RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac

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PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/3/2010 11:17:59 PM)
We have now withdrawn into Geraldton and been pursued into Princeton. Evacuated 2 decimated LCU's by sea. Reported hits on 2 enemy subs today; as detection levels increase they become easier to find and attack. - Really satisfied with results of last ASW reorganization! Spotted a huuge warship TF near Sydney; 2 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers and 19 destroyers! Looks like they're leaving! Will attempt to shadow them. AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 03, 42 ASW Attacks ASW attack near Sydney at 91,168 Japanese Ships SS I-164 Allied Ships BB Warspite BB Idaho CA Dorsetshire CA Minneapolis CA Pensacola CA Chicago CA Houston CA Indianapolis CL St. Louis CL Concord CL Detroit DD Express DD Scout DD Schley DD Chew DD John D. Edwards DD Bulmer DD Dale DD Balch DD Cassin DD Preston DD Shaw DD Lamson DD Ellet DD McCall DD Blue DD Bagley DD Russell DD Gwin DD Hatfield DD Lawrence DD King DD Gilmer SS I-164 is sighted by escort DD Hatfield fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Lawrence fails to find sub and abandons search DD King attacking submerged sub .... DD King cannot establish contact with SS I-164 DD Gilmer fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Operations report: G4M1 Betty from Kanoya Ku K-1 Det attacking a Tambor class SS at 115,110 an Allied SS is reported HIT G4M1 Betty from 4th Ku K-1 attacking a KXI Class class SS at 115,110 an Allied SS is reported HIT

Cribtop -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/3/2010 11:47:48 PM)
Confucius say Andy should consider convoy escorts! [;)] Even though you are moving towards the defensive, PzB, your substantial Australian conquests are the most impressive thing I've seen to date in an AE PBEM!

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/3/2010 11:59:34 PM)
Andy should listen to Confucius!-) Well, territorial gains are not worth much in themselves. In my previous game capturing all of India was almost a knock out blow but it also became the one big weakness; - By concentrating so many troops and resources in one area the back door into the Solomons and Marshalls was left open. In this game I have not committed the kitchen sink. If I went into Oz with guns blazing in an all out effort it _could_ have succeeded, but only maybe. But even if it did it wouldn't win the war and it would leave the backdoors open in Burma, SRA, Solomons and Marshalls. So I will try something different this time. The challenge is that big knock out battles usually cost the loosing side lots and lots of ships and ac. By not inflicting such a knock out blow - like the one String is attempting against Andy - we need a different approach. Got a year to achieve this before the tide sweeps back on us....

Cribtop -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/4/2010 12:14:17 AM)
True. In your current position, Andy will have to spend 6-12 months retaking Oz. He will thus be behind schedule when he moves to attack an outer perimeter made stronger during those extra months.

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/4/2010 1:13:39 AM)
Not sure it will be that long but we'll take what we can get! [:)] AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 04, 42 Air Combat My Jap Army bombers are so vulnerable and sux so much at daylight bombing that these night bombing attacks look uber efficient in comparison! Night Air attack on Dacca , at 56,38 Weather in hex: Light rain Japanese aircraft Ki-21-IIa Sally x 36 Allied aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed on ground Allied ground losses: 5 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 3 Runway hits 11 Aircraft Attacking: 35 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat The 500 armored vehicles that came running into Esperance seems to have the upper hand! Evacuated a depleted inf and engineer regiment a few days ago. Looks like I have to move out the air units and airlift a cadre of the remaining units. Ground combat at Esperance (56,153) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 4427 troops, 0 guns, 571 vehicles, Assault Value = 267 Defending force 7429 troops, 53 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 165 Allied adjusted assault: 183 Japanese adjusted defense: 77 Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 3) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 430 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 51 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Vehicles lost 8 (0 destroyed, 8 disabled) Allied ground losses: Vehicles lost 14 (1 destroyed, 13 disabled) Assaulting units: 2/5th Armoured Regiment 2nd USMC Tank Battalion 2/6th Armoured Regiment 2/7th Armoured Regiment 2/4th Armoured Regiment 2/10th Armoured Regiment Defending units: 4th Guards Div /19 II/19th Naval Guard Unit 11th Infantry Rgt /19 9th Base Force 8th Field AF Construction Battalion 21st JAAF AF Bn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Esperance [image]local://upfiles/1466/C9FCAC3EBBB54ACB9589696369D4561C.jpg[/image]

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/4/2010 2:44:47 AM)
Put together a little picnic.... [image]local://upfiles/1466/FF54F46177EB49218E26DF8A5B2522CF.jpg[/image]

CapAndGown -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/4/2010 4:47:18 AM)
Have you reconned Lord Howe Island? He might have a patrol base set up there.

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/4/2010 1:35:24 PM)
I've kept an eye on it but not sent any birds over. Actually considered to land para's there but range from Rockhampton was 17 hexes (1 to much). - So I didn't really have an option but going through the slot. Sent 2 AV TFs first and they did not observe any enemy search planes. Ran the combat replay last night; don't think we were spotted cause the KB TF ran straight into the enemy tanker TF we observed yesterday [:'(] Not only did this TF run smack into them, my seaplane TF did so first. Hate it when this happens; had 2 surface groups following the KB but still...now Andy has a clear picture of what's around. We did get some payback on the tankers though. Now we just have to see what's in the trawl bag...but that has to wait. Going to visit friends so still no time to finish this turn. Can't exactly say I won't go because I want to play AE [:'(] AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 05, 42 Surface Comat First our search TF stumbles accross the enemy TF..... Night Time Surface Combat, near Lord Howe Island at 98,172, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships AV Kiyokawa Maru E Uruyame Allied Ships DMS Zane TK Sunchaser TK Mobilfuel TK Larry Doheny TK Emidio TK Falkefjell Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 53% moonlight: 8,000 yards Range increases to 12,000 yards... Both Task Forces evade combat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Later in the day this happens; looks like we "catapulted" the enemy ships around the map...retreating wildly with each encounter. Really hate this, know it works both ways but absolutely no FOW here. A detailed spotting reported is immediately filed to the CinC. Day Time Surface Combat, near Lord Howe Island at 99,172, Range 25,000 Yards Japanese Ships CV Kaga CV Hiryu CV Soryu CV Shokaku CV Zuikaku CV Akagi CS Nisshin CS Chitose CS Chiyoda BB Nagato BB Mutsu CA Tone CA Aoba CA Kinugasa CL Yura DD Akigumo DD Hatsukaze DD Hamakaze DD Asagumo DD Kasumi Allied Ships DMS Zane TK Sunchaser TK Mobilfuel TK Larry Doheny TK Emidio TK Falkefjell Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions: 20,000 yards Range increases to 28,000 yards... Range increases to 30,000 yards... Both Task Forces evade combat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bombardments We shell enemy troops moving into Geraldton. I resisted the urge to shock attack, and that was good as more troops followed later in the day. Naval bombardment of Geraldton at 49,141 Japanese Ships DD Oshio DD Arashi DD Oyashio Allied ground losses: Vehicles lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled) DD Oshio firing at 2/11th Armoured Car Battalion DD Arashi firing at 2/11th Armoured Car Battalion DD Oyashio firing at 2/11th Armoured Car Battalion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Combat Not impressed by strike composition; 70 Zero's and 20 bombers! Hit accuracy was impressive though. Only TBD's coming in ahead - stern miss. Morning Air attack on TF, near Lord Howe Island at 101,172 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 73 B5N2 Kate x 10 D3A1 Val x 11 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged D3A1 Val: 1 damaged Allied Ships DMS Zane, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk TK Falkefjell, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage TK Emidio, Bomb hits 2, on fire TK Sunchaser, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Lord Howe Island at 101,172 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 11 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged Allied Ships TK Larry Doheny, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage TK Mobilfuel, Torpedo hits 1 TK Emidio, on fire Aircraft Attacking: 11 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat A vastly reinforced enemy in Geraldton but far from strong enough to threaten us. If Andy move more troops in I'll be tempted to look closer at Perth again. Ground combat at Geraldton (49,141) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 22384 troops, 251 guns, 60 vehicles, Assault Value = 915 Defending force 12908 troops, 124 guns, 979 vehicles, Assault Value = 730 Japanese ground losses: Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Allied ground losses: Vehicles lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: 1st Engineer Co II./124th Infantry Battalion 20th Infantry Regiment 2nd Recon Regiment 16th Recon Regiment 65th Brigade 2nd Tank Regiment 6th Guards Division 18th Mountain Gun Regiment 26th Air Flotilla 40th Field AA Battalion 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 21st Army Defending units: 2/11th Armoured Car Battalion 2/9th Armoured Regiment 194th Tank Battalion 159th Mot Infantry Regiment 10th Light Horse Battalion 255th Armoured Brigade 1st Motor Brigade 7th Armoured Brigade -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Esperance (56,153) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 5541 troops, 41 guns, 10 vehicles, Assault Value = 152 Defending force 4338 troops, 0 guns, 572 vehicles, Assault Value = 266 Allied ground losses: Vehicles lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: II/19th Naval Guard Unit 4th Guards Div /19 11th Infantry Rgt /19 8th Field AF Construction Battalion 9th Base Force 21st JAAF AF Bn Defending units: 2nd USMC Tank Battalion 2/6th Armoured Regiment 2/4th Armoured Regiment 2/7th Armoured Regiment 2/5th Armoured Regiment 2/10th Armoured Regiment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Resisting this attack was important cause we're just about to leave Dodge.... Ground combat at Esperance (56,153) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 4330 troops, 0 guns, 572 vehicles, Assault Value = 266 Defending force 7045 troops, 51 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 152 Allied adjusted assault: 203 Japanese adjusted defense: 87 Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 2) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 1551 casualties reported Squads: 15 destroyed, 50 disabled Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 42 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Allied ground losses: Vehicles lost 19 (1 destroyed, 18 disabled) Assaulting units: 2/4th Armoured Regiment 2/7th Armoured Regiment 2/5th Armoured Regiment 2nd USMC Tank Battalion 2/6th Armoured Regiment 2/10th Armoured Regiment Defending units: 4th Guards Div /19 II/19th Naval Guard Unit 11th Infantry Rgt /19 9th Base Force 8th Field AF Construction Battalion 21st JAAF AF Bn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That one's for ruining my surprise party! [image]local://upfiles/1466/3FBF1F8BB9BE4CBFA8E908E879536A91.jpg[/image]

Cribtop -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/4/2010 10:27:46 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: PzB Not sure it will be that long but we'll take what we can get! [:)] Ok, I may a little optimistic! [:D] My possibly flawed assumption was that since you're playing Scenario 2 you may have enough shiny extra toys that you could fight a delaying action of some months each in NE and NW Oz.

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/4/2010 11:43:54 PM)
Problem is that Andy can use mainly his Australian divisions to tie down our divisions while his US / British divisions attack us elsewhere. The Australian divisions are restricted to Oz, so it's a bonus for him to get an ability to use them. It will be late 43 before Andy can achieve carrier parity; before that happens I don't think he will perform any major amphibious assaults outside of LBA range. But if I mess up and get the KB beaten up things could change quickly. When Andy does attack he will land 2-3 divisions in a place like Lunga or Tulagi: then it will do us no good to have a few naval guard units or even a regiment in place unless we can counterattack in force and win the day. Basically I need a full division standing ready in transports at Truk or Singapore and a darn big hammer to manage to beat a whole in his covering force in order to insert them and save the day. Doing the maths I find that I can't release more troops for Oz without reducing the garrison strength in critical bases or removing the strategic reserves needed for counterattacking.

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 1:26:29 AM)
NEWSFLASH FROM TOKYO ROSE.... Today 3 enemy carriers were shelled in Sydney harbour and numerous ac destroyed on the ground. Another great victory for the Empire and another blow to Allied morale [:D] The best with this announcement is that this ain't no propaganda! [8D] I thought everything of value had left Sydney but still lined up a bombardment line to pound the place. Just before we approached the Saratoga was observed fleeing south at flank speed. In port heavy shells started to slam into not only parked ac but also the Hornet, Yorktown and Enterprise!!!! I think they are laid up for their 07-42 upgrade or repairs; that's the only reason why they wouldn't depart. The enemy airfields are closed, 64 damage; so the KB will move closer tomorrow and unleash its full wrath in order to finish them!! It's a risk; enemy airfields may be re-opened but we have more big ships to bombard with and a better opportunity than this we won't get. Can Andy get his ships out of dock and try to run for it? To be continued.... AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 06, 42 Sub Attacks Hooly, the Saratoga whistled past the I-171 and our torps missed!!! I now thought the US fleet had fled Sydney at top speed. Sub attack near Port Kembla at 90,169 Japanese Ships SS I-171 Allied Ships CV Saratoga CV Saratoga is sighted by SS I-171 SS I-171 launches 4 torpedoes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our search planes hit a sub outside of the Home Islands today; the USS Saury. The Searaven was also reported hit by ac after being depth charged. ASW attack near Gasmata at 105,128 Japanese Ships SC Ch 30 E Tomozuru E Yomogi Allied Ships SS Searaven, hits 2 -> Direct DC hit reported! SS Searaven is sighted by escort Searaven diving deep .... E Tomozuru attacking submerged sub .... E Yomogi fails to find sub and abandons search E Tomozuru fails to find sub, continues to search... E Tomozuru attacking submerged sub .... E Tomozuru fails to find sub, continues to search... E Tomozuru fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bombardments Naval bombardment of Sydney at 90,167 - Coastal Guns Fire Back! Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed on ground P-39D Airacobra: 4 destroyed on ground F4F-4 Wildcat: 6 destroyed on ground TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed on ground B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed on ground B-25B Mitchell: 1 destroyed on ground P-400 Airacobra: 2 destroyed on ground TBD-1 Devastator: 2 destroyed on ground Hudson I: 2 destroyed on ground 16 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Hiei BB Kongo, Shell hits 4 CA Mikuma CA Mogami CA Ashigara CA Nachi CA Maya CL Kiso Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Shell hits 3 [:)] CV Enterprise, Shell hits 7, on fire [8D] CV Hornet, Shell hits 5, heavy fires [:D] Allied ground losses: 262 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 40 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Guns lost 39 (2 destroyed, 37 disabled) Vehicles lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled) Airbase hits 33 Airbase supply hits 7 Runway hits 431 Port hits 4 BB Hiei firing at Sydney BB Kongo firing at Banks Fortress CA Mikuma firing at Sydney CA Mogami firing at Sydney CA Ashigara firing at Sydney CA Nachi firing at Sydney CA Maya firing at Sydney CL Kiso firing at Sydney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat This was impressive; we loaded all but these poor grunts on our evac ships and left Dodge just in time [8D] Ground combat at Esperance (56,153) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 4226 troops, 0 guns, 572 vehicles, Assault Value = 265 Defending force 1350 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1 Allied adjusted assault: 218 Japanese adjusted defense: 4 Allied assault odds: 54 to 1 (fort level 1) Allied forces CAPTURE Esperance !!! Combat modifiers Defender: preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 679 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 69 disabled Engineers: 7 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 2nd USMC Tank Battalion 2/4th Armoured Regiment 2/7th Armoured Regiment 2/5th Armoured Regiment 2/6th Armoured Regiment 2/10th Armoured Regiment Defending units: 9th Base Force --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bombardment TF and Air Casualties [image]local://upfiles/1466/FDEAF38D1DF54D219C9C03599BDF6AEB.jpg[/image]

witpqs -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 1:37:00 AM)
"Do Not Refuel" and the other values it can toggle to only affect refueling in port. They have zero effect on refueling operations at sea.

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 1:59:45 AM)
Didn't know that...quite unfortunate. Had parked the ships in another hex if I knew! If the Hornet, Enterprise and Yorktown truly are docked for their 07-42 update they will not get out of dry dock for a few more days. Still almost out of ops I found only 7 cruisers to bombard tomorrow. [image]local://upfiles/1466/05DC62B1D8BA49CD8BECDBC6A653BA83.jpg[/image]

jrcar -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 3:02:12 AM)
You are a lucky B@stard! Well done! IT is foolish of the Allies to leave ships like that... this will certainly change the shape of the war for you. Cheers Rob

castor troy -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 12:37:32 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: PzB AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 06, 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bombardments Naval bombardment of Sydney at 90,167 - Coastal Guns Fire Back! Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed on ground P-39D Airacobra: 4 destroyed on ground F4F-4 Wildcat: 6 destroyed on ground TBF-1 Avenger: 5 destroyed on ground B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed on ground B-25B Mitchell: 1 destroyed on ground P-400 Airacobra: 2 destroyed on ground TBD-1 Devastator: 2 destroyed on ground Hudson I: 2 destroyed on ground 16 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Hiei BB Kongo, Shell hits 4 CA Mikuma CA Mogami CA Ashigara CA Nachi CA Maya CL Kiso Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Shell hits 3 [:)] CV Enterprise, Shell hits 7, on fire [8D] CV Hornet, Shell hits 5, heavy fires [:D] Allied ground losses: 262 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 40 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Guns lost 39 (2 destroyed, 37 disabled) Vehicles lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled) Airbase hits 33 Airbase supply hits 7 Runway hits 431 Port hits 4 BB Hiei firing at Sydney BB Kongo firing at Banks Fortress CA Mikuma firing at Sydney CA Mogami firing at Sydney CA Ashigara firing at Sydney CA Nachi firing at Sydney CA Maya firing at Sydney CL Kiso firing at Sydney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PzB, I don�t want to belittle your successes all over the map, but it seems Andy is playing the worst he can. [&:] Sending around so many TFs right into their doom and throwing away his forces for no gain. Above example tops everything though.[:(] he can�t use his airfield so I guess you will at least sink one or two CVs next turn. The only chance I see are sending out all three CVs at full speed (how fast that is is the question though), all going in different directions. That�s the only small chance I could see to at least save one of the carriers, if he can even move them, which he probably can�t if they undergo an upgrade. One of the good examples how much naval bombardments were toned down btw.

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 1:40:25 PM)
"I will confess to not thinking for a second you would bombard Sydney Harbour" Andy felt protected by the coastal guns covering Sydney; obviously he shouldn't have. There's been a quiet period now and I guess he got tempted to move his carriers to Sydney to get them upgraded. - Not the best thing to do but this is the only major port between India and Pearl Harbour. Putting pressure on Australia will force a few difficult choices; stay in theater to counter possible enemy attacks (like the one against Port Augusta) or minimize risk by keeping the fleets further away. Still, today we only found the heavily damaged Yorktown (plus a cadre of other ships) in Sydney. Not spotted the other carriers. It's therefore possible that Andy can get away with a small disaster instead of a major one! In our last game I made some major podoos and got the KB beaten up by LBA. It will be a long war though and the side with the fewest mistakes will win in the long run; this puts me one pin ahead. The butchers bill got very long today though..... Counted 8 AM and 15 destroyers sunk at sea today with a host of other ships receiving further damage in Sydney [8D] AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 07, 42 Surface Combat Night Time Surface Combat, near Sydney at 90,167, Range 12,000 Yards Japanese Ships CA Kumano CA Aoba CA Kinugasa CA Kako CL Yura CL Tenryu CL Yubari DD Suzukaze DD Akebono DD Ushio Allied Ships AM Echuca AM Horsham AM Junee AM Katoomba AM Bombay AM Madras AM Punjab Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 32% moonlight: 12,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 12,000 yards Allied TF attempts to evade combat Range increases to 12,000 yards... Allied Surface Combat TF evades combat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This tanker has been hard to kill.... Day Time Surface Combat, near Lord Howe Island at 105,170, Range 15,000 Yards Japanese Ships DD Satsuki, Shell hits 1, on fire Allied Ships TK Mobilfuel, Shell hits 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Sydney at 90,167, Range 23,000 Yards Japanese Ships CA Kumano CA Aoba CA Kinugasa CA Kako CL Yura CL Tenryu CL Yubari DD Suzukaze DD Akebono DD Ushio Allied Ships AM Echuca AM Horsham AM Junee AM Katoomba AM Bombay, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AM Madras AM Punjab, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bombardments The Kumano raked up some 25 sys damage after being hit by a hailstorm of 6 and 9.2" shells. Brave of her to face the music while the smaller ships bombarded. Looks like Yorktown is almost done for. One more punch and she should sink. Naval bombardment of Sydney at 90,167 - Coastal Guns Fire Back! 46 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships CA Kako CA Kinugasa CA Aoba CA Kumano, Shell hits 10 CL Yubari CL Tenryu CL Yura Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Shell hits 18, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Grampus, hits 2, heavy fires CL Achilles, Shell hits 8, heavy fires SS Narwhal, hits 2, on fire CL Marblehead, Shell hits 7, on fire SS Pickerel, hits 2 SS Pollack, hits 2, on fire SS S-18, hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAP Raranga, Shell hits 2, on fire CL Leander, Shell hits 7, on fire SS Stingray, hits 1, heavy damage xAKL James Cook, Shell hits 1 SS Gato, hits 2, on fire SS Snapper, hits 1, on fire xAKL Vichy, Shell hits 1, on fire xAKL Iowan, Shell hits 1 Allied ground losses: 44 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 5 (0 destroyed, 5 disabled) Vehicles lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled) Airbase hits 8 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 45 Port hits 13 Port fuel hits 2 CA Kako firing at Sydney CA Kinugasa firing at Sydney CA Aoba firing at Sydney CA Kumano firing at Banks Fortress CL Yubari firing at Sydney CL Tenryu firing at Sydney CL Yura firing at RAAF OTU Sydney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Combat Sydney is still closed but Andy but a truly heavy LRCAP over the place! All damaged ac were most likely railed out of town. Personally I think damaged ac shouldn't be possible to move before spending 2-3 days to be crated. Morning Air attack on Sydney , at 90,167 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 29 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 22 Allied aircraft Martlet II x 19 Beaufighter Ic x 8 Kittyhawk I x 9 P-39D Airacobra x 21 P-400 Airacobra x 7 P-40E Warhawk x 39 F4F-3 Wildcat x 13 F4F-4 Wildcat x 20 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Martlet II: 1 destroyed P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-400 Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sydney is 15 hexes south of Rockhampton - 1 hex beyond Zero escort range. Still put my naval bombers there on attack in caste there was a carrier to attack. - This cost us ~25 bombers as nothing got past the LRCAP. Morning Air attack on TF, near Sydney at 90,167 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Japanese aircraft G4M1 Betty x 9 Allied aircraft Martlet II x 18 Beaufighter Ic x 8 Kittyhawk I x 9 P-39D Airacobra x 18 P-400 Airacobra x 5 P-40E Warhawk x 31 F4F-3 Wildcat x 13 F4F-4 Wildcat x 9 Japanese aircraft losses G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sydney at 90,167 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 42 minutes Japanese aircraft G4M1 Betty x 18 Allied aircraft Martlet II x 17 Beaufighter Ic x 8 Kittyhawk I x 9 P-39D Airacobra x 18 P-400 Airacobra x 5 P-40E Warhawk x 33 F4F-3 Wildcat x 13 F4F-4 Wildcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses G4M1 Betty: 9 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Canberra at 88,171 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 19 B5N1 Kate x 21 B5N2 Kate x 34 D3A1 Val x 41 Japanese aircraft losses B5N1 Kate: 1 damaged B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged Allied Ships DD O'Brien, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Walke, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Morris, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Bagley, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Helm, Bomb hits 1 DD Blue, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Kembla at 89,170 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 B5N2 Kate x 24 D3A1 Val x 32 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 13 damaged D3A1 Val: 17 damaged Allied Ships DD Shaw, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Preston, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Benham, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Fanning, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Ellet DD Lamson, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Sydney at 91,168 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid spotted at 41 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 B5N2 Kate x 13 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged Allied Ships DM Preble, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Sydney at 91,167 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 B5N2 Kate x 10 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged Allied Ships AM Echuca, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk AM Madras -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Kembla at 89,170 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 27 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft D3A1 Val x 11 Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 1 damaged Allied Ships DD Ellet DD Lamson, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Kembla at 89,170 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 25 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Japanese aircraft D3A1 Val x 13 Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged Allied Ships DD Ellet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Kembla at 89,170 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 14 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft D3A1 Val x 13 Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 6 damaged Allied Ships DD Ellet, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Canberra at 88,171 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 62 D3A1 Val x 40 Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed, 25 damaged Allied Ships DD Mugford, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk DD Gridley, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage DD McCall DD Gwin DD Mahan, Bomb hits 1, on fire DD Russell DD Craven -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Port Kembla at 89,170 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2-N Rufe x 5 B5N2 Kate x 20 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 1 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged Allied Ships DD Ellet, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sydney at 91,167 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 46 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 19 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 12 B5N2 Kate x 21 No Japanese losses Allied Ships AM Madras, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk AM Horsham, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Newcastle at 94,166 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 25 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 B5N2 Kate x 19 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged Allied Ships AM Bunbury, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk AM Launceton, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AM Kalgoorlie AM Cootamundra, and is sunk Bunbury dead in the water ... Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Launceton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat Esperance adventure is over! Ground combat at Esperance (56,153) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 4281 troops, 0 guns, 573 vehicles, Assault Value = 265 Defending force 902 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1 Allied adjusted assault: 150 Japanese adjusted defense: 1 Allied assault odds: 150 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: disruption(-), preparation(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 1656 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 109 destroyed, 71 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled Units destroyed 1 Assaulting units: 2/7th Armoured Regiment 2/6th Armoured Regiment 2/5th Armoured Regiment 2nd USMC Tank Battalion 2/4th Armoured Regiment 2/10th Armoured Regiment Defending units: 9th Base Force -------------------------------------------------------------------------- KB Strikes [image]local://upfiles/1466/C699E8F612984C2D9AA3A6C59D1F9BDB.jpg[/image]

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 6:01:38 PM)
Today the battle line visited Sydney! Saved the best for last - wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything!-) Nice to see 16" shells rip into all kinds of ships [8D] Hopefully the Yorktown will sink, her sisters have managed to escape... That ships can move 15-16 hexes before they can be attacked makes it very very hard to intercept them. Today will be the climax of the battle; I'm re-grouping the fleets and will RTB to replenish and repair. Planning more visits "down the slot" over the next 6 months. Smaller carrier TF's will also be used to keep Andy honest; will be hard for him to know if it's the KB or a Car Div that approaches. Hopefully we will keep him from using the facilities in Sydney for some time to come [;)] AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 08, 42 Surface Combat - Bombardments First casualty; a mine blows the Hatsuyuki out of the water. Had to scuttle her - first fleet destroyer lost in this war. TF 161 encounters mine field at Sydney (90,167) Japanese Ships DD Hatsuyuki, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 carrier, 2 cruisers and 12 subs are among todays casualties [8D] Naval bombardment of Sydney at 90,167 Japanese Ships BB Ise BB Mutsu BB Nagato BB Kirishima CA Suzuya CA Myoko CA Tone Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage CL Achilles, Shell hits 15, heavy fires, heavy damage CL Marblehead, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Iowan, Shell hits 3, on fire, heavy damage SS Grampus, hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Vito, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Cachalot, hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL James Cook, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Raranga, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Gato, hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Stingray, hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Salamaua, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage CL Leander, Shell hits 20, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Pollack, hits 2, on fire, heavy damage xAKL Canopus, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Snapper, hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Skipjack, hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Narwhal, hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage SS S-23, hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Pickerel, hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Oorama, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAKL Georgian, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Matthew Flinders, Shell hits 4, on fire SS Finback, hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage AM Katoomba, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage SS S-18, hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Mulcra, Shell hits 3, heavy fires xAKL Darvel, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage AMc South Sea, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage xAKL Vichy, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage AMc Tongkol, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AM Junee, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Wawa, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Kaiping, Shell hits 3, on fire AMc Goolgwai, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AMc Futurist, Shell hits 1 AM Punjab, Shell hits 1, heavy damage Allied ground losses: 75 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 26 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 14 (7 destroyed, 7 disabled) Vehicles lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled) Airbase hits 5 Runway hits 110 Port hits 24 Port fuel hits 2 BB Ise firing at Sydney BB Mutsu firing at Sydney BB Nagato firing at Sydney BB Kirishima firing at Sydney CA Suzuya firing at Sydney CA Myoko firing at Sydney CA Tone firing at Sydney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Combat Some shore based SBD's sortied against our battle line...not a very rewarding target; almost bomb proof and strutting with AA guns. Morning Air attack on TF, near Sydney at 92,171 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft F1M2 Pete x 3 Allied aircraft SBD-3 Dauntless x 11 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged Japanese Ships BB Nagato BB Kirishima BB Ise Aircraft Attacking: 9 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've learned and won't move the KB too close to enemy LBA. So Andy changed tactics; now LRCAP'ing his remaining warships. Was quite happy to see that our strikes were heavily escorted and a prolonged A2A battle took place and our Zero's held the upper hand even outnumbered 71 vs 54. Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Kembla at 90,169 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 54 B5N2 Kate x 10 D3A1 Val x 10 Allied aircraft Martlet II x 24 Kittyhawk I x 7 F4F-3 Wildcat x 20 F4F-4 Wildcat x 25 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged Allied aircraft losses Martlet II: 6 destroyed Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed F4F-3 Wildcat: 6 destroyed F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed Allied Ships DD Mahan, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage DD Craven DD Gridley, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A small payback from Andy as one or two carriers attack our evacuation ships. The troops belonged to a guards division waiting in Java. Morning Air attack on TF, near Albany at 48,160 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 28 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 1 SBD-3 Dauntless x 17 No Allied losses Japanese Ships xAK Ume Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Keisyo Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage Japanese ground losses: 236 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 13 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Albany at 48,160 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 48 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Allied aircraft Albacore I x 9 No Allied losses Japanese Ships xAK Keisyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Ume Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage Japanese ground losses: 348 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 14 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 26 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56 Zero's and 4 Kate's....again I won't complain! The Kate's all got through but were shot down after completing their attack despite a strong remaining escort. Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Port Kembla at 90,169 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 56 B5N2 Kate x 4 Allied aircraft Martlet II x 1 Beaufighter Ic x 10 Kittyhawk I x 2 P-39D Airacobra x 20 P-40E Warhawk x 11 F4F-3 Wildcat x 7 F4F-4 Wildcat x 14 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Beaufighter Ic: 1 destroyed Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships DD Craven, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think there ain't more fuel in Sydney...numerous ships reported dead in the water. Despite this we missed them. Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Sydney at 91,167 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 31 B5N1 Kate x 22 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 9 P-400 Airacobra x 5 P-40E Warhawk x 29 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed B5N1 Kate: 3 destroyed, 6 damaged Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-400 Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-40E Warhawk: 9 destroyed Allied Ships DD Russell DD Helm DD Gwin Gwin dead in the water ... Russell dead in the water ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Newcastle at 93,167 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 11 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 8 D3A1 Val x 14 Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 2 damaged Allied Ships AM Cowra, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AM Cessnock, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk AM Kalgoorlie, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Cowra dead in the water ... Cessnock dead in the water ... Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Cessnock Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Kalgoorlie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat At Geraldton Andy is reinforcing; time to discourage him slightly... Ground combat at Geraldton (49,141) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 11779 troops, 127 guns, 800 vehicles, Assault Value = 1147 Defending force 27034 troops, 278 guns, 189 vehicles, Assault Value = 919 Japanese ground losses: 9 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 80 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Vehicles lost 4 (0 destroyed, 4 disabled) Assaulting units: 2/9th Armoured Regiment 27th Infantry Division 159th Mot Infantry Regiment 1st Motor Brigade 194th Tank Battalion 192nd Tank Battalion 255th Armoured Brigade 2/11th Armoured Car Battalion 10th Light Horse Battalion 7th Armoured Brigade Defending units: 2nd Tank Regiment II./124th Infantry Battalion 16th Recon Regiment 2nd Recon Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 65th Brigade 1st Engineer Co 6th Guards Division 18th Mountain Gun Regiment 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 40th Field AA Battalion 26th Air Flotilla 21st Army ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Last Day: "Battle of Sydney" [image]local://upfiles/1466/07E66FD69F2E4A6586D75F560B426C6B.jpg[/image]

Cribtop -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/5/2010 7:33:42 PM)
Wow, classic example of thinking "but we always do it this way" - in reference to the decision to upgrade CVs in Sydney. Normally a safe port, but your conquests have put it on the front line. My favorite part of Shattered Sword was the analysis at the end: "... the flaw in the Japanese plan was that it made key assumptions based on Yammamoto's estimation of American intentions, rather than their capabilities." (paraphrased). I try to always remember that in my planning, but it's hard to do and bad habits creep in. As impressive as it is to get the Yorktown in this relatively painless manner, what impressed me about the combat results above is the number of enemy SS and DD sunk/crippled. That will help for months to come. Banzai! [&o] PS - How did your sub miss Saratoga? Isn't it hardcoded that she takes at least two torp hits for every sub attack? Clearly we need a patch! [;)]

aprezto -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/6/2010 12:34:57 AM)
MoG!!! please lord of war, do not unleash the PzB monster on my forces like this. Very impressive compardre - there is certainly a fear of using the forward shipyards in this fashion.

castor troy -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/6/2010 7:27:31 AM)
has Andy, as part of the dev team, mentioned anything about the naval bombardments? It was said that they were "toned down" but that�s obviously not true for your PBEM, nor is it true in mine. Comparing to WITP, in WITP I�ve never seen two BBs scoring 400+ hits on a base so I wonder if I get the meaning of "toned DOWN".

Milman -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/6/2010 9:53:38 AM)
It looks like sydney is reconed very well. That helps when you bombard base. With what did you recon sydney PzB ? sub plane, land based or some other TF planes....

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/6/2010 10:09:20 PM)
Yeah, Andy may have gotten a bit complacent! In our last game he always got away without suffering this kind of disasters, but then we played from 43 outwards. In 42 Japan owns the game and can strike almost anywhere. Hope the Yorktown sinks...if not she'll be in dock until mid 43[:)] Hey - I got a reported sinking report of the Saratoga; maybe we got her without noticing...right, fat chance! [:'(] Naval bombardments were toned down in regards to ground casualties; when I bombarded Karachi in stock 5000 casualties was the norm! If you recon your target sufficiently and send out a strong bombardment force you may still make the airfields look like Mars. I reconned Sydney mostly with long range flying boats for many weeks. Subs also operated in the vicinity and our fleet moved within search plane range. As long as detection is at 9 or 10/10 you're set to go. What annoy me is that I get no info regarding capital ships in port. Intel says "AM, AM, AM, AM, AM, PT, PT".... [:o] - This is silly cause the first thing a recon plane would spot would be carriers, battleships and cruisers. Need to get to bed, so just a brief recap of what happened in the last couple of days. Our fleet is regrouping SSW of New Caledonia without much ado. Rather quiet on all but one front; When the KB showed up near Sydney Andy started a major offensive north of Perth. He got a lot more firepower than I thought; almost a full tank army: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Geraldton (49,141) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 11595 troops, 127 guns, 796 vehicles, Assault Value = 1876 Defending force 27057 troops, 278 guns, 189 vehicles, Assault Value = 920 Allied ground losses: 45 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) Assaulting units: 255th Armoured Brigade 159th Mot Infantry Regiment 194th Tank Battalion 10th Light Horse Battalion 192nd Tank Battalion 41st Infantry Division 2/11th Armoured Car Battalion 2/9th Armoured Regiment 1st Motor Brigade 40th Infantry Division 27th Infantry Division 7th Armoured Brigade Defending units: 20th Infantry Regiment 1st Engineer Co 65th Brigade 16th Recon Regiment 2nd Recon Regiment II./124th Infantry Battalion 2nd Tank Regiment 6th Guards Division 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 18th Mountain Gun Regiment 26th Air Flotilla 40th Field AA Battalion 21st Army ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I don't think I can resist such a force so we will most likely be kicked out and pursued north to the last base on the West Coast. This isn't good but there's fine little I can do about it now. I'm moving a reserves to Darwin and the KB will make a sortie towards Perth before going to the Home Islands to refit. To cover for the KB the Second Carrier Fleet will operate out of Rabaul - Truk. I'm now sailing the Yamato and Hiyo together with 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers to meet up with them. This will leave us with Junyo, Hiyo and 3 light carriers and ca 200 carrier planes for some weeks. SSW of Perth the Lexington and Formidable sailed up and attacked our evacuation TF; 3 transports have been sunk together with 2 escorts. I sortied a destroyer flotilla in an attempt to intercept. Instead the single sub chaser on their left engaged the enemy TF [8\|] Carriers moved north and caught up with the retiring destroyers and have sunk 3 and damaged 1. This last turn a damaged destroyer exchanged gunfire with the Formidable, landing a 5" shell on her armored flight deck. So a little payback for Andy her and I got no choice but to retreat. A surface fleet will join the KB and together try to hurt the enemy army and fleet (if still around). [image]local://upfiles/1466/D73B55B5789A4AD3A7BCB5DA358742AF.jpg[/image]

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/6/2010 10:13:56 PM)
Perth Area [image]local://upfiles/1466/9165EA7755CB4126B157296B67BDC73B.jpg[/image]

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/7/2010 9:03:26 PM)
Task force Composition: Japanese Carriers I've been poundering on whether I should break the KB into Carrier Divisions or simply keep 6 carriers in one TF. Advantages of 1 large TF: - Less escorts required - No chance for unwanted reaction moves that split the Car Divs - Enemy attacks on ships will ignore TFs and attack any ships in the given hex anyway Disadvantages? - Air strike coordination problems; must admit that I've not experienced this to much as Japan long as there leader is good. Usual composition of KB: 6 carriers 2-3 sea plane tenders (CS) 2 Kongo class battleships 2-4 heavy cruisers 2 light cruisers 6-8 destroyers Mini KB: 2 Junyo carriers 3-4 light carriers 1-2 sea plane tenders (CS) 1-2 Kongo class battleships 2 heavy cruisers 1 light cruisers 6 destroyer I usually put a surface combat group in with the carrier groups; either a strong cruiser TF or a battle line. Sometimes I also put in an ASW TF. The Akitsuki class destroyer is the preferred carrier escorts as soon as they become available. It's also very important to find a radar equipped ship to put into the group as early as possible. The difference between having 58 min and 8 min to intercept an attack can be critical. The Shokakus will get radar with the 06/42 update! Except from these ships only a couple of 29 knot APD's will provide radar capabilities this early I think. Carrier tactics: What I like to do is sending out scout cruisers and seaplane tenders in a 180 degree arc ahead of the carriers. Alternatively I like to have the KB trailing the Mini KB by 3 hexes; if bounced by enemy carriers we loose some small eggs and get to strike back with the heavy hammer. Also tried doing a "clean sweep" of the Pacific shipping lanes by placing 3 Car Divs 7 hexes apart and then steam on. - Problem with this approach is poorer scouting abilities, less attack ac in a strike if an enemy is spotted. Also experience that high speed enemy transports scatter like the four winds in a single turn. Catching the four winds is hard.... Another thing I've noticed is that if you order all TF's to follow the KB you may be putting yourself at risk. - The lead group usually end up in the target hex first, thus engaging enemy TFs. It's annoying to show your hand by having a the KB engage a single cargo ship in surface combat. What would be ultimately worse would be to run into a strong enemy surface group. So lesseon is: let the KB follow a surface combat group! Jap vs Allied Carrier strength 1942: Most Allied players shuns the KB and will only engage in a critical battle, usually after attriting KB CAG strength. 5 US carriers is still a formidable force, especially if backed up by British carriers. - I was unwilling to charge such a force outside Port Augusta with the 6 basic KB carriers, especially after spending to many torpedoes. When expecting to take on the full US Carrier force I actually prefer to have the Mini KB along for the ride. This is why it is very important to remove a couple of US carriers from the equation. When we obliterated the Yorktown in Sydney harbour we lowered Andy's carrier strength by ca 20%. - When we add the new Junyo, Hiyo and light carriers Japan field 8 fleet, 4 light, 3 escort carriers as well as 3-4 seaplane tenders by mid to late 42. Japan can therefore consolidate local sea and air supremacy throughout 1942 unless something goes wrong. The more favorable the exchange rate is in 42, the longer into 43 this advantage can be retained. It's also important to be aware of enemy strengths and weaknesses: - Radar gives the Allies a big advantage early on - The Devastator and high torpedo dud rate make the Dauntless dive bomber your main adversary. The introduction of the Avenger helps some, but US torps will remain unreliable until end 43. 1943 With the introduction of the Hellcat, more reliable torpedoes, heavier FLAK, the Essex fleet carrier and the numerous CVL/CVE's parity with Japan can usually be reached about mid to late 43. From the end of 43 Allies can usually challenge the KB on superior terms and invade islands and atolls. By sinking 4-5 US carriers in 42-42 it's possible to delay Allied supremacy at sea until early 1944 at best. CAG dispositions Japanese CAG I've spent much time on providing good leader for all CAGs. The 50k question is then how to organize them. Zero: 40% CAP; 14000 feet - range 7 hexes (9 if escorting long range Kates) Vals: 20% naval search; 14000 feet - range 6 hexes (14k feet is dive bombing, above that you get a more shallow dive, below and your attack groups will be split into smaller groups which is ok when attacking multiple vulnerable targets.) Kates: 20% naval search: 14000 feet - range 7 hexes (increase to 9 if seeking long range attack advantage using bombs) I'm not too good at varying these settings; keeping the fighters on the same altitude as the bombers will ensure well escorted strikes. I sorely miss the opportunity to sending Zeros out on sweep missions ahead of strike groups. This was done in real life with great effect. In a more defensive posture more Zeros would be on CAP with CAP altitudes from 30-10k. The seaplane tenders (CS) are very useful; I like to have a Chutai of Rufes (9 ac) as well as an expanded Jake scout plane group (10-12 ac). - Rufes are useful CAP fighters and give your spearheads some protection when operating alone. - Jakes have 10 hex range and are used for naval search - Petes are versatile but short legged so I use them for ASW; but also for CAP when needed. Allied CAG: Wildcat / Martlet II / Buffalo: Range is usually 7/8 hexes but some Wildcat versions only have a 5/6 hex range Dauntless: Full bomb load range (1000lb): 7 hexes Reduced bomb load range (500lb) 8 hexes Devastator: Torp range: 4 hexes Bomb range 5 hexes Avenger: Torp range: 5 hexes Bomb range 8 hexes Albacore: Torp range: 6 hexes Bomb range 7 Swordfish: Torp range: 6 hexes Bomb range 8 There are 2 main options when engaging Allied carriers; a) Close range and throw everything at them in overwhelming force b) Try to engage them at ranges of 7-9 hexes; - At 7 and 8 hexes the only chance they got to counter attack is with 500 lb bombs - At 9 hexes Kate's can strike with bombs without fear of retaliation Japan also has a clear advantage in search plane range and it's very important to set enough Jakes and Kates on naval search. Let me know what your preferences and advice, this is to important to get wrong! - Al, please disregard that you read all this and erase your mental hard drive before loading up our next turn [;)]

aprezto -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/7/2010 9:29:52 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: PzB - Al, please disregard that you read all this and erase your mental hard drive before loading up our next turn [;)] I know I know. I started reading this and then couldn't stop. I felt like Adam, eating the forbidden fruit, of course you can't stop once you've taken the first bite of THAT meal... I really feel I should not know this stuff. 'tis like a window into your mind: Mummy! Mummy! it's dark in here! There is of course one major recourse to this excellent synopsis: it can all hit the fan once the shooting starts, despite best practices and best laid plans.

Nomad -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/7/2010 9:52:34 PM)
But in essence Wobbs, it is just information that is readily available. It is not really something secret.

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/7/2010 10:39:26 PM)
True Ken, but there's some personal dispositions in here that Al get's for free. - At least it'll give me an excuse when he gets his long vaunted revenge [;)] Interesting turn here [8D] Andy made a mistake that cost him.... AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jul 11, 42 Surface Combat Been looking for the Mobilfuel after it shot up our destroyer..got personal. Found it and despatched it today! Night Time Surface Combat, near Norfolk Island at 114,166, Range 3,000 Yards Japanese Ships DD Umikaze Allied Ships TK Mobilfuel, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Combat In Geraldton I've got an Air HQ to provide some punch. We're low on supplies and the airfield is crowded..it was with some effort that I inserted a crack 36 ac Betty unit last turn. Could only set the Zero's to range 9 hexes because of supply shortages so the Bettys had to go along. Only 10% CAP for Geraldton was provided as I was expecting visitors! Andy's first mistake; he swept Geraldton heavily and met only minor resistance! Morning Air attack on Geraldton , at 49,141 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 28 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 4 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 21 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 17 x F4F-4 Wildcat sweeping at 22000 feet * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Geraldton , at 49,141 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 28 NM, estimated altitude 28,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Allied aircraft P-38E Lightning x 9 No Allied losses Aircraft Attacking: 9 x P-38E Lightning sweeping at 22000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mistake # 2: There was only a weak CAP over Perth. Mistake # 3: The enemy carriers entered Perth and into naval bomber range! A full sized and balanced strike force arrived and the CAP was minimal. We swept away all CAP fighters but just as the bombers were about to go in they were engaged by 3 P-40s. I cursed as 4 or 5 Bombers were rapidly turned into fireworks - this was a bad start and not a single bomber hit its mark [:o] Morning Air attack on TF, near Perth at 49,147 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 56 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 32 G4M1 Betty x 27 Allied aircraft Walrus II x 1 Seagull V x 1 Walrus II x 1 P-39D Airacobra x 4 F4F-3A Wildcat x 3 SOC-1 Seagull x 1 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed, 23 damaged Allied aircraft losses Walrus II: 1 destroyed SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Lexington CV Formidable DD Reid Aircraft Attacking: 21 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Geraldton , at 49,141 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 25 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 3 No Allied losses Aircraft Attacking: 3 x F4F-4 Wildcat sweeping at 22000 feet * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemy bombers hit a coastal transport at Geraldton: Morning Air attack on TF, near Geraldton at 49,141 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 41 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 16 minutes Allied aircraft SBD-3 Dauntless x 14 No Allied losses Japanese Ships xAKL Takegawa Maru, Bomb hits 8, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the afternoon a depleted Betty attack was assembled and I didn't have much fait in it. However, this time we got past the tiny CAP! Again our bombers came in front and stern and couldn't hit anything until someone finally got it and put a fish into the Formidable! First an explosion followed by an ammo storage blast that but the carrier on fire [8D] Would have loved a hit on the Lady Lex, but now the Formidable requires extensive yard time...in India most likely! Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Perth at 49,147 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 56 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 27 G4M1 Betty x 11 Allied aircraft Seagull V x 1 P-39D Airacobra x 4 F4F-3A Wildcat x 2 SOC-1 Seagull x 1 Japanese aircraft losses G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged Allied aircraft losses Seagull V: 1 destroyed P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CA Canberra CV Formidable, Torpedo hits 1, on fire [8D] CV Lexington Aircraft Attacking: 10 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat Only bombardment attacks at Geraldton...Andy does not feel strong enough to attack yet! Ground combat at Geraldton (49,141) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 11643 troops, 127 guns, 795 vehicles, Assault Value = 1883 Defending force 27076 troops, 278 guns, 189 vehicles, Assault Value = 922 Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Allied ground losses: 11 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled) Assaulting units: 41st Infantry Division 27th Infantry Division 255th Armoured Brigade 10th Light Horse Battalion 40th Infantry Division 194th Tank Battalion 1st Motor Brigade 159th Mot Infantry Regiment 192nd Tank Battalion 2/9th Armoured Regiment 2/11th Armoured Car Battalion 7th Armoured Brigade Defending units: 2nd Tank Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 2nd Recon Regiment II./124th Infantry Battalion 1st Engineer Co 65th Brigade 16th Recon Regiment 6th Guards Division 40th Field AA Battalion 18th Mountain Gun Regiment 26th Air Flotilla 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 21st Army -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Miss Betty visits Perth [image]local://upfiles/1466/CB78702BB55A47BAA1DAE9DE7E685197.jpg[/image]

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/7/2010 10:46:22 PM)
Really get a kick when the naval bombers go in [:)] [image]local://upfiles/1466/1B7713A2319244A199EC79B6858FBC0A.jpg[/image]

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/8/2010 1:20:40 AM)
Enemy tankers sunk [image]local://upfiles/1466/2A81CBDF97114D73AD144C66F6A7D28A.jpg[/image]

PzB74 -> RE: BACK IN BUSINESS - PzB goes East again(st) Andy Mac (4/8/2010 1:27:54 AM)
A look at the front in China; [image]local://upfiles/1466/DFB2E25EAE6C4B25900C0F2DF453EB2B.jpg[/image]

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