RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (Full Version)

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fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/1/2012 11:13:36 PM)
February 11th, 1942 The day after West of Sian, five tank regiments crossed the Wei and attacked the Chinese units (a dozen units, including nine corps) that had just retreated. We all have read that during large scale battles, most of the casualties result from pursuit (and that failing to pursue is a grave mistake), it happens in this game too. Ground combat at 83,40 (near Sian) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 3590 troops, 0 guns, 540 vehicles, Assault Value = 258 Defending force 31923 troops, 202 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 399 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: disruption(-), morale(-), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 35 (4 destroyed, 31 disabled) Allied ground losses: 12469 casualties reported Squads: 513 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 517 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 12 destroyed, 3 disabled Guns lost 19 (15 destroyed, 4 disabled) Units retreated 12 The rest of my troops is one day behind, marching on Tienshui. Over the last two days, we destroyed about than 1500 KMT squads, almost 5% of the Chinese forces. Northern fights We are mopping lone KMT corps, left between Taiyuan and Kweisui. Today, the third provincial corps was destroyed, south of Kweisui. I know they’ll be back in Chungking, but I don’t think it is worth leaving such units so far behind my lines. The 35th corps was also defeated, near Tatung. Solomons We landed in Kirakira and Lunga today. Those are very small units, and it is by no means the real conquest of the Solomons. I am doing this to prevent my opponent from trying something weird, like occupying bases or building airfield. Meanwhile, near Macassar, CL Kuma, retreating from Denpasar, sank to a system failure, two hexes away from the port.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/3/2012 12:02:53 PM)
February 12th, 1942 … was a relatively quiet day. Over Java, a raid from Borneo on the air base in Surubaya destroyed a Warhawk, a Banshee, and damaged a few more. In Burma, the Imperial Guard Division seized Meiktila. In China, the “Loyang stack”, isolated in the woods near Sian, was attacked once more. I have not enough forces to destroy them, but I am slowly wearing them away. Meanwhile, we are capturing dot bases in the Celebes, New Guinea and the Philippines islands. Today, we landed in Nabire (in northern New Guinea), and took Mangole (between Ternate and Ambon), Siaoe (just off Manado), and Mussau Island (the northernmost Bismarck). I am trying to be as systematic with this as I can. A captured base, even a dot base, prevents enemy reinforcements, provides intelligence, and looks nice on the map… So? How are we doing so far? I keep wondering about my rate of advance in the East Indies. Comparing this game to the previous one ( http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2669708), I believe I am doing slightly better in China (more about that in a later post), but much slower in the DEI and South Pacific. Back then, my opponent had retreated most of his naval and air forces, I was invading against little opposition. This time, my opponent is defending, and sometimes fighting back. So? Where are we in the Indies? Here is a theater by theater report. Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra Malaysia is all under Japanese control, save Singapore, under siege. We will probably not achieve the historical milestone (mid February) there, but with 2200 AV against 600, and a thousand more on their way, I believe Singapore will be ours before the end of the month. Borneo is all Japanese, except three bases on the southern coast (Ketapang, Banjermasin and Sampit). The oilfields and refineries have been damaged by enemy bomber, but we now have flak and Zeroes protecting them, and are repairing. Both Singkawang and Balikpapan have Air HQ and squadrons of Nells and Betties. This makes the Java Sea a dangerous place for Allied ships. The Allies have a number of submarines operating around Singkawang, Balikpapan, and near Kota Baru, but my ASW task forces seems to have made them inefficient. I cannot sink them, but they don’t get to shoot my transports. I’m happy. Sumatra is still Allied. I am waiting for the fall of Singapore to invade. I do realize this means I might find a fortress in Palembang, but I am happy fighting one. In my opinion, there are only two approaches to the conquest of Sumatra: the early capture, where your Palembang invasion sails on day one or almost, and the late one, where you wait for Singapore. Anything in between might need more troops than you can spare, because your opponent will have had enough time to reinforce, and will delay the capture of Singapore. A completely different (and unorthodox) approach might be to postpone the capture of Singapore. Just clear Malaya (you need a few regiments for this), bottle the enemy in Singapore, sweep his airforce out of the skies, perhaps bomb to prevent fort building, and wait for the supplies to be gone. I wonder how this would work? Any takers? Here’s a map of the area. [image]local://upfiles/36309/578A8B765A1B4C60B6DB50A44D09910E.jpg[/image] Philippines Luzon was an easy thing. The enemy evacuated both Manila and Clark Field. I am facing about 1500 AV in Bataan, and cannot dislodge them. Bombardment is costing me more squads than the enemy: we need time. As a result, I dispatched several units to other theaters: the fourth ID went to Singapore, a few infantry regiments were sent to Macassar, for the operations in Java. I have about 1500 AV on the island, 1200 in Bataan and 300 in Manila, but I will probably withdraw an infantry and a tank regiment from Manila, and probably drop the Bataan garrison as well. In the Central Philippines, Panay and Leyte are still Allied. Cebu is under siege, and is being reinforced (with a regiment from Singkawang). These units should be sufficient to capture the other islands by the end of March. On Mindanao, the siege of Cagayan is dragging on. I most certainly need to reinforce the place. The lesson from this game is that Japan should better invest on an early conquest of Mindanao, by sending lots of troops there in December. In my previous game, I had not enough, and took losses. This time, I did not take losses but had not enough for a quick victory. After two games, and reading a number of AAR, I am pretty much convinced that, barring a major Allied blunder, Luzon can only be captured through a long siege. As such, there is little point, once the Allies are bottled in Clark and Bataan (and this usually happens in late December) to keep more than one needs. The surplus should probably be sent to Mindanao, and then either Java or Timor. (to be continued)

obvert -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/3/2012 12:36:29 PM)
I agree on the PI stuff. Also, why worry about Luzon? There is nothing the Allied player can do against good play, so just bottle it and keep other stuff for the places you NEED to take quickly. On Palembang, there are many ways to go. It seems every player tries different things there. Really also depends on what your opponent is doing. If there is a fortress building, a reaction may have to come before you're ready at the expense of other interests. Or you could just wait until he's committed a ton of stuff and trap it all there for later, then wiping it clean. The Canoerebel AAR against Chez da Jez had a lot of thoughts about that. All of these choices are what make it fun to play Japan in the beginning. How you force the action and what steps you take to counter what your opponent throws your way. It's tense though, and timing is always a concern. The amazing part of this game is that there is no real best play that will work every time. It's a constant process of learning, reacting and making good choices.

PaxMondo -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/3/2012 12:40:14 PM)
Don't let Palembang fortify ... if you even suspect he is doing that, you need to go in right away even at the risk of him bombing it afterwards. The swamp bonus can really create problems for you and you MUST take that oil center.

obvert -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/3/2012 12:43:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: PaxMondo Don't let Palembang fortify ... if you even suspect he is doing that, you need to go in right away even at the risk of him bombing it afterwards. The swamp bonus can really create problems for you and you MUST take that oil center. In Scenario 1 I agree this is probably the best option. In Scen 2 there was a lot of talk about Japan being able to withstand a damaged Palembang, or a delayed capture, due to the extra starting fuel and oil.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/3/2012 1:44:35 PM)
Hi Pax and Obvert, I have been reconning Palembang, and never saw more than 4 units there. The airfields in southern Sumatra do not seem to have been developped either, so I am fairly certain I will not find a fortress there. Palembang as a "must have", I wonder... We're all very influenced by the "it is all about oil" school of thought, that so many AFB defend, and so we tend to put a very high value on Palembang, the largest oilfield in the game, by far. On the other hand, a CR-like Sumatra, reinforced with British and perhaps US troops, and turned into a prison camp by extensive bombing would cause a very long delay in Allied reconquest, thus allowing Japan to use the other oil bases (Borneo, Java) for a longer period of time. So far, the only Palembang defenses I have seen in AAR were Nemo and Canoerebel's, and both fought JFB who apparently didn't realize what it was all about. Other JFB try to invade Palembang in December. Our 2x2 game against Swift and Undercovergeek looked like we might end up fighting such a fortress, but it ended early. I would be very interested to see how a "Fortress Palembang accepted" opening would turn out... I'm not sure it would be such a cakewalk for the Allies. (In fairness, I have to say I was hoping to play such a game, but it seems this won't happen now...) Francois

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/3/2012 5:55:20 PM)
February 13th, 1942 Another quiet day in the war… With the 4th infantry division just arrived, we attacked Singapore, suffered heavy losses but destroyed three enemy units, and probably a good number of support troops. Odds were 1:1 for the first time, but fatigue and disruption are very high nevertheless. I will bombard tomorrow, and probably attack again in a few days. Then, the 38th and the 104th ID will arrive, and perhaps one more infantry regiment, and this should seal the fate of the Lion City. Ground combat at Singapore (50,84) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 77338 troops, 805 guns, 344 vehicles, Assault Value = 2323 Defending force 32952 troops, 380 guns, 215 vehicles, Assault Value = 627 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese ground losses: 3112 casualties reported Squads: 132 destroyed, 244 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 67 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 41 disabled Guns lost 32 (9 destroyed, 23 disabled) Vehicles lost 19 (1 destroyed, 18 disabled) Allied ground losses: 3291 casualties reported Squads: 75 destroyed, 81 disabled Non Combat: 141 destroyed, 80 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 32 disabled Guns lost 50 (15 destroyed, 35 disabled) Vehicles lost 29 (6 destroyed, 23 disabled) Units destroyed 3 In Nanyang, a very strong Chinese corps (sporting 440 AV!!!) tried taking the base. I had seen that coming, and had reinforced the place. Not the KMT’s finest hour… Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 12844 troops, 75 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 454 Defending force 18148 troops, 184 guns, 47 vehicles, Assault Value = 452 Allied adjusted assault: 81 Japanese adjusted defense: 447 Allied assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 2) Japanese ground losses: 46 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Allied ground losses: 661 casualties reported Squads: 5 destroyed, 41 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled) Damage is low, but I suspect the 59th corps has very high disruption. I am counterattacking tomorrow, stay tuned! How are we doing so far? (part 2) Celebes, Timor and Java This is the active theater at the moment. Both Macassar, Kendari and the surrounding bases have been captured, and Macassar is being used as the staging point for the invasion of Java. All bases north of a line from Ambon to Kendari are ours (the last handful of dot bases are being captured now), and support ships (AKE, AG and AD) are moving forward. Timor, and the islands between Ambon and Australia have been left alone. The next move is, obviously, the landings on Java. The capture of Denpasar, which will probably happen once the base is reinforced, is a first step. As for the landing site I am hesitating between Banjoewangi and Loemadjang, but I might change my mind and go for Probolinggo or Tjepoe… When will we land, probably after the 20t of February. I want mini KB (now in Cam Ranh) around, and I need to take Denpassar first. I might go for Pamekasan as well, as it provides a nice base close to the coast, and good intel on troop movements. Here is the map. [image]local://upfiles/36309/DD82B72FF4E0413EBB5DD51D31043EC9.jpg[/image] South west Pacific This is the least active theater. New Britain, the Admiralty Islands, Ontong Java, and the northern coast of New Guinea were captured, and I have troops in Shortlands, Lunga and Kirakira, but all those were token moves, meant to keep the enemy watching. I will probably send a few more invasion forces, just to keep the side show going, and to catch a few landing sites before the invasion bonus ends, but I must say I am not interested in this theater right now. So, how are we doing so far? Compared with your average AARed campaign, I don’t think I am really late, but quite a few landings must take place in March if I want to take advantage of the amphibious bonus. But then, life doesn’t end with the landing bonus…

PaxMondo -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/4/2012 10:30:58 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: fcharton I would be very interested to see how a "Fortress Palembang accepted" opening would turn out... I'm not sure it would be such a cakewalk for the Allies. (In fairness, I have to say I was hoping to play such a game, but it seems this won't happen now...) Francois I, too, would like to see this opening. I would never suggest that Fortress Palembang is a cakewalk for the allies, but the danger to IJ is real..

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/4/2012 10:40:15 AM)
February 14th 1942 Tough times in Bali A fast transport from the Celebes (CA Myoko, CL Nagara and seven DD) was due to reinforce Denpasar today but met an enemy surface force (CL Colombo and six DD) in the dead of night (new moon today, so it must have been very dark). The result was inconclusive. Two of our destroyers got one shell hit, CL Colombo was hit twice and DD Vampire once. But it did send the fast transport home without unloading. The task force is almost undamaged, and still not short of ammo. I am sending them again tomorrow… Nanyang, day 2 Ground combat at Nanyang (85,45) The Chinese corps that tried to take Nanyang yesterday was attacked today. As expected, disruption must have been very high : a nominal AV of 388 was modified to 82. Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 16711 troops, 181 guns, 35 vehicles, Assault Value = 454 Defending force 12291 troops, 74 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 388 Japanese adjusted assault: 295 Allied adjusted defense: 82 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 Japanese ground losses: 125 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Allied ground losses: 2962 casualties reported Squads: 200 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 161 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 4 disabled Guns lost 9 (5 destroyed, 4 disabled) Units retreated 1 One mixed brigade will pursue, there is no reason to let them fall back nicely… All around Sian It was a bad day for the KMT, today… West of Sian, retreating units were attacked by five tank regiments. Odds only were 1:2, but 85 combat squads and 8 guns were traded for one tank. The rest of my troops (about 1300 AV and lots of artillery) will attack tomorrow, and the tanks will be pursuing. If every goes as planned, this means we will attack tomorrow, and again the day after. The Chinese had 284 AV this morning (down from 1500 when they defended Sian…), I believe very little will be left in a few days. North of the city, the stack from Taiyuan was attacked, across a river. This probably was my best odds ever in a battle involving significant forces. Ground combat at 84,41 (near Sian) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 38506 troops, 322 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 1332 Defending force 5170 troops, 56 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 161 Japanese adjusted assault: 1654 Allied adjusted defense: 8 Japanese assault odds: 206 to 1 Japanese ground losses: 332 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 38 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 3144 casualties reported Squads: 120 destroyed, 3 disabled Non Combat: 99 destroyed, 23 disabled Engineers: 5 destroyed, 8 disabled Guns lost 39 (27 destroyed, 12 disabled) Units retreated 6 Finally, the Yenan stack was also defeated, four units retreated, and another one surrendered. [image]local://upfiles/36309/0E6E2DFCA2A04A7B83EABBC80FBE4AB7.jpg[/image] Our forces are in pretty good shape, and almost 50 enemy units are damaged beyond recovery. Ideally, I would like all of them to retreat, and avoid having to destroy them, which would cause them to respawn in Chungking, but I don’t think I can achieve this with the Loyang stack. With almost 5000 AV in the region, 4000 once roads and bases are garrisoned, and a lot of artillery, and in the face of weak opposition (the 8 units around Tienshui probably amount to less than 1000 AV), we certainly should push forward, but where? I see three possibilities… Marching West: the bulk of our forces moves on Lanchow and Sining, captures the two bases, and doubles back to Tienshui. This secures the northwest and denies resources to the KMT, but it will give my opponent time to reinforce the road to Chungking. It also means those 5000 AV will be far away for a while (even on major roads, Lanchow is several weeks from central China) Marching South: do we have enough to break into Sichuan? I believe it is possible to reach Kienko, leaving a blocking force around Tienshui, and pocketing the defenders of Ankang. But I doubt we actually can take Chungking, and keep the troops supplied over such a long lifeline. And capturing Chungking (or Chengtu, at least) is the only merit of such a move. Marching East: with the KMT forces around Ichang defeated, we are marching on Changteh, threatening to cut Changsha from the west. A large fraction of my troops around Sian could be sent to reinforce this area, and establish a line between Changteh and Kweiyang, effectively cutting the Chinese in three (Lanchow, Chungking, Changsha). I am still undecided, but in any case, Tienshui and the cross road to Sichuan must be captured first, to cut Western China off.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 8:56:21 AM)
February 15th, 1942 Ugly days in Bali ... and so, the fast transport task force, meant to reinforce Denpasar, and prevented from unloading by an enemy cruiser squadron, was ordered again to Bali. Bad idea… on their way, they found mines in Banjoewangi Japanese Ships CA Myoko, Mine hits 1 (17/6/14) CL Nagara, Mine hits 1 (26/30/7) DD Satsuki, Mine hits 1, (32/63/45) DD Kawakaze, Mine hits 1, (26/77/44) And then, again, CL Colombo and friends prevented them from unloading. Quand ça veut pas, ça veut pas... So, my formerly-fast transport TF is now limping back to Macassar. I am pretty sure the cruisers will make it, for the destroyers it is 50/50. But a few things went right around Bali, today. First, the transports were capped. Enemy bombers learnt this the hard way… Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mataram at 59,109 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 Allied aircraft Swordfish I x 8 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses Swordfish I: 5 destroyed Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mataram at 59,109 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 Allied aircraft 139WH-3 x 7 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses 139WH-3: 5 destroyed Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mataram at 59,109 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 7 Allied aircraft Buffalo I x 3 A-24 Banshee x 11 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses Buffalo I: 1 destroyed A-24 Banshee: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged A-24 Banshee: 1 destroyed by flak And then, CL Colombo, retiring to Surabaya, met my Nells, and her fate, apparently (she’s listed as sunk anyway). Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Soerabaja at 56,104 Weather in hex: Clear sky Japanese aircraft G3M2 Nell x 7 Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 2 damaged Allied Ships CL Colombo, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage Air losses for today ended up as 26 Allied for 8 Japanese. If the Colombo was really sunk, this compensates for the fast transport affair… More Sian West of Sian, a second day of attack pushed the enemy towards Tienshui, with more losses. Allied ground losses: 7884 casualties reported Squads: 191 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 531 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 3 disabled Guns lost 48 (36 destroyed, 12 disabled) Units retreated 11 My tanks pursued: we will get a third day. Do surrounded units come back? In Wuhu, a Chinese corps had tried to take the city weeks ago, and was surrounded after a mixed brigade followed it into the hex. After several days of inconclusive battle, I had the message: “Allied Unit(s) surrounded at Wuhu”, and the Chinese corps vanished. I know units destroyed in combat respawn, and that units lost to attrition don’t. What about “surrounded units”? In any case, we have destroyed more than 16 500 KMT combat squads so far. This is about half of the Chinese fighting forces. In reality, I suspect the situation is slightly worse for the KMT, as a significant part of the remaining half is probably disabled. I am still undecided about what to do next in China. We are attacking Changteh tomorrow, we shall see…

PaxMondo -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 9:29:02 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: fcharton Do surrounded units come back? In Wuhu, a Chinese corps had tried to take the city weeks ago, and was surrounded after a mixed brigade followed it into the hex. After several days of inconclusive battle, I had the message: “Allied Unit(s) surrounded at Wuhu”, and the Chinese corps vanished. I know units destroyed in combat respawn, and that units lost to attrition don’t. What about “surrounded units”? In any case, we have destroyed more than 16 500 KMT combat squads so far. This is about half of the Chinese fighting forces. In reality, I suspect the situation is slightly worse for the KMT, as a significant part of the remaining half is probably disabled. I am still undecided about what to do next in China. We are attacking Changteh tomorrow, we shall see… Yes, they will re-spawn. The "surround" message means that they won't retreat on you and you can obliterate them.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 9:41:26 AM)
Thanks a lot, Pax. So far, I had managed not to destroy too many chinese corps, but I am afraid this is over now... February 16th 1942 Bali, as usual… After two difficult, and unsuccessful, attempts at reinforcing Denpasar, another fast transport task force managed to reach Bali today. Enemy surface forces had retired, less bombers flew than yesterday, my CAP was still over Bali (the enemy lost a dozen planes today), and the landings were fine. Most unfortunately, this was the day the Denpasar garrison had picked to sortie. Ground combat at Denpasar (58,108) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 2047 troops, 26 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 74 Defending force 2964 troops, 37 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 118 Allied adjusted assault: 11 Japanese adjusted defense: 259 Allied assault odds: 1 to 23 Japanese ground losses: 33 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 158 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 33 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled I am counterattacking tomorrow. It looks like Denpasar might fall soon… Sian – day 3 The tank regiment that pursued the KMT retreating towards Tienshui attacked today. As expected, the Chinese were in bad shape and took heavy punishment. Ground combat at 82,38 (near Tienshui) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 3606 troops, 0 guns, 543 vehicles, Assault Value = 261 Defending force 14585 troops, 151 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 67 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 Allied ground losses: 4600 casualties reported Squads: 329 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 439 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 6 destroyed, 4 disabled Guns lost 35 (23 destroyed, 12 disabled) Units retreated 11 Those guys are now in Tienshui. The bulk of my force (infantry and artillery) is not following, but moved south over the secondary road to cut the road to Sichuan. My tanks are now confronted with an alternative : capture Tienshui or march on Kungchang, where three untested units are waiting. I will take Tienshui first (no reason to leave this base to the KMT), and then block the road to Kungchang, until reinforcements arrive and capture the city. I am still undecided about Lanchow. Over the river Changteh was attacked and captured today. Ground combat at Changteh (81,50) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 55601 troops, 595 guns, 228 vehicles, Assault Value = 1787 Defending force 12758 troops, 74 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 222 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1 Japanese assault odds: 10 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Changteh !!! Japanese ground losses: 797 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 134 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled Allied ground losses: 5523 casualties reported Squads: 198 destroyed, 118 disabled Non Combat: 231 destroyed, 49 disabled Engineers: 49 destroyed, 10 disabled Guns lost 36 (13 destroyed, 23 disabled) Units retreated 5 500 more chinese squads destroyed, yay! The enemy retreated towards Changsha, which leaves the road to Chihkiang open. I am sending tanks there, if the base if empty, or lightly held, capturing Chihkiang would put the troops in the Hunan basin in a complicated situation. Since there are lots of yet undefeated enemy troops in the region, I doubt the base can be held for long, but if Changteh can be held for a while, we probably can make this very costly for the KMT. The capture of Changteh opens a world of new possibilities. I have about 2000 AV in the city or next to it. My goal is to garrison the roads between Changteh and Chihkiang, and cut the communications between Central China and Sichuan. If Chihkiang can be captured, and held for a while, I will probably shift troops from Sian to Central China. With Tienshui and Kungchang under control, Western China is cut off, and we don’t need a large garrison there. But I am getting carried over. I am still clueless about how much punch the KMT can pack in its counter attack. I very much doubt Changteh can be retaken, but this does not mean I can exploit this advance.

PaxMondo -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 9:50:27 AM)
I know many prefer not to kill CHI units due to the re-spawn. Me? I prefer to kill them. I don't like leaving any troops in my rear area. Yes, I do try to "sweep" them along, but in doing so they are freqeuntlyl killed. They downside is that CHI then get a lot of "free" squads at Chungking. The upside is that the CHI now have more untrained (low exp, low morale) mouths to feed at Chungking. My experience so far, and there are now several AAR's that tend to suuport my observations, is that the latter tends to be more relevant. We know that smaller units do not hold up well in combat. So, when you finally arrive at Chungking, you will find a great many units with a lot of AV. But with low morale and small size you should be able to simply whittle them away. What I haven't seen confirmation of yet is what happens when Chungking is lost. Do the CHI units not respawn or do they respawn elsewhere?

koniu -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 10:01:08 AM)
I think there is another reserve base to respawn but not sure. After both are taken there is only darkness.

obvert -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 11:06:53 AM)
They respawn in Chengtu, unless you take that first, (which is ideal). When both are gone, as Koniu said, all is darkness and only the Chinese Mr Vampires come back! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TOOAlZ8nlc

SqzMyLemon -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 4:19:23 PM)
Nice job in China so far Francois! I'm of the school of kill the Chinese troops off as well. You have to think the number of units that respawn and needing supplies will put too much strain on an already ailing Chinese supply situation. I'm never keen on having any small enemy LCU's running around in my rear areas. I like a nice clean front. There's also the VP value of destroying enemy LCU's. These VP's can't be taken away from you, unlike the temporary ones you gain from base capture. I echo the above as well. Chinese units will not respawn if both Chengtu and Chungking are captured. I do not know if this affects reinforcements though. In my opinion, the way to ensure defeat in China is to push as far into it from Burma as possible. Seal off any possible supply flow into China (other than what the Allies can fly in) and prevent any chance of a link up with Commonwealth forces in Burma, and the Chinese are in a world of hurt. Unfortunately, I failed to do so and have given the Chinese an out.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/5/2012 4:38:31 PM)
Hi Joseph, Nice to see you here. I pretty much agree with your point on destroying the Chinese. I won't leave any behind frontlines (except, perhaps, when they are unsupplied in the desert, like a corps north of Yenan right now). I see another advantage of destroying stacks : whereas infantry units do come back, it seems HQ, base forces, engineers and artillery don't. Without HQ, KMT units lack support elements, and fight at a disadvantage. Around Sian, I believe the Yenan and Taiyuan boys (now northwest of Sian) must be destroyed, or they will block my supply line to Sian. The Sian stack (now in Tienshui) will probably escape and rot in the mountains (just like the Ichang boys). This suits me fine. I want to try something with the Loyang guys. As they are pretty much isolated far away from their bases, and do not block my LOC, I want to try and herd them, using one or two units (a damaged division, or a brigade), bombarding from time to time to keep them in place, and just see what happens. Right, I'm at work and supposed to be working... More about that tonight. Francois

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/8/2012 10:54:40 PM)
February 17th 1942 The fall of Singapore … was today’s divine surprise (kami something, I presume…). I ordered a deliberate attack, just to prevent the enemy from rebuilding their strength, while the 38th and the 104th ID, now between Bangkok and Kuala, made their way for the final assault, but it turned out that forts were reduced to level 1, that we achieved 3:1 odds, and that the city surrendered. Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 76017 troops, 782 guns, 343 vehicles, Assault Value = 2250 Defending force 31235 troops, 384 guns, 218 vehicles, Assault Value = 566 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1 Japanese adjusted assault: 2270 Allied adjusted defense: 741 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Singapore !!! Japanese ground losses: 3444 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 340 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 82 disabled Guns lost 25 (1 destroyed, 24 disabled) Vehicles lost 17 (1 destroyed, 16 disabled) Allied ground losses: 17610 casualties reported Squads: 573 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 2970 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 222 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 549 (549 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 250 (250 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units destroyed 32 Well… yay!!! I suppose. The airbase is fine, the industry is at half strength, and the port has 34% damage. This will repair fast (I have lots of engineers around), but the minefield must also be cleared before we can use the base. Unfortunately, many of my DMS are now upgrading (I thought Singapore would fall later). I have one in Singkawang, another in Pescadores, and a pair of AMc in Cam Ranh. I expect the port to be ready in a week. Meanwhile, I need to collect the cargoes, troop transports, tankers, sub chasers and surface combatants that will be based there. This frees a lot of troops. I have four divisions and seven infantry regiments in the city. Two more divisions and one regiment were reinforcing Singapore when it fell. Finally, a guard division and a regiment have just arrived in Cam Ranh. Overall, this is seven divisions, and nine regiments, or ten division equivalents. Most of those units are in good shape, and some have very high experience and morale. What now? Three divisions (the 104th, now around Bangkok, the 6th Guards, now in Cam Ranh, and the 5th Guards, scattered between Singapore, Cam Ranh and Rangoon) will reinforce the Imperial Guards in Burma. Those four divisions should be enough to clear the country, push the Chinese back into China (and secure Paoshan), and establish a minimal line of defense along the Indian border. They will be reinforced in April and May by two other guard divisions, arriving in Cam Ranh. Altogether, this means six divisions in Burma by May. Unless the enemy goes for an early offensive there, this should suffice. The 38th, the 18th division, and a few regiments (41st, 17th Indep Guards, 24th), all with high experience and almost at full strength, will be sent to capture South Sumatra. I intend to go straight for Palembang, and then march south to Oosthaven with some of the troops, and use the rest to land in northern Java (by then we should be in south Java…) This leaves four division equivalents. Two of them, and a regiment, are in relatively good shape. The others need rest and refit. In the short term, I will most certain use them to clear the islands and bases between Singapore and Java, and perhaps Northern Sumatra (depending on how fast we can capture the south of the island). Later, they will probably be sent south, either to the Solomons and Port Moresby, or to Timor. Bataan will not be reinforced. And I believe we have enough troops in the Celebes to capture south Java (or the enemy would need to empty the north of the island, a dangerous idea once we are on Sumatra). Thinking out loud Holding Singapore is nice, of course, but it is not such an important base at this point of the game. The real benefit is the number of troops freed, and this sent me wondering. Whereas most Japanese players settle for a long siege in Luzon, they usually commit large forces to an early capture of Singapore. In the best of cases, those troops are available for redeployment by early February. At worst, the siege drags on, and you end up with damaged units, only available in March. But do we really need Singapore that early? Once the airfields in central Malaysia and Borneo are held, it can be suppressed, and a modest force will be enough to keep the defenders in place. And if Singapore is besieged and left to rot, five or six japanese divisions (many of them experienced) become available for a big push somewhere, as early as the beginning of January (once the lines stabilize in the DEI), and at this point in the game, five divisions are a lot of troops.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/9/2012 10:10:39 PM)
February 18th, 1942 A dull day in the war. I forgot to assign CAP over Singapore, and enemy bombers had a field day there. This will be corrected tomorrow, if enemy bombers return, they might have a bad day there. Denpasar was attacked, and forts were reduced to level 0. My opponent is trying to bomb my troops on the ground, but I doubt it can delay the inevitable. Denpasar will be ours in a few days. In Macassar, a large amphibious task force is now boarding for Loemadjang. The invasion of Java is on. In Burma, a deliberate attack in Mandalay failed to reduce level 2 forts, or achieve better than 1:2 odds. I will probably wait until reinforcements arrive. Here are the enemy units we found: Defending units: 10th Burma Rifles Battalion 13th Burma Rifles Battalion 1st Burma Brigade BFF Brigade 200th Chinese Division 9th Burma Rifles Battalion 36th Chinese Division 88th Chinese Division Railway BAF Battalion 103rd RAF Base Force Mandalay BMP Battalion 1st Burma Auxiliary AA Regiment Burma Command 13th Indian Brigade As you can see, three Chinese divisions moved from Southwest China into Burma. This is fine, we have no house rule preventing this. But this suggests that the area between Tsuyung and Paoshan, might be lightly defended. If so, I might send a division up north once Burma is reinforced and Mandalay is cleared.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/13/2012 11:30:06 PM)
I am having difficulty keeping up with the game, and will only give brief accounts of the upcoming turns February 19th 1942 Mini-KB, on her way back After a while in Cam Ranh, to rearm, repair, and meet with CVL Shoho, freshly arrived from the Home Islands, mini-KB was ordered back to Macassar, to support the invasion of South Java. On her way, she raided Tjilatjap, where a few enemy cargoes were parked. Morning Air attack on TF, near Tjilatjap at 51,102 Weather in hex: Light cloud Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 29 B5N1 Kate x 12 B5N2 Kate x 11 Allied aircraft B-339D x 3 P-40E Warhawk x 6 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses B-339D: 1 destroyed P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed Allied Ships xAP Pijnacker Hordijk, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK City of Canterbury xAK Malancha, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAK Stanmore, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Nurani, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk xAK Empire Baxter, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Later, another raid failed to damage or sink TK Angelina. Mini KB is proceeding South, our invasion task force for Java should sail in a few days. Meanwhile, in Denpasar, another deliberate attack destroyed the forts, and further damaged the defenders. We are attacking tomorrow again. The Three Kingdoms In China, a series of battles between Sian and Tienshui destroyed 300 more squads, and the road between Lanchow and Sichuan is now cut off. As my opponent has no reserves in this region, there is little risk of a counterattack. I intend to take Tienshui and Kungchang in the west, to prevent any sortie from Lanchow or Sining, and proceed to clear the road from Ankang to Tienshui. Once this is done, I can either move on Lanchow, or Sichuan, or just garrison the place and strike elsewhere. In central China, two tank regiments are arriving in Chihkiang. Enemy bombers did a good job delaying them, but this was not enough to reinforce the city. This means the Hunan basin (Changsha, Hengyang, Pingsiang) is getting isolated from Sichuan. I don’t think I have enough troops to completely seal the area, and my opponent can always abandon the place and retreat over the railroad. But such a retreat would make enemy positions around Kukong, Kanhsien and even Kweilin untenable, and significantly reduce his resources. My plan is to push on Kweiyang and Tuyun. If this can be done before Changsha is evacuated, China will be cut in three: central and south China, the northwest, and the Sichuan basin. Amusingly, this split of China in three parts has a nice historical feeling, since those three regions more or less corresponds to the three kingdoms which ruled China in the 3rd century AD.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/14/2012 10:39:59 AM)
February 20th 1942 Under the sea One thing I really like about AE is the variety. In many large scale games, lots of things happen every turn, but they’re always pretty much the same: a couple units get defeated, some others advance, a few trucks need to move, rinse and repeat ad nauseam. But not here ! Many games within the game tend to remain hidden most of the time, and just pop up now and again, making every turn an interesting experience. Today, after weeks of apparent sleep, my submarines resurfaced. A tanker (TK Halo) and a cargo (San Bernardino), totaling more than 10 000 tons, were torpedoed and sunk in the south Pacific. TK Halo is my ninth tanker since the beginning of the war. She was a 5300 ton ship. Total tonnage sunk is 50 000. xAK San Bernardino is the fifth cargo torpedoed. Overall, 31 enemy ships were sunk by my submarines, over two and a half month. This is about three per week. Carriers in Batavia Nells from Singkawang bombarding the airfield in Batavia made a strange discovery today. Morning Air attack on Batavia , at 49,98 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 22 G3M2 Nell x 38 G4M1 Betty x 23 Allied aircraft F4F-3 Wildcat x 25 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged G4M1 Betty: 4 destroyed, 4 damaged G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed on ground Airbase hits 18 Airbase supply hits 6 Runway hits 47 Those are US carrier planes. The combat report even identifies the Cats as VF-42, from CV Yorktown. In other words, the enemy has been reinforcing northern Java, in order to intercept landings in southern Sumatra, I suppose. This also suggests enemy CV might be in the area (perhaps understrength, if other squadrons were detached to Java). I have been bombing Batavia regularly, and never saw those planes before. In retrospect, mini-KB, which was in the Java sea yesterday, might have been lucky. In south Java, Denpasar fell today, and my invasion forces are sailing. We should land in Loemadjang in two days, and then in Pamekasan and Probolinggo. The idea is to quickly grab the southern tip of the island, and reinforce it to move north along the coast. Mini-KB will be positioned to support the landings. KB, now in Truk, is being ordered north, either to Cam Ranh in order to support the Sumatra landings, or in the Celebes if the enemy carriers get bold. Pocketing Changsha Two Chinese corps, one of them 330 AV strong, moved on Changteh, probably in the hope of cutting off my troops advancing on Chihkiang. Bad idea, most of my infantry divisions were still there, and the counterattack was devastating. Ground combat at Changteh (81,50) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 54227 troops, 595 guns, 102 vehicles, Assault Value = 1660 Defending force 16588 troops, 106 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 360 Japanese ground losses: 637 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 63 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Allied ground losses: 9646 casualties reported Squads: 323 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 454 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 8 destroyed, 15 disabled Guns lost 33 (12 destroyed, 21 disabled) Units retreated 2 We will pursue towards Changsha. The objective is twofold : further damage those defeated units, and threaten the city, to delay its evacuation. Near Nanyang, the Chinese corps retreating towards Ankang was defeated again. Two colums are marching on Ankang, from Nanyang and Tienshui. This should further damage the supply of units north of the Wei.

PaxMondo -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/14/2012 1:35:36 PM)
Or he has moved VMF squadrons onto his CV's to train them up and his normal squadrons are shore bound.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/14/2012 9:28:57 PM)
February 21st 1942 Whither the Wildcats New sweeps and airfield attacks on Batavia failed to catch any more US warplanes. They might have moved on rails to some other base, or flown back to their carriers, or they might still be there and my pilots just failed to spot them. We will try again tomorrow. Over Surabaya, we did destroy a dozen of Warhawks, and sank two light minesweepers. Mini-KB is about to cross into the Indian Ocean, to support the invasion of Loemadjang, which should hit the beaches tomorrow morning. I have an infantry and two tank regiments, which should be enough to clear both Ljoemadjang and Probolinggo. An SNLF should land on Pamekasan the next day, and another one on Probolinggo two or three days after. All mines in Singapore harbor seem to have been cleared, I am sweeping another day, and will send the transports in. In the Philipping, Calayan and Cebu have been reinforced. The enemy is now taking losses, the end is near. Heavenly waters That’s Tienshui for you, gaijins, and it was invaded today. Five tank regiments, against eight Chinese corps, in very sore shape. Ground combat at Tienshui (81,38) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 3630 troops, 0 guns, 544 vehicles, Assault Value = 283 Defending force 9485 troops, 113 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 38 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled) Allied ground losses: 949 casualties reported Squads: 34 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 45 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Guns lost 18 (1 destroyed, 17 disabled) The good news is… the forts held. The bad news is… but probably not tomorrow. The rest of the troops which conquered Sian have reached the crossroads that leads to Sichuan. Thus ends the fuel supply to Chungking. A word on the economy Whereas Java and Sumatra are still in enemy hands, the oil and fuel situation is fine. We refine enough fuel to feed the economy, and save about 1000 tons a day. With KB and mini KB at sea, and (many surface ships around Java, we are running a deficit of about 10 000 tons per day, and our stocks would last for about two years. But average ship fuel use is much lower (about 30% lower in fact), and so we have an average fuel deficit of about 7000 tons/day. At this rate, our stocks should last until the end of 1944. Current oil stocks should last for about two years, but we have a number of damaged fields, and will certainly capture at least some of the resources in Sumatra and Java. Resources now exceed our needs by 5 000 tons a day, thanks to China. Supply situation is stable, we have a little more than 5 million tons, and this figure has not changed over the last month, despite base building, industry repairs, and combats in China. We are producing, and therefore using, 27 000 tons of supply every day. We are saving about 6800 HI points every day. We are now over 500 000 HI, about two months stocks at current usage. I am happy with the current state of affairs. If Sumatra and Java can be captured in good shape, the economic war will be pretty easy. Even if they are damaged, the Empire should be fine.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/14/2012 11:41:45 PM)
February 22nd, 1942 Java 1.0 We’re in! Today, the 124th Infantry and the 4th and 7th Tank regiments landed on Java. Enemy bombers tried their best, but long range patrols from Balikpapan and Macassar shot down most of them (losses are 9 to 26 in our favor). The enemy did not bombard, but the place seems weakly held, and should fall tomorrow. Mini-KB is now in the Indian Ocean, but no enemy ships are to be seen. Over Surabaya, my Nells found, and destroyed seven coastal minesweepeers. The Dutch seem to have an almost endless supply of those, not sure what they use them for. In the north, raids over Batavia found nothing. Nells from Singkawang raided Kalidjati and damaged the airfield. Singapore is confirmed mine-free. My transports are arriving in two days, we will probably be in Palembang before the end of the month. From Tienshui to Chihkiang Tienshui fell today. The 10 units there (retreated all the way from Sian) fell back north, towards Kungchang, the nearest enemy base. This is a good thing: the less troops retreat towards Chungking, the less I need to fight when I invade the place. West of Sian, the former defenders of Yenan are almost done. Three units were destroyed today, three more are left. Other defenders are retreating towards Kungchang. I am fine with this. East of Sian, we had a minor mixup today. The Loyang stack, 20 depleted units on the secondary road from Loyang to Sian, managed to march south and cut the major road to Nanyang. I had garrisoned the road, but for some reason, my troops there moved out. I will take the place back, but this is embarrassing. In Central China, we attacked Chihkiang at last. The city is held by one reserve division. Forts were reduced today, an infantry division will arrive tomorrow, I doubt the Chinese can keep this base.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/15/2012 11:33:47 PM)
February 23rd, 1942 Tough times Today, we had our first carrier engagements, and I am sorry to say we lost it… Mini-KB was overseeing the landings in Ljoemadjang when enemy carriers appeared three hexes away… We did have the first attack Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 55,109 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 115 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 49 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 46 B5N1 Kate x 16 B5N2 Kate x 19 Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 14 F4F-3 Wildcat x 12 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed B5N1 Kate: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged B5N1 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged Allied aircraft losses F4F-3 Wildcat: 2 destroyed Allied Ships DD Benham CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 2, on fire But the return strike was fateful : Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 58,109 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 34 Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 13 F4F-3 Wildcat x 11 SBD-2 Dauntless x 15 SBD-3 Dauntless x 35 TBD-1 Devastator x 15 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed SBD-2 Dauntless: 2 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged TBD-1 Devastator: 1 damaged Japanese Ships CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires BB Fuso, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire DD Nenohi DD Wakaba CVE Taiyo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 1, on fire CL Yura BB Nagato, Bomb hits 2 CL Kitakami, Bomb hits 1, on fire CVE Hosho, Bomb hits 1, on fire CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires Fuel storage explosion on CVL Ryujo Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Ryujo Ammo storage explosion on CVE Taiyo Ammo storage explosion on CVL Shoho Fuel storage explosion on CVL Shoho Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CVL Shoho Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 58,109 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 16 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 28 Allied aircraft TBD-1 Devastator x 12 Japanese Ships CVL Shoho, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk CVL Zuiho, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Ammo storage explosion on CVL Shoho Both Shoho and Taiyo have sunk, the three others are in sore shape, limping towards the Celebes. Enterprise was torpedoed twice. She shows up as sunk on the report, but there are no ops losses to confirm it, so she’s probably good (although she will probably need some yard time). So yes, it was a bad day, I took the risk, and lost. What now? All my surface ships in the area are converging towards enemy carriers, and all bombers are on naval attacks. Can we catch them retiring? Meanwhile, my three surviving carriers are retiring to Macassar. Let us see if we can save all of them… Later that day, Ljoemadjang fell on first try, and Pamekasan was invaded. Firesale in the Philippines Both Cebu and Cagayan fell today, their garrisons surrendering. Three regiments in Mindanao will be sent to Macassar, and participate in the invasion of Java. The troops from Cebu will proceed towards Leyte and Panay. Only six bases (including Bataan) are still enemy held in this area. The Philippines, Celebes, Moluccas and all New Guinea save the southern coast are now ours. A good day in China Around Sian, enemy pockets are being reduced. West of Sian, five former defenders of Yenan surrendered. The three last units will probably follow tomorrow. In the plains near Nanchang, several divisions are chasing enemy troops. I don’t understand why my opponent did not retreat towards Changsha, or Kukong: those units make good targets. Near Changsha, the units retreated from Changteh were defeated again, with heavy losses. Ground combat at 81,51 (near Changsha) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 35656 troops, 310 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 1165 Defending force 18212 troops, 151 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 251 Japanese ground losses: 1332 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 109 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled) Allied ground losses: 7916 casualties reported Squads: 246 destroyed, 23 disabled Non Combat: 281 destroyed, 20 disabled Engineers: 14 destroyed, 5 disabled Guns lost 30 (15 destroyed, 15 disabled) Units retreated 7 Finally, Chihkiang was reinforced today, by both sides. I had a fresh infantry division, the enemy a Chinese cavalry unit. They tried to attack, achieving 1:75 odds… Chihkiang will probably fall tomorrow.

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/18/2012 2:54:17 PM)
February 24th, 1942 Tough times – Day 2 After the carrier battle which saw the sinking of CVE Taiyo and CVL Shoho, all surface forces and submarines were ordered onto the enemy. Taiaut! (Taiyo?) Meanwhile, the rest of mini KB, would try to limp to safe haven. CV Lexington, proud recipient of two torpedoes was nowhere to be seen, but we did find the Yorktown. Sub attack near Denpasar at 55,110 Japanese Ships SS I-124 Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1 And, later that morning Morning Air attack on TF, near Denpasar at 57,108 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 10 B5N2 Kate x 9 Allied aircraft F4F-3A Wildcat x 6 F4F-3 Wildcat x 6 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged Allied aircraft losses F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Bomb hits 1, on fire But then, Morning Air attack on TF, near Makassar at 62,107 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 8 Allied aircraft F4F-3 Wildcat x 8 SBD-3 Dauntless x 13 Japanese Ships CVL Ryujo, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage CVE Hosho, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires And CVL Ryujo sank. I suspect the battle is now over, and no propaganda of mine can call it a victory. Mini KB now has a CVL and a CVE, both damaged, but probably out of harm. Two enemy CV were damaged, but they will most certainly survive, so it is three light carriers for nothing… I am still relatively happy with the outcome. We’re on Java, enemy CV are probably too damaged to interfere in Sumatra, and enemy air losses were heavy (over 50 planes in two days). I now have a good number of damaged ships in the DEI, but enemy losses are high enough to allow for repairs. Tough times indeed, but we’ll survive! Take that, Chiang! Chihkiang fell today. My opponent had reinforced the base with a cavalry corps, I had brought a full strength IJA Division, they stood no chance. Ground combat at Chihkiang (78,50) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13617 troops, 122 guns, 126 vehicles, Assault Value = 474 Defending force 6893 troops, 50 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 239 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Chihkiang !!! Japanese ground losses: 269 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 2670 casualties reported Squads: 77 destroyed, 38 disabled Non Combat: 66 destroyed, 21 disabled Engineers: 12 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 11 (9 destroyed, 2 disabled) Units retreated 2 Around Sian, the last defenders of Yenan surrendered today. The road to Kungchang is now wide open.

PaxMondo -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/19/2012 4:22:05 AM)
Ouch, tough exchange. Ryujo and Hosho against a Yorktown class isn't good odds. Did he pursue you or vice-versa?

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/19/2012 8:43:21 PM)
February 25th, 1942 Tough times 3 – the aftermath that wasn’t The night began with a lost opportunity… Night Time Surface Combat, near Denpasar at 56,109, Range 26,000 Yards Japanese Ships CA Takao CA Maya CA Ashigara CL Naka CL Natori CL Kiso DD Natsugumo DD Yudachi Allied Ships CV Yorktown DD Maury Moonlight was 75%, it could have happened, had my task force commander not chickened out. This was our last encounter with enemy carriers. CVE Hosho and CVL Zuiho, our two survivors, made it to safety. Hosho is 44/14/18, Zuiho 23/68/48, both are out of the war for a moment. Our surface force did not intercept enemy carriers, but they did find a destroyer task force, DD John D. Edwards, Parrott, Whipple, Van Nes and Witte de With. John D Edwards, Parrott and Van Nes were sunk, Witte de With is heavily damaged. In Surabaya, our Nells found two more Dutch minesweepers. Thus ends the Battle of Denpasar, the first Allied victory in this war. Mini-KB is no more, we lost three light carriers, the remaining two are crippled. The enemy lost three destroyers, and had two damaged CV. Air losses were balanced: over those two days, we lost 70 planes, the enemy more than 80. One tactical benefit of this battle was that my Sumatra invasion, now on its way, could sail unmolested, and will not be welcomed by a carrier raid. The Battle of Denpasar had little effect on the invasion of Java: Probolinggo was captured today.

PaxMondo -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/20/2012 4:11:49 AM)
Argh!!! ... what this could have been!!! [X(][X(][X(]

fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (6/20/2012 11:58:14 PM)
@pax : with enough ifs, you could fit Tokyo into a bottle (as we say here, well, sort of…) Somehow, those surface force interceptions of carriers seem very difficult to pull out, not sure whether this is historical, or a game artifact. February 26th, 1942 Sumatra for a change While mini-KB was being destroyed in South Java, troops embarked in Singapore for Sumatra. The invasion plan went as follows: I have four divisions (4th, 5th, 18th and 38th), four regiments (16th, 24th, 17th guards, and 41st ) in Singapore, almost full strength. The 24th regiment is tasked with invading the islands south of Singapore, Tandjoengpinang and Singkep, and the probably Muntok, Toboali and Biliton. Palembang will be invaded by the 38th division, the 17th guards, the 41st infantry regiment, and an engineer regiment (23rd indpdt), soon reinforced by the 18th division. One regiment will proceed on Djambi, another one will remain in Palembang, and the two divisions will march south, towards Oosthaven, and should spearhead our invasion of northern Java (Buitenzorg, in mid-March, probably). Benkoelen, the Indian ocean port in south Sumatra, will be captured by paras a few days later. Benkalis will be captured by the 16th regiment, and convoys to Malacca set up at once). Finally, the 5th division will be sent to Tandjoengpinang, in northern Sumatra, and march on Medan. The fourth division, and a few more infantry regiments (148th notably) will be kept as reserves, in case anything goes wrong. If the landings go fine, I will probably dispatch a regiment or two to Sabang. So far, the operation went fine. Tandjoengpinang was captured today, and the landings on Palembang went fine. Initial (Allied) bombardment show 160 AV, and only one base force (which suggests low forts). We have 720, and over 1000 tomorrow when the 18th division lands. We are shock attacking tomorrow. I have no doubt Palembang should fall in a few days. The only issue is the damage to the oilfields. A rapid capture of south Sumatra, together with the conquest of the southern tip of Java, should put the Allies in a complex position. Right now, they are reinforcing Madang, to prevent my southern beachhead from expanding towards Surabaya. But as soon as Oosthaven falls, a larger threat to Batavia will materialize.

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