Sep 15th, 1943

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> Sep 15th, 1943

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Sep 15th, 1943 - 1/2/2020 8:18:44 PM

Anachro

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Sep 15th, 1943

A bit of an annoying day as despite 3-4 bombardments our troops fail to reduce the forts at Lae from 2 to 1. Moreover, John's ships are nearby and we can anticipate some potentially massive bombardments over the next few days and local Japanese air superiority with John's KB on the way. Nonetheless, this is tempered by some nice activity by our subs plus the good performance of our Thunderbolts in the air. An American sub puts two more torpedoes in the beleaguered CV Taikaku near Eniwetok, but despite that ship being hit by four torpedoes now, she still hasn't sunk. A French submarine puts an additional torpedo in the BB Tosa at Madang. Subs additionally sink an xAP and an xAK.

The real interesting thing is what to do with my CV's. They can head by way of Tahiti and Palmyra back towards the SoPac undetected, they can take a more direct route through the Marshalls, they can also attempt to come from the north and hit John's damaged ships and the CV Taikaku near Truk while his KB is down by Lae (recent intelligence puts some of his damaged CA's near Truk with the CV Taikaku heading there before it was hit again one hex out of Eniwetok). I'd imagine John would need to put CV Taikaku back into Eniwetok and we could potentially sink it at port there with our CVs. Decisions.

Meanwhile, our forces at Lae are okay for now and can be reinforced by more troops later on if needed. As stated, the 1st Marine Division (412 AV) at Buna is 100% prepped, there's also an additional 100 AV at Milne Bay.

< Message edited by Anachro -- 1/2/2020 8:21:15 PM >

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Post #: 1861

RE: Sep 15th, 1943 - 1/2/2020 8:27:19 PM

Anachro

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The two North Carolina-class fast BBs have finished their refits at Brisbane and are available for duty. The BB South Dakota will be available tomorrow with the BB Indiana still having 8 days in port for refit. These will help for any potentially future surface engagements as right now John has the preponderance of surface naval power in the South Pacific. Additional fast BBs and BCs are at Pearl repairing and will join as soon as possible.

< Message edited by Anachro -- 1/2/2020 8:28:33 PM >

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Post #: 1862

Sep 17th, 1943 - 1/4/2020 5:01:23 PM

Anachro

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Sep 17th, 1943

John is evacuating Lae; air battles in the skies over Lae and while we clear the CAP, a number of transports are still shot down in the afternoon. Paratroopers of all things manage to bring down Lae's forts to 1. In China, Chungking falls, but this is because we have just extracted 2500 AV to head west. The major portion of the Allied fast carrier fleet is undetected by Wake Island. Should we try a hit on Truk? CV Taikaku didn't sink, but it's unknown if it continued to Truk or went back to Eniwetok.

I was a bit worried this turn as my CVEs on the 16th were still set to Remain on Station (I'd forgotten) and didn't move south towards Townsville like they were supposed to, ending up only 14 hexes from KB. I was worried John was gonna do a flank jump down, but he didn't.

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Post #: 1863

RE: Sep 17th, 1943 - 1/4/2020 5:21:21 PM

Chickenboy

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Where did John lose more Lizs?

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Post #: 1864

RE: Sep 17th, 1943 - 1/4/2020 6:18:48 PM

Anachro

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John has tried a few ineffectual night raids on Calcutta the last few turns. In addition to Calcutta, John tried a night port raid on Colombo last turn.

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Post #: 1865

RE: Sep 17th, 1943 - 1/4/2020 6:20:12 PM

BBfanboy

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With four total torpedo hits, my bet is that Taikaku had to duck into Eniwetok to get flooding stabilized and maybe stay long enough to bring down system damage.
Eniwetok is sort of isolated from the other islands in the area and about 18 hexes from Truk. Perhaps a limited Port strike there would answer the question without revealing that all your CVs are nearby? I think Eniwetok's AF max size is 3, so barring heavy AA your strike should do OK.

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Post #: 1866

Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/5/2020 11:55:28 AM

Anachro

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Sep 18th, 1943

@BB The CVs will hit Eniwetok and then move south, the situation requires their immediate support around Lae.

First we get this confirmation:

quote:

CV Soryu is reported to have been sunk near Ontong Java on Aug 24, 1943

Contrary to what I thought last turn, John reinforces Lae! So, for now my forces will sit and wait and build forts. John can't stick around forever, especially once he knows my CVs are closing on the area. Unfortunately, they shock attack this turn despite being set to Deliberate and this might have been from my Paratroop unit being forced to shock attack, I don't know. Anyways, this means I will have to land the first Marine division eventually, which is nicely located nearby at Buna and 100% prepped. I have 200-300 more AV I can throw at the battle; once my carriers are in position, I can sustain bombardments with cruisers and fast BBs on Lae to reduce it and hopefully bag a few divisions.

However, that isn't the nice thing about this turn. The nice thing about this turn is one Mk. 6 mine manages to sink a Nagato-class battleship! We had seen an N1K1 Rex destroyed on the ground and thought it strange, but only belatedly discovered this when reading the combat report. I had placed a lot of mines at Lae and just outside of it, putting my DMs in great danger and losing a CM in the process. I had thought I'd get some DDs and xAK/xAPs - never would I have though I'd get so lucky as this. Never doubt the prowess of a Mk. 6 mine again, for it can make a battleship's magazine explode! We can only assume poor ammunition storage practices on the part of the Japanese...

Port Moresby becomes a level 9 airfield tomorrow, Milne Bay will soon be level 8, we can then station ships right next to Lae with LBA protection, even from Japanese carriers. Coupled with CVEs, this can be potent fighter protection. CV Bunker Hill arrives at the Panama Canal.

< Message edited by Anachro -- 1/5/2020 12:33:12 PM >

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Post #: 1867

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/5/2020 11:59:34 AM

Canoerebel

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If your units were set to deliberate attack, that's what they did. If you forgot to stand down the transports, so that they carried more paratroops to the hex, then the 'chutes executed a shock attack. But that doesn't affect the setting of your other units. If 100,000 men deliberate attack and 5 crazy guys shock attack, the Combat Report will list it as a shock attack. But only those 5 guys did so, the rest went deliberate.

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Post #: 1868

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/5/2020 11:59:37 AM

Anachro

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Don't doubt these boys! They may be small, but they can pack a punch!

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Post #: 1869

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/5/2020 12:03:48 PM

Anachro

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

If your units were set to deliberate attack, that's what they did. If you forgot to stand down the transports, so that they carried more paratroops to the hex, then the 'chutes executed a shock attack. But that doesn't affect the setting of your other units. If 100,000 men deliberate attack and 5 crazy guys shock attack, the Combat Report will list it as a shock attack. But only those 5 guys did so, the rest went deliberate.

No transports, there was a small bit of support units in the para left in the hex last turn and they were set to shock, which I couldn't change. The rest were on deliberate, which as you said, is probably what they did.

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Post #: 1870

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/5/2020 12:21:37 PM

Anachro

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Given that it was BB Mutsu that sank, here's a factoid from the real life Mutsu. She sank in an accident while in port back in Japan at Hashirajima:

quote:

On 8 June 1943, Mutsu was moored at Hashirajima when the magazine of her No. 3 turret exploded at 12:13, cutting the ship in half. The forward section capsized almost immediately, but the rear section remained afloat until the early morning of the next day. Nearby ships were able to rescue 353 survivors from the 1,474 crew members and visitors aboard Mutsu, meaning that 1,121 men were killed in the explosion. To avert the potential damage to morale from the loss of a battleship, Mutsu's loss was declared a state secret. To further prevent rumors from spreading, many survivors were reassigned to various garrisons in the Pacific Ocean.

The IJN convened a commission three days after the sinking to investigate the loss. It issued its preliminary conclusions on 25 June, well before the investigation of the wreck was completed, and decided that the explosion was the result of a disgruntled seaman. The commission failed to consider the possibility of fire, which historian Mike Williams considers to be a possible cause, as a number of observers noted smoke coming from the vicinity of No. 3 turret. The truth, however, will never be known.

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Post #: 1871

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/6/2020 4:45:24 PM

Bif1961

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So the Mutsu was a ticking time bomb ready to explode and the mine was just the needed spark to set it off.

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Post #: 1872

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/6/2020 4:52:02 PM

Canoerebel

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Edit: Oops, I meant this post for Anachro's other game, so I moved it there. Thanks, Cheesesteak, for the heads-up.

< Message edited by Canoerebel -- 1/6/2020 5:20:59 PM >

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Post #: 1873

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/6/2020 7:06:51 PM

Cheesesteak

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Edit: Oops, I meant this post for Anachro's other game, so I moved it there. Thanks, Cheesesteak, for the heads-up.

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Post #: 1874

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/8/2020 5:13:19 PM

Anachro

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In the next turn, 2 Japanese DDs are sunk near Lae, one by a mine and one by a sub torpedo. We launch a strike against Eniwetok, but find a CAP of 60 planes that easily gets through my 110 escorts to hit my bombers. 2 bombs only placed into CV Taikaku in port with one bouncing off the deck or belt armor if I recall. We lost ~100 planes to Japans 60 (John loses planes in sweeps over Lae). Shameful.

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Post #: 1875

RE: Sep 18th, 1943 - 1/8/2020 6:50:45 PM

Chickenboy

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Don't be so hard on yourself. It was a worthwhile gamble to finish off a stricken Japanese CV and also served as a reminder that even the Allies can get a little over their skis after a heady victory like you've just had.

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Post #: 1876

Sep 20th, 1943 - 1/8/2020 10:58:56 PM

Anachro

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Sep 20th, 1943

Given that John might pull back with his KB towards Eniwetok and that my own CV's were low on fuel, I split off my carriers from my BBs and some destroyers and send them back east where they will soon meet up with some AO's for refueling. I elect to send my BBs in to bombard Eniwetok, but due to fueling issues perhaps, they don't travel very far, but can potentially hit Eniwetok next turn. The issue to me is that KB has disappeared and is most likely heading towards the vicinity and could potentially strike next turn if he moves in at flank speed. It might be more prudent to also withdraw my battleships instead of going in towards Eniwetok. I was hoping they'd be a bit closer to the island and the DD escorts are still low on fuel. So that's a big decision for the next turn.

The nice thing though is what happens near Lae at Finschhafen; seeing "CM's there last turn and knowing John had 5 CMs in the area, I elect to sweep Finschhafen and then port strike it while also sending P-40's to sweep Lae. The P-40's suffer at the hand of Mr. Frank at Lae, but my Thunderbolts and Lightnings easily sweep away Jacks and A6M5s at Finschhafen, leaving clear skies for a port strike there. We don't find CMs, but we do find an xAK and 4 DDs - all are sunk.

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Post #: 1877

RE: Sep 20th, 1943 - 1/8/2020 11:11:56 PM

BBfanboy

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Taikaku will be in Eniwetok for a while. No need to risk your BBs right now. I assume once your CVs return you are prepared to take on KB? That could be the time to bombard Eniwetok to suppress the airfield and hope for a hit on the CV.

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Post #: 1878

RE: Sep 20th, 1943 - 1/9/2020 12:59:19 AM

Chickenboy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Taikaku will be in Eniwetok for a while. No need to risk your BBs right now. I assume once your CVs return you are prepared to take on KB? That could be the time to bombard Eniwetok to suppress the airfield and hope for a hit on the CV.

+1

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Post #: 1879

RE: Sep 20th, 1943 - 1/31/2020 11:39:22 PM

Chickenboy

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Bump for an update. Nothing in 23 days? C'mon man...

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Post #: 1880

Oct 30th, 1943 - 2/17/2020 8:45:07 PM

Anachro

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Oct 30th, 1943

Full update soon. Though the warfare in the past month or so has mostly been attritional in nature, with both John and I trading DD/CLs/CAs. Losses shown below, but the Japanese losses are probably slightly higher than what is shown. We lost the BB Indiana to long-lances off of Lae that got through my other smaller, faster CL/DD TFs and straight to my fast BBs, so that makes up for John losing the BB Nagato to a lucky mine strike the month previous. China will soon be lost, but we will most likely soon take Lae based on additional pressure being placed there and we have taken Diego Garcia in a renewed landing there to deny John deep recon ability into Ceylon and the seas around it.

The nice thing is this: As some of you remember, we had gotten a few nice sub strikes on CV Taikaku, forcing it into port at Eniwetok. We tried a small CV strike on this, but John had posted much stronger CAP than anticipated and we were forced to retreat without fully sinking it in port. Following advice and also because we needed to have our CVs elsewhere, we have moved our CVs and surface units elsewhere on the map and posted heavy sub patrols around Eniwetok and between Eniwetok and Truk. Over the past two days, subs have placed an additional 3 torpedoes into CV Taikaku as she tried to move to Truk and based on John's emails it seems most likely she will sink (no sinking sounds yet). That's 7 torpedoes in total into her so far without sinking, wow.

Most recent attack on Lae was pretty encouraging; we have our ships pulling back this turn to Buna to pickup the 2nd Marine Division 100% prepped for Lae if reinforcements are needed. Our CVs got ~10-15 hits on subs reported north off of Madang.

< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/17/2020 8:52:18 PM >

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Post #: 1881

RE: Oct 30th, 1943 - 2/17/2020 8:49:46 PM

Anachro

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Diego Garcia landing troops took it in 2-3 days. John contested with a CVE/CVJunyo TF as well as some CBs, etc. (I've noticed the additional CVEs he gets in this mod are pretty fast speed-wise). I managed to fight this off with 2 transports lost, but also sunk a CL and 2-3 DDs in return. I managed to intercept John's CVEs with a CL/DD TF, but they only managed to get a few shells into John's CVEs without serious damage.

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Post #: 1882

RE: Oct 30th, 1943 - 2/18/2020 12:39:01 AM

CaptBeefheart

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Great to see the update.

Cheers,
CB

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Post #: 1883

Oct 31st, 1943 - 2/18/2020 4:41:00 PM

Anachro

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Oct 31st, 1943

The 31st of October, my birthday in real life but just another typical day in the war of attrition. Though I hear no sinking sounds in game or see evidence of ships destroyed on the ground (I doubt John had planes on the crippled CV), John gives me confirmation that the Shokaku-class CV Taikaku has been sunk. He can't help quipping about it being his first true fleet carrier loss too:

quote:

My count is seven hits and two duds on Taikaku. Do not worry yourself. She is done. Crazy thing is the first two TTs weren�t that bad but I felt I should put her into Port instead of returning to Saipan. HUGE mistake. This will be the first Fleet Carrier I have truly lost in this game. CARDIV1 and 2 don�t count since I didn�t care at the time thinking you were done with the game. Really wish I could get THAT back and we would have one HELL of a CV Battle right now. Ah, well�

In game, not much here. I send some DDs up towards Madang where they manage to sink a 1VP PB before running into enemy DDs that more than hold their own (this TF had Dutch DDs and they didn't do too well). DS moves up to soak up enemy LBA naval attacks that sank a CL of mine yesterday and they do their job: recon shows John's forward bases largely lacking in bombers where previously they had a decent number. Unfortunately, DS only manages to sink one xAK, with attacks on DDs and APDs causing no hits. My land attacks don't do amazing, but the casualties are 1:1 with the IJA suffering more combat squad casualties. I will bring in the 2nd Marine division from Buna as reinforcements over the next two turns.

Meanwhile, a BB/CA force appears at Horn Island, but I'm not sure if these are surface units or carriers mistaken for something else, not sure of my DL on this TF. I suspect that it's a bombardment unit destined for my HBs at Portland Roads (which I have now moved), but we'll see. I have the CV Essex, 2 CVLs, and a fast 29-knot CVE at Milne Bay undetected. They were heading to join DS, but now I might move towards Horn Island with LBA cover from Port Moresby.

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Post #: 1884

RE: Oct 31st, 1943 - 2/18/2020 4:57:17 PM

Chickenboy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Anachro

Oct 31st, 1943

The 31st of October, my birthday in real life

Wow! Happy 76th birthday! And you're still enjoying this wonderful game of ours. Many happy returns.

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Post #: 1885

RE: Oct 31st, 1943 - 2/18/2020 4:58:57 PM

Chickenboy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Anachro
CARDIV1 and 2 don�t count since...

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Post #: 1886

RE: Oct 31st, 1943 - 2/18/2020 5:07:13 PM

Anachro

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Burma - there probably be action here soon, starting with the onerous march across the mountains. Notice Akyab is taken. We are moving air support and base units to there from which to launch eventually LR sweeps on Rangoon.

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Post #: 1887

Nov 1-2, 1943 - 2/19/2020 6:10:53 PM

Anachro

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Nov 1-2, 1943

These last two turns were bittersweet, but overall I'm more happy and relieved as a result from them than anything else. On November 1st, we get very lucky because while we successfully anticipate that John will bombard a base, we get which base he will go after wrong. John does a massive bombardment with the BB Yamato, etc. on Port Moresby where we thought he'd go after our HBs at Portland Roads. This causes two things: 1) PM gets a nuclear bombardment that destroys ~100 planes on the ground and 2) my CV Essex TF heading north towards Horn Island to intercept manages to run into BB Yamato in the night. Luckily for me and a great source of relief given John's usual emails that imply he's done very well and is happy when I get a turn, the BB Yamato TF fails to actually intercept my CVs and my CVs return safely back to Milne Bay without incident.

So I escaped a real disaster there. The good news is that the past two days my attacks on Lae have been very positive getting 10:1 ratios in casualties each day (~1000 casualties both days for the IJA versis ~100 for me). John has been slowly placing a 2nd division there over the past month so I have the potential to kill two divisions here. I will use this operation to take Lae and resupply some other outlying bases before returning to Townsville to prepare for additional landings.

< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/19/2020 6:13:11 PM >

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Post #: 1888

RE: Nov 1-2, 1943 - 2/19/2020 6:19:42 PM

Cheesesteak

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this is a good read

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Post #: 1889

Nov 3rd, 1943 - 2/20/2020 4:11:11 PM

Anachro

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Nov 3rd, 1943

In addition to numerous reported hits by my ASW/Nav search, Lae falls today with ~6,400 casualties inflicted on the enemy forces, which retreat into the hills towards Nadzab. This is probably an okay outcome considering they can't be extracted by air or fast transport now. I will pursue as thing forces attempt to fleet into the heals towards Madang, but I also want to secure Finschafen. This base falling does two important things: 1) It extends my ability to saturate Madang and nearby bases with air support and strengthens my ability to support and secure Manus; and 2) I now have three divisions I can free up to start planning for new targets, as well as various support, artillery, and tank units.

AKA/APAs and AKs will return to Townsville, as we will make a push against a new target soon with significant 100% prepped units. Before I withdraw completely, I will have my carriers cover landing supplies at Buin. I need to be careful as John is clearly trying to setup a CAP trap at Rabaul.