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... - 10/14/2020 8:24:57 PM

apbarog

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31 Mar 44

Sub Aspro hit E-boat W-7 with a torpedo, sinking the ship off the coast of Vietnam.

Kyushu invasion shipping is moving to the northern ports on Luzon. Follow-up support units are now loading at Manila, Batangas and Naga. Other task forces have formed up, such as minesweepers and minelayers, and ASW. Most will rendezvous north of Luzon.

The first B-29 strike is ordered. About 33 B-29s will hit Fushan, flying from Taihoku on Formosa. Fushan is either in or near northern Korea, just east of Mukden. The target is 55 oil production. It's a daylight raid at 10,000 feet.

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Post #: 1981

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/15/2020 6:57:40 PM

apbarog

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1 Apr 44

B-29s made their first attack at Fushun. 12 oil hits reported in light rain. Mouseover at Fushun shows no hits, but there was no recon done. I wanted to hit a decent oil center with my first strike, but oil has to already be beyond critical for the Japanese. I'll switch to other targets soon. I want to start to force enemy fighters to defend bases away from southern Japan.

Kyushu invasion shipping will now rendezvous at Batan Island, north of Luzon. It will be a major task sorting out my combat ships, deciding what to use for bombardment and what to use for force protection. There can be no doubt that enemy combat ships will move to the invasion spots this time. This will be a big knock-down drag-out fight. I have 5 invasion spots to cover. The carriers will be split up. I'm considering going fighter heavy on the carriers. Having lots of naval bombers probably won't help much. Enemy combat ships will have so many big base nearby. They'll hit at night and be back home in the day. Do I want big naval strikes going to places like Hiroshima, with a huge CAP? I think the threat will have to be dealt with using surface ships. The carriers need to cover the invasion spots.

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Post #: 1982

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/16/2020 5:34:09 PM

Bif1961

Posts: 2014
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From: Phenix City, Alabama
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Castor had naval superiority which helped him and also air superiority. If you have both of those in the landing area then you should have enough with a total of 15 Divisions+. However, you need good recon to estimate his forces and remember because of rail roads he can reinforce quickly.

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Post #: 1983

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/16/2020 5:59:23 PM

apbarog

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Naval superiority, yes. Air superiority, no. My nearest base is Amami Oshima. It is almost a size 2 airfield. Not enough to project massive airpower. OPilot has some Frank and George units that are as good as most of my Thunderbolt squadrons. And my Hellcats get shredded by them. So it's going to be a challenge. I'm hoping for local superiority over the beachheads.

A quick capture of Oita would allow armor to cut off the rail line from the rest of Japan. That would take a day of landing at Oita, a day of capturing it (at best), and 2 days of armor movement to the rail line hex. Best I can do, barring a para landing on the other island, one that wouldn't be strong enough to take the base, and would be a suicide drop even if it was successful.

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Post #: 1984

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/16/2020 10:40:38 PM

apbarog

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2 Apr 44

Enemy air attacks at Ichang. Not unusual. I'm not willing to commit much of my airpower to China at the moment. They will get heavy use over Japan very soon. More important than trying to protect the Chinese from occasional random air attacks.

Invasion shipping now north of Luzon.

[EDIT: I should have mentioned that the LCTs in the graphic have supply loaded. They will unload at Saishu To after the paras take the base.]

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< Message edited by apbarog -- 10/16/2020 10:41:56 PM >

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Post #: 1985

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/18/2020 12:01:35 AM

apbarog

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3 Apr 44 - The Approach to Japan

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Post #: 1986

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/18/2020 3:27:43 AM

BBfanboy

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Tense times ...

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Post #: 1987

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/18/2020 2:17:19 PM

Evoken

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Looking forward to landings , good luck!

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Post #: 1988

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/18/2020 8:03:14 PM

apbarog

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Question about Kurume

Kurume can be entered by ships from two directions: the southwest and the northwest. I plan on invading from the southwest. My question is, can my ships landing from the southwest be engaged by enemy ships entering the hex from the northwest?

I think the answer is yes. I don't think the game differentiates between the two. The ships have entered the hex, so yes. In reality, the land mass blocks such an engagement.

This complicates my landing plan. My ships would be much more vulnerable if the enemy didn't have to go around Nagasaki. I could protect Kurume with ships at the base to the southwest of Kurume. But I think the landing could be attacked from the northwest.

It's a very small thing in a big game. But ships shouldn't be able to enter Kurume from the northwest, from what I can see on an actual map of Japan.

I'd post this outside of my AAR, but I don't want to bring attention to the issue with my landings about to occur.

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Post #: 1989

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/18/2020 9:30:00 PM

Evoken

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I tested in game , yes they can get to Kurume from NW entrance. You can put a lot of Destroyers in single ship task forces or in pairs and put them out as a blocking force to the NW or in Kurume itself.They should grant you pretty good cover against any surface forces and coupled with a few large task forces as a backup for if anything manages to get through. Just make sure cover forces have smaller task force number as they are the ones meet the enemy first

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Post #: 1990

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2020 12:01:14 AM

BBfanboy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Evoken

I tested in game , yes they can get to Kurume from NW entrance. You can put a lot of Destroyers in single ship task forces or in pairs and put them out as a blocking force to the NW or in Kurume itself.They should grant you pretty good cover against any surface forces and coupled with a few large task forces as a backup for if anything manages to get through. Just make sure cover forces have smaller task force number as they are the ones meet the enemy first

Iki Island has a fortress, but I don't think that is considered restricted waters like a river or strait. Your DDs should be able to operate there without much interference from the fortress.

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No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

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Post #: 1991

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2020 1:14:24 AM

apbarog

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Thanks to you both. It'll be easier just to keep the guarding ships with the invasion shipping. Otherwise they will be out on their own, unprotected by the carriers. Maybe a few destroyers could do it and take their chances.

4 Apr 44 - The Final Countdown

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Post #: 1992

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2020 1:31:40 AM

CaptBeefheart

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It probably wouldn't hurt to land at Kagoshima to tie down his forces there. Your units will be in pretty good terrain. I'd say skip Kanoya unless you have a good feeling your prepped forces would take it easily. His troops at Kanoya will be out of the picture for a while since they can only use dirt roads to get out of there.

Cheers,
CB

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Post #: 1993

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2020 1:35:18 AM

apbarog

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A big advantage to landing at them all is to prevent retreats. Once I block the rail line north of Oita, there would be no retreat, if I landed at all locations. Nagasaki, not an invasion target but probably heavily defended, would be completely isolated.

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Post #: 1994

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/19/2020 1:58:46 AM

CaptBeefheart

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True. Hopefully Oita is lightly held. You can block a lot of hexes from there. Don't forget to send one unit into the one interior hex.

One Kyushu piece of advice: I've had TFs inadvertently or advertantly go through the straits of Shimonoseki and get shredded by CD guns there. For instance, a Fukuoka shore bombardment mission might retreat that way for some reason. Just something to keep in mind and try to avoid.

Cheers,
CB

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Post #: 1995

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/20/2020 4:06:48 AM

apbarog

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5 Apr 44 - Preturn

First, the summary of the last turn.

Dutch sub KXII was patrolling the Vietnamese coast just southwest of Cam Ranh Bay, in shallow water. It spotted an AS with an E-boat escorting. 4 torpedoes were fired at AS Nagoya Maru, and 2 hit, causing fire and heavy damage. E W-25 hit the sub with a depth charge. Despite the sub's damage (SYS 8/FLOT 12-1/ENG 0/FIRE 0, it was lucky), KXII attacked again, firing 4 more torpedoes at the damaged AS. 2 torpedoes hit. 1 was a dud. But it was enough to sink the ship, judging by the audio. A nice day for the old Dutch boat. Previously, KXII had sunk a patrol boat and damaged an xAK and another patrol boat.

Yesterday, paras dropped on Saishu To, near Korea. Today, Sallys with Tojos and Georges attacked its port, causing minor damage. The island has no airfield, and the paras have no engineers. 2 US subs were unloading supply there. The base will not be reinforced and will serve as a distraction for a little while longer.

My carriers covering the feint towards Korea launched strikes on sub chasers west of Nagasaki. I had limited the naval bombers' range to 5, to keep them from flying to any enemy bases, but OPilot had a ranged CAP up and intercepted my strikes to the west.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Fukue-jima at 100,57

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 22
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 7

Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 18
F6F-3 Hellcat x 40
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 28
TBM-1C Avenger x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 2 destroyed
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
FM-1 Wildcat: 4 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 4 destroyed
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 1 damaged
TBM-1C Avenger: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
SC CHa-47, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SC CHa-30, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
SC CHa-32, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
SC CHa-48, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SC CHa-45, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SC CHa-29, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
SC CHa-46, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

30 Helldivers then went without escort and were intercepted by 18 Georges near Nagasaki. Some bombers were lost, and no bombs hit either SC that was attacked. Total air losses were 19 SB2C-1Cs, 12 F6Fs, 8 FM-1s and 4 TBMs. 9 Georges and 2 Tojos were shot down. Costly. Hopefully it will reinforce the notion that Korea is the target, and hopefully the planes can be replaced by nearby replenishment squadrons.

Some of the TFs moving towards Korea were spotted, but not the LCT task force. So the feint may not look as intended. Regardless, the carriers will now move to join the main armada to the southeast, and the LCTs will try to make it home on their own.

As for that main armada, there are 47 task forces in the hex just southwest of Amami Oshima. Just 2 were spotted today. A CVE task force and a big APA task force. Just seeing the APAs will probably get the alarm bells ringing on the Japanese coast. They only show up for the invasions.

I usually discuss the previous turn having just sent my next one. Today I'm showing the situation in Japan before I plot my turn. I did more extensive recon, while avoiding my primary landing objectives. I wanted to see what defenses Kagoshima and Kanoya had. The defenses aren't overwhelming, had these targets been my primary objectives, but I have just one division planned to land on each. That will not be enough to take these bases. I will probably keep those troops at sea and wait to reinforce another landing after the base is captured.

Enemy bases are well stocked with aircraft. It's tempting to want to hit them with slow battleships, but it may not be worth it. The bases probably have lots of mines. They do have ACMs, and CMs have been spotted in the area recently. And even if a bombardment is successful, that's just one base. There are so many others full of aircraft. It may be better to keep the battleships for the bombardment of the invasion targets.

I have the feeling that this operation is going to be ugly. OPilot has nothing to lose by using everything that he has left. He has a few battleships. He has many aircraft, and since our war hasn't had a great number of aircraft losses, he still has good pilots left. He's had since January to prepare kamikaze units. I haven't seen any yet.

I will probably lose more combat ships than I've lost in the entire war so far. I've lost no CVs, no CVLs, and 3 CVEs. I've lost no BBs and just a couple of CAs, if I remember correctly. I've lost no APAs. That will certainly change soon.

It's going to be quite a show. How it will turn out is a complete unknown at the moment.

I will work on the turn during the afternoon on Tuesday. I'll check to see if there are any comments before then.

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Post #: 1996

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/20/2020 11:16:47 PM

apbarog

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The turn is away. The big US carriers will move one hex west of Kanoya. The CVEs will move to the island base one hex southwest of Kanoya. That island base will be invaded by sea. If it is defended by more than the unit can handle, I have paras ready to go to support. Neither Kagoshima nor Kanoya will be invaded. Next turn, I will plot the invasions of the 3 hexes circled in yellow above.

B-29s will drop mines tonight in the hex southwest of Hiroshima and at Kobe. P-47s and P-38s will sweep Kagoshima and Kanoya. B-24s will bomb both targets, and B-25s will bomb Kanoya.

The dive bombers and torpedo bombers on Lexington and Saratoga flew off to Luzon, and were replaced by extra Hellcats and Corsairs.

Let's see what happens.

< Message edited by apbarog -- 10/21/2020 2:20:41 AM >

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Post #: 1997

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/21/2020 3:18:51 AM

CaptBeefheart

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Best of luck.

I'd be running shore bombardments from Amami Oshima against Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Kanoya. I'd use DDs, maybe four per TF with some spares in port, and possibly CLs if the danger seemed low enough. I'd have AKEs and an AD, and even an AR if possible, at Amami.

You're especially going to want to bombard those bases to knock ground units out of move mode once the landings have happened.

Cheers,
CB

< Message edited by CaptBeefheart -- 10/21/2020 5:19:19 AM >

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Post #: 1998

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/21/2020 3:33:09 AM

apbarog

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quote:

ORIGINAL: CaptBeefheart

Best of luck.

I'd be running shore bombardments from Amami Oshima against Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Kanoya. I'd use DDs, maybe four per TF with some spares in port, and possibly CLs if the danger seemed low enough. I'd have AKEs and an AD, and even an AR if possible, at Amami.

You're especially going to want to bombard those bases to knock ground units out of move mode once the landing's have happened.

Cheers,
CB

The initial round of bombardments will be at the invasion locations: Kurume, Kumamoto and Oita. I have AKEs and an AD arriving at Amami Oshima now. Amami is still small but is being built up. It does have a big port support unit (not the huge ones, just a big one).

I'm hesitant to bombard Nagasaki, but it does have over 300 aircraft there. I'll hit mines there, I'm sure. Once I've gotten the assault wave unloaded, then I can worry more about the surrounding bases.

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Post #: 1999

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/21/2020 5:18:01 AM

CaptBeefheart

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You'll get the odd DD hitting a mine at Nagasaki, but I don't think I've ever had one sink. I'd say it's worth it to keep all those aircraft suppressed.

With spare DDs, you can rotate the ones that hit mines or take CD fire back to a yard.

Cheers,
CB

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Beer, because barley makes lousy bread.

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Post #: 2000

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/22/2020 5:14:43 PM

apbarog

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6 Apr 44

8 US Fletcher class destroyers ran into 4 sub chasers near Koshiki-jima Retto, sinking the chasers quickly. A small unit invaded the undefended island.

I had B-29s on Formosa set to mine a hex west of Hiroshima and also Kobe. They were to fly at night. At least some attempted to fly, but got lost. Most didn't fly. No mines were laid. It would have been very helpful to discourage the enemy from coming at the invasion hexes. I need those mines dropped, so I'm changing the orders to a daylight mining. Better chance to fly, and they don't get intercepted in either case. Just won't have mines laid mid-turn.

Thunderbolts swept Kanoya, finding 36 Zeros and 27 Georges. The Georges held their own but the Zeros were shot down in droves.

An odd formation of 6 Kates escorted by 19 Georges and 24 Tonys from Nagasaki attacked the big carrier task force near Kagoshima. The fighters could have been on a range CAP and not escorting, I'm not sure. 11 Corsair IIs, 62 F4U-1As and 421 F6F-3s were on CAP. Many enemy planes were shot down. 1 Kate made it to the battleship Indiana but was shot down by flak before attacking.

13 unescorted Bettys from Hiroshima attacked. All were shot down by the overwhelming fighter protection. Then 30 Judys from Nagasaki arrived. 10 turned back. The rest were shot down before getting close.

Then, the first kamikaze attack of the war.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kagoshima at 101,61

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 36
Ki-61-Ib Tony x 25

Allied aircraft
Corsair II x 4
F4U-1A Corsair x 39
F6F-3 Hellcat x 234

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 14 destroyed
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 6 destroyed by flak
Ki-61-Ib Tony: 8 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
CVL Cowpens
BB Massachusetts
CV Bunker Hill, Kamikaze hits 1
CV Essex
CVL Belleau Wood, Kamikaze hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
22 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar flying as kamikaze
Kamikaze: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

Bunker Hill is SYS 11/FLOT 0/ENG 4/FIRE 0, so not bad. Belleau Wood is SYS 20/FLOT 4/ENG 0/FIRE 0. Both carriers remain with the fleet.

B-25s then attacked Kanoya, finding a decent CAP of about 30 Zeros and Georges. Many bombers were lost. The B-24s came next. Would have been better to go first. Finally, a strong sweep of Kanoya found few enemy still flying.

TBFs from the CVEs attacked various sub chasers in the area. 5 sub chasers were sunk by torpedoes.

In the afternoon, 2 Oscars escorted by 3 Georges attacked the carriers, but that was hopeless.

Many Japanese and US aircraft on search missions were shot down. US aircraft on ASW missions were also lost.

Total air losses were:

44 Tonys
39 Oscars
39 Georges
28 Lilys (on search)
27 Judys
23 Zeros
16 Anns (on search)
13 Bettys
8 Kates
7 Nells (on search)
2 Sonias (on search)
1 Mavis (on search)

17 B-25s
14 P-47D25s
8 SB2C-1Cs (on ASW)
6 SBDs (on ASW)
6 F6F-3s
5 B-24s
3 TBFs (on ASW)
3 SOC-1s(on search)
2 TBMs (on ASW)
2 OS2U-3s (on search)

Kyushu will be invaded today. Oita is showing 9 units with 14640 men, 134 guns and 2 vehicles. It has 28 fighters and 103 bombers. It will be bombarded by battleships. Kumamoto has 24540 men, 187 guns and 52 vehicles. It has 83 bombers. It will be bombarded by battleships. Kurume had a poor recon. It is showing 3 units. It has looked to be lightly defended.

The 2 bases that I decided to bypass are Kagoshima and Kanoya. Kagoshima is showing 19 units with 32580 men, 293 guns and 142 vehicles. Kanoya has 7 units with 25940 men, 176 guns and 56 vehicles.

Lots of risk today. With my task forces adjacent to Kagoshima and Kanoya, they appear to be the likely targets for the invasion. Enemy ships from the Hiroshima area could move down east of Kyushu to intercept, while the Allied armada is moving north through the same hexes, to Oita. I have combat ships protecting, but this is risky for the APAs and the carriers. I wish the B-29s had dropped their mines.

It's going to be interesting. Yesterday's enemy air attacks appeared unprepared. It wasn't the huge massive strike that I expected. OPilot may not have expected me to move so close to Kyushu. Maybe the feint towards Korea had some effect. Today, though, I expect a bigger and more coordinated enemy attack. It could be rough.

A Seabee unit was dropped on Yakushima island, southwest of Kanoya. They found the III/81st Naval Guard Unit and the 34th Field Const Co. Not wanting to lose the engineers, I'm dropping a para unit on the island today to reinforce and hopefully defeat the enemy.

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Post #: 2001

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/23/2020 12:57:51 AM

CaptBeefheart

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From: Seoul, Korea
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Good luck!

Cheers,
CB

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Beer, because barley makes lousy bread.

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Post #: 2002

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/23/2020 1:21:57 AM

apbarog

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Thanks CaptBeefheart. I hope to bring this war to a swift finale.

No turn from OPilot today. I should get it tomorrow afternoon. He needs some extra time with this one, and that is understandable.

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Post #: 2003

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/23/2020 12:29:34 PM

Lowpe

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Great culmination to a great game.

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Post #: 2004

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/24/2020 1:43:23 AM

apbarog

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Thanks Lowpe. It's been a fun journey.

OPilot needs another day for the turn. He did send the replay. The invasion went about as well as it could have. Ships approaching Oita ran into sub chasers, and at Oita, MGBs. The enemy fortress at Oita got many hits on my slow battleship TF and the cruiser in my big invasion TF. Somehow, the landing craft were not hit. It appeared that the rocket equipped LCI(G)s contributed significantly in disrupting the coastal guns during the landing phases. The fortress at Kumamoto was not as effective as the one at Oita.

I don't go looking at the editor to see what's where. I don't know what I just ran into, but the fortress at Oita was impressive in combat.

Mines were found at Tanegashima, southwest of Kanoya. They were swept by several YMS. A very fast CM ran all the way east to the island just south of Yokohama and laid mines. Something hit a mine there almost immediately. B-29s did drop mines southwest of Hiroshima and at Kobe.

Other than the fights with the coastal fortresses, the landings went smoothly. Most if not all of the combat troops loaded on APAs or similar unloaded.

Judging from the obligatory enemy artillery attack when you land, Oita will be captured quickly. Its main defense is a couple of small SNLF units. Kumamoto will not be captured with just the 2 divisions landed. It has 2 plus enemy divisions. I may still attack, given the clear terrain and the effective bombardments. Kurume will be captured quickly. There's an enemy division there, but it's a depot division, which shouldn't be very good. I'll take another look at the combat report when I get it and make a final decision for each location.

The odd part of the turn was that there were no enemy air attacks on the invasion forces. There was a big effort to continue bombing the island just southwest of Korea, the island that I dropped paras on as a diversion just before approaching Kyushu. I guess the diversion worked, at least to some degree.

Lots of enemy planes were destroyed at Oita and Kumamoto. Oita was hit by a battleship bombardment. Kumamoto was hit by 2 battleship TFs and lots of B-24s.

OPilot mentioned in his email that he expected a lengthier softening up period before an invasion of the home islands, and that it caught him by surprise. I was hoping for that. I didn't wait for Okinawa or Amami Oshima to get built up enough to support the invasion. I also didn't want to see Kyushu loaded up with divisions waiting for me. So I went early, and it just may work out.

The fight is not going to be easy. Nagasaki is heavily defended, and there are 2 to 3 divisions at the bypassed bases in the south. I need to take Oita quickly and move north to cut off the rail line to the rest of Japan. Having taken a base, or bases, I can then bring in follow-up support units and more divisions that weren't prepped for Japan.

If my good transports are completely unloaded, like I think they are, they'll leave the invasion hexes. I don't know if the carriers will stay. I suspect that they need to leave, especially around Oita. Too tempting to go after them with a battleship group, and very little room for me to maneuver and still support Oita. But we'll see after I get the actual turn.

This turn was big, and it went better than I could have hoped. Somehow surprise was achieved and there wasn't much action in the critical turn of landing. Once I get a base, support gets easier. I don't know where the enemy emergency units pop up, or if they already had, given the islands I took southwest of Kyushu, but they could be a factor.

< Message edited by apbarog -- 10/24/2020 1:46:17 AM >

(in reply to Lowpe)

Post #: 2005

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/24/2020 10:18:47 AM

BBfanboy

Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: apbarog

Thanks Lowpe. It's been a fun journey.

OPilot needs another day for the turn. He did send the replay. The invasion went about as well as it could have. Ships approaching Oita ran into sub chasers, and at Oita, MGBs. The enemy fortress at Oita got many hits on my slow battleship TF and the cruiser in my big invasion TF. Somehow, the landing craft were not hit. It appeared that the rocket equipped LCI(G)s contributed significantly in disrupting the coastal guns during the landing phases. The fortress at Kumamoto was not as effective as the one at Oita.

I don't go looking at the editor to see what's where. I don't know what I just ran into, but the fortress at Oita was impressive in combat.

Mines were found at Tanegashima, southwest of Kanoya. They were swept by several YMS. A very fast CM ran all the way east to the island just south of Yokohama and laid mines. Something hit a mine there almost immediately. B-29s did drop mines southwest of Hiroshima and at Kobe.

Other than the fights with the coastal fortresses, the landings went smoothly. Most if not all of the combat troops loaded on APAs or similar unloaded.

Judging from the obligatory enemy artillery attack when you land, Oita will be captured quickly. Its main defense is a couple of small SNLF units. Kumamoto will not be captured with just the 2 divisions landed. It has 2 plus enemy divisions. I may still attack, given the clear terrain and the effective bombardments. Kurume will be captured quickly. There's an enemy division there, but it's a depot division, which shouldn't be very good. I'll take another look at the combat report when I get it and make a final decision for each location.

The odd part of the turn was that there were no enemy air attacks on the invasion forces. There was a big effort to continue bombing the island just southwest of Korea, the island that I dropped paras on as a diversion just before approaching Kyushu. I guess the diversion worked, at least to some degree.

Lots of enemy planes were destroyed at Oita and Kumamoto. Oita was hit by a battleship bombardment. Kumamoto was hit by 2 battleship TFs and lots of B-24s.

OPilot mentioned in his email that he expected a lengthier softening up period before an invasion of the home islands, and that it caught him by surprise. I was hoping for that. I didn't wait for Okinawa or Amami Oshima to get built up enough to support the invasion. I also didn't want to see Kyushu loaded up with divisions waiting for me. So I went early, and it just may work out.

The fight is not going to be easy. Nagasaki is heavily defended, and there are 2 to 3 divisions at the bypassed bases in the south. I need to take Oita quickly and move north to cut off the rail line to the rest of Japan. Having taken a base, or bases, I can then bring in follow-up support units and more divisions that weren't prepped for Japan.

If my good transports are completely unloaded, like I think they are, they'll leave the invasion hexes. I don't know if the carriers will stay. I suspect that they need to leave, especially around Oita. Too tempting to go after them with a battleship group, and very little room for me to maneuver and still support Oita. But we'll see after I get the actual turn.

This turn was big, and it went better than I could have hoped. Somehow surprise was achieved and there wasn't much action in the critical turn of landing. Once I get a base, support gets easier. I don't know where the enemy emergency units pop up, or if they already had, given the islands I took southwest of Kyushu, but they could be a factor.

If you took Paramushiro Jima, that would have triggered the emergency reinforcements. The Depot Divisions (troops in training) are some of the emergency reinforcements. I think key 4 shows the country code that controls trigger of reinforcements. IIRC, PJ is the only Kurile Island that has code 100, and none of the small islands near Japan do.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 2006

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/24/2020 3:53:19 PM

apbarog

Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
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Hoping for a turn today. I did forget to mention something interesting from the replay. When the enemy MGBs engaged the big invasion task force at Oita, they didn't get any hits, but when the shipping pulled up anchor to engage, there were 3 collisions. I don't know how bad the self-inflicted damage was. Whatever it was, it was the worst damage received to the landing craft during the day.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 2007

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/25/2020 2:42:08 AM

apbarog

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

7 Apr 44

I've already given an overview of this turn, based on the replay. Here's more detail.

Sculpin spotted a transport convoy south of Yokohama, and it is southbound.

Near Nagasaki, a titanic struggle between two juggernauts ensued.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Nagasaki/Sasebo at 101,59, Range 5,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
E No.7

Allied Ships
AM Kingfisher, Shell hits 2, on fire

Kingfisher may make it home.

A US cruiser force sank the same E-boat, E No. 7, after its fight with Kingfisher.

At Oita, battleships Arizona and Idaho, with 3 DDs, sank sub chaser Ch 51. The battleships then engaged 7 MGBs, sinking 3 of them. Idaho and Arizona then bombarded Oita, causing lots of airbase damage and destroying many planes. But the Hoyo Fortress at Oita did quite a bit of damage. It had lots of guns, and some big ones. Idaho took 20 SYS damage.

Similar story at Kumamoto, with New Mexico and Nevada bombarding. Lots of destroyed planes. The only difference was that the fortress there, the Tachibana-wan Fortress, was not very effective. A British task force, with battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant, with battlecruiser Renown, bombarded Kumamoto, also doing significant damage.

Sub Mingo hit E-boat Fukue in the shallow waters near Tsu, sinking the ship. Archerfish hit AK Arima Maru near Iwaki. This is just east of Tokyo, along the coast in shallow water. An AS, 3 AOs and some AKs were spotted. Maybe fleeing NE towards Ominato? Ominato has been collecting enemy ships, with over 200 spotted there. Just 12 fighters. 30 hexes from Naha. Thinking...

Oita was then invaded. The big invasion task force was engaged by the guns of the powerful Hoyo Fortress. Heavy cruiser New Orleans and destroyer Swanson too the brunt of the fire. Swanson is SYS 32/FLOT 33-12/ENG 6-0/FIRE 0. The LCI(G)s returned fire. No APAs were hit.

Kumamoto was invaded. Little coastal gun activity. Kurume was invaded. Over 1000 Japanese casualties just from the invasion task force, which had just one cruiser. It did have 9 LCI(G)s though. The 56th Depot Division got pounded.

During the day, the 4 remaining enemy MGBs at Oita engaged the huge invasion task force. One MGB was sunk. The enemy got no hits on US shipping, but caused a panic when they showed up, and 3 collisions occurred. Some minor to moderate damage.

A combat task force led by battleships Maryland, Colorado and West Virginia sank tiny minesweeper Nigitsu Maru at Oita.

Flounder sank sub chaser CHa-78 near Kobe.

US fighters swept Kumamoto, but found nothing flying. B-24s then caused more destruction on the airfield. Some B-24s went to Oita and were intercepted by 8 Rufes. A Liberator was somehow shot down.

Southwest of Kyushu, I-179 spotted AGP Aldebaran moving alone to the east. The sub surfaced and hit the support ship 6 times with guns. Aldeban probably won't make it to safety. Aldebaran speed is so slow. I had broken it off from the other support ships moving to Amami Oshima. And of course the enemy found the one unescorted ship just about anywhere.

Kumamoto will not be attacked. About 2/3 of the combat troops unloaded from normal xAPs there. I don't think I'd have enough even if all had unloaded. Rough combat values are 2 to 1, with unknown forts and defensible terrain. It can wait and be isolated.

Oita will be shock attacked. The defense is mainly 2 Naval Guard Units. I have 3 divisions. It should fall.

Kurume will be attacked also. Just an enemy depot division there. It should fall.

Total air losses on the ground for the enemy were:

28 Anns
17 Lilys
6 Sonias
6 Kates
5 Dinahs
3 Judys
3 Zeros

There are over 200 fighters still at Nagasaki. A 3 battleship task force will brave the mines there to bombard.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by apbarog -- 10/25/2020 5:26:47 AM >

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 2008

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/25/2020 3:00:02 PM

BBfanboy

Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline

A nice start, with the storm gathering on the horizon ...

Good to see you got Tanegashima too - that island has the best development potential of the group around Kyushu. If you can keep it from being bombarded it could be a great fighter base.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 2009

RE: Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apba... - 10/26/2020 2:07:21 AM

CaptBeefheart

Posts: 2301
Joined: 7/4/2003
From: Seoul, Korea
Status: offline

Good start.

What does he have at Fukuoka and Shimonoseki?

Cheers,
CB

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Beer, because barley makes lousy bread.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 2010

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