a little bit more misdirection will help out the CVE.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/6/2019 6:44:56 PM

Wuffer

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Still following you daily. The stupid forum just ate a more elaborate answer :-)
So, in short: impressing progress, you basically overrun his first line.

Regarding Truck, there was an attempt in another AAR which turned out muuuch bloodier then expected. I think it was The Moose's.

May I ask about the situation of your tanks? Just thinking about Birma... What is your opinion about Raheng, quasi threatening the neck of his army? And maybe the TOE of this unlucky coastal arty btn at Pt. Blair? Are they captable to deliver support fire for the infantry?

Lot of questions, but I'm just curious.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/6/2019 11:40:00 PM

apbarog

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Hello Wuffer.

An invasion of Truk is planned but it is not in the near future.

I made a "dash" to try to take Raheng and Chiang Mai with my initial invasion, but the movement was so slow in the jungle. Movement was the slowest for the armor. I couldn't get troops to those locations before OPilot had reinforced them.

Port Blair is in Allied hands, so no threat there any longer. Some troops from there will be sent to Rangoon soon.

19 Mar 43

Did a big fighter sweep of Chiang Mai, where 90+ enemy fighters were seen. None seen today. More Allied bombing of Mandalay troops. Poor weather meant poor results from 20,000 feet. Lots of Allied armor is reinforcing, as well as the second big Chinese corp. We attack today. It'll be another huge battle, bigger than the previous. I have Mandalay slightly overstacked today, and stacking is something like 110,000. Enemy troop strength appears to have dropped below 50,000 as some units escape to the east.

3 heavy bomber squadrons hit Shortland's port and airfield, doing minor damage. Both sides have been quiet in the Solomons for many weeks. This attack, combined with the sighting of an Allied heavy cruiser task force north of Guadalcanal, may get OPilot's attention. It's just smoke and mirrors though. The ships are heading to Australia for upgrades, moving close enough to the enemy to be seen and show activity there.

Enemy troops bombed on Jaluit and Roi-Namur. Ships have loaded the 1/3 of an infantry division on Kwajalein, and will take them to Tabiteuea. They'll reinvade Roi Namur with armor support in a month or so. The Allied dot base 2 hexes south of Kwajalein has Allied troops starting to land. (Ailing-some-or-the-other) The airbase there can build big.

Sturgeon spotted a tanker convoy in the middle of the South China Sea. 4 torpedoes missed an "E" boat. I keep tracking of all locations where tankers are spotted in the South China Sea, watching to see where the current convoy routes are, and when they change.

Some of the US carriers that are heading to Pearl for refits have left the Marshall Islands unobserved. The others are northeast of the Solomons heading to Sydney, unobserved. CVE Chenango was not spotted today as it slowly moved to Nauru Island.

There's an enemy task force a few hexes southeast of Truk. It is in the typical location for an upcoming run-in to Ponape to bombard. 3 CVs were spotted, but just a handful of non-combat aircraft. I don't think any CVs are there, and they are battleships. OPilot does use a CS in bombardment task forces, for some reason. I think that is what is there. There may or may not be a bombardment. Sometimes when his ships are spotted in the current location, they go back to Truk. Possibly hoping for a surprise bombardment.

I'm moving all shipping out of Ponape. It's worth noting that there are only 2 enemy ships in port at Truk now, down from a dozen or so on every other day. OPilot may be fearing another Allied carrier strike, or maybe he's starting to feel like Truk is a bit too forward for valuable support ships. It is. Kusaie is building and is within heavy bomber range. Combined with long range fighter sweeps from Ponape, it is vulnerable.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/7/2019 10:45:22 PM

apbarog

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20 Mar 43 - Part One - Ponape

Enemy ships return to Ponape. Kongo, Haruna, Hiei and Kirishima, with 2 cruisers and 8 destroyers. At least some of these ships were the ones south of Mindanao heading east, several weeks ago. The enemy finds 6 PT boats. All of the other ships had fled. The fight was at night, but with 100% moonlight and good weather, so the shells started to fly at 9,000 yards. The fight closed to 7,000, then increased until disengagement. No shells hit the PT boats, which didn't get a chance to fire back. The enemy then bombarded Ponape.

Night Naval bombardment of Ponape at 119,113

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 22 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed on ground
SBD-2 Dauntless: 7 damaged
SBD-2 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground
F4U-1 Corsair: 2 damaged
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed on ground
P-400 Airacobra: 9 damaged
P-400 Airacobra: 2 destroyed on ground
PBY-5 Catalina: 5 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
BB Kirishima
BB Hiei
BB Haruna
BB Kongo
CA Kinugasa
CL Yubari

Allied ground losses:
541 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 49 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 21 (4 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Vehicles lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 37

About half of the fighters were damaged, except for the Corsairs, which only had a few planes on Ponape. The airfield was still operational. In the afternoon, enemy carrier planes appeared over Ponape, targeting the PT boats.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ponape at 119,113

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 147 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 38 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 53
D4Y1 Judy x 23

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 5
P-400 Airacobra x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 2 destroyed
D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-400 Airacobra: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
PT-147
PT-145
PT-149
PT-146
PT-150

The US fighters were not at their best, having endured the battleship bombardment. But the Judys couldn't hit the fast moving PT boats.

This doesn't look like KB. It looks smaller. I don't know if I believe the sighting of all CVLs though. Maybe a mix. US carriers have left the area though, with half east of the Marshalls heading for Pearl Harbor, and half in the eastern Solomons, heading for Sydney. The enemy carrier task force may or may not be something they could have handled. If the enemy pushes towards Kusaie, they'll find transport shipping to target. I don't think they'll push. Too much risk from growing Allied bases.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/7/2019 11:11:42 PM

apbarog

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20 Mar 43 - Saumlaki

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/8/2019 1:14:49 AM

apbarog

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20 Mar 43 - Part Three - Burma

Lots of Allied bombing at Mandalay. Then the huge battle. Over 110,000 Allied troops are involved.

Ground combat at Mandalay (59,46)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 96356 troops, 1091 guns, 956 vehicles, Assault Value = 2792

Defending force 36757 troops, 532 guns, 231 vehicles, Assault Value = 1106

Allied adjusted assault: 1675

Japanese adjusted defense: 328

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Mandalay !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
13343 casualties reported
Squads: 327 destroyed, 234 disabled
Non Combat: 483 destroyed, 56 disabled
Engineers: 141 destroyed, 13 disabled
Guns lost 358 (290 destroyed, 68 disabled)
Vehicles lost 187 (185 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Units retreated 15

Allied ground losses:
980 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 138 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 28 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Vehicles lost 69 (8 destroyed, 61 disabled)

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
3rd Carabiniers Regiment
254th Armoured Brigade
16th Light Cavalry Regiment
5th Chinese Corps
46th Indian Brigade
2nd British Division
24th Australian Brigade
18th British Division
32nd Infantry Division
6th Chinese Corps
XV Indian Corps
XXXIII Indian Corps

Defending units:
48th Division
Imperial Guards Division
4th Ind Engineer Regiment
20th Ind Engineer Regiment
56th Division
15th Garrison Unit
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
3rd Mortar Battalion
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
31st Field AA Battalion
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
5th Mortar Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
51st Field AA Battalion
26th Fld AA Gun Co

A huge victory. The enemy retreated into the jungle to the east, into a hex that has a stacking limit of 50,000 men. The enemy stack is over 60,000 men. They are hurting and maybe even low on supply. Some Allied troops at Mandalay will pursue the enemy. A large stack of Allied troops will move south. The Allied pursuit may not be quick enough, considering that getting enough supply into central Burma for so many troops is very difficult, and will probably take some time.

Remember the goal of all this activity in Burma for the past two months is to open road to China, and force supply into China. Clearing the road east of Mandalay could be difficult if the enemy defends it and manages to stay in supply.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/8/2019 2:04:59 AM

ChuckBerger

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That must have felt really good.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/8/2019 2:25:18 AM

apbarog

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It did feel good. The two big Chinese corps were the key. They originally landed at Pegu and Moulmein and pushed for towards Thailand, hoping to cut off Burma further south. Movement was too slow for that to work. If I had anticipated that, I would have sent the Chinese north from the start, and would have been able to clear central Burma faster, and would have cut off all of the enemy that had been at Akyab. As it is now, we still have to fight our way east of Mandalay to China. How difficult that will be depends on how much supply the enemy can pull.

Speaking of the two Chinese corp, they are the ones that were formed from divisions, and are two of the few that can be bought out. I did so at the very beginning of the war, and sent the parts from all over China to the Burma border. Some walked there way north through the jungle and mountains to India. Others were flown out of China. I really like getting those units into India where they can build up to full size. They won the battle of Mandalay and are well worth the effort. If they had still been in China, they'd be just another Chinese corp still with 1941 squad devices, unable to take on reinforcements and out of supply.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/8/2019 11:27:54 AM

zuluhour

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2 cents: Akyab seems to be an excellent supply source for central Burma. I would pile supplies in there even if not built up.
I use amphibious TFs of small xAKL. Of course you have Rangoon so .... But with the advent of monsoon season it can't hurt.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/8/2019 1:10:53 PM

Macclan5

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quote:

ORIGINAL: zuluhour

2 cents: Akyab seems to be an excellent supply source for central Burma. I would pile supplies in there even if not built up.
I use amphibious TFs of small xAKL. Of course you have Rangoon so .... But with the advent of monsoon season it can't hurt.

+1

Additionally the little dot hex port base south of Akyab ( cannot recall name just now from memory) can be developed and very simply defended ; a Construction Regiment - a number of Indian British should be arriving "just now" for you and an RN base force. Build port to max quickly and CAP with a single squadron from Prome. Your opponent may attempt some air or naval strikes but they have to get through around Rangoon , Port Blair axis

Congrats on the massive victory at Mandalay and the insights on those Chinese Divisions. Another thing you have now added to my "burden" in learning this game

While the combat summary only indicates Defender : preparation (-) I really have to assume that supplies are very very thin despite any path from Tauang Gyi. Perhaps they "just met the threshold" for no negative factors.

Otherwise the relative portion of destroyed casualties verses disabled doesn't entirely compute (in my opinion though I have no specific evidence on how the engine worked its math)

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/8/2019 10:51:38 PM

apbarog

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21 Mar 43

Australian troops continued to unload at Saumlaki. No interference.

Grampus fired 4 torpedoes at small tanker Tennan Maru in the middle of the South China Sea. One torpedo hit but it was a dud. Position of tanker convoy noted.

Ponape was bombarded again. A different battleship group of three this time. So now there are 7 enemy battleships in 2 task forces working from Truk. Tough times for Ponape ahead. But this is expected.

First, 6 PT boats engaged the enemy, but no hits were achieved for either side. The PT boats did fire some torpedoes in the fight. After the fight, destroyer Hagikaze was reported to have hit a mine at Ponape. Later in the daylight, an enemy task force had moved just one hex away from Ponape. The destroyer is probably gravely damaged. Before they left, though, submarine Hoe fired 6 torpedoes at battleship Ise at Ponape. The torpedoes missed, and the sub was hit with some minor damage. The aggressive sub commander went in for another attack, with no regard for being in shallow water and for the damage already taken. 2 torpedoes were fired at destroyer Arashi but missed. Arashi then hit Hoe with 2 depth charges and some near misses. Hoe is badly hurt with SYS 53/FLOT 78-41/ENG 2/FIRE 0, and unfortunately moved one hex away from Ponape as it's home base was elsewhere. It is ordered to try to make it back to Ponape. It will be vulnerable in port there, with an out of commission airfield, but there is no choice.

And the airfield is out of commission after the battleships bombarded, and an air raid.

Night Naval bombardment of Ponape at 119,113

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-2 Dauntless: 18 damaged
SBD-2 Dauntless: 3 destroyed on ground
P-400 Airacobra: 28 damaged
P-400 Airacobra: 3 destroyed on ground
PBY-5 Catalina: 3 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 28 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
BB Ise
BB Yamashiro
BB Fuso

Allied ground losses:
629 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled
Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 30 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 16 (2 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 14 (9 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 17

Losses on the ground were 5 SBDs, 4 P400s and 2 P-39s. The few flyable aircraft are flown off of the island. In the daylight, Zeros swept Ponape and Bettys bombed, with Zero escorts. No US planes in the air. An extra 44 Zeros swept afterwards. The enemy carrier force went back to Truk. A good recon shows 92 fighters and 120 bombers. So a decent force but not all of KB. The plan remains building Kusaie while Ponape gets the enemy's attention.

16 Corsairs from Rangoon were inadvertantly left with yesterday's orders to sweep Chiang Mai. They find 35 Oscars, 29 Tojos and 34 Tonys, but do well considering. 10 Oscars and 7 Tonys are downed, for the loss of 5 Corsairs. But of course the enemy could be building hundreds of those fighters, while the Corsair replacement rate is fewer than 20 a month, if I remember correctly.

Saumlaki was bombed heavily, and the base fell to the Australian invaders. The 6th Austalian Brigade eliminated the III/81st Naval Guard Unit on Saumlaki. Followup base support units will land today.

In China, the fight is finally lost east of Lanchow. Constant enemy bombing and literally zero supply doomed the two Chinese corp.

Ground combat at 84,34 (near Ningsia)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 7464 troops, 121 guns, 379 vehicles, Assault Value = 359

Defending force 10417 troops, 82 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 247

Japanese adjusted assault: 168

Allied adjusted defense: 47

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
215 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1630 casualties reported
Squads: 152 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 121 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 14 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
6th Mongol Cavalry Division
3rd Tank Division
7th Mongol Cavalry Division

Defending units:
3rd Chinese Corps
38th Chinese Corps

There's another Chinese speed bump to the east of Lanchow, but it is in poor defensible terrain and will not stop the enemy's 3rd Tank Division. Lanchow will hold for awhile, I'm guessing, but it will probably fall. The enemy will have a hard time moving north or south from Lanchow, with mountains to go through, but China will be cut in half. And that may be all the enemy wants to accomplish.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/10/2019 3:05:57 AM

apbarog

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22 Mar 43

Destroyer Arashi went after the PT boats that had retreated to the northeast from Ponape after combat. Odd that it was just one destroyer. Maybe it was with the badly damaged one that hit a mine at Ponape, and the damaged ship sank. Regardless, one PT boat was lost.

Spearfish fired 4 torpedoes at small tanker Kozui Maru near Bataan. One hit but was a dud. The convoy may be routing through Manila, or it is hugging the coast.

We had a couple of air attacks that were a bit unusual. First, the enemy went after Lunga's airfield with many Bettys from Rabaul, flying at night. There's always been a fair number of planes at Lunga, and recently a few squadrons of heavy bombers moved here from the Marshall campaign. OPilot, above all, does one thing superbly, and that is recon. He had dedicated many units to recon. They do it every day, and see far more bases than I bother to look at. It's hard to hide anywhere near the front. So he went after the heavy bombers on the ground with 65 Bettys. They flew at 6,000 feet, and there were no night fighters, with night strikes being so rare in our war. Between 5 and 10 planes were destroyed on the ground, but none of them were heavy bombers. In return, the excellent flak at Lunga shot down 10 Bettys.

Normally, I respond in kind when hit with a night bombing. But I've done that often enough that it may be getting predicable, and there are only a handful of targets worth striking at night. I will respond, but not today. Maybe a huge strike from Rangoon to Bangkok, with heavy bombers. But not today.

The other unusual strike was a big B-25 strike on Pisanuloke in Thailand. Pisanuloke is only a size 1 airfield, adjacent to Rahaeng, which is a size 4 and normally has lots of fighters. About 50 B-25s hit Pisanuloke's airfield, with escort, and before some sweeps. There were no fighters. I targeted this base because I noticed a big increase of utility aircraft (not fighters or bombers). I suspected lots of transports flying supply to Burma. I was right. 29 Topsys and 5 Thalias were destroyed on the ground. Not a war-changing event but a good one.

The rest of the bombers in Burma and India are resting and recovering from the heavy use supporting the ground attacks in Central Burma.

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RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 8/10/2019 5:43:52 PM

BBfanboy

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If he's trying to leave Burma those transport aircraft could have been extracting troops to ensure he had cadres. I think if your unit gets smashed but you saved a cadre they retain the experience level, although replacement troops would bring it down somewhat.

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)