RE: 26 Mar. 42

RE: 26 Mar. 42 (Full Version)

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VSWG -> RE: 26 Mar. 42 (12/2/2007 5:33:04 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns Like an idiot [sm=00000734.gif] I forgot to turn off auto refueling for my two CV fleets, so instead of moving 11 or 12 hexes, they only moved 9 hexes. This setting applies only to TFs in port. You cannot influence refueling at sea. quote: The Manual, p. 67 10. This TF has its Refueling: OK order set, indicating it will automatically refuel when located in a base (with a port) hex. Setting this to OK will ensure your TF’s will fill up when in a friendly port; selecting Do Not Refuel will tell the TF to not refuel when docked.

Jim D Burns -> RE: 26 Mar. 42 (12/2/2007 5:50:47 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: VSWG This setting applies only to TFs in port. You cannot influence refueling at sea. So why only 9 hexes then? The move ability listed was 6/6 at full speed yet they only went 9 hexes. All ships have less than 5 sys damage and over 30 knots top speed, so unless they slowed to refuel (they didn't need to, fuel is fine) I have no idea why they only went 9 hexes. This means my guys probably won’t make it to attack the invasion this turn either then, what a complete dam blasted waste! Argh! Jim

VSWG -> RE: 26 Mar. 42 (12/2/2007 6:18:23 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns quote: ORIGINAL: VSWG This setting applies only to TFs in port. You cannot influence refueling at sea. So why only 9 hexes then? The move ability listed was 6/6 at full speed yet they only went 9 hexes. All ships have less than 5 sys damage and over 30 knots top speed, so unless they slowed to refuel (they didn't need to, fuel is fine) I have no idea why they only went 9 hexes. This means my guys probably won’t make it to attack the invasion this turn either then, what a complete dam blasted waste! Argh! Jim Die rolls. Simply put, you cannot count on your TFs moving the indicated number of hexes - never. In an old PBEM I had a surface combat TF near Rabaul set to max speed (6/6) that moved only 2 (!) hexes - for 2 days!!! I reloaded the turns and checked their orders - everything was OK, no refueling happened, no ops points spent etc. As a consequence, the entire TF was sunk by KB.

Jim D Burns -> 27 Mar. 42 (12/3/2007 12:55:28 PM)
27 Mar. 42 Another BB bombardment at Cooktown precedes the Japanese invasion. Troops then commence landings and I cannot complain about the casualties caused as the troops come ashore. I’ve only got a brigade and a small base force at Cooktown, so I guess the casualties were mostly caused due to low preparedness by the Japanese land units coming ashore. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Cooktown, 48,100, firing at TF 93 TF 93 troops unloading over beach at Cooktown, 48,100 25 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese ground losses: 312 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TF 98 troops unloading over beach at Dobodura, 56,93 Japanese ground losses: 80 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Cooktown, 48,100, firing at TF 93 TF 93 troops unloading over beach at Cooktown, 48,100 Japanese ground losses: 83 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TF 98 troops unloading over beach at Dobodura, 56,93 Japanese ground losses: 13 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Cooktown, 48,100, firing at TF 119 TF 119 troops unloading over beach at Cooktown, 48,100 49 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships DD Hibiki Japanese ground losses: 1516 casualties reported[sm=00000106.gif] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Cooktown, 48,100, firing at TF 123 TF 123 troops unloading over beach at Cooktown, 48,100 67 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese ground losses: 1080 casualties reported [sm=00000106.gif] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [image]local://upfiles/5815/38A6EBF621934F9CB24070F2D7DD53E4.jpg[/image] And come ashore they did. Japan has landed the 16th and 53rd Divisions along with the 13th Base force unit at Cooktown this turn. I was surprised to see only 2 divisions landed, my opponent can’t hope to conquer Australia with just 4 divisions (2 here and 2 at Darwin), so I surmise he must be planning another landing somewhere along the east coast sometime in the future. The 2nd Division that helped capture Port Moresby is still unaccounted for, and he still has plenty of NLF’s and other forces he can bring, so this initial landing must be a prelude to his full invasion. Perhaps his shipping is limited and all he can bring is 2 division plus some smaller units at one time. I know as of April 1 he cannot invade with AK’s anymore, so if his invasion shipping is limited now, it will be very limited in a few more days. I’ve decided to create my first defensive line at Townsville. I’ll move all my local Australian brigades and most of the Southwest Pacific land units in the immediate area there as soon as possible. This will give me 2 full strength Australian brigades and the remnant of the brigade that will soon be forced out of Cooktown. Added to that will be the Philippine 61st Reserve Division which has rebuilt to 50 squads plus about 2/3rds of its other combat elements. It only has 11 support squads, so I don’t think it’ll add more than some targets to the combats, but every little bit helps. The three artillery units evacuated from Port Moresby are also almost totally rebuilt, so their guns will be added to the mix as well. A quick check of my units shows I’ll have about 360-380 AV when everything reaches the base. Townsville is a clear hex with 3 forts and 97% progress to level 4 forts, so I’ll be defending behind level 4 forts. My guess is they can hold up the two divisions for no more than a few weeks, but by then I should have an Australian division arriving at Rockhampton. If my units are still at Townsville then, I’ll probably order them to fall back to Rockhampton, where I’ll make my first real defensive in earnest. For now Charter Towers just has the small NGVR battalion with its 26 squads as para defense, along with a small base force. All other land units will dig in at Townsville and try to hold. If Japan lands at Rockhampton, the units at Townsville and Charter Towers can use the inland rail net to move to the south to a point west of Rockhampton, and from there it is only a few hexes south cross-country to the Brisbane-Charleville rail line. Singapore and Manila, along with two land units at Manila, all get hit from the air today. Madioen had a long enough reprieve, that it rebuilt 2 levels of forts and is now 34% of the way to level 3. Hopefully with almost all the land forces in Java there now, the forts will hold against future attacks. As expected, KB and mini KB plotted to move to within one or two hexes of the Yorktown, and launched 4 strikes today. Both the Yorktown and the CA Minneapolis are sent to the bottom by Japanese torpedoes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 61,108 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 15 D3A2 Val x 34 B5N2 Kate x 46 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 3 damaged Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage CA Minneapolis, Torpedo hits 4, on fire Aircraft Attacking: 4 x D3A2 Val bombing at 2000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 61,108 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 22 D3A2 Val x 16 B5N2 Kate x 41 E13A1 Jake x 3 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged Allied Ships CV Yorktown, on fire, heavy damage CA Minneapolis, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 4 x D3A2 Val bombing at 2000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 61,108 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 7 B5N2 Kate x 19 No Japanese losses Allied Ships CV Yorktown, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 3 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 61,108 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 7 D3A2 Val x 9 B5N2 Kate x 20 No Japanese losses Allied Ships CV Yorktown, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 1 x D3A2 Val bombing at 2000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Saratoga’s task force only moved 9 hexes again today and believe it or not, stopped exactly 5 hexes from another Japanese CV. AARRGGHH!! Is there something in the code that stops full speed CV task forces at 5 hexes from enemy CV’s? This CV is probably just a lone CVL flying LRCAP over the invasion fleets landing at Cooktown. It launched a total of three strikes on the Saratoga, and Nells from Port Moresby launched a 4th unescorted strike as well. Luckily only 2 small bombs hit the Saratoga and her damage is 14 sys and 11 fires. I’ve ordered her fleet into Townsville at full speed, where she’ll refuel and rearm before heading south out of the combat zone. I’ve rebased 2 squadrons of Kittyhawks to Townsville along with about 60 Hudson bombers, so there will be lots of land based air to add to the CV’s air if KB tries to follow her in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 53,102 Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 6 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged Allied Ships CV Saratoga CA Indianapolis Aircraft Attacking: 1 x B5N2 Kate bombing at 5000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 53,102 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 2 B5N2 Kate x 10 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged Allied Ships CV Saratoga, Bomb hits 1, on fire Aircraft Attacking: 3 x B5N2 Kate bombing at 11000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 53,102 Japanese aircraft G3M Nell x 18 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses G3M Nell: 7 destroyed, 4 damaged Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 damaged Allied Ships CV Saratoga, on fire CL Helena CL Phoenix Aircraft Attacking: 2 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 53,102 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 2 B5N2 Kate x 7 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 6 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 5 damaged Allied Ships CV Saratoga, Bomb hits 1, on fire Aircraft Attacking: 4 x B5N2 Kate bombing at 5000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I should note that the Saratoga’s task force had well over 4,000 AAA and 15 ships and was in great condition when the turn started, but just 3 Kates and 2 Nells were downed by AAA fire today (not sure if all were from attacks on Saratoga), so something is definitely wrong with naval AAA. The Saratoga was of course out of position to hit the invasion fleets, but did find an APD 3 hexes east and sank it. Allied heavies again failed to harm the Japanese invasion fleets at Cooktown. With troops ashore there now, they’ll switch to bombing land targets. Jim

Jim D Burns -> 28 Mar. 42 (12/4/2007 12:51:44 AM)
28 Mar. 42 More Japanese troops come ashore at Cooktown, and this time an AP takes a hit. Casualties to the landing troops are again pretty decent considering how small my forces are. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Cooktown, 48,100, firing at TF 119 TF 119 troops unloading over beach at Cooktown, 48,100 1 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese ground losses: 68 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Cooktown, 48,100, firing at TF 123 TF 123 troops unloading over beach at Cooktown, 48,100 39 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships AP Atsuta Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire PG Oi Maru Japanese ground losses: 410 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 11 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Cooktown, 48,100, firing at TF 123 TF 123 troops unloading over beach at Cooktown, 48,100 Japanese ground losses: 116 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Singapore, Madioen and Manila all get hit from the air today, as do two land units at Manila. An odd thing appears to have happened at Manila, about 14 Japanese units are now reported at Clark field, and this turn’s combat report only shows 8,000+ Japanese troops left at Manila. Perhaps my opponent intends to allow my troops to starve to death now that supplies are almost gone. Whatever his reasons, it appears Japan is preparing to withdraw forces from Manila as his disengagement of troops has begun. My guess is they are almost all destined for Australia. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Manila Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 8420 troops, 207 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1665 Defending force 47963 troops, 66 guns, 219 vehicles, Assault Value = 1091 Allied ground losses: 206 casualties reported Guns lost 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The allied air force goes to work on the Japanese invasion fleets at Cooktown this turn and the Hudson’s score several hits. Setting their altitudes to 1,000 feet really seems to have made a difference in their accuracy. I normally set naval attack level bombers to either 2,000 feet or 6,000 feet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Cooktown at 48,100 Allied aircraft Wirraway x 11 A-24 Dauntless x 13 Allied aircraft losses A-24 Dauntless: 1 damaged Japanese Ships AP Shanghai Maru CL Jintsu Aircraft Attacking: 4 x A-24 Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Cooktown at 48,100 Allied aircraft A-24 Dauntless x 2 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AP Eiko Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 2 x A-24 Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Cooktown at 48,100 Allied aircraft Hudson I x 8 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AP Teiryu Maru PG Daido Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire Aircraft Attacking: 4 x Hudson I bombing at 1000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Cooktown at 48,100 Allied aircraft Hudson I x 20 Allied aircraft losses Hudson I: 1 damaged Japanese Ships AP Juko Maru AP Igasa Maru CL Jintsu AP Kanko Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage AP Kizan Maru AP Meizan Maru Aircraft Attacking: 3 x Hudson I bombing at 1000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Cooktown at 48,100 Allied aircraft Hudson I x 3 No Allied losses Japanese Ships PC Ch 21, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 3 x Hudson I bombing at 1000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Cooktown at 48,100 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 8 Hudson I x 4 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AK Fukkai Maru, Bomb hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 4 x Hudson I bombing at 1000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 49,99 Allied aircraft Hudson I x 3 Allied aircraft losses Hudson I: 3 damaged Japanese Ships BB Nagato, Bomb hits 3 Aircraft Attacking: 3 x Hudson I bombing at 1000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few of the heavy bombers from Charter Towers hits the 16th Division at Cooktown causing a few casualties. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on 16th Division, at 48,100 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 4 B-17E Fortress x 9 LB-30 Liberator x 3 Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 3 damaged Japanese ground losses: 43 casualties reported Aircraft Attacking: 3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 15000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disruption caused from the heavy’s bombardment must have been very high, because the Japanese land combat later in the turn failed to take the hex, even though my units were forced to bombard due to the landings and had their AV halved. Who knows, I may be able to keep this base if I can prevent him from resupplying the troops he has ashore. My AV should go up by another 20-50 points or so once the forced bombardment attacks are stopped. Hopefully Japan used up a lot of his on hand supplies and his AV will drop this coming turn. Though more than likely his fleets are still unloading, so he may take the base next turn. Especially since my forts are now gone. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Cooktown Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 39120 troops, 177 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 935 Defending force 8845 troops, 57 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 125 Japanese max assault: 1524 - adjusted assault: 434 Allied max defense: 112 - adjusted defense: 189 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 1826 casualties reported Guns lost 20 Allied ground losses: 181 casualties reported Guns lost 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Cooktown Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 5125 troops, 45 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 116 Defending force 41236 troops, 177 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 816 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan launched a shock attack at Madioen today and was bloodily repulsed. I think I’ll be able to hold him here now. Unless he brings in another division of course. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 64114 troops, 235 guns, 160 vehicles, Assault Value = 1218 Defending force 40686 troops, 139 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 503 Japanese max assault: 2294 - adjusted assault: 1165 Allied max defense: 472 - adjusted defense: 739 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Japanese ground losses: 3448 casualties reported Guns lost 45 Vehicles lost 3 Allied ground losses: 1981 casualties reported Guns lost 32 Vehicles lost 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Saratoga is at Townsville and resupplies and refuels this turn. Next turn she’ll head south, though I’ve lost track of KB, so I’m a little worried about where it went. Here’s a screenshot of the Intelligence screen. Once Manila and Singapore fall, Japan will have 3-1 victory points over the allies. I’ve got to figure out a way to cause him more damage if I hope to alleviate the disparity. [image]local://upfiles/5815/8D8CBD61A590417784439D36B73D1A9F.jpg[/image] I’m hopeful that the Australian venture will force him to continually send supply fleets to Australia, so I can sink a lot more of his ships. That’s the only way I can think of to get another 1,000-2,000 victory points over the next year or so. Jim

Jim D Burns -> 29 Mar. 42 (12/4/2007 9:14:53 AM)
29 Mar. 42 Singapore Madioen and Manila all get hit from the air today. My opponent disclosed to me he pulled most of his troops out of Manila to allow them to rest and refit before his final shock attacks to take the base. He anticipates attacking by the 5th of April, or perhaps sooner. For the first time Chinese air force units strike my southern blocking force along the road east of Changsha. Could this be a prelude to a Japanese offensive to try and capture Changsha? I’ll have to keep a close watch on things. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on 25th Chinese Corps, at 47,38 Japanese aircraft Ki-27 Nate x 29 Ki-30 Ann x 10 Ki-51 Sonia x 23 Ki-21-II Sally x 13 No Japanese losses Allied ground losses: 42 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Aircraft Attacking: 13 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 8000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changsha’s forts are at level 9, and my entire reserve army is currently at Hengchow trying to get its forts to level 9. I’ll have to send some force to Changsha and perhaps along the road east to reinforce the blocking force if Japan begins an attack. My good fortune last turn at Cooktown must have been a fluke. Japan launches a shock attack and decisively forces my troops out of the hex. I’ve ordered my air forces to smash the already damaged airstrip to keep Japan from getting any land based air into Australia if possible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Cooktown Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 36692 troops, 141 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 818 Defending force 8589 troops, 50 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 116 Japanese max assault: 860 - adjusted assault: 1383 Allied max defense: 108 - adjusted defense: 113 Japanese assault odds: 12 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Cooktown base !!! Japanese ground losses: 490 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 204 casualties reported Guns lost 7 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If I can keep the air bases smashed and keep Japanese air out of Australia, I may just have a chance to hold him in the north. If Japan gets airpower ashore and flying, all of northern Australia will become untenable by allied airpower and I’ll be forced to pull my airforce back to rear area bases. Japan launches another shock attack at Madioen this turn and is again repulsed. He does manage to reduce the last fort level though. About half my units at the base now have over 2/3rd of their equipment disabled. I cannot afford to pull them out to Soerabaja however, as I’m barley holding the base now with everything there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 60267 troops, 180 guns, 157 vehicles, Assault Value = 992 Defending force 36286 troops, 89 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 442 Japanese max assault: 869 - adjusted assault: 556 Allied max defense: 388 - adjusted defense: 503 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 1950 casualties reported Guns lost 27 Vehicles lost 3 Allied ground losses: 1832 casualties reported Guns lost 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once a unit becomes 100% disabled, I’ll pull it out for repairs, as it adds nothing to the defense anymore then anyway. Hopefully Japan’s disablements are going up just as fast if not faster than mine, and I’ll be able to keep him from forcing me out of the base. Jim

Jim D Burns -> 30 Mar. 42 (12/4/2007 9:45:42 PM)
30 Mar. 42 Singapore and Manila get hit from the air today. Both my Hudson’s and heavies hit Cooktown today, causing moderate damage to the base. Japan launches yet another shock attack at Madioen and the base holds again, even though it no longer has forts. Damage to my troops is high though, and several units are ordered back to Soerabaja for repair as all their combat elements are now disabled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 57012 troops, 155 guns, 157 vehicles, Assault Value = 892 Defending force 34487 troops, 78 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 410 Japanese max assault: 1530 - adjusted assault: 543 Allied max defense: 359 - adjusted defense: 351 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 3290 casualties reported Guns lost 13 Vehicles lost 5 Allied ground losses: 1629 casualties reported Guns lost 12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recon spots a transport task force at Kragen, looks like Japan is bringing more troops to push the odds over the edge in his favor at Madioen. We have finally come to a decision on how to resolve Japan’s stuck at 59 miles movement problems at Taung Gyi. I air lifted out both units, and only seven 37mm AT guns from the Chinese division refused to be transported out. This turn Japan attacked and captured the base. He’ll now air lift out his troops and I’ll then re-enter the hex via land move and retake the base. I lose 2 and a half fort levels and some supplies, but it was the only way we could come up with to unstick the troops in the area. I think there is a problem with Andrew Brown’s map at Port Blair. My fast transport missions had gotten the bases supplies up to a little over 2,000 when I put the ships in port at Colombo to repair system damage. A couple turns ago I noticed the base was at 7,000 supplies and now it is at over 9,000 supplies. So somehow supplies are auto-moving to the island base. In China things have stabilized into a static theatre, so I thought I’d give a brief overview this turn. All front line positions have at least 6 Corps in them except the clear hex across the river from Kaifeng and the city of Honan (Honan also has 2 small guerilla units), there are only 4 Corps in each of those hexes right now. I’ll beef that river crossing hex up to six corps once either Sian becomes a level 9 fort or Honan becomes level 9. [image]local://upfiles/5815/B40C0C98389E46258DB2ED2F64916533.jpg[/image] Almost 100% of my reserve army is currently at Hengchow building forts. This force will act as a reactionary force to any potential Japanese moves. Once Hengchow becomes level 9 forts, I’ll send about 5 corps from this force to Wuchow to help build forts there to level 9 as well. I have several guerilla units currently rebuilding at Chungking. These units are all preparing for Canton and will move to that front to act as flank guards and rear area harassers once they are 100% rebuilt. The two corps destroyed recently at Wenchow are due to appear in Chungking in a week. Once they are rebuilt, they will go to Nanning, as that area of China is very weak right now with only 3 corps and 1 HQ to defend the two bases there. I’d like to keep things static for a while if possible, to allow Chinese units time to dig in and rebuild to 100% of their TO&E strength. Already over 2200 replacement squads have been added to my units since game start. If I can get all units up to 100% TO&E before a Japanese offensive materializes, I’ll then begin preparing for an invasion of Indo-China. Jim

Gen.Hoepner -> RE: 30 Mar. 42 (12/5/2007 8:34:25 AM)
Your opponent's behaviour at Medioen really surprises me...what he's hoping to achieve with those repeated shock attacks? He needs to bomb the h*** out of the base first, then launch a deliberate attack, but not before having recovered from the disablement and distr. that his men are suffering...really seems a suicide tactic to me...[&:]

Jim D Burns -> 31 Mar. 42 (12/5/2007 9:41:39 AM)
Hi G.H., Up until last turn, my units had been taking more casualties than his. I think he intentionally attacked to increase my disablements and disruption in preparation for an attack by his fresh units coming ashore at Kragen now. I don’t think he expected the casualties to shift against him so soon, so now I’ll have a couple turns rest before his fresh units arrive in the hex. I hope it allows disruption to drop enough for my units to hold, but it’ll be close. 31 Mar. 42 A few hexes south of Rabaul, US sub SS Thresher launches 4 torpedoes at a Japanese AO but missed. I view these ships as almost as important as CV’s to Japan. I’ve ordered the Thresher to chase the fleet into Rabaul in hopes I can nail an AO before they go into port there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack at 62,92 Japanese Ships AO Ken'yo Maru DD Shiratsuyu DD Wakaba DD Yugure DD Yamagumo Allied Ships SS Thresher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [image]local://upfiles/5815/FE9DDFCDDE114B38931EF8CB0023E3A0.jpg[/image] My opponent revealed to me that the Saratoga was far more unlucky on the turn it was attacked than I thought. He stated his AO fleet was only 2 hexes from the Saratoga, but remained undetected. I think he enjoyed twisting the knife. Argh! What a coup that would have been to sink this fleet. It would have made the loss of the Yorktown a little less painful. Singapore Madioen and Manila all get hit from the air again today. On Java the only airforce remaining are a few of the small bi-plane recon aircraft at Madioen and 6 C.XI-W float planes at Malang. Having spotted the transport fleet at Kragen last turn, I placed the recon bi-planes on 100% naval search and the C.XI-W’s on naval attack. It worked, the little float planes actually put a small 60k bomb into an AK and it penetrated the deck. I doubt damage was very heavy, but it was satisfying to see the now defunct Dutch airforce get one last little sting in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Kragen at 22,64 Allied aircraft C.XI-W x 5 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AK Azumasan Maru, Bomb hits 1 AK Atutasan Maru Aircraft Attacking: 1 x C.XI-W bombing at 2000 feet 4 x C.XI-W bombing at 2000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Mindanao, Japanese units shock attack the reserve division at Dadjangas and force it to surrender. 3500 Philippine troops march off into POW camps. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Dadjangas Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 4109 troops, 29 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 117 Defending force 1737 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 58 Japanese max assault: 188 - adjusted assault: 185 Allied max defense: 50 - adjusted defense: 5 Japanese assault odds: 37 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Dadjangas base !!! Japanese ground losses: 196 casualties reported Guns lost 6 Allied ground losses: 3503 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two hexes further north, Japanese units launch their first land bombardment at Cagayan and I get a look at our comparative AV’s. Looks like Japan will need all the units he brought to reduce Cagayan. With 6,000+ supplies in the hex, it could hold out for a month or more if I’m lucky. Then again it is on the coast, a few naval bombardments will probably wipe out my supply. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Cagayan Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 5768 troops, 32 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 203 Defending force 7817 troops, 90 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 211 Japanese ground losses: 32 casualties reported Guns lost 3 Allied ground losses: 11 casualties reported Guns lost 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan has stopped his shock attacks at Madioen and reverted to land bombardments. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 2120 troops, 46 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 648 Defending force 29885 troops, 60 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 338 Allied ground losses: 19 casualties reported Guns lost 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My guess is he’ll attack right away once the new units landing at Kragen arrive. My units are so disabled and disrupted from his recent attacks, there’s a good chance I’ll lose the hex if he’s brought in a fresh division. Jim

Jim D Burns -> 1 Apr. 42 (12/6/2007 1:40:52 AM)
1 Apr. 42 April arrives and our game is greeted by a nasty sync bug. Nothing I witnessed in my combat replay actually took place, so this turns report will be a bit dry as I’m just going off the text report for details. Apparently I got another chance at an AO this turn, but scored no hits. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack at 56,97 Japanese Ships AO San Clemente Maru PG Shinko Maru #2 PG Magan Maru Allied Ships SS S-34 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan only hit Manila from the air today. Hudson’s from Townsville hit Cooktown and catch a few zeroes on the ground. I also noticed a lot of auxiliary aircraft reported by recon today, so I’ve rebased a Kittyhawk squadron to Cairns and ordered a sweep of Cooktown to try and intercept any air resupply flights coming in from Port Moresby. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Cooktown , at 48,100 Japanese aircraft no flights Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 15 Hudson I x 39 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Hudson I: 4 damaged Airbase hits 1 Runway hits 10 Aircraft Attacking: 7 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other than some land unit bombardments, not much else happened this turn. I sure hope our sync bug goes away, I hate watching a replay only to learn it was pure fantasy. On my PC, I sank an AK at Saigon after slamming it with 3 Dutch torpedoes. [:@] Jim

Jim D Burns -> 2 Apr. 42 (12/6/2007 12:21:39 PM)
2 Apr. 42 Lots of sub activity today, and the sync bug is gone. Along the east coast of Australia, Japanese sub I-173 torpedoes one of my two sailboats from Townsville that was heading south to safer waters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack at 48,109 Japanese Ships SS I-173 Allied Ships AK Gnair, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Palmyra Japanese sub I8 has a busy day as it puts two torpedoes into an AO and another two later in the day into an AK. Both ships sustained very heavy damage, I doubt they’ll make it to Pearl. Pearl is the closest port that they can disband into, all other ports in the area are level 2 or less. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Palmyra at 110,90 Japanese Ships SS I-8 Allied Ships AO Ramapo, Torpedo hits 2, on fire AK Morazan AVD Swan AVD Avocet AVD Thornton MSW Penguin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Palmyra at 110,90 Japanese Ships SS I-8, hits 1 Allied Ships AK Si Kiang, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AP President Harrison AVD Swan AVD Avocet AVD Thornton MSW Penguin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan isn’t the only one to enjoy some sub success today, at Saigon, Dutch sub SS KXIV puts a torpedo into an AK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Saigon at 31,45 Japanese Ships AK Yahiko Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage PC Ch 14 Allied Ships SS KXIV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Singapore, Madioen and Manila all get hit from the air today. Later Japan’s troops must have finished their R&R at Clark Field, because they launch a shock attack at Manila and get bloodily repulsed, taking 4 times as many casualties as my troops. I was surprised my opponent didn’t try a few deliberate attacks to use up the last of my supplies before he went with a shock attack. Either he misread my declining AV as no supplies or he’s getting impatient. There is about 1500 supplies left at Manila, but most of the troops now have little or no supply on hand. The end is very near. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Manila Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 133540 troops, 648 guns, 193 vehicles, Assault Value = 2483 Defending force 45575 troops, 46 guns, 215 vehicles, Assault Value = 1074 Japanese max assault: 4736 - adjusted assault: 2110 Allied max defense: 897 - adjusted defense: 1745 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 8296 casualties reported Guns lost 50 Vehicles lost 7 Allied ground losses: 1947 casualties reported Guns lost 5 Vehicles lost 14 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Cooktown my Hudson’s and their escorting Kittyhawks launch a coordinated strike with the Kittyhawks from Charter Towers. One zero is shot down in air to air and another destroyed on the ground. My Hudson’s just can’t seem to do enough damage to close the airfield. Damage is about 30-40 now and seems to drop each turn by about 10 points, so the field will be fully repaired in less than a week at this rate. I have some B-26 Marauder’s from the Southwest Pacific command on the way to Australia, but they’re still a month or more away. This is the second turn in a row my heavies at Charter Towers haven’t flown. Morale is fine and fatigue is minimal, so I have no idea why they aren’t flying. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Cooktown , at 48,100 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 12 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 10 Hudson I x 34 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged Allied aircraft losses Kittyhawk I: 3 damaged Hudson I: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged Runway hits 14 Aircraft Attacking: 5 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SigInt reports 103,401 men at Truck. I can’t imagine they are all base force and rear area units, so it looks like he’s got quite a force gathered for his offensive into the Pacific. That or they are destined to reinforce Cooktown. Here’s a screenshot of the strategic map showing the extent of Japan’s area of control. [image]local://upfiles/5815/6C64DDC62C024CEA97B881A6B276872C.jpg[/image] Japan’s South Seas det. arrived at Noumea this turn. Talk about a horse race, I just finished unloading a US armor battalion at the base last turn, and the Americal Division’s task force arrived at the base this turn, but nothing is yet unloaded. Some of the Division may unload before Japan attacks, if so I may hold onto the base. If not I might lose the base and the three small units currently defending it. Combined the three small units have about 120 AV. If memory serves, the South Seas Det. Had about 400AV when it attacked Port Moresby, so the three units may be able to hold the base for a turn or two. There is only 1 fort at the base, but it is wooded terrain, so I’m hopeful. I’ve gone ahead and diverted the bulk of the Southwest Pacific commands convoy that was heading to Australia with troops and aircraft to Noumea. I think it is far more important to defend Noumea now and keep my shipping lanes to Australia open than it is to get a large US airforce contingent operational in Australia right now. Of the 200 aircraft all will eventually go to Noumea except 4 squadrons of B-26 Marauders. They lack the range to hit Luganville, so they’ll be better served flying in Australia. The 72 P-39’s will go to Noumea right away to operate out of the level 2 airfield there. A squadron of A-24’s, one of A-20’s and 2 squadron’s of B-25’s will go to Auckland to await a level 4 airfield at Noumea. The B-25’s can hit Luganville, and the A-24’s and A-20’s will act as naval attack and search aircraft. The land units diverted include a 90 air support baseforce unit, a 270 air support aviation unit and an engineer unit. Combined with the engineer units unloading now with the Americal Division, Noumea should be a level 4 airfield within a few weeks of the arrival of the diverted convoy. I’m guessing it is two to three weeks out. Jim

Yakface -> RE: 2 Apr. 42 (12/6/2007 12:38:53 PM)
Hi Jim. Unformtunately you can't rely on figures like that for Truk. The problem is that when the sigint is counting men it has a problem with static units (becase men, in sigint terms, is equal to load value) and it ends up adding huge numbers for each static gun. I'm not saying your opponent is not up to anything, just that the intelligence is no evidence for or against........BTW what are you doing up at 2AM on a school night.

Jim D Burns -> 3 Apr. 42 (12/7/2007 3:35:13 AM)
Yakface, Welcome to the thread, thanks for the tip, I had no idea about the load cost and SigInt reports. LOL, school night? I haven't been to school in decades, being retired I no longer pay much attention to the day of the week or what time it might be. My opponent is in Japan, so I usually get turns from him at about 8-9 AM my time and then again at 11-12 PM as well. So If I want to keep up a good pace of 1-2 turns a day, I need to stay up late and rise early. I take a lot of naps in between, LOL. [>:][>:] 3 Apr. 42 Singapore, Madioen and Manila all get pounded from the air again today. At Cooktown my heavies from Charter Towers finally get off the ground again and a large combined strike is flown with the Hudson’s from Townsville. 5 Kittyhawks are shot down by the defending zeroes and 2 zeroes are destroyed on the ground. Damage to the base is heavy and may keep the field closed tomorrow. With all the damage done to the heavies, I doubt they’ll be in any condition to fly soon. I need those US B-26’s ASAP so I can deal out some heavy damage every turn and keep the field closed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Cooktown , at 48,100 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 39 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 10 Hudson I x 36 B-17E Fortress x 32 LB-30 Liberator x 11 F-4 Lightning x 3 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed, 19 damaged Allied aircraft losses Kittyhawk I: 5 destroyed Hudson I: 5 damaged B-17E Fortress: 20 damaged LB-30 Liberator: 4 damaged Japanese ground losses: 56 casualties reported Guns lost 2 Airbase hits 1 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 48 Aircraft Attacking: 4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 15000 feet 2 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japanese CV’s show up near Cairns and launch an air strike against the airfield there. With only a squadron of fighters and some recon and float planes there, I got lucky and no air frames were destroyed on the ground. The base took moderate damage, but there are so few engineer squads present it’ll take weeks to repair. I’ve gone ahead and ordered the base evacuated and given the two LCU from Cooktown orders to continue marching south to Townsville. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Cairns , at 48,102 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 8 B5N2 Kate x 58 Allied aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged Allied aircraft losses Airbase hits 6 Airbase supply hits 5 Runway hits 21 Aircraft Attacking: 24 x B5N2 Kate bombing at 23000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My sweep over Cooktown failed to intercept any air transports bringing in supplies. Instead they fought an air battle with the defending zeroes and one plane on each side was shot down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Cooktown , at 48,100 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 17 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 11 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Along the map edge west of Java, Japanese sub I-175 torpedoes an empty tanker returning to Australia after unloading fuel at Perth. Damage is heavy and with such a long way to go to reach Colombo, I doubt the ship will reach port. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack at 2,60 Japanese Ships SS I-175 Allied Ships TK Herborg, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About 2/3rds of the Americal Division unloaded at Noumea this turn and Japan did not attack as I thought he would. So for now the base is secure. I’ll start a campaign to destroy the South Seas Det. As soon as my troops are in decent shape and some more supplies come ashore. With Japanese CV’s near Cairns, I’m worried that the KB may show up again and pound my ships at Noumea. My air units are still weeks away and only the Saratoga remains in Australian waters to oppose any carrier raids. Though I do have two more US CV’s on route, they should reach the area in about 3 weeks. Here’s a screenshot of the base. As you can see, supplies are low and the base has a long way to go from an engineering standpoint. With 2 Engineer battalions unloading now and another on the way, construction should cruise along at a good pace and see a level 4 airfield within a month I hope. [image]local://upfiles/5815/1D5BF7CB11E34D6489B37A8B8B6BBA2E.jpg[/image] Jim

Gen.Hoepner -> RE: 3 Apr. 42 (12/7/2007 8:52:34 AM)
That's a great timing at Noumea Jim!! You saved the base and at the same time you threaten the very existance of the S.S.D. which will force him to divert some of his forces in order to save that important unit!...very well done!

Jim D Burns -> 4 Apr. 42 (12/7/2007 4:56:49 PM)
4 Apr. 42 Singapore Madioen and Manila all get hit from the air today. Japan also hits Kuala again today and destroys another one of my float planes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Kuala , at 20,43 Japanese aircraft G3M Nell x 20 Ki-21-II Sally x 12 Allied aircraft no flights No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses Catalina I: 1 destroyed Allied ground losses: 6 casualties reported Airbase hits 2 Runway hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 6 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 13000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In recent days the damage at Singapore has been so heavy, my Kuala float planes haven’t been able to get any more troops out. With this turns deliberate attack knocking down a fort level at Singapore, and with less than 2,000 supplies left there, I doubt I’ll be able to get any more troops out before the base falls. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Singapore Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 93547 troops, 374 guns, 80 vehicles, Assault Value = 1738 Defending force 56306 troops, 247 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 857 Japanese max assault: 1736 - adjusted assault: 1693 Allied max defense: 838 - adjusted defense: 606 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Japanese ground losses: 1023 casualties reported Guns lost 32 Vehicles lost 1 Allied ground losses: 2633 casualties reported Guns lost 82 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So I’ve switched my float planes to moving troops to Port Blair from Kuala. I want to evacuate them before Japan damages Kuala’s runway to the point no more troops can escape from there either. In the end I saved about 50 squads and about double that in support squads from both the FMSV and the SSVF brigades. The 8th Indian Brigade already at Port Blair has 77 squads and 96 support squads plus other elements that have been arriving as replacements at Port Blair. I saved 42 air support, 164 support, 12 light inf squads and 1 engineer squad from the 1st ISF Base Force unit. The 2nd ISF Base Force unit got out with 7 2pdr AA guns, 96 aviation support, 84 support squads, 6 engineers and 5 light squads. So in total I saved roughly 12,000 troops from Singapore. I would have liked to get at least two more brigades out (the two Malaya brigades), but the Japanese air bombardments simply keep the base closed and no air lift has been conducted for over a week. West of Java Japanese sub I-162 trails the stricken tanker from last turn and finishes her off with two in the side. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack at 2,58 Japanese Ships SS I-162 Allied Ships TK Herborg, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Madioen Japan launches a shock attack and gives me my first glimpse of the new units he’s brought to the fight. The 31st Division has joined the fight along with a construction battalion and a base force unit. I went back in the thread and grabbed an old screenshot to compare the forces side by side. It looks like Japan has had to pull 3 combat units out of the fight. While not equal in power to the new division, I think their removal from the fighting is what saved the base this turn. I too have had to pull units out of the fighting, so it’s reassuring to see I’m not the only one suffering from massive disablements. Japan’s attack was repulsed, but the allies are again taking higher casualties than Japan. He also came pretty close to getting his 2-1. Had that missing brigade been present, I think I’d have been forced out of the base. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 58010 troops, 225 guns, 158 vehicles, Assault Value = 1088 Defending force 28161 troops, 58 guns, 31 vehicles, Assault Value = 360 Japanese max assault: 2014 - adjusted assault: 885 Allied max defense: 303 - adjusted defense: 461 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 856 casualties reported Guns lost 25 Vehicles lost 1 Allied ground losses: 1449 casualties reported Guns lost 23 Vehicles lost 15 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [image]local://upfiles/5815/35EEB8A10F7E4E26A01C37DEA4F95DA1.jpg[/image] Japan launched a deliberate attack at Cagayan and gets hammered. By waiting as long as he did to attack Mindanao, Japan allowed both my combat units to reach 100% preparation for the base. They also trained up to 45 experience (the max training level for Philippine units), so they aren’t pushovers like they are at game start. With 5,000+ supplies on hand, Japan may be here for a while. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Cagayan Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 8863 troops, 46 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 209 Defending force 7477 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 205 Japanese max assault: 171 - adjusted assault: 57 Allied max defense: 141 - adjusted defense: 169 Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese ground losses: 271 casualties reported Guns lost 16 Allied ground losses: 102 casualties reported Guns lost 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Almost 90% of the Americal Division is ashore at Noumea now. I noticed with disappointment that about 1/3rd of the unit is disabled, so it looks like it will be a while before I can launch an attack. Of course Japan didn’t get to unload many supplies, so I’ll try at least one or two attacks to see if I can beat the South Seas det. with such a disabled force. Jim

Jim D Burns -> 5 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 12:15:34 AM)
5 Apr. 42 Not a good day for the allies today. First two of my subs receive ASW attacks and take minor damage. Then west of Java two US CV’s moving south from India towards Australia spot 3 Japanese subs. Two are within 2 hexes of the CV’s and one is in the hex with them. Luckily the escorts pounded the sub with two different ASW attacks and scored a total of 4 hits on it. I’ve diverted the CV’s away towards the east a bit to avoid the wolf pack of Japanese subs just to the south. Hopefully my opponent will think this is the damaged Saratoga on its way to Colombo for repairs, but I doubt he’ll be fooled. The allies hit back and conduct an ASW attack on a sub at Noumea and score a single hit on it. Another allied ASW attack near Diamond Harbor scored 8 hits on a sub my opponent forgot to move after it was spotted last turn. Moulmein, Singapore, Madioen, Kuala and Manila all get hit from the air today. Japan then launches another shock attack at Madioen and the strain of the relentless attacks finally wears down the allies and they are forced to retreat southwest to Malang. Casualties are high and almost 90% of all my forces are now disabled. I’ve ordered everything left on Java to Soerabaja for the final stand. Two small units are ordered to march to Madioen to try and pin Japan and keep him from moving for a few critical turns by forcing him to attack these rear guards. Of course Japan probably gets to move first in a tie, so it’ll only work if he pauses for a turn. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 55790 troops, 194 guns, 157 vehicles, Assault Value = 964 Defending force 25878 troops, 29 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 302 Japanese max assault: 1590 - adjusted assault: 1113 Allied max defense: 247 - adjusted defense: 357 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Madioen base !!! Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses F.K.51: 2 destroyed Japanese ground losses: 942 casualties reported Guns lost 5 Vehicles lost 2 Allied ground losses: 1767 casualties reported Guns lost 19 Vehicles lost 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan then launches a deliberate attack at Singapore and the base falls. Almost 80,000 allied troops are marched off to POW camps after their heroic fight for the tiny island. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Singapore Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 90520 troops, 343 guns, 77 vehicles, Assault Value = 1590 Defending force 51909 troops, 151 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 769 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese max assault: 1405 - adjusted assault: 1257 Allied max defense: 730 - adjusted defense: 452 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Singapore base !!! Japanese ground losses: 1204 casualties reported Guns lost 7 Vehicles lost 1 Allied ground losses: 79982 casualties reported Guns lost 108 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This makes it about a month and a half after the historical surrender date that my guys managed to hold out. Not bad, but I guess it is to be expected given that only a couple of troops were forced to retreat prior to falling back into Singapore. So the allies started the siege in the strongest possible position that could be expected with 60,000 supplies on hand to feed the troops. In the end it was the lack of supplies that did in the defenders at Singapore, last turn they had less than 1600 supplies left, not enough to keep the army strong enough to resist anymore. As this screenshot shows, the allied engineers really worked over the base facilities good. This is the first base my opponent has captured that wasn’t almost 100% intact. I’m very glad to see the shipyard facility took a hit along with the other facilities at the base. [image]local://upfiles/5815/5D4F1648AB974B119A5071F0BDD573A9.jpg[/image] Japan will have to spend hundreds of thousands of supplies to repair this damage. Now the pressure is really on to try and evacuate my evacuee’s from Kuala before Japan lands and captures them. I really had hoped I’d get about half of them moved before Singapore fell, this really took me by surprise this turn. I’ve rebased all my float planes to Port Blair and ordered the lift to begin. Jim

ctangus -> RE: 5 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 12:31:42 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns This makes it about a month and a half after the historical surrender date that my guys managed to hold out. Not bad, but I guess it is to be expected given that only a couple of troops were forced to retreat prior to falling back into Singapore. I'd say it's pretty damn good. None of those Japanese troops will benefit from the invasion bonus during their Second Operational Phase invasions. Great AAR BTW, I've been following quietly for a while. How soon do you think you'll try an attack at Noumea?

Jim D Burns -> RE: 5 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 2:37:05 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ctangus I'd say it's pretty damn good. None of those Japanese troops will benefit from the invasion bonus during their Second Operational Phase invasions. Great AAR BTW, I've been following quietly for a while. How soon do you think you'll try an attack at Noumea? Ctangus, Thanks and welcome. The Americal Division is almost totally unloaded now (only level 2 port), so I figure within a few days. I'm really worried though, since over 1/3rd of the division is disabled. I may do a bombardment attack first to get a look at his AV. If he's 100% prepped for the base, an attack would be foolhardy and cause me even more disablements. I'd need to wait for my airbase to build up and cause him some disruption from the air first before launching an attack if our AV's are similar. The Americal Division is 100% prepped for Koumac, as I anticipated fighting off landings there, so I don't want to change the objective now. The other units at the base are 100% or close to 100% prepped for Noumea though. Jim

String -> RE: 5 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 3:50:50 AM)
BTW, you need to LRCAP an enemy base to intercept transports, not sweep. Which is quite logical if you think about it.

Jim D Burns -> RE: 5 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 5:20:46 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: String BTW, you need to LRCAP an enemy base to intercept transports, not sweep. Which is quite logical if you think about it. Of course, I knew this but totally forgot. Thanks for the reminder string. D'oh! [8\|] Jim

Sardaukar -> RE: 26 Mar. 42 (12/9/2007 11:40:43 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: VSWG quote: ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns quote: ORIGINAL: VSWG This setting applies only to TFs in port. You cannot influence refueling at sea. So why only 9 hexes then? The move ability listed was 6/6 at full speed yet they only went 9 hexes. All ships have less than 5 sys damage and over 30 knots top speed, so unless they slowed to refuel (they didn't need to, fuel is fine) I have no idea why they only went 9 hexes. This means my guys probably won’t make it to attack the invasion this turn either then, what a complete dam blasted waste! Argh! Jim Die rolls. Simply put, you cannot count on your TFs moving the indicated number of hexes - never. In an old PBEM I had a surface combat TF near Rabaul set to max speed (6/6) that moved only 2 (!) hexes - for 2 days!!! I reloaded the turns and checked their orders - everything was OK, no refueling happened, no ops points spent etc. As a consequence, the entire TF was sunk by KB. I think only hitting "return to port" will guarantee that your TF will move reasonable number of hexes. If in doubt, set a new homeport in direction you want to retreat and hit "return to port". Or whatever the button was named...not having WitP open right now.

Sardaukar -> RE: 26 Mar. 42 (12/9/2007 11:49:13 AM)
Also remember that 25-ship TF will be stronger in AAA than 15-ship (depends of composition of course, but when adding ships to original 15). "Diminishing returns" is just that, you will get increase when over 15 ships, just that it's less and less for every ship added. When adding ships to original 15-ship TF, you will never get lower AAA than original, it always increases. You just do not get full benefit from ships over 15 count, but you do get benefit. Thus, if I want to be less detectable and faster (more ships, more chance for refuelling..especially when adding DDs), I go with 15-ship TF. If I have CV TF and I'm expecting major combat, it's always maxed in 25 ships. More AAA, more targets (may draw bomb or 2 away from CVs), more ASW. Lot more detectable and slower. It's trade off, like many things in war.

Jim D Burns -> 6 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 3:26:58 PM)
Sardaukar, Yeah, I've learned my lesson about not trusting what the task force screen says. I doubt I have enough adventurous spirit left in me to even try your suggestion in any kind of critical combat situation like a CV battle though. After losing one CV to a misinterpretation, I'd probably smash my monitor if I lost another to a similar type of mistake. Next time I'm just going to go for the battle. The fact that 43 ship task force didn’t even scratch a bomber really has me worried. From now on it’ll be 15 ships per task force, unless there is air cover available to cover large fleets. The most recent Nik mod changed something in naval AAA and I think something got tweaked too much or possibly got broken outright. 6 Apr. 42 Wow was allied Intel off last turn. My opponent wrote this: “Yeah, there was absolutely nothing left in Singapore.” This prompted me to take another look at Singapore this turn. Almost the entire base was wiped off the map. Sweet! This is the first time I’ve been happy allied recon was wrong. Another month has gone by and it’s time to again look at air to air fighter losses. To date, 339 (+88 on the month) allied fighters have been lost in air to air combat. Japan has lost just 75 (+50 on the month) fighters in air to air combat. That’s a kill ratio 4.5 – 1 for the entire game. It looks like the allies are getting a lot better, Japan didn’t even achieve a 2-1 kill ratio in fighters for the month. Though this month’s low ratio may be due to the long ranges our air battles have been taking place over. Japan’s fatigue builds up fast at these ranges and it has cost him. This coming month, fighting in Burma should begin in earnest, and should show how well the better allied fighters will do in the large attrition battles with Japan’s elite fighters now that Japan’s Singapore and Manila air forces are ready to redeploy. [image]local://upfiles/5815/4D577ACEA69246CA9F9241C956FD46FD.jpg[/image] Manila and 2 of the land units there are hit from the air today. After weeks of hassles trying to get Japanese troops stuck on the 59 mile bug out of Taung Gyi, I finally retake the (now empty of Japanese land units) base today and combat operations can begin again in the area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Taung Gyi Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 1216 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 33 Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0 Allied max assault: 31 - adjusted assault: 58 Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1 Allied assault odds: 58 to 1 (fort level 0) Allied forces CAPTURE Taung Gyi base !!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’ve ordered my bombers in India and Burma into the air again and will start pounding Japanese units along the jungle trails leading into Burma. At Noumea the Americal Division still isn’t completely unloaded. It looks like 2 of the AK’s got a much larger percentage of troops loaded aboard than the other AK’s in the fleet. I’m guessing one or two more turns before it’s completely unloaded. The South Seas Det. has left the base however, so I’ll have to mount a pursuit ASAP. Jim

Gen.Hoepner -> RE: 6 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 4:02:43 PM)
Fatigue is a much important variable in A2A combat. Japan has some great advantages in A2A combat at this stage of the war, but due to the long range of oscars and zeros we tend to use them too much, day after day, and this cause the units to get fatigued and when they find a stiff resistance they get the bad side...same goes for allies obviously, so keep you air forces fresh!!

VSWG -> RE: 6 Apr. 42 (12/9/2007 7:48:42 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns Wow was allied Intel off last turn. My opponent wrote this: “Yeah, there was absolutely nothing left in Singapore.” This prompted me to take another look at Singapore this turn. Almost the entire base was wiped off the map. Sweet! This is the first time I’ve been happy allied recon was wrong. The exact amount of damage is displayed when you set a LB squadron to city attack, with Singapore as target.

Jim D Burns -> 7 Apr. 42 (12/10/2007 3:29:41 AM)
7 Apr. 42 At Noumea Japanese sub I-16 manages to turn the tables on his pursuers and slams a torpedo into MSW Vireo, sending her to the bottom. Vireo’s task force mates pound the sub and score a few hits/near misses, but I doubt it was damaged much. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Noumea at 66,117 Japanese Ships SS I-16, hits 2 Allied Ships MSW Vireo, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage MSW Robin MSW Pelican MSW Kingfisher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allied bombers launch multiple attacks on Japanese ground units along the trails leading into Burma. Of note is a new unit in the area, a lone AAA unit along the trail one hex SE of Moulmein. If it didn’t take a month or more to get back, I’d run a brigade SE to shatter the unit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on 51st Heavy AA Battalion, at 30,35 Allied aircraft Lysander I x 1 Hurricane IIb x 4 Blenheim IV x 9 Allied aircraft losses Blenheim IV: 2 damaged Japanese ground losses: 11 casualties reported Aircraft Attacking: 9 x Blenheim IV bombing at 6000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manila and 3 land units there get hit from the air today. Kuala also gets hit from the air today, damage to the airbase is light. All float planes are now gone from Kuala and busy pulling the evacuated units into Port Blair. Another Japanese transport task force is spotted heading towards Cooktown. I’ve switch local air groups to naval attack in hopes of catching it before it makes port. On a more irritating note, something is amiss with the Southwest Pacific HQ. Although Cairns has been completely empty of units for 3 or 4 days now, the supplies and fuel at the base refuse to get pulled to the south. Now Japan has a land unit in the base and is about to capture over 22,000 supplies that should have moved a long time ago. The SW Pac HQ was in Charter Towers with about 10k supplies, but after nothing moved for several turns I tried moving it to Townsville where there is also only 10k or so of supplies. Still no luck, Command HQ’s are supposed to try and pull 25k of supplies to their base, but this HQ isn’t pulling any for some reason. Now Japan will have more supplies than I do in northern Australia due to this bug. GRRR! [:@] Here’s a screenshot: [image]local://upfiles/5815/F695B2826D66401BAB0DBA2A93FE6EE9.jpg[/image] Jim

Jim D Burns -> 8 Apr. 42 (12/10/2007 3:43:33 PM)
8 Apr. 42 Allied subs go to work today and have mixed results. First the SS Thresher attempts two attacks a couple hexes south of Rabaul and gets hammered by the escorts without launching any torpedoes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack at 62,92 Japanese Ships PC Takunan Maru #10 PC Takunan Maru #2 PC Shonon Maru #15 Allied Ships SS Thresher, hits 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack at 62,92 Japanese Ships PC Takunan Maru #10 PC Takunan Maru #2 PC Shonon Maru #15 Allied Ships SS Thresher, hits 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next the SS Sealion attacks a lone AK at Kompong Song (near Bangkok) and rakes the ship with its deck guns and then puts a fish in its side for good measure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Kompong Som at 29,43 Japanese Ships AK Kurohime Maru, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, on fire Allied Ships SS Sealion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The SS Tautog just south of the SS Thresher also attempts two attacks on the returning Cooktown invasion fleets and misses on the first attack, but slams a torpedo into a large AP on the second and sinks it. This is the second large (and fast, 21 knots I think) AP sunk during Japan’s recent attacks on Cooktown and Noumea. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack at 61,93 Japanese Ships AP Brazil Maru PG Takunan Maru #3 PG Shotoku Maru Allied Ships SS Tautog -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack at 61,93 Japanese Ships AP Kamakura Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AK Tateyama Maru AK Amakasu Maru #1 PG Takunan Maru #3 PG Shotoku Maru Allied Ships SS Tautog -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [image]local://upfiles/5815/A883B8A654AE4CAEA695FB50CEC39FAA.jpg[/image] Japan launches a huge air raid on Rangoon today and the allies get decimated. The fresh and rested Japanese fighters tear through the allied fighters and down 30 in air to air while the allies only down 12 in air to air (numbers below are FOW). My opponent did lament to me in his email that historical Japanese fighter ace Sakai Saburo was shot down and killed today, so that’s at least something, though he only had 1 kill in our game he thinks. If my opponent gives his boys rest between attacks like these, I’m doomed in the air and will be forced to pull out of Burma eventually, because again a big Japanese attack almost wipes out 1 full months production. Eventually I’ll simply run out of planes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,33 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 85 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 28 Ki-21-II Sally x 22 Ki-49 Helen x 50 Ki-46-II Dinah x 4 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIb x 58 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed, 7 damaged Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged Ki-21-II Sally: 9 damaged Ki-49 Helen: 9 damaged Allied aircraft losses Hurricane IIb: 32 destroyed Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed Allied ground losses: 12 casualties reported Airbase hits 5 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 12 Aircraft Attacking: 16 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 15000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manila and 3 units there are hit from the air again today. I guess Japan’s last shock attack really disrupted his guys, as I expected another attack there by now. Kuala and Soerabaja are also hit from the air. At Madioen my little rear guard ploy worked. Japan hesitated in following my guys towards Soerabaja, so I got a small unit into the base. Japan forced it out of the base today, but now my other unit is almost to Madioen, so he’ll have to attack it as well. I’ve re-ordered my small unit that was forced to retreat back to Madioen again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 55214 troops, 202 guns, 159 vehicles, Assault Value = 897 Defending force 575 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 6 Japanese max assault: 808 - adjusted assault: 686 Allied max defense: 5 - adjusted defense: 1 Japanese assault odds: 686 to 1 Japanese ground losses: 11 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 340 casualties reported Defeated Allied Units Retreating! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan has armor units, so he can pursue these guys and easily prevent me from delaying him, so I don’t think this is a gamey tactic. Soerabaja produces 500 supplies a day, and every day I delay his advance allows me to get some more supply built. Right now I have 7500 at the base, I’ll need a lot more if I hope to survive more than just a few days. So what’s the consensus does this tactic of delay using a small rearguard to interrupt his moves feel gamey to you guys? Jim

Jim D Burns -> 9 Apr. 42 (12/10/2007 5:37:10 PM)
9 Apr. 42 Near Diamond Harbor allied ASW assets again locate and pound a Japanese sub a few hexes from the port. Only one hit is scored however, so I’ll continue patrolling these waters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack at 27,24 Japanese Ships SS I-7, hits 1 Allied Ships PC Pathan MSW Deloraine MSW Bittern -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- China tries its first strategic bombing raid at Hanoi. Only 3 of 12 planes fly and no hits are scored. I’ll keep them at high altitude until they get at least 60 experience, a lot of the pilots are 20-30 experience right now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Hanoi , at 36,37 Allied aircraft IL-4c x 3 No Allied losses Aircraft Attacking: 3 x IL-4c bombing at 31000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Dacca reaches level 7 airfield, I’ll have my LB-30 squadron also start hitting Hanoi. But I don’t want to fly them at max range until the base reaches level 7, or op losses would kill me. And the LB-30’s don’t have a lot of replacement aircraft. Soerabaja, Kuala and Manila both get hit from the air today. My boys launched a large coordinated airstrike at Cooktown today. 9 Kittyhawks were lost in air to air while only shooting down 3 zeroes in return. But 16 zeroes were reported destroyed on the ground today, so I consider the mission a success. Damage to the base is heavy as well, including 6 airbase supply hits. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Cooktown , at 48,100 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 27 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 32 Hudson I x 62 B-25C Mitchell x 15 B-17E Fortress x 37 LB-30 Liberator x 12 F-4 Lightning x 5 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 11 destroyed, 5 damaged Allied aircraft losses Kittyhawk I: 9 destroyed, 5 damaged Hudson I: 2 damaged B-25C Mitchell: 2 damaged B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 121 casualties reported Guns lost 2 Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 6 Runway hits 76 Aircraft Attacking: 4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 15000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’ve got real trouble up north however. Since the Southwest Pacific HQ fails to pull supplies to itself, neither Charter Towers nor Townsville have enough supply to replace destroyed aircraft. So I’m either going to have to fly damaged groups out to Brisbane (51,000+ supply) and Sydney (141,000+ supply) or I’m going to have to risk a convoy trying to haul supplies north. This time however I’ll be risking real ships, not those flimsy sailboats, so I’m loath to send a task force with Nell’s and Betty’s about and not a lot of allied fighter power (only 3 squadrons of Kittyhawks at the two bases). If I can manage to close both Cooktown and Cairns and keep them closed, I’ll probably send a convoy. Otherwise the tedious and fatiguing task of rotating groups is going to be my only recourse. I’ve also noticed this same problem with the Southeast Asia HQ in India, it also does not pull any supplies. What did CHS do to these HQ’s that prevent them from pulling supplies as they should? At Marcus Island, SS Tambor takes a shot at a Japanese AP, but misses. Jim

Jim D Burns -> 10 Apr. 42 (12/11/2007 5:31:19 PM)
10 Apr. 42 US sub SS S-38 catches a lone AK in the DEI’s and surfaces to shell her with its deck guns. A torpedo is sent into her sides for good measure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack at 30,66 Japanese Ships AK Sansei Maru, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Allied Ships SS S-38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The pitiful Chinese airforce launches another high altitude city attack on Hanoi. This time all 12 planes of the squadron fly, but no hits are scored. I note that no Japanese fighters are rising to try and intercept, once they have the experience, I’ll drop them down to about 6,000 feet, which will cause Japan to have to protect the base. Assuming of course they can even hit anything from 6,000 feet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Hanoi , at 36,37 Allied aircraft IL-4c x 12 No Allied losses Aircraft Attacking: 9 x IL-4c bombing at 31000 feet 3 x IL-4c bombing at 31000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another horrific day at Rangoon for allied air power. First a fighter sweep of Oscars flies over the base and losses are about even, though the allied Hurricanes are hit repeatedly by the high maneuver Oscars. Then a large air raid escorted by 138 Zeroes and Oscars arrives and shreds my remaining fighters. In total the allies lost 23 Hurricanes in air to air while only shooting down 5 Oscars and one zero. The Japanese also destroyed another 8 Hurricanes on the ground. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,33 Japanese aircraft Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 29 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIb x 29 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged Allied aircraft losses Hurricane IIb: 3 destroyed, 14 damaged -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,33 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 78 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 60 Ki-21-II Sally x 21 Ki-49 Helen x 41 Ki-46-II Dinah x 4 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIb x 21 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged Ki-21-II Sally: 9 damaged Ki-49 Helen: 4 damaged Allied aircraft losses Hurricane IIb: 24 destroyed Lysander I: 1 destroyed Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed Allied ground losses: 7 casualties reported Airbase hits 2 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 32 Aircraft Attacking: 15 x Ki-21-II Sally bombing at 15000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The allies fly a raid over Cooktown with their heavies from Charter Towers, escorted by 15 Kittyhawks and fair much better in air to air as only 15 zeroes rose to oppose them. Damage to the base is light with 2 zeroes destroyed on the ground, 2 Kittyhawks are lost in air to air. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Cooktown , at 48,100 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 15 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk I x 15 B-17E Fortress x 29 LB-30 Liberator x 10 F-4 Lightning x 4 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 21 casualties reported Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 16 Aircraft Attacking: 4 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 15000 feet <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After today’s carnage, I’ve been forced to pull out of Rangoon as my Hurricane replacement pool is now empty. Even with the changes in Nik mod, the pitiful allied replacement rate of 40 Hurricanes a month just can’t keep up with these kinds of losses. As I mentioned to my opponent we’ve only fought 5-6 large air battles over Rangoon, but he’s managed to deplete a buildup of month’s worth of replacement aircraft in those few battles. Losses in air battles are simply too high still. Manila and Soerabaja get hit from the air today. My bombers from Rangoon and Imphal hit a couple of Japanese units along the Burma trails. Another of my rear guard units is attacked at Madioen again today and forced to retreat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Madioen Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13175 troops, 71 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 926 Defending force 94 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3 Japanese max assault: 104 - adjusted assault: 163 Allied max defense: 2 - adjusted defense: 1 Japanese assault odds: 163 to 1 Allied ground losses: 45 casualties reported Guns lost 2 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I began feeling guilty how well this rear guard was working and asked my opponent why he wasn’t shock pursuing me. He mentioned he would try it, but that he thought it was messed up somehow. Is shock pursue messed up? If so I’ll stop my little rear guard operation. Jim

Gen.Hoepner -> RE: 10 Apr. 42 (12/11/2007 5:51:52 PM)
edited.

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