RE: Carrier strike at Wake Island

RE: Carrier strike at Wake Island (Full Version)

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ny59giants -> RE: Carrier strike at Wake Island (5/17/2009 1:25:32 PM)
You will need to double check the home port for KB. Make it a base that is closest to her. Why?? The farther away, the more likely the AI will decide your short legged DDs need to use up precious op points to refuel. [X(] It has happened to many players and can be very frustrating. I would not split up KB at this time as he could have all 3 American CVs there. He may head south to hit Kwajalein, so if you can upgrade your Claudes to Zeros do so. Transfer in more Nell/Betty and set them at 20 to 30% naval search while on naval attack/rest. You could transfer in some daitai from KB "if" it is attacked later.

SierraJuliet -> RE: Pontianak captured (5/18/2009 12:13:01 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: flaggelant Hey, new reader from now on i like the screenshots added would the mystery ships be estimated as "force Z", houston/boise group or as the allied carriers (last is not very likely, since the CV's would be in a land hex)? all have been missing for a while i believe? on China; I'm playing stock as well, in my game there are so many Chinese around Nanning/Hanoi that its really hard to force a breaktrough.. both pushing against Changsa, Wuchow AND Hanoi may be a bit overstretching your forces (surely the situations are different, but the troops are all there for the action ). So thats definetly a field of interest to me Hi flaggelant.... thanks for screen shot praise, I'm still learning how to put these things together and it does help build up a picture of what is happening across the board. I have a couple of days to update on the AAR but the mystery ships seem to remain that as they have faded away again. Thanks for the reminder on Force Z; I'd been a bit fixated on Houston and Boise and forgot that POW and Repulse could easily link up. The China front I'm finding very interesting as I have little knowledge of RL China campaign and even less when it comes to how China can impact on this game. I don't think I mentioned it at the outset but I've adopted a policy of securing all rail and road in China so the forces at my disposal is not everything. I've been using some of the southern forces to assist and I still have 2 divisions doing that which may well slow the Philppines down for a while. Chnagsa remains my focus. Wuchow is more of a diversion and hopefully something to get Todd thinking about while Changsa is underway. Further south I'm facing at least 7 corps so protecting Hanoi is the priority.

SierraJuliet -> RE: Pontianak captured (5/18/2009 12:20:36 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ny59giants quote: At Johore Bahru a second Japanese deliberate attack in 2 days is ordered. This attack is not as successful as the previous day. Today the Japanese only achieve odds of 0 to 1 and fail to reduce the fortifications. When you attack a well fortified base, unless you get 1:1 odds and the forts are close to gone, a well use method is to attack ever third day and use your artillery to bombard on the other two days. Your troops will need those two days to recover disruption and fatigue from the prior attacks. Use your LBA to attack his AF to prevent him rebuilding the forts. As another novice Japanese player, I am missing the vast number of Allied engineers (and engineer vehicles) to build things up quickly. HQ question - Do you have an Army HQ with your troops at Johore Bahru?? You need excessive support to get the full AV (Assault Value). The Southern Army HQ (command range 9) should be prepping for Singapore and already on the Malayan peninsula (it starts prepped for a base on Luzon while it starts at Saigon which is always a little strange to me). I would double check your HQs to ensure they are aiding you in your conquest. They can be easily overlooked by players. Thanks Michael. I have been using that tactic but got a bit carried away after the initial attack on Johore Bahru. I checked out the distruption levels of the troops and they did not look too much different than before the attack. Have another go then I thought. Well that is how we gain experience. I don't plan on trying that tactic again. Re the HQ; I have 25th Army HQ tagging along in close support. Southern Area HQ though has been sent to the Philippines and is currently at Lingayen supporting the forces at Clark Field. Looks like Yamashita is on his own for the time being.

SierraJuliet -> RE: Carrier strike at Wake Island (5/18/2009 12:29:26 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ny59giants You will need to double check the home port for KB. Make it a base that is closest to her. Why?? The farther away, the more likely the AI will decide your short legged DDs need to use up precious op points to refuel. [X(] It has happened to many players and can be very frustrating. I would not split up KB at this time as he could have all 3 American CVs there. He may head south to hit Kwajalein, so if you can upgrade your Claudes to Zeros do so. Transfer in more Nell/Betty and set them at 20 to 30% naval search while on naval attack/rest. You could transfer in some daitai from KB "if" it is attacked later. Michael. KB has Kwajalein set as home port. I've been making sure that my TF have the nearest decent port set as the home port. Yes fuel is a problem. Even doing that high speed run was a luxury but it does have me in the right area. As I expected his task force markers have disappeared and now the hunt is on. KB has all 6 carriers along for the ride and is currently slightly to the north of but well west of Johnston Island. I'll beef up the naval attack force at Kawajalein just in case Todd does a move to the south. KB will move at mission speed and all planes are ordered to be ready to attack. The question now is will Todd take the direct route back to Pearl or will he move north. I hoping that he still has no idea where KB is so he might think that a quick raid and return on Wake Island justifies the risk and that by the time KB can respond the carrier/s will be safely back at Pearl. Thats my thinking anyway and a couple of days game time will hopefully come up with the answer.

SierraJuliet -> Pagan captured (5/18/2009 1:55:00 AM)
16 January 1942 Malaya Land: Bombardment attack at Johore Bahru causes 29 casualties and 1 gun lost. Air: 16 Nell escorted by13 Zero out of Kuching bomb the AF at Singapore. 1 Vildebeest, 1 Swordfish and 1 Blenheim are destroyed on the ground and the airbase takes 1 hit and the runway 7 hits. Burma Air: 21 Zero out of Rangoon take on 8 Tomahawk flying CAP over Mandalay. 1 Tomahawk is destroyed. 18 Helen flying from Rangoon bomb BFF Brigade at Taung Gyi and cause 6 casualties. Land: Pagan is captured by the 55th Division. The 2nd Tank regiment is in support and an immediate move is underway to cross the Irrawaddy and put pressure on Mandalay. DEI Sea: Those mystery ships at Amboina have disappeared again. Slipped out of harbour for destination unknown. China Land: Japanese bombardment at Changsa achieves 413 casualties and 10 guns lost. South of Wuchow the commander of the 19th Engineer Regiment decides to take a short cut over the Si Kiang River to catch up with the more substantial troop concentrations moving in from the north. The obligatory shock attack is triggered and Major Ukai achieves a surprise result. His force of 5 028 troops takes on 27 762 defenders supported by 167 guns. For only 9 casualties the men of the 19th Engineers inflict 123 casualties and destroy 2 guns of the defenders. They also report that Wuchow currently has a fort level of 4. An unexpected and highly pleasing result. Air: Northwest of Canton 21 Sonia bomb 46th Chinese Corps and cause 37 casualties and 2 guns lost. At Changsa 57th Chinese Corps is bombed by 8 Ann and 10 Sonia and reports 45 casualties. 89th Chinese Corps, also at Changsa, is bombed by 12 Sally is reports 34 casualties. Philippines Land: Japanese bombardment at Clark Field achieves 162 casualties, 9 guns and 2 vehicles lost. The return allied bombardment attack causes 9 Japanese casualties. Puerto Princesa is captured without a fight. Air: 34 Betty bomb 11th PA Division at Clark Field and cause 51 casualties and 6 guns lost. 71st PA Division, also at Clark Field, is bombed by 8 Betty and reports 4 casualties and 1 gun lost. The battleship TF sailing in support of mini KB is targeted by 2 Martin 139. 7 Zero and 2 Claude flies CAP from the carriers and destroys 1 Martin and the attack is beaten off. Central Pacific Air: At least 1 American flat top has dared to raid Wake Island. Unfortunately the raid is timed perfectly with the arrival of a small transport fleet (2 DD and 4 AP) delivering base force troops to the island. As mentioned previously the base has not been built up since its capture and there is no air support available. The transports and destroyers become easy targets of opportunity for the American pilots. During the morning air strike, by 30 dauntless, APs Atuta Maru is hit by 3 bombs and Argentina Maru is hit by 6 bombs whilst DD Hatsuyuki is hit by 5 bombs. The afternoon air strike, comprised of 15 Dauntless and 18 Devastator, lands 2 bombs on AP Baikal Maru and 2 torpedoes on AP Victoria Maru whilst DD Hatsuyuki is plastered with another 5 bombs and DD Isonami is hit with 1 torpedo. Not surprisingly Hatsuyuki has slipped beneath the waves even as the last of the American planes leave the area to return to their parent ship. 130 casualties are reported from the men still on board the transports and unable to get off before the devastation is wrought. By the end of the day the Hatsuyuki is the only ship to be lost to the raid. The damage is severe though with the following damage reports received. Isonami is at 81 34 26 damage. Atuta Maru is at 99 39 33 damage. Argentina Maru is at 99 71 33 damage. Baikal Maru is at 46 33 23 damage and Victoria Maru is at 49 79 26 damage. Without any further molesting some of these ships may be saved. If the Americans decide to linger all will be lost tomorrow. Does Todd have the nerve to linger or will he high tail it OR is this the overture to an invasion? Subs Northwest of Kwajalein an ASW TF made up of PCs Takuna Maru #7, Takuna Maru #6 and Shonon Maru #11 plus PGs Santos Maru, Nagata Maru and Kantori Maru make an overnight sub contact. Depth charges go overboard and at the end of the action SS Pickerel is reported to have taken 3 hits. Later in the day the TF has another go at Pickerel and report 1 further hit on this sub. Off shore from Brisbane SS I-10 finds TK Anastasia and hits her with 1 torpedo and gets some gunnery action and lobs 5 shells into the tanker. Naval Losses for the Day DD Hatsuyuki, TK Amatsu Maru (sinks a few days after hitting mines at Hong Kong) Comments I have previously documented by thoughts and planned action in response to the Wake Island attack. Hopefully Hatsuyuki and company will be avenged. My subs have made a welcome return to the waters off shore from Queensland and hopefully this will cause Todd to keep using his small ships assts in an ASW role. A few subs are also based in Rangoon and should soon make their presence felt in the Bay of Bengal. The exploits of the 19th Engineer Regiment was very satisfying. My heart jumped when I saw a shock attack come up in this area as it wasn’t expected. I did expect some heavy loses but what eventuated was remarkably good considering. Burma is looking good at present. There is no way I expected to be crossing the Irrawaddy at this early stage of the war.

SierraJuliet -> RAN makes a move (5/18/2009 1:41:59 PM)
17 January 1942 Malaya Land: Bombardment at Johore Bahru causes 70 casualties and 2 guns lost to the allied defenders. Air: 17 Nell escorted by 11 Zero fly from Kuching and bomb the AF at Singapore causing 17 casualties, 2 guns lost, 3 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit and 10 runway hits. Sea: My task force tending to mine clearance at Mersing goes above and beyond the call and moves into the area of Singapore causing 29 coastal guns to activate. (Bet that got Todd’s attention). MSW s Choun Maru #7 took 12 hits and Banshu Maru #56 took 6 hits and promptly sank. #7 was lost to the 9.2in guns whilst #56 was listed as sinking from 15in hits. There is a lesson to be learnt here about using MSW anywhere near a shore base fortress. Burma Air: 25 Zero fly out of Rangoon to do a sweep over Mandalay and meet 9 Tomahawk. 1 Tomahawk is claimed as destroyed. Land: The 2nd Tank Regiment has crossed the Irrawaddy. Recon reports 4 units based at Mandalay. This might be a tough nut to crack. China Land: At Changsa the Chinese forces stage a deliberate attack and achieve 1 to 1 odds and reduce the forts by 1 to level 1. Japanese forces report 1 794 casualties, 70 guns and 4 vehicles lost. The Chinese defenders are reported to have lost 2 179 casualties and 51 guns. Bombardment at Wuchow causes 41 casualties and 2 guns lost to the defenders. Air: At Changsa 12 Sally bomb 51st Chinese Corps and cause 22 casualties and 1 gun lost. Philippines Land: Bombardment at Clark Field by Japanese forces causes 38 casualties, 2 guns and 1 vehicle lost. Air: 35 Betty bomb 105th USAAF Base Force at Clark Field and cause 47 casualties. 1 P-35A is destroyed. South Eastern Pacific Sea: An allied bombardment task force puts in an appearance at Gili Gili. Cruisers Australia, Canberra, Leander, Achilles and Perth escorted by DDs Alden, Barker, Bulmer, Stuart, Voyager and Le Triomphant hit the troops on the newly acquired base and cause 54 casualties and 3 guns lost. A minesweeper TF had just been in the area and appears to have made it out for the return voyage to Rabaul just before the cruisers turned up. With some luck the Nells based at Rabaul might manage a strike next turn, however, the fuel reserves are low so I won’t be surprised if no one flies and this bunch of marauders get away without a scratch. Central Pacific Sea: As expected the carrier task force that hit Wake Island has departed and contact has been lost. KB is moving north east in anticipation of making an intercept on the premise that the intention of this fleet is a quick return to Pearl by the most direct route. See below screen shot. On a side note all of the damaged ships at Wake Island are still afloat. Flotation damage has increased but as they are at a port so there is the prospect of a couple of them managing to stabilize the flooding and return to Japan for repair. The remaining troops on board the transports + supplies have made it off without further calamity. Subs No reported activity. Naval Losses for the Day MSW Choun Maru #7, MSW Banshu Maru #56 Comments The possibility of carrier v carrier action has been the focus of my attention. I’m hoping that Todd is in the dark on the position of KB and that when it is revealed it will indeed be a surprise especially for the Admiral on board that American carrier. The reports from Changsa continue to be promising. [image]http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt26/SierraJulietWhiskey/Midway-1.jpg[/image]

jonreb31 -> RE: RAN makes a move (5/18/2009 2:13:53 PM)
Tension! Let's hope you nab that US flattop.

ny59giants -> RE: Carrier strike at Wake Island (5/18/2009 2:52:46 PM)
It helps to have your bombers (TB/DB) set to 10 or 20% Naval Search when assigned Naval Attack. For some reason it helps them find their targets.

flaggelant -> RE: Carrier strike at Wake Island (5/18/2009 5:14:40 PM)
Do you check the operations report for any sightings of your KB, or do you just hope that it wasnt sighted? makes a big difference if your sure to be unsighted or if its just a gamble.

SierraJuliet -> Missed it by that much!!! (5/19/2009 8:45:18 AM)
Here is the situation. If I’d have left KB sitting exactly where it was 1 day previous the US carrier would almost be on top of KB now. As it is KB is just out of range as no strikes were launched against the US ships or for that matter against some good looking targets at Midway. Plenty of sighting reports from Midway with the map showing 7 ships made up of 3 AK and 1 AP. Sightings at Midway of the following individual ships were made by Kates and Vals – Mahan, Gridley, Henderson and Dunlop. As for the suspected American carrier the only sighting report I got was this E13A1 Jake sighting report: 9 Allied ships at 92,70 , Speed 14 , Moving East From the operations report it does not appear that KB has actually been sighted. There were no sighting reports from the previous day either. Can I trust this?….. If there are no sighting reports mentioned does that mean that Todd can only have a vague idea of where KB is. He certainly knows that KB must be near Midway but not close enough to attack given the number of Kate and Val sending back reports. The Jake making a report on the suspect carrier is obviously from a surface warship so Todd has to decide is it from surface ships with KB or yet another surface task force roaming about the ocean. Now for the decision part. Which target should I go after? The targets at Midway are in range and highly important. The chance to clean up a carrier and escorts is fantastic too. I’m inclined to heading south and trying again for an intercept. It does take me close to Johnston Island though. What do you guys think? Fuel is also an issue for me as I don’t want to waste op points on refueling at present and the destroyers are getting low (low 2000s). I’ve also thought of splitting KB and chasing both targets but think the risks would outweigh the reward. I won’t send the next turn to Todd for a few hours at least so any advice on this dilemma I’m only to welcome to hear. Thanks for the cheer leading JonReb. Michael.... Vals and Kates on 10 or 30% scouting and seem to have done a great job to the north. Flaggelant.... I had checked the operations report before dashing off and didn't see anything that suggested KB had been sighted. Still appears to be the case but Todd must have a good idea now of where I am. Question is what will he do with the carrier task force now that he should be sensing a clear and present danger? [image]http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt26/SierraJulietWhiskey/missedit-1.jpg[/image]

n01487477 -> RE: Missed it by that much!!! (5/19/2009 9:22:28 AM)
Wait a sec, he might not have sighted you, but your planes sighting ships at Midway and his CV's is a dead give away ... I believe you went too close to Midway, some of us run silent, no recon and no search until we are in position. or limited search range near to bases. I'm sure Todd knows you are around... and has deviated course. I would. Ever heard of triangulation to pinpoint [:D]? I'm having a facetous moment here [;)] I'd run fast SSE, have LRCAP installed on Johnson (and depending on the a/f size other assets too ) or double back toward Wake and try to shake you. Any subs in the area with recon ? doesn't look like it, sometimes you need to flush the birds from the trees and all that! Use SS's and other search tools ... just my 2cents. Of course sometimes I want to make my opponent know where I am ... or at least lead him into believing that fact. [;)] --Damian--

SierraJuliet -> RE: Missed it by that much!!! (5/19/2009 10:01:48 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: n01487477 Wait a sec, he might not have sighted you, but your planes sighting ships at Midway and his CV's is a dead give away ... I believe you went too close to Midway, some of us run silent, no recon and no search until we are in position. or limited search range near to bases. I'm sure Todd knows you are around... and has deviated course. I would. Ever heard of triangulation to pinpoint [:D]? I'm having a facetous moment here [;)] I'd run fast SSE, have LRCAP installed on Johnson (and depending on the a/f size other assets too ) or double back toward Wake and try to shake you. Any subs in the area with recon ? doesn't look like it, sometimes you need to flush the birds from the trees and all that! Use SS's and other search tools ... just my 2cents. Of course sometimes I want to make my opponent know where I am ... or at least lead him into believing that fact. [;)] --Damian-- Facetious point taken Damian and I appreciate your two cents worth. I'll take this little episode as a good learning experience... still a bit miffed that I almost got it right but now better appreciate the value of sitting tight and quiet for a little longer. Alas there is no sub assets anywhere close. South of Hawaii is the closets and well out of the picture. Now that you have given me a couple of very realistic future options for the American carrier I'm wondering if I shouldn't head north, clobber Midway and see what shipping I can pick around there.... my recon does indicate quite a bit, then high tail it myself. I suppose the good thing is Todd will be wondering himself what KB will do as well.

n01487477 -> RE: Missed it by that much!!! (5/19/2009 10:12:27 AM)
Steve, I'd still rather bag a CV or two, you are so tantalisingly close, a few AP/AK's aren't going to make a difference in the short term, but a CV or two would. As Micheal said, set the search, double check what Cap you think appropriate, 50~70% for me during CV to CV battles, except when I'm trying to slay his fighters, with extra fighters on board (a little gamey) ... and give it a go, CV 2 CV battles can be a rarity, especially with Sir Robin ... take a chance you might not get a second look for some time. Also depending on what you think I usually have my TB set to the same range as my max DB (5 iirc) AND CAP AT 5 too ... of course you are running around, not knowing where he might go, so maybe the max TB, might be better in this instance. Having said all that, I do try to kill as many AP/AK's as I can early on, but it is more of a LB thing than CV's. Cheers and have a good one. --Damian-- [edit] last point remember, he is probably running low on fuel, depending on where he refueled, and those Ak/AP's are going to scatter to the wind ...

SierraJuliet -> RE: Missed it by that much!!! (5/19/2009 12:17:32 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: n01487477 Steve, I'd still rather bag a CV or two, you are so tantalisingly close, a few AP/AK's aren't going to make a difference in the short term, but a CV or two would. As Micheal said, set the search, double check what Cap you think appropriate, 50~70% for me during CV to CV battles, except when I'm trying to slay his fighters, with extra fighters on board (a little gamey) ... and give it a go, CV 2 CV battles can be a rarity, especially with Sir Robin ... take a chance you might not get a second look for some time. Also depending on what you think I usually have my TB set to the same range as my max DB (5 iirc) AND CAP AT 5 too ... of course you are running around, not knowing where he might go, so maybe the max TB, might be better in this instance. Having said all that, I do try to kill as many AP/AK's as I can early on, but it is more of a LB thing than CV's. Cheers and have a good one. --Damian-- [edit] last point remember, he is probably running low on fuel, depending on where he refueled, and those Ak/AP's are going to scatter to the wind ... Ok you have won me over and thinking on it the reason for sending KB out there was to hunt down that carrier. Your point regarding his fuel has been lurking around my though process too....maybe the plan was to head back to Johnston Island for a refuel. I have decided on the below course for KB. It does take KB a bit close to Johnston Island but it should keep them in contact if that task force keeps up a SSE heading. Hopefully not to far south though if Todd should decide to move in a NE course. I don't think Todd will stay in the area he is in because he is just within range of bombers based at Kwajalein (albeit bombers without fighter escort) so I'm thinking he is going to have to make a run for it in one direction or the other. Possibly the interest my scouts have shown in Midway might convince him that it will be safe to scoot through to Johnston Island. Thanks heaps Damian for your thoughts. It has me helped me to think through the possibilities. [image]http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt26/SierraJulietWhiskey/decision-1.jpg[/image]

flaggelant -> RE: Missed it by that much!!! (5/19/2009 4:55:40 PM)
good decision (and advice) only thing i'd like to add is that he might suspect the carriers to be more North, because his CV's were sighted by a Jake, instead of the Vals & Kates that sighted at Midway. He might be headed due south for a turn because of that, And that the weather seems to be working against you. A option, which i employed myself was flying 15 AV to wake, to operate 1 or 2 mavis squadrons, might consider that if there's no BF headed for Wake (anymore) atm.

SierraJuliet -> The hunt continues (5/20/2009 12:13:01 AM)
Situation remains the same with both task forces moving on a southeasterly course. The American fleet remains just outside of the range of the KB strike and scout planes although just inside the range of the Jake scouts. The Jake once again kept up the good work with the following report coming in. E13A1 Jake sighting report: 10 Allied ships at 94,75 , Speed 12 , Moving Southeast. KB is now perilously close to Johnson Island but apart from the Jake continuing to buzz the US fleet no scout planes have located KB. The problem now is two fold. First; how the keep tracking and catch up with the Americans and get past Johnson Island without getting plastered by LBA. Second; the fuel situation on board the destroyers in KB is at the stage where a refuel from parent ships is warranted. The destroyers are down to 1600 on average. Possible course of action. Detach the fastest carriers without destroyers and speed run due south with the intention of clearing Johnson ASAP and getting close enough to the Americans to launch a strike. This would mean leaving Kaga behind being the slowest and sending her west with the destroyers to refuel. This would expose Kaga (maybe she should have a consort) should the Americans double back although the Americans seem to be very committed to the southeast course and it would seem logical that at some stage a move to the east and passage to a decent refueling port is in order unless of course Todd has a replenishment task force tucked away to the south somewhere. Todd also appears to be moving subs into the area so how much of a risk would it be to strip KB of her ASW protection? Anyway if I am to continue the hunt this currently appears as the best option given the fuel issue and proximity of Johnson Island. Other commitments mean the turn won’t be away until late tonight my time so I have the rest of the day to mull this one over before committing myself. As for the Kates at Midway they seem fit in with a continuing thought that Todd has of me harbouring designs on expansion towards PH. Here is his comment attached to the return move…. Trying to spring something at Midway? Kates can only get there by CV if they're flying. Expansion towards PH........ [image]http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt26/SierraJulietWhiskey/Hunting-1.jpg[/image]

flaggelant -> RE: The hunt continues (5/20/2009 4:51:04 PM)
close to johnston would be the way to go IMO, its the most likely intercept course, and the only way to really keep up. If you weren't sighted this turn, then i'd say he'll likely change to the east, by now he probably wouldn't expect a CV TF in your location anymore and thus he'd be heading to safety by heading directly towards you'r next location (3 hexes to his east?) do you know how many CV's there are in the TF? if you were sighted and there's 2 or 3 he might try to steam in between Truk & Kwajalijn for an escape?

SierraJuliet -> A Difficult Decision (5/21/2009 9:26:47 AM)
Vice Admiral Nagumo was starting to feel the unrelenting pressure of command. A week had passed since the mailed fist of Japanese naval sea power had slipped moorings at Kwajalein and set a course for Palmyra and some hoped for raiding success. To date the results of the fleet under his control had been slim to say the least. For Nagumo the faith that Yamamoto had shown in him to this point had been gratifying but this run of poor results could not go on forever. Several days into the voyage news of the American attack at Wake Island had been received. There was much excitement and more than a little anticipation in the fleet. It was clear that at least one American carrier was a sea some where near Wake and some serious calculations could be made as to it’s next likely course. Of course at the time it was unknown if this was the precursor to a land assault on Midway or a simple raid much like the one that Nagumo was presently embarked upon. Nagumo was proud of the workmanlike way that his officers approached the problem of getting the fleet into a position to intercept the Americans on their most likely return course. There after followed the mad dash to the north and the skirting of Johnson Island with the ever present prospect of discovery by scout planes based there. Unfortunately the plan worked so well that the fleet moved into a position north of the Americans and had to adopt a chase plan. Hardly satisfactory but on the up side no American scout planes had been observed around the fleet so it appeared that the element of surprise still ran with Nagumo. Trouble was the American fleet had a lead that did not appear to diminishing. Furthermore they seemed bent on continuing on a south easterly heading and to make matters worse the Japanese fleet was beginning to stray uncomfortable close to Johnson Island again. On top of all this the destroyers were getting very low on fuel. Any move now to refuel the destroyers would only see the American fleet slip further away to the south or east and eventually out of Nagumo’s reach. The prospect of a great victory of retribution on the American fleet was tantalizingly close but seemed to be slipping further away each day. Nagumo knew that the time had come to make a daring decision or return home with tail between legs and no honourable Japanese officer could afford that embarrassment. As much as it pained him to make the decision Nagumo knew that a new plan was called for to catch the Americans and force an action. Kaga, Kirishima and all the destroyers bar one were to be detached and head in a westerly direction. This would leave his beloved fleet with the fastest ships and the plan would be to make yet another high speed dash to the south with the expectation that the American fleet would keep to its current pattern of travel. The high speed overnight dash would take KB away from the terrors of Johnson Island and on the morrow hopes were high that the pilots of Japan’s greatest ever naval armada would have their moment to shine. It was a high risk gamble but Nagumo had decided the potential results far outweighed the risks. [image]http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt26/SierraJulietWhiskey/FastKB-1.jpg[/image]

n01487477 -> RE: A Difficult Decision (5/21/2009 11:22:14 AM)
Steve, it is going to be interesting, your opposing Admiral moved 6 hexes last turn (if I counted correctly), I wonder if he can do another high speed run again after traveling to Wake... Will he turn East to Johnson? I doubt it cause he went south of Johnson in the last run, unless it was a mistake. So is he continuing on to Palmyra, or are there AO's standing by to refuel him mid ocean? If his DD's don't refuel and he gets a less than 6 hex movement, then you might just get a long distance intercept next turn ... Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it ? Guess you are thinking about your last turn now [;)] Good luck Damian PS. I would have gone more Sth ... [;)]

flaggelant -> RE: A Difficult Decision (5/21/2009 11:39:03 AM)
Go get 'em!! [sm=00000613.gif]

SierraJuliet -> Action at Clark Field (5/21/2009 12:32:47 PM)
19 January 1942 Malaya Land: Bombardment attack at Johore Bahru causes 81 allied casualties and 4 guns lost. China Land: Bombardment at Changsa causes 492 allied casualties and 3 guns lost. Japanese forces at Wuchow launch a deliberate attack and gain 1 to 1 odds and reduce forts to level 3. Japanese losses are reported at 1103 with 25 guns and 1 vehicle lost to 254 Chinese casualties and 7 guns lost. Philippines Land: Japanese deliberate attack at Clark Field ends with reports of 1895 Japanese casualties and 35 guns and 7 vehicles lost to 674 allied casualties and 32 guns and 1 vehicle lost. Assault odds of 1 to 1 are achieved and fort level reduced by 1 to level 4. South Eastern Pacific Land: Troops are ashore at Shortlands. Talasea and Hansa are captured unopposed. Central Pacific Sea: The hunt goes on. Nagumo has stripped KB of light escorts and the plodders and moves south at full speed. Subs No reported activity. Naval Losses for the Day Nil Comments Apart from the land action around the place this seems to have been a relatively quiet turn. My focus though has been on the hunt for the American fleet. The die is cast now with Nagumo spending at fretful night onboard Akagi trying to second guess his plan. On board the carriers the pilots are ready for an early morning and the hope of finally bringing the Americans to battle. Thanks for the input guys. Damian... I thought hard on the south or even south east option but really didn't want to be too close to Johnson come daylight so somewhat south west it has to be. As for hindsight.... Nagumo should have put KB on holiday 3-4 days ago and sat it out and saved a stack of fuel and simply waited for the Americans to show up. [:D][8\|][:D]

SierraJuliet -> BINGO (5/21/2009 1:29:34 PM)
Nagumo, despite his misgivings about the wisdom of his plan, was managing to enjoy the morning. His 5 carriers were going about their business in a purposeful manner and the first strike of the day was forming up. Word had recently come in from the scouts of not 1 but 2 formations of warships. One not far to the north and the other somewhat farther away to the south east. Based on the reports it was determined that the American carrier was likely to be the group of ships to the south east and the first strikes had orders to proceed in that direction. 60 Zero fighters had been assigned to CAP duty over the fleet. For the time being all was well. The plan had worked and the wolf was in the chicken coop. Would anyone show up to protect the chickens? The answer was not long in coming. Soon all eyes were trained to the skies in the south east where dots were to seen in the sky and those dots were soon growing in size until it was easy to make out the shapes of war planes. The CAP appeared to be doing wonders and American planes began falling from the sky. It seemed that not a one would get through to torment the ships. The sound of agitated voices and cries of alarm alerted Nagumo to a group of dive bombers that had managed to form up above Hiryu and make a run on her. Nagumo looked her way just in time to see an explosion burst from amidships. Soon Hiryu was wreathed in plumes of black churning smoke. Damage reports soon made their way to Akagi and Nagumo was assured that whilst the damage was serious Hiryu had matters under control and could maintain her position. Within minutes of starting the American attack was over and only a few of the enemy carrier’s planes were heading back to base. Now it was time to await the results of the first strike. The reports when they came back in were most encouraging. 1 carrier, believed to be Enterprise, hit by 10 bombs and 3 torpedoes. 1 heavy cruiser hit by 5 bombs. 1 destroyer hit by 2 bombs and a light cruiser, believed to be Helena, hit by 1 torpedo. The gamble sounded like it was paying off. As the day wore on further strikes set out. The last large strike of the day comprising 48 Val and 44 Kate reported 1 bomb hit and 3 torpedoes on a cruiser believed to be Astoria. Another heavy cruiser was reported to have been hit by 2 bombs and 3 torpedoes. Helena was reported to have been blasted by 11 bombs and 5 torpedoes whilst a destroyer in the group was reported to have been hit by 5 bombs. As for the American ships to the north… Nagumo had insisted that a least one strike set out in that direction. 11 Val set out and it soon became apparent that this was the American replenishment fleet. For reasons best known to the pilots they picked out a single destroyer as this one ship was reportedly hit by 7 bombs. By the end of the day Nagumo had confirmation that Enterprise was sunk along with 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer. Yet again, with night fall fast approaching Nagumo had a decision to make…. How best to deploy his fleet in order to make the most of this situation. Kaga entered his thoughts… she wasn’t that far away. Order her to resume a south easterly course. That should bring her within range of that replenishment fleet if it decides to head away to the north. Now what to do with the rest of the fleet…… [image]http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt26/SierraJulietWhiskey/Bingo-1.jpg[/image]

n01487477 -> RE: BINGO (5/21/2009 1:54:45 PM)
Steve, bet there were a few quick heartbeats in the action ... welcome to WITP PBEM! Ok, just a few thoughts 1. The Allies usually go around in single CVTF's esp at the beginning of the game, how many airgroups attacked Wake or alternatively just now in this engagement ? This is where watching the combat turn is good intel.Were there multi- groups FT/TB/DB's? If so there could be a second CVTF waiting. 2. Look after Hiryu, you are a bit of a way from Kwajalein. 3. Next Turn, the Allies will stack Johnson and Palmyra LRCAP and LB ... the AO's will escape, which is a pity, cause apart from CV's they are a good prize. But I think they are too close to Johnson now. 4. If he refueled last turn, the CVTF still moved a fair distance, but it means he'll probably get max this turn. 5. I'd probably follow one more turn, if you break off Hiryu, I'd probably LRCAP the main TF (but this is a gamble that there isn't another CVTF to the West) 6. LRCAP from Kaga, might be a possibility too ... 7. Maybe set the cap 10% higher next time you battle, check your AA TF rating, in future try to get a good mix of BB's as alternative targets and high AA ships into the mix .... 8. Don't push the fuel too much, nothing like a one hex movement to really reinforce this. Cheers and congrats. --Damian--

ny59giants -> RE: BINGO (5/21/2009 2:12:57 PM)
You might want to break off Hiryu and a DD to head back for Kwajelien, but have Kaga met her and escort her back to safety. Meanwhile, the other 4 CVs of KB can continue the hunt. You may have to face Saratoga and Lexington at most. Good hunting!!

SierraJuliet -> RE: BINGO (5/21/2009 3:11:40 PM)
Hi Damian Thanks for the comprehensive round up of things to think about. As you would expect the issue of what to do with KB now is a vexed issue and the issues you have raised have helped. The problems with having such a spectacularly good result are the desire to follow-up and finish things off and expose the fleet to unjustified harm. In a way I think I was very lucky to get past Johnson twice without giving the game away. Must admit though the thrill of the hunt was fantastic and even when things go bad I’ll still have this exploit to look back on. From Todd’s last post, where he made reference to the ocean being a big place, he was feeling pretty good about getting away…. I’ll be posting the next turn to him soon so listen out for wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from Brazil. Re your points. 1. I have been wondering about the likes of Sara, Lex and Yorktown. They have to be somewhere and until Enterprise turned up at Wake Island I had no idea where any of them were. Todd seems to have had the same problem with KB too. We are playing without animations on so I only have the operations reports to go off. At Wake there were 2 strikes. The first one was made up of 9 Wildcat and 30 Dauntless with the 2nd being made up of 9 Wildcat, 15 Dauntless and 18 Devastator. That to me seems to make up the best part of 1 carrier worth of strike planes. As for the single strike against KB it was made up of 14 Wildcat and 30 Dauntless (5 appear to have made it through). As Todd had his replenishment fleet in the area I would not be surprised to find at least another carrier task force sniffing around. 2. Hiryu is currently at 28 07 35. Thankfully flotation is not too bad although some dock time is now in order. 3. Would love to get the TK and AO. The only strike against them was 11 Val and it looks like 7 of them picked on Cassin and sent her to the bottom. The other ships gone, by the way, are Astoria and Helena. Minneapolis should be a loss with reports of her taking 5 bombs and 3 torpedoes. Can’t fault you on your thinking re air out of Johnson and Palmyra…. Frankly I was surprised to see nothing coming at me from Johnson. 4. What was the CVTF seems to have broken into a couple of task forces…. Probably to look after the damaged ships so some should move quick and others not so quick. 5. Would love to follow for more success. Don’t want to break off Hiryu and really have no escort for KB other than 2 cruisers and 1 destroyer….it was the only way to get the quick carriers there given the fuel situation. I am also very aware given the slim escort that with the fleets so close together an unexpected surface action is probably the last thing I would want out of this. 6. I think Kaga is just a bit too far away for LRCAP. 7. Good points on the AA mix….. How do the Japanese manage to capture a couple of Iowa class for this purpose! 8. Back to fuel again…… the final point to help me decide that I have scored a good victory and it is time to head for home and leave the hornets nest alone for the time being. Michael... I read your post after I had written the above response to Damian. Made me think about it very hard and very tempting to go a hunting a little longer. The thought of damaged Hiryu running into some nasty surprise would take the gloss off a good victory so ships have been ordered home.

n01487477 -> RE: BINGO (5/21/2009 11:10:38 PM)
Steve, I think given the situation esp. regarding Hiryu and the lack of escort that heading for home is sensible. The fire damage on Hiryu would have made her a bomb magnet and your detection level would have increased substantially. Also The fire damage is pretty high and if the dice gods are fickle then that will equate into a load of float damage - I rarely double guess the system esp with CV's. As for animations off ... why ? Turn them back on, if not for just seeing the pleasure of an Allied CV under fire. Kongo Class BB's have the speed and some good AA, look at the ship screen on TRacker to see AA ratings for more, but I'd pick 1 or 2 CA's, CL Oi or Kitakami for radar another CL or two with speed and AA, then Mutsuki class DD for AA and after the upgrade in Feb for ASW. Start sending them back soon for upgrades. Have you ordered some more AR's ? If you have some, send one out to Kwajalein, another to the SRA, Naval HQ's should also be employed... Also start thinking of rotating CV's back home as their sys damage increases. --Damian-- Also think about those AO's, and combine SS's, AO's, CV's and land based search planes in any future operations ... I know it is difficult to organise, but it gets results.

SierraJuliet -> Carrier Battle - Johnson Island (5/24/2009 2:16:47 AM)
20 January 1942 Malaya Land: Bombardment attack at Johore Bahru causes 47 casualties and 1 gun lost. Air: Sweep over Singapore by 25 Zero brings down 1 of 3 Buffalo on CAP. Burma Land: Japanese bombardment at Taung Gyi causes 6 allied casualties. China Land: Bombardment at Changsa causes 91 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost. Deliberate attack at Wuchow causes 1650 Japanese casualties and 55 guns and 2 vehicles lost to 410 Chinese casualties and 6 guns lost. Forts are reduced to level 2. Air: At Kweilin 16th Army Group is bombed by 24 Sonia and reports 23 casualties. Philippines Land: Bombardment attack at Clark Field causes Allied 59 casualties and 4 guns and 1 vehicle lost. Allied bombardment causes 39 Japanese casualties. South Eastern Pacific Land: Troops are ashore at Buna. Shortlands is captured and Salamaua is occupied. DEI Air: A small force of PT operating near Toboali is attacked by 10 Oscar with PT TM-11 strafed and reported to have been hit 8 times. Only small damage but fun to see the Oscar being useful. Central Pacific Sea: In the first of a number of air strikes today the Americans get in the first punch with 30 Dauntless escorted by 14 Wildcat taking on a CAP of 60 Zero in the skies over and around KB. The CAP/flak is magnificent and destroys 13 Wildcat and 25 Dauntless. 5 Dauntless get through and land 1 bomb on Hiryu. The first strike from KB contains 49 Val and 40 Kate escorted by 30 Zero. 13 Wildcat on CAP meet this force. By the end of this action 2 Val and 3 Kate have been lost and in return 11 Wildcat are swamped by the fighter cover and destroyed. Enterprise is set upon and reported to have been hit by 10 bombs and 3 torpedoes. San Francisco is reportedly hit by 5 bombs, the destroyer Cummings by 2 bombs and CL Helena is struck by 1 torpedo. 15 Val managed to set out without locating the task force and return without result. Next a smaller flight of 15 Val and 17 Kate escorted by 4 Zero find Minneapolis and this cruiser is struck by 3 bombs. Flak accounts for 3 Val out of the attacking force. Next 17 Kate escorted by 9 Zero locate San Francisco and without scoring any hits lose 3 of their number to flak. Another flight of 12 Kate misses the target. In the afternoon strike 48 Val and 44 Kate find the task force. Enterprise doesn’t seem to be around and the attack concentrates on the escorts. Astoria is hit by 1 bomb and 3 torpedoes, Minneapolis is hit by 2 bombs and 3 torpedoes whilst Helena is mauled with 11 bombs and a reported 5 torpedo hits. Destroyer Ellet is also reported to have been hit by 5 bombs. Flak is still lethal with 3 Val and 2 Kate being destroyed. The replenishment task force to the north of KB is not entirely overlooked with 11 Val escorted by 33 Zero paying them a visit. The Val pilots seem to have destroyer fixation as Cassin is singled out and is subjected to 7 bomb hits. 20 Kate escorted by 7 Zero also pay the replenishment task force a visit but this time the attackers leave without results and leave behind 2 Kate claimed by flak. In the end a good result with 1 fleet carrier, 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer confirmed as sunk. Excellent results for the fighters and not too many Val and Kate lost. Only blemish is the damage to Hiryu. PO1 Kurihara and PO2 Hamano both record 5 kills each to achieve the distinction of becoming aces in a day. Subs No reported activity. Naval Losses for the Day CV Enterprise, CA Astoria, CL Helena, DD Cassin Comments The end result of the chase was very satisfying. I didn’t think that I was going to do it but it seems that holding my nerve and stripping KB was the way to go in the end. Todd and I have exchanged some details of how it all panned out and it seems that Enterprise and escorts had just topped up and were moving away at cruise speed. Seems to me that if Enterprise had of moved at mission speed I would have missed her again but the replenishment task force would have been there to be destroyed. All in all a great result and no matter how things turn out this is one victory in the bag.

ny59giants -> RE: Carrier Battle - Johnson Island (5/24/2009 4:04:28 AM)
KUDOS!! If you haven't started it yet (no HR against it), then it would be a good time to crank up your pilot training program in China to get some pilots trained up to refill KB. There is a way to disband your pilots from a chutai or daitai into another daitai and refill the depleted daitai with inexperienced piolts to start training up. Keeping your pilots in KB with high experience levels is a must.

SierraJuliet -> RE: BINGO (5/24/2009 6:13:41 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: n01487477 Steve, I think given the situation esp. regarding Hiryu and the lack of escort that heading for home is sensible. The fire damage on Hiryu would have made her a bomb magnet and your detection level would have increased substantially. Also The fire damage is pretty high and if the dice gods are fickle then that will equate into a load of float damage - I rarely double guess the system esp with CV's. As for animations off ... why ? Turn them back on, if not for just seeing the pleasure of an Allied CV under fire. Kongo Class BB's have the speed and some good AA, look at the ship screen on TRacker to see AA ratings for more, but I'd pick 1 or 2 CA's, CL Oi or Kitakami for radar another CL or two with speed and AA, then Mutsuki class DD for AA and after the upgrade in Feb for ASW. Start sending them back soon for upgrades. Have you ordered some more AR's ? If you have some, send one out to Kwajalein, another to the SRA, Naval HQ's should also be employed... Also start thinking of rotating CV's back home as their sys damage increases. --Damian-- Also think about those AO's, and combine SS's, AO's, CV's and land based search planes in any future operations ... I know it is difficult to organise, but it gets results. Thanks Damian. I'm a few game days behind in the AAR but Hiryu is about to make port at Kwajalein. Just 1 known sub(being hunted) and a mine field (being cleared) to get past. Her flotation is normal and fires are out but system damage is at 49.... a bit of R & R coming up for the crew. Todd requested we play with animations off. I know it means losing stuff but it does make things a bit quicker. I'm rather used to it now and get to see animations in my game with Ambassador so I'm ok with the animations or lack thereof in our game. I am a believer in the Kongos for KB but only went to sea with Kirishima on the last sortie as Hiei had 6 system damage and I wanted to give her a rest. Haruna is repairing torpedo damage at Shanghai and Kongo is near Borneo. I had meant to get Oi or Kitakami married up with KB at the start but then went and forgot about their radar. Kitakami is currently in Shanghai repairing damage and I think Oi is somewhere around Borneo as well. Ordered a bunch of AK conversions to AR etc at the start and have been moving what I do have around the map. Rotations already... this game is big but I am enjoying very much! Thanks for the heads up on upgrades. Just had a look at the Mutsuki upgrade and it looks well worth the effort. Mochizuki is currently at Tokyo repairing damage so she is in line for the first upgrade. Thanks again. Steve

SierraJuliet -> Buna Captured (5/24/2009 11:32:31 AM)
21 January 1942 Malaya Land: Bombardment at Johore Bahru causes Japanese casualties of 1378 with 46 guns and 2 vehicles lost to 228 allied casualties and 10 guns lost. Forts are reduced to level 4 with assault odds of 1 to 1 achieved. China Land: Bombardment at Changsa causes 178 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost. Bombardment at Wuchow causes 84 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost. Air: 10 Sonia bomb 57th Chinese Corps at Changsa and cause 16 casualties and 1 gun lost. Philippines Land: Bombardment at Clark Field causes 176 Allied casualties and 9 guns lost. The Allied counter bombardment causes 73 Japanese casualties and 2 guns lost. South Eastern Pacific Land: Buna is captured. Air: Near Buna 3 Hudson locate a small transport fleet and hit AP Kaijo Maru #2 which causes damage of 23 10 23. DEI Air: Near Toboali 6 Martin 139 and 5 Brewster 339D attempt to bomb a surface action task force without result and loose 1 Martin to flak. Near Brunei 7 Martin 139 attempt to bomb Shoho. They are met by a CAP of 6 Zero and 2 Martin are destroyed. Central Pacific Sea: KB is now well out of the action zone and heading towards Kwajalein at cruise speed. Hiryu is being nursed along and her damage now stands at 39 06 13 with the fires under control but system damage on the rise. Subs Off shore from Brunei SS O24 puts 2 torpedoes into AP Zenyo Maru which has damage of 83 97 49. SS O24, still offshore from Brunei, locates AP Shinyu Maru and puts 2 torpedoes into this ship causing 71 67 25 damage. Naval Losses for the Day Nil reported. Comments Ouch, SS O24 packs a punch this turn. Things are looking good for KB and Hiryu in particular.

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