SECOND BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA

SECOND BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (Full Version)

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racndoc -> SECOND BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (11/20/2011 1:29:11 AM)
Good grief Wirraway_Ace.....dont tell me that I can expect to see Tojos in large numbers in July 1942! Im still scraping for every F2A-3 Buffalo I can put on a flattop and my USAAF squadrons are mostly using P-39Ds and P-400s. You are correct about Dave using Oscars in the south Pacific...Im encountering them in ever larger numbers as we speak. 6/3-6/4/42 SOPAC One of the problems of naming a naval battle before it happens is that it may never occur. The IJN BBs in fact never showed up for the ambush I had laid this turn at Guadalcanal. We had another 180 degree change in momentum this turn however. A week ago Lunga was 80% damaged and Japan had over 350 AC based on Shortlands and Munda. This turn the Cactus Air Force staged back into newly repaired Lunga and turned the tables. Every Japanese aerial attack on Lunga was thrown back with heavy losses: Morning Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 114,138 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 29 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 6 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 23 P-39D Airacobra x 38 P-40E Warhawk x 37 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed CAP engaged: No.75 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) (7 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 19000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes No.76 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling) (4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes 49th FG/8th FS with P-40E Warhawk (4 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) (7 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes 12th FS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes 35th FG/39th FS with P-39D Airacobra (4 airborne, 14 on standby, 0 scrambling) (4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 70th FS with P-40E Warhawk (4 airborne, 14 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 14000 and 18000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes 35th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes 49th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes Morning Air attack on Lunga , at 114,138 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 23 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-21-IIa Sally x 27 Ki-27b Nate x 7 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 22 P-39D Airacobra x 36 P-40E Warhawk x 36 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-21-IIa Sally: 19 destroyed Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed CAP engaged: No.75 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 19000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes 7 planes vectored on to bombers No.76 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (2 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 9000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes 5 planes vectored on to bombers 49th FG/8th FS with P-40E Warhawk (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 2000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes 6 planes vectored on to bombers 12th FS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 5 planes vectored on to bombers 35th FG/39th FS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling) 8 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 32100. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes 10 planes vectored on to bombers 70th FS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 12 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 16000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes 15 planes vectored on to bombers 35th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes 49th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 3 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes 1 planes vectored on to bombers Morning Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 114,138 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 47 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M2 Nell x 13 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 21 P-39D Airacobra x 31 P-40E Warhawk x 34 Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 8 destroyed CAP engaged: No.75 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 16000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes No.76 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes 49th FG/8th FS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 20 minutes 12th FS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) 10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes 35th FG/39th FS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes 70th FS with P-40E Warhawk (5 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) 5 plane(s) intercepting now. 6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes 49th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes 35th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 114,138 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 2,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-48-Ib Lily x 3 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 18 P-39D Airacobra x 29 P-40E Warhawk x 26 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-48-Ib Lily: 2 destroyed CAP engaged: No.75 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (6 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) 6 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 5000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes No.76 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 5 scrambling) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes 49th FG/8th FS with P-40E Warhawk (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes 12th FS with P-39D Airacobra (1 airborne, 4 on standby, 6 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 46 minutes 35th FG/39th FS with P-39D Airacobra (8 airborne, 0 on standby, 8 scrambling) 8 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 1000 and 3000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes 70th FS with P-40E Warhawk (3 airborne, 4 on standby, 2 scrambling) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 59 minutes 49th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes 35th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Raid is overhead Morning Air attack on Lunga , at 114,138 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 23 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-21-IIa Sally x 3 Ki-27b Nate x 4 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 23 P-39D Airacobra x 39 P-40E Warhawk x 38 F2A-3 Buffalo x 5 F4F-3 Wildcat x 10 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 destroyed Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed CAP engaged: VF-8 with F4F-3 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Raid is overhead VMF-111 with F2A-3 Buffalo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes VMF-121 with F4F-3 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes 4 planes vectored on to bombers VMF-221 with F2A-3 Buffalo (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Raid is overhead No.75 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 7 planes vectored on to bombers No.76 Sqn RAAF with Kittyhawk IA (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes 4 planes vectored on to bombers 49th FG/8th FS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 12th FS with P-39D Airacobra (3 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes 7 planes vectored on to bombers 35th FG/39th FS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes 8 planes vectored on to bombers 70th FS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 15 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes 8 planes vectored on to bombers 35th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (1 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 11000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes 1 planes vectored on to bombers 49th FG/HqS with P-40E Warhawk (1 airborne, 3 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 11000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes 3 planes vectored on to bombers Meanwhile....B-26s staged into Lunga pounded the Japanese airfield at Shortlands: Morning Air attack on Shortlands , at 109,131 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 29 Allied aircraft Beaufighter Ic x 7 B-26 Marauder x 33 B-26B Marauder x 3 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 8 damaged A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed on ground Ki-21-IIa Sally: 5 destroyed on ground G3M2 Nell: 5 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses Beaufighter Ic: 3 destroyed B-26 Marauder: 2 damaged Airbase hits 11 Airbase supply hits 8 Runway hits 28 Aircraft Attacking: 8 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-26B Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 9 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (13 airborne, 12 on standby, 4 scrambling) 13 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes 6 planes vectored on to bombers Morning Air attack on Shortlands , at 109,131 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 19 Allied aircraft B-26 Marauder x 6 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses B-26 Marauder: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged Runway hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 5 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 6 plane(s) intercepting now. 9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes Morning Air attack on Shortlands , at 109,131 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 39 Allied aircraft Beaufighter Ic x 1 B-26 Marauder x 34 B-26B Marauder x 6 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-48-Ib Lily: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses Beaufighter Ic: 1 destroyed B-26 Marauder: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged B-26B Marauder: 1 destroyed Airbase hits 3 Airbase supply hits 3 Runway hits 61 Aircraft Attacking: 9 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 6 x B-26B Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (5 airborne, 11 on standby, 23 scrambling) 5 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters between 11000 and 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes 15 planes vectored on to bombers Concurrent with this......4Es based at Luganville and A-24s based at Lunga work over Munda: Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 3 Ki-27b Nate x 10 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 5 Allied aircraft B-17D Fortress x 3 B-17E Fortress x 65 LB-30 Liberator x 6 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-27b Nate: 2 damaged Allied aircraft losses LB-30 Liberator: 1 damaged Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 3 Runway hits 22 Aircraft Attacking: 6 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 6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 6 x LB-30 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 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-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 6 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 CAP engaged: 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters to 7000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes 24th Sentai/B with Ki-27b Nate (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 6000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters to 7000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes 50th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 15000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 1 Ki-27b Nate x 6 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 4 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 3 A-24 Banshee x 11 P-40E Warhawk x 2 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses A-24 Banshee: 2 destroyed, 8 damaged Runway hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 2 x A-24 Banshee releasing from 3000' Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb 3 x A-24 Banshee releasing from 4000' Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb 4 x A-24 Banshee releasing from 2000' Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters to 8000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes 4 planes vectored on to bombers 24th Sentai/B with Ki-27b Nate (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes 50th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes 1 planes vectored on to bombers 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 14000 Raid is overhead -------------- Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 Ki-27b Nate x 14 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 8 Allied aircraft B-17D Fortress x 3 B-17E Fortress x 46 LB-30 Liberator x 3 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-27b Nate: 1 damaged Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 10 damaged LB-30 Liberator: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 11 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Airbase hits 6 Airbase supply hits 4 Runway hits 34 Aircraft Attacking: 6 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 6 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 3 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 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 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 3 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 CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (11 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 6 plane(s) intercepting now. 5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters to 8000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 113 minutes 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 5 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters between 9000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes 24th Sentai/B with Ki-27b Nate (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes 50th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (1 airborne, 3 on standby, 4 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 6 Ki-27b Nate x 12 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 8 Allied aircraft B-17E Fortress x 12 LB-30 Liberator x 3 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 4 damaged LB-30 Liberator: 1 damaged Japanese ground losses: 5 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Airbase hits 2 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 4 Aircraft Attacking: 3 x LB-30 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 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 3 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 59 minutes 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (1 airborne, 3 on standby, 5 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes 24th Sentai/B with Ki-27b Nate (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 8000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes 50th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 56 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 41 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 1 Ki-27b Nate x 3 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 3 Allied aircraft B-17E Fortress x 3 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged Aircraft Attacking: 3 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 24th Sentai/B with Ki-27b Nate (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 6000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 82 minutes 50th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (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 31000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (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 14000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes B-25s and Hudson IIILRs based at Luganville hit the Japanese airfield at Tulagi. When the smoke clears.....Japan has lost another 137 AC to 49 Allied AC. In A2A.....Japan loses 82 AC to 25 Allied AC. The Allies destroy 34 Japanese AC on the ground to partially avenge the infamous IJN bombardment of Lunga. Individual plane losses include: 54 Sallys; 26 Nells; 19 A6M2s; 14 Oscars; 11 A-24s; 11 B-26s; 11 Sonias and 9 Lilys. Now...the Shortlands AF is 35% damaged and only 34 AC remain from the 220 AC ther last turn. The Munda AF is 30% damaged and only 23 AC remain from the 120 AC there last turn. I bet that the majority of the AC left at Shortlands and Munda are damaged and cannot conduct flight ops. Dave has 100 fighters at Rabaul. The relative strength in airpower in the Solomons has completely reversed in the last 48 hours. The IJN BBs never showed up off Guadalcanal but the brand new Avengers found a target rich environment anyway: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 30 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 1 Ki-27b Nate x 2 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 1 Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 18 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses TBF-1 Avenger: 6 damaged Japanese Ships PB Kibi Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk PB Seki Maru #3, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires PB Okuyo Maru #2 PB Kashiwa Maru PB Heizan Maru Japanese ground losses: 23 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 12 (9 destroyed, 3 disabled) Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 9 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo 6 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 2000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 14000 Raid is overhead 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 Raid is overhead 50th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 6000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes Heavy smoke from fires obscuring PB Seki Maru #3 If they can hit hit PBs....they can certainly hit BBs. Now Dave knows that I have longer ranged TBs at Lunga and should show a bit more caution when using the IJN BBs for bombardment. With all the IJN subs around me....I cant afford to keep the Allied carriers in the Coral Sea another turn. Ive attached a screenshot of the current dispositions of Allied carriers and their orders for next turn. CV Wasp traversed the Panama Canal this turn and will head into the vast south Pacific next turn. Unfortunately....I cannot wait for her to arrive at the end of June to continue my offensive into the Solomons. I have to keep the AF at Lunga open now at all costs and I have to reinforce Guadalcanal with troops and supplies immediately. Its really interesting....in all the games Ive played of WitP since 2004...Im finally feeling the sense of desperation and finality that the Allies felt in RL 10/42 at Guadalcanal. Both Dave and I are throwing in very last carrier/BB/CA/CL that we have and while I find the current situation very stressful and nailbiting...I also find it very interesting and exhilarating. I think that next turn Dave will sweep Lunga with the 100 A6M2s at Rabaul and then will send in KB to hit my surface TFs covering Lunga. I withdrew the DBs from Lunga and staged in another 75 fighters....mostly P-400s. Im sending Admiral Paliser's surface TF with 3 "R" class BBs to reinforce the other surface TFs at Lunga. An USN cruiser TF will naval bombard Munda next turn in conjunction with the Luganville based 4Es and the B-26s will again hit Shortlands. The Allied carriers will exit the Coral Sea and redeploy to the eastern Solomons.....Im anticipating KB to approach from the direction of Ontong Java based on IJN fleet movements(north of this screenshot) around Rabaul and the Feni Islands. CV Lexington was left behind last turn as she can only make 27 knots due to the 27 FLT damage suffered from the IJN sub launched torpedo.....the good news is that the temporary patch over the torpedo damage in her hull is holding and she will rejoin the other carriers next turn along with CVE Long Island. Allied base building continues in the central and southern Solomons. Rossel Is. has now completed 92% of a level 1 port and should open it next turn. Then the 3 SSTs and a dozen subs redeploying from the DEI to the Coral Sea will drop off supplies/men /materiel at Rossel and it should reach level 1 AF very quickly. I have the USMC 9th Regiment 100% prepped for Rossel and its railing to Cairns this turn...it will be transported to Rossel and Rossel wil become one of my defensive cornerstones in the Coral Sea. Russell Is. has 43% completion of a level 1 AF and Aoba Is. is almost at level 2 AF now. Dave and I are beating on each other in China, Burma and the Philippines but none of that really matters now. All that matters now is the SOPAC and the titanic clash that is about to unfold between the entire might of the IJN and the USN/RN in the Solomons and the surrounding waters. This is the first game Ive played of WitP where a life or death struugle played out around Guadalcanal in 1942(my first game game of WitP in 2004...."they were expendable"....had a life or death struggle in the Gilberts in 1942). [image]local://upfiles/14495/FB706C4DD40B4E93852CA5C66AB1A32F.jpg[/image]

House Stark -> RE: SECOND BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (11/20/2011 4:00:08 AM)
I have to say this is one of the most interesting and exciting games I've witnessed so far. You definitely seem to have done a good job at giving your opponent too many problems to tackle simultaneously, which probably explains why you're able to make a fight of the Solomons so soon. Really interested to see what your opponent does about the Philippines in light of your counterattacks in China, SoPac, and Burma. And that last turn-what were the air losses? It seems your opponent had an overstacked airfield or got really unlucky, because those were some small and weakly escorted bomber strikes. As for IJN air losses, whether or not their sustainable really depends on how your opponent plays the game. If he tries to play semi historically, than he's probably hurting for pilots. If he's a production mastermind and resizes air groups and such, he probably has plenty of pilots. I don't know him, or what rules you guys play with concerning air group resizing, or what experience your opponent trains his pilots to. All those would determine whether or not your likely to masses of zeroes continue to appear no matter how fast you shoot them down. One more thing, about your use of land units. I've noticed you keep your divisions separate even when in combat. Most people on this forum seem to recommend combining units before fighting to reduce casualties/increase effectiveness/do something positive. Have you noticed any difference using your tactics. I will say though, that this AAR inspired me to divide units to maximize replacements, especially in the Philippines and China early on.

racndoc -> 1ST NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL....HISTORICAL: 11/13/42 (11/20/2011 7:10:08 PM)
House Stark.....thanx for your comments. The other advantage of breaking down your corps into sub units is that not only do they gain replacements faster but they also recover disablements faster. HISTORICAL 1ST NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL: 11/13/42 The historical 1st Naval Battle of Guadalcanal(also known as the 3rd battle of Savo Island) has always been one of my favorite reads regarding the Pacific war. The US Navy was trying to defend Henderson Field against seemingly hopeless odds......2 IJN Kongo class BBs, 1 CL and 11 DDs faced off against 2 USN CAs, 3 CLs and 8 DDs. In the ensuing melee both Admiral Scott and Admiral Callahan were killed....and Admiral Abe was wounded. The senior surviving USN officer was the captain of CL Helena. Two USN CLs and 4 DDs were sunk against 1 IJN CL and 2 DDs. BB Hiei was a floating wreck as daylight arrived....Samuel Eliot Morison reported that there were some 60 holes in her superstructure from 8" shells. Avengers based at henderson Field finished her off the next day. I havent had much luck in surface combat against IJN BBs in some 20-30 games of WitP/CHS/BigB/AE. It always seems as if it takes my entire navy to kill one of these monsters at a time....read my 1st AE AAR...."In Harm's Way" and you will see how painful it was to finally kill off all 12 IJN BBs...even with total carrier superiority. In fact...you will notic in this AAR that I havent used my USN BBs in any surface combats yet....I use them strictly as carrier escorts for their AA platform and for their use as torpedo magnets. Im only using the RN BBs in surface TFs so far in this game. Having not had much luck with USN BBs vs IJN BBs.....i had always wondered if AE modeled the Kongo class BBs properly....ie as thin skinned BCs rather than fully armored BBs and if they were succeptible to penetration by 8" shells.....ie could USN CAs duplicate their RL feat at the 1st Battle of Guadalacanal. Well this next turn of our game I finally found out. [image]local://upfiles/14495/62749C3BB20642929D22762F59A30DE1.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> 1ST NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL (11/20/2011 8:07:16 PM)
6/5/42 SOPAC The turn begins with CL Boise and escorts annihilating an IJN barge TF off Tulagi: AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 05, 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Tulagi at 114,137, Range 7,000 Yards Japanese Ships LB-101, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-102, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-103 LB-104 LB-105, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-106 LB-107 LB-108, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-110, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-111 LB-112, Shell hits 1, and is sunk Allied Ships CL Boise DD Conyngham DD Shaw DD Selfridge DD John D. Ford DMS Long Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 60% moonlight: 7,000 yards Range closes to 24,000 yards... Range closes to 22,000 yards... Range closes to 20,000 yards... Range closes to 18,000 yards... CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 18,000 yards Range closes to 16,000 yards... Range closes to 14,000 yards... Range closes to 12,000 yards... Range closes to 11,000 yards... CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 11,000 yards Range closes to 10,000 yards... CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 10,000 yards Range closes to 9,000 yards... CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 9,000 yards Range closes to 8,000 yards... Range closes to 7,000 yards... CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 7,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 7,000 yards DD John D. Ford engages LB-112 at 7,000 yards LB-112 sunk by DD Selfridge at 7,000 yards LB-105 sunk by CL Boise at 7,000 yards Range closes to 6,000 yards LB-101 sunk by CL Boise at 6,000 yards Range closes to 4,000 yards LB-102 sunk by DD Conyngham at 4,000 yards Range closes to 2,000 yards LB-108 sunk by CL Boise at 2,000 yards LB-110 sunk by DD Shaw at 2,000 yards DD Shaw engages LB-103 at 2,000 yards Range increases to 3,000 yards DD John D. Ford engages LB-106 at 3,000 yards Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape Task forces break off... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Thousand Ships Bay at 114,136, Range 9,000 Yards Japanese Ships LB-103, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-104, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-106, Shell hits 2, and is sunk LB-107, Shell hits 1, and is sunk LB-111, Shell hits 1, and is sunk Allied Ships CL Boise DD Conyngham DD Shaw DD Selfridge DD John D. Ford DMS Long Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 60% moonlight: 10,000 yards Range closes to 24,000 yards... Range closes to 22,000 yards... Range closes to 20,000 yards... Range closes to 18,000 yards... Range closes to 16,000 yards... Range closes to 14,000 yards... Range closes to 12,000 yards... Range closes to 11,000 yards... Range closes to 10,000 yards... Range closes to 9,000 yards... CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 9,000 yards Allies open fire on surprised Japanese ships at 9,000 yards LB-111 sunk by CL Boise at 9,000 yards LB-107 sunk by CL Boise at 9,000 yards LB-104 sunk by CL Boise at 9,000 yards Range closes to 6,000 yards DD Conyngham engages LB-106 at 6,000 yards DMS Long engages LB-106 at 6,000 yards Range closes to 3,000 yards LB-106 sunk by DD Conyngham at 3,000 yards Range closes to 2,000 yards LB-103 sunk by CL Boise at 2,000 yards LB-103 sunk by CL Boise at 2,000 yards Combat ends with last Japanese ship sunk... A bombardment TF with 5 USN CAs bombards Munda in an attmept to close the AF there: Night Time Surface Combat, near Munda at 111,134, Range 13,000 Yards Japanese Ships PB Kashiwa Maru, Shell hits 10, and is sunk PB Heizan Maru, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage PB Ichiyu Maru, Shell hits 15, and is sunk Allied Ships CA Indianapolis CA Northampton CA Houston CA New Orleans CA Vincennes CL Achilles DD Edsall DD Litchfield DD Parrott DD Napier Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching! Japanese TF begins to get underway Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching! Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 60% moonlight: 12,000 yards Range closes to 21,000 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... CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 13,000 yards Allies open fire on surprised Japanese ships at 13,000 yards CA Vincennes fires at PB Ichiyu Maru at 13,000 yards CA New Orleans fires at PB Ichiyu Maru at 13,000 yards CA New Orleans fires at PB Kashiwa Maru at 13,000 yards DD Napier fires at PB Kashiwa Maru at 13,000 yards DD Litchfield fires at PB Kashiwa Maru at 13,000 yards DD Edsall fires at PB Ichiyu Maru at 13,000 yards Range closes to 11,000 yards CA Vincennes engages PB Ichiyu Maru at 11,000 yards CA New Orleans engages PB Ichiyu Maru at 11,000 yards CA Vincennes engages PB Kashiwa Maru at 11,000 yards CA Northampton engages PB Ichiyu Maru at 11,000 yards DD Parrott engages PB Ichiyu Maru at 11,000 yards DD Litchfield engages PB Ichiyu Maru at 11,000 yards Range closes to 8,000 yards PB Ichiyu Maru sunk by CA Vincennes at 8,000 yards CL Achilles engages PB Kashiwa Maru at 8,000 yards Range closes to 6,000 yards DD Napier engages PB Heizan Maru at 6,000 yards Range increases to 9,000 yards CL Achilles engages PB Heizan Maru at 9,000 yards Range increases to 11,000 yards CA Vincennes engages PB Heizan Maru at 11,000 yards CA Houston engages PB Heizan Maru at 11,000 yards DD Napier engages PB Heizan Maru at 11,000 yards DD Parrott engages PB Heizan Maru at 11,000 yards Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape Task forces break off... Night Time Surface Combat, near Munda at 111,134, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships PB Seki Maru #3, Shell hits 7, and is sunk Allied Ships CA Indianapolis CA Northampton CA Houston CA New Orleans CA Vincennes CL Achilles DD Edsall DD Litchfield DD Parrott DD Napier Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 50% moonlight: 11,000 yards Range closes to 20,000 yards... Range closes to 17,000 yards... Range closes to 14,000 yards... Range closes to 11,000 yards... CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards Japanese ships attempt to get underway CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards CA Vincennes engages PB Seki Maru #3 at 11,000 yards CL Achilles engages PB Seki Maru #3 at 11,000 yards Range closes to 7,000 yards CA Vincennes engages PB Seki Maru #3 at 7,000 yards PB Seki Maru #3 sunk by CA New Orleans at 7,000 yards PB Seki Maru #3 sunk by CA New Orleans at 7,000 yards Combat ends with last Japanese ship sunk... Night Naval bombardment of Munda at 111,134 Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed on ground Allied Ships CA Vincennes CA New Orleans CA Houston CA Northampton CA Indianapolis CL Achilles DD Napier DD Parrott DD Litchfield DD Edsall Japanese ground losses: 149 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 16 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled Airbase hits 6 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 53 Port hits 12 Port fuel hits 1 Port supply hits 2 CA Vincennes firing at Munda CA New Orleans firing at 6th Air Defense AA Regiment CA Houston firing at 4th Base Force OS2U-3 Kingfisher acting as spotter for CA Northampton CA Northampton firing at 1st Air Defense AA Regiment SOC-1 Seagull acting as spotter for CA Indianapolis CA Indianapolis firing at Munda CL Achilles firing at Munda DD Napier firing at Munda DD Parrott firing at 1st Air Defense AA Battalion DD Litchfield firing at 1st Air Defense AA Regiment DD Edsall firing at 6th Air Defense AA Regiment The 4Es based at Luganville add to the damage at the airfield on Munda: Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 18 Ki-27b Nate x 4 Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 6 B-17D Fortress x 3 B-17E Fortress x 49 LB-30 Liberator x 6 P-39D Airacobra x 6 P-40E Warhawk x 2 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 5 damaged A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-27b Nate: 4 damaged Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses Kittyhawk IA: 2 destroyed B-17E Fortress: 9 damaged LB-30 Liberator: 2 damaged P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed Japanese ground losses: 5 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Airbase hits 3 Runway hits 44 Aircraft Attacking: 3 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 6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 2 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 3 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 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 6 x LB-30 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 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 3 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 CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 Raid is overhead Chitose Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 13 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters between 3000 and 31000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters to 7000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 8 Allied aircraft B-17E Fortress x 3 P-39D Airacobra x 3 P-400 Airacobra x 3 P-40E Warhawk x 10 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed P-400 Airacobra: 1 destroyed Runway hits 5 Aircraft Attacking: 3 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: Chitose Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (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 31000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 105 minutes 2 planes vectored on to bombers 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 Raid is overhead B-26s based at Lunga again hit the airfield at Shortlands: Afternoon Air attack on Shortlands , at 109,131 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 29 Allied aircraft Beaufighter Ic x 6 B-26 Marauder x 6 Japanese aircraft losses G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses Beaufighter Ic: 1 destroyed B-26 Marauder: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged Airbase hits 1 Runway hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 4 x B-26 Marauder bombing from 8000 feet Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 2 on standby, 26 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 31000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes 18 planes vectored on to bombers 1ST NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL Ive always heard how life imitates art. Its interesting how AE imitates RL sometimes. As in RL....Lunga is the most important airfield in the Pacific and Japan will do everything with its power to shut it down. Dave sends in a bombardment TF with 4.....FOUR......Kongo class BBs and Admiral Ching Lee(the RL victor of the 2nd Naval Battle of Guadalcanaland sank BB Kirishima) engages them with 5 CAs/6 CLs and 6 DDs: Day Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 114,138, Range 26,000 Yards Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships BB Kongo BB Haruna BB Hiei, Shell hits 39, heavy fires, heavy damage BB Kirishima, Shell hits 3, on fire DD Michishio, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Usugumo, Shell hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships CA Portland, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage CA Chester, Shell hits 4, on fire CA Minneapolis, Shell hits 15, and is sunk CA San Francisco, Shell hits 11, and is sunk CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 3 CL Tromp CL Dragon, Shell hits 1 CL Ceres, Shell hits 2 CL St. Louis, Shell hits 3 CL Capetown, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Benham DD Case, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Voyager, Shell hits 1 DD Vendetta, Shell hits 1 DD Kilty DD Le Triomphant, Shell hits 1, on fire Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 26,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 26,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 26,000 yards BB Haruna engages CA San Francisco at 26,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 26,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Capetown at 26,000 yards Range closes to 21,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA San Francisco at 21,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 21,000 yards BB Haruna engages CA San Francisco at 21,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 21,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 21,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Tromp at 21,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Vendetta at 21,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Voyager at 21,000 yards Range closes to 19,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA San Francisco at 19,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 19,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 19,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 19,000 yards CL Capetown engages DD Usugumo at 19,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 19,000 yards DD Case engages DD Michishio at 19,000 yards DD Usugumo engages CL Tromp at 19,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 19,000 yards DD Vendetta engages DD Michishio at 19,000 yards Range closes to 18,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 18,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 18,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 18,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Portland at 18,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Case at 18,000 yards DD Kilty engages DD Akatsuki at 18,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Ceres at 18,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Dragon at 18,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Le Triomphant at 18,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Kilty at 18,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Vendetta at 18,000 yards DD Case engages DD Usugumo at 18,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Benham at 18,000 yards Range closes to 17,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 17,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 17,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 17,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 17,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Case at 17,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 17,000 yards DD Vendetta engages DD Michishio at 17,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Tromp at 17,000 yards BB Kirishima engages DD Le Triomphant at 17,000 yards DD Kilty engages DD Michishio at 17,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Voyager at 17,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Benham at 17,000 yards Range closes to 16,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA San Francisco at 16,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 16,000 yards BB Haruna engages CL St. Louis at 16,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Portland at 16,000 yards DD Le Triomphant engages DD Usugumo at 16,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 16,000 yards CL Ceres engages DD Usugumo at 16,000 yards BB Kongo engages DD Le Triomphant at 16,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Kilty at 16,000 yards BB Kongo engages DD Case at 16,000 yards Range closes to 14,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA San Francisco at 14,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Minneapolis at 14,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 14,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Portland at 14,000 yards DD Voyager engages DD Usugumo at 14,000 yards DD Kilty engages DD Michishio at 14,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 14,000 yards DD Le Triomphant engages DD Usugumo at 14,000 yards DD Kilty engages DD Michishio at 14,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Case at 14,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Benham at 14,000 yards Range closes to 11,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 11,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 11,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 11,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 11,000 yards CL Capetown engages DD Usugumo at 11,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 11,000 yards DD Vendetta engages DD Usugumo at 11,000 yards DD Voyager engages DD Usugumo at 11,000 yards BB Hiei engages DD Case at 11,000 yards Range closes to 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 10,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA San Francisco at 10,000 yards CL Capetown engages BB Hiei at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 10,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Voyager at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 10,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Le Triomphant at 10,000 yards DD Vendetta engages DD Michishio at 10,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Case at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages DD Benham at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Tromp at 10,000 yards BB Haruna engages CA San Francisco at 10,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA San Francisco at 10,000 yards DD Case engages DD Akatsuki at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Ceres at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Dragon at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 10,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Case at 10,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Benham at 10,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CL Capetown at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Capetown at 10,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Voyager at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Ceres at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Dragon at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 10,000 yards DD Le Triomphant engages DD Usugumo at 10,000 yards DD Kilty engages DD Michishio at 10,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Vendetta at 10,000 yards DD Voyager engages DD Michishio at 10,000 yards Range closes to 8,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA San Francisco at 8,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 8,000 yards CA San Francisco sunk by BB Kongo at 8,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Capetown at 8,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 8,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Ceres at 8,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 8,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Vendetta at 8,000 yards DD Voyager engages DD Akatsuki at 8,000 yards Range closes to 5,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Minneapolis at 5,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Chester at 5,000 yards CA Portland engages DD Akatsuki at 5,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Minneapolis at 5,000 yards DD Case engages DD Akatsuki at 5,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Dragon at 5,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 5,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Vendetta at 5,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Voyager at 5,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Case at 5,000 yards DD Benham engages DD Michishio at 5,000 yards Range increases to 7,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 7,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Minneapolis at 7,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 7,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Minneapolis at 7,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Voyager at 7,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Ceres at 7,000 yards DD Voyager engages DD Michishio at 7,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Tromp at 7,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 7,000 yards DD Le Triomphant engages DD Usugumo at 7,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Voyager at 7,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Case at 7,000 yards Ikeda P. orders Japanese TF to disengage Range increases to 10,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Minneapolis at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Capetown at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 10,000 yards DD Case engages DD Akatsuki at 10,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Vendetta at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Tromp at 10,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 10,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Le Triomphant at 10,000 yards DD Vendetta engages DD Usugumo at 10,000 yards DD Voyager engages DD Akatsuki at 10,000 yards DD Case engages DD Usugumo at 10,000 yards DD Benham engages DD Michishio at 10,000 yards Range increases to 12,000 yards CA Minneapolis sunk by BB Kirishima at 12,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Chester at 12,000 yards BB Kongo engages CA Portland at 12,000 yards BB Kongo engages CL Capetown at 12,000 yards CL St. Louis engages DD Usugumo at 12,000 yards DD Vendetta engages DD Akatsuki at 12,000 yards CL Tromp engages DD Akatsuki at 12,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Kilty at 12,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Vendetta at 12,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Portland at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Capetown at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Ceres at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Dragon at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Tromp at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 12,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Le Triomphant at 12,000 yards DD Kilty engages DD Usugumo at 12,000 yards DD Vendetta engages DD Akatsuki at 12,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Benham at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CA Portland at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL Capetown at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL St. Louis at 12,000 yards CL Ceres engages DD Usugumo at 12,000 yards DD Kilty engages DD Akatsuki at 12,000 yards DD Voyager engages DD Michishio at 12,000 yards BB Hiei engages CL De Ruyter at 12,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Le Triomphant at 12,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Vendetta at 12,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Voyager at 12,000 yards DD Akatsuki engages DD Case at 12,000 yards DD Usugumo engages DD Benham at 12,000 yards Task forces break off... As in the RL battle...BB Hiei is reduced to a floating hulk. Then the just arrived "R" class BBs take over for the Allies: Day Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 114,138, Range 26,000 Yards Japanese Ships BB Kongo, Shell hits 4 BB Haruna, Shell hits 3, heavy fires BB Kirishima, Shell hits 21, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Michishio, on fire Allied Ships BB Royal Sovereign, Shell hits 2 BB Ramillies, Shell hits 2, on fire BB Resolution, Shell hits 11, heavy fires CA Canberra CA Exeter, Shell hits 1 CL Perth CL Caledon DD Bagley DD Blue DD Ellet DD Dunlap, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Smith DD Scout DD Thanet DD Thracian DD Hatfield Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 26,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 26,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Resolution at 26,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Haruna at 26,000 yards BB Kongo engages BB Resolution at 26,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 26,000 yards Range closes to 23,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Kirishima at 23,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Haruna at 23,000 yards BB Kongo engages BB Resolution at 23,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 23,000 yards BB Haruna engages DD Scout at 23,000 yards BB Kirishima engages DD Ellet at 23,000 yards Range closes to 19,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Resolution at 19,000 yards BB Ramillies engages BB Kirishima at 19,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Royal Sovereign at 19,000 yards BB Resolution engages DD Michishio at 19,000 yards BB Kongo engages CL Perth at 19,000 yards BB Kirishima engages DD Dunlap at 19,000 yards Range closes to 17,000 yards BB Kongo collides with BB Haruna at 114 , 138 BB Kirishima engages BB Resolution at 17,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Haruna at 17,000 yards BB Haruna engages BB Royal Sovereign at 17,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Dunlap at 17,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Canberra at 17,000 yards BB Haruna engages DD Bagley at 17,000 yards Range closes to 13,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Kirishima at 13,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Ramillies at 13,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Kongo at 13,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 13,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CL Perth at 13,000 yards BB Kirishima engages DD Scout at 13,000 yards BB Kirishima engages DD Smith at 13,000 yards DD Bagley engages DD Michishio at 13,000 yards Range closes to 10,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Resolution at 10,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Ramillies at 10,000 yards BB Kongo engages BB Resolution at 10,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 10,000 yards CL Caledon engages DD Michishio at 10,000 yards BB Kirishima engages DD Thanet at 10,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Scout at 10,000 yards Range closes to 7,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Resolution at 7,000 yards BB Haruna engages BB Resolution at 7,000 yards BB Royal Sovereign engages BB Kirishima at 7,000 yards CA Exeter engages BB Kirishima at 7,000 yards Range increases to 8,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Kirishima at 8,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Ramillies at 8,000 yards BB Kongo engages BB Resolution at 8,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 8,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CL Caledon at 8,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CL Perth at 8,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Thanet at 8,000 yards DD Scout engages DD Michishio at 8,000 yards BB Kirishima engages DD Bagley at 8,000 yards Range increases to 12,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Kirishima at 12,000 yards BB Resolution engages BB Haruna at 12,000 yards BB Kongo engages BB Resolution at 12,000 yards CA Exeter engages DD Michishio at 12,000 yards CA Canberra engages DD Michishio at 12,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Thracian at 12,000 yards DD Michishio engages DD Thanet at 12,000 yards DD Dunlap engages DD Michishio at 12,000 yards Range increases to 16,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Resolution at 16,000 yards BB Haruna engages BB Resolution at 16,000 yards BB Royal Sovereign engages BB Kirishima at 16,000 yards DD Bagley engages DD Michishio at 16,000 yards Range increases to 19,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Resolution at 19,000 yards BB Haruna engages BB Ramillies at 19,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 19,000 yards Range increases to 23,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Ramillies at 23,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 23,000 yards Range increases to 25,000 yards BB Haruna engages BB Resolution at 25,000 yards Range increases to 29,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Ramillies at 29,000 yards BB Kirishima engages BB Royal Sovereign at 29,000 yards BB Kirishima engages CA Exeter at 29,000 yards Task forces break off... BB Hiei tries to get away but runs into the Allied cruiser force returning from the bombardment of Munda: Day Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 114,138, Range 29,000 Yards Japanese Ships BB Hiei, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Akatsuki, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Usugumo, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships CA Indianapolis CA Northampton CA Houston CA New Orleans CA Vincennes CL Achilles DD Edsall DD Litchfield DD Parrott DD Napier Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 23,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 23,000 yards Both TF attempt to withdraw! Range increases to 29,000 yards... BB Hiei engages CA New Orleans at 29,000 yards Task forces break off... Both TFs are apparently out of ammo. As in the RL Battle of Guadalcanal....Avengers based at Lunga work over the damaged IJN ships after the massive surface battles: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tulagi at 114,137 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 36 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 16 minutes Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 16 Allied aircraft losses TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged Japanese Ships BB Haruna, on fire, heavy damage BB Kongo Aircraft Attacking: 8 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo 8 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lunga at 114,138 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 49 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 23 minutes Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 9 P-39D Airacobra x 8 P-400 Airacobra x 20 P-40E Warhawk x 29 TBF-1 Avenger x 6 No Allied losses Japanese Ships DD Akatsuki, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 3 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo 3 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo Then the Allied carriers in the eastern Solomons launch an airstike against the IJN surface TF: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tulagi at 114,137 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Allied aircraft F2A-3 Buffalo x 14 F4F-3A Wildcat x 4 F4F-3 Wildcat x 18 SBD-3 Dauntless x 36 Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged Japanese Ships BB Kongo, Bomb hits 11, on fire BB Haruna, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 16 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 2 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 2 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Kongo Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Haruna The BB PoW TF finishes off some stragglers: Day Time Surface Combat, near Lunga at 114,138, Range 26,000 Yards Japanese Ships DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 4, and is sunk Allied Ships BB Prince of Wales BB Warspite CA Australia CA Dorsetshire CA Devonshire CL Dauntless DD Henley DD Gridley DD Maury DD Alden DD Bulmer Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 26,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 26,000 yards BB Warspite engages DD Akatsuki at 26,000 yards CA Devonshire engages DD Akatsuki at 26,000 yards Range closes to 24,000 yards BB Warspite engages DD Akatsuki at 24,000 yards DD Akatsuki sunk by CA Devonshire at 24,000 yards Combat ends with last Japanese ship sunk... The Allied airfield at Lunga remains open for business. [image]local://upfiles/14495/ACE7687D9FA6419588D329FF8307CF8F.jpg[/image]

House Stark -> RE: 1ST NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL (11/20/2011 8:23:41 PM)
I wonder if the fact that the 4 IJN BBs only had 3 destroyers with them contributed to their demise. Does the game simulate destroyer screening?

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: SECOND BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (11/20/2011 10:15:26 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance Good grief Wirraway_Ace.....dont tell me that I can expect to see Tojos in large numbers in July 1942! Im still scraping for every F2A-3 Buffalo I can put on a flattop and my USAAF squadrons are mostly using P-39Ds and P-400s. You are correct about Dave using Oscars in the south Pacific...Im encountering them in ever larger numbers as we speak. It depends on his research focus and methods, but yes, he could have Tojos in significant numbers 2 months ahead of schedule without a lot of effort.

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: 1ST NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL (11/20/2011 10:25:39 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: House Stark I wonder if the fact that the 4 IJN BBs only had 3 destroyers with them contributed to their demise. Does the game simulate destroyer screening? Yes, I agree his BBs (really BCs) were not adequately supported by light units, and the game does a good job of modelling the value of light units. Try a night battle in low vis without them....However, in this case, I don't think that was the primary reason for their demise. The Kongos were not battleships regardless of the reclassification in the 30s after their major refit. They were too lightly armored. As an example, Hiei was disabled by an 8" cruiser shell (or two) that penetrated into her rudder room, leading to her demise, during an action in the Solomons in RL against US cruisers. The series of actions during this turn was almost simulation in quality. The Kongos chewed up a larger force of curisers just as BCs should, but one was crippled during the battle (Hiei in parallel with history). Then, when they ran into battleships, even old battleships (contemporaries of the Kongos), the mask of their BB label was ripped off. mike

Wirraway_Ace -> RE: SECOND BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (11/20/2011 10:29:31 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: House Stark I have to say this is one of the most interesting and exciting games I've witnessed so far.... AdmSpruance, I strongly agree with House Stark. In fact, this is the most interesting AAR from a game play perspective I have read in half a decade. Mike

racndoc -> 1ST NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL (11/21/2011 5:06:11 AM)
House Stark and Wirrayway_Ace...thankS so much for your comments and insight. The overiding thing here is....Dave is an expert player. If I make even 1 mistake in China Im history. Dave has a tendency to go all out against an objective and then your only choice is to "hit them where they aint". 6/6/42 CBI Who cares. PHILIPPINES Who cares. SOPAC Just as in the RL 1st Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.....Lunga based Avengers work over the IJN BBs the day after the climatic surface engagement: Morning Air attack on TF, near Rekata Bay at 114,134 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft no flights Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 15 Japanese aircraft losses No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses TBF-1 Avenger: 2 damaged Japanese Ships BB Kongo, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage BB Haruna, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk Aircraft Attacking: 6 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo 9 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 25 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 2 No Allied losses Japanese Ships BB Hyuga Aircraft Attacking: 2 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 3000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb B-25s and Hudson IIILRs work over the base at Tulagi. Luganville based 4Es continue to work over Munda: Morning Air attack on Munda , at 111,134 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 26 Ki-27b Nate x 6 Allied aircraft B-17D Fortress x 2 B-17E Fortress x 52 LB-30 Liberator x 7 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 4 damaged A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-27b Nate: 6 damaged Ki-27b Nate: 2 destroyed on ground Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 5 damaged LB-30 Liberator: 1 damaged Airbase hits 6 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 58 Aircraft Attacking: 3 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 7 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 10000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb 2 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 2 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 4 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 3 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 3 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 CAP engaged: 3rd Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (4 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 Raid is overhead Chitose Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 20 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 31000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes 24th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (1 airborne, 3 on standby, 2 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 31000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 31000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes Allied carriers in the eastern Solomons continue to work over IJN TFs: Morning Air attack on TF, near Rekata Bay at 114,134 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft no flights Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 5 SBD-3 Dauntless x 18 Japanese aircraft losses No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged Japanese Ships BB Kongo, and is sunk DD Michishio, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk Aircraft Attacking: 4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 10000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Michishio Just as in the RL 1ST Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.....IJN troop transports arrive on the 2nd day of the battle only to be hit by USN carrier bombers: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 14 Allied aircraft losses TBF-1 Avenger: 1 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage APD Minekaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire Japanese ground losses: 25 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 6 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo 8 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 2000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Minekaze -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Allied aircraft Albacore I x 18 F2A-3 Buffalo x 16 F4F-3A Wildcat x 4 F4F-3 Wildcat x 55 SBD-2 Dauntless x 18 SBD-3 Dauntless x 36 Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 1 destroyed SBD-2 Dauntless: 1 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage APD Minekaze, on fire DD Hatsuharu, Bomb hits 1, on fire DD Tokitsukaze APD Hakaze DD Suzukaze DD Hayashio, Bomb hits 1, on fire APD Shimakaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Japanese ground losses: 20 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 17 x Albacore I launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo 6 x SBD-2 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 6 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 12 x SBD-2 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Minekaze Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hayashio Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Allied aircraft F2A-3 Buffalo x 11 SB2U-3 Vindicator x 16 SBD-3 Dauntless x 13 Allied aircraft losses SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Hayashio, on fire DD Suzukaze DD Tokitsukaze DD Hatsuharu, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk Aircraft Attacking: 2 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 7 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hayashio Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hatsuharu -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 48 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 19 minutes Allied aircraft SBD-3 Dauntless x 18 Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Suzukaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire DD Tokitsukaze, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 9 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Suzukaze Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Tokitsukaze -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Allied aircraft Albacore I x 6 No Allied losses Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 6 x Albacore I bombing from 3000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Allied aircraft Albacore I x 18 Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 1 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Hayashio, heavy fires DD Suzukaze, heavy fires Aircraft Attacking: 8 x Albacore I bombing from 2000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb 10 x Albacore I bombing from 4000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hayashio Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Suzukaze Dave emailed me that he had a problem with issuing orders to KB to coAfternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Allied aircraft F2A-3 Buffalo x 11 SB2U-3 Vindicator x 16 SBD-3 Dauntless x 13 Allied aircraft losses SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Hayashio, on fire DD Suzukaze DD Tokitsukaze DD Hatsuharu, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk Aircraft Attacking: 2 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 7 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SB2U-3 Vindicator releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hayashio Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hatsuharu -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 48 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 19 minutes Allied aircraft SBD-3 Dauntless x 18 Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Suzukaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire DD Tokitsukaze, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 9 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Suzukaze Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Tokitsukaze -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Allied aircraft Albacore I x 6 No Allied losses Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 6 x Albacore I bombing from 3000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ontong Java at 115,132 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 37 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Allied aircraft Albacore I x 18 Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 1 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Hayashio, heavy fires DD Suzukaze, heavy fires Aircraft Attacking: 8 x Albacore I bombing from 2000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb 10 x Albacore I bombing from 4000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring BB Hyuga Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Hayashio Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Suzukaze Dave emailed me and said that he had a problem issuing orders to KB to cover BB Hyuga, I totally understand this as I ordered commands inappropriately a couple of weeks ago and left an amphib TF unloading unnecessarily at Russel Is. and lost 2 cruisers/2 DDs/2 APs for no reason at all. Everything has now changed in the last 48 hours with the destruction/heavy damaging of 5 of the 10 available IJN BBs. Two days ago I was going to risk destruction of the Allied carriers to protect the AF at Lunga. CV Lexington had SS I-4 bounce a torpedo off her hull this turn..... a reminder on how dangerous it is to stay for any length of time in the sub infested waters around the Solomons. CV Wasp arrives towards the end of the month....so Im considering withdrawing back to Luganville to get my carriers out of harm's way for a bit.....ramp up my ASW.....and then come back stronger than ever. Dave wont get the file back to me until Mon. nite.....so I have a while to consider my options. [image]local://upfiles/14495/4C586AC319C8453194616FCFF1807B04.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> EPILOGUE OR PROLOGUE (11/24/2011 10:36:06 PM)
6/6/42.....SWPAC/SOPAC Just got the file back from Dave last night. That gave me 4 days to reconsider my options in the Solomons. Is next turn going to be the epilogue to the 1st Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.....the prologue to the Carrier Battle of the Eastern Solomons.......or maybe a combination of both. Dave certainly expressed a sense of desperation in his email to me. His original plan called for KB to sail to where BB Hyuga was on day 1 of the battle last turn....KB was supposed to destroy my surface TFs on day 1 and then the IJN surface TFs were to show up off Guadalcanal on day 2 to put the AF at Lunga out of commission. Instead... KB never showed up and the IJN surface TFs showed up early at Lunga on day 1 and were annihilated. My plan had been to reinforce Lunga with 3 "R" class BBs on day 1 to repel surface TFs and reinforce Lunga AF with 75 fighters to absorb a day 1 strike by KB. The Allied carriers were sent south and east on the 1st day to avoid KB and then were sent north on day 2 towards Ontong Java to engage KB after it had been attritioned by the land based AC at Lunga on day 1. Dave was very surprised that the Allied carriers had sailed east from the Solomon Sea to the eastern Solomons and I got the impression that he really didnt want KB to face off against the Allied carriers. He wants to replay last turn ....just for fun....in a few days to see what would have happened had KB been given proper orders. Four days ago(RL) I was prepared to call a victory from the 1st Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and then withdraw my carriers towards Luganville to preserve them. Now Ive had 4 days to reconsider my options and Im not so sure anymore. I hit Munda with a naval bombardment and massed 4Es...got about 150 hits on the AF yet this turn Munda's damage has merely increased from 26% to 35%. If its possible...I think that Dave maybe has even more construction engineers at Munda than I do at Lunga. In addition....my B-26s mostly failed morale checks last turn and only a few hit Shortlands....and now the damage there has been reduced to 24%. Dave only has 18 AC at Munda....but now he has staged in 36 fighters, 60 bombers and 65 Aux. AC to Shortlands even though it is damaged. Dave still has 100 fighters, 30 bombers and 170 Aux. AC at Rabaul. I know that at a minimum BB Ise, BB Nagato and BB Yamashiro are still in the area as they have previously bombarded Lunga. Ive attached a screenshot of the current situation in the Solomons and there are unidentified ships at Shortlands even though I have that area covered by 4 PBY squadrons. This is where the Kongo class BBs departed from last turn and I gotta believe there is an AE/AKE at Shortlands. Ive bombed the port there several times in the last 2 weeks but havent found any AE/AKEs there yet. The remaining IJN BBs and CAs could quickly put Lunga out of business if I withdraw and Dave wont repeat his previous mistake of letting me back into the Solomons so easily. Dave has been hyperaggressive and invaded Vanikoro....a mere 5 hexes from Luganville....last turn. Im going to return him a favor and airlift troops into Vanikoro next turn before he can launch an assault. He has been building up Ndeni and Im getting the sense that he wont be nearly content to recapture Guadalcanal but also threaten my positions in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. So I dont see how I can withdraw my carriers to the south and wait for CV Wasp without everything going to hell in a handbasket in the Solomons.... very quickly. Up until last turn...KB never approached within 8 hexes of Lunga...Dave wanted to stay out of range of my 7 hex fighters....ie F4F-3s and F2A-3s. He was content to stand off at 8 hexes and let me kill his A6M2 escorts and bomb me ineffectually with his Kates. Last turn BB Hyuga was only 6 hexes from Lunga...so if KB was supposed to be there we would have had combat at 6 hex range....and all the Vals would have a full bomb load and the Kates would have torpedoes. I will use a modified approach next turn. I will leave some of my cripples at Lunga to draw in KB airstrikes but most of my good BBs and CAs will withdraw on the 1st day....Dave certainly will not risk any more BBs to surface combat until KB has cleared the area. I will stage in my remaining fighters from New Caledonia and the New Hebrides....I will overstack Lunga and have about 200 fighters on CAP to absorb a 1st strike with another 100 fighters to escort about 25 A-24s and 22 Avengers on naval attack. The Allied carriers will withdraw on the 1st day to avoid KB and then return the 2nd day to engage at close range. Allied BBs and CAs will return on the 2nd day to repel IJN bombardment TFs and keep Lunga AF open. Japan has 7 CVs/3 CVLs/2 CVEs that can carry about 600 AC. The Allies have 8 CVs/1 CVL/ 1 CVE and are carrying about 570 AC. I have 2 VT sqaudrons at Lunga and 1 VT squadron is back at Luganville....I prefer to use DBs against carriers and have TBs at Lunga for the IJN BBs. The Allied carriers are also carrying 6 VMF and 4 VMSB squadrons. The key is for the land based air force at Lunga to engage KB for 1 day and attrition it before the Allied carriers arrive. If Im able to get a cohesive land based strike from Lunga I might even be able to damage an IJN carrier or 2. Im gonna dwell on this for a few hours after Thanksgiving dinner and then make a final decision. Even though Japan has a massive advantage in torpedo bombers....I have 3 advantages: 1)Unsinkable AF at Lunga to hold carrier AC after flight decks are closed 2)I will have 3 USN BBs escorting the CVs to act as torpedo magnets 3)Even though the RN CVs hold pitifully few AC....they are....like Steven Seagal....."Hard to Kill". And while all hell is breaking loose....Im going to be reinforcing Lunga with transport and amphib TFs with men, materiel and supplies. So......epilogue or prologue.......its up to Dave. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! [image]local://upfiles/14495/6BEB087277D345DDACA18265E78ADA2A.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> EVE OF BATTLE: CARRIER BATTLE OF THE SOLOMONS (11/26/2011 1:58:19 AM)
6/6/42 I decided to stay and fight with the Allied carriers at Guadalcanal. At the end of the day there didnt seem to really be a choice. My supply level dropped from over 20,000 at Lunga to about 14,000 in a week from all the B-26 bombing missions and all the base building....so my fighters cant use drop tanks and dont have the range to leave. Instead of losing another 150 fighters on the ground.....I staged in an additional 100 fighters to Lunga from New Caledonia so now there will be a total of 225 fighters on CAP over Lunga on the 2nd day of the turn. This is one of my most convoluted naval moves of all time. Ive attached a screenshot of my carrier track for next turn and my estimated track of the IJN carriers. Dave doesnt seem to want to engage both Lunga and my carriers at the same time....so I think he will launch his Lunga air strike from somewhere in the Solomon Sea.....he wants to keep Guadalcanal between his carriers and the US carriers. The key here is to avoid destruction of my carrier and surface TFs on day 1 and set up for an attrition battle. I have some cripples at sea at Lunga to draw in IJN carrier strikes and all my intact surface TFs will sortie with LRCAP to the south on day 1 but will be back at Lunga before dawn on day 2. Besides trying to set up an attrition battle on day 1.....Ive split up my carrier forces. Im sending CV Formidable(with her Martlets) and CVE Long Island to Lunga where they will be sitting under a 225 AC CAP on day 2. Not only do I want to attrition the IJN carrier AC but Im trying to set up a split strike situation on the 2nd day. Dave's standard 100 A6M2 escort seems to be getting through my CAP regardless of how many fighters I put up. If I can attrition and then split up his escorts my CAP should be able to overwhelm his escorts and then his Kates....both over my main carrier force and at Lunga. Meanwhile.....Im counterinvading at Vanikoro with the 8th Marine Regiment(it had been loaded on amphib transports previously for Guadalcanal) and also airlifting portions of the 138th Sep Regiment...these troops should arrive before Japan can launch an assault there. I have 2 xAKs with 7000 supplies currently unloading at Lunga and another 2 xAKs with 10,000 supplies will arrive during the turn. An amphibious TF with 4 AKs loaded with 2 tank battalions and 12,000 supplies will depart Luganville and arrive at Lunga on day 2. Since my AC are at normal range at Lunga my fighters only have a range of 5 hexes.....so I staged 1 Avenger squadron to CV Hornet and 2 TBD squadrons to Lunga. I decided not to stage in the A-24 DBs to Lunga with the 5 hex range of my fighters. The Allied carriers may take a beating next turn....but if I can cut KB down by half then Lunga should be able to stand up against the remainder. [image]local://upfiles/14495/CD3FBEBDB22743109261C7EACC830126.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (11/26/2011 3:27:03 PM)
6/7-6/8/42 SOPAC/SWPAC Dave decided to withdraw KB this turn so there was no massive carrier exchange. The Allied transport and amphib TFs made it safely to Guadalcanal and are currently unloading. Lunga now has over 20,000 supplies and 2 fresh tank regiments are unloading. SS S-28 torpedoed and sank SS I-159 near Lunga. The only bad news this turn is that BB Warspite.....our 2nd best ship in the Pacific....was hit by a torpedo south of Guadalcanal. At Vanikoro......our amphib TF didnt arrive until after the Japanese assault troops attacked and my airlifted reinforcements werent enough....so Dave captured the island in a 4:1 assault. The 4Es didnt hit Munda this turn so the base there was able to repair its damage. Japanese troops are repulsed ina 1:4 assault on Tulagi: Ground combat at Tulagi (114,137) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 5004 troops, 57 guns, 8 vehicles, Assault Value = 188 Defending force 5917 troops, 146 guns, 184 vehicles, Assault Value = 208 Japanese adjusted assault: 72 Allied adjusted defense: 307 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 4 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: fatigue(-) Japanese ground losses: 331 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 28 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 20 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 78 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 7 (2 destroyed, 5 disabled) Assaulting units: 44th Naval Guard Unit 1st Ind. Engineer Regiment 89th Naval Guard Unit 65th Naval Guard Unit 7th Base Force Defending units: 182nd Infantry Regiment 108th Infantry Regiment I moved some APDs to Tulagi last turn so Im gonna try to pull out some cadres of the 108th and 182nd regiments nest turn. Depending on what the map looks like when I get the file back from dave....I will try to retire the Allied carriers to the south next turn. NORPAC Dave tried to sneak in an amphib assault on Adak but USN ships were waiting for him: Day Time Surface Combat, near Adak Island at 162,52, Range 6,000 Yards Japanese Ships xAKL Hinode Maru, Shell hits 9, and is sunk SC CHa-2, Shell hits 3, and is sunk Allied Ships CA Astoria DD Tucker Japanese ground losses: 637 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 33 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 13 (13 destroyed, 0 disabled) Poor visibility due to Thunderstorms Maximum visibility in Thunderstorms: 6,000 yards Range closes to 24,000 yards... Range closes to 22,000 yards... Range closes to 20,000 yards... Range closes to 18,000 yards... Range closes to 16,000 yards... Range closes to 14,000 yards... Range closes to 12,000 yards... Range closes to 11,000 yards... Range closes to 10,000 yards... Range closes to 9,000 yards... CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 9,000 yards Range closes to 8,000 yards... Range closes to 7,000 yards... Range closes to 6,000 yards... CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 6,000 yards CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 6,000 yards SC CHa-2 sunk by CA Astoria at 6,000 yards CA Astoria engages xAKL Hinode Maru at 6,000 yards DD Tucker engages xAKL Hinode Maru at 6,000 yards xAKL Hinode Maru sunk by CA Astoria at 6,000 yards Combat ends with last Japanese ship sunk... CBI Sigint reports that the 5th Division is loaded ujo on transports heading to Singapore and additional troops are loaded up heading for Moulmein. Im still trying to surround the IJA troops at Katha but my moment may have passed in Burma. A bombardment is ordered at katha: Ground combat at Katha (61,43) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 190 troops, 22 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1218 Defending force 15957 troops, 196 guns, 169 vehicles, Assault Value = 530 Allied ground losses: 33 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 45th Indian Brigade 16th Indian Brigade 13th Indian Brigade 2nd Burma Brigade 9th Burma Rifles Battalion Rangoon BAF Battalion 1st Burma Brigade 46th Indian Brigade 44th Indian Brigade 13th Burma Rifles Battalion 48th Gurkha Brigade Tenasserim BAF Battalion Railway BAF Battalion 4th Burma Rifles Battalion BFF Brigade 36th Chinese Division 27th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment Defending units: 14th Tank Regiment Imperial Guards Division 55th Cavalry Regiment 43rd Const Co 21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion 4th RF Gun Battalion 34th Field AA Battalion 21st Ind.AA Gun Co 6th RF Gun Battalion 14th Naval Construction Battalion In China....its all quiet in the north....no further Japanese moves on Sian. Dave has a large number of LCUs breaking out to the west now from Hangchow..... Im very overextended here after the Chinese drive to the sea and Im pulling back now towards Nanchang. At Canton....the former 51 LCU IJA telephone pole is now only 39 LCUs and all the shipping has left port. Looks like Dave pulled out his panzer korps by ship and its about to be redeployed elsewhere.....Burma would be my guess. Three of the armor units were shipped to Foochow but the whereabouts of the other 9 is unknown at this time. PHILIPPINES Dave has about 20,000 troops attacking me at San Fernando now. The Allied defensive line in central Luzon is not yet seriously threatened but for some reason I just cant draw any supplies into san Fernando. Instead....Im rotating the units in and out of Lingayen to pick up additional supplies. I hesitate to withdraw from San fernando as there doesnt seem to be any good defensive terrain to the south. A Japanese LCU captured Aparri last turn so Dave is slowly enlarging his beachead on Luzon. Sigint reports that 38th Division is loaded on ships heading to Vigan. 38th Division isnt enough to turn the tables in Luzon by itself so it remains to be seen if Dave is bringing any additional reinforcements. Even though the bulk of my blockade running xAKs didnt make it through las month.....the supply level seems to be holding at around 70,000 supplies on Luzon. The key here is Manila as it can crank out 100 supplies per day and also has over 80,000 stored resources. [image]local://upfiles/14495/BF8A73E92E2E477DA5B4EF82CEDEB813.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (11/28/2011 5:15:27 AM)
6/9-6/10/42 SOPAC/SWPAC Allied surface and carrier TFs begin to withdraw from from the Solomons towards Luganville and Noumea. ASW TFs patrol in front of all withdrawing TFs under heavy naval and ASW search but to no avail. BB Resolution takes 2 torpedoes from SS I-7 near Ndeni and is sunk. CL Capetown takes a torpedo and is sunk. CV Saratoga is torpedoed. During the Solomons campaign..... IJN subs have now sunk 2 BBs, a CL and damaged CV Lexington and CV Saratoga. Dave's surface TFs have been thrashed by Allied surface TFs in the Solomons campaign. In addition....Dave seems to want to avoid combat with Allied carriers even though he has a substantial advantage both in carriers and carrier AC. But IJN subs have just devastated the Allies surface and carrier TFs. In fact...I cant justify remaining in the waters off the Solomons any longer. Every carrier and surface TF will now withdraw towards Luganville and Noumea. I pulled 100 AC out of Lunga this turn....I left several squadrons to LRCAP a massive reinforcement of Russell Is. but next turn Lunga AF will be evacuated as well as all surface TFs. Two turns ago.....Lunga had a mere 14000 supplies. Now Lunga has over 30,000 supplies and over 600 AV. Lunga is on 2x terrain so the defense ther should total at least 1200 AV. Add in 1st Amphib Corp HQ and SWPAC command HQ and Lunga could have 2400 AV depending on the die roll....and it would take all of the SAA to get 2:1 odds on Lunga. Im pulling out all my AC next turn from Lunga and will let Dave shut Lunga down. My trying to close Shortlands was a loser program....basing 70 B-26s at Lunga consumed an enormous amoount of supplies and Dave has plenty of engineers to repair the damage. The B-17s at Luganville will continue to suppress Munda...it is currently 54% damaged. I have a level 1 AF at Rossel Is. 47% complete and a level 1 AF at Rennell Is. 74% complete. In addition...Ive used APDs to fast transport engineers into Russell Is. and the level 1 AF there is 100% repaired. APDs have both resupplied 108th and 182nd regiments at Tulagi and have pulled out cadres. In my 1st game of AE I converted a majority of the Wilkes and Clemson class DDs to DEs but this game Im converting the majority to APDs...and the APDs may turn out to be one of my most important ship classes. Ive been building up Vanua Lava....2 hexes N of Lunga....and the AF there is 64% complete. I invaded at Ndeni this turn and will assault it next turn. Ndeni is the only base between Vanua Lava and Lunga with a port rating >0 and when I build up the AF there I will be able to project medium range bombers into the central Solomons. The Japanese base at Tulagi is currently a level 1 AF and Ive been bombing it on a daily basis for over a month...I cant afford to let it reach level 2. Ive attached a screenshot of the southern Solomons....what really stands out here is my need to secure Kirakira.....if I can build level 2 AFs at Kirakira and Rennell I should have mastery over the southern Solomons and the approaches to it. Besides....once Rossel/Rennell/Russell/Kirakira are up and running it will be physically impossible for Japan to shut all the AFs down. I have plenty of construction troops for all these projects but I am critically short aviation personel....Ive been cannibalizing my bases on Fiji and New Caledonia to bring in aviation personel into my bases farther north. Ndeni is critically important...it lies almost halfway between Luganville and Lunga. Once I get a level 1 AF here I will stage in my expert ASW RNZAF Hudson III(LR)s......average 70 experience and 70 ASW skill level. Im currently losing the sub/ASW war and I cant recommit my carriers and surface TFs into the Solomons until I get the IJN sub threat under control. The Hudson III(LR)s will be able to almost completely cover the seas between Luganville and Lunga. Ive got 36 subs currently in the waters around the Solomons including all of the S class subs....supposedly their torpedoes work but all I seem to sink is sampans and the occasional TK/AO. Ten more subs will enter the Solomon Sea next turn. Its almost ridiculous how many subs are concentrated in this area....you could almost walk on top of Allied subs from Lunga to Rabaul without getting your feet wet and hopefully even though Im not sinking IJN capital ships......even the severely damaged Kongo class BBs from 2 turns ago.....Ive given Dave pause to commit his carriers in the middle of this maelstrom. One piece of good news this turn is that BB Yamato is currently bombarding Wenchow....Dave is building up its experience before committing it to combat. Im just glad BB Yamato is not in the south Pacific and Im only facing 4 IJN BBs at the present. I wont be in a hurry to capture Vanikoro...I will use it to train up my USN BBs. [image]local://upfiles/14495/363DA379EB3E4AAC8EA72765823DFB8D.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (12/1/2011 4:02:43 AM)
6/11-6/12/42 ASW/SUB WAR Here is a highlight of the ASW/SUB struggle from 6/10/42: AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 10, 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Reef Islands at 120,140 Japanese Ships SS I-21, hits 1 Allied Ships CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 1, on fire DD Isaac Sweers SS I-21 launches 2 torpedoes at CV Saratoga DD Isaac Sweers attacking submerged sub .... DD Isaac Sweers fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Isaac Sweers fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Isaac Sweers fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Isaac Sweers fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack near Ndeni at 117,145 Japanese Ships SS I-7 Allied Ships BB Resolution, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage DD Le Triomphant SS I-7 launches 6 torpedoes at BB Resolution I-7 diving deep .... DD Le Triomphant attacking submerged sub .... DD Le Triomphant cannot reach attack position over SS I-7 DD Le Triomphant fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Le Triomphant fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Le Triomphant fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Le Triomphant attacking submerged sub .... DD Le Triomphant loses contact with SS I-7 Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near Ndeni at 117,145 Japanese Ships SS I-7 Allied Ships CL Capetown, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage CL Capetown is sighted by SS I-7 SS I-7 launches 6 torpedoes at CL Capetown Note that SS I-7 fired 12 torpedoes at the same surface TF near Ndeni and sank BB Resolution and CL Capetown in the same attack. Well this turn my old friend SS I-7 sailed from Ndeni to a position just N of Luganville and fired another spread of 6 torpedoes at an Air Combat TF just as it left Luganville port: Sub attack near Santa Maria at 120,148 Japanese Ships SS I-7 Allied Ships CVE Long Island, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage DD Worden DD MacDonough SS I-7 launches 6 torpedoes at CVE Long Island I-7 diving deep .... DD Worden fails to find sub, continues to search... DD MacDonough attacking submerged sub .... SS I-7 eludes DD MacDonough by diving deep DD Worden fails to find sub and abandons search DD MacDonough fails to find sub, continues to search... DD MacDonough fails to find sub, continues to search... DD MacDonough attacking submerged sub .... DD MacDonough fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub Thats 18 torpedoes in 3 attacks. I have to believe that SS I-7 is at least out of front fired torpedoes and hopefully she has to go back to port to reload. Nevertheless....hitting a BB , a CL and a CVE with 5 torpedoes in consecutive turns is quite a feat...makes me wonder of Tanaka is the skipper of SS I-7. Luckily....CVE Long Island was just outside of port and made it back to anchor with 80 FLT damage. I cannot begin repairs on her this turn as she is still burning but Im sending 2 ARs from Noumea to Luganville and hopefully if Long Island doesnt sink this turn(and the ARs arent sunk by IJN subs) I can still save this valuable CVE. On a better note.....CV Saratoga was hit by a torpedo 2 turns ago and she made it back to port at Luganville this turn with 8 SYS 14 FLT 13 ENG. I emptied out the repair yards at Noumea and put her on critical pierside repair........ she should repair her minor damage in 9 days and rejoin the fleet with 7 FLT and 12 ENG damage. She will be slow but Ill put her in a TF with CV Lexington (which can only make 27 knots due to the patch on her hull fron a previous IJN sub launched torpedo). BB Warspite was hit 3 turns ago but only has 2 FLT damage so it must have been a dud. The info screen reports that I sank SS I-168, SS I-4 and SS I-157 last turn and I hope its not FoW but the ASW/SUB battle has been an extremely violent battle over the last few turns. This turn Im putting nearly 400 medium bombers/DB/TB/PBY on search and ASW over the waters around New Caledonia and the New Hebrides. Im very concerned about committing my carriers or BBs to battle unless I can get a better handle on the IJN sub menace. IJN subs also sank a CM near Guadalcanal and an AD SE of Noumea so the waters seem to be infested with subs everywhere. They say that turnabout is fair play and I now have over 45 subs in the waters around the Solomons so hopefully I can return the favor to IJN capital ships if they come out to play. Over in the DEI SS-O23 sinks AO Shiriya off Miri. SOPAC/SWPAC Allied troops capture Ndeni and a USN BF is immediately dropped on the island. Construction engineers will be landed at Ndeni this next turn and we should be able to build a level 2 AF pretty quickly. This turn we completed a level 1 AF at Rennell Is. and next turn should have level 1 AFs at both Rossel Is. and Vanua Lava. So Japan's main bases at Kavieng/Rabaul face off against the Allies main bases at Luganville/Noumea. In between....Japan has level 4 AFs at Munda and Shortlands and the Munda AF is currently 40% damaged with 2 recon AC present. Japan also has a level 1 AF at Tulagi which is 30% damaged and holds no AC. The Allies now have a level 5 AF at Guadalcanal and by the end of next turn wil have level 1 AFs at Russell/Rennell/Rossel/Vanua Lava and will have a level 2 AF at Ndeni in less than 2 weeks. The Allies also have a level 2 AF at Aoba. I think the next 2 weeks will demonstate a different kind of battle between Japan and the Allies in the Solomons....it will be a battle of the engineers as both sides try to expand their bases. Ive just landed multiple amphib TFs with supplies, BFs and construction engineers at all my bases in the Solomons. The Allied base building effort will really ramp up over the next 2 weeks. At Lunga....we now have a level 5 AF/level 2 port/level 3 forts and some 37.000 supplies. We will complete the withdrawal of combatant ships from Guadalcanal next turn even as a small xAK TF arrives with another 8,000 supplies. Guadlacanal is now the most heavily mined objective in the Pacific with some 547 mines spread over a dozen minefields. The minefields at Guadlacanal caught their 1st victim this turn: TF 437 encounters mine field at Lunga (114,138) Japanese Ships SS I-123, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage The only ships we will leave behind at Lunga are ACMs. Some 630 AV is now on the ground and we are just starting to land the 32nd Division there. Im using the small but fast NZ xAPs to bring up small portions of the 32nd Division at a time....800 troops and 900 cargo per xAP.....they will stand off at 7 or 8 hex range from Lunga and then race in at 20 knots to unload their cargoes and get away all in the 1st day of a turn. ive pulled out most of the Cactus AF at Lunga....only about 70 AC remain...nearly all fighters. Some fighters have been dispersed to Russell and rennel but most have been pulled back to New Caledonia. With the withdrawal of Allied bombers from Lunga and the withdrawal of Allied carrier and surface TFs from the Solomons....Japan can send in naval bombardment TFs at will and try to close my bases if he wants to brave the Allied subs and the extensive minefields. The Allies suffered heavy ship losses in trying to reinforce and build up their bases in the Solomons Japan can face off against the same risks if they decide to reinforce their positions. The rest of the Allied carriers will withdraw to Noumea next turn. CV Wasp appeared on the map last turn and should reach New Caledonia in about 14 days. Im going to R &R everthing.....several of my ships took damage in the surface battles around Guadalcanal. A few ships still need upgrades. Ive got some 150-250 AV at all my bases surrounding Guadalcanal.....so it will probably take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 IJA divisions to take Russell/Rossel/Rennel/Ndeni and that means probably 2 months of prep before Dave could realistically assault any of my bases(with the notable exception of Guadalcanal since Dave owns Tassafaronga). In the interim......Im considering sending CV Lexington back to Pearl to fix the torpedo damage in her hull and complete her 6/42 upgardes as I dont think that Dave can launch a serious invasion here until late August at the earliest....and my multiple expanding bases should be able to mutually support each other while Im shorthanded on CVs. [image]local://upfiles/14495/610CC537620A4A8D86A84A796B30D62C.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (12/2/2011 4:06:43 PM)
6/13-6/14/42 CBI All quiet in northern China. Im regaining my original defensive line in the mountains just W of Taiyuan and it looks like Dave has completely abandoned his offensive here. In south central China.....Dave had a single armor LCU manuver around and behind a 1300 AC Chinese army at Chuhsien. The lone armor unit cut our retreat orders, cut off supply...and cut off out retreat route along the highway to the W. Dave launched two 1:1 assaults this turn to try to destroy the Chinese army: Ground combat at Chuhsien (88,56) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 69072 troops, 570 guns, 195 vehicles, Assault Value = 2627 Defending force 32703 troops, 181 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1301 Japanese adjusted assault: 1615 Allied adjusted defense: 1444 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 2742 casualties reported Squads: 40 destroyed, 99 disabled Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 178 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled Allied ground losses: 2636 casualties reported Squads: 13 destroyed, 148 disabled Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 85 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Assaulting units: 15th Division 4th RGC Route Brigade 28th RGC Temp. Division 56th Infantry Brigade 34th Division 17th Division 13th Tank Regiment Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 22nd Division 116th Division 17th RGC Temp./A Division 29th Field AA Machinecannon Company 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese/C Corps 28th Chinese/B Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/B Corps 100th Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/A Corps 50th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 23rd Group Army 3rd War Area 32nd Group Army Ground combat at Chuhsien (88,56) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 66463 troops, 570 guns, 195 vehicles, Assault Value = 2875 Defending force 30745 troops, 181 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1142 Japanese adjusted assault: 645 Allied adjusted defense: 628 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: supply(-) Japanese ground losses: 2020 casualties reported Squads: 28 destroyed, 107 disabled Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 116 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled Allied ground losses: 1865 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 78 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 97 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 5 disabled Assaulting units: 4th RGC Route Brigade 6th Division 17th Division 56th Infantry Brigade 22nd Division 13th Tank Regiment 28th RGC Temp. Division 15th Division Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 116th Division 34th Division 17th RGC Temp./A Division 29th Field AA Machinecannon Company 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 28th Chinese/B Corps 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/B Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/B Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese/A Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 23rd Group Army 3rd War Area 32nd Group Army We had a pretty good sized air battle this turn over Chuhsien as I sent a lot of RAF bombers in with AVG sweepers and Chinese Lancer escorts. I saw the A6M3 in combat for the first time here. Japan lost 53 AC this turn vs 25 Allied AC. Individual plane losses include 24 Oscars, 12 A6M2s and 2 A6M3s. Ive got some 700 Chinese AV on the way to Chuhsien to reopen the cut highway and reinforce but they wont arrive for 2 more turns at the earliest. If I lose the battle here and am retreted SW into the bush...the road to Nanchang and Changsha will be open. Ive got troops all over southern China marching to railheads and am beginning to redeploy some 1500 AV from the north back to the south as the threat to Sian has passed. Never a dull moment in China. In Burma.....Im shutting down my bomber base at Imphal for a bit and withdrawing all the bombers. I guess that since it is now monsoon season I cant draw enough supplies into Imphal any more to keep the bombers supplied. I will build up the AFs at Dimapur and other bases on the main highway to see if this helps to speed up the flow of supplies into Imphal. PHILIPPINES: I mispoke about the situation in Mindanao a few weeks ago. My troops that were defending Cayagan were not killed but were retreated to Mandalaybay where they are out of supply but still under siege...at least they are still tieing down some 15,000 IJA troops. Sigint reports that 5th Division is now at Vigan and that 38th Division is on the way. With some 3 1/2 IJA divisions at Vigan I will begin to withdraw from San Fernando. SOPAC/SWPAC Level 1 AFs are completed at Rossel Island and vanua Lava and fighters are immediately staged in. Lunga increased the size of its port to level 3 and the supplies continue to pour in..... we are up to 41,000 supplies now. At Noumea....CV Saratoga will have all her minor torpedo damage repaired in 7 days and will leave port with 7 FLT 12 ENG damage. Shipyards at Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland begin to fill up with Allied combatant ships in need of repairs and upgrades. At Luganville...CVE Long Island survived and even started repairing her damage. She has 48 SYS79 FLT 11 ENG and with critical pierside repairs she will complete repair of all her minor damage in 20 days...then she will be sent to Sydney to finish repairs of her major damage. No Allied ships were lost to IJN subs for the 1st turn in quite some time. In fact.....it appears as if Dave is withdrawing his subs now from the waters around the New Hebrides. The Japanese threat level seems to have diminished greatly in this theatre as we embark on a phase of massive base building. The war is becoming more industrial in nature now in the south Pacific as Allied combatant ships lick their wounds in port and rebuild their depleted air groups. Even though the port at Rabaul is full of IJN combatant ships.....there's nothing bigerr than an IJN DD in the entire Solomons chain. Even from a logistical standpoint...things are improving greatly for the Allies here. My offensive was launched on a shoestring in April with inadequate supplies and fuel....and the Allied TKs/AOs couldnt keep up with the demands of the massed carriers and BBs. I resorted to using massed xAKs to ship in fuel to SOPAC from the US. Dave intercepted one xAK fuel transport comvoy with KB off Fiji and sank all 29 ships. However....3 additional 25-30 xAK convoys are currently arriving with over 200,000 fuel. [image]local://upfiles/14495/CB2DE127628849DEB5336BEDAE1A90CF.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (12/3/2011 11:08:11 PM)
6/15-6/16/42 SOPAC/SWPAC Relatively quiet turn as both sides appear to be licking their wounds and rebuilding. The Allies complete both a level 1 port and a level 1 AF at Ndeni and also a level 1 port at Vanua Lava. Most of the Allied amphib TFs are returning to port at Luganville and Noumea after dropping off supplies/BFs/construction engineers at half a dozen bases in the Coral and Solomon Seas. The 20 knot NZ xAP dropped off a portion of the 32nd Division at Lunga and got safely away......another 20 knot NZ xAP will load more of 32nd Division at Noumea this turn and head off to reinforce Guadalcanal. Guadalcanal now has over 700 AV and over 45,000 supplies. I believe that the crisis has passed now for the Allies in the Solomons......I dont see how Dave can evict me completely from the Solomons now and in fact....I think that each base building improvement that is completed each turn is just another nail in the Japanese coffin that is the Solomons. What started in April as OPERATION WATCHTOWER and then became OPERATION SMASH AND GRAB but actually morphed into Operation Shoestring has finally gained a fairly secure foothold on the southern Solomons. As the half dozen or so Allied bases to the west, north and south of Guadalcanal eventually enlarge to level 2 and then levels 3 and 4 there will be a tipping point where Dave begins to consider getting his troops out of the Solomons as opposed to bringing more IJA forces in. All hell broke loose on Luzon this turn and it appears that the Japanese Phase II will be spent securing their positions in the Philippines and Burma.......Australia and India appear to be safe and apparently there wont be many SAA formations redeployed to the south Pacific. Now,,,,the primary Japanese objective in the south Pacific seems to be the destruction of the US Army 182nd and 108th regiments stranded in the unsuccessful Allied assault on Tulagi. Ive been bombing the port and AF at Tulagi every turn with Luganville based Hudson III(LR)s and B-25s since they have 14 hex range. Currently there is about 40% AF and 15% port damage at Tulagi....Im going all out to prevent the Japanese from building a level 2 AF at Tulagi. This turn Dave ambushed me with 20 A6M2s on LRCAP over Tulagi....and my P-38F escorts didnt fly for some reason....and the Hudson III(LR)s were ravaged. I lost maybe 15 of the Aussie and NZ Hudson IIIs and it reminded me that I should be using these extremely valuable AC EXCLUSIVELY for ASW as they carry an ASW radar device. In fact....my 2 best ASW squadrons on the map are a single Aussie and NZ Hudson III(LR) based in the New Hebrides. Im going to stand all the Hudson III(LR)s from AF bombing down for a bit and start training all of them for ASW and low naval. So Dave is reinforceing Tulagi every turn with additional troops by transport AC. He is also bombarding my troops on Tulagi to exhaust their supplies. With over 9000 IJA troops on Tulagi he cant resupply it with transport AC but must bring in the Tokyo Express to resupply both Tulagi and the 9000 IJA troops dug in at Tassafaronga. I left a token A-24 HQ squadron with 5 AC at Lunga and last turn they sank 2 PBs. Even Hudson III(LR)s on naval attack based at Luganville have scored hits on IJN shipping off Tulagi the last few turns. Next turn I will send sweeps from Russell and Lunga over Tulagi and also sweep with the P-38Fs at Luganville over Tulagi. I cant send in supplies to my troops at Tulagi via PBYs with all the Japanese CAP so I first have to knock the CAP down. In additon....I have a minelaying TF with 280 mines about 240 mi south of Lunga....I will put 240 mines at Tulagi and 40 mines at Tassafaronga to interdict the Tokyo Express and then send in 4 APDs on fast transport with supplies to Tulagi. I was ready to write off the US Army troops at Tulagi after the 1st time I was forced to withdraw my fleet from the Solomons...in fact I even sent APDs to extricate cadres from each regiment. Now I think that not only can I save the 2 regiments but use them as a foothold until I can bring in overwhelming force. I had to withdraw some 8-10 B-17 squadrons at Mohave(one of my favorite gas stops on the way to the eastern Sierras) a couple of turns ago and received some 35-40 B-17s in the pool. That allowed me to flesh out 2 new 13 plane B-17 squadrons in Oz and I was able to stage them to Luganville..... last turn I was able to put up 75 B-17s over Munda and now the AF there is over 60% damaged. The Allied carriers reach port at Noumea this turn and begin to take on replacements for their squadrons. CV Saratoga now needs only 5 more days to repair the minor damage from her torpedo hit. I put the AR at Noumea on repair mode with BB Warspite to remove her 2 FLT and 2 ENG damage from the faulty IJN torpedo. Only 1 or 2 IJN subs appear to remain in the waters off New Caledonia and the New Hebrides so Im putting a significant number of my DBs, TBs and medium bombers on ASW training exclusively. At Luganville.....CVE Long Island miraculously repairs her FLT damage from 79 to 49 FLT in 1 turn.....looks like a gremlin in the game but Ill take it. Or maybe the AR at Luganville got a lucky die roll.....Ill never know. Nineteen more days and CVE Long Island will head to Sydney to complete repair of her major damage. BB North Carolina completes her traverse of the Panama Canal and heads out into the vast emptiness of the south Pacific with a brand new CLAA and 3 DDs....all covered from stem to stern with the advanced 20mm Oerikilions(sig) and they represent the most advanced ships in the US Navy. They should arrive at Noumea by the middle of July. Everything in theatre is now resting, replacing or building so I will wait a couple of weeks for the arrival of CV Wasp before we make our next move in the Solomons. PHILIPPINES My withdrawal orders for the troops at San Fernando last turn was probably 2 turns too late as nearly half of the SAA show up this turn: Ground combat at San Fernando (80,74) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 45767 troops, 601 guns, 239 vehicles, Assault Value = 1786 Defending force 12667 troops, 190 guns, 271 vehicles, Assault Value = 585 Japanese adjusted assault: 999 Allied adjusted defense: 279 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE San Fernando !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1768 casualties reported Squads: 5 destroyed, 115 disabled Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 67 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 38 disabled Vehicles lost 25 (8 destroyed, 17 disabled) Allied ground losses: 3827 casualties reported Squads: 70 destroyed, 42 disabled Non Combat: 281 destroyed, 27 disabled Engineers: 53 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 65 (64 destroyed, 1 disabled) Vehicles lost 233 (224 destroyed, 9 disabled) Units retreated 10 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 5th Division 33rd Division 16th Division 3rd Ind. Engineer Regiment 90th Infantry Regiment 48th Division 38th Div /6 4th Div /2 15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 14th Army 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 30th JNAF AF Unit 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment 14th JAAF AF Bn /1 Defending units: 4th Marine Regiment 51st PA Infantry/C Division 2nd PA Constblry HW Regiment 192nd Tank Battalion 51st PA Infantry/B Division 194th Tank Battalion 51st PA Infantry/A Division 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team 31st PA Infantry/B Division 301st PA Field Artillery Regiment So that puts the IJA 5th, 33rd, 16th, 48th Divisions and part of the 4th and 38th Divisions on Luzon....about 1/3 of the SAA. I need to withdraw now in good order to Manila and Clark. I was originally planning on withdrawing to Clark and have level 3 forts there....but Manila generates 100 supplies per turn and if I think that I have enough force to hold out for more than 3 months I may make my final stand there. At least 1 IJN Air Combat TF with at least 1 CVL shows up off Luzon so it looks like the big KB death star in the south Pacific has been reduced. CHINA Dave orders a shock attack this turn at Chuhsien and defeats the undersupplied Chinese defenders: Ground combat at Chuhsien (88,56) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 77870 troops, 664 guns, 289 vehicles, Assault Value = 2795 Defending force 29539 troops, 181 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1054 Japanese adjusted assault: 1950 Allied adjusted defense: 763 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Chuhsien !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 2182 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 117 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 118 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 13 disabled Allied ground losses: 13261 casualties reported Squads: 284 destroyed, 179 disabled Non Combat: 342 destroyed, 174 disabled Engineers: 37 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 13 (13 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 15 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 13th Tank Regiment 28th RGC Temp. Division 4th RGC Route Brigade 17th Division 34th Division 56th Infantry Brigade 6th Division 22nd Division Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 116th Division 15th Division 17th RGC Temp./A Division 29th Field AA Machinecannon Company 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 21st Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/A Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/B Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/C Corps 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 23rd Group Army 3rd War Area 32nd Group Army The Chinese army is halved from 1300 AV to 650 AV and is retreated into the bush towards Wenchow. Paradoxically... this Chinese army is now in full supply from Wenchow. Wenchow begins the game as an amazing supply source for China...20 HI, 80 LI and 80 intrinsic supplies per turn. Dave's BB bombardments have destroyed all the HI and 48 of the 80 LI but Wenchow still puts out 112 supplies/turn....and I will fight to hold it until the bitter end. In fact...Im getting over 300 supplies per turn from Wenchow/Loyang/Chengchow/Tsiatso....thats over 60% of the supplies normally received from the Burma Road. I had been worried about supply in China all game after Dave cut the Burma Road and captured Loyang/Chengchow/Tsiatso but now that I have these 3 supply sources back it makes me think that Dave's aborted northern offensive towards Sian was a mistake. Ive attached a screenshot of the current situation in China. I have a 2900 AV Chinese army E of Nanchang and I will be moving 2/3rds of it to the forest hex 2 hexes NW of Chuhsien to make the next defensive line. [image]local://upfiles/14495/E87D3663D6774CDF9DF4312C98908B13.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (12/4/2011 6:18:14 PM)
6/17-6/18/42 CBI We were busy trying to close the hole in the Chinese defenses after the defeat at Chuhsien. Im starting a new defensive line in a forest hex 2 hexes NW of Chuhsien Quiet throughout the rest of China. In Burma......Dave withdrew his forces from Swebo and withdrew across the Irrawaddy River into Mandalay. A British armored unit captures Swebo. Dave has let me basically surround his 20,000 troops at Katha and has shown little concern over it. I was about to assault Katha with over 2500 AV but Im finding now that the 7000 supplies Ive drawn into Kalemyo is not making its way to my troops a mere 2 hexes away....so basically my entire force is low on supplies and I cant seem to draw any more supplies to them. My first game of AE was one of the early versions of the game and I was able to pull supply easily from India into Myitkina. Now I have all my transports flying supplies into Myitkina and they still can barely keep up with demand. Im not sure if my current situation is due to monsoon season or if the supply issues are always like this in Burma now. At any rate.....without sufficient supplies.....Im calling of my offensive in Burma and will pull Burma Corps back to Myitkina while the other 2000 AV withdrawa to Kalemyo. I dont think that I will be able to go on the offensive here until I have at least 150-200 more transport AC to fly in supplies. SOPAC/SWPAC It looks as if Dave is staging in several TFs into the Solomons for a big turn next turn. Ive spotted a suspicious 7 ship TF at Munda and another 9 ship TF at Shortlands that could be surface TFs.....but Im not able to ID them. There are multiple small transport TFs in the area and I think at a minimum Dave will be tring to resupply his troops at Tulagi and Tassafaronga next turn. For some reason my larger minelying TF didnt sail to Tulagi last turn...but the smaller minelaying TF did drop off mines at Tassafaronga. I was going to try to send the larger minelaying TF into Tulagi this turn along with 4 APDs on fast transport bringing in supplies......but with the IJN TFs out there I will hold everything back this turn. Ive basically evacuated the majority of the Cactus air force from Lunga this turn as I suspect dave will hit Lunga with possibly 1 or 2 bombardment TFs. Ive left 18 A-24 DBs and 16 fighters for escort in case anything comes into range of Guadalcanal during daylight hours. I spotted 2 damaged IJN subs in port at Munda so Im putting the A-24s on naval/port strike and Im also targeting the port at Munda with about 30 B-17s. I will LRCAP Lunga from both Russel and Rennell islands and halt all unloading activities at Lunga. Im thinking that if I am indeed facing 2 IJN bombardment Tfs one will hit the 1st night and then the other one the 2nd night of the turn. CV Wasp is closing in on New Caledonia so Im sending CV Lexington with her 27 FLT 2 ENG damage back to Pearl for repairs and her 6/42 upgrades. I decided not to contest Daves move next turn in the Solomons as my carrier and surface TFs have all just made it back to port and are currently replenishing and completing minor repairs. If Dave does attempt to shut down Lunga with naval bombardments his ships will have to run the gauntlet of USN subs and the extensive minefields off Lunga. [image]local://upfiles/14495/C1F2DE13CCA74AC497A212DA2A7E2492.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (12/6/2011 2:19:01 PM)
6/19-6/22/43 SOPAC/SWPAC The Tokyo Express never materializes as Dave is content to only resupply his bases in the central and northern Solomons. We are able to drop off more of the 32nd Division at Lunga via small xAPs and now have over 800 AV at Lunga. A 240 mine minefield was dropped at Lulagi.....not only will this help to interdict Japanese reinforcement of Tulagi but any IJN TFs coming down the "slot" to bombard Lunga from the north will also have to traverse this minefield. APDs on fast transport drop off sorely needed supplies to the 108th and 182nd regiments at Tulagi. Aoba builds a level 1 port and Luganville has grown to a level 8 AF. CV Wasp will reach Noumea in 2 turns while CV Lexington is about 4 turns out from Pearl. An eerie calm has developed over the Solomons with no ship bigger than a DD present for either side. Allied ships continue to repair and upgrade at Noumea, Luganville, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. Allied air and naval ASW ops continue at a high pace and the IJN subs for the most part have left the waters around New Hebides and Newe Caledonia. B-17s continue to hit the port and AF at Munda...no subs were present in port.....only a couple of PBs which were quickly sunk. The AF at Munda remains over 50% damaged and no AC are present. The Cactus air force at Lunga remains small at around 40 AC while Japan has reduced its air groups at Shortlands to around 70 AC. Within a week we will be launching a major ampib assault and reinforcement operation in the southern Solomons. CBI The IJA 13th Tamk Regiment pursued the retreating Chinese army SE of Chuhsien and it was decimated by a Chinese shock attack: Ground combat at 88,57 Allied Shock attack Attacking force 19586 troops, 164 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 715 Defending force 430 troops, 0 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value = 52 Allied adjusted assault: 812 Japanese adjusted defense: 64 Allied assault odds: 12 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), supply(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 51 (44 destroyed, 7 disabled) Units retreated 1 Allied ground losses: 288 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 30 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 50th Chinese/A Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/B Corps 100th Chinese/C Corps 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 50th Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese/C Corps 28th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 3rd War Area 23rd Group Army 32nd Group Army Defending units: 13th Tank Regiment Sigint reports that the IJA 38th Division is planning for Akyab while the 2nd Division is loaded on AKs heading towards Rangoon. Things would appear to be heating up here shortly. PHILIPPINES Japan captures Lingayen as Allied troops continue to withdraw to Clark and Manila. Im trying to pull all the supplies I had dispersed over central Luzon as the troops withdarw and it appears that I still have some 55,000-60,000 supplies on Luzon. The IJA stack has about 1660 AV...opposing bthat will be about 1300 Allied AV at Clark and another 800 AV at Manila. [image]local://upfiles/14495/7C48CD23BAB7440FAF760B9FBD90BF84.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (12/7/2011 3:12:52 PM)
6/23-6/24/42 CBI The 2800 AV IJA army in south central China drives towards Wenchow: Ground combat at 88,57 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 78157 troops, 664 guns, 195 vehicles, Assault Value = 2827 Defending force 21337 troops, 164 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 707 Japanese adjusted assault: 1697 Allied adjusted defense: 1735 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 2279 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 184 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 70 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2648 casualties reported Squads: 9 destroyed, 180 disabled Non Combat: 18 destroyed, 80 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Assaulting units: 17th Division 34th Division 56th Infantry Brigade 15th Division Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 22nd Division 6th Division 116th Division 17th RGC Temp./A Division 29th Field AA Machinecannon Company 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 100th Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese Corps 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 23rd Group Army 3rd War Area 32nd Group Army Im trying to withdraw these troops into Wenchow.....if they make it intact I will have about 1300 Chinese AV in Wenchow. It will take probably a couple more turns tp exit the hex and I dont know if I will have that much time. All quiet thoughout the remainder of China. In Burma the Allied troops continue their withdrawal towards Kalemyo and Myitkina. Sigint reports that the 1st Recon Regiment and the 2nd Tank Regiments are on AKs heading to Rangoon. Ive had sigint reports over the last few weeks that over a half dozen IJA tank regiments are prepping for Chittagong. I didnt really believe the reports but this turn SS KVIII intercepted a massive Japanese troop convoy off Rangoon: AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Jun 24, 42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Rangoon at 53,56 Japanese Ships CL Abukuma, Torpedo hits 1 CA Furutaka CL Isuzu CL Nagara CL Jintsu DD Kamikaze E Kunashiri SC Ch 10 CM Okinoshima DMS W-8 DMS W-4 DMS W-2 APD Hagi APD Fuji APD Matsukaze LSD Akitsu Maru AK Azumasan Maru AK Ayatosan Maru AK Tosan Maru AK Sasako Maru AK Sakura Maru xAP Shanghai Maru xAP Kongo Maru xAP Koan Maru xAP Buenos Aires Maru xAP Tatsuta Maru xAK Asakasan Maru xAK Tokyo Maru xAK Myoko Maru xAK Nankai Maru xAK Hokkai Maru DD Shiokaze DD Akikaze DD Okikaze DD Sawakaze Allied Ships SS KVIII SS KVIII launches 4 torpedoes at CL Abukuma DD Shiokaze fails to find sub and abandons search DD Akikaze fails to find sub and abandons search DD Okikaze fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Sawakaze attacking submerged sub .... SS KVIII eludes DD Sawakaze by diving deep DD Okikaze fails to find sub and abandons search DD Sawakaze fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Sawakaze fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Sawakaze fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Sawakaze fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Sawakaze fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Sawakaze fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub If Dave really does make a major Phase II effort in Burma it appears that he will send his armor down the coastal road in Burma towards Akyab and Cox's Bazaar. If he really is redeploying most of his armor to Burma I will need to airlift the British AT regiments from China back to India. SOPAC/SWPAC Rennell, Rossel and Ndeni all complete level 2 AFs this turn. Now I have 4 bases I can operate DBs from in the Coral Sea as opposed to just 1 base last turn. I will be sending an air HQ to Rennell and then I will have a 2nd base in the Coral Sea that can handle torpedo bombers. A-24s at Lunga sink an IJN APD near Tulagi: Morning Air attack on TF, near Tulagi at 114,137 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 47 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 18 minutes Allied aircraft Kittyhawk IA x 4 A-24 Banshee x 10 P-40E Warhawk x 4 Allied aircraft losses A-24 Banshee: 5 damaged Japanese Ships APD Hakaze, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 6 x A-24 Banshee releasing from 4000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb 4 x A-24 Banshee releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring APD Hakaze Ive redeployed a RN sub to the Coral Sea to help build up the minefields off Tassafaronga and now I can make use of the extensive RN mine pool. Ive attached a screenshot of the Coral Sea. This turn I staged in one of my best ASW squadrons..... HudsonIII(LR)...... to Ndeni and it can almost completely cover the sea lanes from Luganville to Guadalcanal. CV Wasp will arrive at Noumea next turn and then we will start setting up for the next offensive push into the Solomons. I need to sweep the waters around New Caledonia and the New Hebrides with a massive naval and aerial ASW effort before the CVs and BBs put out to sea. [image]local://upfiles/14495/3A2B98CE318F43CEB53B8A1193F81F82.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: AE TOURNAMENT REDUX: ERSTAD(J) VS ADM SPRUANCE(A) (12/9/2011 6:37:16 PM)
6/25-6/26/42 SOPAC/SWSPAC Ironically....we have been fighting a bloody campaign in the south Pacific for the last 2 months without a SOPAC HQ. SWPAC in fact was relocated from Australia to Luganville for direct control over operations. Finally.....SOPAC HQ is activated this turn and arrives at Pearl. Im sending an xAP to pick up the HQ and as soon as SOPAC HQ arrives at Luganville SWPAC HQ will be redeployed to Australia. Fairly quiet in the Solomons except for numerous sub/ASW encounters. The B-17s at Luganville continue to suppress the Japanese airfield at Munda. The IJ Navy sank half of my PTs at Lunga and sent the other half of the PTs back to Luganville with heavy damage in the surface battles off Guadalcanal earlier in the month. My force pools are out of PTs but I staged the PTs from Pearl Harbor to Ndeni and this turn they reached Lunga.....I hope that this is the start of a permanent naval presence in the Solomons. CV Wasp arrives at Nomea this turn and CVs Hornet, Enterprise and Saratoga complete pierside repairs. CV Sara has residual 7 FLT 12 ENG damage from her torpedo hit but she will rejoin the fleet and fight until CV Lexington returns to the south Pacific. It was a good thing that Cv Lex was sent back to Pearl as her temporary flotation repairs began to fail this turn and she started taking on water. She should make Pearl still in about 4 days but there is no way she could have remained on duty in the Solomons. BB North Carolina, CLAA San Juan and escorts are about 14 days out of Noumea as they cross the Pacific. Amphib TFs will begin loading at Noumea and Luganville this next turn as we prepare for the next thrust into the Solomons. PHILIPPINES IJA troops begin to invest Clark as the rest of the Allied troops complete their withdrawal from Cabanatuan to Clark and Manila. We should have about 1300 AV at Clark and about 800 AV at manila when everything is sorted out. CHINA Dave continues his offensive in south central China with his 2700 AV army: Ground combat at 88,57 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 76785 troops, 664 guns, 194 vehicles, Assault Value = 2714 Defending force 19329 troops, 164 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 531 Japanese adjusted assault: 1508 Allied adjusted defense: 1237 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1982 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 138 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 112 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2832 casualties reported Squads: 106 destroyed, 58 disabled Non Combat: 78 destroyed, 67 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Assaulting units: 6th Division 116th Division 22nd Division 34th Division 56th Infantry Brigade Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 15th Division 17th Division 17th RGC Temp./A Division 29th Field AA Machinecannon Company 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/B Corps 100th Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese Corps 28th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 3rd War Area 23rd Group Army 32nd Group Army Ground combat at 88,57 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 74996 troops, 664 guns, 193 vehicles, Assault Value = 2572 Defending force 17262 troops, 163 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 474 Japanese adjusted assault: 1420 Allied adjusted defense: 826 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1327 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 78 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 64 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Allied ground losses: 1880 casualties reported Squads: 49 destroyed, 98 disabled Non Combat: 32 destroyed, 106 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Assaulting units: 6th Division 15th Division 34th Division 116th Division 56th Infantry Brigade 17th Division 22nd Division Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 17th RGC Temp./A Division 29th Field AA Machinecannon Company 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 4th Chinese/C Corps 28th Chinese/B Corps 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 100th Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 21st Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 23rd Group Army 3rd War Area 32nd Group Army What was once a 1350 AV Chinese army has now been reduced to about 400 AV. It will take one more turn to evacuate the hex but Dave wont give me that much time. His assault next turn should halve the defenders and retreat them back into Wenchow. Im not sue if Dave will then assault Wenchow......but I have another 3100 Av Chinese army approaching that should be able to take Chuhsien in his rear before he can react....and that should affect the supply situation of his army outside of Wenchow. The rest of China is quiet. I had some 800 AV and 3 British anti-tank regiments being railed to Tuyun for a march on Kunming. I had thought that Dave was preparing for an assault out of Lashio towards either Myitkina or Paoshan so I was trying to reinforce Paoshan and withdraw Burma Corps to Myitkina. This turn Dave assaulted India so there wont be an assault on either Myitkina or Paoshan. I will still keep the British anti-tank marching on Kunming where they can be airlifted back to Ledo if necessary. [image]local://upfiles/14495/F4182E391E6C48D3A70F6813AE51DFA8.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/10/2011 5:56:30 PM)
6/25-6/26/42.......CONTINUED BURMA/INDIA Dave caught me completely by surprise this turn with an invasion on Akyab: Pre-Invasion action off Akyab 53 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships CA Furutaka CL Natori CL Isuzu CL Nagara CL Jintsu DD Shiokaze DD Sawakaze DD Kamikaze LSD Akitsu Maru APD Hagi DD Akigumo Japanese ground losses: 30 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled CA Furutaka firing at 75th Indian Brigade CL Natori firing at 63rd Indian Brigade CL Isuzu firing at 75th Indian Brigade CL Nagara firing at 75th Indian Brigade CL Jintsu firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Shiokaze firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Sawakaze firing at 75th Indian Brigade DD Kamikaze firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Sawakaze fired at enemy troops Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 4,000 yards Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 2,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amphibious Assault at Akyab TF 14 troops unloading over beach at Akyab, 54,45 Japanese ground losses: 82 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) Vehicles lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled) 19 troops of a IJA Infantry Squad accidentally lost during unload of 38th Div /13 10 Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 38th Div /15 10 Support troops lost in surf during unload of 38th Div /24 10 Support troops lost in surf during unload of 38th Div /30 Invasion Support action off Akyab 79 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships CA Furutaka CL Natori CL Isuzu CL Nagara CL Jintsu DD Shiokaze DD Okikaze DD Sawakaze DD Kamikaze APD Hagi DD Akigumo Japanese ground losses: 96 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled CA Furutaka firing at 63rd Indian Brigade CL Natori firing at 63rd Indian Brigade CL Isuzu firing at 28th Gurkha Brigade CL Nagara firing at 63rd Indian Brigade CL Jintsu firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Okikaze firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Sawakaze firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Kamikaze firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Okikaze fired at enemy troops Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 4,000 yards Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards Ground combat at Akyab (54,45) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 9129 troops, 72 guns, 60 vehicles, Assault Value = 380 Defending force 12055 troops, 124 guns, 67 vehicles, Assault Value = 421 Allied ground losses: 11 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 75th Indian Brigade 6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion 5/14th Punjab Battalion 2/15 Punjab Battalion 28th Gurkha Brigade 63rd Indian Brigade Defending units: 38th Div /4 I think that this invasion required major huevos to invade under my air umbrella without any carrier support. My torpedo bombers were caught quietly training at Calcutta and missed out on the action. In conjunction with the amphibious landings at Akyab.....dave dropped paratroopers at 4 key road/rail junctions and bridges in the Ganges delta: Ground combat at Tezpur (60,36) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 19 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3 Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 2 Allied adjusted defense: 1 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Tezpur !!! Combat modifiers Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-) Assaulting units: Yokosuka 3rd SNLF /3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Rangpur (58,34) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 19 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3 Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 4 Allied adjusted defense: 1 Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Rangpur !!! Combat modifiers Attacker: shock(+), leaders(+), leaders(-) Assaulting units: Yokosuka 3rd SNLF /4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Silchar (59,39) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 102 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 7 Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 4 Allied adjusted defense: 1 Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Silchar !!! Combat modifiers Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-) Assaulting units: 1st Raiding Rgt /1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Dimapur (62,38) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 95 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 7 Defending force 999 troops, 0 guns, 38 vehicles, Assault Value = 24 Japanese adjusted assault: 2 Allied adjusted defense: 53 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 26 (fort level 0) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-) Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-) Japanese ground losses: 6 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 31 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 1st Raiding Rgt /2 Defending units: 2nd Assam Rifles Battalion 823rd Engineer Aviation Battalion I think that Dave's plan here was to quickly take Akyab with 38th Division and then have the IJA panzerkorps speed though Akyab along the coast road to take Chittagong....his armored regiemnts have been planning for Chittagong for several months. Dave used extraordinary means to achieve complete surprise. Although he has quietly built up level 4 AFs at Magwe, Mandalay and Lashio....they have been virtually devoid of AC for weeks and he has let me bomb those AFs at will. I imagine next turn I will see hundreds of AC staged into these 3 AFs. So the paratroopers were dropped all along the single rail line that snakes around the Ganges delta from calcutta to Chittagong. Not only do these paratoopers cut my rail and highway connections for strategic movement but they also cut supply to all Allied forces in Burma and NE India. My troops in Burma were already starving when I began to withdraw them a few turns ago. Imphal was critically short of supplies a couple of weeks ago and I was forced to withdraw my bombers. Now Im pulling out virtually all my fighters from Imphal and I will need to shut down my supply transport AC in a few turns at Ledo if I dont get the rail line reopened. Id be much more concerned about this if Dave didnt have 6 of the SAA divisions tied down on Luzon. I have the 1400 AV of Burma Corps withdrawing to Myitkina and the 2000 AV of my Eastern Army in Burma is withdrawing to Kalemyo. I have 370 AV at Akyab and I bet that Dave was expecting a much weaker defense there. Instead of racing through Akyab to take Chittagong....the IJA panzerkorps will be needed to help capture Akyab so that should delay them a bit. I have at least a half dozen armored regiments at Calcutta that have been resting and upgrading to new devices and they will begin to reopen the critical rail lines and highways next turn. I also have a SWPAC tank destoyer unit on the way about 90 miles out from Akyab. At Arnhem....the Allies inadvertantly dropped paratroops right next to the resting and rebuilding 9th SS Panzer and 10th SS Panzer Divisions. Here....I dont have any SS panzer divisions but one of the IJA drop zones was in the hex adjacent to the 18th UK Division and the IJA paratroops will feel like they were hit by a panzer division in about 2 turns. [image]local://upfiles/14495/B4D57088B6E64D05BC19C75009516976.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/11/2011 3:55:10 PM)
6/27-6/28/42 SOPAC/SWPAC Allied amphibious TFs, surface TFs and carriers rendezvoused off Luganville. Next turn the multiple amphib TFs will be combined and sail as a single TF to Ndeni....I want it to look as if its a simple transport TF on a resupply Ndeni mission......while the carriers and surface Tfs remain at Luganville. On the following turn....the amphib TFs will spli up. Amphib TFs will resupply the 108th and 182nd Regiments on Tulagi, resupply forward bases at Russell and Rennell Islands....and invade Kirakira. This operation should almost be a "milk run" as at least part of KB was spotted off Akyab this turn. The invasion of Kirakira will be the final nail in the Japanese coffin in the southern Solomons. Following these amphib ops I will be able to withdraw all the USN carriers for repairs and 7/42 upgrades....the ground troops should be able to fend for themselves under substantial land based air cover. CV Saratoga will be able to join CV Lexington at Pearl to repair torpedo damage while Hornet/Yorktown/Enterprise all upgrade their AA and radar. The next Allied objective will be to evict the IJA 65th Brigade and friends from Tassafaronga as soon as all of the 32nd Division has been landed at Lunga. Lunga now has 57,000 supplies and 6000 fuel points. The Coral Sea is now ringed by Allied bases and the next wave of Allied advances....scheduled to start in late September/early October.... will see SOPAC advance into the central Solomons while SWPAC advances into the Solomon Sea and New Guinea. PHILIPPINES Japan launches its 1st assault at Clark and is thrown back with heavy losses: Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 40316 troops, 555 guns, 240 vehicles, Assault Value = 1589 Defending force 45945 troops, 610 guns, 557 vehicles, Assault Value = 1607 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3 Japanese adjusted assault: 779 Allied adjusted defense: 2830 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 3) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 5838 casualties reported Squads: 13 destroyed, 280 disabled Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 158 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 43 disabled Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled) Vehicles lost 75 (7 destroyed, 68 disabled) Allied ground losses: 833 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 34 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 93 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Assaulting units: 16th Division 48th Division 5th Division 33rd Div /1 15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 14th Army 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion Defending units: 2nd PA Constblry HW Regiment 21st PA Infantry/C Division 192nd Tank Battalion 93rd PA Infantry Regiment 11th PA Infantry/A Division 51st PA Infantry/C Division 194th Tank Battalion 51st PA Infantry/A Division 81st PA Infantry/C Division Subic Bay Defenses 41st PA Infantry/A Division 26th PS Cavalry Regiment 1st PA Constabulary Regiment 21st PA Infantry/A Division 61st PA Infantry/C Division 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team 81st PA Infantry/B Division 31st PA Infantry/A Division 11th PA Infantry/C Division 11th PA Infantry/B Division 3rd/12th PA Inf Battalion 4th Marine Regiment 1st/45th PS Inf Battalion 31st PA Infantry/B Division 81st PA Infantry/A Division 31st PA Infantry/C Division 14th PS Engineer Regiment 21st PA Infantry/B Division 2nd/45th PS Inf Battalion 51st PA Infantry/B Division 41st PA Infantry/B Division Clark Field USAAF Base Force 200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment USAFFE 1st USMC AA Battalion 1st PI Base Force 201st PA Construction Battalion II Philippine Corps Manila USAAF Base Force Far East USAAF Provisional GMC Grp 301st PA Field Artillery Regiment Looks like there are only 4 SAA divisions on Luzon now......the other 2 that were spotted at San Fernando were merely fragments to confuse my sigint. I still have over 50,000 supplies on Luzon and should be able to hold out for several more months. CBI As I thought .....a massive Japanese air forcce was staged into Burma last turn. Akyab was swept by over 150 A6M2s and Oscars while another 70 A6M2s and Oscars flew LRCAP over the invasion beaches. To top it off....at least a portion of KB appeared offshore to cover the landings. The Allied fighters and bombers were all flying from Chittagong....10th Air Force and 2 RAF HQs were present at Chittagong so the 1st massive Allied air strike on Akyab got through with good fighter escort. Subsequent Allied air strilkes went in piecemeal and were butchered. When the smoke cleared....the Allies had lost 52 AC in A2A combat vs 6 Japanese AC....a stunnimg defeat. Worse....the majority of the Allied AC lost were RAF medium bombers and it will probably take 2-3 months to replace these losses. All the RAF bombers will now be withdrawn to Calcutta as they just cannot operate in the face of massive Japanese air superiority. Still.... the 1st RAF strike got through and so did the USAAF 4Es....who always get through....and 38th Division was in no condition to launch an assault: Ground combat at Akyab (54,45) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 12121 troops, 124 guns, 67 vehicles, Assault Value = 425 Defending force 9684 troops, 72 guns, 60 vehicles, Assault Value = 380 Japanese adjusted assault: 9 Allied adjusted defense: 509 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 56 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-) Attacker: leaders(-), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 1032 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 64 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 61 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled Allied ground losses: 125 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 38th Division Defending units: 75th Indian Brigade 5/14th Punjab Battalion 2/15 Punjab Battalion 28th Gurkha Brigade 6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion 63rd Indian Brigade The 38th Division is going to need a lot of help to clear out Akyab. Over in south central China......the 2700 AV Japanese army was only able to launch 1 more assault on my retreating Chinese before they got away: Ground combat at 88,57 Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 74124 troops, 664 guns, 193 vehicles, Assault Value = 2502 Defending force 15548 troops, 163 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 373 Japanese adjusted assault: 1261 Allied adjusted defense: 643 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 1340 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 61 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 38 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Allied ground losses: 397 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 40 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 34 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 9 (8 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: 17th Division 22nd Division Kyuko Naval Guard Unit 56th Infantry Brigade 116th Division 15th Division 34th Division 6th Division 17th RGC Temp./A Division 29th Field AA Machinecannon Company 7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Defending units: 21st Chinese/B Corps 3rd New Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/B Corps 28th Chinese/B Corps 21st Chinese/C Corps 100th Chinese/C Corps 4th Chinese/B Corps 50th Chinese Corps 4th Chinese/C Corps 28th Chinese/C Corps 23rd Group Army 3rd War Area 32nd Group Army The Chinese were able to withdraw into Wenchow and I now have over 900 AV there. Another Chinese army entered Chuhsien and Dave was forced to evacuate....we will retake Chuhsien next turn. [image]local://upfiles/14495/FF4CB40ED7D44F1AA90936AFB11854EB.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/13/2011 6:48:21 PM)
6/29-6/30/42 CBI All quiet in China. In Burma, Dave bombards Akyab with BB Yamato and 4 CAs. That leaves only 4 BBs and 10-11 CAs available for duty in the south Pacific. In India, 18th UK will launch an assault on IJA paratroops at Dimapur next turn. Allied armor bears down on IJA paratroops blocking the Calcutta/Chittagong rail line/highway. SWPAC/SOPAC As SOPAC HQ will be arriving at Luganville in a couple of weeks Ive split up the Coral and Solomon Seas into seperate areas of operation for both SWPAC and SOPAC. SOPAC will be landing 5 amphib TFs in the Solomons next turn covered by 5 USN CVs and 3 RN CVs. There will be amphib TFs to resupply Russell Is. and the 108th and 182nd Regiments on Tulagi, amphib resupply and reinfocement TFs to Rennell Is. and Lunga and an amphibious assault on Kirakira. This will complete amphib ops in the southern Solomons and should provide some breathing room for the USN CVs to all upgrade and/or repair accumulated damage. CV Lexington will arrive at Pearl next turn and begin repairs of her 27 FLT damage from a sub launched torpedo. After these current amphib ops have been completed CV Saratoga will aslo be sent back to Pearl to repair her 7 FLT12 ENG damage from also from a sub launched torpedo. With the industrialization of the war in the south Pacific....Allied air combat and surface TFs will not need to be constantly exposed every turn to maintain the status quo. Ive staged in 140 fighters to the level 6 AF at Lunga and another 160 fighters to the level 2 AFs at Rossel, Russell and Rennell Is. to help cover all the amphib ops next turn. SOPAC will then quiet down a bit as LCUs prep for the next offensive thrust.....this time into the central Solomons.....probably in early fall 1942. SWPAC now has a level 2 AF at Rossel and has a level 1 port 30% completed at Deboyne Is. SWPAC is currently prepping LCUs for an offensive thrust in late summer 1942 to capture island bases off the SE tip of New Guinea and also re-establish itself on the New Guinea mainland. In this game....the shortest road to Tokyo will be Solomons/New Guinea/Paulaus/Philippines/Okinawa. NAVAL ATTRITION As the first phase of the Solomons campaign winds down I thought it be a good time to list combatant ship losses for both sides in this theatre for the last 10 weeks. Japan has lost 4 BBs, 5 DDs, 1 APD, 1 DMS, 15 SS and 8 PB. The Allies have lost 2 BB, 4 CAs, 3 CLs, 5 DDs, 1 APD, 2 DMS and 12 PTs. [image]local://upfiles/14495/8E1E4BDD68D74BEB9CB6C10E66A253DF.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/14/2011 5:27:30 PM)
7/1-7/2/42 PHILIPPINES The Japanese army on Luzon is again thrown back with heavy losses in a 1:2 assault on Clark: Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 49255 troops, 610 guns, 267 vehicles, Assault Value = 1689 Defending force 44591 troops, 588 guns, 567 vehicles, Assault Value = 1543 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2 Japanese adjusted assault: 1052 Allied adjusted defense: 2788 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4966 casualties reported Squads: 12 destroyed, 331 disabled Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 137 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 71 disabled Vehicles lost 35 (2 destroyed, 33 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1038 casualties reported Squads: 5 destroyed, 67 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 146 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Vehicles lost 14 (1 destroyed, 13 disabled) Assaulting units: 48th Division 3rd Ind. Engineer Regiment 21st Division 21st Ind. Engineer Regiment 5th Division 16th Division 90th Infantry Regiment 33rd Division 9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 14th Army 15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion Defending units: 4th Marine Regiment 1st PA Constabulary Regiment 31st PA Infantry/B Division 93rd PA Infantry Regiment 61st PA Infantry/C Division 194th Tank Battalion 3rd/12th PA Inf Battalion 81st PA Infantry/B Division Subic Bay Defenses 1st/45th PS Inf Battalion 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team 11th PA Infantry/A Division 81st PA Infantry/C Division 14th PS Engineer Regiment 21st PA Infantry/A Division 192nd Tank Battalion 26th PS Cavalry Regiment 81st PA Infantry/A Division 2nd/45th PS Inf Battalion 31st PA Infantry/C Division 2nd PA Constblry HW Regiment 11th PA Infantry/B Division 11th PA Infantry/C Division 21st PA Infantry/B Division 51st PA Infantry/A Division 51st PA Infantry/C Division 31st PA Infantry/A Division 41st PA Infantry/A Division 51st PA Infantry/B Division 41st PA Infantry/B Division Manila USAAF Base Force 1st PI Base Force Provisional GMC Grp 200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment Far East USAAF Clark Field USAAF Base Force II Philippine Corps USAFFE 201st PA Construction Battalion 1st USMC AA Battalion 301st PA Field Artillery Regiment The Allies have abundant supplies and large reserves here so I dont see this situation improving for Japan without additional reinforcements. SOPAC Allied amphib TFs land supplies at Russell and Rossel Is. and also at Tulagi to the 108th and 182nd Regiments. I was originally planning on dropping off the 192nd Tank Battalion at Tulagi but felt that it could be better used in the assault on Tassafaronga so it was dropped at Lunga instead. Dave doesnt have near enough on Tulagi now to defeat my two regiments.....and conversely I dont have enough prepped units available to defeat Japanese forces on Tulagi....so the troops on Tulagi will be kept well supplied while Allied bombers suppress the ports and AF there and Tulagi will be bypassed for the moment. Amphib TFs also dropped off troops and supplies at Rennell and Lunga. Admiral Draemels amphib TF assaulted the Japanese on Kirakira this turn with the 160th Regiment.....I held the 145th Regiment in reserve and with the recent developments off the coast of Burma I may elect to keep the construction engineers and BFs loaded in reserve for an amphib assault farther up the Solomon Islands chain. Intel this turn informed us that Japan has committed 6 CVs, 2 CVLs, 3 BBs and 4 CAs to its invasion at Akyab. With the IJN carriers out of position in the Bay of Bengal I am considering advancing my next offensive in SWPAC/SOPAC from fall 1942 to July 1942. The only problem is that Dave has garrisoned virtually every dot hex in the area and my LCUs are just beginning to prep for the next round of advances. Im reconiing all the dot hexes off New Guinea and in the Solomons now. The Allied carriers move north in the Solomon Sea to a point W of Munda....Im hoping to draw in some Betty naval strikes here and also disrupt IJN shipping in the central Solomons. Rennell and Ndeni both complete level 3 AFs this turn. CV Lexington reaches Pearl this turn as do BBs Idaho, New Mexico and Missisippi. CV Lex was paced on "high shipyard" repair but it will still 85 days to upgrade her and repair her 27 FLT damage. The BBs will also upgrade at Pearl and will be there for a month. The BBs still repairing damage from the 12/7/41 attacks are removed from the shipyard and will be sent to the US west coast to complete repairs. CBI Quiet in China. Dave commits BB Ise and BB Fuso to the bombardments at Akyab...that leaves a max of 2 BBs available for ops in the south Pacific. Dave CAPed his invasion fleets at Akyab with fighters from 6 CVs and 2 CVLs: Morning Air attack on 38th Division, at 54,45 (Akyab) Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 50 Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 5 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIb Trop x 11 No Japanese losses No Allied losses CAP engaged: Genzan Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes Tainan Ku S-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 12 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 31000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes Akagi-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes Kaga-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 31000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes Soryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes Hiryu-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 24000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 3 minutes Zuikaku-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 31000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes Junyo-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes Shoho-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 14000 Raid is overhead Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 19000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes 5th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 11000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes Japanese troops also invade and capture Ramree Island off the coast of Burma. 18th UK overruns IJA paratroops at Dimapur: Ground combat at Dimapur (62,38) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 15183 troops, 239 guns, 111 vehicles, Assault Value = 800 Defending force 180 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 11 Allied adjusted assault: 552 Japanese adjusted defense: 1 Allied assault odds: 552 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 192 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Allied ground losses: 44 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 18th British Division 96th Chinese Division 22nd (East African) Brigade 2/3rd MG Battalion 2nd Assam Rifles Battalion 19th Indian/A Division 823rd Engineer Aviation Battalion Defending units: 1st Raiding Rgt /2 The Allied armor reserve from Calcutta reaches Rangpur this turn and will assault the IJA paratroops there next turn. Then the armor and 18th UK will close in on the last 2 paratrooper pockets at Tezpur and Silchar and the railroad from Calcutta to Chittagong will be reopened. [image]local://upfiles/14495/576D1161280648418588C42D9AE15B4B.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/16/2011 12:06:58 AM)
7/3-7/4/42 CBI Quiet in China. Japan again bombards Akyab with BB Ise and BB Fuso and CAs: Night Naval bombardment of Akyab at 54,45 Japanese Ships BB Ise BB Fuso CL Kitakami DD Minazuki DD Urakaze DMS W-17 DMS W-5 Manpower hits 1 Fires 549 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 7 Port hits 1 E8N2 Dave acting as spotter for BB Ise BB Ise firing at Akyab BB Fuso firing at Akyab CL Kitakami firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Minazuki firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DD Urakaze firing at 63rd Indian Brigade DMS W-17 firing at 2/15 Punjab Battalion DMS W-5 firing at 63rd Indian Brigade -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Naval bombardment of Akyab at 54,45 Japanese Ships CA Mikuma CA Atago DD Fubuki DD Hagikaze Manpower hits 1 Fires 625 Airbase hits 1 Runway hits 26 Port hits 11 Port supply hits 3 E7K2 Alf acting as spotter for CA Mikuma CA Mikuma firing at 63rd Indian Brigade CA Atago firing at Akyab DD Fubuki firing at Akyab DD Hagikaze firing at Akyab Dave also heavily bombards Akyab from the air but the results of the ground battle are the same as last time: Ground combat at Akyab (54,45) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 12751 troops, 124 guns, 67 vehicles, Assault Value = 431 Defending force 9438 troops, 72 guns, 60 vehicles, Assault Value = 353 Japanese adjusted assault: 137 Allied adjusted defense: 253 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-), experience(-) Attacker: leaders(-) Japanese ground losses: 597 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 16 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 29 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Allied ground losses: 545 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 52 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 28 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 38th Division Defending units: 75th Indian Brigade 2/15 Punjab Battalion 5/14th Punjab Battalion 6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion 28th Gurkha Brigade 63rd Indian Brigade My troops are becoming fatigued and disrupted from the aerial and naval bombardments so I ordered the Indian forces to withdraw on Chittagong. Another IJN bombardment TF shows up at Chittagong: Night Naval bombardment of Chittagong at 55,41 - Coastal Guns Fire Back! 3 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Yamashiro BB Nagato Allied ground losses: 69 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 13 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) E8N2 Dave acting as spotter for BB Yamashiro BB Yamashiro firing at 2nd Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment 2nd Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment firing at BB Yamashiro F1M2 Pete acting as spotter for BB Nagato BB Nagato firing at RAF 223 Group Base Force So now Dave has all 5 of his operational BBs deployed in the Bay of Bengal along with virtually all the IJN flattops. Some 800 AV of Allied armor overruns the IJA paratroops at Rangpur. Unfortunately....the RAF medium bombers that had been bombing IJA troops at Rangpur were then retargeted....by the game.... to attack Akyab without escorts. I lose another 30 or so RAF medium bombers...thats another 2-3 months of replacements. Most of the RAF bomber squadrons are at less than 50% strength now. 18th UK close in on the IJA paratroops at Silchar while the armor will now close on the paratroops at Tezpur. SOPAC Allied carriers sortie to the middle of the Solomon Sea and attack IJN shipping off Munda and Shortlands....several PBs and barges are sunk with many more damaged. USN F4F-3s and F4F-4s sweep Shortlands. Munda has been put out of action by the B-17s and now Dave withdraws most of his AC from Shortlands after the sweep. I will sweep Shortlands again next turn and then I will probably stage the B-17s up to Lunga to shut down Shortlands. Elements of the 2nd Marine Regiment capture Vanikoro. The 108th and 182nd Regiments stranded on unfriendly Tulagi are heavily resupplied while the amphib escorts work over the IJA garrison there. I have 202 AV at Tulagi......growing every turn.... while Japan has about 140 AV there. My troops on Tulagi now have thousands of supplies and should be able to hold out for the duration. The IJA garrison however is undersupplied by transport AC and my LRCAP over Tulagi is turning back Thalias every turn. Lunga now has over 1100 AV and over 75,000 supplies after the amphib reinforcement. Im now prepping 32nd Division, 8th USMC Regiment, the combat engineers and all the tank battalions at Lunga for Tassafaronga. The advance on Tassafaronga will begin in about a week. When the cat's away the mice will play. When KB was deployed in the DEI in March and April 1942 I was able to establish a foothold in the southern Solomons. Now that KB...and all the BBs...have been deployed to the Bay of Bengal... Ihave a golden opportunity to overrun the central Solomons... and maybe even more than that. Its ironic....Japan has near total air and naval superiority over the Bay of Bengal.... yet lacks the ground forces to really pursue an Indian invasion. In the south Pacific..... the Allies have near total air and naval superiority yet lack the _prepped_ ground forces to really pursue a thrust up the Solomons. I will have to be creative and take a few risks here to advance as rapidly as possible in the south Pacific. The carriers will delay their 7/42 upgrades and will now stay on the line.... including CV Saratoga with 7 FLt 12 ENG torpedo damage.....as the Allies will attempt to take advantage of the opportunity that presents itself. [image]local://upfiles/14495/9FD55AE7E9AE4CA9B1AAE4F44103D7A4.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/16/2011 3:48:33 PM)
7/5-7/6/42 PHILIPPINES IJA troops are repulsed with heavy losses yet again at Clark: Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 47149 troops, 571 guns, 225 vehicles, Assault Value = 1588 Defending force 44123 troops, 589 guns, 575 vehicles, Assault Value = 1482 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1 Japanese adjusted assault: 632 Allied adjusted defense: 3454 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 6471 casualties reported Squads: 71 destroyed, 239 disabled Non Combat: 26 destroyed, 237 disabled Engineers: 12 destroyed, 124 disabled Vehicles lost 70 (9 destroyed, 61 disabled) Allied ground losses: 734 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 47 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 47 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 21st Division 3rd Ind. Engineer Regiment 21st Ind. Engineer Regiment 5th Division 33rd Division 16th Division 90th Infantry Regiment 48th Division 4th Div /2 1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment Defending units: 1st/45th PS Inf Battalion 1st PA Constabulary Regiment 2nd PA Constblry HW Regiment 11th PA Infantry/B Division 192nd Tank Battalion 31st PA Infantry/B Division 81st PA Infantry Division 41st PA Infantry/A Division 21st PA Infantry/B Division 21st PA Infantry/A Division 93rd PA Infantry Regiment 11th PA Infantry/A Division 11th PA Infantry/C Division 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team 51st PA Infantry/C Division 51st PA Infantry/A Division 61st PA Infantry/C Division Subic Bay Defenses 194th Tank Battalion 4th Marine Regiment 31st PA Infantry/A Division 51st PA Infantry/B Division 31st PA Infantry/C Division 2nd/45th PS Inf Battalion 3rd/12th PA Inf Battalion 26th PS Cavalry Regiment 14th PS Engineer Regiment 41st PA Infantry/B Division 200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment II Philippine Corps Provisional GMC Grp 201st PA Construction Battalion 1st PI Base Force Far East USAAF Manila USAAF Base Force Clark Field USAAF Base Force 1st USMC AA Battalion USAFFE 301st PA Field Artillery Regiment Ive got 1000 additional AV resting at Manila(and guarding the 100 light industry there). I will reinforce Clark with another 150 AV from the Manila garrison. SOPAC/SWPAC Japan sends repeated airstrikes over the Allied carriers that are decimated. USN F4Fs sweep Shortlands but Dave is no longer flying CAP there. Allied carrier bombers sink some more PBs(carrying troops) and barges in the central Solomons. I staged medium bombers and 4Es into Lunga this turn. The medium bombers will continue to suppress Munda while the 4Es will hit Shortlands. The Cactus air force at Lunga now has nearly 300 AC. Most of the air combat losses this turn occur in the south Pacific. Japan loses 92 AC vs 39 Allied AC. In A2A combat....Japan loses 56 AC vs 20 Allied AC. Individual plane losses include 32 A6M2s, 30 Bettys, 21 Oscars, 9 SBD-3s, 5 Hurricane IIbs, 5 F4F-4s and 4 Kittyhawk Is. The 2nd Marine Regiment mops up the remaining IJA stragglers on Vanikoro. I think that we may have reached that tipping point in the southern Solomons where Dave becomes more concerned with pulling his troops out rather than reinforcing. Recon show only 5500 IJA troops on Tulagi.....prior to the amphib resuuply Japan had over 8000 troops there. US tank battalions begin to drive through the jungle on Guadalcanal from Lunga towards Tassafaronga. CBI IJN bombardment TFs continue to pound the Indian troops at Akyab. The British anti-tank regiments in China will reach Kunming next turn and then will be withdrawn by transport AC to Ledo. 18th UK Division bears down on IJA oaratroops at Silchar while Allied armor drives on the IJA paratroops at Tezpur. I accumulated enough PPs to buy another regiment of the US Army 27th Divsion currently in reserve at Capetown. They will be sent on fast xAPs to Karachi. [image]local://upfiles/14495/37F1EB9C73EC41BA9614F827C5AA5863.jpg[/image]

yubari -> RE: ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/17/2011 10:24:52 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance Japanese assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 6471 casualties reported Squads: 71 destroyed, 239 disabled Non Combat: 26 destroyed, 237 disabled Engineers: 12 destroyed, 124 disabled Vehicles lost 70 (9 destroyed, 61 disabled) Allied ground losses: 734 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 47 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 47 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Ouch, that is the best part of a division destroyed pretty much there. If I was playing as Japan here then I would be extremely concerned that the Philippines would not in fact fall at all and would be directing the lions share of my ground units towards the battle as well as a large number of IJAAF air units on airbase surpression and supply destruction. Making a big effort at Akyab seems a very strange thing to do. At the very least I would move some units into Manila which I think would stop the factory there from producing supply. You must be starting to receive P-38s now or in the near future. Is there any way to get them into Clark? 100 or so of them on CAP and I don't think Japan would ever be able to take Clark.

racndoc -> RE: ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/18/2011 1:29:04 AM)
yubari...you make a lot of good points. Why indeed attack Akyab with insufficient forces to overrun NE India when there is a massive Allied garrison in Luzon in your rear with good supply? I dont have any P-38 replacements at the moment and I have 1 P-38 squadron at Calcutta and 1 P-38 squadron at Guadalcanal....both under 50% TOE. Your point is well taken regarding staging P-38s into Clark/Manila but even though the P-38 is the longest ranged Allied fighter it is not robust enough to perform in a CAP role due to its service rating. It is much better suited for the occasional long range sweep or escort at high altitude. If I had enough replacements it would probably be a better idea to stage P-40Es from China into Luzon and that could be a real possibility in the near future. 7/7-7/10/42 CBI Japan launches another 1:2 deliberate attack on Akyab on 7/7/42 and suffers heavy losses. I assumed that Dave would rest his troops at Akyab for one turn.... and I had 1 Indian brigade that had fallen behind the rest of the withdrawing troops so I gave it "move" orders.... and then wouldnt you know it but Dave ordered a shock attack this turn and barely achieved 2:1 odds: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Akyab (54,45) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 12166 troops, 124 guns, 67 vehicles, Assault Value = 403 Defending force 8533 troops, 72 guns, 59 vehicles, Assault Value = 271 Japanese adjusted assault: 374 Allied adjusted defense: 181 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Akyab !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 947 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 53 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 54 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Units pursuing 2 Allied ground losses: 2176 casualties reported Squads: 97 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 151 destroyed, 20 disabled Engineers: 24 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 12 (12 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 49 (49 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 6 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 79th Garrison Bn /3 38th Division 9th Armored Car Co /3 Defending units: 5/14th Punjab Battalion 6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion 28th Gurkha Brigade 75th Indian Brigade 2/15 Punjab Battalion 63rd Indian Brigade These Indian trops have been cut in half. Everyone is retreating now towards Chittagong. Allied armor overruns Tezpur and now the Allied armor and 18th UK Division are racing against time to eliminate the final IJA paratroop roadblock at Silchar. SWPAC/SOPAC Its been a quiet few days in SOPAC as Ive been busy trying to rebuild all my LCUs scattered around the theatre. I had so many ad hoc invasions and emergency reinforcements and then...... in the darkest days.....withdrawals of cadres from Russell/Lunga/Tulagi that I have fragments of combat units spread arouns that I need to consolidate them before I can conduct further offensives. B-17s staged into Lunga hammer Shortlands and now the airfield there is a smoking ruin with 84% damage. Allied medium bombers staged into Lunga/Ndeni/Rennel pound Munda and keep it suppressed. Now we have finally achieved the original goal of OPERATION WATCHTOWER with all the Japanese airfields in the Solomons captured or neutralized. The only remaining operational Japanese airfield in the theatre is the level 4 AF at Rabaul... and Dave has pulled all of his Netties out of there, At Rabaul...there only remains 150 fighters for air defense and 150 Aux AC to transport troops and supplies around the Solomons. And the port at Rabaul has also been evacuated...last week there were over 150 ships at Rabaul...now there are fewer than a dozen. Im seeing the effects of this already. A couple of turns ago Dave was trying to resupply his troops on Tulagi with Thalias....but my LRCAP was turning then back. Now my LRCAP over Tulagi is turning back long ranged Mavis transports from Rabaul. Its hard to believe that just a month ago I was about to throw in the towel on the Solomons and attempt evacuation of cadres. In late May...the best battlewagons in the Imperial Japanese navy were running wild through the Solomons and I had no solution for them. The BBs combined with the 7 CVs/3 CVLs/2CVEs of KB forced me to completely withdraw my navy from the waters of the Solomons and let the IJN bombardment TFs pummel Lunga and Russell Island at will over multiple days....leaving both airfields 100% damaged with over 100 AC destroyed on the ground. In fact....when I was down to 4 USN CVs..... KB pursued me all the way back to Luganville....forced me to evacuate the port at Luganville and withdraw to Noumea. And then KB annihilated 2 dozen xAKs in a transport TF off Fiji. Now....the smell of cordite and the sounds of desperate naval gunnery duels have been replaced by the smell of diesel fuel and the sound of heavy construction equipment as US construction engineers and seabees carve runways, roads, ports and infrastructure out of the formerly inhospitable malarial jungles of the Solomons. I didnt want a fair fight....mano a mano.....ship vs ship in the Solomons so I turned it into an industrial battle that the Allies were destined to win. Japan may have surface/carrier equality/superiority at this time but is hopeplessly outclassed by the Allies' industrial/construction/logistical capabilities. Dave decided to withdraw his carriers and BBs from the Solomons and now I have the chance to race back up the Solomon chain and re-establish a presence on New Guinea. The 1st order of business is for SWPAC to regain a foothold on New Guinea. In early 1942....Dave captured Port Moresby, Horn Island and Merauke and cut off Darwin from resupply. I had originally heavily reinforced Darwin at the start of the war but eventually ran out of supplies by March 1942 and was forced to withdraw most of my forces. Bettys based on Timor and IJN subs prevented me from getting xAKs through to Darwin from Perth but I have been able to get the occasional xAK through to Darwin from Townsville. The highest prepped LCU for the US is the 22nd Marine Regiment...its been prepping for Milne Bay since before it arrived in San Diego. Currently it is unloading at Noumea from xAPs but the troops wont get to R&R on New Caledonia.....in a couple days the 22nd Marine Regiment will begin loading on assault transports for an invasion of Milne Bay. This will be our initial foothold on New Guinea. In addition....Aussie construction engineers are on their way to Portland Roads to build up the AF there to at least level 2. Then AC from Portland Roads and Milne Bay will cover an invasion of Port Moresby. Its absolutely critical for the Allies to take Milne Bay, Port Moresby, Horn Island and possibly even Merauke to reopen the sea lanes to Darwin. Port Moresby must be enlarged into a massive aerodrome and Rabaul must be suppressed before we can advance around the SE tip of New Guinea and recapture all of Papua. [image]local://upfiles/14495/168C5EDE92AA40E0BEF29670DE8410D4.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/19/2011 3:20:19 PM)
7/11-7/14/42 SOPAC/SWPAC SOPAC HQ is just arriving on an xAP in the south Pacific and Im rerouting it to Guadalcanal rather than Luganville. Luganville is almost a sleepy backwater now and it appears that Lunga will be the new hub of operations for the Solomons. I will soon be sending an AS to Lunga and turning it into a forward sub base so that I can extend the range of the S class subs. The 2nd Marine Regiment wipes out the remaining Japanese stragglers on Vanikoro. The 160th Regiment captures Kirakira and overruns the remaining IJA defenders. I almost cancelled the Kirakira operation in mid invasion when I realized that KB had redeployed to the Bay of Bengal and I would have an opportunity to expand into the central Solomons. As it was I didnt offload the seabees and BFs at Kirakira. Instead of building a new base to help cover Lunga....I need the seabees and base forces for the new bases we will shortly capture in the central Solomons that will isolate Munda and get us closer to Sortlands. Ndeni and Russell Is. both enlarge their AFs to level 4 and many of my medium bombers are now operating out of Russell. Shortlands and Munda are now both 100% damaged and are devoid of Japanese AC. BB North Carolina goes into battle for the fist time with naval bombardments of Kirakira and Tulagi....I need to build up her experience before she squares off against the remaining IJN BBs. CVE Long Island completes repair of her SYS damage and will be sent to Sydney to complete repair of her 49 FLT damage. She ate 2 IJN sub launched torpedoes and lived to tell the story. The 22nd Marine Regiment begins loading on assault transports at Noumea for the invasion of Milne Bay. PHILIPPINES Dave is content to bomard at Clark as both sides reinforce. Japan now has 1755 AV at Clark vs Allied AV of 1685. The combat is really eating up my supplies....Ive gone from over 70,000 supplies to about 40,000 supplies in just a few weeks. The fortifications at Clark are enlarged to level 2. CBI Dave doesnt seem to be following up his victory at Akyab. The Indian troops defeated at Akyab are withdrawing towards Chittagong but there has been no pursuit. Instead....it looks as if Japan is now moving on Myitkina. The IJA 15th Army has been planning for Myitkina since january but now I get sigint that the Southern Army is now planning for Myitkina. I have 1350 AV at Myitkina behind level 6 forts so we will see what happens. The Japanese army at Lashio has more than doubled in size over the last 2 turns...its increased from 7 LCUs to 16 LCUs and appears to be heading to the Chinese border. My Chinese border troops will now withdraw towards Paoshan and reinforcements are on the way....including some British anti-tank regiments. Im beginning to wonder if the invasion at Akyab and the dropping of paratroopers over NE India was just a ruse......and if the real effort here is not an invasion of India but an assault on Myitkina and a new offensive against China....that would certainly make more sense. The 18th UK Division and 2 Indian armor regiments are closing in on the lasat pocket of IJA paratroops at Silchar. The 2000 AV of Allied troops 90 miles N of Shwebo will stop their withdrawal towards Kalemyo and rest for a bit.... they are now able to drw supplies from Kalemyo at a 1 hex range and they can certainly cut the Japanese supply line if Japan assaults Myitkina. [image]local://upfiles/14495/5A45F5EA7EF3485BBA4DFB45FA610C7F.jpg[/image]

racndoc -> RE: ASSAULT ON INDIA: A BRIDGE TOO FAR? (12/22/2011 6:26:52 AM)
7/15-7/18/42 CBI No Japanese followup on the invasion at Akyab. KB appears to have withdrawn towards Singapore.....maybe they will redeploy back to the south Pacific. I think that Dave sent KB to the Bay of Bengal to sell me on an amphib invasion of India. BB Fuso and BB Ise remain in the Bay of Bengal to bombard Allied troops on the coast. Japanese troops continue to mass near Myitkina. I believe that believe that Dave had his multiple armor brigades prep for Akyab to throw off my sigint and now they are racing towards Myitkina. I airlifted 4 British anti-tank regiments into Myitkina this turn so we have a pretty formidable anti-tank trap in place with 3x terrain and level 6 forts. PHILIPPINES Japan is content to bombard at Clark. Sigint reports that additional troops including more of the 33rd Division is loaded on xAKLs heading for Iba. SWPAC/SOPAC The attached screenshot shows Admiral Draemel's amphib TF carrying the 22nd Marine Regiment....they will land at Milne Bay next turn. The Allied carriers are just to the south of the screenshot and they will sail north to cover the invasion. After 2 months of slowly building up at Rossel and Deboyne Is. via PBYs and SSTs....thousands of troops, engineers and aviation personel will be disembarked at Milne Bay over the next 4 days in a massive escalation for SWPAC. farther south.....Admiral Hill's amphib TF is carrying the 132nd Regiment and they will invade at Woodlark in a couple of turns. Allied bombers based at Lunga and Rennell Is. continue to shut down the Japanese airfileds at Munda and Shortlands. A couple of weeks ago Dave had over 300 AC at Rabaul and over 150 ships in port. Now there are 70 fighters and 30 bombers at Rabaul and only 4 ships in the nearly deserted port. Most of the IJN shipping in the south Pacific has withdrawn north to Manus in the Admiralty Islands. CVE Long Island started taking on water this turn....FLT increased from 49 to 54 and she is still 2 turns out of Sydney. On Guadalcanal.....the Ist Amphibious Corps......32nd Division, 8th Marine Regiment, 5 tank battalions and 2 engineer regiments....will begin arriving at Tassafaronga next turn after marching through the jungle from Lunga. [image]local://upfiles/14495/03FA537CE3EF43DE9B98CD74785F0965.jpg[/image]

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