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

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 (2/23/2017 11:03:27 PM)
There are always points of vulnerability. I've been using APAs and AKAs for my latest invasions, allowing me to unload all of my troops in one day, and then leave the next day. This lowers the vulnerability to that one day, making Walker guess where they are headed. He is so afraid of my carriers though. Every time we've had a carrier battle, he's come out on the short end. Some of this was luck, some was my moving unexpectedly and catching him unready. He's gotten gunshy, and is preserving his forces. I think he's reinforced Mindanao, so I went around it. I haven't given him a place to have a big land battle yet. The exception is about to be on Java, where I will be encouraging a battle to tie his forces down. We'll see how that goes. Other opponents are certainly more aggressive, more aggressive than both of us. I've been generally well-prepared with my invasions, but that doesn't mean they aren't vulnerable. I've sent a slow battleship and a few destroyers to protect my landings. That wouldn't stand up to a big raiding battleship force. But my armada looks impressive and that has been enough to keep Walker away. As I've said before, I believe that his chance was to stop me with my Darwin landing, and at Timor. After that, I had more directions to possible go than he can cover.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/25/2017 4:08:47 AM)
20 Sep 43 Troops and supply continue to land on the invasion beaches. There is no interference. Northwest of Luzon, sub Perch spots a tanker convoy, and gets 2 torpedo hits on medium tanker Marifu Maru. It is not loaded, but immediate sinking sounds say that it is sunk. Slow battleship Nevada and a few escorts bombard Zamboanga. It probably wasn't necessary. I had 3 slow battleship task forces in the area for my invasions, and only used Nevada. Tawau, northeast of Tarakan on Borneo, is invaded. It was empty and will be taken today. No interference. P-47s, P-40Ks, and P-38s sweep Magwe. Results are good. 14 Zeros and 12 Oscars are downed, for the loss of 4 P-47s and 4 P-40Ks. No bombing today, and none tomorrow. The weather is bad and the bombers are still recovering from the previous raid. Medium bombers hit enemy troops at Jolo and Zamboanga. 12 B-24s from Tabiteuea hit Makin for the first time, just because. Moderate damage to the airfield. Really nothing to see here. Basilan, adjacent to Zamboanga, is invaded with an Australian brigade. Just a part of it landed, and since the base is empty, the ships with the rest of the brigade will not unload, and will proceed back to base. Jolo is attacked by the 24th Infantry Division, supported by the 34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment and the 2nd USMC Tank Battalion. Lots of engineers and base support have landed also. Defending is the Bandasan SNLF and the 37 Const Co. The enemy is eliminated with a 164 to 1 attack, and the base is captured. Jolo is a size 3 airfield already. It needs a day or two of repairs before I'll fly in fighters. Combat forces here start to prep for a new target. Zamboanga is captured with a 38 to 1 attack. The 1st Marine Division did most of the work, as other support units, like the 766th Tank Battalion, just arrived and did not participate in the attack. The enemy's 14th Naval Guard Unit and 64th Construction Battalion retreat to the east after suffering 1212 casualties. A P-40K squadron flys in to the undamaged airfield. Today, most of the fleet will withdraw to the south, and start to prepare for the next invasions. I am going to stop detailing my future strategic moves. I think it may be making things more boring for the reader when the future attacks actually happen, but we all already know about them. Things have been going so smoothly lately. I'll keep the reader in some suspense for awhile. The SigInt today was a bit more interesting than most days. The 79th JAAF was reported to be at Clark. This is the first report of a unit on Luzon that is not at Manila. Manila is heavily defended, but the rest of Luzon does not appear to be. That may be starting to change though. CS Chitose is reportedly moving to Aparri. Probably escorting something, maybe a troop convoy reinforcing Luzon. And an AMC is reported to be moving to Cocos Island. A portion of an infantry division has been there for forever. I'm guessing that it is being pulled out. The most interesting thing to watch in the next turn is that I sent a cruiser task force from Zamboanga to Baybay on Leyte to bombard. Awhile ago, there were AKEs in Baybay's port. I'll see if I can catch something there. If not, it may have Walker scratching his head why I'd go there right now with a bombardment. The ships will return to Zamboanga, hopefully safely, then head south with the rest of the fleet. [image]local://upfiles/6549/041ADC9D81CD41C1893EFAC7AF074387.gif[/image]

obvert -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/25/2017 11:51:05 AM)
You're probably completely aware of the lines, but you are getting close to kami activation distance. Sometimes it can happen unintentionally by rowboat corps (auto-flipping bases). Here is a look at the PI islands that if in Allied hands and with at least a level 1 field will make kermis active as of 1/44. Distances are measured from Takao and Saigon. [image]local://upfiles/37283/3718EA37EB634B3AB9297796DA7C97BE.jpg[/image]

Dirtnap86 -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/25/2017 2:16:56 PM)
Surprised that he hasn't converted Chitose to a CVL, especially with the losses he took early in the DEI campaign.

Lowpe -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/25/2017 3:24:04 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Dirtnap86 Surprised that he hasn't converted Chitose to a CVL, especially with the losses he took early in the DEI campaign. that is not a done conversion for JFB. There is a lot of utility to get out of the CS for the whole game, and it spends a long time in port for the conversion. The CS can provide really good ASW coverage from a dot base when you are normally kind of low on AV support, or it can escort import convoys, or it can be stuffed with Rufes and Rex and provide meaningful low cap. I think kamikazes have taken a nerf with all the improved flak out there. At least I really stink with them.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/25/2017 11:45:13 PM)
Thanks for the kamikaze info, obvert. I don't think I'll be changing much when the kamikazes show up. I strongly support most of my big moves. Sometimes I'll sneak something around without support, and get away with it, since Walker is so used to seeing overwhelming forces. I don't think kamikazes will change much really. Looks like no turn from Walker today. Hopefully one tomorrow.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/27/2017 3:06:40 AM)
21 Sep 43 Off of Iba on Luzon, sub Sawfish spots a task force with CL Kinu, 4 destroyers, and an E boat. Probably a transport/cargo or tanker task force. Interesting, if it is, that Walker is escorting with cruisers now. Maybe the Fletcher raid accomplished something after all. Sub Scamp spots an E boat task force off of Cam Ranh Bay, and torpedoes E W-12. Sinking sounds heard. This E boat was a minesweeper conversion. 4 Allied cruisers and 6 destroyers bombard Baybay. Damage is moderate, but AG J-3884 is hit by 2 shells in port. I was hoping for AKEs. Some B-24s then hit Baybay's port, finding a light ranged CAP, and get a bomb hit on that same AG. Another B-24 squadron tries its luck at Cebu's port, but finds a bit stronger ranged CAP. No ground hits. Walker makes a first major effort to bomb Chungking. There's one Allied fighter unit there, but it is on the ground resting. 21 Zeros sweep. Then 56 Helens and 21 Oscars are escorted by 14 Oscars. Then 15 Sallys are escorted by 14 Oscars. Then 17 Sallys arrive. P-38s sweep Magwe. There is no CAP. Allied medium bombers hit enemy troops on the road near Akyab. Decent results. An Allied ground attack is rough on both sides, with casualties for both around 1400. I'm trying to cycle units in and out, so I'm willing to continue. I'm able to keep my troops in supply most of the time, by shipping in supply to Cox Bazar. Walker is probably having more difficulty with supply, although this isn't shown in any of the battles so far. Time to rest a bit and try again. Tawau on Borneo is taken. All objectives for this round of invasions are now taken. Most shipping is withdrawing to the south. Something is spotted in the area between Sorong and Babeldaop. The spotting is poor. Can't tell if this is something to worry about or not. CV Victorious is about to unload its aircraft at Balikpapan. The carrier is due to withdraw in less than 4 weeks. [image]local://upfiles/6549/7C93DCEB02A34D309E6E608574C49D3C.gif[/image]

jwolf -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/27/2017 1:15:20 PM)
Those bases you just captured make a nice looking string of pearls. I think(??) you're set up well now to bypass Mindanao, if you want to do that, and proceed N or NW from that little island chain you just took. I wonder at what point Walker will have to contest your ops, even if the odds are not good for him, because the cost of doing nothing would be too high.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/27/2017 11:01:12 PM)
Walker may send some surface groups in to bombard my new bases. Or he could remain fearful of my airpower. Quite often I withdraw just about all of my shipping after an invasion, as I'm doing now. I don't feel the need to leave a surface group at Zamboanga, just inviting a bigger group to come in and tangle with it, or encourage Walker to concentrate his airpower and make an overwhelming strike. So the bases are a bit open. Zamboanga has a fighter squadron. That's about it for now. In the meantime, I'm off playing the logistical game again, getting this ready for the next event. My forces are completely prepped for the next landings. My limiting factor is wanting to use all of my APAs for part of those invasions. Other units continue to prep for what comes after that. Looks like no turn from Walker today.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (2/28/2017 8:54:32 PM)
No turn again today from Walker. There should be one tomorrow. I spent some time on more planning. Ships are on the way to embarkation points for the next invasion set. I've juggled the order of the invasions after that, based on preparation values and overall advantages. I'd like to accelerate things, but the next landings are big and will take every APA that I have. I do have plans on using more xAPs for followup troops. I may get burned with this change, but I want to land lots and lots of troops quickly, and all of the APAs aren't enough for a big landing on Mindanao or Luzon. Taking some more time with planning has been worthwhile. I'm pretty good with the logistics for the "next" invasion, but I sometimes get too focused there and don't look at future landings soon enough. An example is that I have been using Darwin as the primary staging area for my troops. As the front is moving north, Darwin is getting further and further away. I am going to start moving units for future landings to bases closer to their ultimate destination.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/2/2017 1:54:41 AM)
22 Sep 43 Just north of Babeldaob, sub Tunny spots RO-42 and torpedoes it once. It probably sank, but I don't have any confirmation of that. SBDs at Namlea, next to Ambon, spot a couple of AKs and an E boat at Sorong. Sorong's airfield has been damaged for ages. The base was strongly defended, but although the unit count is still high, the troop count is much reduced. Probably another place that Walker has extracted troops. There is no CAP there, and 32 SBDs bomb the 3 ships, getting 5 or 6 1000 pound bomb hits on each. One AK is not confirmed as sunk, but probably will. The other 2 ships are sunk. There were no troops loaded, but I think the ships just got to Sorong. Medium bombers from India bomb the oil at Magwe. There is no CAP. Mouseover now shows just 50 oil undamaged. Damage was heavy to the bombers from flak. A couple of planes hit baloons, which was interesting. With thunderstorms moving in, the bombers will rest and return when the weather improves. US carriers start refueling at Balikpapan. The process is slow, with the port being just a size 4. I'm not in a big hurry. I don't mind the carriers being seen here, and I want to take advantage of the newly captured fuel source. CV Victorious unloads its planes at Balikpapan and starts to head to Sydney to withdraw. The big CVE task force has refueled and moves to Makassar to await future activities.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/4/2017 12:44:44 AM)
23 Sep 43 Sub Trident spots a big xAKL task force near Phuket, Thailand. Looks a lot like the xAKL task force spotted near Victoria Point about a week ago. It's probably returning from Rangoon. No other combat. A bunch of enemy search planes downed over Balikpapan, thanks to all of my carriers there. We're in a bit of a lull as ships move to embarkation points for the next invasions. It will be about 3 days until loading begins. Half of the carriers have refueled at Balikpapan, and started moving away. One interesting note: very heavy SigInt at Saipan. I've known that Walker has been building Saipan and Guam. Today I "see" over 100 ships in Saipan's port. It's certainly become the center of defense for that area. I'm not going that direction, though. Today I've moved a bunch of B-24s to Balikpapan. They will bomb Miri's oil for the first time, hopefully preceeded by some F6F sweeps.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/6/2017 9:34:41 PM)
24 Sep 43 BB Oklahoma and escorts bombards Ambon. Ambon is just a target of opportunity, as Oklahoma repositions for future operations. It heads to Lautem for refueling and rearming. Sub Tuna spots a tanker convoy passing between Formosa and the Philippines. I think the ships are headed westbound. No engagement occurred. Mid-ocean between Thailand and Borneo, a big xAK convoy is spotted by sub Cabrilla. 4 torpedoes are fired at xAK Mansei Maru, with 3 hitting. The ship is loaded with fuel, and is certainly sunk. With this spotting, and Tuna's, Walker is still using mid-ocean convoy routes from Singapore to Japan. Bad weather at Miri prevents my big B-24 strike targeting oil. Recon of Singapore shows lots of enemy carriers. I'll continue to watch here. Singapore is only a couple of days from the action now. The next turn from Walker will probably not be before Thursday. He's been busy, and has been out of town again. I'll tinker with this turn for awhile. There's always more that can be done, getting shipping moving to needed locations. The next invasions will be interesting. It won't be a massive one-day landing. It will be a limited first-day landing, hoping to provoke Walker to react with ground units. Then the hammer will fall, with a big landing. The location of the big landing is not set in stone. I have a preferred location, but it just depends on how Walker reacts. The big landing may become a followup landing to a quick, small landing behind the lines, if the small landing finds an empty base. I won't land my big stack at an enemy occupied base that isn't the one I've prepped for. [image]local://upfiles/6549/0D2A37D0F5B5489AB6E35BF9110CD831.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/6/2017 9:35:45 PM)
24 Sep 43 - Solomons [image]local://upfiles/6549/A7A250A151A14B00BE30E4630F36F0A4.gif[/image]

jwolf -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/7/2017 1:17:37 PM)
quote: It won't be a massive one-day landing. It will be a limited first-day landing, hoping to provoke Walker to react with ground units. That's an interesting plan. Diabolical, too. I'm very curious to see how and where this plays out.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/8/2017 8:59:38 PM)
24 Sep 43 - Invasion of Java Here's the details on the next landings. I've spoken a bit about this before. My Java plans are all about timing and opportunity. Enemy defenses are weak at Banjoewangi, at the eastern tip of Java. There are 2 units there, and forts are building, no doubt. It is clear terrain however. On occasion, when I've had lots of shipping nearby, Walker has moved a sizable unit into Banjoewangi quickly, and then when no landing occurred, moved it back out. So he has a quick reaction force waiting for a landing. Soerabaja has about 20,000 troops. Malang is well defended, and is a strategic bottleneck between a landing at Banjoewangi and getting to Soerabaja, since it is a mountain hex. I think there is an enemy division here, and that's plenty to stop an advance from the east. Finally, I know there is an tank division at Batavia. My plan will unfold in phases, and these phases are contingent on Walker's responses. Phase 1 - Banjoewangi landing. US 41st Infantry Division with armor and artillery, all fully prepped, should take the base fairly easily. There is some risk of Walker using a rapid reaction force to reinforce before I can take the base. With the clear terrain, I'd encourage any enemy reinforcement here. I can pound the enemy troops heavily by air and by sea in the clear terrain. I don't think Walker will reinforce here though. Supporting engineers and base units will land with the attackers. Phase 2 - All of the other red-circled bases have units prepping for them. A large force, with a huge Chinese corp and 2 Indian divisions, along with lots of support, are fully prepped for Soerabaja. The other targets have a unit or two prepping for it. An Indian LRP para unit is fully prepped for Tjepoe. An armor unit is prepped for Loemadjang. A small para unit is prepped for Semarang. A small unit is prepped for Probolinggo. I will wait some amount of time after the Banjoewangi landing before proceeding. I want to see what Walker's reaction is. I expect to see a movement to the mountainous hex of Malang, to cut off the eastern tip of Java. I would like to see units move out of Soerbaja to do this. I could see other units arrive, maybe even the tank division at Batavia. I need to see what happens before proceeding. My goal is to take Soerabaja. If the defenses there are weakened, I want to land the Chinese and Indian units directly on Soerbaja. Other bases will be invaded to prevent further reinforcements of the area. In summary, I want to see Walker reinforce the Malang area and weaken Soerabaja. If this doesn't happen, I'll make my big landing at a base that I've already captured. My goal is not to overrun Java quickly. I don't think that I'm landing enough troops to make this possible. I want to see enemy troops tied down on Java, and maybe even more sent to Java. I do want to capture Soerabaja. The shipyard would be very handy. So I'm hoping to "steal" the base with a quick surprise landing there. APAs are visible on the map just south of Waingapoe. They are proceeding at best speed to Port Hedland, where the Chinese and Indian units, and support, are waiting. I will start loading for the Banjoewangi landing in the next turn. I will be using the less efficient xAPs for that landing, counting on my air support and combat ships to guard the landing. All APAs are committed for the big followup attack. After all landings are complete, Java will become a war of attrition. Invasion shipping will immediately go to the next ports of embarkation for the next invasions, which will follow quickly. Walker should be focused on Java at that point. In the meantime, I'm moving troops for these later invasions to bases closer to the action. I want the landings to occur back-to-back, as quickly as possible. [image]local://upfiles/6549/AF85D32BF439494EA9AFA1F56E74DCE4.gif[/image]

jwolf -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/9/2017 1:34:43 PM)
I admire your careful thought and preparation for this op. How long until the first landing?

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/9/2017 8:27:31 PM)
A day or two of loading at Makassar. Then one day to approach Java, then another to start landing. So, about 4 days till the first landing. Still hoping for a turn today.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/10/2017 1:53:58 AM)
25 Sep 43 There is now heavy air ASW working the west coast of Luzon, particularly west of Manila. Many Lilys there now looking for my subs. Sub Wahoo spots a small task force near Taytay. 2 torpedoes miss xAK Syoka Maru. This task force went to one of the bases on Palawan (forget which one). 3 ships were spotted during the day. I won't place naval bombers in the area to get them, since enemy bases on Mindanao are closer, and heavily capped. Near the China coast, not far from Formosa, sub Aspro spots a cruiser task force, but 4 torpedoes miss DD Akatsuki. Sub Runner is tracked by a patrol boat near Bataan. No hits. A reengagement occurs, and 2 torpedoes miss PB Eguchi Maru #4. I sent a tiny minesweeper to Tarakan. AM Dubbo starts to slowly sweep mines at the enemy base. 2 F6F squadrons from Balikpapan sweep Miri. There is no CAP. Lots of B-24s hit the oilfields at Miri. Mouseover shows 135 damage from today alone. 166 are undamaged. We'll go again. It was a bit tempting to leave the oil undamaged, and work on capturing the bases myself, but I don't plan on going that direction on Borneo in the near future. Loading for the first Java invasion begins today at Makassar. Other followup troops begin loading at Darwin. Carriers are gathering around Makassar. The interesting development for today is that there are suddenly 133 enemy fighters at Hansa Bay on New Guinea, when there were about 20 yesterday. Only 100 at Rabaul now, so most, if not all, came from Rabaul. I wonder what is going on here. Could be that Walker sees my ground troops starting to maneuver to block his possible attempt at rescuing his trapped troops. But what could a bunch of fighters do? Only thing I can come up with is that he could have noticed my many task forces leaving the Solomons and heading toward Horn Island on the way to Darwin. If he moves in bombers, these task forces could be vulnerable. Maybe he'll use the fighters for escort. I don't know really. I don't think he's seen very many of those task forces.

Macclan5 -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/10/2017 11:56:13 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: apbarog The interesting development for today is that there are suddenly 133 enemy fighters at Hansa Bay on New Guinea, when there were about 20 yesterday. Only 100 at Rabaul now, so most, if not all, came from Rabaul. I wonder what is going on here. Could be that Walker sees my ground troops starting to maneuver to block his possible attempt at rescuing his trapped troops. But what could a bunch of fighters do? Only thing I can come up with is that he could have noticed my many task forces leaving the Solomons and heading toward Horn Island on the way to Darwin. If he moves in bombers, these task forces could be vulnerable. Maybe he'll use the fighters for escort. I don't know really. I don't think he's seen very many of those task forces. Nice update - thanks. Assumption: Once an IJN player has lost strategic initiative (as you opponent has) the biggest challenge is to counter punch and regain a portion of strategic initiative to make the Allied player react - divert forces and supplies - buy time for the development of defenses and or deployment of new Carriers. Do you have good RECON on those Japanese Force trapped inland in Northern NG ? Are there entire divisions ? Still out of supply ? As I recall they have been there for some time? Is he flying in supplies to them ? 1) Noted South West movement from Madang 2) Massive air cover to Hansa 3) Currently from IJN spotting (speculation)- lots of troop withdrawals from the Coral Sea and convoys of transports on the way through past Horn... If I were an IJN player having lost significant carrier assets (to repair or sunk) I think my best and only hope to seize the strategic initiative is to counter punch back to Port Moresby once again. Liberate or save troops, supply them, and try to interdict your pipeline to Darwin and /or Java Sea. Perhaps the Coral Sea in general... he obviously has the air assets to do so..... He probably cannot seize the initiative back in Borneo and can only dig in in the Philippines... He doesn't look to loose anything in the very near term in Burma i.e Rangoon et al. He is on the defensive but your skirmishes are still at the edges.....

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/10/2017 6:41:22 PM)
24 Sep 43 - New Guinea I think that Walker finally realized that all he had to do to rescue his troops was to open a hexside in the contested hex. That is what I think the unit leaving Madang is supposed to do. I'm countering this move by moving to the hexes to the north. I hope to stop him from even trying to do this. One of my blocking units is just artillery, so if he moves into that hex, I won't stop him. I think he'll give up when he sees me already in those hexes. I feared a countermove to Milne Bay for quite awhile. The entire offensive north from Australia relies on supplies moving between New Guinea and Australia. I kept an infantry division at Milne Bay just in case. But that time has passed. All of this attention now is just Walker wanting to open up the hexside for his troops. I think. His units have been isolated for quite awhile. He could certainly be airdropping supplies. I've occasionally used ranged CAP to see if I could catch some transports, but never have. The enemy's 1st Infantry Division is in the contested northern hex. That is his strongest unit. It was defeated in an attack long ago, but still has a good number of troops. I don't fear a big offensive here because most, if not all, of the enemy carriers are at Singapore. With the upcoming Java invasion, and landing elsewhere soon after that, I'm not too concerned with having to react to something Walker comes up with. I think I will be keeping him plenty busy. [image]local://upfiles/6549/758443F5676A418C8E3B16E9F1737206.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/12/2017 6:35:18 AM)
26 Sep 43 Enemy patrol boats are very active near Bataan. Sub Sturgeon spots BB Haruna, 4 cruisers, and 7 destroyers southbound west of Luzon. This task force ends up at Busuanga at the end of the day. This is 10 hexes from Zamboanga. I have no real surface groups near Jolo or Zamboanga, and no bomber units there either. I choose not to react for now. Worst case is that I get bombarded. Not significant enough to alter my immediate plans. Enemy carriers are still at Singapore. Allied medium and heavy bombers hit Magwe's oil again. No CAP. Good results. Just 36 working oilfields there, and 265 damaged now. Miri's oil gets the heavy bomber treatment also. No CAP. Now 105 working oilfields, and 196 damaged. Lots of shipping heads toward Java today. Most US carriers are involved. Shipping will gather at and near Mataram, and be 3 hexes from Banjoewangi. And probably more importantly, loading begins for the rest of the Java landings. One Indian division and the big Chinese corp starts loading at Port Hedland. The other Indian division has to wait a day to start loading on ships that will arrive tomorrow. Units from Darwin and Timor are also loading. Many units for the next set of invasions are loading at Darwin also, to move closer to their targets. I don't know if my plans will work, but I look forward to my small landing on Java, followed by a big landing at a place to be determined on Java, immediately followed by another big landing elsewere, with only the time needed to move my APAs in between. [image]local://upfiles/6549/733AE04D08B34A78B5735A12BE8A16B8.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/12/2017 11:10:36 PM)
27 Sep 43 Surprise action in the Indian Ocean. Battleship Kirishima and some destroyers appear at Cox's Bazar, find 2 tiny xAPc unloading a bit of supply, and sink the small ships. I was fortunate. A bigger task force with 5 LSTs and a few xAKs left the port as the enemy moved in. The enemy then bombarded the base, but it was a very poor bombardment. A handful of disabled squads. That is all. However, no sooner had Kirishima left, then battleship Hiei, a cruiser, and a few destroyers appeared to bombard the base. They do a pretty good job, with over 300 casualties, including some destroyed. Moderate airbase damage and minor port damage. The 3 fighter squadrons there are hit, disabling most of the planes but not destroying any. A large number of engineers get to work on the base. Subchaser PC-776 made a dash toward Rabaul, and found RO-64 just south of Rabaul. The sub takes major damage but could survive. Near Akyab, the Allies attack again, and get 1 to 2 odds again, but the results are very good this time. 1335 enemy casualties and 599 friendly. We are wearing them down. One day of rest should be enough, then we go again. Having sufficient supply at Cox's Bazar is making a big difference here. The battleship group at Busanga yesterday moved back northeast to the Luzon coast, south of Manila. Another group of some kind, with a cruiser spotted, is on the east coast of Luzon. Manila now has over 40,000 troops. This has been growing. Today, we land on the eastern tip of Java. There will be no bombardment, but one heavy bomber squadron will hit the airfield, and some mediums will hit the troops. The infantry division that will land is without most of its support units. They are still loading at Makassar and will join soon. I hope to take the base quickly, start building the airfield, and wait for a response. Meanwhile, a large group of APAs will leave Port Hedland. All invasion troops are loaded except for one Indian division, which is loading now. I may or may not wait for them. I noticed that the terrain at Soerabaja is clear, not city, so I'm more likely to follow the original plan and assault the base directly. Lots of other units moving here and there. It's going to be an interesting end of the year.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/13/2017 10:15:33 PM)
28 Sep 43 Sub Redfin spots a transport TF near San Fernando on Luzon. 2 torpedoes miss an E-boat, and E Iki gets a good depth charge attack on the sub. Redfin is moderately damaged and should survive the trip home. It will go around the east side of Luzon, which is a bit longer trip to safety, but Walker's ASW activity is almost all on the west side of Luzon. This TF had a bunch of true AKs and an LSD. Probably a troop convoy to Manila. Boela is bombarded by battleship Oklahoma. I'd ignored Boela for awhile, and allowed the airfield to be completely repaired. Not wanting a surprise deployment of enemy bombers, I sent Oklahoma in and used some heavies to hit the airfield. The airbase is now moderately damaged. Oklahoma will go to Lautem to rearm and refuel, then head toward Java. Banjoewangi, Java is invaded. The only interference is a single shell hit on an xAKL. During the day, 30 F6Fs from Mataram swept Soerabaja. It goes poorly, with just 10 A6M3a Zeros and 8 Oscars on ranged CAP from somewhere. A few Hellcats are lost, for no gain. The Hellcats are great at sweeping, but I have so many of them. I need to use what I have. They are a bit expendable. At Banjoewangi, a small enemy strike arrives. 9 Vals escorted by 11 Zeros. The CAP is weaker than I imagined. Good thing that I dedicated an F6F squadron from Denpassar for LRCAP. Fewer than 10 planes from my carriers participated, despite hundreds being set to a range 1 CAP. Nearly every enemy plane is shot down. B-25s bomb troops at Banjoewangi, and do well in the clear terrain. I have an unwritten personal house rule not to use heavy bombers for bombing ground troops, and I don't go overboard using medium bombers in clear terrain. Both Walker and I do this. 12 B-25s bomb troops at Soerabaja, just to see what's there. They find the 65th Brigade. It's possible that there isn't an enemy division there. I now know why Walker moved over 100 fighters to Hansa Bay. I had been occasionally bombing enemy troops stuck in the interior mountains of New Guinea. When I saw his fighter deployment, I stopped this. But I forgot a Bolo squadron in Australia. They flew today, and 6 were shot down my 10 Zeros and 2 Tojos. The Bolo unit had been on ASW duty, but I switched them recently to help bombing the troops. I'll now use the Bolos to train up some new pilots for ground bombing, and then they will upgrade to heavies. Enemy carriers are still at Singapore. Today the Allies will attack again near Akyab. A reinforcing Indian division is almost to Cox's Bazar. It may or may not be needed to help the breakthrough. An enemy battleship task force that bombarded Cox's Bazar went to Port Blair. Unloading at Banjoewangi will continue. CVEs will move to the invasion hex, to help better with the CAP. CVs will stay one hex away. Lots of shipping is northbound from Port Hedland. The final Indian division is loaded, and may catch up with the others, as it is able to move 8 hexes a day, while the big task force is moving just 6. I'm really looking forward to dropping that huge Chinese corp directly on Soerbaja. [image]local://upfiles/6549/C15A5134125A4E8D9AECA9A2FE490E0B.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/14/2017 11:25:23 PM)
29 Sep 43 Unloading continues at Banjoewangi. DMS Zane makes a run from Banjoewangi towards Soerabaja, and finds a midget sub. The sub misses with 2 torpedoes, and Zane sinks the small sub. It appears that the channel between Soerabaja and Banjoewangi has midget subs. One hex had 5 subs spotted, probably all midgets. Near Iba, Luzon sub Pargo spots an ASW group of patrol boats and sinks PB Kinsui Maru. Still lots of ASW concentration here, in the area and on the sea. Bombers hit Boela and Makin, just because. Another Allied deliberate attack near Akyab gets 1 to 1 odds, but poorer results than the previous 1 to 2 odds. About 1200 casualties for both sides, with more destroyed for the Japanese. I'll wait for a replacement Indian division to arrive. It's almost to Cox's Bazar. We will win this hex, and then take Akyab. In the Indian Ocean, 10 hexes south of Port Blair, SigInt reports heavy activity. This is probably the battleship group that was at Port Blair. It's headed to Singapore now. Also, in the South China Sea, well west of the Philippines, a surface group is sighted. This is probably the battleship group that was stationed southwest of Manila for a couple of days. So Walker is concentrating everything at Singapore. Could it be that the plan to draw attention to Java is working? Banjoewangi was captured. The 2 units there were the 2nd Recon Regiment and the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment. Both retreat into the mountains to the west. I've kept track of a tank division that has been located at Batavia for a long time. Today, there are far fewer vehicles there. Walker is moving the tank division towards my invasion. I'd like to see where it goes before landing. Taking Soerbaja will be much more difficult with it there. However, if it moves to the mountainous hex of Malang, as I predicted, my next invasions will essentially trap it. This is going to be very interesting. Landings will continue at Banjoewangi, with the rest of the invasion troops landing, and the followup support units. CVEs stay at the invasion point (a bit risky), and the CVs move a bit east. Soerabaja invasion shipping will move closer to Mataram. Just a few days until the hammer is swung. Then the APAs run off to load the next invasion's troops. Not near Java. [image]local://upfiles/6549/AB875837CF5F4EFA86236BD54B223034.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/15/2017 11:47:58 PM)
No turn from Walker today. Hopefully tomorrow. We had a good run of 4 turns in 4 days, so I can't complain. He has less free time than I do, and the busy part of his week is Wednesday through Friday, so this is to be expected. But I can't wait to see how the next few turns unfold on Java.

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/17/2017 1:22:09 AM)
30 Sep 43 3 enemy destroyers bombard Cox's Bazar. An Allied cargo task force moved out of the way, fortunately. I suspect that Walker used these ships since he could rearm them at Rangoon, but his battleships could not. Enemy minesweepers immediately finds the minefield just laid at Toboali. I've done enough minelaying here and there to keep Walker alert for more. East of Formosa, sub Stingray finds an xAK task force. No engagement despite two encounters. 25 Hellcats sweep Soerabaja. A couple of planes downed for each side. 59 Oscars and 10 Zeros on CAP. Airfield here still has moderate damage. 22 P-38s then sweep and trade a couple of planes also. B-24s arrive and do minimal damage to the airfield, and don't hit any planes on the ground. 25 P-38s sweep Rangoon, and find just 8 Nicks on CAP. Most of the Nicks are shot down. Should force Walker to move some fighters here. Wish I'd sent bombers too. Today is probably the biggest day of risk with the Java invasion so far. Unloading continues at Banjoewangi, so there's lots of juicy shipping here. And now I'm moving many, many APAs there, not to unload, but to get into range of Soerabaja without giving away my next move. The ships will be adequately covered with all of the carriers nearby, and land-based air, but only moderately covered with combat ships. And we all know that it can be unpredictable which task forces are engaged when enemy ships show up. I don't think anything is coming, but it's something to be aware of. With a range of 4 hexes from Banjoewangi to Soerbaja, my Soerabaja invasion will be plotted with the next turn. Still no sign of the enemy tank division that moved away from Batavia. I'm doing more recon today. Some sweeps and bombing of Soerabaja. I'm blind bombing enemy troops at Malang, assuming that there will be some there. This is where I've guessed that Walker would move the tank division. A perfect situation would be to bomb it when in Strat mode, and invade Soerabaja as the tanks are switching to combat mode. [image]local://upfiles/6549/F77BD992789B4202A7FB3B65AEF30130.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/19/2017 4:20:51 AM)
1 Oct 43 My mines that I just dropped at Toboali are completely cleared. I sent 3 subchasers to Soerabaja to hunt the many subs in the area. 2 subchasers hit 2 mines each and sank. One SC sank a midget sub. I sent to YMS to Soerabaja also, and they swept many mines, over 30. Notably, they got the message that they were sweeping mines many times, meaning many separate minefields. There are a lot of mines there, no doubt. I paused for a bit to consider whether to invade there or sweep some mines for awhile. I finished sweeping mines at enemy held Tarakan. I'm not invading here anytime soon. I'd like to, but things are committed for elsewhere. Walker isn't getting any oil from here any longer, with the base isolated by sea. That's what matters. Near Laoag on Luzon, sub Sturgeon finds a big tanker convoy and gets 2 torpedo hits on big tanker San Ramon Maru, probably sinking it. It may be headed to Manila. There was no fuel loaded. US destroyers damaged a midget sub at Banjoewangi. 22 P-47s swept Soerabaja, downing about 10 planes for the loss of a couple. With Soerabaja's airfield damage around 50, Walker took some aircraft ops losses with planes flying from here. B-24s bomb Malang's airfield, just to keep forts from building further. Some bombers hit Soerabaja's airfield also. Big day today. I decided to go ahead with the Soerabaja landings. Every minesweeping ship in the area is moving there to sweep as many mines as quickly as possible. But we're invading today, so there will be mine hits. One slow battleship will be bombarding, so it's at risk too. Almost every APA I have is involved with this landing. Lots of risk. The goal is to get unloaded as quickly as possible, and then retire to Balikpapan to immediately load for the next set of invasions. Carriers will cover Soerabaja. Land-based air will continue to cover Banjoewangi. An Indian LRP unit will paradrop onto Tjepoe. I don't know what is there at the moment. There hasn't been much there, but I don't have recent recon. And the tank division that was at Batavia a few days ago is still missing. A side note- SigInt reports that 32 Div/C is loaded on ships and headed to Batavia. So Walker is reinforcing Java. Excellent. Recon was not good at Singapore today, so I don't know if enemy carriers are still there. I see some shipping northeast of Batavia, but only see patrol boats. I have 2 more slow battleships with my carriers, ready to continue bombardments if needed. B-25s are to hit the troops, while heavies hit airfields in the area. Look out Java, here come the Chinese! [image]local://upfiles/6549/403236AC2BD14C5D9315CE2CBE02AC03.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/20/2017 2:40:42 AM)
2 Oct 43 Some turns just stand out in a game. This was one of those. It didn't have the big carrier battle, but it had some interesting and unique events that just make the game so enjoyable, regardless of how the results turn out. I sent every minesweeper at full speed to Soerabaja. 2 YMSs sweep 49 mines to start things out. Near Banjoewangi, a subchaser sinks an enemy midget sub. I won't list every midget sub encounter, but a total of 9 midget subs were sunk today. They were at Soerabaja, Banjoewangi, and in the channel in between. One midget sub was able to fire a torpedo at a DMS, but it missed. One was encountered at Soerabaja, and forced to surface, where it was fired on by a destroyer and battleship Pennsylvania. It was amazing to see that the final kill shot was a 14 inch shell from Pennsylvania! The two YMSs at Soerabaja then swept another 17 mines, but one hit a mine, and sank. The big Soerabaja invasion task force then arrived at Soerabaja: CL Helena, Mine hits 1 CL Leander, Mine hits 2 DD Monssen, Mine hits 1, heavy damage APA Wayne, Mine hits 1 APA Warren, Mine hits 1 APA Callaway, Mine hits 1 APA Bolivar, Mine hits 1 Damage is: CL Helena SYS 4/FLOT 14-8/ENG 2/FIRE 0 CL Leander SYS 13/FLOT 34-24/ENG 0/FIRE 0 DD Monssen SYS 16/FLOT 82-61/ENG 1/FIRE 0 APA Wayne SYS 11/FLOT 40-36/ENG 2-1/FIRE 0 APA Warren SYS 10/FLOT 43-31/ENG 14-11/FIRE 0 APA Callaway SYS 14/FLOT 14-7/ENG 0/FIRE 0 APA Bolivar SYS 7/FLOT 32-30/ENG 1-1/FIRE 0 DMS Hovey then swept another 11 mines. DD Conyngham then hit a mine. DD Conyngham SYS 25/FLOT 73-56/ENG 1/FIRE 0 3 PT boats then each hit a mine at Soerabaja. All sank. Battleship Pennsylvania then hit a mine. BB Pennsylvania SYS 11/FLOT 14-9/ENG 0/FIRE 0 2 LSTs grounded while landing supply. LST 449 SYS 4/FLOT 12-10/ENG 4-2/FIRE 0 LST 471 SYS 47/FLOT 42-18/ENG 37-16/FIRE 0 BB Pennsylvania then bombarded Soerabaja, causing 110 casualties, and found that the 38th Infantry Division is at Soerabaja. More than I had seen by recon. Troops then began to land at Soerabaja. By the end of the day, all troops except part of a HQ unit had completely unloaded. That was because the HQ unit was not on APAs. 76 more mines were then cleared. 9 P-38s swept Madioen, downing a couple of Zeros and Oscars while losing 2. B-24s bombed Soerabaja's airfield, finding no CAP and no planes there. All had flown and/or railed out. Some heavies bombed Madioen, doing almost no damage in thunderstorms. B-25s then bombed enemy troops at Soerabaja to good effect. Previous bombings had never spotted the 38th Division. I think it arrived very recently. About 50 heavies bombed Babeldaob, destroying 8 Tinas on the ground, and sinking the ACM there. The fragmented parts later found heavier CAP, and some heavies were lost. B-26s bombed the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment at Probolinggo. This is one of the two enemy units that retreated from Banjoewangi. Both are in bad shape. Some B-25s bombed enemy troops on Boela, to little effect. The Americal Division then attacked at 1 to 3 odds, with 339 enemy losses and 500 friendly. The other US division had been withdrawn and is recovering in Australia. If Americal can't wear the enemy down over time, that division will return at full strength and full prep. An armor battalion then began landing at Probolinggo. The most damaged LST at Soerabaja will move to Probolinggo and attempt to unload its supply before sinking. I list the default enemy bombardment attack at Soerabaja to highlight the units involved: Ground combat at Soerabaja (56,104) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 714 troops, 40 guns, 84 vehicles, Assault Value = 474 Defending force 59520 troops, 639 guns, 914 vehicles, Assault Value = 2153 Japanese ground losses: Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Allied ground losses: 53 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 6 (4 destroyed, 2 disabled) Assaulting units: 38th Division 16th Recon Regiment 4th Tank Regiment 1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment 9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion Southwest Area Fleet 40th JNAF AF Unit 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 104th Ship Eng Coy 91st JAAF AF Bn Defending units: 5th Indian Division 50th Cmbt Engineer Regiment 50th Tank Brigade 17th Indian Division 3rd Carabiniers Regiment 5th Chinese Corps XV Corps Engr Bn /2 602nd Field Artillery Battalion I Marine Amphib Corps 17th Indian Light AA Regiment At Soerabaja, the enemy's 38th Division is full strength. The 5th Chinese Corp is a monster, with 900 and some assault value. By the way, all enemy mines were swept. 3 PT boats and a YMS sunk by mines. 11 other ships hit mines. And finally, probably the most interesting event of the day. I dropped 75 C-47's worth of the Indian 14th LRP Brigade on unoccupied Tjepoe, northwest of Soerabaja. But when they landed, they found the enemy's 3rd Tank Division on trains moving to Soerabaja. Ground combat at Tjepoe (54,103) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 672 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 57 Defending force 7863 troops, 113 guns, 442 vehicles, Assault Value = 360 Allied adjusted assault: 14 Japanese adjusted defense: 61 Allied assault odds: 1 to 4 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: op mode(-), leaders(+), leaders(-), preparation(-) fatigue(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-) Japanese ground losses: 71 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 11 (7 destroyed, 4 disabled) Allied ground losses: 80 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 14th LRP Bde /1 Defending units: 3rd Tank Division The paras are vastly outnumbered here, but they've done a great service by stopping the tank division from getting to Soerabaja. A very big question, and one that I don't know the answer to, is with this combat, did the tank division get kicked automatically into Combat mode, or is it still in Strat mode? If it's immediately in combat mode, the paras are in immediate trouble. If it's still in Strat mode, Walker won't attack until he has switched them to Combat mode, giving me a day or two or three. The best part, is if they are in Strat mode still, he can't leave the hex in that mode while the paras are there too. Since just a fragment of the 14th LRP is now at Tjepoe, I decide to fly in more of them. I sent some fighter sweeps to clear any CAP that Walker may put up. I lost a few C-47s, but added another squadron of 12 to Mataram to fly in more paras. Maybe I can get their strength up enough to bog down the enemy for a bit. And maybe take Soerabaja, and rush up the road to rescue the paras at Arnhem. Uh, I mean Tjepoe. Timing. Timing is everything. Tjepoe was (probably) empty yesterday. The paras could have taken it. But then the tank division could have railed around the base and still gotten to Soerabaja. Very interesting turn, I thought. Everything at Soerabaja attacks today. A battleship will bombard the base again. Medium bombers will hit the troops, again. Maybe a whole infantry division can be defeated by the large army I have there. The Chinese unit is huge. The 3rd Carbabineers Regiment is a very large armor unit. Maybe it will be enough. Who knows what the fort level will be. This could come down to a race of reducing Soerabaja's defenses before the enemy tank division can dispose of the Indian paras at Tjepoe. US carriers will move a bit north, to a point 2 hexes from Soerabaja. This will be a bit more unpredictable than sitting 1 hex from the base. And I counted the hexes to Palembang. I could get in range of Palembang in just one day's steaming from that location. I'll be leaving the area very soon anyhow, once all of the landings are complete. Just considering Palembang, as long as it doesn't interfere with the next set of invasions, which will start loading as soon as the APAs get to Balikpapan. [image]local://upfiles/6549/9AFD60EA18C347B5A4B76E9F8428B116.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28 (3/20/2017 2:55:32 AM)
2 Oct 43 - Troops at Soerabaja [image]local://upfiles/6549/46090F4538A942A5897A39603375E166.gif[/image]

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