CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE

CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE (Full Version)

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports

Message

racndoc -> CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE (9/19/2011 7:36:56 PM)
Hey pauk.....great to see you on the forums! If you decide to take the plunge into AE my offer of a game is still open. 3/23-3/24/42 CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE The Chinese capture Kiukiang in another human wave attack: Ground combat at Kiukiang (85,53) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 16615 troops, 133 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 754 Defending force 1062 troops, 16 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 30 Allied adjusted assault: 559 Japanese adjusted defense: 4 Allied assault odds: 139 to 1 (fort level 3) Allied forces CAPTURE Kiukiang !!! Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses No Japanese losses Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), op mode(-), preparation(-) experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 573 casualties reported Squads: 7 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 75 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 9 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 20 (20 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 2 Allied ground losses: 282 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 32nd Chinese/A Corps 72nd Chinese/B Corps 72nd Chinese/C Corps 78th Chinese/B Corps 72nd Chinese/A Corps 78th Chinese/C Corps 32nd Chinese/B Corps 78th Chinese/A Corps 32nd Chinese/C Corps 30th Group Army Defending units: 23rd RGC Temp. Division 17th JAAF Base Force The IJA 13th Tank Regiment continued to withdraw towards Hangchow so the Chinese captured an empty Chuhsien. The Chinese counteroffensive has now liberated Nanyang, Nanchang, Kiukiang and Chuhsien. The Chinese maul the IJA 40th Division yet again: Ground combat at 85,55 Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 22304 troops, 141 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 889 Defending force 7644 troops, 99 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 186 Allied adjusted assault: 630 Japanese adjusted defense: 72 Allied assault odds: 8 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: leaders(+), disruption(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 3490 casualties reported Squads: 100 destroyed, 18 disabled Non Combat: 82 destroyed, 30 disabled Engineers: 11 destroyed, 3 disabled Guns lost 17 (9 destroyed, 8 disabled) Units retreated 1 Allied ground losses: 234 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 41 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 24 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 4th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/B Corps 53rd Chinese/A Corps 3rd New Chinese/A Corps 4th Chinese/A Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 53rd Chinese/B Corps 3rd New Chinese/B Corps 53rd Chinese/C Corps 32nd Group Army Defending units: 40th Division As luck would have it.......the IJA 40th Division withdrew into a hex now occupied by a Chinese army that was advancing on Hangchow with 1500 AV so it will be mauled yet again next turn. Even though we hit the IJA 22nd Division for 4 days with aerial bombardment there simply wasnt enough Chinese assault strength present to maul it: Ground combat at 87,56 Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 11697 troops, 105 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 448 Defending force 12113 troops, 114 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 393 Allied adjusted assault: 262 Japanese adjusted defense: 515 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 384 casualties reported Squads: 9 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 15 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 1137 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 75 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 86 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled Assaulting units: 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/A Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/A Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/C Corps 3rd War Area 23rd Group Army Defending units: Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 22nd Division Im going to continue to pound the 22nd Division from the air as additional Chinese formations are brought up to the battle. Farther south....we will shock attack another IJA tank regiment outside of Canton next turn. SUBS SS Sealion sinks PB Choun Maru #18 off tandjoengsler. SS Swordfish sinks fully loaded AO Iro by Boela. DEI Fortress Palembang now has 476 AV with its supply growing daily. Japan doesnt have enough troops present on Sumatra to take Palembang at this time. Fortress Batavia has its AV increase every turn...its now at 1383 vs 1170 Jap AV and next turn Batavia should be over 1400 AV. My supplies are dwindling here with the daily aerial and ground bombardments.....I have only 26,000 supplies left and I somewhat belatedly turned off replacements in Batavia last turn. Japan doesnt have enough troops on Java to take Batavia but Im thinking now that Dave will try to starve me out here. PHILIPPINES On Mindanao......the Allies have 345 AV at Cayagan but supplies dipped below 1000 this turn. I diverted one of the Legaspi bound xAKs with 3200 supplies to Butuan where it is currrently unloading. I think that Dave is planning to starve me out on Mindanao also. On Luzon I finally shut off replacements this turn to everyone but the flak guns so I can conserve more supply. I want all my BF/AA units to upgrade to the 90mm AA guns so I will keep their replacements on. I have well over 60,000 supplies on Luzon with more on the way....I think that Dave is planning the seige and starve strategy here so Im trying to accumulate over 100,000 supplies spread over a dozen bases. American and Philippino troops continue to withdraw to the San Fernando/Bayombong line. [image]local://upfiles/14495/DE33DE5B8843482AA7B9EBB46A9F7406.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE (9/20/2011 3:41:30 PM)
3/25-3/26/42 CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE The IJA panzer korps captures Pucheng by trashing the same Chinese army they've hit twice before....fortunately there arent that many troops left to kill in the hapless Chinese formation: Ground combat at Pucheng (86,57) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 9527 troops, 14 guns, 981 vehicles, Assault Value = 599 Defending force 2188 troops, 73 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 37 Japanese adjusted assault: 495 Allied adjusted defense: 13 Japanese assault odds: 38 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese forces CAPTURE Pucheng !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), preparation(-), experience(-) supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 5 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1310 casualties reported Squads: 89 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 85 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 13 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 7 (7 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 6 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 20th Recon Regiment 12th Tank Regiment 23rd Tank Regiment 10th Tank Regiment 3rd Tank Regiment 9th Armored Car Co 1st Recon Regiment 11th Tank Regiment 9th Tank Regiment 8th Recon Regiment 26th Recon Regiment Defending units: 88th Chinese/C Corps 88th Chinese/B Corps 86th Chinese/A Corps 88th Chinese/A Corps 86th Chinese/B Corps 10th Group Army The Chinese return the favor by trashing the IJA 40th Division for the 3rd time in a week: Ground combat at 86,54 Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 38063 troops, 265 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1600 Defending force 5197 troops, 95 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 94 Allied adjusted assault: 999 Japanese adjusted defense: 1 Allied assault odds: 999 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: leaders(+), disruption(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 3828 casualties reported Squads: 86 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 85 destroyed, 29 disabled Engineers: 18 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 13 (11 destroyed, 2 disabled) Units retreated 1 Allied ground losses: 139 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 20 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 9th Prov Chinese/B Corps 9th Prov Chinese/C Corps 9th Prov Chinese/A Corps 95th Chinese/C Corps 87th Chinese Corps 26th Chinese/B Corps 26th Chinese/A Corps 95th Chinese/A Corps 95th Chinese/B Corps 84th Chinese Corps 26th Chinese/C Corps 27th Group Army Defending units: 40th Division The Chinese shock attack on the IJA 7th Tank Regiement outside of Canton just barely missed the required 2:1 odds: Ground combat at 76,59 Allied Shock attack Attacking force 5104 troops, 42 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 150 Defending force 496 troops, 0 guns, 88 vehicles, Assault Value = 43 Allied adjusted assault: 199 Japanese adjusted defense: 119 Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+) Attacker: shock(+) Allied ground losses: 183 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 28th New Chinese Division 52nd Chinese/C Corps Defending units: 7th Tank Regiment Lots of manuvering going on in southeastern China....Im in his rear approaching Hangchow and the Japanese are in my rear at Pucheng. All quiet now in northern and central China. SUBS SS Gudjeon puts a fish in AK Asaka Maru off Wakkanai. SS Trusty sinks DD Murakumo near Malacca. CARRIERS CV Enterprise completes repair of the torpedo damage she suffered in the Raid on Rabaul and shoves off from port to join Yorktown and Hornet in the south Pacific. CV Saratoga and CV Lexington will complete their March 1942 upgrades next turn and then they will link up with the other USN CVs. PHILIPPINES We continue to offload supplies at Butuan, Legaspi and Naga. With the Allies withdrawing from the Vigan beachead towards the San Fernando/Bayombong line.....Dave changes hit tactics. He had been using his rather substantial Philippine air force to ground bomb our front line troops when Vigan was threatened. With the threat to Vigan removed....he has gone back to bombing Clark. The funny thing here is that we've already built level 4 forts at Clark and the engineers have now moved out to start fort construction at San Fernando and Bayombong. In addition .....with the Allied supply dispersion......the airbase supply hits caused by Japanese bombing are only causing x% X 10,000 supplies vs x% X 70,000 supplies if we were holed up at Clark. Leyte has exhausted its supplies so I have 2 squadrons of PBYs airlifting the 93rd Regiment from Leyte to Luzon....another 60 or so AV to add to the upcoming battle. DEI With the capture of Merak and Tilatjap.....the Allies are reduced to their twin fortresses at Batavia and Palembang. What had been a telephone pole of nearly 50 IJA LCUs at Singapore a month ago is now only 11......I dont know where they all went but certainly not enough troops have moved to Sumatra and Java yet. Sigint reported this turn that 25th Army HQ was still at Singapore....I suppose thats in range of Palembang but certainly not Batavia. Interestingly.....Dave did not bombard Batavia with his grounf forces this turn....cant understand why. With replacements and fort construction now turned off at Batavia Im going to see how rapidly I am expending the 26,000 supplies left. I am starting to consider a major Allied resupply effort to Batavia in late April or early May. [image]local://upfiles/14495/F539A64D1E4F4E48BB97DB7B2503154E.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE (9/23/2011 3:58:11 PM)
3/27-3/28/42 Quiet turn across the map. For the first time in the war.....there is not even a single land combat. CHINA Lots of manuever but no combat..... the situation in SE China is very fluid and chaotic. Im trying to send some Chinese corps with large concentrations of AT guns....say 8-12 per corps....to the forest north of Amoy to defend against the IJA panzer korps. Looks like Dave is railing some reinforcements up to Taiyuan to try to move on Sian from the east. All quiet in the far north....looks like he is pulling back the troops that broke out at Kweisui last month so no assault on far western China for the moment. DEI Dave tried to sweep Palembang with A6M2s from Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku. They got lost in the bad weather and didnt make it....but I hadnt spotted KB in 3 weeks or so so its nice to know their approximate location in the Indian Ocean S of Sumatra. Heavier aerial bombardments over Batavia....my supply level is now 24,000. At this rate I will run out of supplies before the end of April. No ground bombardment at Batavia again....I guess that Dave got tired of training the Dutch troops but still it would make them exhaust their supplies sooner. SWPAC/SOPAC With KB located off Sumatra I have a free hand now in building up the New Hebrides. Unfortunately....Saratoga and Lexington are still in route from Hawaii....otherwise I might even consider an early move into the Solomons. We now have a level 2 AF at Luganville and a level 1 AF at Efate. PHILIPPINES The Allies have now completed their withdrawal to the San Fernando/Bayombong line on Luzon. Dave finally got became aware of my resupply efforts and sent in a surface TF to hit an xAK unloading at Legaspi: Day Time Surface Combat, near Legaspi at 82,82, Range 16,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Yura CL Tama DD Tokitsukaze DD Michishio, Shell hits 1 Allied Ships AM Oriole, Shell hits 9, and is sunk xAK San Vincente, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk Japanese Ships Reported to be Approaching! Allied TF begins to get underway Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards Range closes to 16,000 yards... CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 16,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 16,000 yards DD Michishio engages AM Oriole at 16,000 yards DD Tokitsukaze engages xAK San Vincente at 16,000 yards Range closes to 11,000 yards CL Tama engages AM Oriole at 11,000 yards DD Michishio engages xAK San Vincente at 11,000 yards DD Michishio engages xAK San Vincente at 11,000 yards Range closes to 8,000 yards CL Tama engages AM Oriole at 8,000 yards CL Yura engages AM Oriole at 8,000 yards DD Michishio engages AM Oriole at 8,000 yards DD Tokitsukaze engages xAK San Vincente at 8,000 yards Range closes to 6,000 yards AM Oriole sunk by CL Tama at 6,000 yards CL Yura engages xAK San Vincente at 6,000 yards xAK San Vincente sunk by DD Michishio at 6,000 yards Combat ends with last Allied ship sunk... I cant believe that I forgot to detach AM Oriole when the respply ships left Midway...oh well. Ive got a few resupply ships in the area...one will be sent to Naga and the others will be rerouted to Butuan. Hopefully the IJN surface TF will leave after a few turns of quiet and then I will again try to get supplies back into Luzon. [image]local://upfiles/14495/B273AB16232D43D8BCEC2ECC8E1557FC.jpg[/image]

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE (9/23/2011 7:02:16 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance 3/27-3/28/42 DEI Dave tried to sweep Palembang with A6M2s from Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku. They got lost in the bad weather and didnt make it....but I hadnt spotted KB in 3 weeks or so so its nice to know their approximate location in the Indian Ocean S of Sumatra. Heavier aerial bombardments over Batavia....my supply level is now 24,000. At this rate I will run out of supplies before the end of April. No ground bombardment at Batavia again....I guess that Dave got tired of training the Dutch troops but still it would make them exhaust their supplies sooner. Would the troops in Batavia be better used now in Palembang. Can you transport some of the better KNIL Rgts to the X3 terrain with adequate supply?

racndoc -> RE: CHINESE COUNTEROFFENSIVE (9/24/2011 5:15:53 PM)
Wirraway_Ace......I think that its a good idea. Air transport of Knil regiments from Batavia to Palembang makes sense with the decline in supplies on Java and I considered doing that about a month ago.....the only probelm is that Japan has total control of the skiies over Java and Sumatra...even the whole of KB is there to lend aerial support.... and any transport AC I would have sent would have been destroyed within a few days. In fact....I withdrew most of the Dutch air force a few weeks ago as it was just being destroyed in situ by the IJAAF and the IJAF. Its a moot point now however as Japan invades at Palembang this turn... 3/29-3/30/42 DEI Japan invests Palembang with a combination of overland and amphibious assault: Pre-Invasion action off Palembang - Coastal Guns Fire Back! Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 131 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships CA Suzuya, Shell hits 1 CA Maya CA Chikuma CL Kitakami CL Kuma, Shell hits 1 xAKL Yosyu Maru xAKL Yamayuri Maru xAKL Zuiho Maru, Shell hits 5 Allied ground losses: 94 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled CA Suzuya firing at Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion firing at CA Suzuya CA Maya firing at Zuid KNIL Battalion Palembang Base Force firing at CA Chikuma CA Chikuma firing at Palembang Base Force CL Kitakami firing at Palembang Base Force Palembang Base Force firing at CL Kitakami CL Kuma firing at Palembang Base Force Palembang Base Force firing at CL Kuma 75mm CD Gun Battery engaging xAKL Yosyu Maru at 8,000 yards CA Maya firing to suppress enemy battery at 8,000 yards 75mm CD Gun Battery engaging xAKL Yosyu Maru at 8,000 yards CA Maya firing to suppress enemy battery at 8,000 yards 75mm CD Gun Battery engaging xAKL Yosyu Maru at 8,000 yards CA Maya firing to suppress enemy battery at 8,000 yards CL Kitakami firing to suppress enemy battery at 8,000 yards CA Maya firing to suppress enemy battery at 8,000 yards 75mm CD Gun battery firing at xAKL Zuiho Maru 75mm CD Gun battery firing at xAKL Zuiho Maru 75mm CD Gun battery firing at xAKL Zuiho Maru -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amphibious Assault at Palembang TF 63 troops unloading over beach at Palembang, 48,91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 10394 troops, 59 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 498 Defending force 46091 troops, 318 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1409 Japanese ground losses: 221 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 24 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled) Allied ground losses: 10 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: Sabang Garrison Battalion Zuid KNIL Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion 8th Indian Brigade Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion Padang Garrison Battalion 2nd Garrison Battalion Pakanbaroe Det. Van Aaran Garrison Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion Medan Garrison Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 Singkawang Base Force Malaya Army Bintan Det. Base Force Padang Base Force Langsa Base Force Pontianak Base Force Teloekbetoeng Base Force 224 Group RAF Bengkalis Base Force Sambas Base Force Palembang Base Force Defending units: 5th Division 2nd Division 33rd Div /4 21st Division 18th Div /6 I was a little disappointed that the Medan Coastal Gun Battalion didnt put up a better fight. No matter though, now, as Dave has 3 1/2 divisions ready to assault Palembang next turn. Hopefully the Dutch bloody up the Jap SAA a bit before they capitulate....and hopefully the mass of BFs present at Palembang do a little demolition of the oil facilities there. The aerial bombardments continue at Batavia. USN fleet subs can carry 48 supplies....so 20 subs could deliver nearly 1000 supplies in 1 trip. Im going to start redeploying subs next turn to transport supplies into Batavia. Im getting pretty tired of watching the USN subs bounce torpedoes off of Japanese hulls every turn so maybe I can do something useful with them. I have been considering sending in about 20 small xAKs with supplies from Australia to Batavia......covered by USN carriers...... but with the entirety of KB somewhere in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra this would be an exceedingly risky operation. PHILIPPINES A 2nd IJN surface TF runs down an Allied xAK blockade runner last turn off Legaspi: AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Mar 29, 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Legaspi at 83,82, Range 10,000 Yards Japanese Ships DD Kamikaze DD Yunagi DD Okikaze Allied Ships xAK Panaman, Shell hits 17, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk Improved night sighting under 92% moonlight Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 92% moonlight: 11,000 yards CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 10,000 yards Japanese open fire on surprised Allied ships at 10,000 yards DD Okikaze fires at xAK Panaman at 10,000 yards DD Yunagi fires at xAK Panaman at 10,000 yards DD Kamikaze fires at xAK Panaman at 10,000 yards DD Okikaze engages xAK Panaman at 10,000 yards DD Yunagi engages xAK Panaman at 10,000 yards Range closes to 6,000 yards DD Okikaze engages xAK Panaman at 6,000 yards DD Kamikaze engages xAK Panaman at 6,000 yards Range closes to 3,000 yards DD Okikaze engages xAK Panaman at 3,000 yards DD Yunagi engages xAK Panaman at 3,000 yards Range increases to 4,000 yards DD Okikaze engages xAK Panaman at 4,000 yards DD Kamikaze engages xAK Panaman at 4,000 yards Range increases to 5,000 yards DD Kamikaze engages xAK Panaman at 5,000 yards xAK Panaman sunk by DD Okikaze at 5,000 yards xAK Panaman sunk by DD Okikaze at 5,000 yards Combat ends with last Allied ship sunk... I could try to instead offload supplies at Lucena or Batangas....but then there is the risk of Japanese naval bombers in addition to the surface TFs. Whatever.....Dave is on to my resupply efforts to Luzon. Ive diverted another two xAKs to Butuan and Cayagan on Mindanao and am considering suspending supply shipments into Luzon for a couple of weeks until things quiet down again. CHINA All quiet on the ground again this turn as both sides continue to manuever. I finally spotted Daves 150,000 strong army.....3500 AV.... in central China at Chengchow. Its looks as if they were waiting for me to move a 2000 AV Chinese army into Loyang so they could kill it. Ive turned the 2000 AV Chinese army around however and its heading back into the forests SE of Sian. Dave has been bombarding Wenchow with surface TFs for some time: Night Naval bombardment of Wenchow at 89,58 Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships BB Nagato CA Mikuma CA Mogami CL Kinu CL Isuzu CL Sendai CL Kashii DD Tsuta DD Hasu DD Namikaze DD Mikazuki DD Hayashio Allied ground losses: 320 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 36 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Light Industry hits 3 Resources hits 3 Manpower hits 3 Fires 1365 Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 4 Runway hits 107 Port hits 8 Port fuel hits 3 Port supply hits 5 F1M2 Pete acting as spotter for BB Nagato BB Nagato firing at Wenchow E7K2 Alf acting as spotter for CA Mikuma CA Mikuma firing at 100th Chinese/A Corps CA Mogami firing at Wenchow CL Kinu firing at Wenchow CL Isuzu firing at 100th Chinese/A Corps CL Sendai firing at Wenchow CL Kashii firing at Wenchow DD Tsuta firing at Wenchow DD Hasu firing at 100th Chinese/A Corps DD Namikaze firing at 100th Chinese/A Corps DD Mikazuki firing at Wenchow DD Hayashio firing at 14th Chinese Base Force I have been fighting to the last man to keep open a line of communication between Wenchow and Changsha as Wenchow is an extremely important supply source for China. The IJN naval bomardments....while not significant to Chinese ground forces....are slowly destroying the light industry in Wenchow....there is barely 40 LI left out of the original 80 LI. We have a HR against strategic bombing in China by either side but the naval bombardments are having the same effect as city attacks. Eventually the output of supply by Wenchow will be reduced to an insignificant amount and then we will withdraw from the coast to build up a shorter and stronger defensive line in the interior of China. SOPAC The SOPAC area is now reaching a point where it can defend itself for awhile without the presence of USN carriers. With nearly 600 AC and over 1000 AV of troops it presents a stronger defense with more mutually supporting airfields than even the Hawaiian islands. And the numerous USAAF and USMC fighter and DB squadrons are getting trained up to the point where they can sucessfully engage the IJNAF. Even the B-26 Marauder squadrons are trained up to over 70 experience for low naval. [image]local://upfiles/14495/F948BC869B2344A89A3A073B4643DE50.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> GENERAL DONG'S MARCH TO THE SEA (9/25/2011 5:30:05 AM)
3/31-4/1/42 DEI Dave launches his first assaults at Palembang: Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 8788 troops, 59 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 384 Defending force 44964 troops, 318 guns, 148 vehicles, Assault Value = 1350 Japanese ground losses: 50 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: Padang Garrison Battalion Van Aaran Garrison Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion 2nd Garrison Battalion Pakanbaroe Det. 8th Indian Brigade Medan Garrison Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion Zuid KNIL Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion Sabang Garrison Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 Teloekbetoeng Base Force Langsa Base Force Malaya Army Pontianak Base Force 224 Group RAF Singkawang Base Force Padang Base Force Sambas Base Force Bengkalis Base Force Bintan Det. Base Force Palembang Base Force Defending units: 21st Division 5th Division 2nd Division 33rd Div /4 18th Div /6 Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 45103 troops, 318 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1356 Defending force 12797 troops, 130 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 384 Japanese adjusted assault: 411 Allied adjusted defense: 898 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: fatigue(-) Japanese ground losses: 1069 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 63 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 98 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Allied ground losses: 2023 casualties reported Squads: 41 destroyed, 54 disabled Non Combat: 34 destroyed, 75 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 5th Division 33rd Div /4 21st Division 2nd Division 18th Div /6 Defending units: Medan Garrison Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion Sabang Garrison Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion Pakanbaroe Det. Van Aaran Garrison Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 2nd Garrison Battalion Zuid KNIL Battalion Padang Garrison Battalion 8th Indian Bde /1 Langsa Base Force 224 Group RAF Sambas Base Force Padang Base Force Pontianak Base Force Bengkalis Base Force Malaya Army Teloekbetoeng Base Force Bintan Det. Base Force Singkawang Base Force Palembang Base Force -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 7370 troops, 59 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 306 Defending force 44041 troops, 318 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1289 Japanese ground losses: 49 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: Pakanbaroe Det. So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion Padang Garrison Battalion Sabang Garrison Battalion 2nd Garrison Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 Van Aaran Garrison Battalion Medan Garrison Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Zuid KNIL Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion 8th Indian Bde /1 Pontianak Base Force 224 Group RAF Bengkalis Base Force Sambas Base Force Singkawang Base Force Bintan Det. Base Force Teloekbetoeng Base Force Langsa Base Force Padang Base Force Malaya Army Palembang Base Force Defending units: 33rd Div /4 5th Division 21st Division 2nd Division 18th Div /6 Kudos to Dave for bringing sufficient force to the party. I had hoped to resist at Palembang for awhile but it looks as if the Allied defenses will collapse in the next turn or two. PHILIPPINES Dave may have stopped me from landing supplies at Legaspi and Nagi but the Allied xAKs continue to drop off supplies at Butaun and Cayagan on Mindanao and Atimonan on Luzon. CHINA The IJA panzer korps attempts to break out into southern China through the forests N of Amoy: Ground combat at 83,59 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13085 troops, 52 guns, 981 vehicles, Assault Value = 725 Defending force 32170 troops, 238 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1352 Japanese adjusted assault: 306 Allied adjusted defense: 2950 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 9 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1934 casualties reported Squads: 81 destroyed, 144 disabled Non Combat: 34 destroyed, 187 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 66 (6 destroyed, 60 disabled) Allied ground losses: 4415 casualties reported Squads: 11 destroyed, 271 disabled Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 205 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 25 disabled Assaulting units: 102nd Infantry Regiment 9th Tank Regiment 1st Recon Regiment 8th Recon Regiment 20th Recon Regiment 12th Tank Regiment 23rd Tank Regiment 9th Armored Car Co 10th Tank Regiment 3rd Tank Regiment 11th Tank Regiment 26th Recon Regiment Defending units: 49th Chinese/C Corps 70th Chinese Corps 93rd Chinese Division 86th Chinese/C Corps 65th Chinese Corps 71st Chinese/C Corps 5th Chinese Cavalry Corps 21st Chinese/A Corps 3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment This result is almost unfathomable for me. I had hand picked Chinese corps with lots of embedded 37mm AT guns and Im in 3x terrain and yet in a 1:9 attack the Chinese suffer over 4400 casualties vs Japanese losses of 1900. With this game design there is no way to stop Jap armor......excuse me.... there is no way to stop crap Jap tankettes regardless of the odds. I did way better in my 1:2 counterattack: Ground combat at 83,59 Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 29104 troops, 238 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1082 Defending force 9658 troops, 52 guns, 975 vehicles, Assault Value = 545 Allied adjusted assault: 732 Japanese adjusted defense: 1312 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 90 casualties reported Squads: 9 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 27 destroyed, 44 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 67 (12 destroyed, 55 disabled) Allied ground losses: 70 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 65th Chinese Corps 5th Chinese Cavalry Corps 70th Chinese Corps 71st Chinese/C Corps 49th Chinese/C Corps 93rd Chinese Division 86th Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/A Corps 3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment Defending units: 9th Armored Car Co 8th Recon Regiment 102nd Infantry Regiment 3rd Tank Regiment 23rd Tank Regiment 20th Recon Regiment 12th Tank Regiment 9th Tank Regiment 1st Recon Regiment 11th Tank Regiment 10th Tank Regiment 26th Recon Regiment Japan suffered way more casualties percentage wise in my 1:2 counterattack than they did in their 1:9 assault. Looks like Dave is going _ALL IN_ here to break out with his massed armor into southern China to relieve besieged Canton. Maybe I would be better off if I continued to counterattack at 1:2 odds every turn rather than wait for Japan to attack me at ridiculously low odds. Well Im going _ALL IN_ this next turn with the RAF, USAAF and CAF and Im throwing in virtually every AC I have in theatre to stop the Jap tankettes. Meanwhile....2 Chinese armies under the command of General Le Duc Dong......affectionately known to his troops as the Dongger...continues their march to the sea towards Hangchow. [image]local://upfiles/14495/DCEE0D8F57D743C797A6921FE7372D7D.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: GENERAL DONG'S MARCH TO THE SEA (9/26/2011 6:15:24 PM)
4/2-4/3/42 DEI All quiet at Palembang. I think that Dave is just resting his troops for the final assault next turn. With the fall of Palembang imminent....the Dutch fighter squadrons there are rebased to Batavia. Five Allied subs load supplies at Palembang for transport to Batavia. The supply level at Batavia drops to 22,000. PHILIPPINES Japan has 3 airstrikes with Lilys against an Allied xAK unloading supplies at Atimonan. No bombs hit but Im sure that I will see divebombers there next turn... its too hot here for xAKs to unload. All xAKs still in route from Midway to the Philippoines will be re-routed to Butuan, Cayagan and even Davao on Mindanao. With supplies now pouring into Mindanao Ive turned on replacements there for the LCUs. The PBYs complete withdrawal of the 93rd Regiemnt from Leyte to Luzon and are staged on to Calcutta to upgrade and take on replacements. CBI I bought 2 more Chinese formations with PPs and they cross the border into Burma to recapture Bhamo. They will move on now to Myitkina and eventually Calcutta to take on massive Chinese infantry squad replacements. In China, Dave reinforces his panzer korps with 2 infantry brigades and Im sure he will try to break through Chinese defensive positions inland from Amoy next turn. I have reinforcements on the way at Kanhsien....some more 75mm artillery and 2 Chinese corps with another 12 37mm AT guns but they wont arrive for a couple more turns. The Allied bomber attack on the IJA armor stack didnt seem to do much damage last turn. However in the swirling air battle the Japanese lost 45 AC vs 21 Allied AC. Im staging the Allied bombers to Sian this turn to deal with a Japanese buildup to the east out of Tayuan. I just realized that I have 3 AT gun regiments.....from III Indian Corps....rebuilding with the rest of III Indian Corps at Karachi. The British 85th AT Gun Regiment is at full strength and will be railed to Ledo. I wasnt able to fly any of the AT gun regiments out of Singapore at the start of the war as the transport AC had insufficient lift capacity. Now that I am starting to get the new DC-3s and Skytrains with 6000 lb capacity I want to see if they are capable of lifting the 2 pounder AT guns into China. If not....then I will march the AT gun regiments into China but that will take a long time. The other two III Indian Corps anti tank regiments will stay behind in India until they reach their full TOE......with 36 2 pounder AT guns received every month....they should both be rebuilt in a couple of weeks. Im transferring yet another 800 Chinese AV from central China to southern China as Dave seems to be more focused on the south now. General Dong continues his march to the sea....1 Chinese army is now within 2 hexes of Hangchow while another Chinese army is poised to threaten Nanning and eventually even Shanghai. The Chinese aslo recapture Pucheng. [image]local://upfiles/14495/1C6134B7FFBB47FB8201B7EC7C876999.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> THE FAT LADY'S GETTING READY TO SING AT PALEMBANG (9/27/2011 7:55:34 PM)
4/4-4/5/42 SUBS SS I-1 sinks CL Concord near Christmas Island with a pair of torpedoes. SS Triton sinks PB Mikitade Maru near Toyohara. DEI Japan launches two more 1:1 assaults at Palembang: Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 44872 troops, 318 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1358 Defending force 11686 troops, 129 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 324 Japanese adjusted assault: 752 Allied adjusted defense: 652 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1373 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 46 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 91 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 1453 casualties reported Squads: 23 destroyed, 81 disabled Non Combat: 44 destroyed, 70 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Units destroyed 1 Assaulting units: III/66th Naval Guard Unit 2nd Division 5th Division 33rd Div /4 21st Division 18th Div /6 Defending units: Korps Marechausee Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion Pakanbaroe Det. Medan Garrison Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Zuid KNIL Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 Sabang Garrison Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion Padang Garrison Battalion Van Aaran Garrison Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion 2nd Garrison Battalion 8th Indian Bde /1 Langsa Base Force 224 Group RAF Malaya Army Padang Base Force Sambas Base Force Teloekbetoeng Base Force Bengkalis Base Force Pontianak Base Force Singkawang Base Force Bintan Det. Base Force Palembang Base Force Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 4959 troops, 56 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 152 Defending force 43996 troops, 322 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1307 Japanese ground losses: 54 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: Zuid KNIL Battalion Van Aaran Garrison Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 West Borneo KNIL Battalion Medan Garrison Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Padang Garrison Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion Sabang Garrison Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion 8th Indian Bde /1 Padang Base Force 224 Group RAF Bintan Det. Base Force Bengkalis Base Force Malaya Army Singkawang Base Force Sambas Base Force Teloekbetoeng Base Force Pontianak Base Force Langsa Base Force Palembang Base Force Defending units: 2nd Division 5th Division I/81st Naval Guard Unit 33rd Div /4 III/66th Naval Guard Unit 21st Division 18th Div /6 Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 44064 troops, 318 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1339 Defending force 10449 troops, 128 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 256 Japanese adjusted assault: 518 Allied adjusted defense: 325 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 674 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 34 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 86 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Allied ground losses: 2037 casualties reported Squads: 32 destroyed, 125 disabled Non Combat: 40 destroyed, 146 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Units destroyed 1 Assaulting units: 33rd Div /4 I/81st Naval Guard Unit 5th Division III/66th Naval Guard Unit 21st Division 2nd Division 18th Div /6 Defending units: Zuid KNIL Battalion 2nd Garrison Battalion Sabang Garrison Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion Van Aaran Garrison Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Padang Garrison Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 Medan Garrison Battalion 8th Indian Bde /1 Langsa Base Force Bintan Det. Base Force 224 Group RAF Singkawang Base Force Bengkalis Base Force Padang Base Force Pontianak Base Force Malaya Army Sambas Base Force Teloekbetoeng Base Force Palembang Base Force It may not be completely over yet at Palembang.....I had a level 1 fort there at the end of the turn.....but the fat lady is up and tapping the microphone there. At Batavia....Dave orders a ground bombardment this turn in addition to the daily aerial bombardments: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 29960 troops, 326 guns, 70 vehicles, Assault Value = 1467 Defending force 46717 troops, 503 guns, 256 vehicles, Assault Value = 1451 Japanese ground losses: 22 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 16th Recon Regiment Yokosuka 2nd SNLF 18th Division 8th Tank Regiment 16th Engineer Regiment 33rd Infantry Regiment 33rd Division 20th Infantry Regiment 16th Naval Guard Unit 4th Div /7 Defending units: SE Borneo KNIL Battalion Kendari Garrison Battalion 6th KNIL Regiment Samarinda KNIL Battalion 2nd KNIL Regiment Lijfwacht Cav Sqn Barisan KNIL Regiment Marinier Battalion Mobiele Eenheid Battalion VI KNIL Battalion VII KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Regiment 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion Manado Garrison Battalion Van Altena Battalion Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion Prajoda Garrison Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion Afdeling Ritman 1st KNIL Regiment Roodenburg Battalion 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st Regt Cavalerie Makassar Garrison Battalion Commandement Marine Tjilitap Base Force Djojakarta Base Force Madion Base Force Bandoeng Base Force Soerabaja Base Force 3rd KNIL AA Battalion Loemafjang Base Force 1 ML-KNIL Aviation KNIL Army Command Batavia Base Force MLD ML-KNIL Merak Base Force Banjoewangi Base Force 1st KNIL AA Battalion ABDA Malang Base Force Dutch AV is up to 1451 at Batavia but supply is now down to 19,000....Im going through supply much faster than I had anticipated here. Subs are starting to bring in a trickle of supplies but it isnt nearly enough. Batavia may run out of supplies before I can even mount a carrier covered resupply effort. Looking at the overall picture of Japanese SAA troop dispositions....there are elements of 5 IJA divisions at Palembang; elements of 4 divisions at Batavia, 2 1/2 divisions at Vigan on Luzon.....and 56th Division in western Burma. That pretty much accounts for the entire SAA and there cant be a Phase II offensive for Japan until Dave clears up the situation in the DEI. PHILIPPINES IJN surface TFs sink 2 xAKs off Luzon. Ive sent the last 4 blockade running xAKs to Mindanao where they are currently unloading. Everyone else has been sent back to Midway and then on to the USA west coast. I think that I will reload supplies in San Francisco and then stage everyone back to Midway....and then maybe resume the blockade runners in late May or early June. There are over 75,000 supplies on Luzon now and 10,000 supplies on Mindanao. CBI Dave is sending the 56th Division towards Myitkina now and paradropped the 1st Raiding Regiment on Katha as soon as I had evacuated it. In China.....what had been a garrison of 4 LCUs in Hangchow last turn is now 14 LCUs this turn.....looks like Dave railed in 10 LCUs last turn from his massive force at Chengchow. I have 2 armies approaching Hangchow....1300 AV and 1600 AV....if Dave railed in the big boys from Chengchow then he could annihilate each of my armies individually. But if he pursues one of my armies the other could take Hangchow....so it looks like a bit of a standoff to me. It looks as if I will have to postpone the drive to the sea for a bit.....but at least the Chinese counteroffensive in the SE has halted all Japanese offensive activity in both the center and the north. Dave had begun to mass troops at Taiyuan for a drive on Sian from the east...and even infiltrated with a single LCU to cut our main supply line....but now the Chinese are massing and will destroy the IJA roadblock in 2 turns. In the south.....the IJA Panzer Korps has been reinforced with 3 brigades and Dave lauches a bombardment to evaluate the relative AV of the oppposing forces: Ground combat at 83,59 Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 15282 troops, 102 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1124 Defending force 28632 troops, 234 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1114 Japanese ground losses: 27 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 11 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 3rd Tank Regiment 20th Recon Regiment 8th Recon Regiment 10th Tank Regiment 1st Recon Regiment 58th Infantry Regiment 55th Infantry Brigade 9th Tank Regiment 23rd Tank Regiment 12th Tank Regiment 12th Ind.Mixed Brigade 11th Tank Regiment 26th Recon Regiment Defending units: 71st Chinese/C Corps 5th Chinese Cavalry Corps 49th Chinese/C Corps 70th Chinese Corps 86th Chinese/C Corps 65th Chinese Corps 21st Chinese/A Corps 3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment My troops here are on 3x terrain but that is little solace against massed tanks. Im trying to withdraw my troops here even as Chinese reinforcements close in. Im committing a lot of air here next turn as Im sure Dave is also. If the Chinese stack can survive just one more turn here it should be able to withdraw and merge with the reinforcements. [image]local://upfiles/14495/75CF92B712B84B6E95839B265D731266.jpg[/image]

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: THE FAT LADY'S GETTING READY TO SING AT PALEMBANG (9/28/2011 12:21:18 AM)
Adm Spruance who owns Port Blair and the surrounding islands? What does southern Burma look like? How about the islands off Sumatra. With Dave heavily tied down, now may be the time to grab key terrain to position yourself for a late 42 offensive...assuming this scenario 1.

racndoc -> THE FAT LADY'S GETTING READY TO SING AT PALEMBANG (9/28/2011 6:03:11 AM)
Wirrayway_Ace.... Yes we are playing Scn 1. Ive attached a screenshot of Burma as Ive neglected to discuss this theatre much in the AAR. Dave has captured Port Blair and all the Andaman Islands, Great Nicobar and most of the islands off Sumatra.....and of course KB is sailing somewhere just off the southern coast of Sumatra. As far as troop dispositions....I think that Japan is a bit light in this theatre. Dave has 56th Division, 1st Raiding Regiment and the rest of the IJA paratroops and a couple of mixed regiments. Mandalay is now a level 3 AF but no other AFs have been built up in Burma. I think that Dave has so far used most of his PP's to release troops in Manchukuo for duty in China proper. I will not be considering any amphibious ops in this area for quite some time. If KB remains in the Indian Ocean/DEI I will consider an early amphibious op in the central or south Pacific as soon as all 5 USN carriers are on station.......Sara and Lex are heading back on station after completing their 3/42 upgrades and Enterprise and Yorktown are currently completing their 4/42 upgrades. Im repidly building up in the south Pacific at this time. I am also just beginning to build up NE Oz.....airfields at Cairns, Cooktown and Portland Roads will all be maxed out to neutralize Horn Island, Port Moresby and the rest of SE New Guinea before we commence any offensive ops in the area. Currently, Japan has a level 2 AF at Lunga, a level 3 AF at Munda and level 4 AFs at Shortland and Rabaul. There has been no Japanese buildup at Port Moresby but sigint identified an Air HQ at Buna so this will probably be the main Japanese AF in SE New Guinea. Barring an early snatch and grab Allied offensive...we will probably begin amphibious ops in SWPAC in 8/42. Concurrent with that offensive....I hope to begin a land based offensive in Burma. If you ever read my "In Harm's Way" AAR....I began an offensive in Burma in 8/42 that captured Burma by 9/42, Thailand by 11/42 and Saigon and most of Indochina by 1/43. In that game of AE I launched a 3 prong offensive into Burma with Burma Corps(1100 AV), I Australian Corps(1350 AV) and III Indian Corps(1800 AV with attached armor). In this game, I have nearly 1400 AV of Burma Corps concentrated around Myitkina...that doesnt count the 185 AV of 7 Armored Regiment currently in NE India. Even though Burma Corps has a large amount of AV the LCUs are mostly inexperienced with low morale....so they are hunkered down in Myitkina until they improve in quality.I also have all of I Australian Corps....with the exception of the 6th Australian Division(currently in Oz) at Chittagong. I have virtually every sub unit of III Indian Corps rebuilding in Karachi.....cadres of every unit were extracted from Malaya but the majority of the troops were sacrificed to tie down Japan at Singapore for a few weeks. I have approximately 550 AV of III Indian Corps currently at Karachi with 18th UK in Oz. Im sending the 3 AT regiments of III Indian Corps to China to slow down the massed IJA armor there. Even with taking on replacements for the next 4 months...... III Indian Corps will be nowhere near as strong by 8/42 as it was in my last game of AE. To augment these troops.....Ive landed the US Army 159th Motorized Regiment and the 14th Canadian Brigade at Karachi and have another Canadian brigade and the USA 27th Division in transit to Capetown. I also am forming a "Red Guard" at Calcutta.....currently its 3 Chinese LCUs with an AV of 275 with 3 more Chinese LCUs on the way. I want the Red Guard to increase to approximately 1000 AV by 8/42. In addition, I was originally concerned about an early Japanese thrust into Australia and SOPAC. I sent 18th UK and the 6th Aussie Divisions to OZ. Now that Ive built up SOPAC and can readily ship troops from New Caledonia/Fiji/New Hebrides to Australia....I am considering shipping 18th UK and 6th Australian Divisions back to India to pack a little more offensive punch. I would normally like to wait on starting an offensive from India into Burma until the Indian 254th and 255th Armored Brigades upgrade to modern tanks...then they can form the nucleus of a powerful armored force along with 7th Armored Brigade. The main objective of a 8/42 offensive into Burma would be to open up the Burma Road and take pressure off of the hard pressed Chinese forces. At a minimum it would soak up IJA troops that could otherwise be used in a Phase II offensive somewhere else and best case scenario could compromise the Japanese in SE Asia and Indochina. Ive built up the airfields at Myitkina, Ledo, Imphal and Chittagong. Ive got a squadron of P-38Es, a squadron of Canadian Kittyhawk Ibs and several squadrons of P-40Es training in India now. I found in my 1st game of AE that even though I overran most of Indochina by the end of 1942 I regretted not sending more air groups to India to augment 10th Air Force. My greatest limiting factor now is a lack of bombers in this theatre. Im doing pretty well in China now and have achieved very favorable AC loss ratios with Japan but it has cost me a lot of bombers. You will see in my next post that I was able to stop the IJA armored force in southern China but it was at the cost of over a dozen bombers. Most of the RAF bomber groups are at half strength now. My RAF bomber replacements consisted of only 4 Hudson IIIa /mo to date but starting in April I get 6 Wellington Ics/mo and then in May I will start getting 12 Blenheim IV replacements/mo. I sent 3 B-17 groups from the PI to India at the start of the war and they have been performing yeoman duty in China up till now. I need to get more USAAF bombers into India but in the early war I was sending all the B-26 squadrons into SOPAC. Even if you send some of the Bolos to India in the early war you really cant do much with them until the US starts getting 20 B-25c replacements /mo in 8/42. I will try to send B-17 groups into India but they will also be needed to take out the Japanese AFs at Rabaul, Shortlands, Lunga and Munda. [image]local://upfiles/14495/3D65126B387F4897B38819151E9113E7.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> THE FAT LADY'S GETTING READY TO SING AT PALEMBANG (9/28/2011 7:28:48 PM)
4/6-4/7/42 DEI Japan launches 2 more assaults to capture Palembang: Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 43649 troops, 318 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1326 Defending force 8940 troops, 128 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 155 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 436 Allied adjusted defense: 331 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 587 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 17 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 50 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Allied ground losses: 1855 casualties reported Squads: 90 destroyed, 41 disabled Non Combat: 42 destroyed, 74 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Assaulting units: III/66th Naval Guard Unit 21st Division I/81st Naval Guard Unit 33rd Div /4 5th Division 2nd Division 18th Div /6 Defending units: Padang Garrison Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion Riouw KNIL Battalion Sabang Garrison Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Zuid KNIL Battalion Van Aaran Garrison Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 Medan Garrison Battalion 8th Indian Bde /1 224 Group RAF Padang Base Force Bintan Det. Base Force Sambas Base Force Malaya Army Pontianak Base Force Bengkalis Base Force Langsa Base Force Teloekbetoeng Base Force Singkawang Base Force Palembang Base Force Ground combat at Palembang (48,91) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 43451 troops, 318 guns, 149 vehicles, Assault Value = 1317 Defending force 7601 troops, 127 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 99 Japanese adjusted assault: 491 Allied adjusted defense: 175 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Palembang !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 400 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 22 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Allied ground losses: 9000 casualties reported Squads: 399 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 764 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 22 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 176 (176 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units destroyed 24 Assaulting units: I/81st Naval Guard Unit 21st Division 33rd Div /4 2nd Division 5th Division III/66th Naval Guard Unit 18th Div /6 Defending units: Medan Coastal Gun Battalion Padang Garrison Battalion Sabang Garrison Battalion Korps Marechausee Battalion Van Aaran Garrison Battalion Zuid KNIL Battalion Medan Garrison Battalion So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion West Borneo KNIL Battalion Tapanoeli Gsn Battalion 6th Indian Bde /1 Riouw KNIL Battalion 8th Indian Bde /1 224 Group RAF Bengkalis Base Force Padang Base Force Sambas Base Force Malaya Army Teloekbetoeng Base Force Pontianak Base Force Bintan Det. Base Force Langsa Base Force Singkawang Base Force Palembang Base Force Dave used overwhelming force here as was able to take Palembang fairly quickly with minimal losses. What remains to be seen is if the 3 1/2 IJA divisions at Palembang are redeployed to Java or if they begin Phase II offensive ops for Japan. Dave continues the aerial and ground bombardments at Batavia and supply is now down to 18,000. I received sigint this turn that an IJA heavy artillery regiment was loaded on an xAKL for Java. CARRIERS CV Illustrious arrives at Capetown and heads out into the Indian Ocean......that now gives the RN 3 CVs and a CVL. Yorktown and Enterprise complete their 4/42 upgrades this turn and Hornet will complete her 4/42 upgrades next turn. The the Allies will have 5 USN CVs, 3 RN CVs and a CVL available for naval ops.....that should be enough to face off against KB should I decide to land a massive resupply op at Batavia. It sort of depends on what Dave does with his troops at Palembang. If the 3 1/2 IJA divisions at Palembang redeploy to Java...it will be over fairly soon for Batavia and then there is no need to resupply. If Dave doesnt reinforce Java and decides to starve me out there then a resupply op could tie him down for a extra few precious months. If there is no Allied resupply op for Batavia and KB stays in the DEI....then the Allies have the option of early amphibious ops in the central or south Pacific. CBI A large air battle swirls over the IJA armor stack as both sides try to create favorable odds for the upcoming attack. An AVG sweep out of Kukong doesnt fly and the RAF loses 11 Hudson Is and 3 Hudson IIIas. Overall Japan loses 35 AC to 31 Allied AC. Even with the addition of 2 fresh brigades......the IJA panzer korps can only manage a 1:4 assault that leaves both sides with heavy casualties: Ground combat at 83,59 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 24596 troops, 116 guns, 949 vehicles, Assault Value = 1126 Defending force 28675 troops, 234 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1118 Japanese adjusted assault: 457 Allied adjusted defense: 2167 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 4 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1248 casualties reported Squads: 19 destroyed, 71 disabled Non Combat: 24 destroyed, 241 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Vehicles lost 253 (16 destroyed, 237 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2237 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 254 disabled Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 116 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled Assaulting units: 12th Tank Regiment 8th Recon Regiment 3rd Tank Regiment 58th Infantry Regiment 9th Tank Regiment 10th Tank Regiment 12th Ind.Mixed Brigade 23rd Tank Regiment 11th Tank Regiment 55th Infantry Brigade 1st Recon Regiment 20th Recon Regiment 26th Recon Regiment Defending units: 70th Chinese Corps 65th Chinese Corps 5th Chinese Cavalry Corps 71st Chinese/C Corps 86th Chinese/C Corps 49th Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/A Corps 3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment The Chinese lose the equivalent of a corps while Japan loses an astounding 253 AFVs. When I ambushed Dave a couple of months ago in the forests south of Sian with 2 dug in AT regiments( 72 AT guns) Japan only lost 190 AFVs. Here Japan loses 253 AFVs to only 23 AT guns and an artillery regiment. Add to that the loss of 130 AFVs 2 turns ago and the IJA panzer korps has lost nearly 400 AFVs.....about 30% of their AFVs. Even better.....the Chinese defenders completed their withdrawal 1 hex to the NW where they linked up with 2 more artillery regiments and 2 more Chinese corps with 400 AV and 16 AT guns. Now the combined Chinese force has some 1300 AV and 39 AT guns.....with yet another Chinese corps with 270 AV and 12 AT guns 1 more hex to the NW of them. Now the hunters become the hunted.....this Chinese stack will now reverse course and advance on the IJA panzer korps while another Chinese army with 1000 AV bears down on the IJA armor from the NE. Its hard to tell from the resolution on my screenshot but it appears now that the IJA armor is trying to retreat towards Amoy. [image]local://upfiles/14495/B51FFD030F684B75AE1EE40BE24216FB.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (9/29/2011 11:29:51 PM)
4/8-4/9/42 DEI The Japanese continue to pound Batavia from land and by air......supplies are now down to 17,800. Allied subs pulled nearly 400 supplies out of Palembang just before it capitulated and dropped them at Batavia before heading to Australia to reload. Sigint reports that the 2nd Heavy Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment and the 18th Medium Artillery Regiment are all loaded on xAKs heading to Kalidjati on Java. Looks like there will be some pretty impressive fireworks at Batavia in a few days. I dont want the IJA reinforcements to feel unwelcome when they reach Java so Im going to mine the approaches to Kalidjati and have a couple subs waiting as a reception commitee. The Dutch Hurricane and P-40E squadrons piut up a good fight in the skiies over Palembang and Batavia....there are quite a few Dutch aces now. However, they are finally out of replacements and Im withdrawing the remainder of the Dutch air force from Batavia. CBI All quiet across the entire theatre. In Burma....even though the IJA 15th Army has been prepping for Myitkina since the start of the war.....the Allied position seems very secure for now with 1400 AV behind 4x forts in 3x terrain at Myitkina. The Allies have corps and command HQs 100% prepped for Myitkina so there is no need for concern until the SAA troops are released from the DEI and the Philippines. In China....I can safely say that the threat level is green for the first time in the war. There is no IJA activity in the far north or western deserts, northern or central China. A large IJA force sits in Hangchow daring me to approach in south central China. Im pulling back a lot of troops now and forming reserves again at Sian and Ichang as the multiple Japanese threats subside. In southern China....the bloodied IJA panzer corps continues its retreat towards Amoy. It will probably rest and rebuild on the coast for awhile. Dave has been greatly bothered by the Chinese seige of Canton since the start of the war. I would imagine that the IJA armor will spearhead an attack to relieve Canton once they recover their AFVs. After liberating Canton....I wouldnt be surprised at all to see Japan come after Wuchow. After all...Wuchow is in clear terrain and clear terrain is perfect tank country.......or is it? In previous iterations of WitP Ive made CAP traps and Flak traps but Ive never done an AT gun trap. I have a Chinese AT gun regiment that has force marched from northern China thru Chungking and has nearly reached the rail terminus at Tuyun. Then it can be railed to Liuchow and then force marched to Wuchow. The 3 AT gun regiements from III Indian Corps will reach Ledo next turn and then I will have the big DC-3s start airlifting them over the hump into Kunming. Im also considering buying the USA 31st Regiment(with its 18 37mm AT guns) on Luzon and airlifting it to China if the PBY-5s have enough capacity to carry the 37mm tank guns. PHILIPPINES All quiet here as the Allies continue to fortify the San Fernando line on Luzon. The last of the Allied xAK blockade runners drop supplies at Butuan. Cayagan and Davao on Mindanao and we should have nearly 17,000 supplies on the island when they are done. Then we will lie low for a month or 2 and then trying running the xAKs through the blockade again. [image]local://upfiles/14495/787147AB2FF84008B6B895A9DD22C584.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/1/2011 3:29:35 PM)
4/10-4/13/42 FORTRESS BATAVIA The aerial and ground bombardments continue. Supplies are down to 15,000. PHILIPPINES All quiet on Luzon. Dave goes on the offensive on Mindanao. The IJA 38th Division has withdrawn from Vigan and landed on Mindanao. Dave invests cayagan and lands a naval guard on Butuan: Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 20119 troops, 191 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 802 Defending force 9429 troops, 59 guns, 55 vehicles, Assault Value = 394 Assaulting units: 38th Division 10th Garrison Unit 67th Naval Guard Unit 11th Garrison Unit 62nd Naval Guard Unit 2nd Sasebo SNLF Coy Defending units: 2nd/101st PA Battalion 4th/101st PA Battalion 3rd/101st PA Battalion 3rd PA Constabulary Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/A Division 102nd PA Infantry/B Division 102nd PA Infantry Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/C Division Cagayan USAAF Base Force III Philippine Corps I staged in 3 squadrons of B-17s from China to Cayagan. The B-17s will hit the IJA troops at both Cayagan and Butuan and then the Philippine regiment at Butuan will shock attack the Japanese naval guard unit. CBI Ive mostly withdrawn the RAF from China to Ledo and Imphal. RAF bombers will strike the IJA 56th Division next turn as it advances on Katha. Not only could the DC-3s airlift AT guns from Ledo to Kunming but the smaller C-33s(4000 capacity) were airlifting AT guns also. Now that I know that 4000 capacity transport AC can airlift AT guns Ive staged a couple of PBY-5 squadrons to the Philippines where they will try to transport the 31st Regiment to China. Dave railed his 3700 AV army from Hangchow to Nanking and moved quickly into the forests SW of Nanking to ambush a Chinese corps: Ground combat at Wuhu (89,53) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 98751 troops, 778 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 3703 Defending force 5704 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 260 Japanese adjusted assault: 2918 Allied adjusted defense: 27 Japanese assault odds: 108 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-) supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 307 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Allied ground losses: 4436 casualties reported Squads: 76 destroyed, 142 disabled Non Combat: 76 destroyed, 125 disabled Engineers: 7 destroyed, 13 disabled Units retreated 1 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 110th Division 2nd RGC Division 13th Indpt Infantry Regiment 41st Division 11th Indpt Infantry Regiment 6th Division RGC Capital Brigade 34th Division 116th Division 4th Ind.Mixed Brigade RGC Tax Police Regiment 59th Infantry Brigade 35th Division 22nd RGC Temp. Division 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 84th Chinese Corps Dave was attempting to cut off the Chinese 1900 AV army outside of Hangchow. Ive withdrawn the Chinese army towards Nanchang and its now in a 3x terrain hex awaiting the arrival of the IJA army. All quiet in the south as Dave rests the AFVs of his panzer korps. [image]local://upfiles/14495/129938C97BA144DEBA2BFEA3E8CC34D3.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/2/2011 10:51:29 PM)
4/14-4/15/42 FORTRESS BATAVIA Japan launches its second assault at Batavia: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 36740 troops, 485 guns, 404 vehicles, Assault Value = 1505 Defending force 47063 troops, 503 guns, 256 vehicles, Assault Value = 1472 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2 Japanese adjusted assault: 671 Allied adjusted defense: 2509 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4950 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 163 disabled Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 183 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled Vehicles lost 37 (1 destroyed, 36 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1911 casualties reported Squads: 19 destroyed, 118 disabled Non Combat: 25 destroyed, 81 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Vehicles lost 18 (3 destroyed, 15 disabled) Assaulting units: 33rd Infantry Regiment 18th Division 8th Tank Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 16th Recon Regiment Yokosuka 2nd SNLF 16th Naval Guard Unit 16th Engineer Regiment 33rd Division 1st Engineer Co 4th Div /7 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Mortar Battalion Defending units: SE Borneo KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st Regt Cavalerie 6th KNIL Regiment Manado Garrison Battalion Kendari Garrison Battalion Van Altena Battalion Mobiele Eenheid Battalion Roodenburg Battalion Barisan KNIL Regiment Prajoda Garrison Battalion Marinier Battalion Afdeling Ritman Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Lijfwacht Cav Sqn VII KNIL Battalion 2nd KNIL Regiment 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st KNIL Regiment VI KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Regiment Samarinda KNIL Battalion Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion Makassar Garrison Battalion Banjoewangi Base Force 1 ML-KNIL Aviation Djojakarta Base Force Madion Base Force 3rd KNIL AA Battalion MLD Batavia Base Force ML-KNIL Loemafjang Base Force KNIL Army Command ABDA Soerabaja Base Force 1st KNIL AA Battalion Merak Base Force Tjilitap Base Force Bandoeng Base Force Commandement Marine Malang Base Force Japan suffers nearly 5000 casualties vs 1900 Dutch casualties. Looks like all the IJA artillery regiments got ashore before I could lay down a minefield. Glad to see Dave assaulting Batavia before it ran out of supplies. PHILIPPINES Dave is naval bombarding the Allied troops at San Fernando with 2 surface TFs centered around BB Nagato and BB Ise. Not only is this raising the experience of the Philippino troops but it means there are 2 fewer BBs in the Pacific to threaten Allied surface TFs. Dave withdrew his naval guard unit at Butuan before I could launch my shock attack. The 3 B-17 squadrons at Cayagan hammered the IJA 38th Division before it could launch an expensive 1:2 assault at Cayagan: Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 20114 troops, 191 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 802 Defending force 9552 troops, 60 guns, 55 vehicles, Assault Value = 394 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 312 Allied adjusted defense: 399 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1513 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 139 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 81 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Allied ground losses: 783 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 81 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 81 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Assaulting units: 62nd Naval Guard Unit 67th Naval Guard Unit 10th Garrison Unit 11th Garrison Unit 38th Division 2nd Sasebo SNLF Coy Defending units: 102nd PA Infantry/A Division 102nd PA Infantry Regiment 3rd PA Constabulary Regiment 3rd/101st PA Battalion 4th/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry/B Division 2nd/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry/C Division Cagayan USAAF Base Force III Philippine Corps Now the IJA 38th Division is mired down in a battle it cant win on Mindanao......and the Allied troops on Luzon can go back to R&R until the Japanese mount a real threat there. CBI No ground assaults this turn. The IJAAF hammers Chinese troops across the region as the RAF has been withdrawn. The RAF has staged to India and its bombers pounded the IJA 56th Division outside of Katha this turn. Next turn we will hit the main Japanese airfield in Burma at Mandalay with everything we have. SOPAC The massive Allied buildup continues in SOPAC. Luganville now has a level 3 AF and a level 3 port. I staged a USMC SB2U-3 squadron into Luganville last turn and this turn they hit paydirt: Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 11 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft E13A1 Jake x 3 Allied aircraft F2A-3 Buffalo x 18 SB2U-3 Vindicator x 15 Japanese aircraft losses E13A1 Jake: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 damaged Japanese Ships xAKL Sakae Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage PB Shuko Maru #5 Aircraft Attacking: 11 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 1 x F2A-3 Buffalo sweeping at 15000 feet * 4 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb CAP engaged: 17th Ku T-1 with E13A1 Jake (1 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 19000 , scrambling fighters to 19000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAKL Sakae Maru Japan is going to have to start LRCAPing or escorting TFs in this area now. THE AIR WAR I havent received a turn for a couple of days so its time for some more AAR housekeeping. Japan has now lost 1739 AC vs Allied losses of 1600 AC. In A2A losses its nearly equal with the Allies losing 759 AC vs Japanese losses of 702 AC. Here is a screenshot of Japanese AC losses to date.....no surprises here: [image]local://upfiles/14495/4A81C798135B484DB3597F7E6580D244.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/2/2011 10:56:34 PM)
4/14-4/15/42 THE AIR WAR And here is a screenshot of Allied plane losses to date. No suprise here with the P-40E losses as they have been the workhorse of the USAAF. The one thing that jumps out at me here is the large loss of Blenheim IVs we suffered over China: [image]local://upfiles/14495/0E09D6F3C0B14F769FB6D7781721EB31.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/2/2011 11:04:34 PM)
4/14-4/15/42 THE AIR WAR And finally here is a screenshot of the top Allied aces. When I first posted this in 2/42 the top Allied aces were all USAAF pilots in the AVG and the 24th PG fighting over the Philippines and the CBI. When I posted this again in 3/42 the majority of the Allied aces were RAF Hurricane pilots fighting over the CBI. Now 7 of the top 10 Allied aces are Dutch Hurricane drivers. Even more.....the only two Allied double aces are Dutch....testament to the ferocity of the air war over Palembang and Batavia....where the Dutch pilots routinely faced 10:1 and 20:1 odds in battle but still kept fighting until their airfield service facilities were so heavily damaged that they couldnt get back into the air. [image]local://upfiles/14495/02B1B36A94534304ADA5CB71A51AD14E.jpg[/image]

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/3/2011 4:33:10 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance THE AIR WAR I havent received a turn for a couple of days so its time for some more AAR housekeeping. Japan has now lost 1739 AC vs Allied losses of 1600 AC. In A2A losses its nearly equal with the Allies losing 759 AC vs Japanese losses of 702 AC. Here is a screenshot of Japanese AC losses to date.....no surprises here: This is a very successful A2A ratio for the Allies at this point in the war and Dave is no slouch with his air force. Any tactical or operational insights? Mike

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/3/2011 4:40:51 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance 4/14-4/15/42 FORTRESS BATAVIA Japan launches its second assault at Batavia: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 36740 troops, 485 guns, 404 vehicles, Assault Value = 1505 Defending force 47063 troops, 503 guns, 256 vehicles, Assault Value = 1472 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2 Japanese adjusted assault: 671 Allied adjusted defense: 2509 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4950 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 163 disabled Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 183 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled Vehicles lost 37 (1 destroyed, 36 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1911 casualties reported Squads: 19 destroyed, 118 disabled Non Combat: 25 destroyed, 81 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Vehicles lost 18 (3 destroyed, 15 disabled) Assaulting units: 33rd Infantry Regiment 18th Division 8th Tank Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 16th Recon Regiment Yokosuka 2nd SNLF 16th Naval Guard Unit 16th Engineer Regiment 33rd Division 1st Engineer Co 4th Div /7 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Mortar Battalion Defending units: SE Borneo KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st Regt Cavalerie 6th KNIL Regiment Manado Garrison Battalion Kendari Garrison Battalion Van Altena Battalion Mobiele Eenheid Battalion Roodenburg Battalion Barisan KNIL Regiment Prajoda Garrison Battalion Marinier Battalion Afdeling Ritman Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Lijfwacht Cav Sqn VII KNIL Battalion 2nd KNIL Regiment 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st KNIL Regiment VI KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Regiment Samarinda KNIL Battalion Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion Makassar Garrison Battalion Banjoewangi Base Force 1 ML-KNIL Aviation Djojakarta Base Force Madion Base Force 3rd KNIL AA Battalion MLD Batavia Base Force ML-KNIL Loemafjang Base Force KNIL Army Command ABDA Soerabaja Base Force 1st KNIL AA Battalion Merak Base Force Tjilitap Base Force Bandoeng Base Force Commandement Marine Malang Base Force Japan suffers nearly 5000 casualties vs 1900 Dutch casualties. Looks like all the IJA artillery regiments got ashore before I could lay down a minefield. Glad to see Dave assaulting Batavia before it ran out of supplies. AdmSpruance, in my experience, Dave is usually very careful with his force structure. I am surprised to see him attacking a strong, dug-in enemy position with other than fully formed divisions. These small units can really be smashed by the game algorithm, as if the Corps commander orders the 16th Naval Guard Unit to lead the attack. Could he be in a hurry? Mike

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/5/2011 5:06:35 PM)
Wirrayway_Ace....I think that the one thing that jumps out at you regarding A2A combat in this AAR is that 10 of my top 11 pilots are Hurricane drivers. The Hurricanes fighting over CBI and the DEI have closed the gap in A2A losses over the last couple of months. I generally use the HurricaneIIbs for CAP and sweeps at 31,000'. I use the P-40Es at 15,000' for CAP and escorts. Dave has been sweeping me with Oscars at 34.000' but the Hurricanes are holding their own. Most of the Hurricane squadrons are at 50% strength now so I go though the pilot rosters and only use the best pilots....the extra pilots are placed in group reserve. Thats how I ended up with 2 Dutch double aces over the DEI when I raely had more than 3 HurricaneIIbs operational at a time. Regarding Dave being in a hurry at Batavia.....I think that the clock is ticking for Japan. Here we are in the 2nd half of April 1942 and the only area Japan has completely secured has been Malaya. Dave is currently bogged down in the DEI at Batavia and in Burma he has been stopped short of Myitkina. In the Philippines the Japanese are holed up on Luzon in a tiny beachead at Vigan and even on Mindanao the Allies are putting up a determined defense. In China the situation is a stalemate as both sides have taken 3 bases from each other but Japan has suffered far more casualties that the Chinese. I think that Dave needs to take Batavia and free up his SAA formations for a Phase II offensive before we reach a point that it is no longer feasible for Japan to conduct Phase II operations. To further this Ive begun to conduct large scale manuevers on the India/Burma frontier....Im hoping to attract the attention of the SAA troops recently freed up from the fall of Palembang. The other issue is a naval one......Dave has kept KB in the Indian Ocean for the better part of 6-8 weeks to prevent me from reinforcing Sumatra or Java. Im pretty sure that he wants to finish the job at Batavia to free up KB for operations in the central and south Pacific. 4/16-4/17/42 DEI Japan bombards away at Fortress Batavia as Dave rests his troops for another assault. Supplies at Batavia are now down to 12,500. Ive got over 20 subs on transport duty to bring in supplies here but its not nearly enough. Ive activated a flotilla of small cargo ships to try to sneak in supplies from the Indian Ocean.....we will soon see if KB is still in the neighborhood. PHILIPPINES Dave has commited nearly a quarter of his active BBs and CAs here for naval bombardments as he hopes to even the odds in this theatre: AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 16, 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Naval bombardment of San Fernando at 80,74 Japanese Ships BB Nagato CA Mikuma CA Mogami CL Kinu CL Isuzu CL Sendai CL Kashii DD Tsuta DD Hasu DD Namikaze DD Mikazuki DD Hayashio Allied ground losses: 294 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 19 disabled Engineers: 6 destroyed, 4 disabled Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled) Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 56 Port hits 4 Port supply hits 2 F1M2 Pete acting as spotter for BB Nagato BB Nagato firing at San Fernando E7K2 Alf acting as spotter for CA Mikuma CA Mikuma firing at 11th PA Infantry/B Division E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for CA Mogami CA Mogami firing at 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team CL Kinu firing at 11th PA Infantry/B Division CL Isuzu firing at San Fernando CL Sendai firing at 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team CL Kashii firing at San Fernando DD Tsuta firing at 11th PA Infantry/A Division DD Hasu firing at San Fernando DD Namikaze firing at USAFFE DD Mikazuki firing at 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team DD Hayashio firing at 11th PA Infantry/A Division -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Naval bombardment of San Fernando at 80,74 Japanese Ships BB Ise DD Amatsukaze DD Shiranui DD Maikaze Allied ground losses: 123 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 9 destroyed, 10 disabled Vehicles lost 9 (5 destroyed, 4 disabled) Airbase hits 2 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 24 Port hits 1 BB Ise firing at San Fernando DD Amatsukaze firing at 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team DD Shiranui firing at 31st PA Infantry/A Division DD Maikaze firing at 11th PA Infantry/C Division Night Naval bombardment of Cagayan at 79,89 Japanese Ships CA Nachi CA Haguro DD Amagiri DD Ikazuchi Allied ground losses: 24 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Manpower hits 1 Fires 57 Airbase hits 7 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 12 Port hits 4 E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for CA Nachi CA Nachi firing at Cagayan CA Haguro firing at 102nd PA Infantry Regiment DD Amagiri firing at Cagayan DD Ikazuchi firing at Cagayan Ive placed 4 subs just offshore San Fernando but they havent done much yet to slow down to naval bombardments. The IJA 38th Division spearheads a couple of assaults at Cayagan: Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 17614 troops, 176 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 720 Defending force 8968 troops, 60 guns, 55 vehicles, Assault Value = 335 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 386 Allied adjusted defense: 273 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 994 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 68 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 43 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Allied ground losses: 740 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 42 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 26 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 11th Garrison Unit 38th Division 62nd Naval Guard Unit 67th Naval Guard Unit 10th Garrison Unit 2nd Sasebo SNLF Coy Defending units: 102nd PA Infantry/B Division 102nd PA Infantry Regiment 2nd/101st PA Battalion 3rd PA Constabulary Regiment 3rd/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry/A Division 4th/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry/C Division Cagayan USAAF Base Force III Philippine Corps Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 16848 troops, 176 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 662 Defending force 8566 troops, 61 guns, 56 vehicles, Assault Value = 282 Japanese adjusted assault: 185 Allied adjusted defense: 187 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), fatigue(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 269 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 41 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 560 casualties reported Squads: 8 destroyed, 73 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 60 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 11th Garrison Unit 10th Garrison Unit 62nd Naval Guard Unit 38th Division 67th Naval Guard Unit 2nd Sasebo SNLF Coy Defending units: 102nd PA Infantry/A Division 3rd PA Constabulary Regiment 3rd/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/B Division 2nd/101st PA Battalion 4th/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry/C Division Cagayan USAAF Base Force III Philippine Corps Ive got another regiment on the way to Cayagan and hopefully it arrives in time. CBI Dave launches a bloody assault in south central China with his 3700 AV army NW of Hangchow: Ground combat at 89,54 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 97635 troops, 766 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 3649 Defending force 47200 troops, 325 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1926 Japanese adjusted assault: 2176 Allied adjusted defense: 3382 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 8993 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 774 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 451 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 33 disabled Allied ground losses: 3799 casualties reported Squads: 18 destroyed, 226 disabled Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 243 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Assaulting units: 4th Ind.Mixed Brigade 59th Infantry Brigade 41st Division 35th Division 34th Division RGC Tax Police Regiment 11th Indpt Infantry Regiment 116th Division RGC Capital Brigade 110th Division 13th Indpt Infantry Regiment 6th Division 2nd RGC Division 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 26th Chinese Corps 9th Prov Chinese Corps 95th Chinese Corps 72nd Chinese Corps 87th Chinese Corps 78th Chinese Corps 32nd Chinese/C Corps 27th Group Army 30th Group Army Japan suffers 9000 casualties vs 3900 Chinese. I have over 300AV of reinforcements that will arrive here next turn. In southern China.....the IJA panzer korps rests in Amoy as it recovers its diabled AFVs. Three Allied antitank regiments are now on the move to southern China and the US Army 31st Regiment is being airlifted to Kwangchowan to deal with the Japanese armor menace. In India...I have elements of I Australian Corps, III Indian Corps, Eastern Army and the Red Guard on the move to Burma to create a little distraction for Japan. Japan has just enlarged Lashio to a level 3 AF and appears to be building an AF at Katha. RAF bombers hit the airbase at Mandalay last turn and next turn will bomb Lashio in addition to Mandalay. [image]local://upfiles/14495/D75B5ABC77E04FBFA129B55D37868625.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/6/2011 3:00:43 PM)
4/18-4/19/42 SUBS SS S-38 attempts to intercept IJN bombardment TFs at Vigan but is instead hit by 4 DCs and is badly damaged. SS S-39 sinks AK Tomtu Maru off Munda. SS KXIII sinks AK Unkai Maru near Toboali. FORTRESS BATAVIA Japan launches a bloody 1:6 delberate attack this turn: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 35938 troops, 491 guns, 404 vehicles, Assault Value = 1412 Defending force 45919 troops, 503 guns, 250 vehicles, Assault Value = 1398 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1 Japanese adjusted assault: 445 Allied adjusted defense: 2793 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 6 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4251 casualties reported Squads: 55 destroyed, 217 disabled Non Combat: 22 destroyed, 171 disabled Engineers: 15 destroyed, 61 disabled Vehicles lost 56 (4 destroyed, 52 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2100 casualties reported Squads: 8 destroyed, 146 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 162 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Vehicles lost 61 (10 destroyed, 51 disabled) Assaulting units: Yokosuka 2nd SNLF 16th Engineer Regiment 1st Engineer Co 16th Naval Guard Unit 9th Infantry Regiment 8th Tank Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 16th Recon Regiment 33rd Division 18th Division 4th Div /7 4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Mortar Battalion Defending units: 1st Regt Cavalerie VII KNIL Battalion SE Borneo KNIL Battalion Prajoda Garrison Battalion 2nd KNIL Regiment 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion 4th KNIL Regiment 6th KNIL Regiment Manado Garrison Battalion Afdeling Ritman Lijfwacht Cav Sqn Kendari Garrison Battalion 1st KNIL Regiment Van Altena Battalion VI KNIL Battalion Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion Marinier Battalion Roodenburg Battalion Barisan KNIL Regiment Mobiele Eenheid Battalion Samarinda KNIL Battalion Makassar Garrison Battalion Bandoeng Base Force MLD 3rd KNIL AA Battalion Djojakarta Base Force 1st KNIL AA Battalion Merak Base Force KNIL Army Command Soerabaja Base Force Madion Base Force Batavia Base Force Loemafjang Base Force Tjilitap Base Force ML-KNIL Banjoewangi Base Force Commandement Marine ABDA 1 ML-KNIL Aviation Malang Base Force Japan suffers 4250 casualties vs 2100 Allied casualties. Japan has now had 441 infantry squad disablements at Batavia.....an entire division's worth. Supplies at Batavia are now down to 10,500. CBI Dave's big stack NW of Hangchow.....formerly 3700 AV....again launches a costly frontal assault on the Chinese troops defending in 3x terrain: Ground combat at 89,54 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 83688 troops, 690 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 3158 Defending force 44624 troops, 325 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1719 Japanese adjusted assault: 1688 Allied adjusted defense: 3178 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 6535 casualties reported Squads: 30 destroyed, 301 disabled Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 390 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 20 disabled Vehicles lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled) Allied ground losses: 3030 casualties reported Squads: 18 destroyed, 227 disabled Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 186 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Assaulting units: 13th Indpt Infantry Regiment 6th Division 34th Division 11th Indpt Infantry Regiment 4th Ind.Mixed Brigade 116th Division RGC Capital Brigade 35th Division RGC Tax Police Regiment 41st Division 110th Division 59th Infantry Brigade 2nd RGC Division 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 78th Chinese Corps 87th Chinese Corps 72nd Chinese Corps 9th Prov Chinese Corps 26th Chinese Corps 95th Chinese Corps 32nd Chinese/C Corps 27th Group Army 30th Group Army Japan loses another 6500 casualties here vs 3000 Chinese. Japan has lost over 15,000 troops here is the last 2 battles and the formerly 3700 AV stack is now down to 2800 AV. Meanwhile...the Chinese defenders complete their withdrawal 1 hex to the west and reinforcements bring the Chinese AV back up to 1900. The Chinese continue to withdraw from the area around Hangchow. No action in southern or northern China. In Burma....the RAF is going all out in bombing the Japanese airfield at Lashio next turn. Allied troops in India continue their march to the Burmese border. PHILIPPINES All quiet here except for the continued IJN naval bombardments at San Fernando. Dave is marching in reinforcements to Cayagan from the west while Im trying to move in reinforcements from the east. [image]local://upfiles/14495/0F25C1D27B574D08BF70E2FEA933E5B6.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/7/2011 4:20:34 PM)
4/20-4/21/42 FORTRESS BATAVIA Dave hit me with both ground and aerial bombardments this turn.....the aerial attacks were particularly intense and he scored probably over a dozen air supply hits. The Dutch have more AV (1290) than the Japanese (1279) but somehow I lost a disastrous 3000 supplies......and the supply level is now down to 7500. CBI Relatively quiet in China....mostly just a lot of manuever as we continue to withdraw from the exposed Hangchow salient. It looks as if Dave has the bulk of his manuever forces in south central and southern China so I may launch an offensive in central China in a bit to see if I can recapture Loyang/Chengchow/Tsiaotso. In India.....over 2000 AV of III Indian Corps/I Australian Corps/Eastern Army continue their march to the Burmese frontier. Dave has been sweeping over my defensive position outside Katha with 36 Oscars at 34,000 feet for a couple of weeks....and every turn he is able to kill a few Hurricane leakers from my CAP over Imphal. This turn I massively LRCAPed over the hex and also bombed the Oscar base at Lashio.....Japan loses 19 Oscars vs 6 Hurricane IIBs and 2 Fulmars. PHILIPPINES I sent 3 subs to patrol off San Fernando/Vigan to stop the daily Japanese naval bombardments. Two of the Allies subs were heavily damaged by DCs and the 3rd sub attacked a merchant TF rather than the surface TFs. All quiet on Mindanao as both sides race to reinforce at Cayagan. SOPAC Havent spent very much time discussing this theatre. I had been rapidly building up in the New Hebrides and on New Caledonia when Dave started sending recon overflights over Luganville in late March. In retaliation.....I started sending PBYs on recon over Shortlands/Munda/Lunga in early April. Dave has been building a chain of Nettie bases across the Solomons.......level 4 airfields at Rabaul/Shortlands/Munda/Lunga. There was almost no Japanese buildup on New Guinea however.....only a level 1 AF at Salamaua and a level 3 AF at Port Moresby. I was intending to make this the focus of the first Allied counteroffensive in late summer 1942 but the prospect of 4 interlocking Nettie bases that could base 800 A6M2s/Netties without overstacking seems a bit formidable. What Allied recon also showed was that the Solomons were being held by incredibly weak forces....only 3000 troops at Munda and a mere 450 troops at Lunga. Since that initial discovery.....Dave has been using air and naval transport to rapidly build up his defenses and he now has about 7500 troops at Munda and maybe 2000 troops at Lunga. This turn.....SS Silversides reported both a TF with CMs and another TF with ACMs heading from Truk towards Rabaul.....looks like Dave is going to try to rapidly mine all his important bases in the Solomons. Meanwhile.....Im building up Luganville as rapidly as possible.....the airfield there reached level 4 last turn and reinforcement convoys land daily. Dave launched an airstrike from Lunga this turn to try to interdict my shipping at Luganville: Morning Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 120,150 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 42 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 24 G4M1 Betty x 6 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 20 F2A-3 Buffalo x 7 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed G4M1 Betty: 4 destroyed CAP engaged: VMF-221 with F2A-3 Buffalo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (7 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes 2 planes vectored on to bombers 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (10 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 4 planes vectored on to bombers 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (10 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes 4 planes vectored on to bombers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 120,150 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 47 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 8 G3M2 Nell x 9 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 10 F2A-3 Buffalo x 4 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed G3M2 Nell: 4 destroyed Allied Ships CL Achilles Aircraft Attacking: 4 x G3M2 Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo CAP engaged: VMF-221 with F2A-3 Buffalo (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 21000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes 5 planes vectored on to bombers 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 4000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 62 minutes 4 planes vectored on to bombers Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 120,150 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 56 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 18 G4M1 Betty x 6 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 16 F2A-3 Buffalo x 5 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed G4M1 Betty: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CL Leander Aircraft Attacking: 2 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo CAP engaged: VMF-221 with F2A-3 Buffalo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 51 minutes 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (8 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (8 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes 2 planes vectored on to bombers When the smoke clears Japan has lost 8 A6M2, 13 Betty and 7 Nell vs a lone P-39D. Altogether this turn.....Japan loses 53 AC vs 17 Allied AC. In A2A combat....Japan loses 34 AC to 10 Allied AC. I staged two more squadrons of fighters to Luganville this turn and the buildup there continues. [image]local://upfiles/14495/AD4C922AEA1C4581B03757C71F543020.jpg[/image]

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/7/2011 8:41:37 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance Wirrayway_Ace....I think that the one thing that jumps out at you regarding A2A combat in this AAR is that 10 of my top 11 pilots are Hurricane drivers. The Hurricanes fighting over CBI and the DEI have closed the gap in A2A losses over the last couple of months. I generally use the HurricaneIIbs for CAP and sweeps at 31,000'. I use the P-40Es at 15,000' for CAP and escorts. Dave has been sweeping me with Oscars at 34.000' but the Hurricanes are holding their own. Most of the Hurricane squadrons are at 50% strength now so I go though the pilot rosters and only use the best pilots....the extra pilots are placed in group reserve. Thats how I ended up with 2 Dutch double aces over the DEI when I raely had more than 3 HurricaneIIbs operational at a time. Regarding Dave being in a hurry at Batavia.....I think that the clock is ticking for Japan. Here we are in the 2nd half of April 1942 and the only area Japan has completely secured has been Malaya. Dave is currently bogged down in the DEI at Batavia and in Burma he has been stopped short of Myitkina. In the Philippines the Japanese are holed up on Luzon in a tiny beachead at Vigan and even on Mindanao the Allies are putting up a determined defense. In China the situation is a stalemate as both sides have taken 3 bases from each other but Japan has suffered far more casualties that the Chinese. I think that Dave needs to take Batavia and free up his SAA formations for a Phase II offensive before we reach a point that it is no longer feasible for Japan to conduct Phase II operations. To further this Ive begun to conduct large scale manuevers on the India/Burma frontier....Im hoping to attract the attention of the SAA troops recently freed up from the fall of Palembang. The other issue is a naval one......Dave has kept KB in the Indian Ocean for the better part of 6-8 weeks to prevent me from reinforcing Sumatra or Java. Im pretty sure that he wants to finish the job at Batavia to free up KB for operations in the central and south Pacific. Adm Spruance You don't appear to need input, but this is how it appears to me as an objective newsreel viewer of the war: Your China offensive has almost certainly distracted both forces and his attention from phase II planning. I doubt he realizes fully the problem he is facing on Luzon so will probably ignore it in his planning. The fighting on Mindanao is realively minor in the scale of things. He is unlikely to realize the supply problem in Batavia as supply stocks on Java start pretty robust. He probably will continue to push hard to disrupt you and overwhelm you to free up his forces. While his bases in the Solomons may be able to support 800 hundred A6M2s/Netties, he cannot marshal more than 80 each without stripping every other theater at this point in the war. He is, however, fully capable of conducting major amphibious operations (Corps strength) until such time as Allied CV strength becomes overwhelming. If the planning is done carefully, Japan has an adequate number of AKs and LSDs to offload the heavy equipment while using xAKs and xAPs in large numbers to delivery troops and supplies to a beachhead. This capability includes successfully attacking a well defended atoll. Losses to AKs and the two LSDs will very quickly degrade this capability. Thus, while the clock is indeed ticking for Japan, your own operations to continue to disrupt his tempo and the distruction of key naval assets (including AKs and LSDs) will have more effect on the early culmination of his strategic offensive than time (at least until mid 43). So, my thought is it is time to force an early culmination....An offensive to retake key objectives in the Solomons with a threat to the Andamans or vice versa is likely to provoke a predictable counter-invasion which would give you the the opportunity to strike his transports. If you get his AKs and LSDs after the amphib bonus has expired, his options become very limited even if his fleet is otherwise intact. Regardless, this is a fascinating campaign to watch play out. Mike

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/9/2011 3:57:03 PM)
Wirrayway_Ace....I appreciate your input and I think that your analysis is spot on. I didnt realize that Japan had that much amphibious lift capability. Im not sure how much of a threat I could mount on the Andamans....I dont have a single AP or AK in the area. In the south Pacific I do have 9 APs and 2 AKs so if I am to mount a threat there I will need to assemble as much amphibious shipping as I can as quickly as possible. 4/22-4/25/42 FORTRESS BATAVIA Japan reinforced here and now has almost 1600 AV: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 2243 troops, 147 guns, 159 vehicles, Assault Value = 1591 Defending force 45273 troops, 503 guns, 239 vehicles, Assault Value = 1338 Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled) Allied ground losses: 125 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 18th Division 16th Naval Guard Unit 8th Tank Regiment 9th Infantry Regiment 16th Recon Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 5th Div /6 80th Garrison Battalion 33rd Division 4th Div /7 3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Mortar Battalion Defending units: Kendari Garrison Battalion Manado Garrison Battalion 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion Barisan KNIL Regiment VI KNIL Battalion Van Altena Battalion Afdeling Ritman 2nd KNIL Regiment Prajoda Garrison Battalion 6th KNIL Regiment 1st KNIL Regiment VII KNIL Battalion Marinier Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Mobiele Eenheid Battalion Samarinda KNIL Battalion Lijfwacht Cav Sqn Roodenburg Battalion SE Borneo KNIL Battalion 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion 1st Regt Cavalerie 4th KNIL Regiment 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion Makassar Garrison Battalion Tjilitap Base Force Loemafjang Base Force 1 ML-KNIL Aviation Merak Base Force 1st KNIL AA Battalion ML-KNIL Batavia Base Force KNIL Army Command Commandement Marine 3rd KNIL AA Battalion Soerabaja Base Force Djojakarta Base Force ABDA Banjoewangi Base Force MLD Madion Base Force Bandoeng Base Force Malang Base Force I have 5500 supplies remaining at Batavia. PHILIPPINES All quiet on Luzon except for the multiple daily naval bombardments at San Fernando. Japan and the Allies both reinforce at Cayagan and Dave orders a bombardment to evaluaute relative AV: Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 8382 troops, 124 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 624 Defending force 9988 troops, 78 guns, 57 vehicles, Assault Value = 336 Assaulting units: 38th Division 10th Garrison Unit 11th Garrison Unit 62nd Naval Guard Unit Defending units: 4th/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry/B Division 3rd PA Constabulary Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/A Division 2nd/101st PA Battalion 103rd PA Infantry Regiment 102nd PA Infantry Regiment 3rd/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry/C Division Cagayan USAAF Base Force III Philippine Corps I think that I can still hold out for a bit here but we will see for sure next turn when Dave launches the assault. CBI Dave made an excellent move over the last 2 turns and has rendered the Chinese forces at Canton hor's de combat. I thought he was resting the IJA panzer korps at Amoy. Instead...he loaded the tanks up on transports .....sailed down the coast and then upriver to Canton. Imagine my surprise this turn when he ordered a bombardment to evaulate relative strength at Canton: Ground combat at Canton (77,59) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 27294 troops, 463 guns, 215 vehicles, Assault Value = 1482 Defending force 24005 troops, 192 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 991 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: 57 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 10th Tank Regiment 20th Recon Regiment Sasebo 8th SNLF 1st Recon Regiment 19th Ind. Engineer Regiment 104th Division 1st Ind.Inf.Group 11th Tank Regiment 26th Recon Regiment Yokosuka 4th SNLF 2nd Tank Regiment 8th Recon Regiment 20th Ind. Engineer Regiment 3rd Tank Regiment 9th Tank Regiment 23rd Tank Regiment 7th Tank Regiment Sasebo 3rd SNLF 9th Armored Car Co III/81st Naval Guard Unit 31st Field AA Battalion 2nd Mortar Battalion 45th Field AA Battalion 35th Fld AA Gun Co 16th AA Regiment 44th Field AA Battalion 5th RF Gun Battalion 1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment 1st JAAF AF Coy 47th JAAF AF Bn 10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 21st Fld AA Gun Co 47th Field AA Battalion 2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 23rd Army Canton Special Base Force 1st RF Gun Battalion 35th Field AA Battalion 51st Air Defense AA Regiment 21st Mortar Battalion 51st Ind.AA Gun Co 20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion 3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 48th Field AA Battalion 40th Field AA Battalion 14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 26th Fld AA Gun Co 2nd RF Gun Battalion 2nd JAAF AF Coy Defending units: 2nd Prov Chinese Corps 79th Chinese Corps 62nd Chinese Corps 49th Chinese/A Corps 16th Group Army 4th Heavy Mortar Regiment Im just hoping I can hold on for one turn so that I can evacuate Canton rather than being routed. Not only will I lose my forward defensive position at Canton but I havent had enough time to set up my anti-tank trap at Wuchow. I will only be able to amass about 1200 AV at Wuchow and the antitank units are still a few days march out. Im staging in transport AC from Ledo and will start airlifting anti-tank guns to Wuchow. Fortunately.....I still retain some semblance of the initiative in central China. I had moved 2 seperate armies with 5000 AV towards Loyang/Chengchow and Dave responding by pulling his former 3700 AV army(now 2800 AV) out of south central China and is beginning to rail them to Kaifeng. I havent decided if I am going to resume the push towards Hangchow...I still have 2 unopposed armies W of Hangchow but for now they will rest and recocer disabled squads. Over in Burma....the vanguard of Allied armor crosses the frontier from India. [image]local://upfiles/14495/19904E474C8A44E1837D7831A619CCD2.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/11/2011 3:45:16 AM)
4/26-4/27/42 FORTRESS BATAVIA Ground and aerial bombardments continue at Batavia: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 15728 troops, 271 guns, 227 vehicles, Assault Value = 2732 Defending force 45376 troops, 503 guns, 238 vehicles, Assault Value = 1353 Japanese ground losses: 31 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 52 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled) Assaulting units: 2nd Division 21st Division 5th Division 16th Recon Regiment 33rd Division 20th Infantry Regiment 9th Infantry Regiment 16th Naval Guard Unit 18th Division 80th Garrison Battalion 8th Tank Regiment 4th Div /7 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 3rd Mortar Battalion Defending units: Van Altena Battalion Lijfwacht Cav Sqn Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion SE Borneo KNIL Battalion 1st Regt Cavalerie Samarinda KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st KNIL Regiment Mobiele Eenheid Battalion VII KNIL Battalion Manado Garrison Battalion Barisan KNIL Regiment Marinier Battalion Afdeling Ritman Prajoda Garrison Battalion Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion 2nd KNIL Regiment 6th KNIL Regiment Kendari Garrison Battalion VI KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Regiment Roodenburg Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion Makassar Garrison Battalion Djojakarta Base Force 1st KNIL AA Battalion 1 ML-KNIL Aviation Batavia Base Force Madion Base Force Bandoeng Base Force Commandement Marine Tjilitap Base Force 3rd KNIL AA Battalion Soerabaja Base Force Loemafjang Base Force ABDA Merak Base Force KNIL Army Command ML-KNIL MLD Banjoewangi Base Force Malang Base Force Dave now has 2700 AV at Batavia.....over 7 divisions. Add to that the 2 1/2 divisions in the PI and 56th Division in Burma and thats pretty much all the SAA. Batavia is now down to 4000 supplies. SUBS SS KXIII sinks xAK Tosei Maru off Vigan. SS I-156 sinks xAKL Minnipa near Exmouth. CBI The Allies now have over 2000 AV of troops massing on the Indo-Burmese frontier. In China.....Japan launches two 1:1 assaults at Canton but the Chinese defenders manage to hang on: Ground combat at Canton (77,59) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 39952 troops, 493 guns, 1176 vehicles, Assault Value = 1485 Defending force 23963 troops, 192 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 987 Japanese adjusted assault: 1599 Allied adjusted defense: 1141 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1155 casualties reported Squads: 5 destroyed, 71 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 105 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Vehicles lost 65 (4 destroyed, 61 disabled) Allied ground losses: 750 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 150 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 140 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled Assaulting units: 9th Tank Regiment 9th Armored Car Co 23rd Tank Regiment Sasebo 8th SNLF 7th Tank Regiment 20th Recon Regiment 1st Recon Regiment Yokosuka 4th SNLF 26th Recon Regiment 10th Tank Regiment 104th Division 3rd Tank Regiment Sasebo 3rd SNLF 2nd Tank Regiment 19th Ind. Engineer Regiment 11th Tank Regiment 20th Ind. Engineer Regiment 1st Ind.Inf.Group 8th Recon Regiment III/81st Naval Guard Unit 48th Field AA Battalion 26th Fld AA Gun Co 1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment 21st Fld AA Gun Co 16th AA Regiment 35th Fld AA Gun Co 1st JAAF AF Coy 23rd Army 10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 1st RF Gun Battalion 31st Field AA Battalion 2nd RF Gun Battalion 20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion 44th Field AA Battalion 40th Field AA Battalion 47th JAAF AF Bn 3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 21st Mortar Battalion 2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 5th RF Gun Battalion 35th Field AA Battalion 51st Air Defense AA Regiment 51st Ind.AA Gun Co 45th Field AA Battalion Canton Special Base Force 2nd Mortar Battalion 47th Field AA Battalion 14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 2nd JAAF AF Coy Defending units: 79th Chinese Corps 62nd Chinese Corps 2nd Prov Chinese Corps 49th Chinese/A Corps 16th Group Army 4th Heavy Mortar Regiment Ground combat at Canton (77,59) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 39101 troops, 493 guns, 1177 vehicles, Assault Value = 1436 Defending force 22530 troops, 192 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 877 Japanese adjusted assault: 1366 Allied adjusted defense: 1033 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1384 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 77 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 145 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Vehicles lost 85 (2 destroyed, 83 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1257 casualties reported Squads: 15 destroyed, 138 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 107 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Assaulting units: Sasebo 8th SNLF 20th Recon Regiment 1st Recon Regiment 9th Tank Regiment 7th Tank Regiment 1st Ind.Inf.Group 11th Tank Regiment Yokosuka 4th SNLF 20th Ind. Engineer Regiment 19th Ind. Engineer Regiment 3rd Tank Regiment 23rd Tank Regiment 8th Recon Regiment 104th Division 10th Tank Regiment 2nd Tank Regiment Sasebo 3rd SNLF 26th Recon Regiment 9th Armored Car Co III/81st Naval Guard Unit 2nd RF Gun Battalion 1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment 23rd Army 26th Fld AA Gun Co 21st Mortar Battalion 2nd Mortar Battalion 47th Field AA Battalion 35th Fld AA Gun Co 51st Ind.AA Gun Co 44th Field AA Battalion 21st Fld AA Gun Co 3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 35th Field AA Battalion Canton Special Base Force 14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 1st JAAF AF Coy 16th AA Regiment 10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 48th Field AA Battalion 47th JAAF AF Bn 51st Air Defense AA Regiment 45th Field AA Battalion 2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion 1st RF Gun Battalion 40th Field AA Battalion 5th RF Gun Battalion 31st Field AA Battalion 2nd JAAF AF Coy Defending units: 2nd Prov Chinese Corps 79th Chinese Corps 62nd Chinese Corps 49th Chinese/A Corps 16th Group Army 4th Heavy Mortar Regiment Unfortunately it will take another turn for the Chinese to complete their withdrawal from Canton and I dont think that I have that much time. SOPAC Things are starting to heat up in SOPAC. Dave staged several squadrons of A6M2s up to Guadalcanal and swept Luganville with 71 Zeros: Morning Air attack on Luganville , at 120,150 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 46 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 32 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 45 P-40E Warhawk x 22 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed CAP engaged: 24th PG/3rd PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 9 scrambling) 9 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 26000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 25 minutes 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 15 scrambling) 7 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 32100. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling) 7 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 32000 and 32100. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 5 minutes 35th PG/40th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling) 7 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 28000 and 30000. Raid is overhead Morning Air attack on Luganville , at 120,150 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 46 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 33 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 31 P-40E Warhawk x 14 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet * CAP engaged: 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 12 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 27000 and 32810. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 27000 and 30000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 63 minutes 35th PG/40th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 30000 and 31000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 56 minutes 24th PG/3rd PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 26000 and 32000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Luganville , at 120,150 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 35,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 40 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 6 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 14 P-40E Warhawk x 1 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed CAP engaged: 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 26000 and 30000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes 35th PG/40th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 31810 and 34000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 25000 and 35810. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 107 minutes 24th PG/3rd PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 34000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes Afternoon Air attack on Luganville , at 120,150 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 23 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 26 P-40E Warhawk x 14 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 1 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet * CAP engaged: 24th PG/3rd PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 6 scrambling) 6 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling) 5 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 23000 and 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 3 minutes 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling) 7 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 31000 and 32100. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes 35th PG/40th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling) 6 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 24000 and 32100. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Luganville , at 120,150 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 25 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 19 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 11 P-40E Warhawk x 6 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 11 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet * CAP engaged: 50th PG/11th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 18000 and 32810. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes 35th PG/39th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 19000 and 32810. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes 35th PG/40th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 23000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes 24th PG/3rd PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 24000 and 32000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes When the smoke clears Japan has lost 53 AC to 36 Allied AC. In A2A....the Japanese lose 34 AC to 23 Allied AC. Individual plane losses by type include 49 A6M2s, 12 P-39Ds and 17 P-40Es. Looks like the P-40Ds held their own against the A6M2s sweeping at high altitude. Moral of the story is that the Zero suffers heavy operational losses following A2A combat at extreme range(12 hexes). USAAF HEAVY BOMBER RESERVE I initially formed a heavy bomber reserve at the level 7 AF at Nandi on Fiji to cover the Allied buildup on New Caledonia and Tanna. Their main purpose was to nuke Japanese AFs if Dave invaded at Efate or Luganville. The Japanese invasion never happened.....and the 4Es have mostly been training for ground bombing over the last 3 months. The heavy bomber reserve will be committed next turn in first Allied bombing mission of the war with massed 4Es. Some 80 B-17s and LB-30s are staged to the new level 5 AF at Luganville this turn. Japan has all their fighters in the Solomons stacked at Lunga.....so the USAAF heavies will hit the Netties parked on the level 4 AF at Munda. I think that next turn Dave will get his first whiff of the upcoming change in which side hold the initiative. [image]local://upfiles/14495/BEE6B6E623D24B92893A5C44D4FDEB8F.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/12/2011 3:01:20 AM)
4/28-4/29/42 FORTRESS BATAVIA Japan unleashes over 7 battle hardened divisions on the defiant Dutch defenders of Batavia: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 73348 troops, 885 guns, 546 vehicles, Assault Value = 2754 Defending force 45396 troops, 503 guns, 236 vehicles, Assault Value = 1357 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 1320 Allied adjusted defense: 2929 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4250 casualties reported Squads: 13 destroyed, 357 disabled Non Combat: 21 destroyed, 302 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Vehicles lost 62 (1 destroyed, 61 disabled) Allied ground losses: 3906 casualties reported Squads: 59 destroyed, 174 disabled Non Combat: 49 destroyed, 324 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Assaulting units: 9th Infantry Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 18th Division 21st Division 8th Tank Regiment 2nd Division 16th Naval Guard Unit 16th Recon Regiment 80th Garrison Battalion 33rd Division 5th Division 4th Div /7 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Mortar Battalion Defending units: SE Borneo KNIL Battalion 4th KNIL Regiment 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Samarinda KNIL Battalion Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion Kendari Garrison Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Barisan KNIL Regiment Manado Garrison Battalion Marinier Battalion Prajoda Garrison Battalion Afdeling Ritman Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion Mobiele Eenheid Battalion VII KNIL Battalion Roodenburg Battalion 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion Lijfwacht Cav Sqn 6th KNIL Regiment 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion 1st Regt Cavalerie 2nd KNIL Regiment VI KNIL Battalion Van Altena Battalion 1st KNIL Regiment Makassar Garrison Battalion KNIL Army Command 1st KNIL AA Battalion Banjoewangi Base Force 3rd KNIL AA Battalion Soerabaja Base Force Tjilitap Base Force Loemafjang Base Force Bandoeng Base Force ABDA Djojakarta Base Force Commandement Marine Batavia Base Force MLD Madion Base Force Merak Base Force 1 ML-KNIL Aviation ML-KNIL Malang Base Force Japan suffers another 370 disrupted/killed squads in the assault. Japan has now had over 830 squads disabled/killed.....almost 2 divisions worth..... so far in the battle for Batavia. Remarkably....we still have 3300 supplies left at Batavia.....the Japanese deliberate attack caused less of a supply expenditure than 2 days of ground bombardment......go figure. Probably 3-4 subs/turn drop off supplies at Batavia so we are getting about 150 supplies in per turn.....not enough to appreciably lengthen the campaign for Japan but maybe enough to extract an additional turn or 2 of pain. PHILIPPINES All quiet on Luzon except for the daily naval bomardments at San Fernando and aerial bombardments at Clark and Manila. Im rotating troops in and out of San Fernando on a weekly basis so everyone is getting trained up and they are able to rest away from San Fernando to recover disabled squads. I completed the airlift of the 31st Regiment to China so the PBYs are sent back to Australia. A quick check of all the Allied bases on Luzon shows that we still have over 70,000 supplies pretty evenly distributed over 7-8 bases. Down on Mindanao......Japan launches another assault at Cayagan: Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13640 troops, 156 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 632 Defending force 10316 troops, 80 guns, 57 vehicles, Assault Value = 354 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 381 Allied adjusted defense: 625 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 566 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 39 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 49 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 527 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 55 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 40 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 38th Division 10th Garrison Unit 11th Garrison Unit 62nd Naval Guard Unit Defending units: 4th/101st PA Battalion 2nd/101st PA Battalion 102nd PA Infantry Regiment 3rd PA Constabulary Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/B Division 102nd PA Infantry/A Division 3rd/101st PA Battalion 103rd PA Infantry Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/C Division Cagayan USAAF Base Force III Philippine Corps I still have some 13,000 supplies at Cayagan but with the unfavorable exchange rate here the end is in sight. SOPAC The USAAF heavy bomber reserve makes a rather inauspicious start in the war as weather grounds it on the first day of the turn. The weather improved slightly on the 2nd day and the 4Es pound the Japanese airfield at Munda: Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft no flights Allied aircraft B-17D Fortress x 7 B-17E Fortress x 56 LB-30 Liberator x 8 Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 3 destroyed on ground G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed on ground Japanese ground losses: 26 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Airbase hits 11 Airbase supply hits 8 Runway hits 93 Aircraft Attacking: 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 8 x LB-30 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb Aboiut the best thing I can say regarding this misiion was that it was well coodinated....the Air HQ at Luganville did its job. Japan loses 8 Nells and 4 Bettys on the ground at Munda. More importantly...the airfield is now 16% damaged. Recon shows that Dave pretty much pulled all his AC back from Lunga, Munda and Shortland to Rabaul after this bombing attack. The USAAF heavies are ordered to strike Munda again next turn....I think that there are still a lot of damaged Netties on the ground there. Overall....Japan loses 48 AC this turn vs 8 Allied AC. In A2A combat......Japan loses 22 AC to 2 Allied AC. NORPAC Dave got me good up here in the frozen north. He sent a CL and a DD into the harbor at Dutch Harbor and sank a small AO and several YPs: Night Time Surface Combat, near Dutch Harbor at 171,50, Range 2,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Tatsuta DD Fuyo Allied Ships AO Brazos, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk PC Morris, Shell hits 4, and is sunk Japanese Ships Reported to be Approaching! Allied TF begins to get underway Low visibility due to Thunderstorms with 100% moonlight Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms and 100% moonlight: 2,000 yards Range closes to 10,000 yards... Range closes to 9,000 yards... Range closes to 8,000 yards... Range closes to 7,000 yards... Range closes to 6,000 yards... Range closes to 5,000 yards... Range closes to 4,000 yards... Range closes to 3,000 yards... Range closes to 2,000 yards... CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 2,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 2,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages AO Brazos at 2,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages AO Brazos at 2,000 yards AO Brazos sunk by DD Fuyo at 2,000 yards Range increases to 4,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages PC Morris at 4,000 yards Range closes to 3,000 yards PC Morris sunk by CL Tatsuta at 3,000 yards PC Morris sunk by CL Tatsuta at 3,000 yards Combat ends with last Allied ship sunk... Day Time Surface Combat, near Dutch Harbor at 171,50, Range 4,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Tatsuta DD Fuyo Allied Ships YP-72, Shell hits 4, and is sunk YP-73, Shell hits 4, and is sunk YP-74, Shell hits 9, and is sunk YP-92, Shell hits 6, and is sunk Low visibility due to Thunderstorms Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 4,000 yards Range closes to 19,000 yards... Range closes to 17,000 yards... Range closes to 15,000 yards... Range closes to 13,000 yards... Range closes to 11,000 yards... Range closes to 10,000 yards... Range closes to 9,000 yards... Range closes to 8,000 yards... Range closes to 7,000 yards... Range closes to 6,000 yards... Range closes to 5,000 yards... Range closes to 4,000 yards... CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 4,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 4,000 yards DD Fuyo engages YP-72 at 4,000 yards Range closes to 3,000 yards DD Fuyo engages YP-72 at 3,000 yards DD Fuyo engages YP-72 at 3,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-72 at 3,000 yards Range increases to 4,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-73 at 4,000 yards Range closes to 3,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-74 at 3,000 yards Range closes to 2,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-92 at 2,000 yards Range increases to 3,000 yards YP-72 sunk by CL Tatsuta at 3,000 yards Range closes to 2,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-73 at 2,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-74 at 2,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-92 at 2,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-74 at 2,000 yards Range increases to 4,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-73 at 4,000 yards YP-74 sunk by CL Tatsuta at 4,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-73 at 4,000 yards Range closes to 3,000 yards YP-92 sunk by CL Tatsuta at 3,000 yards Range increases to 6,000 yards CL Tatsuta engages YP-73 at 6,000 yards Range increases to 12,000 yards YP-73 sunk by CL Tatsuta at 12,000 yards Task forces break off... Dave just expanded the AF at Amchitka to level 1. I guess that I will need to pay a bit more attention to this theatre. I sent a CA and a couple of DDs up to Dutch Harbor from Pearl this turn to prevent this type of piracy from happening again. CBI Ever throw a party and no one shows up? Ever stage a diversion but no one is diverted? Ive attached a screenshot of Burma at the end of this post. I have over 2000 AV of Eastern Army, III Indian Corps, I Australian Corps and the 7th Armored brigade cutting their way through the jungle from Imphal to Kalemyo. Even now....advance elements including 159th Motorized and 7th Armored are fording the west fork of the Irrawaddy River. There is only 1 more hex of jungle terrain to cross before they break out into the open plains of central Burma. Yet Japan continues its advance with the 56th Division and the 1st Raiding Regiment on Myitkina and is now engaging Burma Corps troops a mere 2 hexes from the base. I guess that maybe Dave hasnt seen the Allied troops yet. My whole goal here was to make as much noise as possible as a distraction. I didnt envison a major offensive here with the limited troops available. At least Ive had all the troops prepping for Mandalay so if Dave doesnt respond soon to this incursion I have a good chance to surround the 56th Division and destroy it in situ before assaulting Mandalay. Even better....for the 1st time in this war I have Japanese troops outside of their own air cover but directly exposed to major Allied airfields at Myitkina(level 4), Imphal(level 5) and Ledo(level 6). Next turn.....every 2E bomber, 4E bomber and FB of the RAF and USAAF in theatre will ground attack 56th Division and try to fix it in place. Japan loses 17 Oscars over Burma this turn in the air and on the ground. In China, Dave orders a shock attack at Canton that annihilates the Chinese defenders there: Ground combat at Canton (77,59) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 36826 troops, 474 guns, 1153 vehicles, Assault Value = 1556 Defending force 20920 troops, 192 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 753 Japanese adjusted assault: 1231 Allied adjusted defense: 345 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), preparation(-), experience(-) supply(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 1164 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 57 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 134 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 25 disabled Vehicles lost 42 (2 destroyed, 40 disabled) Allied ground losses: 8311 casualties reported Squads: 225 destroyed, 122 disabled Non Combat: 234 destroyed, 74 disabled Engineers: 10 destroyed, 13 disabled Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 6 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 20th Ind. Engineer Regiment 10th Tank Regiment 2nd Tank Regiment 7th Tank Regiment 11th Tank Regiment 19th Ind. Engineer Regiment Sasebo 3rd SNLF Sasebo 8th SNLF 26th Recon Regiment 9th Tank Regiment 8th Recon Regiment 20th RGC Division 9th Armored Car Co 23rd Tank Regiment 20th Recon Regiment 66th Infantry Regiment 1st Recon Regiment 104th Division 3rd Tank Regiment 1st Ind.Inf.Group Yokosuka 4th SNLF III/81st Naval Guard Unit 35th Field AA Battalion 51st Ind.AA Gun Co 26th Fld AA Gun Co 5th RF Gun Battalion 48th Field AA Battalion 1st JAAF AF Coy 51st Air Defense AA Regiment 20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion 21st Mortar Battalion 31st Field AA Battalion 14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 35th Fld AA Gun Co 1st RF Gun Battalion 3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 21st Fld AA Gun Co 23rd Army 44th Field AA Battalion Canton Special Base Force 47th Field AA Battalion 2nd RF Gun Battalion 47th JAAF AF Bn 10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 16th AA Regiment 2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 45th Field AA Battalion 2nd Mortar Battalion 40th Field AA Battalion 1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment 2nd JAAF AF Coy Defending units: 62nd Chinese Corps 2nd Prov Chinese Corps 79th Chinese Corps 49th Chinese/A Corps 16th Group Army 4th Heavy Mortar Regiment I have 2 AVG squadrons and 1 squadron of the 24th PG flying cover over the defeated Chinese as they attempt to withdraw to Wuchow. Transport AC are still lifting anti-tank guns into Wuchow so hopefully I can get the defenses organized here before the IJA panzer korps arrives. In central China...we are having a game of Railroad Tycoon as Japan now rails 20 LCUs into Hangchow.....Im glad that I didnt bite at the bait. Im still advancing on Loyang/Chengchow/Tsiaotso but Dave can rail the troops at Hangchow to Kaifeng in 1 turn so I need to use caution. [image]local://upfiles/14495/296B717EC59A49C8BE12192B00B42F5A.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> FORTRESS BATAVIA (10/14/2011 3:55:13 PM)
4/30-5/1/42 CBI Virtually all of the RAF bombers in India as well as 3 squadrons of USAAF heavy bombers are ordered toground attack the IJA troops advancing on Myitkina. Unfortunately....most of the sweepers were grounded by inclement weather on the first day and many of the escort fighters became "lost" so the bombers had only a small escort with them on the first day of airstrikes. I had been bombing the Japanese airfields at Lashio and Mandalay non stop for over 2 weeks but Dave guessed correctly that I would be hitting his ground forces this turn and had a 60 plane CAP waiting for the Allied bombers. The IJA ground troops were hit pretty hard but at great cost to the Allied air forces. The Allies lose 69 AC this turn vs 40 Japanese AC. Its a good thing though that the Allied air hit the IJA ground forces though as Dave ordered a deliberate attack with them this turn: Ground combat at 62,42 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 22311 troops, 218 guns, 208 vehicles, Assault Value = 934 Defending force 9881 troops, 106 guns, 13 vehicles, Assault Value = 414 Japanese adjusted assault: 413 Allied adjusted defense: 645 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: fatigue(-) Japanese ground losses: 1705 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 158 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 57 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled Vehicles lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1194 casualties reported Squads: 20 destroyed, 58 disabled Non Combat: 30 destroyed, 35 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled Vehicles lost 5 (4 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: 56th Division Imperial Guards Division 14th Tank Regiment Defending units: 1st Gloucestershire Battalion 13th Indian Brigade 4th Burma Rifles Battalion Tenasserim BAF Battalion 2nd King Own YLI Battalion 16th Indian Brigade 48th Gurkha Brigade 27th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment I was _very_ surprised to see the Imperial Guards Division here.....I think that this is the first time that I have ID'd this formation in the war. Im happy with these attritional losses though as I want the Japanese to wear themselves down in a frontal assault on Myitkina while my mobile troops envelope them in the rear. One of my Chinese "Red Guard" formations will join these defenders next turn.....and then the entire stack will slowly withdraw towards Myitkina to pull the IJA troops deeper into the jungle and farther away from Mandalay. Fairly quiet over in China. I had over 70 fighters covering the withdrawal of my defeated Canton garrison as they withdrew towards Wuchow. The anticipated Japanese aerial interdiction of their retreat didnt occur however and the victorious IJA panzer korps seemed content to rest in Canton and recover their disrupted tanks. Ive airlifted portions of three III Indian Corps anti-tank units with a total of 55 AT guns into Wuchow. A Chinese AT regiment is also forced marching towards Wuchow and should arrive in 5-6 days. SOPAC Nearly 70 USAAF heavy bombers pummel Munda airfield but are again limited by severe storms over the base. Four more Nells are destroyed on the ground and the AF at Munda now has 60% damage. The 4Es will hit Munda AF again next turn as our intent here is to achieve 100% neutralization. SWPAC(SOPAC HQ has not entered the war yet so SWPAC has operational control) gives the final OK for the commencement of OPERATION WATCHTOWER .......the upcoming invasion of Guadalcanal. SWPAC HQ is loaded on transports at Brisbane and will be relocated to Noumea for direct control of this operation. PHILIPPINES Business as usual on Luzon and Japan bombards awway on San Fernando, Clark and Manila with naval and aerial forces. On Mindanao.....Japan unleahes yet another 1:2 assault on the stout defenders of cayagan: Ground combat at Cagayan (79,89) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13294 troops, 156 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 548 Defending force 9982 troops, 80 guns, 58 vehicles, Assault Value = 316 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 180 Allied adjusted defense: 261 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: fatigue(-) Japanese ground losses: 585 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 20 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 31 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Allied ground losses: 417 casualties reported Squads: 8 destroyed, 25 disabled Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 62nd Naval Guard Unit 10th Garrison Unit 38th Division 67th Naval Guard Unit Defending units: 2nd/101st PA Battalion 3rd PA Constabulary Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/B Division 4th/101st PA Battalion 3rd/101st PA Battalion 103rd PA Infantry Regiment 102nd PA Infantry Regiment 102nd PA Infantry/A Division 102nd PA Infantry/C Division Cagayan USAAF Base Force III Philippine Corps My next wave of xAK blockade runners from the US west coast will arrive off of Midway next turn and should reach Philippine waters in 2 weeks. FORTRESS BATAVIA Japan keeps up the aerial and ground bombardments at Batavia: Ground combat at Batavia (49,98) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 31854 troops, 525 guns, 298 vehicles, Assault Value = 2445 Defending force 42574 troops, 502 guns, 235 vehicles, Assault Value = 1182 Japanese ground losses: 6 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 38 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: 8th Tank Regiment 21st Division 33rd Division 80th Garrison Battalion 2nd Division 18th Division 16th Naval Guard Unit 5th Division 16th Recon Regiment 4th Div /7 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment 4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 3rd Mortar Battalion Defending units: Marinier Battalion 2nd KNIL Regiment Prajoda Garrison Battalion Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion 1st Regt Cavalerie 4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion Lijfwacht Cav Sqn VI KNIL Battalion 1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion 1st KNIL Regiment Manado Garrison Battalion Samarinda KNIL Battalion 3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Kendari Garrison Battalion 2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion Barisan KNIL Regiment 6th KNIL Regiment Roodenburg Battalion Afdeling Ritman Van Altena Battalion 4th KNIL Regiment VII KNIL Battalion Mobiele Eenheid Battalion Makassar Garrison Battalion Loemafjang Base Force ABDA Bandoeng Base Force ML-KNIL KNIL Army Command MLD Djojakarta Base Force Banjoewangi Base Force Merak Base Force 3rd KNIL AA Battalion Soerabaja Base Force 1 ML-KNIL Aviation 1st KNIL AA Battalion Commandement Marine Tjilitap Base Force Madion Base Force Batavia Base Force Malang Base Force Japan now has 2445 AV at Batavia while the Dutch are at 1182 AV. Supplies have now dropped to around 1000 and each transport sub delvery of 36-48 supplies becomes critically important. An Allied xAK blockade runner made it within 1 hex of Batavia but is then sunk by SS I-123: AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 01, 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near Oosthaven at 47,97 Japanese Ships SS I-123 Allied Ships xAK Aldinga, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Aldinga is sighted by SS I-123 SS I-123 attacking on the surface Im going to try to sneak some xAKLs around the other end of Java by Denpasar to see if I can get more supplies to Batavia. [image]local://upfiles/14495/B733D358284E43638D62AE0410340E1E.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> OPERATION WATCHTOWER (10/15/2011 9:48:27 AM)
OPERATION WATCHTOWER......THE PLAYERS I began planning for OPERATION WATCHTOWERabout a month ago after discovering that Japn had woefully inadequate garrisons at their level 4 airifelds at Lunga, Munda and Shortlands. Unfortunately....nearly 90% of the US Navy was in port at the time undergoing their 4/42 upgrades. Initially I thought it would be OPERATION SMASH AND GRAB as Japan had maybe 500 troops at Lunga and 4000 troops at Munda and only 2 units at Shortlands. I continued to build up bases in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia and debated whether to make a quick attempt to take the Japanese bases in the Solomons......... I could try a smash and grab assault now with woefully inadequate land/sea/air forces or methodically build up and launch a massive set piece attack into the Solomons in August 1942. Well Dave pre-empted me and tried to bomb my TFs at Luganville(unsuccessfully) and followed that up with a 95 fighter sweep of Luganville. I responded with an 80 4E bomber attack on Munda. Dave apparently realized what was up and has been massively reinforcing Lunga/Munda/Shortlands/Rabaul. I can wait until 8/42 and build up my bases in SOPAC and swap out TBDs to Avengers and increase USN fighter squadrons to 36 AC but then Japan will increase their air, land and naval force commitment to the Solomons. Dave has already been massively reinforcing his ground defenses in the Solomons and undoubtably also his fortifications. August 1942 would see massive allocations of naval fighters and bombers among the four level 4 airfields here in addition to land reinforcements from the SAA once they complete the conquest of Batavia.....and its very difficult for the Allies to advance into the teeth of 4 interconnected/mutually supporting Japanese airfields. Dave has also been careful to build only the level 4 airifelds as Lunga/Munda and Shortlands all have level zero ports.....so if the Allies capture them they cant reinforce immediately without amphib lift. Every day the Jap grows stronger here. I guess that one of the main reasons to invade now is that Japan has 11 1/2 divisions tied down in combat at Batavia/Burma/Philippines and now is the perfect time to attack if I dont want to worry about massive Japanese counterinvasions. With 1 IJN BB sunk and BB Yamashiro in dry dock forever and BBs Nagato, Hyuga and Fuso involved in bombardments in the SRA....I can count on a maximum of 6 IJN BBs available for the Solomons assuming that Yamato has been completed. The Allies have concentrated 10 BBs/14 CAs/28 CLs around Luganville. The goal of OPERATION WATCHTOWER is capture of Guadalcanal and prep to invade Munda. I had hoped to invade with at least 3 infantry regiments but there was insuffucient amphibious shipping to do so. With a total at 10 APs, 2 AKs and 10 APDs the Allies invasion will be spearheaded by the USMC 8th Marine Regiment. The assault will also include the 164th Regiment, 1st USMC Raider, 3rd USMC Raider, 2nd USMC Eng. Regiment, 19th CBT Eng Regiment, 34th CBT Eng Regiment and the 754th Tank Battalion for a total of 564 AV but not nearly enough supplies. I like using the 3 combat engineer regiments here as not only do they have the AV and the ability to reduce fort levels but as soon as they capture the airfield they can repair it and begin to build a port. Originally I hoped to make the Solomons my main effort and I began manuevers on the Indo-Burmese border to make as much noise as possible to create a diversion. Well Dave hasnt seen the diversion on the Indo-Burmese border yet but evidently Ive tipped my hand to him here in the Solomons so maybe the Solomons campaign is making noise to divert him from the Allied advance into Burma. He has withdrawn his AC from Guadalcanal, Munda and Shortlands to Rabaul but has heavily reinforced his land based garrisons so now there are over 6500 troops on Guadalcanal and nearly 12,000 troops on Munda. I guess that he knows now that Im coming and I havent seen KB in 2 or 3 weeks. So Dave probably knows where but he doesnt know exactly when....and he probably doesnt sense the speed or the violence of the upcoming Allied assault. Ive been running transport TFs every turn to Luganville so this amphibious assault TF will hopefully just look like another daily reinforcement TF as it reaches its staging point in the New Hebrides. Dave's recon/naval search AC have been doing a good job of ID'ing Allied ships as far as a 16 hex range from Guadalcanal so all the Allied CVs and BBs will assemble some 18 hexes away from their destination at Guadalcanal. That means that they may not make it all the way to their assigned positions on D-Day but relative surprise is critical here. The Allies will have 5 USN CVs.....and each CV will be carrying an additional USMC fighter or bomber squadron. In addition....there will be 2 RN CVs and a RN CVL. Sea Hurricanes flying from the decks of RN CVs at 31,000 feet will be the focal point of fleet defense. The Allies have some 600 land based AC for support in SOPAC...that includes 80 4Es, 80 B-26s and 30 land based DBs. There are some 200 USAAF fighters but 90% of them are P-39Ds or P-400s. The Allies also have 2 air transport groups and 5 PBY groups that are available as transports. There are also a half dozen VMF and VMSB groups available as well as some Aussie and Kiwi Kittyhawk and Hudson IIIa squadrons. As far as logistics.....in some 30 games of WitP/CHS/BigB/AE Ive never started a Solomons campaign with les than 1,000,000 supplies and 1,000,00 fuel. For this campaign I have merely 500,000 supplies and 150,000 fuel at Noumea. [image]local://upfiles/14495/7761A76C50C941C6B0F7A17FA3D815E3.jpg[/image]

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: OPERATION WATCHTOWER (10/15/2011 2:41:33 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance .....in some 30 games of WitP/CHS/BigB/AE.... Mary mother of God!

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: OPERATION WATCHTOWER (10/15/2011 2:46:07 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance OPERATION WATCHTOWER......THE PLAYERS Originally I hoped to make the Solomons my main effort and I began manuevers on the Indo-Burmese border to make as much noise as possible to create a diversion. Well Dave hasnt seen the diversion on the Indo-Burmese border yet but evidently Ive tipped my hand to him here in the Solomons so maybe the Solomons campaign is making noise to divert him from the Allied advance into Burma. He has withdrawn his AC from Guadalcanal, Munda and Shortlands to Rabaul but has heavily reinforced his land based garrisons so now there are over 6500 troops on Guadalcanal and nearly 12,000 troops on Munda. I guess that he knows now that Im coming and I havent seen KB in 2 or 3 weeks. So Dave probably knows where but he doesnt know exactly when....and he probably doesnt sense the speed or the violence of the upcoming Allied assault. Ive been running transport TFs every turn to Luganville so this amphibious assault TF will hopefully just look like another daily reinforcement TF as it reaches its staging point in the New Hebrides. Dave's recon/naval search AC have been doing a good job of ID'ing Allied ships as far as a 16 hex range from Guadalcanal so all the Allied CVs and BBs will assemble some 18 hexes away from their destination at Guadalcanal. That means that they may not make it all the way to their assigned positions on D-Day but relative surprise is critical here. AdmSpruance What is your deception plan as it relates to concealing your actual objective? Mike

racndoc -> OPERATION WATCHTOWER (10/16/2011 7:56:05 PM)
Wirrayway_Ace....Ive been playing WitP for 7 years now so that would be something like 4 0r 5 games a year. This year so far I have already starrted 5 games including the tournament games. Having siad that....Ive has maybe a half dozen games that have gone on beyond 6/42 and have completed (Japanese surrender) exactly 1 game of stock WitP and 1 game of AE. Regarding Operation Watchtower.....I had a diversion plan....not a deception plan. I think its pretty obvious that the first _opposed_ landing the Allies would take in the Solomons to tackle the 4 Japanese airfields would have to be the one furthest away from Rabaul. OPERATION WATCHTOWER......PLANNING The Japanese defensive positions in the Solomons and New Britain resemble a 4 headed monster....each head is a level 4 airfield with its own AF HQ unit so that all can support torpedo armed Netties. Things could actually be worse if I delay the assault until summer 1942. Im lucky that Japan has completed virtually no AF upgrades on New Guinea. Even Port Moresby is still at level 3 and at the present time the AF there is not operational. A delay until summer 1942 would allow Japan to build additional level 4 Nettie nests at Port Moresby, Milne Bay, Buna, Lae or Salamaua. The key to an Allied invasion here is to simultaneously cut off 3 of the heads of the monster so that only the threat of Rabaul remains. Dave has already written off the AF at Guadalcanal. A successful Allied invasion here first would destroy any air formations on the airfield. Just to be sure.....Allied surface TFs will bombard Guadalcanal AF on D-Day plus 1. The USAAF heavy bomber reserve has been tasked with the closure of the Munda AF.....and as of 5/3/42 the AF there is 75% damaged. Im pretty confident that it will be 100% damaged by D-Day.....weather permitting. That leaves one more monster head of the Nettie threat to deal with....Shortlands. On D-Day minus 1.....the USN and RN fast carriers will conduct a high speed run in to a point 50 miles due W of Lunga. From there they will search for enemy carriers and if none are located they will launch a massive carrier air strike on Shortlands AF for 2 days. By D-Day plus 1.....the only functioning Japanese airfield in the region sould be at Rabaul. Recon shows a total of 7 LCUs and 6500 troops at Lunga. Sigint has reported the presence of an Air HQ and a couple of engineer units at Lunga. Add in a BF or 2 and that leaves Japan with maybe 2 or 3 combat units there. Im estimating a total Japanese AV of less than 1 regiment....maybe 100 AV or less. Against these defenders....the Allies have some 564 AV assaulting the island. The way the supply loading worked with the limited number of APs/AK available.....the invasion will be spearheaded by the relatively well supplied 8th Marine Regiment and the 2 USMC Raider battalions.....perhaps the most feared raiders in the PTO with the possible exception of the Oakland Raiders. The assault forces should have about 50% or a bit more of their op points remaining when they reach the landing beach on D-Day. Deliberate assaults will be launched on D-Day plus 1 and D-Day plus 2 by which time hopefully 90% of the materiel and supplies have been landed. The key to a successful invasion here will be round the clock ground bombing of the Japanese combat units by level bombers and dive bombers starting on D-Day minus 1. By the time the 1st deliberate assault is ordered on D-Day plus 1 the Allied air forces will have delvered multiple AM and PM ground bombing attacks over a 3 day period. I havent seen KB in a few weeks....they could be hovering just north of Rabaul beyound Allied PBY naval search range. I staged PBYs forward into Stewart Island this turn so that advances the range of Allied PBY naval search another 5 hexes to the north. KB is currently not within range of Guadalcanal so D-Day minus 1 and D-Day should be relatively uneventful. The most dangerous days of exposure for the Allied carriers will be on D-Day plus 1 and D-Day plus 2.......KB could definitely arrive by then and Dave could also stage in a couple hundred A6M2s and Netties to the Solomons from Truk or the Marshalls. For this operation to succeed the Allies must gain control of the airfield on Guadalcanal by the end of D-Day plus 2. I plan to immediately fly in some 130 fighters and 70 DBs to Lunga to cover the remainder of unloading operations while the Alied carriers withdraw. Each day the Allied carriers must remain in position offshore of Guadalcanal to cover offensive operations to capture Lunga AF increases their threat level exponentially. [image]local://upfiles/14495/D69CB4C4A68C4EB38DFAA22E8C37DF5A.jpg[/image]

Page: << < prev 2 3 [4] 5 6 next > >>

Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI

1.59375