Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch)

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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 >> Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch)

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Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch) - 1/4/2005 2:16:49 PM

String

Posts: 2661
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Estonia
Status: offline

This is a copy of my AAR that has been running on the Paradox OT forums for almost a month now, so bear with me if there are some things that seem obvious to you good WitP players. Also combat reports from the first parts are scarce since i started writing the AAR after turn 16 i think

Okay.. here we go..

The scenario we play starts in may 1942. That means that basically all the japanese conquests have already been done. The battle of the coral sea is yet to take place but the forces that participated in it are in position and ready to move.

I take the Japanese side.

currently its may 16th (yet unresolved)

***Click here to see the map***

This is the general area under control of Japan on may 1st 1942. On it you can see the operations I planned on the first turn.

Area #1. The Burma-Indochina area.

a). The Indochina part

I wasn't any real action in indo-china. The only enemy near the area are the chinese, and if any chinese units cross into this area i get up to four free vietnamese militia brigades immediatly. So no effort other than moving a bombergroup (27 Ki-21 Sally) and a fightergroup (36 Ki-43-1b Oscars) into Haiphong. The IJA divsion in Hanoi is at full strength and left where it is, in case the chinese get any ideas.

b). The Burma part.

Now in burma the japanese have taken everything up to and including Mandalay and Akyab. Kohima and Imphal remain firmly in british hands however and are seperated from our lines by atleast three hexes of jungle trails.. not a pleasant terrain to cross and i decide to not push further but remain on the defensive here, atleast on the ground. In the air however I plan to maintain firm superiority by continually bombing the airfields at Kohima and Imphal. So i move some bombers and fighters from Rangoon, Bangok and Andaman islands to Mandalay. I keep my G3M Sally daitais in rangoon however as those are fragile planes, best suited for naval operations with their huge range and torpedo payload.

Area #2. The Southern Resource Area, or SRA for short.

Well, it's all nicely secure, the larger islands have quite good garrisons and the smaller ones without resources don't matter.. if he takes any by a quick commando i think i can still take them back. I move the G4M Betty and A6M2 Zero daitais out the SRA from Kendari to Rabaul. I leave a few bomber groups of the old Ki-30 Ann's and Ki-48 Lily's to do some ASW work and send large convoys from the home islands to gather resources and oil from here.
The Imperial guards division is found rotting in Medan however and is sent towards china

The 2nd and 3rd Yokosuka SNLF units that are trained in para ops are moved to Dili to attempt a paradrop into north australia. I have to get supplies to Dili before it can be attempted

Area #3. The Chinese and Kwantung theatres.

a). The Chinese part.

The japanese forces in China are strong and well positioned for an offensive.
On the map you can see that i planned five of them, starting from the south they are

The Wuchow Offensive. Utilizing the forces freed from garrison duty in southern china and Canton this offensive is slow to start due to the need to gather forces in the beginning. It's aim is however to first defeat the chinese units sitting out of canton and then surround Wuchow and eliminate the chinese there.

The Nangchang Offensive. There are already chinese forces in the same hex as the Japanese, there is no question about the outcome of this offensive, the chinese will surely be pushed back towards changsha.

The Changsha Offensive. From Wuhan this offensive aims to capture Changsa, then move further south and surround Kweilin and destroy the forces there along with the changsa battle survivors.

The Homan Offensive. Objective Homan and then onwards to Sian, a large industrial and resource center.

The Yenen Offensive. Aims to capture Yenen and then to move further into northern china and finally eliminate all chinese units there.

b). The Kwantung part. No action there as the soviets are and will be inactive for quite a few years. some forces are moved out of this area to help with the chinese offensives, mainly artillery.

Area #4. The Home Islands.

Large convoys are formed, moving supplies to outlying bases, a few airgroups are selected out for release to different theatres, when there are enough political points, all the Zeroes and Betties and Nells that can be moved are moved towards Rabaul, Sallies and Oscars to china. Most of the operational fleet is moved south to help with the securing of the solomons.

However a small taskforce is created to invade Attu island. This with the aim to scare my opponent and to make him overcommit to the area. If i capture Attu i will not reinforce it and will make little attempt to hold it. Maybe i'll base some land based bombers there to annoy any of his surface ships but if his carriers show up i'll evacuate them

Area #5. The Eastern Perimiter.

From Home islands supplies, base and garrison units are ordered. All islands start building fortifications, Wake is designated to be garrisoned extra strong.

The Gilbert islands are left mostly as are, each of the three atolls will get one engineer unit and a garrison unit if needed. No attempts at placing aircraft at that area will be made.

Marshalls however are designated to be garrisoned heavily. This is the possible starting point of the allied counteroffensive and i'm gonna make them pay if they start here. Kwajalein is going to be the center of resistance here, surrounding islands get patrol aircraft, I send 4CL's and a CS to reinforce the fleet here. Hopefully i get to use them as surface raiders against allied supply lines to australia.

Area #6. The Southern area.

This is where the action is going to be. I have the carrier division 2. in this area, with several invasion fleets already loaded, targetting Buna(on the other side of NG opposite to Port Moresby), Gili Gili (the southeasternmost tip of NG) Tulagi, (island north of guadalcanal) and Lunga,(Guadalcanal). Intelligence suggests (read: I know the allied OOB at the start of the scenario) that there are two allied carriers in the area. However transport capcity for the allies is limited, and there aren't many strong ground units in the area. The targets for the invasions are expected to be ungarrisoned. Port Moresby is known to be lightly garrisoned, however it has a size 5 airfield and aircraft can be moved there very quickly, making an invasion without carriers an impossibility.

I am between choices, should i continue the invasions and risk my carriers or should i wait until the Kido Butai arrives from Tokyo bay. I decide to risk it. I have three carriers, the Shokaku and Zuikaku, one of the best of japan and the CVL Shoho, a light carrier with about 30 aircraft. I decide that my opponent is most likely to try and attack my Buna invasion group as it takes the longest to unload. The rest of the invasion fleets would be gone before his carriers could make it to their respective areas.

So i decide to move carrier division 2. to the solomon sea to support the invasion of Buna. I start concentrating my zeroes, betties and Nells into rabaul. For those who don't know, the Betty and Nell have incredible range, their normal range is 15 hexes while the allied carrier aircraft can make 5 at extended range and 13 is the extended range for the b-17. Also the A6M2 Zero has a good range of 11 hexes at extended. This means that my carriers can operate under the umbrella of land based aircraft while his forces at Port Moresby would at best, get a few planes in at extended range. No allied fighter in the area can fly over 5 hexes.

The submarine war.

Most of my subs are at Truk and Kwajalein. Those at home islands are ordered to screen my attu invasion, those at Singapore to scout the indian coastline and keep an eye on the british fleet.

I form up a submarine transport force in Kwajalein to send a commando raid to Nunafuti attoll (i think that was the name) It's expected to be ungarrisoned and can be captured.
The three minelayer subs from Kwajalein are sent to Canton island to drop some candy for Nimitz. Canton island is expected to be a major refueling port for allied convoys.

Other subs from Kwajalein are sent either east of Hawaii or between Hawaii and Canton island.

From truk the subs are sent mostly south to cover the approaches to the solomon islands and new guinea.. few are sent to scout the french caledonia.

hopes are high, orders are issued and the turn is sent

Tune in for the next update where i will explain what exactly has happened during the last 15 days :)

edit: edited twice to improve readability and added the paradrop to australia plan

< Message edited by String -- 1/4/2005 7:25:33 AM >

Post #: 1

RE: Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch) - 1/4/2005 2:28:27 PM

String

Posts: 2661
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Estonia
Status: offline

General strategy for the first year or so..

Okay, I wont be posting the game update yet.

First i'd like to explain my aims and the general situation of the game.
As said in the previous post, its may 1942 and most of the historical japanese conquests are done. However i plan to go on and capture Port moresby and i'm prepared to risk a lot for it as it is an ideal base from where to pound Rabaul by B-17's. If I don't capture it then in about 7-8 months Rabaul will be targeted by an allied air offensive and reduced to rubble.

If Port moresby is captured, and Guadalcanal is secure and with a nice airfield then i can feel safe from allied invasions in the area before the middle of 1943 as before then japanese land based air still poses a serious threat to their carriers.

This gives me an added 7-8 months to prepare my defences.

Now i know the allied carriers Yorktown and Lexington are in the area... historically the coral sea battle resulted in Lexington sunk and Yorktown badly damaged. However the japanese fleet carrier Shokaku was also damaged and the CVL Shoho was sunk.. I plan to make this into a total japanese victory by carefully choosing the place of battle and concentrating heavy LBA forces to Rabaul.

In the east, ALL attols will be garrisoned heavily. I'll even move full divisions to the important ones from Philipines and SRA.

I don't expect an attack into the SRA as it is easy to protect. Also allied supply lines to there would be very long indeed.

Also naval activity from the british is expected to be nonexistant because my dominance in the air.

So i decide to remain mostly on defensive except for capturing PM and trying a few diversionary attacks to put him off balance and keep him busy..

(in reply to String)

Post #: 2

RE: Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch) - 1/4/2005 2:31:09 PM

String

Posts: 2661
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Estonia
Status: offline

So.. here we go.. the first true game update.

I'm afraid i havent saved any combat reports from the first 15 turns except for the first 3 and the last ofcourse.. so there might be some inconsitencies as i try to put the events back together but who cares eh?

The first few days of May saw the liberation of Nachang from the chinese and an allout offensive on all fronts there. The chinese forces guarding the approaches to Homan were defeated and driven west. Changsha was invested from north. The shortrange IJA dive bombers and several groups of Sallies with fighter escort were concentrated in Wuhan to help with the upcoming battles around Changsha area. Aircraft were also concentrated in Canton and Haiphong, the latter seeing some action very quickly. it was the third or the second of may when the AVG, the famous Flying Tigers were based to Kunming. They were caught with their pants down however as about 50 bombers with heavy fighter escort bombed the airfield there the same day and destroyed a third of their airplanes on the ground. This action continued for 3-4 days before the AVG was finally withdrewn, presumably to India. Air to air losses were mostly to japanese favor, we achieved 1,5:1 ratio there.

on the ground Changsha was captured quickly and our forces there headed onwards south towards Kweilin. From the south the forces from Canton headed towards Wuchow, defeated the forces between canton and Wuchow and started encircling the city..

The northern offensives have all stalled however.. all are hopeless at the moment, but i have reinforcements arriving from Manchuria. Those should help to turn the tide.

In burma nothing much happened, there were daily air attacks on the Imphal and Kohima airfields and they met with some success with quite a few hurricanes shot down and destroyed on the field. The nells based in rangoon also made a lighting raid on Chandpur harbour, sinking a minesweeper and heavily damaging over 10 merchantmen.

The SRA remained quiet.. during the first week even no allied subs were detected..

On the final turn played, the 15th we finally did the paradrop from Timor to northern australia, we'll see what comes of it.

Eastern perimiter was also quiet until one fine morning we started detecting allied subs in several of our base hexes.. ASW forces were dispatched (which until this time have failed to destroy any submarines) but as an arriving supply convoy found out, the sub at Kwajalein had been the USS Argonaut, a minelaying sub and there were some nice surprises for the japanese ships there, a merchantman and two destroyers were heavily damaged and a torpedo resupply ship was sunk by the mines. The IJN only has three of those ships and doesn't get any new ones..

. Luckily we had minesweepers in the are and started anti mine operations immediatly. A PG (gunboat) was also damaged later during the minesweeping.

From then on until the the 16th of may it was fairly quiet but the allied ASW with laserguided depth charges claimed 4 IJN subs in 4 days.. I had to remove my subs from the convoy routes to reduce the losses.

Home islands were also mainly quiet, with the exception of a japanese destroyer being torpedoed by an allied submarine and another allied sub attacked and damaged but not sunk.

The Attu invasion commenced on the last turn played and hopefully it will be a success..

The Battle of the Coral Sea.

Things were not so quiet in the Coral sea area though. Already on may 3rd the japanese ships arrived at Tulagi and Lunga and started unloading, both undefended bases were captured with ease.. At the same time the IJN invasion fleet unloaded its troops at Gili Gili, no resistance was offered for the SNLF batallion there.

Meanwhile the second carrier division continued south, covering the Buna invasion fleet, the largest of all four. Contact with the allied CV group was expected at any day now. On the 3rd the task forces crossed into allied aircraft range at port moresby and determined but unsuccessful strikes were launched at the japanese carriers.

The fourth of may brought the longexpected news. An H8K6 Emily flying patrol from rabaul detected several large allied cruisers and an aircraft carrier about 200 miles south of Gili-Gili. The Japanese bomber crews in Rabaul and on the carriers were placed on full alert and Vice admiral Shigemi Inoue, in command of the carrier taskforce, decided to move his carriers east, nearer to new britain and out of the aircraft range from Port moresby. This was done because it was expected for the allied CV force to sail into the solomon sea between new britain and new guinea and pounce the Buna invasion fleet that was currently unloading there.

No aircover was to be provided for the invasion fleet as the sinking of the allied carriers was deemed a more important issue.

VADM Shigemi Inoue had guessed wrong however.

On the morning of may 5th an Emily from rabaul detected the allied carriers not in the solomon sea, but instead in the coral sea, on the other side of PNG and out of range from the japanese carrier aircraft. However the allied carriers were very much in range of the invasion fleet and a huge strike was launched against it in the afternoon. Flying over new guinea, over 70 dive bombers with fighter escort dived on the hapless merchantmen and their escorts, damaged over 10 troop transports and two destroyers and sank the light cruiser Yubari.

To make matters worse the japanese Betties and Nells launched from rabaul were flying at extreme range for their zero escorts and the Wildcats on patrol over Lexington and Yorktown were able to shoot down quite a few bombers. Those that made it through were either damaged by flak or missed their targets. To add insult to injury over half of the bombers didn't even locate their targets.

The Japanese commander decided to withdraw the invasion fleet and carriers to rabaul. Invasion fleet to safety and the carriers to refit their somewhat depleted fighter groups.

On the morning of the 6th the invasion fleet was steaming back to rabaul and the carriers were just 120 miles out. During the night another two merchantmen had sunk from damage.

Allied carriers were seen at Port moresby harbour refueling. No airstrikes from rabaul were launched that day due to poor weather.

Japanese fighter groups flyed from their carriers to rabaul to refit

On the 7th the allied carriers were detected near the coast of new guinea, about 160 miles east of Port Moresby. The carrier fighter groups were flown back to the carriers, having recieved replacements, and the carriers were ordered flank speed towards new guinea again.

Adimral Inoue could see that the allied commander had made a mistake. He had deployed his carriers so that the island of new guinea was between them and him. As the allied CV's were already close to the coast it meant that they couldn't move closer to his carriers without making the two day trip around Gili-Gili. This in turn meant that he could take advantage of the superior range of japanese aircraft. The allied torpedo bombers could only fly 120 miles (2 hexes) and the dive bombers 240 miles (4hexes). However the dive bombers could carry their most devastating weapon, the 1000lb bomb, only 180 miles... meaning that on maximum range they could carry only a 500lb bomb.

The japanese torpedo bomber could carry his torpedoes to 240 miles however, and bombs to 300. The dive bombers also could make 240 miles easily. So by positioning his carriers carefully, the japanese commander could force the american aircraft to use only their limited potential while he could use his to the fullest. This however if the american carriers stayed in similar position

On the same day two strikes were launched from rabaul by land based bombers. Both met with unsuccess, fates similar to the strike two days earlier.

So with plans made, the fleet sailed into action..

The morning of 7th of may greeted the japanese carrier taskforce with an unpleasant sight however. On the horizon, tens of american bombers and fighters were making their way towards the japanese carriers....

tune in for the second part of the coral sea battle when i update next

< Message edited by String -- 1/4/2005 7:31:20 AM >

(in reply to String)

Post #: 3

RE: Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch) - 1/4/2005 7:09:52 PM

String

Posts: 2661
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Estonia
Status: offline

*sniff* .. no replies .. *sniff*

(in reply to String)

Post #: 4

RE: Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch) - 1/4/2005 7:10:45 PM

String

Posts: 2661
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Estonia
Status: offline

Battle of the Coral Sea - Part 2

Escorted by over 17 fighters, two groups of american dive bombers, totaling over 60 planes, approached the japanese carriers. The japanese carriers were laid bare to them in the soft glow of the rising sun, their decks were empty and not a single enemy plane was in sight.

The japanese admiral had not taken any chances though. As the american planes started their dive towards the Shokaku and the Zuikaku, dozens of Zeroes burst from the clouds and dove towards the now unprotected bombers. The escorting wildcats, caught offguard, desperatly tried to intercept the defending fighters but to no avail.. 21 japanese fighters dove into the american formation with their guns blazing, and 21 japanese fighters along with the debris and flaming wrecks of 18 divebombers left the formation only seconds later.

Witihin a few seconds over half of the planes attacking the two japanese carriers were shot down, and before the remaining ones the air was now exploding with furious anti-aircraft fire directed towards them from the carriers themselves and the escorting ships.

Eighteen bombers had been shot down but twelve continued. Through the air that was now blackened by puffs of smoke and filled with flying shrapnel they dove downwards and downwards. Plane after plane was shot down by the flak, one had its bomb hit by an AAA shell and blew up with a teriffic explosion, another had its wing clipped off by a 5" gun, third's pilot was hit in the chest by shrapnel and the plane went spiraling out of control... But even the most furious AA fire could not prevent the fall of the 500lb bombs released from the seven remaining bombers as they pulled out of their dive and continued northwards through the flak.

Both japanese carriers desperatley tried to maneuver themselves out from the falling bombs.. but the carrier is a big ship.. and the bombs fall quick. The captain of the Shokaku winced as the three bombes made huge splashes around the bow of his ship, he could see that the thrid would hit only a few seconds later.. and it did. Everyone who could see the bomb falling on the ship braced themselves for the huge explosion that was about to follow... but none came.. as the deck crew opened their eyes they could only see a small smoking hole in the deck.. the bomb had failed to detonate.

The Zuikaku fared a little worse.. she also was hit by a single bomb, and this time it did detonate.

The damage however was practically nonexistant. The bomb had hit the corner of the flightdeck and most of the blast went outwards. 3 members of the deck crew were killed and a small fuel canister was pierced, starting a small fire, but that was all. Within 2 minutes the fires were extinguished and the carrier was again operational...

This had been only one wave however. The second wave had split off about 10 miles early, and had headed towards the light carrier Shoho, which was positioned about 8 miles east of the two fleet carriers. This time only 4 Zeroes were in the air, and although they fought valiantly they didn't manage to prevent the thritytwo bombers from diving in on the carrier and delivering four bombs on their target. As the american planes turned back they left the carrier in flames, sending a black column of smoke hundreds of metres high..

(in reply to String)

Post #: 5

RE: Scenario #13 - String vs. Sanch - (offlimits to Sanch) - 1/22/2005 5:54:31 PM

CrazyBugger

Posts: 4
Joined: 1/18/2005
Status: offline

I'm following this over on the OT Paradox forums - in fact, it was because of your AAR that I came to check this place out - hope you continue it as I really have enjoyed it so far. Thanks for the read