RE: One Year of War

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CapAndGown -> RE: One Year of War (5/15/2010 11:58:41 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Swenslim Wow, you had so little air battles ? Very very very low losses from both sides. In part, this is by design. I have tried to set up a defensive perimeter where it is very hard for the allies to reach me by anything but 4E bombers. P-38s had been sweeping Buna and Milne Bay, but they haven't shown up in quite a while. They are about the only allied fighters with the range necessary to reach my positions. The one exception to this, of course, is Burma. I did launch something of an offensive against Chittagong a while back. But I called it off. I was getting about 1-1 losses. That wasn't so bad. But I much prefer to fight over my own bases so I don't lose nearly as many pilots. For some reason, the allies have so far not chosen to launch their own air offensive out of India. quote: ORIGINAL: CarnageINC Your looking good, do you see any signs of impending allied offensives soon? The allies are rather shy through most of the game so far you would think witpqs would do something soon. [&:] Ah, the $64,000 question! A while back, my picket line of subs south of the Tonga Islands detected the main allied fleet heading to Australia. I have not seen hide nor hair of them since, but I am quite sure they are still in Australia. Lately, I have been getting heavy radio traffic out of Perth. In addition, the allies have been building western Australian bases like crazy. He has reconned my bases in northern Australia so he knows that places like Broome and Derby are empty, while Port Hedland is very lightly held. In addition, my defenses in the Solomons are quite strong (I will post a map in a bit). Finally, his bombing campaign against PM, Milne Bay, and Buna seems to have been put on hold. I was almost expecting an offensive to be launched on Dec. 7 because of the psychological importance of this date. Now I am thinking that he will wait until 1943 so that his carriers can benefit from the greater coordination level available after that time. Putting all this info together, I expect the initial allied offensive will be launched out of Perth. I am not sure what his initial objective might be, but I am planning for the worst case: Java! In the next post I will detail why this is a worst case scenario. [image]local://upfiles/2633/B0FB82F3252D41E49A6180EA920E0770.jpg[/image]

CapAndGown -> RE: One Year of War (5/16/2010 12:35:06 AM)
The situation on Java Right now I have 2 infantry divisions, 5 tank regiments, and 3 Nav Guard/SNLF units on Java. In a few days, another division will arrive at Sorebaja and another SNLF unit will unload at Batavia. I have also decided to take a division that was in reserve at Rabaul and send it over to Java. It is loading up right now. My main concern about Java is the pitifully small amount of aviation support available currently. Two more JAAF battalions (24 aviation support each) are a few days away from reaching Sorebaja. But as can be seen on the map below, there is not that much aviation support on the island. To remedy this, I just bought out 6 more JAAF battalions from Manchuria. They have just started loading at Keijo. Every base on Java has been built up to a level 4 airfield and level 3 forts. Sorebaja has a level 5 airfield and 6 forts. What concerns me is the clear terrain at Loemadjan and Banjowangi. I can imagine an allied offensive that lands multiple divisions at both bases simultaneously, making them indefensible by just one regiment. If this were combined with landings at Denpasar and Mataram, this could give the allies 4 or 5 (including Probbolinggo) airbases very quickly. Therefore, I am taking one regiment off Java and putting it on Mataram along with my largest engineering unit. There they will concentrate on building forts. I already have a regiment at Denpasar with level 3 forts. I have left an engineer unit at Banjowangi to continue to build the forts there. Currently, they are 40% of the way to level 4. I also have an infantry regiment and a tank regiment at Loemadjan that are building the forts (36% to level four). I am probably going to take the infantry division that will arrive at Sorebaja in a couple of days and move it to Loemadjan. Meanwhile, I have a large number of engineers (91 engineers, 5 engineering vehicles) at Malang building the forts. They are currently 36% percent of the way to level 4. In addition, all of my carrier strength will soon be located at Sorebaja. Right now, I have 6 CVs and 2 CVLs there. My other 2 CVs, 2 CVLs and 3 CVEs are right now just west of Pagan and are sailing for Sorebaja. And here is where I would like advise: Let's say he did go for Java. How should I handle my carriers in that event? I can have the island between him and me by pulling my carriers back so they attack just his invasion forces. This would have the advantage, if successful, of defeating the invasion before it even got unloaded. While many ships would still no doubt make it to the beaches, his offensive power could be greatly blunted. Alternatively, I could try for a CV vs CV brawl. But I really don't want that yet. My ideal situation for a carrier engagement would be to bring in my CVs only after allied CVs had first suffered several days of attacks by LBA, thus attriting their CAP. What if he does not go for Java, but just decides to retake the bases on northern Australia? In this case, the only real alternative would seem to be a CV vs CV engagement, perhaps with LBA providing LRCAP for my own CVs. At any rate, I am getting ready for what may be the decisive battle of the war which I expect to take place in early January, 1943. [image]local://upfiles/2633/8B3AC037E782437A9D9EAC82744DAD7E.jpg[/image]

CarnageINC -> RE: One Year of War (5/16/2010 2:55:46 AM)
I would think that worst case scenario would be hitting western Sumatra instead of Java, stab at the heart of your oil at Palembang then work down into Java to get at Balikpapan and Massakar. If your enemy is going to invade, why not make it a big and hard one I say, that doesn't sound quite right...LOL [:D]. I suppose that by doing so, it would expose his supply lines to attack from naval bases in Java. How is your western defense in Sumatra look?

CapAndGown -> RE: One Year of War (5/16/2010 3:32:02 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: CarnageINC I would think that worst case scenario would be hitting western Sumatra instead of Java, stab at the heart of your oil at Palembang then work down into Java to get at Balikpapan and Massakar. If your enemy is going to invade, why not make it a big and hard one I say, that doesn't sound quite right...LOL [:D]. I suppose that by doing so, it would expose his supply lines to attack from naval bases in Java. How is your western defense in Sumatra look? Below is a picture of Western Sumatra. To summarize: there are about 2 and 1/3 divisions garrisoning this island. Almost all bases except for Djambi and Bengkalis have airfields built to size 4 and forts built to size 3. Padang has forts built to level four. Oosthaven is 70% to level 4. There is something of shortage of aviation support, particularly around Palembang. OTOH, if he aims for western Sumatra, he is going to have trouble securing multiple airbases in one swift blow. This should give me time to react. [image]local://upfiles/2633/CD2CFA2BA39F4E48819F4F49D82AECF3.jpg[/image]

CapAndGown -> RE: One Year of War (5/19/2010 8:30:47 PM)
Dec. 18, 1942 Still not much happening. We sank a TK west of Perth. Another division has arrived on Java. There are now 4 infantry division equivalents on Java and 1 tank division equivalent. 144 points in aviation support battalions (6x24) are just about at Sorebaja. The KB has been reorganized into 3 TFs and based at Oosthaven on Sumatra, while another CV TF composed of Ryujo and 3xCVEs is being held in reserve at Singapore. All BBs are now in the DEI, organized into 2 slow TFs with 4 BB each, and one fast TF with 4 Kongo class BBs and 2xCS. The fast BB TF will provide surface cover and air scouting for the KB with the option of breaking off for a fast run-in to intercept enemy landings and/or SAGs. I have included in this post an update on my defensive situation in the Solomons area. Later, I will provide an description of my defensive preparations in the Gilberts. ADDED: I should mention that the following bases have Naval support since they will serve as barge hubs to supply adjacent bases or because of the need for supply TFs to to rapidly unload and skedaddle: Milne Bay Woodlark Finschhafen Shortlands Tulagi Munda [image]local://upfiles/2633/F5E44CC315434ABAA0DB5BD97FE51542.jpg[/image]

SqzMyLemon -> RE: One Year of War (5/19/2010 9:52:08 PM)
Hi cag, I like the detailed screenshots of your defence. What is your plan in case your opponent decides to circumvent much of your defence and concentrate on just a few key areas/bases? Do you have an evacuation plan for key units, air transport out for example, or any kind of an invasion counterattack reserve force anywhere? I just worry that your regiments spread out on so may bases will be completely unused when/if your opponent comes through. Have you planned on being able to shuffle units around at all once the shooting starts? I'm learning a lot from your preparations and gleening what I can to make my owns defences up to par.

CapAndGown -> RE: One Year of War (5/19/2010 10:42:27 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon Hi cag, I like the detailed screenshots of your defence. What is your plan in case your opponent decides to circumvent much of your defence and concentrate on just a few key areas/bases? Do you have an evacuation plan for key units, air transport out for example, or any kind of an invasion counterattack reserve force anywhere? I just worry that your regiments spread out on so may bases will be completely unused when/if your opponent comes through. Have you planned on being able to shuffle units around at all once the shooting starts? I'm learning a lot from your preparations and gleening what I can to make my owns defences up to par. I would expect him to just concentrate on just a few bases. In fact, my dispositions are meant to force him to! The concept here is to hold front line bases with just enough force that they cannot be taken with one shock attack by anything less than 2 divisions. If he lands at a base with two divisions, then that base will have to be written off. But if he is landing at a base with 2 divisions, then he will have fewer divisions with which to simultaneously attack other bases. I want to limit the number of bases he can take with one offensive to two or at most three. If I can do that, then I can use the navy and airforce to pummel that base. If, on the other hand, he lands with one division or less at a base, then I will reinforce that base with my ready reserves. I have paratroopers and transports available in key areas, plus reserve regiments/divisions at key ports ready to be loaded on AKs and sent to reinforce bases under attack. I want him to either over-commit forces, thus leaving him with fewer bases for his initial incursion, or under-commit, thus making him unable to take the bases in question. As an example: In the Solomons area, I have a reserve regiment at Rabaul plus a bunch of AKs ready to transport it to a threatened base. I also have three paratroop regiments with air transports ready to fly in to a threatened base. This same concept is being used in the DEI. As to the Marshalls and Gilberts, I am willing to write them off, though only, I hope, after attriting his forces. Same with New Caledonia/New Hebrides/Fiji/Tonga/Somoa. None of these areas are vital. But should he try to retake them, I at least hope I can make him pay. What I consider vital is the DEI, Thailand/Indochina, the Marianas, and New Guinea/Solomons, in that order.

FatR -> RE: One Year of War (5/20/2010 11:15:58 AM)
A very impressive defensive preparations. I can't wait to see their fruits in action.

crsutton -> RE: One Year of War (5/20/2010 5:59:41 PM)
Yes, I can't believe the lack of air losses for either side. My game is in 10/42 and I have lost close to 3000 aircraft and my IJ opponent about 3600. I thought I was passive....[;)] Also, the lack of submarines could just be due to refitting. All S boats refit in 10/21 and most all the larger boats refit in 11/42 and 12/42. He could just be doing a massive refit.

Swenslim -> RE: One Year of War (5/20/2010 8:51:13 PM)
Cap, belive me, soon you will feel pain when he concentrate enough B-17 on front bases :) This birds are JFB nightmare :(

CapAndGown -> Putting the Empire on the Atkins Diet (5/20/2010 10:36:06 PM)
Dec. 23, 1942 Still no fighting happening. One could almost call this war non-existent. A sitzkrieg of massive proportions. Nevertheless, there have been some developments. First, I am planning a small offensive in southern China to deprive the Chinese of some supply. Not much-just a thrust to take Nanning, Liuchow, and possibly Kweilin. The 3rd Tank division arrived a little while ago, so I am going to put the tanks to some use. Much more importantly, allied recon has been very active in the last few turns. They have thoroughly reconned the four bases around Samoa. Not sure if that portends offensive action there, although the Cook and Society Islands have been well developed. Recon has also appeared over New Guinea again, as well as northern Australia. More importantly, Port Blair was reconned. So now he knows that I have no one there! Because of this, I am no preparing to bug out of Burma. I am not just going to hand it to him, but I am also not going to fight for it. My main concern is an amphibious invasion on the Kra Isthmus designed to cut the retreat route for my forces in Burma. Many units are being railed down to Moulmein. From there, some will head south to Tavoy while other remain at Moulmein. I plan to defend both Tavoy and Moulmain with at least a division. I may reinforce Victoria point as well. Remaining behind, for now, will be my tank divisions as well as AAA units at Magwe, air support units, and my fighter squadrons. The allies have been slowly creeping forward from India towards Burma. Not much. Apparently just base forces meant to build the airfields and provide aviation support. I have been reluctant to bomb these bases to prevent him from building them because: a) allied flak can chew up my bombers, b) allied fighters can chew up my bombers, therefore c) I cannot maintain the kind of sustained offensive needed to keep these fields from being developed. So rather than be cut off and suffer attrition from an allied offensive, I have decided to abandon Burma at the first sign of an allied attack. (This is another reason I am launching a small offensive in China: i.e. if the allies retake Rangoon, this will mean 500 extra supply per day for the Chinese. Thus, i wish to take some more supply generating bases from the Chinese. This turn I spent about 50 political points on making sure the captains of my capital ships were up to snuff. Basically, these meant looking at every CV, BB and CA I have and making sure their captain was up to the job. The KB (divided into 3 TFs) is now moving to Singapore were it will be based for a while. quote: ORIGINAL: Swenslim Cap, belive me, soon you will feel pain when he concentrate enough B-17 on front bases :) This birds are JFB nightmare :( My understanding is that B-24s are even worse. At any rate, I am thoroughly prepped for this. Indeed, just today I faced another B-17 raid on Milne Bay where 3 B-17s were shot down for the cost of 3 Tojo's A2A, and 4 ops loses. Fortunately, no pilots were killed and only one was WIA. The allied 4E are precisely why I have created the defensive net I have: there is no way he can shut down ALL my bases at once!

CapAndGown -> RE: One Year of War (5/20/2010 10:37:22 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: crsutton Yes, I can't believe the lack of air losses for either side. My game is in 10/42 and I have lost close to 3000 aircraft and my IJ opponent about 3600. I thought I was passive....[;)] Also, the lack of submarines could just be due to refitting. All S boats refit in 10/21 and most all the larger boats refit in 11/42 and 12/42. He could just be doing a massive refit. No doubt he is. But I would expect a surge ahead of a major offensive. Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking they might be undergoing a refit.

CapAndGown -> Christmas, 1942 (5/21/2010 2:56:23 AM)
Dec. 25, 1942 This is just a brief note on my state of production. I have now increased merchant shipyards to 1010. I have also halted the production of all Std-C, D, and E xAKs and TKs. Two CVE's have been accelerated and are due in mid-1943. Three Type 1 TL TKs due to arrive in 1944 have also been accelerated. I am looking to accelerate the big, fast TKs (14kt) so that they arrive in 1943. They are only accelerated until they actually start building (i.e. <10xdurability, or 300 days, in this case, from arrival) at which point they are set back to normal build rates. This cuts out 300 days of production time, meaning they get built in 600 days from the time they enter the queue as opposed to 900 days. (This is assuming they are accelerated from the moment they enter the queue, which is actually not the case here.)

CapAndGown -> Liberators over Burma (5/22/2010 1:39:19 AM)
Dec. 30, 1942 Today saw 4E raids against Shwebo, Mandalay, Pago-Pago, and Milne Bay. B-17s were used against Milne Bay and Pago-Pago. B-24s, both American and British, were used against Mandalay. The final score for the day was: 10 Tojos (8 A2A) 6 B-24s (5 A2A) 1 B-17 1 P-40E Not sure why he was bombing the airfield at Mandalay or Schwebo. Neither are built up. My guess is that he is interested in attacking my supply since this game makes it incredibly easy to hit supply dumps. (Apparently the programmers believed that every supply dump in the Pacific was painted with big bull's eyes. [8\|]) Also, I am getting sick and tired of the sweep bonus. P-40s at 15,000 feet were bouncing my Tojos at 30,000 feet. [:@] They really need to fix this. Sweeps were an important part of aerial strategy and need to be included. But not if they always, every single time, are going to benefit the attacker. I thought I would include with this post a screen shot of my defensive preparations in the Gilberts. All the islands in the Gilberts have had their airfields built up to level 4 and forts built to level 3. Where there is not a regiment-sized garrison indicated, there is an SNLF with 60 assault value. The regiment sized units are garrison units, not sub-units of a division. There is a Sentai of Nells and a Sentai of Zeros at Tabiteuau (sp?). Elsewhere I have Chutais of Oscars and Vals teamed up, such as at Tarawa and Abemama. [image]local://upfiles/2633/B42C9FCF198246CE9E80F49B86D83625.jpg[/image]

CapAndGown -> Economic Update (5/24/2010 12:45:36 AM)
Jan. 6, 1943 Still not much happening. A bunch of aviation support units will be arriving over the next 2 weeks. A bunch of these are going to be sent down to Sumatra/Malaya/Thailand. I am increasingly concerned about an allied amphibious invasion along the western edge of the empire. I should also have enough PPs to buy out another division from Manchuria in about 10 days. It will be sent to Malaya or Sumatra. On the economic front I have decided to try to start to raise (my, what a lot of infinitives!) my fuel stockpile in the Home Islands. I have been hovering between 80 and 100 days supply of fuel for the last 6 months. I would like to seriously increase that. To do so, I have shut down 600 points of HI production in the home islands. This will mean 1,200 less fuel points consumed per turn, meaning a deficit of only 3,000 points per turn instead of 4,000. This will also mean 1,200 less supply per turn is generated, however. To make up for that, the LI factory at Tokyo was turned back on. That generates 2240 supply points per turn. This will also mean an increase of resource consumption on the home islands by 21,600 per day, but that is OK because I am now up to a 130 days stockpile of resources there. Since HI production will decrease by 1,200 per turn (from ~3600 surplus to ~2200 surplus) I am also expanding the HI factories at Singapore, Sorebaja, and Batavia. They are currently at 100 points each. I am expanding them each by 10 right now, but probably more in a little while. To summarize: resource usage in HI: +21,600 supply production in HI: +1040 fuel consumption in HI: -1,200 daily fuel deficit in HI: 2,885

CapAndGown -> Where's Waldo? (5/25/2010 9:55:58 PM)
January 10, 1943 My Dinah II factory finally upgraded to the Dinah III. I was becoming concerned about this since I ran out of Babs and Dinah reinforcements about a month ago once the Dinah factory had used up the last of the Mitsubishi Ha-31 engines in November. (There is no reason to make these engines since the only plane they are used in that I want was the Dinah II.) My opponent included this note in his last email: "I've also made extensive use of the Atlantic through off-map movement, considering the extent of your expansion in SoPac." I have gotten heavy radio traffic out of Tahiti, Perth (2x this last turn!) and Colombo. Based on this note and considering allied fuel sources (Aden), I am sensing that the allies may launch a diversionary offensive out of the Society Islands aimed at retaking Samoa, while the main thrust originates out of either Perth or Celylon. Since I do not care about my south seas possessions, I have concentrated most of my fleet, including all my carriers and battleships, at Singapore. This turn I am going to recon Perth with some Emily's at Port Hedland. I am also going to fly an aviation company over to Port Blair from whence some Irvings will recon Colombo and Trincomalee. In 4 days I will have enough PPs to buy out a division at Keijo. It will be sent to Singapore. within 15 days I will have over 2 dozen aviation battalions arriving in the home islands. They will also be sent to Sumatra and Malaysia. [image]local://upfiles/2633/0383201E7A7041C09C831868987DEDCF.jpg[/image]

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: Where's Waldo? (5/26/2010 12:25:07 AM)
cap_and_gown, What are your thoughts on an attack in Kuriles when Spring comes. Has he built up the Aleutian bases? It looks like you left him alone in the north while penetrating deeply in the south pacific. I appologize if I missed this discussion earlier in your thread.

CapAndGown -> RE: Where's Waldo? (5/26/2010 2:55:19 AM)
Jan. 12, 1943 My opponent, in his email, bobbled the date, claiming it was the 14th. A Freudian slip? Probably not, since it does not look like his subs screens will be in place by that time. For that, dear reader, is what the picture below indicates. A mass of subs moving past the Gilberts. Plus for the last three days we have also been tracking some other subs also moving past the Gilberts. It looks to me as if some of them are meant to screen the New Hebrides, while others are meant to screen Fiji. When I got the report two days ago of 2 subs moving southwest past the Gilberts, I decided to move my cruiser force that was at Nauru Island down to Suva. I will be looking for opportunities for in-and-out night attacks on allied amphibious forces. I am also moving my own sub screen into place around Samoa. In addition, transport AC have been moved down to Fiji to pull out fragments from Samoa once it looks like they are about to fall. Reinforcement Tojo, Vals and Kates have also been moved to Fiji. They will be rebased to Somoa once allied shipping is spotted. For now, I do not want their presence revealed to allied recon. quote: ORIGINAL: Wirraway_Ace cap_and_gown, What are your thoughts on an attack in Kuriles when Spring comes. Has he built up the Aleutian bases? It looks like you left him alone in the north while penetrating deeply in the south pacific. I appologize if I missed this discussion earlier in your thread. He has not been building the Aleutians much. Dutch Harbor has been built a little, not much. Also, I have never had a report of heavy radio traffic from that sector. To defend the Kuriles, I have a division scattered across three of the most likely islands sitting behind level three forts, while an SNLF is at Paramashiro Jima sitting behind level 5 forts. I also have a cruiser force stationed at Wakkanai just in case. And there are some reinforcements available on Hokaido with AKs ready to send them to a threatened island should an invasion materialize. I don't really expect a move on the Kuriles. I believe, however, I could probably handle it if one were to happen. [image]local://upfiles/2633/186D0859A334487698C207AA9E934D2E.jpg[/image]

jonreb31 -> RE: Where's Waldo? (5/26/2010 4:35:52 AM)
I'm amazed at the little damage you and your enemy have sustained. It's mid January 1942 in my jap game and our scorecard is very similar to yours in comparison of ships/aircraft lost. Looks like it's about to heat up though. It'll be interesting to see how the next few weeks develop.

CapAndGown -> Invasion: Somoa (5/26/2010 9:28:26 PM)
Jan. 15, 1943 (Martin Luther King Day in about 40 years) The anticipated invasion of Somoa has begun. What I did not anticipate is that it looks like all 6 US fleet CVs are there. This would seem to indicate that this is the allied main thrust for now. Nevertheless, I will continue to be on guard for an invasion of the DEI/Malaysia arc. The turn started with a raid of 24 B-17s on Pago-Pago. 6 Tojos flying CAP at Savii intercepted. Why they were not escorting a strike against the allied carriers in the morning phase, I don't know. We did spot the allied fleet in the morning phase. At any rate, 1 B-17 was shot down The afternoon phase finally saw an attack on the allied carriers. It was a pitiful attack: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ta'u at 152,159 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 45 minutes Japanese aircraft D3A1 Val x 10 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 14 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 207 [X(] (this is out of an estimated 216 fighters available on the 6 fleet CVs) Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 6 destroyed (Actually, all 10 were destroyed) Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 5 destroyed (8 lost A2A, 1 Ops) Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed (2 lost A2A, 2 Ops) Could someone tell me why just about every fighter on these CVs was available for CAP? Is this because of the CAP percentage? Or because they were not out escorting strikes and therefore could be scrambled for CAP? CAP engaged: Lexington VF-2 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 17 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes 31 planes vectored on to bombers Saratoga VF-3 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 18 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 18000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes 32 planes vectored on to bombers Yorktown VF-42 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 17 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes 33 planes vectored on to bombers Enterprise VF-6 with F4F-4 Wildcat (4 airborne, 12 on standby, 17 scrambling) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 18000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes 31 planes vectored on to bombers Hornet VF-8 with F4F-4 Wildcat (2 airborne, 12 on standby, 18 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 16000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes 36 planes vectored on to bombers Wasp VF-71 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 15 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes 25 planes vectored on to bombers The Val contingent at Savii, which only has two Vals remaining, and that is only because they did not fly, has been pulled out. It will need to be rebuilt. The Tojo's (only 18 remain operational) are still at Savii. I hope they will help escort tomorrow's strikes. Meanwhile, I have flown in reinforcements to Upolo. I have 34 operational Tojos, 24 operational Vals, and 23 operational Kates. My Zero/Betty team that was at Lafoa on New Caledonia has been moved over to Suva. They have 41 operational Zeros and 26 operational Betty's. (For some reason there were a bunch of ops loses and damaged planes today from rebasing, even though their fatigue was minimal and weather was clear.) The cruiser force, with 4 CA, 3 CL, and 6 DD will patrol out in the open sea just east of Fiji. Maybe there will be an opportunity for a fast in-and-out. Transports have also been assigned to evacuate cadres. 27 Topy's will work on getting a JNAF aviation batallion out of Savii, while 6 Mavis's will work on getting an engineering battalion out of Upolo. Looks like my subs arrived just in time, though they are a little out of place. Maybe we can bag us a carrier! You can see from the picture below the course I was expecting the invasion forces to take. [image]local://upfiles/2633/4A8790C30C454F379310BAAB785F6659.jpg[/image]

anarchyintheuk -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/26/2010 10:28:20 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown Could someone tell me why just about every fighter on these CVs was available for CAP? Is this because of the CAP percentage? Or because they were not out escorting strikes and therefore could be scrambled for CAP? The last one is the case. Just an observation (which could be wrong) but the allies ability to scramble cap gets better as the game goes on. Can't remember if it's due to one or all of the date, squadron leader stats, radar, etc.

Q-Ball -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/26/2010 10:42:11 PM)
I wouldn't send in strike A/C unless you have ALOT. You'll lose a whole bunch of planes and pilots regardless, but I assume from your low losses you have plenty of each available. This isn't all bad, Samoa is the "tip of the spear", and it will take him awhile to fight back via Suva, etc. That area is pretty useless strategically, other than as "space". I would be breathing a sigh of relief, an attack in the DEI is much worse.

CapAndGown -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/26/2010 10:50:30 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk quote: ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown Could someone tell me why just about every fighter on these CVs was available for CAP? Is this because of the CAP percentage? Or because they were not out escorting strikes and therefore could be scrambled for CAP? The last one is the case. Just an observation (which could be wrong) but the allies ability to scramble cap gets better as the game goes on. Can't remember if it's due to one or all of the date, squadron leader stats, radar, etc. Thanks for the explanation.

CapAndGown -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/26/2010 10:53:34 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Q-Ball I wouldn't send in strike A/C unless you have ALOT. You'll lose a whole bunch of planes and pilots regardless, but I assume from your low losses you have plenty of each available. This isn't all bad, Samoa is the "tip of the spear", and it will take him awhile to fight back via Suva, etc. That area is pretty useless strategically, other than as "space". I would be breathing a sigh of relief, an attack in the DEI is much worse. I agree. But don't tell witpqs that. Loose lips cost oil! Planes and pilots I can lose for now. Even though these are small strike packages, I will continue to send them out in hopes of scoring something. According to combat replay I just ran, one of my Vals landed a 250kg bomb on a US CVE. That one hit ain't much, but it is the kind of damage I am looking to inflict.

CapAndGown -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/27/2010 1:00:19 AM)
Jan. 16, 1943 Today's action started out with numerous sub attacks. For some reason, whenever my subs attack allied DDs they miss, but when the allies attack my DDs, particularly those in ASW TFs, they hit and sink them. [8\|] Looking at these combat reports shows that witpqs has heavily protected his carriers (even though they don't show up in the reports, I know they are there). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack near Ta'u at 150,159 Japanese Ships SS I-22, hits 1 Allied Ships DD Anderson BB South Dakota CA San Francisco CL Phoenix DD Hughes DD Meade DD Mustin DD Hammann -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Ta'u at 151,160 Japanese Ships SS I-4 Allied Ships DMS Dorsey DMS Perry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack near Ta'u at 150,159 Japanese Ships SS I-22 Allied Ships DE Ward AK Mercury DD Worden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Ta'u at 150,160 Japanese Ships SS I-168, hits 1 Allied Ships AK Oberon, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage DD Phelps -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack near Pago Pago at 149,160 Japanese Ships SS I-10 Allied Ships DD Phelps -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near Ta'u at 151,160 Japanese Ships SS I-4 Allied Ships xAK City of Rayville, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage SINKS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Ta'u at 150,160 Japanese Ships SS I-168, hits 1 Allied Ships AM Bobolink Captain of SS I-168 elects not to launch torpedoes at this target Huh? An let him shoot at you instead? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack near Pago Pago at 148,159 Japanese Ships SS I-16 Allied Ships DD Bancroft BB Washington CL Helena DD Bailey DD Gillespie DD Gansevoort DD Frazier So, now with the Sub action out of the way, on with the real show. I lost a lot of recon AC to enemy CAP today. I have changed their altitude to 20,000 feet. I hope that helps for tomorrow without costing me in terms of spotting. For both the morning and afternoon attacks listed here I got very good coordination. Both the fighters at Savii and those at Upolu escorted the raids. The Tojo's acquitted themselves quite well though they were not able to keep all of the enemy CAP away from the bombers. CAP was lighter today, probably because we went after the enemy CVEs rather than the CVs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Pago Pago at 148,160 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 45 minutes Japanese aircraft D3A1 Val x 21 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 37 Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 9 F4F-4 Wildcat x 43 Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 10 destroyed, 2 damaged Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed Allied Ships CVE Suwannee, Bomb hits 1, on fire CVE Chenango CVE Sangamon Aircraft Attacking: 2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000' Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb 1 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb 1 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000' Maybe I should have set CAP to 0%, but I was afraid that in the event of non-coordination, my bombers would not have any protection at all. Thus, 10 Tojo's ended up flying over to Pago-Pago to intercept the B-17s. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Pago Pago , at 148,161 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 10 Allied aircraft B-17E Fortress x 23 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 4 damaged -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Pago Pago at 148,160 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 45 minutes Japanese aircraft D3A1 Val x 3 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 22 Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 8 F4F-4 Wildcat x 27 Japanese aircraft losses D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed The Kates did not fly. In looking at the leader's stats, I found that he was probably the least aggressive leader in the Japanese armed forces. His air skills were also abysmal. Why do the programmers make us waste PPs by assigning these idiots to lead squadrons? Anyway, I changed him for someone else who had better air skills, though I also tried to find someone who was not very aggressive either, which is when I found out they are ALL aggressive! But that change will not take effect for four days. So will they attack tomorrow? Who knows? At any rate, I evacuated the Vals. That formation now needs to be rebuilt. I also decided that I will not try to employ my cruisers. They are going back to Luganville. I am quite confident my opponent will provide heavy cover for his invasion forces. What is interesting is that he is going for Savii and Upolu, not Pago-Pago. The first two of those are lightly held with only an SNLF unit each while Pago-Pago is garrisoned by the 65th Brigade. He obviously knows where I am weaker and has elected to take out those islands first. But I wonder why? Is this part of a by-pass strategy? Is he holding more troops in reserve for an immediate thrust towards Fiji? Surely he has enough to deal with the 65th Brigade, which is only 250 assault points. [image]local://upfiles/2633/B2137AAFEA554C91B4192C60C4C9A42F.jpg[/image]

CarnageINC -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/27/2010 4:52:19 PM)
It appears that this is his initial main thrust and not a diversion, do you agree or do you think he will follow up on DEI after he sees your carrier comment?

CapAndGown -> Landings at Samoa (5/27/2010 5:00:35 PM)
Jan. 17, 1943 This turn the allies came ashore at Savii and Upolu. Witpqs is using lots of tiny little TFs to land the troops. Not sure why. I don't see any advantage in that and many possible liabilities compared to using larger TFs. Our subs were able to sink one allied transport, apparently a supply ship. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near Pago Pago at 149,159 Japanese Ships SS I-171 Allied Ships xAK Sawokla, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK Today it was the Kates turn to attack. None made it through the enemy CAP, but again, the Tojos acquitted themselves quite well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Upolu at 147,160 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 51 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 21 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5 Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 8 F4F-4 Wildcat x 34 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 12 destroyed Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Upolu at 147,160 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 51 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 3 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 8 Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 7 F4F-4 Wildcat x 18 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed I have now withdrawn all AC from the Somoa Islands since I expect both Upolu and Savii to fall tomorrow. My bombardment attack showed that the allies brought a sledgehammer to swat a fly: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Savaii (146,159) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 1421 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 73 Defending force 11656 troops, 269 guns, 349 vehicles, Assault Value = 647 Japanese ground losses: 41 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: 52nd Naval Guard Unit 36th JNAF AF Unit 50th JNAF AF Unit Defending units: 2nd USMC Tank Bn /317 27th Infantry Div /318 132nd Infantry Rgt /317 164th Infantry Rgt /317 182nd Infantry Rgt /317 181st FA Rgt /317 249th FA Bn /317 226th FA Bn /317 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Upolu (147,160) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 1435 troops, 9 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 62 Defending force 12017 troops, 231 guns, 446 vehicles, Assault Value = 458 Assaulting units: 63rd Naval Guard Unit 5th Air Division 48th Road Const Co 50th JNAF Coy Defending units: 754th Tank Bn /317 627th TD Bn /317 41st Infantry Div /317 225th FA Bn /317 223rd FA Bn /317 More cadres were air evaced today and more will be evaced tomorrow. Except for the final, inevitable capture of Upolu and Savii tomorrow, this operation appears to have come to a conclusion, at least from the Japanese perspective. My next task will be to ship out some of the cadres I have saved to Rabaul where they can be rebuilt. Lord knows I need every aviation and SNLF unit I can get! I imagine that B-17s will be moved into those bases as soon as they are captured and the allies will start bombing Fiji. This time, however, unlike at Somoa, I will have a good deal of fighter support available. This is one of the advantages of losing territory: more concentrated forces. [;)] While I was not able to cause the allies much damage, I am rather sanguine about the entire operation. I don't care that much about Somoa. I did cause some damage. And most importantly, I was able to have a demonstration of my concept of defense: the Tojo's did a good job of eroding the allied CAP. If I had more of them concentrated there, they would have done an even better job. By tomorrow, if I had my CVs in the area, my carriers would have a good shot in attacking the enemy. But since Somoa is not my line-in-the-sand that will not happen. I will continue holding off on using my CVs until a more opportune moment and place. The one thing this operation did show is that I need more aviation support to make my concept work. BTW: I also will now find out once and for all if Air HQs respawn. [image]local://upfiles/2633/865509AA520044689B4C795E22C97776.jpg[/image]

CapAndGown -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/27/2010 5:15:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: CarnageINC It appears that this is his initial main thrust and not a diversion, do you agree or do you think he will follow up on DEI after he sees your carrier comment? What carrier comment? This does appear to be his main thrust. However, the Royal Navy carriers are still not accounted for. Thus, it is still possible that he could attempt some sort of invasion of the DEI or the Kra Isthmus. So most of my carriers will remain stationed around Singapore just in case. I am, however, going to stage a raid into the deep Indian Ocean using my CVEs and one section of my fleet carriers. Now that my subs have sunk two TKs down there witpqs has probably set his convoys to use alternate routes by use of waypoints. Thus, my subs will probably not find anything down there anymore. So I am going hunting with carriers instead. Who knows, maybe by revealing the presence of some of my carriers, I may elicit a reaction from the Royal Navy.

CarnageINC -> RE: Invasion: Somoa (5/27/2010 5:21:44 PM)
LOL...I meant to say carrier commitment....LOL [:D]

CapAndGown -> The Empire Strikes Back (5/27/2010 11:19:57 PM)
Jan. 18, 1943 The highlights of this turn were the fall of Savii, the first deliberate attack at Upolu, and a raid on Exmouth. The turn started with our subs around Samoa taking more shots at the enemy. Only one shot scored. Too bad we missed the CL! The following are only a small portion of the sub and ASW attacks that took place. All the others were of little interest. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near Savaii at 147,159 Japanese Ships SS I-10 Allied Ships xAK Fairland, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Ta'u at 150,159 Japanese Ships SS I-22, hits 3 Allied Ships CL Columbia CL Cleveland DD Fanning DD Drayton DD Cummings DD Mahan SS I-22 launches 6 torpedoes at CL Columbia (6 and they still miss!) Next up was a surface raid against Exmouth. My Emily's at Port Hedland had spotted some shipping coming and going from Exmouth, so I decided I would attempt a quick in-and-out. A CL and some DDs were based at Banjowangi waiting for the next allied convoy to make a call on Exmouth. When I got word they were on the way, I sortied the small TF. I kept it very small to try to avoid detection. It worked. But I did not find one enemy convoy, I found two! Getting surface raiders in amongst merchant ships and light escorts usually means a slaughter, and that is precisely what happened. [sm=00000055.gif] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Exmouth at 50,129, Range 8,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Agano DD Minekaze DD Sawakaze Allied Ships AM Latrobe, Shell hits 6, and is sunk AM Lithgow, Shell hits 4, and is sunk xAKL Lee Sang, Shell hits 26, and is sunk xAKL Lorinna, Shell hits 8, and is sunk xAP Rooseboom, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAP Siberg, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk Allied ground losses: Guns lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 42 (19 destroyed, 23 disabled) Combat ends with last Allied ship sunk... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Exmouth at 50,129, Range 8,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Agano DD Minekaze DD Sawakaze Allied Ships AM Ipswitch AM Mildura, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage AM Wollongong, Shell hits 8, and is sunk xAP Darvel, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Joan Moller, Shell hits 12, heavy fires xAP Kanchow, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Kwangtung, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage PC Formalhaut, Shell hits 16, and is sunk PC Tydeman, Shell hits 10, and is sunk Allied ground losses: Vehicles lost 22 (11 destroyed, 11 disabled) Although a lots of these shell hits were by 25mm AA guns, my sense is that all of these ships except the Ipswitch sank. The Ipswitch was probably hightailing it out of there as fast as they could. As the final act of the day, the allies captured Savii, even though they did not kill everyone there. They also launched an attack at Upolu and achieved 3-1 odds and dropped the fort to level 2. The attack at Savii was a shock attack while at Upolu it was a deliberate attack. But the real difference was that I was able to evac a large portion of the Naval Guard unit at Savii, leaving the defenses severely weakened. I am also evacing the JNAF aviation battalion at Pago-Pago. Basically, I have cadres of just about everyone on those three islands back at Fiji ready to be rebuilt. [image]local://upfiles/2633/E506ED751557446BACB7579BECA210D7.jpg[/image]

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