RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia

RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (Full Version)

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Olorin -> RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (3/1/2013 2:56:39 PM)
Jan 13 China: The 81st Chinese Corps is almost destroyed. The 15th Tank Regiment will attack tomorrow, while the 1st & 2nd Tank Divs are marching behind it. The other Chinese Corps is chased by 3 infantry divisions and will be attacked in two days. So far supply is good. The Chinese Expeditionary Force HQ is fully prepped for Lanchow, the North China Area Army and the 21st Army HQs are 50% prepped. I hope by the time they reach Lanchow, I will get a nice bonus. Lots of movements around Sian; Some units are spotted heading northwest towards Lanchow, while others are rushing to cover the NE approaches to Sian. My bombers are having fun bombing them in open terrain, lots of Chinese squads are disabled every day. [image]http://i45.tinypic.com/fdrayc.jpg[/image] Burma: What appears to be a British division is marching one hex NW of Lashio, trying to outflank me. I have an infantry and a tank regiment to counter this, but I will probably need more soon. My bombers are attacking the allied units, but their flak is very effective. Today, the allies swept Mandalay with 49 Hurricanes and 50 P-38Es. I had 36 Oscars and 7 Nicks. Outcome was 1:1. Most of the Tojo sentais were resting in Rangoon. [image]http://i48.tinypic.com/n13sqa.jpg[/image]

Olorin -> RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (3/4/2013 3:28:22 PM)
Jan 20, 5th Fleet: I lost Amchitka, as expected, but the majority of my forces were flown out to Attu and are now waiting to be shipped to the Kuriles. CruDiv5 is operational again, after being bombed about a month ago near Amchitka. 4th Fleet: KB raids Tabituea, the main allied Gilberts base! Recon indicated several CVEs, a BB, 5 CAs and lots of smaller vessels, about 50 fighters. No CAP was encountered and the full might of the 1st Air Fleet was unleashed. The result was slightly disappointing. The important targets were left unmolested, while my bombers were obliterating transport and support ships. quote: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tabiteuea at 137,134 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 152 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 39 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 75 B5N2 Kate x 135 D4Y1 Judy x 108 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 8 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Allied Ships CA Vincennes, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Henry Dearborn, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk TK Paula, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires TK Petronella, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAKL Bisayas, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AV Langley, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK James B. McPherson, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk AS Sperry, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires xAK Golden Gate, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk AM Muritai, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK William Vanderbilt, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage CVE Nassau, Bomb hits 1, on fire AS Fulton, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Samuel F. Miller, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk TK Josefina, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage SC-517 TK Talang Akar, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk SC-518 AM Whippoorwill, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK San Lucas, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Charles McCormick DD Isis xAK Stephen M. White, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Jacob Luckenbach, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Dorothy Luckenbach xAK Nisqually, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage CVE Altamaha AM Penguin, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage AM Tern, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk xAK Joseph Holt, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAK Admiral Gove, Bomb hits 3, on fire xAK Robert Luckenbach, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage xAK Katrina Luckenbach, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAK Lillian Luckenbach, Bomb hits 2, on fire xAK B. Livingston, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Admiral Day, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk AG Vega xAK Smith Thompson AM Gale, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Robert C. Grier xAK Admiral Williams, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk xAK Robert H. Harrison, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk xAK Florence Luckenbach, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Peter V. Daniel, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Carrier support unable to supply air cover.. Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAKL Bisayas Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Muritai Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Katrina Luckenbach Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AM Tern Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Admiral Gove Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK B. Livingston Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AS Sperry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tabiteuea at 137,133 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 13 B5N2 Kate x 18 No Japanese losses Allied Ships xAP Corio, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk xAK Manukai, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAP Dilga xAP Colac, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk SC-741 The raid cost me 3 bomber pilots and more than 30.000 tons of fuel. Was it worth it? On its way back KB encountered a submarine, which sunk a DD and hit CV Hiryu...with a dud! Lucky me! In other news, regular bombardments of Kwjalein and Roi-Namur by two strong allied BB TFs (6 BB in total). Supply is still good, but disruption is high. I have no hope of keeping these bases, but yesterday I-124 layed 40 mines in Kwajalein. Today, allied transports, escorted by BB moved in, but no allied troops were unloaded. BB Warspite must have hit a mine, but I am not sure. Later, 5 Nellies (out of 27 possible), escorted by 18 Zeros took off from Ponape, broke through the meager allied LRCAP and hit Warspite with 3 torpedoes. China: No major news, still advancing steadily in the north. Burma: The 23rd Div was unloaded in Rangoon today. Two more divisions are following. No major air battles for a few days now. SE Fleet: I am considering abandoning New Calednia and Hebrides all together, but first the partial evacuation of Australia must be finished and shipping become available. Subs: They 've suddenly become a pestilence! The Andaman sea, The Solomons and the Mashalls are festering with allied subs. I lost a small TK, an APD, a DD, 4 small xAKs and two PBs in the last 3-4 four days alone.

veji1 -> RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (3/4/2013 4:33:13 PM)
Sucks that you couldn't bag those 2 CVEs at least. Still good move that will force him to keep useful LBA in rear bases.

Olorin -> The Long Defeat! (3/12/2013 9:51:10 PM)
Feb 17 About a month has passed since my last update and we had some interesting developments on all fronts, nothing major though. Burma: I managed to create a stalemate east of Mandalay. Lashio is secured for now and the flanking move checked. Enemy units identified: 7th Ind Div and 6th Chin Corps at Lashio, 70th Brit Div at 61,46, 3rd New Chin Corps at at 61,45. They are bombed daily. The 15th Army defends against them with 33rd Div 26th Ind Bde at Lashio, plus the 55th Div spread in the two hexes on the road to Mandalay. [image]http://s7.postimage.org/kj7ztowez/Untitled2.jpg[/image] Three divisions reinforced Mandalay and Magwe, but Michael does not dare to enter the plains without air superiority. I've got 250 Tojos, 27 Nicks and 70 Oscars across all bases. The allied heavy bomber force was last seen in Central and Southern Pacific. Unless they show up in Burma, I think I am safe. Australia: Port Augusta, Broken Hill and Charleville have been abandoned and American forces filled the vacuum. A big allied armored spearhead marches east from Charleville, threatening the right flank of my army in and around Brisbane. I tried bombing them from 1000ft but I lost 50 2e bombers to flak! Ouch! At least I identified some units (2nd Aus Div, 6th Aus Div, 3rd Army Tank Bde, 4th Arm Brde). The Brisbane army has begun boarding trains. SE Fleet: Lots of allied TFs of all kinds and heavy radio traffic in New Zealand, Va'avu and Pago Pago. Something is brewing here. 4th Fleet: No activity after Roi-Namur fell. KB is at Truk, repairing minor damage. It's spotted by enemy recon planes :( 5th Fleet: Attu is evacuated by air. I don't have a single boot in the Aleutians now. I feel fairly confident about the Kurile defenses for the next few months. China: My two tank divisions have reached the outskirts of Lanchow ten days ago, but the enemy has sent substantial reinforcements from Sian, so I waited for the three Guards divisions to arrive before I cross the river. They are 5 days away. Meanwhile, my bombers managed to close Lanchow's airfield. The dot base on the road to Lanchow is now growing to a level 2 airfield and holds 7.5k tons of supplies. A great host of units is moving from the central Chinese plains to the north. My frontal attack on the Yenan-Sian axis failed and I pulled out 3 divisions and 1 brigade, abandoning my bridgehead. I am massing my last reserves in this theater to launch a secondary attack along the Nanyang-Ankang axis with 10 divisions, in about a month from now. When Lanchow falls, the 21st army will swing south, aiming for the mountain passes. [image]http://s8.postimage.org/ko984c305/Untitled.jpg[/image]

Olorin -> RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (3/21/2013 6:48:35 PM)
Feb 28 - March 2 China: 21st Army crossed the river on the 28th and the shock attack goes horribly wrong! quote: Ground combat at Lanchow (81,34) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 58624 troops, 559 guns, 898 vehicles, Assault Value = 2118 Defending force 49263 troops, 319 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1382 Japanese adjusted assault: 1221 Allied adjusted defense: 4449 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 5) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 13236 casualties reported Squads: 104 destroyed, 428 disabled Non Combat: 37 destroyed, 157 disabled Engineers: 26 destroyed, 46 disabled Guns lost 91 (12 destroyed, 79 disabled) Vehicles lost 143 (64 destroyed, 79 disabled) Allied ground losses: 849 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 97 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 27 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled Assaulting units: 15th Tank Regiment 4th Guards Division 1st Tank Division 6th Guards Division 2nd Tank Division 5th Guards Division 15th AA Regiment North China Area Army 1st Ind.AA Gun Co 21st Army Defending units: 100th Chinese Corps 9th Separate Brigade 34th Separate Brigade 71st Chinese Corps 10th Construction Regiment 3rd Chinese Corps 12th Construction Regiment 57th AT Gun Regiment 1st War Area 56th AT Gun Regiment 19th Chinese Base Force 8th War Area 4th Heavy Mortar Regiment 3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment 21st Chinese Base Force I was so distraught that I had to take 2 days off AE to clear my head and decide what to do next. I may have overreacted a bit. I briefly considered withdrawing most of the 21st Army, leaving only one division there just to prevent fuel production. However, after assessing the overall situation in northern China I decided to stay, lick my wounds and try again. I will recover disabled squads, bomb Lanchow to dust and then attack again. For now, two battered divisions will move one hex to the east of Lanchow, because they still contribute to stacking limits. Meanwhile, 10 divisions are assembling in Hankow, in preparation for a second offensive towards Ankang. Australia: As planned, 25th Army fell back from the greater Brisbane area, all the way back to Townsville, to avoid envelopment. It's now waiting for shipping in order to redeploy to other bases. One division will go to Port Moresby, one to Darwin, one is already at Horn Island and the other will remain in reserve. SE Fleet: Following the evacuation of Australia, I intend to also evacuate New Caledonia and possibly New Hebrides and the Santa Cruz islands as well. KB will be needed to cover the evacuation. I want to complete it in one move, if possible, to minimize the time KB spends here. Meanwhile, heavy radio traffic continues to be detected in new Zealand, Va'avu and Pago Pago. All kinds of ships, including CVs, are spotted in the area. KB moved from Truk to Kavieng and will move to Shortlands tomorrow. From there, it will be one day away from Kusaie (which is a possible next target) and Ndeni and two days away from Numea, at full speed.

obvert -> RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (3/21/2013 8:11:04 PM)
This is pretty tame compared to some results I've had in China. Shocking anywhere with the Japanese I'd want better than 2:1 raw AV, but any attack in China in decent +2-3 territory I'd want 3:1 AV at least. Recently to get a bridgehead I needed before reinforcements came in I went over into +3 territory with under a 2:1 advantage, but I expected what happened. I got 250 infantry destroyed and 1350 disabled. But it's fine. I actually am happy with the because I now have that bridgehead and even a few weeks later the troops are recovering to combat readiness. not where they were, but getting pretty good. Once you're in and recover those numbers, which in your case will be quickly if you have HQs there and good supply, then you can DA which will wear him down and be much less painful.

Olorin -> RE: An unexpected update. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (3/21/2013 8:32:05 PM)
Your results were worse than mine, which is reassuring. I expected great losses, but not what I got, although I should have. As you say, I now have a bridgehead, but I am overstacked and I have to move two battered divisions out of there. I divided all divisions and placed leaders with good admin ratings in charge. Replacements are already arriving from Ningsia.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat! (3/22/2013 6:24:01 PM)
I forgot to say anything about Burma and there are some very interesting developments there. I will summarize events from Feb 18 to March 6. Feb 19- March 6, 1943 Michael finally decided to descend on lower Burma with 2nd Brit Div, 5th Chin Corps, 255th Arm Bde and 15 other units. He captured an empty Shwebo, but then he turned west, instead of forcing a river crossing at Mandalay. He then begun moving south, to cross the Irrawaddy River at hex 58,46, which is defended by 144th Inf Rgt, behind level 4 forts. My response: I ordered 3rd Tank Div and 9th Tank Rgt to move from Meiktila to Mandalay and from there, together with 23th Div, will cross the river to capture a very lightly defended Shwebo (captured today): quote: Ground combat at Shwebo (59,45) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 6594 troops, 113 guns, 482 vehicles, Assault Value = 372 Defending force 8768 troops, 99 guns, 218 vehicles, Assault Value = 115 Japanese adjusted assault: 478 Allied adjusted defense: 92 Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese forces CAPTURE Shwebo !!! Combat modifiers Defender: leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 97 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Vehicles lost 33 (2 destroyed, 31 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1129 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 13 disabled Non Combat: 206 destroyed, 19 disabled Engineers: 101 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 84 (71 destroyed, 13 disabled) Vehicles lost 176 (174 destroyed, 2 disabled) Units retreated 10 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 9th Tank Regiment 3rd Tank Division Defending units: 1st Gloucestershire Battalion 150th RAC Regiment 21st Light AA Regiment 1st Bengal Base Force 170 RAF Base Force 3rd (Special Force) Division 1st Burma Auxiliary AA Regiment Clark Field AAF Base Force 803rd Aviation Engineer Battalion In fact, I put my entire "battle line" into motion, aiming to encircle and destroy the allied spearhead. Magwe and Mandalay will be left with only one brigade, the rest of 2nd Army is moving forward. Michael's response was to halt his river crossing and begin moving another stack (of unknown composition) along the coast, against the 4th Mixed Regiment (lvl4 forts). Meanwhile, east of Mandalay on the road to Lashio, our respective forces are locked in a stalemate. Nothing has changed since the last screenshot of Burma. I have two divisions (900 AV) against a British divisions, two Chinese corps' and an Indian division. Air battles: Since I lost Shwebo on Feb 19th, I begun intense sweeps over it and over the allied spearhead, one hex west of Shwebo. I invariably get 1,5:1 or better casualty ratios against Hurricanes and Warhawks. Sometimes, P-38s sweep Mandalay and the odds are reversed, but I have enough Tojo sentais to both sweep and defend. Here is the screenshot: [image]local://upfiles/29020/7BFDF7691CEF44D4A965860C261C6CA4.jpg[/image]

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat! (3/25/2013 7:52:36 PM)
March 15, '43 Burma: My attempted envelopment is abandoned. After taking Shwebo, I moved one tank regiment north to chase the allied forces which had just retreated from Shwebo, one infantry brigade was moving to the northwest and the rest of my forces (3rd Tank Div, 23rd & 14th Divs) tried to engage the big allied stack west of Shwebo. I had everyone following the 23rd, but the tank commander somehow entered the hex alone. Michael ordered a deliberate attack, just when the 23rd Div was entering the hex on move mode and ill supplied. The result? G quote: round combat at 58,45 (near Mandalay) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 73562 troops, 931 guns, 1198 vehicles, Assault Value = 2762 Defending force 21132 troops, 255 guns, 445 vehicles, Assault Value = 762 Allied adjusted assault: 1174 Japanese adjusted defense: 221 Allied assault odds: 5 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: op mode(-), disruption(-), fatigue(-), experience(-) supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 7010 casualties reported Squads: 171 destroyed, 102 disabled Non Combat: 164 destroyed, 102 disabled Engineers: 24 destroyed, 27 disabled Guns lost 69 (44 destroyed, 25 disabled) Vehicles lost 258 (91 destroyed, 167 disabled) Units retreated 2 Allied ground losses: 674 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 84 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled Guns lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled) Vehicles lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled) Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 2nd British Division BFF Brigade 39th Indian Division 254th Armoured Brigade 22nd (East African) Brigade 20th Indian Division 268th Motorised Brigade 255th Armoured Brigade 5th Chinese Corps III Indian Corps 23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 95th Heavy AA Regiment 17th Indian Light AA Regiment 163rd Light AA Regiment 28th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 35th Light AA Regiment 22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment Defending units: 3rd Tank Division 23rd Division My forces retreated back to Shwebo. Disruption is in the 60s. What's more worrying is that I gravely underestimated the strength of the allied spearhead. I was expecting a British division, a Chinese corps and an armoured brigade. The real allied strength was much greater than that. Now, the allied spearhead is moving into Shwebo, which has no supplies and with my troops greatly disrupted. The tank regiment one hex north of Shwebo was attacked by allied 2e bombers and half or more of its tanks are disabled. At least I shot down quite a few bombers. I ordered everyone behind the Irrawaddy river. Along the coast (south of Akyab), another allied stack engaged the 4th Independent Regiment, but I think I can hold the hex for now. There are two other unknown allied units in the jungle northeast of this hex: quote: Ground combat at 55,47 (near Akyab) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 11263 troops, 188 guns, 190 vehicles, Assault Value = 394 Defending force 4237 troops, 32 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 121 Allied adjusted assault: 187 Japanese adjusted defense: 217 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 80 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Allied ground losses: 101 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 25th Indian Division 1st Indian Light AA Regiment 2/9th Field Regiment 2/11th Field Regiment 14th Indian Light AA Regiment Defending units: 4th Ind.Mixed Regiment Australia: The evacuation was completed in good order. Only a base force, a para unit and a tank regiment remain at Cairns. North Australia is fortified, Katherine's airfield and forts are now reached lvl 3. Darwin lvl 4. SE Fleet: Soon I will evac two infantry regiments, an air HQ and most other units from New Caledonia, leaving only light naval guards and a few base forces. KB will cover the move and then return to the HI for serious upgrades.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat! (3/27/2013 3:51:53 PM)
March 15-18 Burma: Another attack south of Akyab by the 25th Indian Div is repelled on the 15th, without significant losses (10 inf squads disabled). On the 18th, +60 Helen bombers, escorted by +20 Oscars breakthrough the allied LRCAP, but they cause minimal damage. Two more Helen waves arrive unescorted, but manage to pass through +15 Hurricanes without losses, only to drop a few more bombs with no effect. Meanwhile, my troops have retreated from Shwebo and are now behind the safety of Mandalay's forts. Disruption is down to single digit figures, but the 3rd Tank Div is below 100 AV and will need some R&R. Guards Tank Division is loaded at Singapore and will reinforce Burma in a week form now. A battered infantry division is bought out from China for 1250 PPs. It will replace the 23rd in Burma in the next month or so. China: 21st Army in Lanchow and environs is back at 1800 AV, just 350 less than its initial strength. A few more weeks and it will back to full strength, at which point I will order a deliberate attack. Until then , daily air raids on Lanchow's airfiled and garrison are the norm. Australia: Townsville was emptied and lost to allied tanks. A lone tank regiment remains near cairns, trying to make its way to the northernmost dot base in Eastern Australia. SE Fleet: The KB is discovered at Shortlands by allied recon planes. That might work to my advantage. I 'd like Michael to think it's there for the next month, while it's actually in the HI for upgrades. Only Taiho remains in this theater, along with Kirishima and Hiei. The rest of the carriers (6) are ordered to return to Kure.

Olorin -> The Long Defeat. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (4/4/2013 9:13:36 PM)
March 19-Apr 7, 1943 Burma The allied army in Shwebo has grown from 20 units to 31. It was 2700 AV before, now it must be well over 3000. Meanwhile my flanks south of Akyab and around Lashio are hard pressed. A shock attack by 25th Indian Div south of Akyab was repelled, but a few more such attacks and the strength of 4th Ind.Mixed Rgt will be spent. quote: Ground combat at 55,47 (near Akyab) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 13197 troops, 209 guns, 234 vehicles, Assault Value = 402 Defending force 3975 troops, 32 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 96 Allied adjusted assault: 430 Japanese adjusted defense: 313 Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 135 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 812 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 87 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 38 disabled Assaulting units: I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion 25th Indian Division 2/11th Field Regiment 2/9th Field Regiment 1st Indian Light AA Regiment 2/1st Med Regiment 14th Indian Light AA Regiment Defending units: 4th Ind.Mixed Regiment I therefore reinforced that hex with an independent brigade and now I have 250AV to resist further attacks. My right flank in and around Lashio (15th Army) withdrew, in fear of a breakthrough at Mandalay, which would also mean the effective isolation of 15th Army and overall collapse of Japanese resistance in Burma. 15th Army is now defending the jungle hexes southwest of Lashio. In the air, Shwebo is constantly bombed and swept. The last two days were marked by a distinct lack of allied flak in Shwebo, which is a very good sign. I switched to ground bombing yesterday and the result was very encouraging. Under these conditions, there is no chance of an allied breakthrough at Mandalay...for now. SE Fleet: Lord Howe island was lost, after a month of air and naval bombardment. Fortunately, its garrison (two naval guard units) was extracted in time. The withdrawal from New Caledonia is proceeding without the KB. Only small, fast transport TFs are used, which makes the operation somewhat slower. KB: ALL my carriers are in the process of upgrading, either in the HI or in Singapore. If Michael launches a major offensive now, I will be helpless, but I took the risk anyway. In 3 weeks, I will be fully ready to meet any allied advance involving carriers.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (4/10/2013 6:24:50 AM)
Apr 8-14, 1943 China: Finally, everything was in place to launch a deliberate attack on Lanchow, a month after the bloody river crossing. The result was disappointing and I am now certain that the 21st Army alone cannot break this mighty fortress: quote: Ground combat at Lanchow (81,34) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 58676 troops, 569 guns, 876 vehicles, Assault Value = 1987 Defending force 47263 troops, 308 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1293 Japanese adjusted assault: 1754 Allied adjusted defense: 2111 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 5) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 7527 casualties reported Squads: 104 destroyed, 491 disabled Non Combat: 25 destroyed, 119 disabled Engineers: 23 destroyed, 106 disabled Guns lost 92 (8 destroyed, 84 disabled) Vehicles lost 62 (12 destroyed, 50 disabled) Allied ground losses: 667 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 20 destroyed, 17 disabled Engineers: 9 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 21 (2 destroyed, 19 disabled) Assaulting units: 6th Guards Division 2nd Tank Division 1st Tank Division 20th Ind Engineer Regiment 15th Tank Regiment 4th Guards Division 1st Engineer Co 5th Guards Division North China Area Army 15th AA Regiment 1st Ind.AA Gun Co 21st Army Defending units: 10th Construction Regiment 71st Chinese Corps 34th Separate Brigade 9th Separate Brigade 3rd Chinese Corps 100th Chinese Corps 12th Construction Regiment 1st War Area 56th AT Gun Regiment 3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment 19th Chinese Base Force 57th AT Gun Regiment 8th War Area 4th Heavy Mortar Regiment 21st Chinese Base Force This results compels me to cancel my big Ankang offensive. Of the 10 divisions slated for that, 2 will defend the river southwest of Nanyang, 2 will remain in reserve (at Hankow and Shanghai) and 6 will relieve the 21st Army, which will be redeployed back to Java, to act as my strategic reserve. The time when the Allies can launch deep strikes has come and I need a powerful reserve to counter any such offensives. However, the redeployment won't be complete before June at best. SE Fleet: After reclaiming NE Australia, the Allies have become much more active in this theater. Tulagi was visited by heavy bombers operating from Nauru (?). My CAP shot down �10 of them, but 3 support ships are heavily damaged. The next two days, Horn Island was hit hard. P-38s sweep in 3 waves, my Tojos claim 18 kills, in exchange for 15 Tojos. The bombers manage to get through easily though. Two already half-dead transport ships sunk in the port and the airfield sustained minor damage, while some 20 Tojos were damaged on the ground. A small allied DD TF attempted to raid my exposed shipping lanes in SE New Guinea, but found no shipping. 16 Judys escorted by 25 Oscars put two 500 Kg bombs to DD Nicholas, which finally succumbs to its wounds two days later. I use only fast transport TF here to avoid such raids. Burma: More of the same. Shwebo is raided daily by 100+ Helen bombers. 125 Tojo sweeps meet no opposition. Shwebo is out of supplies and the units stationed there do not fire back, which means they are also out of supply. Good! The airfield is kept damaged, but most of my bombers are now devoted to ground attack, which so far yields good results. While this pounding continues, I don't think the allied stack at Shwebo will be in any state to cross the river any time soon.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (4/12/2013 4:20:24 PM)
Apr 15-21, 1943 Burma: More of the same. Sweeps over Shwebo by 85 Tojos meet no opposition, followed by airfield raids and ground attacks. Supply seems to still be an issue for Michael here. Good! Meanwhile, the battered infantry division recently bought from China is two weeks away. The Guards Tank Division will then be redeployed to the Java where it came from, since the 3rd Tank Div is fully recovered from its recent trashing near Shwebo, a month ago. China: The redeployments are proceeding as planned. Two battered Guards Divisions are on their way back to the nearest railhead. The rest of the 21st Army will wait for relief by the 6 infantry divisions from the Nanyang region. SE Fleet: Three Fletcher class DDs raid Milne Bay. They engage 4 PBs unloading supplies there, of which 1 is sunk and the other three doubtful to make it back to Rabaul. A RO-Boat is unable to even slow them down. It would be nice if they ended their movement inside Judy range... Evacuation of New Caledonia and environs is proceeding slowly but surely. All released assets reinforce New Guinea and the Solomons. Meanwhile, 1/3 of a division from the HI is bought and will soon be defending Port Moresby, to relieve the 18th Div, which will be redeployed to Darwin. The other 2/3s will follow suit. 4th Fleet: Lots of allied activity. Various TFs coming and going. I'm always on alert here, as I deem this theater to be the most likely to be attack in the near future. 5th Fleet: Winter will soon be over, so the 4th Div is on its way to Wakkannai from Saipan, to act as the 5th Fleet reserve. Carriers: Zuikaku, Shokaku, Soryu, Soryu and two CLAAs finished upgrading in the HI and are on their way to join Taiho at Kavieng. Akagi still needs 10 days to finish. At Singapore and Soerebaja, all CVLs finished upgrading. Kaga still needs 10 days to finish, Junyo and Hiyo need 5 days. By June, I will have Shinano and 3 Unyo-class carriers available for action.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (4/15/2013 10:50:22 AM)
Apr 22-27, 1943 Burma: The allied stack at Shwebo begun moving to the west. This is worrying. His supply situation hasn't improved at all, yet he is on the march. I really have no hope of preventing a river crossing and fighting on the plains. I doubt if I can stop him even further back at Toungoo. The only truly safe defense line would be Mulmein-Chiang Mai, but I am not going to just gift him all this oil, space, time and good bases just yet. I am contemplating various extreme solutions at the moment. In any case, the 35th Div will arrive at Rangoon in about a week from now. Guards Tank Division is back at Singapore. The 3rd Tank Div is fully recovered at Mektila. SE Fleet: An allied surface TF, centered around CL Helena, bombarded Port Moresby at night! Surprising, but I got away with it thanks to a very bad roll for Michael. Only 11 squads were disabled, with no damage to the airstrip. Basic measures to avoid this in the future: Port Moresby now has a thick minefield, 4 patrol boats and 4 midget subs. I will also need strong surface support for the upcoming relief of the 18th Div at Port Moresby by the 54th Div, arriving soon from the HI. Yamato, Nagato and Mutsu will provide that. The 18th div will join the rest of the 25th Army at Darwin. Recon: Various allied TFs coming and going in the Gilberts. Tabituea went from 30.000 troops to 13.000. Lots of radio traffic in New Zealand and Va'avu. Something is brewing... Carriers: All carriers are upgraded and are now equipped with radar and decent anti-aircraft batteries. Kido Buttai will be assembled at Kavieng in 4 days (Taiho, Shokaku, Zuikaku, Soryu, Hiryu). Akagi still needs 10 days to finish upgrading at Kure. KB is fully equipped with the A6M5b, Judy and Jill. Kido Buttai 2 is fully assembled at Batavia, except Kaga, which still needs another 5 days to finish upgrading at Singapore. KB2 will need another month to upgrade its air arm to the latest models.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (4/15/2013 5:40:36 PM)
TOP SECRET Strategic Overview: The time has come when the Allies are capable of launching multiple major offensives on land and sea. One land offensive is currently ongoing in Burma. A major invasion is expected soon, as the Hellcat is now here, as Michael constantly reminds me. The question is WHERE will the hammer strike? I was afraid of deeps strikes from the beginning of this game, but Michael has shown to be more methodical/conservative than that. He has a certain timetable that he must follow and so far he feels he is following it pretty well. Assuming that I am correct then the next Allied offensive will not be a deep strike (although I am adequately prepared for any such eventuality), but an advance under cover of (a) 4E bombers, (b) concentrated carrier aviation and (c) land based fighters. I'd say that at least the first two factors are prerequisites for an allied offensive. Considering this, here are the theaters in order of probability of attack: 1) Southeast Fleet: Lots of options available for the Allies: New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Solomons, New Guinea. The latter (including Horn Island) is very strongly defended and I think Michael will see that the probable losses are potentially too great for the prize. The first two sectors are defended only by SNFL plus LBA, so as to necessitate the launching of a serious invasion, with carrier support, but not risk elite ground units in the process. This is what I'd like him to do at the moment. Another option for him is to go straight for Ndeni and/or Tulagi, in order to cut off Numea/Luganville. That would also be welcome as I keep the KB just one day away from these areas and I have strong LBA assets too. 2) 4th Fleet: Kusaie, Ponape and Eniwetok are well within 4E bomber range, as well as P-38 range. The Allies possess good bases nearby. The problem for them is that these bases are inside Emily range, so there is no possibility of surprise. I am very strong here with adequate reserves deep behind my lines and KB only a day away. 3) Western Australia: The Allies have two options here as I see it. Either (a) launch a deep strike in NW Oz (Exmouth/Carnavon/Geraldon) ala Canoerebel, in order to cut off the rest or (b) land at Esperance/Albany, take Kalgoorlie and then bring the otherwise restricted Australian Army into the fray. The first option would truly be devastating but also very risky, so I'd say (b) is the more probable course of action of the two. I am not strong at all here in terms of ground units, but I've got a sizable LBA at Perth. 4)Northern Australia: If option (3) is not taken, then I think it's fair to assume that a land offensive by the Australian Army in this sector is almost a certainty. The 25th Army is being assembled in Darwin to meet this threat and act as a general reserve if the threat is not realised. 5) Andaman Islands Taking the Andamans and then landing in Malaya or northern Sumatra would constitute a checkmate! I feared this move since I captured Port Blair, but so far absolutely nothing indicates an imminent move here. 6) Kurilles: Almost as devastating as (5), if followed up by landings in South Sakhalin and/or Hokkaido, but I give this a lower probability than (5). 7) DEI: Striking at the heart of my oil centers would mean game over, but it's highly unlikely as a first move. As a follow up to (3) or (5) it would be possible though. Kido Buttai: KB is split in two halves. KB1 being the strongest of the two (Taiho, Shokaku, Zuikaku, Soryu, Hiryu, Akagi) is being kept at Kavieng to cover Kusaie or Tulagi or Port Moresby in one day. Two days will be needed to reinforce Luganville, three to reinforce Numea. KB2 is slightly weaker (Kaga, Junyo, Hiyo plus all the smaller carriers) and is stationed in Java, in order to cover the Andamans or Western Oz if need be. Obviously longer trips will be needed, but my naval search is good enough to give me a few days warning. By the end of May, 4 new fleet carriers will be added to the above forces. In terms of ground units, I currently have two divisions in reserve, one of them being the Guards Tank Division. By the end of May I will have 5 divisions in reserve. In June, two additional tank divisions and another Guards Div will arrive from China to increase my reserve force to 8 divisions in total. They will be stationed mostly in Java (21st Army) and northern Australia (25th Army). This is without counting the various operational and tactical reserves assigned to each theater.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (4/17/2013 11:55:04 AM)
Apr 28 - May 3, 1943 SE Fleet: Action around Horn Island. Two consecutive naval bombardments by allied TF consisting of two CLs and 6 DDs each. In combination with air raids by 4e bombers, Horn Island's airfield is almost closed. I sent a small surface TF of 4 DDs; during the night phase, we both lost one DD, but during the day phase another one of mine goes down while the remaining two suffer severe damage but make it back to Merauke. Another Fletcher-class destroyer is claimed by a mine. I need to protect Horn Island more effectively. My air forces could have done better, but no bombers flew any missions. I bring more escort fighters, more dive bombers and engineers to accelerate airfield expansion in Terapo and Merauke. Meanwhile, the first brigade of the 54th Div is unloading at Rabaul. The second one is one week behind. Burma: The allied army at Shwebo moved one hex to the west. Ground attacks continue daily, weather permitting, and the damage done is significant. Lots of guns and tanks destroyed or disabled and disruption must be high. Their supplies are still low, as flak is very limited. Intel reports: No less than 10 allied submarines show up around Perth. The area between Truk and Rabaul is also infested. Heavy radio traffic at Melbourne, mouse over shows 1 CV, 4 CVLs and 2 CAs. Japanese SigInt is useful for once. Heavy radio traffic at Wellington and Va'avu, as usual. Tabituea's garrison recently went from +30.000 troops, down to 15.000. Kido Buttai: KB rebased to Manus, but it must have been discovered by radio intercepts. Its DL yesterday was 5/5.

Olorin -> RE: The Long Defeat. Olorin (J) vs NY59Giants (A): A wizzard's guide to Australia (4/18/2013 5:38:57 PM)
May 4-6, 1943 SE Fleet: Yamato and co are two hexes west of Milne Bay, making their way to Port Moresby, so far unhindered. Two allied BBs are spotted at Cairns. Horn Island is 80% damaged and visited by 50 or so Mitchels daily. Western Australia: Interesting sightings...5 allied TFs are spotted southeast of Ceduna. No major warships reported, but the presence of an APA makes me think this could be serious. Could be a feint of course, but nothing at all suspicious is occurring in other fronts, except around Horn Island. KB2 (minus Kaga) set sail for Perth, a 5 day trip. 5th Div begins loading at Darwin. Tomorrow, I'll have more information.

Olorin -> Western Australia invaded! (4/19/2013 12:35:40 PM)
May 7-8, 1943 Burma: I am counting on my air superiority here to delay the inevitable. The allied army west of Shwebo is pounded yet again, another 22 vehicles of the 254th Armoured Bde are disabled. I need another two months of delay here. China: I still have two armoured Divs and one Guards Div at Lanchow waiting to be replaced by 6 IJA inf divs. The other two Guards Divs still need one month of marching to reach Shanghai. This means that the entirety of the 21st Army won't be available for duty elsewhere, before mid July. I need to hold lower Burma until then. Then I will decide where to commit my reserve. Burma or Western Oz? Western Australia: Things are clear now. The Allies are committed seriously to Western Australia. The number and kind of ships spotted leaves no room for doubts. I am betting that Esperance is the first objective, with Kalgoorlie the second and most important one. If Kalgoorlie falls, the entire region is lost. I thought the allied armada would have hit the shores by now, but they are still 5 hexes southeast of Esperance. I have 9 submarines. One of them is hit by depth charges, but another one puts a torp into CVE Suwannee. My main striking force here is my LBA. 550 aircraft in total, based mostly at Perth and Albany. No strikes were launch today, because I 've restricted my bombers to just enough range to reach Esperance. 190 of them are IJAAF level bombers with pilots trained in LowNav (+60) and are ordered to go in at 1000 ft. IJNAF torpedo bombers are ordered to strike at 11000 ft. The target is the enemy transport ships, not the carriers. 8 escorts will attempt to lay 140 mines in Esperance port. A small surface TF of 4 destroyers will go in at full speed. Hopefully it will get past the allied surface cover to disrupt the landing force. The largest IJN asset at the moment is a TF centered around CAs Atago and Takao. It will not intervene today. I want the allied BBs to spend their ammo during the expected naval bombardments tomorrow. Then my cruisers will attempt to reach the transports. Reinforcements: The 3rd Fleet is 8 hexes northwest of Exmouth and needs two and a half days at flank speed to reach Perth. The 19th Army is further behind. Guards Tank Div and Imperial Guards Div just left Soerebaja. 5th Div is off Derby. 18th Div is being loaded at Port Moresby. Kido Buttai is heading to Koepang and there it will wait further orders. The Pacific will be left without carriers for the remainder of May. 4 new carriers will cover the gap in June. [image]http://i45.tinypic.com/2je5tvr.jpg[/image]

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/19/2013 8:09:11 PM)
May 9, 1943 The day belongs to the Allies, as nothing worked as planned [:(] Western Oz: The invasion of Esperance begins, with lots of sub action. I lost one sub and had several misses, but at least I got a CVE yesterday. The minelaying TF did not get a chance to lay ANY mines, as it met a large allied cruiser TF. All 8 escorts were sunk! The other, smaller surface TF consisting of 4 destroyers met the same cruiser TF and claimed an allied destroyer, for the loss of one Japanese destroyer and another damaged one (it will survive). My naval strikes fail miserably. 36 Zeros and 38 Kates decide not to fly their missions. As a result there are not enough escorts for my bombers and Michael's LRCAP works well: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 20 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 27 D4Y1 Judy x 32 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 37 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 66 F6F-3 Hellcat x 57 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5 Zero: 12 destroyed D4Y1 Judy: 22 destroyed D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed Allied Ships BB Idaho Aircraft Attacking: 4 x D4Y1 Judy releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 500 kg SAP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 32 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 34 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 32 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 36 F6F-3 Hellcat x 38 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 19 destroyed, 2 damaged B5N2 Kate: 2 destroyed by flak Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CL Raleigh BB Idaho xAP Tjinegara Aircraft Attacking: 10 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp Then my Helens strike from 1000 ft, but not at the allied transports, but their battleships [8\|] quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 2,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 36 Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 36 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5 Ki-49-IIa Helen x 53 Ki-49-IIb Helen x 22 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 24 F6F-3 Hellcat x 27 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 4 destroyed Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged Ki-49-IIa Helen: 5 destroyed, 24 damaged Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 destroyed by flak Ki-49-IIb Helen: 3 destroyed, 10 damaged Ki-49-IIb Helen: 1 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships BB New Mexico, Bomb hits 2 BB Arizona BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 2 CA Minneapolis APD Crosby BB Idaho, Bomb hits 1 xAP Tanimbar, Bomb hits 1, on fire DD Monssen AK Cassiopeia CA Chester xAP Katoomba, Bomb hits 1 DD Anderson xAP Noordam, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Macdhui, Bomb hits 1, on fire DMS Boggs Allied ground losses: 58 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 4 Ki-49-IIa Helen x 18 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 20 F6F-3 Hellcat x 24 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Ki-49-IIa Helen: 7 destroyed, 6 damaged Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships CA New Orleans BB Mississippi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 21 Ki-49-IIa Helen x 9 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 18 F6F-3 Hellcat x 21 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 destroyed, 4 damaged Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships BB Mississippi My Nells arrive scattered and unescorted and naturally suffer great misery. 27 Liberators raid the airfield from Ceduna, but damage is limited. Several allied TFs hit the shores. 5 TFs are centered around a single BB, two CAs, 8 DDs arrive at night. BBs Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Pensylvania and Arizona are spotted. Naval bombardments target mainly ground troops and reduce their already limited firepower to 67 AV. 1st MarDiv, Americal Div and LOTs of support are ashore. SE Fleet: Portland Roads now has an airstrip. Allied DBs sink two transports resupplying Horn Islands and 3 subchasers. Overall, I lost 225 aircraft today and claimed 34 (mainly Wildcats and Hellcats). Tomorrow, KB2 will reach Perth.

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/19/2013 8:25:06 PM)
May 10, 1943 Sub Action: KB encounters an allied sub off Sorong. A 6 torpedo salvo misses CV Soryu! Michael now knows that KB left the Pacific. BatDiv3 encounters another sub on its way to Perth, but escapes unharmed. I lost another sub off Esperance. Western Oz: Esperance is lost, after more devastating naval bombardments, an afternoon ground attack by (8?) American CVs and a deliberate attack by 1100 AV. I stood down my LBA for today, in order to recover morale and receive replacements. I want them ready to attack again tomorrow, in co-ordination with KB, which arrived at Perth without being spotted. CruDiv3, centered around Atago and Takao, will go in at full speed. Fortunately, it will get past the allied battleships and cruisers and say hello to the big allied tranport TF arriving from the east, no doubt carrying follow up forces. KB2 will move one hex west of Albany. Fighters based at Albany will hopefully provide as much CAP as they can. 70 Tojos, 45 Zeros and 35 Oscars will sweep Esperance to soften allied CAP. All available bombers are set for naval strikes. Hopefully my LBA will act before KB2 launches its package. I hope for a 7-hex strike on his CVs (which are anchored one hex south of Esperance) or a 6-hex strike at his transports and battleships at Esperance. SE Fleet: I lost an AMC (part of the TF that is carrying the 18th Div) to allied DBs operating from Coen, as the LRCAP is weak. Yamato and co are attacked too, but escaped unscathed. Some troops are lost, but tomorrow my TFs will be out of the danger zone.

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/19/2013 11:34:56 PM)
May 11, 1943 I don't know how to feel about this turn. My LBA did not contribute at all to today's plans. Western Oz: The turn starts decently with the sinking of an allied CA by CruDiv3. It made a night run into the lion's mouth, knocked a tooth out and escaped with only minor damage. On its way out, it encountered 10 PTs, sinking two of them. In the morning though, it lost 3 of its destroyers to a naval strike by the American carriers. Another 2 destroyers (leftovers from yesterday's night action were sunk at Albany. My cruisers are safe though: quote: Night Time Surface Combat, near Esperance at 55,153, Range 11,000 Yards Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses Seagull V: 1 destroyed Japanese Ships CA Takao CA Atago CL Isuzu, Shell hits 3 CL Yura DD Shiratsuyu, Shell hits 2, on fire DD Murasame, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Shirakumo DD Uranami, Shell hits 1, on fire Allied Ships CA Australia, Shell hits 28, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk CA Canberra, Shell hits 3 DD Preston, Shell hits 1 DD Downes, Shell hits 1 DD Cassin DD Tucker, Shell hits 23, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Albany at 52,153 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2-N Rufe x 9 A6M5 Zero x 17 A6M5b Zero x 11 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 31 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 38 SBD-3 Dauntless x 27 TBF-1 Avenger x 17 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5b Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 4 destroyed SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged Japanese Ships DD Uranami, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk DD Murasame, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage (sunk) DD Shiratsuyu, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage (sunk) SS I-27 sunk an allied xAP with troops. Events during the night were encouraging, but the sun did not bring the good news I expected. Absolutely NO sweeps took place! My land based fighters decided to drink sake, while Kates based at Albany were flying unescorted against 8 (?) American carriers, plus an unknown number of CVEs. KB2 launched a 7-hex strike that was completely chewed by allied CAP. I think that with the planned sweeps, this CAP would have been significantly weakened and the allied CVs would be in trouble. As it was, only 1 (!!!) Kate got to release its torpedo and of course it missed. The only compensation was the sinking of Prince Wales and that the enemy carriers decided to ignore mine and go after CruDiv3: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 57,154 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 34 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 12 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 155 F6F-3 Hellcat x 75 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 57,154 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 49 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 29 A6M5b Zero x 42 B5N2 Kate x 55 D4Y1 Judy x 16 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 152 F6F-3 Hellcat x 73 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5 Zero: 4 destroyed A6M5b Zero: 5 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 33 destroyed, 1 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 11 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Enterprise -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 57,154 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 34 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 27 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 128 F6F-3 Hellcat x 61 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 5 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 142 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 60 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 10 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 8 P-40E Warhawk x 8 F4F-4 Wildcat x 41 F4U-1 Corsair x 16 F6F-3 Hellcat x 28 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 2 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 123 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 52 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 17 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 8 P-40E Warhawk x 8 F4F-4 Wildcat x 49 F4U-1 Corsair x 15 F6F-3 Hellcat x 41 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 7 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,153 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 159 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 67 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 10 A6M5b Zero x 32 B5N2 Kate x 5 D4Y1 Judy x 6 Allied aircraft P-39D Airacobra x 7 P-40E Warhawk x 7 F4F-4 Wildcat x 37 F4U-1 Corsair x 14 F6F-3 Hellcat x 30 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5 Zero: 2 destroyed A6M5b Zero: 4 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed D4Y1 Judy: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Esperance at 56,154 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 67 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 14 B5N2 Kate x 10 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 4 damaged Allied Ships BB Prince of Wales, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage (sunk) CL Hobart Aircraft Attacking: 10 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp Carrier support unable to supply air cover.. I am left wondering what could have been IF the sweeps had occurred and IF my naval strikes were coordinated. 67 pilots were KIA and 70 were MIA (mostly Kate pilots). On the positive side, my carriers escaped retaliation, I sunk a CA and a DD and another 40 or so allied carrier-based fighters were destroyed. Kido Buttai: KB is refueling at Koepang. CV Kaga, which finished upgrading only 5 days ago and was unable to take part in the attack, merged with its comrades. Tommorow CV Akagi will join them too. KB2 will return to Perth to replenish. SE Fleet: Mitchels flying naval attack missions attacked Yamato and co again, sinking an xAK. Horn Island is completely repaired and 80 Tojos are rebased there. The second brigade of 54th Div is headed to Port Moresby. The third one is one week behind (will go to Terapo).

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/20/2013 12:17:29 PM)
May 12, 1943 Western Oz: I stood down every aircraft for today and sent KB2 back to Perth to replenish. A wise decision, a the allied CVs moved 5-6 hexes southwest of Albany. They sunk two AMc's. KB refueled at Koepang. Akagi and Kaga joined their brethren (now 7 CVs in total, 620 aircraft). Guards Tank Div, 2nd Guards Div (former Imperial Guards) and 5th Div will begin unloading at Geraldon in two days. The 18th Div is at Darwin. SE Fleet: All quiet today. Burma: The allied stack appears to have found some supply, as its flak suddenly became more lethal. Sub wars: I lost a third sub near Esperance, but sink an allied sub at Kendari.

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/20/2013 12:25:25 PM)
May 13, 1943 Western Oz: SS I-157 is hit hard and it's doubtful it will make it back to Albany safely. I-166 put 3 torpedoes into CV Saratoga, one hex south of Esperance! It was hit by 2 depth charges but damage is minimal: quote: Sub attack near Esperance at 56,154 Japanese Ships SS I-162, hits 5, on fire Allied Ships CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 2 BC Repulse CA Vincennes CA Astoria CLAA San Diego DD Kalk DD Reid DD Conyngham DD Case SS I-162 launches 4 torpedoes at CV Saratoga DD Reid fails to find sub and abandons search DD Conyngham attacking submerged sub .... DD Case fails to find sub and abandons search Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Esperance at 56,154 Japanese Ships SS I-166, hits 1 Allied Ships CV Saratoga, Torpedo hits 1, on fire BC Repulse CA Vincennes CA Astoria CA Chicago CLAA San Diego DD Meade DD Reid DD Conyngham DD Case Ammo storage explosion on CV Saratoga SS I-166 launches 4 torpedoes at CV Saratoga DD Reid fails to find sub and abandons search DD Conyngham fails to find sub and abandons search DD Case fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Case attacking submerged sub .... DD Case fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Case attacking submerged sub .... DD Case fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Case fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub I don't believe she is sunk...yet. Allied units at Esperance begun moving north and west. Esperance airfield itself reached lvl 3 and now holds 125 fighters. SE Fleet: Minor action around Horn Island. Michael sends 4 Fletchers and a few patrol boats to tangle with 2 destroyers, 1 escort and a few patrol boats of mine. I lost DD Minegumo and two small tankers. [:(] No mine hits.

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/20/2013 9:34:21 PM)
May 14-16 Western Oz: KB is found by an allied sub off Carnavon. The sub is successfully suppressed by ASW forces, but it somehow manages to spot every single ship in KB. On the 15th, KB refuels at sea and it only traveled two hexes. Again its DL is 10/10. 7 subs are currently on their way to the theater from Numea. Two of them were hit hard south of Melbourne. Several allied TFs are coming and going. Most of the allied CVs are spotted heading back to Melbourne, only two are sighted south of Esperance. North of Esperance, the former garrison is pushed easily to the north by allied tanks. 48th Div was moved to Kalgoorlie, along with heavy artillery and engineers. In their stead, 9th Rgt now defends Perth. Geraldon will get 20th Rgt. 25th Army is resting at Geraldon, waiting for the 18th Div to arrive. I am considering an invasion of Esperance with 4 divisions. It appears that the bulk of the allied fleet is returning to Melbourne. The other option is to simply rail them to Kalgoorlie. Much safer, but slower. SE Fleet: Allied cruisers bombard Horn Island, doing significant damage. My MTBs managed to sink a CL in the process. The second brigade of 54th Div is currently unloading at Port Moresby.

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/22/2013 2:50:29 PM)
May 17-22 Western Oz: Things settle down in Western Australia, as the allied navy retires. I was prepared to go all in with all my carriers and then invade Eseprance by sea, as I deemed the tactical advantage was in my favour, but Michael got away just a day before, either by design or luck. I also found out that Esperance has mines. How many it's unknown, but a 4 digit number does not sound unrealistic to me. There are also a cr@pload of PTs and 55.000 troops, 420 guns and 300 vehicles. Under these circumstances, I decided to cancel the invasion and commit the 25th Army to Kalgoorlie, aiming to create as much delay as possible. With the aid of 550 land based aircraft I think my ground units can fulfill this objective, as Esperance airfield becomes ineffective/closed. KB2 will remain at Geraldon to protect my SLOCs and perhaps raid his. KB will leave the theater entirely and return to the Pacific. After a day of sweeps by 80 Tojo and 27 George, and an airfield raid by 80+ Helen, Esperance is emptied of allied fighters, giving me complete control of the skies. 4 midget subs enter Esperance harbor only to meet their doom by mines. Naval strikes against his PTs do not occur for two consecutive days. Burma: Situation is still the same. The allied army is without supply at Shwebo and 1 hex west, bombed daily. His armoured brigades must be completely decimated by now. SE Fleet: CVs are spotted at Townsville, as well as lots of APs, LSTs and other transports. Michael demonstrates my inability to keep Horn Island open and even raid Merauke. 2 allied CLs and 8 destroyers raided Merauke at night, engaged 4 CAs and 4 destroyers of mine. The clash was inconclusive, but minor damage was inflicted to one of my CAs. I hope to regain some at least some control of the Torres straight by the arrival of Mr George, mines, patrol boats, midget subs and more importantly, effective use of IJNAF. So far, no naval strikes have been launched against allied raiding TFs. China: Lanchow is bombed daily. Lately, his supply situation here must be dire, as I 'm observing a significant increase in destroyed/disabled squads. The Chinese are truly getting mauled. Reinforcements (5 divisions) arrived at Nigsia and are 10 days away. I will then attack Lanchow with over 3000 AV. After that, the remainder of the 21st Army will be redeployed to the DEI.

MrBlizzard -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/22/2013 4:50:13 PM)
I wish to bring my experience hoping you'll not make same errors as me and knowing each game is different ![;)]In my game I had conquered W.Australia as you but after some good landings at Esperance and other town westward (don't remember the name) I lost all and my army was completely crushed, 4 divisions encircled and slaughterd. I wasn't able to stop his land troops even with air bombings and despite COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE SKIES... my opponent had carried with his army 6 american AA units, those units aren't like japan's , they heve 100 AA guns each and my fragile sallys coud't simply match with them...if they were under 12000 they took severe losses. I think the key of W Australia is Kalgoorlie, when the Aliies own it they can call huge reinforcement from east by rail and the war become only land war were the bigger stack wins. Desert terrain has NO DEFENCE BONUS, is the same as open land, so the bigger and who owns more armor wins. The desert terrain also is tanks paradise, they can overmove your land divisions and envelope them. I hate west Australia , is a damned trap for Japan worst than Burma [:-] Hoping you'll do better than me, I'll stay tuned

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/22/2013 5:19:18 PM)
Thanks for offering your thoughts Mr Blizzard. Losing four divisions would truly suck. I don't hate Western Australia like you, but I do I hate Burma. [:D] As you say, Kalgoorlie is the key. If it's taken, I intent to conduct a fighting retreat to Geraldon and then evacuate everything. At the moment, I wish to delay the capture of Kalgoorlie for as long as possible. I have 6 1/2 divisions, around 250 tanks and air superiority to do that. He has at least two American divisions (possibly a third one has arrived) and 300 tanks. I think for now the tactical advantage is mine and I will keep fighting until that changes (i.e. I lose Kalgoorlie or more allied divisions are brought by sea) OR until the end of June (that's when another 3 divisions form China, plus one bought out from the HI become available). Then I will take a break and rethink my entire strategy.

Olorin -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/23/2013 1:26:48 PM)
May 23-25 Western Australia: I just found out that Prince of Wales is still alive at Esperance, even after taking 4 torpedoes. I am having trouble to get my LBA to attack Esperance. Only once per 3 days they fly, even though there are no operational fighters opposing mine. In the only raid since my last update, the airfield is hit again and 4 allied fighters are destroyed. 50 Nells attack the port...to no avail. I will soon send KB2 to finish PoW off. The 25th Army is 3 days away from Kalgoorlie, by train. The allied spearhead moves closer, when they get there I will unleash hell on them [:D] Meanwhile, KB will move to Soerebaja and rest for a week or so. SE Fleet: Horn Island is attacked by heavy bombers, but it remains open. I have 250 engineers and lots of AA, so even without fighters I can move fighters in any day I choose. One air group is currently being equipped with the George at Rabaul. Once, it's operational I will move it to Horn Island together with 80 Tojo. China: The massacre continues at Lanchow, my bombers are truly causing havoc there. There are 1300 Chinese AV there and I'm bringing 3500. They have lvl 5 forts, but no supply and disruption must be sky high, so I think I have a chance. No big deal if it's not taken, as long as my tank divisions remain healthy after the attack.

Mistmatz -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/25/2013 12:08:47 AM)
Interesting AAR, just finished reading up to the current state of affairs. Regarding Kalgoorlie may I suggest a suicide LCU walking eastward on the Kalgoorlie - Port Augusta railroad. This way you will not be surprised by huge numbers of troops being railroaded into Kalgoorlie immediately after it falls. This should provide some breathing room for your withdrawal from West Australia.

obvert -> RE: Western Australia invaded! (4/25/2013 10:24:19 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Olorin May 23-25 Western Australia: I just found out that Prince of Wales is still alive at Esperance, even after taking 4 torpedoes. I am having trouble to get my LBA to attack Esperance. Only once per 3 days they fly, even though there are no operational fighters opposing mine. In the only raid since my last update, the airfield is hit again and 4 allied fighters are destroyed. 50 Nells attack the port...to no avail. I will soon send KB2 to finish PoW off. in my game I hit it with 3 early on and thought it was done. Alas it limped to OZ and now I get the pleasure of seeing it's shells pothole my runways and blow my supply dumps quite regularly. Get it if you can. I'm sure you have checked, but leaders, moral and escorts make all of the difference.

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