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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 >> Break time...

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Break time... - 4/10/2005 1:00:38 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

PzB and I will both be away from our respective PCs for a while - I'm going off on business trip for a couple of days and PzB is going on a week's holiday, IIRC. So when we get back we'll have to try to remember where we were and what we were doing. That will be particularly hard at this time because things are fairly quiet and we're primarily just setting things up for future action.

So September 28th saw more air action, and a bit of sub-chasing by PzB, but nothing too exciting. My air attack plan out of PM did work quite well. Sure enough, PzB had his fighters in Rabaul. But he had Bettys on the ground in Kavieng without any CAP:

Day Air attack on Kavieng , at 61,86

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 8 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9

Cool - I keep on catching him like this. He will have to decide to either split his CAP amongst all of his air bases or let me bomb his LBA into the ground. Of course, he really doesn't want to split his CAP, because only by ganging up does he have a chance. I love to put such cunumdrums to him.

Wait until he finds some P-38s coming along with the B-17s...

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 271

RE: Break time... - 4/10/2005 1:05:27 AM

Tom Hunter

Posts: 2194
Joined: 12/14/2004
Status: offline

You get 80 P38s a turn starting in October, but you knew that.

I am in August and I can hardly wait for the damn things, I am very tired of KB driving around laughing while my bombers cower on the airfields.

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 272

RE: Break time... - 4/10/2005 1:38:38 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tom Hunter

You get 80 P38s a turn starting in October, but you knew that.

I am in August and I can hardly wait for the damn things, I am very tired of KB driving around laughing while my bombers cower on the airfields.

I find that experience makes a big difference - get the bomber groups good practice on land targets and then give them some even "ordinary" escorts and they can do you proud. I'm not counting on the P-38s making the difference - they will just be the icing on the cake. And I'll have to get the P-38s some practice to start with too.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Tom Hunter)

Post #: 273

RE: Break time... - 4/10/2005 5:06:45 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

September 30 got even quieter. I guess our troops are also getting ready to take some time off...

PzB is sending lots of AGs from Truk to Rabaul and vicinity. Cool - that means that he is wary of my tacair ability. That's good, because it means that I have a better chance of getting my troops into Gili-Gili and Munda without much interference. Likewise, he hasn't sent any planes against Rossel despite the unprotected transport TF that is sitting there very slowly unloading supplies. Rossel is currently a "0" port so unloading takes for-ev-er. I have an engineering unit with bulldozers on the way to help the existing base force speed things up. But I already have a patrol unit there, as I do in a number of other locations from the south-central coast of PNG to the Solomons. PzB won't be sailing much in the region that I don't detect.

The Gili-Gili invasion force is halfway there. I have a combat TF leading the way, with a carrier TF moving in position to "discourage" Bettys. The Munda invasion force has also set sail. I'll have a couple of new fast battleships in Lunga just around the time the Munda force shows up too. And I have base forces and Seabees on the way.

BTW - a couple of turns ago, for the first time, one of my TFs between Pearl and Palmyra was scouted by a Glen. So PzB has finally sent a sub into the Eastern Pacific. But I don't have a lot of TFs sailing the southern route right now since I have control of the Gilberts. PzB has put another sub between Tawara and Nauru, but I'll just send another ASW force after it.

It's odd, but PzB's ASW has been quite good in this game and the Allied ASW has been fairly inept. I guess it goes to show how important experience is to ASW - my ships are newer at it.

Otherwise there was just the usual aerial bombardments in the usual places. PzB hasn't been bombing Java recently, and thanks to that respite, my one non-coastal air base has finally moved to level 4. Now I have a good place to bring in bombers if I want. But right now I would much rather bomb Timor and vicinity as well as Rabaul and vicinity.

Dave Baranyi

< Message edited by ADavidB -- 4/10/2005 1:43:55 PM >

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 274

RE: Break time... - 4/10/2005 6:03:53 AM

Zeta16

Posts: 1199
Joined: 11/20/2002
From: Columbus. Ohio
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tom Hunter

You get 80 P38s a turn starting in October, but you knew that.

I am in August and I can hardly wait for the damn things, I am very tired of KB driving around laughing while my bombers cower on the airfields.

I think he means a month.

_____________________________

"Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: 'We the people.' 'We the people' tell the government what to do, it doesn't tell us." -Ronald Reagan

(in reply to Tom Hunter)

Post #: 275

RE: Break time... - 4/10/2005 6:11:44 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Zeta16

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tom Hunter

You get 80 P38s a turn starting in October, but you knew that.

I am in August and I can hardly wait for the damn things, I am very tired of KB driving around laughing while my bombers cower on the airfields.

I think he means a month.

Yeah, too bad. Eighty P-38s per day and I'd be in Tokyo by Christmas 42.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Zeta16)

Post #: 276

I'm back...Now PzB is off... - 4/13/2005 3:25:34 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

So I'm back from spending too many hours yesterday in meetings and too many hours today in airports.

October 1 brought me 2 P-38s. I assume that rate will increase so that I get my "80" for the month. BTW - I've got a P-39 squadron in Pearl that has "P-39D" as it's upgrade path. I guess that I'm stuck with those guys.

Otherwise things are continuing to be quiet. PzB might just be moving some combat ships up north a bit in response to all of my activity in the Aleutians. It would be neat if he would try some raids there - I might be able to get local superiority.

I've finally got more air support troops unloading in Darwin - that ought to "top off" the base and allow better air campaigns. I'm debating moving more air combat troops into the other northern Australian bases because they are malarial. I've got the ships that are going to Gili-Gili set to return to Port Moresby after unloading. It's closer than Oz in case PzB does decide to contest the landing, and if he doesn't damage the ships I'll pull back more worn-out troops out of PM for R&R back in non-malarial Australia.

I also now have a fast battleship in the combat TF in Lunga, and I'm sending another along to join in PM the ships that will bombard Gili-Gili this coming turn. I now have battleships in all of my critical combat areas.

Now for an extended break as I wait for PzB to come back from carousing for the rest of the week.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 277

We're both back... - 4/20/2005 2:36:06 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

So after a week our titantic struggle continues...

...with long range bombing and not much else. My Gili-Gili invasion didn't reach Gili-Gili yet, but it will on October 3.

PzB has started to recon the Solomons a lot. That's fine, I'm moving more troops in and I'll have two invasions hitting opposite ends very soon. I'm also resting my LBA in PM to hit Rabaul next turn. This turn my LBA in Tarawa hit Maloelap nicely:

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 82

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 13 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 12
Runway hits 49

He isn't bothering to put fighters in there now. That's good, it gives me more freedom of action in the Gilberts. PzB is sending another sub to the Gilberts - he'll probably drop a few more mines again, after which my minesweepers will sweep them out. I don't really mind - my ships are getting experience and his subs aren't attacking my transports.

Otherwise things were quiet everywhere except for China/Burma/India where PzB continues to "train" air crews. Cool - by the time he pulls those "trained" planes to the front I'll have very well trained BIG bomber groups and a few twin-tail "surprises" for him too...

It will be interesting to see how PzB reacts to my "adventuring" in the Solomons. Will he try to intervene or will he continue with his defensive build-up in the Central Pacific. And of course, what will he eventually do about Java?

To be continued...

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 278

Invasion Gili-Gili... - 4/21/2005 3:05:30 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

For the first time on October 3 my troops are going in against a contested base. The invasion of Gili-Gili has started. PzB has few troops there. I bombarded them a couple of times and they've been pretty much isolated for the past couple of months so it will be interesting to see how well they hold up. In the meanwhile my other invasion force continues to steam towards Munda which I believe to be unoccupied.

PzB felt that his bombers were rested enough this turn so he sent his Sallys at Tjilitjap but not before sending in the fighters:

Day Air attack on Tjilitjap , at 19,62

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 36
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 8 destroyed

Day Air attack on Tjilitjap , at 19,62

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 17

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 3 destroyed

Day Air attack on Tjilitjap , at 19,62

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 137
Ki-49 Helen x 17

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 2 destroyed, 13 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 1 damaged
A-20B Boston: 9 destroyed, 4 damaged

Allied ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 28

I'm deliberately not allowing aircraft replacements in Java. What planes there get repaired but I'm not interested in getting involved in a war of attrition when the odds are in his favor. But all-in-all my bases in Java continue to build themselves slowly and present PzB with something that he can't quite ignore.

One interesting move that PzB has started is that he has troops on the march from Tricomalee to Columbo. Cool, my troops are well rested, have lots of supply and are well fortified. Just to add to the "fun", I've just flown back my Wellingtons out of China and have them on "naval attack". PzB has at least one slow transport TF sailing south so maybe my boys will get a few free shots at them.

So things continue along. I wonder if PzB is really going to continue to avoid the temptation to attack into my strength?

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 279

Gili-Gili is mine! - 4/22/2005 1:59:22 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

Okay, so PzB wasn't defending it in any serious manner, but never-the-less, on October 4, 1942 the Allies got their first significant strategic gain since I took over.

Hmmm - wait a minute, maybe that's not saying a lot...

Ah, what the hey, my troops went in and "kicked butt" - granted it wasn't a lot of Japanese butts, but after months of disasters it still feels good.

I started out with a bombardment which told PzB more about my local capabilties that maybe I should have:

Naval bombardment of Gili Gili, at 56,94

Allied Ships
DD Ralph Talbot
DD O'Bannon
DD Nicholas
CA Salt Lake City
BB South Dakota

Japanese ground losses:
198 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1

But it ought to make him think a bit to see a US fast BB in the region.

Then my troops went into action:

Ground combat at Gili Gili

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 4819 troops, 71 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 554 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Gili Gili base !!!

Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

A good use of force. No overkill, no underestimate. The Japanese troops are trying to go to Dobradura (sp?) Good, they can eat jungle for a while. Which reminds me, I've got to replace those paratroops in Timor with regular troops and get the paras ready for a drop on "Doby Gillis".

PzB's LBA did try to attack:

Day Air attack on TF, near Gili Gili at 56,94

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 16 destroyed, 2 damaged

Thanks for the practice! On the other hand, a few more Betty's did go after my ships at Rossel:

Day Air attack on TF, near Rossel Island at 58,97

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Murada, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet

It will be interesting to see how long the Murada lasts. I formed it into it's own TF with it's target and "home base" set to Rossel and will see how much unloads. I need to get more SeaBees into the region so that I can build up bases faster - the base force at Rossel is doing the best that it can, but it needs help.

In the meanwhile, PzB has more and more TFs going into the region, particularly into Kavieng. BTW - I sent B-17s out of Port Moresby to hit Rabaul, Kavieng and the Admiralty Islands, but few bombers flew (try to say that quickly in repitition

) so there wasn't much effect. But it does warn PzB not to leave his air bases unguarded.

BTW - my movement of the Wellingtons from China to Colombo worked out quite nicely

First try to get the range:

Day Air attack on TF at 11,18

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 24

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Niitaka Maru
PG Shinko Maru #5
AP Yosyu Maru
PG Hayakafuku Maru
AP Yamato Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PG Kozan Maru

Japanese ground losses:
26 casualties reported

Practice makes perfect:

Day Air attack on TF at 11,18

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 23

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
PG Yoshida Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP Osaka Maru
PG Hayakafuku Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Yosyu Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
PG Kozan Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP Yamato Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
96 casualties reported

His TF is now heading west to try to get away from the bombers. Cool - but I've already moved the bombers back to China. So PzB will undoubtably hit Colombo, but it's too late now.

BTW II - My second invasion force ought to hit Munda next turn. I've also move a fresh B-24 group into Lunga. I hope to give PzB an "unpleasant surprise" when Rabaul starts to get bombed from that direction too.

Unfortunately, all this fun is coming at a slower pace because "Real Life" is taking a toll on PzB's "Game Life" and he is only able to do a turn per day. And in a week and a half I will be off with the "Better (non-gaming) Half" on a two week holiday in which neither of us will have PCs, cellphones, Blackberries and what ever. Hmmm... there will be nothing to do but have sex every night...

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 280

RE: Gili-Gili is mine! - 4/22/2005 1:32:16 PM

Lord_Calidor

Posts: 402
Joined: 3/25/2005
From: Rijeka, CRO
Status: offline

Oh s**t, man, you just bombed Yamato, and it's heavily damaged!
Hats off!

_____________________________

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage.

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 281

On to Munda... - 4/23/2005 4:12:37 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

As planned my troops started to land at Munda on October 5 and as expected the landing was unopposed. One thing that I did wrong in the theater as a whole was that I forgot to put my LRCAP in place. That's one of the problems of having a long layoff in a game like this. I've forgotten some of the nitty-gritty details. So PzB got some "freebies" this turn. The first time I got "lucky":

Day Air attack on TF, near Gili Gili at 56,94

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 5

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PG Dawson
AP Kanimba

The next time PzB had his way:

Day Air attack on TF, near Gili Gili at 56,94

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AK Kanlaon II
MSW Bunbury, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Finally I got lucky again:

Day Air attack on TF, near Gili Gili at 56,94

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 2

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Hinsang

Fortunately PzB is sending his bombers at long range and with no CAP. I've already sent my carrier TF home that provided the LRCAP for the invasion itself, so I've now moved some P-40Bs forward to provide CAP over Gili-Gili and as well, CAP over the landing at Munda. However, I can't reach Rossel Island, so PzB got to hit another transport:

Day Air attack on TF, near Rossel Island at 58,97

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
MSW Vireo
AK Montanes, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

I'm moving some Seabees to Rossel to help with building up the airbase. Once I can put a fighter squadron in there I won't have to worry about Bettys any more.

BTW - as I predicted, PzB sent "the kitchen sink" against Columbo:

Day Air attack on Colombo , at 14,24

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
Ki-21 Sally x 119
Ki-46-II Dinah x 4

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Catalina I: 1 destroyed
Wellington III: 3 destroyed, 17 damaged

Allied ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 13
Runway hits 62

But there is a fair amount of FOW in that report - I was still able to fly more Wellingtons back to China. The other good thing about this is that those Sallys are not hitting Java this turn. It's nice to be able to move LBA around and keep PzB on his toes.

Otherwise I whacked Kendari again, just to keep it out of action, and my tacbombers in northern Oz continued with their daily target practice on Koepang. I now have a lot of well trained, well rested and good morale tacbombers in northern Oz.

BTW II - if you are wondering when you will see reports of P-38s coming into action, my "inventory" has now reached 14...

BTW III - if you are also wondering about my use and or non-use of fighters recently, I am still trying to build inventories of useful fighters. I still have lots groups of P-40Bs and P-36s, but no inventory of P-40Bs or Es. Slowly I am getting some of the groups upgraded, but as you can see in the Solomons, it is still useful to have Bs around. (I suspect that one of the factors in the time required to rebuild my pools is that a lot of replacements are being used up by new fighter groups that are being recreated 3 months after I disbanded them or 6 months after Wobbly lost them.)

It's interesting that in his emails that accompany his turns, PzB has been commenting upon setting up a defense to stop longer range amphibious attacks. If he isn't trying to psych me out, then that explains some of the reason why he is letting me take bases near to my current positions. But I'm taking the historic Allied strategy at this point, ignoring the loss of India and the situation in Java, and I am trying to set up a situation in the Solomons that negates PzB's positions in New Britain and northern NG. Wobbly's actions prior to my takeover have allowed me to build strong positions in the Gilberts and Solomons and I'm now able to prevent PzB from extending his front line positions in both areas. I hope that this is PzB's strategy, because this way I'll be able to continue to build multiple bases from which I will be able to destroy his positions in the theater from the air in early 1943.

But if PzB is trying to psych me out, he is running out of time to bring overwhelming force to play. I have a lot of good, strong bases now that are mutually supporting. Unless he throws everything into an attack at a specific location, as he did at Karachi, he will find a lot of force immediately brought to play in response. And the BIG difference now is that he can't "march" his forces into position against my bases, he has to ship them in.

So the question will continue to be - will PzB move against any of my existing positions now or will he wait to try to put himself at a local overwhelming advantage when I attack. If he waits for me I will continue with a variation on the historic timetable and my response will be designed to handle whatever he tries to put in place.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 282

Munda is mine... - 4/23/2005 4:58:48 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

So my troops captured Munda on October 6:

Ground combat at Munda

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3062 troops, 18 guns, 0 vehicles

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Allied assault odds: 37 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Munda base !!!

Now I'll start my normal routine to build it up.

But while I was adjusting my air cover everywhere else for the 6th, I forgot about bolstering the CAP at PM and got caught with weak planes in the air:

Day Air attack on TF, near Port Moresby at 53,91

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 9

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 13
Kittyhawk I x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 4 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
DD Evertsen
AP Chaumont, Torpedo hits 1

and:

Day Air attack on TF, near Port Moresby at 53,91

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 9

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 12
Kittyhawk I x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied Ships
MSW Gladstone, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AD Cascade, Torpedo hits 1, on fire

Nothing was sunk, so I refueled all of them, disbanded the TFs and put them into port for a turn. Most of these ships were the transports from the Gili-Gili landing. I want to use them to bring out more worn-down units out of PM to rest up in non-malaria Oz. In order to take care of PzB's Bettys, I brought in a 36-plane squadron of grounded Wildcats from one of my sunken carriers. That crowd ought to do a better job on the Bettys the next time.

The main thing that allowed PzB to get away with those attacks was that rain/clouds buggered up my planned air attacks on Rabaul and region. Only a couple of very feeble attacks got off from PM and the B-24s in Lunga sat on the ground. Maybe they will find the weather more to their liking this turn. Certainly there ought to be "better hunting" at Rabaul with PzB's Bettys congregating there.

That reminds me - I wonder where he pulled those Bettys from...does this open up any potential raids?...

Otherwise things are fairly quiet in most places. The exception is India where PzB has rested up his troops enough and is sending some of them out to chase down my remaining stragglers. That's actually a waste on his part because all I have going around are support troops - I couldn't capture a base even if he didn't occupy it. But I'm not telling that to PzB - Japanese troops that wander uselessly in India aren't bothering me elsewhere.

Also in Celon PzB has a couple of LCUs on the land march to Colombo. Cool - my fortifications are quite strong there, I still have lots of supplies and my forces have been resting for a couple of months. It will be interesting to see if these troops can do anything useful.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 283

The Tokyo Express appears... - 4/23/2005 7:24:13 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

I've apparently reached a "reaction threshold" for PzB in the Solomons with my invasion of Munda. He sent the "Tokyo Express" in to hit my forces. He missed my transports but did catch the mine layers that I had sent in:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Munda at 64,95

Japanese Ships
CA Haguro, Shell hits 1
CL Kuma
CL Yubari
DD Kuroshio
DD Hatsukaze
DD Arashi
DD Wakaba
DD Isonami
DD Harukaze
DD Hatakaze

Allied Ships
DM Tracy, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
DM Preble, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DM Pruitt, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DM Sicard, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk

He then followed up with a bombardment:

Naval bombardment of Munda, at 64,95

Japanese Ships
CL Yubari
CL Kuma
CA Haguro

Allied ground losses:
125 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Good move on his part. I'll now "raise the ante" in the region and see how much he wants to commit. Unfortunately, my regional air forces continue to sit back and eat coconut crabs instead of flying. I did notice that my B-24s were suddenly being commanded by a total schmuck, so I replaced him and I'm hoping that this will be the trick to get them in the air.

Otherwise, PzB has brought his 100+ Sallys back to Palembang to hit Java again. Okay...I moved the Wellingtons back to Colombo to go after the TFs that he has sailing slowly in the region. We'll see if he predicts my move.

So it looks as if PzB won't give me a continuation of the freedom of movement that I've had in the past in the Pacific. Okay, let's see what I can do with the changed conditions.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 284

RE: The Tokyo Express appears... - 4/23/2005 9:21:02 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

This turn the Tokyo Express didn't return. I expect that PzB will try to it again, so I'll send more ships in to Munda to see what I can "catch". My bombers finally flew - changing leaders seems to have done the trick - but PzB has expanded Rabaul a lot and it is getting harder to cause serious damage. I did get a good, solid raid in on Maloelap:

Day Air attack on Maloelap , at 82,81

Allied aircraft
F-5A Lightning x 4
B-17E Fortress x 76

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 14 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
31 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 36
Port hits 2
Port supply hits 1

I want to keep this base damaged - PzB has been moving a lot of troops into it and I want them to spend their time trying to fix things. He has stopped trying to defend it with CAP, so that is a good sign. I want to limit the number of bases in the Marshalls from which he can launch planes.

I "went to the well" one too many times by bringing my Wellingtons back to Columbo so soon and PzB did have his bombers back. But my Wellingtons still were able to get off and hit one ship:

Day Air attack on TF, near Trivandrum at 13,21

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 4

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Yamato Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
60 casualties reported

That ship eventually sank and they had to fish the troops out of the drink.

Hey - it's not much, but every little bit counts.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 285

The sound of crickets... - 4/24/2005 4:20:57 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

October 9th was a very quiet day for PzB. If my tacbombers in northern Oz hadn't gone off to hit his base in Timor he wouldn't have known I was around.

It was also surprisingly quiet from my p.o.v. - my unloading ships in various locations from PNG to the eastern Solomons were totally unmolested by either air or naval forces. That's odd - it's almost as if PzB knew about my comment regarding wondering about "raids" into where he pulled those Bettys from... you guys aren't "spilling the beans" are you? Remember, "Loose Lips Sink Ships".

It appears that now that I no longer have any bases in India my troops there won't retreat under attack, regardless of the odds and regardless of "escape paths". So if PzB can "catch" my units he ought to be able to completely destroy them.

In any event, back to the business at hand - building bases and preparing forces.

BTW - I created my first P-38 squadron today. I also disbanded that P-39D Squadron that "insisted" on having "P-39D" as it's upgrade path. Maybe when it comes back in 3 months it will fix itself.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 286

RE: The sound of crickets... - 4/24/2005 4:49:05 AM

rtrapasso

Posts: 22653
Joined: 9/3/2002
Status: offline

Dear ADavidB,

Read your AAR of the continuation of Wobbly's battle, and the fall of Karachi.

I agree that the game is kluged in that it doesn't allow you to get your troops (well, at least the American ones) that were supposed to go to Karachi but couldn't.

I am not sure how you would feel about this, but i think you can get them under the game rules: namely, if you use PP and reassign units in the LCU reinforcements queue, you can get US units originally assigned to say, CenPac to come in at Karachi (known fact)by reassigning them to SEAsia, so probably the reverse is also true.

I think it might be gamey to get Indian or British troops to arrive at San Francisco, but it would be more realistic if US troops that were originally supposed to go to India were released to the Pacific theater via SF. I would suggest trying a small unit in the queue to show up in Karachi and assigning them to CenPac or SoPac or whatever. They show up at the appropriate place a couple days after they were due to come in after they are reassigned according to some posts. Try to see if it works before using 1000 PPs on a bunch of units.

Good luck in your battles!!

_____________________________

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 287

RE: The sound of crickets... - 4/24/2005 5:12:12 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

I am not sure how you would feel about this, but i think you can get them under the game rules: namely, if you use PP and reassign units in the LCU reinforcements queue, you can get US units originally assigned to say, CenPac to come in at Karachi (known fact)by reassigning them to SEAsia, so probably the reverse is also true.

AFAIK, there is no way to adjust the settings of the units in the reinforcements queues, political points or not. Also, I haven't asked PzB about this, but if his reaction to the Manchurian base transferring to Soviet control is any indication, I suspect he wouldn't be in favor of this at all.

I still feel that US units assigned to enter in Karachi ought to show up in the US somewhere, but I'm in an apparent minority in that opinion.

Thanks for your ideas -

Dave

(in reply to rtrapasso)

Post #: 288

RE: The sound of crickets... - 4/24/2005 5:51:28 AM

rtrapasso

Posts: 22653
Joined: 9/3/2002
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I just check the forum and found the thread:

SE Asia Formations in SF.
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=839389

Apparently this represents a one way trip from SF to Karachi if you change an arriving units HQ to SEAsia (show up about 2 days after reassignment). Not the other way around, i guess, and since the "in limbo" units don't arrive it doesn't help.

_____________________________

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 289

RE: The sound of crickets... - 4/24/2005 6:09:26 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

I just check the forum and found the thread:

SE Asia Formations in SF.
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=839389

Apparently this represents a one way trip from SF to Karachi if you change an arriving units HQ to SEAsia (show up about 2 days after reassignment). Not the other way around, i guess, and since the "in limbo" units don't arrive it doesn't help.

Thanks for the lead, I never read that thread. But I wouldn't have used it anyway if I knew in time - there was no way that I wanted to get more troops trapped in Karachi.

Dave

(in reply to rtrapasso)

Post #: 290

Bettys vs Tomahawks - 4/24/2005 7:30:30 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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Well, I've got my LR CAP in place right now and it is getting challenged by PzB as I try to supply my recent conquests on October 10:

Day Air attack on TF, near Gili Gili at 56,94

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
G4M1 Betty x 6

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 8 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
MSW Arnidale, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Hinsang, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Again, nothing sank here, but both ships were heavily damaged. It's too bad that Gili-Gili doesn't have a level 3 port yet. In fact, it's too bad that Gili-Gili doesn't have a level 1 airfield so I wouldn't have to rely on LR CAP.

PzB's boys weren't so lucky at Munda:

Day Air attack on TF, near Munda at 64,95

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
G4M1 Betty x 6

Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
MSW Benalla
AP Empire Pride

That's a good thing because I forgot to turn the "unload" button on... I use various small islands as "way points" for my TFs and leave the setting on "do not unload" until I get near to my final destination. And as happened this time, sometimes I forget to reset it before reaching the destination. Such is the price of having old, tired and distracted brain cells...

For the first time in what feels like months one of my subs actually tried an attack on a transport this turn too. But it didn't do anything. I can empathize with the skipper and crew of that sub in the story that Mogami posted in another thread.

PzB must be getting pretty frustrated with his attempts to wipe out my stragglers in India. The fewer they become the more "Rambos" remain it seems...

Ground combat at 22,2

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 44612 troops, 215 guns, 4 vehicles

Defending force 11202 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 138 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
44 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
544 casualties reported

What this suggests is that the best way to defend the mainland is to place all of your troops in the worst terrain and leave them alone...

BTW - PzB is now bombing Colombo on a daily basis. I guess that he wants to shut down the air base once and for all before his LCUs get there. What is odd is that I continue to be able to pull Wellingtons out of there. They keep on rebuilding because of all the supplies. If PzB happens to stop bombing I'll send more bombers back in just to take advantage of this "feature"...

BTW II - weather allowing, I'm sending out a bunch of heavy bombers next turn.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 291

RE: Bettys vs Tomahawks - 4/25/2005 7:03:39 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

October 11 kept pretty much the same pattern as the past few days. I bombed Kendari (temporarily) back into the Stone Age and PzB's Bettys flew out of various bases to hit those of my ships in the Solomons that aren't protected by CAP. I'll have to accept those losses right now because I'm determined to get my bases built up. Unfortunately PzB has more airbases in the region than I have heavy bombers, so I can't shut him down as I have in the region around Timor.

PzB is also increasing his air activity around Java - he may be moving in soon. I sent some tacbombers after one of his bases, but they couldn't do much - PzB has flooded the area with Zeros.

PzB may be trying another Tokyo Express run into the Eastern Solomons, but I'm not betting that he is necessarily going after Munda again. So since I've got several surface fleets in the region I'm spreading them out a bit. Now if my LBA will only fly out of Lunga for a change.

PzB is also doing more nuisance sub-mining. I just send in the MSWs and hope to catch one of his subs. He also has that sub back between Hawaii and Palmyra.

So for now there isn't a lot more that I can do until I get more bases built up. I'll be getting 4 more engineer groups in a week or so - they will help things out.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 292

Clouds in the skies... - 4/26/2005 1:27:42 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

October 12 was an odd game turn - only one little B-17 squadron got off and did little, elsewhere across the map everything was on the ground watching the rain. But that's okay, my flyboys do better after they've sat around a watched raindrops for a bit.

PzB's bombardment and/or surface raider TF is still sitting off of New Britain, waiting to sail in to one of my bases in the Eastern Solomons. My LBA didn't go after them the last time, but I suspect that the presence of the LBA was enough to cause the AI to keep the ships out of range. So I've positioned my surface forces again and we'll see if I've guessed right.

PzB now has two subs sitting in Nauru Island - I don't know if they are laying mines or trying to attack something. I'm sending more ASW in after them but it will take a couple of days to get there. My patrol planes will detect subs but they almost never attack them.

Speaking of attacking subs, the escorts in a small transport TF that was returning to Pearl actually hit one of PzB's spy subs:

ASW attack at 108,75

Japanese Ships
SS RO-62, hits 1

Allied Ships
MSW Kelowna
AK George Vancouver
AK George Ross

At least I'm assuming that this was the sub that was launching the Glen a couple of turns ago.

PzB also put more mines in Lautem than I first thought - my second MSW TF has gone through there now and there are still some mines left. That's okay, I'm not sending other shipping there and my mine sweepers can always use more practice.

PzB hit Colombo hard again, but not Java. I wonder if he was guessing that I might bring the Wellingtons back? Right now I'm just resting them up in China.

PzB is still having a hard time with my stragglers in India:

Ground combat at 22,2

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 45025 troops, 215 guns, 3 vehicles

Defending force 8278 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles

Japanese assault odds: 300 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
6723 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

I still have a couple of LCUs left in that hex. These were the troops who were driven out of the city next to Karachi. They've lasted quite a long time. I still don't understand the game mechanics here - why do these already wiped-out troops last so long against huge odds when much stronger troops surrender at 2:1 in cities? Oh well, I'm not complaining - the game mechanics are helping PzB waste a lot of time.

The other strange effect is in PzB's training/bombing campaign in China. Each turn he sends hundreds of planes against some very weak and isolated Chinese troops. And most of the time I get no casualties. I guess that it is worth it for PzB because he gets training for his pilots, but it seems that he ought to get some hits out of the effort.

It's an odd game at times...

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 293

RE: Clouds in the skies... - 4/26/2005 1:42:32 AM

String

Posts: 2661
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Estonia
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RO subs don't carry planes

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 294

RE: Clouds in the skies... - 4/26/2005 2:11:48 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: String

RO subs don't carry planes

Okay, so there is still a spy sub out there. Thanks!

Dave

(in reply to String)

Post #: 295

Drop back 5 yards and punt... - 4/27/2005 3:05:56 AM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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October 13 brought another unsuccessful air raid by one group of my heavy bombers, and a lot of cancelled air raids by my other heavy and tactical bombers. PzB has now brought up a lot of force into the New Britain area and continues to build up the Marshalls. My time of having local superiority in those two regions has passed. So I'm now going to try to consolidate my positions a bit and do some R&O on some of my major ships.

I have to be fairly careful with my forces right now because I'm not getting any significant reinforcements for several months - air groups, combat ships or combat troops. I don't want to get into slugging matches when I don't have local superiority. So I'm going to try to build up what I have and protect it for a month or so, game-time.

As part of this, I'm sending my US carriers back to repair bases to receive their long-delayed upgrades. I have a fair amount of LBA in position at all of my key forward positions and I'll let them take the brunt of any serious air campaign that PzB may start. Right now PzB is pretty happy with picking off my transports as I reinforce and resupply in the PNG-to-Solomons front, so those successes may keep him going with what he sees as a "winning approach".

Time is what I need right now - time to get my first P-38 squadron repaired and readied for combat, time to get more P-39 squadrons converted to P-38s, time to rest up my B-17s and B-24s and get them reasonably repaired, time to move more engineering groups to the bases where I need fast development.

The upcoming events with the greatest potential for mischief are the movements of my stragglers in India. I now have one LCU taking advantage of the railroad to move across India with speed I haven't seen in months. (I guess they just bought a couple thousand tickets and are riding along...

) Has PzB kept troops in the Indian cities that he conquered, or has he succumb to "temptation" and abandoned some of the inland cities? We'll see in a little while.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 296

RE: Drop back 5 yards and punt... - 4/27/2005 2:36:40 PM

Rob Brennan UK

Posts: 3685
Joined: 8/24/2002
From: London UK
Status: offline

Oh boy that would be funny .. especially if hes pulled most of his a/c out and has no recon in india ! .. could have all sorts of fun. Hyderabad falling to a base force

Time to take advantage of the 'odd' movement system for yourself rather than being on the recieving end for a change ..

As an aside whats happening in china ? maybe i missed it but havnt seen any reports on that front for a while .. maybe a screenie pls .. Also well done on picking up the pieces from wobbly .. he did his best but was probably taking uppers come june 42 .. just to stay sane

.. Gotta be one of the most interestin AAR's here .. hope my new PBEM turns out to be as much fun as this .

Good Luck David

_____________________________

sorry for the spelling . English is my main language , I just can't type . and i'm too lazy to edit :)

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 297

RE: Drop back 5 yards and punt... - 4/28/2005 1:01:36 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

Oh boy that would be funny .. especially if hes pulled most of his a/c out and has no recon in india ! .. could have all sorts of fun. Hyderabad falling to a base force

Time to take advantage of the 'odd' movement system for yourself rather than being on the recieving end for a change ..

As an aside whats happening in china ? maybe i missed it but havnt seen any reports on that front for a while .. maybe a screenie pls .. Also well done on picking up the pieces from wobbly .. he did his best but was probably taking uppers come june 42 .. just to stay sane .. Gotta be one of the most interestin AAR's here .. hope my new PBEM turns out to be as much fun as this .

Good Luck David

If he uses the "w" key he will see the "trace" of my troops. My hope is that he isn't bothering because he still has lots of troops in India. (One would think that with the focus on Fog of War in the game that zone of control command might have been done differently.)

As far as China goes, PzB isn't advancing and I'm not retreating. We both have small groups of troops in the nomansland between our forces. I was able to pull all of the troops back that had been caught on that mountain in Central China and now all of my troops are resting up. I still have a few groups out to the East. I've left them in place as per my agreement with PzB - he considers the "Soviet Control" bug to be an unfair advantage for the Allies so I didn't move further into Manchuria.

Here is a look at China:

Attachment (1)

(in reply to Rob Brennan UK)

Post #: 298

Bettys vs P-40Bs, cont. ... - 4/28/2005 4:22:40 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

Yes, as of October 14, PzB is definitely enjoying his strategy of sitting a bunch of small, well trained Betty squadrons at various bases around New Britain, protecting them with lots of well trained fighters and fighting his way through my CAP to hit my ships in the Gili-Gili to Lunga stretch. The only thing that is helping me right now is that we are having an incredibly high number of cloudy hexes and random chance is causing the clouds to hit many of my bases. But when PzB's Bettys get through they are getting past my P-40Bs and getting hits. They even put a torpedo into the Washington in Lunga, but fortunately the damage is minor. I've disbanded the TF and have the Washington in port under repair. It ought to be good as new in a short time.

My "big" news is that I got some reinforcements - a CVE with "teeth" in San Fran along with some DDs. So they are off to Pearl. I'm not sure what I will do with them for now, but it's nice to have some naval air to be able to send around. I also got four more SeaBee units and another RCT. My base building activity has slowed down recently, so having more engineers is good.

It turns out the Delhi is garrisoned, so I'm sending my nearby units up north to join the rest of the stragglers. My guess is that PzB has garrisoned all of India - there is no reason for him not to because he still has lots of troops around. Assuming that Rawalpindi is garrisoned too, I'm going to try to send my troops across the Himalayas to China or even the Soviet Union. I have no idea if they will make it, but I'm interested to see what happens. PzB is also still bombing Colombo regularly. I've now been able to pull all my Wellingtons back out, so this turn I'll try some naval attacks in the South China Sea.

PzB is also moving more forces into the vacinity of Java. He appears to be determined to cut it off completely. However he has also stopped trying to break my hold on Timor. I'm just resting my forces in that region for now. Until I get P-38s in quantities I'm not going to try a lot if I don't have to.

BTW - here is the "Feeble Attack of the Day" for October 14:

Day Air attack on TF at 64,90

Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 47

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
ML Naryu
ML Yaeyama
ML Shirataka
ML Takashima, Bomb hits 1, on fire

And I've had those B-26s flying missions for the past couple of months - they aren't rookies. No wonder PzB was rushing me to try to get another turn in this evening - he can't wait to see his Bettys fly off again...

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 299

Switching to v1.50 - 4/29/2005 3:07:34 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

I downloaded v1.50 and installed it, then did all the setting as PzB sugeested, including both Japanese and Allied sub doctrines "off". However, when I ran the turn and checked the settings they read Japanese sub doctrine "on" and Allied sub doctrine "off". PzB needs to see if he can reset Japanese sub doctrine to "off". (Hopefully this won't result in the Allied sub doctrine setting reverting to "on" again...

)

I got a real scare at the beginning when all of my P-39s had their "upgrade" button grayed-out. But by going to the "all aircraft" button I was able to turn upgrades on for all of my planes, then adjust them as I went through to check them.

I also noticed that the "Player Defined Upgrades" button was "off" in the turn although I had set it to "on" before the start. That's probably why PzB can't change all of his planes. I believe that this can only be changed in a "fresh" game.

One of the old headaches of the game has been the autoassignment of air leaders when groups are split and rebuilt. Now that repairs are supposed to occur at the same rate, split or not, I recombined my air groups. But I had to check each leader because every group had the wrong type of leader - fighters got bomber leaders, bombers got fighter leaders and so on. I wonder if this will happen if I split the groups again?

So both the combat replay and the turn for October 15 appeared to run fine under v1.50. PzB attacked aggresively in lots of places. He now has a lot of bombers and fighters in position to hit many of my bases. He also moved a lot of fighters into Sorong:

Day Air attack on Sorong , at 42,74

Japanese aircraft
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 22

Allied aircraft
F-5A Lightning x 3
B-17E Fortress x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
12 casualties reported

Runway hits 5

That's cool - I'll rest that squadron now and send it's "big brothers" at high altitude - 2 groups of B-17s and a group of B-24s - all experienced. I've been routinely been flying my bombers at relatively low altitudes because PzB hasn't had a lot of fighters on CAP. We'll see how well his fighters do when they have to climb to 30,000 feet.

PzB's Bettys also hit more transports, but that's okay, I'm almost done supplying those forward bases. Now I'll let the engineers build up the air fields so that I can start to put fighters in. I much prefer to use local CAP instead of LR CAP.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 300

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