Operation Northern Thunder. Was:2 years and counting

Operation Northern Thunder. Was:2 years and counting (Full Version)

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buckaroo13 -> Operation Northern Thunder. Was:2 years and counting (4/1/2014 5:05:30 PM)
2 Years and counting. My opponent (Gebede) and I started the grand campaign last August and have just hit the 2 year mark. This marks my first attempt at the full campaign for WitP:AE and it’s been a blast so far. Gebede has played a great game and I’ve been struggling to piece together any type of successful offensive. A Brief history of the War to Date Opening: The Japanese skipped out on Pearl and hit the Subs in the Philippines first. History and current state of affairs by area…. Solomons: The Japanese made it as far as Noumea. I was able to knock him off Noumea but the entire Solomons chain is still in Japanese hands. I spent the last half of 1942 reclaiming Efayte and Luganville and lost a lot (and I mean lots) of ships in the process. Highlights included our only big Carrier battle which put 4 of my flat tops at the bottom of the ocean. Only Enterprise and Lexington escaped. Good for the Allies was a Battleship duel that saw the USS Washington sink the Yamato with direct fire. Currently Noumea is a big hub but heavy fighting has moved further west. OZ And New Guinea: By mid 42 the Japanese had all of Northern OZ and Port Moresby under Control. The Japanese didn’t take Cooktown or Townsville and both have been built up into formidable bomber bases. early ’43 saw one of the Allies worst Mis-steps. I wanted to capture the small base at Terapo in New Guinea. The Invasion fleet was hit hard on the way in and I lost most of the combat division tasked with capturing the base. Gabede hit back hard, brought in re-enforcements under the cover of the KB and wiped me out. Overland troops captured most of Northern OZ and Darwin is now built up to a formidable forward base. Heavy Bombers from Cooktown have pretty much leveled every airstrip in New Guinea. Dutch East Indies: I was easily steamrolled here; losing it all by mid ’42 Dutch remnants re-treated to the Cocos Island and have built a formable base. At the end of ’42 the defenders of Cocos have repulsed an invasion and currently run recon and the occasional bomber raid over. India and Burma: The Japanese didn’t focus too much here. After repeated bombing raids from Akyab the Japanese came up in force and took the base. One aborted invasion by sea and a successful one by land recaptured Akyab. Several Japanese divisions were running around Imphal but have finally been pushed out of India and back into Burma. Calcutta is a powerhouse, India is under control and I’m getting more and more troops there but few transports to move a large invasion by sea. Current Status the Overall map showing the lines. Things are pretty static here, with Gebede responding to my small incursions and me not having enough Carrier Strength to take him on in open water. [image]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/jonhalter/Dec111943Stratmap_zpse3f64628.jpg[/image] Losses and points at this point [image]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/jonhalter/Dec111943_zps02cf67b1.jpg[/image] Naval losses: The Allied navy has been hit hard, to date I’ve lost roughly 5 CVs 1 CVL 7 CVE 11! BBs 12 CA 20 CL 90 DD 36 subs Critically I’ve lost over 100 APs of various types due to many botched invasion and resupply attempts Japanese losses are also rough but no where near what the Allies have experienced. 1 CV 1 CVL 4 CVE 2 BB 4 CA 14 CL 50 DD 50 Subs So the KB is still intact though they have lost a lot of aircraft and the Zuikaku and Shokaku have been hit at least one time each. Air War: I’ve managed to keep a positive Air to Air ratio for most of the game but it’s been close. Once those N1K1 George showed up it’s been a lot tougher. Here is a breakdown of losses by type. I've lost a lot but the only pools that are really hurting are my P-38s (Can never get enough of them). [image]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/jonhalter/Dec111943AClosesbytype_zps184d619f.jpg[/image] For fun tracking my pilots. I have a couple of 16 kill aces including Pappy and Richard Bong. Sadly I couldn't figure out how to get Pappy over to a Marine Squadron so he's had to contend himself with P-38s and P-47s [image]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/jonhalter/Dec111943-pilots_zps6462301d.jpg[/image] From here on out 1. So I'm still trying to decide a strategy here. I could use the Cocos as a spring board to land on the DEI, but I'm not sure I want to invest that many troops so far away from the home islands. 2. I could Push north from Darwin, up into the Philippines. 3. Push the Central Pacific. I haven't made any moves here, might be suprising 4. In India I could push towards Rangoon but I don't have the Transports to move by sea. I would need to ship a bunch from the West Coast 5. Push the Solomons Islands or New Guinea but he's got a lot of troops there that have had a lot of time to dig in. Still closer to the US Coast and I do have several large bases [image]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/jonhalter/map_zps8b602d59.jpg[/image] So my fellow WiTP'ers any ideas or suggestions?

Lokasenna -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (4/1/2014 5:42:47 PM)
I've always been a fan of a Solomons advance, at least initially. Where you go from there is somewhat open, but it secures the SLOC to Australia. You hold Noumea and Luganville, which is good. You say he's got troops there, but do you know how many? Can you overwhelm them, or force him into a meatgrinder far from home? You appear to hold a lot of the Gilberts. Can you fortify here and push into the Marshalls? Again, that's another historical push, but Nimitz did it that way for a reason... I don't like pushing through Wake and Marcus. There's no reason to take those bases other than to harass him; it doesn't gain you much. Pushing through the DEI likewise appeals to me, but know that if you do so you will face much stiffer air resistance than a push through the island chains of the South Pacific. This can pose problems. I think you are better positioned for a South Pacific offensive. That doesn't mean you have to take any pressure off in other areas, though.

Yaab -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (4/2/2014 8:20:32 AM)
How about the Nauru - Kusaie - Ponape axis? They are all spacious islands, and with developed airfields you can bomb both Truk and Kwajalein/Roi-Namur with heavy bombers.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/21/2014 9:32:08 PM)
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I appreciate it! Update on the Campaign to date. It is now April and the Allies have been busy. I felt I finally had enough carrier and LBA strength to start making some moves. I wanted to stage an invasion of Munda, smack in the middle of the Solomon chain. It took me a lot longer to get everything into place as I’m critically short on APs right now. My plan was to stage a Diversion north of Australia. I would commit a faint towards Timor with a CVE and CVL forces, A Surface fleet and a amphibious task force. While that Diversion prepared I assembled 8 fleet carriers. A large task force with 5 battleships would cover. The Diversion into Timor was successful, as suspected he saw it coming and my fleet faced more firepower than I expected. Losses were heavy among my surface and amphibious task forces but I had confirmed that most of the KB was accounted for. My Invasion of Munda launched and was successful. It’s amazing how fast 600 engineers can build up a base and soon after I had a level 6 airfield within easy reach of Rabaul. Gebede’s first Counterattack at Munda was predictable but still devastating. He did land come combat regiments on Munda but not enough to dislodge my troops. The KB however was very successful, My 7 fleet carriers and 3 CVLs launched an ineffective attack on the KB or attacked a small Japanese surface taskforce. The Japanese return blow managed to hit almost every one of my carriers. The Enterprise was critically damaged and would sink several days later. The other fleet carriers were still operational but had between 10-30 combined system -flooding damage. My CVLs were all trashed but none sank. I stuck around one more day as I figured the KB was low on attack craft but even being within 3 hexes of the whole Japanese Carrier fleet my attack refused to fly, fortunately his didn’t fly as well. My Initial Attack fell on the Japanese SAG and didn’t go after his Carriers. I smack his Surface ships pretty hard but my Avengers seem shy and don’t want to play nice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Green Island at 109,127 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 34 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5b Zero x 54 A6M5c Zero x 7 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 13 Allied aircraft F4U-1A Corsair x 7 F6F-3 Hellcat x 94 SB2C-1C Helldiver x 113 TBF-1 Avenger x 16 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5b Zero: 3 destroyed A6M5c Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 8 destroyed SB2C-1C Helldiver: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged SB2C-1C Helldiver: 2 destroyed by flak TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged Japanese Ships BB Kirishima, Bomb hits 3 CA Takao, Bomb hits 1 CA Furutaka, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage CA Kako, Bomb hits 2, on fire BB Hiei CA Tone, Bomb hits 1 CL Tenryu, Torpedo hits 1, on fire CL Kuma DD Samidare DD Umikaze CL Oyodo BB Haruna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Japanese Aircraft don’t have any problems finding my Carriers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Treasury Islands at 108,133 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 118 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 39 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5b Zero x 108 A6M5c Zero x 13 B6N2 Jill x 42 B6N2a Jill x 11 D4Y3 Judy x 109 Allied aircraft F4U-1A Corsair x 57 F6F-3 Hellcat x 126 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5b Zero: 30 destroyed A6M5c Zero: 4 destroyed B6N2 Jill: 15 destroyed, 12 damaged B6N2 Jill: 6 destroyed by flak B6N2a Jill: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged B6N2a Jill: 1 destroyed by flak D4Y3 Judy: 18 destroyed, 33 damaged D4Y3 Judy: 9 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Bunker Hill, Torpedo hits 1 CV Saratoga II, Bomb hits 1 CV Intrepid CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage CV Essex, Bomb hits 2, on fire CV Hornet II, Bomb hits 1, on fire CV Lexington, Torpedo hits 1 CV Yorktown II CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My Counter attack is not effective. My pilots, despite making it through the CAP manage to hit nothing! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Feni Islands at 110,126 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 34 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5b Zero x 51 A6M5c Zero x 6 N1K1 Rex x 9 Allied aircraft F4U-1A Corsair x 7 F6F-3 Hellcat x 70 SB2C-1C Helldiver x 52 TBM-1C Avenger x 16 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5b Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 4 destroyed SB2C-1C Helldiver: 18 destroyed, 17 damaged SB2C-1C Helldiver: 1 destroyed by flak TBM-1C Avenger: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged Japanese Ships CV Taiho CV Unryu CV Amagi CV Soryu CV Zuikaku CV Katsuragi DD Okinami -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank goodness those Essex class ships are rock hard. The Enterprise limps out of the war zone but sink a few days later.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/22/2014 7:57:20 PM)
3/12/44 With my Carriers limping out of the area the Japanese continue their operation with a landing on Munda in an attempt to kick me off. I expected a reaction from Gebede and he didn't disappoint. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Munda (111,134) Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 881 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Yamashiro BB Fuso LSD Akitsu Maru E Hashidate xAP Kasado Maru Japanese ground losses: 1383 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 69 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 73 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Allied ground losses: 61 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled) BB Yamashiro firing at 145th Infantry Regiment BB Fuso firing at 132nd Infantry Regiment Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 6,000 yards Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Munda (111,134) Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 867 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Hyuga BB Ise AK Nako Maru AK Nissan Maru E W-12 AK Kamogawa Maru Japanese ground losses: 1522 casualties reported Squads: 8 destroyed, 78 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 63 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 27 (1 destroyed, 26 disabled) Allied ground losses: 28 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled BB Hyuga firing at 132nd Infantry Regiment BB Ise firing at 132nd Infantry Regiment Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 5,000 yards Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amphibious Assault at Munda (111,134) TF 54 troops unloading over beach at Munda, 111,134 Japanese ground losses: 1320 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 119 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 150 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 22 (0 destroyed, 22 disabled) Vehicles lost 4 (0 destroyed, 4 disabled) 10 Support troops lost from landing craft during unload of 29th Army Motorized Support lost overboard during unload of 29th Army 10 Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 29th Army 10 Support troops lost from landing craft during unload of 29th Army /6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amphibious Assault at Munda (111,134) TF 277 troops unloading over beach at Munda, 111,134 Japanese ground losses: 1358 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 123 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 167 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 18 (0 destroyed, 18 disabled) 10 Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 64th Div /7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It looks like he took a lot of losses unloading at Munda. A bombardment attack shows at least some of what I'm now facing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Munda (111,134) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 9005 troops, 236 guns, 134 vehicles, Assault Value = 539 Defending force 12737 troops, 108 guns, 15 vehicles, Assault Value = 253 Japanese ground losses: 26 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 111th(Sep) Infantry Regiment 132nd Infantry Regiment 148th Infantry Regiment 104th Combat Engineer Regiment 145th Infantry Regiment 2nd Marine Regiment 94th Coast AA Regiment 77th Coast AA Regiment 148th USA Base Force 19th USN Naval Construction Regiment 150th USA Base Force USMC AirFMFPac 46th USN Naval Construction Battalion 73rd RAAF Wing 3rd USN Naval Construction Regiment 17th USN Naval Construction Regiment 16th USN Naval Construction Regiment 25th USN Naval Construction Battalion 93rd Coast AA Regiment 41st USN Naval Construction Battalion 5th USN Naval Construction Regiment 157th USA Base Force 45th USN Naval Construction Battalion 95th Coast AA Regiment 6th USN Naval Construction Regiment 369th Cst AA Rgt /1 Defending units: 58th Division 64th Division 29th Army Unless something catastrophic happens tomorrow I will launch a Shock Attack on his invasion force. I'm hoping on the fact that he didn't expect me to be at Munda at such a strength.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/22/2014 9:33:58 PM)
3/13/14 The Japanese Invasion fleet continues to unload, while the Japanese Surface fleet roughs up the Defenders on Munda. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Naval bombardment of Munda at 111,134 Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 15 damaged F4U-1A Corsair: 15 damaged F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed on ground PBY-5A Catalina: 5 damaged Japanese Ships CA Kinugasa CA Aoba DD Tamanami DD Takanami Allied ground losses: 89 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 24 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 11 disabled Vehicles lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled) Airbase hits 16 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 31 Port hits 8 CA Kinugasa firing at Munda CA Aoba firing at Munda DD Tamanami firing at 111th(Sep) Infantry Regiment DD Takanami firing at Munda -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Naval bombardment of Munda at 111,134 Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses PBY-5A Catalina: 2 damaged F6F-3 Hellcat: 6 damaged F4U-1A Corsair: 3 damaged Japanese Ships BB Kirishima Allied ground losses: 46 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Airbase hits 3 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 8 E7K2 Alf acting as spotter for BB Kirishima BB Kirishima firing at Munda -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's almost as if he really doesn't like me being on Munda. The bright spot for me today is catching a supply convoy heading to Munda (Or running away, can't tell) My battered and retreating carriers manage to launch an airstrike that takes care of the problem. Too bad they couldn't fly like this against the KB [:D] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 10 Allied aircraft F4U-1A Corsair x 9 F6F-3 Hellcat x 35 SB2C-1C Helldiver x 55 TBF-1 Avenger x 12 TBM-1C Avenger x 13 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed SB2C-1C Helldiver: 8 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 3 damaged Japanese Ships xAK Yasukawa Maru, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Dakar Maru, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Hakonesan Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Maebasi Maru, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk xAK Matsue Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Matumoto Maru, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally my shock attack goes in. I take some heavy loses, these Japanese troops are tough. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Munda (111,134) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 14792 troops, 263 guns, 148 vehicles, Assault Value = 543 Defending force 12809 troops, 108 guns, 15 vehicles, Assault Value = 257 Allied adjusted assault: 419 Japanese adjusted defense: 238 Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(-), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 814 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 82 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 1309 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 175 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 17 disabled Engineers: 6 destroyed, 24 disabled Vehicles lost 17 (2 destroyed, 15 disabled) Assaulting units: 148th Infantry Regiment 145th Infantry Regiment 132nd Infantry Regiment 104th Combat Engineer Regiment 111th(Sep) Infantry Regiment 2nd Marine Regiment 17th USN Naval Construction Regiment 6th USN Naval Construction Regiment 94th Coast AA Regiment 45th USN Naval Construction Battalion 157th USA Base Force 77th Coast AA Regiment 25th USN Naval Construction Battalion USMC AirFMFPac 16th USN Naval Construction Regiment 41st USN Naval Construction Battalion 93rd Coast AA Regiment 5th USN Naval Construction Regiment 3rd USN Naval Construction Regiment 95th Coast AA Regiment 148th USA Base Force 150th USA Base Force 46th USN Naval Construction Battalion 73rd RAAF Wing 19th USN Naval Construction Regiment 369th Cst AA Rgt /1 Defending units: 58th Division 64th Division 29th Army Not sure what to do now. I could continue the attack, or just try and starve him out. I am sure I can hold him (I'm sitting behind a level 5 forts) but I want him gone. I don't necessarily want to bring more troops into Munda. I've got another invasion planned in about a month that will take all the free troops. Long term plans for Munda over the next month are to expand the airfields and get as much airpower as I can onto the island.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/23/2014 4:49:29 PM)
4/1/44 Solomons 2 weeks have past without much incident at Munda. I've kept the Japanese trapped on the island on the defensive and I've managed to build Munda up into a Port 4, Airbase 8, forts 4 base. I am regularly rotating out battleship groups to prevent any sneaky shore bombardments. Good thing I did as a Japanese Cruiser force slips past my detection and makes a run on Munda. I'm guessing in hopes of taking out my Transport runs. Instead they find a Battleship SAG. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Munda at 111,134, Range 5,000 Yards Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses F1M2 Pete: 1 destroyed Japanese Ships CA Aoba, Shell hits 17, and is sunk CL Kuma, Shell hits 3, heavy fires DD Makigumo, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Takanami DD Tamanami DD Kishinami, Shell hits 1, and is sunk DD Hamanami, Shell hits 2, heavy fires Allied Ships BB Colorado, Shell hits 8 CA Chicago, Shell hits 2 CL Santa Fe DD Burns DD Caperton, Shell hits 1 DD Charrette DD Hale DD Miller DD Sims, Shell hits 3, on fire, heavy damage DD Ellet DD Balch DD Paul Jones DD Crane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenge is sweet. I'm usually on the losing end of these surface actions but this time the Japanese lose a Cruiser and a destroyer outright at the cost of 1 heavily damaged US Destroyer. With Munda stabilizing I can say that most of the Solomon chain is pretty much shut down for the Japanese. Rabaul's airfield is shut down with regular bombing runs from Cooktown supported by fighter sweeps from Munda. I'm already thinking ahead and prepping two separate invasions. I want to cut off The Shortlands and land at Torokino. They got a lot of troops at Shortlands that would be orphaned if I could pull it off and I could get fighters closer Kavieng and the Admiralty Islands the second invasion is going to hit Lautem in the Timors. I looks like it will make a good size airbase and threaten Japanese shipping all the way Kendari. INDIA/BURMA Now where I'm really stumped is in India. I've finally chased all the Japanese out of India and finally have enough troops that I am building Akyab as a large forward base. I don't have any troops in Burma yet. I've pretty much shut down most of his airfields in Burma all the way to Rangoon with huge bomber raids from Calcutta. Fighter Strength continues to grow. I'm not sure if I should pursue over land. I'm worried about any large enough force I send overland getting enough supplies. I don't have enough transport to assault further up the Burma. I'd love to land troops at Moulmein or Tavoy and just cut off most of Burma. What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

DOCUP -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/27/2014 1:12:58 AM)
Good luck.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/27/2014 4:30:37 PM)
Fast forwarding here to 4/24/44 In the last few weeks I've expanded my beachhead on Munda. My Lautem invasion fleet is just about ready to sortie. Gebede does not seem happy with my invasion of Munda. The Base has grown and I've managed to contain the Combat regiments that he had counterattack with. Today would see a massive Battleship engagement. Larger then the one that resulted in the sinking of the Yamato in late '42 I have a one day notice via recon that he is coming but I didn't realize in such force. If Gebede is true to form his Surface group will be followed by another amphibious landing. I've got a large surface fleet here with 6 Battleship, though they are mostly old, pre-war vintage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Munda at 111,134, Range 4,000 Yards Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses OS2U-3 Kingfisher: 1 destroyed Japanese Ships BB Musashi, Shell hits 24, heavy fires, heavy damage BB Fuso, Shell hits 1 BB Yamashiro BB Ise, Shell hits 3 BB Hyuga, Shell hits 2 DD Shigure DD Harusame DD Yamakaze, Shell hits 3, heavy fires DD Kawakaze Allied Ships BB Colorado, Shell hits 10, on fire BB West Virginia, Shell hits 7, on fire BB Nevada, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage BB Arizona, Shell hits 3 BB Washington, Shell hits 2 BB Alabama, Shell hits 22, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk CA Portland CA Chicago, Shell hits 1, on fire CL Nashville CL Honolulu CL Montpelier CL Santa Fe CL Biloxi DD Charles Badger DD Cogswell DD Dortch DD Gatling DD Harrison DD Hickox DD Hunt DD Luce DD O'Bannon DD Spence, Shell hits 1 DD Waller DD Ralph Talbot -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Alabama goes down fighting with the Nevada is a virtual wreck. Colorado and West Virginia take some damage it's not all bad. We put crippling damage on the Mushasi, but not much else. I guess all my ships were concentrating on that beast. As the sun rises aircraft from Munda find the retreating Battleships. a lot of bombers can't find anything but luckily some Avengers make it through to score a couple of torpedo hits. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Vella Lavella at 110,133 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 35 minutes Allied aircraft Avenger II x 8 FM-2 Wildcat x 19 F6F-3 Hellcat x 14 TBM-1C Avenger x 9 Allied aircraft losses Avenger II: 3 damaged Avenger II: 1 destroyed by flak TBM-1C Avenger: 5 damaged Japanese Ships BB Yamashiro, on fire BB Hyuga, Torpedo hits 1, on fire BB Fuso BB Ise, Torpedo hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Vella Lavella at 110,133 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 54 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 24 minutes Allied aircraft TBM-1C Avenger x 9 Allied aircraft losses TBM-1C Avenger: 6 damaged Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Bomb hits 2 BB Ise BB Yamashiro, Bomb hits 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In India I'm still at an impasse. I've bombed pretty much every airfield in burma but still don't have the transports to move troops further south.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/27/2014 9:53:46 PM)
4/25/14 My surface fleet holding at Munda took a pounding yesterday but I still had three battleships in relatively good shape. The next night Gebede throws his remaining Battleships against Munda again. It still looks like a pretty even fight with 3 US Battle wagons verses two IJN. AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Apr 25, 44 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Munda at 111,134, Range 7,000 Yards Japanese Ships BB Fuso, Shell hits 1 BB Yamashiro, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Harusame Allied Ships BB Colorado BB Arizona, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage BB Washington, Shell hits 2 CA Portland CL Nashville CL Honolulu CL Montpelier CL Santa Fe CL Biloxi DD Charles Badger DD Bush DD Cogswell DD Dortch DD Gatling DD Harrison DD Hickox DD Hunt DD Luce DD O'Bannon DD Spence DD Waller DD Ralph Talbot DD Kennison DD Crane, Shell hits 1 The fight is inconclusive, basically trading the Arizona for the Yamashiro. when the sun rises the aircraft on Munda take flight to punish the Japanese stragglers that can't quite get away. The most successful of seom a squadron of Dauntlesses. 13 planes net 9 hits with 1000lb eggs. Morning Air attack on TF, near Shortlands at 109,131 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 10 SBD-5 Dauntless x 13 Allied aircraft losses SBD-5 Dauntless: 2 damaged Japanese Ships BB Yamashiro, Bomb hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Harusame, Bomb hits 1, on fire And a very successful Torpedo attack... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Feni Islands at 107,127 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 67 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 31 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 13 Allied aircraft FM-2 Wildcat x 18 F6F-3 Hellcat x 9 TBF-1 Avenger x 9 TBM-1C Avenger x 4 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses FM-2 Wildcat: 2 destroyed TBF-1 Avenger: 1 damaged Japanese Ships BB Ise, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage BB Hyuga, Torpedo hits 1 We even slip a couple of torpedoes through CAP. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Feni Islands at 107,127 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 60 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 8 Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 2 No Japanese losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships BB Hyuga, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage Other attacks go in more piecemeal and score nothing. Wither completely missing or intercepted by CAP. I'm perplexed why these guys did not have KB nearby, or if the KB was nearby I didn't see it or any Zeros on CAP. It will probably take a few weeks to assess the outcome of this to day battle but I have a feeling that for once the US Navy will come out ahead.

BBfanboy -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/28/2014 1:53:29 AM)
Congratulations on a hard-fought surface battle and air follow-up. Even if results are about equal, you win because the Allies have a lot more BBs to play with. I suspect his CAs are with his carriers which could be rebuilding airgroups.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/28/2014 1:22:00 PM)
Thanks! and I would agree, I think that would be the only reason why they were not covering that Battleship task force with some serious air power. I think the last month has been a watershed month as far as damage to the IJN. While his carriers remain elusive as ever I've dealt some serious damage to his surface fleet. I think this month is really the first that I've sunk significantly more ships then he has.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/28/2014 1:42:52 PM)
05/06/44 After a week there was nothing much of note. My subs finally start hitting things and I've sunk two tankers and a couple of AKs over the last week. the Japanese have not made a return to Munda, I think the last surface action pretty much was the end of the IJN contesting my landing there. Next up is the invasion of Torokina, just beyond the Shortland. Troops reports heavy troops in Shortlands, while Torokina not as heavily reinforced. I've got the better part of two divisions going in. Rabaul is no longer a threat. with regular B-24 raids from Cooktown keeping the airfields at 90% damage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Lautem at 72,115, Range 30,000 Yards Japanese Ships MTB G-4 Allied Ships APD Dickerson AO Chepachet AP U.S. Grant AP McCawley AP Barnett AP Henderson AP President Adams AP President Polk APA Doyen APA Feland APA Ormsby APA Sheridan APA Sumter APA Warren APA Wayne APA Bolivar APA Custer APA Elmore LSD Ashland LSD Carter Hall LST-18 LST-19 LST-21 LST-22 LST-23 LST-24 LST-26 LST-27 LST-30 LST-31 LST-338 LST-339 LST-446 LST-447 LST-448 xAP Cape Perpetua xAP Cape Cleare xAP Cape Johnson xAP Cape Mendocino xAP Cape Meares xAP Cape Victory xAK Santa Monica xAK Dellwood xAK Santa Anna xAK City of Yokohama xAK Waiotapu I have a couple of fast destroyer task forces out advanced beyond Torokina as pickets. One finds a small supply convoy. Not sure where they are going but my destroyers insure that most of them won't get there, regardless. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Lihir at 108,124, Range 10,000 Yards Japanese Ships E W-23, Shell hits 14, and is sunk E W-26, Shell hits 19, and is sunk AK Kaga Maru, Shell hits 21, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Syohei Maru, Shell hits 38, and is sunk xAK London Maru, Shell hits 14, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Shinyubari Maru, Shell hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships DD Black DD Boyd DD McCord DD Renshaw DD Stanly, Shell hits 1, on fire My Invasion fleet is covered by the Iowa and New Jersey, currently only 2 of 3 US battlewagons not in the yards or heading that way. The battlewagons will only engage to protect the precious Invasion force. Of course that doesn't stop them from becoming targets for Japanese Air power. The good news is that I've got significant LRCAP in the form of 10 CVEs and over 200 fighters on Munda. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Torokina at 109,130 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 108 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft D4Y1 Judy x 31 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 35 Allied aircraft P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 10 FM-1 Wildcat x 15 FM-2 Wildcat x 5 F4U-1A Corsair x 19 F6F-3 Hellcat x 25 Japanese aircraft losses D4Y1 Judy: 8 destroyed, 8 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 7 destroyed by flak Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 13 destroyed Allied aircraft losses FM-2 Wildcat: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CA Portland BB Iowa BB New Jersey CL Santa Fe I'm pretty sure these are land based as I haven't seen a carrier in weeks. Either way inflict heavy losses on the first wave for no damage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Torokina at 109,130 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 25 minutes Japanese aircraft B6N2a Jill x 31 Allied aircraft P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 9 FM-1 Wildcat x 9 FM-2 Wildcat x 2 F4U-1A Corsair x 15 F6F-3 Hellcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses B6N2a Jill: 18 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Torokina at 109,130 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 66 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Japanese aircraft B6N2a Jill x 24 Allied aircraft P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 1 FM-1 Wildcat x 6 FM-2 Wildcat x 2 F4U-1A Corsair x 13 F6F-3 Hellcat x 11 Japanese aircraft losses B6N2a Jill: 14 destroyed No Allied losses A downer for Gebede as his next few attacks come in sans fighter escorts and the Jills take it on the nose. I've been there. Lastly the troops that have made it ashore today fire a bombardment attack, I need to see what I'm facing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Torokina (109,130) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 9423 troops, 350 guns, 258 vehicles, Assault Value = 273 Defending force 2040 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 11 Assaulting units: 6th Infantry Division 38th Infantry Division Defending units: 35th JNAF AF Unit 58th JNAF AF Unit hmmm, I may have greatly over-estimated Japanese strength at Torokina. tomorrow we we launch a shock attack in hopes of taking the island. INDIA/BURMA In India not much going on except for the arrival and deployment of the first B-29 units! One wing is on a transport and heading to Northern OZ the other is flying out of Calcutta and hits Bangkok. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Bangkok , at 56,62 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K1-J George x 30 Allied aircraft B-29-1 Superfort x 35 Japanese aircraft losses N1K1-J George: 1 damaged Ki-57-II Topsy: 1 destroyed on ground Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 5 destroyed on ground No Allied losses Japanese ground losses: 10 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 20 not much damage but I put Gebede on notice and hopefully it will mean he will have to spread his fighters over more bases for protection.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/28/2014 5:18:37 PM)
5/07/44 the Invasion is going well. Troops continue to unload throughout the night with minimal losses. On sun up aircraft take to the skies. A port attack at Shortlands finds and hits a Sub. I suspect it's one of the ones badly damaged from the Munda battles last month. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Shortlands , at 109,131 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid spotted at 30 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Allied aircraft SBD-5 Dauntless x 16 Allied aircraft losses SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 damaged Japanese Ships SS I-3, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage Japanese ground losses: 9 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Port hits 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We score a hit on I-3, hopefully it will be enough. I believe that the Japanese base at Kavieng has been supplying most of the air power for the last few days. I send in a fighter sweep to verify and they find a swarm of Georges. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Kavieng , at 106,122 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 41,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K2-J George x 41 Allied aircraft P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 15 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally we launch our shock attack at Torokina. Japanese defenders hang tough but I reduce the forts to 1. I imagine it will fall tomorrow without to much hassle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Torokina (109,130) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 10421 troops, 370 guns, 303 vehicles, Assault Value = 282 Defending force 2045 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 11 Allied adjusted assault: 165 Japanese adjusted defense: 43 Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 4) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), morale(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 34 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) Allied ground losses: 88 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Assaulting units: 6th Infantry Division 38th Infantry Division Defending units: 35th JNAF AF Unit 58th JNAF AF Unit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Northern OZ Basing from Darwin I am about ready to launch another invasion, this time Lautem. I step up my air attacks and move transports into place for the dash from Darwin to Lautem. As I don't have carriers, or Battleships, to cover I am going to have to use LRCAP from Darwin for protection as well as a few CVEs. I'm off to a good start though, as my Avengers find and inflict heavy damage on a Japanese CL. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 72,115 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 6 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 2 minutes Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 17 No Allied losses Japanese Ships CL Kashii, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk CL Kashima Aircraft Attacking: 17 x TBF-1 Avenger launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 22in Mk 13 Torpedo Massive explosion on CL Kashii --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/28/2014 8:33:41 PM)
5/8/44 The Solomons The invasion of Torokina is successful today. Japanese troops retreat to Shortlands. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Torokina (109,130) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 11288 troops, 380 guns, 338 vehicles, Assault Value = 277 Defending force 1977 troops, 18 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 9 Allied adjusted assault: 156 Japanese adjusted defense: 23 Allied assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 1) Allied forces CAPTURE Torokina !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), morale(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), fatigue(-) Japanese ground losses: 666 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 55 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 19 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 5 (4 destroyed, 1 disabled) Units retreated 2 Allied ground losses: 8 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 6th Infantry Division 38th Infantry Division Defending units: 35th JNAF AF Unit 58th JNAF AF Unit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather rains in the air this turn so not much else happens. With Torokina in hand I know have a forward base that can sweep enemy bases all the way up the Bismark Archipelago. Northern OZ My prep continues here, but Gebede catches a Destroyer squadron with a couple of punishing attacks. my feeble LRCAP doesn't do much. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Saumlaki at 78,117 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 71 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 24 minutes Japanese aircraft G4M2 Betty x 36 N1K1-J George x 29 Allied aircraft Spitfire VIII x 5 Japanese aircraft losses G4M2 Betty: 18 damaged G4M2 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak N1K1-J George: 4 destroyed No Allied losses Allied Ships DD McKee, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk DD Philip DD Colahan DD John Rodgers DD Wadsworth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Saumlaki at 78,117 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft G4M2 Betty x 18 N1K1-J George x 22 Allied aircraft Spitfire VIII x 3 Japanese aircraft losses G4M2 Betty: 14 damaged G4M2 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak N1K1-J George: 2 destroyed No Allied losses Allied Ships DD Philip, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD DeHaven, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Wadsworth DD John Rodgers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Costly mistake on my side that costs me 3 destroyers.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/29/2014 1:56:17 PM)
5/9/44 ...5/10/44 the Solomons No Japanese Surface vessels have arrived to contest Torokino but Fighter sweeps arrive. I don't think Gebede expected me to get the airfields operational so fast. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Torokina , at 109,130 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 14 NM, estimated altitude 36,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K2-J George x 29 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 7 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 21 F4U-1 Corsair x 5 F4U-1A Corsair x 35 F6F-3 Hellcat x 14 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 8 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 4 destroyed F4U-1A Corsair: 2 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Torokina , at 109,130 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 13 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K2-J George x 26 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 7 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 14 F4U-1 Corsair x 2 F4U-1A Corsair x 20 F6F-3 Hellcat x 6 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 6 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38J Lightning: 1 destroyed F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I come out a little ahead in the exchange which I will take. the plan is to build up Munda into a bomber base. I'd love to get a couple of B-24 squadrons up and running. I've got the supply and support and the engineers should have the airfield up pretty soon. With Torokina as a forward fighter base I hope to be able to shut down the Japanese game from the Solomons to the Admiralties. Tomorrow we launch the Invasion at Lautem, in the Timors, our first major move north!

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/29/2014 3:36:52 PM)
5/11/14 The Invasion of Lautem! the plan. I've got the better part of two divisions going in along with Engineers and support. They are in a single Amphibious task force. The Landing is supported by a large surface group lead by the Prince of Wales and a couple of Heavy Cruiser. Air support is being provided by Darwin and Saumlak. I've got 75 P-38s, 75- p-47s, 25 p-51s and about 50 Corsairs set to LRCAP my task forces. I've also have 5 squadrons of B-24s and 4 B-25 squadrons tasked to pound any Japanese base that counters my invasion fleet. My timing with the invasion is to follow up the Invasion of Torokina quickly. I suspect that the KB is lurking northwest of the Solomons and don't expect any/many carriers near the Timors. Feel free to comment on my invasion plan, or lack thereof [:D] The battle starts off on a good foot, with my surface task force clearing the way, finding a couple of Japanese Warships and taking them out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Lautem at 72,115, Range 6,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Kashima, Shell hits 22, and is sunk DD Minekaze, Shell hits 11, and is sunk Allied Ships BB Prince of Wales CA Australia CA Canberra CL Detroit CL Trenton CL Helena, Shell hits 1 CL Phoenix CL Boise DD Izard DD Walker DD Hobby DD Carmick DD Sampson DD Saumarez -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal guns fire in defense of Lautem but nothing too bad so far! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Lautem (72,115) Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 51 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships APD Dickerson LST-22 LST-24 AO Chepachet LST-21 LST-18 Allied ground losses: 13 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled APD Dickerson fired at enemy troops Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 6,000 yards Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Landing troops. I get a report with a lot of casualties listed. This report isn't looking good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amphibious Assault at Lautem (72,115) TF 315 troops unloading over beach at Lautem, 72,115 Allied ground losses: 2476 casualties reported[&:] Squads: 5 destroyed, 367 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 217 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 103 (0 destroyed, 103 disabled) Vehicles lost 76 (0 destroyed, 76 disabled) 13 troops of a USA Rifle Squad accidentally lost during unload of 27th Infantry Div /2 10 Support troops lost overboard during unload of 1st Cavalry (Spec) Cav Div 13 troops of a USA Rifle Squad lost overboard during unload of 33rd Infantry Div 13 troops of a USA Rifle Squad accidentally lost during unload of 33rd Infantry Div /6 13 troops of a USA Rifle Squad lost overboard during unload of 33rd Infantry Div /9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On sun up we encounter another major hitch. It's seems the LRCAP assigned to my surface task force does not fly. However I don't know if this is a glitch or not as the next turns combat losses show a lot more air to air kills than can be attributed to the air war over Torokina. it's almost like my AAR is lying to me. I chalk it up to Fog of war. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 72,115 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft G4M2 Betty x 27 Japanese aircraft losses G4M2 Betty: 22 damaged G4M2 Betty: 5 destroyed by flak Allied Ships BB Prince of Wales, Torpedo hits 1 CL Detroit CL Boise, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage CA Canberra -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ugh, this does not bode well at all.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 72,115 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-49-IIa Helen x 27 Ki-49-IIb Helen x 18 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-49-IIa Helen: 19 damaged Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 destroyed by flak Ki-49-IIb Helen: 11 damaged Ki-49-IIb Helen: 4 destroyed by flak Allied Ships BB Prince of Wales, Bomb hits 11, on fire CA Australia CL Trenton CL Helena CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh dear! He even goes after my ASW task force but these speedy destroyers are able to avoid any damage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Babar at 76,116 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 20 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5b Zero x 48 B6N2 Jill x 9 D4Y1 Judy x 13 Japanese aircraft losses B6N2 Jill: 2 damaged B6N2 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 3 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Allied Ships DD Philip DD John Rodgers DD Wadsworth DD Colahan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To add insult to injury one more attack goes in and hits the Prince of Wales again[:o] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 72,115 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-49-IIb Helen x 9 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-49-IIb Helen: 8 damaged Allied Ships BB Prince of Wales, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires Aircraft Attacking: 9 x Ki-49-IIb Helen bombing from 1000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally on Lautem the Japanese defenders bombard my invaders... Nothing unexpected here and just confirms the numbers of Defenders I was expecting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Lautem (72,115) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 3622 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 128 Defending force 15923 troops, 423 guns, 259 vehicles, Assault Value = 630 Assaulting units: 74th Infantry Regiment 48th Road Const Co 4th Naval Construction Battalion Defending units: 33rd Infantry Division 25th Marine Regiment 1st Cavalry (Spec) Cavalry Division 27th Infantry Div /12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Solomons While the invasion of Lautem raged all day the Japanese also showed up in force over Torokina. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Torokina , at 109,130 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 32,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K2-J George x 14 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 7 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 19 F4U-1 Corsair x 5 F4U-1A Corsair x 31 F6F-3 Hellcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Torokina , at 109,130 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 23 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K2-J George x 18 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 7 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 19 F4U-1 Corsair x 5 F4U-1A Corsair x 27 F6F-3 Hellcat x 9 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 4 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pretty much a wash over Torokina which is a win for me. I'm a little concerned about the accuracy of my After Action Report. In email chat with Gebede and looking at his losses in the program he lost over 100 aircraft, including attacks on my Amphibious fleet but I didn't see any of that being reported. Has anyone seen anything like this?

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/29/2014 5:39:47 PM)
5/12/44 Invasion of Lautem. The Battle continues with troops unloading. A few Japanese MTB make a showing but don't come close to the task force. No Japanese Surface ships arrive ye, either. On sun up however my LRCAP decides to sleep again. It looks like a Japanese Carrier force is alive and active north of the Timors. My Cruiser task force is gutted... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 73,116 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 30 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5b Zero x 65 B6N2 Jill x 42 D4Y1 Judy x 30 Japanese aircraft losses B6N2 Jill: 20 damaged B6N2 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 3 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Allied Ships CA Canberra, Torpedo hits 2 CL Trenton, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage CA Australia CL Phoenix, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage CL Detroit, Bomb hits 1, on fire CL Helena, Torpedo hits 1 DD Hobby, Bomb hits 1, on fire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I shock attack at Lautem and make progress! Dropping the defenders from 6 forts to 3! I imagine that Lautem will fall tomorrow. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Lautem (72,115) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 16073 troops, 423 guns, 259 vehicles, Assault Value = 658 Defending force 4485 troops, 32 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 125 Allied adjusted assault: 285 Japanese adjusted defense: 93 Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 6) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 3 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-) experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 1415 casualties reported Squads: 9 destroyed, 113 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Guns lost 20 (6 destroyed, 14 disabled) Allied ground losses: 138 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 24 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Assaulting units: 25th Marine Regiment 1st Cavalry (Spec) Cavalry Division 27th Infantry Division 33rd Infantry Division Defending units: 74th Infantry Regiment 48th Road Const Co 4th Naval Construction Battalion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will need to extract all my cripples. It looks like two of my American Light Cruisers are in bad shape. Both will be limping home to Darwin. The Solomons: the Air War continues over Torokina. I'm not sure what he's trying to gain by the sweeps. I know they are costly for him. He's buying time, but for what? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Torokina , at 109,130 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 28 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 36 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 7 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 21 F4U-1 Corsair x 5 F4U-1A Corsair x 31 F6F-3 Hellcat x 10 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 12 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38J Lightning: 1 destroyed F4U-1A Corsair: 3 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First really decisive air battle of Torokina to date. The KI-44s are no match. Next a Attack squadron comes in with no fighter escort. The results are ugly and predictable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Torokina at 109,130 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 72 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 18 minutes Japanese aircraft D4Y1 Judy x 35 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 7 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 19 F4U-1 Corsair x 4 F4U-1A Corsair x 28 F6F-3 Hellcat x 9 Japanese aircraft losses D4Y1 Judy: 22 destroyed No Allied losses Allied Ships AK Pavo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To add to the excitement I launch an assault on the orphaned Japanese on Munda. The attack does not go my way.. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Munda (111,134) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 22677 troops, 610 guns, 480 vehicles, Assault Value = 927 Defending force 12362 troops, 106 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value = 234 Allied adjusted assault: 460 Japanese adjusted defense: 463 [&:] Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 545 casualties reported Squads: 29 destroyed, 38 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 24 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Allied ground losses: 1192 casualties reported Squads: 7 destroyed, 129 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Guns lost 27 (2 destroyed, 25 disabled) Assaulting units: 182nd Infantry Regiment 111th(Sep) Infantry Regiment 32nd Infantry Division 3rd Marine Regiment 132nd Infantry Regiment 104th Combat Engineer Regiment 145th Infantry Regiment 2nd Marine Regiment 148th Infantry Rgt /4 41st USN Naval Construction Battalion 58th Aviation Base Force 39th Aviation Base Force 6th Infantry Div /2 49th Aviation Base Force /2 73rd RAAF Wing 157th USA Base Force 6th USN Naval Construction Regiment 38th Infantry Div /1 5th USN Naval Construction Regiment 369th Coast AA Regiment 46th USN Naval Construction Battalion 94th Cst AA Rgt /3 148th USA Base Force 235th USN Base Force USMC AirFMFPac 150th USA Base Force 77th Coast AA Regiment 95th Coast AA Regiment 45th USN Naval Construction Battalion 3rd USN Naval Construction Regiment 47th Aviation Base Force 93rd Coast AA Regiment 19th USN Naval Construction Regiment 234th USN Base Force 25th USN Naval Construction Battalion 233rd USN Base Force 41st Aviation Base Force /3 Defending units: 58th Division 64th Division 29th Army -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I take a hard hit. Lautem is looking good on the land. I expect to capture the base tomorrow. The air war is also going well. Gedebe lost about another 60+ aircraft all told. on the sea I'm hurting. my Surface Task Force in shredded and I'll need to keep Lautem supplied.

jmalter -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/29/2014 10:54:49 PM)
Hi buckaroo, I will suggest that your SurfTF fleet composition needs adjustment. I'm referring mostly to your post #9. In general, a SurfTF will fare better if it's composed of similar ships, w/ similar MA & speed. quote: Allied Ships BB Colorado, Shell hits 10, on fire BB West Virginia, Shell hits 7, on fire BB Nevada, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage BB Arizona, Shell hits 3 BB Washington, Shell hits 2 BB Alabama, Shell hits 22, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk CA Portland CA Chicago, Shell hits 1, on fire CL Nashville CL Honolulu CL Montpelier CL Santa Fe CL Biloxi DD Charles Badger DD Cogswell DD Dortch DD Gatling DD Harrison DD Hickox DD Hunt DD Luce DD O'Bannon DD Spence, Shell hits 1 DD Waller DD Ralph Talbot IMO, this SurfTF is too large, optimal size is 12-16 ships. A larger SurfTF is vulnerable to fratricidal collisions during combat. 2nd, the combination of BB/CA/CL plus escorts is problematic. The heavies have different guns, w/ different max range, I suspect that most of the CLs didn't get off many shots. A SurfTF should consist of heavies w/ similar speed & MA, and escorts w/ similar speed & MA. It's not always possible to form a TF of sister-ships, but a mix of 16"/14"/12"/8"/6" MA in the heavies won't be very effective. Consider a re-organization - CLs are a good AA component for CV TFs. SurfTFs should consist of heavies w/ similar speed & MA caliber / range, their escorts should also be similar. I'm founding this advice on rec'd knowledge from Nemo, a well-respected poster to these forums. You'll want to combine this info w/ your current tactical situation & ship availability.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/30/2014 1:58:21 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jmalter IMO, this SurfTF is too large, optimal size is 12-16 ships. A larger SurfTF is vulnerable to fratricidal collisions during combat. 2nd, the combination of BB/CA/CL plus escorts is problematic. The heavies have different guns, w/ different max range, I suspect that most of the CLs didn't get off many shots. A SurfTF should consist of heavies w/ similar speed & MA, and escorts w/ similar speed & MA. It's not always possible to form a TF of sister-ships, but a mix of 16"/14"/12"/8"/6" MA in the heavies won't be very effective. Consider a re-organization - CLs are a good AA component for CV TFs. SurfTFs should consist of heavies w/ similar speed & MA caliber / range, their escorts should also be similar. I'm founding this advice on rec'd knowledge from Nemo, a well-respected poster to these forums. You'll want to combine this info w/ your current tactical situation & ship availability. Thanks for the advice jmalter! Just so I understand, with the hindsight that an engagement with a Japanese surface force containing BB Musashi, BB Fuso, BB Yamashiro, BB Ise, BB Hyuga and 4 Destroyers You'd suggest greater performance if I had split my surface force so that Colorado, West Virginia, Nevada, and Arizona were in one Task force and Washington, Alabama were in another (or some permutation along those lines)? Thanks again for your suggestions!

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/30/2014 4:08:16 PM)
5/13/44 Invasion of Lautem! During the night Japanese Torpedo boats desperately try to get at my transports. They run into the little surface fleet that I have left. AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 13, 44 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Lautem at 72,115, Range 2,000 Yards Japanese Ships MTB G-538 MTB G-539 MTB G-540, Shell hits 1, and is sunk MTB G-541 MTB G-543 MTB G-153, Shell hits 1, and is sunk MTB G-157, Shell hits 1, and is sunk MTB G-158, Shell hits 1, and is sunk MTB G-159, Shell hits 1, and is sunk MTB G-160, Shell hits 2, and is sunk MTB G-161, Shell hits 1, and is sunk MTB G-162 Allied Ships DD Cotten DD Erben DD Hopewell, Shell hits 1 DD Pringle DD Sigourney DD Sigsbee DD Thatcher DD Wickes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gebede sends in the wolfpack as well. but my destroyers are on the ball. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Lautem at 72,115 Japanese Ships SS I-183, hits 33, heavy damage -Ouch! Allied Ships DD Sigourney DD Pringle DD Hopewell DD Erben DD Cotten DD Wickes DD Thatcher DD Sigsbee -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Pringle takes a fatal Torpedo but the I-184 pays the ultimate price -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Lautem at 72,115 Japanese Ships SS I-184, hits 24, and is sunk Allied Ships DD Pringle, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage DD Cotten DD Wickes DD Thatcher DD Sigsbee -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another sub critically damaged... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASW attack near Lautem at 72,115 Japanese Ships SS I-9, hits 19 Allied Ships DD Cotten DD Wickes DD Thatcher DD Sigsbee -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My Assault is successful this turn. Lautem is mine, for now. Now to bring in the masses of Engineers and aviation support and turn this into something usable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Lautem (72,115) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 15955 troops, 423 guns, 259 vehicles, Assault Value = 640 Defending force 3333 troops, 24 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 24 Allied adjusted assault: 553 Japanese adjusted defense: 17 Allied assault odds: 32 to 1 (fort level 3) Allied forces CAPTURE Lautem !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), preparation(-) experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 2436 casualties reported Squads: 147 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 44 destroyed, 29 disabled Engineers: 37 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 18 (18 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 3 Allied ground losses: 131 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Solomons The air war continues with a massive air assault at Torokina. A hundred Japanese aircraft try to take out a small amphibious task force. His results are good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Torokina at 109,130 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 19 minutes Japanese aircraft D4Y1 Judy x 34 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 66 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 6 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 21 F4U-1 Corsair x 4 F4U-1A Corsair x 50 F6F-3 Hellcat x 9 Japanese aircraft losses D4Y1 Judy: 5 destroyed, 7 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 13 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships LSD Lindenwald, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires APA Neville, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage AKA Jupiter, Bomb hits 1, on fire LSD Oak Hill, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AK Pavo, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, I'll admit that hurt. I can't afford to lose any Troop Transports. We shred his attacking force and inflict over 30 losses but it doesn't stop his bombers. I need to suppress the airfields that are hosting these bombers, once I find them.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (5/30/2014 5:56:13 PM)
5/14/44 Lautem. With the invasion a success and Lautem under allied control it is time to pull back my fleet to Darwin. Most ships are underway safely but Gebede finds two of my worst cripples and finishes them off!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Moa at 73,117 Japanese Ships SS I-121 Allied Ships CL Boise, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage SS I-121 launches 4 torpedoes at CL Boise -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near Moa at 73,117 Japanese Ships SS I-185 Allied Ships CL Phoenix, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage CL Phoenix is sighted by SS I-185 SS I-185 launches 2 torpedoes at CL Phoenix -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neither light cruiser will make it back to port and the butcher's bill for Lautem grows. The game teases me with positive news as a sub puts three fish into a Japanese tanker. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Namlea at 76,108 Japanese Ships TK Nittetsu Maru, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage E W-30 Allied Ships SS Robalo, hits 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then bad luck strikes again. In incoming convoy to Darwin is struck by carrier planes! They are north of Timor but can't be too far away. British Hellcats do their best but can't prevent the Japanese from overwhelming them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Truscott at 71,123 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 20 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5b Zero x 41 B6N2 Jill x 11 D4Y1 Judy x 22 Allied aircraft Hellcat I x 15 Japanese aircraft losses B6N2 Jill: 2 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 7 damaged Allied aircraft losses Hellcat I: 2 destroyed Allied Ships CVE Begum, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAK Samhorn, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAK Paul Luckenbach, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Steel Engineer, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Shahzada, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most ships will sink but I think the Begum might make it to port. [:(] My mistake, I wasn't watching this task force closely and it just kind of stumbled into a raging battle. The Solomons I'm trying to find where that air attack came from. Fighter sweeps of Namatanai and Kavieng don't turn up anything. The plan over the next few weeks is to build up my bases here, continue sweeps and hold.

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 5:35:13 PM)
5/15/44- 5/20/14 Mainly a week of consolidation. It takes a big effort but I think I have all my damaged ships finally routed to the yards for repairs. the Bunker Hill, which took a couple of torpedo hits, and my more heavily damaged CVLs are heading to the west coast. The lighter damaged Essex class carriers are headed to Pearl. The lightest damaged (sys) carriers to Noumea to act as a reaction force. I do have 15 CVEs covering Munda. The air war has been sporadic with no real resistance from Gebede. I launch my first major B-29 raid from Darwin, hitting the port at Manus in the Admiralty Islands. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Manus , at 101,119 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 26 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Allied aircraft B-29-1 Superfort x 24 No Allied losses Japanese Ships xAP Manzyu Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAP Mizuho Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Hakozaki Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAK Atutasan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Yodogawa Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Yoshino Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire E W-10, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Yamagiri Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Nitti Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires E W-12, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Kanzyu Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAP Kokuryu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Atsuta Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire Port hits 2 Port fuel hits 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SBDs from Torokina also find transports at Arawe, next to Gasmata. It could herald that he's trying to rebuild those airfields. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Arawe at 102,126 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 23 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Allied aircraft F4U-1A Corsair x 31 SBD-5 Dauntless x 16 No Allied losses Japanese Ships xAK China Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Toho Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall a quiet week. I think he's up to something. I'm surprised about the lack of response at Lautem. Usually Gabede hits back pretty hard on any invasion. I've got some more surface ships on the way to Darwin and am thinking about sending some of my CVE strength there as well to support the resupply efforts.

Chickenboy -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 5:46:52 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Yaab How about the Nauru - Kusaie - Ponape axis? They are all spacious islands, and with developed airfields you can bomb both Truk and Kwajalein/Roi-Namur with heavy bombers. The problem is that most Japanese players also know that these are all spacious islands, and with developed airfields you can bomb Truk and Kwajalein/Roi-Namur with heavy bombers. Most experienced Japanese players defend accordingly.

Chickenboy -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 5:48:34 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: buckaroo13 I'm surprised about the lack of response at Lautem. Usually Gabede hits back pretty hard on any invasion. I'm sure it's your imagination. Nothing can go wrong. Relax! Take a couple days off! Sit back in the sun and drink a cool adult beverage. Sleep in on Sunday morning, Allied dog...erm...buckaroo13. [:D]

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 5:52:32 PM)
5/22/44 Counter-attack at Lautem? Well, after a slow week it looks like something is up at Lautem. Recon shows several task forces and then... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Lautem at 72,115, Range 3,000 Yards Japanese Ships BB Mutsu CL Oyodo DD Susuzuki DD Niizuki DD Wakazuki DD Fuyuzuki Allied Ships xAK Tarantia, Shell hits 14, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mutsu and her cronies show up and mess up the place. The bombardment isn't bad at all but the fact he's got at least one battleship in the area and I don't is worrisome. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naval bombardment of Lautem at 72,115 Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 4 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground Japanese Ships BB Mutsu CL Oyodo DD Fuyuzuki DD Wakazuki DD Niizuki DD Susuzuki Allied ground losses: 54 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Airbase hits 3 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 1 Port hits 1 Port supply hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the day a large air attack arives over Lautem. i must have flubbed my CAP alts as his bombers slip past with little interference and bomb up the place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Lautem , at 72,115 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K2-J George x 28 P1Y2 Frances x 65 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 36 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 13 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 8 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 1 destroyed P1Y2 Frances: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38J Lightning: 1 destroyed P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 2 damaged P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed on ground P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground Airbase hits 5 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 18 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- he's trying to silence the fields at Lautem but I've got so many engineers that I doubt it will happen. Tomorrow we will bring in some LRCAP from Darwin and beef up the squadrons. I have a feeling it's going to get messy. INDIA Meanwhile over in India I get adventuresome and send a B-29 raid deep and aim for the airfields at Bankok -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Bangkok , at 56,62 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K1-J George x 13 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 44 Allied aircraft B-29-1 Superfort x 21 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed, 10 damaged Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed on ground Allied aircraft losses B-29-1 Superfort: 4 destroyed, 6 damaged Airbase hits 3 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yeah, that didn't work. I end up losing 12! of my beautiful new bombers. [:@]

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 7:16:58 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Chickenboy The problem is that most Japanese players also know that these are all spacious islands, and with developed airfields you can bomb Truk and Kwajalein/Roi-Namur with heavy bombers. Most experienced Japanese players defend accordingly. I've done some recon of Ponape and it doesn't look like it's heavily garrisoned. My problem is that I need carrier support to carry off that invasion and I won't be in any shape to take on the KB for a couple of months.

Capt. Harlock -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 7:22:59 PM)
quote: 5/15/44- 5/20/14 Wow -- 70 years of game time?? Do both sides have drones now? [:D]

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 7:45:24 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock quote: 5/15/44- 5/20/14 Wow -- 70 years of game time?? Do both sides have drones now? [:D] Oops...

buckaroo13 -> RE: 2 years and counting - First time Grand Campaign (6/4/2014 7:51:56 PM)
5/23/44 Lautem Timor seems to be teaming with ships. I send a small SAG towards one contact but only find some MTB. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Koepang at 68,116, Range 2,000 Yards Japanese Ships MTB G-538 MTB G-539 MTB G-541 MTB G-543 MTB G-162, Shell hits 1, and is sunk Allied Ships CL Concord DD Izard DD Sigourney, Shell hits 1 DD Walker DD Saumarez, Shell hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not a big catch but it's something. True to form the bombers arrive with the sun's first light. The Japanese flights take heavy damage from my additional LRCAP and re-configured altitudes. Some bombers get to the fields but nothing serious. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Lautem , at 72,115 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K1-J George x 17 Ki-49-IIb Helen x 23 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 30 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 18 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 8 P-51B Mustang x 8 F6F-3 Hellcat x 5 Japanese aircraft losses N1K1-J George: 7 destroyed Ki-49-IIb Helen: 10 destroyed, 2 damaged Allied aircraft losses P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed on ground SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground Runway hits 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next arrival is un-escorted and pays a heavy price. Almost all the Helens are shot down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Lautem , at 72,115 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 4 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 1 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-49-IIb Helen x 27 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 26 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 15 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 6 P-51B Mustang x 8 F6F-3 Hellcat x 1 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-49-IIb Helen: 20 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I also see a curious attack on one of my resupply ships. The inclusion of Zeros and Vals means carriers but the numbers suggest a Escort carrier. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Lautem at 72,115 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5b Zero x 5 D3A1 Val x 3 N1K1-J George x 17 Allied aircraft P-38J Lightning x 26 P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 16 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 8 P-51B Mustang x 8 F6F-3 Hellcat x 4 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5b Zero: 2 destroyed N1K1-J George: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D2 Thunderbolt: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships xAK Martand, Bomb hits 1, on fire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Solomons In the Solomons we continue to bomb and suppress Rabaul and nearby fields. Destroyers from torokina sorte and hit the Convoy ID's the previous day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Arawe at 102,126, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships E Kasasagi, Shell hits 1 E Kamo, Shell hits 3, on fire xAK China Maru, Shell hits 16, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Toho Maru, Shell hits 17, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk Allied Ships DD Black, Shell hits 2, on fire DD Boyd DD Hale DD McCord DD Renshaw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall not a bad day for me. Over Lautem we've downed almost 50 planes for minimal loss. I've routed about half of my CVEs to Darwin from Munda and scrapping together any additional surface forces I can. I plan on sweeping the northern side of Timor with my small SAG, I hope to avoid Mutsu and bag transports.

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