Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Logistics, Patience, and Firepower

Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Logistics, Patience, and Firepower (Full Version)

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Sangeli -> Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Logistics, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 4:35:30 AM)
Intro Well after nearly 2 years of in game time I have decided to write an AAR here on my current game against Rev Rico. The reason I decided now was a good time was that I don't see the sort of war that I am currently fighting in other AARs so it something different than what you've seen. What really sets this current game apart from others is that while the frontiers of the Empire were aggressively expanded within the very first few months, Japan adopted a defensive strategy in spring 42 despite having the stronger air force and navy. Rules: quote: 1. Fighters on CAP or SWEEP have a max altitude 10,000' less than their ceiling. 2. No strategic bombing from or in China. 3. 4E Bombers cannot Naval Attack below 6,000'. 4. Restricted LCUs crossing national borders must pay PPs - Restricted Allied LCUs can walk to Akyab - Thai units can enter Burma and Malaya 5. Restricted air units must be paid for individually and not en masse with an HQ. 6. No uber resizing of CV air units (50+) 7. No surface ship passage thru Malacca straits unless Singapore is owned 8. Night airfield or port bombing limited to a one squadron per target . 9. Japanese may not attack Chinese air bases except when Allied planes are detected 10. Allied planes performing CAP traps in China much stay in their current bases for at least one full day after the trap has occured. Scenario I believe we are playing RA 6.0 scen 50 but it might be RA 7.0....I honestly can't remember. Big implication so far has been more CVs earlier for Japan and fancy new CAs and CBs that didn't come in stock. We are also playing with stacking limits. The Pacific War Part 1 The Pacific War opened with a bang on December 7th with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Damage was widespread but only one battleship was lost for good. Japan shortly after landed in Mersing moving to take Singapore in January 1942. Meanwhile in the Pacific the CV Lexington sortied in the direction of an invasion fleet headed to Rabaul. The covering force was a pair of Japanese CVEs and a Japanese BB. The battle did not go as planned with Allied bombers targeting the battleship on half its strikes while the Japanese hit home with a torpedo and a few bombs. The crippled ship proved unable to get away fast enough from surface ships which thereafter caused enough damage to cause the crew to scuttle the ship. In the aftermath of the battle the Japanese quickly moved on to Port Moresby. Form Port Moresby the KB headed to New Caledonia and secured the island in February 42 which proved the limit of the Japanese southern advance. To the north east the Japanese knocked out a trio of islands in the Gilberts occupied by an infantry regiment apiece and then dug at Tabiteuea. And Japan never even attacked the Aleutians at all. The Japanese had a large buffer zone of open ocean between their front line positions to mine. The Japanese then proceed to heavily fortify their new front lines, building dozens of mutually supporting bases.

witpqs -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 6:36:12 AM)
[8D]

Lowpe -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 11:55:28 AM)
[sm=happy0065.gif]

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 4:14:01 PM)
I realize now I actually have some select screenshots from much earlier in this game. Here is one of New Caledonia. Note that as early as the beginning of February the Japanese already everything in the region except Noumea. Talk about a rapid South Pacific expansion: [image]http://i.imgur.com/aQx0gKL.png[/image]

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 4:18:28 PM)
Here is the trio of islands I held in the Gilberts. Shortly after this screenshot the Japanese would eliminate each base one by one with heavy naval bombardment. With the amphibious bonus my guys never stood a chance: [image]http://i.imgur.com/wpRZ1GF.png[/image]

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 4:22:35 PM)
War in China Part China has been by far the best story out of the war. Early on the Japanese pushed me out of the plains near Loyang but I dug into the heavy terrain behind it and haven't moved since: [image]http://i.imgur.com/r7AMb66.jpg[/image] And during this northern offensive I used the opportunity to launch one of my own in China. Nanchang sits in 1x terrain and was weakly defended. I sent units to cut off Nanchang from Wuchang while attacking Nanchang frontally. The maneuver worked as Japanese reinforcements were too busy keeping their supply lines open than to relieve the beleaguered defenders: [image]http://i.imgur.com/kdkwHX4.jpg[/image]

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 4:47:56 PM)
Burma War Part 1 But with the Japanese advancing quickly in the Pacific, little bother was paid to Burma early on. With the successes in China, Allied commanders deemed the best course of action for early 42 was to heavily fortify Burma before the Japanese could turn west: [image]http://i.imgur.com/Ox9RpY8.jpg[/image] Significant reinforcements were brought including 3 Australian brigades and two Indian divisions. Under heavy Hurricane air cover hundreds of thousands of tons of supply were brought in Rangoon. With the IJN focused on the Pacific, the IJA afraid to take on Hurricanes with its Oscar air fleet. In April the Japanese made their first frontal assault against Moulmein: quote: Ground combat at Moulmein (55,55) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 56774 troops, 573 guns, 496 vehicles, Assault Value = 2133 Defending force 53744 troops, 729 guns, 529 vehicles, Assault Value = 1667 Japanese adjusted assault: 931 Allied adjusted defense: 2219 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 4) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 7581 casualties reported Squads: 33 destroyed, 728 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 68 disabled Engineers: 5 destroyed, 42 disabled Guns lost 60 (1 destroyed, 59 disabled) Vehicles lost 38 (3 destroyed, 35 disabled) Allied ground losses: 904 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 95 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled Guns lost 40 (2 destroyed, 38 disabled) Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) Assaulting units: 33rd Division 56th Division 2nd RTA Division 14th Tank Regiment 1st Tank Regiment 4th RTA Division 1st RTA Division 2nd Division 6th Tank Regiment 7th RTA/A Division 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion Defending units: 16th Australian Brigade 19th Australian Brigade 1st Burma Division 18th Australian Brigade 17th Indian Division. 66th Chinese Corps 2/9th Field Regiment 106th RAF Base Force 107th RAF Base Force 2/13th Field Regiment 77th Heavy AA Regiment The Japanese continued to assault the front door of Burma but to no avail. But a new plan was hatched in the Japaneses high command. The plan was to outflank the Allied defenders by landing Pegu in late July 42. The Allies high command anticipated such a landing but completely underestimated how many troops could be committed to such an operation and how quickly they could unload equipment. Furthermore, the Allies failed to adequately fortify the base with engineering resources being diverted to Rangoon, Moulmein, as well as construction of air bases in the interior of Burma. The result was a decisive Japanese victory, shattering the Allied lines in Burma, and taking in tens of thousands of prisoners not just at Pegu but also to the still powerful defenders of Moulmein: quote: Ground combat at Pegu (55,53) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 57940 troops, 570 guns, 176 vehicles, Assault Value = 2613 Defending force 33377 troops, 233 guns, 473 vehicles, Assault Value = 1341 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2 Japanese adjusted assault: 3460 Allied adjusted defense: 246 Japanese assault odds: 14 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese forces CAPTURE Pegu !!! Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4266 casualties reported Squads: 13 destroyed, 333 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 38 disabled Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled) Allied ground losses: 9621 casualties reported Squads: 481 destroyed, 134 disabled Non Combat: 244 destroyed, 76 disabled Engineers: 94 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 132 (124 destroyed, 8 disabled) Vehicles lost 435 (400 destroyed, 35 disabled) Units retreated 10 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 18th Division Imperial Guards Division 20th Div /3 48th Division 8th Division 16th Division 4th Div /3 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 25th Army 28th JAAF AF Bn Defending units: 18th Australian Brigade 3rd New Chinese Corps 45th Recce Regiment 7th Armoured Brigade 8th New Chinese Corps 5th New Chinese Corps 4th Burma Rifles Battalion 6th Aus Div Cav Regiment B Sqn 3rd Hussars Regiment 5th Chinese Corps But with Japanese busy slowly grinding down the defenders of Moulmein, the Allied defenders managed to establish a new line of defense in the jungles east of Ramree. But the Japanese were not done attacking in Burma: another sizeable amphibious force landed in Ramree and took the base from the ragtag group of Allied defenders. In the following months, Allied cryptographers were decoding messages pointing to an amphibious landing at Akyab which would effectively cut off my army guarding its southern and eastern approaches. And at this critical moment in November 1942, the Allied commander in Burma ordered the first daylight raid on Rangoon of the war. And oh boy it was a sight to behold: quote: Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 70 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 25 minutes Allied aircraft Liberator II x 14 B-17E Fortress x 10 Allied aircraft losses Liberator II: 6 damaged B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged Japanese Ships AK Teikoku Maru, Bomb hits 1 TB Kari, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Yamazuki Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AD Choko Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires AK Melbourne Maru, Bomb hits 1 DD Hokaze, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AV Kamikawa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Katori Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AK Asakaze Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Hawaii Maru, Bomb hits 1 APD Namikaze, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk APD Matsukaze, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk xAP Teiko Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires APD Mochizuki, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Horai Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Terukuni Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires AK Yodogawa Maru, Bomb hits 1 AK Onoe Maru, Bomb hits 2 AV Sanuki Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage APD Tachikaze, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage DD Kamikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Teikyo Maru, Bomb hits 1 AK Tokyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Toa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Sagami Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Kaga Maru, Bomb hits 1 AK Yamakaze Maru, Bomb hits 2 xAP Kitano Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Kazuura Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AK Tacoma Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Sasako Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Rakuyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Manila Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires AK Awazisan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire APD Minekaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire Port hits 5 Port supply hits 3 Aircraft Attacking: 14 x Liberator II bombing from 6000 feet Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb 10 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb Massive explosion on AK Kazuura Maru quote: Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Allied aircraft B-17E Fortress x 16 Allied aircraft losses B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged Japanese Ships AK Arimasan Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage DD Kamikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Africa Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Tosan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Kobe Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Arima Maru, Bomb hits 1 AV Kamikawa Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Hakozaki Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire DD Hokaze, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Katori Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAP Teikyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Ginyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AK Tacoma Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Onoe Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Toa Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Sydney Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Kaga Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AV Sanuki Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Brisbane Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires APD Minekaze, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Teiko Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires DD Oite, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires AK Manila Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAP Kitano Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Canberra Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Sado Maru, Bomb hits 1 AK Kinka Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Teikoku Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire xAP Koan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire Port hits 10 Port supply hits 3 Aircraft Attacking: 16 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb quote: Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid detected at 63 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Allied aircraft B-17F Fortress x 14 Allied aircraft losses B-17F Fortress: 4 damaged Japanese Ships xAP Teikyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Asakaze Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAP Mizuho Maru, Bomb hits 1 AK Awazisan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Sydney Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Yamakaze Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Amagisan Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires AK Sado Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire DD Oite, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk E Hachijo, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Arima Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AK Onoe Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AK Azumasan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire LSD Akitsu Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires AK Arimasan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAP Hakozaki Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAP Haruna Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire PB Nagato Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AK Yamazato Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire AK Hawaii Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires PB Okuyo Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage SC Ch 21, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Tamagawa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Kobe Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Tacoma Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAP Miike Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAP Ukishima Maru, Bomb hits 1 AK Kyushu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Ginyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AK Huzikawa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AK Sakura Maru, Bomb hits 1 xAP Husimi Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire Port hits 3 Port supply hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 14 x B-17F Fortress bombing from 6000 feet Port Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb Magazine explodes on DD Oite And just like that I managed to smash a huge invasion fleet with barely more than 50 heavy bombers. Where was the CAP you ask? Well there had been 100+ planes present for months but for some reason Japan moved them away that very day. Just a stroke of good luck on my part. And as you can imagine with these ships lying in ruin in the port of Rangoon the Akyab offensive was canceled. That was the end of the Japanese attacks in Burma and entire Indian Ocean region.

BBfanboy -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 10:08:42 PM)
Wow! Fantastic results from those few bombers. Did you give them any special training or bring in the best pilots for the operation?

Mundy -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/12/2016 10:28:00 PM)
You know... This AAR will be a bigger job than the game. [;)]

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/13/2016 12:42:59 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy Wow! Fantastic results from those few bombers. Did you give them any special training or bring in the best pilots for the operation? Well my standard 4E pilots are the best ones I have available on my bomber pools. Some had naval bombing training but I don't think that's a factor for port bombings. The Japanese crammed the harbor full of ships so it was pretty hard to miss; I believe my accuracy rate was around 25%.

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/13/2016 6:12:00 AM)
War in the Pacific Part II By spring 42 the Japanese had full control of everything in the Pacific from New Guinea to New Caledonia to the Gilberts. All of northern Australia was in Japanese hands as well. The Japanese would only attempt one more invasion in the Pacific that was not a counter-attack. In July 42 Japan invaded the small atoll of Nanumea which was being built up as a staging base to invade the Gilbert islands. But my tenacious defenders refused to give in against wave after wave of Japanese assaults: quote: Ground combat at Nanumea (136,141) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 2959 troops, 18 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 139 Defending force 4997 troops, 51 guns, 72 vehicles, Assault Value = 136 Japanese adjusted assault: 1 Allied adjusted defense: 68 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 68 (fort level 4) Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), supply(-) Japanese ground losses: 2270 casualties reported Squads: 81 destroyed, 49 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled Guns lost 4 (2 destroyed, 2 disabled) Allied ground losses: 186 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 19 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled Assaulting units: IJA Iwaki Bde /2 Ichiki Det. 2nd Kure Assault Div /1 Defending units: 1st Marine Raider Battalion 102nd Combat Engineer Regiment 1st/102nd Infantry Battalion 43rd Construction Regiment 2nd USN Naval Construction Battalion A Det USN Port Svc 1/198th Coast AA Battalion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Nanumea (136,141) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 8043 troops, 90 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 250 Defending force 4763 troops, 51 guns, 70 vehicles, Assault Value = 108 Japanese adjusted assault: 22 Allied adjusted defense: 30 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 4) Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 1879 casualties reported Squads: 57 destroyed, 64 disabled Non Combat: 62 destroyed, 8 disabled Engineers: 13 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 17 (14 destroyed, 3 disabled) Allied ground losses: 457 casualties reported Squads: 32 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 36 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 39 disabled Guns lost 12 (1 destroyed, 11 disabled) Assaulting units: Ichiki Det. IJA Iwaki Bde /2 2nd Kure Assault Div /1 Defending units: 1st Marine Raider Battalion 102nd Combat Engineer Regiment 1st/102nd Infantry Battalion 2nd USN Naval Construction Battalion A Det USN Port Svc 43rd Construction Regiment 1/198th Coast AA Battalion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Nanumea (136,141) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 8359 troops, 154 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 209 Defending force 4119 troops, 50 guns, 70 vehicles, Assault Value = 65 Japanese adjusted assault: 29 Allied adjusted defense: 18 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 4) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 3 Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), disruption(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-) Japanese ground losses: 2859 casualties reported Squads: 140 destroyed, 46 disabled Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 11 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 54 (16 destroyed, 38 disabled) Vehicles lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled) Allied ground losses: 496 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 12 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 10 destroyed, 40 disabled Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) Assaulting units: 2nd Kure Assault Division IJA Iwaki Brigade Ichiki Det. Defending units: 102nd Combat Engineer Regiment 1st Marine Raider Battalion 1st/102nd Infantry Battalion 2nd USN Naval Construction Battalion 43rd Construction Regiment A Det USN Port Svc 1/198th Coast AA Battalion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Nanumea (136,141) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 6970 troops, 143 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 77 Defending force 3819 troops, 51 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 34 Japanese adjusted assault: 4 Allied adjusted defense: 15 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 3) Combat modifiers Defender: disruption(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 956 casualties reported Squads: 66 destroyed, 19 disabled Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 21 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 30 (27 destroyed, 3 disabled) Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled) Allied ground losses: 211 casualties reported Squads: 5 destroyed, 6 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Assaulting units: 2nd Kure Assault Division IJA Iwaki Brigade Ichiki Det. Defending units: 1st Marine Raider Battalion 1st/102nd Infantry Battalion 102nd Combat Engineer Regiment 3rd/102nd Infantry Bn /1 2nd USN Naval Construction Battalion 43rd Construction Regiment A Det USN Port Svc 1/198th Coast AA Battalion Truly one of those battles that would become fabled lore in American history. Reinforcements of the 102nd Infantry Bn being flown in via Catalinas would prove to be decisive in holding the base against the last furious Japanese assault even as they made their way though the once strong fortifications. Here was the situation at the time: [image]http://i.imgur.com/jfb0lka.png[/image] But other the sharp action at Nanumea, the Pacific was mostly quiet for the majority of 42. Starting in October 42 the Allied fleets began "sparring" with the Japanese. Typically these actions were Allied cruisers against Japanese cruisers near the Gilberts but occasionally battleships were involved as well. For the most part the Japanese had the upper hand but there were instances where the Allies seized victory, especially with dive bombers. The Musashi was sunk by CVE SBD-3s in November 42 with only 6 1000 lb bombs (talk about a good dice roll). But finally around this time I felt ready to challenge the KB in order to establish a foothold in the Gilberts. I managed to concentrate my CVEs and CVs such that I had a numerical advantage but the qualitative advantage of the Japanese was still very apparent with this result: First, the Japanese got their licks early in with a beautifully coordinated strike: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Arorae at 143,137 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 34 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 120 B5N2 Kate x 87 D3A1 Val x 12 D3A2 Val x 89 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 28 F4F-3 Wildcat x 64 F4F-4 Wildcat x 180 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5 Zero: 8 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 19 destroyed, 19 damaged B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed by flak D3A1 Val: 4 damaged D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak D3A2 Val: 13 destroyed, 13 damaged D3A2 Val: 4 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed F4F-4 Wildcat: 5 destroyed Allied Ships CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage BB Prince of Wales, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage BC Repulse, Bomb hits 1 CV Enterprise CVE Kittyhawk, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage CVE Copahee, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk CVE Altamaha, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk CVE Nassau, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage CVE Neosho, Bomb hits 1 CVE Platte, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk CVE Hammondsport CVE Long Island, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage CV Hornet, Torpedo hits 1 BB North Carolina CLAA Atlanta BB South Dakota, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2 CVE Sabine, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk CV Saratoga CV Wasp CVE Kaskaskia, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires The CVEs took a very heavy beating in these attacks. The fighters were also firing on the bombers in the approach for some time causing heavy casualties in the Japanese air ranks. Meanwhile my morning counterblow was nothing: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 31 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 4 A6M5 Zero x 52 Allied aircraft Albacore I x 5 F4F-3 Wildcat x 23 F4F-4 Wildcat x 59 SBD-3 Dauntless x 53 TBF-1 Avenger x 30 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 6 destroyed, 11 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CV Taikaku, Bomb hits 1 CV Shokaku CV Soryu BB Haruna, Torpedo hits 1 CV Zuikaku CV Hiryu CV Renkaku CV Akagi CA Chikuma That's a pathetic response. Subsequent morning raids weren't much better: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 31 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 4 A6M5 Zero x 37 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 25 SBD-3 Dauntless x 52 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 9 destroyed, 22 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CV Zuikaku CV Taikaku CA Kako CV Renkaku CL Yura BB Haruna, Bomb hits 1, on fire CA Aoba CV Hiryu -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 30 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 1 A6M5 Zero x 20 Allied aircraft F4F-3 Wildcat x 25 SBD-3 Dauntless x 35 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 4 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CV Taikaku BB Haruna, on fire CV Shokaku CV Hiryu CV Soryu CV Zuikaku CV Akagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 21 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 1 A6M5 Zero x 12 Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 13 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses TBF-1 Avenger: 3 destroyed, 5 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CV Zuikaku CV Hiryu -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Arorae at 143,137 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 44 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 16 minutes Japanese aircraft D3A2 Val x 12 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 26 F4F-3 Wildcat x 57 F4F-4 Wildcat x 159 Japanese aircraft losses D3A2 Val: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CVE Hammondsport CVE Long Island, and is sunk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Arorae at 143,137 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 28 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 11 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 26 F4F-3 Wildcat x 53 F4F-4 Wildcat x 155 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 6 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Arorae at 143,137 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 49 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft D4Y1 Judy x 12 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 26 F4F-3 Wildcat x 51 F4F-4 Wildcat x 154 Japanese aircraft losses D4Y1 Judy: 7 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 10 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 3 Allied aircraft SBD-3 Dauntless x 18 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CV Hiryu CV Taikaku, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires DD Amagiri CV Soryu CV Shokaku -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 16 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Allied aircraft TBF-1 Avenger x 13 Allied aircraft losses TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CV Hiryu BB Haruna, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage CV Akagi, Torpedo hits 1, on fire Ammo storage explosion on CV Akagi Then the afternoon strikes came: quote: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Arorae at 143,138 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 34 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 90 B5N2 Kate x 52 D3A1 Val x 9 D3A2 Val x 71 Allied aircraft F4F-3 Wildcat x 29 F4F-4 Wildcat x 61 Japanese aircraft losses A6M5 Zero: 8 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 9 destroyed, 18 damaged B5N2 Kate: 6 destroyed by flak D3A1 Val: 3 damaged D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak D3A2 Val: 6 destroyed, 26 damaged D3A2 Val: 6 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Hornet, Bomb hits 1, on fire BB North Carolina, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage CV Saratoga BB South Dakota CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage CV Wasp BC Repulse CA Quincy CL Leander Fuel storage explosion on CV Enterprise -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 31 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 4 A6M5 Zero x 38 Allied aircraft F4F-3 Wildcat x 42 F4F-4 Wildcat x 46 SBD-3 Dauntless x 79 TBF-1 Avenger x 32 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 25 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed, 7 damaged Japanese Ships BB Haruna, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage CV Taikaku, Torpedo hits 1, on fire CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 3, on fire CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1 CV Renkaku CA Kako CV Soryu CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 4, on fire CA Aoba, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires CA Tone, Bomb hits 2, on fire CL Yura CV Akagi, on fire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Nanumea at 139,140 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid detected at 75 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 29 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 1 A6M5 Zero x 21 Allied aircraft Albacore I x 2 F4F-4 Wildcat x 6 SBD-3 Dauntless x 3 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 1 destroyed SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged Japanese Ships CV Hiryu

witpqs -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/13/2016 6:26:55 AM)
Well that looked like a ruckus!

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/13/2016 6:29:48 AM)
That battle crippled my carrier fleet and sunk most of the CVEs. But the Japanese air groups had been shredded as well; both sides were severely weakened. But I had assets that had not yet taken part of the battle: a task force led by a pair of French BCs (RA addition). Unlike all Allied BBs and BCs until the Iowa class, these bad boys can make 9 hexes in one phase. I put their speed to good use and charged at the Japanese carrier fleet: quote: Night Time Surface Combat, near Arorae at 137,137, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses F1M2 Pete: 1 destroyed Japanese Ships BB Haruna, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Amagiri Allied Ships BC Dunkerque BC Strasbourg, Shell hits 1 CA Hawkins CL Marblehead CL St. Louis CL Phoenix DD Helm DD Dunlap DD Fanning DD Case DD Conyngham DD Cushing DD Downes DD Clark DD Harwood, Shell hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Escort abandons search for sub -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Nanumea at 135,138, Range 26,000 Yards Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses E7K2 Alf: 1 destroyed E13A1 Jake: 1 destroyed Japanese Ships CV Hiryu CV Soryu CV Shokaku, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage CV Renkaku, Shell hits 1 CA Tone, Shell hits 11, on fire CA Kako, Shell hits 18, and is sunk CL Yura, Shell hits 25, and is sunk DD Akizuki, Shell hits 2 DD Teruzuki, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Susuzuki, Shell hits 2, on fire DD Hatsuzuki DD Niizuki, Shell hits 6, heavy fires DD Yugumo, Shell hits 1 DD Akigumo, Shell hits 4, heavy fires DD Makigumo DD Shigure, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Harusame, Shell hits 2, on fire DD Ikazuchi DD Yugiri Allied Ships BC Dunkerque, Shell hits 3, on fire BC Strasbourg, Shell hits 2 CA Hawkins, Shell hits 1 CL Marblehead, Shell hits 2, on fire CL St. Louis, Shell hits 6, heavy fires CL Phoenix, Shell hits 3, heavy fires DD Helm, Shell hits 3, heavy fires DD Dunlap, Shell hits 5, on fire DD Fanning, Shell hits 1 DD Case, Shell hits 1 DD Conyngham, Shell hits 2, on fire DD Cushing, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Downes Well that turned what was a sharp Allied defeat into something closer to a draw. The Japanese would win in overall VPs but the CV Shokoku would go on to sink. A CV, BB, CA, and CL is definitely a hefty price of steel to pay.

Skyland -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/13/2016 7:02:05 AM)
Nice french cavalry charge ! The CA and BB were sunk by the french 330mm shells ?

Yaab -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/13/2016 9:16:30 AM)
Sangeli, I think that "no strat bombing in China" is too restrictive. I think Manpower and HI (which represent arsenals, in RL mostly loacted in Chungking) should be subject to strat bombing. Both will not collapse China's supply production which is mostly created via LI.

Bif1961 -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/15/2016 6:17:13 PM)
In the game I have been playing we don't allow 4E naval bombing below 10,000 feet, but to leave the base without CAP is just inviting it. Also much like your game we are just finishing the first day of a major carrier battle in the Marshals and it was a reverse Midway with an American invasion fleet being escorted by Carrier TFs in different hexes spread out and receiving a sharp rebuke by a concentrated KB. I am the Japanese and he was advancing to the middle Marshals when this carrier battle occurred. So far I had 1 CVE damaged by a single bomb and he had heavy damage to the CV Hornet, Enterprise II and Essex, along with CVL Princeton and Independence. I lost about 300 A/C and will have to withdraw to replenish them and torpedoes. He lost about 270 A/C 60 of which were hell-kittys (30 OPS). So it appears one of his CVs was sunk and that means two are cripples along with 2 CVLs sunk or heavily damaged. The danger of being the Allies is when to you decide to confront the diminished KB? It will be interesting to see if he continues with his planned landing in the middle Marshals or recoils and tries to get his cripples away awaiting more CVs, and CVLs in late 43 and early 44?

Mundy -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/15/2016 7:23:49 PM)
I think you were reading my AAR too much with that surface fight. [:D] Typical Allied bad luck on the carrier fight beforehand. I liked your shot at defending Rabaul, and I'd probably try it on my next game. Some IJN players do skimp on air cover with Rabaul landings. Hitting them good could buy the Allies time to swap some Australian LCUs to that cheap unrestricted corps under Australia Command and send them to Rabaul. That could drop the hammer on any threat in that direction. Nanumea's definitely an out of the way spot for a decisive battle.

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/15/2016 9:29:00 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy I think you were reading my AAR too much with that surface fight. [:D] I actually think my surface charge with those BCs happened well before your surface charge with those slow BBs. Either way the situation was much different...your charge was much ballsier. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy Nanumea's definitely an out of the way spot for a decisive battle. Perhaps in your game. But in mine the Gilberts and the islands to the south and east are considerably built up and were able to assist with LRCAP over my charging surface fleets. Nanumea is as good of a spot as any to fight and a considerable number of fights happened in its vicinity.

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 5:48:58 PM)
War in China Part II In early 1943, the Japanese began a new offensive. Their objective was to retake Nanchang which I had taken in 42 and fortified. While the base sits in 1x terrain, it was built to a level 6 fort and is protected by a river crossing. Here was the first Japanese attack: quote: Ground combat at Nanchang (85,54) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 99939 troops, 1089 guns, 1977 vehicles, Assault Value = 3593 Defending force 60770 troops, 443 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1897 Japanese adjusted assault: 869 Allied adjusted defense: 1542 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 6) Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 18137 casualties reported Squads: 290 destroyed, 822 disabled Non Combat: 45 destroyed, 205 disabled Engineers: 23 destroyed, 210 disabled Guns lost 128 (26 destroyed, 102 disabled) Vehicles lost 323 (102 destroyed, 221 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Allied ground losses: 2388 casualties reported Squads: 42 destroyed, 102 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 82 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Guns lost 40 (2 destroyed, 38 disabled) Assaulting units: 15th Tank Regiment 18th Division 11th Tank Regiment 3rd/B Division 15th Division 21st Division 1st Tank Division 3rd Tank Division 19th Tank Regiment 66th Infantry Group 39th Division 3rd/A Division 34th Division 12th Tank Regiment 18th Tank Regiment 3rd/C Division 2nd Ind. Engineer Regiment 2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion Defending units: 37th Chinese Corps 14th Chinese Corps 9th Prov Chinese Corps 60th Chinese Corps 74th Chinese Corps 8th Chinese/B Corps 7th Artillery Regiment 7th Chinese Base Force 6th War Area 7th War Area 12th Group Army 57th AT Gun Regiment 20th Artillery Regiment 41st AA Regiment As you see it was a bloodbath. Most importantly the fort held. But the Japanese would attack a week later and start making more progress: quote: Ground combat at Nanchang (85,54) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 80025 troops, 943 guns, 1866 vehicles, Assault Value = 2398 Defending force 80255 troops, 474 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2524 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 5 Japanese adjusted assault: 1773 Allied adjusted defense: 1566 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 5) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 5 Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 9803 casualties reported Squads: 329 destroyed, 300 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 183 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 70 disabled Guns lost 114 (24 destroyed, 90 disabled) Vehicles lost 181 (5 destroyed, 176 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2911 casualties reported Squads: 12 destroyed, 140 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 57 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Guns lost 23 (2 destroyed, 21 disabled) Assaulting units: 66th Infantry Group 3rd Tank Division 12th Tank Regiment 1st Tank Division 19th Tank Regiment 39th Division 15th Division 21st Division 36th Division 34th Division 11th Tank Regiment 2nd Ind. Engineer Regiment 14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion Defending units: 75th Chinese Corps 26th Chinese Corps 31st Chinese Corps 74th Chinese Corps 14th Chinese Corps 9th Prov Chinese/A Corps 60th Chinese Corps 8th Chinese/B Corps 51st Chinese Corps 9th Prov Chinese/B Corps 9th Prov Chinese/C Corps 30th Group Army 7th Chinese Base Force 57th AT Gun Regiment 6th War Area 20th Artillery Regiment 12th Group Army 7th Artillery Regiment 7th War Area 41st AA Regiment And this time the fort dropped a level. But I was able to bring more reinforcements before the next Japanese assault: quote: Ground combat at Nanchang (85,54) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 83581 troops, 1001 guns, 1866 vehicles, Assault Value = 2330 Defending force 103157 troops, 568 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3279 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 4 Japanese adjusted assault: 1732 Allied adjusted defense: 2092 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 4) Combat modifiers Defender: experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 8879 casualties reported Squads: 257 destroyed, 435 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 146 disabled Engineers: 39 destroyed, 67 disabled Guns lost 75 (2 destroyed, 73 disabled) Vehicles lost 114 (27 destroyed, 87 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2554 casualties reported Squads: 78 destroyed, 238 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 54 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled Guns lost 33 (1 destroyed, 32 disabled) Another battle with heavy casualties but with forts down to level 4, Japanese bombers were becoming more effective. The base could not be held. The Chinese would pull back leaving a few corps to cover the retreat for the rest of the army. After losing Nanchang, I largely abandoned SE China. The exception was a trio of hexes I held from Wenchow to Chuhsien, all in 3x terrain. Each hex was held with around 1000 AV. While they were cut off, Wenchow has industry and thus was producing supply to aid the defenders: [image]http://i.imgur.com/5y9JKf4.jpg[/image] Rather than ignore my cut off defenders, Japan attempted to root them out. I had anticipated a blood bath for the Japanese but the result was far better than I had ever hoped. In the first set of attacks, the Japanese attempted to take Wenchow from me. But with full prep and commander bonuses my Chinese defenders looked more like the USMC than a ragtag group of peasants: quote: Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 119943 troops, 1000 guns, 259 vehicles, Assault Value = 3974 Defending force 28904 troops, 108 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 983 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3 Japanese adjusted assault: 1736 Allied adjusted defense: 3322 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 3) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 18210 casualties reported Squads: 650 destroyed, 441 disabled Non Combat: 96 destroyed, 45 disabled Engineers: 58 destroyed, 36 disabled Guns lost 73 (51 destroyed, 22 disabled) Vehicles lost 8 (6 destroyed, 2 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1121 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 141 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 6 (2 destroyed, 4 disabled) Assaulting units: 59th Division 15th Division 40th Division 34th Division 71st Division 116th Division 32nd Division 60th Division 36th Division 41st Division 58th Infantry Regiment 13th Army Defending units: 28th Chinese Corps 88th Chinese Corps 10th Group Army 25th Group Army 14th Chinese Base Force OVER a full division worth of squads destroyed. I think the stacking limits really affected the result of the battle because the Japanese were way over the limit. But with my adjusted AV value being over 3x my raw amount, any attack was going to be a bloodbath. The following attack was hardly any better: quote: Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 108021 troops, 967 guns, 256 vehicles, Assault Value = 3155 Defending force 27969 troops, 106 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 877 Japanese adjusted assault: 1555 Allied adjusted defense: 1300 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 14979 casualties reported Squads: 462 destroyed, 252 disabled Non Combat: 54 destroyed, 52 disabled Engineers: 59 destroyed, 53 disabled Guns lost 83 (42 destroyed, 41 disabled) Vehicles lost 21 (10 destroyed, 11 disabled) Allied ground losses: 921 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 97 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 31 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) And here comes another: quote: Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 87453 troops, 817 guns, 222 vehicles, Assault Value = 2510 Defending force 27284 troops, 105 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 807 Japanese adjusted assault: 3152 Allied adjusted defense: 3826 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 10773 casualties reported Squads: 420 destroyed, 160 disabled Non Combat: 66 destroyed, 44 disabled Engineers: 31 destroyed, 31 disabled Guns lost 83 (46 destroyed, 37 disabled) Vehicles lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1012 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 156 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 22 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Assaulting units: 116th Division 41st Division 60th Division 34th Division 32nd Division 15th Division 40th Division 71st Division 36th Division 58th Infantry Regiment 13th Army Defending units: 28th Chinese Corps 88th Chinese Corps 25th Group Army 10th Group Army 14th Chinese Base Force And after a few more assaults the Japanese take out Wenchow: quote: Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 75033 troops, 685 guns, 156 vehicles, Assault Value = 2460 Defending force 25391 troops, 105 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 569 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 1460 Allied adjusted defense: 1213 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-) experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4750 casualties reported Squads: 82 destroyed, 254 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 16 disabled Engineers: 14 destroyed, 27 disabled Guns lost 42 (8 destroyed, 34 disabled) Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled) Allied ground losses: 609 casualties reported Squads: 5 destroyed, 98 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 25 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 36th Division 71st Division 40th Division 3rd Division 32nd Division 17th Division 58th Infantry Regiment Defending units: 28th Chinese Corps 88th Chinese Corps 25th Group Army 10th Group Army 14th Chinese Base Force -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 71629 troops, 679 guns, 154 vehicles, Assault Value = 2162 Defending force 24525 troops, 105 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 474 Japanese adjusted assault: 920 Allied adjusted defense: 388 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Wenchow !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), disruption(-), experience(-) supply(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 2325 casualties reported Squads: 39 destroyed, 138 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled Guns lost 16 (4 destroyed, 12 disabled) Allied ground losses: 8360 casualties reported Squads: 320 destroyed, 13 disabled Non Combat: 215 destroyed, 73 disabled Engineers: 15 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 25 (20 destroyed, 5 disabled) Units retreated 4 Units destroyed 1 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 71st Division 3rd Division 36th Division 17th Division 40th Division 32nd Division 58th Infantry Regiment Defending units: 28th Chinese Corps 88th Chinese Corps 10th Group Army 25th Group Army 14th Chinese Base Force And even then some of these defenders escaped this battle and recovered. The Japanese attacked the other two hexes and the results were nearly as bloody. Now we are 7 months after this operation and the Japanese have lost over 125,000 soldiers by my estimate in this operation. Meanwhile my original compliment of 120,000 soldiers has been reduced to 60,000 but the units are still in tip top fighting shape. Overall China has been an abysmal failure for the Japanese. The front lines have barely changed since spring 42 despite these heavy casualties

Lowpe -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 5:54:01 PM)
What are the LCU vp losses for each side? Or are you holding off until you get to the current game date. Fascinating game, btw.[&o]

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 5:58:53 PM)
War in the Pacific Part III After the First Battle of the Gilberts, both sides spent some time regrouping before things would heat up again. I had a plan to advance in the Gilberts but was thwarted by an 8 strike hex on the Allied Death Star: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 144,137 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 40 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M5 Zero x 6 A6M8 Zero x 152 B6N1 Jill x 94 D4Y1 Judy x 128 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 28 F4F-4 Wildcat x 139 FM-1 Wildcat x 18 F6F-3 Hellcat x 316 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 9 destroyed, 23 damaged B6N1 Jill: 6 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 16 destroyed, 24 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 6 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses Sea Hurricane Ib: 1 destroyed F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CVE Santee, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage CA Wichita BB Montana CVL Independence BB Massachusetts, Torpedo hits 1 CVE Chenango, Bomb hits 2, on fire CVE Barnes, Bomb hits 1 CV Wasp, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires CVE Hammondsport, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk CVE Pocomoke, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage CV Saratoga, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage CVE Corregidor BB Indiana CVE Suwannee, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires CVL Varennes, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage BB Prince of Wales CVE Kaskaskia, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires CVL Chateau Thierry, Torpedo hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 144,137 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 102 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 26 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 56 B6N1 Jill x 53 D4Y1 Judy x 23 Allied aircraft Sea Hurricane Ib x 27 F4F-4 Wildcat x 136 FM-1 Wildcat x 18 F6F-3 Hellcat x 306 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 5 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 25 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 17 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CVE Corregidor CV Wasp, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage CV Saratoga, on fire, heavy damage BB Prince of Wales Ouch! The Japanese air groups were gutted by my heavy CAP but my planes could not strike at 8 hexes. 2 CVEs would sink immediately. But after the battle the IJN subs would work wonders. Rev Rico managed to track down my damaged carriers in the open ocean and sink 1 CVL and 2 CVEs. The Allied fleet would need more time in the yard before it could challenge the KB. But a showdown was coming nonetheless...

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 6:05:19 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lowpe What are the LCU vp losses for each side? Or are you holding off until you get to the current game date. Fascinating game, btw.[&o] Ya I'm going to hold off on the VP screen until I catch up. Right now I'm just trying to give some context to my game by going over the most important events. There's still plenty of stuff I'm skipping like big surface engagements and other big land battles but I don't want to spend too much time in past events.

Lowpe -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 6:08:18 PM)
Ok, what was the date of the 8 hex carrier strike?

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 6:14:45 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lowpe Ok, what was the date of the 8 hex carrier strike? Sometime in early July 43. It was shortly after I switched most of my CV fighters to the F6F-3.

Lowpe -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 6:21:06 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Sangeli quote: ORIGINAL: Lowpe Ok, what was the date of the 8 hex carrier strike? Sometime in early July 43. It was shortly after I switched most of my CV fighters to the F6F-3. Very nice acceleration of the A6M8![X(] I wonder what the rest of his plane research/supply looks like.

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 6:39:09 PM)
War in the Pacific Part IV: Revenge In early September 1943, I took to the offensive in the Gilberts again. First I would take Tabiteuea in a text book atoll invasion: quote: Ground combat at Tabiteuea (137,134) Allied Shock attack Attacking force 21022 troops, 505 guns, 529 vehicles, Assault Value = 953 Defending force 11186 troops, 203 guns, 28 vehicles, Assault Value = 270 Allied adjusted assault: 815 Japanese adjusted defense: 138 Allied assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 6) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), disruption(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 2831 casualties reported Squads: 105 destroyed, 70 disabled Non Combat: 70 destroyed, 30 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 16 disabled Guns lost 66 (24 destroyed, 42 disabled) Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Allied ground losses: 722 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 71 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 20 (2 destroyed, 18 disabled) Vehicles lost 32 (1 destroyed, 31 disabled) Assaulting units: 766th Tank Bn /2 138th(Sep) Infantry Rgt /2 4th USMC Tank Battalion 25th Marine Rgt /4 1st USMC Corps Tank Battalion 43rd Infantry Division 87th Mountain Rgt /2 181st FA Rgt /2 30th FA Rgt /2 188th FA Rgt /2 2nd Eng Amph Bde /3 I US Amphib Corps /1 14th Marine Def Bn /1 Defending units: 82nd Naval Guard Unit 2nd China Assault Division 2nd ADU Coastal Gun Regiment 38th JNAF AF Unit 4th JNAF Coy 44th JNAF AF Unit 3rd Guard ADU Coastal Gun Battalion 5th IJN AA Battalion Took only a single day to capture the base. Having an HQ here really made a difference. And after the battle I pushed forward on my way to Tarawa. But Rev Rico, having noticed I was using Baker Island to replenish my BBs, decided to attack the base with his carriers in a surprise attack: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 154,126 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 17 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 78 B6N1 Jill x 25 D4Y1 Judy x 37 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 1 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 2 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Allied Ships xAK William Prouse, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Stanford Newel, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk SC-981 xAK Thomas Nelson xAP Gideon Welles, Bomb hits 1, on fire xAK Sheldon Jackson xAK James Withycombe, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk xAK William Vanderbilt, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires xAK Stephen Crane, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Robert M. Lafollette, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk xAK William G. Fargo, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires xAK Thomas Corwin, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk xAP Benjamin Ide Wheeler xAK S. Hall Young, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied ground losses: 78 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 54 destroyed, 54 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 98 (50 destroyed, 48 disabled) Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK S. Hall Young -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 149,136 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 100 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 33 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 14 B6N1 Jill x 3 D4Y1 Judy x 6 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 2 damaged Allied Ships TK Santa Maria, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AO Schuylkill, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Nikunau at 143,135 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 44 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 14 B6N1 Jill x 6 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 1 damaged B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak Allied Ships xAK Cape San Martin, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Mormaclark -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 149,136 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 119 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 39 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 44 B6N1 Jill x 5 D4Y1 Judy x 30 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 1 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 4 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 2 destroyed by flak Allied Ships TK Mexicos H Whittier, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AO Saranac, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires DD Frankford SC PC-596, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AO Cossatot, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AO Cache, Bomb hits 1, on fire AO Chepachet, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Baker Island at 154,126 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 6 D4Y1 Judy x 8 No Japanese losses Allied Ships xAP Gideon Welles, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK John Burke, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires But while I had many fleets here, the BBs were not part of them. The reality is that I actually moved their rearmament base from Baker to Nonouti shortly before this attack. The fleet oilers were valuable but not critical in the long run. But in making this attack the Japanese CVs were in a precarious position with my CVs to the west of them. Furthermore, at this time the big KB with the fast BBs was out near Burma trying to slow me down there. With the Japanese having split their CVs across two oceans, I decided to make a bold move and charge with my CVs into the Marshalls to cut off the Japanese CVs. I knew it would bring me under LBA attack as well, but opportunities don't come like this very often. And boy was I glad I made a move; quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 13 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8-J Zero x 27 B6N1 Jill x 2 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 116 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8-J Zero: 15 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships CVL Varennes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 93 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 33 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M4-Q Nell x 8 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 110 Japanese aircraft losses G3M4-Q Nell: 6 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 38 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 43 A6M8-J Zero x 4 N1K1-J George x 5 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 169 SB2C-1C Helldiver x 27 SBD-5 Dauntless x 96 TBF-1 Avenger x 116 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 3 destroyed SB2C-1C Helldiver: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged SBD-5 Dauntless: 3 destroyed, 18 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 10 destroyed, 20 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire CV Soryu, Bomb hits 1 CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 1 CV Kasagi DD Momo CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 1, on fire CA Aoba, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires CA Atago DD Hagikaze -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 111 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft D4Y1 Judy x 25 Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 10 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 95 Japanese aircraft losses D4Y1 Judy: 18 destroyed Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 4 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 38 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 92 B6N1 Jill x 81 D4Y1 Judy x 76 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 64 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 30 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 12 destroyed, 26 damaged B6N1 Jill: 10 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 4 destroyed, 23 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 11 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Yorktown II, Bomb hits 2, on fire CVL Independence CV Enterprise BB North Carolina, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1 CV Hornet, Torpedo hits 1, on fire BB Alabama, Torpedo hits 3 CVL Belleau Wood CV Yorktown, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires CVL Princeton, Bomb hits 1, on fire CV Essex, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire BB South Dakota DD Gansevoort BB Indiana DD Guest CVL Cowpens CVL Varennes DD Walke -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 112 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 40 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M4-Q Nell x 30 Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 32 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 35 Japanese aircraft losses G3M4-Q Nell: 13 destroyed, 7 damaged G3M4-Q Nell: 1 destroyed by flak Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Yorktown II, on fire CVL Varennes CVL Princeton, on fire CVL Cowpens CV Enterprise -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-49-IIa Helen x 13 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 28 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships BB Indiana CVL Princeton, heavy fires CVL Cowpens -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 11 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 28 A6M8-J Zero x 2 N1K1-J George x 1 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 1 Allied aircraft SBD-5 Dauntless x 35 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses SBD-5 Dauntless: 11 destroyed, 7 damaged SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CVL Zuiho, on fire CV Zuikaku, on fire CV Hiryu, on fire DD Haruzuki DD Kyosuki CV Kasagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 99 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 35 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M4-Q Nell x 12 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 61 Japanese aircraft losses G3M4-Q Nell: 6 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 11 G3M4-Q Nell x 5 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 56 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 13 minutes Japanese aircraft B6N1 Jill x 13 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 69 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 2 damaged B6N1 Jill: 2 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships CVL Varennes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 113 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 37 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8-J Zero x 9 B6N1 Jill x 11 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 69 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8-J Zero: 4 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged B6N1 Jill: 3 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships BB South Dakota CV Essex CVL Cowpens, Torpedo hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 38 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 39 A6M8-J Zero x 4 N1K1-J George x 5 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 5 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 94 SBD-5 Dauntless x 72 TBF-1 Avenger x 52 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed A6M8-J Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 10 destroyed SBD-5 Dauntless: 9 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 6 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships DD Fuyuzuki CV Kasagi CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage CVL Shoho, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage CV Soryu, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Arashi CV Hiryu, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk CA Atago CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Yoizuki DD Susuzuki, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage DD Natsuzuki, Bomb hits 2, on fire DD Ozuki CA Aoba, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 20 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 12 B6N1 Jill x 6 D4Y1 Judy x 5 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 63 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 5 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 2 destroyed D4Y1 Judy: 1 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships BB Indiana BB South Dakota -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 26 minutes Japanese aircraft B6N2 Jill x 40 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 50 Japanese aircraft losses B6N2 Jill: 11 destroyed, 9 damaged B6N2 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships BB South Dakota CVL Cowpens, Torpedo hits 1 CV Essex CVL Princeton, Torpedo hits 1, on fire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,121 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 70 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 25 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M4-Q Nell x 11 Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 29 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 38 Japanese aircraft losses G3M4-Q Nell: 1 destroyed Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 4 destroyed No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 117 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 30 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 12 B6N1 Jill x 17 D4Y1 Judy x 26 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 22 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak D4Y1 Judy: 4 destroyed, 6 damaged D4Y1 Judy: 5 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships CA Wichita CV Yorktown II CVL Independence BB North Carolina -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 12 minutes Japanese aircraft B6N1 Jill x 9 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged B6N1 Jill: 3 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships CV Yorktown II CVL Independence -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Maloelap at 137,116 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 38 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 21 A6M8-J Zero x 1 N1K1-J George x 4 Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 3 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 61 SBD-5 Dauntless x 27 TBF-1 Avenger x 30 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 3 destroyed SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CA Atago CV Soryu, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Susuzuki, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk CV Kasagi, Torpedo hits 1 CVL Zuiho, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk DD Kyosuki, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires CVL Shoho, heavy fires, heavy damage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 13 minutes Japanese aircraft B6N1 Jill x 2 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 13 Japanese aircraft losses B6N1 Jill: 2 damaged No Allied losses Allied Ships BB North Carolina, Torpedo hits 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 13 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 7 B6N1 Jill x 2 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 26 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed B6N1 Jill: 1 destroyed by flak No Allied losses Allied Ships CVL Belleau Wood -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mili at 139,120 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 118 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 42 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 32 G3M4-Q Nell x 17 Allied aircraft F6F-3 Hellcat x 24 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 6 destroyed G3M4-Q Nell: 3 destroyed, 7 damaged Allied aircraft losses F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CV Hornet BB Alabama Now THAT is what you call a decisive victory! After nearly 2 years from the sinking of the CV Lexington the USN had its revenge. The key to victory here was my fast BBs. They provided devastating AA while soaking up bombs and torpedoes that would otherwise found its way into a carrier. Not a single Allied ship was lost from the action while it appears the Japanese lost 3 CV, 2 CVL, and a CA. It goes without saying that this was the most important event of the war to date.

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 6:46:41 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lowpe Very nice acceleration of the A6M8![X(] I wonder what the rest of his plane research/supply looks like. I'm no expert on this part of the Japanese war effort but from what I can tell Rev Rico is really pushing advanced air frames. I encountered the George in spring 43 I believe and I recently encountered the Ki-84 Frank. Don't really know what Rev Rico has in mind for bombers but I doubt that's much of a priority for him.

jwolf -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 7:17:57 PM)
quote: Not a single Allied ship was lost from the action But it did look like your CVs and BBs took a heavy beating. Maybe not sunk but out of action for a long(??) time. Still it was a great victory. I'm curious to see what was next in this bloodbath of a war across the board!

Lowpe -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 7:36:40 PM)
You only had a 70 plane CAP over your deathstar![X(] So did RevRico, though.[X(] It seems he might have been hoping for a better land based air support, but that never works out well. Japan had the better weather in the AM with thunderstorms protecting the KB while the Deathstar only had rain. But you really had some killer AA! While Japan was pitifully weak on AA.[:(] In addition, you had the battleships there to catch bombs and torpedoes and poor Japan didn't. Nicely done.[&o] The George normally comes in mid 43 with modest acceleration. Some strange to me looking land units for Japan on the atoll. Frank A is needed in the latter half of 43...and should be a focus of every Japanese player imho.

Sangeli -> RE: Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Blood, Patience, and Firepower (2/16/2016 7:55:27 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lowpe You only had a 70 plane CAP over your deathstar![X(] So did RevRico, though.[X(] It seems he might have been hoping for a better land based air support, but that never works out well. Japan had the better weather in the AM with thunderstorms protecting the KB while the Deathstar only had rain. But you really had some killer AA! While Japan was pitifully weak on AA.[:(] In addition, you had the battleships there to catch bombs and torpedoes and poor Japan didn't. Nicely done.[&o] The George normally comes in mid 43 with modest acceleration. Some strange to me looking land units for Japan on the atoll. Frank A is needed in the latter half of 43...and should be a focus of every Japanese player imho. No, my CAP started at 116 fighters. Still not a lot but I needed more fighters on escort to reach the IJN CVs. In the end that was the right move. The AA was the real killer for me and it took down more planes than my actual fighters.

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