RE: North Star

RE: North Star (Full Version)

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Sangeli -> RE: North Star (9/1/2013 3:53:43 AM)
Here's my advice about Dutch Harbor: ignore it. Even if you build the airfield there its far too easy for the Japanese to take it down to be worth the effort. Better off building up one of the bases further east that can eventually be used to hold 2E and even 4E bombers. Also, if you want to increase the support for the war in the Gallup polls I suggest you go for enemy shipping rather than island atolls with your carriers. The VP loss from Japanese soldiers is 1/2 that of the Allies whereas the VP losses for ships is the same. Taking out a naval guard unit in Baker island is unlikely to yield you more than like 20 VPs max (6 squads/equipment = 1 VP). On the other hand, if you manage to catch a medium sized transport fleet you could easily get 100 VPs worth of ships. You can probably take Baker island without carriers I should add if you just wait until the Japanese carriers show up elsewhere; I doubt Japan can field any sort of land based air response in that part of the Pacific. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to escalate the air war if you're worried about auto victory. Even if you lose 2 to 1 in the air war it puts him further away from reaching the 4 to 1 mark he needs. Lastly, an ENTIRE division is WAY too big for Baker Island. Very unecessary. All you need to take those 6k strong atolls is a strong amphibious bombardment, >75 prepare, ships as good as or better than AK/AP (preferably AKA if you have any) to be able to unload all combat squads in one day, and about a regiments worth of troops and some support. A tank battalion is the ideal partner becuase typically island garrisons are light on the AT guns. You're much better off using a single reinforced regiment and then setting the rest of the unit to prepare for other targets. After the battle you can form the division again and it will carry over the preparation from the other units meaning you have less downtime between attacks. Anyway good luck with this game.

kaleun -> RE: North Star (9/2/2013 4:10:17 AM)
I kind of agree on Dutch Harbor. Problem is Japan has three carrier task forces, two of them of equal or greater strength than my carrier force, the third one, possibly less potent operating around Timor/N Oz. This limits what I can do with my carriers. I can also not stay a long time with capital ships supporting an invasion since they've got to scoot before the enemy carriers arrive. In any case, I am coming up with a new strategy to be used after the Baker Island invasion. Stay tuned.

kaleun -> RE: Central Action (9/3/2013 2:34:17 AM)
September 23rd. Despite an airlift from Alice Springs the supply situation in Darwin, Wyndham and all the north Australian bases is desperate. Previous efforts by small task forces of one or two xAKLs escorted by a single or two motor launches have been sketchy. The latest one was decimated a while ago, but where needs must. A small group of xAKL ships with a couple of small escorts was sent north from Townsville. They made it all the way to Horn Island. The enemy carrier fleet, previously seen near Darwin hit them, hard. The few survivors scatter. September 24th. The second Marine Division and the 119th USAAF base load up at Pearl. CA Takao, Haguro, Kinugasa & Furutaka sink the last two vessels from the doomed relief task force, AM Bombay and Punjab are utterly destroyed in a demonstration that excessive power is never out of place. Yamashiro, Fuso and Suzuya bomb Carnavon. 31 Kittyhawk damaged and two destroyed. 8 Catalina damaged, 1 destroyed, 2 A-24 Banshees damaged. Invasion 1 sets out from Pearl followed by Bomb 1 (Ramilllies) They head towards Palmyra and will be followed in one day by Air one under Sherman.

kaleun -> RE: Central Action (9/3/2013 6:17:34 PM)
September 25th. SS Salmon duds on DD Shirayuki near Exmouth. To return the favor, SS I-33 misses on DD Talbot S of Pearl. Remember the Americal Division? The division arrived at the North Island of New Zealand where it’s been sitting since. The feared enemy invasion has not, as yet, materialized. However, its motorized support never unloaded at NZ and ended up instead at Tahiti where it waited for a favorable occasion to attempt the transit. That opportunity presented itself a few days ago and the support embarked in a transport convoy well escorted with CLAA Juneau as flag. Today, an enemy carrier force attacked and savaged the task force. Juneau and others sunk. The last ships turned tail and headed back to Tahiti. High command believes that the enemy has three carrier forces in operation: 1st force: North Pacific. This force is quite strong in numbers of airplanes and the pilots are reasonably well trained. 2nd force: South Pacific (also covering central Pacific) This is presumed to be their elite force as far as pilot quality. 3rd force: Dutch East Indies and OZ. This is presumed to be the weakest of them, but it seldom operates outside of enemy air cover. A Kingfisher out of Pago Pago reports a hit on APD Suzuki and a possible invasion force approaching the island. Garrison at Pago Pago is the 8th Marine defense battalion, Samoan Marine Batallion, 3/102 Infantry battalion and the F USN Port service detachment.

kaleun -> RE: Central Action (9/4/2013 5:44:30 PM)
September 26th. A strong enemy force attacks and invades Pago Pago. BB Mutsu leads the invasion task force. The guns of the 8th Marine Defense battalion extract a significant toll on their armed merchant cruisers scoring 5 hits on AMC Aikoko Maru, 6 on Kongo Maru, 2 on Asaka Maru, 3 on Akagi Maru and 3 on Kinryu Maru. CL Kashii is also hit twice and is on fire as is DD Usugumo that received two hits. 4 shells exploded on Mutsu’s armor. Later in the day the Marines scored on CLs Jinkou and Abukuma. The former suffered heavy damage from 3 hits, while the latter shrugged off a single hit. The Pago Pago invasion force consists of the 6th Guards Division, 4 shipping engineer regiment and 21st Army HQ. Against these forces, the allies can muster only a regiment’s strength, although they are rather well dug in.

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/4/2013 5:48:31 PM)
September 27th. The Baker invasion force, bombardment force and carriers continue steaming south towards their rendezvous at Palmyra. Should they be diverted to assist the defenders at Pago Pago? The force is enough to turn the tables, should they arrive on time. They are insufficient for an opposed invasion against a division sized enemy force. For the time being, they continue on their present route which will allow for either alternative: Proceed as planned to invade Baker or proceed to Pago Pago instead.

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/5/2013 2:33:31 AM)
September 28th. Pago Pago falls. September 29th. At Pearl Harbor, the 161st infantry brigade begins loading. This brigade is meant as garrison for Baker Island once the Marines withdraw. From Baker Island the 2nd Marine Division will proceed to Tahiti where it will await its next deployment. At San Diego, the 3rd Marine Division begins embarking for Tahiti. Near Palmyra SS I-33 hits DD Dunlap with one torpedo. The invasion force is spotted. The enemy carriers are, however, otherwise occupied. 16 Zero fighters sweep the skies over Tahiti. They are met by 15 F4F-3A. After the battle, each side has lost an aircraft and the Japanese, a pilot. 60 B5N2 and 36 A6M2 follow finding only 5 Wildcats on CAP. One Kate is damaged and another destroyed by AA. Warspite amd South Dakota are hit by bombs but the armor deflects damage. The enemy takes Lakeba by paradrop with the 3rd Raiding Rgt.

comsolut -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/18/2013 12:41:11 PM)
Wow, the 2nd Marine Div gets a free vacation in Tahiti. Read the entire AAR, very exciting, lots of action. Makes my game very dull by comparison.

Sangeli -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/25/2013 6:49:19 AM)
Be careful with the invasion of Baker Island. You're going to have issues getting it off the island in a timely manner unless you bring a port service detachment so bring that along. Also an entire brigade (do you mean regiment?) is pretty much overkill for defending an island like Baker Island. If you want to have support units there you're going to have issues with the stacking limit in all likelihood. Do you have infantry battalions available? Some of the Hawaiian islands have some nice ~40 AV battalions which are perfect for small atoll garrison. What's your plan for defending Tahiti? Have you identified key bases that you want to build up yet? Time make all those engineers and support units useful and get some good 4E bases running.

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/25/2013 1:25:38 PM)
I've been building up Tahiti for a while. There are some troops already there and the 3rd Marines will reinforce the place nicely. The problem is supplies. He can land a large force there if he decides to and if he operates 2 or 3 carrier groups taking turns in the area I shan't be able to supply Tahiti. I have essentially the same problem in the Aleutians. I cannot supply DH in the face of his superior LBA and carrier air. My carrier force and surface combatants is scheduled to proceed to Tahiti after the Baker Island event. I am loathe to risk them much that far south as there are no shipyards that can handle Lex and it is a veery long way to Perl or (shudder) CT.

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/25/2013 1:26:02 PM)
September 30th. Moala captured by airborne assault. At Tahiti, the VMF 111 with 10 F4F-3A needs to upgrade to the -4; there are adequate numbers of fighters in the pool but the airfield is too small for this operation. At Pearl VMF 214 upgrades to -4 and loads on Long Island. She will steam within transfer range of Tahiti, launch VMF 214 and retrieve VMF 111, return to Pearl and have VMF 111 upgrade there

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/25/2013 1:36:43 PM)
October 1st A good day for the IJN submarine service. SS I 166 scores on CL Birmingham near Perth. The escorts report a depth charge hit. DD Nepal, also near Perth reports torpedoes streaking by. SS I-166 returns to hit Birmingham three more times. SS I-123 scores twice on an AMC near Perth and suffers a hypothetical depth charge hit. Vanua taken by parachute assault. Tomorrow, the bombardment task force will hit Baker Island and the invasion will begin. [image]local://upfiles/6626/4E7BBEE0025941BCA4AB7BD86EC3F774.jpg[/image]

Sangeli -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (9/26/2013 7:12:59 AM)
Any screenshots of the situation in South Pacific? Be interested in the disposition. Would be even better if you list the major bases and their sizes :)

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (10/4/2013 9:25:22 PM)
October 2nd. D Day for Baker. Ramillies, Minneapolis, New Orleans and SLC bombard enemy positions at Baker. The Marines follow the bombardment alighting from the transports the only way they can, slowly. Parekanu and Taveni Islands are captured by the enemy. October 4th. The invasion continued on the third with a shock attack that failed to take the island. On the 4th Betty bombers struck and scored one torpedo hit on Ramillies. An enemy battleship task force is seen approaching Baker from the west. The carriers set all their torpedo bombers to attack with torpedoes including the biplanes. The dive bombers are split into bombing and scouting squadrons and all the Catalinas from Canton Island will search for the enemy. [image]local://upfiles/6626/A453D6E246604BD0B990D9A214CEC03D.jpg[/image]

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (10/4/2013 9:30:45 PM)
October 5th. With the arrival of the second wave, the 161st Infantry Regiment, Baker Island fell to the allied assault. The enemy surface force previously detected was actually composed only of cruisers. They met Ramillies during the night and avoided combat. By the morning they were out of reach of the carrier airplanes. Hoorn Island, between Fiji and Samoa is captured by paradrop. The 2nd Marine Division will begin embarking to return to Pearl to refit. As it stands right now it is not considered capable of offensive operations. The news of this invasion improves morale and Gallup sends in a report. Japanese VP 33375, allied 6995. Not enough, but getting closer.

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (10/5/2013 3:20:13 AM)
October 6th. Enemy carriers make an appearance. Escorted Betty and Kate bombers show up over Baker and attack the amphibious task force that was now embarking the 2nd Marine Division. Search aircraft place the enemy carriers SW of Baker. Flak extracts a toll on the enemy airplanes damaging 26 of them and destroying a few more. Dauntless bombers from Canton attack a transport task force with no effect. Wallis island taken by enemy parachutists. Sherman’s carriers are ordered on an intercept course. “I’m all in,” says Sherman.

kaleun -> RE: Pago Pago invaded! (10/5/2013 3:27:42 AM)
October 7th Enemy battleships attack the allied task force at Baker. BB Kirishima, Hiei, Haruna and CA Myoko and Ashigaru hit CA Danae once and CL Hobart 7 times. After the encounter the Japanese forces bombard the island before withdrawing. While withdrawing the Japanese encounter the allied task force also withdrawing from Baker. Low on ammo, probably, the Japanese evade combat. The allied carriers were spotted and shadowed by enemy float planes but the carrier groups were not able to launch. Once again the Imperial Japanese Navy denies Sherman the opportunity to engage. The 4th Raiding Rgt captures Arome in the S Gilbert chain and the 3rd captures Lae island in Tonga. October 8th Nanumea captured by the 4th and Tofua by the 3rd. An enemy task force approaches Baker from the North West. Sherman alters course to investigate.

kaleun -> RE: At Last! (10/7/2013 9:20:04 PM)
October 9th. Finally! 54 F4F-4 fighters escort 30 SBD-3 and 15 TBF-1 to attack the enemy ships approaching Baker Island. Without fighters to bother them the dive bombers take their time. CA Chikuma takes 2 hits, Nachi 5 and CL Sendai 1. 4 divebombers suffer AA damage and one is lost. One of the TBFs is also damaged. Even after this attack the enemy cruisers pound Baker. The 18FG/44 FS at Canton splits into 3 echelons A, B and C. One echelon at a time will be used to provide a modicum of fighter cover over Baker. The carriers will linger for at least a day more round Baker, in case additional enemy ships show up. Troop transports are ordered to San Diego to move Marines to the S Pac area. A marine defense battalion also moves to Frisco prior to being transported to Baker.

kaleun -> RE: At Last! (11/13/2013 5:55:11 PM)
October 10th Focus shifts to the North Pacific where 24 Oscar IIa sweep over Dutch Harbor. 25 P400 rise to meet them, destroying 6 enemy fighters at a cost of only 2. 21 Oscars follow later in the day, meet 5 P400 and the battle is settled at a cost of one fighter on each side. The action continues and 27 AGM2 escort 58 G3M3 to hit the airfield. 3 enemy carriers spotted just south of DH! October 11th. Hyuga and Ise bombard DH. CA Devonshire hit by an enemy torpedo near Palmyra. Vava’u taken by 3rd Parachute Rgt. Komodo falls to Yokosuka 1st SNLF. Ramillies arrives at Pearl. JP 33751 AP 7035

kaleun -> RE: At Last! (11/14/2013 7:27:36 PM)
October 14th 1942 Suzuya and Mikuma bombarded Carnavon (NW OZ) on the 12th. On the same day, Kuvia and Lifuka were captured by the 4th and 3rd raiding regiments respectively. On the 13th Kirishima and Haruna pay a visit to Baker Island bombarding the airfield and destroying one P40E and damaging three others. 64 G4M1s escorted by 24 A6M3a follow suit. The island put up 5 P40E which were unequal to the task. One G4M1 was destroyed and 2 damaged at a cost of one P40. Vaitapu and Tongatapo were captured. And finally, today, Kongo, Chokai and Tone bombarded Dutch Harbor causing heavy damage to the airfield. Nells escorted by Zero fighters followed up. No CAP was found. In Australia, Wyndham was invaded. Near Pearl Harbor, AO Tappahanock hit by 2 torpedoes from SS I-34. Escorts claim one hit on the sub. They also claimed 5 hits on SS I-19 in unrelated action. Funafuti and Eua captured.

kaleun -> RE: At Last! (12/21/2013 5:19:48 PM)
Alex L communicated that he's having serious computer issues so, until further notice, I think this game is over. It was heading for an autovictory for Japan anyway.

Sangeli -> RE: At Last! (12/23/2013 4:19:42 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kaleun Alex L communicated that he's having serious computer issues so, until further notice, I think this game is over. It was heading for an autovictory for Japan anyway. Well you should ask him what is VP total is. I think it's closer than you think!

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