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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> War In The Pacific - Struggle Against Japan 1941 - 1945 >> After Action Reports >> RE: Calcutta is under attack!

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RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/10/2004 8:43:23 PM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Yeah, you're right...

From the Combined Fleet site:

Katori Class: "These ships were originally laid down as training cruisers. As such they carried an interesting hodge-podge of 6" and 5" guns, and a mixed powerplant of steam boilers and diesels. They were real barn-burners, capable of making a heady 18 knots flat out. Not too surprisingly, we sank all three."

Who the he11 makes brand new ships only capable of 18kts!?
Mostly used em as escorts, but without asw capabilites - they were rather useless.
Performed surprisingly well today though

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to tsimmonds)

Post #: 301

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/12/2004 4:34:50 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/05/42

Surface Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 43 encounters mine field at Kendari (33,71) - Al has mined Kendari with subs..good thing I got 2 sweepers in the port

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ASW/Sub Attacks

Sub attack at 13,23

Japanese Ships
SS I-169, hits 2, on fire - 67 flood, heading back to Trimcomalle - hope she makes it. Lost too many subs already

Allied Ships - what are this huge tf doing 1 hex north of Colombo? Fast transport?
CL Newcastle
DD Panther
DD Paladin
DD Isis
DD Stewart
DD Whipple
DD Bulmer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

Day Air attack on Colombo , at 14,24

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 6 damaged

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 8

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 5000 feet
3 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 66th Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 12
Ki-48 Lily x 15
Ki-49 Helen x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
32 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
10 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
12 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 13,23

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4 - ah, puny escort
G3M Nell x 19

Allied aircraft
Fulmar x 9 - these guys carriers very light guns
Buffalo I x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 3 destroyed, 10 damaged - and I don't loose many bombers

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied Ships
CA Devonshire - my torpedo bombers doesn't hit anything
CL Birmingham
DD Isis

Aircraft Attacking:
All G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 13,23

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 17 - unfortunately I moved in 80 naval bombers to Madras yesterday. Ac usually requires 1 day to settle in before launching strikes
Ki-21 Sally x 15

Allied aircraft
Fulmar x 9
Buffalo I x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Fulmar: 6 destroyed
Buffalo I: 4 destroyed

Allied Ships - lots of near misses, but no sigar
DD Stewart
CA Devonshire
DD Whipple

Aircraft Attacking:
All Ki-21 Sally bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 56,88

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 14
P-39D Airacobra x 28

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AG AG-110, Shell hits 4
AG AG-103, Shell hits 8
AG AG-367, Shell hits 12
AG AG-104, Shell hits 8
AG AG-107, Shell hits 16, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
All Aircobra and Wirraway attacking at 100 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 13,23

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
G3M Nell x 12

Allied aircraft
Fulmar x 6
Buffalo I x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
G3M Nell: 5 destroyed, 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships - again, no hits..
DD Whipple
CA Devonshire
CL Birmingham

Aircraft Attacking:
All G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 31868 troops, 283 guns, 410 vehicles

Defending force 142623 troops, 1103 guns, 792 vehicles

Japanese ground losses:
78 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

India

The KB is heading back to Trimcomalee, but has now been diverted and will race north of Ceylon - perhaps I can intercept
the Allied task force that is probably bringing in troops or supplies to Colombo! Max react has been ordered.

My battleships have finally been refuelled, and are heading back to Trimcomalee to take part in Operation Sledgehammer - which
will attempt to destroy the remaining British ships in the East!

I rest my men at Calcutta one more day, then I will try a series of bloody deliberate attacks - fatigue and disruption makes me a little hesistant,
and many of my units have lost a lot of combat potential. The Sallys at Chandur are a lazy bunch, another day without a single plane taking off.

Base forces and construction units are unloading at Trimcomalee, and when weather improves I will move in more naval bombers.
A brigade from Borneo is going to relieve the division, so I'll soon embark it for Madras. The division that moved out of Madras towards
Bangalore moved due west!?

Argh, ground movement is certainly frustrating. In my next game, I'll stick to capturing islands, I promise!!!!

Grand master maniac schemes for capturing whole continents is nothing but a major pain in the butt

South Pacific

One of the light cruisers that fought at Lunga yesterday has been docked at Tulagi. Doubt she'll make it, 74 flood and fires are still raging.
The other is going to be fine though, will head back to Truk for repairs. Wobbly said that another of the destroyers that were hit yesterday is
most likely going to sink.

I've now upgraded the defenses of many islands in both the Marianas and Marshalls. Mining operations will continue and more base forces and
garrison units are being moved to Truk. It will be at least another month before the KB is back, and my light carriers needs just as long before
the Mini KB is ready.

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 302

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/13/2004 1:06:28 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/06/42

Surface Combat

Invasions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 1075 troops unloading over beach at Tulagi, 68,96

Allied ground losses: - Wobbly must have seen that I disbanded a ship at Tulagi - and now he wants it

44 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

Minor raids only

Ground Combat

A few bombardment attacks

Situation Report

The British tf north of Colombo was attacked by a sub again, but got away...my search planes couldn't spot them either.

Deliberate attacks ordered against Calcutta tomorrow, large supply convoys have unloaded at Chandpur. Those lazy bomber ba$tards better get to work soon!

Otherwise a very quiet day. The Marshal Islands have now been satisfactorily reinforced, only mininig operations will continue in the area. Large amounts of base forces from Japan will be moved to Wewak, Lae, Buna, Gili Gili and Kavieng.
Already got a size 3 af at Wewak, but otherwise New Guinea hasn't received much attention, only Lae has been built.
So this is the next area that will receive reinforcements. Have to use fast transports from Rabaul to reinforce the southernmost bases.

Uncertain about what I should do about Shortland - only got a size 1 airfield. As long as Wobbly holds Lunga, it will be within easy striking range. The only reason for reinforcing it would be to prevent him from capturing it as well, but I can't well afford to put a lot of good troops into this malaria ridden place.

Advice anyone!?

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 303

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/13/2004 1:34:12 AM

madflava13

Posts: 1530
Joined: 2/7/2001
From: Alexandria, VA
Status: offline

I say Naval Garrison, CD unit and a ton of mines... If he has air superiority and you don't plan on taking Lunga back, then don't risk a lot of troops on Shortland for him to train his aircrews on...

_____________________________

"The Paraguayan Air Force's request for spraying subsidies was not as Paraguayan as it were..."

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 304

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/14/2004 12:19:09 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Exactly my thoughts, got 7000 men there but no mines or CD. The latter isn't available, got units at Truk, Kwajalein, Rabaul and Saipan. Could perhaps take one from Saipan as there are 2 there.

Moving minelayers down now, will be very busy creating minefields now! The longer Al waits to attack, the better prepared I'll be!

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/07/42

Air Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Madras , at 18,21

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5

Allied aircraft - a large attack from Colombo! Have to close this base asap...
Kittyhawk I x 12
Wellington III x 30
B-17E Fortress x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged
H8K Emily: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 2 destroyed - my few Zeros did well! Moving in another Daitai - my airforce is now stretched over a vast area
Wellington III: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 8

Aircraft Attacking:
All B-17 and Wellington III bombing at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 39th Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 13
Ki-48 Lily x 36
Ki-49 Helen x 15

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
66 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
All Helen and Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 67,94

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD Dauntless x 15

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CL Kashima, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage - survived to be scuttled. She wouldn't have survived anyway, and now 2 SBD's joined her if nothing else...

Aircraft Attacking:
All SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 143398 troops, 1182 guns, 801 vehicles

Defending force 56979 troops, 352 guns, 497 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 7 - forts have been rebuilt cause my bombers refuse to fly

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 7)

Japanese ground losses:
3381 casualties reported
Guns lost 106
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
1157 casualties reported
Guns lost 28
Vehicles lost 9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Tulagi

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 320 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Tulagi base !!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

More bloody fighting at Calcutta, and I'll keep the attacks up this time, even though I'm now very annoyed at me well fed and supplied bombers at Chandpur. 90 Zeros and 110 bombers are just sitting at the tarmac doing nothing....

Tomorrow a division reaches Banaglore, took a really strange route - followed the landroad instead of the railroad, a long detour - but moved with lightning speed anyway. I wonder whether there's been a mixup here? Someone should check it out.

The little drama around Lunga ended today, US newspaper have claimed that 2 Jap battleships were sunk after
a bloody battle

Wobbly refused to believe they were trainining cruisers without torpedoes and a mere 18kt top speed...

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to madflava13)

Post #: 305

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/14/2004 7:13:31 AM

Hornblower

Posts: 1361
Joined: 9/10/2003
From: New York'er relocated to Chicago
Status: offline

I would build and hold. It is only a matter of time before the Allies stage the attack. This will be a stop they will have to attack/capture on the way to rubaul. Excellent AAR.....

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 306

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/14/2004 8:41:44 PM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Thx Hornblower!! I will continue my defensive efforts in the South Pacific. A steady trickle of surface ships are now moving towards Truk. Don't need em to support massive invasions in India anymore.

Rabaul is well supported by Lae and I'm about to build Kavieng - and Shortland is also in my hands. Will move in some more engineers and lay a lot of mines there as well though. Running out of garrison units. Going to keep a sizeable reserve at Truk so I can move them quickly to were they're needed. Just docked a squadron of destroyer transports that brought in a large SNLF unit from the East.

Almost impossible to predict were an Allied offensive will hit: Wake and Marcus Islands would mostly be dead ends - but Tarawa would give Wobbly control of the Gilberts and provide a good staging point for invasions into the Marshalls. Got 9000 men there and 2 forts. Will take a full division to capture it - and it will be ripped into shreds istelf!

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/08/42

Air Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Colombo , at 14,24

Japanese aircraft - a good strike hits Colombo!
A6M2 Zero x 19
G3M Nell x 17
G4M1 Betty x 42
Ki-21 Sally x 21

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 7 damaged - only 1 Nell is lost today
G4M1 Betty: 17 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged - but Al must have moved his ac

Allied ground losses:
25 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 52

Aircraft Attacking:
All Betty and Sally bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 138087 troops, 1041 guns, 794 vehicles

Defending force 60695 troops, 385 guns, 488 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 7) - darned difficult to get rid of these forts!!

Japanese ground losses:
1333 casualties reported
Guns lost 81
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
1112 casualties reported - ah, the defenders are now taking just as many casualties as I am! A good sign, I hope...
Guns lost 32
Vehicles lost 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

Still slow going at Calcutta and some of my divisions are exhausted - but I'll keep up the attacks. I'm still trying to convince my bombers at Chandpur to attack the airfields of Calcutta. Got 100 bombers and 80 fighters + 20 search planes. Air support for 220 ac, plenty supplies, an Air HQ and full sized squadrons - still not a single attack in a full week even though the weather has allowed it.

Tomorrow 4 ca's will bombard Trimcomalee, want to force Al to repair the damage and spend supplies. Will become
very difficult for him to move in supplies now as my bombers are in place.

Moved 25 Zeros to Madras and Trimcomalee, got 33 and 30 there respectively now.
At Rangoon I'm moving out the last division as well - a large brigade, naval garrison, tank regiment, eng regiment and support units will remain behind the forts. Going to try to overwhelm Karachi and Bombay with 6-7 divisions!

The Zuiho seems to be impossible to repair

After 10 days in Shanghai it has repaired 1 sys damage - is now at 27.
Moved it from Singapore because it refused to heal. All other ships I dock at Shanghai repairs really quickly, got repair ships there as well.

More reinforcements arrived at Truk, got a fleet there now and a fair sized infantry reserve. 1300 mines at Kwajalein and more on the way.

Going to LRCAP my barges at Lae tomorrow, Zeros ordered in at 3000 feet. Want to hit the fighter bombers hard!

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to Hornblower)

Post #: 307

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/14/2004 11:13:13 PM

Mynok

Posts: 12108
Joined: 11/30/2002
Status: offline

Not sure how your line is setup for Lae, but if you are going all the way to Lae, why not dump at Finschafen? I always did that in UV and it worked well. I'm assuming your barges are coming either down the coast of NG from Wewak area, or down the front/back side of New Britain from Rabaul.

Does this area work differently in WITP?

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 308

RE: Calcutta is under attack! - 12/15/2004 2:37:58 PM

WhoCares

Posts: 653
Joined: 7/6/2004
Status: offline

Do you already have some MLEs? In my game I accellerated their production at day one after 1.3 patch to get some to Kwaj, Rabaul/Shortland and Kendari asap - it was ~ 1st April and I am desperately waiting now as it is early July and his CVs are patrolling the Solomons and mine are in repair yards...

(in reply to Mynok)

Post #: 309

Stubborn Calcutta hit by heavy air raid! - 12/16/2004 1:46:44 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Mynok - I'm escorting the barges with PC/PG's - they refuel them and they also carries some fuel themselves.
This way I can run directly from Rabaul and to Lae - on the north side of course!

WhoCares - I don't have any MLE's

We started a V1.2 game without them altogether.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/09/42

Surface Combat

Bombardments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Colombo, at 14,24 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Going to make this bombardment run into a regular one: The daily express from Trimcomalee to Colombo

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Catalina I: 3 destroyed, 4 damaged

6 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Kako
CA Furutaka, Shell hits 2
CA Kinugasa
CA Aoba

Allied ground losses:
214 casualties reported
Guns lost 7
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 21
Port hits 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

Day Air attack on Calcutta , at 29,23
Aaah, finally - after complaining for a week - my Sallys took off in strength! Al said they probably would

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 40
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 21
Ki-21 Sally x 110

Allied aircraft
Fulmar x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Fulmar: 29 destroyed, 4 damaged - 10 shot down
Beaufort V-IX: 19 destroyed, 29 damaged
Blenheim IV: 5 destroyed, 8 damaged
Blenheim IF: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied ground losses:
168 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 79

Aircraft Attacking:
All Ki-21 Sally bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 38th Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 2
Ki-48 Lily x 9
Ki-49 Helen x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
23 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 5000 feet
3 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
6 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 93rd Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 11
Ki-48 Lily x 19
Ki-49 Helen x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
19 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
14 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
6 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Lae at 54,87

A little insulted that Wobbly continues this daily run - that kind of predictability begged to be punished, and
today I got it right. The Zeros swooped in from 3000 feet and hit the low flying fighter bombers.
The Lae Daitai got my 2 high scoring aces with 10 and 12 kills!

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 14
P-39D Airacobra x 33

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses - 9 planes were shot down today
Wirraway: 8 destroyed, 5 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 5 destroyed

Japanese Ships
AG AG-361, Shell hits 4
PG Shinko Maru #1, Shell hits 28
AG AG-115, Shell hits 4
AG AG-114
AG AG-365, Shell hits 8, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
All P39 and Wirraway attacking at 100 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 134526 troops, 926 guns, 790 vehicles

Defending force 59561 troops, 353 guns, 488 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 7) - I'm not reducing the forts!!!!

Japanese ground losses:
1187 casualties reported - relatively low lossses, but fatigue and disruption runs high!
Guns lost 52

Allied ground losses:
559 casualties reported
Guns lost 38
Vehicles lost 9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Lanchow

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 111998 troops, 1098 guns, 290 vehicles

Defending force 2578 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese assault odds: 873 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Lanchow base !!! this base was worth 600 points

Japanese ground losses:
36 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
199 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

India

A good day

52 Allied aircraft destroyed in the air and on the ground - and only 2 Sallys were lost in return.
I've spotted a large number of enemy ac based at Diamond Harbour, I'm ordering 60 Betties and Nells from Madras
to hit it. The Sallys at Chandpur will continue hitting Calcuttas airfield - this is the only way to prevent the forts from being rebuilt!

I'm having problems reducing the forts - so I'm trying something new. I'm resting 2 divisions and ordering 2 engineer regiments to shock attack while the rest bombards and executes regular attacks. The forts gotta go!!!

Only 4 days until the battle fleet arrives at Trimcomalee, then we head for Karachi!!

China

Lanchow fell without much effort as Wobbly has abandoned it! Lots of resources and industry, although damage was widespread. Only one base left in northern China - it will fall easily.

I've noticed that Chungking is worth 3500 points!!! That's all I need to get 4 times more points than Al - hm, can I attempt a march into the interior of China?

What do the rest of you think?

South Pacific

Said that I expected to hit Al's fighter bombers yesterday - and I did!
Put my Zero's at LRCAP over the barge tf at 3000 feet - perfect. Not expecting anymore attacks for a while - and
there should be an escort next time

Waiting for several convoys carrying base forces to Truk, Kavieng and Rabaul. Buna is a size 2 af now and could be useful.
Could put a few fighters there and Al would have another base to bomb...

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to WhoCares)

Post #: 310

RE: Stubborn Calcutta hit by heavy air raid! - 12/16/2004 5:11:10 AM

Hornblower

Posts: 1361
Joined: 9/10/2003
From: New York'er relocated to Chicago
Status: offline

PZB,

i must say i am very interested in the avenue you took. Namely trying to knock out the western front before the american's are strong enough to force issues in the east. I know i am looking months down the line, BUT, assuming that you are succesful out east and knock the Brits back, have you worked out a plan and allocation of forces to hold your gains? KB obviously (side note, need spell check for this !!! not to matrix) can't stay there. are you going to base a baby kb? a surface force ? Not talking details, more broad strokes then anything else.
- Hornblower

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 311

RE: Stubborn Calcutta hit by heavy air raid! - 12/16/2004 5:40:28 AM

bbbf

Posts: 493
Joined: 7/16/2000
From: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Status: offline

error

< Message edited by bbbf -- 12/16/2004 3:41:44 AM >

_____________________________

Robert Lee

(in reply to Hornblower)

Post #: 312

RE: Stubborn Calcutta hit by heavy air raid! - 12/16/2004 11:57:56 AM

Raverdave

Posts: 6520
Joined: 2/8/2002
From: Melb. Australia
Status: offline

So the evil one from the north has eyes for Chungking eh ? Well good luck Northman because you will need it. Chungking is THE major Chinese base and it is here that all of the rag-tag chinese units will have been retreating to.....PLUS it is the main center for Chinese manpower. Oh and the reason it is worth 3500 points is because you will need at least 10,000 assault points to take it.
Good luck.

_____________________________

Never argue with an idiot, he will only drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

(in reply to bbbf)

Post #: 313

RE: Stubborn Calcutta hit by heavy air raid! - 12/16/2004 9:42:24 PM

pauk

Posts: 4162
Joined: 10/21/2001
From: Zagreb,Croatia
Status: offline

PzB must be direct descendant of Bjarni Herljufson or Leif Eriksson

seriously, Chungking is hard target. Do you considering a strategic bombing (resources) before attacking C.? Al will have problems with supplies. Does anybody tried this strategy against chinese? I'm just started and my first attack of 90 sallys scored 13 resource hits....

also, i'm wonder where is Al's B-17? in my PBEM game, my blackhearted opponent sends a 100 ac strike....

(in reply to Raverdave)

Post #: 314

The forts won't come down... - 12/17/2004 1:37:00 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Hornblower: I will leave 6-7 divisions in India and Burma if I manage to drive the pommies out! A sizeable cruiser and destroyer force backed up by a couple of old battleships
will also remain behind. The KB (and Mini KB) should be able to stall any US offensive in the South Pacific until late 42. I'm confident that KO blow will have been delivered by 1943 - if we then decide to continue the game, I will have to come up with a new plan.

10000 assault points? That's all my divisions in China Raverdale

Could probably muster 7000, perhaps even 8.
Perhaps Al has sent units to Burma, and I know he got a lot of 'lost ones' in Northern China.

Pauk, I'll do my best and perhaps I won't end on history's junkyard if nothing else...
Blackadder stated that a war (WWI) hasn't been fought this badly since Olaf the incredibly hairy ordered 10,000 viking war helmets with the horns on the inside"

That's exactly the kind of of posthumous reputation I'll don't want

All my Sallys, and then I mean ALL - are busy bombing Calcutta (well, most of the time they're drinking sake and eating rice cakes me thinks:p)
so it won't be possible to bomb much in China for a while. Perhaps I can gather all my useless Lilys?

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/10/42

No air or sea activity to talk about today. A barge hit a mine at Rabaul and Al continued his practice runs of northern Oz.

Ground Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Shock attack (as you remember, only a few engineer regiments were ordered to shock attack today)

Attacking force 132845 troops, 874 guns, 792 vehicles

Defending force 58575 troops, 317 guns, 486 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 7) - and again they fail to bring down the forts

Japanese ground losses:
2407 casualties reported
Guns lost 23
Vehicles lost 4

Allied ground losses:
818 casualties reported
Guns lost 21
Vehicles lost 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Calcutta

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 11599 troops, 98 guns, 254 vehicles

Defending force 138408 troops, 823 guns, 786 vehicles

Japanese ground losses:
54 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

Bad weather grounds all ac today - but I spot 142 fighters at Calcutta!!!! Me thinks Wobbly wants to kill my bombers, so I order all my
Zeros to sweep Calcutta tomorrow.

Getting a little frustrated since I doesn't manage to reduce the forts at Calcutta. My men are exhausted, but there's no use resting them - casue a single
attack brings fatigue and disruption back up to their 70-80's - and in the meanwhile, the forts will be rebuilt. If I can't get anywhere, I will send the Imp Div to Asansol together with some engineer and tanks. It has prepared 100% for this objective. Asansol is reported defended by only 2400 men? I got 4000 paras at Chandpur, and they will try a surprise attack soon.

Large troop convoys are heading for and already unloading at Madras. Imagine the shock Al will get when 7 divisions march towards Bombay, Delhi and Karachi

V1.4 really speeded up things! Everything's moving much smoother now, why didn't they do this a long time ago

Well done Matrix!

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to pauk)

Post #: 315

RE: The forts won't come down... - 12/17/2004 1:49:45 AM

pauk

Posts: 4162
Joined: 10/21/2001
From: Zagreb,Croatia
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: PzB
Pauk, I'll do my best and perhaps I won't end on history's junkyard if nothing else...
Blackadder stated that a war (WWI) hasn't been fought this badly since Olaf the incredibly hairy ordered 10,000 viking war helmets with the horns on the inside"
That's exactly the kind of of posthumous reputation I'll don't want

All my Sallys, and then I mean ALL - are busy bombing Calcutta (well, most of the time they're drinking sake and eating rice cakes me thinks:p)
so it won't be possible to bomb much in China for a while. Perhaps I can gather all my useless Lilys?

I love Black adder, especially WWI edition....nah, you will never have bad reputation, look what you done already... you forced Raverdave to follow this Japanese fanboy thread

Well, about bombing, it was just idea, honestly i have no idea if it's gonna work. I will check with my opponent and let you know... if you plan to re-deploy Lilly's, check their range....

keep the good work!

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 316

RE: The forts won't come down... - 12/17/2004 4:42:42 AM

denisonh

Posts: 2194
Joined: 12/21/2001
From: Upstate SC
Status: offline

Bad reputation? I would like to see the list of those who have smoked you versus those of us who you have beaten. Would make an interesting comparison.

_____________________________

"Life is tough, it's even tougher when you're stupid" -SGT John M. Stryker, USMC

(in reply to pauk)

Post #: 317

RE: The forts won't come down... - 12/18/2004 8:38:28 PM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Thx for the encouraging words guys

I usually have a fair grip on things as long as I got the tools of the trade to wage war with. Just started my first WitP scen 15 (Lemurs mod) against 2ndACR - and I'm not feeling that confident yet. First now I understand how many understrength and semi trained ground and air units Wobbly had available to him.

I'm going to try to use my US cv's in the same spirited way as Al has done thus far though! The loss of 2 IJN carriers really hurt - but again, it forced me to concentrate my remaining carrier strength and that may be a good thing after all.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/11/42

Air Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Calcutta , at 29,23

Japanese aircraft - I was right, another big British CAP effort today!
A6M2 Zero x 50

Allied aircraft
Hurricane II x 32
P-40E Warhawk x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 22 destroyed - 16 Zeros lost in air to air combat

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane II: 85 destroyed, 6 damaged - 30 Hurries and 2 Warhawks were shot down.
P-40E Warhawk: 5 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 6th NLF , at 67,97

Allied aircraft - there are now SBD's at Lunga!
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD Dauntless x 13

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
2 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 9th Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 13
Ki-48 Lily x 21
Ki-49 Helen x 16

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
40 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
All Helen and Lily bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 18,37

Japanese aircraft
Ki-30 Ann x 15 - again my Ann's catch a fly in their web

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Virginian, Bomb hits 9, on fire, heavy damage - not healthy to sail too close to Sumatra!

Aircraft Attacking:
All Ki-30 Ann bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 130672 troops, 810 guns, 792 vehicles

Defending force 58392 troops, 305 guns, 484 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 7 - hm, had Al built the forts to 8?

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 7)

Japanese ground losses:
1421 casualties reported
Guns lost 57
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
1596 casualties reported - heavier casualties than me, that's got to be good as I got twice as many men!?
Guns lost 33
Vehicles lost 14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Calcutta

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 11412 troops, 93 guns, 252 vehicles

Defending force 135496 troops, 767 guns, 788 vehicles

Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

The melee over Calcutta cose me some Zeros, but I got to reduce the RAF before I can pound Calcutta into the rubble.
Moved in 18 reinforcement Zeros to compensate for those who were lost, so we're just as strong as before! My bombers are
ordered to hit Calcutta's air fields tomorrow.

Al is afraid I'm going to cut him off by moving from Madras. Guess he doesn't know that I'm landing another large army
that is going straight for the throat!

Tomorrow the battlefleet and KB docks at Trimcomalee and sucks up all the fuel there - then we head towards Karachi to gut
the remainder of the RN! We'll hit Diamond Harbour on the way back.

Currently holding 54 trained Zeros as a tactical reserve in Tokyo, will only deploy them if I have to. Another 27 will arrive shortly.
Feeling more confident in the South Pacific now, got sizeable garrisons in place and tons of mines are now being sown.
A Kongo battleship and escorts will soon arrive at Truk - when the Yamato also arrives, I will move the Junyo, Zuiho and 2 cve's
there as well. Together with 30 destroyers and cruisers, they will make up a powerful striking force.

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to denisonh)

Post #: 318

RE: The forts won't come down... - 12/18/2004 9:09:22 PM

WiTP_Dude

Posts: 1434
Joined: 7/3/2004
Status: offline

I'm not sure if shock attacks with engineering units is the way to go. How many engineering regiments do you have? You could probably use a few more if you only have two. Use deliberate attacks but be sure to give your units a chance to rest. Set them on bombardment or defensive half the time.

Also, you don't have to attack with all your infantry or tanks in these fortification removal exercises. Just a couple of divisions seems to be enough to support the engineers. This will keep the infantry rested instead of worn out. The goal should be to remove the fortifications, not to inflict casualties. Once the forts are eliminated, then it will be very easy to take Calcutta.

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 319

RE: The forts won't come down... - 12/19/2004 3:13:58 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Thx Dude - I've tried different things without success. I'll rest half of my divisions each turn from now on. Got 2 engineer regiments and 2 construction battalions.
Anoter eng and const units are on their way - went the wrong way and got stuck in the jungle. Still only moved 26 miles towards Calcutta

Got the forts down to lvl 6 today, so things are finally starting to happen.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/12/42

Surface Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Colombo, at 14,24 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

27 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Kako, Shell hits 1
CA Kinugasa, Shell hits 6
CA Aoba

Allied ground losses:
77 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 6th NLF , at 67,97

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD Dauntless x 13

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
28 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 64th Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 13
Ki-48 Lily x 19
Ki-49 Helen x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
59 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
14 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
12 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 128091 troops, 754 guns, 792 vehicles

Defending force 57242 troops, 282 guns, 480 vehicles

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 6

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 6)

Japanese ground losses:
2271 casualties reported
Guns lost 33
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
1314 casualties reported
Guns lost 38
Vehicles lost 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Calcutta

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 11193 troops, 86 guns, 252 vehicles

Defending force 133357 troops, 724 guns, 788 vehicles

Japanese ground losses:
10 casualties reported
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

India

Bad weather over most of India and not much flying going on. Allies lost 8 ac to op losses though.
Finally reduced the forts to lvl 6 at Calcutta - resting 2 divisions tomorrow and ordered another engineer
unit to head for Calcutta.

KB refueled at Trimcomalee, will sortie tomorrow - trying to pick up some replacement ac first. Will be
a costly raid I'm afraid. Don't like attacking ports with my elite naval pilots.

I hope Wobbly is using most of his troops to defend Calcutta, I will easily brush aside 1-2 enemy divisions when
my army finally moves out from Madras. One regiment will be left in each of the bases and on strategic road
junctions to prevent my advanced body from being cut off. Only Bombay and Karachi are important for me now,
if these bases falls, there will be no more supplies for the Allied troops in India -> game over!

This is what
we're aiming for. I'm even considering to leave the battleships and the KB to support the attacks. (That is if
the enemy got large troop concentration in these places)

South Pacific

Placed 680 mines at Shortland and will add another thousand at least. The situation in India looks so promising
that I will do my outmost to defend these bases just for another few months. This is getting really exciting!!

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to WiTP_Dude)

Post #: 320

RE: The forts won't come down... - 12/19/2004 3:23:05 AM

madflava13

Posts: 1530
Joined: 2/7/2001
From: Alexandria, VA
Status: offline

To quote Airplane 2: "Good luck, we're all counting on you..."

_____________________________

"The Paraguayan Air Force's request for spraying subsidies was not as Paraguayan as it were..."

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 321

Zero menace! Crimson skies above Calcutta - 12/20/2004 1:50:32 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

A powerful effort is about to be made Madflava, and I do feel confident! Got so many good units ready to deliver a final blow that victory is almost within sight!

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/13/42

Surface Combat

Sub/ASW Attacks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 16,15

Japanese Ships - my blocade claims a victim just south of Bombay
SS I-4

Allied Ships
AK Santa Teresa, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat

Day Air attack on Calcutta , at 29,23

Japanese aircraft - a perfect strike!
A6M2 Zero x 55
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 21
Ki-21 Sally x 83

Allied aircraft - meets a heavy CAP
Hurricane II x 26
Kittyhawk I x 28
P-40E Warhawk x 15

Japanese aircraft losses - losses are high, but the bombers get through!
A6M2 Zero: 21 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 36 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 5 destroyed, 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses - the Allied fighters suffers heavily while the air fields are hit hard!

Hurricane II: 57 destroyed, 7 damaged
Kittyhawk I: 42 destroyed, 3 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 17 destroyed, 4 damaged
Beaufort V-IX: 9 destroyed, 2 damaged
Blenheim IF: 6 destroyed, 6 damaged
Blenheim IV: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied ground losses:
132 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Airbase hits 19
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 67

Aircraft Attacking:
All Ki-21 Sally bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 6th NLF , at 67,97

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 13
SBD Dauntless x 13

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
6 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 93rd Chinese Division, at 30,34 - this Chink div moved in to 'cut of Rangoon' when I moved my armies back into the city. I will use it as practice target.

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 24
G4M1 Betty x 20

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
39 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x G3M Nell bombing at 6000 feet
11 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 6000 feet
9 x G4M1 Betty bombing at 6000 feet
9 x G3M Nell bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 63rd Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 13
Ki-48 Lily x 24
Ki-49 Helen x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
44 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
14 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
12 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 93386 troops, 550 guns, 732 vehicles

Defending force 56030 troops, 260 guns, 477 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 6) - the forts stay up

Japanese ground losses:
746 casualties reported - casualties were less severe today!
Guns lost 13
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
1162 casualties reported - the enemy is also taking a beating
Guns lost 26
Vehicles lost 16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

India

All of my ac in Chandpur and Dacca takes of to punish Calcutta - and were met by a really heavy CAP!
My escort is evenly matched, but my Oscars suffers heavily under the guns of the Warhawks - but the Zeros hit
back and inflicts awful casualties on both Hurricans and Kittyhawks.

18 Oscars and 13 Zeros are lost while around 56 Allied fighters were destroyed - another 20 ac were also destroyed on the ground.

I think this will be remembered as RAF's zenith defensive effort above Calcutta - hopefully I will be able to bomb at will from now on. Wobbly knows that I will destroy him if he keeps his air force here.

Didn't manage to reduce the forts again, but no more will be built as long as the base took a heavy ponding today.
It will be possible to sustain this effort - both in the air and on the ground. While Al is flogging a dead horse in an attempt to keep me at bay, I'm fending him off and continuing my advance with one hand on my back. 50% of my resources are kept in reserve or in the South Pacific to guard against the US onslaught which is bound to happen sooner or later.

A small landing force departed for Mannargudi, I want to occupy as many bases as possible and capture fuel and supplies.
Trivandrum is next on my list and Bangalore will soon be assaulted. (See situation map - also notice the funny route taken by my troops to get from Madras to Bangalore)

Today the KB and 2 battlefleets left Trimcomalee and will initiate Phase III of Operation Hangover: This time it's serious - decisive blows will be delivered to both Bombay and Karachi!! A wast air armada has been gathered at Ceylon and Madras.
Already there are 75000 troops in Madras/Bangalore and another 125000 will land in a few days. If Al thinks my main effort is directed againat Calcutta he's in for a really nasty surprise!

The Imperial shock troops will soon shatter the enemy and claim a new Empire for the Emperor!

South Pacific

Troops are landing at Kavieng and Eniwetok - base forces are heading towards Wewak. a size 4 af is almost ready
and will provide another main base from which my naval bombers can operate. More base units will be sent to the Admirality island.

(See situation map)

Situation Map: Hangover Phase III

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to madflava13)

Post #: 322

RE: Zero menace! Crimson skies above Calcutta - 12/21/2004 6:34:46 PM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/14/42

Surface Combat

Invasions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 88 troops unloading over beach at Mannargudi, 16,23

Japanese ground losses:
98 casualties reported
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ship that was bombed of Sumatra as well as the one that was torpedoed
of the Indian coast yesterday were both reported sunk today!

Air Combat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Calcutta , at 29,23

Japanese aircraft - weather is again favorable and Calcutta is hit again!
A6M2 Zero x 45
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 7
Ki-21 Sally x 84

Allied aircraft - no CAP?
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged
Kittyhawk I: 15 destroyed, 8 damaged
Blenheim IF: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged
Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
88 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 24
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 79

Aircraft Attacking:
All Ki-21 Sally bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 66th Chinese Corps, at 46,29

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 12
Ki-48 Lily x 17
Ki-49 Helen x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
66 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
10 x Ki-48 Lily bombing at 5000 feet
12 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 5000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 101215 troops, 615 guns, 796 vehicles

Defending force 55922 troops, 255 guns, 467 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 6) - the forts stays up..

Japanese ground losses:
1303 casualties reported
Guns lost 21

Allied ground losses:
914 casualties reported
Guns lost 15
Vehicles lost 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bangalore

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 20086 troops, 210 guns, 6 vehicles

Defending force 13295 troops, 184 guns, 9 vehicles

Allied ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Guns lost 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

India

My air force in India has finally started to bomb with some regularity and I'm now preventing new forts from growing.
Still hard work to reduce the ones already there though - seems like I have to attack with all of my troops to make an impact!
2 Engineer regiments will be brought in from China, but this will take some time. In the meantime additional arty and a reserve
regiment are loading at Singapore.

Spotted 99 bombers and 30 fighters at Diamond Harbour today - this is not good news. I have to continue bombing Calcutta, so
I don't really have anything to hit Diamond with as my fleet is heading towards Karachi! Ordered the 70 mediums at Madras
to hit the place instead..the Zeros will be within extreme range.

Wobbly wasn't happy about the results of yesterdays air combat - felt that his fighters should have hit my bombers.
The 20 or so that survived the mas..battle did intercept and shot down one Sally while damaging another 2. Guess my Zeros
broke up their formations and prevented them from mounting effective attacks.

Almost feeling a bit sorry for Al, he's been taking a lot of heat lately - but that thought quickly evaporates by thinking of how
Hellcats and B29's will make life miserable for me if a K.O. blow can't be delivered over the next few months!

Again my troops at Madras headed straight west when ordered to march to Bangalore (due north along the railroad line).
Really annoying, ordered them to turn around and march to the area just north of Madras in an attempt to force them to follow
the railroad.

South Pacific

Base forces are now heading towards Wewak and Hollandia in New Guinea and towards the Admirality islands north of New Britain.
Minelayers continue their deadly work and a full regiment has arrived at Truk from China together with the battleship
Hiei (14 sys damage) and some escorts. Another 4 ca's, 1 cl and 10 dd's should arrive within a week.

Not sure whether I want to move the Junyo, Zuiho a cve + 2 bb's to Truk - the 2 light carriers both got 24 sys damage - repair is
so slow. Really would like a reaction force centered on a few carriers in the South!

What do the rest of you think - wait for repair and reinforcements or move all I got to the front immediately?
I can muster ca 120 ac on my available carriers in Japan/Shanghai, and in only a few days the Yamato will be available.

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 323

RE: Zero menace! Crimson skies above Calcutta - 12/21/2004 6:43:58 PM

Gen.Hoepner

Posts: 3645
Joined: 9/4/2001
From: italy
Status: offline

I say go and put everything you have. If you do not loose any position in South Pac area and you win in India by the end of the year you are the winner, so commit every ship you have which is not involved in India theatre to South Pac and Hold every single position

_____________________________

[image]http://yfrog.com/2m70331348022314716641664j [/image]

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 324

RE: Zero menace! Crimson skies above Calcutta - 12/21/2004 11:08:03 PM

Honda

Posts: 953
Joined: 5/5/2004
From: Karlovac, Croatia
Status: offline

Although every course of action has its perks and flaws I'd opt for keeping them in reserve. This is how I see the scenario playing out.
1. Allies hit with what they got
2. Japs go with the flow - do as much damage as you can defesively without depleting your offesive strenght
3. Allies take their objectives
4. Japs mount a couterattack that would destroy the invading forces thereby effctively ending the war (in you case, that is)

How I would play it out: garrison only THE most important locations with troops in numbers. Wobbly chooses when and where the combat will occure so minimize your losses by not granting him a large prize. Shortly, think defensively (mines, landbased naval aviation...). Wait as his operation plays out and hit it at its most vunerable - towards the end. For that you need to conserve all the CV/CVL you got waiting and get KB up and running as soon as Hangover doesn't depend on their presence. Gather an invasion force consisting of units you preped as soon as his main objective becomes obvious. And then go for the grand prize. My two cents...
Unlike the Japanese, you may yet EARN the decisive battle. Good hunting.

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 325

100 bombers demolish Chandpur air fields!! - 12/22/2004 4:12:17 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Thx for the advice Hoepner and Honda! It's really great to get input as it's not always easy to maintain a clear perspective when you're involved in a lot of different battles.

I will probably wait 16 days before I sortie the Mini KB - by then we will have received another cve and partially repaired the damaged carriers.

I agree with much of your reasoning Honda! It's much better to hit the enemy after he has been weakend by continous operations - especially since I will be the underdog when this happens. What I'm not going to allow is the loss of any major base. Kwajalein got 8 forts now, but there are only 2 at Rabaul - need more engineers. An invasion here would face a fierce reaction from Truk though. Can easily move in a lot of reinforcement by sea and air if needed.

Tarawa is the most likely target though, got 9000 men here and 2 forts and building. The only sad thing is that this base is situated too far away from my main bases. Will be very difficult and costly to counter an invasion here. Just want it to hold out as long as possible.

Gili Gili and Shortlands are also very vulnerable - so I expect visitors anytime really. Subs, naval bombers and mines will be my only defenses this far south. Again I only expect to delay the enemy in this area.

The problem is that I don't know what Wobbly is up to, so the spider has to sit still in the middle of the web and wait! (Truk in this case)

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/15/42

Air Combat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Chandpur , at 30,25 - I feared this and today the weather favoured Wobbly. Chandpur was covered in clouds and my bombers at Madras never took of

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 4

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 7
Buffalo I x 16
Wellington III x 47
Beaufort I x 12
P-40E Warhawk x 8
B-17E Fortress x 46

Japanese aircraft losses - ca 70 ac were destroyed on the ground

A6M2 Zero: 13 destroyed, 8 damaged
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 6 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 16 destroyed, 16 damaged
L2D2 Tabby: 23 destroyed, 8 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 33 destroyed, 49 damaged
Ki-57-II Topsy: 6 destroyed, 7 damaged
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 2 destroyed
Buffalo I: 1 damaged
Wellington III: 3 damaged
Beaufort I: 1 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 1 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 5 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
310 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Airbase hits 19
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 61

Aircraft Attacking:
All Fortress and Wellington III bombing at 9000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Lae at 54,87

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 45? A lot of ac at PM..hmm

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 5 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AG AG-116
PG Shinko Maru #1, Shell hits 24
AG AG-121, Shell hits 12, on fire
AG AG-114, Shell hits 4
AG AG-358
AG AG-369
AG AG-361, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AG AG-115, Shell hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
All P-39D Airacobra attacking at 100 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground Combat

Ground combat at Calcutta

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 126246 troops, 678 guns, 797 vehicles

Defending force 55424 troops, 257 guns, 461 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 6)

Japanese ground losses:
2745 casualties reported - high losses and the forts stays up

Guns lost 25
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
1227 casualties reported
Guns lost 27
Vehicles lost 9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Mannargudi

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 1048 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Mannargudi base !!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Situation Report

India

I have feared this day for some time now, it was just a question of time before Wobblys Wellingtons and Fortresses would manage to hit Chandpur - and when they did they destroyed all my units here. I will have to withdraw them to Rangoon for replacements - fortunately I got a lot of ac in the pools. This will take at least a week, and in the meanwhile the forts will be rebuilt...

A large aviation regiment unloaded at Chandpur today and will march to Dacca - Lily's and Sallys will be moved to both these bases and resume bombing operations as soon as possible. Attacks against Calcutta have actually already been ordered from Dacca.

The energetic Kiwi has also moved a unit onto the railroad east of Calcutta - I got a regiment here that is ordered to attack at once. Kinda strange, one small unit can actually prevent 150000 men from moving that way!? Me thinks Matrix got more work to do here...

The forts again refused to be reduced at Calcutta, need fresh troops as my divisions are all burned out. Perhaps I should march on Asansol and try to clear my flanks - but first we have to reopen the railroad. The situation is a little difficult, but it's self inflicted since I'm directing half of my divisions into Madras. I will consider sending a battle group down the railroad to hit Calcutta from the rear..that will make Al cry

The fleet is now moving undetected NE and will try to stay out of search plane range until the reach Karachi and then move directly towards Karachi. I'm getting reports of 204!!!! ships in port - this can be fun. I will use my naval bombers soon, but I'd like to coordinate the strikes. All the supplies I unload into Madras simply dissappear, more than 40k thus far and I've never had more than 8k available!?

Didn't find any supplies in Mannargudi either..

China

Quite a few of the Chinese units that were heading towards Sian have now turned around, guess Al finally admitted that it would be a completely futile and suicidal gesture. I can move troops along t he railroad 10 times faster than his bandit peasents can march 200 miles through the wilderness

Central/South Pacific

Received another 27 A6M3 Zero Daitai today and I now got 90 Zeros in Japan.
I'm a little worried about that Al will hit Rabaul with another 100 heavy bomber raid - perhaps I should move the bombers back to Truk and put more Zeros on CAP? That actually sounds like a good idea...

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to Honda)

Post #: 326

RE: 100 bombers demolish Chandpur air fields!! - 12/22/2004 5:05:17 AM

2ndACR

Posts: 5665
Joined: 8/31/2003
From: Irving,Tx
Status: offline

Yep, move those bombers back and stick a bunch of fighters in Rabaul. You will lose some, but hopefully you will kill some of his too.

Tarawa at level 2 fort????!!!!!!! Pzb, you are letting me down. On turn 1 you are supposed to send 3-4 engineer batt down there and a base force to kick start construction of everything. Shame on you.

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 327

RE: 100 bombers demolish Chandpur air fields!! - 12/22/2004 8:03:30 AM

PzB74

Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000
From: No(r)way
Status: offline

Can use Truk and Wewak as bases for my naval bombers and put fighters on the forward bases - they are much more efficient at culling bombers than in UV!

Of course I should have built it, but this is my first WitP game and I never gave Tarawa priority - been busy with a lot of other projects. Trying to compensate by putting 9000 men on the atoll though, but I will consider my sins!-)

You sent me back the wrong WitP turn, so shame on you too!

_____________________________

"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

(in reply to 2ndACR)

Post #: 328

RE: 100 bombers demolish Chandpur air fields!! - 12/22/2004 9:03:03 AM

Gen.Hoepner

Posts: 3645
Joined: 9/4/2001
From: italy
Status: offline

What's the total score at the moment?

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[image]http://yfrog.com/2m70331348022314716641664j [/image]

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 329

RE: 100 bombers demolish Chandpur air fields!! - 12/22/2004 2:50:31 PM

RAM

Posts: 402
Joined: 5/1/2000
From: Bilbao,Vizcaya,Spain
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: PzB

Of course I should have built it, but this is my first WitP game and I never gave Tarawa priority - been busy with a lot of other projects. Trying to compensate by putting 9000 men on the atoll though, but I will consider my sins!-)

Tarawa is an atoll. If your forces are overrun by the attackers, you lose all of them...something to keep in mind.

As I see it (I've only read this thread for a long time and I have no idea of where wobbly will attack so take what I say with a grain of salt), there are several places to be concerned with.

1-Gilberts and/or Marshalls: lots of good places to build bases at, and a real menace to Truk if occupied. However in the big strategic picture losing any of those bases is not crippling: Truk is invulnerable at this stage of the war and those islands can't be used for anything aside of being a springboard to attack Truk or the Marianas: is too early in the war for the american to do that.

2-Rabaul-via-Shortlands: This is the road I would take if I was the allied player. Lunga is american, and Wobbly can hit Shortlands from there with ease. If Shortlands falls and gets a big enough airstrip, mediums from there and heavies from PM will reduce Rabaul to untennable rubble, leaving it open for invasion. Even more of a problem is the lack of forts there: if I was the allied player I would be sure that there would be BIG forts there, and so I would bring all my firepower. That's bad for you, because guarantees that Rabaul can fall in the first attack, and so you will lose everything you've got there.

I won't stress this hard enough (I already told you about this before ;)): Rabaul is the key for the SW pacific and New Guinea. Contrary to the Gilberts or Marshalls, lose it and you're in real trouble even if Hangover succeeds (something that I'm starting to doubt, seeing that you're stuck at Calcutta, that your bomber force has been crippled for several days, and that the British side receives quite some reinforcements around the dates you're playing at).

3- Northern side of the map, using Aleutians as springboard: This IMO is a strategic error because there are way more important places to attack...however taking the northern route gives access to bases within bombing range of Japan. Also, is an unexpected move because the previous options are more likely, and so the japanese will be off-guard to properly defend this approach. Worth a thought, but if I was you and I was attacked there, I'd like this option instead of 1- and much more, 2-.

What I would ask is what is really important for the KB now in the Indic...OK, you can strike Karachi,you won't sink a lot of things (Big port-ships hard to sink), but will give a rough treatment to the British fleet there, something very good for Hangover. However, after that...what use it has there with, as it seems, an imminent attack in the pacific?.

I wouldn't send the mini-KB to Truk. Whatever Wobbly does will be covered by no less than 5 fleet carriers. Simply said: your light carrier forces won't simply cut it against even three of them, much less five. On the other hand while I see the use of a naval carrier force in the Indic, I think keeping the whole KB there is overkill and even a wastage. Will it help you taking calcutta?. Will it help you advancing to take Karachi?. Do you dare using its air complements to attack heavily defended spots, as Calcutta?....

I guess the asnwer to those questions is "no". In short: there's no need to keep your best carriers and pilots in the Indic.Sure, a carrier force helps keeping control of the sealanes but with Trimcomalee and Madras in your hands ,and the mini-KB around you've got more than what you need to prevent the enemy naval moves.

In short: if I was you, I'd send the mini-KB immediately there to relieve the KB, which would set sail for Truk as soon as the Karachi run is over. Don't wait for anything, send what you've got, and when the new carrier comes by, send it there too if you want...or send it to Truk if the situation in the Center-South Pacific urges you to do it. You lose really nothing in Hangover (the KB intervention is marginal at this stage), and you win a lot in the Pacific...Mostly if the allied attack goes up from Lunga to Rabaul via Shortlands, something really crippling (IMO) that you simply can't stop at this stage without the KB at hand.

Of course there's another chance: that Wobbly doesn't want to do anything and is getting you nervous with misinformation so you kick the KB from the Bay of Bengal. This would fit great with a try to send a couple of carriers there...but it's too late for that because you have established a secure enough foot on India and have enough air power on Ceylon and Madras to keep his CVs away for the time being. Hangover could go on as predicted on the "land attack via the railroads" plan

Those are my advices...will be interesting to know where the attack will be and if I was right in any of my previsions :).

_____________________________

RAM

"Look at me! look at me!!!

Not like that! NOT LIKE THAT!!!"

(in reply to PzB74)

Post #: 330

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