RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (Full Version)

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apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/13/2015 3:10:55 AM)

16 Aug 42 - The Saga of Manila's ARD

ARD Dewey has 18,000 ton capacity. It started the war at Manila. In the first days of the war, I ran it out of Manila and hid it at Busuanga, a size 3 port southwest of Bataan. Since it can only move 1 hex a turn, and runs out of fuel after moving one hex, it takes damage every time it moves after the first hex. By the time it got to Busuanga, it had damage in the 20's. I left the ship there several months while it repaired. Then the enemy did a recon of the base, and spotted it. I left port just before the port got bombed, and then a cruiser came by and bombarded the base for good measure. But Dewey was on the run again, this time to Puerto Princesa. It stopped there briefly, before moving on the base to the west by the northeast tip of Borneo. Good thing too, because Puerto Princesa was reconned. There it has sat for some number of months.

Now the enemy is doing more cleanup in the Philippines, and it's just a matter of time till the ship is found, so it was time to run again.

It really has nowhere to go. Going south is problematic. Zamboanga is being actively reconned and I expect it to be invaded soon. The other choice is to run west toward Singapore, and that doesn't sound very hopeful either.

I decide to try to make it to Soebi-besar, north of Kuching. It's a dot base that is still Allied. The adjacent dot base already flipped to the enemy. I decided I take a chance that maybe it can hide there and maybe the island will be ignored.

I'm not seeing any search planes in this area, so things were looking good. SYS damage is only up to 5 so far. Then this happens:

**********
Day Time Surface Combat, near Brunei at 66,84, Range 16,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
SC Ch 16
SC Ch 18
SC Ch 22
TK Kyokuyo Maru
TK Nisshin Maru
TK Nisshin Maru #2
TK Tonan Maru #2

Allied Ships
ARD YFD-1 Dewey

Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 25,000 yards
Range closes to 14,000 yards...
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 12,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 12,000 yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Range increases to 16,000 yards...
Both Task Forces evade combat
*********

No combat, but so much for not being seen. Poor Dewey is certain to be a goner soon. It won't get far, moving just one hex a turn.

But it was great fun trying to save the Dewey. It made it till mid August '42.


[image]local://upfiles/6549/8C9C56B78C1347C493C7495F1937CB3A.gif[/image]



jwolf -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/13/2015 3:24:03 AM)

Heh, great story on the Dewey. Too bad about the op being called off in the SoPac but it's clear you did the right thing.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/13/2015 9:05:09 PM)

17 Aug 42

First the minor news. Enemy ground units have moved north from Akyab toward Cox's Bazar in Burma.

Now the big news.

Lots of enemy shipping spotted. KB is identified. The lead task force looks to have cruisers and battleships, and originated at Nauru Island, and moved southwest to the current position. The trailing task forces all moved southeast, including KB. Many big carriers seen.

The questions are what is the target and what are the intentions.

The southwestern move from Nauru may mean that this isn't an end around toward Suva. Surface groups are now in night bombardment range of both Ndeni and Vanikoro. I think this is what will happen. KB will move southwest to support. I have lots and lots of transport shipping in the Ndeni area, and about half of the task forces are spotted. Lots of juicy targets for the enemy. I think they are coming.

My transports are mostly the ones that were in the aborted invasions. I had hoped that my carrier strike on Tabituea would draw KB east, but that didn't happen. My tranports are all loaded, so it's time to run as fast as possible.

Some transports should stay out of range of KB as long as KB moves at normal speed. Others, from Ndeni, run to Luganville, and I've stacked Luganville with lots of fighters. All air excepts some Cats are evacuated from Ndeni.

I considered loading up Luganville with bombers, but I can't load up with both fighters and bombers, yet. I need massive numbers to stand up to KB, so it isn't time for that.

The enemy can bombard and bomb the bases. That doesn't bother me. I don't see any invasion task forces yet, but they could be out there. That is a worry.

The only way I'll use my carriers is if KB approaches Luganville. That would let me use my land based bombers and fighters to make the fight more even.

A small cruiser force, with Houston and Boise are at Ndeni now. I came up with 3 options for it. Stay here to fight a night bombardment, but be in trouble during the day. Go to Luganville to protect that. Run northwest and try to get around the enemy unseen, and run into Kusaie and/or Nauru to sink the replenishment force.

The third option was tempting, and I plotted that initially, but decided that I'd probably be seen and sunk. I will run them to Luganville for now.

Dodge and weave at this point. My counter will come. Just not ready for it yet. I like my ground positions in the Solomons. And time is on my side. It's still early. I'm reading in other AAR's where the Japanese are threatening Suva in mid 1943. I know that a strong counter could be coming. This may be it. We'll see.



[image]local://upfiles/6549/6D65C515F22546B6A7D2FCFB06E85FC8.gif[/image]



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/15/2015 4:09:22 PM)

18 Aug 42

Sinabang, an island west of Sumatra, is invaded by enemy fast transport.

The Japanese decide to sweep Lunga with all of the land-based fighters in the area. The early sweep combat is won by the Allies, with superior numbers. The fight favors the Japanese more with each progressing sweep, as the CAP is worn down. Overall losses are fairly even: 46 Zeros and 2 Oscars versus 21 P40Es and 15 P39s. Only 6 Allied pilots are KIA this day. I can't fight an attritional war, as I've seen at Diamond Harbour, but I will fight here while I can. I pull out the 3 air units and replace them with 4 fresh ones. They'll do ok unless KB sweeps.

Now for some brief area updates:

ARD Dewey is spotted by air search today. I didn't think it would escape, but it hadn't been spotted since the meeting with the enemy TK force a few days ago. The end is near. It made it about halfway to its intended hiding port.

[image]local://upfiles/6549/CD64FB82222944F2AA089EF7E950EA91.gif[/image]



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/15/2015 4:14:54 PM)

18 Aug 42 - Burma

There are a few enemy units southwest of Ledo. The contested hex has all Allied hexsides, but an enemy unit is moving in from the southwest to open that direction up. As long as the enemy retreats, I'm fine with that. It's taking a lot of time to make happen.

Southwest of Imphal, I was moving a Brit infantry division southwest to try to take the enemy dot base on "my side" of the jungle. I changed my mind. I want this division to be in reserve for a possible enemy push north from Akyab and Cox's Bazar. It isn't shown today, but several units left Akyab northbound. Another Brit division is now at Chittagong and is moving southeast into the jungle.

We'll see if the slow evacuation of Diamond Harbour continues.

[image]local://upfiles/6549/E6117362A27C4D12B87BF83D92F49BDA.gif[/image]



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/15/2015 4:17:32 PM)

18 Aug 42 - China

The only recent activity in China has been the push to clear Kwangchowan and Pakhoi. The enemy has now done this, and has moved north to face my river line. No further movement seen so far. The enemy has been bombing Kukong a few days in a row, but to little effect.

[image]local://upfiles/6549/9A95899DC8D247718838B84B93934E61.gif[/image]



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/15/2015 4:20:32 PM)

18 Aug 42 - Java

The Dutch hold out at Bandoeng. The enemy had moved an infantry division and a couple of artillery to probe the base, but found a strong garrison. Now a big brigade has moved in. This still isn't nearly enough, with the forts and the mountain terrain. I'd be happy to see enemy attacks here, rather than just isolating the base. My supplies are down from about 40k to about 37k. The base is bombed daily.

[image]local://upfiles/6549/BB8AB7081C484EEC8E20F83933950E70.gif[/image]



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/15/2015 4:33:49 PM)

18 Aug 42 - Solomons

I feared what I'd see this turn in the Solomons. I had many loaded transports near Ndeni. But KB barely moved. The multiple combat ship task forces spotted last turn are not seen today. With the heavy rain, I was lucky to see KB. Maybe all of the ships are in one hex now. Maybe not. I don't know. Regardless, my shipping fled south and southwest. The only transport task force spotted today is the easternmost one southwest of Kirakira.

I had reassigned my cancelled invasion troops to new destinations, but with KB threatening, Ndeni, Vanikoro, and Rennell Islands are too hot. So now the troops will go to Tanna, Efate, and Koumac. I'll decide later whether to move them back to where I had planned.

I'm already having to be careful where to move reinforcements due to the stacking limits. Units have to be spread around to stay under the limits. I like this limitation a lot.

So, what are the enemy's intentions? He didn't leave, he lingered. He didn't rush east to Tabituea. He didn't rush south after shipping. He did sweep Lunga with lots of land based aircraft. But he didn't do any ship bombardments. Yet.

I'm raising the odds of an enemy counter landing.

My carriers moved west this turn, and should be in the Efate/Tanna area. I want them to be close enough to Ndeni and Lunga to attack a landing, but I don't want a carrier battle unless it occurs on my terms, further south, where I have more airpower. It won't be too long until the Solomons are built up enough to satisfy this requirement, but he has big bases at Buna and Shortlands, and he had a head start with them.

I don't want to lose the carriers. Period.

A small sidenote: Not long ago, I listed all of the sunk combat ships for both sides. There weren't many. CL Kitakami was listed, but now it is reported to not be sunk. So the list is even shorter.




[image]local://upfiles/6549/519EED0110414288AA51411C56BAAFBB.gif[/image]



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/15/2015 11:22:44 PM)

19 Aug 42

Yesterday, I chose to send my one cruiser task force full speed from Luganville to Ndeni at night, hoping for an enemy bombardment task force. I guessed correctly. The fight was primarily at short range:

Japanese Ships
CA Tone, Shell hits 3, on fire
CA Atago, Shell hits 1
CA Maya, Shell hits 8, on fire
CA Chokai, Shell hits 7, on fire
DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Tanikaze
DD Nenohi, Shell hits 1
DD Hatsushima

Allied Ships
CA Houston
CA Australia, Shell hits 17, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL Boise, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Henley, Shell hits 2
DD Jarvis, Shell hits 7, heavy fires

Boise sank before the day was done. The rest of the Allied ships will survive. At this point, the enemy was not in danger of losing any ships.

Then 4 US PT boats fought the enemy:

Japanese Ships
CA Tone, on fire
CA Atago
CA Maya, on fire
CA Chokai, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Tanikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Nenohi
DD Hatsushima

Allied Ships
PT-36
PT-37
PT-38
PT-39, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

It's very likely that Chokai sank, based on how far the ships moved after the fight. Still not an even trade, but better than nothing.

Atago and Tone then did attempt to bombard Ndeni, but hit nothing. The bombardment force headed northeast, toward Nauru. I'm moving subs into the projected path to Nauru. The enemy may go directly to Truk though.

Cruiser Canberra made a nuisance bombardment of Rossel Island, off the tip of New Guinea. I did this just to keep my opponent looking in that direction also.


And then off the north coast of Borneo, the end of ARD Dewey:

Japanese Ships
CL Yura

Allied Ships
ARD YFD-1 Dewey, Shell hits 26, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

I will remember the name "Yura" and hunt this ship down sometime in the future.

During the day, 24 Zeros sweep Lunga, finding 46 US fighters on CAP. The enemy lost more planes. However, I had an APD task force that was supposed to slip into Lunga at night and unload, and leave before daylight. I'd had good success with this up till now. They unloaded completely, but were still at Lunga when daylight came. First 15 Vals escorted by 123 Zeros(!!!) swept the skies of US fighters and then got bomb hits on 2 APD's. That was followed by 18 Kates escorted by only 66 Zeros, which handled the few fighters left on CAP, and then got 2 torpedo hits on one of the badly damaged APD's. APD Gilmer sank. APD Sands is damaged by bomb hits and will run full speed south. The undamaged APD's will run toward Luganville at full speed. At least the APD's delivered the troops that they had loaded.

Today's air losses were 26 Zeros and 2 Kates versus 15 P40Es, 11 P400s, and 5 F4F-3s.

My fighter groups are now depleted, so I send all undamaged planes elsewhere. I'm sure my opponent noticed how effective over 100 Zeros from KB can be. No point in leaving scraps at Lunga. I'll come back when the units are refilled.

Allied carriers now head to Noumea to refuel. I still don't see any invasion task forces. I'm wondering if this whole display is just something to draw my carriers out. No matter. I continue to build and dig in. Lunga became a level 4 airfield today.





[image]local://upfiles/6549/B042D658D6F04464B3EF487AB56F68CE.gif[/image]



BBfanboy -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/16/2015 1:05:56 AM)

Strange that he did not send KB after the detected Transport TF from the day before. He must be covering his own transports coming in or already unloading somewhere.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/16/2015 9:01:32 PM)

20 Aug 42

Another interesting day in the Solomons!

First, Tambor takes a shot at cruiser Tone as it approaches from the southwest. Torpedoes miss.

Yamato makes its first appearance, moving into Lunga at night with 3 cruisers and 6 destroyers. 6 PT boats intercept, but the initial range is 8000 yards, and never gets closer than 5000 yards. 2 PT boats are sunk.

Then Hiei shows up at Rennell Island at night, with 4 cruisers and 5 destroyers. 6 PT boats intercept, and the range starts at 8000 yards and doesn't get closer than 7000 yards. One PT boat is sunk.

S-27 was moved one hex southwest of Nauru, and it finds cruiser Chokai and gets 2 torpedo hits. Chokai is certainly sunk. (I think I said that a turn or two ago also.)

Hiei and friends then bombards Rennell Island, and gets a pretty good result. I had some Cats for search and some Bolos for ASW there. Most planes are damaged. A couple of Cats are destroyed.

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 57
Port hits 47
Port supply hits 8

Then Yamato and friends bombard Lunga. 54 ground casualties and no other damage done.

With daytime, 5 PT boats reengage Hiei and force, but the range stays long and no hits are achieved for either side.

Similar result at Lunga with Yamato and force. The range did close to 9000 yards from 20000 yards, but again, no hits.


Hiei retires to the northwest, just north of the Slot, so I'm not sure what its destination really is. Tautog takes a shot at Suzuya but gets a dud hit.

Back near Nauru, Tambor takes a shot at Maya, and gets a dud hit.

Then S-18 lines up Kumano and gets one torpedo hit. No fires or damage noted though.

Finally, Sargo gets a shot at Aoba in the Yamato force, but misses.

I do know, from the Intel screen, that the Japanese lost 2 Daves and 2 Jakes on the ground. So 2 ships sank.


Elsewhere, at Bandoeng, Java, the daily artillery attack by the enemy shows two more armor units there now. It does look like an assault is coming.


In summary, US carriers head to Noumea for fuel. KB moved a little to the east, and is still about 8 hexes from Lunga and Ndeni. No sign of any invasions. I do see 20 units at Rabaul now. They certainly aren't all meant to defend Rabaul.

So for now, the Japanese strategy is just a nuisance. It may all be about drawing out the US carriers.




apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/17/2015 11:08:02 PM)

21 Aug 42

Some success in the Solomons area.

At Nauru, Dutch sub KX torpedoes the old training cruiser Natori. Natori is part of the escort for AO's.

Near Buin, S-43 takes a shot at destroyer Fumizuki but misses.

Near Ontong Java, north of Tulagi, US sub Sargo shoots at a DMS but misses. This is another AO task force.

I've noticed a trend with my opponent. He likes to set up refueling task forces at friendly islands, even if he's using AO's.

Today Rennell Island is swept by multiple land-based air groups. I have no fighters there, so they find nothing.

The fun part of today was at Nauru Island. I had moved a bunch of heavy bombers to Ndeni and targeted Nauru's port today, hoping there would be some disbanded combat ships, or maybe tankers or AKE's. I got lucky.

***
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 33
B-24D Liberator x 3

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Bomb hits 4
CA Tone, Bomb hits 4
CA Atago, Bomb hits 3
DD Hagikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Tanikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
***
Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 8

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Bomb hits 3
DD Nenohi, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Atago, Bomb hits 1
CA Tone, Bomb hits 1
***

None of the cruiser bombs penetrated. A gun or two was destroyed. Was nice to see, even if not decisive.

There were two interesting air flights. 5 Pete's from KB Lunga, finding no CAP. Then 5 Jakes escorted by 9 Zeros targeted my big cruiser task force southwest of Rennell Island. My cruisers are now 8 hexes from KB. I was lucky it was 8 and not 7. My cruisers were standing by to confront any invasion in the area, but now KB is getting more adventurous, so it's time to run.

US carriers are at Noumea. With KB getting more aggressively moving south, it's starting to threaten a move toward Noumea. I have lots of shipping here, many disbanded in port. I will start considering moving out ships.

KB just looking for targets? An invasion on the way? Too soon to say. It really looks like the Japanese want a carrier battle. I expect KB to bomb Ndeni heavily this turn, since I just bases a bunch of heavy bombers there, and not everything will be able to move out.

It's a tense time in the South Pacific. My opponent has done everything in a coordinated fashion so far, so I doubt that KB is just wandering around aimlessly. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[image]local://upfiles/6549/B6E875BBF25648299A3C8EA58C0FDA64.gif[/image]



BBfanboy -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 12:57:25 AM)

Surprised that your bombs did not penetrate the cruisers. Except for Mogami class, IIRC, 500 lb bombs will normally penetrate the deck of those CAs. In one game I sank an Atago class CA with 500 lb bombs from P-40Es. Were your bombers carrying lighter bombs because of the range?

Also interesting that Chokai is missing from the enemy cruiser force engaged on the 19th. I thought she likely sank and now I am certain of it. You called it last turn so it is not really news.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 1:07:44 AM)

Yes, I was surprised that all of the bombs bounced also. Could have been a belt armor hit or two also. The range was normal, 15 hexes from Ndeni.

My opponent pretty much stated that Chokai was lost.

I'm still thinking ahead of plotting my next turn. KB is in the perfect area for me to load up all of my airbases and simultaneously attack with my carriers. Except that my bases are built big enough yet. Another month and I'd commit for sure. Now I'm not sure. It would be nice strike KB, but I can't throw away my carriers.

Thinking...



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 4:20:58 AM)

I moved my carriers north to a spot adjacent to Koumac. If KB moves aggressively south, there could be a carrier battle. I also readied all of my naval strike aircraft at Koumac and Noumea.

My cruisers southwest of Rennel Island run full speed to the south. My task force could look like a carrier task force to the enemy. Who knows what his reaction to that would be. Only 8 hexes away.



HansBolter -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 11:53:49 AM)

Looks better than an even trade to me.

You likely sunk two extremely valuable CAs that are a limited quantity asset.

Everything else will be in the repair yards for some time.

You can afford to trade combat ships at a 1:2 ratio while your opponent cannot afford to trade them at a 1:1 ratio.

Big win for you in my book.

The Allies have to think strategically, especially when they will have to face losing tactically for a long time to come.

Every tactical draw is an Allied strategic victory.



BBfanboy -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 12:43:17 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

Looks better than an even trade to me.

You likely sunk two extremely valuable CAs that are a limited quantity asset.

Everything else will be in the repair yards for some time.

You can afford to trade combat ships at a 1:2 ratio while your opponent cannot afford to trade them at a 1:1 ratio.

Big win for you in my book.

The Allies have to think strategically, especially when they will have to face losing tactically for a long time to come.

Every tactical draw is an Allied strategic victory.

Two CAs sunk? Not sure which ones you believe sunk. [&:]
Chokai was confirmed, but the other three all appeared in port and the bombs dropped on them there did not penetrate or cause major fires.
OTOH both Australia and Boise went down, so it looks to me that the Allies lost 2 to the IJN 1. Would be delighted if another of his CAs went down.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 1:24:42 PM)

After the surface battle, but before the heavies bombed Nauru, Intel showed 2 Daves and 2 Jakes destroyed on the ground. I know that Chokai sank. Something else did, but I don't know what it was. I don't think anything will be sinking from the port bombing at Nauru, unless a destroyer fire gets out of control.



BBfanboy -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 1:32:48 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: apbarog

After the surface battle, but before the heavies bombed Nauru, Intel showed 2 Daves and 2 Jakes destroyed on the ground. I know that Chokai sank. Something else did, but I don't know what it was. I don't think anything will be sinking from the port bombing at Nauru, unless a destroyer fire gets out of control.

I checked Scenario 1 start and Chokai has one Jake and two Daves at start. The numbers you saw could be Chokai + FOW or + an aircraft destroyed by shell fire during the battle.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 1:35:43 PM)

Thanks BBfanboy, that makes sense. Just Chokai sank then.



HansBolter -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 2:32:27 PM)

A 1:2 trade is still a strategic victory for the Allies.

May not feel like it in the short term as you are short now on combatants and every loss hurts dearly.

In the long term you CAN afford to trade 1:2 and still come out on top.

The time spent in repairs for the ones that didn't sink is valuable breathing space for you wherein they won't be rampaging and taking advantage of your tactical weakness.

Trying really hard to illuminate that silver lining for you![:D]



BBfanboy -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/18/2015 9:52:42 PM)

Completely agree with you HB. Japan leans heavily on her CAs during the expansion phase.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/19/2015 8:58:46 PM)

22 Aug 42 - The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

My opponent used this line recently. I wonder how many times during our war that it crosses my mind. Today was definitely one of those.

First the usual stuff:

APD moving from Luganville to Suva get 2 good depth charge hits on I-10.

I-22 takes a shot at cruiser Detroit southwest of Rennell Island. This is my big cruiser force that got dangerously close to KB yesterday.

At Ontong Java, north of Tulagi, Dutch sub O21 spots a big juicy AO task force. It fires on huge AO Ken'yo Maru...but misses. O21 then gets hit directly with one depth charge. I'll send more subs here. The AO's are supporting KB to the south, and don't seem to want to leave this base even though they've been spotted.

Rennell Island's airfield is bombed by 42 Bettys from the Shortlands area. One Bolo is damaged and the airfield takes very minor damage.

The enemy bombards at Bandoeng, Java, and I bombard at Calcutta. Same old.

It's amazing to me how my emotion can change in just a couple of minutes of watching the combat replay. At the start of the daylight part of the replay, I saw that KB had moved south, toward Koumac, and was at a hex only 7 hexes from where I told my carriers to go. 7 hexes. I know that I limited all of my carrier bombers to 6 hexes because that is the maximum range of my escorts.

One hex short. I knew what was coming. A huge one-sided attack. I was doomed. This was going to define the war for the next year.

And then the first air phase ended and no attack. Not only that, but my carriers weren't spotted.

Then the PM phase started. And the same. No sign of my carriers. No attacks for either side. I had land-based bombers that could have made a futile attack, but nothing.

Incredible.

So what happened? I opened up my turn to find that my carriers had started to move from Noumea, but didn't move all the way up the coast next to Koumac. I have no idea why. All were already refueled. One carrier took on a dozen more fighters. I don't know why they moved just a few hexes, and stopped 2 hexes short of their destination (which is still assigned). But it's a miracle. Nothing short of that.

I went from doom and gloom to relief, all in a turn where nothing happened.

Did I say that I love this game? If I added up all of my game time since I started playing AE and its predecessors, it wouldn't surprise me if that time is over a year of my life.

---Oh, and he does see my carriers this turn. Time to decide what to do.---



[image]local://upfiles/6549/C56CE0C5BA114BD198AF907FF339911E.gif[/image]



BBfanboy -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/19/2015 9:36:49 PM)

Refuelling/replenishment of your CVs likely did not complete on the previous turn so some ops points were used at the start of this turn to finish the work before steaming off into the rising sun ...

[image]local://upfiles/35791/1CCE18B0B0D54C43949BC3D71657098F.jpg[/image]



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/19/2015 10:47:25 PM)

That could be, BBfanboy. I didn't notice an ops points spent but I could have missed that.

I decided to move my carriers due east. KB went south-southwest last turn, heading for my cruiser force that has since run to Sydney. If KB keeps coming south, and/or attacks Noumea, I'll move my carriers north, staying east of KB, and try to get behind KB and hit that AO task force north of Tulagi. Just a tentative plan. I did leave my land-based bombers on naval attack, and I reinforced Noumea's CAP. I also mostly evacuated Noumea's port.

KB can run amok bombing my bases. I'll keep my shipping out of range. It won't accomplish much doing that. I'm holding off having a direct confrontation with my carriers. Wasp will be repaired soon, and will join the fleet. I'm not saying that will be enough to engage, but it will help.

In other news, I did get SigInt that 38 Division is planning an attack at Chittagong. This is new. Not necessarily a meaningful piece of info, but it could be.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/20/2015 7:58:31 PM)

23 Aug 42

I'm starting to see enemy subs near Noumea as well as Suva now. They've been used very defensively up until now. Today I-4 finds a transport task force near Nadi, but misses an AMC.

West of Nauru Island, S-33 makes attacks on a PB and an xAK, but misses both.

Same old bombardments at Bandoeng and Calcutta.

As for KB, it moved northwest, and is now 5 or 6 hexes south of Rossel Island. It looks to be retiring toward Rabaul, or repositioning to cover a landing in the Solomons.

Allied carriers also moved away, moving to the east. They will now move more northward, closer to Ndeni. The enemy AO's at Ontong Java, north of Tulagi, moved away to the north after my last sub attack, and probably didn't like being reconned by air. I do have a CL and a couple of DD's moving north of Ndeni now, scoping out the area and maybe making a run into ONtong Java or Nauru if an opportunity presents itself.

So, the tension level about KB has ratcheted back down a bit.

Some of the ships that fled Noumea are returning.

In India, I'm repositioning my heavy bombers closer to the front, now that I have a few big airbases built north of Calcutta. The target will be Akyab soon.





apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/21/2015 7:34:15 PM)

24 Aug 42

KB continues to retire to the north, now by Milne Bay. It will either go to Rabaul or along the New Guinea coast to Truk.

My opponent states that he didn't want to engage my carriers so close to Noumea. This is valuable information for me. He's still being cautious, and doesn't want to trade carriers. This information helps me make my next decision about what to do with my carriers.

And I've decided to send them all south to Auckland. Lexington and Saratoga are overdue for a refit, and it's a refit that takes 42 days. The refit damage is all SYS damage, so Auckland will work for this. Some other carriers, and lots of cruisers and destroyers have upgrades due in October. A few ships, like BB North Carolina, have upgrades in September. I'll just stay at Auckland for awhile. I don't have any offensives planned for the near future. I just want to defend what I have.

With KB leaving the area, I'll start resorting ground units that didn't make it to their intended destinations, and start moving them.

In other news, a small xAKL task force is spotted adjacent to Makin Island. Plunger elected not to engage. Probably a small supply convoy. Makin is the only level 2 airfield in the Tarawa area. My earlier Tabituea carrier attack brought some attention to this area.




apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/23/2015 12:29:27 AM)

25 Aug 42

Wahoo finds an xAK task force at Tarawa, but is sighted before lining up a shot.

Chittagong gets some extended enemy attention. First it is swept by 29 Oscars. No CAP there. Then 2 Sally groups escorted by Oscars and Nicks hit the airfield, damaging a bunch of Hudsons that I have there on naval search. The enemy probably just saw that I had planes there and decided to hit them.

KB disappeared. Rabaul was reconned, and KB was not sighted there. It could be close to Rabaul, though, as I had a sub get a high detection level to the east of Rabaul. Or KB could have headed north along the New Guinea coast.

Air groups from Lexington and Saratoga relocate to Suva. All Allied carriers head to Auckland for repair for all and refit for some. A number of ground units start loading at Suva, headed to destinations that they didn't get to when KB appeared.



BBfanboy -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/23/2015 2:07:25 AM)

Some IJN players avoid using Rabaul for their CVs because it is an obvious target. Check out Kavieng.



apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (6/23/2015 8:43:57 PM)

26 Aug 42

S-32 finds an xAK task force at Tarawa, and gets one torpedo hit. No mention of men or material lost on the ship. I had a light cruiser and 2 destroyers approaching Tarawa, stopping 7 hexes from the island today to prepare to run in at high speed tonight. But the task force is spotted, and the enemy will undoubtedly leave Tarawa, so it returns to base.

No sightings of KB. US carriers head to Auckland. Wasp is now fully repaired at Auckland.

A Glen sub spots a cargo task force inbound to Diego Garcia from Capetown.

At Chittagong, a Brit infantry division arrives. Another is just one hex to the south, blocking the road from Cox Bazar. There were some indications of possible enemy activity here, but no sign of anything. I might as well reinforce here. I don't think there is anywhere else in Burma/India that the enemy can cause trouble without carrier support.



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