RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks

RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (Full Version)

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

Message

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/3/2013 5:47:49 PM)
May 4, 1942 "General Quarters! General Quarters! [image]local://upfiles/31387/55EDE72DA5E447A6844B8B0B9C7B2916.jpg[/image]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/3/2013 6:22:16 PM)
May 4, 1942 "Scratch One Flattop! A wild day at sea. No activity ashore at all. 1) In the Bay of Bengal RN command yesterday, with a solid fix on a carrier TF of changing composition, ordered the three RN carriers, very low on fuel, to head NE on a course calculated to cross the enemy if they struck Akyab/Chittagong, and retreated on a course to stay outside TB range from Pt. Blair. Both Beests and Fish live there with a torpedo HQ and Japan has seen TBs in ground AF strikes. A small surface TF is ordered to meet and merge with the carriers to up the AA and provide some fuel sharing. Of import, the RN steers the TF across a chord of the LRCAP circle for drop-tanked Hurricanes at Pt. Blair. The enemy has read as all CVEs, CVEs plus CVL, and now CV, CVL, and CVE, plus at least one BB and two CAs. Vals and Kates both have been seen. And whatever it is it has more fighters than the RN motley crew of pick-up CVs, which includes HMS Hermes, hardly a carrier at all. The course is perfect, as shown by the screen shot in the post above. Looks good, accomplishes nothing. The TFs disengage at 25,000 yards and avoid conflict. But the IJN reacts away in exactly the wrong direction, right into Pt. Blair TB range with the RN at three hexes to the NW. A perfect hammer and anvil, completely by accident. The Japanese react more quickly and get off the first stirke. It is weak. That is good. The FAA fighter jocks are gooder. Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Blair at 43,52 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 95 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 35 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 18 B5N2 Kate x 4 D3A1 Val x 3 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 7 Martlet II x 17 Hurricane IIb Trop x 1 (Pt. Blair's contribution) Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged D3A1 Val: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Martlet II: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Formidable Aircraft Attacking: 1 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo The Royal Navy responds, and cuts deep: Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Blair at 43,55 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 9 (CAP weak) Allied aircraft Albacore I x 20 (tight, coordinated strike) Fulmar II x 9 Sea Hurricane Ib x 8 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 5 damaged Albacore I: 1 destroyed by flak Fulmar II: 2 damaged Fulmar II: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CA Kumano CVE Unyo, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk CA Mikuma, Torpedo hits 1 CVL Zuiho CV Junyo BB Nagato Aircraft Attacking: 8 x Fulmar II bombing from 15000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb 3 x Albacore I launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo 6 x Albacore I launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo 9 x Albacore I launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo CAP engaged: Zuiho-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 2 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes Unyo-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 10000 Raid is overhead Junyo-1 with A6M2 Zero (1 airborne, 3 on standby, 1 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 16000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes 1 planes vectored on to bombers Ammo storage explosion on CVE Unyo [image]local://upfiles/31387/2DBB98EF47994E068230A926C0CDA305.jpg[/image] In the afternoon phase the Japanese do it again: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Port Blair at 43,52 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 45 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 14 B5N2 Kate x 10 D3A1 Val x 2 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 6 Martlet II x 5 (11 on 14, but the long warning time lets the FAA figthers burn through at long range and get at the spear-chuckers. The Kates are heavily disrupted.) Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses Sea Hurricane Ib: 1 destroyed Martlet II: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Formidable, Torpedo hits 1, on fire CVL Hermes CV Indomitable HMS Formidible gets a fuel explosion text, but no counter-flooding. Her three squadrons divert to Pt. Blair. This is good and bad. Good in that the base has torpedoes and should get a kick at the Japanese on the retreat if detection is maintained. Bad in that the Pt. Blair CAP can't protect them on the ground. May have to shutle them through Burma to Calcutta or something. But for tomorrow they eat at Pt. Blair. The Royal Navy rebuts and brings the day to a close in the Bay: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Port Blair at 43,55 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 7 Allied aircraft Albacore I x 17 (another tight, cohesive stirke between aircraft with big speed differences. Well done!) Fulmar II x 6 Sea Hurricane Ib x 7 Martlet II x 6 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged Albacore I: 1 destroyed by flak Fulmar II: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged Japanese Ships CVL Zuiho BB Nagato, Torpedo hits 1 (belt penetration noted) CA Mikuma CV Junyo -------------------------------- The Beests and Fish at Pt. Blair both strike with 4 each planes. They achieve no hits. One of each is lost. -------------------------------- The retreat will be critical. The RN carriers might be in range in the morning, and Pt. Blair almost certainly will be if there is search detection enough. Force Z is coming north, but is still far to the west of Sabang. Given the ferocity of the Sabang bombing today I think a landing there is sooner than later, so I will try to hold Z in my pocket. There are still five subs betwen this IJN TF and Singers if they try the Strait, and Nagato should be moving slower than Mission speed. Tomorrow could be interesting, or a bust. It's faintly possible the Japanese will pursue toward Colombo, figuring the Kates' range is a deal-breaker. But the Albacore is almost as good, and the Vals aren't so important with armored flight decks. So . . . we shall see. 2) The air war. --Cat & mousing, Batavia is night bombed again, but this time there is a small Cobra CAP. 3 Bettys damaged, no Allied. No AF damage. There are no industry attacks, even though I invited Mike to do some. [:)] -- Palembang is mega-swept, but there is no CAP. It is then bombed, but it has built forts every day for several weeks. Sabang fort-building is being restrained, but Palembang has a pant-load of engineers, and more are on the way from CONUS. I want huge Forts here. -- Pt. Blair is swept and attacked from the mainland. A few Zeros are lost, and I assume their pilots as well. -- Prome is Oscar-swept for no real effect. An Oscar is downed. A LOT of A/V is headed for Prome and Bassein, but if Japan wants to play in the air box I'm OK with that. To all JFBs reading this: air attacks are NOT a panacea. Sometimes to attack LCUs you need . . . LCUs! -- As above, Sabang is cratered. Sweeps (no CAP, just an AA unit shipped in last January.) About 65 heavy bombers. Some Ground attacks as well. Did I mention I think a landing is coming? -- At Chiang Mai the two Chinese corps are hit by Nells again for light losses. I change my mind on a forced cross-river assault. The base now shows 5 LCUs all of a sudden and two under-supplied corps are not decisive. I want to maintain this force-in-being deep in the guts of Burma, so I order the LCUs to march on Uttadett (sp?) and the dot base just before it. If I can suck some tanks down here to attack these guys I'd be happy. Otherwise I'm going to find a railroad to sit on. 3) Of interest, in the mountians next to the Big Stack three LCUs have left Tsuyung and positioned themselves on the the yellow road heading toward Paoshan. I think this is an attempt to stop supplies. I hit the '5' key and it looks like supply should still flow from Mikyunma (sp?) but we shall see. I can do a couple of things here if supply becomes critical. Right now the Big Stack is 80% of green supply, so I have time. I'm not going to jump every time Japan moves. Tsuyung still shows as 24 LCUs in the hex. Plus three on the road and it's still a stalemate with time passing. 4) Operaiton SWEET POLLY continues. The carriers are away and the minesweepers launch at Cruise to let the carriers get farther ahead. The bombardment group goes tomorrow and the landing forces the day after that. Everything is loaded at Pearl. Searchers saw a five-ship something headed east fo Palmyra. Could be a FOW sub, or it could be the carrier TF previously seen. Could be the KB. Fun times. [8D]

JocMeister -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/3/2013 6:25:03 PM)
Well done! [&o] I guess Formidable can still make good speed?

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/3/2013 6:33:47 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: JocMeister Well done! [&o] I guess Formidable can still make good speed? Don't know yet. Can't tell from the movie. I'm guessing at least 9-10 kts. Got to go back and finish the post now. [:)]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/6/2013 12:30:59 AM)
May 5, 1942 Bassein Ping-Pong 1) Like Spruance at Midway I decided not to push my luck in the B. of B. Formidible has no planes, but damage is not too bad: 21, 36(30), 16(8), 0 Fires. The TF is ordered to retire almost due north, then dogleg for Madras and some fuel, then hug the coast around Ceylon home to repair. The Japanese Air TF survivors come near Pt. Blair again and use up 14 Zero and 13 Val sorties to sink an HDML. No Allied attackers launch. There is fatigue in the FAA refugees, and the Air TF has fighters still. But the Allies might fly tomorrow. I personally wouldn't have routed this TF that close to known TBs. 2) Allies night bomb Manpower at Makasar for 1005 Fires. Changsha is hit from Chungking for 1340 Fires. The Chinese base is hit hard in multiple strikes and two Allied planes are lost. All of the Chinese AA is here, so better here than some places. But the industry bombing is deforming Japan's preferred bombing patterns I'm fairly sure. 3) The Chinese coming away from Chiang Mai are Nell-bombed several times, again, with groups Japan would probably prefer to be on naval or hitting Palembang. Slight losses. 4) Bassein is bombed, then attacked. A second Guards ID has joined the stack, and it prevails this time. The Vipers are destroyed as well as the small, chewed Cav unit. The Chinese corps retreats to sit half-way to Prome. Ground combat at Bassein (54,52) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 28948 troops, 281 guns, 286 vehicles, Assault Value = 1046 Defending force 9900 troops, 40 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 370 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 563 Allied adjusted defense: 69 Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Bassein !!! Combat modifiers Defender: preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: leaders(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 219 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Vehicles lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled) Allied ground losses: 3778 casualties reported Squads: 142 destroyed, 6 disabled Non Combat: 142 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 24 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 9 (9 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 1 Units destroyed 2 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 7th Ind.Tank Brigade 6th Guards Division 5th Guards Division Defending units: 43rd Cavalry Regiment RM Viper Force 60th Chinese Corps I'll need to noodle on what this does to my defenses in the next week. After that there will be enough at Prome to hold I think. What does Bassein get him right now? Not sure. 5) In SWEET POLLY the carriers bomb the AF on Palmyra and find it deserted. Not sure, but I think the garrison is gone too. Perhaps that's what all the CVEs and others were doing a month ago. After Johnson fell he might have figured to maintain the planes he put in at Palmyra and just fall back to a new line with them. I'm going to guess I'll see them on the Tarawa line. The landing forces leave Pearl for Palmyra. 6) Sabang is hit hard again and Singers shows no ships in port. Force Z is still orbiting to the west, and the Cocos replenishment TF is coming up to give what it can. This one will re-base to Colombo. 7) Chittagiong AF goes to 6. Forts will be emphasized now.

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/6/2013 11:09:31 PM)
May 6, 1942 The Peanut Moves Forward Things underway stay that way. Little else today. 1) Night bombing at recent rates with recent outcomes. He tries Batavia again; CAP is up. Some Manpower bombing is done in daylight as well. 2) Palembang gets a little, not enough to do anything, but Sabang has been hit very hard this week. Enough to stop fort building and keep the AF at about 35% damage. Palembang has another heavy AA unit inbound from Cocos, as well as an anti-tank LCU. The 32nd Div. is aboard ships in the wormhole to CT. It is prepping for Palembang. 3) Port Blair also gets enough sweeping to keep it supressed. 4) In Burma the retreated Chinese from Bassein are hand-routed north to go east. The code wanted to send them across the river into an attack to get to Prome. The small stack moving away from Chiang Mai is mode-knocked by heavy Nell attack. Few losses, but they are slowed. 5) Various harrassment levels of bombing in China. Chungking is hit again, I think becuase it is the Hudson base for night bombing to the SE. No losses. Japan loses one and takes minor damage to Lilys. 6) The carriers hit Palmyra Ground with every DB embarked not on Search. The garrison IS there: about 4700 men and 3 AFVs. Only 5 auxiliary aircraft with detection at 4/5. The minesweepers are a day out. Afternoon Air attack on Maizuru 2nd SNLF, at 170,133 (Palmyra) Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Allied aircraft F2A-3 Buffalo x 4 F4F-3A Wildcat x 6 F4F-3 Wildcat x 33 F4F-4 Wildcat x 4 SBD-2 Dauntless x 11 SBD-3 Dauntless x 71 No Allied losses Japanese ground losses: 90 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled 7) Singers AF goes to 7. I can only imagine how many engineers are scurrying about there after the Battle of the Forts. No ground combat today.

zuluhour -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/7/2013 12:39:07 AM)
Good fortune in the Bay of Bengal! That could have been a real messy surface engagement. Wish we could look at both sides TF COs, I spend alot of time on COs.

Justus2 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 4:01:41 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58 May 6, 1942 The Peanut Moves Forward Things underway stay that way. Little else today. Maybe you've been spending too much time watching Underdog re-runs, you're starting to rhyme like him!! [:-]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 1:18:12 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Justus2 quote: ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58 May 6, 1942 The Peanut Moves Forward Things underway stay that way. Little else today. Maybe you've been spending too much time watching Underdog re-runs, you're starting to rhyme like him!! [:-] I did not notice that! Not kidding. Thanks for making my morning. [:)]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 4:07:48 PM)
May 7, 1942 Smoke and Mirrors Sort of a "peanut moving" day as well, but there is deception afoot, on both sides. 1) A newly radar-equipped fleet boat moves its patrol out to mid-South China Sea and immediately falls upon a small transport TF. Of course there are no hits, but USS Tautog did shoot at the high-vlaue target. This is extreme range for even a Midway-based boat, but the traditional choke points aren't yielding. USS Triton runs across an ASW barrier patrol while entering the Sea of Japan. No losses, but he knows there's always going to be a boat in there. The current resident left the sea lanes from the north alone and patrolled over toward Fusan. As far as I could tell she wasn't detected. 2) Operation SWEET POLLY continues in order. Minesweepers clear about 125 mines in the night and cease in the day, telling me it might be clean. The carriers bomb the defenders again with 70+ DBs; looking for disruption here, not KIAs. The bombardment group is orbiting two hexes out and will come in tonight. I think I'll break the several BBs out of the Air group for a turn themselves. The landing force is in easy range for the day after. Three LCUs show in full detection now. One is a Naval Guard, and one is a bigger base force. The DMSes get no CD fire. Kwajalein shows two intel hits of radio traffic, one heavy. It's very possible that the USN carriers hanging around for four days is the reason. I can pull them back, but then the landing force gets chewed on a la Johnson Island. I doubt he knows the carriers are over-loaded on fighters, but not to an excessive degree. 3) Night bombing continues, me and him. Standard amounts of Fires. He loses a Sally at Batavia for no losses to the Allies. Day bombing hits Palembang pretty hard, Sabang gets a break, Chungking is pasted since the night bombing Wellingtons live there. Time to start the old pea-under-the-cup act with the bombers. Chungking has all the Chinese AA there is, so he gets bloodied when he visits. Pt. Blair is also swept and bombed. I'm sure that seeing TBs there several days ago is no fun. Rangoon is a problem for shipping. But Pt. Blair is one of the mirrors. Almost no British TBs at all, scraps of refugee FAA fighters. Many of my Brit TBs withdraw in the next week plus. But it's a thorn, so it's doing its job. 4) Bataan gets heavily bombed, the AF again. Supply in LCU internals is not damaged by this so it's harmless. Fixing it costs no supply either. For some smoke (no mirrors) I order a full-scale bombardment at Bataan just to show there is supply in the place and to get an intel read. I'm not going deep into the archives, but it seems to me some of the infantry might have exited stage right here. Ground combat at Bataan (78,77) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 34311 troops, 633 guns, 190 vehicles, Assault Value = 1475 Defending force 48631 troops, 472 guns, 524 vehicles, Assault Value = 1543 Japanese ground losses: 64 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Allied ground losses: 128 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 13 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: 192nd Tank Battalion 51st PA Infantry Division 26th PS Cavalry Regiment 31st Infantry Regiment 14th PS Engineer Regiment 57th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team 3rd/12th PA Inf Battalion 45th PS Infantry Regimental Combat Team 31st PA Infantry Division 4th Marine Regiment 21st PA Infantry Division 41st PA Infantry Division Manila Bay Defenses 11th PA Infantry Division 71st PA Infantry Division 194th Tank Battalion 91st PA Infantry Division 2nd PA Constabulary Division 200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment USAFFE Asiatic Fleet Provisional GMC Grp II Philippine Corps Cavite USN Base Force Clark Field USAAF Base Force 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion Far East USAAF 88th PS Field Artillery Regiment Bataan USN Base Force Manila USAAF Base Force 86th PS Coastal Artillery Battalion I Philippine Corps 301st PA Field Artillery Regiment Defending units: 38th Division 16th Recon Regiment 80th Infantry Regiment 4th Tank Regiment 9th Infantry Regiment 21st Ind. Engineer Regiment 48th Division 20th Infantry Regiment 3rd Ind. Engineer Regiment 16th Engineer Regiment 7th Tank Regiment 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 14th Army 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment 36th Const Co 5) The Wandering Corps south of Chiang Mai attract a lot of Nells again, which I'm also fine with. They are usually untouched or barely mussed in that terrain, and it's a lot of prime bombers wasting leaves and vines. They continue south along the railbed, with no real mission but harrassment and deflection. If they die they end up at Chungking and anything they kill is at a big VP ratio advantage to them, so on they wander. Longer term if they survive they may turn for the coast and cut some railroads. For now he's worrying about them more than I am. 6) Despite the placement of three red boxes on the road to the west of the Big Stack, blocking its route to Paoshan, the Bigs resupply all the way to white once more. I thnk from Tracker flows the goodies are coming from Chungking. The dots juuuuust reach, and Chungking isn't banking supply anymore. Tsuyung still shows on any given day 24-30 LCUs in residence. Tick tock. 7) Babo is hit for one Oil point. 8) Significant building milestones today: ---Johnson I. Forts 3; time to withdraw the Marines so they can make a division soon. ---Port Moresby AF to 4 ---Lanchow (Chinese fuel base) Forts to 5 ---Batavia AF to 6

BBfanboy -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 4:27:01 PM)
You still hold Batavia and Pt. Moresby! He is seriously behind schedule, thanx to your defence of Singers!

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 4:31:30 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy You still hold Batavia and Pt. Moresby! He is seriously behind schedule, thanx to your defence of Singers! Not only PM, but Rabaul! If only I had something to throw out there. Rabaul makes a nice pair of earrings with Wake.

BBfanboy -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 4:37:11 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58 quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy You still hold Batavia and Pt. Moresby! He is seriously behind schedule, thanx to your defence of Singers! Not only PM, but Rabaul! If only I had something to throw out there. Rabaul makes a nice pair of earrings with Wake. You use earrings?![;)] Or is it more like "Honey, for our anniversary I'm giving you Rabaul and Wake Island." ?[:D]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 5:13:16 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy quote: ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58 quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy You still hold Batavia and Pt. Moresby! He is seriously behind schedule, thanx to your defence of Singers! Not only PM, but Rabaul! If only I had something to throw out there. Rabaul makes a nice pair of earrings with Wake. You use earrings?![;)] Or is it more like "Honey, for our anniversary I'm giving you Rabaul and Wake Island." ?[:D] Is that "code"? [:)]

BBfanboy -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/8/2013 8:44:46 PM)
[:D] Wasn't intended to be! I'll let my digression end here before the tangent gets too far out there!

CaptBeefheart -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/9/2013 9:36:06 AM)
Ah, finally caught up with this AAR. Work has kept me busy, which is a good thing since I own my own firm. A couple of points: 1. Minnesotans have a funny accent, but the Boundary Waters Canoe Area is great. I had the pleasure of doing overnight portaging trips there twice in my youth, and even caught some of that feisty, yet tasty, Northern Pike for the campfire. 2. You made it pretty clear from Day Zero that this was to be a no-HR game. Whether a tactic would be realistic in real life is of no relevance--you are exploring all the possibilities this game has to offer. I would not sweat the night bombing. Cheers, CC

Encircled -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/9/2013 5:47:08 PM)
You still hold Rabaul? Can you exploit that in any way, as its more than a bit of an oversight on his part!

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/10/2013 2:18:21 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Encircled You still hold Rabaul? Can you exploit that in any way, as its more than a bit of an oversight on his part! I speculate that it is not an oversight, but a function of an early focus on the Hawaii region, and now more fruitful first phase objectives needed, with a view to securing some oil/fuel Pretty Quick Now. I'd love to re-occupy Rabaul, but the date is against me. I haven't got the LCUs to do half of what I'm ready to start.

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/10/2013 6:25:34 PM)
A History Lesson For those PTO fans who love them some airplanes, the role submarines played in the successful prosecution of the war against Japan may be unknown or not fully appreciated. Certainly the game makes matching real life results very difficult, for reasons recently discussed (and not for the first time.) Results against just one class of capital warship--aircraft carriers--may illustrate what a fearsome offensive tool the submarine came to be in the war: Sunken Japanese carriers 1. Akitsu Maru by USS Queenfish, November 15, 1944 2. Chuyo by USS Salifish, December 4, 1943 3. Shinano by USS Archerfish, November 29, 1944 4. Shinyo by USS Spadefish, November 17, 1944 5. Shokaku by USS Cavalla, June 19, 1944 6. Taiho by USS Albacore, June 19, 1944 7. Unryu by USS Redfish, December 19, 1944 8. Unyo by USS Barb, September 17, 1944 In game terms there are some who argue that the best uses for submarines are as scouts or pickets, a role USN fleet boats were specificaly designed for in pre-war doctrine. Others in the forum argue that using subs for offensive purposes is sub-optimal and a real waste fo time and effort. Instead, they argue, the highest and best use for these assets is as supply mules, hauling drips and drabs across the Pacific wastes to isolated hunks of rock and coral so as not to risk highly-valuable xAKLs. These magnificnet machines, manned by warrior crews and capable of sinking the largest warships afloat by themselves, with a circa 100-man crew, should instead pack food and clean socks to garrison troops. Huh.

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/10/2013 6:29:28 PM)
May 8, 1942 Subs Used Sub-Optimally The Dutch didn't get the memo. [image]local://upfiles/31387/9C45CD3D26AB44D09E2A87AD7CCFC435.jpg[/image] 1) Sub attack near Phuket at 48,70 Japanese Ships CVL Zuiho, Torpedo hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage (Sinking sounds heard.) CA Kumano DD Yunagi DD Akebono Allied Ships SS KXI Ammo storage explosion on CVL Zuiho SS KXI launches 4 torpedoes at CVL Zuiho DD Yunagi fails to find sub and abandons search DD Akebono fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Akebono fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Akebono fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Akebono fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Akebono fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub The Air TF above is more evidence that Sabang is a likely target in the near future. 2) Operation SWEET POLLY moves through the bombardment and initial landing phases. First though, and a surpise, the DMSes find and sweep 85 more mines just before the first of two bombardment groups move inshore. The second group is part of the carriers' escort force; they will reform to add AA even though main battery ammo is depleted. Both groups stand off at 15,000 yards, which may have helped avoid any remaining mines. Night Naval bombardment of Palmyra at 170,133 Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses H6K4 Mavis: 1 damaged Allied Ships BB California BB Nevada CL Honolulu Japanese ground losses: 354 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 30 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled) Airbase hits 14 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 17 Port hits 13 Port fuel hits 5 Port supply hits 1 OS2U-3 Kingfisher acting as spotter for BB California BB California firing at Palmyra BB Nevada firing at Palmyra CL Honolulu firing at Palmyra Naval bombardment of Palmyra at 170,133 Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses H6K4 Mavis: 2 damaged Allied Ships BB Mississippi BB New Mexico BB Idaho BB Colorado Japanese ground losses: 486 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 29 destroyed, 27 disabled Engineers: 5 destroyed, 5 disabled Guns lost 9 (3 destroyed, 6 disabled) Airbase hits 5 Airbase supply hits 8 Runway hits 19 Port hits 11 Port fuel hits 2 Port supply hits 3 BB Mississippi firing at Palmyra BB New Mexico firing at Palmyra BB Idaho firing at Palmyra OS2U-3 Kingfisher acting as spotter for BB Colorado BB Colorado firing at Maizuru 2nd SNLF ======================= The first wave's escorts hammer the landing zone: Pre-Invasion action off Palmyra (170,133) 25 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships CA Chicago CA Northampton DD Conyngham DD Case DD Patterson AP William Ward Burrows Japanese ground losses: 50 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 9 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled CA Chicago firing at 53rd Naval Guard Unit CA Northampton firing at 53rd Naval Guard Unit DD Conyngham firing at 53rd Naval Guard Unit DD Case firing at Maizuru 2nd SNLF DD Patterson firing at Maizuru 2nd SNLF Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 4,000 yards Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards The first wave is only the Marine Raiders and a combat engineer unit. the heavier seocnd wave, to be a back-up when recon showed fewer defenders, is a day back. Amphibious Assault at Palmyra (170,133) TF 216 troops unloading over beach at Palmyra, 170,133 Allied ground losses: 67 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 33 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 56 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 4 (0 destroyed, 4 disabled) 10 troops of a US Raider Squad lost in surf during unload of 1st Marine Raider Bn ------------------------------------- The supply TF comes in: Pre-Invasion action off Palmyra (170,133) Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 11 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships DD Worden DD Clark DD Phelps DD Selfridge xAK Steel Seafarer Japanese ground losses: 3 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled ----------------------------------------------- The first wave holds, largely due to the bombardments and two days of DB attack weakening the garrison. It would hhave been better to wait another day and coordinate the landings, but the activity at Kwajalein is a good indicator the KB is coming, so speed was chosen: Ground combat at Palmyra (170,133) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 1231 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 82 Defending force 2617 troops, 36 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 88 Allied adjusted assault: 15 Japanese adjusted defense: 32 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: leaders(-), disruption(-), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), fatigue(-) Japanese ground losses: 840 casualties reported Squads: 46 destroyed, 9 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 10 (3 destroyed, 7 disabled) Allied ground losses: 377 casualties reported Squads: 19 destroyed, 27 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 3rd Marine Raider Battalion 1st Marine Raider Battalion 2nd USMC Engineer Regiment Defending units: Maizuru 2nd SNLF 53rd Naval Guard Unit 2nd JNAF AF Unit 3) Allies bombard at Bataan: Ground combat at Bataan (78,77) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 34143 troops, 631 guns, 189 vehicles, Assault Value = 1462 Defending force 48620 troops, 472 guns, 524 vehicles, Assault Value = 1542 Japanese ground losses: 62 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 95 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled) 4) Chungking is bombed hard, but the Allied bombers have been moved, as have the fighters. 5) Port Blair is swept and bombed lightly. One Beest is damaged. Most of the air power from here has been moved to Calcutta to regenerate. 6) Sabang is swept and then bombed twice with many Sallys. Allied surface forces are still to the west, mostly re-fueled, waiting for a landing force. There is a chance a port other than Sabang will be targetted, either on the west coast (Sibolga), or the east coast south of Medan, but Japan needs a port to extract the oil from Djambi, and eventually Medan. Sabang is the classic choice, however, assuming Japan has sea control at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca. Right now, it does not. 7) Ramree I. AF goes to 1.

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/13/2013 4:22:06 PM)
May 9, 1942 SWEET POLLY Progress After a missed email and most of a weekend spent on adult social endeavors we are back to action. 1) More mines are located and cleared at Palmyra. Still no casualties to them, a nice set of rolls given the traffic in and out of the hex. One bombardment group is re-merged with the Air TF now standing off to the east. The other bombards again, closer in (10k yds), mostly with seocndary guns. Only 8 casualties are recorded, but possibly some disruption. The DBs hit again, this time on glide bomb. They do 315 casualties with 5 squads KIA. Then the Fast Transport with supplies moves in, as well as the heavy TF with the second wave, an infantry regiment. The heavy supply TF continues to unload through three phases. The operation is clockwork except for the bump of not having both waves uload on the same day. Still no sign of the KB or additional intel. The shock attack further degrades the defenses; only part of the regiment is ashore. The Japanese try a bombardment and neither record casualties nor suffer any. The Allied attack goes well: Ground combat at Palmyra (170,133) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 1207 troops, 0 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 98 Defending force 1822 troops, 29 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 41 Allied adjusted assault: 10 Japanese adjusted defense: 7 Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 199 casualties reported Squads: 14 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled) Allied ground losses: 224 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 1st Marine Raider Battalion 2nd USMC Engineer Regiment 3rd Marine Raider Battalion 138th(Sep) Infantry Rgt /1 Defending units: Maizuru 2nd SNLF 53rd Naval Guard Unit 2nd JNAF AF Unit 2) Sweeps at Prome and Pt. Blair. The Allies are trying to offer just enough CAP to keep the fighters coming, but not enough to keep pools flat. Heavy forces are now beginning to reach Prome, which will be the keystone of southern Burma defenses for now. I see no reason to attempt to retake Bassein unless it is made a key AF. The Burma idea is oil denial, not setpiece battles with pre-TOE-upgraded Indian units. As long as Japan wants to bomb here they can. Ramree now has a small organic CAP as it continues to build forts and AF. Regular supply shuttles from Calcutta into Chittagong have resumed. The monsoon is coming and I would like the Mandalay group to be as fat as possible by then. As forts in the region reach level 5 I am shutting them down to build supply to spinner maxes. 3) Chungking is pasted again, but there are no planes there. Fort building is suspended at 6 + 50% as supply is below 25,000 and building is in the red. Fixing AF damage costs nothing. Supply pulls to the Big Stack are stressing Chungking supply, but the Big Stack must come first given what it is tying down. 4) Sabang is hit again hard. There is no view of any landing force headed up-Strait. There are ships at Singers, however. A large combat TF with carriers is still near the Malaysian coast near where the CVL was lost. All Allied subs in the Strait have max detection levels; they are all re-zoned this turn. Force Z plus help is orbiting to the west. The replenishment group is near Colombo for a re-load and run down to Z in the next week. A new RN carrier is two days from Colombo. The damaged carrier from FUDD is one day from the yards. Another RN CA is fuly repaired and ready at Colombo. USS Arizona is well NE of DG and inbound for Colombo. 5) A day strike on Kunming HI does no damage. I much prefer Manpower, but I want to mix it up. B-26s hit Djambi defenders in advance of the ground battle coming soon there. B-17s do 4 Oil hits at Babo. Palembang is bombed very lightly. 6) The Allies bombard at Bataan again, inflicting 34 casualties for 79 of own. Probably time to suspend again and let Japan wonder about supply levels.

crsutton -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/13/2013 4:54:43 PM)
Four torpedo hits from a non radar equipped sub in 1942 is like winning the lottery on two consecutive days...[:)]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/13/2013 5:00:25 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: crsutton Four torpedo hits from a non radar equipped sub in 1942 is like winning the lottery on two consecutive days...[:)] I know. But I'll take it. [8D]

JocMeister -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/13/2013 6:08:46 PM)
Congrats on the Zuiho!!! [&o]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/15/2013 2:37:39 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: JocMeister Congrats on the Zuiho!!! [&o] Thanks, but it's only important right now in that it reduces his options for defending Sumatra landings. The VPs are nice but not overwhelming.

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/15/2013 3:05:51 PM)
May 10, 1942 POLLY Progress. Sumatra Heats Up. 1) Sweep, sweep, sweep some more. Eleven Japanese sweeps today all over the map; one met any Allied CAP. Many hundreds of Japanese fighters used essentially as probes. 2) At Palmyra the infantry regiment continues to unload, as does the supply. The carriers do one more Ground strike with the full DB force on glide, and get minimal casualties. At the end, the Shock attack works, the base falls, the garrison is wiped out to a man, and two Mavises are lost to the enemy. An IJN sub is lurking a couple of hexes to the west, but no further sign or intel on any possible KB involvement. It might be there, but it's a lot of fuel and time to invest for a speck like Palmyra. The carriers and BBs will head home. Palmyra needs a base force and some CAP and search, but SWEET POLLY is in the books. Ground combat at Palmyra (170,133) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 1700 troops, 24 guns, 23 vehicles, Assault Value = 112 Defending force 1765 troops, 30 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 38 Allied adjusted assault: 74 Japanese adjusted defense: 3 Allied assault odds: 24 to 1 (fort level 1) Allied forces CAPTURE Palmyra !!! Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses H6K4 Mavis: 2 destroyed Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), leaders(-), disruption(-), preparation(-) fatigue(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 1843 casualties reported Squads: 61 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 104 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 6 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 24 (24 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units destroyed 2 Allied ground losses: 76 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 138th(Sep) Infantry Regiment 3rd Marine Raider Battalion 1st Marine Raider Battalion 2nd USMC Engineer Regiment Defending units: Maizuru 2nd SNLF 53rd Naval Guard Unit 2nd JNAF AF Unit 53rd Naval Guard Unit Wiped Out at Palmyra by attrition!!! 3) On Sumatra the 4th ID begins to come ashore at unoccupied Tandjoengbalai. Japan needs a port to extract the Djambi oil through and this base is on a small list of possibles. It has the advantage of being on the east side of the island under good LBA coverage, and far enough down the Strait I don't dare send in surface TFs to oppose the landing. The 4th will no doubt be followed by a stack from Singers which will move up the RR toward Medan, another key prize in the Petroleum Wars. Sabang will ultimatley be attacked, as it is an excellent port and search base, but it will not fall easily. There may be opportunities to use the RN to complicate northern Sumatra for Japan as well. South of Tandjoengbalai Sumatra is hundreds of miles of bad experiences, swamp, and no RRs. Japan still holds an empty Padang on the west coast, a good base to shove in a Palembang force if sea control in the IO is held. I'm watching it, but can't close it right now. Palembang has just recieved a strong AT unit adn another heavy AA unit from Cocos I. The US Army ID (32nd?) is in the wormhole on the way to CT. Where it comes into Sumatra is an open question now and might change by the time it is approaching. An initial attack on Djambi reveals a stronger defense than I had thought. I may be able to take the base, but won't invest more ground power to do it. I would be happy if more damage is recorded in the fighting. Ground combat at Djambi (48,88) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 2913 troops, 6 guns, 44 vehicles, Assault Value = 115 Defending force 2309 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 71 Allied adjusted assault: 45 Japanese adjusted defense: 119 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-) Attacker: leaders(-) Japanese ground losses: 289 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 29 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Allied ground losses: 107 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 44th Indian Brigade Defending units: Yokosuka 1st SNLF 16th Infantry Rgt /1 27th JAAF AF Bn 4) The chess problem in China re the Big Stack and Chungking is evolving. Japan makes some very good moves. The Allies hold the triangle of bases around Chungking, with Chengtu and the N-base (name unremembered) to the west feeding Resources into the capital's LI. Since the IJA 3-stack moved out of Tsuyung to block supply from the west from reaching the Big Stack Chungking has been supplying, and stocks there have drifted down from 25,000 to about 21,000. Now, a 13-stack is active in the middle of the triangle with a probable target of the N-base. It is the most lightly held. If it falls Chungking's supply production will be hurt a lot. At some point the role of the Big Stack in pinning Tsuyung might be a luxury and it will be time to move it west into the 3-stack's hex and then west for Paoshan/Lashio. Both of these bases are a lot stronger than they were six weeks ago. The Big Stack, released to roam the Chiang Mai sector and west and south toward Bangkok could put a lot of pressure on Rangoon's garrison. Or it could be mauled in a road fight in the mountains with Tsuyung's stack before it can get to Burma. Either way, pretty soon I will need to batten down in China and do everyting I can to let Chungking survive. Air supply from Ledo is a trickle, and won't really get sufficinet transports until 1943. 5) The Allies night bomb Rangoon with 2 Blenheims for no effect. They bomb the 13-stack near Chungking for no effect with 3 Hudsons. They day bomb HI in Kunming for 2 hits. They Oil bomb Babo for 1 hit. They day bomb industry at Bassein for no effect with 3 B-26. 6) USS Tennessee is fully repaired at Pearl Harbor.

JocMeister -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/16/2013 6:45:43 PM)
Nice work getting Palmyra back! [:)]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/16/2013 7:56:13 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: JocMeister Nice work getting Palmyra back! [:)] Yeah, so now I'm back where I was on December 7, 1941! [:)] It WAS the most clockwork landing I've ever done. Which means the KB will now show up and sink a bunch of cruisers and destroyers.

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/17/2013 2:21:51 PM)
May 11, 1942 Sumatra Multiples 1) SWEET POLLY clean up continues. The infrastructure is trashed; 90+ damage to AF, about 45 to the small port. All that's there engineer-wise is the combat LCU, but they start working. A base force is coming. Two biggish TFs are still unloading supplies. Two I-boats come in from the west. They were seen yesterday and two ASW TFs were broken off from the transoprts, one to stand in the harbor, the other to go out three hexes and patrol back to Palmyra. Both subs are attacked several times. A penetrating hit plus oil leak is achieved on I-18 and I-22 takes some flooding-type system damage hits. But this one gets a fish into CA Astoria. What would a flyspeck landing op be without at least one major combatant in the yards? The carriers are still around, but pulled three hexes to the NE, refueled, and left to watch. An AV is sent toward the island; it will be a patrol base and nothing more. Christmas is getting a port services unit and will be an area supply dump, plus search base. I don't plan on this sector being an op area, but Japan may have other ideas. Canton has recieved major garrison upgrades and has Forts 3+. I expect Japan to come at least as far as Baker. Again, this is conventional, a usual move to harrass convoys going to Oz. I don't send convoys to Oz, so . . . 2) Near Gebe, in the NE DEI, USS Sturgeon on barrier patrol attacks and misses a large transport TF of two DDs and six xAP/AMC. There are uncaptured bases to the west, but this looks more like a major move on either Timor or Darwin. The clock is moving, so perhaps this is the TImor move, with backfill to come later. It's the wrong course for PM, but there's a slight chance it's Milne or maybe Rabaul. Not much I can do but watch and reroute subs. 3) Makassar is night bombed for the Nth time, doing 929 Fires and destroying some Resources. It's good training. [:)] 4) A lot of Japanese sweeps all over the map. PBang, Pt. Blair, Prome, etc. I have shifted into a fighter-preservation mode in most places, letting him sweep and take ops losses. For the most part these places have enough forts that the the follow-on bombing isn't anything to worry about, and two fighters against 30 is just giving away VPs. In a couple of places--Pt. Blair is one--I'm putting up just enough CAP to keep him coming. Damage there and over water home costs him pilots and keeps him off Ramree, where I want peace and quiet now. He damages a TB now and then at Pt. Blair, but most of them withdraw in a week or two and I don't think he's sending a lot of skimmers up there any time soon. This is one example of the sweeps at Blair: Morning Air attack on Port Blair , at 46,58 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 33 Allied aircraft Hurricane I Trop x 3 Hurricane IIa Trop x 4 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Hurricane I Trop: 1 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 26 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 15000 feet ---------------------------------------- The Burma ground forces continue to march south. Prome has a good garrison now with still more coming. He is standing at Bassein with about 35,000 men and a LOT of tanks, but so far not moving. The Chiang Mai corps continue south on the road, soon to be joined by the third. There is an LCU standing on the RR to the SE; don't know what it is. I expect to fight it though. The marchers get daily Nell pounding costing 10-20 casualties, but also a lot of Nell damage. Today they are joined by Marys and Anns with a couple of those damaged as well. Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 3 damaged Allied ground losses: 20 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled 5) Bataan is bombed every day; I just don't mention it. Not sure what's up here. I understand working a base out of supply to take it down cheaply, but the stack invested here is big, Manila's port and yards are denied Japan, and the VPs will be there sooner or later in the same quant. What's at Bataan could really fling a hurtin' on Java. 6) Chungking is pasted again, a really good move. Observers should note the job Japan is doing in the Chungking sector as well as how this affects the Big Stack in the mountains. I am rapidly being forced to take moves with the Big Stack I don't want to take. Even so Chungking's supply state is crap if he is going to use no-PP mechanisms to bring the hammer there and take out Chinese reinforcements all over the map. The 12-stack north of Chungking is mode-knocked by a couple of Hudsons at Chengtu, but if thery're aiming to take out Resource feeders (a great move BTW) for Chungking the capital's situation will be critical/ICU level in the summer. 7) A small B-26 CAS strike is made at Djambi, and the Indians attack again with mediocre results. Don't think I can take Djambi without walking another hefty LCU from PBang, and I don't want to do that now. I didn't expect there to be more than AF LCUs at Djambi. What I would give for some recon assets! Should the Indians turn left for Pabang? Or head back for PBang? To ponder. Padang is the traditional door to a PBang seige if Oosthaven is danagerous for Japan. But Indians there are just out on a limb and will fall to a divison-sized landing. Which a PBang attempt will be. Are they worth it to be a speedbump? I doubt it, but will ponder. Ground combat at Djambi (48,88) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 2845 troops, 6 guns, 44 vehicles, Assault Value = 105 Defending force 2403 troops, 44 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 57 Allied adjusted assault: 33 Japanese adjusted defense: 93 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-) Attacker: leaders(-) Japanese ground losses: 36 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 174 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled 8) Wellingtons hit Resources at Haiphong in daylight for 10 hits. Pinprick, but important for the overall strategic game. 4E numbers will grow and then we'll see. 9) Northern Sumatra is where the action is today. Sabang is hit medium bad, more of a placeholder attack. A TF is off the eastern side of this base; probably the remnants of the Air TF attacked by the Dutch sub several days ago. I have light RN carrier support waaaaay out in the IO and another comes out of the yards today. There are subs galore in the northern Strait and maybe I can get a read on this guy. I'm not sending Force Z in to its doom without intel. Tandjoengbalai falls to the 4th ID, a Naval Guard, and AF engineers. A classic approach. The AF will be built to defend north and south to Djambi; the 4th ID will move on Medan (vacant) and then invest Sabang. Tand. gives Japan an oil port for whatever flows from Djambi (what isn't blown up), and Medan a lot more. All of this can be jumped to Malaysia to flow to Singers. It's not PBang numbers, but it's a nice oil source, and Medan in particular is full up and even wasting some by now six mnonths into the war. I was expecting Tand. to fall to a combined arms force, but I was not expecting a TF to slip in unseen and take Sibolga with an SNLF (Yokuska 3rd.) This is another oil port that takes from Djambi, as well as a potential search base on the periphery pre-Sabang. If the TF near Sabang is Air the Sibolga landing force is covered and again, not worth Force Z. So, rats.

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Nothing Up My Sleeve: Magical Moose Tricks--Bullwinkle58 vs.1EyedJacks (5/18/2013 7:01:54 PM)
May 12, 1942 Medan Goes Cheaply 1) USS Pike hits a small transport TF of xAK, DD, and E in the central South China Sea, sinking the E. One more that won't grow into a "Hulk angry!!!" Super-E someday. Assume this TF was carying small engineering unit or similar for service in Sumatra. 2) Lots of 30+ fighter sweeps find mostly empty Allied sky. In three places (Prome, Blair, PBang) a CAP of two Allied fighters loses one and downs one. My P-40E pool is still empty due to fill-outs. 3) The Chinese moving south of Chiang Mai are hit by 23 Nells, from Bangkok is my guess. Then by Marys. Then by Idas. Then by Anns. No Chinese casualties at all, three Nells, a Mary, an Ida, and a Mary are damaged over jungle. This moving mini-stack is getting a lot of Japanese attention. I wonder if Mike is worried about its intended use? I still don't know, but I like the attention. 4) Matching air-to-ground attacks at Djambi. The Indian unit is ordered to withdraw to PBang. Padang looks attractive, but the AV in this unit is too high to throw away on a beach defense that would last three days at most if a large Japanese force wants in at Padang. 5) Medan falls to the other half of the Yokuska SNLF see at Sibolga yesterday. A tiny force, but it gets the port and the oil. I now have a new strat bombing best friend. 6) Haiphong Resources are day bombed for 17 hits. Three B-17s hit Djambi Oil for no hits. Then the first P-38 sweep by a non-prototype squadron sweeps Djambi's Nates, destroying one and damaging two. Not sure if P-38s can reach Medan on drop tanks form PBang. Will soon see. 7) Chungking AF is bombed twice by Sallys, hurting supply and damaging five IJA planes. The base slips below 20,000 supply. A Big Stack decision is coming soon. 8) Sabang is ground bombed twice in what I now assume is long-term prep for the 4th ID to march north, rather than a landing. The RN has three carriers out in the IO to the west, and two large surface TFs including Force Z. Other: VERY long-term initial prep is begun for a new campaign: Operation SNAGGLEPUSS. This one depends on some things breaking the Allies' way KB-wise and won't go until mid- to late-summer if at all. If it works it has the potential to upset Japan's applecart in a significant way. Or, it could be a disaster. Heavens to Murgatroyd! [:'(] Note "'Heavens to Murgatroyd' is American in origin and dates from the mid 20th century. The expression was popularized by the cartoon character Snagglepuss - a regular on the Yogi Bear Show in the 1960s, and is a variant of the earlier 'heavens to Betsy'. The first use of the phrase wasn't by Snagglepuss but comes from the 1944 film Meet the People. It was spoken by Bert Lahr, best remembered for his role as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Snagglepuss's voice was patterned on Lahr's, along with the 'heavens to Murgatroyd' line. Daws Butler's vocal portrayal of the character was so accurate that when the cartoon was used to promote Kellogg Cereals, Lahr sued and made the company distance him from the campaign by giving a prominent credit to Butler. As with Betsy, we have no idea who Murgatroyd was. The various spellings of the name - as Murgatroid, Mergatroyd or Mergatroid tend to suggest that it wasn't an actual surname. While it is doubtful that the writers of Meet The People (Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy) were referring to an actual person, they must have got the name from somewhere. No fewer than ten of the characters in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera Ruddigore, 1887, are baronets surnamed "Murgatroyd", eight of whom (or is that which?) are ghosts. Herzig and Saidy were well versed in the works of the musical theatre and that plethora of Murgatroyds would have been known to them. Where then did the librettist Sir William Gilbert get the name? It seems that Murgatroyd has a long history as a family name in the English aristocracy. In his genealogy The Murgatroyds of Murgatroyd, Bill Murgatroyd states that, in 1371, a constable was appointed for the district of Warley in Yorkshire. He adopted the name of Johanus de Morgateroyde - literally John of Moor Gate Royde or 'the district leading to the moor'. Whether the Murgatroyd name took that route from Yorkshire to Jellystone Park we can't be certain. Unless there's a Betsy Murgatroyd hiding in the archives, that's as close as we are likely to get to a derivation." http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/heavens-to-murgatroyd.html

Page: << < prev 42 43 [44] 45 46 next > >>

Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI

0.703125